The Creative Penn

DECEMBER 10, 2023

If you join the community, you get an extra solo Q&A show monthly, as well as behind-the-scenes videos on AI and creative business, plus, discounts, early access, and more. She’s also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. I'd love to know what you think in the comments.

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Keywords Advertising Text Engineering 98

The Creative Penn

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

How can you reframe the direct author business model to take advantage of creative possibilities for different kinds of products and long-term marketing? So I started my first creative business in 2004. I went out on my own as a freelance camera operator after graduating from college, and that didn't really work very well.

Retail 98

Retail Prose Sales Script 98

Men With Pens

JANUARY 7, 2010

The Pros and Cons Written by Agent X - 30 Comments Here’s a great slam-dunk post for you from my respected friend and international copywriting authority, Dean Rieck of Direct Creative and Pro Copy Tips. If you want to make a career of writing, should you look for a full-time job in a company or strike out on your own as a freelancer?

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Freelance Writing Creative Director Copywriter 60

Men With Pens

JULY 15, 2012

I, in return, was calm, clear, and polite, carefully getting the information I needed to complete her project, and ignoring her insulting manner. At the job’s conclusion, she told me there was more cash on the table and offered me a second project. Many small businesses get stuck here, especially freelance creative types like myself.

Construction 97

Construction Projects Freelance Creativity 97

Men With Pens

JANUARY 18, 2011

You pick your hours, your clients, and your projects. First you need time to develop your projects, work for your clients, create new ideas and grow your business. You also need money to invest in your projects and business. Copyright 2006 - 2010 30 Sous Zero Inc - All Rights Reserved. Fun times, eh? The solution?

IT 55

IT Freelance Projects Creativity 55

Men With Pens

APRIL 21, 2011

Currently working as a freelance creative director and continuously starting up online projects when he's not out trying to take over the world. How to Measure Your Success first appeared on Men with Pens Copyright 2006 - 2011, All Rights Reserved. Want to keep up with him? Go ahead and visit his website.

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Creative Director Banking Freelance Projects 74

Men With Pens

APRIL 1, 2012

Freelancers tend to struggle with selling, to some extent. If you’re not capable or interested in providing those services, you can still be the hero by recommending a great fellow freelancer who specializes in whatever your client needs. Now’s your chance to carefully yet confidently let him know! ” Success ensues.

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Freelance Copywriting Freelance Consulting Banking 57

Income Diary

APRIL 2, 2024

Brin is working on other, more personal projects that reach beyond Google.Brin and Page are trying to help solve the world’s energy and climate problems at Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, which invests in the alternative energy industry to find wider sources of renewable energy. 5 Sergey Brin: Founder of Google is worth $136.6

Engineering 52

Engineering Finance Education Entertainment 52

Men With Pens

OCTOBER 7, 2010

The benefits of SEO are clear, and because it doesn’t have to cost money, it has become a particularly important tool for freelancers and small businesses with limited marketing budgets. Her latest project is the development of free online writing courses for Creative-Writing-Now.com, a website for new fiction writers and poets.

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Search Engine Optimization SEO Copywriter Copywriting 86

Men With Pens

JUNE 27, 2010

If you’re like many freelancers, you’re probably not sleeping well at all. We’re freelancers. Our ability to produce creative quality on just five hours sleep is a badge of honour that’s applauded and lauded! The problem is that we freelancers all know healthy sleep habits are good for us.

Freelance 69

Freelance Banking Creativity Hospitality 69

Men With Pens

DECEMBER 20, 2009

How do you tell your clients that you need an extension on a project because you’re sick? They won’t be shocked and dismayed when you finally do announce there’s no way in hell you can get out of bed and that their project is going to be late. You also won’t accidentally be rude to them because everything hurts and you haven’t slept.

Telecommunication 56

Telecommunication Freelance Projects Copywriter 56

Men With Pens

MAY 26, 2010

While total writers’ block may be a reality for some individuals, for most of us we’re just stuck on a particular project. On my creative writing MA, we’re often encouraged to remember why we’re writing. It really does help to get into a routine of sitting down every day to write. There’s something.

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Writing Writer Projects Freelance 62

Men With Pens

APRIL 6, 2010

Most freelancers have enough trouble scrapping together money for the rent without having to worry about paying another couple of tens of thousands. You’re a freelancer. have a gig as a blog advisor on an interent magazine for creatives. I’m not here to tell you that you should consider going back to school for a second degree.

