How to Outsource Writing for Your Blog

Having great, consistent blog posts are one of the ways that you are going to be able to attract and keep visitors coming to your site. Of course, if you are running a small business, or if you are a solo entrepreneur, finding the time and motivation to keep up with daily posts is going to be difficult. That’s understandable, and that’s why many people are starting to look for ways that they will be able to outsource their blogging. This way, they are still able to have posts on their blog on a consistent basis, but they don’t have to do it on their own.

How to Choose the Right Writers?

By hiring writing services of one or more outside writers who are creating blog posts for you, it becomes much easier to deal with all of the other aspects of your business. They are going to be able to take care of the daily or weekly posts for you. However, you should make sure that you know what it is that you are buying from the writers. How much are you going to have to pay per post, and how long are the posts that they are offering at various prices?

How do you know if you are working with high quality writers? Well, you have to ask for some published samples of their work so you can get an idea of the style that they are able to offer. You also want to see what areas they are able to write about with some authority. You do not have to expect the writer to know as much about your topics as you do. However, you do want to make sure that the writer is going to be willing to learn.

Look at the Posts

When you are first working with a freelancer or company, you are not going to want to give them unfettered access to your site. Even though the writer might have familiarity with WordPress or whatever platform you are using, you still need to look at their posts before they go up. You have to make sure that the quality is high enough to be on your site in regards to the spelling, grammar, and content. You also want to make sure that they aren’t saying anything in the post that could offend some of your readers.

Of course, after you’ve been working with the writers for a few months and you know their level of quality, and you trust them, you may want to give them posting permissions on your site. You should still check the quality of the posts once they are up and on the site if they are posting on their own.

Things to Keep in Mind

Mistakes happen when writing blog posts, whether they are spelling errors, the tone of the piece, or a problem with the subject. Give the writers the benefit of the doubt and explain to them what the issue was. Most of the time, they are going to be able to correct the issue on future posts, so you will not have to worry.

Another Option: Guest Blogging

You may not need to hire out to freelancers all of the time though. You can always look for people who are willing to guest post on your blog in exchange for links. You can come up with a topic together and then the guest can write the blog, which you approve and post. This has another added benefit. You are going to be getting more exposure for your site since that guest poster is likely to promote the post elsewhere, such as on his or her own site and social networks.


About author

 
Olga Ionel is a creative writer at ThemeFuse.com. She is passionate by WordPress, SEO and Blogging. Don’t forget to check out stunning Premium WordPress Themes 

Image courtesy: www.freedigitalphotos.net 

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Five Movies that Inspire Freelance Writers

Sometimes entertainment is not only meant to entertain, but to inspire. You now what kind I mean, the ones that upon watching you get up out of your seat, feeling light, yet powerful like you could conquer the world. More specifically, there are movies geared towards fostering creativity; for example, for the writer.

I have chosen five movies that I feel inspire freelance writers to create their own work, just from reaching into their own unique imaginations. I have organized this list in the order the movies were released, because I could not choose a “best” out of the five. You will need to make that decision for yourself!

1. Dead Poet’s Society (1989)

This movie stars Robin Williams as an English teacher at a conservative private boy’s school in Vermont. Through his unique teaching methods, Williams shows his students to love poetry, and also inspires them to “seize the day.” The boys are impacted by their teacher’s devotion, causing them to carry down his legacy to others.

2. Finding Forrester (2000)

This unique movie tells the story of a young black basketball player who is also an aspiring writer. This young man wins a scholarship to a prestigious prep school in Manhattan where he meets an older white man who is a novelist. The two characters form an unlikely friendship and not only help each other with their writing, but with their own lives. This story shows how the love of writing can bring two people together to only strengthen their passion for the written word.

3. Wonder Boys (2000)

This comic drama chronicles a college professor (Michael Douglas), who has a bad case of writer’s block. Several of his own life stressors aren’t helping his creative juices flow either. This is a scenario that every writer can understand, but watching this film will not only leave you laughing, but will cure just about any kind of writer’s block.

4. Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Will Ferrell plays in this comic drama and finds his life interrupted by a strange voice that narrates the events in his life. He doesn’t know what to do so he meets with a Literature professor who suspects that Ferrell might be a character in a novel being written at that every time. That is, in fact exactly what is happening to him! This is a funny, enlightening movie that will inspire all writers to think outside of the box when they are creating their stories.

5. The Freedom Writers (2007)

Hillary Swank plays a high school English teacher who inspires her class of at-risk students to write their stories. She also teaches them to how to accept and love each other as they are. By the end of the movie, many of them have healed from emotional pain through the tool of writing. The result from these students proves positive, validating the power of writing. This movie is based on a true story, which makes it even more inspiring.

All five of these movies, even with their differences, are geared towards inspiring freelance writers. I would encourage you to check them all out if you haven’t already. You won’t be disappointed, and you will leave feeling nothing short of creative!

Author's Bio

Eric Pangburn was recently featured as the best of NY time blog post of the week.  He is an entrepreneur focusing on helping others and has a true teacher’s heart to see other succeed you can connect with him through Snitch IM.  If you want to improve your blog, become a better freelance writer, or just come and hear him snitch out secrets such as how to build more traffic in less than 30 days.  

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A good Content Writer never mixes Web Content Writing and Blogging

It has been observed that many writers find it difficult to distinguish between blog writing and web content writing. There are a few writers who select the same tone for both kinds of writing. This is actually not the right way to do the “business”. Blogging and web content writing are two different ways of expressions and this is the reason why a good writer never mixes them, ever. 

 

 

 

Before mentioning the differences between these two, let’s first understand what they actually are:

1. Web Content Writing 

   Web content writing is carried out for websites. In short, the information and write-up that is available on websites is known as web content (web content writing). Web content writing includes a thorough research of keyword placement in the content. This kind of writing is sales oriented and professional. On websites content writing mostly remains same and does not change more often. To make it more clear, web content includes content for pages like about us, home page, careers, contact us, services, FAQs etc.

2. Blogging 

   Blogging can simply be defined as fun. Blogging is a way of communicating with people. Its tone is informal and expressive. A good writer always tries to focus to the needs of different readers. There are thousands of readers who visit multiple blogs and share their expressions, aggressions and experiences. And a blogger always responds to them, hoping that he never loses traffic. Blogs are usually created to either divert the web-traffic towards the websites (in case of business blogs) or to get noticed as a writer / blogger (personal blogging).

Blogging is Informal unlike Web Content Writing

An experienced writer always knows that unlike web content, blogging is informal. One can use jokes, real life incidents and experiences on blogs but never on websites. This is the reason why web content is about seriousness, vision, mission, theories and pitching the sales. On the contrary, blogging is all about interacting with readers who can be customers or just readers. Blogging has a personal touch whereas web content revolves around professionalism.

Is Blogging Easier Or Web Content Writing?

People have different approaches; some people think that blogging is easier because it’s about expressing natural things. On the other hand, there are also many writers for whom writing web-content is easier because of the set parameters and more specifically they prefer to write serious and “to the point content”. Which out of the two is easier is totally a writer’s personal inclination and expertise.

For Blogging a Writer can get a bit Clumsy

It has been observed that bloggers use easy language and at times they use some words which can be clumsier, for which they also receive some comments (better say corrective statements) from their readers. In web content writing, one can never think about going off the track because of the fact that it is serious kind of writing and different companies and clients are targeted through the website.

Web Content Writing Is Sales Oriented Whereas Blogging is A Means to Communicate with Readers

It is a well-known fact that web content is targeted towards increasing the sales and customer base whereas, blogging is a way to communicate with the readers (these readers can be direct clients, customers or simple readers). A writer should know that web content writing involves serious words but in case of blogging he may use a tone that is friendly, interesting and informal.

