Creating the Perfect Blog Post
There has been many articles written about how to write articles in terms of features. You probably have encountered advice on using pictures, bullet points and controversy to make your blog more readable and interesting.
Though there is validity in this approach, many fail to take into account the important person in the equation: The reader.
At all times and no matter what kind of writing you are doing, you should always keep the reader in mind. Blog tips such as pictures and bullet points, are just minor aspects in creating quality blog posts. Ultimately, your blog will be judged on its content and your writing style.
Before you start to write an article, think about the following :
Who your article is aimed at?
Through identifying and discovering who your readers are, you will discover the correct tone of voice for your blog, and in turn your style as a writer will develop and you will create better and more relevant writing.
Would a reader find the article you are planning to write interesting?
If not, there is no value to writing the article.
Identify what your readers want. The show business adage of giving the people what they want is true in the world of web writing. If they want more articles on one aspect of your blog but less on others, I would advise you succumb to their wishes. As writers, we feel we have a good idea of what people would like to read from our blogs. If you have been employed to write copy for someone else, then you will know that this is untrue. Take a look at what you are writing, put yourself in your readers shoes and see if the two match. If you have not done this before, I'll be surprised if they do. Write what readers want to read.
Would you like to read what you have just written?
If the answer is no, then alter it until you do. Try to get out of the habit of publishing something just because you have written it. It can harm your reputation as a writer if you publish poor quality work.
Don't be afraid.
If you are writing a potentially explosive piece do not be afraid to follow it through. This is what writing is all about and has been challenging views and perceptions since before Shakespeare. Be bold, be comprehensive, and explain your views well. There is a risk you could be wrong, but it is better to state how you feel rather then not to publish. You may well be right, and not publishing through fear just to learn you were right in the first place is worse than vise versa.
I will add this to post as and when the need takes me. For the time being, always think about the reader, and you will find everything else will fall into place.
Best of luck!
How to Cope With Freelance Copywriting Boredom
There can be no denying that certain assignments are more interesting than others, and though an assignment may pay well and is a straight forward job, boring and repetitive subject matter will at one time or another wear you down. So what can we do to combat freelance copywriting boredom?
Tips on how to combat freelance copywriting boredom.
- Take small breaks between articles, and tiny ones between paragraphs. This is especially important if you are writing the same article in a different style. Be careful not to let the break be an excuse not to stop working.
- Try not to think about other things when working on a boring assignment, as this can lead to an excuse not to work on the project and stop work. Facebook and that piece you were going to research can wait.
- Set small goals and celebrate as you complete them.
- Ensure you complete what you set out to do.
Remember that not completing assignments is self defeating, and ultimately will harm your reputation as a freelance writer.
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Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Freelance writing tips on winning the job
Making a good pitch when applying for a job is fundamental to freelance writing success. Often a freelance writer can be in competition with dozens, sometimes hundreds of freelance writers, all eager to win the work. Your pitch must stand tall in among this competition and be well supported by good, relevant examples of your previous work.
When I pitch for a job I have a template in my mind of points I need to include. They are:
Who I am and where I'm from. Sounds obvious, but many jobs specify someone from the English speaking world, and this shows that I am.
My experience. I normally state the number of projects I have been involved with. the more work I complete the better this looks.
My approach to the work, including gauging tone, keeping the copy interesting and informative, and to engage the reader.
My CV/Resume. This contains a cross decision of my previous work, along with testimonials. Both of these are significant.
A link to my website. The writers website provides a means of displaying their talents together with an opportunity to showcase what they can do. This recently won me a job and has done so in the past.
Depending on what the ad has asked for, depends on how I construct my pitch, and I mention any previous experience that I feel is relevant to the job.
Your bid is also an important factor in winning the work. Often, there is a budget specified for the job, and to stand a realistic chance of winning the work, it is best to put forward a bid that is within it. I have found that bidding slightly lower than the maximum, tends to give you a fighting chance.
Good luck!
Freelance writing tips for staying on top of workload.
If you have any experience of writing in a professional capacity, you will no doubt be aware that motivation and discipline are two big factors to success.
Without these two elements, writing becomes a very hap hazard affair, and often the urge and need to write dries up. In effect, your mind is shutting down as it transfers its resources to concentrating on other tasks. The writer Norman Mailer, writes about this in some detail in his book the Spooky Art, where he declares that a writer makes a pact with his subconscious to write, if he breaks that pact, he or she finds it harder to write.
In essence it is the same for a copywriter. You have no doubt experienced this phenomenon if you have ever under taken commercial work. Somewhat strangely, if you start writing, you will normally continue, and this is the key to stay on top of your workload. Though I have to be honest and say I am sometimes guilty of not practising what I preach, in my experience the following tips should help you keep the workload manageable.
1 Minimise distractions. Email, Facebook, looking at rubbish on the web, anything that takes your fingers off the keyboard has to be avoided. Anything that gives you an excuse not to write has to be avoided. Anything that can distract you has to be dealt with, and I mean anything.
2 Prioritise your workload by deadline and necessities. If you are short of money, a faster paying client may be a more appealing, but often a professional approach centred around priorities will serve you better in the long run.
3 Make a pact with yourself that you are going to start writing at a certain time, and start at that time. This is similar to what Norman Mailer talks about in his book. Be on time for work.
4 Too much to do. If you have found yourself with too much work, think about outsourcing it. This does tend to bring about its own problems, but outsourcing could be a good long and short term solution.
5 Pay professionals to do professional jobs. If its taking you four hours to do your accounts, that's four hours money you won't be earning. The chances are the professional will know more tricks too. It pays to use a professional.
