Monthly Archives: August 2023

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8 Digital Productivity Tools

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Freelancer friend, if you’re doing things right, you’re working in the zone and maintaining a steady flow, doing things like managing your client work, generating content for inbound marketing campaigns that fill your sales pipeline and invoicing clients so you’ll get paid, for example. There’s a lot on your plate and making good use of time is a must.

Maximizing productivity is the way to get through your to-do list. Recognizing where you can create operational efficiencies is integral to the process. How wonderful that there are numerous, easy to use online tools that can be of service. You are certain to find that a modest investment in digital productivity tools can pay big dividends, allowing you to save time, show clients that you’re organized and in control of project details and reduce your stress level. Here are eight online tools that can help you get more good things done and give you more time to relax as well.

1. Project management—ProProfs Project $19.99/month (solopreneur)

The right project management software can replace several of the tools you’re using now, to monitor and evaluate the progress of your project, collaborate with clients, share files and feedback, create reports and more. Here’s an online tool that will simplify planning and scheduling of your projects, allow you to quickly view your project, delegate tasks and schedule deadlines all in one dashboard. The platform is a straightforward and user-friendly software solution designed for small to medium-sized businesses across different industries. Keep clients in the loop and let them see that the project is moving forward and you are on top of things.

https://www.proprofsproject.com/

2. Time tracking and invoicing—My Hours free; or $6/user/month

Time tracking software helps employers and workers keep track of time spent on various tasks, projects and other deliverables. You can use this tool to stay organized, whether you’re working solo for a client or when you must track both your own hours and those of subcontractors you’ve brought in to help you.

  • Time tracking: You efficiently keep track of how your employees/ sub-contractors spend their time while on the job.
  • Timesheets: Timesheets calculate the work your employees/ subcontractors perform in terms of billable hours and make client billing and invoicing faster and easier.
  • Reporting: Most time tracking software creates reports on active employee/ subcontractor hours, tasks they complete and more.
  • Integrations: Seamless integrations with project management and communication tools such as Salesforce, Asana and Slack, tools your client probably uses.
  • Mobile app: With a mobile app, you (and your employees or subcontractors) can efficiently manage reporting and tallying billable hours from anywhere.

https://myhours.com/billing-invoicing

3. Digital wallets—Apple Pay 1.5 % fee applied to each transfer of funds to debit card or bank account when using Instant Transfer.

Digital wallets are apps that enable you to store and use credit cards, debit cards, passes, tickets, ID cards, gift cards, reservations, boarding passes, coupons, membership cards and whatever else that you need to store safely and access easily. So many transactions are now online, I think you’ll agree that it’s time to properly organize and safeguard your important records and receipts? Digital wallets are more secure and convenient than traditional physical wallets and can be used to make payments or transfer money directly from your smartphone.

https://www.apple.com/apple-pay/

4. Writing—Hemingway Editor free or $19.99 one-time payment

Are you producing relevant content that showcases you as a thought leader and expert in your field? Of course you are and that means you do a lot of writing. Hemingway Editor will do more than Microsoft Word grammar and spell check to correctly identify spelling and grammatical errors in your text. The software also illustrates which of your sentences are too clumsy and wordy and suggests alternative words and phrases that are simple, eloquent and make you sound like a silver tongued genius (which is the whole idea!).

You can type directly into Hemingway Editor or, if you don’t want to be bothered with its recommendations while you write, paste your draft text into the tool for edits when you’ve finished writing.

https://hemingwayapp.com/

5. Social Media Management—-Meet Edgar $29.99/ month

A social media management platform that allows you to create a library of posts that can be scheduled to appear on the accounts you choose and at a day/time you specify. In other words, if you’re creating content today that will be ideal for a campaign or occasion that will take place six weeks from now, you won’t have to remember to dig into the file (and hope you can find it), you just save and schedule and know your great content will show up where and when you like. You’ll also receive data that lets you analyze how your content performs on the various platforms you use.

