Making a Writer’s Job Easier

January 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When you are a writer for online marketing and business-promotion collaterals, you play a pivotal role in the success of getting the marketing message across to the site’s target audience. Fortunately, however, several online publishing tools are making a writer’s job easier. The key as a writer is to learn what these tools are and how you can use them to turn your job into a breeze and make your clients love your work even more.

Image via Flickr

Reaching Consumers Wherever They Are

Some of the best tools for writers are tools that allow them to reach a client’s customer wherever they are. One great example is the Foursquare Button for publishers. A location-based marketing campaign, this button is easily added to the website of a client or business.

When customers visit the site and click the button, the visitors subscribe to receiving updates. The key is that it adds the subscription to the subscriber’s mobile device so that the customer receives alerts about businesses, discounts, and special promotions from the businesses in the area where the customer is.

How did this tool redefine marketing?

For example, if a customer is shopping in the retail strip where a particular clothing store is running a 20 percent off special for Foursquare members, an alert appears on the screen of the mobile phone, informing the customer about the deal.

Talk about making a writer’s job easier, how much your clients will love you when you can easily boost their sales simply by adding a button to their website.

Establishing the Brand’s Online Presence

Writers should look for tools that make their job easier and at the same time, add value to the services they offer to their clients. SEO keyword research tools are another example on how you can make writing marketing copy easier. Conduct some research on keywords you should weave in to the copy you are writing for the client’s website, blog or online articles.

Building the Writer’s Credibility

Plagiarism scans are another simple and easy-to-use tool that can make a writer’s job easier. While it might not be your intention to copy or plagiarise, sometimes your original copy is too similar to an existing write-up in the Web. To ensure that this does not become a legal issue with the client, you should use an online scanner that helps you pinpoint any problem areas.

Proficient innovative tools help professional writers by making their writing job easier. When you find the tools you like and need, utilize them. You’ll be happier with your work and so will your clients.

 

 

Filed Under: Professional Writing Tagged With: , ,

Improving Your Blog’s Status Using Infographic Tools

December 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Image by Merve Menekşe at Flickr.

The Internet is getting more popular by the minute. Because of its popularity millions of people are creating blogs as a hobby and a way to supplement their income. Many college students are starting their own blog in hopes of earning extra money while in school. Students spend a lot of money on commuting back and forth, textbooks and food, and that extra income is helpful.

Now blog owners are looking for ways to increase their search engine rankings by using Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Many people often struggle with learning SEO and tracking how well their blog is doing.

It’s beneficial to anyone with a blog or website to use cool infographic tools to track their blog’s traffic. Thanks to these cool infographic tools you can fix any of the text or content on your blog to significantly improve your ranking on search engines. Anyone looking to make a good living off his or her blog will want to take advantage of that.

Study your Keywords

Keep an eye on the keywords you’re using in your blog. There are programs that allow you to highlight your usage on the keywords and keyword frequency. Infographic tools will analyze your keywords so you can see what keywords work and what keywords don’t. It’s important to make sure the keywords you’re using are relevant to the type of blogs you’re writing.

Examine your Content

Image by Merve Menekşe at Flickr.

Now that you’ve studied your keywords, the next step is to take a look at your keyword placement in your content. By using infographic tools for SEO purposes, you’re able to see your blogs the same way the search engine would. This is beneficial because it allows you to improve your keywords if you need to.

Find Related Words

You can use infographics tools to find related words in your content. These are two similar words that show up in a phrase together. You will also get the option to hide words like “to be.” Doing this lets you quickly see your dominant words that you’ve used in your content. Fix your content until the dominant words are your keywords.

Many people are turning to the Internet to earn an extra income. The biggest problem they face is learning how to really make money using different SEO techniques. By utilizing what cool infographics can do, anyone can quickly and easily boost their blog’s search engine rankings.

Like with college, it’s a matter of studying keywords, examining your content and making changes when needed to improve your ranking.

Filed Under: Blogging

Top Four Summer Reads

August 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Photo via Flickr (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/)

What’s better than a breezy summer day and a good book? Well, being on vacation on a breezy summer day with a good book certainly comes to mind, but not everyone gets to take a leisurely summer vacation from the dullness of daily life.  No matter where you are, though, books make for a fantastic “getaway.”

