1. Make any links on your Web site selling links. Click through any of the links you already have on your site. Is there an option at your destination site to “join our affiliate/associates/partner program" at the bottom of the page? Sign up, it’s free, and you get a commission on every sale made when someone clicks through your link. Commissions typically run 3 percent to 10 percent for every sale, paid to you either every month or every quarter (by PayPal, a check or direct deposit) once revenues typically reach $25. I've included examples of text and banner affiliate links throughout this page to give you an idea of the types of programs and links available. Feel free to sample each to see how these can be customized for your site.

   Online Yellow Pages Users Buy More Study Compares Consumer Response on Search Engines                                          By Kris Oser SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) -- In the battle for local online consumers, Internet yellow pages (IYP) attract a customer more prepared to buy -- and spend more money -- than the local search services of Google and Yahoo, according to a new study by ComScore Networks. Click here to read the entire article as a pdf.

2. Make sure your business name is in the yellow pages of the phone book. If you still have a landline, your phone company offers a free or minimally priced yellow-page listing for business numbers. Simply call to request that your business name be listed under a specific category. Existing yellow page categories include writers, photographers, graphic designers, public relations, public speaking instruction, publishers (book, directory & guide, periodical), publishing consultant, and market research & analysis. If you get enough business from this, you may want to consider adding one paid line in other directories. Portland's Verizon directory, for instance, charges $16.20 per month for a listing with your business name (or your name if you're a sole proprietor), address and phone number. (Free to Verizon customers; check out yppa.org for details.) You may also want to explore getting a toll-free phone number at this time. David Solomon, CEO of e-commerce solutions provider Fast Transact Inc., says that small merchants can decrease customer complaints and returns by 30 percent with a toll-free number rather than a long-distance number. "It's not much more expensive for a toll-free line than long distance," he says.
3. Find out what opportunities are out there to teach your skills to beginners. For instance, the Multnomah County Library pays $100 for instructors to train its library users. It's programs focus on literary, professional development and life-long learning. Application forms are at www.multcolib.org/events/. Community colleges also have communication education courses for beginners. Last time I checked, Portland Community College was paying $16 per hour, plus a percent of what each student pays for the class. Instructors also can require a handbooks, such as the self-made instruction manual below. To start teaching beginners, simply let related agencies know you’re available and send them promotional materials to have on hand (your card, a product with your name on it, a booklet on your respective topic). Click here for tips on marketing your events.ick here.
4. Write an instruction manual. Sell this as an e-book off your site, make it a requirement at your classes, and copy it as an 8 1/2 x 11 (folded in half) for $5.95, a figure reportedly derived from years of booklet-selling research as the ideal price for a 16-page instruction manual.
5. Add yourself to all the free directories for creative services professionals. Don’t forget posting your resume or at least a description of your services at the major job sites and creative service directories, such as SelfEmployedCreatives.org, MediaBistro.com, Sologig.com, MarketingTool.com and any other association or help-wanted directories in your field.
6. Sell related or branded products. One example is JournalismExcellence.com's reporter notebooks, a product that evolved out of the inability to find slim, professional-style notebooks at standard office supply stores. Other ideas for related products creative business could sell are resume editing services, logo T-shirts and hats, or calendars populated by your photos or art [start selling calendars in July of the previous year]. You don't need to have an online storefront to sell your items. Here are several other ways:
   1. On your site (your customers can pay through PayPal, Amazon.com or eBay if you don’t yet have a shopping cart)
   2. In the trunk of your car (you never know: hairdresser, hairdresser’s client, people you bump into, people you meet at a party)
   3. At tradeshows
   4. Most local grocery stores allow you to display your items inside the entry for a few hours…just ask for the store’s manager the next time you’re in to find our store policy.
7. Collaborate to offer services outside your expertise. For instance, Web design firm Red Acorn collaborates for its html programming. The Writers’ Group collaborates with up to 18 freelancers for contracted new magazines and new newspaper inserts. Newsletter Associates contracts with niche-specific designers, photographers and writers for niche newsletters. There is also a local association that specializes in collaboration. There are several ways to collaborate, including:
   1. Managing the process
   2. Tacking on a surcharge to the client
   3. Or paying collaborators slightly less than they would normally get, depending on their level of skill and the amount of training you’ll need to do, and take the difference as your compensation.
8. Take the same skills but apply your skills to a different medium.
   1. Articles into books
   2. Computer generated special effects to Web design; Web design to brochure design or “business imaging” logo creations
   3. Web design programming to shopping cart programming or refer-a-friend button programming
   4. Copywriter to T-shirt slogan writer. Check out CafePress.com for an easy, and cost-free, way to display and re-sell slogans, logos, photos or designs on everything from hats to lunchboxes.
9. Get business cards for every one of your niches. You can order 250 of these for minimal shipping charges ($6.95) from VistaPrint.com (click the banner above to view options). The free cards come with the Vista Print logo on the back. Blank card backs are only $10 or so more.
10. Add to your existing skills to provide more well-rounded services on your own.
    1. Small business stories can be turned into print articles, television or radio show segments, and Web business case studies.
    2. Photos? Provide Q&A article to go with it, or at least a full caption.
    3. Create your own media kit/portfolio/marketing materials? Offer to create the same materials for others in your field.
11. Charge for peripheral things you now throw in for free.
    1. Sell your pitches. You'll need to negotiate the terms before asking to be paid, but you may be pleasantly surprised at the clients that are willing to pay you for this front-end work. Office.com, for instance, paid me $50 for accepted business story ideas. That price included a detailed description of the story angle and six sources. They had the option to assign the story idea to another writer, or assign the piece back to me for an additional cost. Either way, I was paid for the preliminary work I did.
    2. Sending files to a commercial printer (tack on 10 percent)
    3. Hosting charges
    4. “Consultant” fees. Just like attorneys, the clock starts as soon as you've explain your fees. A good time to use this strategy is when a phone inquiry needs more explanation than you can provide in a few minutes. Just let the caller know that you would be happy to schedule an extended in-person or phone meeting at your "regular" $100 or $150 initial consultation fee.
    5. Create a price list you always send to new clients so they are aware of your additional services and the fact that there will be an additional charge if you have to do it.

