I've been so busy defending HubPages from being thought a scam that I've neglected Constant-Content, which some writers have found great success with, and which others have been unhappy with or not had massive success with. Having just received notification that I recently sold a $125 article (of which I got about $80 as my cut), I've begun to renew my excitement with this article writing website. I should say first, though, that I think I understand why Constant-Content might be thought to be a scam.
Search for Writing Resources
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Humor and Puns: I Must Have Bad Comma
Every once in a while, I feel the need to write something that's just purely pun--er, fun. Recently I had a death in my family. According to our family tradition, tragedy goes hand in hand with comedy. When someone close to us dies, we use humor to help us deal with it.
So I thought for a break I'd post this piece that my husband and I worked on together. Last year, we sent it in to the Reader's Digest black hole that is their submission pool and it got sucked in, never to return.
So here it is, for the enjoyment of writers and editors everywhere. If you know somebody who would appreciate our rather silly style of humor, send them a link to this page.
So I thought for a break I'd post this piece that my husband and I worked on together. Last year, we sent it in to the Reader's Digest black hole that is their submission pool and it got sucked in, never to return.
So here it is, for the enjoyment of writers and editors everywhere. If you know somebody who would appreciate our rather silly style of humor, send them a link to this page.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
How to Hire Writers for Web Content Work: Outsourcing Tips
Outsourcing writing jobs is on the rise as Internet marketers become more and more specialized and their projects larger. If you are interested in hiring freelance writers because you have a great idea for a money-making website, but not the time to write all the content you need, your biggest problem isn't going to be finding writers--they're everywhere. Your biggest problem is finding quality writers who can write the Web content you need. Here are tips from a freelance writer to help you make sure you hire the right freelance writers for your job.
Professional Writers or Amateur?
Seek writers who are actual professional freelance writers. That sounds funny, but the truth is that many people are hiring themselves out as writers who are not well qualified. They're lacking in grammatical skills, they're out for a quick buck, or they simply copy what other people are writing.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire Writers?
You'll be surprised by how cheap are the services of writers on the Web. The Internet has changed the pricing structure for write-to-hire work: because writers don't need to spend long hours pursuing leads, they can charge less.
But the old adage that "you buy what you pay for" remains in effect. Due to increasing unemployment and newfangled online opportunities, some individuals are turning to writing Web content who never wrote anything more professional than rough school papers. Some people--both native English speakers and non-native speakers--lack facility with the rules of standard English. The result? The cheap writers often produce bad work that ultimately is no bargain. The good writers may start cheap, but they soon learn to charge more for the good work they produce. The excellent writers may be unaffordable. But for your standard Web content, you don't need excellent writers. Just competent.
For Web content writing, you needn't pay top dollar for professional-quality writing. But if you're offering under $5 for a 500-word article, you're far less likely to receive quality work than if you offer $15 or more.
Recognizing Quality
It's not always easy to recognize a good writer, let alone one who can write the content you need. When a portfolio looks impressive and the price is right, you may be eager to buy. Wait. Read writing samples. Specifically, read samples of the kind of work for which you'll be hiring. Is the writing clear? Would it sell to you, if you were a customer?
Especially if you're hiring writers for "keyword writing"--my term for text that centers around a keyword instead of a topic--then make sure the writer produces articles that don't sound as though they were written for search engines. Which brings me to...
Hire Writers Who Know Writing, Not Just Fancy SEO Tricks
Lastly, seek writers who write for humans. Why? Actually, because of ranking. Yes, of course the writer should have strong SEO (search engine optimization) skills and know all the white-hat techniques for driving search engine traffic to your pages. But your search engine rankings hinge largely on how readable your content is. If it's not well-organized, clearly written or grammatically correct, it's on its way out of the ranks.
It boils down to this: Outsourcing writing jobs takes its own special kind of talent. Whether you're a writer yourself or just want to hire a freelancer, you'll need to become proficient at recognizing a good freelance writer when you find one. You certainly don't want to spend the money to outsource, only to find you need to rewrite the darn thing, anyway.
Copyright Nerd Writer Mom
Professional Writers or Amateur?
Seek writers who are actual professional freelance writers. That sounds funny, but the truth is that many people are hiring themselves out as writers who are not well qualified. They're lacking in grammatical skills, they're out for a quick buck, or they simply copy what other people are writing.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire Writers?
You'll be surprised by how cheap are the services of writers on the Web. The Internet has changed the pricing structure for write-to-hire work: because writers don't need to spend long hours pursuing leads, they can charge less.