You probably have your personal favorites, but here’s a look at some of the summer’s best reads. You can find these books on eBay and in various retail stores. Pick up one (or a few), sit back, and let the escape begin!

The Storm At the Door, by Stefan Merrill Block
Great love stories are popular any time of year, and this book fits the bill as a great love story. Based on the author’s grandparents’ stories, the book is a compelling look at a love torn apart. Katherine Merrill loves her husband, Frederick, but he is becoming increasingly erratic. After an arrest, she realizes he must be committed to an asylum. The book goes between the perspectives of Frederick and Katherine, and the reader will rejoice in the ending.

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein
One of Starbucks’ summer picks is a wonderful novel told from a canine’s point of view. Some may find this approach to be a bit maudlin, cute and contrived, but the book is actually quite compelling in its story line. There’s love, marriage, children and heartbreak. Anyone who has ever loved a dog will surely enjoy this book.

Love the One You’re With, by Emily Giffin
Any hopeless romantic will tell you there’s always that question that lingers: “Have I really found ‘The One’?” This lovely book poses that question just as the main female character, who is supposedly happily married, runs into a former boyfriend. Because this ex is the epitome of the “bad boy” stereotype, readers will enjoy the ride.

Before I Go To Sleep: A Novel, by S.J. Watson
Summer thrillers are always worth the time, and several may find their way onto your reading list. However, this is the one you’ll remember. Christine, the main character, has a bit of a problem: She goes to sleep and forgets not only her name, but her identity, location and even who her spouse is. She uses a journal and her husband to help keep some details straight. The reader discovers that her husband may be harboring secrets from her. You’ll be torn between truth and fiction, real and the invented, which makes this a terrifying read.

Give yourself over to one of these books in a quiet corner and discover what it means to enjoy your summer!

Photo via Flickr (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en)

Filed Under: Books, Reading

The First Time of Edward Bass Producer

August 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Surviving of writers, producers, and directors in the film industry is either to back out or continue. There’s a big competition out there. It’s like survival of the fittest, but there are those who make it and continue forward such as Edward Bass, producer of independent films. He’s been in the industry for a long time. His patience and determination leads him to his first directorial debut. Few like him would not make it. Since he’s financed movies with big actors and big stories, you will not wonder why he continued his steps forward.

He is directing “Belle,” it’s a biopic about a famous female serial killer in America. He even used some Alfred Hitchcock techniques in making the film. It is his inspiration. He is using framed shots so that the emotions of the actors can be clearly seen, since the film is a psychological thriller. Edward Bass, producer of the film does not only limit himself to what everybody knows instead, he also sees to it that he uses his own creativity.

He wouldn’t have a hard time to be looking for actors and actresses since he’s worked with them. Big names such as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ashley Judd, Sharon Stone, Elijah Wood, are just some of the stars that he has worked with. Edward Bass producer of the films like “Bobby”, “While She Was Out”, “Slingshot”, “Chlorine”, and others are even viewed and acclaimed from those international film festivals. Most of them were nominated in the Toronto, Venice, Berlin, and Sundance Film Festivals. This is a big break for him to try and make a movie of his own. He was even nominated in the Golden Globe Awards.

Before he became a producer, he managed some personalities such as Ballerina and Boxer. The boxer was Caesar Chavez, noted as the highest boxer paid in the history of boxing. Edward Bass, producer also of some musical plays such as “Stardust” and “Great moments on Stage” is a talent that must be never be forgotten. He got his own ways of being creative and not being swallowed by fame. He chose independent films so that there would be freedom in what he wants to share to the world. There are different ways on how you should watch a film. He decided to do one because he knows that he can do it just like others who have been on the same path before. This is his passion. This is his art. He will continue to awe the audience in a different way and not just the usual.

Filed Under: Books

Write the way people like to read

July 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Apple iPhone User's Guide not User Guide

Image by IvanWalsh.com via Flickr

Plain writing or informal writing is the new-age writing style. Times have changed. People do not have lots of time to read. For those who can manage some time to read, they want something that is informal and easy to understand.

