I made some updates....

...here and on some other sites I write on. Take a look particularly at the Squidoo lens I've been putting together about making money online with writing, I think it's becoming a good resource full of information. Feel free to make suggestions!

http://www.squidoo.com/make-money-online-with-writing

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Yup, I'm doing really well with Squidoo, really quickly!

Yesterday, I made level 42 as a lensmaster, and I've only been working on this site for about a month. Lot's of people who have been around for a several years haven't made it that far. It's working for me because I'm creating a lot of pages very quickly, and using the knowledge I've gained blogging and submitting articles and pages to other places.

Here's a list of a few of the lenses I've been working on, please go have a look and let me know what you think! :-).  

( Or, if you'd like to join and create your own pages, JOIN SQUIDOO HERE ) 
( If your write on AC and would like some ideas on how to integrate the two, read this article.)

http://www.squidoo.com/a-tribute-to-nikola-tesla
http://www.squidoo.com/a-review-of-the-acer-aspire-one-netbook
http://www.squidoo.com/quantum-physics-reality-and-consciousness
http://www.squidoo.com/new-orleans-blues-legend-coco-robicheaux
http://www.squidoo.com/jungian-psychology-an-philosophy
http://www.squidoo.com/best-fantasy-movies-from-the-80s
http://www.squidoo.com/nicolette-stevens
http://www.squidoo.com/fritz-pearls-and-gestalt-psychology-and-philosophy
http://www.squidoo.com/holiday-gifts-for-writers
http://www.squidoo.com/songwriting-tips-and-techniques
http://www.squidoo.com/tori-amos 
http://www.squidoo.com/making-greyhound-trips-fun

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Want to Write about Weird Stuff and Get Paid? A Submissions Call for the Bizarre, Strange, and Funny.....

If that sounds like you, you just might like "Weird Worm". It's a site I ran across today that accepts articles from online contributors, and pays a flat $15 fee per article. I haven't experimented with it to find out all the ins and outs of submitting myself to the weird and bizarre...ahem.... but you can be sure I'll try. :D

Check out the morning find here:
Weird Worm

Submit Content to Weird Worm

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Squidoo Updates and "Writers Make a Difference" Challenge

I've now been experimenting with Squidoo Lenses for just long enough to figure out how to put a few together. I'm having a lot of fun with it. I like the interface and the things you can do with it. On a level of profitability, I have no idea yet- other than my own research says that other writers are making money with it in several ways. If you want to join Squidoo yourself and try it out, click HERE.

If you want to see what you can do with Squidoo lenses first, check out this new one about a writing challenge you might enjoy participating in:


Writers Make A Difference Challenge

Or, if you'd rather go shopping, have a look at some great Holiday gift ideas:

Holiday Gifts for Musicians

Schedule "Writing Maintenance Day" to Promote Your Blogs, Artices, and other Online Writing.

Organize Your Writing Projects 

As you begin working on multiple writing projects, it's easy to loose track of what all you are doing well. There are many different ways to organize your work, and starting to use Google Documents and Google Notebook. I really like the features of Notebook and am still using it, but unfortunately they are no longer working on it or accepting new sign ups. I'll look for a similar free online service to suggest here later. With documents or an online notebook you can organize what you're doing in a fashion that you can access online from anywhere, and share easily. It's also useful as a way to preserve your work, just in case your personal computer fails or you have to move suddenly. Life throws us many curve balls- and backing your work up online may help preserve your writing.

Schedule time to Promote Your Articles and Blogs

If you have online blogs or post articles online, you should work towards making it easy for interested people to find the material they're looking for. Regularly make sure your new articles and more important blog posts are indexed as pages on search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. ( Links to these and several others are in the right side bar of this page ). There are also many other ways to promote your writing. Post links to it on Facebook and encourage your friends to read and comment. Many people also use Myspace, Live Journal, Gather, and other social networks. Social networking can really help promote your articles and blogs, but only if you are involved. More people are likely to find your articles and blogs if you are also reading what other people post and commenting on some of it. Community spirit drives a lot of mutual appreciation and recognition. You can also use Stumble upon, Linked In, Shooving, and other places that allow you to share pages and links with a wide audience of readers.

It will probably be very useful to keep a swipe file, make time for free writing, and at least once a week do some "Writing Maintenance" in terms of promoting your content.

Most Recent Published Articles by Nicolette Stevens

As though I could actually keep track of how much I'm writing these days, LOL. My general approach to writing all kinds of articles right now is one of both pleasure and practicality. I enjoy writing, and right now I have some real time that it makes sense to devoting to honing that craft. Much of what I'm doing right now is really something like practice, for more serious projects I'd like to get into in the future. Still, I'm in a position where making money, any money, is a really good thing.

