The freelancer glossary

In marketing, an editorial calendar is a publishing schedule that offers one place for planning, assigning, and checking the status of upcoming content (like blogs, emails, and/or social posts).

An electronic funds transfer (EFT) refers to any method of transferring funds from one bank to another via digital means. It is an umbrella term that includes ACH and wire transfers.

Email marketing is when you use email to engage a list of contacts who have consented to receiving commercial messages from a brand.

An email newsletter is a type of communication that’s sent to people who have specifically subscribed to your email list. Newsletters can have various purposes and target readers.

End of day usually means the end of business hours on any given day. It is often used to describe the deadline for payment or a project e.g., “I will have the document done by EOD.”

End of month usually means the last day of any given month. It is often used to describe the deadline for payment or a project e.g., “we will have all the deliverables ready by EOM.”

The end user refers to the intended user of a product. As an example, the end user of a bookkeeping software is a member of the finance team at a company.

Estimated tax is a quarterly payment generally required of U.S. taxpayers who earn income that isn’t subject to withholding. This includes income from self-employment, capital gains, and more.

Evergreen content is SEO-friendly content that doesn't have a clear expiration date. The information within the article will remain relevant for many years to come.

An exit strategy refers to a founder’s plan for how and when to sell the company. It could involve an acquisition, IPO, or other event.

Experiential marketing entails campaigns in which you engage directly with prospects, either virtually or in person. For example, a business may choose to host a pop-up shop where people can test their products.

In SaaS, a feature request refers to a suggestion for how to improve or grow the software platform. Feature requests can be made by customers, employees, prospects, or other stakeholders.

First-mover advantage (FMA) refers to a situation in which a company is one of the first companies to operate in a new market and therefore has a leg up over its competition.

Fiverr is a platform where freelancers can post “gigs” for buyers to purchase. Fiverr is best known for offering services that cost as low as $5, but also offers premium services.

A flexpert is a slang term for freelancers who have a wide range of skills that allow them to fill multiple roles and/or meet various needs of a creative project.

In sales, a follow-up is when you reach back out to a potential customer after you’ve made your initial pitch. It can involve a series of emails, calls, and more that inspire action.

Force majeure is a clause frequently used in contracts. It releases both parties from their contractual obligations when something completely out of their control (“acts of god”) happens.

Form 1040-ES is a form provided by the IRS to help freelancers, independent contractors, and others calculate their estimated taxes. Such individuals are required to pay quarterly taxes.

Form 1099-NEC is an official IRS form that businesses use to report money that they paid to nonemployees. Freelancers should generally receive this from their U.S.-based clients each year.

Form I-9 (aka Employment eligibility verification) is a form mandated by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. All U.S. employers must fill this out to verify an employee’s identity and authorization to work.

A freelancing management system is a software platform that provides one place for finding, hiring, paying, and managing contracted professionals.

A proposal is a document that you send to a potential client, convincing him/her of your qualifications and your understanding of a project. It is similar to a sales pitch.

Freelancer.com is a platform for finding and hiring freelancers in over 1,800 categories. It is best known for fulfilling the needs of short-term, budget-friendly projects.

In SaaS, freemium is a popular business model in which a software platform is available to use for free. However, users must pay a premium to access additional or advanced features.

Front of book is a slang used in the publishing industry, meant to describe the (very) short articles located at the front of a magazine.

Full payment is when a client is required to pay the total cost of services at the time of invoicing. Full payment may be required upfront or after a project is completed.

Gamify is a strategy in which a company incorporates game mechanics (such as a point-scoring system or badges) into a product or marketing campaign to boost engagement.

Ghostwriting is the exercise of writing an article, book, or other piece of text on behalf of a client, who is then credited as the author.

The gig economy describes a labor market in which companies hire independent contractors and freelancers to complete work. Airbnb, Uber, and Doordash are all examples of companies operating in the gig economy.

A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is meant to ensure the successful launch of a new product. It should describe the ideal customer, competitive positioning, and other factors that keep your entire team aligned.

A graphic designer creates visual assets to express ideas in a memorable way. These assets include—but aren’t limited to—logos, product packaging, webpages, and app design.

Gross margin represents how much a business has profited, once the cost of goods (COGS) is factored in. Gross margin is calculated by subtracting COGS from net sales, then dividing that number by net sales.

Gross profit is the total amount of money you make, including both earned and unearned income. It refers to all of your earnings before taxes and deductions are taken out.

