As a a freelance writer you’ll be receiving replies to your applications along with getting queries about your work from prospective clients. Sounds cool huh? Getting work queries without having to apply. Trust me, it doesn’t happen that often.

When it does happen though, chances are they’re not gonna get back to you after you reply. Try not to take it to heart though. It’s not you, it’s them.

Actually, it’s the other freelancer. The one who got the job.

Now do you do?

Do you mourn and move on? Yes, you mourn. You caught the client’s eye but couldn’t keep them interested. But no, you don’t move on. Not yet.

Send a Follow up Email

Wait 5 working days, and then send them a follow up email. Simply remind them they contacted you about the position, and you’d like to know if they’ve come to a decision. Finish by asking them to let you know what their decision was.

Sample Copy Of Follow-Up Email

This is a very simple email template that I use for my follow up emails. I simply modify them according to each client and situation.

Dear _______,

We exchanged emails on [Date] about a [writing/blogging/whatever] position for [company/website name].

Since I haven’t heard back from you after our initial contact I was wondering if you’re still interested in hiring me as your [insert position] or if you’ve decided to hire someone else.

Please let me know in either case.

Regards,

[Name]

[Email Signature]

That’s it. Now you can move on. If they reply, you’ve accomplished your goal. If they don’t, you’ve already made your peace.

But wait! Why is it so important to follow up? Because they’re going to need another freelancer some day and you’re going to apply again.

You know how everyone says blogging requires passion? Well that’s not the only thing blogging requires. I’ll be expanding on this thought sometime later. For now, here are the links for your reading pleasure for this week.

The Writing Journey came back around the end of March writing about blogging. Bob tells us The Number One Rule of Blogging  and then went to takes on Copy Blogger. Nah – nothing that scandlous. Don’t Blog If You Suck At Writing disagrees with a guest post on copy blogger about how to be a successful blogger if you can’t write. Both sides raise valid points. Whichever side you agree with will largely depend on your experience of blogging

Daily Blogging Tips answered a question about blog commenting. Daniel responded with a detailed answer. Interesting read: When Do You Stop Commenting on Other Blogs?

Blogging without the blog went Smashing The Myths About Blogging for its two year anniversary. Barbara got it right on all counts. If there are other myths that you discoevered, do tell!

Blogopolis BluePrint is my new favourite blog. Apart from the usual content, Eric and Sean do videos – which is nothing new. But their videos are conversations. They’re two guys talking business and having a ball discussing their favourite topics. Doesn’t get better than that. In this video, they’re talking about The Highs and Lows of Blogging.

Just dropping in for a quick hello. Well actually, I just wanted to toot my horn. My first post (ever!) for another blog got published a few days ago.

Major cool moment I tell you!

Check out ’12 Places to Get Business Cards Online’ over at SmartLifeBlog. I even got my own bio! Cool huh?

In related news, Chris Cairns is great to work with!

Out of curiosity, how many of you budding freelancers have business cards? And where’d you get them designed from?

Freelancing is a lonely business. You work alone, probably eat alone, and on a typical day, you clear your throat before answering your phone. If you’ve just started out, it’s possible that you’re working in your kitchen perched on stool or chair. No matter where you work, in your home office, in your bed or your kitchen, we all get accustomed and dependant to a few factors that make up our work environment.

Sounds – or Lack Thereof

There are those of us who enjoy working in silence, then there are those who can’t work without some music playing. A lot of web worker play music while working. It’s our companion of choice and head phones are as important to us as our printer. For the silent workers – the headphones are for VOIP.

Background Noises

Background noise doesn’t register until it goes missing. The chirping of the birds nesting in the tree outside your window. A fan whirring. The radio playing on low volume. Your neighbour’s lawn being mowed at 10 am. All these sounds are registered but not recognized. Until the birds fly away or you close the window and can’t figure out why it doesn’t sound right anymore or the lawn mower is turned off abruptly

Visuals

When you’re starting your work day, you only have eyes for your work space. There are all kinds of freelancers. The neat freaks, the unorganised and those who call their mess organized chaos. Whichever category you fall into, things around the place you work have to be the way you’re used to before you can focus on your work.