Education 49

Education Freelance Copywriter Copywriting 49

Men With Pens

JANUARY 17, 2010

Winning in a competition is not the same thing as being creative and innovative and coming up with new ideas. However, the drive to do my best, prove myself and find creative ways to get the scoops made me a much better reporter. Also, look inside your own self as a source of inspiration too. Nathan Hangen´s last blog.

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Copywriter Copywriting Sales Portfolio 77

Men With Pens

JUNE 6, 2010

Had I lost my creativity? Want to overcome writers block and unleash your creativity? A strong preference for internal validation is actually pretty common among artists and creative types. Freelance Writers — Niche Specialization is the Key to Success Reply Mark W. Except that it wasn’t. Maybe that was the answer.

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Writer IT Creativity Freelance 69

Men With Pens

NOVEMBER 24, 2009

Written by James - 33 Comments Take a Number After a small pause to let you all settle into your SMART freelancing techniques, Elizabeth Fayle is here to give you the next key to rockin’ out your freelance biz. I have to keep accepting these projects!” 33 Responses to “SMART Freelancing: Are You Being Realistic?&#

Freelance 59

Freelance Projects Copywriter Copywriting 59

Men With Pens

JULY 7, 2010

And as a freelancer myself, I approve! Businesses hire freelance talent to absorb ebbs and flows in activity or to fill talent gaps that are essential but not required every day. Businesses hire freelance talent to absorb ebbs and flows in activity or to fill talent gaps that are essential but not required every day.

Freelance 55

Freelance Projects Construction Communication 55

Men With Pens

FEBRUARY 23, 2010

These are all extremely lengthy projects. In an online world, such projects are not exactly commonplace. I thought I’d share my personal method for organizing much longer projects just in case one of you gets hit up tomorrow for a ghostwriting project. Up to now, how have you been organizing your big projects?

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Projects Writing Copywriter Copywriting 51

Men With Pens

JANUARY 14, 2010

Like my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, I start a lot of projects and then get sidetracked. Waiting until your great idea moves out of the inspiration phase before you write it down (or however else you creatively express yourself) is a guaranteed way to forget all about your great idea. You’re dead on, man. Justin´s last blog.

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Writing Writing Style Copywriter Copywriting 62

Men With Pens

NOVEMBER 26, 2009

Glad this is helping, and it’ll serve you as you move forward, eithe with the next draft of your NaNoWriMo manuscript, or your next project. Anything that encourages creativity (even for its own sake) is wonderful and worth supporting. Anything that encourages creativity is a good thing. Thanks all. Powered by frugal

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Concept Writer Publisher Publishing 44

Men With Pens

JANUARY 28, 2010

Freelancing can be much the same. That’s a good rule of thumb for freelancers to keep in mind, too. Instead of devaluing your work and that of other freelancers, have some respect and charge what you’re worth! These clients will only sap your creativity and eat up time that could be spent finding Mr. Right.

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Freelance Portfolio Projects Creativity 75

Men With Pens

APRIL 15, 2010

When I started freelancing full time, I also started a Masters degree in Creative Writing. If you let weeks slip by without writing or without working on that one project that really interests you, find half a day each week when you can really dig into your writing. Something similar has happened with my fiction writing.

Writing 73

Writing Copywriter Copywriting Writer 73

Men With Pens

JANUARY 5, 2012

In the first month of my creative writing Masters, both my tutors told me that I wrote too much from the head. If you’re a freelance writer, you might not have total control over what you write about – but you can choose to specialise in something that’s important to you. Have a gripping introduction to draw the reader in.

Writing 69

Writing Construction Freelance Sales 69

ProBlogger

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

This is a guest contribution from author and freelance writer Steff Green. The Guardian points to statistics showing the amount of blogs started by teens has halved since 2006, and massively declined among millennial. Image via Flickr user Spondle. What was once the mark of a high-quality blog now screams of incompetence.

Blog 55

Blog Blogging Social Media Advertising 55

Men With Pens

JUNE 13, 2010

I’ve turned down a few projects because I knew they were scams or they used unethical tactics. As a rule, I can work for about 3 hours on one project before getting a little loopy, so I move on to something else in the afternoon. James: Think back to a project when you’d done a really great job – an awesome job.

