A swipe file is for days like today. I'm writing for six places, it's early, the coffee hasn't kicked in yet. I have to get my creative juices flowing. If I had a swipe file, it'd help me out while my mind is still in Zombie land.
You can create your own swipe file to help generate ideas and inspiration very easily. You can use your computer to do it on or offline, or you can create a physical swipe file, or both. Create it in Google notebook, an office document, or a shoebox under your bed. Whatever works for you.
A swipe file is a place to put all kinds of ideas you like, to look back at for further inspiration later. You should probably create different sections, to help organize the clippings you'll save. If you keep your eyes open through the course of your normal day, you'll find lots of things to put in it.
Possible sections might be.....
Amazing Titles
Article Topics
Interesting Quotes
Great Openings
Tips
Moving Closings
Appealing Offers and Deals
Images that made Me Look
Videos that Made Me Watch
Songs I listened to 100 times
Inspiring Poetry and Lyrics
Story Ideas
How to Outlines
Related to My Blog
You can also create different files for subjects that really interest you. Your own swipe file can have anything you want in it. It will become highly personal, and linked to the kinds of writing you do. A Steampunk fiction writer might have a file called "Inventions that Would be Cool", and a seamstress who blogs about costumes might have a file called "Costume Ideas" .
A swipe file is intended as a kick-start to your own writing. By collecting examples of what inspires or moves you, you may have examples of what draws peoples attention. You can learn a lot about what works and what doesn't by taking a look at a good idea, and figuring out what makes it interesting or useful.
A swipe file can also be very useful as a way to mix and match components of great ideas. Say you have a great article idea, and you don't know what you want to call it. You may be able to look at your page of title ideas that are totally unrelated to your subject, and find catchy elements you can reuse in a new way.
It should be noted that a swipe file is intended to help you get inspiration and ideas to do your own work from. Nothing you're copying to look at later should be plagiarized or used inappropriately. It's just a way to more deliberately try to learn from other people who are good at writing. It will also be useful to make note of where you found things you decided to clip into your file, in case you decide you want to use it as a direct credited resource.
If you work with other writers, it can also be interesting to set up swipe files that can be shared with one another. Different people will stumble across different things that may be useful to others as well as them. Since we all have different experiences and perspectives, each person will notice and save different kinds of things. Sharing swipe files may be a way for writers to share the components of effective writing with each other. Using Google Notebooks or Docs would be one easy way to do this and keep the information accessible to everyone online.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Using Images from Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons is one place you can get free images that you can legally use along with your articles, blog posts, and wherever you like. This can be very helpful, as articles and blogs with images often seem more dynamic and interesting to the visitor.
New Orleans is my favorite city in the World. It is so full of art, music, and culture that if you visit there you'll never run out of interesting things to do.
The photo above is a historical sign that tells a little bit about the history of the Crescent City.
It's also an example of a photo I found on Wiki Media Commons, to use as an example. The photo was taken by Justin Watt and can be found on Wikimedia if you do a search for New Orleans. It can also be seen along with some other great photos here: Spring Break in New Orleans.
It's important when using images from Wikimedia to scroll down and read what kind of permissions are granted. This one is free to use without any stipulations, but I mentioned the photographer above because it's generally considered proper etiquette to mention the source if you use artwork, photography, or writing that came from someone else. It's more friendly, whether or not it's required. Wikimedia is free to use, and if you sign up you can also share your own work if you like. Your spring break photo's may help another writer, artist, or teacher somewhere down the line.
In my case, I have another blog that happens to be about New Orleans. When I get into playing with that one, this is a good example of a photo I might use, particularly if I was making a post about the history of the city. If you'd like to see that blog, you can find it here: Keys to New Orleans . It could also be useful, if I was writing an article for Associated Content, or one of the other places I write.
In any case, check out Wikimedia when you get a chance, if you don't already use it as a resource.
The photo above is a historical sign that tells a little bit about the history of the Crescent City.
It's also an example of a photo I found on Wiki Media Commons, to use as an example. The photo was taken by Justin Watt and can be found on Wikimedia if you do a search for New Orleans. It can also be seen along with some other great photos here: Spring Break in New Orleans.
It's important when using images from Wikimedia to scroll down and read what kind of permissions are granted. This one is free to use without any stipulations, but I mentioned the photographer above because it's generally considered proper etiquette to mention the source if you use artwork, photography, or writing that came from someone else. It's more friendly, whether or not it's required. Wikimedia is free to use, and if you sign up you can also share your own work if you like. Your spring break photo's may help another writer, artist, or teacher somewhere down the line.
In my case, I have another blog that happens to be about New Orleans. When I get into playing with that one, this is a good example of a photo I might use, particularly if I was making a post about the history of the city. If you'd like to see that blog, you can find it here: Keys to New Orleans . It could also be useful, if I was writing an article for Associated Content, or one of the other places I write.
In any case, check out Wikimedia when you get a chance, if you don't already use it as a resource.
Another Day in the Life
My writing sample got accepted at Experts 123, and now I'm just waiting for them to approve my profile so I can post some articles and see what happens. I was particularly delighted, because they sent me back a very nice acceptance letter. Of course, I can't be sure if that's what they send everyone- but it's nice when someone compliments your style.
After reading some reviews by other folks, I decided to also give Bukisa a try. They are very similar to Associated Content in terms of submitting content, but the payments work a little differently. Unlike AC, they don't offer up front payments. However, the rate they pay on the number of page views is a little more than twice what AC pays.
