I’ve come across a few people in the past couple of weeks who are just starting out on Twitter, so I thought it might be useful to do a Q&A-style post to help answer any queries you may have if you’re a newbie.

1. What does retweet mean?

Retweet (or RT) means forwarding a tweet you’ve received to all your followers.

2. What’s a hash tag?

Hashtags (#) are really useful for searching specific conversations/topics. So, if you write a tweet that’s aimed at freelancers, you could add #freelancer or #freelancing to it and anyone who’s searching on those terms will see your message.

They’re also used a lot around events. So, for example, I went to a conference recently called Women Unlimited and everyone who tweeted about it used the hashtag #WUC2011. That meant, anyone who wanted to be kept up to speed about what was happening at the event simply searched #WUC2011 and they could see all the tweets relating to it.

This guest post from the co-founder of Credit Card Compare points out the financial benefits to decluttering your workspace – and also explains how to do it.

Who doesn’t like a clean, uncluttered workspace? Not only does  a neat work area look professional, it can yield financial benefits you may not have thought about.

You can increase your profits

A messy work area contributes to higher levels of stress and lower levels of productivity. Cleaning up an  untidy workstation has many benefits, including increasing your energy levels and an ability to think more clearly. Having a stress-free work area also helps you stay motivated, allows you to do your job more efficiently and boosts creativity. A more productive work environment allows you to concentrate on your work and thus increase your profits.

A crucial part of your marketing plan is working out what kind of clients you want to attract. So here are three important questions you’ll want to ask yourself:

Q1: Who is my target audience?

Think hard about exactly who you want to aim at. Don’t be vague with statements such as ‘women’ or ‘SMEs’ or ‘design agencies’.

Instead, refine it down to something like:

• ‘Working mothers aged 30-45 who want to improve their cooking skills.’
• ‘Technology businesses in the Thames Valley with a turnover of £1-£5 million.’
• ‘Web design agencies with between 5-20 staff located in the London postcodes of SW and W.’
Read more »

As this is (drum roll…) my 100th blog post, I’ve taken a look through my archive to highlight 10 articles that you might want to take another look at.  (Or read for the first time if you are fairly new to this blog.)

1. Getting started: Are you thinking about going freelance?

2. Financial matters: 10 ways to keep on top of your finances

3. Getting more work: How to get clients to buy more of your services

Winning new work is easy, isn’t it? It’s all about selling your services to others.

Fine in theory.

But I’d rather eat cold black pudding than make a new business presentation. However, if we don’t get a regular flow of new clients, our freelance business won’t prosper.

Thank goodness, then, for Pawel Grabowski’s new e-book: The Smart Business Guide to Winning New Work.

Pawel started his blog ‘Self Employed Cafe‘, about the same time I started this blog. A few days ago, he sent me a copy of the e-book he’s just completed and asked if I’d give it the once over.

If, like me, you hate the thought of putting your ‘sales hat’ on, then this book is for you. What I really like about it is the fact it doesn’t just focus on WHAT you need to do. It also shows you HOW to do it.

For ages I didn’t enjoy face-to-face networking. I had all kinds of excuses not to do it:

• “I don’t want to walk into a room full of strangers.”
• “I don’t want to get up for an early breakfast.”
• “I’m too busy.”
• “I don’t like standing up and doing my one-minute speech.”
• “The people I meet aren’t relevant to my business.”

But then I discovered the answer to successful networking:

GO TO EVENTS YOU ENJOY

For example, today, I’m going to an afternoon ‘cakeworking’ event. Eight business people meeting up to eat cakes at Patisserie Valerie in Marylebone High Street. No stress or effort involved. Just yummy cakes and informal networking chat.

Here are five more things I’ve learned about how to network successfully: