My Productivity Killers--And How to Deal

Working for yourself, you're directly accountable to yourself for how much you produce and how much you make. The more I can work in a day, the more successful I'll be. if I don't get everything done in a day and leave time for marketing and other business tasks, I don't give myself enough opportunity for success during the day.

Sometimes my day goes smoothly--and I get everything done that I want done. Other times, I get stuck on a single project I thought would take an hour--and it winds up taking all day. Sometimes this has more to do with my focus than the difficulty of the work. Here are a few things that never fail to distract me--and how I deal with them.

The Internet. The Internet is a necessary evil. I need it to communicate with clients and market, but I also can get drawn into a great time-wasting vortex. Between blogging, my forays into social networking, checking email incessantly, and playing around on Facebook stalking people I haven't seen since high school (come on, you know you do that too) when I should be working, sometimes I can lose hours to the Internet without realizing I'm doing it. Sometimes I need Internet access for certain projects, but with projects that don't need online research, I sometimes head out to a cafe that doesn't have free Internet--just so I can stay focused.

The phone. My friends and family know I work from home--and they know they can reach me in the afternoons. I love spending time catching up with the people I care about--but not when I'm in the middle of a project. Of course, the diplomacy is tricky--they know I make my own schedule, so I always worry they assume I could talk if I wanted--so I tend to stay on longer than I should, just to be nice. Being nice isn't always the best for your business, though....

The work! Sometimes there's just so much to do that I can't focus on a single thing. I start one project and then worry that I'll never get time to finish the next one. So I start switching from project to project, never really focusing or finishing. To combat this, I make a lot of lists--and get a kind of perverse joy from crossing things off them.

A late start. The worst productivity-killer for me is getting up late. Nobody's demanding I show up to work by a certain time in the morning. Still, most of the time I try to get up early enough so that I have a whole day to get things done. Sometimes life doesn't work out that way, though--and just going to bed an hour later than usual can cause me to wake up later and lose considerable work time.

As freelancers, we're responsible for our own success--and part of that, for me, is making sure I have enough time to do everything that needs doing. And there are still more things I want to do than I have time for.

What are your productivity killers--and how do you deal with them?

On the Value of Good Writing

Talking to a middleman client I work with sometimes, he told me why he sometimes has difficulty selling writing services along with his graphic design: "the client usually has a volunteer just write something quick," he said, "and it winds up sounding awful."

It astounds me that in a world of people who are business-savvy, they have no idea of the value of good copywriting. It creates problems for writers who work with smaller, less-experienced businesses run by people who think anyone can write as well as anyone else.

But here's the thing: writing is sales.

Paying top dollar for slick-looking brochures and then letting volunteers write the copy is like paying thousands for a gorgeous trade show booth and thousands more for a spot at the most well-attended, well-known trade show in your industry, where you'll have access to all the major players--and then staffing your booth with volunteers with no sales experience.

Yes, you've got the booth to catch the eye. Yes, You've got the right positioning. But if your salespeople can't drive the message home, you won't recoup your investment.

The same applies with articles. I was in discussion the other day with someone I thought was a serious SEO content client. Turns out they were baffled as to why I charge what I do when other writers charge as low as $5 per article.

My answer: Would you want to trust your online reputation to someone who charges $5 per page?

There are internet marketing gurus who claim that online sales depends entirely on writing--that graphics and even usability come second. I'm not unwilling to believe them. What good is a beautiful website for your online catalogue if people like looking but can't be convinced to buy? What good is usability if people can find your sales page easily, but don't want to open their wallets? And what's the point of SEO if the world beats a path to your door, only to find you're not offering what they want?

Writing is persuasion. That kind of writing takes work--it takes client interviews, market analysis and marketing expertise, not to mention the ability to express why your product is better than the competition's. And you can't buy good persuasion on pennies per word.

What's Your Pitch?

Back at the end of June, I attended a 15-second pitch workshop with marketing expert Laura Allen. I've been thinking since then about my dislike of networking and how to overcome it. It doesn't make any sense, because I love talking about my business--but put it in a networking context, and I freak out.

