The Copywriting Guide by Neil Patel – Review, Opinion, and Drawbacks

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Here’s a harsh truth: getting straight A’s in high school English doesn’t make you a killer copywriter. It’s a profession, and like other professions, there are skills and strategies that you need to learn and master.

It’s true that you need a certain amount of natural writing talent, but you also need to learn the rules. Just like a baker has to learn how to separate eggs, or a mechanic has to learn how to use a wrench, copywriters need to learn how to craft a killer headline and create captivating content.

The good news is that there are plenty of free guides to help you acquire those skills and learn how to wield the tools of the copywriting trade. And one of them is by the content marketing guru, Neil Patel, which can be found here. [Read more…]

15 Gifts for Writers That Your Friends Will Actually Appreciate

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How’s your Christmas gift list coming along?

If you’re still on the hunt for a something for your writer friends, we’ve got you covered.

This gift guide for Christmas offers practical yet fun gifts that the recipient will appreciate. Forget the knick-knacks that will gather dust. Or stocking stuffers that scream “I forgot to get you a gift early on, so I had to grab whatever I could!”

We’ve picked these gifts for writers simply because we know you’ll want them – we know we do! Oh, and they’re so good you can give them all year round.

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Let’s Talk About Coworking (And What It Has to Offer)

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Once upon a time, there was the hum-drum office space, where people would gather from far and near, take to their desks and work. Then came the internet. Soon after, forward-thinking companies like Apple and Google formed huge corporate community workspaces. Then came social media. Soon after that, the “startup” appeared on the scene, mirroring the corporate workforce, but fusing into a smaller network of guerrilla entrepreneurs. [Read more…]

Avoid Using “Very” Because It Makes Your Writing Very Weak

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“So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys – to woo women – and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.”
― N.H. Kleinbaum, Dead Poets Society

I’ve always thought that lazy writers are worse than “bad” writers – writers who just need to hone their craft. If we were to live by the quote above, I suppose I just revealed how I think of myself as a writer – at times, at least.

There is no point in denying it – I use “very” more than I should.

How about you? Are you aware of how often you use the word? [Read more…]

Inspiring Movies Every Writer Must Watch

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Writing inspiration is all around us, everywhere we look. That guy at the next table at the coffee shop who’s alone and reading a book instead of playing with his phone. That little girl at the park sitting on the grass staring at a tree. That sparrow who is pecking at the crumbs of your cheesecake.

Books. Blog posts. TV shows. And, yes, movies.

Even if these materials aren’t specifically about writing, we can still glean inspiration from them. Today, I’m sharing watching material for movie buffs – or even the casual movie watcher. I’ve seen some of these movies, while the others are on my watch list. [Read more…]

Download Our Free eBook “100 Websites that Pay Writers”!

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From the FWJ family to you – a free eBook titled “100 Websites that Pay Writers”.

As a way of showing our appreciation for your continued support and participation in the community, we created this eBook.

We’re all freelancers who need to find clients and gigs constantly, and we know just how difficult that can be at times. With this eBook, we hope to add to the holiday spirit – and help increase your income.

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Become an Exceptional Writer with Udemy’s “Writing with Flair” Course [FREEBIE ALERT]

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“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
― Albert Einstein

We’re still alive, aren’t we? We continue to look for new clients and work with existing clients.

Shouldn’t we then apply Einstein’s words to our professional lives? Shouldn’t we find ways to continue growing professionally?

The reason I’m writing about this topic is that I have always been a firm believer in keeping up with new ideas and trends in my line of work. This is particularly important for online writers as the landscape of freelance writing, blogging, and content marketing is in a constant state of flux. If you stand still by not expanding your knowledge, you’ll find yourself being left behind.

Ways to continuously improve as a writer

One of the best and easiest ways to keep up with the times is to read – blogs of other writers, books, news, and other material that will aid you in learning more about writing and other online jobs you may have.

