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…]
How a mediocre blogger can get more links than an amazing blogger
May 13, 2010. 10 Comments
I don’t think you should aim to be a mediocre blogger. Always aim to write top content and do your best. However, it’s not your kick ass writing skills that are going to get you links. Fact – when I started blogging professionally – and by professionally I mean paid – I was a lot more careful. I wrote and re-wrote posts, gave it my all and really tried to put super killer content out there on the web. AND I pretty much got zero links back to my carefully written, time consuming posts. Fact – now I’ve been blogging [Read more…]
1,000 word blog posts and being yourself
May 12, 2010. 8 Comments
I’ve been breaking writing rules my entire freelance career. Sadly, I don’t always break rules on purpose – often I just make mistakes. Luckily, for me, the rules I’ve broken haven’t hurt me much. When I stared out freelancing FT I broke way too many rules… I never pitched to small local magazines in an effort to work my way up. I sent queries to all the big name magazines I liked. I’d send the same query to multiple magazines too, thinking, most will reject me anyhow. I didn’t have any magazine clips for my queries so I’d send business [Read more…]
Some misused words are inexcusable
May 8, 2010. 12 Comments
Just a quick FYI folks. When bouncing around the web this morning I saw plenty of misspelled and misused words. I’m the first to admit that my spelling lacks perfection (spelling trauma as a kid in school) however, there are some 100% inexcusable misused word issues that should not be showing up in your posts. Such as… “Your too good for this.” – Nope, it’s “You’re.” “Its good for all sorts of stuff!” – This should be “It’s.” It’s vs. Its can be confusing I know, but this is so simple that it just looks bad. Think of “It’s” as [Read more…]
How to Write Blog Posts That Say Something
May 6, 2010. 11 Comments
Did you ever come across a blog post with a catchy headline but the actual content says nothing? Sure, there are a bunch of words there, but they never seem to back up the title. It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine. I’m a sucker for a good headline, so you can imagine my disappointment when I’m sucked in via blog’s title and end up receiving little or no return on my investment of time. It’s easy to ramble on when blogging. However, if you’re going to write a title that promises something, you need to be sure you’re [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…]
Top Time Wasting Activities for Bloggers & How To Stop
April 9, 2010. 10 Comments
Below are some of the biggest time wasting activities for me and some other bloggers I know. Surfing: Nothing is more fun than surfing for new post ideas and it’s easy to go overboard. When it comes to surfing or researching blog topics set strict limits in order to stay on task and on time. Skype: I LOVE Skype. I love that I can use it to chat with friends and co-workers. I love the break it provides. I love that I can hop on at anytime and find someone to hear me out when I have good news or [Read more…]
Are Blogging Jobs Over?
March 11, 2010. 5 Comments
I wouldn’t say blogging jobs are over exactly. I mean, that would be dumb considering I blog for a living. Many of my friends blog for a living. Deb posts blogging gigs daily over in writing leads. So no, blogging jobs aren’t over. I do however think that how you use your blogging skills to make money is changing big time. You can’t just be a blogger anymore and expect to make a living. “Just a blogger” is not meant to be disrespectful either, all I mean is when you’re just blogging for clients you’re writing posts, getting paid, and [Read more…]
Blogging rules you should follow and rules you can break
January 9, 2010. 3 Comments
Even when you’ve heard the same tried and true rules absolutely everywhere, it doesn’t mean those rules will work for you. Some blogging rules were made to be followed and some well, not so much. ALWAYS FOLLOW THESE RULES… Avoid flowery, long-winded, mucky, metaphor-filled writing. I’m not saying you shouldn’t or can’t write long posts, but long or short, posts full of fancy Nancy style writing or purple overload are so freaking annoying. Readers (read me) aren’t interested in wading through paragraph after paragraph just to locate the point. In college the best web writing advice I ever got was [Read more…]
From Blog to Small Business
October 24, 2009. 19 Comments
Deb’s note: I started writing this post on the plane to Las Vegas (and BlogWorld) last week. Since then I’ve seen Darren Rowse’s post at ProBlogger called, “The #1 One Reason My Blogging Grew into a Business.” Check it out if you can, it’s a must -read for anyone who wants to blog for a living. FWJ began four years ago as a blog filled with leads for work at home moms like me. As you know, it’s evolved quite a bit over the past few years. Something happened this past spring that caused me to change my outlook about [Read more…]
Improving the job market for bloggers and online writers
May 29, 2009. 14 Comments
Improving the job market for bloggers and online writers is a big task. Since I started posting gigs here daily I’ve noticed a slew of terrible jobs and a much smaller selection of decent jobs that actually pay a fair wage. I don’t think the fault is all on the lame clients who offer low-pay jobs though. A lot of it is dependent on us, the folks who want said jobs. For example… 1. Apply for work IF you’re qualified: I was chatting with Deb yesterday and she noted that she was shocked by the amount of people who applied [Read more…]
Can you blog your way to a writing job?
May 26, 2009. 7 Comments
Maybe… Forbes recently ran a piece on setting up your authority related to a given career with a blog. However, the Forbes piece appears to be talking about careers outside of writing but on the flip side, this can work just as well if you do happen to want to be a FT writer or blogger. As noted in the piece: “Recruiters will always try to find out more about you… They Google you. You want to stack the deck in your favor. If you’re competing with someone who has equal skills and experience, a blog can be the tie-breaker. [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…]
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…]
Wasting Time While Blogging
May 6, 2008. 9 Comments
We all waste time at work sometimes, and usually a little time wasted does no harm. However, I literally have no time to waste. I get two full days to work, period, each week. I’m a single work-at-home mama, who homeschools, so time is tight. My son’s dad has our son Friday evenings through Sunday evenings which is when I do the bulk of my work – that by the way means; I try to get everything done for the upcoming week (currently about 3 articles and enough posts for around 10 blogs). It’s near impossible. Actually it is impossible. [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…]