If you’re a neat freak, cluttered stationary would distract you. Messy? The table which you, in a moment of madness cleared out, would irritate you. Believer of organized chaos? God help you if you actually put something in its rightful place!

Space

We boast of having the ability to work from anywhere as long as we have a laptop and Internet. The truth however is that we’re happier working in our own space and place. One that we call our own even if it’s just our bed, sofa or kitchen table. It is ‘ours’. We know ever nook and cranny of it. We’re comfortable in it. We can conquer the world from it.

So I’m curious. What is your workplace like and how would describe them in terms of sounds, background noises, visuals and space?

Me? I don’t have a formal workplace. It’s coming in next week – I finally placed an order today [pumps fist up in the air].

Photo Credit: ishane

Once you start twittering, there’s really no stopping. Before you know it, you’re fighting to keep abreast of all the updates, @ replies, DMs and RTs. It’s a crazy world out there! Luckily for us, there are crazier apps that make our twittering lives easy.

1. TweetDeck

First up is my favourite adobe air application. I’ve used TweetDeck for a couple of months now and I couldn’t be happier! Its best and award winning (well it should be!) feature is the option to sort your twitter users you’re following into groups. TweetDeck lets you group users into separate group that you can follow simultaneously.

Their latest version has a new channel for stocks called ‘Stocktwits’ and another one for Hashtags. It also lets you follow/un-follow, email, translate/un-translate, favourite, add to a group, view profile etc from within the tweet itself.

2. Twhirl

The next best thing to TweetDeck is Twhirl, also an adobe air application. All it’s lacking is the group option – which is where it loses big! Twhirl isn’t only for twitter though.

Twhirl released it latest beta version recently and has been getting rave reviews! While it still doesn’t have the one option that has made TweetDeck such a hit, it’s come up with an excellent search system. The search option in Twhirl is powered by search.twitter.com and opens them up in tabs. Not only that, it gives you the option to ‘activate’ the search after which it will keep updating it (after the initial search) as more tweets are posted regarding the search topic.

You can also record video in the new Twhirl from within the app. What’s more? Their website says they’re working on getting the grouping option up and running! Now if only they had a maximize button…

3. Twitterrific

This one’s for Mac only and comes with a free version as well as a paid one. The free version has most of the same features as the paid one but comes with ads. If you want an ad-free experience, you can buy Twitterrific for $14.95.

Since I don’t use a mac, reviewing the application wouldn’t be fair. Twitip however has a detailed review of it.

Check out the Twitterrific Review.

4. Twitterified

This application holds a lot of surprises. It has a unique interface and offer a few options that other applications do not. The biggest surprise was being able to preview Twitpic pictures in the tweet. 

While this application has a lot of options that others don’t, it’s still in it’s beta version which means that it reserves the right to act up at times and naturally has a few bug issues.

Other options include,

• Minimizing tweets.
• Hovering over the picture of a twitter user displays their profile information.
• Clicking on the user picture slides open a tab on the left with more options.
• You can ignore and/or block a user through Twitterified.
• Post links to picture or snap one right there from within the app through your webcam.
• Displays friends and followers in separate tabs.
• Has an option for viewing the public timeline.
• It tracks your @ replies as well as your own tweets in a separate tab.

Did I mention that it gives you a preview of Twitpic pictures linked to within the tweet?

5. TwitterFox

This isn’t exactly a desktop application but a Firefox add on. If you feel applications like TweetDeck and Twhirl distract too much or you’re too busy to open a new program and tweet, TwitterFox is for you.

Update your status from within Firefox (you do use Firefox right?) and read new updates of your friends. You can also retweet, open a tweet in a new tab, mark all as read etc from it. Updates are shown in a pop up balloon at the bottom right of the screen.

It can handle multiple accounts and can be used through keyboard shortcuts as well.