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Why It’s a Great Idea to Blog
If you have doubts as to whether you should have a blog or not, all you have to do is visit a few major business websites to realise how worthwhile it can be. Everyone and anyone can set up a blog and there’s a theme for just about everything on the planet.
For authors and writers, having a blog helps showcase the many different styles of writing we can come up with (or not, as the case may be!). The important thing is it allows potential clients to review whether you can write in a format they need. They can check whether your style is pleasing or not.
A lot of professional writers quickly realised they could earn a crust by writing copy for the internet. It’s a huge global marketplace and one that’s in constant need of content. It’s possible to work as a copywriter for others and work on a personal masterpiece at the same time. This naturally helps pay the mortgage, rent and other unavoidable monthly bills.
The Benefits of a Blog
Setting up a personal blog offers many benefits with quite a few writers managing to earn a pretty serious income from their blogging endeavours. There’s the Adwords aspect to think about, but there’s also a superb opportunity to sell products, “top tips on how to” and other ideas you may have. It’s all potential income that can make your life a whole lot more comfortable.
A Great & Effective Way to Self-publish
Many writers use their blogs as a platform to “self publish” innovative ideas rather than attempt to get a publisher on-board – we all know how hard that tends to be! When you get it right, the success can be immeasurable in monetary terms and this naturally, is a very satisfying experience.
The question is why do some authors succeed whereas others do not? The answer is pretty straightforward because there’s a right way and a definite wrong way to blog.
A Right and a Wrong Way to Blog
There’s no throwing together a website followed up by a few articles published every now and again. No, setting up a blog takes time and articles need to have value. You’re allowed to make a few mistakes along the way, but if you keep at it and write consistently interesting copy, your journey in the virtual world stands a much better chance of being rewarded.
Whether you go down the Adword route, the selling route or both, consistency and value will pay off, but it won’t happen overnight. You have to work at it and be incredibly self-disciplined because as we all know, getting sidetracked is all too easy when you work from home.
A great place to start learning how to write a great blog is here
Author: Honey Wood
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How to Set up a Great Blog
There are lots of articles on how to write great blog posts and glancing over a few of them can prove very helpful, especially for people who are just starting out. Reading other people’s blogs also helps gauge what’s trending in the many niches out there. As with everything, practice makes perfect and the more posts you write whether to publish on a personal blog or for a client, the better you get at stringing sentences together to form an interesting read.
Researching a topic is a must. It allows you to check out other styles of writing and the chances are you’ll find valuable info to use. How you present the content on your page is also all-important. Long rambling, badly punctuated sentences together with lengthy paragraphs typed in an ornate font on a dark background, can make it challenging for readers to say the least.
Things to avoid in your blog includes certain aspects of the basic page design because even if your copy is brilliant, if it’s too hard to read the chances are nobody will bother!
Dark Backgrounds
The basic design of a website is all important. Dark backgrounds may look great on a blog with loads of images, but they don’t work so well with text because it makes it harder to read. Everyone likes an easy life and with so many blogs out there, if there’s a choice of easy reading or having to strain to see what’s on the page, you’ll find that people bounce off your post pretty quickly.
Busy Pages
If there’s too much going on the page and this includes lots of images, adverts and links, people find it harder to focus. The result? Viewers are encouraged to scan the page without really absorbing anything on it. They may even click on a link to get off the page looking for something that doesn’t put them under so much pressure.
A nice clean, well thought out page that doesn’t detract from the text works a whole lot better because the design allows viewers to focus on things, namely your blog post.
Empty Pages
Empty pages don’t work either. Minimalism doesn’t work on a web page. In short, keeping a page clean looking doesn’t mean leaving it looking empty either. You need to find a nice balance that’s pleasing to the eye.
Ornate Fonts
Choosing an easy read font is essential. There’s a superb choice of fonts some of which are pretty ornate. However, unless you really want to make a point, using the simplest font works a whole lot better because it allows viewers to scan the copy quickly when they are pressed for time. They can then come back later to read your blog when they’ve got more time.
Adverts
Adverts can bring in revenue, but if there are too many on a page, they detract from your copy. The result is viewers leave the page which in turn means more bounces and less revenue. In short, too many ads defeats the object even if you are promoting or marketing your own products on the page.
Links
It’s great to add links in your copy, but you have to be extremely selective and not to overpower the text with too many. Firstly, they detract from your content and secondly, the temptation is for viewers to click on a link. The result could be disastrous because viewers might leave your page too early.
Content/Copy
Everyone wants to read well written, interesting content that’s nicely presented on a page. The more you write and read, the better your copy becomes because it’s a constant learning process.
Regularly publishing new posts is another essential, but publishing for the sake of it doesn’t work. Your blogs need to have “value” and meaning in order to keep viewers on the page and wanting to come back for more.
There’s an Art to Crafting Brilliant Blog Posts
There’s an art to writing. Some people find it easier than others and some cannot put pen to paper to save their lives. However, writing a story whether fictional or fact and making it enthralling is one thing, whereas writing a blog post that’s engaging is another kettle of fish altogether.
