Entries from August 2008 ↓

Michael Stelzner wants to know: What’s your favorite writing blog?

For the past couple of years, Michael has done a “Top 10 Blogs For Writers” post, and it has been amazingly successful. Essentially, you leave a comment at this post explaining why you think a given blog is worthy of making the Top 10.

In the past, our friends Harry at James at Men With Pens have made the cut, as has Freelance Writing Jobs, Copyblogger.

This is the first time Michael’s run the contest since The Writing Journey started. Go visit Michael’s blog, and let him know how much you appreciate what you read here.

I don’t make a bunch of money from my blog. In fact, if I have $50 a month from affiliate sales in a month, I throw a party.

A very tiny party. Hey, it’s only $50.

Still, my blog is one of the most profitable pieces in my business model. How is that possible?

In short, I get a ton of freelance writing work from my blog. Here’s how:

I get clients through blog-based social networking

One of my biggest clients is one of my blog readers. She followed the blog for a long time, and we eventually struck up some conversations on Twitter. After a while, she trusted me well enough to offer me some writing assignments. For the past several months, I’ve brought in anywhere from one third to one half of my income from this single client.

I use my blog to showcase my best material

When I using a bidding site to compete for freelance writing gigs, the competition can be pretty fierce. After an initially strong run on one particular site, we saw our bid acceptance rates drop dramatically. We couldn’t figure out why it happened that way. Eventually, though, we discovered that bids we put in that included a link to The Writing Journey sold better - by a factor of about 5 - than bids that didn’t link to The Writing Journey. This was the case across the board, whether it was for an ebook, blogging, website copy, or even technical writing gigs.

I earn credibility and prestige through my blog

Without The Writing Journey, I probably wouldn’t have a post at Freelance Switch, and almost certainly wouldn’t be a regular at Freelance Folder. I’m not a superstar, by any means. But my blog is strong enough so as to support a reputable presence around the blogosphere. This, in turn, leads to credibility in my writing business.

So, what about you? How do you use your blog to support your freelance writing business?

photo credit: Photographika

(Editor’s Note: This post was originally published back in February. I thought I’d toss it out to you all again now, since my readership has grown exponentially since that time. Enjoy!)

Let’s face it, you get writer’s block just like every other writer. The fact that you write on the Internet is almost inconsequential to that fact. However, the fact that you are an Internet writer raises some interesting challenges, as well as some opportunities to overcome that writer’s block. Here are some of the techniques that I have used in the past to beat Internet writer’s block:

Get off the computer.

Look. I understand that if you are an Internet writer, you have to use your computer. Strangely enough, most of my clients don’t accept handwritten Internet articles, and neither will yours. But sometimes it helps just to get away from your familiar routine. Writing your material in a notebook with a pen can, sometimes, really get the creative juices flowing. Yes, you have to type it all in later. But the time that you spend typing is much less significant than the time you would spend staring at a blank screen with writer’s block.

Get out of the house.

A lot of Internet writers work from home. It only makes sense; why would you rent office space if all you really need to do your work is a computer? But, just like switching to pen and paper, switching your surroundings can often have a significant effect on your Internet writer’s block. If you don’t like the writer-sitting-in-Starbuck’s stereotype, try a bookstore or a mall. You might be surprised how much inspiration you gain just from moving away from the kitchen table.

Get Moving.

One of the occupational hazards of Internet writing has to be weight gain. Writing is one of the least physically demanding careers you can have. Sometimes, you just need to get up out of your comfy chair and move around a bit. Do 15 minutes on the treadmill, or walk once around the block. The endorphins that your body releases during exercise and other physical activity may just get your mind moving, too.

Get to writing.

You are a writer. You write. You chose this profession. So what if you’re stuck a bit? You can still write. Switch topics if you have to; if you’re writing for a client, switch off to writing samples for your portfolio for a few minutes. Submit an article or two to an article directory. Blog. Just write something, and soon you’ll be back on task.

So, what else? What other techniques do you use to beat Internet writer’s block?

