FWJ folks come from all sorts of backgrounds and have different needs. One thing we know that we all have in common — we want to get paid to write. Am I right?
5 Tools to Improve Freelancer Writing Skills and Earnings
Freelance writers are quickly changing the way content is created and read on the internet today. With several hundreds of millions of WordPress sites now live and over a billion active sites collectively online, content is now in demand more than ever before.
However, content is only as great and the time, work and effort put into it.
With this in mind, businesses and brands of all sizes are now focusing on freelance writers for their content creation efforts. This means more content demand and more money flowing into the freelance market. [Read more…]
How to Find a Great Image for Every Article You Publish
Did you know that 6.7 million people blog on blogging sites? Are you looking for how to stand out from the crowd by having beautiful images?
Blogging isn’t just about creating original and new content for the internet and ranking in the search results, it’s also about providing value to your audience and giving them a nice experience while on your site as well.
As a freelancer writer, the option to just focus on writing text and articles is often key, but images also play an importance role in this overall process as well. Images provide better finalized work, engagement and reading for site visitors, and of course better value and content for the site owners and brands that are buying it.
In this article, discover the secrets to finding a great image for your blog articles every time. Read on to discover these secrets so you’ll ensure you can have a successful blog and not a flop.
3 Reasons Why Freelance Writers Should Always Include Article Images
When is the last time you read an article online that was just straight text and no images in it? It probably wasn’t any time recently. Nearly all articles have some type of visuals and the best ones are using them to break apart content, use visuals as examples and even to create original infographics to bring data to life.
With all of this in mind, as a freelancer, you should always consider adding images to the content you are writing for your clients. Here are a few reasons why.
1 – It’s Extremely Fast, Easy and Free to Find Images
For the most part, the writing process is what’s going to take the most time. When looking for images for your content, there are so many free resources and royalty free images available, it’s just a matter of knowing where to look and spending a few minutes to get the job done.
2 – Added Value to the End Client and Better Content
When an article is sent to the client for review, a doc full of words and content is always great. However, what’s even better is having a document full of content and visuals as well. This way the client can post everything right to the site, while making it easier to read and visually appealing for all site visitors.
There are also plenty of images that you can use with royalty free rights to help you create better content for your own or client sites. Be sure to check out a site like Stock Photo Secrets to not only find some of the best sites out there for images, but also how you can start using free image editing software to create and modify your own images.
3 – Ability to Upsell and Earn More Per Article
As simple as it is to find and add a few images to your article content, this little addition can go a long way–and not just in the form of better engagement and content being easier to read. It’s also a service that freelancers can offer to upsell their services and earn more per completed article as well.
Now that you have a better understanding on why images should always be a requirement when creating content online, now let’s walk through a few tips and resources to make the image finding process even easier.
Article Images Searching Tips
When you’re searching for high-quality images, don’t use a super long search and don’t use a one-word search either. Instead, use a 2-3 word phrase to find an image. Consider related images as well when using your search term. Avoid pictures that seem like they’re from a stock photo site, and ensure they go with your brand.
Plan out what you want your images to convey to your audience. Visit the top websites in your niche to see what images they choose and that are successful.
Ensure the image you choose will look good no matter if your audience is on their computer, phone, or tablet. When you save your images, experiment with the different types to see what works best. PNG is great for illustration and color, GIF is great for animation, and JPEG loses quality even though it’s good for images.
1. Take Your Own Photos
In order to find an image and think, I really really really like this image, it’s best to take your own photos. You’ll firstly have your own unique images that can be SEO friendly. Not only can you save money, but you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement.
You can even create color palette on images to make it more fun and colorful.
2. Pixabay
Pixabay has free images for blogging you can find. Whether you’re looking for serious or crazy images, Pixabay has you covered. You just click on any image to see a pop-up box with several image sizes available. You can then download and save images, plus it’s easy to use.
3. Bigstock
You can either search on Bigstock through their on-site search box or use their home page footer. You can also use autocomplete for quick searches. You can easily find images that are popular or aren’t popular yet. If you create an account, you can choose a free image every week.
It has a subscription model where you can receive a certain amount of downloads for a monthly fee. You can try out their 7-day free trial to see how you like their image choices.