It’s Not Every Writer’s Cup of Tea
Just because a person is a capable, dare I say talented writer who produces fascinating tales, it doesn’t mean they are as gifted when it comes to creating content for a blog. These are a different animal and they have to engage the reader. the copy needs to be instantly share worthy and that’s what it’s all about. The internet has opened up the world in so many ways, one of which is the fact people can now share information at the speed of light (depending on their providers, their hardware and their location, naturally).
Research, Research Paired to a Little Wit Works
Using the various platforms available is essential but using these platforms and creating worthwhile content requires research because you have to identify your audience and their needs. Getting it wrong and your Alexa ranking will remain pitiful. Get it right and all of a sudden you are climbing up the ladder to online success. You’re right up there with the best of them.
The Best Material Can Fall Flat
You may have the best material ever which could include an interview with a celebrity or other person of interest, but if you can’t craft your copy so it “stands out”, grabs readers attention then you might as well be writing about the “girl next door” who might be gorgeous but…………
Headlines Make it Work
Headlines, titles to articles, interviews and content are crucial and they have to be eye catching, A boring title goes unnoticed whereas something of interest or which promises to solve a problem, offer advice or provide interesting information will get people reading your copy and more importantly, they will want to share it with their followers on the many social media platforms out there.
Better Traffic, Fewer Bounces
The result – better traffic, fewer bounces and a whole lot more people waiting in anticipation for the next post to appear. Some of the best writers in the world find it hard to get to grips with the concept that writing blog posts is not about being able to string sentences together without slipping in a few typos but rather about creating content that people find worthwhile, written in an engaging manner they can scan rather than read if they want to.
After all, time is precious for everyone these days – shorter sentences, snappy shorter paragraphs and clear cut, fun, engagingly witty copy gets ten out of ten every time from both readers and search engines.
Images the Finishing Touch
Then of course, the all-important images that add the finishing touch to copy have not only to be “royalty free” or purchased under a relevant licence, but they need to be well chosen to suit the text.
Polished copy works as long as it targets its audience. Boring, but well written copy draws in a whole lot of yawns. Traffic dwindles, rankings drop and basically doesn’t draw in the “crowds”. There’s an art to crafting well written blog posts and not all gifted writers can do it. Just because you like the copy – it does not mean your audience would agree. In short, know what your audience would like to read and then create the blog accordingly or find a writer who can, it’s the only way to craft brilliant blog posts.
Author: Honey Wood
Building a freelance writing career from nothing
Guest author: Steven M
I started freelancing seriously just before last Christmas. I’d dabbled before, but not with any clear intent. At that time, I naively thought being a literary gun for hire would lead to an avalanche of jobs. I was, of course, like most optimists, disappointed.
I’ve been out of mainstream work for some time looking after my father who suffered from dementia. Prior to that, I wrote copy for a marketing team at a North West University. After dad passed away last year, I didn’t want to go rushing back into a conventional work environment. Freelancing seemed attractive once more.
I kicked off my freelance career mark II with peopleperhour.com. It seemed as good a place as any to start and simple enough for me to understand. There are two ways to secure work on PPH, one is to post an ‘hourly’ advertising a product you offer, in my case writing a 500 word article for £8, or you can put in a bid on work that others have posted. In the latter, you are bidding against other, equally competent, candidates (the average seems to be about 20-30) and that makes it more difficult to win.
So far I’ve written 20 articles. Although I’m charging what I consider bottom end rates at the moment, I’ve been more successful than when I had my first foray into freelancing a few years ago. Back then, with elance.com, the lowest, and usually less talented bidder normally won out. Buyers now seem to understand that you get what you pay for. Extra low price = rubbish product.
I’ve had good reviews for my writing so far and my customers have all been friendly and, more importantly, paid promptly.
So, is it worth it?
There’s a cost, however, to getting this business on PPH, as there is on other freelancing sites. To stand a real chance of being noticed you need to ‘feature’ (advertise) your hourly and that costs £9.99 (for a 5 day exposure). The company also charges 15% when earnings are transferred to your bank account.
On its own PPH does provide a source of income but hardly enough to live on, at least not at the moment. Of course, I know freelancers require several avenues of income and I’ve only touched the surface so far.
I will need to get what my father used to call ‘a proper job’ at some point, but, for the moment, I don’t have to worry about my monthly income. So, the next step is to look at other revenue streams and try them out. Some will work, others won’t.
For those who want to a career as a freelance writer I can offer a little advice.
First, decide on whether you are a good enough writer – it’s a skill that takes time to develop and one where you never stop learning. I’m a competent writer, I wouldn’t go beyond that despite my stack of good reviews, but even now I still work at my craft.
Second, in the beginning you are going to be looking for work more than you are actually doing it. Keep yourself fit and positive and don’t be afraid to try new things.
Third, get to grips with social media, from LinkedIn, blogs, Twitter, Facebook and beyond – they will help spread the word and bring in business.
And finally: There will be no pot of gold at the end of a rainbow; that would be too much to ask. But a steady flow of decently paid work?
I’d settle for that.
Guest author:
Image sources: Steven M
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4060/4460976042_3daf75b6b6_z.jpg?zz=1
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