But the old adage that "you buy what you pay for" remains in effect. Due to increasing unemployment and newfangled online opportunities, some individuals are turning to writing Web content who never wrote anything more professional than rough school papers. Some people--both native English speakers and non-native speakers--lack facility with the rules of standard English. The result? The cheap writers often produce bad work that ultimately is no bargain. The good writers may start cheap, but they soon learn to charge more for the good work they produce. The excellent writers may be unaffordable. But for your standard Web content, you don't need excellent writers. Just competent.
For Web content writing, you needn't pay top dollar for professional-quality writing. But if you're offering under $5 for a 500-word article, you're far less likely to receive quality work than if you offer $15 or more.
Recognizing Quality
It's not always easy to recognize a good writer, let alone one who can write the content you need. When a portfolio looks impressive and the price is right, you may be eager to buy. Wait. Read writing samples. Specifically, read samples of the kind of work for which you'll be hiring. Is the writing clear? Would it sell to you, if you were a customer?
Especially if you're hiring writers for "keyword writing"--my term for text that centers around a keyword instead of a topic--then make sure the writer produces articles that don't sound as though they were written for search engines. Which brings me to...
Hire Writers Who Know Writing, Not Just Fancy SEO Tricks
Lastly, seek writers who write for humans. Why? Actually, because of ranking. Yes, of course the writer should have strong SEO (search engine optimization) skills and know all the white-hat techniques for driving search engine traffic to your pages. But your search engine rankings hinge largely on how readable your content is. If it's not well-organized, clearly written or grammatically correct, it's on its way out of the ranks.
It boils down to this: Outsourcing writing jobs takes its own special kind of talent. Whether you're a writer yourself or just want to hire a freelancer, you'll need to become proficient at recognizing a good freelance writer when you find one. You certainly don't want to spend the money to outsource, only to find you need to rewrite the darn thing, anyway.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Outsourcing: The Dirty Little Secret of Freelance Writers on Revenue Share Sites Like Hubpages
We freelance writers will get accused either of writing for love or writing for money. Either way, in the words of Rodney Dangerfield, we don't get no respect. If you write for love, you're poor as a dog. If you write for money, your following rarely gives you credit for your talents. Still, the award to least respected goes to those who present others' writing as their own. No, I'm not talking about plagiarism. I'm talking about professional marketers who outsource. On the HubPages forum recently, a thread on "Hubbers" who outsource raged. Some people defended outsourcing and others reviled it. Some people actually used it--they bought content from other writers.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Amazon Associates Cut Off in North Carolina, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Other States: Why This is Bad for the Economy
Recently, states such as New York, North Carolina, Hawaii, Rhode Island, California, and others have introduced tax law legislation that would cause large retailers such as Amazon.com and Overstock.com to charge sales tax on interstate sales made from Associates' website links. (The "Associates" program is so-named to distinguish Associates from Amazon's official affiliates, but is colloquially referred to by publishers as an affiliate program.) In reaction, Amazon and Overstock have been closing their Associates programs in the states where the bills are likely to pass (though today there's word that Overstock reversed the California and Hawaii decision) opting to orphan their Associates in those states rather than succumb to paying the tax.
Popular opinion on these changes has been divided.
Popular opinion on these changes has been divided.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Toddlers and Fathers: Heartwarming Love That Warms the Hands, Too.
The child! The child! Yes, for all you artsy types, this is indeed a reference to Kurtz's exclamation in Conrad's Heart of Darkness, "The horror! The horror!" It began around the time that creature that y'all know as The Toddler discovered the joy of the outdoors. First he learned to go down the porch stairs backward on his belly, then he learned to go up them--not that he used the second talent much. He was all about staying out there on the front lawn, going up and down the path exclaiming like a mad thing and hollering as a beast wounded whenever we tried to pick him up and bring him inside. And heaven forbid we take away his stick while doing it.
It was a warm evening. The air was crisp and fresh, the Pacific Northwestern sky clear for a change. The Toddler was running to and fro down the path, waving his stick and hollering triumphantly whenever he stooped to pick up something interesting.
It was a warm evening. The air was crisp and fresh, the Pacific Northwestern sky clear for a change. The Toddler was running to and fro down the path, waving his stick and hollering triumphantly whenever he stooped to pick up something interesting.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
HubPages and EHow: Legit Revenue Sharing Model, No Scam
When I first started writing Web content last fall, I guessed sites like eHow and HubPages were scams. Write articles on whatever you want and earn ad revenue on them? Real moolah? Money that actually gets deposited into your PayPal account? What I've learned since then is that they're not scams.
I've been on eHow for nine months and on HubPages for about one month [note: August 8, 2009 update--I've been on HubPages now for 4 months and it's still the most profitable revenue sharing site for me.]
I've been on eHow for nine months and on HubPages for about one month [note: August 8, 2009 update--I've been on HubPages now for 4 months and it's still the most profitable revenue sharing site for me.]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Assembling a Writer's Toolchest
Posts
