 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Site Index |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Site Index |
New
England Chapter
|
  |
|
Back to Spring 2006 meeting summary page
Spring 2006 Meeting
Roundtable Discussions: Running an Indexing Business
Meeting participants broke up into five group of 4-8 for moderated discussions of various aspects of running an indexing business and marketing: scheduling, accounting & rates, contracts & agreements, periodical & online index marketing, and two tables on general marketing which later combined. The participants could choose one table for about 15 minutes and then switched to a second table for another 15 minutes. Following are summaries of the discussion of each of the roundtables submitted by their moderators.
Scheduling, Accounting and Rates
Moderated and summarized by Seth MaislinOverall, our conversation varied. We talked about various tools to measure productivity, such as TimeKeeper for Windows and TimeLogger, which are tools that can help indexers record how much time they spend on particular tasks or projects. We also discussed accounting software briefly, mentioning Microsoft Money and QuickBooks; although the latter seemed to the be recommended choice, one attendee commented that accountants don't like any of these packages because of the risk of calculation error.
A highlight of discussion came when someone wondered if there was any documentation or external proof of what indexers charge, so that people not familiar with indexers have a sense of how much indexers cost. We decided that data available from the 2000 and 2004 salary surveys (both available at the ASI website) is a great starting point. Then, the indexer who is presenting these data can explain how the data are biased in a certain direction. For example, the indexer could explain to the potential client that their subject matter differs from "the survey average" by being simpler or more complicated. The key is using the survey results not as an answer, because they are skewed in unknown directions, but rather as a starting point for discussion.
Finally, there was a fun conversation about people skills. We unanimously agreed that face-to-face conversation is the best way to connect with potential clients; voice conversations (over the phone) came next, followed by postal mail, then electronic communications. We realized that people who are uncomfortable making phone calls should call potential clients with the least value first -- the clients who are least likely to provide sustainable or interesting work -- because there is the littlest risk for the indexer. Note that this advice is the precise opposite of what business consultants say, which is to call the most important people first. With our approach, indexers can refine their sales pitch before making the most important phone calls.
Contracts and Agreements
Moderated and summarized by Wendy CatalanoWe talked some about whether or not it is even necessary to have a contract, and it was agreed that it's definitely a good practice to follow, but many people find them to be a formality that they often don't bother with. We did decide that when dealing with a new client, at least for the first few projects, a contract is very important, if for no other reason than to let them know that you are a professional and expect certain things of them. Once a relationship is established and you find them to be trustworthy, you (and they) may find the use of contracts somewhat tedious and unnecessary.
Some participants said that the client sends their own contract, which is fine, provided you agree with the terms, and are permitted to amend it with your own additional terms, if you find that to be necessary.
I brought along a copy of the contract I use, and we discussed each part and the different terms (agreed-upon rate, what constitutes an indexable page, how pagination changes and scheduling changes will be dealt with, style preferences, post-submission adjustments, and payment terms).
When asked how I came up with the format and wording of the contract, I explained that I had looked online at the contracts of other indexers and I took bits and pieces from different ones, editing them to my needs, and put it together from there. There is also a sample indexing agreement on the ASI Web site.
When everyone had heard enough about contracts, the discussion turned to how each of us got interested in indexing, as well as about networking and general marketing.
Periodical and online index marketing
Moderated and summarized by Heather HeddenThis roundtable comprised more librarians and other people interested in the fields of online and periodical indexing than those actually freelancing in the area. So, while we did not have so many concrete marketing success stories, we had some interesting ideas and discussion.
For periodical indexing, some members had done periodical indexing in the past, either through a reference index publisher or for a specific publication, but they no longer do the indexing, either because it was through a previous employer or the project was no longer available. Although it is known that some freelancers do periodical indexing work, this type of indexing is definitely limited. Periodical indexes, which also exist online, are sometimes being automatically indexed or used with search engines.
We discussed the potential role for those trained in indexing or library science to work as developers of controlled vocabulary, thesauri, and taxonomies. This can be for periodical publishers but also for corporations that have a lot of internal documentation that needs indexing. Indexers can develop taxonomies for content management system. I suggested that people can learn more about taxonomies by join the Yahoo Taxonomy Community of Practice discussion group or visit the new Taxonomy Community of Practice Wiki .
In the area of back-of-the-book style web site indexes, also called site A-Z indexes, there is a great potential for work, but potential clients need to be educated as to the benefits of A-Z site indexes. Rather than doing this individually, indexers can market collectively through the Web Indexing SIG of ASI, which is working on raising the visibility of web site indexing, such as by forming a partnership with the Information Architecture Institute. Web site indexers can market their services for the sites of libraries, educational institutions, and professional associations. Intranets are also a good place for web site indexes, but we did not come up with good marketing ideas yet. Government is a potential. You need to get registered and get a DUNS number to bid on government contracts. Although most contracts for bidding are not exactly right. Perhaps a better tactic would be to go for subcontracting. A certain percentage of even subcontracting has to go to register women-owned businesses. Finally, another good potential market are developers of online courses, the whole new "elearning" business.
General Marketing
Moderated and summarized by Chris Lindemer and Heather DubnickMany of the participants of this roundtable discussion were new to indexing and had not started marketing their services yet. Of those who had indexing experience and had done some marketing, subject specialties were a topic of discussion. Specialty areas discussed included professional skills/education areas, hobbies and foreign language fluency. Some indexers do not specialize, but rather attempt to remain ‘generalists’.
Indexing-specific Internet marketing tools discussed by both roundtables were the ASI web site (including NEASI and the ASI Indexer Locator), and Indexers Unlimited. Other useful sites included the Editorial Freelance Association, and Bookbuilders of Boston. [Also worth mentioning but not discussed is mediabistro.com]. It is also worth belonging to the ASI SIGs, some of which have their own web site directories (e.g. the Culinary SIG.)
Business cards were exchanged, and the service ‘VistaPrint’ for free business cards (limited number/limited options) was mentioned. Cold calling is done by some indexers and some are using mainly e-mail and the Internet for marketing. For ‘snail mail’ marketing, a résumé, a ‘books indexed’ list, references, and a sample index (or partial index) are often included.
We discussed using Writer's Market and Literary Marketplace to compile a list of publishers and then send out resume/sample packets to those publishers. One indexer said that she always includes a self-addressed stamped postcard asking whether the publisher uses freelance indexers, whether there are current openings, and whether
there might be openings in the future. She said that something like a third of the publishers actually send the postcard back.We talked about the importance of having a web site and how to market using the web site. We discussed using Google Adwords and Yahoo Overture, as well as using Statcounter to track visitors to the site. Finally, we talked about the importance of having a niche interest so that potential clients will find you if they limit their searches to specific fields.