https://meetedgar.com/

6. Email Management—-SaneBox $7/month

This handy tool works with every email platform and, by using Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, figures out which of your emails is important and which are not so urgent. Low priority emails are placed in a “SaneLater” folder, while important emails remain in your inbox to receive your immediate attention. Better still, you can learn which emails you’ve sent that have not received a reply, automatically save email attachments to your cloud filing platform and quickly unsubscribe from mailing lists.

https://www.sanebox.com/

7. Scheduling—Calendly free or max. $12/user/month

Regardless of your appointment-setting needs, your scheduling software should present your business in a professional light while simplifying the booking process on both ends. The best appointment scheduling apps offer the practical mix of flexibility and ease of use. They save you time (and headaches) by allowing clients to make appointments with you on their own, as well as cancel or reschedule as needed. At every touchpoint, provide a pleasantly efficient and memorable customer experience.

https://calendly.com

8. Online signatures—DocuSign $10/month (solopreneur)

Here’s an electronic signature platform that will speed-up and simplify your signature processes, all while providing better customer experience and document management. Electronic signature software allows you and your clients to quickly and easily digitally sign contracts or other documents. Whether you need to sign an IRS Form W-9 or authorize an electronic invoice payment agreement as part of client onboarding, your clients will appreciate, and be impressed by, digital signature capability.

https://www.docusign.com/plans-and-pricing

Happy Labor Day and thanks for reading,

Kim

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Getting PR: On-Message Expert Source

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Not every Freelancer enjoys selling, but every Freelancer knows that selling is the name of the game. You may have a kickin’ inbound marketing strategy that keeps your pipeline filled with good prospects but if you want to close deals, you’ll have to sell. It’s a fact of life—-Freelancers and all business owners are more or less forever in selling mode, always on and ready to promote the brand.

Then again, there are times when it pays to shut off your sales spiel because it won’t work. Social events are the usual no-fly zone for a sales pitch but there is another, less obvious, scenario where a sales pitch is a faux-pas—when speaking with a journalist. Surprise! It may feel counterintuitive, but it is a fact. When you’re lucky enough to win the PR jackpot that a conversation with a journalist brings, anything beyond your short form elevator pitch, presented as self-introduction, is inappropriate. What sounds like a sales pitch is a turn-off to reporters. Here’s why.

One, the journalist is not your prospect. S/he is not interested in buying your product or service. Resist the temptation to sell someone. Two, it’s not the journalist’s job to sell your product or service, so why would you waste time explaining features and benefits and how your offerings are so much better than the competition’s? Don’t go there.

A journalist’s purpose in life is to tell stories that interest and inform readers. To do that, they must identify compelling topics. They also need facts and expert opinions to convince readers of the relevance of the stories. When an invitation to speak with a journalist arrives, a media savvy Freelancer knows to present yourself as a successful entrepreneur and expert, a qualified source who will be on-message and make the reporter look good.

Be the expert source

When a journalist puts out a request for contributors on whatever topic, as is done at Help A Reporter Out http:// http://HelpAReporter.com , it’s your chance to pitch yourself first and foremost as an industry expert. The reporter is searching for a source, a credible expert who can produce a few good bullet points on the topic before deadline. Your products or services take a backseat.

If you are chosen for follow-up, prepare ahead of your interview and be ready with three or four succinct and punchy, memorable quotes. If one or more of your quotes is included in the article, even if the publication is small and local, you’ll reap the benefits that earned media, PR, can bring—-credibility, trust and exposure to new prospects. That’s a lot more impactful than any sales pitch you can make.

If the reporter has in mind a profile that spotlights one or more entrepreneurs, discussion of your product or service may be integral to the story. If that’s the case, avoid the technical, in-the-weeds aspects and instead, focus on the benefits and value-added that clients receive from your product or service. Use the five W’s of journalism to create bullet points for a product or service overview:

  • Who does your product or service help?
  • What is unique about your product or service?
  • Why should readers care?
  • Where is this being used?
  • When should someone use your product?

Credentials have clout

Before reaching out, a reporter in search of a good source will probably tour your social media accounts to see the content you’ve posted. If you’ve built up a significant following, so much the better, but the size of your following may not be the most important factor when evaluating a potential expert source.

