Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my post. I most definitely took the exercise seriously. I want to keep working from home and I have to justify that it’s a plan that can and is working (no pun intended).

Debs last blog post..Mid year review, pt 1

I’ve taken some bigs steps in this direction lately and it has really started to pay off. Simply following through with a good plan has been paramount to my success.

The fact that my Why Subscribe? page is highlighted on every page footer helps too.

Barbara

Barbara Lings last blog post..21 Days to a more profitable blog – Day 4! Craft your Why Subscribe? Page and Network

You already covered the paramount thing for me. LOVE what you do. I enjoy working from home, not only because it means more time with my kiddos, but I truly LOVE the work too. Designing websites, consulting with small business owners to increase their visibility and set and attain goals is SO MUCH fun.

Second, (again just a reiteration) is definitely building relationships. Follow up, email, call, even if just to say hello. Old fashioned and simple, but so important.

Last, ASK FOR BUSINESS. You would not believe how many sales people don’t actually ask for the sale. It amazes me. Don’t be timid. Go for it! Once you’ve educated them on who you are and what you have to offer…say “let’s get started on this”! What’s the worst that can happen? Hopefully you are selling a product that you believe in and therefore you should feel good about helping people take advantage of whatever you’re selling.

Oh, and that book that was previously mentioned “Get Clients Now” is a GREAT read.

@Cory – Great suggestions. Thanks for getting involved!

A few things that have helped that many people neglect are:

(A) Educating Yourself – read, read, and read some more. Don’t pretend that you know it all. Just make sure that you find a trusted source of information. Personally, Problogger.net and Johnchow.com(less so these days) have been incredibly helpful in my journey towards becoming a successful blogger.

(B) Relationships – Building relationships in some form, or better yet, many forms is key. The more people you know and connect with, the more leverage you’ll have. Very few people are successful on the internet without any outside help.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but one that I’ve seen other struggle with.

Cory from Dental Heroess last blog post..Water Picks 101: The Essentials

6) Confidence! Not being afraid to promote yourself! LOL, like with long comments above Seriously though – it’s so difficult for most freelancers to think of heavy self-promotion (I’m personally a complete introvert). But changing your mindset makes such a big difference. I think of myself 5 years ago… heck, even 1 year ago. I’ve changed my mindset dramatically – I have more confidence in myself and my talent. I think that comes through and therefore potential customers have more confidence in your abilities as well.

Ok, and NOW I’m done commenting, LOL

Selene M. Bowlbys last blog post..Get Clients Now! The First 28 Days, Week 1

I’ve made several big changes over the last year that have made me more money. In order of what I did…

1) Starting a blog! I started my blog in August 2007 and that has opened a whole new world of possibilities. Along with the blog, I’ve been also READING (and commenting) on many blogs – I have learned So Much about running a small business, marketing and blogging since I became involved (by writing my own and reading other blogs)

2) Networking – Specifically I started reading a marketing book (Get Clients Now by CJ Hayden) – this book has so many ideas for marketing! I’m a web designer, not a sales person, lol, so I needed lots of help here!

3) Hiring a marketing consultant (Naomi of Itty Biz – http://www.ittybiz.com) I can’t even begin to tell you how motivating my consultations with Naomi have been! And she gave me a suggestion that has likely made me the most amount of money… (see #4 below, LOL)

4) Raising my rates! I’ve read many posts recently (here on Sparkplugging as well as several other blogs) about being sure to charge what you are worth, and not under-value yourself, your time and your work. I raised my rates 25% (It had been a LONG time since I had updated my rates). Initially I was afraid I would loose out on potential clients if my rates were too high. But you know what – it’s gotten me more work, and better quality work! People probably associate higher rates with better quality. And assuming you do actually provide good quality, they are happy to pay for such work. The higher rates have weeded out some prospects who would never follow through on inquires – I find that the people who do inquire are more serious about their web sites. And of course, with higher rates, you end up doing less work for the same amount of money (LOL, or the same amount of work for more money). Win-win in my book!

5) Ok, as a web designer, I can’t NOT say this, LOL – re-designing my web site! This is actually probably the biggest thing. I’ve received many more compliments on my current site than on any of my previous versions. Good first impression and all that – at the very least, it helps get your foot in the door as far as potential new clients are concerned.

And I apologize that this comment was so long! [blushing] I’m hoping for other great suggestions, though, so I wanted to share as much as I could, too!