A Smart Use of Blog Search Optimization

You can find a lot of advice on the web of incorporating common search terms in your blog to help drive traffic. That's fine, if seeing a parade of uninvolved bodies is what you seek. But if you're a writer, you want to engage people. However, the advice can still stand: incorporate search terms. Just do so in a way that makes sense for what you write.

In my food blog, I've recently found an uptick of of traffic coming in from web searches. What surprised me was that they were all for a product called Vacuware. This device is a system for storing food in a container or bag and then removing all the air to preserve it better. I had reviewed the product, but then I had reviewed many products. Yet people kept coming in for this one.

I went to the Vacuware site to see if there was a new model. Instead, I noticed something about seeing the infomercial. The company was pushing its products on television, and some number of people were going to the web to look for reviews - like mine. In fact, I just did a Google search for "vacuware" and "review." My blog listing was literally the top match.

This wasn't good for Vacuware: I had panned a bad feature that they had admitted to me had serious shortcomings. But it did help me me realize how to write what would normally fit on my blog in a way that uses advertising and other aspects of popular culture to drive more readers. Find what's happening in the world that connects to what you you cover, and then anticipate what an audience will need and search for. In my case, I didn't know about Vacuware's television campaign, but I could have and then asked to see a review unit as a result, figuring that someone would want to know whether the device worked.

I set up the headline in the blog entry when I first wrote it to improve searchability. It says "Review: VacuWare Fresh Food System." I wasn't adding search tags at the time, but I'm going back to add some to those reviews, at least: vacuware, system, review, product, vacuum, and storage.

The idea isn't to become the literary equivalent of a prostitute, but to think from the view of your intended audience and anticipate its needs. That helps you provide what they want, which means they'll be heading to your site.

Copyright Pre-Registration for Book Authors and the New Electronic Filing System Tests

I've often gone on at length - I'm sure people are bracing themselves now, but hang on, as there's no need - about the importance of registering copyright to protect yourself. But intellectual property piracy is a big problem - for example, the last book in the Harry Potter series ended up online before it hit the stores, and the publishers were doing everything they could to keep it under wraps.

So if you register a work as of a publication date, but it's pirated before the date, could that affect your rights under US copyright law? Apparently it can, so the Copyright Office, under the Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2005, offers pre-registration for certain categories of works, including "literary works in book form":

Pursuant to the provisions of the Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2005, the Register of Copyrights, after determining appropriate classes of works which have a history of infringement prior to commercial distribution, permits preregistration of unpublished works within such classes. Preregistration is not a substitute for registration; its purpose is to allow an infringement action to be brought before the authorized commercial distribution of a work and full registration thereof, and to make it possible, upon full registration, for the copyright owner to receive statutory damages and attorneys' fees in an infringement action.

A person who has preregistered a work is required, in order to preserve the legal benefits of preregistration, to register such work within one month after the copyright owner becomes aware of infringement and no later than three months after first publication. If full registration is not made within the prescribed time period, a court must dismiss an action for copyright infringement that occurred before or within the first two months after first publication. See U.S.C. 17 408(f), 411 and 412, as amended; also 37 C.F.R. 202.16, as added.

To be a bit emphatic for a moment, this doesn't replace copyright registration. But it does extend the full protection of the law, including statutory damages, backwards before publication. It's a reasonable step to take. For more information, go to this page on the US Copyright web site. You could also register copyright for the manuscript before publication and then register a second time the published book as a work based on the unpublished manuscript. But it's good to know about this option.

Also, for whoever is interested, I just received an email that I'm on the beta test list for the new electronic copyright registration system. I've just set up an account and am waiting for the Copyright Office to give me a call and say that I'm set to try registering some items.

It looks as though you'll be able to process all the paperwork online, pay via credit card, and track where things are, at least so far as I can tell from the little of the user interface I've seen. You'll be able to register a claim, file a preregistration (as mentioned above), check a submission status, track and track the status of various things. As I learn more, I'll file further reports.

Writer Rationalization

As human beings, we often try to make ourselves feel better about our choices - a process called rationalization. It's not an occasional activity, but constant. Virtually every time you buy something, you make an emotional decision and then come up with rational-sounding reasons for having chosen what you did, because we all like feeling as though we are in control. When we rationalize, we really make excuses so we don't have to face how we really act. Aesop's fable about the fox that couldn't reach the grapes and so decided they were probably sour anyway (source of the term "sour grapes") is a perfect example. And when we rationalize, we lock ourselves into behavior and decisions. That's fine if the choice is healthy, but dangerous when it's not.

If this happens constantly, you might expect that it also rears its head in business, and you'd be right. Writers often rationalize, for themselves and for colleagues, why the low pay they take is acceptable, or why they had to accept the punitive contract terms, or put up with poor treatment by a client.

There are times that a business decision makes sense, and other times that a choice is poor, and you don't want to face it more directly. For example, maybe the 50 cent a word assignment really is so easy that you effectively make $60/hour. But you need to look a bit deeper. Is $60/hour really that good for the work you are doing? Billable time for an independent practitioner often goes far higher on projects, and if you ever wanted to gross six figures, you'll need to be billing more like $75-$100/hour, depending on how many projects you can actually sell and complete. And your calculation presumes that you're accurate about the time you actually do spend, and people often grossly underestimate the figure.

