25 Awesome Lessons you Can Learn From James Chartrand

1. Don’t Forget the Credentials

In a comprehensive post on Write to Done, James recommended adding credentials to your about page

While About pages should tell an honest, interesting story, they should also still have those credentials in there. Mention your experience, your education or your skills – just do it with style. Note how long you’ve been in business (if it’s been a while), and indicate any accomplishments that make you stand out. You can also list associations you’re involved in, distinguishing factors, or organizations you support. Do you do volunteer work or donate funds? List that too, because it helps show people what you stand for.

It may seem like bragging but not everyone will know you as well as your friends and colleagues do. Write about the people you’ve interviewed. The social media success you’ve had. Talk about anything relevant to your blogs goals.

2. Draw the work/life boundary

In an interview on Rock Your Day, James admitted that drawing that life/work boundary from the start would’ve helped immensely

So do it. Set regular hours. Put your office in a room with a door. Treat your business like a business. Don’t run around in pajamas. Make sure people understand that you don’t go drop in at their construction site or their office building, so they really should respect your work zone, too. Most of all, make sure that everyone – and you most of all – understand that freelancing doesn’t mean free of responsibilities.

This is something that I didn’t do during the launch of this blog and it made my physically sick. I recommend you do this as early as possible so you don’t get burnt out.

3.. Get your readers involved.

James wrote about this in his copyblogger post about getting more blog comments.

So the next time you write, pay attention to your headline—and then pay just as much attention to your conclusion. Wrap things up in a way that encourages conversation, comments and discussion.  Learn about their experiences. Ask open-ended questions. Have them talk about themselves.

Getting your readers involved is one of the best ways to develop a community. I’ll be covering this in future blog posts.

4. Be confident about bonding with readers and customers.

James discussed this in his post about becoming a kick ass freelance writer

Don’t be afraid to show the real you, with all your quirks, flaws and passion. That spark of life makes you more real. No one wants to deal with a façade.

Mention the little details that make a big difference. Give someone a ’secret.’ Sometimes just hinting at an interesting confession, or admitting that you have to have a blast of Eric Clapton with your morning coffee, does the trick. Your readers will feel trusted and important — and that’s a good thing.

Just beware — there is such a thing as too much intimate information. Giving a few personal details doesn’t mean you don’t have boundaries.

It is the personal details that often cause me to purchase a product. I like knowing that by purchasing something, I am helping out the person behind a website.

5. Use systems to streamline how you work for the most efficient process you can create

James talked about this further in an interview on Sparkplugging. This is a tip that I been given by multiple mentors over the past 6 months. Some of these systems may cost money, but are definitely worth it.

6. Free Stuff Doesn’t Sell

James wrote about this in his post on why blog readers aren’t buying

You’ve most likely read that thrice-weekly posts, free downloads and viral reports are a must-haves. Give it away! Free is good! Free brings success!

Blogging does achieve some measure of fame, notoriety and credibility, if what you write about is good. Good content and rising fame shows potential customers you’re worth hiring.

But loyal blog readers who help you get famous aren’t your customers. They come back day after day for what you give them already – free stuff. If you’re giving it away for nothing, nothing is exactly what you get back in sales.

This is a concept that I have been querying. I’ll take James advice, but will also be doing further research on this topic.

7. Being interesting means being real.

James talked about this in a post on The Writing Base

Gone are the days where companies boast and try to appear more than they are. Today’s consumers want to hear stories from the people behind the company. They want to have an experience, to get to know those they buy from personally.

This is similar to what I wrote about above. Price is just one of the influencers behind purchasing decisions.

8. Have plans

James discussed this further in an interview on Yes to Me

Establish a Plan B. And C. And D and all the way to Z. Never leap without a safety net, and at the same time, always be ready to seize the opportunities you have and take the plunge. There’s no such thing as failure – there is only learning experiences.

I especially love how James focuses on turning failures into learning experiences. I have done this and it has really helped my career progress.

