February brought most of us in the States snow storm after snow storm, Valentine’s Day and some really informative posts from the FWJ crew. Here are a few of the most popular: Applying for a Freelance Writing Gig Without Looking Desperate by Jodee Redmond In this post Jodee cautions against oversharing when looking for writing gigs. Is Your Blog Dressed For Success? by Gayla Baer-Taylor First impressions are important. Gayla shows you how to make sure your blog turns heads. I’m a Ghostwriter (Get Over It) - by Jeffery Reyes In this terrific guest post, Jeffery hits on the many misconceptions [Read more…]
Blogging Secrets to Power Your Community
Part 1
September 22, 2010. 2 Comments
If I call them secrets, people seem to pay more attention. However, there really are no secrets. Everything you need to know is right in front of you. It’s just a matter of sorting it out and putting it in a format you can easily process. With that said – I’ll be providing you with a series of three posts that piece it all together in simple, easy to process, steps. The Beginning: Choose a catchy title. Titles go a long way. Think of your title as the bait that gets people to the blog. Posts with numbers seem to [Read more…]
5 Ways to Breathe New Life into Old Content
July 23, 2010. 2 Comments
Andrew Rosen published a post on Splashpress Media’s BloggingPro.com site today called “Bringing Old Content Back to Life: 5 Ways to Revive a Blog Post” that applies to freelance writers, too, so I wanted to share it with the readers here on Freelance Writing Jobs. A big part of writing is knowing when it’s time to remember that you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel to make an impact on an audience. If you write evergreen content for a blog or other media that can get lost in the clutter over time, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with [Read more…]
Is there anything you don't know about blogging?
May 29, 2010. 8 Comments
Deb wrote a post last week called, Top 10 Things Freelance Writing Blogs Tell You That You Already Know. Not that this was news to me. In fact Deb and I were discussing this on Skype recently and it pops up with other freelance writer pals too. Deb’s post got me thinking. IS there anything I can say that you don’t already honestly know about when it comes to professional blogging? It does seem like bloggers who blog about blogging re-hash the same old stuff over and over. Although, just to play devil’s advocate… There are plenty of posts here [Read more…]
Managing Full Time Blogging & Kids ALL Summer Long
May 21, 2010. 7 Comments
Deb just posted some excellent summer options for work-at-home parents and they’re handy but I have a few more suggestions along with some helpful tips. Summer, for me is a little like 3 months worth of chaos. Not only does my son’s free school shut down, but my partner’s kiddos are at the house more. Three kids + FT paid blogging + FT self-run projects = insanity on my part. It’s like a much longer winter break; ugh. First read managing work in a chaotic household for some general help then keep reading below for some summer specific tips. Summer [Read more…]
Increase blog traffic with email strategies
April 19, 2010. 11 Comments
There are all sorts of little ways that email can increase blog traffic for you or for a client you blog for. Following are five good ideas. Email a new reader; or two or three or twenty! Darren notes that emailing new readers was one of the main strategies he used to build up ProBlogger traffic back in the day, and if it’s good enough for that well… why not give it a shot. Note – some emails to new readers can be annoying. Try to keep track of who you send emails to so that you don’t send off [Read more…]
How to score blogging gigs in one easy step
March 19, 2010. 2 Comments
APPLY FOR BLOGGING GIGS! That’s it. I know, it’s simple and sounds too good to be true, but when you get right down to it, applying for gigs is the number one best way to get gigs. I only bring this up because I see folks all the time at forums, in writers chats, and on Twitter who note they’re looking for work over and over. I get email questions like, “How do I get work as a blogger?” Not to sound over simplistic, but honestly you might want to try applying for gigs. Heck apply for MANY gigs. In [Read more…]
Try not to suck as much as Chris Garrett
March 18, 2010. 1 Comment
Actually I don’t think Chris Garrett sucks. In fact, I was just telling Deb today that while I browse other blogs about blogging daily, his is the one I usually stop at and read. That said, Chris has an excellent post up – Why I Sucked at SXSW So You Don’t Have to (ha). Now, maybe he did suck there, or maybe not (I’m guessing not) but this is an excellent post to read if you ever attend writing events or conferences; plus you can see a cute picture of Deb in said post Also I was struck by how [Read more…]
Is your blog job sucking the fun out of blogging?