Journalists trust academic and professional credentials and that trust can outweigh even a sizable social media following. While social media might help journalists discover you, they’re looking for someone who can truly educate their audience. Emphasize your degrees, certifications, experience and awards to establish credibility when introducing yourself as an expert source to the media. If your social media following is impressive, by all mean include it.

  • Education (PhD., MD, CPA, MBA)
  • Professional (university professor, partner at a law firm)
  • Achievements (published a book, awards and citations received)
  • Media exposure (copies of articles in which you’ve been quoted)

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) is in uniform and on-message at a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kyiv.

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Rapid Response: Being Agile

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Throughout history, human beings have learned that unexpected circumstances can bring instability to your life or your work and cause you to abandon plans you assumed were carved in stone and adapt to a new reality. Pragmatists are aware that disruption of one kind or another is inevitable and destined to visit your life if you live long enough.

Business owners and leaders, including Freelancers, recognize that in order to successfully navigate uncertainty, it’s possible—-but probably not easy—-to shift gears and make the necessary adjustments. There may be sleepless nights, but you can regain your footing. Agile strategies are the way to make it all happen.

You can trust agile strategies to become your go-to crisis response plan, the roadmap that guides you when the ground is shifting beneath your feet. An agile mindset and strategies will help you to rationally assess how the changed business conditions impact your organization, recognize factors in your organization that must change in response to the new scenario and figure out how to effectively operate within your new business landscape—-and in a timely fashion.

When the tide suddenly turns, agile strategies offer a useful alternative to the typical long-term planning outlook and instead encourage you to devote the upcoming 12-18 months to wrestling with the obstacles your company now faces and, ideally, discovering whatever unexpected opportunities the altered business environment presents. Below are practices to keep at top of mind as your new reality unfolds.

Always-on strategy

  • Adaptability in a rapidly changing environment. Freelancers and small business owners usually operate in dynamic environments. Often able to access only limited resources, these entrepreneurs need strategies that can support their evolving circumstances. Agile strategies enable flexibility. They allow business owners to adjust plans and actions in real time, based on customer feedback. Weekly strategy assessments are a useful way to monitor the success (or weakness) of interventions that were enacted and facilitate making refinements as needed.
  • Innovation and competitive advantage. Innovation is a driving force of business success. Agile strategies encourage creative thinking as they challenge the status quo and lead you and your team to explore new opportunities. By baking innovation into your strategies, you can discover or create competitive advantages and build a loyal and lucrative customer base.
  • Focus on high-value opportunities. Agile strategies help business owners focus on the most critical challenges and high-potential/ high-value opportunities. Your resources are not infinite and it’s imperative that you invest time and money into areas that can be expected to yield the greatest ROI. By identifying these key opportunities, you’ll maximize your chances of success.
  • Agility and speed in execution. Small and medium-sized businesses often have the advantage of being nimble and agile. Agile strategizing facilitates quick and objective decision-making, as it eliminates the tradition of lengthy planning processes and empowers teams to swiftly analyze, plan and execute. When your business climate changes, a timely response to customer priorities and preferences is essential.

Smarter strategy

As you acclimate to the practices of always-on strategizing, promoting creativity and innovation, engaging stakeholders and becoming intentional about your company’s strategic direction are among the benefits you will enjoy. You’ll discover the rewards of smarter strategy — AKA agile strategy. Clarity, coherence, focus, adaptability, innovation and action are the guiding principles. Invite agile strategies to become the engine that moves your organization forward.

  • Focus on the most critical challenges and highest-value opportunities.
  • Address challenges you expect to encounter in the next 12 to 18 months, instead of relying on the usual three-to five-year planning cycle.
  • Bake innovation into strategies and let go of benchmarking against your competitors. What they do may no longer apply. Instead, find the courage to think outside the box and always A/B test to confirm your assumptions.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Academy Award winner George Chakiris (Best Supporting Actor, 1962) as Bernardo Nunez in the film adaptation of West Side Story, released by United Artists in 1961.