9. It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like “What about lunch?”

This was one of the many lessons James gave in his post Winnie The Pooh blogging

The problem is that your readers won’t bother asking you to clarify. If they find themselves facing words they don’t understand, jargon they find confusing or explanations that take too much time to absorb, they’ll just ignore you. Say what you have to say in conversational, simple language and be done with it.

Some people can get away with using long and difficult words in their writing. Not many people can accomplish this in web writing. It is best to aim for clarity until you can find your writing voice.

10. Step back in time.

James wrote about this in a post on creating fresh content

With centuries behind us, history provides a wealth of rich experiences that you can draw on and bring forward into your work. Use storytelling to wind a tale from the past and use it as an example for the concept you write on today.

One of the reasons I love Doctor who so much is because it ties compelling stories into historical events. This technique can really help with blogging and can provide an interesting comparison.

12. Brand your business before you brand yourself

James identified this problem is a post about the problem of personal branding.

Start building value into your business so that potential customers think of your business name first and your name second. Get people interested in working with your business, not you.

This is an issue that is still being widely debated. I prefer to brand myself, but I am aware of the long term limitations this places on my business.

12. You don’t have to be serious.

James discussed this further in his post comparing blogging to the film Priscilla.

Strutting stage performers aside, Priscilla wasn’t all about hooting it up with a D-cup strapped on. It was a rather serious movie, exploring sensitive controversies and moral issues. Strip away the slinky dresses and false eyelashes and you find some deep messages.

The film doesn’t linger on the bad, though. Just a taste is enough. Instead of being dark or dramatic, Priscilla uses humor to deliver messages in full flamingo flamboyance.

That’s a lesson bloggers can take home. You don’t have to be serious to get your message across. Lighten up a little, sheesh. Using humor is a great way to entertain your audience while writing about a serious topic or a controversy.

I agree with this. I often use humor when talking about my anxiety disorder, and it helps people feel more comfortable with the concept. Can you apply this on your blog?

13.   Put on a Performance

In a copyblogger post, he wrote about how blogging is a performance and that when you understand that, you can use the analogy to improve your confidence.

Go ahead. Imagine your blog is your stage. Your posts are the scripts. What character does your performance call for? Assume that role. Create the persona that matches the need.

Does your show call for an expert professional? Pretend you’re wearing a suit and holding a briefcase. Hey, you could even get up off your chair and walk around a bit to practice your performance.

Or maybe your blog needs a vivacious go-getter. Imagine you have a whistle while coaching people on. Would you clap? Would you cheer? What sort of voice would that go-getter have?

In real life, I am a nervous and shy person. But I have learnt to put on a performance online and channel my inner socialite. Many people really respond to this and it has led to many new connections.

14. Watch your attitude

James gave this tip in an article on Freelance Switch

But remember that your attitude shines through in everything you do – for better or for worse. Know exactly how you appear to others, because everyone who notices you is a potential client – even peers in the same line of work.

People make their judgements based on image and general perception. I have refused to get to know several bloggers over the years because of a negative attitude in the comment sections of other blogs. It may seem like a small point, but

15. Only promote quality products

James gave this advice in a post about affiliate programs.

If you promote a product or service that isn’t good and someone buys it, they’re going to be very disappointed. They’ll remember you – and not in a good way. You just lost credibility.

You can still recommend products, just as long as you are very transparent about its flaws. I am very strict about the products I review and try to provide value by doing accompanying interviews and case studies.

16.Pay Attention to Commonalities

James expanded on this in a post about guest posting complaints.

If there is negative feedback about guest posting, pay attention to common threads of complaints. Most likely, readers aren’t protesting the concept of guest posts. They may be unhappy with certain posters, the quality of the content, the level of instruction or the poster’s tone and style. Make changes and reestablish peace.

If you don’t use guest posts on your blog, you can also learn a lot by reading the comments section of other peoples guest posts. You can learn what the readers don’t like and use that information in your own guest posting campaign.

17. You need to look for traffic

James identified this as one of the blogging challenges you will need to overcome.

