Posts Tagged ‘writing’
by Jonathan Bailey on January 11th, 2012
Almost every blogger wants to improve their writing and no blogger is perfect at it. However, the only way to truly get better at writing is to either keep working at it, writing every day for years on end, or to study it intensely in a classroom.
But if you don’t have time to either go back to school or wait for practice to improve your work, there are actually a few things you can do right now, in a matter of minutes, that can drastically improve the quality of your writing.
So, if you’re looking to create better written blog posts tomorrow, here are just a few things you can try to help spruce up and clean out your blog writing habits. Read More
Categories: Blogging Tips
Tags: blogging, editing, editor, improve writing, writing
by Jonathan Bailey on December 28th, 2011
It’s getting to be that time of year: The holidays are done, the calendar is preparing to roll over to a new year and everyone is looking for a fresh start. Even if 2011 was a great year, upon reflection, there is always room for improvement and the New Year, though really just another date, is a powerful moment psychologically and a great chance to start.
So, whether, you’re looking to get in shape, save money or start a new hobby with the new year, you may want to look at adding a few resolutions aimed at helping you grow your blog and online presence.
Best of all, these are resolutions that are simple and easy to keep, meaning that they may stick around long after you’ve abandoned some of you other well-intended changes.
So, if you’re looking for easy ways to improve your site in 2012, here are just a few suggestions you can commit to right now. Read More
Categories: Blogging Tips
Tags: blog editing, blog promotion, blog writing, editing, new years, new years resolutions, writing
by James Dunaway on December 12th, 2011
One of the questions which many online copywriters ask themselves is whether they should keep on writing for other people’s sites and get paid for it or start to write on their own sites which they could make money from.
It isn’t a question which can be answered with a quick and simple “yes†or “noâ€, so here are some of the points to consider.
Easy Money?
If you are a good, fast writer then you can make a reasonable living from writing for other people. You might never become a millionaire from it but if you want a steady, fairly predictable wage then you get it this way. With your own site things aren’t quite so clear cut, as your earnings could vary greatly from nothing at all to a lot of money. If you like the idea of striking it rich with a huge income then you might like to give your site a go, but it you are happy with safe and steady then copywriting as a job is probably good enough. Read More
Categories: Blogging Tips
Tags: blogs, Freelance Writing, online, seo copywriting, writing
by Jonathan Bailey on October 5th, 2011
It’s a day that every blogger dreads. You wake up and, though you feel pretty good, you don’t really feel like blogging. Maybe you feel like working on your car, going for a walk or simply doing something else. No matter what though, you know you definitely don’t want to sit down and write a blog entry.
It’s a terrible feeling because it’s the moment where we watch our blog, something we most likely started because it was fun or something we were passionate about, go from being a joy in our lives to a burden.
Though the first time it happens, the feeling is probably only temporary, it’s a defining moment for you and your site. Furthermore, it’s a warning of what might be around the corner. Sadly, this feeling of loathing is one of the most common causes of blogging abandonment and what winds up killing a lot of great blogs.
So how do you prevent your blog from becoming just another job that you loathe? Keeping the passion alive isn’t easy, but it’s critical for the long-term success of your site. Read More
Categories: Blogging Tips
Tags: blogging, content, excitement, fun, Guest Blogging, Passion, writing
by Jonathan Bailey on March 30th, 2011
It can be easy to forget that the Web is a truly international phenomenon and that people visit and view our sites from every continent and from all over the world.
While this is a truly amazing thing as it means that our message and our information can, quite literally, spread all across the globe in the blink of an eye, not everyone comes to your site with the same mindset and background. In fact, every person who approaches your site brings with them their cultural, personal, political and even religious background.
This means that, even if we completely ignore or overcome the language barriers that exist on the Web, no two people read the same piece of content the same way. Everything we read is colored by our background and the same holds true for each of the other 6 billion people on the planet.
This can create a very serious problem. What might be simply hilarious to you and your friends could be brazingly offensive to someone in another country. While this might be fine if you’re trying to be somewhat offensive with your humor, it can be disastrous if you’re trying to get information across or win people over to your viewpoint.
This alone makes cultural differences and important problem to be aware of and a pitfall that is critical to avoid.