I'm not sure which of the available online publishers is "the best" to be honest. That's one reason I'm trying as many of them as possible. Another reason is the concept of cross-linking. As long as the links are relevant and make sense, it can only help. Different people will find your writing in different online venues, and may follow the links if you have other related content.
For instance, I have a short article on making money with Amazon Mechanial Turk posted here and on Associated Content. It focuses on some of the pros and cons of using it. Say I wrote another related article, on how to get better qualifications and offers on AmTurk. I could post it on Bukisa, and then link it to my AC article and vice versa. In theory, people interested in the subject would likely go on to read the other article. Because each service caters to a different crowd, one could conceivably get a lot more exposure by publishing in multiple venues.
If you've never heard of Buksia before and want to try it out yourself, you can join here:
After reading some reviews by other folks, I decided to also give Bukisa a try. They are very similar to Associated Content in terms of submitting content, but the payments work a little differently. Unlike AC, they don't offer up front payments. However, the rate they pay on the number of page views is a little more than twice what AC pays.
I'm not sure which of the available online publishers is "the best" to be honest. That's one reason I'm trying as many of them as possible. Another reason is the concept of cross-linking. As long as the links are relevant and make sense, it can only help. Different people will find your writing in different online venues, and may follow the links if you have other related content.
For instance, I have a short article on making money with Amazon Mechanial Turk posted here and on Associated Content. It focuses on some of the pros and cons of using it. Say I wrote another related article, on how to get better qualifications and offers on AmTurk. I could post it on Bukisa, and then link it to my AC article and vice versa. In theory, people interested in the subject would likely go on to read the other article. Because each service caters to a different crowd, one could conceivably get a lot more exposure by publishing in multiple venues.
If you've never heard of Buksia before and want to try it out yourself, you can join here:
If you stumble through here and have experience with these different places to publish your work, leave us a message and let us know what kind of results you've had with each. :-)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
A Day in the Life
How do I find freelance writing gigs that actually pay? The answer is that I'm constantly doing research and writing. To be able to make money online as a freelance writer, you have to do a lot more than just write in your free time.
You have to know where to submit your articles, and what kind of payment arrangements each online publisher offers. You should probably be writing in more than one place, and link those different places together through a blog or a website that serves as an online portfolio. Or several. This helps to market your work, which you are primarily responsible for when you try doing this kind of work.
Can you make a living at it? Yes. Is it easy? Not so much. Let me take you on my journey today, at least what I remember from it.
I checked my account at Associated Content, which I usually do after I get up. Still "author clout 4", but closer to "author clout 5" because I had a few more readers last night. My article on "How to Sell Books Online" went up, and was even given a small up front payment. (Woo-hoo! Hippies makin' money, who would have thought it possible?)
I had also sent a note to one of the community admins, asking for help editing a mistake in another article. I was extraordinarily happy that they fixed the errors in my "World Steam Punk Expo" piece. I had a lot of fun checking that convention out, and apparently a lot of other people are interested because it's gotten a lot of views. I didn't want to promote that article much until the errors were fixed, basically because I was embarrassed and didn't think it would look professional. ( The first paragraph made it into the published copy twice, with spacing and spelling errors in the first version viewable! Aaack! ) It happens, even to great writers.
I also noticed that my fun little articles about the Sims 3 game and the New Orleans Blues Musician Coco Robicheaux are getting more views, too. That's important if you write for Associated Content. Part of how they pay you is based on how popular your article becomes. I've only been with them for about a month, but have about 20 articles up already. I'm noticing that every time I publish a new one, it helps reader find the things I've already written and my page views go up.
That was all just in the first hour. Then I did a bunch of research on other online writing opportunities. It's Tuesday, and every week an online a newsletter called "Morning Coffee" is posted on freelance writing.com . The newsletter lists current freelance writing opportunities. I followed one of the links to the problogger job board , where I reread a notice about Experts123 looking for people to write articles.
Initially it hadn't really seemed like my thing, but I decided to take another look. It looks like they may offer better pay than a number of places I'm experimenting with, so I did my application and am waiting for approval. I'll update in the future about how that goes.
See what I mean? We're only at hour two, and I've already done a lot of things. I feel like I have to start a new post, because I want to showcase some other great sites I found, and don't want them to be lost on short-attention-span theater. :-)
You have to know where to submit your articles, and what kind of payment arrangements each online publisher offers. You should probably be writing in more than one place, and link those different places together through a blog or a website that serves as an online portfolio. Or several. This helps to market your work, which you are primarily responsible for when you try doing this kind of work.
Can you make a living at it? Yes. Is it easy? Not so much. Let me take you on my journey today, at least what I remember from it.
I checked my account at Associated Content, which I usually do after I get up. Still "author clout 4", but closer to "author clout 5" because I had a few more readers last night. My article on "How to Sell Books Online" went up, and was even given a small up front payment. (Woo-hoo! Hippies makin' money, who would have thought it possible?)
I had also sent a note to one of the community admins, asking for help editing a mistake in another article. I was extraordinarily happy that they fixed the errors in my "World Steam Punk Expo" piece. I had a lot of fun checking that convention out, and apparently a lot of other people are interested because it's gotten a lot of views. I didn't want to promote that article much until the errors were fixed, basically because I was embarrassed and didn't think it would look professional. ( The first paragraph made it into the published copy twice, with spacing and spelling errors in the first version viewable! Aaack! ) It happens, even to great writers.
