• Run-on sentences can muddle your message.
• Two distinct thoughts without proper separation signify a run-on.
• Semicolons, periods, and conjunctions with commas can correct run-ons.
• Software tools such as Grammarly and ProWritingAid help identify run-ons.
• Run-on sentences can be used intentionally in literature for stylistic effects.

From misplacing modifiers to confusing “their,” “there,” and “they’re,” the English language is riddled with pitfalls waiting to trip up even the most vigilant writer. While some errors might slide by unnoticed, others have a knack for muddling messages, leaving readers lost in a maze of words. Among the most notorious of these errors is the run-on sentence. 

What’s a Run-On Sentence?

At first, the term “run-on sentence” might sound like a sentence that’s simply too long. But length isn’t the core issue. What matters is how you construct the sentence and how ideas are connected — or, more accurately, disconnected.

A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses (thoughts that can stand alone as separate sentences) join without appropriate punctuation or a coordinating conjunction and comma. 

Identifying Run-On Sentences

Two common types of run-on sentences include fused sentences and comma splices. A fused sentence occurs when you combine two independent clauses without punctuation or connecting words. 

Example: “She was hungry she ordered pizza.”

A comma splice happens when two independent clauses are linked by only a comma, which isn’t enough to provide a proper break. 

Example: “I love reading novels, they transport me to another world.” 

The Problems With Run-On Sentences

Run-on sentences are the party crashers of the grammar world. They barge in uninvited and disrupt your narrative flow. They muddle the message and make it difficult for eager readers to follow.

Common Triggers for Run-Ons

Run-on sentences often rear their messy heads when writers are overly enthusiastic, trying to convey a rush of ideas without pausing for breath or, in literary terms, without proper punctuation. Another culprit is the mistaken belief that short sentences are choppy, leading some to cram too much into a single sentence in pursuit of flow. Lack of understanding about the proper use of punctuation, especially commas and semicolons, also plays a role. 

Correcting Run-On Sentences

You can correct run-on sentences with a few grammatical strategies:

• Periods: The most straightforward way to correct a run-on is to break it into separate sentences using periods. Take “She loves chocolate it’s her favorite snack.” It can be corrected as: “She loves chocolate. It’s her favorite snack.”
• Semicolons: Semicolons serve as a soft break, connecting two related thoughts:  “I wanted to join the gym; I didn’t have enough money.” 
• Conjunctions: Coordinating conjunctions are invaluable when indicating a specific relationship between ideas. Just remember to precede them with a comma. For instance, “I love the rain, but I forgot my umbrella.” 

Tools and Strategies for Prevention

Catching and correcting run-on sentences is a skill that can be honed with time and practice. Here are some tips to help you self-review and avoid these grammatical culprits:

• Read aloud: Sometimes, the ear can catch what the eye misses. Reading your work aloud lets you hear the natural pauses in sentences and discover where run-ons may exist.
• Look for clues: Look for spots where two independent ideas are presented. You might have a run-on if there’s no proper punctuation or conjunction between them.

Several software tools and platforms can help identify run-on sentences:

• Grammarly
• ProWritingAid
• Microsoft Editor 

The Subtle Art of Sentence Joining

Advanced punctuation, such as em dashes and semicolons, provides writers with nuanced ways to weave sentences together, giving prose a richer texture.

The semicolon, a mark often seen as sophisticated in its application, connects closely related independent clauses; it functions as a soft bridge between thoughts that could stand alone as sentences but share a thematic bond.

Example: “The sun set behind the mountains; a deep crimson hue painted the sky.” 

The em dash offers a dramatic pause and is often used for emphasis or clarification. 

Example: “The door creaked open slowly — she held her breath, not knowing what she might find inside.”

Run-On Sentences in Literature and Style

Authors in literature may intentionally use run-on sentences as a stylistic choice to achieve specific literary effects. Here are a few scenarios where run-ons might be deliberate:

• Stream of consciousness: James Joyce’s Ulysses contains run-ons to create a sense of immediacy and intimacy with the character’s thoughts.
• Rhythmic flow: In On the Road, Jack Kerouac uses long, flowing sentences to mirror the frenetic pace of the narrative.
• Emotional intensity: Run-ons can convey a sense of emotional intensity, as seen in the works of authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby. 

Some authors manage to construct entire novels without a single period. The Other Name, one of three volumes in Jon Fosse’s Septology, is one drawn-out narrative. Despite the occasional question mark or comma, the entire volume evades periods — even within the dialogue. 

Closing the Book on Run-Ons: A Clearer Path Ahead

Remember, mastering the art of clear writing takes time, but it’s worth it. Keep polishing your grammar, get cozy with punctuation, and fine-tune your sentence structure. By doing this, you boost the quality of your writing and allow your message to shine through. Get more tips on proofreading, or find out how Crowd Content can help you with your editing needs.

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• Commas originated from Ancient Greece and are essential for clarifying sentence flow and meaning.
• Commas serve varied roles, from separating list items to indicating introductory elements and nonrestrictive clauses.
• Regional variations, especially in numbers, require careful attention to ensure accurate communication.
• Direct speech, dates, and addresses often utilize commas for structure and clarity.
• While commas can enhance writing, overindulgence can lead to complicated sentences. 

The comma, seemingly simple, carries a rich history. Hailing from Ancient Greece, it initially guided readers and orators through long texts, indicating rhythm and breath. Today, its role has expanded as an essential tool in shaping sentence flow and meaning. Mastering how to use commas isn’t just a matter of grammar; it’s also the key to unlocking clear communication. Let’s look at how you can use commas to polish your prose and prevent misunderstandings.

Basic Principles of Commas

Commas guide readers through a sentence and highlight essential information. They segment and organize, much like traffic signals on a bustling street, while ensuring readers navigate the writer’s thoughts without collisions or confusion.

Are commas “breathing points” in writing?

Often, people equate commas with spoken pauses. While this analogy holds some truth, it’s not entirely accurate. Not every spoken pause demands a comma, and not all commas represent long pauses. 

Commas in Lists

When listing items in a sentence, commas act like separators, ensuring each item has its spotlight. For instance, if you’re listing your favorite fruits, you may write, “I love apples, bananas, and grapes.” Notice how the commas give each fruit its own space so none feel left out?

The Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, is a comma that appears right before the “and” or “or” in a list of three or more items. The debate around its use is lively. Advocates for the Oxford comma argue it provides clarity, especially in complex lists where omitting it might lead to ambiguity. On the other hand, critics find it unnecessary and believe clear writing shouldn’t require it. The Chicago Manual of Style adheres to its use, while the Associated Press Stylebook is fond of its absence. Different style guides have different rules about their use, so always check to see what’s required.

Commas and Independent Clauses

Commas with conjunctions can either be your best friends or sneaky troublemakers. Here’s when to roll out the red carpet for them and when to show them the door:

• Two independent clauses: If you’re joining two independent clauses (those that can stand alone as separate sentences) with a conjunction like “and,” “but,” “or,” “for,” “so,” or “yet,” you should use a comma.
  • Example: “I wanted to buy the dress, but it was too expensive.”

• Dependent and independent clauses: No comma is needed if the conjunction joins an independent and a dependent clause (a clause that cannot stand alone).
  • Example: “She’ll attend the meeting and share her insights.”

The dreaded comma splice

A comma splice occurs when you connect two independent clauses with only a comma without an appropriate conjunction. In other words, it’s when a comma tries to do more heavy lifting than it should — rather than delegating this job to a semicolon or an em dash.

Example: It’s raining outside, I forgot my umbrella.

Here’s how you fix it.

• Use a period: “It’s raining outside. I forgot my umbrella.”
• Use a semicolon: “It’s raining outside; I forgot my umbrella.”
• Add a conjunction: “It’s raining outside, and I forgot my umbrella.”
• Use a subordinating conjunction: “Although it’s raining outside, I forgot my umbrella.”
• Use an em dash: “It’s raining outside — I forgot my umbrella.”

Commas With Introductory Elements

Commas often follow introductory elements in a sentence as smooth transitions to the main message. These elements may include: 

• Single words such as “however”
  • Example: “Surprisingly, he won the race.”
• Prepositional phrases such as “in the early morning”
  • Example: “Before eating, the children said grace.” 
• Dependent clauses such as “if it rains tomorrow”
  • Example: “When we go to the store, let’s pick up carrots.” 

However, there are some exceptions.

• Adverbial infinitives: Infinitive phrases (like “to watch”) that act as the sentence subject don’t need a comma.
  • Example: “To watch the sunrise was his favorite activity.”
• Infinitive phrases that follow independent clauses: If you tack an infinitive phrase on the end of an independent clause, no comma is needed.
  • Example: “You skipped class to arrive home on time.” 

Some writers might omit the comma in the interest of flow, especially with shorter introductions, while others might include it for clarity.

Commas and Nonrestrictive Clauses

Restrictive elements are vital to a sentence’s core meaning and don’t need commas. For instance, in the sentence “People who love chocolate will enjoy this,” specifying who loves chocolate is key. Nonrestrictive elements offer supplementary information and are enclosed with commas. Take the example, “My sister, who loves chocolate, will enjoy this.” Here, the detail about loving chocolate is merely a bonus.

Commas With Direct Speech and Quotations

When incorporating direct speech or quotations into your writing, commas act as gatekeepers, guiding readers between the spoken words and the narrative. When introducing a quote, you place a comma before the opening quotation mark.

Example: She said, “Life is beautiful.”

If the spoken words introduce the quote, the comma falls inside the closing quotation mark.

Example: “It’s a sunny day,” remarked Tom. 

When a quotation is broken up, commas separate the spoken words.

Example:  “Remember,” he whispered, “to always be kind.”

Now, mixing quotes with other punctuation, such as periods or question marks, can be a tad tricky. If the whole sentence asks something, the question mark stays outside the quotation marks. 

Example: Did she say, “Life is beautiful”? 

But if the quote’s the question, it stays inside.

Example: “Is life beautiful?” 

Commas With Dates, Addresses, and Titles

Navigating the world of dates, addresses, and titles? Commas save the day. When jotting down a full date, use a comma between the day and year, such as “July 4, 1776.” If the date appears in the middle of a sentence, a second comma should follow after the year. If you’re including the day of the week, throw in another comma: “Friday, July 4, 1776.”

Pop a comma between the city and state for addresses: “Orlando, Florida.” And if that address sneaks into the middle of a sentence? Cap it with another comma: “She moved to Orlando, Florida, last year.” 

For names followed by titles, let commas do the introduction: “Jane Doe, PhD” or “Robert Smith, Esq.” 

Commas in Numbers

In most forms of English writing, commas are used in numbers larger than 999 to improve readability by grouping every three digits to the right of the decimal together. For example, “1,000” or “1,000,000” is the standard format.

In many European countries and regions, adhering to the International System of Units, the formatting conventions are different. In this case, periods separate thousands, and commas indicate decimal points. So, you would write ten thousand as “10.000,00” instead of the American English format of “10,000.00.”

Avoiding Overuse: The Comma Overkill

In your quest for clarity, you might sprinkle commas a tad too liberally, resulting in sentences that stutter more than flow. If you punctuate every few words or your sentences have more pauses than a dramatic actor’s monologue, you might be in comma overload territory.

To work around this, read your work aloud. If you stumble or take too many breaths, it’s time to reassess. Consider merging related ideas, rephrasing for simplicity, or letting some of those commas go.

Common Comma Misconceptions and Pitfalls

Commas, while small, are mighty — and surrounded by a fair share of myths. As we touched on earlier, the notion of commas as “breathing points” is a common but oversimplified misconception. 

Other pitfalls include the misuse of commas in complex sentences. A common error is the comma splice, where commas incorrectly link independent clauses without a conjunction. Alternatively, failing to use commas in compound sentences can take away from the intended meaning. Proper comma placement is essential for effective communication.

From Tricky to Triumphant: Your Journey With Commas

Commas might seem small, but they’re crucial for concise writing. They ensure your sentences communicate exactly what you mean. Sometimes, commas can be tricky, but with practice, anyone can get the hang of them. 

The post Pause for Thought: How to Use Commas in Writing appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

• Understanding the difference between active and passive voice can significantly improve your writing.
• Active voice is clear and direct and keeps your reader engaged.
• Passive voice is valuable when the action is more important than the actor or when the actor is unknown.
• Misuse or overuse of either voice can confuse or disinterest your readers.
• Switching appropriately between active and passive voice gives depth and variety to your writing.

Welcome to the world of grammar. Today, we’re diving into the age-old debate: active vs. passive voice. Now, don’t yawn just yet! This isn’t some dusty textbook lecture. Understanding this crucial distinction is akin to unlocking the last level in a video game or finally mastering your grandma’s secret lasagna recipe.

What’s All This Voice Business About Anyway?

‘Voice’ in grammar is about the relationship between a sentence’s subject and verb. It either makes your subject the star of the show (active voice) or the understudy (passive voice) by letting the action lead. So, strap in, and let’s navigate the linguistic landscape of active and passive voice together.

Breaking Down Voice in Grammar

When it comes to grammar, ‘voice’ is the term used to describe how a sentence presents the action. Think of it as a movie director deciding where to point the camera. In an active voice, the spotlight is on the subject—the doer of the action. In a passive voice, the camera pans to the object—what’s being done.

Active Voice: Your Story’s Leading Star

In the active voice, the subject takes center stage and is the star of your sentence, owning the action and making the sentence direct, clear, and robust.

Characteristics and Examples

Active voice is like the main character in a movie—it takes center stage and carries the plot forward. The subject of the sentence performs the action. For instance, consider the sentence, “John baked the cake.” John, our protagonist, is actively baking, making this an active voice sentence.

Why Active Voice Deserves an Oscar

Using the active voice in your writing brings clarity and directness that guides your reader through the sentence. It helps them easily understand who is doing what, making the message comprehensible. The active voice adds an engaging element, inviting the reader to experience and actively take part in the action, thus creating a more immersive reading experience.

Passive Voice: The Underestimated Supporting Actor

Passive voice brings the action—not the subject—to the forefront of the stage.

Characteristics and Examples

Passive voice is the underrated sidekick in our grammar saga. Here, the action happens to the subject. In the sentence, “The cake was baked by John,” the cake takes center stage—it’s being acted upon. The attention of the sentence transitions from John to the cake, rendering it in the passive voice.

When Passive Voice Steals the Show

Sometimes, the passive voice deserves to be in the limelight. It can be helpful when the intention is to emphasize the action rather than the actor involved or when the actor is unknown or irrelevant. The passive voice adds a layer of formality or detachment, which can prove advantageous for scientific or legal writing, where precision and objectivity are of utmost importance.

Mastering the Art of Transitioning Between Voices

Switching between active and passive voice is like changing gears in a car—it requires understanding the roles of the agent (doer) and recipient (receiver) in a sentence. For instance, “The mouse (agent) ate (action) the cheese (recipient)” can be flipped to “The cheese (recipient) was eaten (action) by the mouse (agent).”

Dispelling Myths About Passive Voice

Like any misunderstood character, the passive voice has its share of misconceptions. It’s often labeled as weak or incorrect, but that’s like saying blue cheese is bad—it’s not; it just appeals to certain palettes. Passive voice is a legitimate part of English grammar and has its place in effective writing.

Active vs. Passive Voice Across Different Writing Styles

Like certain spices suit specific cuisines, active and passive voices shine in different writing contexts. Active voice is prevalent in journalism and fiction for its directness and engagement. In contrast, passive voice is common in academic and legal writing, where the focus is often on action or result rather than the actor.

Common Pitfalls and How to Dodge Them

Over-relying on one voice or inadvertently switching voices can confuse your reader and disrupt the flow of your writing. Just as a well-balanced diet is crucial for overall health, incorporating variety in your writing style is critical to engaging your audience. By being mindful of your voice usage and considering your writing goals, you can effectively convey your message and maintain a coherent narrative. Take the time to explore different tones, perspectives, and styles to add depth and nuance to your writing, captivate your readers, and leave a lasting impact.

Wrapping Up the Voice Saga

Understanding active vs. passive voice is a game-changer for any writer. It’s not about choosing one over the other but knowing when to use which. So go forth  with your newfound grammar wisdom, and remember: the pen is mightier when the writer knows their grammar!

The post The Great Grammar Showdown: Active vs. Passive Voice appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

• Most people make the same types of mistakes in their writing.
• Recognizing common writing mistakes can guide you to improvement.
• Mistakes in writing can be sentence level or issues with the bigger picture.
• Most common writing mistakes can be fixed with simple changes.
• Writing is an evolving art that benefits from practice and feedback.

In the buzzing world of online content, think of polished writing as the twinkle that catches a reader’s eye. Every sentence, every word, can be a cozy invitation to stay a little longer or a tiny nudge saying, “This might not be the place.” And while there’s no secret recipe to whip up perfect content every time, knowing where others often slip can be handy. So, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and learn about the top 10 writing mistakes and the content writing tips that fix them.

Mistake 1: Passive Voice Overuse

Imagine you’re sitting around a campfire, and someone says, “The cookies were eaten by me.” Sounds a bit mysterious, right? That’s passive voice. But if they said, “I ate the cookies,” that’s straightforward and active. When you overuse passive voice, it can make stories feel a bit roundabout. Think of it like a twist in a novel — purposeful once in a while, but every sentence shouldn’t be a riddle.

Mistake 2: Run-On Sentences

Run-on sentences can bury your main points, making it hard for readers to follow along. Imagine jamming two (or more) complete ideas into one sentence without the correct punctuation or connectors. A classic example: “I love ice cream it’s my favorite dessert.” It reads like two thoughts squished together.

So, how do you spot them? Look for sentences that juggle too much. If reading a sentence feels like running a marathon without a break, you’ve probably got a run-on.

Breaking them up isn’t as tough as it sounds. Use one of these content writing tips to help you tame your run-ons.

• Use a period: “I love ice cream. It’s my favorite dessert.”
• Add a coordinating conjunction (such as “and” or “but”) with a comma: “I love ice cream, and it’s my favorite dessert.”
• Use a semicolon if the ideas are closely related: “I love ice cream; it’s my favorite dessert.”
• Toss in an em dash: “I love ice cream — it’s my favorite dessert.” 

Mistake 3: Inconsistent Tenses

Picture this: you’re engrossed in a story about a character’s childhood. One moment they “play” in the garden, and the next, they “played” with their toys. If your narrative starts to feel like time travel, you may be experiencing the magic (or mischief) of inconsistent tenses. They can whisk readers between past, present, and future, and while time jumps work for sci-fi, it leaves readers dizzy and confused in other forms of writing.

Inconsistent tenses disrupt the flow of a narrative and make the content feel less polished.

Here are a few tricks to maintain a steady timeline.

• Decide early: Before writing, decide if you’re reflecting on past events, describing the present, or imagining the future. Settling on a primary tense helps maintain consistency.
• Proofread with purpose: When revising, look for tense shifts. Sometimes, they sneak in without notice.
• Ask for feedback: A fresh pair of eyes often catch things that may have been overlooked. So, share your piece with a friend or use an online tool.

Mistake 4: Overuse of Jargon or Complex Vocabulary

Navigating the maze of jargon and intricate vocabulary in writing can be challenging. If you overload a piece with complex terms, it might be off-putting to readers, pushing them away before they truly grasp the message. However, that doesn’t mean sacrificing eloquence.

It’s essential to strike a balance. While sophisticated vocabulary can elevate content, the heart of the message should always be clear and relatable. 

Mistake 5: Lack of Parallelism

Parallel structure, or parallelism, is all about maintaining a consistent pattern within a sentence or among sentences.

For instance, consider the following sentence: “She likes hiking, to swim, and playing guitar.” Notice how it feels a bit off? That’s because the activities are listed in different forms: “hiking” (gerund), “to swim” (infinitive), and “playing” (gerund). Now, let’s apply parallelism: “She likes hiking, swimming, and playing guitar.” 

Parallel structure plays a pivotal role in ensuring clarity. By presenting ideas consistently, the writer makes it easier for the reader to follow along and grasp the intended message. When everything structurally aligns, the content becomes more digestible.

Mistake 6: Missing or Misplaced Commas

Comma conundrums often trip up even seasoned writers. Some typical blunders include missing commas in a direct address, leading to unintended meanings like the humorous “Let’s eat Grandma” instead of “Let’s eat, Grandma.” Another hiccup occurs when writers join two independent clauses with a comma, resulting in a comma splice. There’s also the case of misplacing a comma in a direct address or omitting it after introductory elements, creating confusion for the reader. 

Here are some more examples where commas make a big difference:

• I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.
• I love my parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty.
• My brother who is a doctor lives in Boston.
• My brother, who is a doctor, lives in Boston.

Mistake 7: Dangling Modifiers

Dangling modifiers are words or phrases intended to modify a word, but they don’t actually correspond to the word they’re supposed to modify. This results in amusing and perplexing sentences that can leave readers scratching their heads.

Consider the sentence: “Walking to the store, the rain started pouring.” The way it’s written, it sounds like the rain was taking a casual stroll to the store. The writer likely meant something like, “While I was walking to the store, the rain started pouring.”

Dangling modifiers can create confusion and disrupt the flow of the content as readers pause, backtrack, and reread the sentence to grasp the intended meaning.

Mistake 8: Repetition and Redundancy

Unnecessary repetition in writing can be a pesky pitfall. While emphasis has its place, excessive redundancy can dilute a message, making prose feel monotonous or overbearing. Readers can perceive repetitive content as a sign that a writer lacks confidence in conveying their message or originality in their thought process. 

Mistake 9: Inconsistent Voice or Style

Tone and voice in content are akin to the seasoning in a dish — they flavor writing with identity. Tone refers to the mood or attitude conveyed, be it formal, humorous, serious, casual, or any shade in between. On the other hand, voice is the distinct personality or style infused by the writer, making their content recognizable and unique.

Together, tone and voice serve as a bridge between the writer and the reader. They can resonate with readers on an emotional level, fostering trust, aligning values, or simply making the content more relatable and engaging. 

Inconsistency in tone and voice can jolt the reader, disrupting the narrative flow. Imagine settling into a profound documentary, only to have it suddenly switch to a cartoonish commentary. Such shifts can be jarring and might even cause the reader to question the credibility or intent of the content. 

Mistake 10: Ignoring the Target Audience

Since reader groups bring different ideas, backgrounds, expectations, and personal experiences, writing for a specific audience can help narrow your focus and satisfy your intended audience. Keep your content on point, be precise, and make your readers feel like you’re speaking their language.

Using Content Writing Tips to Improve Your Writing

Every sentence has the power to pull readers in closer. Although there isn’t a secret recipe to achieve perfect writing, being aware of common mistakes can guide your process. Remember that writing is an intricate art that can be improved through practice and an understanding of who you’re writing for. 

The post Elevate Your Writing Skills: Top 10 Content Blunders to Avoid appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Using a comma before “which” can drastically change the meaning of your sentence.

• Comma usage in relation to “which” hinges on understanding restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses.
• Misusing commas with “which” can lead to real-world errors and misunderstandings.
• Style guides generally agree on these rules, but some minor differences exist.
• Mastering this aspect of grammar is crucial for clear and effective writing.

Welcome, dear friend, to the labyrinth of English grammar, where the comma—that tiny little punctuation mark—can turn meanings topsy-turvy. Misplacing a comma can ignite confusion in your sentences. But fear not! I’m here to guide you through the fiery pits of punctuation, precisely when to use a comma before “which.”

Understanding Relative Clauses: Grammar’s Secret Sauce

Meet the Relatives

Relative clauses are used to infuse your sentences with depth. They’re akin to caramelized onions in a burger—not essential, but undeniably enhancing the flavor. For example, “A koala is a bear that likes to eat eucalyptus.” In this example, the bear’s cuisine preference is a relative clause—not essential but helpful context. Relative clauses are preceded by a relative pronoun, such as the word “that,” “whose,” or “which.” In that sense, relative pronouns are versatile tools used that introduce relative clauses to elevate your writing.

Restrictive vs. Nonrestrictive: A Tale of Two Clauses

There are two types of relative clauses: restrictive and nonrestrictive. A restrictive clause is essential to the meaning of your sentence (like cheese in a cheeseburger). For example, “The person who wrote this article is a renowned author.” A nonrestrictive clause is extra information that is not essential to the meaning (like the pickles—excellent, but the burger’s still a burger without them). For example, “The author of this article, Jane Smith, is a renowned author.”

When to Use a Comma Before “Which”: The Cheeseburger Rule

Now that we’ve had a delicious bite of the flavorful ingredients in our grammatical cheeseburger, let’s take a moment to delve deeper into the art of punctuation using commas. Understanding when to use a comma before “which” is a skill that revolves around comprehending the nuances between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. So, grab your metaphorical spatula, and let’s continue our exploration of the grammar rules.

A Nonrestrictive Nibble

Nonrestrictive clauses, where “which” often hangs out, are always introduced by a comma. For example, “My bike, which is red, has a flat tire.” The fact the bike is red isn’t essential—it’s just a bonus detail.

When Not to Use a Comma Before “Which”: Hold the Pickles!

Before we delve into the cases where you should not use a comma before “which”, let’s take a quick breather to soak in what we’ve learned so far. We’ve covered the fundamentals of restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses and understood why a comma accompanies “which” in the latter. But, just like every rule has an exception, sometimes “which” doesn’t need to be accompanied by a comma. Let’s unravel the cases where a comma before “which” is a no-go.

The Restrictive Rule

When “which” introduces a restrictive clause, you drop the comma. For instance, “I need a book which can help me learn Spanish.” Here, specifying the type of book is essential—it’s not just any book you need, but a Spanish learning one.

Common Misconceptions and Mistakes: The Punctuation Pitfalls

Just like confusing salt with sugar can ruin your coffee, mixing up your commas can mess up your sentence. For example, “I enjoyed the book which was full of suspense” means that of all the books, you enjoyed the suspenseful one. But if you write, “I enjoyed the book, which was full of suspense,” means you enjoyed it, and oh, by the way, it was suspenseful.

Contrasting “Which” with “That”: The Grammarian’s Showdown

In the American English showdown, “that” typically takes the crown as the restrictive relative pronoun, while “which” often introduces nonrestrictive clauses. In American English, people often say, “I’m looking for a book that can help me learn Spanish.”

The Importance of Audibility and Rhythm: The Grammar Symphony

Grammar isn’t just visual; it’s also auditory. Reading your sentences aloud can help you feel the rhythm and detect where natural pauses (and, thus, commas) should be. It’s like tapping your foot to a catchy tune—if it feels offbeat, something might be amiss.

Style Guides and Their Recommendations: The Rulebooks of Writing

Style guides like APA, Chicago, and MLA mostly agree on these comma rules. However, they differ slightly on “which” vs. “that” usage, which can be a point of contention among writers. It’s like preferring cheddar over Swiss on your burger—both options are acceptable, but people often have their preferences based on factors like taste, texture, and overall flavor profile. 

Similarly, writers may have their own reasons for favoring one usage over the other, such as clarity, emphasis, or personal style. Despite these nuanced differences, it’s important to remember adherence to these style guides can help ensure consistency and professionalism in your writing.

The Broader Implications for Clear Writing: The Big Picture

Why does this seemingly insignificant comma hold importance? It’s because precision in writing is the catalyst for clarity in communication. And when communication is clear, writing becomes truly effective. Mastering when to use a comma before “which” is not just about grammar—it’s about ensuring your reader understands exactly what you mean.

Wrapping Up the Comma Conundrum

So there you have it, my friend—the ins and outs of when to use a comma before “which.” Remember, grammar isn’t a scary monster under the bed; it’s just a tool to help us communicate clearly. And now that you’ve got this tool in your writer’s toolkit, you’re well on your way to crafting more precise and compelling prose.

The post Using a Comma Before “Which”: The Grammarian’s DilemmaUsing a Comma Before “Which” appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

• Understanding when to use a comma before “and” is crucial for clear and effective communication.
• The comma’s use with “and” revolves around the concepts of conjunctions, compound sentences, and the Oxford comma.
• Using a comma before “and” can prevent ambiguity and misinterpretation in lists and complex sentences.
• Some situations don’t require a comma before “and,” such as simple lists or contexts where clarity isn’t compromised.
• Different style guides have varying recommendations on this topic, reflecting the ongoing debate among writers and readers.

Hello, dear friend! Today, we’re going to delve into one of the most hotly debated issues in the realm of punctuation: when to use a comma before “and.” It’s like deciding whether pineapple belongs on pizza—everyone has an opinion. But fear not! We’ll break it down, slice by slice, to help you navigate this grammar goulash.

The ABCs of Conjunctions: More than Just a Fancy Word

Before we dive into commas, let’s have a quick refresher on conjunctions. Picture them as the glue that connects your sentence—they connect words, phrases, and clauses. And our star today, “and,” is one of these helpful little linkers.

The Oxford Comma: The Controversial Celebrity of Punctuation

Known as the Oxford comma (or serial comma), this little squiggle comes before “and” in a list of three or more items. For example, “I bought apples, oranges, and bananas.” That last comma is our famous Oxford comma. It’s like the third wheel on a date—it might feel unnecessary, but sometimes, it’s crucial for avoiding awkward misunderstandings.

The Advantages of the Comma Before “And”: The Clarity Champion

Using a comma before “and” can be like putting on glasses—you suddenly see everything. It helps distinguish individual items in a complex list and prevents readers from linking the last two things. For instance, compare “I dedicate this book to my parents, Oprah Winfrey and Nelson Mandela” with “I dedicate this book to my parents, Oprah Winfrey, and Nelson Mandela.” See the difference? That comma just saved you from erroneously claiming some very famous parents!

Situations Sans Comma: Sometimes, Less is More

Just like you wouldn’t wear sunglasses at night, there are situations where you don’t need a comma before “and.” Simple lists or conjunctions that don’t risk ambiguity can go comma-free. For example, “I bought apples and oranges” doesn’t need an Oxford comma as there’s no chance of confusion.

Compound Sentences and the Comma: The Dynamic Duo

When “and” joins two independent clauses (think of them as mini sentences), a comma usually precedes it. For instance, “I wanted to go for a walk, and I took my dog with me.” The comma is like a traffic cop, indicating a pause between the two separate but connected thoughts.

Common Pitfalls and Exceptions: Navigating the Grammar Minefield

Not every “and” needs a comma. Sometimes, adding or omitting the comma can change the meaning. For instance, “She likes cooking her family and her pets” paints a very different picture than “She likes cooking, her family, and her pets.” Be aware of potential ambiguities and tread carefully!

Style Guides and Their Stances: The Rulebooks of Writing

Different style guides, like APA, Chicago, MLA, and AP, have varied recommendations about our friend, the comma. Some advocate for its consistent use, while others prefer a more conservative approach. It’s like choosing between tea and coffee—each has its merits, and the choice often depends on personal or professional preference.