People like to read on the move. They might not get enough time to read at home. Travelling time is the best time for them to catch up on some reading. E-book readers satiate this need of people by providing a mobile platform that supplies them with thousand of books.

But at the end of the day, people want to read information that is written like you spoke it. Sometimes such a writing style might not adhere to rules of perfect English. But does anyone care? Is effectiveness more important?

Modern communication has gone through a lot of changes. Preferences of people have changed dramatically. They do not enjoy reading something that is esoteric and full of words that makes one run for a dictionary. They want to read information that is written plainly and purely.

Thus, the need of the hour is for writer to communicate interactively. The power of communication in such a way is so effective, that is can influence people in a positive way. Writers need not think of losing their ability to use the language flamboyantly. They can do such self-indulgence for a niche audience. But what about the mass audience?

Writer the way people like to read. When you write, speak to them through your words. Don’t just write to them.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer, Books Tagged With: , ,

Conducting an audience analysis before writing

July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Example of how to capture different Audience T...

Image by IvanWalsh.com via Flickr

Writers need to understand their audience before even attempting to write something. Audience analysis might sound frivolous and often a bit over-rated. But audience analysis is an important component of the writing process. It simplifies a writer’s objective on writing an informatory article.

What is audience analysis? Audience analysis is analyzing the tastes and preferences of a target audience to which the writer is writing for. It includes a set of parameters on which the writer will base the article on. The article’s writing style, information design, and presentation will depend on the results derived from the audience analysis.

Here’s how to perform an audience analysis.

Classify the audience

Who is the audience? Are they doctors, lawyers, truckers, chemists, hustlers…?

Knowledge

How much does the audience know about the subject? Are they totally unaware about the subject or do they have an intermediate knowledge on it? Or are they experts on the subject?

Demographics

What is the average age group of the audience? Where are most of them located? Which language do most of them speak? What food and clothing do they wear? How educated are they?

Interest

Why do I need to write for them? How can this help them? How will they help themselves with this? Do they even need this?

Medium

How do they read information? Do they read online, on print, or do they read at all?

Objectives

What is the expectation of the audience from the information you are writing for them.

Tailoring

How would I need to customize the content to meet their needs?

Filed Under: Blogging, Books Tagged With: , ,

The Necessity of Collaboration

July 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Hands collaborating in co-writing or co-editin... 

Image via Wikipedia

Writer’s block is an old enemy, and it strikes every writer at some point. No ideas flow, no new creativity abounds. For a writer to carry on his work, he has to get around the block and carry on. This is where collaboration comes in.

Bouncing ideas off someone else can get both your imagination and theirs working. With so many ideas flying around, chances are you’ll find one that gets the magic going again.   While some may shrink from the idea of sharing their work-in-progress with someone else, it really does help. A collaborator can give you suggestions, ask questions that point out issues that need to be addressed, and catch inconsistencies or errors.

Just as the picture shows, having multiple people work on a project can help move things along. Even if you want to retain a final say on the creative genius of the project, it can be beneficial to have others give you “what ifs?” to get your blocked mind going again.

Collaboration doesn’t have to be with another person in the room. Collaborate with authors and artists that you admire, by gaining inspiration from their work. Read a book you love or watch a movie. Go to an art museum, anything that will jar your mind and refill your empty tank of creative juices.

A famous author stated that writers don’t get blocked, they just get empty. You need to restock your mind’s shelves with creativity and imagination. Once you’ve done that, you can carry on to completion of your project.

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer, Books, Writing For Kids Tagged With: , ,

Reading is feeding. Why reading is a writer?s fodder.

July 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Ghost Writer

Image via Wikipedia

Many writers do not read. Yet they are writers. It is quite surprising. You might have heard plenty of stories of writers who have not even read a full book in their lives. The reasons for this are many.

Writers are by nature imaginative. Another writer’s imagination might invoke awe in a non-writer’s mind, but it might not do the same for a writer. Because it might seem ordinary. It’s almost like saying why Michael Jordan might consider a slam dunk by another basket-baller a normal thing, while it is awe-inspiring for the spectator.Certain writers also feel that reading the works of other writers might destroy their original writing style.