I also noticed that my fun little articles about the Sims 3 game and the New Orleans Blues Musician Coco Robicheaux are getting more views, too. That's important if you write for Associated Content. Part of how they pay you is based on how popular your article becomes. I've only been with them for about a month, but have about 20 articles up already. I'm noticing that every time I publish a new one, it helps reader find the things I've already written and my page views go up.
That was all just in the first hour. Then I did a bunch of research on other online writing opportunities. It's Tuesday, and every week an online a newsletter called "Morning Coffee" is posted on freelance writing.com . The newsletter lists current freelance writing opportunities. I followed one of the links to the problogger job board , where I reread a notice about Experts123 looking for people to write articles.
Initially it hadn't really seemed like my thing, but I decided to take another look. It looks like they may offer better pay than a number of places I'm experimenting with, so I did my application and am waiting for approval. I'll update in the future about how that goes.
See what I mean? We're only at hour two, and I've already done a lot of things. I feel like I have to start a new post, because I want to showcase some other great sites I found, and don't want them to be lost on short-attention-span theater. :-)
Monday, June 14, 2010
Win Stuff While Doing Article Research!
No sh*#, it's real?! If you haven't already- go ahead and give Swagbucks a whirl.
What is Swagbucks and how is it useful? Swagbucks is a search and win service. Basically, you use their search field instead of going to the Google or Yahoo page, and the results come from Google and Ask.com . I'm skeptical about most of that sort of thing, but I did the research on it that makes me comfortable telling my readers that it's legit.
With a lot of sites that offer prizes for surveys, games, searching and other things you read a lot about all the great prizes they give out, but when you search you can't find much in the way of proof from real people who use it. What I found while looking into Swagbucks was kind of the opposite. Screen shots of prize orders, blog posts that are clearly personal, and even videos of people opening boxes with things like Nintendo Wii and Xbox game consoles and games.
I'm not saying you should devote a significant portion of your day to geeking out with swagbuck searches, or that you're going to get rich with it. However, lots of people have earned thousands of dollars worth of Amazon gift cards; actual money, and pretty cool prizes.
I'm using it now, I mean- why not get rewarded for searching for stuff online? Just by doing the normal searches I do anyway to research a lot of things I write about, I'm racking up points. Eventually I'll trade them all in for something really cool, or do my holiday shopping with all the accumulated Amazon gift cards.
I suppose this post isn't really about freelance writing- but if you are writing online you are probably also doing lot of research like I do. For me, it was kind of a no brainier, particularly since they seem to be fairly spam free. Click on the link below to sign up and give it a try. Remember where this blog is. If you do well with it, pop back and let us know what you got! :-)
What is Swagbucks and how is it useful? Swagbucks is a search and win service. Basically, you use their search field instead of going to the Google or Yahoo page, and the results come from Google and Ask.com . I'm skeptical about most of that sort of thing, but I did the research on it that makes me comfortable telling my readers that it's legit.
With a lot of sites that offer prizes for surveys, games, searching and other things you read a lot about all the great prizes they give out, but when you search you can't find much in the way of proof from real people who use it. What I found while looking into Swagbucks was kind of the opposite. Screen shots of prize orders, blog posts that are clearly personal, and even videos of people opening boxes with things like Nintendo Wii and Xbox game consoles and games.
I'm not saying you should devote a significant portion of your day to geeking out with swagbuck searches, or that you're going to get rich with it. However, lots of people have earned thousands of dollars worth of Amazon gift cards; actual money, and pretty cool prizes.
I'm using it now, I mean- why not get rewarded for searching for stuff online? Just by doing the normal searches I do anyway to research a lot of things I write about, I'm racking up points. Eventually I'll trade them all in for something really cool, or do my holiday shopping with all the accumulated Amazon gift cards.
I suppose this post isn't really about freelance writing- but if you are writing online you are probably also doing lot of research like I do. For me, it was kind of a no brainier, particularly since they seem to be fairly spam free. Click on the link below to sign up and give it a try. Remember where this blog is. If you do well with it, pop back and let us know what you got! :-)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
It's Social Networking Week: Welcome to Gather
If you are reading this blog, chances are it's because you're another writer. Like me, you look for ideas and pointers everywhere, and are hoping you'll find something useful here. I hope you do too, otherwise keeping this blog would be pointless- LOL. ;-)~
Social Networking is a buzz phrase these days. If you want to write and make something of it, you have to have readers. One of the best ways to show people who you are as a person, and as a writer, is to be actively involved in social networks. Many of the people who read my articles and blogs stumbled in through Face Book and other similar places. Most people are aware of Face Book and My Space, and I think we all know that they both have some high points and some low points.
A social network that has been gaining a lot of popularity you may not have tried out yet is called Gather. It's especially gaining notice from a lot of people in their thirties and up. It seems to be a fun forum for sharing, but has a more adult edge than some of the other social networks. They also reward the participants with points that can be used for gift cards and other things, and offer some opportunities for those who would like to commit to regularly writing. If you haven't already, I think this one is worth joining.