Public Perception and Trends: The Grammar Zeitgeist

Just as fashion trends change, so do punctuation norms. Some writers and readers passionately defend the Oxford comma, while others consider it superfluous. As language evolves, so does our usage and perception of punctuation. So, keep an open mind and a flexible pen (or keyboard)!

Wrapping Up the Comma Saga

Understanding when to use a comma before “and” isn’t just about following rules—it’s about ensuring your writing communicates precisely what you intend. Whether you’re team “comma always” or “comma sometimes,” remember that context is king. Stay adaptable, be mindful of your audience, and don’t be afraid to make informed choices based on your writing needs.

The post Using a Comma Before “And”: Navigating the Comma Conundrum appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

• Parallelism is a tool that brings order, clarity, and rhythm to your writing.
• It involves aligning similar ideas, elements, or parts of speech in a balanced way.
• Common parallelism pitfalls include mixing parts of speech and creating nonparallel lists.
• Parallelism errors can be corrected by ensuring similar elements share the same grammatical structure.
• Parallelism is a straightforward concept that can improve anyone’s writing.

The rules of parallelism in writing offer a trusty guide that brings order to your words. It’s about making sure similar ideas, elements, or parts of speech come together harmoniously. By embracing parallelism, you can craft sentences and lists that make your message clear.

Defining Parallelism

Parallelism is a rhetorical device that balances parts of a sentence or a series of sentences. The device is commonly used in various aspects of language, including sentence structure, lists, comparisons, and more.

To create parallelism, use similar grammatical structures or parts of speech for elements that perform the same function.

Why Parallelism in Writing Matters

Parallelism helps structure information in a way that makes it easier for readers or listeners to understand and process. Here’s why parallelism is important for comprehensible writing:

• Consistency: Parallelism ensures you present similar ideas or elements consistently. 
• Easy processing: When you write information with a parallel structure, the brain can process it more efficiently. 
• Reduced ambiguity: Without parallelism, sentences may become ambiguous or confusing. 
• Enhanced emphasis: Parallelism as a literary device can emphasize specific ideas or elements. 
• Rhythm and balance: Parallelism adds rhythm and balance to sentences, enhancing a piece’s readability.

Examples of Parallelism

• Nouns: She enjoys reading, swimming, and hiking.
• Verbs: He runs, swims, and cycles.
• Prepositional phrases: He is interested in sports, music, and art.
• Infinitive phrases: Her goals are to learn, to grow, and to succeed.
• Clauses: She is both intelligent and hardworking.

Common Parallelism Pitfalls

Common parallelism pitfalls include mixing different parts of speech, creating nonparallel lists, and misaligning elements used in comparisons. Mixing parts of speech within parallel structures can be confusing, such as “She enjoys skiing, reading books, and to take long walks,” where gerunds (“skiing” and “reading books”) clash with the infinitive (“to take long walks”). 

Nonparallel lists lack uniformity in grammatical structure, such as “He’s a great husband, a loving father, and cooks deliciously,” where “cooks deliciously” differs from the other elements. By changing the final characteristic to “an amazing chef,” the list becomes parallel.

Fixing Parallelism Errors

Identifying and correcting parallelism errors in your writing is crucial to avoid confusion or awkwardness in your writing. To address these issues, you should follow a systematic approach.

• Carefully read your text, paying attention to sentences that might exhibit parallelism problems. Keep an eye out for conjunctions such as “and,” “or,” “but,” and “not only…but also,” which often signal the need for parallelism.
• Focus on ensuring similar elements within the sentence or list share the same grammatical structure. Common areas to check include nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases. 
• Proofread your text to confirm you’ve successfully addressed all parallelism errors.

Parallelism in Literature and Rhetoric

Parallelism plays a vital role in rhetoric and literature by enhancing the persuasive impact of speeches and the aesthetic quality of written works. It serves as a powerful rhetorical device, emphasizing key ideas through patterns in language. 

Emphasis and Repetition

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he famously used parallelism with the phrase, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The repetition of “I have a dream” also reinforces the central theme of the speech and makes it memorable.

Clarity and Symmetry

In Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, the opening phrase follows a parallel structure to  creates a sense of balance and clarity — “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” 

Rhythmic Flow

In Winston Churchill’s famous wartime speech, he said, “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets…” The repetition of “we shall fight” emphasizes resolve and adds a powerful cadence to the speech.

Beyond Sentences: Parallelism in Ideas

Parallelism isn’t just for sentences; it’s a tool that keeps your writing in sync, whether you’re crafting a paragraph or weaving a whole narrative. It ensures your ideas and themes flow smoothly, making your message clear and engaging for readers. So, whether you’re writing an essay, a heartwarming story, or a lively article, parallelism ensures your piece provides a welcoming reading experience.

Common Misconceptions and Myths

Myth: Parallelism is about lists.

Reality: Parallelism can appear in comparisons, sentences, paragraphs, and even entire articles.

Myth: Parallelism is reserved for those fancy, formal pieces of writing.

Reality: It’s a versatile tool that can jazz up everyday conversations, emails, and social media posts. 

The Importance of Mastering Parallelism in Writing

Mastering parallelism can level up your writing and make it more digestible for readers. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s overly complex — parallelism is a straightforward concept that anyone can master. So, keep practicing, and let parallelism elevate your writing.

The post Parallelism Demystified: A User-Friendly Approach to Effective Writing appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The following guide explains how to structure your schedule for maximum productivity and offers tips on time management for freelancers. You’ll also learn how to build sick days and vacation days into your schedule to reduce the risk of burnout.

Structuring Your Schedule

For freelancers, a one-size-fits-all approach to scheduling just doesn’t work. To maintain a high level of productivity, you must structure your schedule to accommodate both your personal preferences and the commitments you’ve made to others. Otherwise, you won’t be able to meet your writing deadlines without dropping the ball in some other area of your life.

At the beginning of each week, sit down and take a look at your approaching deadlines. For each task, figure out how much time you need to get everything done. Don’t forget to include a buffer for unexpected delays, such as difficulty finding quality sources or the need to consult with a subject matter expert before you turn in the assignment.

Scheduling Tips

Once you know how many hours you need to complete each task, make a list of everything else you need to do during the week. Don’t forget to include the following:

• Going to the doctor
• Dropping off/picking up kids
• Attending sporting events or other school activities
• Helping kids with homework
• Spending time with loved ones
• Engaging in your hobbies
• Volunteering
• Attending worship services
• Participating in community events
• Meeting with friends
• Preparing meals
• Cleaning

Now that you have a clear idea of everything you need to do, block out time to work on your writing projects. Although some people prefer to write at the same time every day, you may find it easier to adjust your work hours based on all the other things you have going on. For example, if you have a doctor’s appointment at 9 a.m. on Monday, you may not be able to start working until 11 a.m. or later. Tuesday, you might need to get an early start so you can attend a meeting at your child’s school in the afternoon.

As you build your schedule, try to leave some extra time to deal with the little surprises life likes to throw at you on occasion. If you get sick or have a home emergency, such as a broken pipe or failing appliance, you need to be able to handle the situation without missing a deadline and disappointing one of your clients.

Time Management for Freelancers: Tips and Tricks

Creating a schedule is a good start, but you still need to manage your time effectively if you want to be as productive as possible. Here are some tips to help you manage your time without getting burned out.

Tracking Your Time

The Pomodoro® Technique is one of the most popular methods of time management for freelancers. Developed by Francesco Cirillo, this technique emphasizes the importance of estimating how long each task should take, eliminating distractions and maintaining intense focus for short periods of time. If you decide to try the Pomodoro Technique, here’s what to do:

• Pick a task to complete.
• Set a timer for 25 minutes. This 25-minute interval is known as a Pomodoro.
• While the timer is running, focus solely on your freelance work. Don’t stop to answer the phone, send an email or do anything else that isn’t the task you started at the beginning of the session.
• After 25 minutes, take a five-minute break.
• Take a long break — at least 20 minutes — every time you complete four Pomodoros.

You can keep track of your Pomodoros on paper, but it’s much easier if you use an app. Pomofocus is a browser-based tool that keeps track of your pomodoros, short breaks and long breaks. When you start work for the day, you can even make a list of tasks you need to complete and estimate how many Pomodoros you need to complete each one. This makes it much easier to determine how long it takes to complete different types of projects — which can help you determine your average hourly rate or figure out which type of writing is the most profitable.

Avoiding Distractions

Even the most productive freelancers get distracted sometimes, but you can’t get in the habit of letting a distraction completely destroy your focus. If you find yourself getting distracted frequently, try some of these tips:

• If you’re working while other people are at home, wear headphones to block out the sound of their activities. This also works to block out distracting noises coming from outside, such as car horns and construction equipment.
• Download an app to block distracting websites during your work hours. When these sites are blocked, you can’t access them without going through the hassle of changing the app’s settings, making it less tempting to visit Facebook or spend hours playing online bingo.
• Turn off email and app notifications on your phone. It’s hard to stay focused if you get a new notification every couple of minutes.
• Share your schedule and ask family members and friends not to call or text you during work hours unless there’s an emergency.
• If you have school-age children, stay on top of their assignments so you’re less likely to have one of them interrupt your work to tell you a big project is due tomorrow.

Personal Boundaries

Don’t be afraid to set strong boundaries with the people in your life. More than a few freelancers have had someone show up at their home unannounced or assume they could take on daytime volunteering duties because they “just sit around in their pyjamas all day.” You need to make it clear that freelance writing is a job and you need to be able to focus on your work.

The best way to do this is to learn how to say no without feeling guilty. It takes a bit of practice, but once you master this skill, you’ll be more productive and won’t have to worry about feeling resentful because you turned down paid work to run the bake sale or collect donations for your church.

Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert recommends being polite and assertive instead of beating around the bush. If the other person doesn’t accept your answer right away, be firm. There’s nothing wrong with putting your needs first when doing so can help you have a more successful career. If something comes along that you really want to do, such as volunteering at a food bank, go ahead and say yes.

Productivity Tools

Although many apps can be distracting, some of them make it easier to manage your time and keep track of assignments. If a paper-based system doesn’t work for you, downloading one of these apps can help you be more efficient and less likely to spend time doing things that take you away from paying work. Here are a few apps you might want to try:

• Asana: Designed for project management, Asana makes it easy to keep track of assignments, communicate with clients and collaborate with other freelancers.
• Evernote: If you’ve ever wasted time searching for a link or file, you might like Evernote. This tool allows you to store notes, schedules, to-do lists and more, eliminating the need to search for them in multiple places.
• Trello: Trello is also used for project management, but it uses digital “cards” to store information. You can create a card for each assignment and then delete it when the assignment is complete.

Scheduled Breaks

It’s great to be productive, but don’t forget to add breaks to your schedule. The longer you work without a break, the more mistakes you’ll make and the more time you’ll have to spend editing each piece. Working constantly also makes it difficult to maintain high levels of creativity and innovation, which can be detrimental to writers who rely on their creativity to earn money.

If possible, block out one hour for lunch — or dinner, if you prefer to work in the evening — to ensure you have enough time to eat, use the restroom and let your mind wander for a bit. Take short breaks throughout the day to stretch and clear your mind.

Realistic Expectations

You can’t manage your time effectively if you don’t have realistic expectations. Just because you managed to write 10,000 words in a day once doesn’t mean you should aim to write 10,000 words every day — this just isn’t a reasonable level of output for most freelancers.

It’s also important to be realistic about how much time it takes to complete a task. Many freelancers have had that panicked feeling that comes from starting a project and finding out it’s taking three times longer than they anticipated to finish it. Finishing late puts you behind on other assignments, making the freelance life more stressful than it should be.

Scheduling Tips To Prevent Burnout

No matter how much experience you have, burnout is a real concern for freelancers. Unfortunately, one of the downsides to freelancing is that you don’t get paid sick days, holidays or vacation days. The good news is that you can still enjoy time off if you plan ahead.

If you’re planning to take a few days off, let your clients know ahead of time. Ask them to send you new assignments as soon as possible to ensure you have enough time to finish them. You may also want to check your schedule to see if there’s one month that tends to be less busy than the others. If so, scheduling your vacation during this month can help you avoid having to turn down work because you need a chance to relax.

Sick days are a little trickier, as you usually don’t get much notice that you’re going to be sick. One way to overcome this challenge is to keep a small emergency fund that you can draw from if you’re ill and need to take a few days to recover.

Another is to structure your schedule to give you a bit of a cushion in case you feel ill and just need to rest for a few hours. For example, you may want to schedule five hours of work per day instead of eight. If you have a migraine that makes it difficult to read and look at a screen, you can use the extra free time to lie down and wait for your medication to take effect instead of having to power through pain, nausea and light sensitivity.

Living the Freelance Life

Freelancing is an exciting opportunity to get paid for your skills and have a little more freedom than the average worker. To maximize your earnings and prevent burnout, it’s important to manage your time effectively. Crowd Content supports writers by making it easy to claim new work and keep track of in-progress assignments.

The post Time Management for Freelancers | Managing Time for Writers appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

However, this month’s installment calls for a little sprinkle of glamour. Let’s imagine ourselves walking down the red carpet, decked out in black ties and ball gowns, flashes popping away. Inside the theatre, a hush falls over the crowd as the presenter opens the envelope.

And the March Writer Spotlight goes to…Victoria Grant!

As colleagues around the world burst into applause, Victoria steps into the spotlight. And inquiring minds want to know — how did a freelancer from Virginia, on the east coast of the United States, make her way to centre stage at Crowd Content? That’s what we’re here to find out.

Known on our platform and in real life as Victoria, our featured scribe has been practicing her craft for nearly two decades, including a stint at her local newspaper. Like many before her, she found Crowd Content while searching online for freelance writing jobs. Thankfully, we don’t have to give Google referral fees for the writers sent our way.

Our talented freelancers draw on different strengths and passions, and between them, can tackle any project clients need to be written. Some writers are the happiest diving into in-depth articles. Others are a whiz at whipping up concise snippets. And Victoria? “Marketing copy and beauty writing are my favourites,” she says, which is perfect considering we’re all about glamour today.

Victoria’s knack for weaving together beautiful, flowery language comes in handy on the platform, especially for product descriptions that need to capture a shopper’s imagination in a handful of words. “I love cosmetics because of the subject matter and length,” she says of her favourite project. “They’re fun to write and pay well!”

She does, however, eschew the writer stereotype of working in a coffee shop, opting for the comforts of home. “[I write] in my bedroom, on a laptop at a standing desk I’ve created myself from a dresser and stack of books,” she says of her MacGyvered workspace.

I contemplate asking for other tips on fabricating something from nothing, but it’s probably more useful to seek advice for those just starting on the platform. What wisdom can she share with new writers? “Believe in yourself, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and learn to take constructive criticism!” Victoria says.

When she’s not writing about glowing complexions and shiny tresses, Victoria is likely tending to her garden or curled up with a cat and a book. “I love Alice Hoffman and Alexandra Ripley,” she says of the novelists. “I can’t possibly choose a favourite book.” You might also find her catching up on the antics of America’s favourite TV serial killer — which, I must note, are a long way from the romantic and aspirational copy that flows from her keyboard. “I’m loving Dexter: New Blood and I’m always up for any comedic sitcom,” Victoria adds.

Like most award ceremonies, this show is at risk of running too long. But before we wrap up, the media scrum has a few more questions for Victoria.

What’s your favourite restaurant or meal? “I enjoy so many types of food I can’t choose.”

What do you find most challenging about writing content? “Time management, for sure.”

What sets Crowd Content apart from other content platforms? “The excellent management and admin, the competitive pay and the wide range of opportunities.”

If you could change one thing about our platform, what would it be? “Nothing!” (Just what we like to hear!).

What are the five worst words in the English language? “I have no idea. Two that immediately came to mind are dude and moist.”

The producers are cueing the closing music now, so we’ll say a quick thank you to Victoria for her time, and to all of you for joining us on the virtual red carpet. We hope you enjoyed some glitz and glamour, or at the very least a pleasant diversion from daily life. See you back here next month — maybe it’ll be you in the spotlight!

The post Writer Spotlight: Victoria Grant appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

We’ve been contemplating the art of chess thanks to our chat with this month’s featured writer. Meet Robert, known on Crowd Content’s job boards and writer forum as Ruby Kalten. A skilled copywriter, keen traveller and chess enthusiast, Robert’s story is its own series of intriguing moves.

These have led him 6,000 miles from his hometown of Longview, Washington to “around” Eastern Europe. “I don’t have residency anywhere I’m interested in living, but I currently spend about a third of the year in Skopje, Macedonia,” he says.

In true adventurous fashion, he’s not sure how long he’ll be in the heart of the Balkans. “Once my roommate moves out with her boyfriend, I might pack my bags and settle in on the Croatian coast or run off to India or Laos,” he adds. While this is the perfect example of the free-flowing lifestyle enjoyed by freelancers, I would like to request that Robert take his laptop and Crowd Content login credentials with him.

As for how he ended up in Skopje and writing for our platform? “I had a brief, ill-advised stint in the Air Force starting from 17 that went nowhere fast,” he begins. “I hunted down various odd jobs during my first couple years abroad and did temp work during a brief return to the U.S.”

Before long, Robert discovered he could use his knack for writing to pay the bills. In 2019, he settled into freelance copywriting with Crowd Content out of pure luck. “My ex-girlfriend compromised my Textbroker account,” he explains. “After googling ‘online writing jobs’, I signed up for Crowd Content just in time to pay rent via the Walmart Canada project.”

Robert hit the ground running, tackling pretty well any topic clients sent his way. “Finance, crypto, gaming, behavioral health, fashion, CBD and cannabis, adult toys, auto advice, technology … I’m comfortable and confident writing just about anything,” he explains. When pressed to pick a preferred project out of the many he’s worked on, he gives a nod to the Catena slot game descriptions. “The consistency and regularity … has made them a favorite,” he says.

Robert’s versatility makes him one of our more prolific writers, moving easily between projects and teams. In fact, he’s written more than one million words on the platform, which is no small accomplishment given the relatively short time he’s been here.

He has solid advice for new writers interested in a similarly fruitful writing career. “Take it easy, ask questions, be proactive when you need help. You will always be better off speaking to the content manager than not doing so,” he recommends.

While Robert’s writing pace suggests he’s working around the clock, he’s clearly a time management master. He finds plenty to keep him engaged outside of writing, which brings us (finally!) to chess.

“I’ve become quite the chess fanatic with several sets, many books and a projected FIDE rating around 1800,” Robert says. “I currently have far more confidence than competence but I’m aiming to get good within a year or two.” Being a thorough investigative reporter, I looked into the meaning of the FIDE ratings. They’re used by the International Chess Federation to rank the relative skill levels of players and fall on a scale of 100 to 2800. Since you’re considered an expert chess player once you hit 2000, Robert is being very humble about his talents.

I’m not nearly as highly rated by FIDE, but I do know that my game clock is running out. Let’s pick up the pace and see what else we can learn while we’ve got Robert’s attention.

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “I love homemade pierogi (Polish dumplings), either with a traditional filling or one of my own recipes. My most common meals are a Turkish döner kebab loaded with vegetables, slow-roasted chicken, garlic sauce, or cevapi, a common grilled meat dish from across the Balkans. You’ll find the best cevapi in Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast across the sea from Italy.” (Why does Writer Spotlight always make me hungry?)

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “Ender’s Game is my favorite book but I consider Orson Scott Card too inconsistent to call him my favorite author.”

Do you have any hobbies or unusual interests? “I’ve grown fond of collecting kitschy Cold War-era memorabilia. I’ve absorbed a vast amount of in-depth historical knowledge, from politically expedient topics like the American Civil War and WWII to more niche and purely interesting things like the political situation in the Balkans.”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? “I barely watch enough TV or movies to pick a favourite, but the most recent show I really enjoyed was The Good Doctor and I’m always happy to see a new anime adaptation of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.”

Where do you write? “When the weather is pleasant, I write outdoors; when it isn’t, I go to a bar or cafe.”

Have you been published by any notable sites or organizations? “I don’t know if it’s been published yet, but I wrote a personal life/work history for an organization in New Jersey.”

What do you think sets Crowd Content apart from other content platforms? “The culture is not just better but exists to start with. Summer and fall 2021 have been a continuous nightmare for me … so I’ve had occasion to appreciate that management is pretty understanding and supportive. The combination of the job board style with genuinely reasonable rates [makes] Crowd Content an enjoyable alternative to the Textbroker sweatshop or the psychological torture of Freelancer, Upwork, etc.”

Do you have a preferred type of writing? “I like long-form projects that fall on one or another extreme when it comes to guidelines and brief. I either want guidelines to be open-ended or extremely detailed and even a bit formulaic … I find content that’s more middle-of-the-road harder to get into.”

If you could change one thing about our platform, what would it be? “I’d like it if the teams were more visible and there was more information available, perhaps more in-platform communication methods. The Managed side is highly developed, what with the forum and email usage while working with repeat, high-volume marketplace clients is less intuitive.”

What do you find most challenging about writing content? “I find it difficult to accept when I’m not working at 100% and to accordingly stop taking on responsibilities at 100%”.

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I love to … “Hang around random cafes with a book.”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “Colonel, lisp, drawer, wiggle (I hate Jason Derulo), booger.”

And with that, my time is up. I’ll let Robert get back to his plans for soaking up the sun on the Croatian coast, and in the meantime, I’m off to find another writer to step into the spotlight. Who knows, maybe it’ll be you!

The post Writer Spotlight: Ruby Kalten – It’s Your Move appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

This tale begins in Paula’s hometown in northern England. Paula has been writing professionally for about 10 years, and when she’s working, she’s often set up at a nearby pub. “It’s quiet during the day, the Wi-Fi is fast and the view of the river is great,” she says of her preferred workspace.

But once in a while, she ventures out to explore a hidden world on Earth. Did you know that some of the real-life landmarks, murals, public art and monuments in your neighborhood are portals of energy?

That’s okay if you read that sentence twice. We don’t usually cover alternate universes at Writer Spotlight, but there’s a proverbial first time for everything.

Paula plays an immersive, multiplayer game called Ingress. Using a mobile app, players are tasked with finding and collecting a resource known as XM from various locations around the world. The “agents” work with and compete against others. “I once spent a week stranded in a remote part of Scotland because I was trying to do something in the game and there was a snowstorm,” Paula says. That’s determination!

For those of you who haven’t heard of the game, Tech Crunch describes it as similar to Pokémon GO, but more grown-up and without the “cutesie monsters”: “It’s like capture the flag mashed up with one massive worldwide game of tug of war, with a bit of Matrix-y cyberpunk dressing slathered on top.” Yes, please take a moment to absorb all that.

The world of Ingress sounds fascinating, but unfortunately, there isn’t a demand for finely crafted content here. We’re going to let the agents focus on hacking portals in their digital battlefield, and head back to a more familiar world filled with H1 tags, semantic keywords and bulleted lists.

Paula comes to Crowd Content with a background in computer programming. “I’ve done technical reviews for O’Reilly, but not had my own work published by them yet. I’ve also written for Need2Know Books and Packt Publishing,” she says. She’s most comfortable writing technical content, but her favorite Crowd Content project involves blurbs about assisted living facilities in the United States. “It took me a while to get used to the brief but now I enjoy them,” she says from across the pond. “I’ve learned so much about out-of-the-way little towns in various states of America!”

Thanks to her top-notch writing skills and ability to hit deadlines, Paula enjoys steady work at Crowd Content. But, her freelance journey hasn’t always been this easy. “I was on really bad content mills for a long time,” she says of her pre-CC days. But that’s in the distant past; in fact, she can’t quite recall how she found our platform. “It’s been a long time now, but I think it was via the site Freelance Writing Gigs,” she says.

We’re just pleased she found a home here. “There’s lots of work available and the editors and project managers are always happy to help,” Paula explains, when asked what sets Crowd Content apart from other writing platforms. She also appreciates the flexibility of being able to log on anytime. “At the moment, life is crazy,” she explains. “It’s nice to know that I can pick up work when I feel up to it, and not worry when I don’t.”

Outside of work, one of Paula’s favorite authors to read is Naomi Novik, whose popular Temeraire fantasy series introduces yet another brilliantly inventive world. The nine-volume series reimagines the Napoleonic war fought with an air force of dragons and aviators (note to self: add to TBR list). When it comes to relaxing in front of a screen, Paula gives a shout-out to The Grand Budapest Hotel as a favorite movie. And television shows? “That would be either Space: Above and Beyond or Good Omens,” she adds.

Books, check. Movies, check. Favorite pastimes, check. We’re progressing nicely here, but there’s so much more we need to know. Paula, get ready for the speed round.

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “As odd as this sounds, I visited Coldstone Creamery for ice cream once in 2006, then returned in 2011 and it was still as good as I remembered it. Best ice cream ever!”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “Ghost, myriad, whatever, stalker, origin.”

What do you find most challenging about writing content? “Sometimes I struggle to get started….those first few words are always the hardest ones to put down in any order.”

Do you have any advice for new writers? “Always check the brief, even if you have worked on a project before. Things do change and it’s embarrassing to get caught out!”

If you could change one thing about our platform, what would it be? “I wish editors could see the date your work was submitted. I once wrote a huge batch of descriptions and got the same thing wrong in all of them. The editors thought I wasn’t taking feedback on board when they were actually picking up old work for several days after.”

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I love to… “Explore new cities and collect unique location visits in Ingress.”

Sounds good, Paula, but please don’t get stranded again. We’ve got a few orders waiting on the boards for you.

Well, this edition of Writer Spotlight has been quite an adventure, and we appreciate Paula sharing her stories and helping us to kick off 2022 in style. As we wrap up, I’d like to also thank all of you for making Crowd Content part of your world. Which freelance writer are we dropping in on next month? Maybe it’ll be you!

The post Writer Spotlight: Paula Hart – Brave New Worlds appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

When thinking about bear vs bare, the correct answer is that it’s grin and bear it. But we’re not talking about actual grizzlies here.

The verb “to bear” does come from a similar root as the animal “bear”: bher. It’s a proto-Indo-European word that roughly translates to “dark/brown animal” (possibly used for generally dark animals including beavers). This word comes from around 2500 to 4500 BCE.

But like many words, it split off as language gained more complexity.

The animal became “bero,” in proto-Germanic, while the verb—closely associated with pregnancy—became beranan (to carry). Squeeze it through the wringer that’s the nature of English, sometimes described as five separate languages dressed in a trench coat, and you end up with two identically spelled words again: “bear.”

Etymology is a fascinating subject, and it does pay to understand the words we use regularly. As writers, it literally pays us to understand words.

So Why Is It Often Written Grin and Bare It?

Simple: People hear the phrase and make an assumption. It makes sense in some ways—the idea that you have to bare your teeth and snarl as you’re doing something unpleasant. While this isn’t the most polite way to do a task you don’t want to do, especially if it’s your boss making you do it, it does conjure up a wonderful image.

The problem is that you already have “grin” in there, so the baring of teeth idea is redundant. Indeed, in the 17th century, the phrase “to grin” was a contrast to a cheerful smile: If you were grinning, it wasn’t because you were happy. Typically, the phrase is intended to tell you to be stoic and resolute in the face of adversity, even if your face is unfortunately contorted.

And despite sounding similar, bare comes from a completely different root word, as well: bhoso (naked). This became bazaz, then baer, and finally bare.

Where Does Grin and Bear It Come From?

Like many phrases, it’s hard to pin down exactly when it was first said. The English writer William Hickey used the phrase in his book Memoirs, which was written in the early 19th century and reflected his experiences from 1749 to 1775. In it, he used the phrase “grin and bear it”:

Vexed at his absurd question, and the childishness of his behaviour, I answered, “I recommend you to grin and bear it,” (an expression used by sailors after a long continuance of bad weather).

William Hickey had a lot of experience with sailors: He was sent to the prestigious Westminster School but was essentially expelled (“removed in high disgrace”) after he discovered the joys of drinking and women. He didn’t stop there—he carried on in London living the high life and eventually stole £500 from his father, which was an absolute fortune at that time. He was put on a boat to India, so in protest, he sailed straight back to England via China (which was a bit of a detour). In revenge, his dad sent him to Jamaica. He returned and made his way to Bengal, in the north of India. Eventually, he started practising as a lawyer.

Ironically, his early life wasn’t so much about grinning and bearing it as about being a hellraiser.

His comment about it being an expression used by sailors gives us an indication of how quickly it would have spread. Sailors were usually well-travelled, depositing idiomatic slang around the world. In the same way they spread various diseases, they also spread language. That language would have been used in bars and public houses around the globe and eventually infiltrated its way into modern vernacular.

Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather to naturalist Charles Darwin and general all-around genius Francis Galton, used a similar phrase in his book Zoonomia, written between 1794 and 1796. The book was a major work on biology, and it contains significant thoughts on where life came from, including references that all life came from “one living filament” and suggested that the Earth had existed for “millions of ages.”

More importantly, from our perspective, it also contained a similar phrase: grin and abide by it.

Hence when a person is in great pain, the cause of which he cannot remove, he sets his teeth firmly together, or bites some substance between them with great vehemence, as another mode of violent exertion to produce temporary relief. Thus we have a proverb where no help can be had in pain, “to grin and abide;” and the tortures of hell are said to be attended with “gnashing of teeth.”

Sure, this isn’t quite the same, but the meaning of the phrase is identical.

Other Uses of Grin and Bear It

So it’s likely that the phrase originated sometime in the mid-18th-century and was pinned to the page in the early 19th century. Grin and abide by it slipped out of favour, and grin and bear it remained.

The phrase was well enough known by the early 20th century that it was referenced as a pun in the title of a poem by Sam Walter Foss, the first four lines of which are:

No financial throe volcanic
Ever yet was known to scare it;
Never yet was any panic
Scared the firm of Grin and Barrett.

This was published in 1907 in Songs of the Average Man. When a phrase is well enough known that it can be used in a pun and the expectation is that most people will understand what that pun means, it’s a clear indication that it’s in widespread use. Writers were confident their audiences would understand the term.

Use Words Wisely

Of course, the great thing about knowing how words are used is that you can use them and get paid. If you want to expand your writing skills, get great feedback from editors and work on a variety of projects in an environment where you don’t have to grin and bear it, sign up with Crowd Content today.

The post Grin and Bear It or Grin and Bare It? appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Which one is it? Which one do you use?! Ah, to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous grammar rules! Such is the life of a writer.

Not to worry — we’ve got you covered.

The word anytime is an adverb meaning “whenever” or “at any moment.” As you’ll likely recall, you use adverbs to modify adjectives, verbs or other adverbs. You can use it just like you would other adverbs.

On the other hand, the phrase any time has a few different uses. Like anytime, it functions as an adverbial phrase. But it also functions as a noun phrase to indicate an unspecified amount or point in time.

The grammar rules can be a little confusing. To make matters worse, there are instances when you’ll want to avoid using the word anytime vs. any time, regardless of the rules. To understand why we’ll need a quick history lesson.

