Going It Alone: How to Survive and
Thrive as a B2B Freelancer
Sign up for this Nov. 18 webinar to learn how two successful B2B freelance writers win — and keep — new clients.
Packed with real-world examples, this webcast will help you to earn work assignments by…
Avoiding 23 blunders that aspiring B2B freelancers make.
Learning how to “play the game.”
Letting your good manners show.
Being a nice person with whom the editor wants to work.
Researching B2B publishers that may want to hire you.
Becoming a writing specialist instead of a writing generalist.
During the November 18 webcast, you’ll also learn how to…
Network to find people who can hire you.
Network with other writers.
Leverage your neighborhood public library.
Find sources and ideas.
Run your business like a business.
Special Bonus!!
Participants will receive a handout covering letters of introduction and responses to job listings, to help your experience shine through!
Event Details
Date: Friday, November 18, 2011
Time: 1:00-2:30 pm ET (12:00-1:30 pm CT)
Location: Your desktop computer.
Cost: $15 for members, $35 for nonmembers
To Register
Option 1: Pay online. Use the web form below to pay online via credit card or PayPal. Instructions for obtaining webinar access will be emailed to you once you have paid.
Option 2: Use PayPal via email. Go to PayPal and use the Send Money tab to send the proper amount to asbpe.info@asbpe.org. Instructions for obtaining webinar access will be emailed to you once you have paid.
Option 3: Pay by check or pay for multiple registrations at one time (regardless of payment method). Fill out this registration form (78K Word doc) and return it to Janet Svazas at jsvazas@integrated-solutions.com with your payment by noon Eastern time on Nov. 18. Webinar access info will be provided once you have registered.
Mimi Bell is the editor of Great Lakes Bay (Regional Lifestyle Magazine), Huron Shore (Lakeside Lifestyle Magazine), and Great Lakes Bay Business. She is the editorial director and editor for a number of client custom-published B2B magazines. Additionally, she is an independent writer, contributing content to a variety of national custom publications. Her writing expertise includes philanthropy, education, geriatric living and healthcare, personal finance, and food and wine. She is based in Saginaw, Michigan.
Earlier in her career, because of frequent relocations when her spouse was transferred, Mimi enjoyed the opportunity of working in editorial management and marketing communications with a number of nationally recognized organizations throughout the country. Previous employers include The Art Institute of Chicago; The American Dietetic Association (Chicago); Julia Child’s American Institute of Wine & Food (San Francisco); and the Minnetonka Center for the Arts (Minneapolis).
Ann Logue is a writer specializing in business and finance. She is the author of four books, Emerging Markets for Dummies (Wiley 2011), Socially Responsible Investing for Dummies (Wiley 2009), Day Trading for Dummies (Wiley 2007), and Hedge Funds for Dummies (Wiley 2006). She has also provided ghostwriting and technical editing services for books published by Bloomberg Press, the International Monetary Fund, and Pearson Educational Services.
In addition to her books, Logue has written about industries, executives, and current events for Barron’s, Business Week Chicago, Newsweek Japan, and trade and association publications serving quilt retailers, scrap metal brokers, and university development officers. She is a lecturer in finance at the University of Illinois at Chicago, teaching both undergraduate and MBA students about corporation finance and international financial markets. And she is a regular blogger on business and current events at Popdose.com.
Her current career follows 12 years of experience in the financial markets as an analyst with Volpe Brown Whelan & Co., The Chicago Corporation, and Kemper Financial Services.
Our Previous Webinars
May 26, 2011 B2B Ethical Struggles and Solutions in a New-Media Era
The quest for high standards and quality.
In this webinar, four panelists talked about different aspects of the thorny print and digital challenge facing B2B editors, including:
how to decide on a transparent ethics and social media policy.
drawing the line between “fair use” and content aggregation abuse.
ways to build a healthier relationship with your marketing and sales colleagues.
how to avoid misleading your audience when doing or reporting on research.
Attendees received an advance draft of the first chapter of “Enterprise-packed e-news is key to on-line superiority," speaker Howard Rauch's new competitive-analysis guide covering digital, print and editorial marketing strategies.
April 14, 2011 How to Use Web Analytics to Drive Your Digital Strategy Forward
Dan Blank, founder of We Grow Media, gave attendees a better understanding of website analytics and how to use them to improve their websites, including:
What often-used web analytics terms mean.
Which metrics are the most important to watch.
How to use key performance indicators to decide what actions to take, based on your B2B publication’s goals.
How to use web analytics to generate innovative ideas and lend your publication a competitive edge.
