tips

Hi all,

today we released a small membership account, called the “Starter” membership!

With this release we have added an additional, flexible membership option to projektwerk.

As a “Starter” you can use projektwerk for only 8€ a month, enabling a more extensive use compared with the “Basic” membership. The “Starter” membership probably suits you if you wish to proactively contact other users now and then and want to publish projects or profiles on a small scale.

Your benefits as a “Starter” user:

• Contact up to 3 project partners proactively each month – instead of having to wait for requests as a Basic member
• View complete project descriptions and profiles
• Receive detailed matching information on suitable project partners
• Bookmark interesting projects or profiles

More:

• Publish one profile or project at a time
• Receive daily updates for interesting new matches
• Refine your matches with location and relevance filters

Many freelancers operate as just another anonymous resource in the crowded market. Their services lack an identifying mark that stands for something. It is therefore not surprising that, at times, it can be very difficult to prevail in a highly competitive freelance environment. In that sense, building a distinctive image and lasting reputation for your freelancing business can be very beneficial.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that having business cards, a logo, a website, a social media presence, or a slogan for their business means that they have a brand. But they are wrong. Those things, in and of themselves, are not a brand, but they can help build a brand. They serve as a reminder of what your freelancing business stands for. In a nutshell, a brand is what your clients think of when they think of you and your work. Simply being known as a good designer or good programmer is no longer enough. You should rather be known as a designer who provides elegant yet simple work or a programmer who is known for his/her exceptional ability to solve tough problems. Developing a strong brand takes time and effort. Besides exceptional work, building a brand usually requires significant and consistent marketing and PR.

Having a strong freelancing brand can mean the difference when pitching for a project or job. What do you think?

European accelerator Startupbootcamp launched in Berlin last week:

Startupbootcamp (or “SBC”) is a three month business startup acceleration program that runs quarterly during the year for startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses across Europe to get ready for funding, launching and scaling to European and global markets. By locating startup teams to one of Startupbootcamp’s program offices in Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Dublin, the accelerator focuses on exposing and connecting startups to an expanding community of key mentors and advisors that provide expertise from a multitude of verticals, industries and regions vital in growing a business. Take your startup to the next level and follow in the footsteps of fellow European startup successes such as Skype, XING, Spotify and SoundCloud.

Startupbootcamp – a European startup accelerator from StartupbootcampTV on Vimeo.

We’ve built a great widget that has been released and is now available. We would like to take a moment and describe some of the features our widget has and how you might take advantage of it.

Do you offer employment services and solutions, human resource consulting or manage a database for recruitment and permanent placement?

As one of the leading online  project marketplaces in Germany, we’ve been connecting freelance professionals and innovative businesses on our specialized industry platforms since 1999. Benefit from co-branding with projektwerk.

The widget enables you to offer your website visitors a customized project marketplace with valuable, daily updated content. By utilizing the projektwerk widget, you can provide your website visitors with interesting, sector-specific freelance work on individual project basis and simultaneously provide access to the best database for excellent freelance professionals. The widget can easily be added to your website and is totally integrated into the look and feel of your corporate design. No updating or editing necessary – the information is pulled automatically and syndicated over to your site.

Have a look at the widget on two of our partner sites:

For more information please contact:

Daniela Chikato

Mail: d.chikato@projektwerk.de

Phone: 040-43 21 30-36

Many freelancers who juggle between work and personal life are in a constant struggle for productivity. Therefore, the last thing you want to do is waste precious time. Luckily, mobile apps for Apple or Android devices can help simplify many day-to-day tasks. Here are 5 apps that might save you time and help to keep you more organized:

LogMeIn: Use LogMeIn to access your Mac or PC content from your iPhone or iPad. This app is great for traveling or to pull up files remotely. With LogMeIn you can also run any PC application from your mobile device.

Total Recall: Automatically or manually record calls, lectures or meetings, or leave yourself an audio note with Total Recall. The app works on most Android devices and even syncs with Evernote.

