Have you found yourself in a freelance writing rut? Perhaps you are bored of the area you are working in, and want a change, or you have found a new passion for a previously unexplored area of work. In this episode, Philippa and Lorrie discuss various ways to make the transition from one area of freelancing to another, and offer practical suggestions and advice, as well as the usual Little Bird Recommendations and chatter.

Show Notes

Episode 7: Freelance Writing - To Specialise or Not to Specialise

Episode 33: How to deal with a crisis of faith

Source Bottle

The Women's Room

Ian McMillan and Stephen Fry talk Yorkshire accents

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To find Lorrie and Philippa on the web, follow these links:

Websites

Philippa Willitts's freelance writing website

Lorrie Hartshorn's freelance writing website

For artwork snippets, thanks goes to James Nash and Amir Rowaichi, for also Creative Commons Licensing their bird illustrations. Pippa’s good at putting things together, but can’t draw.

Social proof is an excellent way of getting clients to have faith in your abilities. In this solo episode, Lorrie explains the concept of social proof and looks at good - and bad - ways of getting recommendations that fit the bill.

Show Notes

• Episode 31: Gaining Credibility as a Freelancer and Specialist - 10 Tips to Get to the Top
• Episode 15: Guest Blogging for Exposure, Brand Building, Backlinks and More
• Episode 9: The Sad Smell of Desperation
• thinglink

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To find Lorrie online, follow these links:

Websites

Lorrie's website: http://www.lorriehartshorn.com

Twitter

Lorrie: @ThatWordyBird

Facebook:

Lorrie: http://www.facebook.com/ThatWordyBird

LinkedIn:

Lorrie Hartshorn

Birdsong courtesy of 

http://www.freesound.org, thanks to:

For artwork snippets, thanks goes to James Nash and Amir Rowaichi, for also Creative Commons Licensing their bird illustrations. Pippa’s good at putting things together, but can’t draw.

When you work from home and deal with clients mainly over the phone or by email, don't fall into the trap of thinking that you don't need to take the visual side of your presentation into account. Whether it's your Twitter profile page or how you look on Skype, there are some really important things to consider.

In this episode of A Little Bird Told Me, Philippa and Lorrie discuss the topic, and present their Little Bird Recommendations of the Week.

Show Notes

How to name your business: Facebook discussion

The top 50 most embarrassing domain names ever purchased

Clients from Hell

The Essentials of Reuters sourcing

Coursera

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And finally, please 'like' us on Facebook to be the first to hear our news and to talk with us about what you hear on the podcast!

To find Lorrie and Philippa on the web, follow these links:

Websites

Philippa Willitts's freelance writing website

For artwork snippets, thanks goes to James Nash and Amir Rowaichi, for also Creative Commons Licensing their bird illustrations. Pippa’s good at putting things together, but can’t draw.

Many people who want to start out as freelance writers fear that they will never get any work because they don't have any published writing to show to potential editors or clients. They feel stuck in a vicious circle where they can't get work published because they don't have experience, but they can't get experience because they don't have any published work.

In fact, this does not have to be as much of a barrier as you might think, and in this episode Philippa looks at how journalists, feature writers, ghost writers, fiction writers and commercial copywriters can all get some all-important clips to create a portfolio to wow their clients of the future.

Show Notes

Episode 15: Guest Blogging for Exposure, Brand Building, Backlinks and More

10 very costly typos

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And finally, please 'like' us on Facebook to be the first to hear our news and to talk with us about what you hear on the podcast!

To find Philippa online, check out these links:

Websites

Philippa's freelance writing website 

Philippa's social media writer website

Twitter

Philippa: @PhilippaWrites

Facebook:

Philippa's main Freelance Writing Facebook Page

Philippa's Social Media Writer Facebook Page

LinkedIn:

Philippa Willitts on LinkedIn

Google+

Philippa's Google+ Account

Pinterest

Philippa on Pinterest

Birdsong courtesy of 

http://www.freesound.org, thanks to:

• Justkiddink

• Dobroide

• Acclivity

• Percy-duke

• Ingsey101

• 3bagbrew

• Inchadney

• Sean Townsend

• Soundbytez

• Urupin

• 28-yuen-po

For artwork snippets, thanks goes to James Nash and Amir Rowaichi, for also Creative Commons Licensing their bird illustrations. Pippa’s good at putting things together, but can’t draw to save her life.