Social Networking is a buzz phrase these days. If you want to write and make something of it, you have to have readers. One of the best ways to show people who you are as a person, and as a writer, is to be actively involved in social networks. Many of the people who read my articles and blogs stumbled in through Face Book and other similar places. Most people are aware of Face Book and My Space, and I think we all know that they both have some high points and some low points.
A social network that has been gaining a lot of popularity you may not have tried out yet is called Gather. It's especially gaining notice from a lot of people in their thirties and up. It seems to be a fun forum for sharing, but has a more adult edge than some of the other social networks. They also reward the participants with points that can be used for gift cards and other things, and offer some opportunities for those who would like to commit to regularly writing. If you haven't already, I think this one is worth joining.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Video Game Reviws on Associated Content
I am experimenting with a lot of different topics and styles of writing on Associated Content. Video Game Reviews are popular, and games for PC and console game systems can be a lot of fun. I played with Sims 3- Ambitions for the first time recently, and decided to add a review of the game to my published content on AC.
The publishing menu for video game reviews on AC is set up nicely to help the writer add useful information. Here's my article about Sims 3 as an example of how to write a video game review on AC, if you'd like to check it out. I added information about the development and production; my thoughts on the game play, system requirements, information about game testing cheat codes, and links
Sims 3 Ambitions Review on Associated Content
The publishing menu for video game reviews on AC is set up nicely to help the writer add useful information. Here's my article about Sims 3 as an example of how to write a video game review on AC, if you'd like to check it out. I added information about the development and production; my thoughts on the game play, system requirements, information about game testing cheat codes, and links
Sims 3 Ambitions Review on Associated Content
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Share Photography on Associated Content
Another thing you can do on associated content is share pictures through a slide show. Like with published articles, you'll get paid a small amount from people checking your slide show out. If you're using associated content, a slide show can be a good idea because people are often more initially drawn by vivid photo's. You may increase your page view for other articles by adding slide shows. Do take note of the rules about photo submissions, and have fun with it.
Here's an example, which is the first slide show I published on Associated Content. It shows some of the cool displays at Henry Ford Museum. Please check it out! :-)
Great Pictures from Henry Ford Museum! :-)
Here's an example, which is the first slide show I published on Associated Content. It shows some of the cool displays at Henry Ford Museum. Please check it out! :-)
Great Pictures from Henry Ford Museum! :-)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
This week I've been playing with Associate Content a lot. I've got to get back to eZine, Constant Content, AmTurk, and several others...lol The point of that is of course that the more you write, and the more places you use to share your work, the more likely you will be successful at freelance writing.
I'm becoming impressed with A.C. in ways I didn't expect. I had a major issue the other day when I discovered that another contributor had posted content of mine. The piece is something I wrote on amTurk, but it doesn't look like the contributor is the one who purchased the rights to it. Technically, it's not "stealing" my work, or plagiarism, if the person who bought the content was given full rights and sold them to someone else... but I'm not really sure what happened. What is certain is that on Associated content you are only supposed to post work you really wrote. Having the copyright to something does not give you the right to post something there that someone else wrote with your name on it. On one level it might not be plagiarism- but it is actually fraud, which is a felony. That person is now gaining "clout" because of writing that they did not originate. They can make money from the page views, and if the writing is good they could get and fraudulently accept job offers based on skills that aren't theirs.
This is making me edgy about using AmTurk, because to do well with it you have to accept lots of hits from many people who may have intentions and motivations that aren't disclosed. However, I did successfully make over a hundred dollars with amTurk in the last couple of weeks. It's also not something I just want to give up on yet.
What impressed me about Associate Content i that when I posted about it in the forum in a general way, I got a lot of helpful and encouraging responses from other writer's that use the service to publish and share their writing. There are many different ways to make money writing online, but this route also includes a nice community of other writers- which could be very useful. If you're trying freelance writing and haven't experimented with writing online with Associated Content, I encourage you to give this one a whirl. Click on the link below to sign up, and check out my articles when you have time! :-)
I'm becoming impressed with A.C. in ways I didn't expect. I had a major issue the other day when I discovered that another contributor had posted content of mine. The piece is something I wrote on amTurk, but it doesn't look like the contributor is the one who purchased the rights to it. Technically, it's not "stealing" my work, or plagiarism, if the person who bought the content was given full rights and sold them to someone else... but I'm not really sure what happened. What is certain is that on Associated content you are only supposed to post work you really wrote. Having the copyright to something does not give you the right to post something there that someone else wrote with your name on it. On one level it might not be plagiarism- but it is actually fraud, which is a felony. That person is now gaining "clout" because of writing that they did not originate. They can make money from the page views, and if the writing is good they could get and fraudulently accept job offers based on skills that aren't theirs.
This is making me edgy about using AmTurk, because to do well with it you have to accept lots of hits from many people who may have intentions and motivations that aren't disclosed. However, I did successfully make over a hundred dollars with amTurk in the last couple of weeks. It's also not something I just want to give up on yet.
What impressed me about Associate Content i that when I posted about it in the forum in a general way, I got a lot of helpful and encouraging responses from other writer's that use the service to publish and share their writing. There are many different ways to make money writing online, but this route also includes a nice community of other writers- which could be very useful. If you're trying freelance writing and haven't experimented with writing online with Associated Content, I encourage you to give this one a whirl. Click on the link below to sign up, and check out my articles when you have time! :-)
Monday, May 24, 2010
My first two articles on Associated Content just got accepted, and are live. :-)
Please check them out!