There are plenty of tips and tricks I could give you about how to get more traffic to your blog.

And there are a lot of folks who can do that a heck of a lot better than I can.

The fact is, however, that getting traffic to your blog is only half of the challenge. Once a reader is on your blog, you’ve got to give them a reason to stay.

There are plenty of things you can do to increase your readership. You can hold a contest, for example, that asks readers to subscribe in order to enter. You can publish an Ebook and offer free to subscribers. These techniques are certainly valid ways to increase your blog readers, and they’ll almost certainly give your blog an immediate subscriber boost.

However, there’s only one thing you can do to guarantee people will come back to your blog again and again:

Write well.

Good writing is the key to successful blogging. Yes, all of those promotional techniques, from social media to article marketing, are important. They get folks to your blog in the first place. But good writing is infinitely more important in the long run. Why?

Good writing is pleasing to read.

According to studies, Internet surfers have horribly short attention spans. If you write poorly, your reader won’t understand what you write and they won’t enjoy it, either. Good blog writing means putting a smile on your reader’s face and getting your message across clearly.

That’s not all, though. There’s more to it. A readable style is only one part of good blog writing.

Good writing connects with the reader.

This concept applies to both the style of your writing and the content of your writing. To keep readers coming back, you have to write in such a way that they feel connected with you. You can’t write above their level, and you can’t write in the third person. In addition, you have to write about something they’re interested in.

Making those sorts of connections with your readers helps to establish a real relationship, one that involves trust. In fact, that brings us to the next point about good writing:

Good writing engenders trust.

There’s quite a bit of talk about “authority” in the blogosphere. Ultimately, authority is really about a trust relationship between you and your reader. You have something to say, and your reader trusts that it is both true and reliable. It really isn’t any more complex than that.

There are many paths to authority, too, regardless of what some of the experts might tell you. Getting readers to trust you starts, however, with your writing. You demonstrate your authority on a topic with good writing.

So, what do you think? Does good writing still matter online?

Why do you write?

This is a question I ask myself on a regular basis. Any activity you spend eight to ten hours a day doing is worth a little bit of reflection, now and again. After all, if I were able to go to a job every day and do tedious and unfulfilling tasks until quitting time, I’d be doing it instead of writing. I left the IT field precisely because I couldn’t find any purpose or joy in what I did.

Still, if freelance writing is to be a suitable replacement for fixing networks, I’ve got to ask myself: Why write?

There are several reasons I write.

I write because I enjoy it.

It’s not the banging on the keyboard itself that I enjoy. It’s the production process. I love watching an idea gestate, grow, and finally be birthed on the screen. No matter that it’s not always my idea; I get to be a midwife of sorts to other people’s ideas. And that’s pretty cool.

I write because I learn in the process.

On a daily basis I get to learn about anything from postpartum depression to how to change your car’s tires to politics.

You see, I’m a student, and I always will be. I went back to school at 32 years old to get my Master’s degree in Humanities. I enjoy learning about nearly any subject I can. In particular, I’m interested in human nature, human history, and the human condition. Writing lets me explore those things in a way that a 9 to 5 job never did.

I write because I want to make a difference.

Not everything I write is especially useful to a large crowd of people. However, if the occasional article on defensive driving helps prevent an accident, or if an article about prenatal vitamins helps convince a pregnant woman about the importance of folic acid, I’m tickled.

Heck, I even like to think I make a difference right here. If something I write inspires someone in their writing career, it’s all worth it to me.

I write because I’m good at it.

I don’t say that to brag or boast. I’m a good writer because I’ve worked diligently to become one. I don’t think I have more innate talent as a writer than the next person. I do think I’ve spent years honing my craft. I’m to the place now where my clients know good work when they see it, and they keep coming back. This means my business continues to grow, and I continue to experience more and more success.

There are more reasons, but I’d rather hear from you than go into them just yet. Maybe they’ll come out in the comments. Tell me, what about you? Why do you write?

photo credit: rachaelvoorhees