The thing is, I'm not shy. In my other life, I'm an actress. I have no problem getting up on stage in front of hundreds of people; I rarely get stage fright and when I do, it has more to do with feeling unprepared than worry over being seen by so many people. So maybe that's at the root of my hatred of networking: a feeling of being unprepared. This is a novel concept, at least for me.

The cool thing about acting is it's all scripted out. I'm not stuck up on stage, with all eyes on me, having to think up what to say next to move the story along. I know what to say. All I have to do is deliver the words believably. Maybe that's how I feel when networking--like I'm stuck having to come up with compelling ways to "sell" myself on the spot. That's why I liked this 15-second pitch idea.

So what is the 15 Second Pitch? It's a way to sell yourself quickly and naturally in a way that draws people's interest and doesn't freak you out. It's a very short speech that packs in a lot of info about who you are and why you stand out--you even get room for a call to action. On the website there's a wizard that walks you through it. Here's my pitch-development process:

Step 1: Who you are.. The first step asks who you are, what you do and what you specialize in. That's easy: I'm a freelance writer specializing in web copy.

Step 2: What you do. The next question is a big blank box where you write what it is you do, exactly. Hm. It's pretty sad that I'm freezing up on this step. It probably shouldn't be longer than a sentence, so I'll think short and concise: "I write website pages that sell AND rank high in search engines."

Step 3: Why you're the best. THIS is the most important step, I think. Why am I the best at what I do? I blank a bit at this step too until I remember my secret weapon: client testimonials. Looking over those, I notice a trend: my work basically does the bulk of the sales work so the client can close faster.

Step 4: Your call to action. Another easy step: just hand them your business card and ask them to check out your samples online. Right? And then you move on.

So after that, here's my 15 second pitch:

My name is Jennifer and I'm a freelance writer specializing in website copywriting. I write web pages that appeal to search engines and people. My work closes the sale so the client doesn't have to. Here's my business card; feel free to check out my samples online.

Granted it's not perfect; I should probably read this aloud and tweak it, as well as seeing if I could come up with a better USP. But it's a beginning!

So what's your pitch?

July 4th Hiatus

My July plans caught up with me...and I'll be back to a regular posting schedule after the weekend of the 4th. Hope you've all got some fun plans for the holiday--and aren't working too hard!

The Anti-Networker's Guide to Networking

I'm probably not the only person in the world who isn't crazy about networking. Seriously...put me in a networking event, and chances are I'll be the one camped out by the chips and dip, conspicuously not talking to people. Don't get me wrong; I love to socialize, meet new people and talk about my work. But what makes me uncomfortable is socializing with an agenda. Still, we all have to do it if we want to get to the next level. Here are a few tricks I've learned that have helped me get out there and talk to people.

Remember: you're not being smarmy. You're talking about your passion. This is the biggest thing I have to remind myself every time I'm at a networking event: I'm not selling. Selling has a bad reputation among creative types, I believe; when I sell in writing, I'm simply telling readers why whatever I'm selling is worthwhile. But in person, I feel fake when I try to sell myself.

But I love to talk about what I do. In a no-pressure social situation, I will talk all night about my job to anyone who's interested. I love explaining how web copywriting works and how I can help clients succeed, and I've landed new clients this way. In a networking event, I have to repeat to myself that I'm not selling and there's no ulterior motive here; there's just a room full of people who are interested in what I do and want to hear all about it.

Have a pitch ready. It really helps to know how to describe yourself. I just attended a 15 Second Pitch workshop with Laura Allen, who discussed how a concise pitch can land you huge opportunities in seconds. To break it down to its component parts, a good pitch contains:

1. An introduction: who you are and the name of your company;

2. What you do;

3. Why you're the best at it (your USP);

4. A call to action.

Simple, right? We write this kind of thing every day in various promotional materials. Why not create one for yourself?

Be prepared. I always forget business cards. I've got a huge new box of them sitting on my desk and they've been there for months. I never remember to bring them anywhere with me, and I'm always running into people who ask for my card. It's gotten so bad I think I'm doing it on purpose. Maybe it's because subconsciously I think the design isn't that great or the tagline I wrote on the cards is a bit cheesy. But they're not doing a good job selling me in the box.

