If you are a working freelance writer, language is your stock in trade. Obviously, you love words and language or you would not be working in this field. Should you show off your love of prose by using the most exquisite and complicated version of English that you can find when doing work for clients? Nope. Readability is more important than making your work look pretty, and online readability calculators are an important part of your freelance writing toolbox. [Read more…]
11 Compelling Ways To Humanize Your Content
Editor’s note: This post was written by Aby League, a qualitative researcher and a passionate writer. She is an innovator and technology enthusiast. She has been writing about health, psychology, home improvement and technology. You can see more of her articles on Elite Daily. To know her more, follow @abyleague on Twitter.
Everything in the virtual world is intended for humans. These humans are not merely numbers, projections, or KPIs. They are real and they decide whether to love you or leave you, whether your brand rocks or sucks. Every single piece of content you put out there must have the H factor, the human factor. Forget B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer) in your content marketing strategy, from now on it is H2H, human to human. [Read more…]
7 Tips for Making your Writing More Engaging
As a writer, one of your most important jobs is to grab your reader’s attention and pull them into your blog post or article. You want to get the reader excited about what they are going to find when they delve into your words. Keep in mind that you are competing against scores of other material that is also promising to give “your” reader the same type of exciting, informative and helpful information. You have to take steps to make your writing more engaging than another person’s material on a similar topic.
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Ghost Writing for a Business Blogging Client: Writing Style Tips
Starting your own blog is an excellent way to showcase your own writing style, independent from work that has been commissioned by clients. It’s your own space on the Internet where you are free to write as yourself and not in the parameters ordered by someone else. There is certainly something freeing in working on your own projects for a change, and this is also a good way to promote your writing business and attract new clients who may be interested in hiring you for some business blogging.
4 Tips to Cut Down Writing Time
Writing time is always a touchy subject, as there is no such thing as a set length of time wherein a writer can finish a piece of work. Whether it’s a blog post, an article for a magazine, a short story, or a novel, it does not matter. How long you write is not a one-size-fits-all matter.
There are, however, some things that writers can do to cut down on writing time. This is especially important for freelance writers who get “paid per piece or per word or perhaps”, as humorist Robert Benchley said. The writing process may be touch and go at times, but more often than not, we need to hunker down and finish articles as fast as we can without sacrificing quality. [Read more…]
Easy Ways to Increase Writing Productivity
When your income is determined by the amount of content you create, the pressure to be productive as a freelance writer can be debilitating.
Don’t allow diminished output to be the white whale of your writing career. Increase your writing productivity with these six easy suggestions:
Create a Flexible Schedule
Freelance writers need a daily writing plan to stay on track, especially if they juggle simultaneous projects or write several articles per day. But when using a schedule, permit some flexibility. Don’t become so tied to your calendar that you deny your own creative impulses. Allow yourself to be inspired rather than shying away from bursts of genius simply because your writing plan dictates you finish an assignment. Your schedule should drive you, not dominate you.
Get Some Air
You’ll be more productive if you learn to take breaks. Staring at a blinking cursor for hours on end is the antithesis of productivity, as is forcing yourself to type lifeless paragraphs you’ll delete at the end of the day. When your productivity is waning, seek a change in scenery. Take a walk around your block, go for a short drive, or simply open your front door and inhale. Fresh air equals a fresh perspective. [Read more…]
3 Essential Tips to Stand Out as a Writer
Editor’s Note: This was written by the Ebyline staff, a site that connects publishers with the right freelancers for their work. Check them out on twitter: @Ebyline and on Google+.
You’re a good writer, and you know it. If given a keyboard and Internet connection, you could craft ingenious articles in no time, but the only problem is –you’re not getting the work you need. Sitting in front of your computer all day, twiddling your thumbs, checking Facebook, and getting lost on the ‘top 10s’ of Buzzfeed isn’t going to pay the bills! You need to get your name out there, and start standing out.
It is easy to doubt whether or not it’s possible to make it as a freelance writer, but the fact of the matter is that it can be done. In fact, freelance writers are more in demand today than they have ever been, because of social media networks. There has never been a better time to become a writer, and if you’ve got the skills, then all you need to do is get your name out there and start marketing your services. [Read more…]
Writer’s Block: What it is and How to Move Past it so You can Write Again
If you have ever been plagued by writer’s block, you know how painful the blank page or screen can be. While you may be concerned that the inability to get anything down is a sign of writer burnout, the two conditions are not the same thing.
Don’t Forget the Old-School: Pen & Paper Interviews
Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to talk about some oldie, but goodie elements of article writing that are still important for writers. It’s easy to dismiss some tried and true techniques because of all the fancy, technological whiz-bangs available to writers, but when technology fails – and it will from time to time – it’s good to have something to pull out of your coonskin cap.
