Domino Spot Content Guide

If you’re interested in contributing to Domino Spot, please follow the structure outlined below:

Published in

Unravelling The Maze: A Guide For Freelancers

5 min readSep 13, 2016

Instructions

This is a template for creating educational guides for the Domino Spot site. All content listed in italics is instructional text and can safely be deleted.

How do the guides on Domino work?

Domino guides are designed to teach freelancers how to achieve specific tasks. Guides work best when they are:

Outcome based.
Focused on teaching one particular skill or concept.
Easy to understand.
Broken down into simple steps.
Have a consistent layout and approach.

We’re trying to standardize the format and layout of the guides as much as possible. Each guide will consist of:

Title — This is the skill, question, or other central point of the guide.

Context — This is why the content in the guide matters, and how it can help the freelancer.

Answer — This is the heart of the guide — It’s a set of steps that any freelancer can follow to achieve the aim of the guide. The main parts are:

Introduction — This is an introduction that explains what the rest of the guide will cover.
Step-by-step detail — This is the main body of the guide, covering the key steps a freelancer needs to take, in order.
Conclusion — This is a summary and conclusion at the end of the article to wrap everything up.
Resources — Links to further resources and useful material that support the main concept of the guide.

Hints and tips for writing a good guide:

Use a friendly, approachable, direct style.
Focus on actionable, practical, ordered steps.
Second voice works best — “You.”
Break the guide down into understandable steps.
Make good use of formatting, white space, headings, bullet points and numbered lists.

A note on distribution: Because Spot guides have a defined structure a clear objective and function best as a complete knowledge base, we ask that you do not republish them on other platforms without receiving prior approval.

If you have more questions on this send us a note: info@wearedomino.com

NB: If you wish to see a version of this guide in Google Docs please click here.

Title — The central point your guide is dealing with

e.g: Why do I need to get a contract in place with my clients? What’s the best way to bill for freelance work? How do I price my services??

Context — In two sentences — Why this matters to freelancers and what they will learn from the article

e.g. A contract helps you and your client by creating a mutually agreed set of terms and conditions you will both adhere to. It helps to ensure that you deliver work to the right deadlines and quality, and that your clients pays you for that work.

Introduction — This section introduces the rest of the article and what will be covered.

A paragraph here sets the scene for the rest of the article and the key points. It then introduces the main headings in a bullet point list.

Main topic part 1.
Main topic part 2.
Main topic part 3.
Etc.

Step by step detail — This is the main body of the guide. Each part will have a headings and explore the key things a freelancer needs to do, in a simple, understandable, and direct way. This can be written in whatever style you prefer.

Conclusion — This brings everything together and restates the main points of the guide in a simple, understandable way.

Resources — This contains links to further resources that a freelancer might find useful.

Below is an example guide

Why you need to get a contract in place with your freelancing clients

By Paul Maplesden, Freelance Writer

A contract helps you and your client by creating a mutually agreed set of terms and conditions you will both follow. It helps to ensure that you deliver work to the right deadlines and quality, and that your clients pays you for that work.

Introduction

A contract is a formal set of terms and conditions agreed to by you and your client.

All freelancers should have a signed contract in place with a client before starting any work. A contract is vital because:

It protects both you as a freelancer and your client.
It ensures that you are working to the scope and terms agreed to with the client.
It covers all the key aspects of the work you will complete.
It protects you if there are any disputes.

Although you might think a contract is all about legal language, attorneys, and clauses, putting one together is simple.

Step 1 — Find a good contract.
Step 2 — Make sure the contract includes everything you need.
Step 3 — Review the contract.
Step 4 — Send the contract to your client for signing.

Step 1 — Find a good contract

You don’t need to create a contract from scratch. You can find contracts online, either on dedicated freelance websites, through legal and document services, and several other places.

When you’ve got a basic contract, read it through in detail and think about the amendments you want to make.

Step 2 — Make sure the contract includes everything you need

You can amend the contract you’ve downloaded before you send it for signing.
Go through all the terms in the contract to make sure you’re happy to be bound by them.
Make changes to any terms that you need to.
Add in any terms to cover work not mentioned in the original document.
Areas you will want to include:
The name of the freelancer and the client.
An outline of the work (the scope).
What is out of scope.
Fees, deposits, and payment timescales.
Deadlines for completion.
Roles and responsibilities.
Copyright, confidentiality, and indemnification.

Step 3 — Review the contract

Once you’ve made any changes to the contract, read through it again, in detail. Make sure that as a freelancer, you’re happy with everything listed in the contract.

Then, read through it again as a prospective client. Think about how a client would feel about the contract and amend it appropriately.

If there are any areas that are unclear, rewrite them for clarity. Remember that this is a formal agreement that you and your client will be committing to.

Step 4 — Send the contract to your client for signing

Once you’re happy with the contract, you can get it signed by the client. There are several online signing services including:

These services do vary in price and ease of use, but most have free trials so you can try them out before spending anything.

Any clients and freelancers involved in the project should sign the contract.

Once the contract is signed, you can start work.

Conclusion

A good contract protects you and your client. It creates a mutually beneficial agreement for any work you’re going to complete as a freelancer. It’s vital to have a contract in place before you start work so you can ensure you’re both working to a common goal. Taking a little time to set up a contract will help you manage your work more professionally and build trust with your client.

Useful resources

Paul Maplesden is a freelance writer, specializing in business, finance, and technology.

If you have any questions about this guide, please email us at: info@wearedomino.com — Thanks!