If you are going to be doing any type of infographic creation, you will likely find a great selection of vectors and images that can be used within your artwork. The important thing to remember during the image selection and infographic process, is to make sure you are using high-quality content visuals, while also focusing your effort on bullet-points and key words and phrases — meaning, you shouldn’t have a lot of text.
4. iStockPhoto
iStockPhoto has credit packs and subscription plans available. It has a large range of filters you can choose to find the right managed stock photography. You can also find flash and audio animations, as well as video. When you click on an image thumbnail, a large photo will pop out.
5. Flickr
Flickr is great for high-quality nice images of real-life such as nature or landscape. You can also choose graphic works for abstract concepts.
Tips for Finding a Great Image
Now that you read this guide, you can find a great image for your blogging needs while also potentially increasing your profits and revenue in the process.
Would you like to learn more about bringing your business to life? Check out our other articles on Freelance Writing Gigs.
How Freelance Writers Can Use HARO to Produce Better Work
Finally, you worked hard to find new opportunities, and you’ve landed that dream assignment. The one for the big publication like VICE or Forbes. The one that’s going to take your portfolio to the next level and open up opportunities with all the other major publishers.
However, you need something to put your writing over the top. You don’t want to just rehash what others have already written. You want to do your research and add something new to the conversation. But maybe you’re not an expert on the topic, and all the research has been used over and over. [Read more…]
7 Benefits of Using an Editing Tool
What’s the worst thing you can do as a freelance writer?
While each of us can think of different horror stories, we can all agree that sending content to a client with technical gaffes and sloppy writing is the best way to ensure you will not be invited back for another gig. But unless you have an editor to review everything you write – which we can’t all afford to have – how can you be sure you’re catching it all?
Here’s where editing tools can make a dramatic difference. [Read more…]
Win Copies of Qbserve, an Automatic Time Tracker for Mac
Time tracking is crucial in ensuring productivity levels are high – and this is even more important for us freelancers who are surrounded by more distractions than the average office worker.
As we all know, the freedom we love can also easily be our downfall if we don’t keep ourselves accountable.
Enter tools for freelancers to streamline our work and make our lives easier. [Read more…]
The Internet of Things and Freelancing: Secure Your Work and Career
As a freelancer, there are few things more important than protecting your work and, by extension, your career. This can be difficult to do -especially if you work in creative spheres – because many people honestly believe that everything they find online is “fair use.” We, of course, know better. So how do you keep the randos from stealing your hard work and using it for their own gain?
Here are a few tips that have helped us. [Read more…]
Noplag Plagiarism Checker Review
According to the Center of Academic Integrity, almost 80% of college admitted to cheating at least once, while a study by the Psychological Record reveals that 36% of undergrads admitted to plagiarism.
Most of the statistics about plagiarism that is available relate to cheating in the academic realm, but as freelance writers, we know very well how prevalent and serious the issue of copying another’s work is.
Heck, these days, even speeches are being plagiarized! You know what I’m talking about. *Wink* *Wink*
On our part, we cannot take the issue lightly, especially if we’re doing client work. You might even have plagiarized someone else’s work (unwittingly or otherwise), or your work may have been used by others. [Read more…]
A Practical Guide to Successful Online Writing
“I have a computer and an internet connection. I want to quit my job and do what you’re doing. Anyone can make money writing online, right?
If I got a dollar every time I heard this – or some variation of it – I’d have enough to go to the Maldives for this year’s dream vacation.
There is some truth to the statement, though. Anyone can start writing online, but there is no guarantee of success or money. There is more to online writing than “I can write” – as you already know.
Even veteran freelance writers may have experienced feeling lost and doubtful at times, especially these days. The online writing scene is so crowded. Good jobs are difficult to find. Consistent and reliable clients are not as common as before. Rates are going down. [Read more…]
Top 5 Free Tools for Freelance Writers
Good writers are not born; they are made through constant practice and the right opportunities that nurture growth and learning. As a freelance writer, you should always be looking for new writing tips and challenges that will refine your skills. But even the finest of writers will have some “off” days when ideas won’t come and words just won’t weave a quality piece together.
Whether it’s for diversifying your content, managing your time, or quickly assessing the quality of your work, there are several free tools that can help you maintain productivity and keep your creative juices flowing.
Here are the top five free productivity tools that freelance writers can count on. [Read more…]