Feb. 23, 2011 Leveraging the Power of B2B Social Communities
What are the components and functionality of a good B2B social community? How can your audience and publication benefit by a having one? Which best practices are essential to running a B2B social community successfully? Kellie Parker, leader of a four-person community team for SEGA of America, presented the basics of community and explained how to choose the tools that are right for their audience and objectives, and how to use reader-generated content.
Nov. 17 Digital Azbee Awards and Web Site of the Year Case Study
Our second annual Digital Azbee Awards of Excellence honored the best B2B editorial and design for digital content. In addition, the top editors of the Web Site of the Year, CIO.com,discussed their strategies and practical methods
for achieving editorial excellence.
Nov. 16, 2010 20 Free Tools to Enhance Your Web Presence
E-tools to help you work more efficiently and broaden your knowledge of the digital space!
Chicago’ magazine’s director of digital strategy and development, Scott Smith, showed attendees 20 online tools that can be used in reporting, storytelling and marketing. Included were tools for audio, video, text, and social media.
Sept. 23, 2010 Enhancing Your Career in the B2B Press
How to transform yourself into an indispensable asset in today’s turbulent economy.
Attendees learned ways to expand their career options in the social-media era and maximize their editorial performance. The speakers were B2B management veterans John Bethune and Howard Rauch. Topics included:
How to benefit from personal branding
Why every editor must become an entrepreneur
How to prepare for the career opportunities of the future
Why you need to quantify your digital workload
How to identify and control the biggest print/digital time-eaters
Aug. 17, 2010 Tips for Business-to-Business Freelancers
How to set rates, negotiate and understand your rights.
Attendees heard award-winning journalists Kevin Davis, Andrea Hanis and Mego Tebo discuss what to do to establish a successful career as a B2B freelance writer and editor. The program covered:
June 3, 2010 Bridging the Digital Skills Training Gap
Learn what the most important skills are and how to get training — even if your company doesn’t provide it.
Attendees learned through mini-case studies and research which web skills are most important for editors to learn; how to sell management on training, how to get training with little or no help from management, and where to get training on their own.
Speakers:
Abe Peck, director of business-to-business communication and professor emeritus in service at the Medill School and senior director of the Media Management Center, Northwestern University. He is also a consultant in the B2B space.
Robin Sherman, associate director of the American Society of Business Publication Editors and principal of Editorial & Design Services; he is also a former corporate director of editorial development.
Mary Slepicka, group content director of Advanstar Communications Powersport Group and editorial director of Dealernews Magazine.
Rita Jane Gabbett, executive editor of Meatingplace.com, an online community for red meat and poultry processors in North America.
April 29, 2010 10 Trends that Could Make (or Break) Our Editorial Careers
How to meet new media challenges.
Speaker Jim Sulecki, director of e-media at Meister Media Worldwide, elaborated on a blog post he wrote for ASBPE. He spoke about how we’ll have to work to retain journalistic standards even as we create a new type of media presence, and how to put aside our assumptions and make use of multiplatform communication and interaction.
March 29, 2010
Why B2B Publishers Are So Bad at Marketing
(and how to fix it)
In the past, B2B publishers relied on a fairly reliable marketing arsenal to attract readers and advertisers — online resource centers, sales sheets, promo e-mails, and house ads. But many are finding that these methods aren't working anymore. To stand out from the crowd, you must position your publication as a trusted authority for both readers and advertisers.
Attendees learned how to:
craft marketing messages with content aimed at solving the toughest problems their prospects are facing.
position their publications as a trusted solutions provider/
weigh the pros and cons of marketing initiatives such as electronic and print newsletters, blogging and other social media platforms
The webinar also looked at unconventional marketing methods, such as holding a conference or publishing a book. The speaker was Joe Pulizzi, the founder of Junta42 and co-author of Get Content, Get Customers.
Feb. 26, 2010
Web Video Editing
How-to basics for B2B editors.
B2B editors are increasingly getting into Web video. Our Feb. 26 webinar provided a detailed, step-by-step walk-through to help editors get a vivid picture of the editing process. The focus was on editing with the standard editing platform: Final Cut Express.
Attendees learned how to:
Transfer video from your camera to the editing platform
Edit video to create a sequence (Final Cut's term for the edited video)
Our September webinar explored how to harness Web 2.0 to spread the word
about your brand and content using
social media and search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.
Attendees learned how to
build reader interaction and grow circulation.
boost
brand recognition.
facilitate networking among readers.
recharge existing
e-products and print products.
choose the right social media and
SEO strategies for their organizations.
involve the entire editorial staff in social media
and SEO activities.
plan, launch, and integrate a social media
and SEO into their operations.