January 4, 2010. 2 Comments
I’ve been blogging professionally (i.e. making money at this blogging deal) for a long while now. However, before I blogged for pay I blogged for me. For fun. For the sheer need of saying what was on my mind. I had a blog with zero ads so comments and freedom of speech were my big rewards, not cold hard cash. There’s a big difference between blogging for yourself and blogging because it’s your job, but it doesn’t mean the two paths can’t connect. For example, when you blog for clients, for cash, there are some issues that can super suck [Read more…]
Managing work in a chaotic household
December 29, 2009. 4 Comments
The other day in my job sucks more than yours we looked at some of the perils of working at home. From distracting kids, to friends and family who believe you’re sitting around eating bon bons all day, to finding a coffee shop with non-sticky tables and more, working at home can be a nightmare at times. Here’s how to make it better… Have a dedicated office space with a door you can shut: If you can’t have this now, or don’t foresee having this in the very near future, working at home honestly may not work out unless you [Read more…]
Do Your Blog Posts Gain Reader Attention?
June 18, 2009. 10 Comments
Blog posts can be a little dry; excuse me, I meant, web writing can be a little dry overall. Blogs aren’t the only online medium to blame. One problem is that blogs and online articles have gotten so SEO friendly. Some bloggers are excellent at making their posts search friendly AND personable. However, if you’re just focused on SEO, it’s easy to spot, annoying, super boring to read, and won’t lead to long term readers. Another problem is that there are so many darn blogs around. Anyone can offer information on say, coffee or computers (and tons of bloggers do) [Read more…]
Blogging tip: back up your posts with logic and actual facts
May 22, 2009. 2 Comments
A pet peeve of mine is when bloggers write posts that make me go, “Hmmmm?” And by hmmmm, I mean I don’t buy what they’re saying because they don’t back their facts up OR they make broad generalizations that aren’t true. For example, you shouldn’t write, “ALL college kids have crazy sex” or, “ALL meat eaters are killing the planet.” If you do want to say something like this, it better be in a tone I can actually read as funny, or you should back it up with actual facts, otherwise you just end up looking like a ranting nutcase. [Read more…]
Choose a blog challenge or mix up your blog routine this week
January 13, 2009. 5 Comments
I’m doing both; I’m choosing a blog challenge and mixing it up. Since it’s the start of a new year, and I have some blog issues, I figured I’d challenge myself. My blog challenge: PR post catch-up. My biggest blog challenge right now is playing catch-up with holiday PR. I have all these products, tips, and news-like bits that I’ve been meaning to post. People send me a lot of stuff and it tends to build up quickly in my email inbox. Once I get too many saved items, I freak and avoid them. Not to mention that I’d rather [Read more…]
It's not too soon to blog the holidays
September 22, 2008. 8 Comments
I’m back. My move took WAY longer then I expected and other stuff happened like a nightmare cherry on the cake. But I’ll not bore you with that; Deb already covered some of the issue in How to Ruin Your Blog (Like We Did). I’d rather talk about blogging. Right now it’s almost October, which means it’s past time to start blogging the holidays. No matter your blog topic, holiday posts are a big traffic draw from September to December. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and all the winter holidays are easy to cover and people want to read about all of them. [Read more…]
A Little Weekend Link Love – July 12 – 13, 2008
July 13, 2008. 19 Comments
by Deborah Ng If there’s one thing I noticed lately it’s that there’s no shortage of blogs about writing, freelance writing, freelance writing jobs and blogs. What this means is there’s no shortage of writing jobs and advice. What do you think? The more the merrier or overkill? Here’s what I’m reading this weekend: Here’s a great post by Lorelle Von Fossen at Blog Herald on where to find blogging jobs and how to apply. It’s a follow up to Blogger Jobs: What are They Looking For? How to Stretch your Articles into Dollars at Blogging Tips. What do you [Read more…]
5 Reasons Why It's Important for Bloggers Read ALL the Blogs in Their Niche
As a freelance writing blogger I make it a point to read ALL the blogs in the freelance, writing and blogging niches – even those I don’t like or particularly agree with. In fact, I’ll even go as far as saying anyone who is serious about his or her niche and wants to be a successful blogger should do the same. Every blogger has favorites, and that’s fine, but never discount the guys you don’t jibe with – or even the bloggers you can’t stand.To do so can mean you’re missing out on some beneficial opportunities. There’s only competition if [Read more…]