‘Having Clear Terms‘ is the means to success online as a business owner or a freelancer. Experience has thought me that if you don’t have well defined terms, the probability of you succeeding online is very slim.
So where do you start? The answer to this is reliant on your level of experience serving online clients as a business owner or a freelancer. Do you understand how online marketplace work?
For example, have you used Escrow payment before or do you know how it works? Working out your ‘own terms‘ is not something that you can do in one day. It comes in as they are needed.
Let’s say it’s a paragraph or point that you add to your existing list of terms in a document as the need arises.
When defining your terms, its good to know where to start. That is what I will focusing on this blogpost.
1. Scope of Work
It starts with the clients scope of work. What does the client want you to do and can you do it?. This is very important. Many online business owners and freelancers I know in the video production industry are good at video creation and editing. However, when it comes to animations and motion graphics, they outsource.
Make sure you are very clear with your client in what you can provide, outsource and what you cannot. Don’t lie that you can do it or find someone who can do it and end up not doing it. You will have failed the client and yourself.
Making your stand very clearly understood by the client is in itself a term. e.g Telling the client “I will require you to provide a given list of items” makes it clear to the client on what you will provide.
2. Cost of The Project
Once you have agreed with the client on the scope of work and both of you are happy, move on to the cost of the project. How much will the project cost? Based on the defined scope of work, come up with a quotation listing each item and it’s cost. Most clients are ok if you do this directly on the e-mail body.
Professionally, I recommend doing your quotation on Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets and sharing it as a link or attaching it to the e-mail as a PDF file. This way, collaboration will be easy and the client can print the document and put it on a file for records.
Costing is usually easy if you have your own standard production rates.
3. Payment Terms
Now that the client has agreed to your proposed quote and the deal is closed, go ahead and discuss with him/her, how you would like the client to pay you. Mostly, it’s good to break down this into two parts.
Payment Breakdown – Since you have not met the client in person and probably the client is on another continent, have them make a down payment of 50% as a show of commitment. Alternatively, if you are using Escrow service, have the payment broken down to 2 parts of 50/50. 50% when you deliver the first draft of the video and the remaining 50% once you are done.
Payment Methods – Share with your client the payment methods you prefer. e.g. PayPal, Credit card e.t.c.
Most clients love it when you are clear on how you would like to receive your payments. They know that by honoring your terms, their work will be completed on time.
4. Revisions And Modifications
Once you deliver the project and the client needs revisions or modifications, what are your terms on this? For example you can say, you offer 3 rounds of revisions for free. Anything after that is billable.
If you are new to online business and freelance marketplace, you will not know it until a client requests for several revisions to a point you are tired of making them.
When revisions and modification term is in place, everyone will be careful not to make any mistake from their end because of the cost implications.
5. Mode of Collaboration
As an online freelancer or business owner, expect to receive large files from your clients. This means you must be subscribed to a paid cloud service like Dropbox, OneDrive or GoogleDrive. This way, you can have your file sync automatically on the background.
Agree on a mode of collaboration for their project. E.g If you are a content creator, you can decide to use google docs for scripting and Dropbox for videos. Either way, it will be easy for each of you to quickly locate a shared file and share their feedback.
If you are dealing directly with the client, communication through e-mail is ok. However if you are dealing with a team, then using free collaboration apps like slack will be great.
6. Refund Policy
Lastly, it’s good to have a refund policy in place as part of your terms. What happens if the client requests for a refund after you have started work with them? That’s why this is important. This way, when the client is getting into work agreement with you and making partial payments, they understand clearly the policy.
A good refund policy is the one that is considerate. A win win. i.e. ‘If the client cancels the contract after delivery of the first draft of the video with no clear reason, 50% paid as the down payment will not be refunded.’
Conclusion
Ensure the client signs and sends you back the contract terms you share with them before starting work. We all know, people hate signing documents with long form terms. Insist that you have an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) in place anyway before starting any work. Clients with high value contracts are the ones who requests you to sign an NDA because they know the risks and consequences of what may arise later.
For example, if you offer video production services like me, and in your contract with the client, you had a clause on commercial license fee of 10% of the contract sum. You can sue the client if they use the content commercially without consulting you. Contracts are there to protect each party from abuse.
And that is it from me here.
What are your guiding pointers when defining your terms to a client as a video producer?
Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
And if you need professional video tutorial services for websites and apps, you can request a free quote on www.techtubestudio.com . You will get a response within 12 hours.
When using Microsoft word to write step by step guides for software’s and applications, its important to know how to take and annotate on screenshots.
In this tutorial guide, I will share with you how to take and annotate on screenshots inside Microsoft word.
Watch Video: How to Take And Annotate on Screenshots Inside Microsoft Word
How To Take screenshots
Open Microsoft word. Click insert on the top menu.
Click on screenshot icon and select screen clipping.