A Brief History of Anytime vs. Any Time

The English language grows and evolves over time. New words are created, old words disappear and existing words change meaning. How people speak has a big influence on this evolution. How people use words in conversation often makes their way into the written language.

If you were alive as a writer in the year 1821, your experience would be much different. Aside from candlelight and quills over standing lamps and laptops, you wouldn’t have a choice on whether to use any time or anytime. At this point in time, nobody used the word in writing — though people were likely saying it in conversations.

While the word anytime — and the source of our confusion — didn’t exist in print until 1822, it was likely used in conversations before then. It’s known as a casualism, which is when spoken words and phrases manage to weasel their way into written works. Words like gotcha, woulda and coulda are some other examples.

Because of this casual lineage, any time is often preferred in writing intended for a formal audience. If you’re working on an essay for college or a business proposal for a high-profile client, you’re better off ignoring anytime.

On the other hand, if your audience is casual, such as a blog post or a letter to a friend, anytime is perfectly acceptable. Indeed, it’s even preferred over its more stilted cousin in creative writing, especially where dialogue is concerned.

How to Use Anytime

Casualisms aside, there are rules to using anytime properly. As we touched on, the adverb anytime modifies a verb to indicate an indefinite or unspecified point in time for the verb’s action. It literally means “whenever.”

Let’s look at some examples. Take the following phrases:

• So long as it’s after my meeting, you can call anytime.
• Working as a freelance writer is great since I can do my work anytime.
• I love making my own food, so I’m happy to cook anytime.

Notice how anytime modifies the verbs: call, write and cook. You’ll often see it used at the end of a sentence like this, but we can certainly rearrange them with success:

• Feel free to call anytime after dinner.
• Being able to do my work anytime is what makes freelance writing great.
• I’m happy to cook anytime since I love making my own food.

So, assuming your writing is intended for an informal audience and you’re using the word to modify a verb, it’s perfectly acceptable to use anytime vs. any time. If you’re still unsure, a nice trick is to replace it with the word whenever — if the sentence still works, you’re good to go. If not, read on!

How to Use Any Time

The phrase any time can be used in two different contexts with slightly different meanings. Used as an adverb, it essentially means the same thing as anytime. It indicates that something could happen at some indefinite point in time. In this context, we can replace our previous examples, and they’re still correct:

• So long as it’s after my meeting, you can call any time.
• Working as a freelance writer is great since I can do my work any time.
• I love making my own food, so I’m happy to cook any time.

Functioning as an adverb, anytime vs. any time is essentially the same. But things get confusing because any time also functions as a noun phrase. Used in this way, it indicates an unspecified point or amount of time. Building off of our examples, you can see how the meanings change:

• I won’t have any time for a call until after my meeting.
• The ability to work at any time is what makes freelance writing great.
• I love making my own food, so I’m happy to cook if I have any time.

The last thing to keep in mind is that any time is the only form that you can use following a preposition. Prepositions require objects, which are nouns — they can’t be adverbs. So, if the sentence contains the word at, you’ll use the phrase any time:

• So long as it’s after my meeting, you can call at any time.
• Working as a freelance writer is great since I can do my work at any time.
• I love making my own food, so I’m happy to cook at any time.

Not Interchangeable, Sort Of

Unfortunately, because of the rules of grammar, you can’t simply exchange any time with anytime in your writing. Because it functions as both an adverbial phrase and a noun phrase, removing the space can break the meaning of your sentence.

That said, because any time is more flexible, you can use it to replace anytime. If you find that trying to remember the rules of anytime vs. any time is more headache than it’s worth, feel free to stick to just using any time. It works every time. Either way, be sure to double-check by proofreading your work!

In Conclusion

So, there you have it: the history, nuances and sticky grammar rules for using anytime and any time. It seems like a lot to take in for one little space separating two short words. Should you need them, we’ve put a few tips together to help guide you:

• If you’re writing something formal, any time is more acceptable.
• When you see a preposition, always use any time.
• Check instances of any time by replacing it with whenever to see if it works.

There’s no denying that grammar is a little tricky at times, especially when you’re dealing with colloquialisms, casualisms and contractions. If you’d rather leave your content marketing to the pros, Crowd Content matches quality scriveners to webmasters and content marketers. With thousands of expert writers in our ranks, we can help you produce top-notch content anytime. Get in touch today to get started.

The post A Brief History of Anytime vs. Any Time appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Notice what we just did?

Once you understand how a semicolon works, this endearing little symbol can lend all kinds of variety and rhythm to your writing. Let’s look at the semicolon in action; it’s an easy way to expand your punctuation arsenal.

What’s a Semicolon?

A semicolon is a punctuation mark that looks like it’s part colon, part comma. Italian publisher Aldus Manutius is credited with creating the semicolon, and first put it to work in an essay by Pietro Bembo in 1494.

Semicolons are used in two ways:

1. To join two independent clauses
2. To separate items in a complex list

Why Are Semicolons Confusing?

People are often unsure how to use semicolons because of their similarity to other punctuation marks. Merriam-Webster may describe semicolons best:

“Like a comma, it can separate elements in a series. Like a period or colon, it often marks the end of a complete clause (that is, a sentence part that has its own subject and verb). And like a colon, it signals that what follows it is closely related to what comes before it.”

Comma, period, semicolon — are we confusing things more?

Hang tight. We’re going to walk through examples of the same sentence written with different punctuation to better clarify the roles of these marks. Once you understand the mechanics of how to use a semicolon, you can express thoughts in all kinds of ways.

How to Use a Semicolon

1. Using a Semicolon to Join Independent Clauses

Let’s begin with a quick grammar refresher. When you’ve got a group of words that includes a subject and verb, expressing a complete thought, you’ve got an independent clause.

You can write independent clauses as separate sentences.

• My dad’s birthday is today. I haven’t bought a present yet.
• The project is due tomorrow. She has to work overtime.
• Semicolons can be tricky. This punctuation guide is a big help!

Short sentences can be choppy, but you can meld them together by pulling a comma or semicolon out of your tool kit. Let’s compare how these punctuation marks work with the above sentences.

Using a Comma

When independent clauses are related, you can link them with a comma and coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

The clauses then become a single compound sentence:

• My dad’s birthday is today, and I haven’t bought a present yet.
• The project is due tomorrow, so she has to work overtime.
• Semicolons can be tricky, but this punctuation guide is a big help!

Using a Semicolon

Now, let’s try a semicolon. This powerful little symbol joins related independent clauses all on its own. No coordinating conjunction is needed — just put that semicolon to work!

• My dad’s birthday is today; I haven’t bought a present yet.
• The project is due tomorrow; she has to work overtime.
• Semicolons can be tricky; this punctuation guide is a big help!

The semicolon is a handy tool for changing the tempo of your writing and adding variety to sentence structure. It creates a pause that has a little more oomph than a comma, but isn’t as strong as a colon or period. An article in the New York Times by Parul Sehgal describes the semicolon as a “musical notation”.

2. When Using Words Such as Therefore and However

When you have two independent clauses (remember, these are complete thoughts), you can use words or phrases to transition between them. These transitional expressions, or conjunctive adverbs, let you emphasize, contrast, or restate ideas. These types of phrases include:

• for example
• that is
• besides
• accordingly
• furthermore
• otherwise
• however
• thus
• therefore

Give it a try. Use the semicolon to separate the independent clauses, then slip in a transitional phrase and comma after the semicolon.

• My dad’s birthday is today; however, I haven’t bought a present yet.
• The project is due tomorrow; therefore, she has to work overtime.
• Semicolons can be tricky; thus, this punctuation guide is a big help!

3. Separating Complex Lists With a Semicolon

A semicolon also functions as a comma when separating items or phrases in complex lists. It’s helpful for distinguishing between items, especially if there are already commas within those items.

Here are some examples comparing how to use a semicolon and comma in lists.

Use a comma when listing single items.

• We took a road trip through Washington, Oregon, and California.
• Punctuation marks include periods, commas, and semicolons.

Use a semicolon when listing phrases with internal punctuation.

• We took a road trip to Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Los Angeles, California.
• Punctuation marks include periods, which are used as a full stop; commas, which come after introductory phrases; and semicolons, which join independent clauses.

Using a Semicolon vs Comma

We’ve got one final tool to help you correctly use semicolons when writing or proofreading. Refer to this handy summary if you aren’t sure whether to use a semicolon or comma.

Use a semicolon if:

1. You’re joining two independent related clauses that are complete thoughts.

• I’m free today; can I help out?

2. You’re joining two independent clauses using transitional words (i.e. consequently, accordingly, thus)

• I’m free today; therefore, I can help out.

Use a comma if:

1. You’re joining an introductory clause (an incomplete thought) and an independent clause (a complete thought).

• Since I’m free, can I help out?

2. You’re joining two independent clauses using a coordinating conjunction (but, and, so).

• I’m free today, so can I help out?

Put Your Writing Skills to Work With Crowd Content

Now that you can wield a semicolon like a pro, we’d love to see what other writing skills you’ve got! Our clients are seeking freelance writers of all levels to complete articles, blog posts, landing pages, and product descriptions. Find out how to get started with Crowd Content today.

The post How to Use a Semicolon: Guide & Examples appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

This month, we’re retracing the route taken by one of Crowd Content’s most prolific freelancers. Moira, who writes under the pen name Selina Kyle, has kindly agreed to chat with us about a writing career that tops more than 20 years, sharing what she’s learned along the way.

Originally from Tulsa, Moira spent the last few years as a nomadic writer, moving around as a campground host and spending time soaking up the sun on the West Coast. “When I was in California, I wrote at the beach a lot so I could listen to the ocean,” she recalls. She’s currently back in Oklahoma to be closer to family.

She made an early splash in writing in the third grade when she had a poem published in her school’s student magazine. She eventually turned her knack for putting words together into a professional career. She’s written for trade journals, magazines, newspapers, ezines and websites — with a couple of appearances in short story anthologies for good measure.

“I’ve been both a staff writer and a freelance or a contract writer,” Moira says. “Two of the largest publications I currently write for regularly are Hobby Farms and Horse Illustrated, both print publications that are distributed nationally to stores and a large subscription base.” She’s carved out a strong writing niche, with additional credits in AgVentures, Chickens and American Quarter Horse Journal.

Most writers come to Crowd Content looking for work, but Moira discovered our platform when one of her long-time clients began using our services exclusively. “He requested that I be ‘hired’ and added to his team…he didn’t want to lose me as a writer. Great client!” she says. We’re pretty thankful he brought Moira here, too.

After checking out the platform, she decided to stick around. “I like that I can get to know the project managers I work with a lot. I’ve written for other platforms and there wasn’t much interaction or helpfulness among the writers like CC has on the forum,” she explains. “Emailing a project manager directly and actually getting a response was basically unheard of. I like CC so much better that I’ve quit writing on any other platforms.”

Since Moira has quite a few projects under her belt here, we ask for the scoop on the ones she likes best. “The type with a byline!” she laughs, adding, “Really, any type of writing that lets me write about interesting topics and/or learn something new.” She particularly liked writing blog posts for travel nursing. “The assignments paid relatively well and included a byline, which helped me earn a couple of private clients in a similar field.”

But writing’s not always easy, no matter how long you’ve been doing it. Even the most practiced writers can find it tricky to pick the right words and keep their copy fresh. Moira admits it’s challenging “coming up with something new to say or a…different way to say something when you’re writing about a topic that’s already been done to death.”

Moira acknowledges it can be tough when you’re trying to map out your own route to success early in your career. “I’ve received a lot of advice over the years from ‘more experienced’ writers. Really, you have to find what works for you,” she says. “Some popular advice I can tell you I don’t agree with is ‘write what you know’. This isn’t completely true. If it’s something you can learn enough about to write with authority or you can get information from someone who’s an authority on the subject, then you don’t necessarily have to ‘know’ it.”

In other words, if you’re hesitant to pick up a project because you aren’t sure you have the right knowledge — jump in. You may be surprised at what you’re capable of. Moira adds, “Writing about something you don’t know is a great way to learn something new, which I think is one of the most fun things about being a writer.”

It’s also important to listen to your instincts, she says. “Find your own voice instead of trying to imitate someone else’s, and if there’s a good local writer’s group, join it. Writer’s groups are a great way to make friends with similar interests and you really can learn some great things from other writers. Take what you learn and use what works for you but don’t worry about forcing anything that doesn’t work for you,” she concludes.

Moira’s love for the craft definitely shines through, and we could likely chat about writing for at least another thousand words. But, there’s another reason we’re here. In the time-honored tradition of Writer Spotlight, it’s time to shift the focus back on our featured scribe and find out what she’s really like when not at her keyboard.

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “Seafood — all types but especially shrimp, crab legs and lobster.”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? “Law & Order SVU and Seinfeld. Favorite movie depends what kind of mood I’m in, but if I had to pick, probably Braveheart, Ice Harvest, No Country for Old Men, Mrs. Doubtfire and Dirty Dancing.”

Do you have any hobbies or unusual interests? “I like to go to car shows and play with a team on an online trivia site. When I lived in California, one of my favorite pastimes was walking the beaches looking for sea glass, which my husband would make into really cool necklaces for me.”

What’s your favorite book? “Some of my top picks would be the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey, the Bishop Special Crimes Unit series by Kay Hooper, and anything by Stephen King.”

If you could change one thing about our platform, what would it be? “A project that would have a dedicated team and every writer on the team would be responsible for writing a set number of assignments for that project each month, which would be sent to them directly. It would be much easier to plan your writing calendar, count on a paycheck, and get really good at the projects you were part of.”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “Maybe not exactly what you had in mind, but these are the words that popped into my head: Hate, abuse, racist, misogynistic, cancer.”

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I love to… “Not be working. LOL. I’m always working. But seriously, I love to read, watch a movie, play with my new puppy, visit family and friends, go for a random drive looking at scenery and neat houses, watch the sun set, just breathe.”

Moira has definitely earned some time to relax and enjoy the sunset. As for us, we’re punching our next destination into our mapping app and hitting the road again. Which Crowd Content freelancer are we popping in on next? Maybe it’ll be you!

The post Writer Spotlight: Selina Kyle — Many Roads Lead to Crowd Content appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Poking and prying? Those happen to be our specialties here at Writer Spotlight! This month, we meet one of our most curious writers. Freelancer Oriel Roy, known in real-life as Hannah, says she’s “nosy by nature,” but this desire to learn has served her well.

Our story begins in the United Kingdom. Hannah grew up in Surrey and lives in Kent, in southeast England. She began writing three years ago before the birth of her son, and worked her way to freelancing full-time last year. “I started writing as a way to fit work around my little boy and have loved every minute of it,” she explains.

A qualified primary school teacher, Hannah spent seven years as a literary specialist teaching young children. She continues to teach privately around her freelancing commitments, but has long dabbled in writing. “Beforehand, I wrote a few self-published romance novels. I wish I could say that they were a roaring success, but I’d be lying. I have no plans to attempt another anytime soon.” Romance publishing’s loss is definitely Crowd Content’s gain!

Hannah brought her skills to our platform after a blogger recommended Crowd Content as a great place to work. Because our clients come from diverse industries, it’s been a great fit. “One of the things that I love most about being a writer is the chance to research a wide range of topics and discover new interests. I always find medical writing fascinating,” she says. And you never know when Crowd Content may help save the day. “Sometimes, things I’ve learnt while I’m writing have come in very handy,” Hannah adds. “We had a plumbing disaster recently and I knew exactly what to do after doing a lot of work on the plumbing blogs!”

Hannah suggests writers new to Crowd Content dive in with enthusiasm, even if they’re intimidated. “I suffered from a certain degree of imposter syndrome when I first started, and sometimes felt worried to try new things,” she reveals. “The only way to learn and improve in this job is by doing, and it’s good to try to be open-minded about the type of projects you want to take on. My favorite projects haven’t necessarily been the ones that I felt drawn to initially.”

Hannah loves the Resume Builder team the most. “I’m a little nosy by nature, and I’ve rather enjoyed learning about what’s involved in an incredibly diverse range of jobs,” she says. “It’s given me an interesting insight into other people’s lives.”

When she’s not writing or teaching, Hannah spends time picking up new languages. “I’m studying Russian and Korean at the moment,” she says. “My hobby has given me the opportunity to meet lots of new friends online to practise my language skills, and I would love to visit in the future to put what I’ve learnt to the test!”

You might also find her tuning in to classic British sitcoms like Fawlty Towers, Vicar of Dibley, and Only Fools and Horses. “We watched them endlessly as kids, especially at Christmas, and they always bring back comforting memories of evenings at home with my family,” she recalls.

But her ideal way to spend free time? “Go to the coast with my son and husband and spend a whole weekend on the beach and eat too much food at the pub,” she says.

Our research has turned up some good information about Hannah so far, but it’s time to get to the real scoop.

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “My favorite author is Hilary Mantel. I love everything she’s written, but my favorite is Wolf Hall.”

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “I love Indian food and my favorite treat is a big takeout meal from our local restaurant. I’ve been learning to cook my own curries at home, but they’re never quite the same!”

Have you been published by any notable sites or organizations? “I’ve had a few articles published on Listverse about some of my weirder interests, including a piece about a massive prehistoric fish called Dunkleosteus. That one was fun to write!”

Where do you write? “I’ve developed a terrible habit of writing on the sofa! My morning ritual is to make myself really comfy with lots of cushions, a blanket, and a big mug of coffee. My family calls it my writing nest.”

What do you think sets Crowd Content apart from other content platforms? “I feel that the platform pays its writers fairly, and I love the fact that there is always support available if I’m stuck or having issues. The forum is another major selling point, and it’s great to have a space for writers to support and encourage each other.”

If you could change one thing about our platform, what would it be? “Perhaps an area to explore in the future would be some kind of mentorship scheme, where experienced writers can nurture new talent and help new starters build their skills.”

What do you find most challenging about writing content? “Getting to grips with complex briefs is always a challenge.”

Do you have any advice for new writers? “Take constructive criticism on the chin and see feedback as a learning opportunity… it’s normal to make mistakes as a new (and experienced!) writer.”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “Grotesque, yummy, scrumptious, fishy, and drip.”

I was going to wrap up in Korean to test Hannah’s knowledge, but I’m a little rusty. So, I’ll simply say that I hope Writer Spotlight is satisfying your curiosity about the freelancers working here at Crowd Content. We’ll be poking and prying into the life of another writer soon. Maybe it’ll be you!

The post Writer Spotlight: Oriel Roy — Enquiring Minds Want to Know appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Sure, it’s not literary, but generations of kids pored over the glossy pages of the department’s store annual Christmas catalogue. While this slice of Americana fueled many dreams of shiny toys, its pages of product descriptions inspired more than a few marketing writers, too, including one of Crowd Content’s very own. Let’s find out more, as we do some virtual globetrotting and meet four-star writer, self-professed tree nerd, and amazing grandma, Melissa Spicer.

Born and raised in Eastern Kentucky, Melissa lives just outside of Lexington in Campton, population 400. She’s played with words her whole life, writing mostly poetry when she was younger. She went on to study Communications at the University of Louisville and has published pieces on women’s issues for The Clinton Foundation.

Like many freelancers, she turned a love of writing into a viable career. “Writing has always been a hobby, but it wasn’t until 2008 that I realized I could make money doing it,” she explains. She got her start on various writing platforms, which eventually led her to Crowd Content. “I worked with several of the admins here when they were on other platforms, and one of them invited me,” she explains. “The people here are always so kind and helpful. The work is usually bountiful. And the pay on most projects is pretty good!” she says. Glad you like it here, Melissa. We aim to please.

Her versatility makes her indispensable to many project managers, but she has a particular knack for persuasive copy. “Marketing writing seems to come easiest for me,” she says, adding, “I think it goes back to my fondness of the Sears Wish Book when I was a child. I’d read it cover to cover.”

Melissa’s early training paid off — well-crafted product descriptions are required reading for any writers who want to make their bread and butter from PDs. It’s no surprise then, to find out which Crowd Content project holds a special place in her heart. “I think the Darice descriptions were my favorite, especially the batches with Halloween or Christmas products,” she says. I’m quite sure Melissa’s tightly woven copy sold many glittery ornaments and mini pumpkin decorations. (We miss you, Darice.)

You can often find Melissa writing wherever inspiration strikes — in her home office, at her kitchen table or on the back deck — but some days, the words flow less easily than others. We asked her what the most challenging part of writing content is. “I am easily distracted by all the pretty shiny people and things around me,” she admits. On those days, you might find her reading, gardening and studying trees. “I’m a tree nerd,” she says. But her number one favorite pastime? “Playing with my only grandbaby, my grandson, Weston, who just turned four,” she says proudly.

Whether you share Melissa’s love for writing PDs or prefer blog posts and articles, you might be interested in her advice for new writers: don’t get discouraged. “One thing I’ve always struggled with as a writer is taking feedback personally. Remember editors are only trying to help you grow — and meet the requirements of the project brief,” Melissa explains. “It takes time to develop a thick skin, and sometimes feedback still stings, even after more than a decade of writing.”

You know what’s coming next, faithful readers. Hang on, because it’s time to dive into the lightning round.

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “I would probably go with Patricia Cornwell. I’m a crime/serial killer junkie. I have all of her books in hardcover. I am also a Stephen King fan. I’ve read most of his work.”

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “I love food, but I’m on a low-carb diet due to my health, so I’m usually noshing on meats, veggies and string cheese. It’s a struggle!”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? “I’m a huge TV buff. I think my favorite TV show of all time is Desperate Housewives. Or Nurse Jackie. Or Weeds. I can’t choose just one.”

If you could change one thing about our platform, what would it be? “The ability to like, love or laugh at forum comments could be entertaining.”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “Adulting. It’s overdone, let it rest. Firstly (followed by secondly, thirdly, and so on) for obvious reasons. Occasionally (because I only occasionally spell it right on the first try). Is three enough? I can’t think of any other words that I dislike at the moment.”

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working… “I love to play with my grandson and sleep!”

We won’t keep you from your sweet grandbaby any longer, Melissa. Thank you for your time, and I only wish I had a Sears Wish Book for you and Weston to read together! And to all of you other wonderful writers, I hope you found some inspiration in Melissa’s stories to spark your own work, or at least start some very early Christmas shopping. We’ll see you next time when another Crowd Content freelancer steps into the spotlight. Maybe it’ll be you.

The post Writer Spotlight: Melissa Spicer — The Making of a Marketing Writer appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

That’s why we’re pretty proud of our Crowd Content community. Although you may only know your fellow writers from a profile picture and a few online messages, there’s plenty of camaraderie to be found.

Some personalities shine particularly bright. We know which of you can tap out a witty comment or infuse a dash of levity into our days. One such luminary is Richard S., who’s made more than one writer laugh out loud in our discussion threads, generating requests for a “like” or “laughing” button. Someday, Richard may realize his dream of being a commander in the space navy, but for now, we’re glad he’s part of our elite force. Intrigued? Read on.

Based in Sacramento, California, Richard has been writing off and on his whole life, and professionally for the last eight years. “I used to be an EMT, but I’ve done a lot of weird jobs, including private investigator and door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman,” he explains.

In 2016, he joined the Crowd Content squadron. “Work had mostly dried up at the platform where I used to do most of my work,” he recalls. “I tried a Best Buy PD here out of near desperation. The rest is history.”

Richard has since earned his four-star badge and regularly delivers smoothly crafted PDs, articles and web content on a range of topics. “PDs are okay but unchallenging. I especially like articles that make me do some research. It’s like getting paid to educate myself online,” he says of his favorite projects. “I made a living out of Caring and Seniorly in the past, but lately it’s been all Teknicks and HomeServe. I have always preferred long-form articles with minimal formatting.”

His biggest challenge when writing is also the flip side of those work-at-home perks: getting motivated. “My natural state is napping on the couch, so I really have to give myself a shove to start writing in the morning,” he confesses. Richard used to write in coffee shops until the pandemic changed the world. Now, you can find him “sitting in my living room, in my new recliner, a pillow on my lap as a laptop desk.”

While we can confirm Richard’s talents are used only for good at Crowd Content, there are times he’s wielded his skills on those who least suspect it, and with hilarious results. “I’ve been writing bogus complaint letters to corporations and political figures for nearly 20 years,” he admits. “My best so far was when I complained to the makers of Preparation H that their suppositories were hard to swallow. They sent me a coupon and urged me to discontinue use of their product in the described manner.”

Note to self: check if Richard’s written letters of complaint to Crowd Content.

In the meantime, Richard does have suggestions for improving our platform. “I’d like to see a 5-star writer category that pays write+edit rates for the most experienced and reliable writers,” he says. “I would also appreciate making editors wear business suits during working hours, but I’m not sure how we would enforce that.”

An experienced wordsmith, Richard also has advice for those of you who are new recruits. “Have you considered learning to weld? It’s honest work,” he says. “If you must write, step up your exercise routine and watch your diet. Try to build some kind of structure into your day and don’t pull any more all-nighters after age 40. Try to always have a few chores around the house that need doing, so you have something to do while you’ve got writers’ block.”

Excellent tips. But the best way to really get to know our now-infamous scribe is to let him speak for himself. Here’s what else we got Richard to reveal:

What are the five worst words in the English language? “Literally, ginormous, actually, problematic, squish(y)(ed).”

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “I can’t remember the last time I got the time to read an actual book. I have gone through phases where I consumed pulp science fiction (think PKD and Heinlein), and other phases where I read a ton of popular science books. When I was a kid, I wanted to be H.L. Mencken when I grew up.”

Have you been published by any notable sites or organizations (digital or traditional)? “I published at All That’s Interesting for several years, and my author page is still up as an archive. If you look at it, please know that I had no control over the editing or layout decisions.”

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “I mostly cook at home. For the last several months I’ve been on the Mediterranean diet, so now I make my own pesto sauce.”

What do you think sets Crowd Content apart from other content platforms? “In the beginning, CC’s main draw was the high pay relative to the other platforms. While there’s less of a difference now, CC seems to have the most reliably full queues.”

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I love to: “Daydream about being in a space navy.”

Ah, dreams can come true, Richard. But until you can command your own fleet of starships, we’ve got plenty of digital territory for you to conquer.

Before I sign off, a big thank you to all of you. We certainly couldn’t succeed without such a talented, hard-working crew. And now, we’re headed into the stars to find another Crowd Content writer to spotlight. Maybe it’ll be you!

The post Writer Spotlight: Richard S. — To Infinity, and Beyond! appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

It’s this wizardry and skill that we celebrate in Writer Spotlight. After all, we know it’s formidable talent and not enchantment that pulls solid, sparkling copy out of thin air. And I trust that this month’s featured writer won’t mind the sorcery comparison, knowing the magical worlds that live on her bookshelf.

Meet Bea Johnson. Originally from a small town in middle Tennessee, Bea now calls north Fort Worth, Texas, home. She’s going onto nearly two decades of working as a professional writer, transitioning from web and graphic design. “While building sites, I discovered I liked writing the content for them more than I liked building them,” Bea explains. “So, BOOM! Here I am.”

Bea’s got a certain way of making prose shine, and I suspect it’s from her avid love of words. She bubbles with exuberance when responding to our question about her favorite books.

“I’m not sure I have a favorite-favorite so much as a favorite in various genres,” she begins. “Like with urban fantasy — my main fluffy squeeze. My favorites are Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series and Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series.”

(The Dresden Files is about Chicago’s first and only wizard P.I. There’s wizardry everywhere. But, back to Bea’s bookshelf.)

“As far as standalone works go, I love Arturo Perez-Reverte’s The Club Dumas, of which half was the basis for the movie The Ninth Gate,” she continues. “I also enjoy older stuff like Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea’s Illuminatus! trilogy, which I quote excessively, and modern crime drama authors like Elmore Leonard.” Bea also slips in a “great big nod” to Neal Stephenson and graphic novels such as Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series.

“In all honesty, though, I’d read the back of a cereal box with gusto if that’s all I had on hand,” Bea concludes.

Bea is a mainstay on our platform as both a writer and editor, although she doesn’t remember how she found Crowd Content all those years ago. “I’m just glad that I did because I love working with y’all,” she comments. We’re glad, too, Bea!

She appreciates the platform’s open lines of communication. “The project managers are always quick to answer questions and address concerns, and most writing platforms could take a page from CC’s book in that regard,” she says.

Her favorite project was Darice, because of her love of crafting. “Also, all the research I did for it took me on some interesting tangents and aided me in improving my own personal projects…and even landing some other writing projects,” she adds.

And what about life beyond words? When Bea’s not reading about the wholesome grains in her cereal bowl or writing for Crowd Content, you can find her watching CatTV. No, it’s not a new streaming service. It’s right outside her window.

“My guy and I enjoy watching suburban wildlife,” she explains. “We started leaving food out for the feral cats in the cul-de-sac to help out and entertain our indoor cats, calling it CatTV. After a bit, we naturally started seeing foxes, raccoons and opossums pretty much every day.” I think Bea’s onto something. I can hear Sir David Attenborough narrating the series.

And now it’s time for Writer Spotlight to really dig deep. Harry Dresden, wizard detective, doesn’t let up on an investigation, and neither do we.

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “I love a perfectly seared medium-rare sirloin and baked potato when we go out…because I don’t have to fight with the cats for it.”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? “I don’t really have a favorite. We’re just finishing up Justified. We binged on Banshee and The Boys earlier this year, and I think we’re doing Deadwood next, followed by Life, this really great show with Damien Lewis that only lasted two seasons.”

Where do you write? “I write on the sofa with my laptop, well, on my lap. It’s just easier for me than toting it all over the place.”

Have you been published by any notable sites or organizations? “No. I actually try to fly below the radar.”

What do you find most challenging about writing content? “Making outlines. I avoided long-form content for so long just because headings and subheadings make me nervous.”

If you could change one thing about our platform, what would it be? “I’d love it if you could fix the spell check issue on the new editor.”

Do you have any advice for new writers? “Don’t take feedback personally, but do use it to improve your writing. When you’re too attached to your writing and can’t take criticism, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Like most anything else in life, it’s about the effort you put in, and part of that is knowing where you lack and working to fix it.”

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I love to… “Hang out on social media and meme with my friends…and play with cats. Luckily, my guy is the same.”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “No words are bad, but usage and context might make them so, depending on who utters them. Some words sound better than others…but they all have their place in the tapestry.”

Poof! And just like that, another Writer Spotlight is in the books. My thanks go out to Bea for her time. And I hope you’ll join us again next time when we lift the curtain on another Crowd Content writing wizard. Maybe it’ll be you! 

The post Writer Spotlight: Bea Johnson — Thoughts on Words, Wizards and Wildlife appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The Internet also makes the world a little smaller, giving Crowd Content writers, editors and project managers a digital space to gather no matter where they live. We’ve connected with freelancers around the globe because of this unique ability to cross oceans and continents with a click.