While promoting your work and the services you offer, you can tread a fine line between marketing yourself sufficiently, and being irritating and spammy. In this podcast episode, Philippa and Lorrie look at four different parts of a freelance writer's marketing toolkit, and discuss what is acceptable and what is definitely not!

Show Notes

Buffer App

Condescending Corporate Brand Page

Writing a Better Elevator Pitch

How to work long periods at your desk and come out healthy

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To find Lorrie and Philippa on the web, follow these links:

Websites

For artwork snippets, thanks goes to James Nash and Amir Rowaichi, for also Creative Commons Licensing their bird illustrations. Pippa’s good at putting things together, but can’t draw to save her life.

Freelancing can be a tough business. While it's a common preconception that working from home and working for yourself are an easy ride, being a freelance copywriter has its ups and downs like any job.

In this solo episode, Lorrie discusses what to do if you feel like your freelance writing career has reached crisis point. She talks about how to tell the difference between a career crisis and a temporary blip, and outlines a number of solutions to common freelancing problems.

Show Notes

How To Be A Happy Freelance Worker

27 – Dealing With Feeling Overwhelmed

Episode 21 – Managing Freelance Projects And Planning Your Time Effectively

Episode 11 – Overcoming Isolation As A Freelance Writer

Episode 9 – The Sad Smell Of Desperation

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And finally, please 'like' us on Facebook to be the first to hear our news and to talk with us about what you hear on the podcast!

To find Lorrie and Philippa on the web, follow these links:

Websites

Philippa Willitts's freelance writing website

Most freelance writers will work with a combination of short-term and long-term clients. There are certainly benefits to both of those, and different factors will influence which you prefer to take on. Whether you get bored easily, you want as much stability as possible, or you worry that your writing has become stale, all of these can be affected by the length of time you have worked with different clients and businesses. In this podcast episode, Philippa and Lorrie look at the advantages and the disadvantages of working with long-term clients.

Show Notes

A to Z Challenge

#atozchallenge

NaBloPoMo

100 Twitter hashtags every writer should know

Larry Hynes: How to Work With Me on a Low Budget

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In order to get potential clients to trust in your abilities, you need to provide them with proof that convinces them that you are capable and knowledgeable. In this solo episode, Philippa talks about 10 different ways to prove your credibility as a freelance writer, and in the specialism you choose.

Show Notes

@GooglePoetics

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And finally, please 'like' us on Facebook to be the first to hear our news and to talk with us about what you hear on the podcast!

To find Philippa online, check out these links:

Websites

Philippa's freelance writing website 

Philippa's social media writer website

Twitter

Philippa: @PhilippaWrites

Facebook:

Philippa's main Freelance Writing Facebook Page

Philippa's Social Media Writer Facebook Page

LinkedIn:

Philippa Willitts on LinkedIn

Google+

Philippa's Google+ Account

Pinterest

Philippa on Pinterest

Birdsong courtesy of 

In this podcast episode, Philippa and Lorrie discuss the specifics of commercial copywriting, including how it differs from "typical" fiction or non-fiction writing, what PPC ads can teach us about why good copy might not be that good, and what the deal is with features versus benefits. On top of that, they conclude this 30th episode with their favourite recommendations of the week.

Show Notes

Calmingmanatee.com

In response to a listener question, Lorrie dedicates this solo episode to the subject of how to get started as a freelance writer. She looks at how to prepare, what you need to do, and how - and where - to start looking for work.

Show Notes

http://freelanceswitch.com/freelance-news/commentary-analysis/build-a-business-plan-for-success/ - build a business plan

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And finally, please 'like' us on Facebook to be the first to hear our news and to talk with us about what you hear on the podcast!

To find Lorrie online, follow these links:

Websites

Lorrie's website: http://www.lorriehartshorn.com

Twitter

Lorrie: @ThatWordyBird

Facebook:

Lorrie: http://www.facebook.com/ThatWordyBird

LinkedIn:

Lorrie Hartshorn

There are many myths around freelance writing, whether that's that copywriters laze around getting paid for doing nothing, or that all you need is an internet connection and a word processor! In this episode of A Little Bird Told Me, Philippa and Lorrie discuss 11 of the myths they come across regularly, presenting instead the reality of the job.

Show Notes

• Marissa Mayer banning working from home 
• Zemanta for Google Chrome
• Zemanta for Firefox
• Zemanta Wordpress Plugin
• 57% of online shoppers will wait three seconds or less before abandoning the site
• Expertise vs. Humility – A Writer’s Battle Royale?