But consider the possibility that the business analysis might also be an excuse to not break into better paying markets or to find more upscale clients. The contract terms might not be something that actually concern you, or you might be saying that because you're scared to try negotiating something better. Perhaps you are an XYZ-type of writer, or you could be scared of branching out into a new area and prefer the comfort of what you've always done. Maybe that editor really is that good to work for, so you take a lower rate, or it could be that you're focusing overly on wanting to be liked and that distracts your attention from improving your business.

No one else can give you the answers to such questions. It could be that in a cold business analysis, your reasoning is sound. Only be sure that you at least ask, and that you scrutinize your own answer. We are creatures who often lie, to ourselves more than to anyone else. And there's one person who gets hurt when we do.

Low-Balling Pricing is Bad Business

There are a lot of writers who take low-paying work. If you're one of them, know that it's killing you and your business - for no good reason. Here are some of the results of this business strategy:

• You get caught in a trap. When you take low-paying business, it means you need to do more work to make what you need. That leaves you with even less time to do marketing and to pull yourself out of the hole.


• It's the marketing of need. People who are willing to work for little send off vibes of being needy, because the client generally knows that what it's offering is less than the market might generally demand. If you're willing to take it, that must mean you are ripe for the picking.


• You drive down the average. The more writers go for low pay, the more they help drive down average rates, and so actually create a condition for lower pay for everyone.


• You miss the power of value. People and businesses buy things because they perceive that they want or need them. They want value for what they pay. When you charge low amounts, you say through the action that you don't offer much in the way of value. If you're talking to an entity that has a real need, there's a good chance that you'll lose the business to people who charge more, because they communicate that there's something of value to be had.


• You feed low self-esteem. When you work for too little, you feel like crap. By taking more work at too low a rate, you only feel worse. That turns into self-pity (keep a look for it as it hovers near), which likes even more such experience. I once heard self-pity described as sitting in a tub of warm piss. Keep that in mind next time you're feeling sorry for yourself.

Getting out of this rut is easy - charge for the value you can deliver. If you can't deliver enough value, learn how to. I recently got a large chunk of corporate work that will pay very nicely over a month, without even being full time. I know there were three other people in the running, and I doubt I was the low-bidder. When they wanted a sample to compare to the other writers, I said sure - at my regular rates. And they agreed.

If you have respect for yourself, your abilities, and the value you can bring to someone, then you charge a reasonable amount. When you have true respect for yourself (not defensive attitude), then others start to as well. Remember the saying that the way to get respect is to earn it? This is the big first step.

Never Walk Away From the Good Fight

There will be times (if you haven't already seen them) that you are in conflict with a client. Perhaps it wants to unreasonably delay payment or demand significant more work for no extra compensation or ask you to shoulder other burdens that never were mentioned during discussions of the assignment. You may have talked to the people involved, trying to get a resolution, but to no avail.

I understand the reluctance to take significant action. A number of thoughts are running through your head - don't want to lose the client, I'm friends with the editor, what if they get angry because I hate conflict - as your emotions bubble over. And I certainly understand how you would prefer a reasoned solution that got you what you needed. Obviously if that is possible, then it's a good outcome.

But there will be times that does not happen, and the company is happy to string you along or out or whatever preposition best describes your state of misery. In those circumstances, for your own sake as a human being, you cannot back down or give in. To do so is to allow yourself to be stepped on. That sets a bad precedent for the future and puts you further into a frame of mind where you feel like you're getting what you actually deserve: "If it's happening, then I must have done something to bring it on." This is the abused spouse mindset, and one that you must discourage.

That doesn't mean you necessarily become crazed and demand a knock-down, drag out fight. However, you stand firm for what is right and take the actions necessary to see it happen. It's good for you, it's good for your family and friends - it's particularly important if you have children, because somehow they know when you act in a righteous, and not self-righteous, manner and it teaches them to stand up for themselves. It's good good for the writing community, and it's good for the world. If people firmly planted their feet at such times, we'd have far fewer tragedies, because we would not let things go so far.

Be firm and hold your ground. You did the work and they owe you the money. If they want more work, they can pay more money. Insist that they make good. And when they do act in a reprehensible manner, add your voice to the others descrying such atrocious behavior. The more you do this, the lest often you'll find people ready to take you on. You don't go into new business relationships with a chip on your shoulder and frothing at the mouth because you won't have to. People will just know. And, more importantly, you will know. You may win, you may lose, but you'll feel better about yourself no matter what.

When Do You Stop Being A Newbie?

There was a recent discussion on Freelance Success about when someone is no longer a "newbie" writer - that is to say, when he or she becomes officially-accepted. People had a variety of opinions, but I think the question is actually a distraction. A better one, I think, is whether you have the sense of being a working writer and needing to operate as such.

I remember feeling in the thick of things within a few months of full-time freelancing - because I was making my living this way and had to face the business, ethical, and craft issues that come up. It's when you no longer think about yourself as outside writing or find yourself taken with the image of being a writer. Instead, you just write.

What really makes me scratch my head is that there is a presumption that you've "graduated" and know what you need to. But I find that I always need to keep learning more about the business and writing ends - and, immodestly speaking, I know a fair amount about both.