One of our most active writers, Australia’s Brianna Ford, is the subject of this month’s Writer Spotlight. Better known as Kaia in real life, she spent time chatting with us about writing, traveling and where she found one of the best bacon cheeseburgers in the United States. Let’s get to it.

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Kaia is originally from the beautiful city of Adelaide on the Australian coast. She takes full advantage of the flexibility of Crowd Content and the Internet to work from different locales. Before the pandemic hit, she spent a few years house-sitting in a variety of destinations, mostly in South Australia. With travel now on hold, she’s living with her parents until people take holidays again and she can resume her own travels.

Kaia began her writing career early. “I wrote my first short story at five,” she says. “It was about my Cabbage Patch Kids’ adventure at the circus.” Creating imaginary worlds has always been her preferred type of writing, but, she says, “I haven’t written any fiction in years.” This must mean we’re keeping her too busy, but perhaps this chat will inspire her to revisit the craft. It’s time for a Cabbage Patch Kids sequel, perhaps?

Kaia worked in an administration role before putting her writing skills to work as a tech writer for a government project. She credits a good, old-fashioned Google search for helping her find Crowd Content.

We casually ask her what she likes about our platform. Okay, we fish for a compliment, but she cheerfully obliges. Kaia credits “the people, the great projects and a willingness to help writers become better and achieve success” as the best features of the platform. When we inquire if there’s anything she’d change, she answers, “With the new auto-save feature, I feel like all my wishes came true!” Kudos to our technical team for that one.

Kaia writes a broad range of copy, including snappy product descriptions and captivating blog posts. She pitches in on whatever our project managers need help with, but she looks back fondly on one client in particular. “I really enjoyed the Link Business project, which finished quite a while ago. I always learned something new,” Kaia says. “It was also fun researching something for them and discovering a past article of mine was in the top Google results.”

While Kaia has successfully found her niche at Crowd Content, we know some of you are just starting out and looking for tips to make an impact here. She serves up this advice: “Listen to the editors and project managers. They want to help you get better.” And, if you feel nervous or intimidated about picking up a new order, Kaia suggests going for it. “Jump into projects, because there’s a lot of great work.” It’s true. We all started somewhere.

Now that we have a sense of what Kaia is really like, it’s time to shift this Writer Spotlight into high gear with the lightning round.

Do you have any hobbies or unusual interests? “I cross-stitch and plan to learn crochet this year. I also do CrossFit.”

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “That changes pretty regularly, but Cory Doctorow is probably my favorite author at the moment. My favorite book isn’t one of his, though. It’s World War Z, by Max Brooks.”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? “I don’t really have one.” (Have you tried 24?)

What do you find most challenging about writing content? “Finding new ways to say the same thing.”

Where do you write (office, outside, coffee shop, etc.)? “Mostly at my desk in my home office, but I do like to go write at the library a couple of times a month.”

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “I like a good bacon cheeseburger, and last time I was in the U.S. I had one in every city I visited to discover the best.” For those of you wondering which city earned the honors, it was Kingman, Arizona, on the famed Route 66.

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I love to… “When I’m not working, I love to read. Or cook.”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “Cut 100 words from the piece. It always makes the piece better, but it’s hard choosing what to delete.”

Speaking of which, my word count runneth over, so this seems a good place to wrap up. Kaia, I look forward to your Cabbage Patch Kids trilogy. Yes, I suggested a sequel earlier, but I’m upping the stakes and confident you can do it. We’ll go for a bacon cheeseburger when you’re done.

There are so many of you writers who keep Crowd Content happily buzzing. This edition of Writer Spotlight may be over, but we’ll be back soon with a provocative profile of yet another freelancer. Maybe it’ll be you!

ALSO – Writer Spotlight: Rachel Elle — A Peek Into the Life of a Crowd Content Pro

The post Writer Spotlight: Brianna Ford — It’s a Small World, After All appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

At Crowd Content, it’s our writers we count on when things get hectic. This month’s Writer Spotlight shines on one of our most steadfast freelancers, a seasoned pro who’s been helping us tackle overflowing work queues and looming deadlines since our earliest days. Meet Rachel Elle — a four-star writer, foodie, and treasure trove of information about the New York subway.

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Originally from Ohio, Rachel began jotting down stories at the wise old age of four. Eventually turning her passion for prose into a marketable job skill, she started collecting paychecks for writing when she was a junior in college. Rachel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English/Creative Writing and a Master of Accounting; two vastly different degrees that she’s put to good use.

Today, she lives in Manhattan and works full-time in finance for a media company. When Rachel’s not at her day job, she fits in as many Crowd Content orders as she can. “When I commuted, I used to occasionally write from my phone on the train or while walking,” she says.

Wait. Did she just say writing while walking?

She did, but doesn’t recommend this approach. This is a good thing. We don’t want our writers to step off a curb or walk into a lamp post while working keywords into their blog posts. End of public service announcement.

Our story now turns to Mark Zuckerberg, or at least his social media empire, for helping Rachel find Crowd Content. In 2013, she discovered our platform through a Facebook group that shared work-from-home resources. This means she’s been writing blog posts, articles and product descriptions for us for nearly eight years. She’s certainly earned her spot in the Crowd Content hall of fame with other veteran writers and editors like Sapphire Knight.

Rachel’s ability to tackle almost any writing job makes her indispensable to clients and project managers. “I consider myself a generalist,” she says. “As long as an article topic fits into my general knowledge base and isn’t something I’m personally/morally/ethically opposed to, I’ll write it. I’ve written about everything from cremation jewelry to tankless water heaters.”

As much as we rely on Rachel’s finely crafted prose, we appreciate that there are times when she’s not crunching numbers or writing copy. What does she do when she’s not working? “Real answer? Sit on the couch and do nothing,” she confesses. “Idealistic answer? Explore the city — no matter how long you’ve lived here, there’s always something new to see.” She adds, “My husband and I are foodies, so we’re always trying new restaurants. An enormous portion of our disposable income goes to dining out…or ordering in, in these fun COVID times.”

All right. I think that’s a pretty good warm-up. Now let’s get to the meat and potatoes of it all. It’s time to learn Rachel’s honest opinions about books, movies, and, gasp, Crowd Content.

Do you have any hobbies or unusual interests? “I’m really into elite gymnastics and follow U.S. gymnasts closely. I also love mass transit and am a veritable fount of useless information about the New York City Subway.” (Oh, do we have a treat for you, Rachel. Stay tuned till the end.)

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “My favorite author has long been Tamora Pierce, possibly now from more of a nostalgic place. My favorite book is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.”

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “If I’m cooking myself, I’m a big fan of fresh pasta with homemade pesto.”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? “I hate movies. I find them equal parts too short and too long: too long for me to sit through without multitasking and yet too short to tell a well-rounded story. I’m a big fan of crime dramas, true crimes stories and female-focused dramas. I’ve seen every episode of Law & Order: SVU and Criminal Minds at least once.”

Have you been published by any notable sites or organizations (digital or traditional)? “Not that I’m aware, but I’m not always sure who my clients are.”

Which project has been your favorite? Why? “FHE Health. The orders are both easy and interesting.”

What do you think sets Crowd Content apart from other content platforms? “Ease of use, pay (much higher than most competitors), transparency into internal practices, and ease of communication with management. I’ve tried many others over the years, and Crowd Content is hands down the best.”

If you could change one thing about our platform, what would it be? “I dislike the new content editor.”

What do you find most challenging about writing content? “I guess I’d say research if I had to pick, but I’ve always found writing easy.”

Do you have any advice for new writers? “Be patient; writing doesn’t come naturally to everyone and developing the skills necessary to succeed can take time. Stay in contact with clients, especially when starting out. I built my early client base by thanking clients who gave me good reviews and letting them know I was available for more work.”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “All words have a place. They’re only bad when used improperly or by someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.”

Rachel, thank you for giving us a peek into your world. To express our appreciation, we have a tidbit to add to your New York City Subway knowledge. Did you know the longest ride on the system without changing trains is on the A train? It’s 31 miles from 207 Street in Manhattan to Far Rockaway in Queens. But, you probably knew that already.

It’s been a pleasure as always, readers. Please join us again next time, when another Crowd Content writer steps into the spotlight. Maybe it’ll be you!

ALSO – Writer Spotlight: Jenn MacDonald — Yes, It Started With a Bough of Holly

The post Writer Spotlight: Rachel Elle — A Peek Into the Life of a Crowd Content Pro appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

For Jenn MacDonald, the latter occurred on a summer day in 2019, when she sent a product description about a decorative Christmas garland through to our servers. Little did she know this cheerful little PD would lead to a steady stream of client orders on topics such as digital marketing, health insurance, travel nursing and puppies.

This month, Writer Spotlight is dedicated to getting to know Jenn, one of the four-star writers whose prose helps keep our platform humming smoothly. Settle in, grab your beverage of choice and let’s head out on a virtual journey to Canada’s west coast. Virtual trips are the only ones we’re taking in 2020, anyway.

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Jenn, who’s known as Anita to her family and friends, lives just outside of Vancouver, B.C. She tries to keep the sentences flowing despite the distractions of a husband taking Zoom meetings all day, two kids navigating online school, and a couple of cats that stare her down until they’re fed.

“I’ve been a freelance writer for more than 15 years, but have been writing since I was a child,” she says. “I used to scribble stories on any piece of paper I could find.”

Before becoming a professional writer, she worked in communications and marketing in the film industry, including a stint as a publicist for the National Film Board of Canada. “Copywriting was always my favorite task, and I decided to focus on it,” she explains. “My first clients were companies I’d worked for, so I was lucky to have a fairly easy transition to going out on my own.”

Anita took a short break from freelancing a few years ago, and began writing with us when she returned. “I read about Crowd Content in a blog post somewhere,” she explains. “It was singled out as the most professional of all the online writing platforms, and I was intrigued. I’ve been here ever since.”

In fact, we’ve made such an impression on her, we’re the only content creation platform she writes for. “I like the variety of work, the awesome project managers and the sense of community here,” she enthuses. “I also appreciate that I can focus on writing while someone else lines up clients and makes sure the invoices are paid. That side of freelancing is so time consuming.”

We do sound pretty amazing when you put it that way. But there’s always room for improvement, right? We press her to tell us what she’d change. “One adjustment has already been made, which is providing the TaT bonus on direct orders in the marketplace. I don’t usually qualify for the bonus because of the way I work,” she explains. “I’d love another way to earn the bonus besides speed, but I understand why it’s set up that way.”

Anita cites Walmart, Darice and Love’s Furniture as some of her favorite past projects because she enjoys the challenge of making ordinary things sound appealing. “I like to write marketing content, product descriptions and blog posts — unless the subjects are related to technology. Then, I run the other way, because I find it hard to wrap my head around those topics,” she says. Really? Are you sure I can’t interest you in an order about cloud computing?

Despite avoiding certain subjects, Anita has submitted about 350,000 words and 700 orders to our project managers and clients. She must have some advice for new writers who are just getting their bearings here.

“Dive right in,” she encourages. “It’s the best way to learn. Try to understand why editors make changes so you can improve your writing.”

Speaking of diving in, it’s time to get really serious about this profile. Let’s put her on the spot with some of our hardest-hitting questions.

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “Sushi is my go-to. Even better: all-you-can-eat sushi.”

Do you have any hobbies or unusual interests? “Nothing unusual. I love to read, write and travel.”

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “I really liked A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth — it’s a gorgeous, sweeping epic. It’s a TV series now, but I’m not sure if I’ll watch because I visualize the story in a certain way.”

Have you been published by any notable sites or organizations (digital or traditional)? “I’ve written for parenting sites like Savvy Mom and Grown & Flown.”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? “I love The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and am waiting for season 4. Right now, I’m watching The Long Way Up, which follows Ewan MacGregor and Charlie Boorman on a motorcycle trip through South America. It makes me want to travel there.”

Where do you write? “On my sofa, so I can look out the window. When my back starts to ache or the cats begin climbing on my keyboard, I move to the dining table.”

What do you find most challenging about writing content? “Falling down the research rabbit hole. I like to get a sense of a topic before I write but sometimes, I get off track.”

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I love to… “Walk in nature. Go on family road trips. Sleep.”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “I’m choosing five consecutive words: ‘What’s for dinner tonight, Mom?’ I mean, is it really time to feed them again?”

I hate to break it to you, Anita, but you probably should provide some sustenance to the cats and kids, so you can get back to writing. And that’s my cue to wrap up Writer Spotlight for this month. I’d like to thank Anita for her time, and all of you for the pleasant company on this journey. We’ll be back soon to introduce another Crowd Content writer. Maybe it’ll be you!

ALSO – Katharine Rochemont — Crowd Content Writer, Aspiring Novelist and Gardener Extraordinaire

The post Writer Spotlight: Jenn MacDonald — Yes, It Started With a Bough of Holly appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

It’s the same with our freelance writers. Some are just dipping their toes in and picked up the craft recently, and others have been immersed in words for years. Which brings us to our illustrious Writer Spotlight column, where we untangle the diverse paths writers take to became part of our community. So, set aside your Oxford commas and active voice for a little while as we get to know Katharine Rochemont, known in real life as Jeanne.

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One of Crowd Content’s most prolific wordsmiths, Jeanne’s smooth prose and willingness to jump in makes the lives of many project managers a wee bit easier. Although she’s loved writing since she was a child, it’s only been the last 11 years that she’s spun her lifelong passion into a full-time career.

Jeanne currently lives in Scotland, but has done some continent-hopping. She grew up in England and moved to the United States in her early 20s. She spent 14 years there, dividing her time between Minnesota and Kansas. In 2019, she crossed the Atlantic again, this time with her Kansas-born husband and three young children in tow — a precious souvenir of her time in North America.

Jeanne’s work life began in retail in the U.K. with Futon Company. She eventually became a store manager in Exeter. “After that, I spent some time in the training department at a subsidiary of Carlson Craft in Mankato, MN, and then worked for Dollar General for a few years [where I] started as a store manager [and] moved up to district manager,” Jeanne explains.

After putting all her energies into the job and eventually getting burned out, she opted to leave the 9-to-5 grind for a freelance writing and graphic design career in 2009. “That’s basically where I am now, although I dedicate almost 100% of my time to writing these days,” she says.

Her transition to Crowd Content was fairly seamless. “I’ve known many of the people involved in Crowd Content for years — Lisa, Katelynne, editors like Stuart Brown, etc.,” Jeanne explains. “We’ve all hung around in the same online content writing circles since the beginning of time — or so it feels!”

Her favorite projects to pluck from the platform’s work queues are 2,500- to 3,500-word articles for BigCommerce. “I love writing long-form pieces, editorials and so forth,” she says. “I think I’m probably drawn most often to content with an analytical/narrative/persuasive blend. I appreciate an honest tone.” But, like many of our writers, Jeanne dives in where needed. “Bitty web page content makes me want to rip my eyeballs out — but I’ll write it anyway.” If putting your eyeballs on the line isn’t true dedication, I don’t know what is.

Does our veteran four-star writer have any advice for those starting out? “Keep at it. The key to writing well is to write a lot,” Jeanne says. “Don’t be precious about your writing: instead, find a good editor, buddy up, and take advice to heart.”

When Jeanne isn’t writing…she’s writing. “In my spare time, I enjoy writing fiction: at the moment it’s a detective novel,” she says. But sometimes, she exchanges her suspenseful plotlines for a pretty garden plot. “I love gardening — I really like growing things from seed. I find it pretty fascinating.”

And now, let’s get to the root of it all. Here’s what inquiring minds want to know.

What do you think sets Crowd Content apart from other content platforms? “It’s a friendly place to work, and hosts a good number of decent projects. It also has a better pay rate than many other content marketplaces.”

If you could change one thing about our platform, what would it be? “I’d add an extra writing tier for small-volume high-end boutique projects.”

What do you find most challenging about writing content? “Crafting a compelling introduction to long-form content. Those first 2-300 or so words are a hook. They have to reel the reader in and get them interested in the rest of the piece. Once I’m happy with the beginning of a piece, I can write the rest at a quicker pace.”

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “I have to admit, it’s probably Stephen King. I really enjoy his edgy tone, which is unmistakable in the writing world. It’s not that I’m a particularly avid horror aficionado, it’s more that I find his story ideas compelling (well, most of them). I’m also currently working my way through Anne Cleeves’ Shetland book series — slow-burning detective yarns set in a moody atmosphere. Lovely.”

Have you been published by any notable sites or organizations (digital or traditional)? “Not under my regular name (I nearly always ghostwrite). I’m working on it, though. I’m sure I’m capable — it’s just a question of opportunity.”

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “Nearly anything Italian.”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? “Gosh, so many. One that springs to mind: Inception. I thought that was very good.”

Where do you write? “Sitting at my kitchen table, sitting at my desk in front of the window, or sitting in front of the fire. I don’t choose option three unless I’m feeling really chipper, though — too big a risk of falling asleep.”

Complete this sentence. When I’m not working, I love to… “Write fiction and look at the sea.”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “Oxymoron, bifurcate, proactive (even though I use it quite often), disruptor, incentivize (ugh!).”

And on that note, Jeanne needs to pull herself away from the fireplace and figure out how not to use the word bifurcate in her next content order. I’d feel better if someone could please give her some protective goggles to make sure her eyeballs are safe.

Come back soon as we dig into the life of another Crowd Content writer. Maybe it’ll be you!

ALSO – Writer Spotlight: Marisol Rivera — In Which We Discuss the Importance of Writing, Coffee and 24

The post Writer Spotlight: Katharine Rochemont — Crowd Content Writer, Aspiring Novelist and Gardener Extraordinaire appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Who are these fearless scribes? This month, we meet four-star writer and self-proclaimed 24-aficionado, Marisol Rivera.

See, there was a point to that Jack Bauer reference.

ALSO – Hire Freelance Writers Today

As we continue our quest to introduce you to the people behind the pen names, Marisol — known as Missy to her friends and family — dishes about highly classified details such as her path to Crowd Content, what it’s really like writing for us and the secrets new writers can learn from her experience. And rest assured, Missy willingly obliged. There were no surreptitious interrogation techniques used in the making of this Writer Spotlight.

It’s been awhile since our last installment, and we only have a thousand words, so let’s jump right in.

To get to know Missy, we’re setting the scene by whisking you to O’Fallon, Missouri, an hour outside of St. Louis. Missy’s settled at her desk in her living room with her coffee, computer and feline friends. Carefully crafted words are flowing from her fingertips to impress Crowd Content clients such as Teknicks, Jumbleberry and Lendzi. “Rick and Erin manage most of my favorite projects,” she says, when asked about the orders usually found in her queue.

Missy is partial to writing content that requires a casual voice. “I prefer anything where I can use a conversational tone, and product descriptions are always fun,” she says. “Dry content isn’t my thing, but I admire writers who can do that stuff well.” She adds, “I really miss Walmart PDs, so please hit me up if we ever get another batch of those.” Duly noted.

Prior to becoming a full-time freelance writer 12 years ago, Missy worked a wonderfully varied career that involved stints as a retail cashier, chiropractic assistant and McDonald’s manager. She also oversaw marketing events at hockey games, concerts and festivals. Her first article was published in 2002 when she was a teen, a personal essay about getting her GED. Since then, her work has also been featured on Mint.com, Health.com, Faveable, Legit Lender and Medium.

She discovered Crowd Content when she followed some fellow writers from OneSpace, and hasn’t looked back. “I absolutely adore Crowd Content, and I’m not just saying that because you chose me for the writer spotlight,” she says, when asked what sets the platform apart from others. “The project managers are friendly and helpful, and they respond quickly when I have a question. The quick approval times for content are awesome, and my bill collectors appreciate the twice-a-week pay.” Impressive testimonial, indeed, but there must be something she’d change. “Nothing, but I hate change. Just ask my therapist,” she replies.

Still, even the most seasoned professionals have their challenges. And while our freelancers have created a supportive and close-knit community as evidenced by the threads in our discussion forum, writing is usually done solo as you wrestle those words into coherent sentences. “I’m a social person, so working from home can get rough,” says Missy. Fortunately, she knows what she needs to do to maintain her positive energy and outlook. “I try to infuse socialization into my workday by meeting friends for lunch, spending too much time on Facebook and calling my favorite people.”

While Missy is one of our veteran writers, there once was a time when she was a newbie. Does she have any pearls of wisdom for those just starting out? “Write as much as possible, and don’t be a perfectionist,” says Missy. “New writers always tell me they’re terrified to submit their content. Don’t let fear derail your goals. The more you write, the easier it gets. I also recommend following sites like Grammar Girl. Mignon Fogarty was a lifesaver when I was a new writer.”

And now, let’s get to the really good stuff. We want to know all about those quirks and habits that aren’t apparent through our computer screens.

Do you have any hobbies or unusual interests? “Is chugging coffee while chasing after my kids a hobby? I also enjoy hiking, making crafts, cooking and listening to music. Oh, and I have 5 cats. Some people find that weird.”

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “If you saw my cluttered bookshelf, you’d understand why I can’t pick a favorite. I enjoy a variety of genres, but I usually lean toward thrillers and self-help books.”

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “Mexican or Thai food are my top picks. I love street tacos, chicken flautas, yellow curry and garlic fried rice. We won’t talk about my DoorDash obsession.”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? “I was really into 24 and have finally given up hope on anyone making a 24 movie. Currently, I’m rewatching The Office for the millionth time on Netflix. I also love Marvel movies, Dancing With the Stars and Lifetime movies (yeah, yeah, I know).”

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I love to… “Spend time with my kids and friends.”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “I hate the word rural. I’ve never been able to pronounce it correctly. I strongly dislike hors d’oeuvres because I can’t remember how to spell it (in fact, I Googled it for this spotlight). I’m also not a fan of hullaballoo, wifey or firstly. I feel like I’m going to regret sharing this list after my passive-aggressive friends find my spotlight.”

We’re not passive-aggressive around here, so we won’t make a hullaballoo about the list. We’d like to thank Missy though, for generously sharing her stories, and to tell her to never give up hope because we hear Kiefer Sutherland is interested in a 24 reboot. But for now, back to those PDs.

Check back soon for another tantalizing profile of a valiant Crowd Content writer.

Maybe it’ll be you!

ALSO – Writer Spotlight: Penny Ethridge — Showing Newbies How It’s Done

The post Writer Spotlight: Marisol Rivera — In Which We Discuss the Importance of Writing, Coffee and 24 appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

With so much information available online, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, especially if what you see isn’t useful or relevant to your needs. That’s where content marketing comes into play.

Content marketing is the process of creating and publishing original content that helps people in your target audience solve problems or learn more about the topics that interest them. Done right, content marketing can help you stand out from the crowd and attract more customers to your business.

But what is original content? And how do you create content that appeals to members of your target audience? We put together this guide to help you understand the importance of content marketing and learn how to develop content that gets results.

What Is Original Content?

Original content is content that’s never been published before. “Never published” doesn’t mean you took a piece of existing content, rewrote it in your own words and published it on your website. It means the content contains new ideas. 

Audience members are smarter than ever. They know when a company uses the same content over and over again or copies content from other businesses in the same industry. It’s especially obvious when publishers use spinning software or hire inexperienced freelancers to rewrite existing content. In many cases, the spun content is riddled with errors and doesn’t make any sense to a human reader.

If you want to use original content to attract new audience members and retain loyal customers, you need to be strategic. Think about how you can make your content different from what everyone else is publishing. If you achieve the right balance of originality, relevance and usefulness, you’ll be able to grow your brand and set yourself apart from your competitors.

Types of Original Content

Blog Posts

WordPress.org defines a blog as a website that maintains an “ongoing chronicle of information.” Blog posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, ensuring visitors see the newest posts first. When used for marketing purposes, a blog post should relate to your business in some way, whether you publish product reviews, interviews with industry experts or company updates.

White Papers

According to Michael Stelzner, the author of Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them, a white paper is a persuasive essay that promotes a product, service or viewpoint. A white paper should provide useful information to help the reader make a decision, solve a problem or understand more about a complex issue. This type of original content is often used in business-to-business (B2B) marketing.

Case Studies

Case studies tell a story about a company and its products or services. In marketing, case studies are used to highlight how a company helped one of its customers achieve a goal or solve a problem. Like white papers, case studies are often used for promoting B2B products and services.

Emails

Companies use email marketing to connect with audience members and promote their products, services and events. Each email you send is a piece of original content that can be used to help your business increase customer engagement or reach your sales goals.

Videos

The Content Marketing Institute defines content as “relevant and relatable” information shared with prospects, customers and other stakeholders. Using this definition, videos definitely qualify as a form of original content. Video interviews, tutorials, Q&A sessions and product reviews can all be used to promote your business online.

Podcasts

A podcast is a series of audio episodes focusing on a specific theme or topic. As long as the audio is relevant and relatable, it counts as a form of content for marketing purposes. Podcasts can help you grow your business by making it easier to connect with audience members.

Website Copy

Website copy is text that tells site visitors what they need to know about a company or brand. Every page of your website, from the Home page to the About Us page, has some type of website copy on it. For best results, your website copy should contain multiple calls to action.

Infographics

An infographic is a visual representation of data. In other words, an infographic combines text and images to provide an easy-to-understand overview of a complex topic. Infographics are especially helpful if you’re writing about a technical topic and want to highlight relevant statistics for your audience members.

Social Media Posts

Social media posts are short pieces of content shared on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. These posts typically contain text, photos and videos, all of which can be used to engage your audience and help you achieve your marketing goals.

Content Repurposing

Just because your content has to be original doesn’t mean you have to create something new from scratch every day. Content repurposing refers to taking a piece of existing content and turning it into a different type of content. Repurposing saves you time while helping you reap the many benefits of content marketing.

You can repurpose your content in a few different ways.

• Podcast episodes: Some people love listening to podcasts, but others prefer to read blog posts and reports. If you have a podcast, you can repurpose the content by publishing transcripts or turning the information from each episode into a series of articles or blog posts. You can also record your podcast sessions on video and then publish those videos on YouTube, giving you access to a whole new audience.
• Blog posts: Just as some people prefer to read, others prefer to listen to podcasts or watch videos. You can repurpose your blog content by turning each post into a short podcast episode or creating a video to add to your website or YouTube channel.
• Videos: If you’re involved in business-to-business marketing, you can repurpose your videos by turning them into presentation slides with audio narration. 
• Articles: Repurpose your articles by pulling out interesting facts or statistics and incorporating them into an infographic that can be shared on social media. Another option is to take a series of articles and compile them into an e-book or case study that can be shared with audience members.

The SEO Benefits of Content Marketing

Search engine optimization is essential for growing your business. If you’re not familiar with the term, search engine optimization—often shortened to “SEO”—is the process of making your site more visible to potential customers. Done right, SEO can help you improve your site’s search engine rankings, making it easier for people to find your business online.

Search engine algorithms consider hundreds of factors when determining how to rank web pages. Many of these factors relate to the quality of the content you publish. 

• Readability: Your content should be easy for the majority of readers to understand, so Google uses readability as one of the factors it considers when determining how a web page ranks for a specific keyword. You don’t need to write content on par with “See Spot run,” but you should strive to make your writing as accessible as possible for people with different educational backgrounds and life experiences.
• Length: Content length is another quality signal that can affect your SEO. Top-ranked pages usually have more than 1,000 words of text. If you decide to write long blog posts or articles, make sure you use short paragraphs, bulleted lists, bold text and other formatting elements to make the content easy to read. 
• Keywords: Keywords are words and phrases that help readers and search engines understand what your content is about. Incorporating keywords into your online content can help you improve your search engine rankings, but don’t get carried away and start inserting keywords into every sentence.

Site Authority

When people visit your website, they want to know they’re reading accurate content written by a real person with some experience on the topic. Original content not only helps you establish your website as an authority in your industry, but it also has a significant impact on your overall rankings in search engines. There are a few ways to increase your site authority with content marketing:

• Stay focused. Remember that your content needs to be relevant to your target audience. If you visited a recipe website that also had blog posts about shoes, books and quilting, you’d probably wonder if the site’s owner really had any experience with cooking or recipe development. Your content should focus on a single topic or theme to show your expertise.
• Choose your platforms wisely. Your website isn’t the only place to publish content. If you decide to use other platforms, make sure you choose sites where your audience members are most likely to hang out. It does you no good to publish high-quality content on LinkedIn if most of your audience members spend their time on Instagram and Facebook, for example.
• Put your audience first. Content is for your audience, not for you. Focus on providing value with every piece of content you publish. You can add value by helping people solve their problems, teaching audience members a new skill or requesting feedback from customers.
• Keep it consistent. If your opinion changes every time the wind blows, your audience members will have a tough time believing you’re an authority in your industry. When you create new content, try to be as consistent as possible—don’t write one thing on Monday and something completely different on Thursday.
• Make connections with community members. Ultimately, you want to grow a community of people who love your brand. The best way to do this is to build genuine relationships with audience members. You can do this by answering questions, soliciting feedback and engaging in other forms of interaction.

Building Links

Backlinks are essential for establishing your site’s authority and showing the search engines your content is useful and relevant. In this context, links are like votes. With millions of pages online, the fact that someone would take the time to link to one of your pages shows Google and Bing that you’re publishing valuable information. This is like a “vote” for your page over the thousands of other pages on the same topic.

Backlinking also helps you establish your authority in a specific niche. The more links that point at your web pages, the more opportunities you have to attract new visitors and encourage them to join your community.

Social Signals

According to Google employees, social media usage isn’t one of the factors that go into determining how well a page ranks. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore social media completely. Using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and other platforms can help you position your company as an authority in your industry. It may also help you build backlinks and drive more traffic to your site as social media users share your content.

Increased Engagement

When you publish original content that adds value, people are more likely to visit your website, share the content with their contacts and interact with your brand on social media. This creates a domino effect. The more engaged people are, the more they’ll share your content, drawing in new audience members. Here are some tips for creating shareable content:

• Tell a story. Instead of pushing people to buy your products or focusing on your company’s operations, your content should tell a story. Start out with an introduction that hooks the reader and makes them want to keep reading. Then make the story as relevant as possible to your audience members. 
  
• Feature one of your customers. People are more likely to share content if it mentions them by name. To take advantage of this instinct, publish case studies or other materials to highlight what your customers are doing.
• Incorporate something controversial. Every industry has at least one heated debate raging at any given time. The GIF format was developed in 1987, and people are still arguing over how it’s pronounced. Pick a side and write a blog post or email defending your position—people who agree with you are likely to share the content.
• Solve a problem. The more useful your content is, the more people are likely to share it. One of the best ways to make your content useful is to tell readers how to solve a problem. For best results, the problem should be something that’s really annoying or would cost a lot of money to fix if they had to hire a professional. If your solution works, the people who benefited from it are likely to share the content with their friends and family members.