How to Read Tarot- The Basics , by Nicolette Stevens
Simple Ways You Can Help in the Effort to Clean Up the Gulf Oil Spill, by Nicolette Stevens
* note: the article about the gulf oil spill clean up includes information about Matter of Trust, an organization that was collecting hair to make mats and booms to soak up the oil. Unfortunately, underwater the booms seem to soak up too much water and sink- so they have now stopped trying that method. Please don't send hair, instead, volunteer or make a donation to the Audubon Society if you want to help.
How to Read Tarot- The Basics , by Nicolette Stevens
Simple Ways You Can Help in the Effort to Clean Up the Gulf Oil Spill, by Nicolette Stevens
* note: the article about the gulf oil spill clean up includes information about Matter of Trust, an organization that was collecting hair to make mats and booms to soak up the oil. Unfortunately, underwater the booms seem to soak up too much water and sink- so they have now stopped trying that method. Please don't send hair, instead, volunteer or make a donation to the Audubon Society if you want to help.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Tips on Hyperlinks
Sometimes hyperlinks are very useful in blog posts, articles, and content you publish anywhere online. A hyperlink can be used in the body of a paragraph to link pages and sites that are related to your subject. To create a hyperlink you use a standard html tag that allows you to link displayed text words to a hidden web address. ( For instructions on how to use the hyperlink code in several different ways here's a good cheat sheet: http://www.hyperlinkcode.com/make-hyperlink.php )
If I did a hyperlink for this blog, what will then actually show in the text will be Freelance Writing Fun, and when a person clicks on it they would wind up on this page.
In your own blogs and websites, using hyperlinks can help your visitors find relevant information that you'd like them to see. In forums and other places you socialize on line, using these kinds of links appropriately can lead interested people back to your personal playgrounds. However, be careful when adding hyper links to the body of your articles if you are submitting to online publishers that share your content in other ways. Check the guidelines to see what you can and can't use in your work, and where in your articles adding links is permitted.
Be aware that some services are set up to hack the links you add in the body and replace them with the links the site prefers. If you aren't careful, you could wind up adding a link to "Toledo Zoo", and having your link to the official zoo page be replaced with a link changed to activate on the word "Toledo" and pointing to some other site related to businesses in Toledo.
If I did a hyperlink for this blog, what will then actually show in the text will be Freelance Writing Fun, and when a person clicks on it they would wind up on this page.
In your own blogs and websites, using hyperlinks can help your visitors find relevant information that you'd like them to see. In forums and other places you socialize on line, using these kinds of links appropriately can lead interested people back to your personal playgrounds. However, be careful when adding hyper links to the body of your articles if you are submitting to online publishers that share your content in other ways. Check the guidelines to see what you can and can't use in your work, and where in your articles adding links is permitted.
Be aware that some services are set up to hack the links you add in the body and replace them with the links the site prefers. If you aren't careful, you could wind up adding a link to "Toledo Zoo", and having your link to the official zoo page be replaced with a link changed to activate on the word "Toledo" and pointing to some other site related to businesses in Toledo.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Creating Links to You Blogs With Articles
If you start writing and submitting freelance articles, you may have opportunities to add links to related information. If you are also a blogger or run a website, you can use this to increase the traffic to your outside work with visitors you already know will be interested in the subject matter you are talking about. If your blog has business aspects, this could increase interest in your skills and products. If you do affiliate work, it will also increase the number of people who may take an interest in those other aspects of your pages.
When adding links to articles that you submit to various services, be careful to pay attention to the guidelines. They will differ from publisher to publisher. You should try to make sure that your links in general are related to the subject matter of your article. Many publisher's and clients don't want articles that sound like a sales pitch, but don't mind you sharing other content if it is relevant.
For instance, I play piano and write songs, and have developed a blog of notes for musicians and music lovers. You can find it at http://nicolettesmusicnotes.blogspot.com . When I write articles about piano, songwriting or music theory, I take it as an opportunity to lead people back to my personal work outside the sites I submit articles to.
When adding links to articles that you submit to various services, be careful to pay attention to the guidelines. They will differ from publisher to publisher. You should try to make sure that your links in general are related to the subject matter of your article. Many publisher's and clients don't want articles that sound like a sales pitch, but don't mind you sharing other content if it is relevant.
For instance, I play piano and write songs, and have developed a blog of notes for musicians and music lovers. You can find it at http://nicolettesmusicnotes.blogspot.com . When I write articles about piano, songwriting or music theory, I take it as an opportunity to lead people back to my personal work outside the sites I submit articles to.
