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A typical timeline for onboarding a new social media freelancer
Read more: A typical timeline for onboarding a new social media freelancerSomething I have regularly seen from clients is that they hire me on Monday and they expect that I will start posting for them on Tuesday. That is the worst idea ever. In fact, I did that once because the client lost their social media manager unexpectedly and needed someone to start posting right away.…
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How to prepare your community for holiday time off
Read more: How to prepare your community for holiday time offIt’s that special time of year again. The snow is falling. The lights are shining. And the social media manager is wondering if time off is ever possible. Not giving a social media manager time off is a recipe for disaster. They will burn out and make a huge community management mistake that could cost…
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On working for free
Read more: On working for freeI’ve been doing social media for a long time and one thing comes up again and again: I keep getting asked to work for free. Sometimes it’s because people don’t value my work and sometimes it’s because people simply don’t have the budget for me. But both times, it’s disheartening. And it’s very rare that…
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The different ways you can work with a social media consultant
Read more: The different ways you can work with a social media consultantWhen people think of what a social media consultant, like myself, does, it’s usually pretty straight forward. They think all they do is post on social media. That can be one aspect of what I do, but it’s nowhere near the whole story. If you think you might need to bring in a social media…
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Charging a retainer with unlimited hours
Read more: Charging a retainer with unlimited hoursI remember telling a friend who was doing work for me that I charge a retainer with unlimited hours for clients. Her eyes got huge and she said, “You must get taken advantage of a lot.” The answer is simply that I don’t. Do I sometimes tiptoe into scope creep? Yes, but I’m able to…
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Keep your social media business simple
Read more: Keep your social media business simpleThere is no one who gets more excited about the latest tool than a social media professional. For me, my brain goes to all the new things I could do with it. Here is the problem: It gets really hard for clients when you’re constantly change your business processes because you have a new tool…
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What a social media consultant can’t do for you
Read more: What a social media consultant can’t do for youIt’s not rare that I have a client come to me with wildly inappropriate goals for our work together. I don’t know if they think a social media consultant is a magician. But if I can’t manage those expectations, it’s honestly best for all of us to move on. So if you’re looking to hire…
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How not to be pushy as a social media consultant
Read more: How not to be pushy as a social media consultantWhen you’re a social media consultant, it can be really easy to slide into pushy mode. Your client isn’t making a great decision, so you want to push them to the right one. Your client wants you to give them free work, so you have to push them towards understanding why that’s unethical. These kinds…
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Is it time to quit your job for your side hustle?
Read more: Is it time to quit your job for your side hustle?Over thirteen years ago, I decided it was time to quit my job and to rely on my side hustle as my main source of income. It was the scariest thing I had ever done. I don’t regret a second of it. But would I do it again in this economy? That’s a good question.…
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Include this during your social media consultant meetings
Read more: Include this during your social media consultant meetingsMeetings. They can be the bane of my existence. So many meetings are just not useful. Or they require a feat of Herculean strength for me to keep them on track. It’s rare for me to actually look forward to a meeting, and I wish that wasn’t the case. There is so much potential here…
