Archive for February 2008

Do you ask your client for feedback on your work? Some freelancers and contractors don’t have annual or formal reviews. Large contracts usually make reviews a part of the process, but that’s not always the case with individual freelancers.

Sending a client a separate e-mail asking for a project check up signals a few things to the client:

• You care about product high quality work for the client.
• You’re open to feedback.
• You care about improving your relationship with the client.

Even if the client can’t ever give you another project, the client might refer you to others who can. Furthermore, it helps you learn about the areas needing improving so you do better next time.

Most of the time, clients are happy to provide feedback. It just may take a little time before they do. In your e-mail, let the client know to respond when it’s convenient for the client and that the response doesn’t have to be lengthy.

I ask the client three questions to keep it short and doable. Too many, and it might turn off the client from responding. I typically ask the following two every time:

1. Are you happy with the work you receive from me?
2. What can I do to better serve you?

The third question depends on what I am doing for the client. If it’s an ongoing client engagement where I work hourly, I might ask if the hours are acceptable or simply leave the question open-ended.

Yes, the first question is a “yes/no” question rather than open-ended. But I make up for that with the second question. One closed question and one open-ended question gives the client balance to open the door for a quick response or a lengthy one.

Some clients take the time to provide a detailed reply while others are short. Get out there and keep those clients happy — as you know it’s cheaper to keep a client than to find a new one.

• FolderShare: free service from Microsoft that makes it easier to manage files between two computers.
• 10 Ways to Make Your Words Captivate
• Here Comes another Bubble: Video with captions — a well-done take off of one of my favorite songs ever… “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” No easy task. I’m impressed.
• The Best Sandwiches in America: Before you go anywhere — check this savory list. None from the Dallas area. Pooh. Unless you count Chick-fil-A’s chicken sandwich. [Link: Neat New Stuff]
• Academy Award winners for cartoon/short subject films by year. You see these in the Academy Awards and wonder where are they from. I still do, but at least you can see the winners. [Link: Neat New Stuff]

Despite a way too long subtitle and “salesy” claims, Sell Your Book on Amazon surprises. Its format simplifies finding the sections of interest – couple that with the ratings from five stars indicating “a must do” item to one star meaning “Don’t waste your time.” Authors who publish their books using a print-on-demand (POD) service will benefit most from this book.

However, authors with books published through traditional publishers will find useful tactics. Nowadays, authors must do their own marketing instead of relying on the publisher. Most authors don’t reach the popularity of bestselling authors like the John Grishams, J.K. Rowlings, and Malcome Gladwells. These authors need not worry about marketing.

But that’s not the case for most of us. So we have to research and figure our way around sites like Amazon from a different point of view than a shopper’s. You may already be doing some or most of the recommended activities discussed in the book. Or maybe you could do more to boost sales.

Naturally, Sampson spends most of the book discussing Amazon’s Profile Page (which he often references as Author Profile Page, but that’s not what Amazon calls it) and Book Detail Page. Despite my using Amazon since the early ’90s when it was just an online bookstore, I’ve picked up a few things from the book.

For instance, I didn’t know that authors can set up a “Search Inside” page. I thought that was under the publisher’s control. You may have to deal with your publisher in terms of your contract and Amazon’s contract. These little tidbits may justify the cost of buying the book.

Authors certainly can request reviews. Sampson, however, recommends asking for a five-star review, rationalizing the advice by saying a book will get plenty of reviews that aren’t five stars. It’s just not right for an author to tell me (a reviewer) this.

Yes, a highly rated book will get a boost, but I believe requesting a review is enough. Ironically, in the letters I received for reviewing the book — they make no mention of recommending I provide a five-star review.

In the intro, the author mentions BXGY. What’s that? I look for BXGY in the index and find other pages covering the abbreviation that explain it. Most, if not all, writing style guides say to expand an acronym or abbreviation on first occurrence. Or else you waste the reader’s time in trying to figure out little things like this.