More things for your Online Writing Tool Box
Depending on where you are submitting your writing, different things will be asked for. One thing many clients require is articles of a certain length, often determined by a word count. Many word processing programs will show you the word count of your article in the properties menu, but depending on where you're doing your writing and what machine you are using it can be necessary to do it another way. Here's a free online word count tool I use:
http://www.wordcounttool.com/
Most publisher's also require that your work use proper spelling and grammar. It's possible to be a good writer with imperfect spelling, but you should clean up the edges if you want it to be understandable and show intelligence. You can find a free online spelling and grammar checking service here:
http://www.spellchecker.net/spellcheck/
Most importantly, take a break and laugh Alot:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html
Warning: seriously, the above link made me laugh so hard that my image of a word will be forever changed! :-)
http://www.wordcounttool.com/
Most publisher's also require that your work use proper spelling and grammar. It's possible to be a good writer with imperfect spelling, but you should clean up the edges if you want it to be understandable and show intelligence. You can find a free online spelling and grammar checking service here:
http://www.spellchecker.net/spellcheck/
Most importantly, take a break and laugh Alot:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html
Warning: seriously, the above link made me laugh so hard that my image of a word will be forever changed! :-)
Associated Content: Writer's Market for Articles
Associated Content is another writer's market for articles that is worth checking out. You can earn money writing articles for Associated Content in a variety of ways. Some of the revenue for authors is performance based, and as more people take interest and read the articles you submit your earnings increase. They also offer assignments targeted to the writer's skills which pay specific amounts. If your writing is very good, they may select your work for up front payment rather than performance based payment. Like with Constant Content, you can make choices about weather you are sharing specific articles exclusively, or whether you'd like to retain the right to republish wherever you want.
To try it out for yourself, go to Associated content, create a profile, and start sharing your writing.
As I explore Associated Content, Constant Content, Ezine Articles and other organizations that help writer's promote their work I'll be reviewing the pro's and con's of each here. If you stumble through and have exeriences and ideas you'd like to share, feel free to comment.
To try it out for yourself, go to Associated content, create a profile, and start sharing your writing.
As I explore Associated Content, Constant Content, Ezine Articles and other organizations that help writer's promote their work I'll be reviewing the pro's and con's of each here. If you stumble through and have exeriences and ideas you'd like to share, feel free to comment.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Promoting Yourself with Ezine Articles
For a budding freelance writer, getting involved with Ezine articles may be another good idea. Ezine does not pay you for your work, but sharing some of your work through Ezine gets a lot of exposure for some people. Authors post articles on whatever they would like, and a team of editors reviews the material to determine that it's quality work and follows their guidelines.
You'll probably remember having read someones article about something on Ezine at some point, and that's a good sign if you want people to read and be aware of your work. Ezine stores the articles shared there and makes them available, free of charge, to people who want content for their blogs and websites. People using content from Ezine can select up to 25 articles per year to share in their own projects. They are required to leave the name of the author on the article, publish as written without editing, and include the author's "resource box" with the article. In the resource box you can share links to information about your topic, links to your blog or website, and ways to contact you. Allowing others to share your work in this way gets it out there, and interested readers may find their way to your work elsewhere in this fashion. Whether you are trying to get clients for freelance gigs, or people to check out your web based business, this kind of exposure can ultimately lead to good press and new opportunities.
If you keep a blog or have a website, you may also be able to use good articles you find on Ezine, to add to your own unique pages. Sure, if your readers like what they see, they may go off and check out the writer's other haunts on the web- but that's not always a bad thing. If your site is that useful they'll be back, because they know you have fresh and helpful material. If it's not useful or interesting, well then, maybe you need to improve. *wink* Cross linking such articles can also give you an opportunity to befriend other writer's, -which often leads to link sharing, more traffic, and the joy of having people to chatter back and fourth with once in a while.
To start sharing articles on Ezine, simply go to their site and create a profile. You can link your blogs and website's to your author profile there, as well as share a short biography and other information. When you post your first article you'll learn more about what their rules for posting are. You will save yourself some time by reading and understanding the guidelines. For instance: it's okay to put a link in your author' resource box to a website that sells products and services in your own business. It's not however okay to write an article that is really a sales pitch for your products. You're limited on the number of links you can add, so pick wisely. At first, you can submit up to ten articles. If you're somewhat prolific and good at writing, the powers that be at Ezine will raise that- so make sure you share useful and well written material.
http://ezinearticles.com/
Have fun! If you stumble across this post and have Ezine articles you'd like to share, feel free to leave a link in the comments.
You'll probably remember having read someones article about something on Ezine at some point, and that's a good sign if you want people to read and be aware of your work. Ezine stores the articles shared there and makes them available, free of charge, to people who want content for their blogs and websites. People using content from Ezine can select up to 25 articles per year to share in their own projects. They are required to leave the name of the author on the article, publish as written without editing, and include the author's "resource box" with the article. In the resource box you can share links to information about your topic, links to your blog or website, and ways to contact you. Allowing others to share your work in this way gets it out there, and interested readers may find their way to your work elsewhere in this fashion. Whether you are trying to get clients for freelance gigs, or people to check out your web based business, this kind of exposure can ultimately lead to good press and new opportunities.
If you keep a blog or have a website, you may also be able to use good articles you find on Ezine, to add to your own unique pages. Sure, if your readers like what they see, they may go off and check out the writer's other haunts on the web- but that's not always a bad thing. If your site is that useful they'll be back, because they know you have fresh and helpful material. If it's not useful or interesting, well then, maybe you need to improve. *wink* Cross linking such articles can also give you an opportunity to befriend other writer's, -which often leads to link sharing, more traffic, and the joy of having people to chatter back and fourth with once in a while.