But saying that you already know what you need to and that there's nothing more for you to get turns into a professional death sentence. In fact, as you learn more, you find that there are more areas to explore and more to improve. The experience is like a pair of glasses that really let you start to see where you are and where you could go - including improving the glasses so you could see farther.

Controlling Those Client Expectations

A writer I know recently mentioned being up int he middle of the night, sending an email, and getting a reply shortly after, and then wondering if the act telegraphed a willingness to be an indentured servant.

It's a good concern to have. Most clients make assumptions, largely unconscious and unreasoned, based on your activities. The assumptions become expectations: "Oh, Cathy is up at that hour anyway, so I should have the edits by the time I walk into the office in the morning." When Cathy actually decides to sleep that night, for a change, the client doesn't see the file when he expected it, and so gets cranky. Now Cathy has a problem to smooth over, probably without knowing that it exists. In other words, Cathy won't be dealing with the unhappy client, who might decide to go elsewhere next time, even though his unhappiness is the product of his own self-generated expectations, and not from any promise that a writer has made.

In general, it's better to let the client wait at least for a little bit. When someone wants you to do something, deliberately schedule it and negotiate a different time or day, at least early on in the relationship, so you aren't taken for granted. When people give you initial deadlines, they generally have added some padding in to help their own planning. Don't push everything to the last minute, but make sure that clients understand you are busy, in demand, and can't automatically drop everything for them.

You can telegraph this attitude in a number of ways. I know one writer who never immediately answers an email, even when possible. Instead, everything sits for at least a few hours in the inbox, even if it's possible to send an immediate answer. Another writer uses the capabilities of her email system to write responses whenever and then to configure the email not to transmit until after a specific time in the morning. When someone calls, you could explain that you are busy and schedule a time later in the day to continue a conversation.

Sure, if you know the client and there's an emergency, jump right on something as a favor. But there's an old saying: When you want something done, ask a busy person. So make sure you appear appropriately busy so that clients appreciate what a break they get when you devote some of your time to them.

Upcoming Marketing Class

I'm teaching one of my periodic marketing classes at FreelanceSuccess.com. Here's some info:

Selling and Marketing for Writers

When: Aug. 20-Sep. 28
Where: An online teaching forum
Cost: $179 ($159 for FreelanceSuccess members)

Most freelancers love to write but feel like ducks out of water when it comes time to market and sell. If you find yourself in that category, it's probably because you never learned how. In the Selling and Marketing for Writers class, that's exactly what Erik Sherman teaches you.

Understand such basic concepts as marketing, brand and platform, all of which are more subtle and intricate than you might think. Make your marketing organic, and know what you are to the client. Find clients that fit your business, create a profile of the ideal prospect, and know what the prospect is to you. Check your marketing materials - even the ones you don't realize that you have. Understand the sales process and take control of it. Do vital market research and develop profiles of real prospects and clients. Create a prospecting program and move toward your financial goals. Make use of the rule of numbers, even if you don't take to math. Effectively follow up to get more business.

Syllabus

Week 1: Learning basic marketing principles and unlearning some bad scuttlebut. What motivates customers. Selling to a client and a buyer at the same time. Learning the emotional triggers. Handling conflicts between clients and buyers. Who your marketing is about. Getting the right relationship to a client.

Week 2: Deciding on the “right” customers, profiling customers and prospects and their fit, discounting assignment payments, lifetime customer values, rate research, client financial stability, profiling prospect needs.

Week 3: How and when to talk about yourself, unique selling propositions, positioning, branding, platform, understanding how to really use these buzzwords and knowing what they aren’t.

Week 4: The need for good marketing materials – and what they are, your most important calling cards, the difference between marketing and tools, the two basic types of marketing, understanding the tools you really need, knowing when to use a given tool, learning the basic structure of any marketing piece, the time line of marketing.

Week 5: Difference between marketing and sales, what selling isn’t, stages of the buying/selling process, get the right emphasis when approaching prospects, matching the sale to the need, getting into a conversation with prospects, handling objections whether heard or silent, closing the deal.

Week 6: Need for numbers, determine your personal sales conversion rate, planning on enough marketing and selling, enjoying marketing and sales, the biggest single problem in getting business, the power of unimportance, being genuine, negotiation.

Testimonials

Here are some unsolicited comments that some students from the last session I taught posted on FreelanceSuccess when I mentioned that I'd be offering it again:

"I just scored a new column this morning by putting to use what I learned in the class."

"If you're stalled on your marketing, just getting started, looking at new revenue streams or just want to tweak your message, this is a great class."

"I snagged a $4,000 project using techniques I learned in Erik's class."

I can't promise this sort of response, but if you do the work and apply it, you will start seeing positive results.

Mediabistro Sale and the Value of Online

People have been grinding away on the Mediabistro.com sale, wondering why they got so much, and there's been more than a touch of envy on the party of many who had attended some of Laurel Touby's parties. As Jupitermedia CEO Alan Meckler put it in a blog post, "It's the Job Board, Stupid!"

And certainly, as even back in 2000 as she got a $1 million investment from now closed hedge fund Gotham Partners as well as media figure Martin Peretz, Touby said that Mediabistro was profitable from the job listings that then went for $150 and now may be up to $200 each (according to something I saw posted on a writers' board).

