Welcome to Web Chew, a digest of web trends and tips for BlogMasters, podcasters, and webmasters. In this addition we'll review contract pointers for freelancers, paid blogging, SEO techniques with a new toolbar, podcasting trends, and income from pop-up advertising.
Contracts, Free Toolbar, PodCasting Trends, and Paid Blogging
Contract Tips. Donald Hammond wrote about some great ways to protect yourself as a freelancer, which any web developer who works on a contract/project basis should know about. Speaking of "contract work", you do get a written contract for every job, don't you? Come on — sure verbal contracts are binding, but when it comes down to a dispute in court, it is "he said/she said," — your word against theirs, unless you have it in writing. Get it on paper. Remember the daytime Peoples' Court judges? The only way they could tell if someone was telling the truth or not was to review receipts and other evidence on paper. At the very least, send a registered letter outlining your agreement, to your client... before the work begins. And, Mr. Hammond has some other good advice for you in his article.
Copywriting... What's "Copywriting"? So many times web developers and webmasters are called upon to wear hats for work in which they have little or no training. What about the words, or "copy" that go on your websites? Well, "everyone knows how to write," right? Sure, but not everyone can command a top paying job as a copywriter for an ad agency, PR firm, or corporation, and there's a reason why. While most college-trained people can write, few can write well. But you can learn the tricks of the trade — just Google copywriting tips and techniques. Maybe you should consider hiring a professional when your background and focus is on programming code. One good way to locate a professional copywriter for your projects is to review successful bidders at the freelance technical project websites online. Do a search there for "technical writers," or just post your project, then read carefully the reviews and qualifications for those who make bids to work for you.
Podcasting: Where should you "host" your podcasts? Writer Marshal Sandler does a good job of not only profiling three top podcast hosting companies, but also giving a brief explanation of what podcasting is, and two success stories in the field, in his article, "Hosting Your Podcast & Podcast Stories." One of the success stories details how podcasts, or "GodCasts", are reshaping how the Baptist Church reaches the faithful. Hmm... now here's a new market for Apple's iPods. See also our "Firefox Trick" for this column which analyzes the SEO for two podcast Hosting companies using the new WebWinX.com WebHelper Toolbar.
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