Justin Dupre » Networking

Networking Is the Shit

Justin Dupre — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:54:47 +0000

I just got back from a nice chat with another affiliate marketer living in Thailand. It’s actually the first time I’ve met anyone in person that is serious about running a business online. And it was fantastic meeting him. I won’t name him as I think he likes to keep it on the downlow, but he’s a great guy and really taught me a lot that I wouldn’t even start to think about.

Let me just tell you, if you get the chance to network with others in affiliate marketing, SEO, blackhat, or whatever you do, do not pass it. I gave up a date with my lady friend in order to meet this guy, and I don’t regret it. Some of the things we talked about will help both of us make a lot of money.

And that is just one other affiliate. Imagine if I was going to ASW back in the states. Seriously, if you are thinking about going, but aren’t sure yet, just do it and make plans to meet up with other affiliate. You could gain insight into some serious tips that will make you some serious amounts of cash.

Other than that, we chilled at this awesome little rooftop restaurant and drank some Heinekens till I think we were both a little tipsy. Food was great (onion rings and chicken wings in some spicy red wine sauce.. delish).

I’m trying to post a lot more often up on www.deeboo.com now. It already has some of, what I think, are kick ass posts that blow a lot out of anything here.� I’ll probably have some free landing pages or something put up there for you guys to steal and play with. So go there and subscribe and link to me and all that. Haha thanks.

Justin Dupre — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:03:05 +0000

It�s kind of freaky to think that your clients and worse off, possible clients know a lot more about you than you think they do. It pays to be careful about what you say on the Internet, as it can all be tracked back to you, especially if you use your name, website link, or anything else in reference to you in the open. That can add to what a possible client, and even current clients think about you. That in turn could affect whether or not they want you on their project.

Take possible discussions that you largely disagree with on forums with a spoon of sugar. State disagreements casually and don�t attack anyone. Hell! The person you disagree with could be a client of yours in disguise.

Posting things online that aren�t appropriate could get noticed by one of your freelancing clients. Sure, we all have things we like to do in our free time, but the Internet is a scarier world than you could imagine. Those naughty things you do late at night might have a user name or link attached with them that goes straight to your freelance writing website.

It�s not hard to see where you are getting links from, and outsiders can track them just as easily. If you are worried about past internet activities coming back to haunt your freelance writing goals, you might want to find some better ways to cover your internet tracks. Use obscure forum names, use a generic Yahoo, MSN, or Gmail account to send out emails, and avoid the use of signature links on forums that lead to your professional freelance writing website.

The best thing to do would be just avoid speaking out harshly against others, don�t use your link on non-coinciding forums, blogs and websites, and learn a little about Internet privacy.

I think I probably am one that needs to swallow a bit of my own advice, though. Heh heh.

Set Your Status High

Justin Dupre — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 08:50:50 +0000

Some people ask me how a �child� (me) can make more money, by simply typing some letters, than someone with a college degree in business management from a state university. Well, A) I�m not a child. Thank you very much. I�m 20 years of age, practicing a profession of writing and B) There really is no B. I can collect more money from my services because I know how to set my position higher than that of a college graduate and my target audience of clients needs writers like me.

It really isn�t that hard for anyone to get better benefits on a job for any career path. Quality research time and knowing what skills are needed to advance is all it takes. When I see a client searching for someone with a specific skill, and I notice those with this skill consistently get higher paychecks than those practicing in other fields, I hop on that train and study. While broadening my knowledge of professional freelance writing, I expand upon what I can already do, and in the eye of possible clients, they hit love at first sight.

Making yourself attractive in the eye of your employer doesn�t necessarily mean you need to be sexy (have you noticed, though, the sexy female employee is generally the secretary only being paid 30k a year). Broadening your skills and nailing it on the head of an employer is what they are looking for.

When a possible client for my freelance writing services contacts me, I immediately open my portfolio and exam what has shown off that skill they seek the most. If I haven�t nailed that skill yet, I give myself 24 hours to hit it. Research, research, writing, research, a little coco, and some more writing will help me smooth out any braised edges on that skill. At the end of 24 hours, if I haven�t seen an improvement, I won�t take on that project as I wouldn�t want to lose a possible future client in case they return. If I, however, believe that this is the god of all projects and my skill grew sufficiently enough, I�ll send my proposal to take the task off their hands, along with all that research I spent.

Even if I don�t get the job, I built up an extensive mass to my freelance writing portfolio, which comes in great use further along the road.

Get Off Digital and Go Analog: Getting Local

Justin Dupre — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:30:20 +0000

As a freelance writer, I am stuck behind the monitor of my computer far more than I would like to be. It keeps me there, and does so with my blogs, websites, and just random stumbling across the inter-webs. While near all my clients have found out about my services from various websites that I advertise on, it is still important that I gain contacts whom I can meet personally.

I think a lot of new freelancers fall into this trap where they will only make connections with clients online. While there is no problem with this, keeping clients that you have freelanced for offline is always something that can help boost a freelancers image and scope.

Communication is made effortless

Being able to communicate directly with a client can solve many problems. You can get real insight into what they are looking for from your freelancing services. Over a chat window or through emails allows for easy communication, but it is not always clear as to what is really needed. Miscommunication is very easy. When I meet with a client needing a project done from me, I can ask all the questions I would with an email when I get an inquiry. However, in an email I may not get everything I need and will have to wait for another response. With a face-to-face encounter with someone I am working with, I get the answers I need at that very moment.

Make easy connections

One of the most important part of any freelancers work is to build a connection with a client. Have you ever tried to date someone exclusively online? I have – when I was a youngin’ – and I never have found anything harder in my life. While building a relationship with a client doesn’t need to go as far as that did, the basics are still there. Communication is an essential to working with your clients and keeping them coming back for more with a definite connection. On top of this, you are much more likely to build bridges between your clients and people they know. I’ve gotten more referrals from people I have met offline than the many more I have serviced online.

Reap the benefits

Working with a client offline can usually bag you a little more cash. If you are charging per hour, you could charge for that hour of consulting you had with a client before you started their project. In many cases, clients invite me out to talk about a project over coffee or a meal. While I offer to pay my half, the client nearly always covers my tab. On top of this, if you are doing a product related service, they might give you that product free. I have also received plenty of other neat accessories like pens, tablets, folders and notepads.

While a freelancer’s job doesn’t require us to meet directly with our clients, it should be a part of your freelance game plan. It can increase a freelancer’s benefits, connection, as well as establish your repertoire in your clients mind. If nothing else, it will get you away from the computer, a break I’m sure many of us need.