But even Meckler isn't telling the whole story (though he admits to liking "everything about the business"). The job board worked because there was enough of an audience. But the audience went there to see content - and for years Mediabistro didn't pay for the articles. Instead they touted the exposure, and sometime would throw in a free subscription that would get the writer access to most everything on the site.

I remember getting into some public tussles, along with some other writers, with MB's former CFO as well as Elizabeth Spiers, who was editor there for a while. Some of us thought it was practically obscene that the company not pay writers when they claimed to be an industry community. "We can't afford to pay," they would wail, and also claim that the articles just didn't matter that much, and that they were more or less doing the writers a favor by having them up there at all. Then there were the occasional mentions of paying eventually when conditions allowed. All while having about a dozen paid people on staff. (I understand they now pay a whopping $50 per article, which is still remarkably cheap.)

Ah, but it's content - articles and discussion boards - that generally draw people in the first place. That's what creates an audience large enough to attract advertisers. As some of us said then, writing for free for Mediabistro (and you can substitution any company name in its place) is effectively investing in that organization. Now the payday for all the work came - for Touby and her investors. Not for those whose work subsidized the business model. She's done well, and good for her so far as that goes. But she also did it partially on the backs of others, who will never get credit, let alone payment, for the investment of time.

As the saying goes, you can die of exposure. That's what happens to the time and effort of writers who go along with schemes, listening to strains of, "We hope one day to be able to pay." Maybe they will, but, frankly, eventual paltry payment is just so much chicken feed best suited to poultry. When new owners come into place, they aren't going to open the payment flood gates. Hell, they bought the existing business model! Why should they pay more? Clearly writers are willing to underwrite the profits of others.

I've seen many publishing ventures make these promises of some future consideration for under payment today. But it virtually never happens. What you get now is pretty much what you'll always get. Asking someone to make money for your enterprise for nothing in return is despicable. Being willing to do it is just plain dumb. Don't be a patsy; go off and find a real assignment.

On the Journalism of Understanding and the Need for Why

The Poynter Institute ran an interesting piece by Charles Peters, founder of The Washington Monthly and president of a foundation called Understanding Government, a self-described "nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving the performance of the executive branch by helping journalists do a better job of covering it."

In the article, Peters announced that his foundation is offering a $50,000 prize for the best example of preventative journalism - "reporting that identifies inept leaders, wrong-headed policies and bureaucratic bungling before they lead to disasters like the bad intelligence about WMDs and the travesty that was the response to Katrina," as he puts it.

Peters essentially argues - and I'd have to agree with him - that most journalism is reactive. Some situation happens that is calamitous, and the reporters then swarm out to paint a picture of what happened. Journalists are fixated on drama and conflict, which is understandable to some degree, because they are elements of good story telling. But the writers don't then take any responsibility for not having covered the topic before, and certainly not after. They think they've already "done" the story.

But they haven't. I think "preventative journalism" isn't the best phrase, either. That carries some supposition that you are checking the health of something, know what constitutes problems, and will fix the issues. It smacks of the superior "We know what's good for you" attitude that journalists too often get.

Furthermore, reporters often have little understanding of the topics they cover. A phrase I've been using of late is the journalism of understanding. The point isn't to chase the story as it runs ahead, but to understand the systems - whether government, business, legal, or societal - and to grasp the conflict of factors and forces. You let the system and the people involved with it tell you what the stories are, and then you report on them.

In this approach, the stories are often not so black and white. For example, I have a piece coming out next week in IP Law & Business about some serious issues in management of the US Patent and Trademark Office. Many involved in the intellectual property industry are saying that management there has become too political. Yet that's too easy a story by itself. Try to understand the situation, and you find many pressures and that management, Congress, those filing patents, and established conditions all have varying degrees of fault.

When you try to understand a situation, you're not just looking at what people are doing, but why they do it. Suddenly, you start losing the good guy/bad guy approach. Yes, some people may be doing something poorly or even acting in a morally questionable manner, but you start losing the accusatory edge and start gaining some empathy for what all are going through. That isn't to say that you become an apologist - far from it! Instead, you try to show how things got to a given point and what it might take for them to change.

The big difference, I think, between ordinary journalism and the journalism of understanding is that the former really focuses on physical issues - what happened, who was involved, and how did A cause B. The latter focuses more on the why - the question Peters emphasizes as well.

The why causes you to look at all other questions differently. Asking how something happened doesn't stop at a recitation of current physical details. You have to see the route things took to get to where they are. Apply why to what - the levels of profit that Enron appeared to show early on - and you start questioning the quality of the numbers. Apply why to reports of WMDs and you ask the common sense question of whether everyone really did agree on their existence.

Finally, there is a difference between asking questions to get information to fit into a story formula, and asking questions because you want to understand something. The latter is more open ended. You aren't checking off a list and getting what you need for a story that is essentially already written except for the specific details. Rather, you are wrestling with concepts and coming to an understanding that dictates the story. And when you work from understanding, you become less machine-like and more human - which, I think, is the real point of journalism (and writing in general) anyway.

The Business of Blogging - Stream of Micropublishing Consciousness

Many writers are interested in starting blogs: to bolster a "platform", interest book publishers, or connect with an audience. But how about to make money? BusinessWeek has an interesting article on blogs that have made it big, and it has a number of lessons for writers:

• Write for love, not money. Well, maybe love is a bit strong, but write something you feel a connection to. Most of these bloggers didn't go into a particular area because they thought it would lead to bucks. They wrote about something they wanted to write about, and the audience found them.