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Which Marketing Channels Are Doing the Job Now?

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The platforms and media outlets you use to transmit promotional messages to your target audience, also known as marketing channels, play a role in your marketing campaigns that is nearly as influential as the messages they carry. Each channel has a persona and target audience of its own and appeals to that demographic in a unique way. It should be no surprise that certain channels are more suitable for certain types of content, or are more popular in certain demographics and are less so in others. When you have a story to tell, it’s critical that the marketing channels used are appropriate for the content and appeal to your customers. You need to know which channels deliver the desired ROI, so you’ll know where to focus your resources and attention.

It’s important to customize marketing activity to resonate with your target audience and brand. It’s also incumbent upon marketers to understand that it is almost inevitable that at some point, fluctuations in the global or national zeitgeist might impact customer perceptions of the marketing channels you typically use. So much of marketing is about being in the moment and able to read the mood of your customers and prospects.

As we learned early in 2020-2021, a health crisis, political instability, wars and the resulting economic fallout can cause a seismic shift in customer priorities, budgets and preferences. In a 2022 survey of over 1,200 marketers conducted by the Cambridge, MA inbound marketing company Hubspot, more than 80% of respondents said that marketing has changed more in the last three years than in the last 50 years. Effective marketing means that Freelancers and their corporate counterparts must be vigilant and willing to revisit the matter of which marketing channels win the loyalty and trust of customers in the here and now and ensure that your channel strategy fits your audience.

The Hubspot survey reported that the leading channels used by B2B marketers are social media platforms, company websites, blogs and email marketing and the trend is expected to continue throughout 2023. Also, 61% of companies plan to increase the number of marketing channels of all kinds and they anticipate that the necessary increases of time and money will be budgeted.

Social media use is expanding

The HubSpot survey also found that 45% of B2B companies and 61.5% of B2C companies use social media channels to promote products and services. That customers appreciate the convenience of social messaging allows marketers to engage in real time with customers to answer questions, resolve customer service issues and provide insightful feedback about the product or service. In 2022, more than half of U.S. adults purchased something through a social media channel, according to a 2023 survey of 750 marketers conducted by Sprout Social, the Chicago, IL based social media management platform, and 98% expected to use that channel to make another purchase in the future.

Investing in relationships with customers directly impacts business revenue and strengthens customer loyalty. When customers feel connected to brands, 57% will increase spending with that brand and 76% will buy from that brand over a competitor. B2C brands are more likely to sell products and services on social channels (58%) compared to B2B brands (37%). Still, Sprout Social reported that 89% of B2B marketers rely on LinkedIn to generate leads.

When you reevaluate the validity of your usual marketing channels, whether you’re thinking it might be the time to either add or to subtract, you’ll improve your calculus by addressing the following questions:

  • Do the new marketing channels align from a brand and customer experience perspective?
  • Do the touch points on the new and original channels align around and emphasize the same benefits and brand image?
  • How will new marketing channels attract new customers, lure customers away from competitors, or persuade current customers to do more business with you?
  • Do customers understand and appreciate the value they acquire by using new channels?

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Italian Air Force fighter planes in an airshow celebrating Frecce Tricolori in Rivolto, Italy on September 11 & 12, 2010

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3 Ways That Competition Works for You

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When you operate a business, competition is a fact of life. It’s only natural to be unsettled by the thought of competition—it could put me out of business!—but in fact, the presence of competitors in your marketplace sector is a good sign, better than you think. If you adjust your perspective and dial back your (understandable) fear, you’ll learn that competition can pay dividends. You have to know where to look.

To make competition work for you, begin by identifying your principal direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors offer products and/or services very similar to what your entity provides; indirect competitors offer “Plan B, ” products or services in a different category altogether but which your target customers perceive as an attractive alternative. For example, a box of chocolates and a bouquet of roses are indirect competitors for Valentine’s Day gift giving.