Taking screenshots Inside Microsoft Word
Microsoft word will minimize and your mouse arrow cursor will change to a plus. Left click, hold and drag to select the section you want to screenshot. Once selected, release the mouse button. Your screenshot will be automatically taken and inserted into Microsoft word.
Screenshot Look Inside Microsoft Word
How to Annotate On The Screenshot
It’s possible to annotate on a screenshot inside Microsoft word. You can highlight and add text description to some parts of the screenshot you have taken based on the tutorial you are working on. For example, you may add a box to highlight a menu item for an app, an arrow to point on the box you have highlighted, and some texts to describe the menu item.
To do this, click on insert and select shapes. Choose rectangle shape. Click and drag to select the section you want to highlight on the screenshot.
Annotating on a screenshot with rectangle shape on Microsoft word
Click on shape fill, select none. Click on shape outline and choose a color of your choice.
Add highlight on a screenshot on Microsoft Word
Go back to insert then click on shapes and select line arrow. Click and drag to point on the box or any other place on the screenshot. Choose shape color and weight under shape outline.
Add line arrow on Microsoft word
Next, select text box under shapes. Enter a short description of the menu item you have highlighted by typing into the text box.
Screenshot annotated on Microsoft word
You can reposition the shapes to any section of the screenshot as you want.
And that is it.
It’s that easy.
You are not limited on the annotations you can make so long as they make sense to your audience. Be open and try out different shapes.
How do you take screenshots for use in tutorial guides on Microsoft word?
Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
And if you need someone to review your digital products or services and make a video, let me know here. Alternatively, you can request a quote here.
There are two sure ways to upload a theme to WordPress for use on your blog or website. In this weeks Freelancing tip, I will show you two ways to upload a WordPress theme to your webhosting control panel in order customize it to suite your needs.
Two Ways to Upload a WordPress Theme
Its always important to know different ways to upload a WordPress theme incase one of them fails to work. This way, you will be able to pinpoint and troubleshoot any errors. e.g missing stylesheet.
Sometimes uploading a theme via the WordPress dashboard fails to work. I have experienced this a couple times when trying to upload a theme purchased from theme forest. If you encounter the same issue like I did, then try uploading the theme via the webhost cPanel.
To do this, login to your hosting account. On your hosting account cPanel dashboard, select File Manager.
Select File manager from your hosting cPanel Dashboard.
On the new window. Select the domain you want to upload the theme on your left. Your domain folder will expand. Select public_html>wp-content>themes.
Select domain>wp-content>themes
Using the icons on top (which varies depending on your hosting provider), click upload files. Select the theme you want to install and click upload.
Click Upload.
When done uploading, select the uploaded folder and click extract the files.
Go back to your WordPress themes page and you will see the new theme display. From there you can start customizing it to suite your needs.
And that is it from me today on Freelance tips. If you have any questions regarding to this video, let me know in the comments section below. Alternatively, you can send me an e-mail to connect@cheptiony.com
With technology now part of our life’s, anything can happen. The probability of someone using your Tax PIN or Tax Compliance Certificate to carry out unscrupulous business activities is very high.
That’s why it is important for hiring managers and tendering companies to check validity of the Tax documents submitted by the applicants.
Doing this will protect them and PIN holders from the consequences of identity theft.
Statistics on Identity Theft
The figures released last year (2020) by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a consumer protection agency, show that identity theft reports were more than triple the number from 2018. Cases reached 1.38 Million in 2020 compared to 444,344 in 2018.
This is 2,920 percent annual hike in the number of identity theft cases. The victims said their information was used to apply or receive government benefits such as unemployment compensation, obtain driver’s licenses, passports and other government-issued documents.
The disturbing trend likely stemmed from the trillions of federal dollars unleashed in COVID-19 relief.
According to Kenya Market Analytics report released by Transunion; an American consumer credit reporting agency in 2020, Fraud is an ongoing and increasing concern. Annual losses from identity theft and loan stacking amount to approximately KES 13.3 billion.
What can you do about it?
We can change this story if me and you can utilize use the tools available to verify documents as CEO’s, Human Resource Executives and procurement officers of the companies we represent.
That’s why in this blogpost, I will show you how to check validity KRA Tax compliance certificate and PIN number.
Please watch the video to see how.
If you have any questions or concerns? let me know here.
One of the ways mostly recommended to market a mobile app in App store or Google playstore is through a demo video. Now, the way you create and present the video is up to you.
The common and most effective way to do this, is by developing a professional screencast demo video. So, what is an app demo video? It’s a video demonstrating how an app works in real time. This way, interested users can watch it before downloading the application.
This is the best avenue to impress your prospects.
In this blogpost, I will show you step by step how I do it.
Step 1 – Install the App You Want to Demo
Install the app that you will like to demo on your phone. Open and preview it to make sure that everything is working well. Write a step by step script to guide you when recording the video. This is very important as the script will safe you a lot of time.
Step 2 – Download Screen Recording App
Note: For apple users, you don’t need this as most iPhones come with an inbuilt screen recorder.