To start sharing articles on Ezine, simply go to their site and create a profile. You can link your blogs and website's to your author profile there, as well as share a short biography and other information. When you post your first article you'll learn more about what their rules for posting are. You will save yourself some time by reading and understanding the guidelines. For instance: it's okay to put a link in your author' resource box to a website that sells products and services in your own business. It's not however okay to write an article that is really a sales pitch for your products. You're limited on the number of links you can add, so pick wisely. At first, you can submit up to ten articles. If you're somewhat prolific and good at writing, the powers that be at Ezine will raise that- so make sure you share useful and well written material.
http://ezinearticles.com/
Have fun! If you stumble across this post and have Ezine articles you'd like to share, feel free to leave a link in the comments.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Constant Content: Writer's Market for Articles
Constant Content is an online resource for writer's and people who need written content to interface with each other. It is possible to buy and sell articles through constant content, and retain much of the control over who buys your work at what price. Options are available to sell licences for specific articles, and you retain the right to publish them elsewhere while making a few bucks by sharing your work. You can also sell unique rights to things you write, at which point the purchasing party can republish in any manner with or without your byline. A higher price can be charged for unique rights, although you'll find that the average amounts offered for good articles are more reasonable in favor of the author than some other services.
I am very new to trying Constant Content, and can already see a variety of great things about it, and a few potential pitfalls. I'll evaluate it further here as I experiment with it more. If you'd like to check the service out, here's a link:
Constant Content
I am very new to trying Constant Content, and can already see a variety of great things about it, and a few potential pitfalls. I'll evaluate it further here as I experiment with it more. If you'd like to check the service out, here's a link:
Constant Content
How to Start an Online Store for Free with No Sales Fees
About eCrater : the Free Online Marketplace
Many people use Amazon and eBay to set up their ability to sell online; weather it's items from a commercial business that they want to resell, services, handmade goods, or things from personal collections. Dolls; toys, trains, books- whatever you have, there's probably someone online whose willing to pay for it. While those services can be profitable and relatively simple to use, there are a couple of other services I'd like to highlight.
The first I'd like to mention here is eCrater. It's a lot, like a more user friendly version of Amazon and eBay combined, that runs for free. I said the magic word, FREE. I'm trying it out as an alternative way to sell a large collection of toys and books, and really am just in the set up process. Already I'm kind of amazed. It's very easy to set up an online storefront particular to your goods, break it down into easy categories, and create multiple ways for potential customers to pay you. You of course are responsible for sending the goods once paid for, eCrater is simply an interface for people who want to make sales online and customer's who are interested in what they have.
Like on Amazon and eBay, seller's receive a rating from customer's based on if they were happy with their purchase. Over time, having a good ranking increases the shopper's sense that they are doing business with someone they can trust. You can set your sales to be at a fixed price like on Amazon, or you can take place in auction type sales as done on eBay. The difference between using eCrate and Amazon or eBay is that there are no fees. No listing fee, unlimited items, you manage your eStore yourself. No closing fees, or special weird requirements to use there services.
Like with Webs, which will allow you to build a website for free, eCrater does offer paid options with special features. However, it seems set up well enough that you can functionally set up a professional looking online store and expect to make some money from it. Like with other things, how well you do will probably largely have something to do with how much you put into it. If you are willing to maintain the storefront with regular updates, and can do some self-promotion of your web store, you may find that this is a useful service to know about.
I'll post more as I evaluate how effectively eCrate works, but for now have a look yourself:
http://www.ecrater.com/
Many people use Amazon and eBay to set up their ability to sell online; weather it's items from a commercial business that they want to resell, services, handmade goods, or things from personal collections. Dolls; toys, trains, books- whatever you have, there's probably someone online whose willing to pay for it. While those services can be profitable and relatively simple to use, there are a couple of other services I'd like to highlight.
The first I'd like to mention here is eCrater. It's a lot, like a more user friendly version of Amazon and eBay combined, that runs for free. I said the magic word, FREE. I'm trying it out as an alternative way to sell a large collection of toys and books, and really am just in the set up process. Already I'm kind of amazed. It's very easy to set up an online storefront particular to your goods, break it down into easy categories, and create multiple ways for potential customers to pay you. You of course are responsible for sending the goods once paid for, eCrater is simply an interface for people who want to make sales online and customer's who are interested in what they have.
Like on Amazon and eBay, seller's receive a rating from customer's based on if they were happy with their purchase. Over time, having a good ranking increases the shopper's sense that they are doing business with someone they can trust. You can set your sales to be at a fixed price like on Amazon, or you can take place in auction type sales as done on eBay. The difference between using eCrate and Amazon or eBay is that there are no fees. No listing fee, unlimited items, you manage your eStore yourself. No closing fees, or special weird requirements to use there services.
Like with Webs, which will allow you to build a website for free, eCrater does offer paid options with special features. However, it seems set up well enough that you can functionally set up a professional looking online store and expect to make some money from it. Like with other things, how well you do will probably largely have something to do with how much you put into it. If you are willing to maintain the storefront with regular updates, and can do some self-promotion of your web store, you may find that this is a useful service to know about.
I'll post more as I evaluate how effectively eCrate works, but for now have a look yourself:
http://www.ecrater.com/
Sidework on The Internet: Amazon Mechanical Turk
Amazon Mechanical Turk is a service provided by amazon to hook up people who need a lot of small online tasks to be completed, with people who would like to make a few bucks on the side. The little side jobs include things like: "classify this picture", "tell us what you think about this website'', "comment on this blog", "write an article about ...." .
Some jobs require simple tests to show the employer's that you have the skills to complete the activity they want. There are jobs that apply to writers, people who are computer literate, those who can code, and folks who do data entry- among other things.