How to take advantage of social networks — without
wasting time.
Participating in social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn,
and Twitter is a must for B2B publications. But managing
those networks can be time-consuming, and it isn’t
always easy to tell which efforts are giving you the
best results. Should you participate in every network
in your industry? What kind of content do you post?
At our May 29 webinar, Managing
Social Media, attendees found out:
What the metrics are for figuring
out where to concentrate your efforts.
Whose province social networking is – marketing,
editorial, or both.
Ways to automate your participation – and
when not to automate.
Scroll down or click to
see a seven-minute video
tutorial. The video demonstrates a free,
easy, organized method for discovering relevant social
sites
and monitoring conversations about your industry.
Speaker Lorna Li was inspired to create the
video in answer to one of the webinar participants’ questions.
March 27,
2009 Getting Your Market's
Economic Scoop in Tough Times
Business-to-business editors
are skilled at covering day-to-day happenings in their
industries. But their reporting may fall short when
exploring the effects of an economic downturn and the
measures that businesses undertake to deal with the resulting
squeeze on their balance sheets. During our March 27
webinar, panelists Roy Harris, senior editor, CFO,
and Steve Ross, editor, Broadband
Properties, examined how editors can cover the
current economy in their publications. Attendees learned
what questions to ask of sources, how to analyze their
markets, and what tools editors can use to find additional
information.
Nov. 17, 2008 A
B2B Journalist's Guide to Creating the Next New-Media
Resource
Read posts by and about McCracken and Pulizzi on
the ASBPE National Blog.
During ASBPE’s Nov. 17 webinar,
attendees learned from Harry McCracken, the former editor-in-chief of PC World who has
since founded the personal technology blog Technologizer,
andJoe Pulizzi, founder and chief content
officer of the search community site Junta42,
how to:
develop an effective marketing strategy
to promote their content;
identify and participate in online
conversations that could help draw audiences to their
work;
use social networking Web sites to
reach out to online communities who are likely to value
their expertise;
To sustain your publication's relevance
to its audience, editors will have to adapt their editorial
mission to ensure readers recognize how their stewardship
of the environment determines the viability of their
businesses.
Attendees
heard how editors at two leading B2B publications — ChemicalWeek’s
Robert Westervelt and Ward’s
David Zoia — are breaking new ground by presenting
readers with valuable perspectives about, and helping
them plan for the future of, their industries in light
of climate change and other environmental issues. Moderated
by Jeremy Greenfield of PostAdvertising.com,
Topics covered:
How you can help your readers
deal with new laws, as well as consumer
and business demands, bearing on green technologies;
How companies' heightened awareness
of environmental issues is impacting editorial coverage, priorities
and the allocation of staff resources, particularly
when it comes to covering climate change; and
How B2B reporters are creatively
seeking out stories, and exposing industry
practices, that are producing reforms to make business
more environmentally friendly.
March
21, 2008
Taking
Your Webcasts
to the Next Level
At our March 21 webinar, attendees learned
what it takes to successfully produce compelling — and
profitable — webinars for a B2B publication from
top experts at Nielsen Business Media and InXpo. They found
out how to:
pick a compelling topic and present it
for maximum impact.
involve print and online staff editors
in content development and presentation of webinars.
manage the “church-state” divide
and address common ethical issues when conducting webinars.
package and market online events for
potential viewers and sponsors.
leverage webinars for related editorial
content, including virtual trade shows, podcasts and
e-newsletters.
Members: Download Webcast Files
ASBPE members can download the PowerPoint
presentations from this webcast.
For the first time in 2008, ASBPE is accepting submissions
for most entries completely online — which
means you won’t have to put multiple copies of each
article into binders, print out cover letters and entry
statements, and mail out packages. You also save
on fees — $10 per entry — by submitting online.
This free
webinar provided an overview of how the online entry process
works. Attendees learned:
how and where to register for the competition
where to submit your statement describing
the mission, readership, and enterprising work for each
entry
how upload editorial entries
how to submit and receive confirmation
of payment
Dec. 14, 2007 Editorial Winners Tell All
Attendees of this free webinar
got the inside scoop on how to win an Azbee
award from
top editors at Hanley Wood and IDG,
which
have garnered
numerous
editorial
and design
awards.
The presentation included:
How and why the editors chose the articles
they entered;
What the awards have meant to the winners’ careers
and to their publications;
How to build award potential into the
articles you write and edit; and
How to apply the standards of editorial
competitions to your day-to-day work.