There are several ways to make sure that you don't miss out on A Little Bird Told Me.

Subscribe via RSS

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Find us on Stitcher Smart Radio

And finally, please 'like' us on Facebook to be the first to hear our news and to talk with us about what you hear on the podcast!

To find Lorrie and Philippa on the web, follow these links:

Websites

Philippa Willitts's freelance writing website

Lorrie Hartshorn's freelance writing website

Philippa Willitts's Social Media Writer website

Twitter

Philippa: @PhilippaWrites

Lorrie: @ThatWordyBird

Facebook:

Lorrie on Facebook

Philippa's main freelance writing Facebook page

Philippa's Social Media Writer Facebook page

LinkedIn:

Lorrie Hartshorn

Philippa Willitts

Google+

Philippa Willitts

Pinterest

Philippa Willitts

While having lots of work to do is usually good news for a freelance writer, sometimes it can feel totally overwhelming. Panicking, procrastinating and not being able to see the end in sight are all horrible feelings, and it can be difficult to know how to manage them. In this podcast, Philippa talks about several different ways to manage feelings of overwhelm, and discusses how they each can help in this situation.

Show Notes

Renny Gleeson: 404, the story of a page not found

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And finally, please 'like' us on Facebook to be the first to hear our news and to talk with us about what you hear on the podcast!

To find Philippa online, check out these links:

Websites

Philippa's freelance writing website 

Philippa's social media writer website

Twitter

Philippa: @PhilippaWrites

Facebook:

Philippa's main Freelance Writing Facebook Page

Philippa's Social Media Writer Facebook Page

LinkedIn:

Philippa Willitts on LinkedIn

Google+

Philippa's Google+ Account

Pinterest

Philippa on Pinterest

Freelancing isn't all about saying yes to every opportunity that comes your way. Sometimes you might be in a position where you need to start saying no, either to meetings, clients, collaborators or contractors. In this episode of A Little Bird Told Me, Philippa and Lorrie talk about how to handle this tricky situation.

Show Notes

No More Useless Meetings - Liz Sumner

Carol Tice - @TiceWrites

That’s Not What I Wrote! What to Do When You’re Hit With Heavy Editing - Sophie Lizard at Make a Living Writing

Topsy

Guest blogging for exposure, brand building, backlinks and more

This solo episode by Lorrie is the third in our series of three podcast episodes about money. In episode 23, Philippa talked about how to set your freelance writing rates, and in episode 24 we discussed the practicalities of things like invoicing, chasing clients and setting payment terms. So today, Lorrie talks about under what circumstances you should consider raising your rates, and exactly how to go about it. 

Show Notes

The Key to Creating More Remarkable Connections

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And finally, please 'like' us on Facebook to be the first to hear our news and to talk with us about what you hear on the podcast!

To find Lorrie online, follow these links:

Websites

Lorrie's website: http://www.lorriehartshorn.com

Twitter

Lorrie: @ThatWordyBird

Facebook:

Lorrie: http://www.facebook.com/ThatWordyBird

LinkedIn:

Lorrie Hartshorn

Invoices, debts, late payers and payment terms are things that all freelance writers have to familiarise themselves with. Whether we are chasing a regular client or deciding whether or not to charge upfront for our writing services, there are lots of potential pitfalls we can slip into, so in this episode of the podcast, Philippa and Lorrie go from start to finish on the art of getting paid.

Show Notes

Plain English copywriting contract

F*** You Pay Me

How to write the perfect email subject line

How to write magnetic headlines

There are several ways to make sure that you don't miss out on A Little Bird Told Me.

Subscribe via RSS

Subscribe via iTunes

Find us on Stitcher Smart Radio

And finally, please 'like' us on Facebook to be the first to hear our news and to talk with us about what you hear on the podcast!

To find Lorrie and Philippa on the web, follow these links:

Websites

Philippa Willitts's freelance writing website

Lorrie Hartshorn's freelance writing website

Philippa Willitts's Social Media Writer website

Twitter

Philippa: @PhilippaWrites

Lorrie: @ThatWordyBird

Facebook:

Lorrie on Facebook

Philippa's main freelance writing Facebook page

Philippa's Social Media Writer Facebook page

LinkedIn:

Lorrie Hartshorn

Philippa Willitts

Google+

Philippa Willitts

Pinterest

Philippa Willitts