• Be patient. Most of these bloggers spent time developing their sites. They didn't generally see overnight success. Instead, they kept working and interest built over time.


• Audience is everything. Yes, you want all the marketing tips to make your blog huge, but the biggest tip is having content. If you do, and it's something that some group of people connect with, then you and the audience will find each other. The most important type of marketing is having something customers want.


• Monetize after attracting people. When you start a blog, don't worry about selling ads. It's clutter, and no one is going to be interested - and you won't make anything, because you don't have the traffic. Wait until you've actually got something going.


• You're in the fashion business. No matter what the topic, people are looking for both content and entertainment. Any oddball topic that takes off shows that a good part of the blogging business has to do with fad and fashion. Keep an eye on the business practices in fashion-based industries, whether clothing designers or consumer electronics. Learn that you need to keep things fresh and be ready to experiment with the next idea.


• You're in the information business. Fashion, in the broadest sense, is a big part of a blog, but people are motived by the particular expression of ideas. They don't care about your personal takes on the world. They want something that relates to them.


• Give readers a way to take part. These bloggers give the strong sense that it's important for readers to have a conversation. Read comments and email, respond to them, and even come up with ideas that will encourage more interaction.

An addendum: these blogs are examples of micropublishing - small ventures by most commercial publishing standards, and they're run by the people who write them. I'm becoming more convinced that micropublishing is the future in this industry. Look at this story from Forbes. Even as the tech companies do well, the tech media struggles because advertisers have found that specialty blogs, search ads, and more general media do far more for their businesses. Are you developing your niche publishing plans now, or are you waiting until lack of ads drive your current editorial clients out of business and force you to find an alternative?

Getting Outside the Comfort Zone

Go onto a writer's board and you'll see people looking for sources (sometimes even quoting writers with whom they have an acquaintance) or asking a host of different questions. No doubt that there are experts in various subjects to be found among writers, but getting the quick answer is often not the wisest decision.

It's an example of people operating inside their comfort zone. The same thing comes into play when writers shy away approaching new sources or editors. They may come up with a host of reasons, but they generally boil down to three: discomfort, fear, and wanting an easy answer.

I can understand the temptation, but it's a dangerous habit. When you stay inside the comfort zone, you are really reacting to a host of nameless fears nibbling at the edges of your psyche. You also teach yourself that comfort is your primary concern.

Neither is necessary, and there is a way to start breaking the cycle, though it's not a comfortable option. You start experimenting with doing the exact thing that bothers you. In other words, talk to strangers, approach editors, and do research for answers.

Consider what bothers you most - whether it's having to spend extra time or approach someone who might be hostile. Now assume that the absolutely worst will happen and do it anyway. It's like jumping into lake, except that you know the lake is really going to be cold for a few seconds. Often our fear of others is baseless, and for those few times that it's not, things will be over in a short time anyway. If things went terribly, you never have to deal with the person again.

The reason to do so is to remove the shackles of psychological slavery. Most of our weaknesses seduce us, but fear enslaves and tosses its victims into a dark locked room. Every time you do a small something that you fear, you loosen its grip. The benefits are enormous and will echo throughout every part of your life.

Learning the Sales Cycle

An important concept for any business is the sales cycle, or how long it generally takes between the time you first approach a customer and when a purchase actually takes place. This is particularly important for writers, because their own impatience loses a tremendous amount of work.

I've often spoken to writers and seen posts on writing boards telling how, after sending a query or letter of introduction and hearing nothing for two or three weeks, the writers gave up and went to try and find another source of business. They tell themselves that they gave up because they assumed that the prospects weren't interested. In reality, they gave up because they insisted on putting themselves first in the potential relationship and assumed that their schedule was the client's schedule. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

When making a successful sale, you have to meet four conditions:

• the right offer


• to the right person


• for the right price


• at the right time

We're just going to look at the third condition today. What does the right time mean? As any smart business knows, the right time is when the customer is ready to part with money for what you offer. Note that it's not when the business approaches the customer. That is the sign of someone trying to quickly do business and run; in other words, a con. No, it's when the customer is ready.

Does your car need brakes every day, or every year? No. Yet that doesn't keep companies from marketing their services to you. That's because they don't know when you might need those brakes, so they want to be at the top of your mind. The cycle of need is different for various industries, and even sections of them. In our cases, publications are typically looking for "products" all the time. Corporations look for writers are various times, depending on their business needs. But even within a type of client, things will widely vary. I've seen some magazines look for material two weeks before going to press and others that schedule a year or more in advance. Some corporations have regular need of writing, and others, sporadic.

You have to get to know the rhythms of a specific client to learn how to market to it. For example, I just got an assignment from a large corporation. I've been in contact with the appropriate people for about six months - a typical sales cycle in such cases. Why? Because the client has to accomplish four things:

• get comfortable with you


• find an open opportunity


• ensure that you would be suited to the opportunity


• do everything else they have to do

That last point is possibly the most critical, because the client representative is probably inundated with other tasks and expectations. Figuring out how to employ you is low on the list. The same things happen at magazines. The editors are busy with many things, they try to slot ideas at the best times, and they work in bastions of inefficiency.

