Hi Carmen,

I’m happy to hear you’re thinking about publishing e-books, and I wish you the best with your first one! 🙂

Thanks so much!
Carmen

Thank Jenn for your comprehensive response!

Marketing that brings in some direct side income is my favorite kind. 🙂

Information sells, and who better to sell it than freelancers, as an added income stream?

I’m a big fan of free reports, as well as of short ebooks you sell. They give you credibility, and you can use them as a writing sample. And of course, they bring in some cash.

I’m glad to hear it! 🙂 And if you put out any new e-books this year, I can’t wait to check them out. 🙂

Thanks for this, Jenn. Just the inspiration I needed. Also your comment about treating your own projects as important is so true. Failure to do so means you always neglect them. That’s something I’m addressing this year.

Giving them away for free from the start would certainly work. I went the premium route in the beginning because there were literally no other guides like that written about that exact topic, and directed at my target clients. Basically, people would ask me the same questions all the damn time when we were discussing potential projects, and I realized I’d make more by putting the information out there in e-book form. If you’re working in a more saturated niche or industry, free might be the best way to get attention. But I’d only do that with a clear revenue path in place.

Series in general are always a good idea because you increase your opportunity for first contact when you can target different buyer problems. I have several series of short e-books coming out (three different sites, four different series). I’d originally planned longer e-books, which is why it was taking me so long to get through them all. So now I’m breaking them down into shorter (and cheaper) guides on individual topics.

At that point I was a member of the main forum for maybe 8 months or so (at most), and I had joined the others from a few months before the launch to around the time of the launch. But most of my energy went into the first one. You can’t just jump in and expect make immediate sales. So it’s best to use your existing online presence whenever possible (for many writers that might be social networks rather than forums, but forums are still very popular — and less saturated — for this particular target group). And the best way to do it is to offer tips and answer questions — be generous in sharing what you know. People see that you know what you’re talking about, they like that you’re willing to take time to help them when you can, they grow to trust you, and that makes them much more likely to buy from you.

Balance is always tough, but personally I thrive in a crazy environment with a lot going on. I would be bored to tears on a daily basis if I didn’t have a good mix. Here are a few tips:

– Have a regular schedule. You don’t always have to stick to it perfectly, but if someone wants something and it’s outside of those normal business hours, it’s much easier to say “no.” It also helps set client expectations and helps you with scheduling other things.

– Schedule time off just like you’d schedule work. My official work day ends at noon because I get up at an obscene hour. Best decision ever (other than taking all Fridays off). Sometimes I put in extra hours — if there’s nothing else going on, I’m otherwise bored, I’m really into a project and don’t want to stop, or it’s just friggin’ cold outside and I have no interest in going out (like now, where we’re pretty much covered in ice). That schedule means I can schedule in personal things each afternoon — gardening, errands, having family over to swim in the summer, or taking a three-day weekend away when I want to. Build the flexibility into your routine, and it’s much easier to protect all that “life” stuff. 🙂

– Treat your own writing projects as you would treat client projects. And the reverse of that — treat clients’ projects as well as you’d treat your own (I have a post on that very topic scheduled for the 27th if you want to know more about it). If you treat your own projects like they’re less important, they’ll become less important. And that means they’re easier to neglect. Set income goals overall for your business. And then come up with a plan that combines client work and your own projects to reach that goal. When there’s a financial target attached, it’s easier to justify time on things that don’t pay you immediately. You can focus more on the fact that there’s often a bigger payout once you’ve invested a bit of time and effort. 🙂

How much time did you spend in the forums? How did you balance your personal writing projects with client projects? Life? 🙂 I want 2015 to be one an Awesome year. However, I need to examine where I spend my time.