Most writers want to think originally. But this is wishful thinking. Although there are writers who are original in their writing approach, most writers in the world work on inspiration. In most cases, knowingly or unknowingly, it is another writer’s work.

Reading is a writer’s fodder. When a writer reads a variety of information and a variety of books from various authors, a writer will not be influenced by anyone. A common mistake writer’s make is when they become loyal to only one medium of information, and one author. They do not seem to like many information sources, or read many books from many authors.

To become a better writer, writers need to feed themselves with various influences. There is no harm in doing so. The only harm will be to not get exposed to what other writers are writing. This would be akin to living like a lone hermit in fool’s paradise.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer, Blogging Tagged With: , ,

Becoming a Better Writer

June 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The first page of a medieval print version of ...

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There are many ways to becoming a better writer. Like many things, not one set path gets you there. Determine what you want your goals to be, and then set out to accomplish them, not goals that someone else gives you. If an English professor is training you to become a reporter and you want to be a novelist, drop the class. Become the writer that you want to be.

Just like riding a bicycle, cooking, doing autopsies, or painting, writing takes practice. So practice!  Look for any opportunity to write, and do it. Are you in school? You get to write papers? Does your school have a newspaper? Go into their offices and say “I want to write for you.”  Look online. With the Internet revolution, websites after website has to have content on each page, and they need someone to write all of that. There are plenty of organizations that hire content writers and provide them with work online, or you can approach companies alone and offer your services. Writing never goes out of style.

Writing is how we communicate, and the human race will never need to communicate less, quite the opposite in fact, it needs to improve. And as a writer, you get to help the rest of us improve!

Practice, practice, practice. Take advice from others, but remember that you get to set the rules for your writing education and how you go about doing what you do.  So go and do it!

 

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer, Books, Writing For Kids Tagged With: , ,

Making your Blog Post more Research Focused

June 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

No one can deny that the blogosphere is becoming increasingly crowded and competitive as each day passes.

Blogging is now a lucrative career for many people and a great career-starter for others. With new bloggers adding their voices to the blogosphere each day, how can you be sure your voice gets heard? One way is to make your blog posts well-researched so your readers trust your authoritative voice.

Here are some ways to make your blog post more research focused.

Use Your Credentials and Personal Experience

You started your blog because you had something to say about the subject. What makes you eligible to write about that topic? Make sure you have your credentials clearly listed on your blog. People are more likely to listen to a food writer who was classically trained in a culinary program or a photography blogger who regularly shoots for magazines.

Have you been published on your subject?

Do you have applicable education or life experience?

Incorporate it into your blog.

Well-researched posts don’t have to rely on book knowledge or scholarly articles. Your personal experience is just as important and it’s nice to have a mix of the two. Feel free to share personal experience, advice, anecdotes, or opinions. This will let your readers know that you not only know about your topic, but you’ve experienced it too.

Don’t be Afraid of Research

Don’t think of research as a dull afternoon in a dark library with a stack of dusty books. “Research” doesn’t mean ten-page term papers and dry, lifeless writing. It means learning about your topic. Though your local library is likely stocked with books about your blog topic, there are plenty of online research tools that allow you to access a world of research and references without ever leaving home. Better yet, online research tools let you quickly access the most current information available.

Use Pictures, Graphs, Charts, and Illustrations

Online readers despise giant walls of text. Break it up a little with pictorial illustrations. As an added benefit, images can make you seem even more credible and well-read. Don’t throw in off-topic charts just to make your posts look better, however; make sure your images have just as much to say on the topic as you do. When you’re adding images make sure you’re following laws and not accidentally ‘stealing’ photos.

Get Out and Do Your Own Research

If you can’t find any research about your intended topic, don’t give up. Take an active stand and do the legwork yourself. Create surveys to poll public opinion. Get out and interview people in your field or your community. Doing your own research will prove to your readers that you’re actively involved and interested in your chosen topic – you’re not just regurgitating the research of others.

Research is one of the best ways to generate new ideas for blog posts. What are your favorite go-to research tools?

Focusing on research is a great way to gain new readers to your blog. How will you boost your blog’s ratings with research techniques?

 

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , ,
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