The jobs and they pay amounts vary based on the employers. Some people who use Amazon Turk to get things done offer very low amounts of money for what they want, others are quite reasonable. Some offers may be on the scammish side, a big red flag for me is surveys that pay a high reward and lead you to sites which require that you give a lot of personal information and complete sponsor offers. I avoid those.
I have however been doing a lot of little articles through Mechanical Turk. I look at it as more of a writing exercise than as a way to make real money, although much to my surprise I've already racked up over a hundred dollars in amazon gift credit. My goal with it is to earn enough to get a nice new professional level laptop. Many "real" writers discourage this, as it can be kind of exploitative to sell your written work for between $1.00 and $5.00 for most articles. However, if you want an exercises that will prove you can write 300 words about anything, it may be good for you.
Read the directions carefully for each hit before accepting. Be aware that if you are writing articles, some companies want the full rights to the short article, so you can't publish it elsewhere. Others don't care if you also circulate what you write in other ways, particularly if you'll link back to their business. )
It can also be useful, as you interact with the employers on occasion and may be able to work yourself into better side jobs and short freelance writing gigs this way. It's working for me that way, mostly because it's leading me to other useful websites and services I didn't know about.
https://www.mturk.com/mturk/
( Exmples of this kind of writing can be seen on a private blog of mine, send me a message if you'd like to see. sassynolagal@yahoo.com )
Some jobs require simple tests to show the employer's that you have the skills to complete the activity they want. There are jobs that apply to writers, people who are computer literate, those who can code, and folks who do data entry- among other things.
The jobs and they pay amounts vary based on the employers. Some people who use Amazon Turk to get things done offer very low amounts of money for what they want, others are quite reasonable. Some offers may be on the scammish side, a big red flag for me is surveys that pay a high reward and lead you to sites which require that you give a lot of personal information and complete sponsor offers. I avoid those.
I have however been doing a lot of little articles through Mechanical Turk. I look at it as more of a writing exercise than as a way to make real money, although much to my surprise I've already racked up over a hundred dollars in amazon gift credit. My goal with it is to earn enough to get a nice new professional level laptop. Many "real" writers discourage this, as it can be kind of exploitative to sell your written work for between $1.00 and $5.00 for most articles. However, if you want an exercises that will prove you can write 300 words about anything, it may be good for you.
Read the directions carefully for each hit before accepting. Be aware that if you are writing articles, some companies want the full rights to the short article, so you can't publish it elsewhere. Others don't care if you also circulate what you write in other ways, particularly if you'll link back to their business. )
It can also be useful, as you interact with the employers on occasion and may be able to work yourself into better side jobs and short freelance writing gigs this way. It's working for me that way, mostly because it's leading me to other useful websites and services I didn't know about.
https://www.mturk.com/mturk/
( Exmples of this kind of writing can be seen on a private blog of mine, send me a message if you'd like to see. sassynolagal@yahoo.com )
Friday, May 14, 2010
How to build a Website for Free
You can very easily build a nice, professional quality website on your own with a little time and effort. As well as blogging, I build and maintain my own websites, and have discovered that some providers make it really easy and fun. After trying several, I am mostly using the Webs free website building service.
I like webs because it is very versatile. You can create a website for free, and they also have a variety of paid options that you can choose from as well. If you begin by setting up a free website, you can choose to convert it at any time to upgrade the options and features you have. Your website can have multiple pages of your choosing, and you can use it in a professional or personal context. It's easy to add a blog, a links page, forums, photo's and other things that will be relevant to what you want to create. It includes free site building tools that will make the process easy if you are not familiar with doing your own coding, and if you happen to be skilled in that department, you can also build what you want without their tools but get hosting through their service. There are a lot of rich, nice looking themes available that are simple to put together. They also offer tools and tutorials that will help you with promoting your website, search engine optimization, and other aspects of creating your home on the web. I think it's a very good place for both people who really know what they are doing, and beginner's who would like to learn to do this well with a hands on approach.
Check it out:
Get a Free Website at Webs.com!
I like webs because it is very versatile. You can create a website for free, and they also have a variety of paid options that you can choose from as well. If you begin by setting up a free website, you can choose to convert it at any time to upgrade the options and features you have. Your website can have multiple pages of your choosing, and you can use it in a professional or personal context. It's easy to add a blog, a links page, forums, photo's and other things that will be relevant to what you want to create. It includes free site building tools that will make the process easy if you are not familiar with doing your own coding, and if you happen to be skilled in that department, you can also build what you want without their tools but get hosting through their service. There are a lot of rich, nice looking themes available that are simple to put together. They also offer tools and tutorials that will help you with promoting your website, search engine optimization, and other aspects of creating your home on the web. I think it's a very good place for both people who really know what they are doing, and beginner's who would like to learn to do this well with a hands on approach.
Check it out:
Get a Free Website at Webs.com!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
"How do I put a counter on my page?"
One thing you will probably want to integrate into any blog is a counter, so that you can see how many people are visiting your pages. I like Stat Counter, another free and highly customizable service. It is possible with Stat Counter to create individual counters for different pages, and fairly simple to set up. You can use Stat counter in conjunction with all kinds of websites and blogs, including those published on Blog Spot and Word Press. In either of those cases, you set up an account with stat counter and get it to generate a a HTML box in the widgets or gadgets section. You'll the be able to see what kinds of hits you're getting, and be able to break it down and view different statistics.
http://www.statcounter.com/
http://www.statcounter.com/
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