Internet Writing Glossary
Not sure what all of the jargon on this Internet writing blog and other web sites means exactly? Get a handle on it with this Internet Writing Glossary:
Article Directory
An article directory is an online depository of articles. Think of an article directory as a library tucked away in one little corner of the Internet. Article directories provide value to their readers by 1) providing information that the readers are interested in, and 2) providing resources that readers can use in other formats, such as eZines and newsletters. Some article directories, such as Associated Content, pay Internet writers for their submissions, while others like eZineArticles don’t offer payment, but do provide links back to the Internet writer’s web site. Interested in knowing more? Check out my Directory of Internet Article Writing Sites.
Blog
A blog is short for “weblog.” A Blog is a specific type of a web page with very unique characteristics that set it apart from other sorts of Internet web sites. What are those unique characteristics? Well, for one, blogs have a temporal (time-related) component to them. The articles on a blog are typically listed in chronological order, beginning with the most recent article. Blog archives tend to be arranged by date, and you can browse through a blog’s history in this manner. second, blogs are unique in that they don’t require specialized knowledge to use. Just about anyone who can use a word processor can set up a blog. This principle has caused the “blogosphere” to explode in size in recent years. This is important, because blogs allow individuals, like you, who have specialized knowledge or interests to have a way to share that knowledge or interest with the entire world. Finally, blogs tend to have a very personal component to them. While not every blog is a personal journal or diary, many blogs do tell personal stories. This tends to be an especially effective method of communication.
eBook
An eBook is a book published in an electronic format. Today, most eBooks are published in PDF format, and require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view them. eBooks may be read on your computer, on a handheld device that supports eBooks, or on a portable eBook reader like the Kindle Wireless Reading Device
Freelance Writing
When I have told people in the past that I am a “Freelance Writer” I get one of two reactions: puzzlement or curiosity. I explain to them that, in the middle ages, a “Free Lance” was a knight with no allegiance to a particular lord. Various nobles would, from time to time, hire a Free Lance to fight a battle, put down a peasant rebellion, or serve as personal bodyguards. Today, a freelance writer is someone who uses his or her writing to serve someone (or a number of different someones) for a fee. This might take the form of web content, eBook writing, article writing, or even paid blogging, as well as writing for various tradition print media.
Ghostwriting
Ghostwriting refers to writing that you do for someone else, to which your name is not attached in any way, shape, or form. Generally speaking, ghostwriting means that you can never brag about what you’ve written, and that you won’t receive a byline. On the other hand, ghostwriting tends to be more lucrative than other forms of Internet writing.
Niche
A niche is, simply put, a particular area of interest that you write about. Finding a niche that is both interesting to you and that can make money can be a challenge. The more narrow of a niche you use in your Internet writing, the less competition you will have, and the more marketable you may become.
Monetization
This is the Holy Grail of Internet writing. Monetization is what you do to something to make money with it. If you have a blog, you put up ads or affiliate links, or sell your own product. If you write articles, you submit them to article directories for payment. If you do contract writing for a specific client, you are monetizing your writing through that process, as well.
Page Impressions
I include page impressions here because so many of the potential markets for Internet writing rely on it to determine exactly what the payout will be for the work. Page impressions are the number of times that a page, with your writing on it, is loaded into someone’s browser. The more page impressions your writing gets, the more money it is going to make through monetization. This is true whether you are talking about an Article Directory like Associated Content that pays you a certain rate per 1,000 page impression, or whether you are talking about your own blog where you can use page impressions to gauge the popularity of your web site.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO refers to the process that an Internet writer goes through in his or her writing to make that writing friendly to search engines like Google and Yahoo. SEO can be tricky, because you don’t want to sacrifice readability so that the search engines can find you; if you do, web visitors will simply search, arrive at your site, and then leave without adding to your monetization.
Self-Publishing
Self-publishing refers to the process of publishing your writing, typically a book, without using a traditional publisher or press. Self-publishing means that you alone are ultimately responsible for the marketing and distribution of your book. There are a number of online services that can assist you with self-publishing your book. Understand that, with self-publishing, you always pay up front for your printing costs, as opposed to getting a share of profits. You don’t make any money self-publishing until you sell your writing.
Web Content
Web content is nothing more than the words, pictures, sounds, and anything else that you see on any web page. Internet writers provide web content to many web sites. It is web content that webmasters use to draw traffic to their web sites through search engines. Web content can cover any topic at all, and may or may not have profit in mind. Writing web content for others is, very often, one of the most lucrative types of Internet writing that you can do.
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