“If you build it, they will come” does not apply to blogging. Assuming that search engines will start sending you traffic just because you blog is a huge misconception. Bloggers do not get traffic; they go looking for it to herd it towards their blog. They also invest the time and energy required to market their blog effectively.

Link out to relevant posts from other bloggers. Comment on their blogs. Start interacting on social media sites like Twitter, Digg or StumbleUpon. Interesting comments on your behalf engage others, and they stir curiosity that encourages people to click through to your site. If you aren’t present and active, you aren’t driving traffic.

Instead of looking for traffic, you can look for relationships that can help to promote your work to their own readership. I try to do this by providing immense value to them and reciprocating when necessary.

18. Reconsider a donate now button

James discussed this further in a post about monetizing via paypal.

I think a “donate now” button does have its place. Someone who starts a website for fun, like a gaming site of some sort, who invests a lot of time, money and effort into building up entertainment for others but who receives absolutely nothing in return should definitely have a “donate now” button. Why the hell not?

James proceeded to talk about how it may look professional if you are asking for financial support on your business site. This made me reconsider my original choice. An option is providing ebooks in return for a donation of the readers choice. This has been successful in multiple forms of media.

19. Post less to be read more.

James wrote about this in an article about posting frequency

No matter how good your content is, too much of it causes overwhelm. People unsubscribe. That’s a problem.

Also, based on input from close to a dozen top bloggers I’ve interviewed, it takes an average of three days for a new post to propagate well in the blogosphere. By posting too often, you push down previous posts and decrease their visibility, thus decreasing the potential reach of each post.

I have heard this repeated by many people in the industry. If you are posting a lot of content, consider excluding it from your front page and RSS feed. Often, the reader will thank you for it. You can draw visibility to it later in compilation posts.

20. Give Testimonials

This was one of the tips James gave to increase site traffic while on a budget

Have you found a good product that you’re pleased with? Leave a testimonial on the seller’s website and add your link. One good turn deserves another. Endorsing a product you know is good can go a long way to bring visitors to your site.

This has been a technique that has really worked well for me. If you do this successfully, people may give you review copies in advance specifically to get that testimonial.

21. Draw attention to your older posts

James talked about this in a post on rewriting old blog posts

Sometimes you simply want to revive an old post because you know it was good, but not enough people were around at the time to discuss it. Now you have tons of regular commentators, and you want to hear what they have to say. If that’s the case, brush off that old post, tweak it for accuracy and any new information you have, polish up the grammar, and just repost it. Tell your readers you’d love to hear their thoughts. They’ll respond.

A similar technique is linking to an old post on twitter. This often generates a new group of commenters.

22. Unsubscribe from blogs regularly

James wrote about this in his post about keeping your feed subscriptions at a manageable level

Give each new blog subscription two weeks to make it or break it. If you’ve skimmed and scanned or clicked “mark as read” more often than you’ve actually read the posts or commented on the blog, then it’s time to unsubscribe.

I do this all the time. I now don’t even subscribed to a blog unless I’ve read it consistently over the previous month.

23. Don’t be a know-it-all.

James expanded on this in a post about how to get your readers to get you.

If you don’t know something about a particular topic or you’re unsure on a certain point, say so. Link to a website that offers more in-depth or accurate research or ask your readers for their insight.

You can’t be everything to everyone. If you try, you may give faulty information that could result in lost credibility. Readers will appreciate a referral to someone who knows more on the issue.

24. Be active.

This was one of many tips that James gave in his post on driving traffic

Comment on other blogs. Say what you have to say. Other people read your comments, and if they’re good, interesting ones, those people often wander over to your blog to see what else you have to say.

Many people have launched their careers because they were perceived to be everywhere. Being active and giving to the community is a surefire way to get traffic in return.

25. Stay updated and in the loop.

Later in the post, he said

If you’re posting about bananas while everyone else is discussing apples, you won’t get much traffic. Write about current trends or hot topics.

Following a trend can be a way to get additional traffic. You could optimize this by posting about something before it becomes a trend. You may need to work really hard to follow the trends close enough to predict trends.