I fill out too many surveys, but I like to help. Usually they ask opinions on a Web site, product, application, service and so on. I noticed an ugly pattern in that many don’t have a “Back” link. Sometimes surveys don’t like it when you use the Back button on the browser because of data … Read more
Freelance Folder lists things to consider when you’re freelancing on the side and trying to decide whether to go full-time. I started freelancing in 2000 at the height of the dot com boom. Initially, I aimed to work in Web design, but it didn’t take long to discover I had no eye or talent for … Read more
I referenced Yuwanda Black’s article in a past blog entry in which she shares her experience as a freelance writer, so I was honored when I saw an e-mail from her in my inbox. Sometimes when I link to others, they drop me a note thanking me — so I wasn’t completely surprised. However, she … Read more
Some sites use flags to represent a language thinking visitors will click the flag that represents their language to view the site in that language. Well, do you use Mexico’s flag or Spain’s flag to represent Spanish? I don’t recall seeing a site using both flags. What about English? Some sites use the British flag … Read more
We Americans like to do things different. Who knows why. Most countries have adopted the metric system and list the date, month and year when formatting a date as in 24 July 2007. This causes confusion especially in the first two weeks of a month. Since my book, Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook, targeted the UK audience, … Read more
Tom Johnson offers a great writing tip especially for tech writers and others who write instructions. This method also works well with Web content and forms. Watching people use a Web site, a product, a service — anything is a superb way to get insight on how others use the product or service. Those involved … Read more
Freelance Folder affirms my belief that freelancers need to work hard to earn repeat business. Repeat business is cheaper than marketing to new clients. I’ve been lucky that over 90% of my business has come from repeat business. One way I do this is to have friendly conversations with them by e-mail. I don’t like … Read more
Books on writing often reiterate the same advice we learn over time, the reader sometimes lucks out in using a tidbit or two. Realistically, no one has time to study the advice and put it to practice. Thus, it’s not a bad thing for a book on writing to cover the things we’ve read before. … Read more
A writer (or any other freelance career works here, too) who lands one or two big clients that keep the writer busy full-time must keep marketing. I learned this valuable lesson very early in my writing career. My first paid writing assignments came in 2000, at the height of the dot com boom. As things … Read more
A person can read plenty of books on how to improve your writing skills, but how do you retain all that information? You can’t … unless you have a photographic memory. Realistically, you can pick up a few tips and make those a habit. Then you pick up a few more in the next book… … Read more