       Elance Projects Looking for Freelance Work? Click a category! It's FREE to look! Logo Design Web Design Complete Website Web Programming Flash Animation Graphics Banner Ads Brochures Illustration Business Cards Print Ads More Categories Bidding Info Subscribe Today!

12. Evaluate your rates immediately.
    1. Don’t undervalue or overvalue your expertise.
       Check out salary monitors such as Brainco, SalaryExpert.com (which uses US 2005 Prevailing Wage Rates data) or CS Monitor's salary wizard.
    2. Figure out what sells, at what price. Check out eBay for product pricing and services such as elance.com for freelance pricing.
    3. Check back on your rates annually – many big corporations increase their rates each year, and their customers expect it; you can – and should – be doing the same if your costs are increasing!
13. Sell those things you already have.
    1. Editing notes? Make into an editing example e-book. Click here to peruse 100 free e-book covers.
    2. Self syndicate: Provide work you’ve already done in the form of e-books, stock photos, downloadable articles, Web site templates.
    3. Charge nominal fees for getting your articles published elsewhere. This is the strategy for successful syndicates. They may charge only $10 to $25 per publication that reprints an item, but once they've sold that deal to 20 clients they're now pulling in $200 to $500 per month just with a simple e-mail blast of new offerings (use Microsoft Outlook's address book or Microsoft's e-mail merge features to make distribution a cinch).