The tactic ratings are imperfect. For example, I disagree with the five-star rating on Amazon’s blog feature. Blogs do have a place — just not in Amazon. I would rather read the author’s blog on the author’s own site. It clutters Amazon with more marketing material. Furthermore, Amazon offers other ways to get your URL listed. Nonetheless, many probably find value in authors’ blogs. The important thing for authors remember is to use their best judgment in prioritizing what features to address. They know their target market and their needs.

Sell Your Book on Amazon works well as a resource. Authors can browse the tactics for what interests them. Then study those tactics and put them to work. The ratings offer a general guideline of a tactic’s importance — but ultimately the author can decide what’s best.

Not all tactics in the book are about things authors can do. A couple — like Amazon sales rank and Latest Activity features — explain what they are and how the processes work.

While the book’s description makes promises of increasing sales by 20 percent at a minimum and thousands of dollars in royalties — don’t expect a quick fix. It takes time to put the tactics to work and build on them. These tactics can increase book sales, if authors follow up and follow through.

Successful authors tend to read a lot. As such, they are also Amazon’s target market for the book section. Writers keeping this in mind will examine at other author’s profiles and book pages. In doing this research, they will discover what they like and don’t like about these pages. Authors who apply what they’ve learned to their own profiles and book pages will improve their Amazon presence.

Amazon lists the number of pages in the book as 184. The book only has 164 pages. Regardless, the book contains less content since the narrow margins stretch out the content. Notes appear on the sides for highlighting points, but there aren’t many to justify putting the contents in a narrower than normal margin.

Content nitpicks aside, the formatting speeds finding tactics you want to work on. Although this review points out issues, Sampson does a nice job of organizing Sell Your Book on Amazon and showing step-by-step how to do each tactic. Overall, the author offers common sense tips and advice for taking advantage of Amazon’s features. Since the book is an easy and light read, it won’t be difficult for overwhelmed authors to “get around” to using the book.

• Title: Sell Your Book on Amazon: The Book Marketing COACH Reveals Top-Secret “How-to” Tips Guaranteed to Increase Sales for Print-on-Demand and Self-Publishing Writers
• Author: Brent Sampson
• Publisher: Outskirts
• ISBN: 1432701967
• Date: March 2007
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 164
• Cover Price: USD: $14.95

I go to various gas stations to fill up a thirsy car. The one in my neighborhood takes longer to use because of its strange set up. Most gas stations have the screen and buttons next to each other.

Not this one. The buttons appear near the nozzle and the credit card slot. The screen sits in the middle like most gas station screens. It’s tough to notice the buttons because the panel is slightly covered (indented area) like porches with a roof cover.

To make it more difficult to use, four arrow buttons appear on both sides of the screen. You use these mainly for yes/no questions. But you enter your zip code, other information, and press “Enter” on the other panel.

It feels like a “left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing” situation. I’m sure the designer moved the buttons and credit card slot to its location as protection from weather. But really. The screen and panel should be together, which is what most gas stations do.

Moral: Ensure your content and interactive parts — especially a shopping cart — of your site work together and intuitively. Quick and cheap (free really) way to do this is to have friends and family test the site.

Remember the deal is good on Game du Jour for one day only.

11 February: Risk II 40% off

12 February: KingMania 60% off

13 February: Chocolatier (Yummy and original game. Check out the sequel.) 50% off

14 February: Scrambled 60% off

15 February: Lost in the Labyrinth 60% off

16 February: Democracy 50% off

17 February: Spheres Master 50% off

• Hemingway’s Rules of Writing Can Still Work to help you write simple
• Wacky iPod Cases
• Puppy Bowl: awwww
• Beat Blank Page Syndrome: I’ve had it and some of these tips are what helped me past it.
• Yahoo! vs. Google: Enter words to see how their results compare on the two sites.
• 25 Ways to Become an Effective Freelancer
• 10 Effective Productivity Tips for Writers

Customers scream for ice cream and you need to serve ‘em up the way they like it. No matter the weather, we love our ice cream. Ice Cream Craze gives you a chance to have your ice cream without worrying about it affecting your shape.