Building Thought Leadership

Thought leadership shows people you have a certain level of expertise in a particular industry or topic. Original content can help you build thought leadership by giving you ongoing opportunities to demonstrate your knowledge and skills. This approach has several benefits:

• Increases credibility
• Establishes you as a reliable source of information on a topic
• Inspires people in your audience
• Encourages people to be innovative
• Creates opportunities to specialize in a narrow niche

Creating Useful Content

What’s useful to you may not be useful to your audience members. Before you start creating new content, it’s important to connect with people in your audience and find out what they want you to cover. If your business is new and you don’t have an established community, there are a few simple ways to find out what kind of content people want.

Keyword Research

When people search for information online, they use specific words and phrases (keywords) related to their topic of interest. Keyword research tools help you find out exactly what keywords people are using, making it easier to choose a topic for your next blog post or video.

To use one of these tools, you typically enter a broad keyword that relates to your business. For example, someone who runs a shoe company might enter “shoes” as the broad keyword. After you enter a keyword, the software gives you a list of related keywords entered by search engine users. In the shoe example, the software might tell you that people have been searching for “best shoes to wear in cold weather” or “best shoes for hiking on a flat trail.”

Once you know what search terms people are using, you’ll have a better understanding of what kind of information your audience needs.

Forum Posts

Many forums allow users to create anonymous accounts, giving them the freedom they need to discuss sensitive topics and share personal information. These forums are a great source of information for anyone tasked with creating original content. Next time you need ideas, visit Reddit or another forum, enter your topic into the search bar and read through relevant posts to find out what kind of content you can create to provide value.

Social Media

People love to share their opinions on social networks, even if those opinions sometimes ruffle feathers. If you’re in a content rut, take a look at your Twitter feed or scroll through Facebook to see what people are talking about.

Industry Surveys

If you work for a B2B business, industry surveys are a great source of information. Many surveys ask respondents to indicate what problems they’re having or what tools they need to make their jobs easier. You can use the responses to outline white papers, articles, e-books and other types of content.

Q&A Websites

Like forums, Q&A websites can give you valuable insight into what kind of information people need to improve their lives. Users often share a little bit about their background and then ask specific questions about their circumstances. You can use these Q&A posts to create content outlines or come up with ideas for an FAQ page related to your topic.

Top Tips for Creating Original Content

Before you start writing, podcasting or shooting videos, take time to do some research. Your content won’t help you much if it’s outdated or irrelevant to the people in your target audience. First, make sure you understand your audience members. You need to know exactly who they are. Are they men or women? Teenagers or adults nearing retirement age? Wealthy individuals or people who need financial guidance?

Next, research your competitors to find out what they’re doing. It’s extremely important not to copy content from a competitor’s website or follow the exact same marketing plan as your closest competitors. You’re just looking for ideas to help you develop your own content marketing plan. Read through the content and figure out what’s good about it and what could be improved. Think about how you can fill in gaps and add value for your readers.

If you have an established audience, send out a survey or publish a poll on your social media accounts. Ask people what they want to see from you in the coming months.

Stay Focused

It’s easy to get bogged down with research and trying to figure out exactly how each platform works. Instead of trying to be everywhere at once, pick one platform and stick with it for a while. Experiment with your content to find out what gets the most comments, likes and shares. Do some split testing to see if one approach is more effective than another. Once you have one platform under control, you can move on to the next one and start experimenting there.

Collaborate With Others

Creating content can be a lonely endeavour, but it doesn’t have to be. Reach out to other people in your industry and suggest cohosting a webinar, sharing each other’s content or contributing to a long article. When you collaborate with others, you both benefit, making collaboration a great way to grow your audience.

Wrapping Up

It’s clear that original content is essential for success in today’s business landscape. If you don’t have experience creating and distributing content, the thought of using content marketing to grow your business can be a little daunting. At Crowd Content, we have teams of experienced freelance writers available to create articles, e-books, white papers and other content to help you attract new audience members and position yourself as an authority.

The post Tips for Creating Original Content to Grow Your Audience appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

We don’t have a Rookie of the Year award at Crowd Content, but I won’t let that stop me from appointing Penny Ethridge (aka Imogen) as the first recipient of the Crowd Content Writer Spotlight Newbie award. 

ALSO – Hire Freelance Writers Today

In the freelance writing business, there’s no shortage of newbies. They come and go on a daily basis, many discovering that it’s not quite as easy as expected. But once in a while, we find a diamond in the rough: a writer with natural talent, strong communication skills, a positive team-player attitude, and the capacity to learn quickly. Over the past year, Imogen has shown us that she embodies each of these valuable qualities. 

Writing just over 13,000 words, Imogen hit the ground running in her first week back in late May of 2019. Of the 18 orders that received client ratings, half earned four stars—the rest got five. She worked on Marketplace orders while also dabbling in Darice product descriptions, and in July, she began working on some new managed projects, writing rehab-related orders for UKAT and blog posts for Amazing Medium. She caught our attention. 

High-quality writing led to a three-star promotion, and her willingness to accept—and deliver—  last-minute rush orders resulted in a growing reputation as a reliable contributor. It wasn’t long before Imogen found herself added to more and more teams, both in the Marketplace and on Managed Projects. 

Imogen doesn’t have a background in writing—unless stapling papers together to create books as a child counts as resume-worthy experience. “I’ve dabbled with fiction and poetry ever since but never tried to do anything serious,” she says. “In the future, I’d love to get fiction published.” Prior to discovering Crowd Content via a Reddit thread, she worked as a restaurant manager in London. 

She now resides in Helensburgh, Scotland, where she spends her days writing from Wetherspoons and enjoying £1.35 refillable coffees—at least she did before the pandemic turned us all into homebodies. 

While she’s tried out many different types of content, Imogen feels she prefers “writing blogs and website copy. Researching diverse topics keeps my brain happy, and I find practicing those helps me to write more clearly and simply. Otherwise, fiction is my preferred type of writing.”

When asked what her favorite project is, Imogen replied, “I love Lead to Conversion because it involves writing about puppies. I like the variety involved in writing for digital marketing agencies and find the tone comes quite naturally. BathMate always brought a smile to my face as well.” (BathMate has no doubt brought smiles to many faces, Imogen. Quick, somewhat-related side note: BathMate sent a package of samples to the original project manager when they first came on board. Good times.) 

Being a newbie, Imogen found it helpful to listen to some of the experienced veterans. Advice from a well-known CC writer stuck with her, and she offers that same advice to other newcomers. “As a wise lady (Greta Scribe) once said to me, you’ve got to have a thick skin in this game. Throw yourself into it from the beginning, work hard, embrace critique from editors and you’ll do really well.” 

With little provocation, Imogen felt it prudent to throw some compliments our way, and I’d be remiss not to share her thoughts. “The community,” she offered when contemplating what sets Crowd Content apart from other platforms. “The forum has been such a great resource, and I’m elated to have met everyone at CC. It also seems to genuinely reward hard work and a good attitude, which is awesome.”

In the interest of balanced reporting, I gave her the opportunity to tell us what we could do to improve. She went easy on us. “I’d have it so you could highlight text in the editor and the word count would display.” I’ll pass that request along. 

We all have our stumbling blocks, especially when writing content is a new endeavor. When asked what she’s found most challenging so far, Imogen said, “Referring to companies and organisations as it and not they! We say they in British English, and it’s so hardwired. Most other spellings/nuances are easy to adapt to, but that one is a blighter.” (editor’s note: that means something that’s looked at with contempt or irritation. Brits have some weird words.)

As is tradition in the long and storied history of Writer Spotlight, we took some time to get personal with Imogen and discover compelling secrets that only her closest friends and family members know. As always, we share the intimate details with you: 

Do you have any hobbies or unusual interests? “Erm… I don’t have any unusual interests but I think I’m probably unusually into my interests. I listen to the radio all day — BBC Radio 4 in the morning and BBC Radio 6 in the afternoon. I’m a huge music, literature and comedy fan, which keeps me busy. Politics and current affairs interest me a lot, too. That sounds so boring but I’m actually cool.” 

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky. But also The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde. But also Demian by Herman Hesse. But also Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami. I could go on doing that for so long.” 

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “I love so many restaurants. Other than writing, food is definitely my passion. I love nothing more than treating myself to a lovely meal. The best dinner I’ve ever had was at The Fat Duck, which was a gift from @Olivia Goodwin (AKA my aunt and legend in her own right!).” 

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I love to “ROCK.”

If you were a farm animal, which one would you be and why? “A cat. Is a cat a farm animal? Cats have always been my Gs.” 

I had a boss once who always asked that farm animal question during job interviews. When I asked him why, he said, “Because it makes them think that I know something they don’t. I just like to hear what they come up with.” 

And with that, we bring the June Writer Spotlight to a close. Imogen now joins the ranks of those in the spotlight before her, and she carries a shiny, albeit imaginary, Writer Spotlight Newbie of the Year award. Display it with pride, Imogen. You’ve earned it! 

Join us next month when we get to know another Crowd Content writer. Maybe it’ll be you!

ALSO – Writer Spotlight: Carrie McCarthy — A Story of Wine, Crayons and Coyotes

The post Writer Spotlight: Penny Ethridge — Showing Newbies How It’s Done appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

It’s with heroes in mind that we welcome you to the next installment of Writer Spotlight. While this month’s hero may be safely sheltered at home with her kids and weiner dogs, many at Crowd Content will agree that Clarissa Howard (Kim in the real world) is right up there with the Jack Bauers, Dean Winchesters, and Jon Snows of TV lore — consistently answering the call when we’re in a content crisis. 

It started two years ago in early May, 2018, when Kim wrote a Darice product description and a short article about saving money as a vegetarian (I read that, Kim. You’ve come a long way!). 

Since then, Kim has gone on to submit well over 4,000 orders. Many of these orders were the result of emails desperately seeking writers to hit a fast-approaching deadline. More often than not, and regardless of quality level, Kim would volunteer her services — even when better paying work was available. A consummate team player, Kim has proven time and again that she’s something more than a freelancer. 

Kim’s background includes time spent in IT sales, retail management, and music promotion, but she currently spends most of her time writing for Crowd Content and creating some personal essays for blogs and magazines. Add in a family, some dogs, a second-hand clothing business, and a part-time communications manager job, and it’s easy to see why we’re so impressed with the amount of work she handles for us. 

Still, Kim manages to find time for her hobbies and interests. “I’m a huge fan of stand-up comedy and try to get out to the comedy club as much as possible, which isn’t very often these days, unfortunately!” Kim says. “I also enjoy hot yoga and am trying really hard to get into gardening, although I’m absolutely horrible at it.” A hero to all but plants, apparently. 

Kim has been writing professionally for four years and has been published by Parents Magazine, Explore Magazine, Huffington Post, and YourTango.com. “Essay writing is my favorite,” she says, “but I also really enjoy any type of sales/marketing writing, except for product descriptions, which I don’t enjoy writing at all!” Have you tried starting with an action verb? It makes all the difference. 

Kim stumbled upon Crowd Content while searching for ways to make money from home. An online review of our platform sent her our way. Over time she’s written on many projects but says she “loves writing on the Caring.com/PFSC projects and Lead to Conversion.” Expertise snippets also hold a special place in her heart. If that doesn’t make her a hero, I don’t know what does. 

As has become a tradition with those showcased in the Writer Spotlight, Kim offered some major kudos for Crowd Content, and I’m sticking to my story: It’s completely unsolicited. “I’ve written on several other sites, and CC is infinitely better in so many ways,” Kim gushed. “Our project managers and editors are kind and communicate effectively; the availability of work is second-to-none, and the pay is more than fair for the work we’re doing.” 

But every rose has its thorn, and for Kim, that thorn is relatively minor. “I’d really love the ability to change my pen name! If I’d known I’d be sticking around here and writing as many orders as I have, I’d definitely not have chosen the name Clarissa Howard.” Let’s see if we can do something about that for you, Kim. 

Kim feels that listening to the feedback given by editors and project managers has helped her become the four-star writer she is today, and she urges new writers to follow that same path. “Stick with it and be open to the advice of editors and project managers. I’ve gone back and read some of the work I completed in my earlier days on the platform and I can see how far I’ve come in the two-ish years that I’ve been here. In addition to honing your own skills, being open to constructive criticism is the best way to open doors for yourself and access more work on better projects!”

While this is a treasure trove of compelling advice combined with dramatic heroics, we’re all here for the real news, and as always, Writer Spotlight delivers:

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? My favorite author is Graham Greene. My favorite book is The Beach by Alex Garland.

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? My favorite restaurant is a local steakhouse called Caesar’s; they make the best filet mignon and stuffed potatoes in the world. On the other hand, I’m always up for Taco Bell!

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? My favorite TV show is Weeds, I’ve probably watched every season at least four or five times. My favorite movie is The Boondock Saints.

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I love to…  spend time with family and friends! Even when work is really busy, I try really hard to break up the day with playdates for my kids, coffee with my best friend or outings with the family.

What are the five worst words in the English language? Without getting into the vulgar stuff, I’d say flap, ointment, curd, chunk and slurp. 

I would only regret it if we passed on this opportunity to say: Slurp the chunky curd before applying ointment to the flap, Kim. 

With that poetic gem, we’ll bring this month’s Spotlight to a close. Kim, put down the garden shears and spare those poor plants for another day. It’s time to take your place among past heroes in the Writer Spotlight hall of fame. Join us next month for another Pulitzer-worthy look into the secret life of a Crowd Content writer. Maybe it’ll be you! 

ALSO – Writer Spotlight: Sapphire Knight and a Tribute to Longevity

The post Clarissa Howard — A Hero to All but Plants appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

It is with great pride that we take yet another step toward reaching the historic longevity of these media giants. Welcome to the third installment of Crowd Content’s Writer Spotlight. 

This month, we honor the lasting dedication of Caen, The Simpsons, and The Courant by getting to know one of the earliest members of Crowd Content’s esteemed writing and editing teams: Sapphire Knight — aka Tracey. 

ALSO – Need to hire freelance writers?

Just last month, Tracey reached her seventh year with Crowd Content — a feat achieved by few others. It all began with a Marketplace order compelling businesses to use new, cutting-edge click-to-call technology. Seven years and over 4,600 orders later, Tracey continues to provide our clients with high-quality content, serving primarily as an Managed Projects editor. 

While you may have chatted with her in the forum or through order chat, it isn’t until now that we uncover the true person behind the friendly comments and helpful feedback. Let’s dim the lights, grab some popcorn, and dive deep into this no-holds-barred interview.

Though she’s made the rounds through Toronto, Belleville, and Smiths Falls, Tracey keeps returning to a small tourist town in Prince Edward County, Ontario. After spending years in the healthcare industry, she chose a new path and earned some IT certifications before operating a successful consultancy in Smith Falls. But, following the birth of her fourth child, Tracey sought a new career that would allow her more time at home with her children. It was then that her writing career began — well, the paid part of her writing career. 

“I’ve wanted to be a writer for as far back as I can remember,” Tracey says. “I started working on the craft at 13, but at that time, instead of paychecks, all I got were rejection letters. It wasn’t until 1998, so about 22 years ago, that I started writing professionally.” Like many of us, getting those first payments for writing seemed surreal to Tracey. “I remember when I got that first paycheck for writing, and I remember worrying that I’d wake up some morning just to find out it had all been a dream.”

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Tracey’s focused heavily on the IT niche, writing weekly columns for three popular IT certification websites and working on long-form projects, including an MCSE study guide, a Project 2000 BlackBook for Coriolis Technology Press, an A+ Certification Passport for Osborne/McGraw-Hill, and countless educational materials for a company called Total Seminars. Tracey also writes fiction under several pen names and has been both traditionally and self published, and one of her works was mentioned in The Washington Post in December of 2015. 

So, how does this lead her to Crowd Content? As it turns out, our CEO, Clayton, played a role in her recruitment. “When I became burnt out by the IT industry (I never had more than four weeks to complete 600-page books because everything changes so quickly), I started looking for another venue that would allow me to work from home. In early 2013, I visited the WAHM writing discussion boards and noticed a post by a gentleman named Clayton. He’d just started a new company and was looking for writers. I applied immediately and was accepted as a four-star writer. As soon as I started here at Crowd Content, I knew I’d found something special.”

Something special? While I’d never stoop to solicit compliments for our platform, I felt the need to dig deeper. “There are so many things that set Crowd Content apart from other platforms, including pay rates, twice-weekly pay days, the clients, the chat boxes and the forums,” Tracey volunteered without prompting. “I think the main thing that sets us apart though is the people. We have a great bunch here, and everybody is so friendly and helpful.”

Tracey does acknowledge that we’re not perfect, however. When asked how we could possibly improve, she offered this: “I would love it if we had a dedicated support phone line for writers and editors. When you’re chasing a deadline and the power goes out, it can be difficult or impossible to email support or post in the forum. I think having a contact number would be useful to pass information along to the project managers, who would then be able to reassign an order or provide an extension. That way writers wouldn’t get strikes due to something beyond their control.” Actual conversations with real people? How very progressive of you, Tracey. 

With over two decades of writing and editing experience, including these last seven years with Crowd Content, Tracey knows a thing or two about perseverance and getting noticed. She offered this advice to new writers: “Keep at it. If you’re not seeing many jobs in the marketplace, keep going until you start getting direct orders and also use your time to apply for managed content work. If you’re receiving revision requests and are starting to doubt your abilities, think of it as a learning opportunity and keep going.”

She feels that tracked changes are a critical resource for new writers. “It’s also important to check the tracked changes on your orders, both when they come out of editing and after they’ve been through QA. Sometimes when we’re in a hurry, we might go ahead and make changes without sending a revision request or making a note in the chat box. Reading through your tracked changes will help you see the little things that you might not have noticed before and help you perfect your writing.” That’s solid advice. 

Many writers know little about the life of an editor. When asked what she finds most challenging about editing, Tracey responded, “I think the most challenging thing is being mindful of different writing styles. Just because someone’s writing style differs from mine, doesn’t make their style incorrect. I often ask myself before making edits whether the edit is truly needed or if it represents one of my preferences. If I decide I’m making the change based on my own preferences, I don’t make it.” 

With those little nuggets of wisdom out of the way, let’s wrap this up with the real reason you’re here — the things only those closest to Tracey could possibly know. 

Do you have any hobbies or unusual interests? “I don’t know that it’s unusual, but I spend a lot of time researching ancient and medieval royal history and following the every move of current day royals.”

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “I wish I could say something profound here, but unfortunately, I can’t. My favorite author is probably Jackie Collins, and my favorite book that I’ve ever read was probably The Man Without a Face.”

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “My favorite meal is steak and perogies smothered in cheese sauce with bacon bits. It’s a heart attack on a plate, but I can’t get enough of it.”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? “My favorite movie is Catch Me if You Can. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I do enjoy Chicago Med.”

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I… “love to read. I’m always reading something.”

Tracey now joins the annals of those in the spotlight before her, including Lee Soren and Carrie McCarthy, and we thank her for taking the time to give us a peek into her personal life. It’s through the hard work of writers and editors like Tracey that Crowd Content has become a trusted source of publish-ready content across the globe. 

Join us next month as we attempt to deliver an unprecedented fourth edition in this series; maybe it’ll be about you!

The post Writer Spotlight: Sapphire Knight and a Tribute to Longevity appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

One of Crowd Content’s most skilled writers, Alana has completed over 1,400 orders and written nearly 800,000 words for our clients since joining the platform in May of 2016. Her knack for writing compelling marketing copy has earned her frequent praise from numerous businesses, and she’s often the go-to writer for project managers who need high-quality sample or calibration orders for new clients. “I do love onboarding new clients though and doing samples. It’s especially rewarding to help bring CC business and play a role in shaping project briefs,” says Alana.

ALSO – Hire Freelance Writers Today

Born in Ohio and currently living in Las Vegas, Alana has a varied background. “I spent 15 years or so as a professional musician, then I dabbled in culinary school and worked in restaurants as a server, corporate trainer, and sommelier.” (that’s a wine snob – I had to look it up). 

After a life-changing car accident kept her at home, she began freelancing full time in 2013, and it “basically saved her life,” she says. She doesn’t quite remember how she stumbled upon Crowd Content (it was four years ago, and I can’t remember what I did two weekends ago, so we’ll let it slide), but she thinks she may have migrated here with a group of other writers who left another platform because… well, we’re just better. That’s not a quote, but I’m going with it.

Alana’s preferred type of content is “anything with a little voice to it. I specialize in bringing personality to sales pages and web content,” she says, “but my main passion is food and wine writing.” She writes at home after her children are in bed and sometimes moves the workspace out to the porch but not too often because “we have Las Vegas heat to contend with. And also coyotes.” Yikes. 

Not one to shy away from the hard-hitting questions, I dug deep to get a true feel for who Alana really is. Enjoy the spoils of my investigative reporting:

Do you have any hobbies or unusual interests? “I have two young children. My hobbies are cleaning crayon off of walls and sleep typing.”

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book? “Poe. Dorothy Parker. I also really like short stories, so I read anthologies more often than not but I also have a deep love of nonfiction — biographies, anything about travel. I read cookbooks like they’re novels.”

Have you been published by any notable sites or organizations (digital or traditional)? “A bunch, many as a ghostwriter though. My favorite ‘notable’ project is a profile I wrote about legendary winemaker Mike Grgich. It was published online; his staff saw it, and they said he loved it so much that he had a bunch of copies printed and handed out to guests at his (mega big deal) 93rd birthday party/book release. Meant a great deal to me as a writer and as a wino.”

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal? “I will never turn down a good sandwich. My life is pretty much sponsored by Boar’s Head and Jersey Mike’s.”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie? “The Princess Bride, forever and always. As for TV shows, I frequently rewatch Friends, The Office, and 30 Rock. But Fleabag is an absolute masterpiece. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is the kind of surprising, authentic, comedically brilliant writer I inspire to be.”

Complete this sentence: When I’m not working, I… “love to play with my kids and sleep.”

What are the five worst words in the English language? “We’re out of Diet Coke.”

Let’s get to the good stuff before Alana resumes her Diet-Coke-and-wine-drinking, crayon-cleaning, sleep-typing days. What can you gain from Alana’s experience, and can we get some unsolicited compliments about our platform? (ok, maybe not completely unsolicited).

What do you think sets Crowd Content apart from other content platforms? “The staff. The platform is great (and about to get better); the clients are solid and delightfully varied, and the interface is fairly intuitive, but the PMs and other admins are why I stick around. I had pretty high status on another well-known content platform but I couldn’t stand how the staff treated the majority of writers — like they’re disposable. CC listens to and appreciates laptop monkeys like little ole me and that respect goes a long way.”

If you could change one thing about our platform, what would it be? “I abhor the TAT system and think rewarding speed while expecting accuracy/quality is the exact wrong approach. Sorry(not sorry)!”

Do you have any advice for new writers? “Don’t ever disqualify yourself from a project unless you’ve already tried it and know for sure it’s not a good fit. I’m totally self-taught, and I’ve advanced because I’m willing to learn on the go. Mastering a new niche while writing requires dedication (and lots of sandwiches), but it’s totally possible and will vastly expand your professional potential. Also, use a thesaurus. Repetitive content is the pits.” 

What do you find most challenging about writing content? “Creativity on demand. Sometimes the muse just doesn’t want to play and having to come up with all the werdz when you really just want to watch Love is Blind and dream of pudding is really hard.”

I don’t know about you, but I get the impression that Alana is hungry. Go grab yourself a sandwich and big bowl of pudding — and maybe some wine; you’ve earned it. We appreciate all you do, Alana. Keep up the great work! Join us next month for a peek into the mysterious and glamorous life of another Crowd Content writer. Maybe it’ll be you.

The post Writer Spotlight: Carrie McCarthy — A Story of Wine, Crayons and Coyotes appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Our first spotlight shines brightly on none other than Lee Soren — aka Lisa in the real world. After her husband found our platform on a list of freelance writer sites in September of 2018, Lisa joined and submitted her first work, quietly knocking out Darice and facility blurb orders. But it didn’t take long for project managers to recognize the clean, descriptive writing of a seasoned pro. Lisa was in demand and started producing high-quality work for some of our most challenging four-star clients. Today, Lisa is just short of completing her 2,000th order on the platform. 

Lisa hails from the south shore of Long Island but now calls Florida’s Treasure Coast home, where she enjoys spending time at the beach and photographing dogs playing in the sand and swimming in the ocean. She’s had various professional jobs, including freelance transcriptionist, corporate trainer, and website librarian for an outsourcing organization. She says she started writing “pretty much as soon as I could string words together on a page” and was published in 2016 by Albert Whitman & Company (Resurrecting Sunshine – young adult science fiction). She’s also had numerous short stories published in notable publications, including Family Circle and The Poughkeepsie Journal. 

While she says she’s a fiction writer at heart, she has a “soft spot for product descriptions,” which she had never written before joining Crowd Content. Lisa says her favorite project involves writing blog posts on travel nursing and other health topics for one of our health care clients.

But let’s get to the nitty-gritty — the real news. 

What does Lisa think of Crowd Content; what can we do better, and what advice does she have for new writers?

What do you think sets Crowd Content apart from other content platforms?: “I haven’t done much work for other content platforms, but I think it’s probably the people. I love how Crowd Content promotes teamwork, and I always appreciate the level of communication between writers, editors, and project managers. Crowd Content has also been a very respectful, appreciative platform, something that isn’t easy to find when you’re working remotely.”

If you could change one thing about our platform, what would it be?: “I would love to be able to see what teams I’m actually on and which ones are actually active.” 

Do you have any advice for new writers?: “Yes! Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. That’s where the most growth happens. It’s also so important to be open to feedback, whether it’s from an editor or — for off-platform writing — an agent or a critique partner. Not all feedback will resonate with you, but you’ll be surprised how much you can learn from others in the industry.”

But the hard-hitting questions didn’t end there…

Who is your favorite author? What’s your favorite book?: “I have a few. I’m a big fan of Stephen King. I also love pretty much anything by Margaret Atwood or Alice Hoffman. Asking an avid reader to pick one favorite book is a cruel form of torture, so I’ll give you two: Pet Sematary by Stephen King and Rings of Ice by Piers Anthony.”

What’s your favorite restaurant or meal?: “Definitely Italian food. I’m a native New Yorker so of course I’m a big fan of pizza.”

What’s your favorite TV show or movie?: “I am a dedicated fan of The X-Files. My favorite movie is probably Poltergeist (the original version) or Jaws 1 or 2.”  (Editor’s note: Thanks for clarifying that it’s the original version of Poltergeist because the remake was absolutely terrible.)

On behalf of all of us at Crowd Content, we want to extend a big thank you to Lisa for taking the time to talk with us and for the outstanding work she’s submitted for our clients. It’s writers like you who make our jobs so much easier and enjoyable. Keep up the great work!

Check back next month for another edge-of-your-seat exposé on one of Crowd Content’s writers or editors. Maybe it’ll be you! 

The post Writer Spotlight: Lee Soren — Four-Star Writer, Dog Photographer, and Jaws Enthusiast appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

If you’re considering a career as a freelance copywriter, keep reading for a primer on how to make yourself more marketable so you land the best assignments and position yourself for long-term success.

Copywriting Vs. Content Writing

A common misconception is that copywriting and content writing are different words for the same thing. They aren’t. The difference lies in the intent.

Content writing is meant to inform and entertain, engaging visitors so they spend more time interacting with a website and a brand in general. Copywriting, on the other hand, is designed for one reason – to sell – and may encompass a variety of projects.

ALSO – Are You a Content Writer or a Copywriter?

Types of Copywriting Projects include:

• Advertisements
• Website Landing pages
• Marketing emails and other correspondence
• Product descriptions
• Blog Posts
• Social media Posts

ALSO – The Top Freelance Writing Jobs For 2019
ALSO – 7 Expert Tips for Advertising Copywriting

Why Companies Hire Freelance Copywriters

There are many reasons why companies hire freelance copywriters. Sometimes, they simply don’t generate enough work to sustain a full-time position, or high demand may have caused temporary overflow work, and often, in-house employees lack the necessary skills to create copy that can drive sales. Hiring a freelance copywriter can also be a more cost-effective option, and more and more, marketing teams are realizing the value a professional writer can bring to a business.

Professionalism

Websites that are littered with typos, misspellings, and poor grammar radiate unprofessionalism. Worse, are posts or product descriptions filled with jargon and confusing information, which can be a turnoff for a potential customer, and make even a loyal buyer lose trust in a brand. An experienced freelance copywriter brings professionalism to the delivery of a brand’s message.

Clarity

In digital marketing, particularly for web-based brands, clarity is everything. Potential buyers don’t see the product in person. They can’t touch it or try it out. They aren’t talking face-to-face with a representative about a service. These companies rely completely on words and images to convey the value of their product or service. Freelance copywriters are wordsmiths who have the expertise to deliver a clear verbal picture of the brand, product, or service.

Results

Ultimately, companies want results. Senior copywriters have years of experience behind them and can effectively and efficiently create engaging, error-free copy that’s designed to get results.

Making Yourself Marketable as a Freelance Copywriter

While prior copywriting experience is always desirable, there’s no must-have training for freelance copywriters. There are, however, certain things you can do to make yourself more marketable and increase your odds of receiving prime copywriting assignments:

• Hone your writing skills. First and foremost, freelance copywriters should be great writers. You should not only know the basics of spelling, grammar, and word usage, but be able to write high-quality copy that’s engaging, effective, and requires minimal editing.

• Develop the ability to work independently. Freelancers need to be self-starters. To meet the sometimes-strict deadlines required for the job, you’ll have to manage your time with minimal oversight.

• Learn to mimic style. Companies want consistency. A good copywriter can match a brand’s style to create seamless additions to preexisting content. For BJ Enoch, Director of Demand Generation at opendorse, the ability to mimic brand voice is one of three core needs he considers when hiring freelancers. Enoch explains, “I evaluate how well they were able to blend their writing into the overall brand voice and tone of the client.”

• Keep an online portfolio. Companies looking for freelancers like to see writing samples. By setting up a digital portfolio at a site such as Clippings.Me or Journo Portfolio you can give potential clients easy access to your work.

• Do your homework. Copywriting is a marketing tool and you should understand the concepts and terminology of the industry, including conversion, calls to action (CTA), and branding. A course in marketing may be a good investment in your own marketability.

• Know your SEO. Professional copywriters know how to optimize content for SEO, finding the right keywords – or working with keywords provided — and skillfully weaving them into the copy so that they sound natural. LogoMaker, an English-speaking company that hires freelancers to translate copy into 10 languages, only takes on writers with SEO experience. Audrey Strasenburgh, the company’s SEO Strategist, notes, “Our freelancers are all well-versed in search engine optimization, so they know not to translate verbatim. Doing so results in awkward non-English sentences.” After all, awkward is about the last thing companies want in their sales copy.

• Understand the relationship between copy and design. Design is an important part of digital marketing, and as a freelance copywriter, you’ll need to tailor your copy to work effectively with graphics, videos, and other design elements. It’s also important to consider how your content will be used. Copy designed for a company’s landing page, for instance, will look considerably different than copy meant for a blog post or marketing email.

