My freelance pricing strategy maximizes two competing priorities: the chance I will get paid properly for my work, and the likelihood that the client will be happy. That means pricing and billing on milestones, not by the hour. So let’s go over the best way to make that work. Why I price on milestones The…
Newsletter 43: Free advice is the lubricant of the business world; PRH proprietary AI tool; hybrid insights, plus three people to follow and three books to read. Beyond the old-boy network The working world runs on free advice. This may or may not have been visible to you when you started working, but unless you’re…
Basic surveys are easy to learn and field. Learn to use them and your writing — and research — will be a whole lot better. I learned surveys on the job. One year into my tenure at Forrester, the company decided to start a consumer survey business. In a previous project for the company, I’d…
I’ve now seen AI panels at two events. They were disappointing and meandering; I didn’t learn much. It’s pretty clear why this happens. The event organizer figures out (or gets told) that there has to be an AI panel, because AI is hot right now, but they don’t know much about it. So they create…
Newsletter 42: Make an effort or fade away, labelling killer foods, don’t trust NPS braggarts, plus three people to follow and three books to read. The effort is the point Everything about our modern world — at least in the prosperous part of it where you probably live — is designed to make things easier….
A lot has been written about collaboration. But at its base, it depends on two sometimes opposed attitudes: honesty and respect. I’ve been considering this as I work on several highly collaborative projects right now, including a ghostwriting project with four contributors on the client end, and a survey and white paper project with more…
Writers need to grow, or else the work gets boring. You’ll be more versatile, more employable, and happier if your always looking for ways to expand your capabilities. Seek opportunities to grow your experience in these four dimensions: Pivot and grow based on what you’re comfortable with Work can be simpler if you hold one…
I’ve been thinking about the work I do for authors — and the work lots of other service people and consultants do, too. Our most valuable work rarely gets compensated in a way that aligns with the value it creates. And that’s okay — so long as you understand why it works that way. For…
Great writers, thinkers, and researchers see patterns that others cannot. They then tell you about what they see and what you can do about it. Of course, of the things AI is best at is recognizing patterns. Does this mean writers, thinkers, and researchers are going to become obsolete? Not quite. First off, people see…