Useful Freelancer Resources for Marketing Your Business
Today’s blog post is a collection of random freelancer resources that I’ve found useful over the past few years building my freelance web design business. I find it extremely frustrating when you’ve been searching forever for a particular resource only to find it several months/ years later. So hopefully this list helps you in your search. I’ll leave it up to you to research the copyright regulations for each site.
Free Stock Photo Sites
It’s not always in the budget to spend money on stock photography. Here are some high-quality free stock photography websites that offer a pretty robust collection.
Books for Freelancers and Entrepreneurs!
I still like published books. A list of freelancer resources would not be complete without them. Their facts have been vetted, most likely. Books just feel better in your hand. I know that being a web developer makes that statement a little weird, but that’s fine. I am quite comfortable being a blend of “old school” and tech savvy. Here’s a collection of business oriented books that I’ve found helpful. Some of them are targeted towards woman, but I am one, so guess they hit their market.
Design Business Books
Burn Your Portfolio: Stuff They Don’t Teach You in Design School, But Should.
by Michael Janda
A collection of pointers that are very useful. I found many of his points useful and have applied them to my own career. It’s an entertaining and informative read.
Design Is A Job
by Mike Monteiro
Marketing Books
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This
by Luke Sullivan
This one has been out for several years, but the information is still relevant. It was first brought to my attention during a design course I was taking several years ago and I still enjoy it.
Lovemarks: The Future beyond Brands
by Kevin Roberts
General Business/ Autobiographies from Influential Business People
The MomShift: Women Share their Stories of Career Success After Having Children
by Reva Seth
Highly recommend this book! This book was like a breath of fresh air. I personally don’t buy the “lean in” manifesto. This books speaks about the different incarnations a women’s career can take after having children and how having “average ambition” is just fine. It also takes perspectives from American, Canadian and British points of view. It’s nice to read some different POV’s, as each country treats women in the workplace differently with maternity leave, flex time etc.
My So-Called Freelance Life
by Michelle Goodman
Strategies and motivation to take the leap into a freelance career. Sections include sales strategies, client management, recurring income and promotion. Targeted at women in creative industries, but you could apply the basic principles to any industry.
The Freelancer’s Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Have the Career of Your Dreams On Your Terms
by Sara Horowitz
Everything you could possibly want to know about Freelancing. Written by the President of the Freelancer’s Union in the United States. Being Canadian, some of the tax stuff didn’t apply to me, but the remaining 90% of the book was great.
I hope that these freelancer resources help you develop your business. It takes a long time to build a business, but thankfully there are lots of great resources available to help entrepreneurs out and set you up for success. Do you have any other freelance books or stock photo sites that you find useful? Let me know! I’m always excited to learn about new resources. To learn more about branding, web design and search engine optimization visit my archived articles. View strategies on How to make your website audience happy in this blog post.