The only generally effective way to deal with this problem is to keep in touch with the prospect. Wait three weeks and nicely touch base - by phone. Why phone? Because when you get someone on the phone, it's a lot harder to ignore your gentle prodding.

Technique and genuine respect are everything in these calls. You always start by asking if the person has time to chat briefly. This shows your understanding of their needs and also sets the expectation of a short time on the phone (which can grow if necessary). At worst you learn that the client isn't interested. More likely, though, you'll find that the person hasn't really considered what you sent, or is circulating it. In that case, say some variation of the following: "Great. When should I get back in touch?" By putting it politely, the person will almost never refuse, and you've also taken control of the sales process. Then you follow up and follow up and follow up, each time setting the next time to touch base.

This demonstrates your businesslike attitude and resolve to work within their sales cycle - and you might often find that you'll get work because it's easier for the contact to do so than it is to brush you off. I once had an editor say, "One big reason you're getting this assignment is because you're so persistent."

I know. That's why I do it.

When Things Go Wrong, Negotiate

Yesterday I mentioned that when things are going well, you should continue marketing with a focus on things you might not ordinarily do. When things go wrong, yes, you market, but you might also consider negotiation. Instead of taking whatever life deals out, see how much you can change more toward your advantage. I had a real example happen yesterday when a publication decided literally at the last minute because of a mix-up on its end that it needed substantial changes to a story. It was pulling the article from the current issue and now the piece was no longer accepted. I did start gnashing my teeth and began writing an email to the editor because I couldn't afford to disrupt my cash flow further than a couple of previous setbacks had already done.

I started the email a few times - got a line or two in and tossed it. Remembering my goal - to get money - I knew that venting at the editor would do no good. So I carefully crafted a message saying that we needed to talk and that while I understood there was a mix-up on the publisher's side because I got the go-ahead from someone new who hadn't known of the history of covering a given topic, I couldn't add another invoicing cycle on top of what I had already waited.

That was the first part of my negotiation strategy - because I wanted a practical resolution, not the emotional satisfaction of screaming at someone. Next, I said that if we could work out payment issues, I'd be happy to do a few extra interviews and the rewrite "to reflect what is now a different angle and article." I was clearly indicating that additional pay over the original fee might otherwise be in question. Could I have held out for more? Sure, but I was considering the most important goal in this case - while realizing that it would largely be a case of reslanting much of what I already had in a somewhat different way.

Later that day I received a counter-proposal - a one-third "kill" fee immediately, and the remainder on rewriting the article. Because I had overbooked revenue above my target goal, I could agree to that, maintain a relationship that I expect to be a profitable one (I already had a second assignment and had negotiated a 20% rate increase between the two), and still have the cash flow for the full goal, with the extra to follow in the future. So I agreed.

Did I get everything I wanted? Of course not! But did I get what I needed then? Absolutely. And if that hadn't done it, I would have looked at other possible negotiation strategies. Negotiating out of a problem won't always work - it didn't do a thing when early this year I had a client declare bankruptcy. But it's a potential tool that might get you out of a jam, so don't assume that you only use negotiation before you start an assignment. Any time an issue comes up - payment, or maybe a sudden change in an assignment or deadline - negotiation is useful. And it's a great deal more effective than tying yourself up in knots or posting on a writers' board how angry you are with someone.

Three Marketing Approaches When Things Are Good

I can feel it now - that warm comfortable sense of well-being that comes on when my schedule is full. But it's the same warm sense that reportedly comes on before you freeze to death. Whenever you feel that things are going right, you can depend that they will soon go wrong. So when things are looking up for business, that's when it's time to knuckle down and push forward on your marketing. However, there is a difference between times like these and when things are slower. Here are some ways to make your marketing pay off:

• Replace clients. Because you're in a strong position, seek replacements for your least desirable clients. You aren't in a rush, so begin testing a few new clients, see which ones provide the most satisfaction, and then begin weaning yourself from the ones that aren't worth the time you spend on them.


• Think long term. Different companies or publications take various amounts of time to bring into your business fold. When things are going well, you can begin developing relationships with the ones that take longer. These are often the greater prestige and better paying prospects.


• New areas. You might have wanted to move into new areas - whether subjects, industries, or types of writing. When you go into something new, you often can't prove the value you can in more established areas. So when things are going well, you're in a position to take some lower-paying work, if necessary, to establish your credits in the new area so that you'll be in good shape to get the better pay. When things are leaner, you may be more dependent on the revenue from each assignment, and so won't necessarily have this opportunity to develop your business.

Marketing isn't a uniform and unchanging activity. Let yours be sensitive to where your business is at any time and shift your focus and approach to make marketing increasingly effective.

Journalistic Ethics - the Short Version

Someone on Freelance Success pointed out the story of a WMAQ reporter in Chicago who didn't step over the journalistic line - she swam over it. On her day off, she accepted an invitation to take her two sons swimming in the pool of "the estranged husband of a missing Plainfield woman.":

Sources said Jacobson told her bosses that she was on her way to the East Bank Club in River North to go swimming with her sons Friday when she received a call from Craig Stebic's sister, asking her to come to his house to talk about the case.

And then a competing station that had a camera man staked out in a neighboring house caught her on tape. Uh oh. And now she's resigned from her position.

