by Rachel Smith
21 December 2016
It’s that time again: our annual round-up of posts from the Rachel’s List Friday blog! I personally love looking back on the past year to see what we’ve covered – it helps us see what was popular and what didn’t do so well, which informs our blog strategy for the coming year. But we know from your feedback that the round-up is good to revisit a post with particular advice or just to catch those posts you missed. So without further ado, let’s kick things off…
… with January! And it’s just not a new year without a post about resolutions, right? This one from Leo is specifically for freelancers, and about how to be a better one. She followed that on with another post pertinent to January – staying sane while waiting for the email to ping. We also heard from List member Tim Richards, who wrote a poignant piece about the passing of his feline business associate – a must-read for anyone who’s got a furry friend warming their feet under the desk on a daily basis.
In Feb, List member Nigel Bowen wrote a post that got a lot of people talking: how to embrace your inner capitalist. Lots of great advice from a guy who’s getting it right in the freelance world. We looked at tools to help you calculate your hourly rate, and Leo also wrote something that proved popular (as you’d expect): 6 reasons why the new editor hates you. Ahem. I also penned a piece on how to get editors to take you with them when they move onto pastures new.
In March, we continued the theme with how to think like an editor, wrote about overcoming project paralysis and we posted a response to all the March job cuts by freelancer John Burfitt, who told readers to skip the panic and take action. We loved Pip Harry’s post at the start of April on what to do when your editor treats you like a staff member, and it was followed up by an equally important topic by List member Darren Baguley: avoiding tech disasters when you’re freelance. April continued to be a big month for member posts, with one by Christopher Niesche on avoiding common corporate writing pitfalls – a great read if you’re edging into that area. We finished the month out with a great post from Leo on how not to get in the way of your own success.
May saw us focus on getting your email signature right, the importance of nurturing your social media following and we revealed our tips for landing really great case studies. In June, we looked at how to survive illness when you’re freelance (and your clients don’t give a damn), whether we really need another social media platform, and I interviewed the creator of The Most Dangerous Writing App. Leo also wrote about client relationships. In July, we talked about building better relationships with your clients and editors, and revealed (thanks to List members) the secrets to writing a really good job ad. We also looked at how to let go (easier said than done) when you’ve suffered a blow in business, and communication etiquette in the digital age. I also reveal my all-time favourite transcribing tool (I still use it today, and that’s saying something).
In August, we revealed the personality traits we think you need to make it as a freelancer, why you need a good coffice, and we ran a post from an anonymous List member who made the leap from print to digital. I also wrote about whether music makes you crazy when you’re trying to write. September started with freelance briefs you should run screaming from, and the results from our long awaited pay rates survey. We followed that up with posts delving deeper into the pay rates issues, and how much freelancers actually earn annually. I also reviewed Rounded, a new accounting app/website for freelancers (which I still use and love).
October kicked off with another post from Darren Baguley about pimping your LinkedIn profile, I wrote about what to do as soon as you jump into freelancing and Leo followed hot on my heels with a post about surprisingly easy ways to kiss your freelance career goodbye. In November, we wrote about how you can save money working from home, how to think like a client and help that may be at hand for helping freelancers get paid. Leo also wrote about dealing with anxiety when you’re freelance. We finished the year with our annual gift guide, of course and a post about how December isn’t a wind-down month for most of us – but we hope you’re getting to that point of putting your feet up now!
That concludes this year’s round-up. What was your favourite post?