Copywriter 57

Copywriter Copywriting Copy Banking 57

Men With Pens

APRIL 22, 2010

Confidence and the lack thereof play major rolls in business… one specific example is when determining a project bid or what to charge per hour. And, to be good at it, you have to actually enjoy that kind of interaction – which many creative people emphatically do not and furthermore never will. Great post, seriously.

Marketing 62

Marketing Creativity Copywriter Copywriting 62

Men With Pens

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

But I also write fiction, freelance, am into fitness, snowboard, am a sports fan, like humour, enjoy gadgets, and a whole bunch of other stuff that make me a human being. Has Social Media Cheapened Creative Talent? That would get tired fast and your creativity would suffer! @ sized projects. Yeah, I work in marketing.

Construction 65

Construction Writer Freelance Sales 65

Men With Pens

MARCH 9, 2010

I would add that for freelancers such as guitar teachers, a lot of people don’t want to pay cash or (god forbid) by check anymore, they’d rather go to your website and hit the PayPal button. Scared of being responsibly creative. They’re all small business owners. Thoughts… people have fear! Powered by frugal

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Website Advertising Portfolio Consulting 66

Men With Pens

JULY 11, 2010

Here’s a thought: What if that dropping readership, that dwindling traffic and that lack of discussion lets you invest your time in better projects, ones that help you get closer to your goals? It takes time, energy, skills, money, creativity and consistency to make it work. As a consumer, that bothers me.

IT 69

IT Blog Blogging Entertainment 69

Men With Pens

JULY 21, 2010

Cath – Writing (especially the more creative varieties) take a lot of energy, and I can sympathise with people who make excuses … but you’re right about the woman on the course; there’s not much point being there if you’re not going to write. Sarah – We have the NaNoWriMo book (No Plot? No Problem!),

Writer 83

Writer Copywriter Copywriting Creativity 83

Men With Pens

DECEMBER 22, 2009

Why you need down time to be creative Reply Deb Ng ( @debng ) December 23, 2009 at 11:19 am Happy holidays to all the pen people and the MwP community! - I come by regularly for a jump start to my daily blog, and I’m hoarding ideas for a big writing project I’m starting in January. Just because? Send wine and cheese to P.O.

IT 42

IT Freelance Copywriter Copywriting 42

Men With Pens

MAY 19, 2010

They work on projects, they do their own customer service, their own customer management, their marketing and networking, their project scheduling, admin and bookkeeping. Perception is projection – people see us in the way we project ourselves to them. They have to stay on top of everything. That’s no good. How about you?

Freelance 69

Freelance Projects Copywriter Copywriting 69

Men With Pens

APRIL 27, 2010

Email is one of the most common forms of communication between freelancers and clients, and all too often, the clients have no idea how they come off. No freelancer can afford to have that damage to his reputation. Parenting Is A Creative Act Reply Chris Mower ( @firesamurai ) April 28, 2010 at 10:31 am Great reminder.

Communication 67

Communication Text Freelance Copywriter 67

Men With Pens

JANUARY 3, 2010

I think there are tons of monetization models (and one of my projects is figuring out the essential monetization patterns for info products.) I think adsense and banner ads still work well, it just takes a little more creativity to have them work well. From The Afghan Women’s Writing Project: I Am For Sale, Who Will Buy Me?

Advertising 54

Advertising Blogger Ads Copywriter 54

Men With Pens

JUNE 9, 2010

When you start freelancing, you usually spend time online looking for the big names in your line of work. But there is something sexy about completing a project that you’re proud of and that results in a happy client who refers you to someone else while you cash his cheque at your bank. It taught me a lot.

Freelance 60

Freelance Copywriter Copywriting Creativity 60

Men With Pens

DECEMBER 6, 2009

I was having a conversation with Deb Ng of Freelance Writing Gigs on Twitter , and I smirked at her comment. We blog our hearts out, pouring creativity, knowledge and advice into each post we write. It’s long-term, it’s tiring, it’s creatively exhausting and it’s completely unpaid. We’re bloggers.

Blog Post 64

Blog Post Post Blog Blogging 64

Men With Pens

MAY 9, 2010

And we realized that we generally asked more or less the same questions for each type of project. Cancer Crab Reply Chris Mower ( @firesamurai ) May 10, 2010 at 11:16 am I’ll be honest, I don’t have a pre-project questionnaire, though I do have one for after the project is complete. Except the times when we didn’t.

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Copywriter Copywriting Copy Projects 52