OMG! You Need A Website!
Posted on Sep 1, 2010 in Business Basics, Freelancing 101 | 23 comments
This weekend I had conversations with three different people, all freelancers. One was a writer, another one was a photographer and the other one a makeup artist. They all had one thing in common: they didn’t have a website. And all three times, I immediately blurted out “OMG, you need a website!”
I never thought I’d write a post about this because I consider it a basic requirement for running a freelance business. It just really shocked me how it just kept coming up this past weekend. Of course, they were all relative freelance newbies. But I just think you’re not actually freelancing until you have a website.
Listen, your website is your online business card. There’s no reason for you not to have one to give potential clients more information about you and what you can do for them. Not having one makes you look small time and wet behind the ears. And even if you are small time and wet behind the ears, you don’t want to give that off as your first impression to a client.
You can tell me what you do all you want to but your website shows me what you do. It’s where you put your best foot forward and showcase your best work. It’s where your portfolio lives. I can’t think of a case where someone is going to hire you for a project or gig without looking at your website. And when you tell them you don’t have one, I guarantee you that their estimation of you will go down a notch or two.
One of the reasons a brand new freelancer might not have a website is because they don’t think they can afford one. When you’re only freelancing part-time or just starting out, it can be hard to put money toward your freelancing business. I definitely understand that. But a website costs less than $10 a year for the domain and about as much a month for the hosting. In fact, for years, I used Microsoft Office Live and Blogger to host my website and blogs for free. With a few tweaks, it looked more professional than some of websites that people paying far more money for.
Another reason you might not have a website is because you’re not sure what to put on it or you’re nervous about how it will look. Don’t get caught up in that perfectionist trap. I don’t care how long you’re in business, you’ll never be “done” with your website. It will never be perfect. There will always be something you want to change. Just writing this post reminds me of all the changes I want to make to my own website. I need to update my portfolio badly along with a few other things. Every few months, I try to tweak my website. You probably will too. But first, you have to actually have one.
Ok, your turn. Do you have a website and how did it take you get one? If you waited to get one, why did you drag your feet? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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I know that I, too, need a website, and I found someone to help me build a professional site. The problem? I am so impatient! I wanted it like yesterday.
My personal blog is something, but it's just not enough anymore.
My recent post Dear Oprah
At least you realize that you need one! I'd be impatient too, though. Just set a date to launch as a goal and stick to it. The sooner you have a website, the better off you'll be.
I had a professional site for a while, but let it expire because I hated the domain. Now I have one again (still don't love the domain, but at least there's no hyphen) and I just need the time to work on it. I figured that it's just wrong for me to be writing web content for clients if I didn't have a site of my own.
My recent post
Yeah, you want your domain to be easy to remember and that hyphen would have annoyed me too. I write as "P.S. Jones" so I wanted psjones.com so bad! But someone else has it. But make time for your website, Carol! I read somewhere that you should treat your own business like it's any other client. (I want to say on @Inkyclean's site, but I'm not sure.) You wouldn't put off a project for a client, so don't do it to yourself. Pretend like it's a project you were paid to do, set a completion date and schedule it into your work day. You'll be so hapy you did.
I put off creating a web site longer than I should have due to technical fears. Then I just jumped in. Just as you said, you'll never be done, partly because you continue to learn and want to apply new knowledge to your site. A potential client told me yesterday that he'd been quoted a price of $10,000 for a new site. Insanity!!! No wonder people are afraid to try it on their own.
Ugh! That's so true. You get to thinking that you couldn't possibly do it yourself and you psych yourself out.
We moved last week, and my new next-door neighbor happens to be a relatively new freelance writer. "What's your website, so I can check out your portfolio?" was my first question. She sheepishly admitted that she didn't have one. I'm with you, P.S.–it's the first thing a freelancer should do, and I'd be unlikely to hire one who doesn't have one. Blogs are nice, but it's not a portfolio. And this post is a reminder that I need to do some "creative destruction" on my own site.
@Emily, good for you that you're taking action. Get something up there, don't worry about making it perfect.
My recent post Freelance Follies- How much is it going to cost
I almost did not write this post because I thought it might be too basic. But I am learning more everyday that what I think is basic knowledge might not be what other people think is basic knowledge. Take WordPress. I am new to this and some piece of knowledge that the rest of you might take for granted might be just the thing that I needed to know. I am thinking of doing a post series on websites. But first I had to implement all the things I have learned in the past months to my own!
Just came across a quote and immediately thought of this comment, P.S.
“It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.”
– Alfred North Whitehead http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_North_Whitehe…
So, it seems to me you're right on target! (And I learn something new about WP every day; it's a bit scary and humbling.)
My recent post Freelance Follies- How much is it going to cost
Oooh, I like that quote and I plan to use it frequently. Thanks!
My recent post OMG! You Need A Website!
No, I don't have a website yet, but I am planning to have one soon. Thanks for the reminder:) I agree with you about throwing the thought of perfection out the window. If you just make the decision to start something, that's when the ideas will come.
Knowing is half the battle, Cara. (Yes, I used a GI Joe reference. I'm not ashamed of it, either.)
While I completely agree with you that every freelancer NEEDS a website, I can imagine a scenario where it wouldn't be *essential* – if the writer was ONLY pitching articles to magazines and could send pdfs of previous work. You might not want an editor to know that you have 16 pieces on health care and only 2 on childcare if you're pitching to a parenting magazine – but sending along 2 pdf articles that you wrote and had published looks good without pointing out your "lack."
That said, I think even this person should have a website – perhaps only keep one or two samples in each category that you write for up at any given time; or set different categories on different pages and send editors a link directly to the right page.
My recent post Big Announcement- Changes to JW
That's true. That's how I got away with not having one the first couple of months I freelanced in college. But one of the things I've noticed when querying the last few weeks is that many people do not want email attachments at all. (It a security issue for some companies.)
My recent post OMG! You Need A Website!
Nobody feel bad. I was a successful freelancer for years and years without a website. But I'm glad I got one now. I started with a little website but within six months converted to a WordPress site. That was a great decision. Next, a Facebook page!
Claire, please tweet me when you've set up your Facebook page so that I can tell Facebook that I "like" you! lol
Will do, my friend! I'm compiling my wish list now. I checked out your page. BTW, I like this new site and your FB page. Good styling!
I like this site too! I'm still tinkering but I'm surprised at how happy I am with it. I really thought it was going to be harder, but thankfully, it wasn't. Now, as for my FB page, ehh. It's on my list to dig into and overhaul. I'm sure I'll get a few blog posts out of it when I do, though!
That is SO what life seems like for me now – just fodder or input or inspiration for another blog post. Anyway, if you find any Facebook pitfalls you want to warn me about, I would be greatful!
Hey, that's what I'm here for: other people to learn from my mistakes!
1. This is a good look. Good job on the move!
2. I'm going to give myself a 2-week window to get off of the no website hit list.
Haha! You're not on a hit list but make sure you update me on your website when you're done. I can't wait to see what you come up with.
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