Category Archives: Business Development

In Gmail now you can undo a message you’ve just sent

Ever regretted sending that message? Sometimes you send a message to a wrong person and sometimes in the heat of the moment you say something that you regret immediately after clicking “send”. There was a time when a message sent via Gmail (or rather any other web based email service) was like a bullet you’ve just fired; just like you cannot stop the bullet you’ve fired, you couldn’t stop the message you had sent.

Well, if the divine realization of “this shouldn’t have been sent” hits you within 5 seconds, in Gmail now you can undo a message that you have just sent. This may save you a lot of heartache (or broken bones for those who prefer to live on the edge) in the long as as well as short term.

If you activate a feature in Gmail, Gmail will hold your e-mail (this sounds like a rhyming poem) for 5 seconds so that you get enough chance to stop it. Just go to Settings and then the Labs tab. Scroll down until you come to this section:

Simply click Enable and save the setting. From now onwards, whenever the message “Your message has been sent” appears, you will also notice an Indo button.

Why it doesn’t make sense to charge less

3 Replies

These days I’m constantly trying to draw strategies for better targeting for my website. I get all sorts of queries from my online writing services; some have no problem with what I quote, some expect more than what I’ve quoted, and some are looking for writers that will simply provide them $2 or $3 per article service. I’m trying to target clients that are looking for good content at decent rates, not very low rates.

Although I operate from India, I never try to attract clients who are looking for cheap writing services. It doesn’t mean I’m an expensive writer — I simply charge what I think I should get, according to the quality of writing I provide, and according to the prevalent rates in different countries. Some clients think that just because I am from India I’m going to provide my writing services dirt cheap. It is not their fault actually because that’s what they are looking for in the first place and they know that they can get good writers at extremely low rates in Third World countries. Even clients from India think that I have no business charging them the amount I quote.

I consider writing to be just like any other service that you can use to enhance your business prospects. When I am writing for you I am helping you communicate effectively so that you can get more business. Isn’t it a service worth paying for? Fine, you can say that you can find writers who charge a lot less then what I normally do, but then you can say this for every service. You can hire a web design company that charges $50,000 for your website and you can hire a web design company that will charge $50 for the same website. The difference will manifest in the way your business grows or doesn’t grow.

So why doesn’t it make sense to charge less than what you can charge just for the sake of getting work?

When you start charging less both you and your client get trapped in a vicious circle. You never earn enough and your client never gets the quality that he or she needs to do decent business. Since you are working for pittance, you want to do more and more projects in the limited time you have; you can only work for so many hours. You are always in a hurry to finish your project because you simply cannot afford to spend 2-3 hours writing a document that’s going to get you $5. Consequently, the quality suffers. Some writers don’t even write, they simply plagiarize and their clients either never realize it or they simply ignore it because anyway they are not looking for high-quality content when they are paying $2 for an article. These types of clients rarely succeed in their ventures and they have a similar attitude towards your service.

Similarly, since you are always working for less money you never have time to grow and evolve. You are always busy doing the patchwork and trying to get new, low-paying assignments. You never become an expert people won’t mind paying a higher fee. You will always be writing low quality stuff. You will never be taken seriously for your service. Okay, there will be a few people who will admire your rates and the amount of work you can churn out but it won’t fetch you a stable livelihood. You will soon burnout and you quit as a failure.

Again, I am not saying you charge more than you are worth for. Just don’t under charge. Charge a justified amount and keep improving yourself so that you can deliver value and then charge for that value. There is a reason why some companies bill so much. Using their services clients can make a lot more than what they are investing and this is how the true worth of a professional service is gauged. So instead of providing a cheap service, provide a better service and then charge what you truly deserve.

Maximizing Your Web Presence in a Tough Economy

1 Reply

As we all watch the economy go from terribly bad to even worse, many are left wondering how to make the most of their existing company resources. For many companies, the idea of investing in marketing services of any kind is offensive as so many face major cutbacks and even layoffs.

However, the show must go on and every company must examine the marketing materials they already have developed and how they can breathe new life into them without taxing scaled-down budgets. One of the best marketing vehicles to leverage in new ways is the company Web site. This highly-versatile medium allows huge flexibility and scalability, cost-effective updates, and worldwide reach.

The idea of a fluid, regularly-updated Web site is foreign to many businesses where Web copy remains static, with only the most vital information provided. The reason for the bland copy on most sites is a lack of internal resources to dedicate to writing new content.

