Freelancers consistently overwork and undercharge

Being a freelancer is great. We know that. You know that. But sometimes it’s worth digging a little deeper, worth finding out what makes you – and your fellow freelancers – tick. For that reason, Dinghy recently embarked upon the inaugural ‘Freelancing in 2020: State of the Industry’ survey. After all, what better time is … Read more

How to Become a Freelance Consultant

Becoming a freelance consultant is a dream for many. I’ve been lucky enough to have a successful freelance career as a social media and digital PR consultant for the last few years. There’s been some bumps along the way, but advice and encouragement from a wide range of people enabled me to go it alone … Read more

Essential Freelance Reads and Top Freelancer Blogs

Following on from my guide to being a freelance consultant, I’ve pulled together a list of essential freelance reads and top blogs so you can get up to speed on all the latest freelance thinking. These are presented in no particular order, but feel free to add your own suggestions by leaving a comment! Freelance … Read more

Economy, Effectiveness, Efficiency: How councils can measure the success of social media

(This is a full version of an article I wrote for The Guardian’s Local Leaders Network on how councils can measure the success of social media. You can read the edited version on the Guardian’s site.) According to the 2013 BDO Local Government Social Media Survey, 98% of UK councils are using some form of digital or … Read more

Online Privacy Issues Need to be Easier to Understand

Online privacy issues are currently difficult to understand. Amid media headlines about NSA, Prism and Snowden, terms such as encryption, Tor and HTTPS are used extensively with the average person expected to keep up  with what they mean and understand how the issues affect them. For people who aren’t technically adept, the message about why online … Read more

Freelance Journalist Q&A: Sean Hargrave

This is the eighth in a series of interviews with freelancers, telling us their stories on how they went freelance. The aim is to help others who are thinking of becoming freelance learn more about what it takes, as well as get advice and inspiration so they can get the confidence and understanding to find out … Read more

Less freelancing, more consulting: how adding value leads to added income

I’ve been thinking recently that a lot of the success that I’ve had as a freelancer to date is that I’ve position myself as more of a consultant and less of a freelancer. Freelance work tends to be transactional, where you’re delivering directly on a service that a client had asked you to provide – … Read more