Networking can be intimidating--especially for writers, who often prefer to work alone. But if you're willing to do it, you could land some new business--so it's worth getting good at it.

Working Vacation 101

In the past few months, I've gotten really lucky: I've gotten the opportunity to go on three really random, really spontaneous trips. Friends and family have called me last-minute with an opportunity to chill on the beach or in a swanky hotel for free or very cheap, and each time, i've gone. I didn't need to get permission from my boss, negotiate use of sick days, or trade off vacation time. I just went.

That's the beauty of what we do, right? We can pick up and leave whenever we want. However, real life is often not that simple. if I've got an ongoing project that's on a delivery schedule, a lot of the time I can't afford to just drop off the face of the earth for a week--I have to keep working and keep in touch with my clients throughout most of the vacation. If this was planned in advance, the way most regular employees plan their travels, I could schedule this out-of-touch time and make sure future projects won't interfere with it--but last minute, I have to be more flexible. Here are a few tips i've found effective for taking your work on vacation.

Know your party's schedule. In the recent few months I've been out of town for a week or so with my sister, my brother and a group of friends. All times, I've told the party beforehand that I need to work during this vacation. Luckily, all the groups so far have had the same schedule: they've gotten up around ten, hung around for a leisurely breakfast, and not been ready to head out and do active things until noon--sometimes later. This has worked to my advantage, because I've been able to get up at eight in the morning and finish a good portion of my work while most of my fellow travelers have been asleep.

When you're on a working vacation, you'll have to be able to negotiate work time. You probably won't be able to spend all day out and about. If your friends want to hang out on the beach, negotiate a chill by the pool instead--bring your laptop and sit as far away from the pool as possible to prevent splash issues. If you're traveling with a bunch of early risers, you may need to do your work at night. But have an idea before you go how much time you can expect to spend at work every day--I usually count on a half day to a few hours--so you can have a realistic idea of how much you can get accomplished.

Make sure your regulars know. In the past, I haven't told my regulars when I've been out because it hasn't affected my delivery schedule. But now I'm starting to think I should--just so they know I may be a little slower in responding to emails than usual. Generally I'd tell them that I'll be on a working vacation, will respond to emails but possibly a bit slower than usual, and to expect an away message when they email me.

Set up email away messages. I set up an email away message as well--just to give myself less to do. It's more for new prospects than regulars. When a new prospect gets in touch, they often want a price quote or detailed response to a question about a project--and I can get a bit stressed out responding to those requests and trying to jam a full-day's work into a few hours. I leave those requests for when I return, and send automatic messages so they know why I'm not responding right away.

Get as much done beforehand as possible. This is so important. My blog posting drops off when I go away, mainly because I think I can handle blogging and working in the limited time I have to do both--and it turns out I can't. Pull a few long days, work on a few weekends to prepare for your trip--and sometimes this is possible and sometimes it's not--and you'll do much better on your vacation. I definitely recommend having a few emergency posts lined up and turning off comment moderation.

Have a backup plan. Or three. I can't count how many times someone's assured me there will be wireless Internet at so-and-so's vacation cottage--and there isn't. Or there is, but for some reason it doesn't work on your computer and nobody can figure out why. Know where all the wireless Internet cafes are within walking distance of where you're staying. have the phone number of a local tech support company. Invite your friend's brother who has a networking degree. Plan to bring a thumb drive or external hard drive to back up your work and transfer to the house computer, which IS connected to the Internet. Plan for things to go wrong.

It takes some forethought and experience to do the working vacation right. In the best situations, everything goes smoothly and your work doesn't need to slow down. Remember: impromptu vacations are part of the reason our job rocks--so enjoy it!

In Nantucket!

Lately I've had a lot of free vacations come my way. This week it's a free guest house in Nantucket for the weekend, courtesy of my brother's girlfriend's family. I'll be working on the porch with a beautiful ocean view over the next day or so, and will be back Wednesday!