Web content is time consuming to develop and requires a skill set and understanding of how the Web and Internet searches work. If the writer does not understand the complexities involved, the Web site’s content will be ineffective and it will not be found quickly through Internet searches.

While it may seem counter-intuitive to outsource Web writing, it can be a very cost-effective option for Web copy development and one with a significant return on investment. But, all Web copy writers are not created equal. If you choose to work with a freelance Web writer, be sure they possess the following skills.

SEO. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves embedding industry-specific keywords into Web copy to help prioritize it in Web searches. If this is not done, the Web site will be buried several pages into a Web search.
Editing. While good writing skills may seem like a no-brainer as you choose a freelancer, it is also important that they be strong editors. You do not want to edit your own Web copy and a typo is inexcusable on the World Wide Web.
Selling. Web sites should spur sales (or at least inquiries about your company). Spinning a great company story that drives home its unique differentiators will garner more interest than “Contact Us.”
Blogging. Talking about your company and industry is a great way to build thought leadership. Good freelance writers know how to leverage news and industry trends to develop effective blog content.
Communication. Freelance writers work offsite and the client has less control over the time they spend on projects or how they are billed. Demand good communication and frequent updates from your freelance writers.

Why so much mistrust among clients from Asia and especially from Third World countries?

2 Replies

First of all this is neither a rant nor a complaint, it is just an observation and I would like to get opinions from my fellow freelancers. Although I live in India, I am an Indian, it is very rarely that I end up doing assignments from Asian as well as Indian clients. It’s not that I don’t accept the work. First of all there are very few clients who really appreciate experienced writers because here whoever can write, thinks that he or she can also write for his or her website or, brochure, so why pay a writer? And even if they hire, they don’t want to pay you much because after all you are just writing, you are not doing any work.

Among the ones who understand the importance of good writing, never seem to understand my need to charge an advance. They think I am going to disappear after taking the advance or I am not going to put enough effort after I have got money from them.

95% of my work comes from Europe and America and clients from these countries almost always pay an advance and they even pay for the sample if they ask for one. So I was just wondering, after a recent incident, why clients generally from Asia and particularly from India, are not eager to pay an advance and why there is so much mistrust. Instead of repeatedly saying Asia I will simply refer to Indian clients.

Indians are really hard-working and they love to follow rules, only when they are in some other country. In India they work hard only when lots of personal interest is at stake and given a chance, they’d rather while away the time, even if they have been paid to work at that time. If nobody is there to supervise them or monitor their activities, they leave the office early, they spend hours having tea, surfing the net, having lunch, gossiping, and doing everything under the sun accept for the activity for which they are being paid. And this is not confined to a particular section of the society; from top executives to the laborer breaking rocks by the side of the road, everybody skips work given a chance. People work hard not to grow, they work hard when they have no choice.

Since they spend their lives like this, they suspect everybody does that, and this is the reason why they don’t like paying an advance, especially to an Indian freelancer, because they think one only works when one is trapped. They think that to get small amount of money without having to do any work is much better than getting lots of money by working hard. That’s why almost 100% clients detest paying an advance.

There is also this problem of control. I have no problem sharing this observation with you, and I’m sure many people from India will agree, an average Indian is a typical school bully. He or she cowers in front of the strong and harasses the one at a disadvantage. When they hire you they are immediately condescending. They think they are doing you a big favor by giving you work because they very conveniently assume that you are desperate to get some work and your life hinges upon their acceptance. So when they are talking to you they already have this funny, childish, haughty tone, and on top of that, if you commit the chutzpah of asking an advance, they are totally offended and consider you an ungrateful chap. Most of them all of a sudden realize that they don’t actually require a writer, especially an ungrateful writer who doesn’t trust them. These are not the dangerous ones.

There are those who know that they need a writer, who despise the thought of paying you an advance, and eventually, they don’t intend to pay you even long after you have completed the work. These are the dangerous types and you should avoid them if you’re not desperate; you’d rather do the work for free (but don’t tell them because this will offend them because they can easily afford to pay 10 writers like you 🙂 ). They feel good that you are stuck with them for a long time. You have worked hard, you have worked for many days, and now your payment depends on their whim. They will make you feel ashamed of yourself for calling again and again for such a small amount. Fortunately I haven’t worked for such clients for many years.

Jokes apart, this is primarily the reason why people here don’t believe in paying an advance. They don’t respect their own time and commitment and therefore they don’t respect yours too.

Using your blog to promote your writing services