The Social Freelancer: Media, Music, TV & Film

The Creative Quandry is just a fact of life for most who have a bent for creative endeavors. It’s the struggle of keeping bread on the table while making music, writing, painting, acting or any form of “art”.

I’ve been deep in this one lately due to a number of client projects booking my schedule tight (a problem I am happy to have). You may have noticed a reprint of some previous articles on this blog in the past couple of weeks, it’s just my effort to keep content moving, while providing good service to my paying clients. But certainly I would rather have the time needed to produce fresh articles multiple times every week, but that’s not my current REALITY.

Merging “work” with creative

What to do? Keep Going. Read more…

What to do with Social Media? Be careful, but have fun… Here are four quick tips for surviving social media, hope you find it helpful.

1. Use common sense. Simple. Don’t put your home address anywhere on your websites, blogs, profiles, anywhere. I keep a business mailing address that is posted on my sites, but it’s no one’s business where I live.

2. Avoid personal attacks. Follow the age old advice “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” This is sometimes hard to do in life, and on the Internet, but it is vital to your social networking efforts. Having conversations online about things that you are passionate about is great for building your reputation, but watch your words! If you take issue with something someone has posted, respond with fact and supportable opinion, do not attack the person who posted it. Likewise, as soon as someone launches a personal attack against you, restate your qualified opinion on the subject, then let it go – disengage from the conversation. I have seen many instances of people getting involved in a “tit-for-tat” argument online that quickly dissolves into juvenile name-calling antics, resulting in all parties looking like fools.
Read this -> Social Media Smart Move: Be an Aggregator, Not an Aggravator

careful about the kooks

Simple stuff! If someone “likes” or “retweets” your postings on Facebook, Twitter, or any social media outlet, RETURN the FAVOR.

RECIPROCATE! It works. I wrote this post in 2011 and since then it has been one of the most shared articles from my blog. Hope you enjoy, and will leave a comment below. Is this helpful to you?

What makes you feel good? For most of us just being acknowledged for something we have done does the trick. When someone mentions me or posts one of my articles, it warms me up. One little mention lets me know I’m not just “spittin’ in the wind” with social media.

What’s the easiest way to thank someone? Reciprocate!
On Facebook or Twitter it’s easy to thank someone. Post an update and use the “@” symbol in front of their name. That becomes a link to their profile and (on Facebook) shows up on their wall or (on Twitter) shows up in their “mentions”. As soon as that person checks in with these services they will likely see that you have mentioned them or gave them credit for a compelling post.
>>>READ On to see how I do it and who is on my Top 15 “Reciprocators” List>> Read more…

A thought this morning: “Content is King” is a myth.
From my earliest foray into social media and blogging, I have heard the “Content is king” line and believed it. It makes sense that if you don’t have anything interesting or informative to say, few will pay attention. Now I see that having great content is important, but it’s just one of the keys to the puzzle. I wish that merely posting inspired writing, photographs, quotes and other popular content were the keys to attracting millions of eyeballs to this blog, but alas, this is not so.

Is your “stuff” being seen?

Guilty! Every Monday I check Google Analytics to see which articles on this blog are receiving the most attention on the Net. You could call it an obsession, but this activity does serve a writing purpose. It’s a clue as to what articles are resonating most with readers, and isn’t that what writing is all about?
Today, February 4, 2013, these are the top five. I’ll be updating this post one year from now. It will be interesting to see what topics remain in high volume, and what new topics have emerged by then.

Blogging about these things…

2. Why You Should Schedule Tweets AND Engage. Yes. It Matters.

3. Is Social Media Killing the Email Reply?

4. The Beauty of Blogging and Twitter

5. Meet George Jetson! About the Future: What will you do?

Read In Depth >>> Read more…