I've seen many freelance reporters ask about what is ethical and not. I know a few who are hyper-vigilent willing to go to extremes to avoid anything that would smack of a conflict, and I know others that often look for ways to get yet another freebie. To stay on the right side of the line doesn't mean memorizing a list of rules, just understanding a few principles:

• Avoid appearance of conflict. It may be that you can actually get close to a source and still write in a reasonably fair and unbiased manner, but it's not just a question about what you can do. The issue is what impression you'd give by doing it. Assume that anything will come to be known by the public. If a third party would be suspicious of your motives, then don't do it. And if you find yourself trying to argue that the person really wouldn't mind, then assume that the person actually would. This is a case where the reporter doth protest too much.


• Avoid freebies. This can be tough, particularly if you review products, performances, or music. You shouldn't be paying for such items unless you're getting reimbursement from the publication. But if the freebie is not necessary to conduct the review, or if the ultimate subject of the review can directly influence and control your experience (as with a restaurant meal), don't take it.


• Don't be beholding. If you find that you want to moderate your story because the company or PR person may not give you the same type of access to people, products, or situations in the future, you shouldn't be writing the piece. Bite the hand that feeds you and watch yourself in the future, because you are displaying the inclination to tilt coverage for personal reasons.


• Don't use friends and acquaintances as sources. It's convenient to interview people that you know, because you have no fear of them and it's likely that you will get cooperation. But unless the person is a real expert in the area and you may not find someone as qualified, keep on moving. You are unlikely to want to present someone in a bad light, which means subconsciously you will probably censor the questions you ask and conclusions you draw. This gets particularly bad - and dangerous - when you use fellow writers as sources, because editors may well recognize the names and decide, rightly or wrongly, that you are slacking. Keep on your toes and find other sources. (And you can check here for some pointers on finding people.)

It comes down to common sense - and applying it when you're in the middle. The biggest tool you have is when you find yourself asking the question, "Is this ethical?" The answer is probably, "No."

Finding Sources

Finding people can be time-consuming and frustrating. I've just added something called Finding Sources to the Resource section to the left with information on some tools and techniques for both online and real world looking.

One Time to Ask for More than Enough

I'm a firm believer in understanding your own bottom line pricing based on your business needs and on value pricing - charging for the value you can deliver, and not the time you spend. But even then there can still be a gap between what you'd charge and what the client might be willing to pay on the upper end. I was reminded of this a couple of times this last week. Once was for a speaking engagement, when I quoted a significant sum, as I'd be out of the office for at least two days in traveling and through that it would be a discouragement. It wasn't and now I find myself getting a good chunk of cash for something where I could too easily have quoted something far lower and found myself resentful that I had gotten tied up for relatively little.

The other occasion was similar in a way. A corporate client asked if I'd be available for a project reworking a web site, but said that it would want to see a sample of how I'd do a page. I knew a bit more about the situation from other sources and understood that the company wanted more "editing" than writing, and so a lower hourly price. I thanked them for the opportunity and added that I wouldn't work for spec, but would be willing to discuss a price for a single page - probably on a flat rate for the whole thing. In ending the explanation, I asked a question about blending information with marketing that I figured would communicate my knowledge of how to bring the two together. Unexpectedly, I received a reply asking for the rate. I came up with something reasonably high, given the actual amount of work as well as the need for some expertise. Again, I was surprised - I was asked to do a fast turnaround on the sample for the pay I requested.

In the second case, again, had I not shot high enough, I would have been irritated because I wasn't getting value for the value I thought I could bring. Furthermore, going lower would have meant indicating that the entire project would be inexpensive. Not the type of corporate writing I'm really interested in doing.

There are many factors in pricing, and one has to be whether you are excited about a a project, both because of the material as well as the conditions. If not, it's generally the time to think outside your personal pricing box. Don't assume that your finanical view of the world is shared by your clients. There's always the very good chance that the client is willing to spend more than you'd ordinarlly think of asking, and there are times that you need to make that kind of money so that the project is worth your time.

Great Tools to Track Politics and Money

If you're writing about politics, public policy, legislation, regulation, industry, or social issues, there will come a time that you will want to follow the money, bills, and people. Here are some web resources that should make life a little easier:

• Follow the Money A resource for information on money in state politics. in a few clicks I was able to find how much money the currently Mass. governor received in campaign contributions. Note: if you're looking for a particular person, try the form last name, first name.


• OpenSecrets.org You may have run into this great site for national political contributions, but be sure to check the site index (under The Basics/About the Site). There's a lot here that you may not know exists, like the list of ambassadors and their political contributions.


• MAPLight.org This site shows connections between campaign donations and legislative votes, combining data on bills, legislative voting records, supporting and opposing interests for bills, and campaign contribution records.


• Fedspending.org A free database of government contracting and spending.


• GovTrack.us Search bills, votes, committee actions, and Congressional member profiles.


• LOUIS Search Congressional Reports, the Congressional Record, Congressional Hearings, the Federal Register, Presidential Documents, GAO Reports, and Congressional Bills & Resolutions.


• OpenCongress.org Shows bills, committees, and member profiles.


• Sunlight Foundation Has a great collection of online resources.


• FedStats Statistics from over 100 agencies.


• University of Michigan Library Documents Center A set of references for documents from local, state, federal, and foreign governments.