Another way – and perhaps more effective – is to take courses that teach you skills and ideas beyond what you already know. There are a lot of online educational providers today, some free, some for a fee.

I know that not everyone has the money to spend on expensive courses, but guess what? We have a treat for you.

Udemy

The guys a Udemy got in touch with us about a “free writing course” they are currently offering.

free writing course

If you’re not familiar with Udemy, it is one of the biggest providers of online courses. Their courses range from app development to search engine optimization to job search to writing. Some of their courses are free, but they also have paid courses.

One of their current offerings on writing is “Writing with Flair: How to Become an Exceptional Writer”. It focuses on tightening your writing style while at the same time honing your skills to take your writing to the next level.

My experience

Michael Blau from Udemy generously gave me a code to take the course, which is priced at $299 (now don’t stop reading yet), and while I haven’t finished it, based on the outline and the sections I’ve gone through, I can honestly say that I will walk away a better writer when I am done.

free writing course

To give you a sneak peek, the course introduces you to the “world elite writing” – not the usual articles/web content you see online – and the “secret sauce of flair” (while at the same time cutting out the unnecessary).

The good stuff

When you saw the price of the course in the previous section, you might have ditched the idea of taking it – and understandably so. The $300 price tag is not easy to swallow, and even if I keep on repeating how good the course is, some of you may just not want to spend that money.

I’ve got good news for you, though. Michael was generous in giving me a code to take the course, but he has gone the extra mile by giving a code for our readers, essentially making “Writing with Flair: How to Become an Exceptional Writer” a free writing course!

How do you get in on the action?

Just visit the course page, and enter the code NOEMIBUSINESSWRITING.

It’s that simple. You get to take a $299 writing course for free!

Here’s one important detail: This code is good for the first 50 users who sign up (no fees to create a Udemy account).

Learn how to improve your writing skills from one of the most popular courses on Udemy without spending a single cent. How’s that for a great deal?

Best Cities for Telecommuters in 2013

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With the growing popularity and use of the Internet, more and more people are sitting at their desks thinking: I could do this from home. Fortunately, company owners are also starting to realize the fact that many jobs can now be done at home through the Internet. This is especially true for writing gigs. This is known as telecommuting, and for those who have landing a telecommuting job, home can really be anywhere in the world.

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The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Passive Income

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Thursday Bram wrote a wonderful ebook about something we’ve been discussing here for years. Freelance writers absolutely can make an excellent living earning passive income. That is, earning an income with your own stuff over time.

The ebook is called “The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Passive Income” and is chock filled with tips and ways to earn money from ebooks, courses, blogs, niche sites and more. The biggest benefit to earning a passive income is that you’re keeping everything your projects earn and eventually you can let go of client gigs.

Thursday’s ebook discusses how to find time to create passive income projects, the opportunities available, pricing and marketing each project and so much more. I especially like how in depth this e-book is. Thursday discusses all the not so pleasant details of passive income including how long projects will take to earn over time and how to launch your products for maximum results.

I have two regrets when it comes to “The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Passive Income.” The first is that it took me so long to review it for you. The second is that I didn’t write it myself.

This is the part that I announce that there are affiliate links in this post. Yes, they’re in here, and yes, I get a little something back if you buy Thursday’s book through this link, but don’t let that make your decision for you. The majority of my writing income comes from passive sources. Not having to deal with clients and client-imposed deadlines is a beautiful feeling. I wouldn’t recommend Thursday’s ebook to you if I didn’t think you couldn’t benefit as well. You’ll want to print it out, put it in a binder and place it with all your important reference material.

Click here to purchase “The Freelance Writers Guide to Passive Income”.

Thursday Bram has packaged all this important information in a manner that is easy to read and understand and motivating as all heck. I dare you to read “The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Passive Income” and not be inspired. Not one page out of the 80 is wasted making it well worth the $27.00 price tag.

Click here to purchase “The Freelance Writers Guide to Passive Income”.

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