Happy 1 Month Anniversary to the WriterGal Blog!

I just realized that my blog has been up for exactly 1 month TODAY! I’ve had some great feedback and traffic so far, and here are some traffic stats from August to share:

• 966 Page Views
• 450 Absolute Unique Visitors
• 42% of you use FireFox (Yeah for Firefox)
• You are visiting from: Canada, USA, Belgium, United Kingdom, Australia, India, France, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, Philippines, Mexico,  Japan, Malaysia, Switzerland, Pakistan, Algeria, and Singapore.
• Most of you found me through a Google Search (followed by linking here directly)
• My 2 posts about the Canada Line Skytrain were the most popular this month

I’m very happy with how this first month has been. I hope the coming months will be just as exciting for me as a writer, and for all my readers, friends, and family.

Sincerely,

WriterGal (aka Ashley Mikulik)

Being Available 24-7: Good or Bad for Business?

I have found a way to be productive AND available almost 24-7 for my clients

I’ve been reading many sources that say you shouldn’t keep your email open all day. They suggest having your email program turned off, except during dedicated blocks of time where you can focus entirely on emails.

I see both sides of the argument, but I’m going explain why having my email open all day, has benefited me and my clients.

Email Open During “Select” Times

Many people have suggested that you can be more productive if you don’t have your email open all day. I understand this helps you to dedicate and focus on your tasks-at-hand. In this respect I see the value in their suggestion.

However, as a small business owner, I feel it would actually be bad for my business.

Email Open ALL day

Yes, I have my email open ALL day. I also get emails pushed to my blackberry when I’m out or in the kitchen. The only times I am ‘not’ available is when I’m sleeping or at a family event (like dinner or a family outing). I think my clients appreciate that when they email me, I usually respond within a few minutes of receiving their email.

I have one client who emails their entire bank of freelancers when they need help with a project…the first to respond get’s it. For clients like these, I am able to respond, within seconds or minutes, resulting in me getting the project.

Of course I do let some emails slide, without an immediate response. But ones that have a question or query, I endeavor to respond right away, especially when it’s related to an approaching deadline.

Basically, I think that my clients appreciate the fact that I can respond right away to their queries. It has also resulted in being awarded contracts that are on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Why 24-7 works for me…

While it may mean temporary unproductive-ness during certain hours of the day, I  compensate with my work schedule. I am most productive in the afternoon and late evenings (when less emails come in) and I also often work on weekends when even less emails come in.

Also, first impressions with new clients are important. As a freelancer, I always need to be “selling” myself and looking for work. I am able to quickly respond to new client queries, and get right back to my existing work. Basically, I found a way to be productive and always (well, almost always) available.

PS: I am not a work-a-holic, so please don’t send me links to therapy sites. If you are a freelancer or are self-employed you know what I mean. I still have lots of time for my hobbies (including baking/cooking, photography, videography,and travel).

Establishing your Online Presence: Web vs Print

Vancouver Blogger, WriterGal, Website Planning Tips

The content you have written for print brochures and collateral may not be suited for the web. It needs to be massaged so it’s appropriate for online readers.

For instance, online audiences want to get their information quickly and concisely. In today’s online world of fast communication, readers won’t spend as much time reading a webpage as they would a printed brochure. This means that whatever existing content you have, will need to be shortened or broken up so it fits the web environment.

This doesn’t mean that content will be sacrificed. It just means that you’ll need to work with your web design team to brainstorm how to best present your content online.

The Bottom Line

Weigh what you want in a website with what you can afford then work with your website design team to find a middle ground. If you build a good relationship with your design team, they can help with your future projects or website updates.

Also, if you hire this same team to maintain your site, you’ll probably save money. Bringing a new person on board could prove costly as they will not be familiar with how the site was designed and will take more time to figure it out, billing you for every minute.

If you have any other questions about making your own website, talk to your designer, who will be more than happy to discuss your options with you.