• Know your process. You should be able to articulate your approach to content creation. BJ Enoch of opendorse comments, “I want to know what the writer’s process is for research, creation, approval, and edits. All of the successful engagements I’ve had with copywriters have shared one common theme; they all had a documented process for how they would approach research, initial drafts, rewrites, etc.”

• Be professional. Companies want to do business with professionals. Professionalism includes communicating clearly and often, meeting all deadlines, and always being courteous.

• Demonstrate your ability to get results. One thing Adam Hempenstall, the founder and CEO of Better Proposals, looks for is a writer’s track record. He explains, “We want landing page copy that converts so we are on the lookout for writers with solid track records. If a writer can show us the copy they’ve written and the results it achieved (conversion rates, how it beat someone else’s control), we are ready to hire them.”

The combination of these skills makes a copywriter marketable. Reuben Yonatan, Founder and CEO of GetVOIP, elaborates, “There is more to being a professional copywriter than simply a way with words. You need to deliver on time or ahead of schedule, and the copy should be flawless (at least error-wise).”

Finding Freelance Copywriting Jobs

Many companies, including major brands, hire freelance copywriters directly or through a freelance writing platform, and there are several ways to find jobs.

• Networking Sites. Business networking sites, such as LinkedIn, can be a fantastic resource for writers seeking freelance copywriting jobs. While your searchable profile page lets you include everything you need to demonstrate your experience to companies who may be looking for freelancers, you can also collect recommendations from companies you’ve worked with to build your reputation. You can also join relevant LinkedIn groups, which let you connect with other freelancers to share tips and tricks for finding the best jobs.
• Job Banks. Job listing sites, such as Indeed, include searchable lists of available assignments, including freelance, part time and contract positions, making it easy to find the types of positions you want. They also let you post resumes, to let potential employers find you.
• The Direct Approach. If you’ve done your research and have found clients you think are a potential fit for the services you’re offering, you can reach out to them directly with proposals. This can be particularly effective for small, local businesses that may not even know how they could benefit from hiring a freelance copywriter.
• Crowd Content. Through Crowd Content’s unique platform, writers have access to a variety of copywriting jobs. Unlike many freelance writing platforms, Crowd Content writers may advance to higher-paying assignments as they demonstrate their skills and reliability.

Beginning Your Career

Many freelance writers will tell you that copywriting is a challenging, competitive, and rewarding field. If you’re ready to embark on this exciting career, visit Crowd Content’s freelance writing jobs page to begin.

The post How to Find and Succeed With Freelance Copywriting Jobs appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

You know what doesn’t convert today? Bad ad copy. And that doesn’t mean poorly written copy — the ad above is grammatically correct and even has some clever wordplay. But it’s not great copy for today’s market because it’s over the top (looking at you, multiple exclamation marks), obviously insincere and potentially misleading.

It’s not the 1950s or 60s, when golden-age ad copy could promise perfect lifestyles and cash in on conversions. Online consumers are cynical, savvy and hungry for authenticity. Skilled copywriters know – if you’re not writing content that speaks to that audience, you’re not going to be successful as an advertising copywriter.

ALSO – Click here if you’d prefer to hire a copywriter to handle your copy for you.

What Is Ad Copy?

Ad copy is any content created for the purpose of advertising. That includes obvious content such as the text that appears in a paid search ad or the script for a video commercial. But it also includes other types of content that target the sales funnel such as landing pages, email drip campaigns or even product pages.

Not all marketing copy is ad copy (but all ad copy is marketing copy). Marketing copy written with the sole purpose of educating, informing or entertaining the reader isn’t ad copy, even if it’s meant to build brand awareness or foster consumer culture around a company. Advertising copy is meant to convert — to drive someone further down the sales funnel toward the point where they decide the purchase a product or service.

Advertising copywriting, then, is dedicated to that purpose: to driving consumers forward on the buying journey with compelling, persuasive content that keeps the sales goal in mind. Even if the sale is still far off on the horizon.

That doesn’t mean all ad copy is a hard sell. It shouldn’t all sound like late-night infomercials or even position the product as the foremost topic. Ad copywriters are responsible for understanding the specific purpose of each type of content to support the ultimate success of comprehensive advertising campaigns.

ALSO – What is Copywriting and What Are Its Best Practices for 2019?

Types of Advertising Copy

• Ads, whether they’re display, banner, search or video, have a primary goal: To convert the click. Ad copy for these pieces is usually short, sweet and packing a powerful hook to entice the reader to click and learn more.
• Landing pages are where people end up when they click ads or links; typically these are sales-style pages that offer concise, audience-relevant information about the product or service. Content should include compelling reasons why the person needs the solution and at least one well-written CTA.
• Advertorials are ads positioned as more conversational content, such as blog posts. They serve the same purpose as landing pages, but can be presented as more informative or educational in nature.
• Confirmation pages, which confirm that someone has signed up for a newsletter, made a purchase or taken some other action can still be ad copy. This is especially true when the action is mid-funnel; if someone signs up for a newsletter, that’s only the first step in them purchasing a product.
• Email drip campaigns are sent when someone signs up to receive information or takes another action that signals approval for marketing messages in the inbox. The purpose of email ad copy varies by campaign, but it’s ultimately aimed at persuading someone to take action.

ALSO – Looking For a B2B Copywriter? Learn How to Find Them.

Tips for Advertising Copywriters

Convincing consumers to take action isn’t easy. You have to build and maintain trust throughout the buying journey. Here are seven tips from the experts to help advertising copywriters do just that.

1. Put effort into the headline.

“The most important part of your ad copy is your headline,” says Megan Meade, Content Marketing Specialist for SoftwarePath.com. “Get this wrong, and you’ll lose 80% of your audience before they even read the second line.”

“It’s critical that you optimize the headline for your audience, making it as relevant to specific search queries as possible,” says Meade. She suggests using SKAGS (single keyword ad groups) to do this.

“You could create a standard advert for ‘dancing shoes’ or you could create several targeted ads for ‘ballet dancing shoes’, ‘best ballet dancing shoes’, ‘comfortable ballet dancing shoes’, and so on. The most relevant headline will be served to match the search query, meaning you’ll be getting more relevant clicks coming to your site, which brings a higher ROI (and margin) to your campaigns.”

Advertising copywriters aren’t typically in charge of keyword decisions, but this is great advice to follow when you are. And if a client provides keywords, remember that they did so for a reason and make good use of them.

2. Create ad copy that engages.

James at The Advisor Coach says, “One of the best copywriting tips I can give that has proven itself to boost conversions is to ask a question. The reason this works so well in a headline or ad is because humans are hardwired to answer questions. It pulls people in and gets them to start reading.”

3. Keep design and multiple devices in mind.

“When you’re working with landing page copy, you absolutely need to make sure that you optimize your copy for every form of display,” says Yaniv Masjeda, CMO at Nextiva. “This may mean working closely with a designer as well. The days of the writer operating independently on a typewriter from a closet are over. Today, copywriters must be collaborative, responsive to feedback, and ready to crank out further iterations based on data and user experience.”

4. Write empathetic advertising copy.

“I’ve found using empathy to write ads by putting yourself in your dream customer’s shoes and writing from their perspective — using their language — to be very beneficial in getting more clicks and conversions,” says Stacy Caprio, Founder of Accelerated Growth Marketing.

5. Target copy to specific audiences or niches.

Caprio also points out that advertising copywriters must understand the target audience for any content they create.

“Take a very specific angle that fits that niche when writing ad copy,” says Caprio. “This could mean instead of targeting wine lovers and using general wine lover copy for a personalized wine glass, to instead target and write copy specifically for special personalized bridal party wine glasses. This makes the audience feel the product was made specifically for them and they’re more likely to be interested and buy.”

Samantha Kohn, Communications Manager at Mobials, provides a tip for writers struggling to create niche-based content.

“Take two seemingly unrelated topics and combine them into an ad that speaks loudly to a narrow audience,” says Kohn.”For example, you can speak directly to Game of Thrones fans during winter tire season with messaging like: Winter is coming. Get 30% off winter tires. Learn more. You will speak to fewer people, but you’ll definitely capture the attention of the ones in your new target market, therefore increasing engagement and decreasing your cost per click.”

ALSO – What is Copywriting and What Are Its Best Practices for 2019

6. Make a point and keep it short.

Kohn advises, “Be relevant and be brief. Relevancy and brevity are the foundation for any successful ad copy. If your messaging doesn’t promise to solve a consumer’s problem or answer their question, they likely won’t bother reading your content — and even if they do, it’s unlikely they’ll click on it. Give them a reason to click or keep reading.”

7. Tell stories with your content.

Kohn rounds out this tips list by reminding advertising copywriters that people love a good tale. “Make sure your content tells a story, preferably one that readers can relate to. Try to answer the following: what was the problem, how was it recognized, what was the solution and how was success measured?”

ALSO – Copywriting for SEO: How to Be Sure Your eCommerce Copy Converts and Ranks

By putting these expert tips into action to write winning ad copy, freelancers can land more work with advertising agencies, brands and other organizations in dire need of content that converts.

If you find yourself in need of skilled ad writers, be sure to check out our roster of skilled copywriters for hire.

The post 7 Expert Tips for Advertising Copywriting appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

In other words, they need to consult their style guide.

For the uninitiated, a style guide is a document that defines a set of rules for writers to follow when they’re authoring material for a brand. It guides the editorial process so that all written works are consistent and accurately reflect the brand’s tone and voice. Style guides can cover everything from what words to use or not use to how to properly write numbers and use punctuation.

And of course — how to capitalize titles.

The Two Approaches to Capitalizing Titles

For most brands, putting together an entire style guide isn’t worth their effort. They have better things to do, like grow their business. Instead, they leverage an existing guide such as AP style or the Chicago Manual of Style. They’ll likely create documentation guiding their brand’s tone and voice, but otherwise, for any questions regarding title capitalization — see the aforementioned style guide.

So, what do these guides say about capitalizing titles?

That depends entirely on the guide. Even the two mentioned above take different approaches to title capitalization. Even in a single guide, the rules aren’t always very clear.

Fortunately for you, taking the time to learn the basics makes things considerably easier when you’re facing down a capitalization conundrum with a hefty style guide. The first step on your journey is looking at the two most commonly used conventions: sentence case and title case.

Sentence Case

As you might have inferred, sentence case implies writing the title as you would a sentence. If you know how to write a grammatically correct sentence, you know how to write a title in a sentence case. The only difference is that you don’t use punctuation unless the title in question is, well, a question. Sentence case is popular among bigger news outlets and many online publications. It’s modern and hip.

Observe:

• How to make a living with freelance writing
• Everything you need to know about sentence case
• How do you find a needle in a haystack?

Like a sentence sitting in a paragraph, if you use a proper noun in sentence case, you capitalize the appropriate words. Likewise, if you mention things like the names of books or movies, you’ll capitalize them as you would in writing.

Take a look:

• A quick chat with Stephen King
• Why every person should read “Animal Farm”
• Thoughts on living in New York

And that’s all there is to it. If you’re writing with sentence case, your work is done. Otherwise, put your thinking cap on, and let’s start learning about title case.

Title Case

Title case refers to capitalizing the first word and all major words in the title. If you’re an avid reader, you probably have a feel for title case. Most books you’ve read use it. Even this guide uses it. It’s classy and sophisticated.

So, what constitutes a major word? The consensus is that you should always capitalize nouns in all forms, verbs, adverbs and adjectives. That gives you a pretty long list of words you needn’t concern yourself over.

Have a look:

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• How to Win Friends and Influence People
• How to Care for Aging Dogs

Another area where style guides agree is the capitalization of articles. They’re considered minor words by all, meaning they’re only ever capitalized in two scenarios: when they’re the first word of the title or when they’re part of a proper noun, such as a book or movie.

Take these titles, for example:

• The Old Man and the Sea
• A Guide to Saving the Planet
• The Godfather

So, where does that leave conjunctions and prepositions? Well, this is where the confusion arises. While all style guides agree that only conjunction and prepositions are lowercase in titles, almost none of them agree on which ones. On top of that, some guides have specific rules for certain ones.

For example, in AP style, you only capitalize conjunctions that are four letters or longer. The rest are lowercase. But in Chicago style, there are rules for specific coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions; some are capitalized and others aren’t.

The same goes for prepositions. AP style goes with the same rule — prepositions of three or fewer letters are lowercase — while Chicago style insists all prepositions are lowercase. In other words, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the relevant style guide you’re using for your client.

On Style Guides and Writing Briefs

If you haven’t already done so, now’s a good time to fix in your mind the importance of style guides and client briefs. Any time you’re writing for a new client or publisher, you should consider two things:

• The style guide they’re using, if any
• Any changes they may have outlined in their brief

Trust us, it’s a good habit to have. Even brands that adhere to an outside guide often implement their own changes. Sometimes they prefer all words in their titles capitalized, for example. Understanding what they want upfront reduces any back and forth, which saves you and the client time. It also demonstrates your professionalism, resulting in a happy client. And a happy client means more future work. So a happy writer, too.

Here at Crowd Content, we defer to AP style unless a client requests something different. And while AP style is arguably easier to grasp than Chicago style, it still has its quirks. It’s next to impossible to cover all the different title capitalization oddities across every major style guide, so it’s important to know when and where to look, even if you have access to a nifty little tool that converts your titles for you.

Frequently Asked Questions on Title Case Capitalization

Below are some frequently asked questions to help wrap your head around the nuances of title case. It bears mentioning that for sentence case, all of these questions are answered the same: You only capitalize a word if it’s the first word in the title or part of a proper noun.

Do you capitalize a, an or the in a title?

As articles, these words are only ever capitalized when they begin the title or they’re a part of a proper noun.

Do you capitalize the word in in a title?

Since in is a preposition, you’ll need to check the style guide you’re writing to. For example, in AP style, in is not capitalized, but in Chicago style, it’s capitalized when used in a phrasal verb such as “get in.”

Do you capitalize the word and in a title?

Conjunctions often have specific rules depending on the style guide. In this case, however, all style guides agree: Don’t capitalize the word and.

Do you capitalize the word not in a title?

As an adverb, the word not is capitalized across all style guides.

Do you capitalize the word between in a title?

Since between is a preposition, it’s up for debate. In AP style, it’s capitalized since it’s longer than four letters. In Chicago style, it’s never capitalized.

Do you capitalize the word our in titles?

The pronoun our is, indeed, capitalized according to every major style guide.

Do you capitalize the word is in titles?

It’s a tricky verb, but a verb nonetheless. As such, you capitalize is according to all style guides.

Do you capitalize the second word in a hyphenated title?

Unfortunately, there are no definite answers when it comes to capitalizing hyphenated words. It depends entirely on the style guide and even then, some guides don’t provide clear rules. In AP style, both words are capitalized. In Chicago style, the second word is capitalized only when it’s not an article, preposition or coordinating conjunction.

Keep Your Style Guide Handy

There you have it — everything you ever wanted to know about title capitalization. By now, you should be well-equipped for a life of titular title writing. More importantly, you know how important it is to know what style guide you’re writing to and whether your clients have any particular preferences on the matter. At the end of the day, when you know which tools to turn to, knowing every rule becomes unnecessary.

If you’re a blogger or a brand still in doubt, remember that consistency is more important than any specific style you choose. Google and other search engines couldn’t care less about complicated capitalization rules. Pick a style, stick to it and focus on quality content over everything else.

And speaking of quality and consistency, if you’re a brand that’s looking to take raise your marketing to the next level, we can help. Our platform has thousands of top-tier freelance writers ready to help you grow your brand with powerful, high-quality content — proper title capitalization included. Get in touch with us today to find out more.

The post Everything You Ever Needed To Know About Capitalizing Titles appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Those numbers include third-party sellers on Amazon, as well as direct sales from the giant itself. As of 2019, more than 5 million sellers hawked their wares on the Amazon marketplace, with more than a million Amazon sellers joining the ranks in the last year alone. Those sellers are divided across 12 markets globally, but wherever you’re working as a freelance product description writer, Amazon provides an opportunity for branching out into a specialty: writing Amazon product descriptions.

An Amazon product description writer helps clients who sell in the Amazon marketplace ensure their items appear in search results and listing pages and increase conversion rates via well-written marketing copy. Here are seven tips for becoming the best Amazon product description writer you can to keep clients coming back for more.

1. Write to Capture Conversions During Micro Moments

Roughly 90% of people check prices on Amazon even when they’re shopping elsewhere. They also turn to Amazon as a retail search engine, bypassing Google to get quick facts about goods on the retail site. Keep this in mind when writing Amazon listing copy. During a micro moment, the person is thinking about the product and may even consider making a purchase, but you only have a few seconds to capture their interest.

• Keep PDs short whenever possible
• Follow journalistic best practices and lead with the “meat;” in product copy, that means putting the best selling points first
• Organize information in a way that’s logical for browsers; if the item isn’t the right size, they won’t want to waste their time reading more

2. Optimize Descriptions with the Right Keywords

Amazon’s algorithm takes both sales page content and CTS into account when positioning products in its search results. CTS is a reflection of the number of people who click on products and then actually purchase them.

Only 30% of people even click to the second page of Amazon product results, so it’s critical to land as high in the results as possible for your targeted search terms.

As an Amazon product description copywriter, you can help your clients achieve this important goal by incorporating the right keyword phrases into your descriptions. If clients don’t provide keywords, do some quick research to find out how people are searching on Amazon for these types of products. Then, include those phrases in the product title and the first and last sentences of your description whenever possible.

ALSO: Watch This Webinar to Learn the Secret to Creating Product Descriptions

3. Don’t Forget to Write with Google in Mind

Google does index Amazon product listings, so keep search engine optimization in mind when you’re writing. You might include top Google keywords alongside Amazon keywords — these aren’t necessarily the same thing.

Just remember — focus on delivering a good customer experience and don’t sacrifice it trying to include too many keywords.

You should also keep snippets in mind; Google will automatically pull a helpful snippet straight from product descriptions and use it in the meta description position in the search results. Keep that 160-ish character limit in mind when you’re crafting the first sentence or two of your Amazon PD; would it make a good hook when appearing in the search engine results?

ALSO: 3 Ways to Improve Your Product Page SEO

4. Write in Feature/Benefit Format

Use strong marketing copy practices, including writing about features and benefits. Since most Amazon product descriptions appear alongside images of the goods and specification listings, you can concentrate more on the benefits instead of describing exactly what the item looks like.

5. Use Bullets and White Space to Make Content Easy to Scan

When someone is perusing products online, they may be comparing numerous items or taking a quick gander into the eCommerce options while they’re standing in a physical store. The point here is this: no one has time to sift through bulky product descriptions or face down huge paragraphs of text.

Write Amazon PDs that are easy to scan so individuals can look for the specific information they require. Some tips include:

• Using bullet points to list key features with related benefits
• Including line breaks between short paragraphs to increase white space
• Organize your PD with key features and benefits up front and sample use cases or less important considerations toward the bottom
• Format all PDs for a brand the same way for easy scannability and brand recognition

6. Study Amazon’s Rules for Product Description Content

Did you know Amazon has its own style guide? That’s definitely something professional Amazon copywriters need to be aware of.

The Amazon Services Quick Start Style Guide offers concise information on best practices and rules for formatting Amazon product descriptions. For example, product titles can’t be more than 200 characters and Amazon has some preferences for capitalization.

Amazon also publishes rules for descriptions related to specific types of products. It doesn’t allow descriptions that include spoilers related to media products such as movies and books, for example.

Knowing the rules for various listing types helps Amazon product description writers provide viable content for clients. And when clients can upload your content without worrying about a negative impact on their listing status, they’ll remember you for future jobs.

7. Check Out the Product Descriptions of High-Performing Products

Finally, check out what other brands — especially the top performers — are doing when it comes to Amazon product descriptions. By considering the descriptions that already help products rank high, you can understand what types of keywords are working for various types of goods. You can also get ideas about how to format, phrase and build Amazon product descriptions that best serve your target audience and perform well for clients.

ALSO: 3 Examples of Great Product Descriptions that Convert and Rank

Become an Amazon Product Description Writer

Does it take some time and work to become an effective Amazon product description writer? Yes. You have to keep up with Amazon’s style guide and requirements as well as general best practices for SEO and marketing copy. But with the eCommerce giant taking an ever bigger piece of the pie, honing your Amazon PD writing skills can mean a big payoff down the line.

The post What Freelancers Need to Know About Writing Amazon Product Descriptions appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

But there are plenty of benefits. Have you ever dreamed of working in your PJs from the comfort of your home or sipping a cappuccino behind your laptop screen in a coffee shop with fellow digital nomads? 

The possibilities don’t end there. From earning as much as you choose to helping companies engage their audiences, freelance writing is a fantastic career.

Join us as we explore the benefits of freelance writing. 

8 Benefits of Freelance Writing

Ready to join the freelance writing world? Here are nine perks waiting for you on the other side of the keyboard. 

1. Earn flexible money

Drew Berger, a professional marketer who manages a team of copywriters for a growing agency, loves that freelancing lets him “scale up and down based on needs and availability.”

“Over the years,” Berger says, “I’ve been able to use freelance writing as a primary income that I was able to support myself with, but it’s also been a great option for supplementary income.”

That’s the great thing about freelancing. You make your schedule and choose whether to do it part-time or full-time. 

2. Work on a diverse range of projects

Flexibility doesn’t solely cover money matters. Selina Kyle is a nomadic writer who successfully combines her love of writing with seasonal campground hosting. She thinks being able to work on a wide range of projects is a big win when it comes to freelance writing.

Kyle says, “You can choose a diversity of projects and goals that help you avoid mind-numbing routines and mundane writing assignments.” 

Olive Armstrong has been a freelance writer since 2011 and adds to this sentiment: “Freelancing allows me to write on a wide variety of topics, so writing never gets stale. Time never, ever drags when you’re freelancing. If you’re watching the clock, it’s probably because you’re racing to meet a deadline.”

3. Work wherever you want

Kyle says, “You can work wherever you want, which includes at home in your PJs (my personal favorite).”

Several freelancers talked about pajamas, but they’re all happy about working in various places. Think local libraries, coffee shops, restaurants, cars or trains, and, in at least one case, a tree house.

If you love travel, the life of a freelance writer could be a dream come true. The world is your oyster when you’re not tied to an office or a territory. As a freelance writer, you can make that dream of visiting every continent a reality — and get paid while you do it.  

4. Choose your work/life balance

All that freedom positively impacts a freelancer’s life, provided you manage your workflow smartly. Here’s how some of our best content writers take advantage of the benefits of freelance writing so they can live the rest of their lives to the fullest.

Leigh DuBois arranges her writing schedule around the things that make life enjoyable. “I love being able to arrange when I work around my life. If I want to go hiking or shopping on a weekday afternoon, I don’t have to miss work. I just work before I go or when I get home. I can even take the whole day off if I want to do that.”

Tom Emerson is a freelance writer and professional musician who leverages the gig economy to ensure he has opportunities for playing at his other gigs. “Working remotely with a flexible schedule gives me the freedom to say ‘yes’ to many gigs and opportunities I would never be able to in an office.”

5. Build your writing experience

The stronger your writing skills, the easier it becomes to secure freelance writing jobs and enjoy the benefits. 

Mickey David has spent plenty of time in classrooms to learn the art of writing, but he says freelancing has been a huge boon to his growth. “By working with hundreds of clients on a large variety of projects, I was able to refine my writing skills beyond what I learned in a classroom. In just a few years, I went from being unpublished to being a published writer with five credits to my name. That was meaningful growth that I can almost entirely attribute to freelance writing.”

ALSO: How to Find and Succeed With Freelance Copywriting Jobs

6. Be selective with projects

As a freelancer, you’re in control of what work you do and don’t do — a freedom some writers may overlook. Write content for companies specializing in your niche or on topics that interest you. 

As a former freelance writer for Crowd Content, Rick Leach — now our VP of Content Operations — expands on how to evaluate writing opportunities. “Freelance writing comes with the flexibility to accept or decline work as you see fit, which means you get to focus on what’s important to you, whether that includes higher pay, interesting topics, specific content types, or preferred clients. But be careful — you never know when a small or seemingly uninteresting job could become a killer opportunity. But saying no is sometimes necessary if additional work distracts from prior commitments. It’s a deadline-driven industry; missing a due date is a big no-no.”

7. Save money on traditional work expenses

If you’re a savvy freelancer writer, you also save money you might spend on a traditional job. Emerson notes, “I really appreciate the efficiency of working from home and not commuting. I’ve had other ‘flexible’ jobs like restaurants and retail, but the commuting hours really took a bite out of my hour-by-hour earnings.”

Not commuting was a perk mentioned by most of our freelancers. While gig writers don’t get paid time off like many traditionally employed people, Sapphire Knight, who has been writing since 1998, pointed out other benefits that make up for it. She says, “Freelancing made it easy for me to make a living while dealing with health issues that would have taken me out of the workforce.”

Freelancers are happy to avoid expenses for office-appropriate clothing and workday lunches, as well as the psychological price associated with office politics and gossip.

8. Put in overtime when big expenses loom

Freelancing offers another major financial perk: You’re never tied to a specific weekly pay or salary. While freelance writers can stop working to live their lives, the opposite is also true. Established freelancers can work overtime and make more money when necessary.

Simona Osborn writes in the cannabis industry and appreciates that she can increase her workload with extra projects when time permits. “If I feel like putting in a marathon work session, like if a big bill is coming due, I have that option, too,” Osborn says.

Do Freelance Writers Make Good Money?

Freelance writers have the potential to make good money, depending on their skill level, availability, and niche expertise. It all depends on your abilities, how much work you’re willing to put in, and your expectations.

If you don’t know much about SEO, content marketing, and AI’s impact on the industry, making supplementary income is possible, provided you have excellent writing skills. But if you’re knowledgeable about those topics and possess exceptional research skills, you can earn a hefty income. 

In today’s marketplace, topical authority is a needed quality of copywriting, and clients increasingly seek writers with specialized knowledge in fields such as health, science, and finance. 

ALSO: Freelance Writer Rates: How Much Should You Pay in 2024? 

How Hard Is Freelance Writing?

Breaking into the field of freelance writing isn’t easy, and not everyone is suited the uncertainty of freelance work. Success involves being adaptable and open to criticism, keeping up-to-date with industry trends, and developing marketing skills.

Writers who dedicate themselves to constant improvement and work on diverse projects find the job easier — those who embrace the freedom and potential for growth stick around for the long run.  

Discover Freelance Writing for Yourself

Freelance writers love the benefits of freelance writing, such as managing their finances, living their lives, and working outside ordinary spaces and schedules.

If your pen is mightier than your sword, apply for freelance writing jobs at Crowd Content.

The post Benefits of Freelance Writing as Told By Top Content Writers appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

And while there are definitely benefits to both scenarios, writers that are fast and loose with their content ideas may find that they can attract higher-paying freelance writing jobs. On the flip side, they can also find themselves in non-productive ideation projects that don’t pay enough to justify their time investment.

So, how do you best manage ideation for your clients? Read on to see how top writers on Crowd Content approach this potentially rewarding type of work.

Also – if you’d like tips on ideation, be sure to check out our recent article for some great ideas.

Why You Must Know How to Come Up With Article Ideas

If you’re a writer who hates coming up with ideas and prefers the client take the lead, you might wonder if you can just keep getting paid to write an article and be done with it. In the crowdsourcing world, that’s a viable option, and we have plenty of work for freelancers who simply want to kick out high-quality content without becoming too involved with client communication and branding.

But if you’re looking to build client relationships to fuel your work queue long-term, then going the extra mile can come in handy. After all, ideas flow and they ebb, even for clients, so even brands with a good handle on ideation often appreciate some new blood in the brainstorming process.

Some benefits of learning how to come up with article ideas for clients include:

• The ability to differentiate yourself from other freelance writers
• Developing an ongoing work relationship with the client
• Providing ideas that turn into paid article assignments for you
• Driving content in a better direction for SEO, audience engagement and other purposes if a client is struggling with these concepts

New to freelance writing?

10 Freelance Writing Tips to Know Before You Start Writing

Business Practices: Should You Charge for Ideation?

If you’re going to put in the extra work, should you charge for it?

The answer to this depends on numerous factors, including your relationship with the client, how much the client is paying for the articles and your personal preferences.

On the one hand, if the client has not ordered content or guaranteed orders, then any ideation you do for them may be of a speculative nature. This is known as a pitch, which is common in the freelance world. Some writers are talented at crafting article ideas into pitches that wow clients and land high-paying jobs, but you definitely have to weigh your time and effort with the ultimate return.

If you’re already working with the client to provide content, how you incorporate ideation depends on you and the expectations you set. If you don’t say otherwise, the client may just assume you’ll come up with topics. You might agree to come up with topics and do all the research for a higher per-word payment, though, or you might offer to do ideation for a per-article or hourly fee.

What Goes Into A Pitch?

We’ve covered why you’d want to know how to pitch article ideas and how to get compensated for that work, but what actually goes into each individual pitch?

Here’s what you need to include:

1. Title – come up with something that draws attention, and make sure that it’s an appropriate length. You might run it through CoSchedule’s headline analyzer to make sure it’s good. Sometimes you can include title variations to give the client more flexibility
2. Summary – provide some background research that you’ve done about the topic, as well as the angle your article would take
3. Estimated word count – ballpark how long you think the piece would need to be to cover the topic properly. This lets clients understand both cost and the amount of time that will go into the project
4. Audience – often clients will tell you which audience you need to speak to, but if not, you’ll want to clearly identify who you’re talking to. This helps clients identify if your pitch will accomplish what they need, or give them the chance to give you feedback upfront so you write for the audience they intended.

These are the basics of what you’d include, but some clients might request additional info.

What Do You Do If The Client Doesn’t Bite?

Even in long-standing client-writer relationships, not every idea pitched is going to be picked up by the client.

It happens, but it doesn’t mean your effort was wasted. If the client paid you to come up with the article ideas you shared, then you’ve really already been paid for the work so no harm done (hopefully you’re paid a rate that justifies your time).

If you weren’t paid, and your pitches were speculative, then chances are you own the rights to that article idea (make sure your agreement or contract with the client supports this). And, that means that you’ll want to find ways to make the most of the ideas you came up with.

These ideas still hold a lot of value, and there are a few ways that you can use them.

1. Pitch Other Clients

Chances are you work with a large number of clients, many in similar industries. Content teams are always looking for great new ideas for their content calendars, so would usually welcome having you contact them and suggest a topic that you’ve been researching. If they bite, chances are you’ll be able to work out a deal to write the article for them, and you might even be able to negotiate a higher rate for the piece than the original client was offering.