Growth hacking is considered a type of marketing in which you use the resources at your disposal to rapidly grow and retain customers. It relies on frequent experimentation and data analysis.

Guerilla marketing is a strategy that involves unconventional, out-of-the-box tactics to get people to pay attention to your brand. It is often relatively inexpensive and viewed as a publicity stunt.

Guest blogging (aka guest posting) is when you write content for another website. It is a common marketing strategy for engaging new readers and earning backlinks.

A home office deduction applies to the part of your house that you use exclusively for business purposes. The IRS provides specific instructions for who can take this deduction and how.

In writing, a hook is the first one or two sentences of an article that’s meant to draw a reader in.

An ideal customer profile (ICP) describes the type of company that your business aims to serve. Your ICP is the company that would benefit the most from your product or service.

Inbound marketing is an approach that focuses on drawing people to your brand by creating memorable content and experiences. Inbound marketing typically seeks to educate rather than simply sell.

In freelancing, income refers to the amount of money you receive for your products or services. Your gross income could also include any wages or salary you earn in addition to your freelancing total.

An indemnification clause is essentially a promise to compensate the other party for a loss or harm (such as legal fees) in connection with a certain outcome or event.

An independent contractor is a person or business that provides services to another business on a non-employee basis. Independent contractors are considered self-employed.

Influencer (creator) marketing is a strategy in which you work with a well-known creator or organization in your industry (or a target industry) to increase brand awareness.

An infographic is a visualization of data and information. It’s a popular format amongst marketers who want to showcase copy in a dynamic, more visual format.

IP broadly refers to intangible assets—like literary works, logos, symbols, and names—that are legally protected via patents, copyrights, trademarks, or trade secrets.

Interlinking is the practice of linking from one page on your site to another. For SEO and user experience purposes, you’ll want to link to pages that are valuable and relevant to the topic at hand.

An invoice is an itemized list of services or products that have been delivered to a client. It includes the total payment that is due, in addition to payment terms and business info.

Itemized deductions are an alternative to standard deductions i.e., when filing your taxes, you may choose to itemize your expenses in order to lower your taxable income even further.

An iterative process is an approach used by developers, designers, and other professionals that involves continually testing, optimizing, and improving a product. It allows you to attack a problem incrementally.

Java developers are proficient in the Java language, which is one of the most popular programming languages. Aside from coding, duties may include QA testing and debugging.

JavaScript developers are proficient in JavaScript, a programming language that’s used on almost every website today. They help to create responsive and interactive websites.

Kanban is a system for managing the workflow of an individual or team. Kanban is a Japanese term that roughly translates to “visual board” and describes a system whereby tasks are visualized as cards (think: Trello).

A key performance indicator (KPI) is a metric used to track a company’s or an individual’s progress towards a specific goal. KPIs can be financial, business-oriented, process-oriented, or other.

Keyword research is the process of analyzing and identifying search terms to target with your online content. It is a key step to building out your SEO strategy.

Keyword stuffing is a “black hat” SEO tactic in which a person tries to raise his or her search engine ranking by overloading a webpage with the same term over and over again.

A kill fee is a negotiated rate that a client pays a freelancer if a project is canceled or cut short. This term is also used in publishing when an editor decides not to run your story.

A landing page is the page that users are directed to when they click on an online ad or promotional email. It is a standalone page that’s designed for lead generation or form submission.

Lead generation is the process of identifying, attracting, and qualifying people who could potentially lead to a sale.

A lead magnet is a resource that’s given away for free in exchange for a user’s contact information. It can come in the form of content (like an ebook) or a service (like a demo).

Lead nurturing is the process of regularly engaging a prospect and developing a stronger relationship with him or her over time. Lead nurturing can involve a mix of emails, ads, and other touchpoints.

A lede is the first line or paragraph of a news story. Its main purpose is to hook the reader and/or share the most important pieces of information up front.

A letter of introduction is meant to start a conversation, either between you and a prospective employer, client, or connection—or between two people that you know.

An LLC is a business structure in the U.S. that protects an owner’s personal assets from lawsuits. An LLC offers tax advantages and is relatively easy to manage.

LinkedIn is a social network built specifically for businesses and professionals to connect. It is a popular channel for recruiting, marketing, and prospecting.

As the name suggests, a listicle is an article that’s written like a list. It’s a flexible format that’s generally described as having enough information to pass as an article.

In SEO, a long-tail keyword is a lower-volume, yet more specific search term or phrase. Long-tail keywords are generally less competitive, offering a higher chance of ranking.