       Web TheWritersGroup.cc

14. Vigilantly monitor the Internet for copyright infringement
    1. For text, type a string of words used in your article into Google's or All the Web's search engine.
    2. Or use a plagiarism detection service such as the free tools at Plagiarism.com or LexisNexis' Copy Guard Service.
    3. For art, use Google's "Images" search, found here, and type in the geographical area for landscape shots or the name of the image for other photos or graphics. Vancouver, Wash., photographer Cliff Barbour has used this tool to catch at least one site using his images without a contract (or payment). He quickly filed a $150,000 suit.
    4. If you do find an infringement, make a screen capture of the page (for your records) and then contact the site Webmaster or owner. If it's the case, let them know that you would be happy to have the site use your work, but it comes with a fee. Bill for any time your work has already been on the site and negotiate a contract for the work if they would like it to remain there. If they won't budge, Barbour recommends hiring Portland copyright attorney Peter Shaver, widely recognized for his intellectual property services for creative professionals.
15. Over the next few weeks, touch base with everyone you know in the business to let them know you’re preparing to grow. Then ask for their next project. If you've been adding your contacts to Microsoft Outlook, it's easy to quickly e-mail everyone. Simply click on the address book icon at the top of your screen, which brings up a list of all of the e-mail addresses in your contact list. Click on every person's e-mail at you'd like to send an update to (hold down the Control button on your keyboard for multiples). Then click on the e-mail icon at the top of the list to draft your message and send.
16. Hire a part-time assistant. Pay anywhere from $11 to $15 an hour for 10 to 20 hours per week. It's a few hundred dollars per week, but you can quickly make up that in improved productivity, cost-saving initiatives and invoice collection. I use a payroll service to cut the checks and do all of the federal and state tax and paperwork filings (it's only $45 or so per month). If the assistant isn't required to work at certain times or certain places designated by you, then you also could pay them directly as a contractor. Just remember to fill out and file a 1099-MISC (ordered by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM) if you pay out more than $600 per year. Assistants can provide a number of tasks, including:
    1. Call on unpaid invoices
    2. Administrative tasks
    3. Making or saving you money (renegotiation credit interest rates, questioning phone bills or unusual charges, lowering recurring payments or getting more services for the same price, etc.)
    4. Doing volunteer projects you've signed up for but don't have time for. One Pearl District designer has her assistant work on all projects for friends, products designed to help non-profit boards she's on, and any low-margin projects. This designer then can focus on the money-making tasks, while the assistant gets a chance to create a portfolio and improve his skills under her tutoring.
17. Create the training ground you need, then offer it to others for a fee to help cover your costs. The NW Journalism Conference is an example of training I brought to the Northwest to meet my needs as a writer wanting to save on travel costs to New York (the most frequent site for journalism-oriented events) and tap into the wealth of journalism talent right here. On a smaller scale, you could always host networking events for people in your industry, ala MediaBistro.com's country-wide "pub parties."
18. Apprentice. As you run into people who are exceptional in your field offer to assist them with their projects, even as a ghostwriter, ghostdesigner, ghostphotographer, researcher, etc. You'll be on the inside track to adapting his/her strategies for success and very soon could generate a co-byline/credit for those same clients/publications your mentor already works for.
19. Add Internet marketing.
    1. Make sure all of your offerings are shown on the Web so potential employers can find you when they do a keyword search in your field.
    2. Make sure “page properties” on every page fully describes the page and lists as many of the topic-related words on that page as possible.
    3. Check out online press release services like ExtraPR.com to broadcast information on your new services. (ExtraPR.com, for instance, even walks you through the press release process so all you have to do is provide the information and select your intended  target publications. The result is that you don’t actually have to “write” a release, find contact information, individually e-mail releases out or manually collect any resulting press clippings. It's all done for you online for about $100.)
20. Learn the value of OPM (other people's money). Use your existing qualifications to get assignments that expand your own skills or knowledge. As a business reporter and director of the NW Journalism Conference, I pitched an article about online shopping cart options to a business publication. I got the assignment, got paid, and was able to do all of the research I needed to knowledgably recommend the best e-commerce strategy for the conference's online registrations.
    1. Pitch an article or assignment on a topic you want to learn more about.
    2. Take a part-time or temporary staff position in a firm that specializes in your field.
       c.   Become a columnist writing about/covering your industry. Any creative service professional can write about what they do if they follow a few key strategies:

• Keep your columns between 400 and 800 words.
• Include a digital version of your professionally photographed head shot.
• Call three experts in your field and take notes while they weigh in on your column topic.
• Integrate those expert quotes with an anecdotal or research-hinged lead.
• Never do this for free!  If the publications you want to get into don’t pay, skip them or have your assistant/outside sales help find you a sponsor (give the outside help a percent of the sponsorship fee; give the sponsor a brief mention in italics at the bottom or your article) or post a “sponsor” affiliate link at the bottom of your online articles.
• Start by pitching publications that focus on your industry 
• Move to pitching ones that touch on your industry
• Not only is this a great way to make a little extra income and establish a reputation as an expert, it's also a great way to stay abreast of current trends, services and contacts that could help you build your own business
• Here's an example of one blogger, for instance, whose recognition as an expert netted him both a job and accolades in MSN's online Slate magazine: "Improving the business may not have been [Jim] Romenesko's intention when he started his one-man-band site as 'Media Gossip' in May 1999 or even when Poynter hired him to do the same job (with the same solo staffing) that October. For all I know, it may not even be his goal today. If not for Romenesko's Web site, the recent journalistic lapses of Mitch Albom and Barbara Stewart probably wouldn't have gotten much coverage outside of the local media in Detroit and Boston."