Hopefully what you have just read will help you stay on top or your workload.
photo credit: Gamma-Ray Productions
Freelance writing tips on gauging tone
One aspect of writing which is crucially important, is understanding and setting the right tone for the readership. This comes into play in all aspects of writing,and not just writing for the web.
This should be a consideration when you first apply for the job. In nearly every advertisement for a role, there are hidden clues as to what is expected from a writer. By using these clues effectively, you will increase your chances of landing the role. If you get this right, you are speaking directly to your readership, so subsequently your blogs will be more effective.
As with all tips these are guidelines only, so don't be afraid to forget about them now and then, and go with the flow.
- Most blogs require proper English, so ensure you reply in proper English
- Always have an up to date CV, and ensure it has a broad range of writing samples you have done in the past included, together with testimonials
- If you feel a sample that is not included in your CV, will be more suited to a role that you are applying for, obviously include/swap it.
- Always ensure there is something of you in your writing, regardless of the tone you are setting.
- To find the tone, ask yourself who will be reading these articles, and adjust accordingly.
- Always make your writing engaging, and interesting. You'd be surprised at how much difference this makes.
- Never waffle. It is tempting with minimum word counts etc, but if you just keep writing, you'd be surprised at the quality you can achieve.
- Don't try too hard, just keep in your mind who the likely readership are, and then just let yourself write.
Hopefully, these tips will help you.
photo credit: ktylerconk
Badcuts news
Welcome folks. It's been a while since a news update and this is for a good reason- we've been busy. Link-optimise's redesign is complete and live! So far so good and it looks particularly impressive. The site has a good feel about it and the focus of it has changed. It is now geared towards helping people SEO thier own site as much as offering packages to SEO a website. We feel the balance is a good one, and we've had positive feedback so far. All good.
Playgameshavefun.com, is also going from strength to strength. The site is doing well on search engines, and is doing very well in the English speaking world, with the UK, USA, and Canada regularly reading the articles. I love it. We're hopefully launching our first video blog on the site soon.
The freelance writing is rolling forward to. There is still plenty of work and I have landed a few roles lately which were good ones to land. Sadly, I could be facing my first non-payment dilema, and it will be interesting to see how that turns out. I will keep you posted as to the result. As an
optimist, I feel that is the best course of action!
More news soon.
photo credit: Aural Asia
Freelance writing tips for better web content
I read an interesting article about writing for the web last night, and what I found most interesting was that really the article was in the main, about grammar. The web writing tips were quite few and far between. Here then, is a few of the standard tips for writing for the web.
- Keep sentences and paragraphs short for scan reading
- Ensure accurate spelling and grammar
- Write for your audience and use appropriate language and sentence structure
- Keep content relevant, and succinct
This is all well and good, but these are only guidelines. The bottom line is that if you are writing for a client, and they want in depth descriptions of this that and the other, and that is how you should write the piece. Interestingly, I have recently submitted two articles for consideration with a writing company, who have rejected my application. In hindsight, I feel my article choices were good, just not quite as in depth as they would have liked. Sadly, I have articles I could have submitted which were more to their tastes.
I feel if there is an underlying principle of writing for the web it is this: Give the writing a smooth, flowing style, and it will be far easier for people to read it! Fundamentally, is there anything more important?
photo credit: jude_bird_86
Welcome!
Intrinsic, is one of my favourite words, and words are what I am about. The use of words is highly important, and this is recognised throughout many industries including web design. Words are manipulated by punctuation to give different meanings. Consider the following example.
Woman: without her man, is nothing.
Woman: without her, man is nothing.
Same words, different punctuation, different meaning. If your site is not performing as you wanted it to, or perhaps you want copy that strikes the right tone with the right audience, or want web content to promote your brand, or to engage readers, then I can help. Do not struggle with your commas or your apostrophes, get in touch, and tell me want you need.
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If you are a writer too, or are freelancer of some kind, every week I share freelance writing tips on the site. Many of these tips are universal no matter what kind of freelancer you are. I also share my experiences and provide updates as to what I am doing, what projects I am working on, and news in general about my writing endeavors.
Any opinions and feedback is welcome. Enjoy the read.
Sometimes you need a night off!
When you write for many hours in your free time, there comes days like today, when you need to take a break from all of it. Just shutdown the PC and do something that does not involve using a mouse. I guess it is just human nature and indeed human biology, to take time to recharge.
Tonight is one of those nights for me, but I am going to try and get an article or two out, mainly because I'm slightly behind where I wanted to be, and also buying a house has taken up a lot of my time.
Talk soon
Freelance spam, sex, and nastiness.
Though I love writing this blog, and I love WordPress, I'd be lying if I said the spam element was not getting to me. Not only is it largely unimaginative crap, it is also, in the main, Russian. Though to be fair to our former communist friends, I have received American and Italian spam too. The most horrible spam was one where the URL would have hacked into my computer had I clicked on it. Not that there is anything valuable on this computer, as sadly I do not have need for a Swiss bank account, but it is truly despicable nonetheless.
Most of the URL's however, point to various forms of porn. Cartoon, teenage, the full plethora of sex seems to be coming my way. I find this strange for two reasons, one, sex is like beer, you do not need to advertise it as people seek it out, and two, why target a freelance writing blog? Surely a blog on sexual dysfunction would be a better bet, or even a dating site. I wonder who they think is reading this blog? Maybe freelance writers look at porn all the time, maybe it's just hit and hope, maybe I'm thinking about this too much.
There seems to be few measures to stop it other than to use a captcha, but they are real pain to genuine readers. All ideas welcome.
Needless to say I delete the spam as it appears.
The Blackmark Trilogy
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