 

Author’s Bio:

I am Shafiq Ul Hasan Siddiqui, founder of EOPAK.com and Content Analyst at Linkagoal (goal based social networking site). I love to write and maintain my personal blog i.e. Shafiqpenworks. I have an experience of 6 years in content writing. You can get to know more about me by connecting on Twitter @shafiqulhasan81

 

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How to use Twitter Vine app | Queen's Quill

The biggest tech releases last week was the video app by Twitter called Vine. Vine is an app that can be used to create gif like videos which are up to 6 seconds max. Twitter is known best for its versatility through restricted mode length of social media conversations. Twitter, the 140 characters micro-blog has done its best job again; app for creating and sharing videos which is restricted and as short as 6 seconds max. Though this app is available only for iPhone and iPod touch at the moment, the Twitter blog claims to bring this app soon to other platforms. 

On the Vine Blog, they said-

Posts on Vine are about abbreviation — the shortened form of something larger. They're little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life. They're quirky, and we think that's part of what makes them so special.

Just have a look on how these looped videos or the vines (as they are called) look like-

vine.co/v/b5pBhaPAYK7
— ceciliakang (@ceciliakang) January 24, 2013

 

Just released last week and this app is all set to hit the "editor's pick" list on the Apple store where it is currently positioned at Top 13 on the list of apps.

To start making your looping scene on Vine, just follow these simple steps-

1. Download the Twitter's Vine app from the app store (include link) on your iOS device (iPhone/iPod touch).
2. Set your standard permissions like access to your location and push notifications. If you already have a Twitter account then you can directly sign in or if you do not have one then you can use your email address to sign in.
3. Vine will create your profile using the information available on your Twitter account if you sign in with Twitter but you do have a choice to edit the information before sign up.
4. You are greeted by a landing page once you finish off sign up. Very much similar to Instagram, this landing page has the editor's choice Vines till you start following people.
5. To start creating your first Vine, head to the camera button on the top right of the home page and click it. You will be getting a separate page with camera view, along with a status bar on top.
6. Hold your finger on the screen as long as you want the video to be recorded. You will get a green line on status bar as an indication to know the time left to finish your 6 second video record or the vine. Remove your finger and you have your first vine recorded.
7. You will get a preview and you can choose to either continue or delete the vine.
8. You have the option to share your vine on Twitter, Facebook and on the Vine itself.

The options for keeping your vines private is not very great at the moment but the company has plans to include more preferences for the visibility in future. The only way you can keep your vine secret without sharing is via Camera Roll. If you choose not to share your vine then simply uncheck "Share on Vine" and click Done. With your permission, the video will be saved to Camera Roll.

Did you install the free Vine app? How was your experience creating your first video on Twitter's Vine?

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Step by step guide- How to verify your website on pinterest

The new feature of verifying your website on your profile page of Pinterest was introduced in October 2012. Once you succeed to verify your website, users and your followers will be able to see a check mark next to your website indicating that is verified by Pinterest. 

This process of verification not only establishes a sense of trust on the user's website and it's ownership but also establishes the link between the verified website and a Pinterest account.

Verifying your website on Pinterest has many benefits and also easy to get it done. Here is a pictorial with step by step guide to verify your website on your Pinterest profile.

1) Login to your Pinterest profile.

2) Hover the cursor on your name at the right corner and a drop down menu will be seen.

3) Click on the "Settings" tab.

4) You will see all the options to edit your profile. Scroll down and locate the "Website" option on the same page. Enter your website address if you have not already done so and click "Verify Website" tab which is next to your website address.

5) You will see a window with instruction for next steps. You verify by two ways. 

• You must first download the verification file and then upload the same file to your web server. Then click on "click here" link to complete the process.

• The second method is to verify by adding meta tag to then type </head> of your website template. To do so, first click on the option "Verify with a meta tag". Then open your template HTML code. Now press ctrl+F and then type in it. After locating the first occurrence of </head> tag, just before the end of tag paste the meta tag that you got when you clicked "Verify with a meta tag". Click "save" on your HTML window. You are done.

 6) May be you have to wait for few seconds before you see the verified sign against your website address on your profile.