Oct. 19,
2007 Managing the Editor-Freelancer
Relationship in the Digital Age
This webinar
explored how the digital platform is giving rise to new
methods
for
managing freelancers — and new questions about the
best methods to use.
Topics included:
How much and when (upon acceptance, upon publication?)
should a freelancer be paid?
What rights will the publication retain over the freelancer's
work?
Should "kill fees" be publication
policy? If so, how much?
How to develop long-term relationships with effective
freelancers?
How should freelancers break into the B2B press?
Presenters were Chris Linquist, online
editorial director, CXO
Media, and Matt
Bolch, a successful Atlanta-based freelance writer and
editor.
May 10, 2007 Uncovering Scoops With
Basic Financial Analysis Techniques
Stock analysts do it…— so
can you! This webinar covered how to uncover corporate
scoops
using basic financial analysis techniques. Leading the webinar
was Steve Ross, editor of Broadband Properties magazine
and professor at the Harvard Extension. Ross, who has also
taught at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism,
has a gift for making financial theories seem simple.
Among other things, attendees learned:
why a company's stock price does not tell
the whole story,
factors to consider when writing about the
financial viability or competence of a particular company,
a simple formula for calculating whether
a company is likely to remain as a going concern in the short
term, and
how to spot signs of financial foul play.
About the Presenter
Steve
Ross has combined a career in teaching, writing,
consulting, and technology. He now edits a trade/professional
magazine (Broadband
Properties) and teaches business writing at the
Harvard Extension. From 1985 until mid-2004, Ross taught
full-time at Columbia University’s Graduate School
of Journalism, where he was an associate professor of professional
practice, teaching new media, national, and computer-assisted
reporting. Since 1994, Ross has been conducting the nation’s
largest surveys of journalists’ use of online services
including (but not limited to) the World Wide Web. Among
his 19 books are works on business, the environment and planning,
multimedia, finance, statistics, product safety, and toxic
substances. He is now under contract with McGraw-Hill to
produce textbooks for analytic journalism and new media.
March 2, 2007 Investigating a Company: The Long and the Short of It
In the wake of several high-profile
corporate scandals, such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco,
and the resulting Congressional actions to address them,
getting to the bottom of a balance sheet and other company
reports is an indispensable part of doing your job as
a business publication editor.
In the second of three webinars
about reporting on company finances, attendees learned
about financial tools that top-tier investigative journalists
use to
enhance the breadth
and depth of their business reporting, uncover hidden
problems in company performance, estimate market share — and
beat the competition in disclosing the next corporate
scandal. Specifically, attendees learned:
How to find out crucial corporate
information when on deadline, and methods
to use when more time is available to dedicate to
story development.
How to obtain and interpret corporate
reports, including the 10K and 10Q, 8K and
14K, cash-flow and income statements, balance sheet,
and annual report to shareholders.
How to convey the significance
of the numbers to readers as they
report on financial issues.
An archived version of the presentation
will be made available to participants upon request.
In addition, a CD and PowerPoint will be available for
sale.
Dec. 14, 2006 Using Excel
as a Reporting
Tool In our first webinar, editor
and teacher Steve Ross walked participants through exercises
in calculating key business
indicators such as profit margin, earnings per share, price-earnings
ratio, and return on investment. He also pointed out possible
errors in analysis that might easily trip up a novice financial
reporter. You
can read a recap of the session here and
learn
more about the technology interface used in the webinar
here.
A DVD of this webinar is a available
for purchase. To order, contact us at info@asbpe.org or
(630) 510-4588.
Mimi Bell is the editor of Great Lakes Bay (Regional Lifestyle Magazine), Huron Shore (Lakeside Lifestyle Magazine), and Great Lakes Bay Business. She is the editorial director and editor for a number of client custom-published B2B magazines. Additionally, she is an independent writer, contributing content to a variety of national custom publications. Her writing expertise includes philanthropy, education, geriatric living and healthcare, personal finance, and food and wine. She is based in Saginaw, Michigan. 
Ann Logue is a writer specializing in business and finance. She is the author of four books, Emerging Markets for Dummies (Wiley 2011), Socially Responsible Investing for Dummies (Wiley 2009), Day Trading for Dummies (Wiley 2007), and Hedge Funds for Dummies (Wiley 2006). She has also provided ghostwriting and technical editing services for books published by Bloomberg Press, the International Monetary Fund, and Pearson Educational Services.
You may also be interested in 
Steve
Ross has combined a career in teaching, writing,
consulting, and technology. He now edits a trade/professional
magazine (