21. Become a placement agency/form a creative services firm
    1. Help other people in your field find jobs
    2. Get paid a percentage finders fee for those jobs you find on job boards that aren’t up your alley but that pay well.
    3. Or, “hire” other creative service professionals for specific contracts you’ve applied for and then take a referral fee.
22. Teach your skills to peers
    1. Writing conferences (the NW Journalism Conference pays $400 plus travel and photo licensing fee to regular instructors, and $1,000 to $10,000 plus travel and hotel for the keynoters)
    2. Apply to instruct at any conference in your industry. ShawGuides.com is a good source to get contact information for creative services-related conferences and workshops in your area.
    3. College programs. While most universities require a Ph.D. to get on the tenure track, many such as City University are touting their instructors with "real world experience."
    4. Tradeshows. One idea for teaching at industry tradeshows is to buy a booth and advertise several timeslots when you'll be teaching in an adjoining room. During your teaching engagements, post a sign at your booth along these lines: “This booth will be closed from 1 to 1:15 p.m. for a hands-on training session for creating the best portrait photography poses in Room 501.” Take at-the-door registrations for $5, or make it free and offer a booklet for purchase.
    5. Professional meetings. Many of these -- such as Rotary -- don’t pay. But don't hesitate to ask. You never know what answer you could get. When my book "IRA Wealth: Revolutionary IRA Strategies for Real Estate Investment" started appearing in Wall Street Journal, AARP the magazine and Time, local real estate offices began calling me to schedule presentations. Even though they don't typically pay for these engagements, once I told them a fee they started getting creative in how to pay it. They started aksing their title marketing agencies to "bid" to sponsor the event. It also pays to have something to offer that sells. Since my book has 68 percent sales rate, I know I can safely speak to groups of 40 or more for free and still pay for my time.
    6. Film your training session and re-sell it as a downloadable Webcast or CD. You'll want to make sure you own all rights to do this from the conference board or college. To your advantage, some of these entities have their own film crew or have the ability to film already built into selected rooms and you can negotiate your speaking contract to include rights to use that existing technology.
23. Start an association
    1. Keep membership fees small and only promise what you're already offering or know you can deliver.
    2. Use those fees to pay for work you’re already doing, in the form of a member newsletter pulled from articles you’ve written for other publications or Web development that also showcases your skills for your portfolio
    3. Provide online courses, CDs and related booklets (ones you’ve already created or plan to) for a fee
24. Piggyback on work already being done by others in non-competing businesses – where your goals match theirs. For example, I was looking for funding to expand my newsletter, "IRAs and Investment Properties," and stumbled on Guidant Financial, a Seattle firm that specializes in IRA investments. I called the company, talked to the owner, and found out he was looking for someone to edit and write for its own 13,000-subscriber newsletter. I sent him a bid that combined both of our newsletters into one. I now have a funded newsletter and 13,000 new subscribers.
25. "Sell” the projects you don’t want to do anymore. When Seattle freelancer Linda Hagen Miller started to burn out on her annual "Bylines" Writers' Desk Calendar (photos and inspirational stories from writers around the world), instead of dropping the project she sold it. Miller sent e-mails to all of her past calendar buyers and contributors to spread the word that this project was for sale. She found a taker within a month. You can also sell off any the new business ideas you have that you can’t implement.
    1. What's the easiest way to do this? Create a Web site that describes the project with instructions that this business is for sale and that interested buyers should contact: Your info. I've collected a few affordably priced templates writers, designers, artists and photographers can use to quickly and impressively communicate their business ideas here.
    2. Sell your project or business idea as a complete package: Web site domain and design, existing hosting package, e-mail addresses, newsletter and marketing databases, and so on.
26. Franchise your business in other regions. Is your existing business model bringing in a good income? Some intellectual-property firms have sold their concept (limited to certain types of clients or a certain geographical area) along with templated marketing solutions and support for $10,000+ franchise fees.
27. Start a publication that focuses on your work. This is an expensive proposition in print; you can expect to spend $90,000 on putting out your first three magazine issues. Portland city magazine "Portland Upclose" was the creation of a freelance photographer who wanted to get her photographs in a slick, glossy magazine. (She declared bankruptcy in 2003.) But there are plenty of informational newsletter ideas, both on and offline, that can promote your products (showcasing your newest photos or articles available for re-sale) and keep you top-of-mind for potential clients.
28. Take on a partner.
29. Get out in front of consumers!
    1. Use the earlier idea of grocery-store lobby appearances for book signings, portraits or package sales, wall-ready art, calendars and so on to get in front of consumers in your neighborhood.
    2. Send press releases to the local newspapers and consumer magazines about your company. Hinge this on a recent award you or your business has won, a recent study that illustrates a change for businesses like yours or a holiday that puts emphasis on your type of business (check out "Chase's Calendar of Events" for "holiday" ideas beyond the standards).
30. Regularly strategize new sales venues.
    1. Experts call this the 80/20 rule: Always spend 80 percent of your time and marketing budget on sales avenues that already work for you, and spend the remaining 20 percent trying out something new. If a new items works, move it to your 80 percent and get rid of any activities or costs in the 80 percent that aren't working as well (or modify those as part of your 20 percent testing).
    2. Don’t be afraid to outsource.
    3. Don’t be afraid to learn with OPM (even if that means taking an employee position for a few years).
    4. The business that cannot grow and change with the times has a much harder chance of succeeding. Sit down at least once a year to research if there might be new ways to move your products.