Welcome to the Avenue Z discussion on how to find more ideas from more freelancers! Please let me know how you think this will work best. We'll figure out a strategy for helping freelancers share ideas through Life on Avenue Z.

Thanks for your participation!

Beth

Here's how this came about:

Sara Best from Velo Communications had a great idea...

"Just a thought - if you're ever struggling to come up with content for blog posts, what about opening up the comment section to ideas for discussion topics? I often find myself struggling with a problem that crops up in this crazy world of freelance writing and I wonder to myself what your other readers might do in the same situation. It might be fun to open things up once a week or once a month or something and just let everyone chat about some discussion point (e.g., invoicing, finding new business, "checking-in" emails, etc.). I, for one, would love to hear how others handle these things. Also, it takes some of the burden off of you having to come up with a full post all the time."

I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle her suggestion.
Some of my readers just come for the ... ummm... well, I don't know exactly why they come, but they're not freelancers. But quite a few are writers/freelancers who follow my small business adventures.

I used QuickTopic to set up a little discussion board to give ideas for how to best do this.
*Should I set up a forum?
*Should it just be a general question?
*Is there a place you already go that would be a great resource?


*Would you like to see live events -- chats, webinars, that kind of thing?

I'm one of those readers who is not a freelancer. I basically read the personal stuff more often. Maybe you could offer a forum as a link?

What about a guest blogger program? It would be cool to hear other perspectives.

I dont know if I will consider myself a freelancer, but I think the ideas Beth mentioned sounds like a step in the right direction.

Perhaps I should start with a simple open question as a blog post? I was thinking about freelance contracts as a first question... do we create them? What do they cover? Is there a deposit?

I would post these questions in an entry, and freelancers would respond. Do you think people would chime in?

Beth, cool idea! :)

How about a discussion post about non-freelancing topics that we could all talk about? Like "the top three things you started doing to save money"?

I like that idea!

Again, would people participate? So many people visit without saying anything.... I want to figure out a way to get a bigger discussion going.
Beth Ziesenis
Avenue Z Writing Solutions
     ...content solutions for organizations with something to say bziesenis@avenuez.net
619 231 9225

The serious side: www.avenuez.net
What's behind the curtain: www.lifeonavenuez.com

What is Avenue Z? Avenue Z -- The Movie

< replied-to message removed by QT >

Hi, Forum People.... you can subscribe to these posts (see above left) so that you get updates in your email box and can reply from there.

How about just a short post from you throwing an idea out there for discussion and then readers can just run with it in the comment section that day.

For example, when work is running low or I haven't heard from a particular client in a while I often send out a short email saying that I'm just checking in to see if I can take anything off of their desks for them. I wonder if other freelancers do this and, if so, what do they say in those emails and does it work for them?

Non-freelancers don't need to contribute if they don't feel comfortable, they can just read along that day.

I'm not a freelancer, but I am writing a memoir. So my question is the purpose of this? Sounds like you want to drum up business. However most other bloggers are looking for ways to get more traffic to their blogs, either for social purposes or like myself to network and get people interested in my writing so when I'm ready to find an agent and editor, I can say I have x number of followers of my blog already. I'm still learning how to do this and am looking to learn more about the process.

Well that could be a great idea for a discussion topic: if you have your own blog, why do you blog and how do you generate traffic?

I'm looking forward to starting these conversations on my blog. My biggest concern is that maybe people won't participate. Can you help spread the word to other writers? What do you think about a discussion question every Friday? Too much? Every other Friday? Once a month?

I'm a little confused as it seems to me we're mixing several issues.
1) Freelancers wanting to network with other freelancers on ideas for more business contacts.
2) Writers, like myself wanting more traffic to their blog.
3) Ideas on what to write about.
Am I right or not? Please clarify.

You're right.... I do think we're talking about several things. I think I'll continue to try to mix up the ideas on my blog. I'm not really sure how it will turn out, but since I have a variety of readers, perhaps they'll all find a little something from time to time.

Thanks for the conversations!

I'm sure that we can all interact. I have mentioned this to a couple of my friends who are freelancers and shall get them to respond. It might help if you define what you're looking for first.

Hi, Beth and all-

I'm in! I'm a freelance copywriter and I'd love to pick others' brains re: contracts, "checking in" emails (I send these too!), etc.

As to timing, I'd say once a month is about all I could participate (assuming my workload stays heavy -- let's hope!).