While not as easy, you could also pitch clients that you haven’t worked with. If you know your topics could benefit other companies in the space, it doesn’t hurt to contact their content teams and see if they’re interested in the topic. From their perspective, being contacted out of the blue with great suggestions for articles could be pretty compelling. It shows them you understand their space, and makes giving you a try an easier decision.

2. Keep a Topic Backlog

Odds are that many clients are going to ask you for ideation during your career, so having a selection of topics ready to go could be a real asset.

We recommend that you keep all your topic ideas organized in a spreadsheet, organized by industry, so that when a client asks for some topics, you can reuse topics that other clients passed on.

Many writers who have clients that frequently ask for pitches will keep their topic backlogs updated with new ideas they come up with as they write, not just ideas other clients passed on.

One thing to note is that this works best with evergreen content ideas. If your topics are time sensitive, or go out of date, you’ll want to remove them from your backlog.

3. Publish Them Yourself

There’s a lot to be said for building your reputation in a specific industry.

What’s a client’s favorite question when interviewing new writers?

“Can you send me some samples?”

If you can write and publish some of your article ideas on web properties that you control such as your own website, your Medium account, your LinkedIn profile, etc, it’s a great way for you to share samples with clients.

Plus, this helps build your authority in the industry and can often help attract new clients itself. Put a link in your bio on the article that invites people to contact you to discuss contracting, and you might just pick up some new clients.

Wrapping it Up

Ideation is an important part of freelance writing, but making sure that you’re doing it right, are being compensated for your work (through your per article price or per topic idea), and know what to do with your article ideas when they’re not picked up is critical.

By following the advice above, you should be able to maximize the value you receive for your time spent ideating.

Have any other tips for handling ideation? Let us know in the comments.

The post Ideation 102: How Should Writers Approach Doing Ideation for Clients appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Read on for an easy-to-understand guide to using the percent symbol when citing figures. We also highlight some of the common mistakes writers make when using percentages in articles and blog posts.

Following AP Style Percent Formatting

In 2019, AP Style revised its guidelines for writing out percentages. Prior to this, the rule was to spell the word percent in full after a numeral (for example, 92 percent or 1.5 percent).

It’s now preferable to use the percent sign — in most situations. While the change caused some debate among writers and editors, the new rule follows common usage.

Here’s what the current AP Style percent guidelines mean for you as a writer.

1. Use the % Sign Most of the Time

When referring to a specific figure, place the % sign immediately following the numeral. You don’t need a space between the number and the symbol.

• Students must have a 75% average to pass the course.
• The motion passed with 56% of the vote.

2. Use the Word Percent in Casual Situations

When writing figuratively or casually, use the word percent instead of the symbol. Spell out the numeral.

• There’s a zero percent chance of that happening!

3. Use Decimal Points Instead of Fractions

AP Style recommends using decimal points if percentages aren’t whole numbers. Fractions are more difficult to read.

• The interest rate on the loan is 2.75%.
• She received a 3.5% pay raise.

4. Precede the Decimal With a Zero for Amounts Less Than 1%

Place a zero to the left of the decimal point if citing an amount less than 1%. The zero makes the decimal point more visible and helps improve clarity.

• The interest rate on loans is 0.4% lower at my bank, so you may want to switch.
• Grocery prices rose by 0.9% this month.

Common Mistakes When Writing Percentages

Still perplexed by percentages? Here’s a rundown of other questions that can crop up when you’re creating content.

What’s the Difference Between Percent and Percentages?

The word percent (or the % symbol) follows a number. It means per hundred and is used with specific figures.

• There’s a 10% discount if you pay in cash.

The word percentage is more general and used when an exact number isn’t provided.

• Only a small percentage of the class completed the bonus assignment; more than 90% opted out.

Make sure you don’t use the word percent in place of percentage.

• Incorrect: What percent of the population voted in the election?
• Correct: What percentage of the population voted in the election?

How Do You Write a Range or Series of Percentages?

When you’re referring to more than one percentage, use the percent sign after each figure.

The AP Style Guide considers all of the following formats acceptable for describing a range of percentages:

• 15% to 20%
• 15%-20%
• Between 15% and 20%

You can also list a series of percentages. Remember to use the percent symbol after each number.

• The store is offering discounts of 25%, 30% and 50%.

Are Percentages Singular or Plural?

Writers sometimes stumble when it comes to percentages and verb agreement. The key is to look at the noun to which the percentage is referring. If the noun is singular, use a singular verb. If the noun is plural, use a plural verb.

• Singular: Only 20% of the membership is at the meeting.
• Plural: Only 20% of the members are at the meeting.

How Do You Compare Percentages?

You often see writers referring to percentage point increases or decreases. Be careful not to confuse percentage points with percentage change, as they aren’t the same thing.

Let’s say a political party’s approval rate increases from 40% to 50%. It’s correct to say that this is an increase of 10 percentage points. It’s not a 10% increase in approval rating, however. Now, you’re referring to percentage change, and it’s a 25% increase.

• Percentage points are calculated by subtracting the final value from the initial value.
• Percentage change is a ratio. It’s calculated by subtracting the final value from the initial value and dividing the difference by the initial value.

How Do You Write Percentage Points?

When writing about percentage points, use numerals.

• The party’s approval rating is up 4 percentage points.

Is It Percent or Per Cent?

Another common question is whether to write percent as one word or two. Both ways are correct; it’s a stylistic choice. Generally, percent is used in American English while per cent is used in British and Canadian English.

Choosing the Right Style Guide

This article covers AP Style percent formatting, but there are variations between style guides. Some clients may opt for the Chicago Manual of Style, APA Style or MLA Style. As a professional freelance writer, you should follow your client’s preference so your copy is consistent with other content they publish.

Work With Crowd Content

Are you ready to flex your writing skills and work on interesting and challenging freelance assignments? Whether you’re an experienced freelancer or starting out your career, there’s a place for you on our platform. We have thousands of clients seeking writers for blog posts, articles, product descriptions and SEO copy. Sign up for your Crowd Content account today.

The post Your Guide to AP Style Percent Formatting appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Think of it like setting up a brick-and-mortar shop: you can have the best store out there, but if you don’t have signs, an address on the map or other ways for potential customers to know what’s inside, you’re not going to get people coming into the store.

For freelance writers, this need creates opportunity: businesses need high-quality articles, blog posts, city pages, website content and other types of SEO-optimized written content to help build out their search engine marketing strategy. Even the best written content won’t deliver the search traffic businesses need if it hasn’t been optimized for SEO, including the proper use of keywords, solving searcher intent and more.

Some companies leverage in-house talent to bridge the gap, but many now recognize the value in specialization of labor and are looking for highly skilled SEO content writers to help drive their content strategy. It’s no easy task: SEO writing takes discipline, focus and the ability to shift gears or change topics on demand. But for writers with the raw talent and willingness to improve their craft, SEO writing offers substantial opportunities.

Ready for a crash course? Here’s how you can become an SEO content writer.

Writing Is the Foundation

First thing’s first: Make sure you’ve got the writing skills to pay the bills. (Yes. I do like cheesy sayings.)

In practice, this means you’re able to create high-quality content that’s free of grammatical and spelling errors, draws in and engages readers and quickly communicates key points.

When it comes to SEO writing, there’s a tendency to think of it as more mechanical and less creative than other types of content, but the truth is that brands now recognize the value of SEO-driven articles and blog posts that draw in potential consumers with great storytelling and subtle brand positioning.

If you’re already comfortable with the basics — great. If you think you can use some improvement, check out our Writer University for actionable lessons to get your writing where it needs to be. There are also plenty of other resources, including Poynter University, Purdue’s Online Writing Lab (OWL), and my personal favorite, Minion Fogarty’s Grammar Girl. You should also subscribe to AP’s online stylebook and do a bit of studying.

For help with content questions, writing structure or workflow you’ll find plenty of forums and writing groups online. One of the most popular is WriteWords; the site offers everything tips and tricks articles to job opportunities to writing groups that can help evaluate and critique your work.

You’re going to have to do all the groundwork on getting your writing, grammar, logic, flow and structure up to speed. This article is about how to add to those skills by learning how to take the really compelling, engaging content you write and adding value by optimizing it for SEO.

ALSO – 10 Things to Know Before You Start Writing for a Client

ALSO– Copywriting for SEO

Understanding Searcher Intent

Modern SEO demands more than simply using keywords in your writing. It’s critical that you understand what the most relevant information is to satisfy someone plugging in those keywords.

The days when keyword-stuffed content (Read: “I love peanut butter sandwiches because peanut butter sandwiches have a lot of peanut butter in the sandwich.”) are gone. Today’s search engine algorithms like Google’s RankBrain look at the behavioral metrics of content such as bounce rate and dwell time to determine how actual readers view your content and whether it’s deserving of a high placement in the search engine results.

Start by reviewing the set of keywords you’re given, and then try to put yourself in the searcher’s shoes. Let that guide you as you write.

Someone who’s thinking about getting a new dog might search for these keyword terms:

• Best dogs for families with kids
• Cost of canine veterinary care
• Dog training

While these are more likely queries from someone considering a career in the veterinary field:

• Canine anatomy
• Common diseases in dogs
• Veterinary schools

And someone who’s shopping for their dog might use these terms:

• Cheap dog collars
• Best doggy doors
• Soft dog beds

Though the topic — dogs — remains the same, the people plugging in those groups of search terms were looking for something very different and had unique searcher intents. Make sure you come to that same type of understanding before you head for your keyboard.

Good SEO-optimized content should focus on solving searcher intent instead of simply slotting in specific keywords. Focus on doing that through great storytelling, and your content should rank well.

The A to Z of Keywords

Keywords, key phrases, targets — call them whatever you want. But rest assured, they drive SEO content. If you’re an SEO copywriter, chances are assignments will come complete with keywords designed to help them perform well across multiple search engines.

Types of Keywords

Most clients will provide you with several different types of keywords. Though they may look the same and have a similar purpose, the way you use them in your copy differs.

1. Primary Keywords: These are the most important keywords for SEO. They typically have a high search volume and low competition, though you’ll also see clients rely on long-tail keywords — those that are more specific and have a lower search volume but a much more focused searcher intent.

2. Secondary Keywords: These keywords are very relevant to your primary keyword, though they typically have a lower search volume. Think of them as keywords that support the primary.

3. Semantically Related Keywords: These terms are related in some fashion to your primary keywords, though they go beyond mere synonyms. Often referred to as LSI keywords, these indicate topics that would naturally be included in an article about your primary keyword. Sticking with the canine theme, an article about “dog training” might have LSI keywords that include “potty training puppies,” “dog whisperer,” and “interpreting dog behavior.” Semantic keywords might indicate subtopics you should cover.

Keyword Placement

There’s no definitive way to use keywords, and how you will use them varies depending on the type of content you’re writing. But, here’s an example of instructions for a standard blog post:

1. Primary Keyword: Include in the page title, meta description, H1, at least one H2 and early in the body text.

2. Secondary Keyword: Include in an H2 and in the body text for that section.

3. Semantic Keywords: Include as many as you can at least once in the body text.

Each client may have their own philosophy on keyword placement, so be sure to ask questions before you start writing.

Occasionally you’ll have clients that ask for each keyword to be used multiple times or to reach a certain keyword density, but this is becoming less common. The approach outlined above lets you get your keywords in while still focusing primarily on writing for the user and solving search intent.

Stop Words and Such

Trust me — the time will come when you’re handed keywords that are grammatically incorrect or very difficult to work into the content, especially when you’re dealing with SEO-optimized local content (dentists New York, plumbers near me, etc.).

Making slight variations, adding/removing punctuation or changing a keyword from singular to plural should have no impact on how Google reads the keywords. You’re also able to add what Google calls “stop words” without impacting the recognizability of the keyword.

Don’t be mistaken — Google has gotten really, really good at figuring out what the actual keywords are meant to be despite everything else going on around them, but you are bound to run into clients who are adamant that their researched keyword terms can’t be altered.

Each of your future clients will have their own rules on what to do (or not to do) with the keywords they provide you, and it’s in your best interests to adhere to what they say — even if it may not be in their best interest SEO-wise. If what you know to be true conflicts with what the client says, simply make your point, send them some links to authority sites on the subject and then get back to work.

Keyword Research

While it’s not very common, clients sometimes ask writers to do keyword research for content they write. There are a number of tools that can help you do this including Google’s Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, SEMrush Keyword Magic, Moz Keyword Explorer, etc. You can also use Neil Patel’s new UberSuggest tool to get keyword ideas and analyze traffic, and LSI Graph to generate semantically related keywords — and they’re both free. It just doesn’t get better than that.

What you’re looking for is a keyword or group of keywords that have a reasonable search volume, show a clear intent you can address with your content and ideally isn’t overly competitive.

How do you know if a search term is competitive? Look at the existing top search results for the search term, and audit the resulting content. How long is it? Does it include lots of data and sources? Are semantically related topics covered? If the content does all these things well, it might be tough to rank higher.. But, if they’re lacking in all these areas, you have a good shot at outranking them.

Keep in mind that keyword research is generally executed by SEO professionals and not writers or editors. If you’re going to take this responsibility on, think about how you’re going to charge the client — whether it be an hourly rate or by the keyword — so you get compensated for all your time.

Keyword Formulas

On very large projects such as writing product descriptions or city pages, clients often won’t have a specific keyword for every assignment they order. Often, what they’ll do instead is ask writers to create their own keywords based on a simple formula involving broad keywords.

For example, if a client wanted city pages for a car rental business they might give writers this formula to build keywords:

Primary – “CITY NAME” + “Car Rentals”

Secondary – “Best Cars for” + CITY NAME”

For product descriptions, it usually looks something like this:

“BRAND” + “MODEL NAME” + “DESCRIPTOR” + “PRODUCT”

Formulaic keywords are simple to work with, but just make sure you get all the requirements you need from the client before you start.

Why You Should Care About Featured Snippets

Here’s the hard truth — 75 percent of users never click past the first page of search engine results.

Featured snippets in the form of instant answers, knowledge graphs and videos are stealing traffic from the top organic results.

Ahrefs reports that 12.29% of all search queries have featured snippets in their search results. On these searches, the featured snippet captures 8.6% of clicks, which takes away from the top ranked search result. On the flip side, Inc.com reports that if you can earn a place in the featured snippet, your page traffic could increase 20-30% and your organic CTR could go up by 677%.

Combine that with the 70 to 80 percent of users ignoring paid advertisements and the reality sets in: If brands can’t get their SEO content in the top 10 search results or featured snippets (position 0), almost no one is clicking through and their competitors will take most of their potential audience.

What you can (and should) do is optimize for featured snippets as you write. There are three basic types:

Paragraph Snippet

Listicle Snippet

Table Snippet

There’s lots to learn about writing content that Google will consider for a featured snippet, and we can’t fit it all in here. But it’s fair to say that most featured snippets are the result of a searcher asking a question. You just need to supply the answers.

Answer the Public is a great (free) tool to use. Simply plug in your topic or keyword, and it will spit out ideas in the form of questions:

Read this article from the Content Marketing Institute to get more advice on how to rank for featured snippets. This HubSpot article also gives some great advice.

The Importance of Metadata

Start strong. Searchers don’t see much of your article in search results — in most cases, all they’ll see is the title and meta description. The result? Your title and meta description need to grab attention and compel users to click through.  

There’s been a lot written about how to write engaging titles, and there are even (free) tools to measure their effectiveness. Though the data may be out of date, this 2017 study conducted by BuzzSumo is a great starting point for learning how to craft good titles. Once you’ve got the hang of it, use CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer to see how well you’ve done. Ideally, you’ll want a score of 60 or higher.

The meta description is a short blurb — anywhere from 160 to 320 characters, depending on where Google stands on the subject at the time.

The sole purpose for meta descriptions is to get searchers to click on the link. That’s it. You don’t have a lot of words to use, so what you write has to be concise, informative, compelling and reflective of the article or post it points to. Shopify has a really informative post on the subject, a does Neil Patel.

Finding the Right Fit

No beginner’s guide to SEO copywriting would be complete without a few tips on where to get you first job and where to go for help if you need it.

Looking for a job? Great content marketers are hiring. Crowd Content is a great place to start — we offer jobs for writers of varying skill levels and specializations along with opportunities to work directly with clients if they like what you create. In addition, our quality rating system means that when you write great content you get more chances to write for better pay. It’s a win-win.

SEO Writing Jobs Going Forward

SEO is here to stay. Companies need content writers who can deliver fresh, creative articles that grab user attention and satisfy search engine algorithms. If you can master everything I talked about here and stay current with SEO trends, your skills will always be in demand.

The post Crash Course: How to Become an SEO Content Writer appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

I want to share a secret for getting to that balance, maintaining a steady income and enjoying your freelance lifestyle more: Online product description writing jobs.

What Are Product Description Writer Jobs?

Writing product descriptions involves describing products and services in a way that encourages someone’s interest in buying it. It’s a form of marketing writing, and typically requires you to understand the basics of feature/benefit writing.

Some brands have a staff writer or team that creates product descriptions for all their products. Smaller companies often find it more economical to outsource their PDs to freelance writers, though. And larger brands may have such a huge catalog that it’s simply not feasible for a small team to complete unique PDs for every product — these companies often outsource product descriptions online with companies like Crowd Content.

Online Product Description Writing Jobs: The Little Secret to a Big Payday

Product description writing jobs usually range from around 50 to 200 words. For the freelance writer who knows how to turn a smart marketing phrase, a 50 or 100 word PD can take literally minutes to write. And since PDs don’t generally require a ton of research (especially if you’re writing about products you’re familiar with), you don’t have to commit a huge amount of time to complete a few of these jobs.

The short length makes PDs a stellar content writing job for freelancers with busy lifestyles or lots of at-home obligations. PDs are also a great “filler” between larger jobs. You can commit to completing a good number of PDs each week, even if you plan on slotting them in between article tasks or housekeeping duty.

And once you learn the ropes of marketing writing, you may find that PDs take less brain power than thought-leadership posts, so you can work on them once you start to hit the 3:00 wall (whatever time that may be for you).

The overall result of working product description writing jobs into your routine is a bigger pay check without a lot of the hassle that comes from committing to longer jobs. Plus, if you can land a spot on PD writing teams, you can access regular work without making those commitments to begin with.

7 Tips for Completing Product Description Writing Jobs Like a Pro

So, how do you land and keep product description clients? The TL;DR is: Do a good job on every task. The seven tips below help you do that.

1. Perfect Feature/Benefit Writing

The freelance writer role with PDs is to make the product sound enticing. A straight up description doesn’t get the job done. Consider these two examples describing a shirt.

• This shirt is blue. It has a white flower and the words “Flower Power” on the front. It is a size medium and is made out of soft cotton.
• Display your love of nature with this Flower Power t-shirt. The soft cotton material feels great all day, and the white flower pops from the bright blue background, ensuring a cheerful look. Pair this size medium shirt with jeans or dress it up with a cute skirt.

The second PD employs feature/benefit writing. It links a benefit to each of the features so the reader can better imagine themselves wearing and using the shirt. It’s also less boring and humdrum than the first description.

You simply can’t succeed with PD writing jobs if you don’t know how to write feature/benefit.

2. Write Unique Content

via GIPHY

Clients are paying for unique content for their PDs, which means you can’t plagiarize (even yourself) and should avoid boilerplating.

Most freelance writers understand how to avoid plagiarism. Don’t copy more than a couple words from any source, including yourself. When you write a lot of PDs about very similar items, that can get more difficult. I recommend choosing different types of things to write about or stepping away and coming back later if you feel yourself struggling for unique words after writing 17 PDs for picture frames that only differ in size or color.

Boilerplating is the little sister of plagiarism. It’s when you present the same information with a lot of the same verbiage in the same order. For example, if you wrote a PD for one of those frames, then simply swapped out the details (such as size, color and material) for the next PD, that would be boilerplating. Don’t do that.

3. Start With Products You Know About

Speed up your writing process by starting with products you know about. It’s easier to describe benefits when you have experience with the goods. Slowly integrate other types of products, doing research to understand them, to expand the products you’re comfortable writing about.

If you take on 50 product descriptions at a time for products you know nothing about, you may find that they take too long to write and your hourly earnings tank.

4. Read and Follow Instructions Diligently

This is freelance 101: Not every client has the same type or preferences. Read and follow instructions to ensure you’re using the right grammar style guide, including the right information and keywords and using calls to action and other tools appropriately.

5. Understand the Target Audience

Part of the tasks instructions should include the target audience, and if you’re not sure, it’s worth getting clarification from the client. The target audience can drastically change how you write a PD.

For example, imagine writing a product description for a computer. The types of features and benefits you highlight should be different when writing for a small business audience versus a gamer audience.

6. Pay Attention to Logical Sentence Structure

Logic problems come up a lot in product description writing for several reasons:

• Writers are often writing multiple PDs about similar items, so they’re struggling to come up with varied ways of saying the same thing
• Marketing writing lends to creativity, and fun turns of phrase can get away from you
• Trying to get a lot of detail into a short PD can lead to common logic issues such as misplaced modifiers

Proof every PD to ensure you haven’t written something that sounds silly, could be confusing or puts the subject in the wrong place.

7. Get the Details Right

Finally, take a little time to ensure you get the details right. Double check that you’re writing about the correct product, that you’re not including any features that aren’t actually available and that you spelled the product and brand names correctly.

Learning how to win at product description writing jobs helps you keep your queues (and coffers) full. If you’re not already writing PDs for teams at Crowd Content, sign up for an account and check out some of the work opportunities in the Apply for Work tab of the writer dashboard.

The post How to Complete Product Description Writing Jobs Like a Pro appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Aside from some excellent writing chops, pro-level customer service skills and a decent connection to the internet, you’re going to need at least a bit of luck and some well-defined hustle muscles. Work goes fast in the freelance world, and the early bird gets a better chance at landing the potential client.

But scooping up freelance writing jobs like you’re the Very Hungry Caterpillar out for a meal and chomping through them with equal haste is a good way to get kicked off content platforms and develop a rep for poor freelance work.

One of the most important freelance writing tips I can share is to slow down and ensure you understand what the client wants before you start writing.

Taking just a few extra minutes during the freelance shuffle can help you get more work from that client and land higher paying clients — both of which help increase your potential hourly rate and make it more likely you’ll transition from a hungry freelance caterpillar to a butterfly writer with a known brand and the ability to be choosier about what work you ingest.

Yes, understanding what your client wants isn’t always easy. Sometimes it seems they aren’t even sure about what they want. Other times, they’re not great at communicating it. But by ensuring you have the best possible answers to the ten questions below, you can wow more clients with on-point content.

ALSO – It’s a Small World: Why Freelance Writers Should Build, Not Burn, Bridges

Always read client instructions and briefs looking for these answers, and then reach out to the client or project manager for clarification on anything that’s missing.

1. What Is the Target Audience?

The target audience refers to the people the client wants to read the content.

Your client may not have a brand persona named and formalized, but they probably know who they are reaching out to. Look for demographic descriptors such as gender, age range, income level, geographic location, career, education level and interests. You may be able to figure this information out by looking at the client’s website and other content if it’s not in the instructions.

The target audience should inform you about how to write the piece. If you’re writing about a medical device for doctors, the information, terms and voice you use should be different than if you’re writing about a medical device for the patients likely to need it.

ALSO – The Framing Effect: How to Positively Influence Audience Response to Content

2. What Is the Client’s Value Proposition?

If you’re writing marketing copy, especially local or city pages, knowing who you’re talking to is important, but it’s equally important to know how you should position the client’s business, products or services.

Let’s say you’re writing product descriptions for a clothing store. It may position the business in one of many ways:

• Low price
• Extensive inventory
• High quality
• Special sizes (big and tall, petite, etc.)
• All-natural fabrics

Unless the client has chosen “low price” as its value proposition, you certainly wouldn’t try to sell the consumer on how cheap the clothing is.

3. What Is the Client’s Brand Voice?

Brand voice is the overall tone of content and the way the brand speaks to its audience. Voice can be funny, irreverent, serious, professional or conversational, among many other things. But it should not be the same for each brand.

Look for guidance about voice in the client’s instructions and read some content on the client’s website to get a feel for the right tone. If you’re still not sure what voice to use, ask the client to send you some links to content with voice and tone that they like — some clients are better at showing than telling.

CoSchedule does a great job exploring brand voice in their marketing strategy course.

4. Where Does the Piece Fit In the Sales Funnel?

If you’re writing any type of marketing or sales content, you need to know where it falls in the customer journey. Does the client want a blog post that answers questions for people who are just beginning to consider the topic, or are you writing a landing page meant to convert consumers who are ready to make a buying decision? The information you cover and the way you do it should be different depending on the answer to that question.

5. What Is the Objective of the Piece?

You also need to know what the client wants to accomplish with the content. Some reasons clients might publish content include:

• Search engine optimization (SEO), which means they want SEO content specifically for its performance in the SERPs
• Conversion, which means they want to convince consumers to take a specific action
• Positioning themselves as a leader, which means they want thought-leadership and authority content
• Creating a brand culture, which means they want content that encourages sharing and promotes the mission, vision and values of the brand

If you don’t know what the client wants to accomplish, you can’t help them do it.

6. Should You Include Calls to Action?

Whether you’re writing blog posts, product descriptions or landing pages, make sure you know whether the client wants a call to action included. It’s not always a sure bet: clients who are jockeying for authority or brand culture may not want to include anything that looks like a sales tactic in content.

If you’re asking about CTAs, go ahead and clarify these important details before you start writing:

• What is the offer?
• What does the client want consumers to do (buy something, call, click to another page, sign up for something, etc.)?
• Does the client have a specific page to link to in mind?
• Where should the CTA go?

ALSO – 5 Best Practices for Killer CTAs: Hooks, Lines and Keepers

7. What’s the Client’s Preference on Point of View?

This seems like a small matter, but if you get it wrong, the revision is a tedious headache. Make sure you know whether the client wants you to write in first person (I/we), second person (you) or third person (them/they).

It’s also a good idea to ensure you know how the client refers to itself, especially if there are several ways to write the company name.

8. What Searcher Intent Does the Client Want to Satisfy Most?

When people turn to the internet, they typically do so with a specific intent. Common intents include:

• Want to go. Searchers want to go somewhere and are looking for directions or ideas online. Example: “Mexican restaurants near me“
• Want to do. Searchers want to know how or where they can do something. Example: “Where can I get a massage?” or “How can I make a chocolate cake?“
• Want to know. Searchers are looking for specific information. Example: “What is diabetes?“
• Want to buy. Searchers are shopping online or preparing to shop online. Example: “Honda Civics,” “Best instant pot deals” or “Nike shoes near me“

Content that answers the right intent can boost a site in the search engines and increase conversion rates — all of which are good for your client.

ALSO – How to Use Search Intent for Your Business

9. Does the Client Have Style Preferences?

Take a moment to look at the details. Does the client prefer AP style? If the client doesn’t care a great deal about style, make sure you clarify some of the bigger points such as:

• Use of headers and bulleted lists
• Serial comma or no serial comma
• Spelling (American, British, Canadian, Australian English?)

You might also ask about the inclusion of links. Is the client okay with linking out to authority pages? Do they want internal links?

Outside of client guidance, go with best practices, which are:

• Pick a style and stick with it
• Do break up longer pieces with subheadings and bulleted lists
• Link to authority sources if you use a statistic or specific fact
• Internally link if it’s relevant

10. What Is the Scope and Timeline?

Finally, be professional and make sure you understand (and adhere to) client needs. Look for notes about deadlines to ensure you get pieces to clients on time. And if the piece is part of a bigger project that you’ll be working on, ensure you complete tasks in the right order if the client has specified a preference.

When working freelance writing jobs on Crowd Content’s marketplace, you can communicate with clients in each task. Similarly, if working on managed content projects, you can get in touch directly with the in-house project manager.

As with all writing project, be professional and courteous, but don’t be afraid to reach out for clarification. Doing so helps you provide the client exactly what they want, which can result in more work in the future.

The post Freelance Writing Tips: 10 Things to Know Before You Start Writing appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

If you want to get ahead with your freelance writing business in 2019, it pays to keep up with trends. Here’s a look at six types of freelance writing jobs that are in high demand this year. Read up on them, and ensure you can prep your portfolios to support pitches to potential clients in 2019.

1. City Pages

City pages or local pages are landing pages that integrate marketing copy about goods or services with information and terms relevant to local users. They can be written with an entire city in mind, but as local marketing becomes more important, many brands are choosing to publish pages at a neighborhood level.

This type of content continues to be important because local search is a driving force for all types of businesses. According to Google, around a third of all searches have local intent, and Wordstream notes that 72 percent of local searches visit a business within five miles of their location.

Local businesses can’t afford to ignore this content marketing need, and freelance writers can’t afford to avoid learning to write local content.

Examples of city or local pages:

2. eCommerce Content

Product descriptions, category pages and buying guides — any copy meant to educate buyers who are well into the sales funnel and might be looking to make a purchase — are examples of eCommerce content. It usually employs strong marketing copy that entices the reader by pairing features of the products with benefits to the user in ways that help the person imagine owning the items or using the services themselves.

eCommerce content isn’t a new star in 2019, but as consumers repeatedly turn to the search engines to start their buying journey, it remains a critical component of any website. That’s true whether a brand makes sales online, in physical stores or both.

And since marketing copy has to be constantly refreshed to be competitive, freelancers who know how to write it can keep themselves in work all year.

Examples of eCommerce Content

3. Long-Form Content

Long-form content can be divided into two basic camps.

First, the long blog post or article — typically a few thousand words or so — that delves deeply into a topic or gives a comprehensive high-level overview. Sometimes these are called pillar posts, and brands create offshoot posts on more specific topics and link from the pillar post to these shorter articles.

Another type of long-form content is often used for lead generation purposes — ebooks, white papers and case studies are all examples. Businesses tend to gate these informative pieces of content and trade them for an email address or newsletter signup to build their marketing lists.

Again, these aren’t new formats for 2019, but online content does continue to get longer. One reason is that Google is placing increasing emphasis on expertise and quality; it wants to serve up links to companies that can and will help the user most, and long-form content is a good way to capture Google’s attention. Plus, if the content is engaging, it causes users to spend more time on the page. That can drive up a site’s RankBrain score, which in turn can help the page’s search rankings.

Freelance writers interested in the long-form content game should start in industries where they have hands-on expertise or long-term writing experience. Often, companies want high-level or thought-leadership content for these pieces.

Examples of long-form content:

• Neptune Society’s guide for veteran burial and cremation
• Crowd Content’s post on SEO content

4. SEO Content

Freelance writers may notice that increasing numbers of clients are more concerned with quality and less concerned with playing whack-a-mole with keywords. But that doesn’t mean SEO is down for the count. In fact, to be a successful freelance content creator in 2019, you have to know more about SEO than ever.