B2C business owners can easily ID and research competitors who operate either a physical location or e-commerce site by running a key word search and browsing competitors’ websites. You can also follow-up and visit storefronts, to check out the location and the merchandise and say hello to the owner (or the manager). B2B business owners can likewise conduct a key word search and visit the websites of direct and indirect competitors who operate in your geography (or beyond). You can evaluate the products and services catalogued on the sites, but meeting your B2B competitor peers will probably take some effort. Most work from home and even if an office is maintained, it would be inappropriate to drop in without an appointment. Your best option is to look for competitors at business association meetings and other networking events.

It’s good business to benchmark two or three of your most successful direct and indirect competitors and learn the secrets of their success. Some of what they do might work for you, too! Read on to learn how you can turn competition into a win for your entity.

Barometers of marketplace potential

This insight is only an estimate and is not based on metrics specific to your organization but as a rule, if businesses similar to your own are doing well in your marketplace, it’s indication that your venture could also do well. That local competitors are thriving is convincing evidence that there is money to be made.

Remember, though, that many factors contribute to building a successful business and in the B2B sector that would include influential relationships and strength of reputation, access to decision-makers and the ability to consistently meet or exceed client expectations. Another factor is market saturation—established companies may be doing well, but is there enough demand to allow newcomers to prosper?

How you can succeed

Not only are competitors your canary in the coal mine of marketplace potential, another useful dividend that competitors offer is teaching you to become a more astute business operator. So as you study the websites of your main competitors, pay attention to the descriptions of direct competitors—products and services that resemble yours—and indirect competitors—products and services that offer a credible alternative to what you sell.

Furthermore, make note of the calls-to-action you see—which are especially clever and compelling?, the blog or newsletter archive, scheduled speaking engagements—what are the topics and who is the host organization?—and the client list. Those operating in the B2C space can browse the websites of competitors (or visit a local store) and inspect the products and services offered, note the pricing strategy, assess any add-on and up-selling deals and even see the available payment options. In either the B2B or B2C space it will also be instructive to tour the social media accounts—which platforms are used?— and witness how competitive brands interact with customers.

It’s best if you don’t simply copy everything your competitors do. Every business is unique, even amongst direct competitors. If something looks like an intriguing possibility for your venture, test for effectiveness and optimize for your target clients and brand.

You are also advised to resist the urge to compete on price, unless your competitive intelligence shows that your prices are significantly higher than the amount charged by two or more competitors for a similar product or service. It’s tempting to cut prices to gain market share, but it’s a strategy that seldom works in the long run. Aiming to under-price competitors can only put you in a race to the bottom and that’s not what you want. Particularly in the B2B sector, focus on demonstrating and articulating value as you position your products and services in a premium tier.

Cooperate and collaborate when necessary

Now to be seriously counterintuitive, the most savvy and pragmatic Freelancers recognize that it is not a given that competitors are destined to be your adversaries. Assuming that there will always be a certain amount of hostility between you is shortsighted and could possibly cause you to lose out in some way. While you may never trust certain competitors, it’s nevertheless a good idea to be strategically cooperative when necessary. Ideally, there will be enough trust and respect that allows you to build alliances, cooperate when necessary and, in some cases, even collaborate with selected competitors (while observing boundaries, of course).

You never know what the future will bring—the time may come when it’s mutually beneficial for you and a competitor to align professionally and do a little business.  For example, if a policy or piece of legislation is expected to have a strongly positive or negative impact on your industry or working environment, it would be a compelling ice-breaker if you were to reach out to certain competitors and propose that you join forces to oppose or endorse pending legislation that could affect your livelihood.

Don’t be shy about engineering an introduction if you are fortunate enough to encounter one (or more) of your competitors at a chamber of commerce or other meeting. Your competitive intelligence strategy is to be friendly and ask for an exchange of business cards, so that you’ll have contact info. Getting to know your competitor colleagues as individuals is good business. You never know where those relationships might lead.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © The Walt Disney Company. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs the animated movie produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Pictures in 1937. Based on the 19th century German folk tale published in Volume I of Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1812) by the brothers Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859) Grimm of Hanau, Germany.