Did you get all the steps right? Have you verified your website on your Pinterest profile yet?

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How to find blogging jobs as freelance writers or freelance bloggers?

As freelancers, we constantly need to keep hunting for jobs and projects to keep ourselves busy with constant flow of work. This is part and partial of all the freelancing jobs be it freelance designing or freelance writing.

Today in this post I would like to share a couple of great and effective ways for finding blogging jobs as freelance writers.

1) Research and hunt together-

Freelance writers ought to do some research for every single article they write and I am sure even you do the same. It is likely that you Google your research query and get all the information you want to complete your insightful article. The sights that show up on first or even the second page of search results are the ones that are reliable for information, have great content and also high Page Rank. To be precise they are quality sites.

While you finish off reading and jotting the essential points to relate your article, try to look for jobs on those sites as well. Closely try to locate the pages with titles like Contribute, Write for us, Hiring, Jobs, Careers, Guest post, etc. You can find these typically at the bottom of the site, in the footer, static pages or even categories or below/above the header. Also, some sites highlight these as ads in the side bar.

Most of the sites with such titles only offer a couple of links back to your site and no fee is paid for your guest posts. However, there are also few of them who are willing to pay for writing guest posts (I am trying to come up with an exhaustive list of blogs which pay for guest blogging, you can expect the information anytime in the next week, keep watching this blog). Some are trying to find quality writers to hire as regular content providers and some pay per article/guest post.

You can apply right away before the available positions get exhausted or you can save or bookmark them and consider to write pay per post guest articles in your leisure to fill the gap of your irregular work flow.

2) Finding blogging jobs through search engines-

Many new sites or blogs which dream of making it big in the blogosphere would have a dedicated page "write for us" or "Guest post" or similar. While most of them are aired to attract guest bloggers to post articles for free with a byline and a couple of links back to their blogs or social media profiles, there are few others who pay you right for substantial articles.

Effective use of search engines with target search terms can find you freelance writing jobs more easily than you think. Here is the list of search terms you can try to find your well paid writing jobs:

• Write for us (combine any niches you are interested in like travel, food, leisure, lifestyle, sports, etc). Example: Health write for us
• Contribute (include niche). Example: Contribute Fashion
  
• Hiring writers... Niche
• Guest post... Niche
• Guest posting policy... Niche
• Looking for writers... Niche
• Writing jobs .... Niche
• Blogger jobs write for us...... And more

If you are comfortable writing in any niche and not looking for particular niche blogging jobs then you can exclude the niches in your search terms.

These are my ways of hunting for jobs. This keeps me away from wasting time biding for peanuts and also am spared from sharing my earnings with the content mills as commission for finding me gigs. I always like to deal with the site owner directly, negotiate and stand a chance for myself to get paid what I am worth while.

How do you hunt for freelance jobs online? Do share your tips and tricks with us.

Image courtesy- www.freedigitalphotos.net

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Why bloggers should not be on every other social networking sites!

This is the decade where everyone is talking about branding, building online-reputation and gaining a huge fan following to increase internet visibility. It's a common notion that is spread across the web like a wild fire that you need to exist on every other social networking site to market your content and generate leads to the products or increase traffic to your blog. 

However, this might not be "your" requirement at all! But how do you know if you really need to show up on most of the existing social networking site or not? Let's begin by answering some of these simple yet complicated questions.

1) Why do you feel the need to make your social media presence? What is your purpose?  

Be clear of your purpose. List out all the points that you think make you qualify to register on all the or at-least most of the social networking sites. You may be selling products or marketing affiliates or seeking traffic to your website or blog or may be you are doing non of the these. Just come up with your list to be clear of your purpose for registering on any social media.

You will soon realize that you have little time and no purpose to get an account on many social sites.

2) Do you know who are your customers or blog audience? 

Analyzing the sex, age, country or work background of your blog audience is crucial. This is not only helpful in generating the content for your target audience but also lead you to the right marketing strategy and picking the right social networking site to begin your journey.

