How Important are Status Reports?

I had a comment from a client recently that I hadn't sent any status reports during the course of a project. I don't usually send them for small projects because I just don't feel they're necessary. If you are dealing with a brand new web writer or one who isn't used to meeting deadlines, etc., I can understand asking for status reports just to make sure they are actually doing the work. But, from a professional with nothing but good feedback from countless clients, what's the point?

The only time I send status reports is when it's a large project or when the deadline is long or indistinct. For very large projects, a quick report is warranted to reassure the customer. For long or vague deadlines, I like to send one to tell them exactly when it will be finished. If it's a project consisting of five or 10 articles, um, no. I have my deadline. I have my instructions. I will write the articles and turn them in when it's time. There's no need for hand holding on either of our parts. I'd like to know if anyone else feels like they have to send constant, pointless updates for small projects.

Writing and Solitude

Writing is such a solitary endeavor that it's no wonder the greats were a little freaky. Shelley, Wilde, Poe- all of my guys were a little off kilter. The intense solitude of a long writing session can sometimes make you see how easy it would be to slip into a life like that, full of weird, broken relationships and possibly a storm-tossed sailboat that was foolishly taken too far out to sea. Ah, Shelley. Where are the Shelleys today? I get so sick of SEO sometimes, wanting to stretch out and try something, anything that could possibly evoke the feeling of the Telltale Heart or a Yeats poem. Instead, I write about colon cleansing. Such is life.

Shopping Cart Software

I’ve been looking around at various online shopping carts and ecommerce software for my PLR site. There are several that require a level of programming that I simply don’t have. But, for non-programmers, there are easier ways to get a shopping cart set up. ecommerce software is a big shopping cart software company, and the services they offer look pretty helpful for small-time sellers as well as bigger companies.

They have SEO shopping carts, which I have never heard of and still don’t understand. But, I suppose I don’t have to. They take care of stuff like that. They also have a free trial right now and a few other special offers. There’s a free site design right now, which I could use for all of my hideously plain sites. I actually consulted with a web designer and hired him to do some work to de-ugly my sites. But, he never showed up to do the actual work. Instead, he got a job working on a new B-movie called “Chainsaw Cheerleaders.” Seriously. But, I’m betting that the Ashop Commerce guys will be there for anyone who needs serious shopping cart software.

An Important Lesson in Pricing

I ghostwrite a blog on a subject that I am very familiar with- one that is enjoyable and takes minimal research. I saw a posting on a freelancing site recently for blog ghostwriters to write about a very similar topic. Great! I inquired and was told that the rate was half the minimum rate that I charge for blog posts. But, there were no commissions and I could do the posts easily and at the same time as my ghostwritten blog. Fabulous. I accepted.

A few days later I was hanging around RentACoder looking at stuff, and there was a posting there for someone to write blog posts about the same topic. I applied, at my usual rate for posts, and was accepted. The buyer then told me that she'd had a couple of other bloggers that had agree to write the posts for half that amount, and that if we continued after the project ended, that would be the price. Weird, but ok. I now had three blog projects that were on the same topic. What could be better?

I then got the information for the RAC project. If you haven't put this together already, and I hadn't, the two projects were for the same site. That's right- I actually underbid MYSELF. I was one of their first bloggers for the off-RAC project and apparently helped set the price point that the site was now looking for. Yes, I am an idiot.

Six Hours and 15 Minutes

They were a little slow today, but to fair it was a Friday afternoon when I posted. It's late evening now, so I think it's safe to say that they have more than one employee doing this. There's where your fees are going, folks.

ELANCE

I've noticed that every time I mention the word ELANCE in a post, an employee from Elance takes a look at my blog. Yes- every time. That means they have at least one person, likely full time, searching blogs to see what people are saying about Elance. You know what we're saying? We're saying Elance. That's right- Elance. And if you guys can afford one or more blog trollers, why was it that you had to triple our fees again?

I'll post back with how many minutes it took before an ELANCE employee sprinted in here to see what was being said about ELANCE.

If you want to experiment with this on your own, I'd love to hear back about this bizarre phenomenon. Just mention the word ELANCE once or twice (or nine times) in your blog. How many minutes did it take? Did they leave a message or just read the post? How fun was it to mess with them?

Smorty Paid Blogging

I had Smorty recommended to me by another web writer, and I just signed up for that. The site's layout seems similar to PayPerPost, and the posts pay similar amounts. What I recently found out about PPP is that Google is reducing everyone's page rank that uses them. I don't give a crap about page rank, but I know a lot of bloggers who do, so it's something to think about.

If you want to blog for money, Smorty seems like a safe choice. Google is not penalizing them and the projects look straightforward and simple to perform. If you're interested in blog advertising, Smorty can get your item and link on blogs in whatever categories you choose. And if you have a site to advertise, it isn't expensive to get started and pay bloggers to mention your site. So, with this site it's not hard to find opportunities to get paid for blogging or to advertise on blogs. Both can be done on Smorty.