Read More
Categories: General
Tags: blogging, culture, international, multiculturalism, offensive, respect, sensitivity, writing
by Jonathan Bailey on January 5th, 2011
Nearly every blogger has had this experience. You fall ill, go on vacation or otherwise miss a day or two of posting and then come back to a serious mess. With so much to catch up on, only 24 hours in the day and a workload that could crush any mortal, many either just give up or cut corners.
The problem is that, as bloggers, we tend to expect too much of ourselves, we anticipate being able to run at 100% all of the time and, when we can’t for whatever reason, we put ourselves in a position where we have to do more than is physically possible to get caught back up.
This leads to a case of blogging overload, trying to do too much with too little time and too little resources. It’s one of the most avoidable crises in a blogger’s experience but one of the more deadly. After all, when one finds themselves in a situation where they have to do more than is physically possible, they have to make sacrifices that will negatively impact their writing in one way or another.
And these are sacrifices no blogger should ever have to make. Read More
Categories: General
Tags: blogging, deadlines, overload, pressure, schedule, scheduling, stress, writing
by Jonathan Bailey on September 1st, 2010
At the end of the day, the most basic activity a blogger must do is write.
While it is true that bloggers are, with good reason, expending more and more into video and audio, at some point every blogger is going to have to write something. It might be a description, a bio or even just an advertisement but, at some point, a every blogger is going to have to put words onto paper.
But not every writer has the heart of a poet or the writing skills of a hard-hitting journalists. Bloggers come from all different backgrounds and styles and many have had little training or experience with writing prior to starting up their blog.
The good news is that you don’t need to be the next Shakespeare to be an effective and popular blogger, in many ways it helps not to be, but you do have to be able to write clearly and in a way that is engaging to your reader. It may not require a Ph.D in literature, but it does require that you work on honing your craft and make your writing as good as possible.
Failure to do so can sink an otherwise great blog and make your previous hard work a complete waste of time.
Read More
Categories: Blogging Tips, Blogging: How To, General
Tags: blogging, Blogging Pitfalls, copyediting, copywriting, editing, writing
by Cassie Emelia on May 20th, 2010
If you’ve written or blogged for at least a few months, you know that inspiration comes and goes. It’s not always lack of ideas that stop you from getting that next blog post out — often it’s having too many ideas and having doubts about what to write. Here are a few tips to spark some blogging inspiration, that have worked for me in the past.
Scanning For Ideas
The first step is scan for sources of ideas. Yeah, I know that I said you might have too many ideas, but we’ll take care of that in the next section.
- Scan the blogosphere. The first thing I usually do to start a blogging day is check my favorite aggregators and portals. I like to use Techmeme, Alltop, YourVersion, Google Reader. Depending on the niche that I’m blogging, I might check other similar tools or have my own custom aggregators that I’ve built in WordPress. Read More
Categories: Blogging Tips
Tags: Inspiration, performancing, Sources, writing
by Andrew G. Rosen on May 18th, 2010
One of the things I love about writing is that I can do it from anywhere. Whether I’m perched atop the Himalayas or laying poolside in Vegas, all I need is a pen and paper and a money-making creative purge is right around the corner. That’s a sexy thought, one that has spawned many people to consider blogging as a full-time career as office life dies a slow death.
As I write this post I am looking out on a calm river and swan-laden pond. The majestic green trees are punching through the blue sky and the peaceful sound of nearby waterfalls have lulled me into a Zen-like state.
The words are flowing.
All is right with the world.
Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Read More
Categories: Blogging Tips
Tags: blogging, Outdoors, writing
by James Dunaway on April 16th, 2010
This is a guest entry by Pamela Ferdinand, a Chicago-based journalist and co-author of the triple memoir “Three Wishes: A True Story of Good Friends, Crushing Heartbreak, and Astonishing Luck on Our Way to Love and Motherhood”
I never thought I would be a blogger. Then again, I never thought I would write a memoir. I’m too private, too much of a journalist trained in the school of Objectivity where you keep your opinions and thoughts to yourself. Republican? Democrat? Jewish? Christian? Pro-life? Pro-choice? I never told.
Hah. Here I am, memoir co-author and blogger. Joke’s on me.
For years, I covered natural disasters and political debacles as a reporter for some of the nation’s leading daily newspapers. I loved it, and am saddened to see what has happened to many of the publications and people who worked so hard to deliver the news — the real news, with depth, substance, and style. For years, people from all walks of life told me their stories, and the whole time, I kept my mouth shut about myself. Read More
Categories: Blogging Sense, Guest Posts
Tags: blogging, Personal, writing
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