Establishing your Web Presence: Website Budgeting

Vancouver Blogger, WriterGal, Website Planning Tips

Websites can be an expensive venture, but there are ways to cut down the costs:

1. Hire freelancer or small design firm. They’ll probably have less overhead costs. They may also only work on 1 or 2 projects at a time, so they’ll be able to focus on your project more than a larger firm with multiple projects would.
2. Ask the designer to create an interface for you to edit certain areas of the site yourself, without having to go back to the designer for every update your site needs. While this may have a higher initial cost, you will have control over future content changes.
3. Get the whole package from one place. Find a company who can help you with not just the design and programming of your site, but also the content. Find a team that includes a content manager or writer to help you craft your content for the online world. If they can help you market your website, even better!

Website costs vary depending on what you want. The larger the site, or the more you want special programming or interactive content, the more expensive it can get.

Basic website design packages begin around $100-300 for a very simple 1-page design. The more pages and content you add, the higher the price goes. A website with about 5 pages could cost around $1000-2000.

Tomorrow we will wrap up this series with a comparison of your print content and your web content…

Establishing your Web Presence: Starting your Website

Vancouver Blogger, WriterGal, Website Planning Tips

We rely on the internet for so much. We check our email, read the news, research companies and organizations, order food, look for apartments, and just simply browse. Companies that don’t tap into this online marketplace may be missing out on a huge market.

Every company should have website. Whether it’s just one page with some basic information and contact details, or a multi-page site with more detail about your business, a website will you help reach an audience of over 1 billion people from all over the world. This audience has enormous buying power and you can be closer to them with your online presence.

Starting your Website

Once you’ve made the decision to launch your own website, the fun begins. Before you hire a team, think about what you want for your site (size, content, colour schemes…etc).

With a rough idea of what you want, start talking to web design teams. If you find a good team they will probably ask you questions like:

• What goal do you want to achieve with your website?
• How many pages do you need?
• How much content do you already have written and how much needs to be created from scratch?
• Do you already have a domain name and web hosting provider?
• What is your budget for launching and maintaining the site?

Have answers to these questions ready when you first meet your team, and you’ll be well on your way!

Tomorrow I will share a few website budgeting tips…

Can We Help Each Other Accomplish Goals?

I woke up with a brilliant idea. We all have business goals…why not help each other achieve those goals. We all have something to share, and perhaps you could help with my goals, and I could help with yours?

Since 2009 is half over (can you believe it?), I am going to focus on two goals for the remainder of the year:

My 2009 Business Goals (Aug-Dec)

Goal #1- Find more on-going clients: I already have a few clients who regularly outsource work to me, but I am looking to expand my client base with more regular clients.

How I can help you: You can outsource parts of your project to me and you pay me a portion of what your client would be paying you (so essentially you get paid, for doing nothing). Or, I can help you with your nice-to-do list and so you can focus on more important business building tasks

How you can help me: If you have an overflow of work (whether it be writing/editing, online marketing, or even a bit of administrative work), let me know about it and perhaps you can outsource it to me?

Goal #2-Build up the WriterGal Blog: I just launched this blog last week, so my second goal it to expand the blog and increase my readership every month. I want to post informative articles at least 2-3 times per week.

How I can help you: There are so many blogs out there. Do I know about your blog? If you have a blog that might interest me, I’d love to know so I can read your posts and participate in discussions. Perhaps we could work out a link exchange to benefits both our blogs?

How you can help me: Forward my blog to your friends, link to my blog on your site, and comment on my posts. I try to post things that others would find interesting (not just a daily diary of my activities). Perhaps you have a particular topic you want me to write about (I’m always open to topic suggestions). Be a part of my new online community.

Those are my two main goals for the last 5 months of 2009. What are your business goals? Are they goals that I can help you with? Maybe you can help me reach my goals at the same time? Comment below or email me your goals and lets work on them together!