Too Much Information

Journalists often learn that detail is the heart fo writing. Read some of the early classic pieces of non-fiction narrative and you'll see one piece of information after another intended to put the reader into the scene. Instead, the details often put the reader to sleep.

I can remember looking at a piece regarded highly by some big names in the non-fiction narrative genre. The reporter was walking through a field that had the smell of apples from a distant orchard. So the writer did some research, found the varietal being grown, and mentioned it by name. But what did that add to the story? If the average person were walking through that field, would he or she know whether the smell came from a gravenstein, winesap, royal gala, or some combination? Not at all. This is the use of detail that falls into the smart ass category: journalists add information simply because they can and like to show that they know it. But the apples in this case weren't central to the story - it was just the scent of apples that provided a detail of what it would be like to walk through the same fields.

This is when detail becomes distraction. Ever hear the phrase about killing your darlings? It means that no adored sentence or passage can take precedence over the piece as a whole, and that you have to be ready to eradicate that which will get in the way of the story. That's what needless detail does. Just as you bring the reader further in, it's that annoying noise that breaks the mood. Yet detail has become a matter of one-upsmanship, particularly in newspapers, from what I can tell.

Stories are the only victim. So are queries. Another writer asked me to look at a pitch that ran 700 words. I made some suggests that kept the essence of the pitch and cut the length in half - meaning that it's more likely the writer will get the attention of an editor. The details I pruned weren't irrelevant - but including them only did damage to the query because of what it had to accomplish and the constraints on space.

When applying the detail, think of Chinese brush painting, or a really good cartoon. There are only enough lines and details to render the whole image. Every piece of writing can go on only so long. I'm not suggesting to forget details. When writing an article, for example, I typically have a 10 to 1 or higher ratio of research notes to final article length. Properly handling detail means gathering all you can and then being judicious in the inclusion. Those details aren't wasted - they serve two purposes. One is being available in case the story needs them. The other is saving time by being available if the editor wants them.

A Need for Rhetoric

If you were going to cook a meal, you'd want to have accumulated techniques that would let you pull off the recipes. To build a house, you must learn to properly measure, cut, and use tools. You can't make your own clothes if you haven't learned the basics of sewing.

When it comes to writing, I've found that many writers concentrate on external stylistic issues. But strong writing is based on strong thinking. In non-fiction you are revealing information, using a whole array of approaches to assembling and relating information. But you are also constructing arguments to make points. To do that, you need a formal grasp of logic and what passes for reasoning that actually isn't. Many years ago, rhetoric was a topic that all children had to study. I think it's well worth brushing up on for a professional writer. Not only does it keep you from making gross errors in your own work, but it helps enormously when sources are trying to twist things to support their own points.

If you'd like a quick review, here's a pithy primer from a Purdue instructor that is worth a read.

8 Pointers on Mixing Writing and Photography

A writer recently asked me about selling photos with articles. It's great if you can do it, but there are some things to consider:

• Know your stuff. Just as you would rightly be insulted if someone suggested that anybody could write an article, photographers and photo editors feel the same way when told that anyone can snap a picture - and the results prove it. Good photography is as hard to achieve as good writing, so learn about the technical and compositional aspects and then practice. If possible, get someone to critique your early attempts so you can avoid telltale signs that you're just pushing the button. Study good photo work in publications you'd like to reach and get yours up to that level. I still work on learning more, and I've been taking photos for at least 30 years and even recently published the Complete Idiot's Guide to Canon EOS Digital Cameras. If I can stand to learn more, you probably can as well.


• Talk to the right people. You wouldn't approach an advertising sales manager with an article idea. Know who looks at photo pitches. Generally it will be a photo editor separate from the editorial department. They don't like having their turf marked up by others, so be considerate and respectful of their positions and don't assume that your editor will assign you photo work.


• You can't always be everything. Yes, it's nice to make more money, but many publications have a prejudice against jacks-of-all-trades. I can remember a magazine where I had contributed for a number of years where the photo people wouldn't even entertain looking at my work because they found that, generally speaking, writers weren't good photographers. (That goes back to the first point.) Realize that some won't want to open the photo door to you.


• Get an introduction. Even though there are separate territories, if you've worked with an editor for a while, he or she might be willing to give you an introduction to the photo people. I've gotten such introductions at most of the magazines for which I've done some shooting.


• Find your strengths. Just as there are certain types of articles and topics at which you excel, you will have photo strengths and weaknesses. Until you can bolster the weaknesses, sell on the strengths, whether formal portraits, candid work, a knowledge of particular conditions, or certain types of formats and results that you can provide.


• Invest in your business. Unlike writing, photography is equipment heavy. Make sure that what you have can provide the quality results that photo departments need. For example, don't try to get away with a point-and-shoot digital that won't give you the image size, resolution, and file format that the editor is likely to want.


• Learn the lingo. If anything in the previous point was confusing, then it's time to learn more about the language of photography - not just how to do it, but how to communicate about it. Know as much about how to communicate with photo departments about their needs as you know about communicating with editors. Also learn the organizational structure of the typical photo department and the usual business practices in the field.


• Watch the rights. Ultimately there is money to be made in reusing photographs. Don't let some publication snow you into thinking that selling all rights is normal. Most photographers are far more sophisticated about rights issues than writers, so learn from them.

It's certainly work to get there, but photography can add significant revenue to your assignments and satisfaction to your story telling.