EasySign: With EasySign, eliminate the need for paper documents altogether. Using your finger or a stylus, sign Word docs, PDFs, JPEGs and more on your iPhone, iPad or Android device. You have the option to add three signatures per document. You can then send securely and/or import to Dropbox or Box.net for example.

LucyPhone: If you are tired of waiting on hold with customer service for hours and hours, LucyPhone takes the hassle out of holding by allowing you to …hang up. Search LucyPhone’s list of popular customer service phone numbers, then LucyPhone will patch you through. If you get put on hold, press **. You’ll be disconnected, but when a customer service agent comes back on the line, LucyPhone will call you back and reconnect you two.

Pocket: Securely store sensitive information on your Android mobile device with Pocket. The app stores bank information, passwords, prescriptions, locker combinations, etc. The information is only accessible via a master password that cannot be accessed locally, in case your phone were to fall in the wrong hands. Connect to Dropbox or to your desktop for extra access and backup.

This post on TechCrunch discusses the fast growth of interest-based social networks and how their emergence may affect top dogs such as Facebook for example. Interest-based social services like Pinterest, Instagram, Thumb, or Foodspotting are raking up new users at the speed of light. According to the author, Jay Jamison, part of their success can be attributed to the fact that these newcomers have a markedly different focus and approach. While traditional social networks focus primarily on users personal relationships, these new kids on the block have in common that they enable the user to focus and organize around their interests first. The crucial difference is probably the users opportunity to express his or her interests in new, engaging ways and the possibility to connect – in an authentic fashion – with people they do not already know.

“This interesting post, published by TechCrunch on February 4^th 2012, does not only remind us of how one of the greatest inventions of our generation has already changed the way we communicate, share information, or shop but also gives us a taste of what is still to come: The Internet is changing the way we work – the web is disrupting labor and transforming the definition of employment as we know it!

The post discusses the rise of the “independent worker”, who is one that operates independently and flexibly in today’s work environment – unattached to any particular company. The author, Nick Cronin, summarizes what he believes are the main factors contributing to this development, how these changes are affecting companies’ hiring processes, and the increasing importance of labor efficiency for maintaining a competitive edge.

“The era of the lean, flexible workforce is here and guess where both companies and independents are increasingly locating each other. Yep: The Internet.”

Read the full post “Labor Efficiency: The next great Internet Disruption” on TechCrunch

In that sense, check out the leading online project marketplace for freelancers and businesses in Germany:

projektwerk

Having a solid search engine optimization strategy is very important because today’s internet search is in a constant state of change. In order to create more transparency about how their search actually works, Google regularly updates its users about algorithm and feature changes on its Inside Search Blog. SEOMoz, a leading provider of SEO software, published a great infographic showing all of the significant algorithm changes that Google has made in the past months, including a version breakdown of the controversial “Panda” update.

Please click to view Infographic | courtesy of SEOMoz

New on all projektwerk platforms: the statistics box. The statistics box is displayed on the right side on top of every profile and project in order to draw conclusions about the popularity and the communities’ interest of your posting.

What will be counted?
As you can see in the image above, the statistics box counts how often a profile or project has been viewed, bookmarked and contacted.

After your login you are able to see additional information about your own profile or project quality. Via mouseover on “Your profile quality is X%”, you get helpful tips how to gain more profile or project quality. For example you can increase the index if you fill in more than three skills or choose a concise title. Furthermore deductions will be made if you write more than 2000 signs into your description or if you mark too many skills as “must haves” or “preferred”.

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action | Video on TED.com.

According to Simon Sinek’s “Golden Circle Rule”, people don’t buy what you do, but they buy why you do it. Even if it is no secret that many successful brands gain an irrational edge by appealing to our emotions, in his TED talk, Simek presents a innovative model which explains why some organizations and leaders are able to inspire action while others are not. Some of his examples include Apple Inc., Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers. Enjoy.