Low-hanging fruit refers to tasks or goals that can be achieved with little (or relatively less) effort. Companies, for instance, many choose to tackle low-hanging fruit before investing in high-effort projects.

Machine learning (ML) refers to a software’s ability to make decisions based on data trends, relationships, and other observations over time. ML is a subset of AI.

The main role of market researchers is to find the right customer for a business. They often conduct consumer surveys and product tests, while also consulting data from outside sources.

Market segmentation is when you split up your target audience into groups based on their interests, demographics, or other factors—with the end goal of personalizing your interactions and driving better results.

A marketing asset refers to any item that a business uses to pitch their product or services, such as sales decks, articles, blogs, videos, and graphics.

Marketing automation is when you use software to centralize, automate, and track your marketing activities across various channels. It is intended to increase efficiency and output.

The marketing funnel is a visual representation of the various stages that your prospects go through, from the moment they first hear about your business to when they purchase from you.

A marketing qualified lead (MQL) is a prospect that has been evaluated by the marketing team and is deemed ready to be engaged by the sales team.

A merger is when two or more companies are combined to form a single company. Oftentimes, mergers happen because there are financial and/or operational synergies between the two companies.

A meta description is an HTML tag that is shown in search engine results below the title tag. A good meta description is both compelling and SEO-friendly, plus accurately describes what the webpage is about.

Middle of the funnel (MOFU) refers to the stage of the buyer’s journey in which the prospect is researching various products and services.

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a product that only possesses the core functionalities to be considered usable. Companies offer MVPs to start generating revenue and collect feedback from early users.

A mission statement is a short, clear description of a company’s reason for existence. It provides direction for employees and stakeholders, plus supports the company’s vision.

In web design, a mockup is a near-finished visual representation of your webpage. It includes all the colors, illustrations, and other design elements that you’re looking to build out in the finished page.

Modern Language Association (MLA) style is a set of guidelines used most commonly by the liberal arts and humanities fields. It provides a standard for writing and citing sources.

Month-over-Month (MoM) refers to a comparison of any data points between two consecutive months. MoM comparisons are used to identify the changes that took place during that time.

A monthly recurring revenue (MRR) is a metric that sums up a company’s subscription-based revenue in a given month. MRR is typically calculated by multiplying the total number of users by the average monthly revenue per user (ARPU).

A motion designer creates digital animations for TV, movies, web, and other mediums. Text (or the animation of text) is a major component of motion design, as is technology.

Multichannel marketing is when you promote your brand across various channels, like email, social media, direct mail, and others. Each channel may have its own strategy and purpose.

Net 10 (or other) payment terms means that a client must pay the full amount owed within 10 days of receiving the invoice. The payment period can be adjusted as desired by the vendor.

Net earnings (aka net income, net profit, or bottom line) refers to the total amount of money you made after subtracting any business costs, income taxes, interest, and other deductions.

Net promoter score (NPS) is a measurement of customer satisfaction and loyalty. NPS is defined by asking your customers how likely they are to recommend your product to someone else from a scale of zero to 10.

Newsjacking is a marketing strategy in which a brand may “piggyback” off a trending news story in order to gain more exposure.

A niche market is a segment of a larger audience that has a particular need, preferences, or other unique qualities. A business may choose to serve a niche with a specialized product or service.

A non-compete agreement (aka non-compete clause) is a contract in which an employee agrees not to work for—or to start—a competing business for a specified period of time after leaving his or her job.

An NDA (aka confidentiality agreement) is a legally enforceable contract barring you from sharing any information that’s covered by the agreement.

Omnichannel marketing is when you promote your brand across multiple channels, but specifically focus on providing a unified customer experience across each.

In SaaS, onboarding refers to the process of helping a new customer get set up and navigate your product. The onboarding process begins after the sales team has officially closed the sale.

Organic search refers to search results (such as Google results) that aren’t paid placements. In other words, these are results selected by the search engine’s algorithm based on a user’s query and intent.

In freelancing, overtime refers to the time that a freelancer works beyond the amount that was quoted or specified on the retainer agreement. Paid overtime is not guaranteed and should be negotiated upfront.

PHP developers are experts in PHP, an open-source scripting language that serves as the backbone of many web applications, including WordPress.

Paid search refers to advertisements (aka paid placements) that appear at the top of search engine results. For example, businesses can pay for text-based ads that appear at the top of Google results pages.

Partial payment is when a client is required to pay a portion of the total amount owed for a product or service. Freelancers may offer installments plans as an incentive for new clients.