For example: If you are writing for women or parents then "Pinterest" would be your best option to consider other than some generic social networking (Facebook, Google+, StumbleUpon, twitter, ...) sites you may already be active on.  

3) Have you hired any social media manager (or other staff) or intend to do so?

If you are an one man army who creates content/products and also markets them then you might want to strictly monitor your steps. Doing all the things alone will not only eat up your time but also can be very stressful to manage. Unless you have hired a social media manager who efficiently takes care of all your social media updates and marketing you better stay out of getting rolled up in too many social networking sites. You have every chance of loosing focus on content creation and hurt your source, your blog.

4) Is your online presence your day job or is it another source of income or an hobby?

If its your only source of income and you believe you have all the energy to put and also you think you can do just about anything to make your blog popular then you may think of joining more than five social sites. However, if you lack this kind of zeal and you have a day job to finish then this might not be the right thing for you to do. Too much will only spoil your online reputation not being able to keep all the sites updated.

It's important to find answers to all these questions before you decide to register your name or brand on all the social networking sites. There are many constraints that you may have to face in future and the biggest of them all is the time constraint. It is always better not to begin something you cannot manage rather than starting it and not being able to stick to your commitments. 

Social media presence is very important for any blogger to generate traffic and build audience for the blog. But trying on too many social networking sites may do more bad than doing any good. 

• Being on every other social site gets you easily distracted.
• As part of social media presence you also need to respond to your followers' comments and direct messages, think of your time.
• You are basically taking off your focus from your main job i.e. blogging.
• The more the number of social media sites you are active on the more the need to keep yourself abreast of latest happenings and inclusions to those sites. This can be good (if you blog about marketing and social media) or bad depending on your requirements.

Registering on some of the very popular networking sites which can almost be termed as Generic social sites is no doubt necessary. But my only advice is about choosing the right secondary or specific (as I would like to term it) social sites. Be picky before registering on any social media and stick to the type of social media which might have the right followers as your blog audience. 

If you are a beginner or if you are thinking of increasing your social media horizons then generic social sites are the best to start with. Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, StumbleUpon, etc are few such sites that you just cannot miss!

Do you believe in quantity over quality? How many of the social networking sites you are active on and which are they? Do tell us...

 

 

Image courtesy- www.freedigitalphotos.net 

   

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Benefits of Using Chatwing Chat Software as Primary Communication Tool

We are now in the communication era where information is the primary commodity. In media and the Internet, content is king. The advent of the World Wide Web has provided millions with a free and reliable platform to communicate. One of the most benefited sectors is business. Businesses can represent themselves on the Internet through websites and blogs. The challenge is how to reach more eyeballs and let more people know about your existence and the things you offer. It is important that you establish a professional and credible image backed up with sensible posts.

To be interesting, it is essential that you are sincerely interested with your target customers or web surfers. Interacting with them provides you and your business numerous advantages. A lot of free reliable communication tools are available on the net yet it is still important that we choose what to use or include in our website. Remember, the website represents you and your business, everything on the site must be in alignment with the image you are trying to project.

Real time interaction with other web users can be easily achieved using Chatwing chat software. Chatwing has consistently risen in rankings. More website owners are using it because of its simplicity and numerous useful features.

The dynamic chat widget comes in three styles. The regular shoutbox and pop-up window can both handle thousands of users while maintaining stability. Vanity URL on the other hand generates username and shortlinks to enable private chats among your selected chatters. You can set a discussion for many users that will help you gain insights about what the masses cares about at the moment or initiate a group chat among selected subjects for a more thorough market research.

Chatwing chat software has social media integration capacity that makes it accessible to Facebook and Twitter users, which are by the way millions across the globe. Social network expansion can be attained efficiently which will ensure you of consistent, if not increasing, traffic. Real time interaction with customers and non customers will give you an idea on what to include on your site or how to improve it to attract more visitors.

Chatwing’s customization capacity is ahead against other shoutboxes. Users can literally change every aspect of the chatbox to fit their sites’ theme. Its advanced modification features include image and MP3 link upload.

