Life of A Writer

Back when I first signed up for oDesk I didn't know if they'd really help me gain new clients, but today I'm happy to report that thanks to oDesk I've been able to increase my clients. Not only have I gained new clients through oDesk, but I've gained friendly clients who have been great to work for. The clients that oDesk has blessed me with have been very helpful and provide great instructions, and this, my fellow writer friends, is something we all want with clients.

I'm sure you're wondering how you, too, can increase your clients, and since I enjoy helping others, I'm going to share a few tips with you. These are the things I do to increase clients with oDesk. Remember, oDesk guarantees payment on all hourly jobs!

Seven Simple Ways to Increase Clients With oDesk

1. Check writing job listings daily. If you don't want to visit the oDesk site on a daily basis, you can subscribe to be notified of new listings via e-mail, or use the search feature on your left to search for the jobs you want, and then subscribe to the RSS feeds for each search you perform.

2. Apply for jobs that only pay by the hour. This guarantees that you'll be paid for your time and work.

3. Create and save a pre-written cover letter on your hard or flash drive. Then when you run across a writing job you want to apply for, edit your pre-written cover letter to match the writing job your applying for, and then follow oDesk's steps to submit that cover letter to the potential client.

4. Use your best clips on your oDesk profile,and update every so often with more recent clips.

5. Post your resume on your oDesk profile, along with any client testimonials.

6. Follow up with potential clients who requested an interview but never got back to you.

7. Take the free oDesk skills tests, and when you score high, make the results public so potential clients can see you really do have the experience you say you have.

Disadvantages

While oDesk has been making improvements, there are still a few things I believe they could improve. For one, if you're writing in Microsoft Word or researching (reading through information), the software that tracks providers' hours doesn't always log the time as "online." Instead, it logs it as "offline," and pay for "offline" time is not guaranteed. I guess it logs it as "offline" time because it considers you idle since you're just reading and not typing. That said, if oDesk could improve this, it would be great!

Finally, there's no guaranteed payment for fixed-price jobs. Personally, I don't understand how oDesk can guarantee their providers payment on hourly jobs and not fixed-price jobs. Although I'm already grateful to oDesk, they would earn my respect more if they'd change this policy.

Rest assured that this won't be my last post about my success with oDesk, because I plan to continue sharing my oDesk experience with you. To stay up-to-date with my oDesk experience, subscribe to my full RSS feeds or opt-in to receive free updates via e-mail.

Do you use oDesk to increase clients? Feel free to share your oDesk experience in the comments area.

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Following are a few giveaway ideas related to public speaking topics. I know there are numerous topics that you may discuss at your upcoming public speaking events, so all of the following topics may not be in your plans, but when they are, here's a few giveaway ideas related to the topic.

Public Speaking Topic: Marketing Writing Services

Some tips you may share when talking about marketing writing services are to create a portfolio to keep track of clips and show to potential clients. That said, a binder and tab dividers are great to use for creating a portfolio and keeping clips organized, so this would make a great giveaway when you talk about marketing writing services.

If you'll be speaking to a small group and can afford it, another excellent giveaway idea related to your public speaking topic on marketing writing services could be a free one-year subscription to the online edition of Writer's Market.

Public Speaking Topic: Writing Fiction or Non-fiction

Whether you plan to discuss how to write fiction or non-fiction or share a few writing tips, there are at least three giveaway ideas that relate to this topic and would make wonderful gifts:

1. Pens with your logo and website imprinted on them.
2. Most all writers love to jot down story, character and article ideas. That said, your audience would appreciate a small journal that they could carry with them.
3. Handouts of novel and character outlines.

Public Speaking Topic: Beauty

Are you a beauty writer or author who enjoys sharing beauty tips and information to promote your beauty expertise and/or beauty-related book(s)? Well then, next time you're invited to give a presentation about beauty why not consider the following giveaway ideas:

1. bath oils;
2. aromatherapy candles;
3. a gift basket filled with beauty products such as creams, makeup, lotions and etc.;
4. or any beauty products you plan to mention in your presentation.

Giveaway Ideas for Any Public Speaking Topic

Your books, any book you've had published that relates to the topic you'll be discussing, desk calendars, and/or coffee mugs with your logo and website imprinted on them.

Have you spoke on a topic I didn't mention and were able to brainstorm a few giveaway ideas that fit well with your public speaking topic? Then I encourage you to share your topic(s) and giveaway idea(s) by leaving a comment.

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