Jan’s parents want to sell their ice cream shop and enjoy living easy. She asks to take over the shop. Mom and Dad agree to let her buy the store if she (us) can successfully manage the store for 60 days. One day, of course, equals one level.

In this time management game, Jan fills ice cream orders based on customer requests. She pick up the ingredients from conveyor belts and put them in the right order. Someone asking for chocolate and vanilla must receive it in that order and not the other way around or else the dessert goes in the recycling bin.

If you make mistakes — and I make plenty — try to undo the order by putting each ingredient on plates. However, the game gives you only one plate and you must buy the other three. Four plates helps a lot, but later levels easily call for orders with over four ingredients. So use those plates wisely or you’ll recycle the order and start over.

What drives me batty (hence the appropriate title for the game — makes me crazy) is when I think I deliver an order or put it somewhere, I find that I’m carrying two orders on top of each other. Once an order is complete, there’s no undoing it and both go to waste.

The upgrade store shows up after completing a level. Don’t expect to have all the upgrades early in the game or even halfway. It takes time to earn enough money for each upgrade and much longer for the big items like faster machines. Upgrades in some games come too easy, but this one does a fine job in ensuring upgrades spread out through the game.

Jan’s moving too slow is another element of the “craze” in Ice Cream Craze — it makes a gal crazy. I try to get her to drink all the espresso she can. Coffee speed is the speed that should be normal. The game drags for the first one-third of the game and improves as you add speed upgrades.

Chaining — clicking ahead a few steps — works, but nothing indicates the clicks took effect. Too many times, I find myself backtracking or redoing the level because a click didn’t take.

For the first time — to my knowledge — players must pick up the cash within seconds or else the money blinks and disappears forever losing your chance to increase your profits. It annoys me at first — I get the hang of it later. Some might value the extra challenge while others start pulling out their hair.

Ice Cream Craze serves up a couple scoops of fun with a ’50s theme. It isn’t the best time management game, but it’s also not the worst — more like somewhere in the middle, an average game. The only thing you won’t get out of an hour of free play is a feel for the speed. It takes more than an hour for the game to move faster.

Netdisaster, an online toy/application, creates a disaster of your choice to a Web site. A great way to get that frustration with a Web site or company out of your system.

The site is a valuable tool for writers. Use the “text sucker” option, enter a Web address, and Go. Give the vacuum a moment to do its job (very cool effect). The result displays the Web page without text. Sure, a picture can say a 1000 words, but not in the case of most Web sites.

After all, “A word is worth a 1000 pictures,” says Jeff Sexton. He teases readers with his headline of “1000 tips for selling online without paying a copywriter.” The tip? Hire a copywriter times 1000. Don’t shoot the messenger.

Check out Yahoo! below after text sucker does its job.

Over at Bionic Ear, we often discuss the lack of captions in online videos, which has recently surged due to the writer’s strike. John Erskine of Project readOn pointed to a press release: Study finds companies benefit from removing IT barriers for people with disabilities and boomers.

Since everyone is talking about yesterday’s Super Bowl — one thing disappointed me. Many of the $$$ commercials didn’t have captions. These companies spend ginormous bucks to show their ads during the prime time of commercials and can’t spare a few dollars to add captioning?

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• 19 Best Ads I Have Ever Seen: Wow. Impressive collection. [Link: Kottke]
• 100 Books Every Child Should Read: Grouped into three types: early years, middle years, and early teens. Mostly focused on British stuff. After all, it’s from a UK site. My third grader loved The Twits, and he doesn’t like reading. [Link: Kottke]
• How to Start Charging Your Dream Rates [Link: Freelance Folder]
• From Techrepublic: Flow chart for problem resolution and flowchart for gaming.
• History of the Harlem Globetrotters: My dad took me to see them a couple of times. I had great fun watching them live and on TV. Glad to see they’re still going strong.
• Big Think: Contains many interviews with experts in all industries. [Link: Neat New Stuff]
• Rules of Thumb: All the rules of thumb in one place. [Link: Neat New Stuff]