No matter how well designed or sensible your site is—as long as you don’t have an effective way to engage web visitors—expect that you will be at the losing end of the competition. 

Chatting widgets can be worth using on blogs and sites to keep your readers engaged and help yourself reduce the bounce rate (wink wink)! 

Are you using any of such widgets to provide the chatting facility to your readers? If yes, which is it and how do you think it has helped you?

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It's Not What You Learn, It's The Way That You Learn It is important

“Nothing you learn in school will ever be used in real life” is a common misunderstanding held by people who are educators. What most people do not understand is that it's not what you learn. It's how you learn it.

Few people will never need to know how a frog's body works, but studying frogs, teaches students about their own bodies. When throwing the winning touch down, the quarterback is not thinking about his physics homework. Yet if he did his physics homework, he knows how fast and at what arch to throw the ball to score. After graduation, no one will ever have to write an essay. However, from cover letters to insurance claims, adults have to write constantly. All that essay writing helps them write clearly.

What we learn in school give us the building blocks we need to throughout our lives. We learn to communicate clearly, calculate quickly and reason accurately. This is the point of all those sometimes fun, but usually boring lessons in school.

Image courtesy of Best Masters Degrees in Education

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Are You a Schizophrenic Writer?

When creating guest blogs it’s vital that you can put yourself into the lives of others.  Writing guest blogs is fine if you are writing for yourself.  You already have the stories to tell, understand what it means to you and others are interested in the same topics and relate to your target audience fully. However, sometimes you may not have time to spend creating the unique post, or you might find it difficult to express yourself with pen and paper. These are common problems in organizations of all sizes and industries, but that doesn’t mean you have to ignore this vital area of link building and marketing. 

Being Comfortable in Someone Else’s Skin

Copywriters have to have the ability to research, empathise and express their thoughts from the point of view of their client, or their audience. This isn’t an easy task for everyone to achieve. You can let thoughts and emotions stand in the way, some people find it hard to fully understand what it’s like to be in that position and therefore the post seems fake, forced and certainly won’t convince the reader that’s its genuine.

When you are working with copywriters you must ensure that the writers on the team are dedicated to your cause. In a way you are hiring actors and actresses who prepare for their part.  Each writer will need to completely understand the services or products you offer, be prepared to look into the personality traits of the target audience and write from that perspective. It’s impossible to do this without slipping into the right personality.

Personality Traits to Look For When Hiring Writers

So how do you know you are working with someone who is able to deliver the results you need? It can help to consider the following points to ensure you find the perfect team who will be able to deliver on their promises and ensure your posts are published in the appropriate places:

• Have they had experience in creating blog posts from the perspective of others?
• Are they prepared to do the research from all angles, including the company and the target audience and consumers?
• Will they be able to distribute the post to the right websites which will be off benefit to your optimization campaign and not damage your rankings?
• Will the sites the post is published on have the right type of reader who will be interested in the post and click through to your chosen web page?

Affordable and Beneficial to Your Organization

The great thing about this type of service is the multiple benefits they offer to businesses. Each post can include links back to your website; these links are useful in SEO. The more links you can obtain will help search engines to determine your worth, so it’s essential to have them placed on websites which are relative to your topics, keywords and businesses.  The other fantastic thing about them is the fact they are affordable for all businesses, even if you have a minimal marketing/SEO budget.

My Personality Disorder

As a writer I enjoy the experience of writing from the perspective of others. It gives me a chance to fully explore new areas in life, discover new products, new perspectives and sink my teeth into a new way of thinking. As a writer it’s my duty to involve myself fully into the assignment I have been given and ensure the client is left with positive results from the money they have invested in me as a copywriter. I get to play characters from a woman who is pregnant, to a man who loves playing games online, to a business that has been looking for that certain solution to an age old problem.  I get to be an actress and what’s even more satisfying is I am able to help people achieve their goals.

Guest blogging requires the skills of copywriters who have the ability to slip into character.  Hire copywriters who will ensure the post will be effective and genuine and deliver the results you need.

Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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