Sometimes the articles I write actually pay "decent money" these days, but a lot of those assignments are hit and miss and involve a kind of luck in networking. Someone sees what I am doing elsewhere, has a need, and a short term business arrangement is made that's usually pleasing to both parties.  Other articles, essays, blogs, and things I write either generate no money, or something small. Then again, every bit counts in this economy. There's nothing like the sheer joy I feel when I get paid for writing. Every time, even if it's just some small amount, I feel like dancing in my living room. Possibly in my pajamas, and in fuzzy slippers, while drinking coffee and typing and making money at the same time. ( Well, okay, I don't actually own fuzzy slippers or wear pajamas, but you get the idea ).

Here are links to a few recient projects:

Coco Robicheaux - New Orleans Blues Legend    ( AC Article ) 

Fun Things to Do For Halloween in Seattle ( AC Article )

Free Charity Cars- Pictures of the Car I Was Awarded    ( AC Slide Show )

Make Money Online With Writing ( Squidoo Lens ) 

Gas Works Park : One of the Best Parks to Visit in Seattle   ( A Hub on Hub Pages ) 


Creative Writing Techniques - The Basics and Benefits of Free writing    ( Helium Article )

How to Use Swagbucks to Win Cash, Gift Cards, and Other Prizes   ( AC Article )

Defining Self-Integrity  ( AC Article ) 

Useful Free Software - Free WinZip Alternative - jZip

My win zip evaluation expired, and I needed to open a zip file, so I started searching for an alternative. I don't usually promote stuff, but jZip is free and just bailed me out in the middle of a project. It worked better than win zip. Not only did it open and extract some files I need right now, but I discovered that for some reason it will open this folder of tracks from an audio book I've really been wanting to listen to again which didn't open with Win Zip. Goes on the list of useful tools and programs that are free for everyone. Check it out here:

http://www.jzip.com/

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Squido Lens Updates

I made a bunch of updates to my squido - make money with online writing lens today. Squido is another great way to promote and share your writing, as well as make a little money.

What's Squidoo? You can create 'lenses'  focusing on a topic of interest which can be about anything you have experience with. On Squidoo you can share your knowledge by publishing collections of links and material that relate to your topic, and earn money from it. If you write elsewhere, you can also use your squido lenses as another way to promote your work elsewhere. The Internet is an enormous place, people are more likely to find you with sign posts.

Better yet, follow this link to join Squidoo yourself and try it. Like the other projects, it may take some time to really start earning money, but it is one of the places your content can earn you actual money.

Click Here for More Information or to Join Squidoo

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Increasing Page Views

There are many different ways to widen the audience of the people who read your writing. One way is to be involved in many different social networks, and cross post about similar interests. If you write articles on AC, Hub Pages, or other places this may give you opportunities to share you thoughts with a wider range of people. When making a post in a community about a topic you've written an article about, always include a link.

Regardless of where your work is seen, some articles or posts will get more interest than others. Some of that has to do with how your work shows up in a search engine, and many factors such as good use of keywords may play in. Other factors such as the popularity of a topic will play in.

Here's a good example. I wrote a couple of silly little articles about Halloween related topics a few weeks ago. I put some time into sharing good ideas, but I can't say that either piece was very weighty. Both received about five hundred page views within a day! One reason may be that it was the right time of year for people to be interested in articles about Halloween.

The first article was about "Fun Things to do for Halloween in Seattle" . I didn't expect it at first, but sometimes I get a lot of views when I write an article that is based on a certain locality. In the article I included more unique ideas as well as standard ones. For instance, Seattle has a number of great Ghost Tours- which would be a fun and spooky activity for a group of people at this time of year.

The second article I wrote had even more views than the first, and was about "Cool Ideas for Halloween Costumes with Thrift Store Finds" .  If you have a look you'll note that I included lots of different types of costume ideas. Including an array of related topics that fit key words and concepts may draw more viewers. "Halloween", "Costume Ideas", "Pirate Costume", "Greek Goddess Costume", "Costumes for Kids", and "Costumes for Adults" could all apply as keywords. An underlying concept that may draw more attention is the opportunity to still have fun, but do it on the cheap. In this economy many people are struggling to take care of basic needs, and may not have much money for things like entertainment. Those people effected will all be looking for less expensive ways to celebrate than they may have in other years.

Paying attention to these simple things made the difference between 50 page views over time and 500 page views in a day.