There are many applications available on google play-store that you can use to record the screencast on phone. I recommend the one I use called Screen Recorder -no ads offered by Kimcy929.
Download the app
Step 3- Open the App and Adjust Recording Settings
Recording settings will vary based on your requirements. I recommend recording your video in full HD at 25 fps and 6mbps bit-rate.
Adjust your app settings
The app allows you to record your own voice as well; so you can turn on the audio recording option. Your settings are saved automatically.
Step 4- Record Your App Demo
Note: As a rule of thumb, I recommend that you switch your phone to flight mode and use WiFi network if you need internet. This is unless you are using your mobile data for this task. This will help you focus and avoid interruptions from people calling you and messages coming in during the recording.
Start your recording
Tab on the recording button to start. Open the target app and start your demo. Hit the recorders stop button when done with your demo. Your recording will be saved on your phone. It’s important to review the video recording before transferring it to your computer.
Step 5 – Upload Your Video To The Editor And Start Editing It
You can edit the video with virtually any video creation program. In the past, I have edited it on Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe after effects and Camtasia Studio. But to date, the easiest editor to use is Camtasia studio. The newest version of the program has more tools that simplifies the editing process. So let me take you the process of editing your video on Camtasia studio.
Upload Your Recording(s) to Camtasia Studio
Once you have uploaded the video, drag it to the timeline.
Videos uploaded to Camtasia Studio
Change the canvas setting to 1920×1080 pixels.
Canvas setting
Next, crop out the Black sections and resize your video to fit the screen.
Crop the black sections on the video
Search for a Mobile Phone Image on Google
Mobile phone image from Google search
This is the phone that you will blend with the video to make it look like it’s a real phone in action. Download transparent .png image format for use here.
Focus Your Attention to Details
This is very important. A little miss when scaling the recording to fit into the phone screen is very noticeable when rendered. So, look Keenly into details and ensure that you achieve it perfectly.
Details noticeable when fitting it into the phone
Once done, you can start editing your video and removing all the choppy sections. You can add a voice over, zoom in and out and add any other necessary effects to make it nice and attractive to watch.
Learn How to Edit Video on YouTube
If you are new to editing, you can search and find several videos on Youtube teaching people how to edit with the program of your choice.
And that is it.
Now that you know the process of creating a demo video for your mobile app, you can start practicing it until you are perfect in it.
But if you are a busy professional and you have less or no time to create a professional mobile app demo videos, let me know here.
We are living in a age where everything online is customized according to a specific market. This is where a VPN comes in handy. For instance-in an e-commerce site- there might be a high demand for one product in Africa and no demand at all in US.
As a result, some products may not display in some countries where demand is low. The website URL will be the same, but at the end of the URL, after the forward slash, it will indicate your country based on your IP.
So how do you go about this if the product you are looking forward to purchase is not displaying in your country?
What if you are a video producer and one of your prospects wants you to create screen-cast video tutorials specifically for a particular country answering the Q&A?
Now here comes the problem, how can you differentiate between a secure and non-secure VPN? It’s simple, giving it a try. With hundreds if not thousands of VPN’s out in the market, downloading and trying each VPN is a lot of work.
Besides, one of them may leave traces of bugs in your computer in the process.
In many occasions, I have found myself downloading a VPN, using it, and uninstalling it immediately after accomplishing my task. But for the first time, I have kept one of the free VPN’s I recently stumbled upon.
What surprised me was the VPN’s speed. Of all the VPN’s I have used in the past, both free and paid, none of them beats this one when it comes to speed. It’s called Tuxler. Here are 5 reasons I recommend Tuxler VPN.
Speed
There is nothing exciting like a VPN connecting to a selected server at a lightning speed. If you are used to a buffering one, you will be shocked when you first install Tuxler. There is no unnecessary pop ups on your browser.
No Several Ads Requesting You to Download an Additional Software
Normally, when you download a free VPN, during the installation , you will find several ad’s requesting you to either download an anti-virus or another software related to the VPN. This is not only alarming that bugs may be coming along with the installation; but you are left prepared for more disasters like computer crashes and more.
Residential IP’s
Most VPN’s do not offer residential IP’s of a given country. With Tuxler, you get this. You have over 70,000 residential IP’s to choose from every-month. You get all this for Free.
Security
How do you differentiate a secure and non secure VPN? It’s simple. Non-secure VPN’s have several pop ups when not in use. Also, some will cause your computer to slow down. You experience non of these with Tuxler. Their terms are very clear and straight forward.
Tasks
If you sign up as an affiliate, they regularly post tasks which you can claim and accomplish for dimes. You earn points when you accomplish a tasks. You can use the points earned to purchase premium version’s of the VPN.
Lastly, they don’t hard sell on you on e-mail. They let you make the decision when using the app. Isn’t it great?
Go try out for free here. If you like it, Come back here and share your experience.
That is it from me.
Until next time, bye and take care.
If you need help to record professional screen-cast video tutorials, let me know here