You need to know:

• The differences between primary, secondary and semantic keywords and how to incorporate them into content in natural ways (by using common sense and stop words, for example)
• How to write meta descriptions and title tags to go with any content you deliver
• How to write SEO-optimized content for all search types, including searches from desktops, mobile devices and voice
• How to create feature snippets, which are short answers to specific questions that are friendly for display on Google or being read by a voice assistant

Want to prepare to please SEO clients in 2019? Check out all the SEO tips and tricks on the Crowd Content blog.

5. Social updates

Short and sassy. Short and sweet. Short and any other alliterative adjective a brand wants to throw at you — just know that social updates are not a short-lived form of content. Continuing throughout 2019, social posts will put brands ahead of the competition, and freelance writers who know how to turn a clever phrase while maintaining brand voice can land high-paying work that’s fast and fun.

Social posts include:

• Facebook posts
• Twitter posts
• LinkedIn posts
• Google My Business Posts

Snapchat, Instagram and Pinterest are also big players in social marketing, but they tend to create less work for the freelance writer as they’re so image heavy.

Examples of social posts:

• WealthSimple’s Facebook page
• Wendy’s Twitter account

6. Advertorials

An advertorial is a cross between an advertisement and editorial content. Specifically, it’s an ad that parades as native content on a blog or even the site of a publisher such as the New York Times.

Successful advertorials look and feel like real content, though. They say something valuable the reader will engage in. The benefits of advertorials in 2019 is that they let brands get in front of new users or target users who read specific websites or publications.

Companies that can form lasting partnerships with publishers so they can present regular advertorials do well with this type of content. Freelancers who can write the kind of pieces that publishers want and slip some advertising in on the side will become favorites of these brands.

Examples of advertorials:

• The Captain Morgan content on Buzzfeed

Interested in writing any of this type of content for clients in 2019? Make sure you’re signed up as a freelance writer with Crowd Content. Our growing client list needs all these types of content to succeed in 2019.

The post The Top Freelance Writing Jobs For 2019 appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Scientific studies illustrate that most people aren’t nearly as good at multitasking as they think they are. In fact, much of the process we refer to as multitasking may be impossible. And what we do instead — called task switching — could be messing with our careers and breaking our brains.

What Is Multitasking, Technically?

Multitasking is the ability to do two things at once. Technically, our brains and bodies multitask constantly while performing habitual actions that have become completely natural, such as walking and talking at the same time. So, it’s not completely impossible to multitask.

But when we’re performing more complex, less innate functions, such as attending a conference call while writing an email, we’re probably not multitasking. That would imply we were doing both things equally well.

In reality, most people task-switch, which means they stop doing one thing to do the other. When reading and writing an email during a phone call, you might still hear the phone call, but you aren’t actively listening and processing the information.

Before I moved to full-time freelance writing, I worked as a manager in a corporate environment. At one point, I ran two departments and was involved in several big projects, which meant I was scheduled for meetings almost 90 percent of most days. I’d dial in for a meeting, say I was present, put the phone on mute and immediately check out mentally to do other work until someone said my name and brought me back to the discussion.

Read more from Sarah: It’s a Small World: Why Freelance Writers Should Build, Not Burn, Bridges

I wasn’t fully present in any meeting, and I wasn’t fully concentrating on any of the other tasks before me either. It was a combination that brewed burn out, stress, anxiety and errors.

While freelancers don’t always deal with corporate schedules (that’s one reason I switched to freelance writing in the first place), we do engage in a lot of multitasking that could lead to the same issues. Here are just some of the ways you might be rapidly task switching throughout your day:

• Jumping between chat windows/social media and work
• Moving between work and parenting all day
• Switching the type of task or client you work for every few minutes
• Toggling between writing, editing or research
• Watching Netflix while you complete work

We Often Believe in False Benefits of Multitasking

But multitasking is what ensures the jobs all get done, say a lot of freelancers. Plus, the fact that I can Netflix and chill while I also write and make money is one of the perks of the freelance lifestyle, right?

Maybe not. A study conducted by Stanford University demonstrated that those who attempted to multitask often were worse at it. The more they multitasked, the worse they performed at processing and remembering information. They also performed slower overall than the nonmultitaskers, in part because they were so distracted.

One researcher noted that high multitaskers couldn’t keep information separate in their minds, and they constantly thought about the tasks they weren’t doing at the moment.

This makes complete sense to me. I recently started using a tracking method called a time ladder in my bullet journal, because at the end of every day, I couldn’t figure out if I’d used time well. I noticed two things when I started doing this.

• I have an extremely difficult time sticking to a single task. My task switching habit is so ingrained, I switch on autopilot even when it makes little sense to do so. Like the Stanford researcher noted: I couldn’t help thinking about the tasks I wasn’t doing.
• When I did stay focused on a single task, I could complete it much faster than expected. Switching between tasks was slowing me down, potentially as much as 50 percent or more.

Real Dangers of Multitasking, for Your Freelance Career and Otherwise

Efficiency isn’t the only thing at risk when you multitask.

Multitasking increases stress.

A study performed by the University of California at Irvine and Humboldt University in Germany found that constant interruptions in tasks lead to higher stress, more effort expended, frustration and even an increased workload. And it only takes 20 minutes of this type of work to start generating these negative consequences.

This explains a lot for me personally. I can put in a long day working on a single project and be exhausted that night, but I’m usually tired in that satisfactory way that comes from doing good work I enjoy. But even a short or medium day of constant multitasking on smaller projects — especially once you throw in email, call and chat interruptions — and I’m equally as tired and not as satisfied with what was accomplished that day. I often end the day feeling much more frustrated, and I know I’m not the only one.

Do too many things, and you don’t do any well.

The UC Irvine/Humboldt study also noted that when performing the task that interrupted the primary workflow, individuals worked faster — potentially to compensate for the time lost in task switching. That wasn’t a happy efficiency win, though, because the faster work led to as much as 50 percent higher error rates.

As a freelance writer or editor, mistakes can impact your bottom line. An increased error rate isn’t just something noticed in this study, either; as a project manager, I can always tell when writers are project hopping because their error rates — especially on certain types of mistakes — go up substantially.

Constant task-switching could be hurting your brain.

We’re not talking the kind of brain hurt you pop an Excedrin for, either. Studies have also shown that focusing on multiple things temporarily brings down your IQ by as much as 15 points. That might not sound like much, but it could put you in the range of an 8-year-old child, say researchers.

Ever feel like you’re dumber in the afternoon than you were when you woke up? I usually start feeling this phenomenon by lunch or shortly after, and it makes it harder for me to find the right words when writing or speaking, make decisions or concentrate on more difficult tasks.

Some researchers note that your IQ might be temporarily impacted during multitasking. So, if you’re swapping between projects rapidly or trying to finish one article while on a conference call for another project, your full brain power isn’t supporting your work.

Multitasking may lower your EQ.

The damage to your brain may not be temporary, either. Researchers from the University of Sussex looked at brain composition for people who regularly multitasked across technical devices (working while watching television, for example). They found less density in an area of the brain called the anterior cingulate cortex for those individuals.

That area of the brain is responsible for some of the key tasks required for a healthy EQ, or emotional intelligence. That’s what helps you handle interpersonal relationships well.

While many people might turn to freelancing to get away from people, successfully navigating communications, teams and partnerships is critical to establishing a thriving freelance career, so you probably need all the EQ you can get.

Learn more: 3 Style and Grammar Tips to Put You Ahead of the Freelance Pack

What Can You Do Instead of Attempting to Multitask?

You don’t have to strip your client list or stop living the freelance lifestyle to remove some multitasking from each day. Here are some tips for getting plenty of things done without trying to do them at the same time.

Batch Processing and Clustertasking

Batch processing means you do all of the same types of tasks at the same time. By grouping similar tasks together, you reduce the gear changes your brain has to do and create efficiencies because you become faster at dealing with similar tasks the more you do in a row.

Clustertasking is a similar concept that involves processing batches of work in groups throughout the day. You might answer emails for 15 minutes in the morning, early afternoon and evening, for example.

Why don’t freelancers batch process more often? Sometimes we let tedium or boredom drive us to hop between tasks. Other times, years of multitasking just make it difficult to pay attention to one type of thing for even 20-30 minutes.

Financial drivers also exist: you do have to grab and do the work when it’s available, sometimes, but how often is the problem less financial and more focus?

Sequential Mono-Tasking and Pomodoro

Experts say you can train — or retrain — your mind to focus better. First, commit to sequential mono-tasking rather than multitasking. That means you do one thing at a time, working through your list until everything is done. Take a small break, even if it’s just a 20 second breather, between tasks so your mind can reset and ready itself for the next piece of work.

Break larger tasks into smaller bits for this purpose; most people can’t concentrate for more than 45 minutes on the same thing. Plus, sitting at the computer for hours at a time without getting up to move is bad for your overall health.

One proven method for sequential mono-tasking — and something that can help you triage a short attention span — is the Pomodoro method. Using this method, you work with high focus on single tasks for set amounts of time, taking a break after that time is over. Start with small increments of focus time if you need and work up to about 25 minutes for each session.

You can access a free Pomodoro timer online at Tomato-Timer.com.

Create a Dump File for Extraneous Thoughts

One thing that derails me during mono-tasking is stray thoughts. I can’t turn off the spigot 100 percent, and you wouldn’t necessarily want to. Some great ideas and solutions can hit you when you’re working on something else.

To keep me from chasing stray thoughts down the rabbit hole, I keep a notebook or dump file open so I can quickly write or type a note about the thought before continuing with work. I also keep a file on my smartphone so I can do the same thing when I’m out of the house.

Create Boundaries

Finally, try to develop some boundaries between various parts of your life and work. I’m lucky enough to have an office with a door, so I’m not constantly aware of everything that goes on in the house when I’m working. I’m also trying to create pre-appointed times when I work, handle family stuff and engage in self-care activity like exercise.

Since I’m a wife, mother, full-time freelancer and part-time children’s and youth minister, boundaries do often slip into each other. I’m working on it.

And if you’re a freelancer who struggles with multitasking, I hope you will to. After all, whether this is your side hustle or a career, the last thing you want is for freelance opportunities to damage your brain and potential future success.

Keep reading: Marketing Copy Writing Tips From the Pros: How to Craft Creative Copy that Converts

The post Is Multitasking Killing Your Freelance Career? And How to Rescue It appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Many clients aren’t well versed in the ins and outs of commas and em dashes, and even a client who doesn’t require pristine copy may still value tight, powerful writing. Improving your writing lets you exceed rather than just meet client expectations and helps you land higher-paying gigs, and these three advanced style and grammar tips are a great place to start.

1. Excise expletives

No, we’re not talking about those words. When it comes to grammar, an expletive is anything that doesn’t add value to the copy. Common examples are:

• actually
• really
• obviously
• it is important that
• in my opinion
• there is
• there are
• it is

Expletives aren’t inherently bad, and most of the time, they don’t present an actual mechanical error, but they are fluff. They can also weaken your overall sentence structure and make the main idea less powerful. Consider the following examples:

• Okay: It is important that all children learn a second language.
• Better: All children should learn a second language.

In this case, deleting the expletive tightens the writing and brings the point of the sentence to the forefront.

• Okay: There are three main section to an article. They are the introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Better: The introduction, body, and conclusion are the three main sections of an article.

Here, removing the expletive and replacing it with the specific information lets us combine the two sentences and get right to the main idea.

An expletive here or there is fine — and sometimes even good if you’re working on something like irreverent marketing copy — but in most cases, you’ll do better to keep your copy tight and your word count down.

Keep Learning: Marketing Copy Writing Tips From the Pros: How to Craft Creative Copy that Converts

2. Accentuate active voice

If you’ve been working in content marketing long, chances are you’ve heard of active and passive voice, but what is the difference really? Active voice is when the subject of the sentence is performing the action, and passive voice is when the action is done to the subject. This sounds more complicated than it really is, so let’s look at some examples:

• Passive: The oil was changed by the mechanic.
• Active: The mechanic changed the oil.
• Passive: Demolishing the bridge is being considered by the township.
• Active: The township is considering demolishing the bridge.
• Passive: The article has been accepted.
• Active: The client accepted the article.

Passive voice isn’t an actual grammar error, but as you can probably tell from the examples above, it does usually lead to clunky sentence structure and using more words than you really need. However, there are some instances when passive voice is the better choice, such as when the person doing the action is less important than the action itself. An example of this might be if you’re writing about a research study’s methods.

Keep Reading: Freelancers – Do You Know How to Write Thought Leadership Content?

3. Nix the “not only … but also”

It’s not uncommon for writers to use this sentence structure when they’re trying to sound more formal, but it rarely works. First, it’s complicated to get right grammatically. Here’s an example:

• Incorrect: This microwave not only heats food to perfection, but also has an included crisper pan.

So what is the problem here? First, the comma is incorrect. In this case, “but” isn’t acting as a coordinating conjunction because the second clause is not independent (meaning it doesn’t have a standalone subject and verb). If you want to use the comma, you need to make both clauses independent:

• Technically correct: This microwave not only heats food to perfection, but it also has an included crisper pan.

But this is still very fluffy. The above example has 16 words. We can make this tighter, smoother copy by swapping the not only/but also construction out for the positive:

• Best: This microwave heats food to perfection and includes a crisper pan.

Same ideas but only 11 words. Five words may not seem like a lot, and you’re right, but the tighter copy it makes is the difference between great copy and just good enough.

What grammar tips and style changes have made the most difference in your writing?

The post 3 Style and Grammar Tips To Put You Ahead Of the Freelance Pack appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

I think that covers freelance writers and editors nicely, but I also believe we have to be careful not to let our mercenary roots be the only thing that leads us in this endeavor. It’s one thing to manage your time and efforts on your own terms; it’s another thing to burn bridges or muck up the waters in your area of the freelance lake.

Because despite the fact that freelancing lets you work from anywhere in the world and take on clients from multiple countries, the industry itself is more like a lake than an ocean. That’s to say: it’s smaller than you think, and the chances of running into the same people (digitally or even in person) are larger than you might think.

East Coast Freelance Writer Meets West Coast Client, Accidentally

I’m on the east coast of the United States. In 2014, I did some freelance writing work for a document destruction company on the west coast. I was also pregnant, so my friend and occasional co-writer, Whitney (also on the east coast), was assisting me with my client workload.

Fast forward over three years. That freelance project had ended in 2014, and I hadn’t thought of the company in years until Whitney texted me: What was the name of that shredding company we wrote for a few years ago?

She was stuck in an airport, waiting it out at the bar and talking to a random person in the same predicament. Turns out, he was a rep for the very same company.

She then texted: Can anything be more random?

It is a very random meetup, but it’s not the only time something like this has happened to me or people I know. And when you throw in digital meetups, I’ve recrossed paths with other freelance writers, project managers and clients an astounding number of times through the years.

All that path crossing has convinced me:

• Freelance writers and editors should avoid burning bridges
• Freelancers should always strive for professionalism, even in casual communication with others in the field
• Successful long-term freelancing means protecting your personal brand and building strong bridges

More From Sarah: Marketing Copy Writing Tips From the Pros: How to Craft Creative Copy that Converts

The Gaiman Approach to Building Bridges as Freelance Writers or Editors

In his iconic Make Good Art speech (seriously, it’s wonderful — give it a listen when you have 20 minutes) author Neil Gaiman says that in a freelance world, people keep working because:

• Their work is good
• They are easy to get along with
• They deliver work on time

On paper, that might sound easy, but we all know that life conspires against at least one of those things on a daily basis. It’s not always easy to get along with a client — or other freelancers on a team — and no one hits it out of the ballpark every time. And deadlines. . .well, those are the frenemy of the freelancer, yes?

But Gaiman goes on to say that you don’t even need to do all three in every interaction in your freelancing career. “Two out of three is fine,” he says.

Whew! (Right? I’m not the only one relieved to hear this?)

But seriously, while you do want to aim for all three traits, as a project manager, I think this is completely accurate. If someone is a bit surly, but I don’t have to chase them down for work or double check everything they do, I’m going to send them more work. I’ll also send someone more work if they are a stellar writer and a lovely person, but I know they’ll turn it in three days late (in which case I bump up the deadline when I give it to them). And the nice freelancer who turns everything in as scheduled but is only average at the job? Professional reliability is a pretty big commodity for project and account managers.

Hit all three consistently, and you’ve not just built a bridge with your client. You’ve finished it in gold.

Keep Reading: Freelancers: Do You Know How to Write Thought Leadership Content?

A Few Tips on Maintaining Bridges

So, how do you strive toward Gaiman’s three (and at least hit two every time)?

• Don’t take on more work than you can do. Push your limits, but don’t make unrealistic commitments that will leave you and the client disappointed.
• Do let someone know as soon as possible if you can’t make a commitment; most clients and project managers know life comes up on occasion, so they often have a backup plan.
• Don’t be a frequent flopper: emergencies are understandable, but if something comes up every week or even month, people will stop coming to you with work.
• Do walk away before you send an angry message or email, and definitely never send a message when you can still feel your blood in your cheeks. Taking a walk outside, relaxing in a shower, eating a healthy meal or talking it out with a friend first lets you cool down so you can communicate professionally.

• Don’t take work you simply don’t understand, especially when time is critical; if it’s completely out of your wheelhouse or the instructions might as well be in a foreign language, you’re less likely to be able to meet a deadline or turn in acceptable work.
• Do ask intelligent, professional questions to better understand instructions or the client’s needs. Many clients remember the freelance writers and editors who made an extra effort (as long as you aren’t just asking for the sole purpose of showing up on the client’s radar; that can seem disingenuous and be annoying).
• Don’t use unprofessional language or tone in your freelancer communications; that means no obscenities, unnecessary belittlement of others or inappropriate info sharing.
• Do treat client, project and work information with respect. While it’s not all 100 percent confidential, it’s also not all something you should broadcast on social media or other public outlets.

How do you build bridges as a freelance writer or editor and keep your personal brand safe in an industry that seems to get smaller each year? Sound off in the comments and let us know.

The post It’s a Small World: Why Freelance Writers Should Build, Not Burn, Bridges appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The post Marketing Copy Writing Tips From the Pros: How to Craft Creative Copy that Converts appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Hang on a minute while I consult my crystal ball. Yep: just as I thought. That string of resolutions is doomed to failure starting the second week of January. Creating a list of numerous huge goals without much of a plan to get me there just sets me up for failure, and it’s something I’ve talked about with many freelancers as the New Year approaches. We tend to do a lot of questionable math that makes enormous goals seem easy to achieve, but we might forget to factor in family obligations, sleep or even sanity.

I’m not telling anyone not to reach for the stars in 2018. I’m going to be doing some star reaching myself. It’s a year that begins on a Monday, and one of my fellow Crowd Content admins assures me: That luck of the calendar brings us good things.

I am saying that stepping stones are what make the journey up the mountain possible, so here are 7 realistic freelance editor and writer goals for 2018 that can help you achieve bigger dreams.

[ctt template=”4″ link=”o2fCe” via=”no” nofollow=”yes”]Set S.M.A.R.T. goals for the New Year to increase productivity and ensure success.[/ctt]

1. Create an Early Deadline Habit

The battle with procrastination is super real for me, as it is for many of my cohorts. I’ve learned over the years that I’m going to fill my schedule with work and other obligations, shuffling each item dangerously close to deadline as I do. Instead of trying to break this habit, I’m starting a new one. When I record work in my planner, I just set the deadline earlier. When possible, I record it a day earlier; sometimes I can only manage a few hours earlier.

This habit is helping me avoid deadline stress, but I’m not 100 percent there yet. My goal in 2018 is to set every deadline early and hit at least 75 percent of those early milestones. Figure out what might work for you and create any new habit that helps you reduce procrastination, if even a little. When you’re not fighting deadlines, you might find you “magically” have more time to work on your goals (or enjoy a cup of tea and a good book).

2. Move 10 Minutes of Every Hour You Sit

Numerous studies in 2017 found that sitting for hours a day is unhealthy — and that’s true even if you work out regularly or eat right. Experts say you should get up and move around frequently. In 2018, start setting an alarm and get up for 10 minutes of every hour that you sit. You don’t have to work out during those movement breaks — I plan to use the time to walk up my driveway for the mail, wash a few dishes, dust some shelves or play with my toddler.

An added bonus to movement is that you might find the mental break lets you get back to work with less burn out. Plus, if you work 6 to 8 hours a day, that’s 60 to 80 minutes of movement, which can make a difference in how many calories you burn daily.

RELATED: 4 Ways for Freelance Writers to Stay Productive from Their Home-Based Office

3. Add a New Freelance Skill Every Week

Whether you’re a newbie freelancer or a professional editor with years of work under your belt, you can always learn new skills. Some ideas for relevant skills include:

• Mastering a new grammar rule each week
• Memorizing the spelling of words that regularly trip you up
• Learning to incorporate Boolean searches when you research online
• Discovering a new Excel formula or trick to make work easier
• Learning a new vocabulary word
• Figuring out the rules of a new project

4. Create and Maintain a Weekly Earnings Goal

Instead of thinking about your freelance income in terms of the month or year, create a weekly goal. First, decide how much you need or want to earn in 2018. Base your goal on real figures: what bills and expenses do you need to cover, how much do you want to save and how much extra would you like for fun stuff? Once you have a total for the year or month, divide to find a weekly figure. (Divide an annual figure by 52 weeks; multiply a monthly figure by 12 and then divide by 52).

Decide how many days a week you want to work and divide the weekly figure by that many days. That’s your daily goal, and it’s usually a less overwhelming number than a monthly or yearly goal.

One freelancer I know sets a two-tier goal. If her daily goal is $125 based on the calculations above, she might set a minimum goal of $125 and a “stretch goal” of $150. By stretching to the higher goal, she builds a buffer in case she has a bad day or needs to take off in the future.

Meeting a smaller, daily goal regularly helps you meet large annual goals without stressing over impossible-seeming numbers. And if you miss one day, it’s easier to incorporate the underage into future days. It’s almost impossible to do that with a missed month.

[ctt template=”4″ link=”fws65″ via=”no” nofollow=”yes”]Up productivity in the New Year by setting smart, achievable goals.[/ctt]

5. Reduce Your Caffeine Habit

Before the pitchforks and torches come out, note that I’m not saying kick caffeine completely. Studies have shown that caffeine can increase mental focus, but it’s a less-is-more situation for many people. As you increase caffeine intake, your body becomes used to the impact and stops responding in a way that boosts energy and focus. Bringing your habit down to a single dose a day regularly (with occasional extra cuppas for special events) actually increases the positive impact of caffeine. Plus, in super rare cases, too much caffeine can lead to a literal heart attack, and that’s not a line we want anyone crossing in 2018.

6. Apply for New Opportunities Once a Week

We love our Crowd Content writers, and we’re always excited when you choose to write for us. Many of the Crowd Content admins are freelancers too, though, so we know smart writers and editors can’t rely solely on a single source of work. Plus, as you incorporate new skills and better freelancing habits, you might be able to land some high-paying private clients.

The application process can be brutal, though, and a few days of it in a row often leads to burnout. Instead of powering through apps and lead sourcing in week-long marathons, choose one (or a couple) good opportunities each week. That lets you polish and customize your app, but leaves you plenty of time to work where you’re already appreciated (did we mention how much we love our regulars?)

7. Invest Time in a Non-Wording Hobby

Finally, find something you enjoy doing that doesn’t involve sitting at a computer and typing as fast as you can. Indulging in activity that you enjoy (that doesn’t involve pulling words continuously from your brain) helps you enjoy life more and refocuses your creative and professional skills for when it’s time to get back to work. Some activities I’ve heard freelancers say they enjoy include crocheting, sewing, hiking, drawing, painting, running, rowing, swimming and gardening.

2018 is going to be a great year. Let’s dream big but plan small steps to get us there.

The post 7 Realistic Freelance Editor and Writer Goals for 2018 appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Holidays: love them or hate them, the truth is that you can often make small changes to ensure a merrier season (or at least more bearable one).

1. Deck Your Desk

If holiday decorations make you happy, bring them into your work environment. Whether that’s tiny trees and twinkly lights or candles and paper ornaments, the accoutrements of personal cheer belong in your office as much as they do in the living or dining room.

Other ideas for customizing your work space might include timely tunes in the background, candles or essential oils with seasonal scents, or a bright and fluffy blanket to ward away winter chills. The key is to add things that bring you joy; don’t worry about what’s traditional or expected.

[ctt template=”4″ link=”IFbXV” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]Use these 7 freelance hacks to get through the holiday season with a minimum of angst.[/ctt]

2. Make Time to Take Time Off

Whether you participate in seasonal celebrations or not, consider planning time off at the end of the year. Freelancing is hard work, and we don’t get paid sick leave or vacation. We definitely don’t get paid holidays off, so we have to plan in advance.

Many full-time freelancers I know decide on planned time off at the beginning of the year and incorporate that into their earnings goals.

Budgeting for Time Off

If you wanted to make $42,000 per year gross (before taxes), but you wanted to take a week off around Christmas and a week off during the summer, you’d be working 50 weeks that year.

• $42,000 / 50 weeks = $840 average per week
• $168 per day (working 5 days a week)
• $21 per hour (working 8 hours a day)

Freelancers all work different schedules, so you’ll have to do the math according to yours.

Related: 4 Ways for Freelance Writers to Stay Productive from Their Home-Based Office

Communicating for Time Off

Let your consistent clients know when you’re planning to take off and offer to do work ahead of time if they need it. If you write a blog post every week for a client, offer to write two the week prior to your vacation. As planned time off approaches, avoid procrastination at all costs. Turning everything in early helps protect your vacation or holiday time.

3. Work When You Want, But Be Clever With Communication

Not everyone wants Christmas Day off, and some people really do complete their best work in the wee hours of weekend days. If spending time with your family or friends is important, schedule time for that, but if New Years Day is downtime in your home, don’t be afraid to catch up on work if it’s calling your name.

When you work outside of traditional hours but don’t want to give clients the impression you’re available 24/7, consider using an email scheduling app. I love Boomerang for Gmail year round, because it lets me schedule communication during business hours and set follow-up reminders on important messages.

4. Add Rewards to Make Your Work Days Bright

The carrot-and-stick approach has always been a favorite for freelancers, but it’s especially important during the holidays when distractions run rampant. Enjoy wrapping presents? Wrap a gift after every 500 words you write. Kitchen full of seasonal goodies? Schedule a snack break between long articles.

Other freelancers have told me what rewards work for them, and they include:

• Getting to read the next chapter of a great book
• Watching 15 more minutes on Netflix
• Relaxing in a hot bath or shower
• One M&M for every 50 words
• A brisk walk once the midday goal is reached

Sound off in the comments if you’ve got a creative carrot you motivate yourself with.

[ctt template=”4″ link=”r6d5c” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]Freelance holiday hack: Make time to take time off[/ctt]

5. Be Happy for Others

It sounds cliche, but it’s true. Celebrating when others are happy helps you experience more joy. Be happy for friends and family that get paid time off or other good things during the season instead of of reflecting constantly on the disadvantage of freelancing during the holidays.

6. Use Slow Periods to Plan and Organize

The feast-or-famine of freelancing is often more famine as you get closer to major holidays. Clients may take time off, and marketing budgets could be depleted as the year winds down. Use that time to gear up for next year. You might:

• Clean and organize your workspace
• Get next year’s planner ready to rock
• Apply for new work opportunities
• Beef up your writer profiles or web page
• Look into new ways to market your services

7. Boost Your Vitamin D Intake

Finally, amid the chocolate, peppermint and other seasonal sugar, make sure you’re eating well and consider foods high in vitamin D (or take a supplement). Freelancers often spend a lot of time indoors at computers, and that’s exacerbated during cold months. Vitamin D deficiency can increase your risks of getting sick and lead to (or worsen) fatigue and depression.

If you’ve got some holiday hacks of your own (or just a link to something seasonal and fun) feel free to drop us a comment below.

The post 7 Freelance Hacks to Get You Through The Holidays appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

J.K. Rowling said she thought the platform had ruined itself. In a tweet that rang in at exactly 140 characters, Rowling said she thought the point of Twitter had always been “how inventive people could be” within the framework. Authors, including award-winners and bestsellers such as Neil Gaiman and Stephen King, shared Rowling’s sentiments via retweets and their own comments, and they weren’t alone. Plenty of users, well-known and otherwise, seemed to think Twitter was doomed. Many people also clearly wanted an edit button much more than an expanded character count.

[ctt template=”4″ link=”1ddfe” via=”no” nofollow=”yes”]Is 280 characters going to kill #Twitter? Here’s what we think. [/ctt]

Did 280 Characters Kill Twitter?

Less than a month later, the platform still seems to be going strong. The longer character count isn’t as poisonous as everyone feared, but it’s also apparent that it wasn’t 100 percent needed. I’m drawing that conclusion based on what I’ve seen people doing with the 280 characters, including:

• Sharing long quotes from books in a single tweet (one person thread-tweeted an entire chapter from a famous book)
• Repeating themselves within the same tweet or using a lot of words to say what a few would convey well
• Filling up 200ish characters with nonsense to conclude with a variation of “Oh, yay! I have 280!”

It’s clear that 99 percent of the time, a bit of inventiveness and some editing would have fit the same message into 140 characters.

On the other hand, there were times when the 140-character limitation made it impossible to conveniently and accurately convey information. This can’t be denied, even by those who love the platform’s brevity.

[ctt template=”4″ link=”c620P” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]When writing, choose clarity over brevity. #content[/ctt]

What Can Writers and Editors Learn?

Here are a few relevant tips and lessons freelancers can draw from the Twitter update.

1. Less is often more.

The cliche isn’t any less true because you’ve heard it often. Yes, long-form content (such as blog posts ranging from 800 to 2,000 words) performs well in the search engines. But that doesn’t mean you say the same thing with more words — that content performs well because it’s perceived as valuable. It provides more with more words.

If you can provide the same information in a powerful, clear way with less words, that’s usually better. Which means when a client orders 500 to 700 words, you shouldn’t automatically force 700 words — even if you get paid more money the more you write.

Writing powerfully rather than fluffily helps you impress the client and hone your own skills, which could mean more and higher paying work in the future.

2. Write for clarity, not just brevity.

Clarity is more important than brevity or a high word count. Use the words you need (within the client’s requirements) to get the job done right. And if the client asks you to do more than can be done within the word count, don’t be afraid to talk to them about raising the stakes. Just remember: 99 percent of Tweets were doing great at the 140-character length, so make sure you really do need the extra room for the message. Rewording, revising and reformatting can often bring the word count down substantially without losing any information.

3. A good edit never hurt anyone.

Coming in at the perfect word count means nothing if you’ve splattered the piece with typos or grammatical errors. Always remember to proof your own work for little errors and to ensure you’ve written clear, powerful sentences.

Twitter might not have an edit function yet, but as a freelancer, it’s one of your most powerful tools.

The post Word Count Matters: What Writers Can Learn from Twitter’s Move to 280 Characters appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

If your freelancer habits were a TWD character, who would they be? From Carol to Carl, every TWD character has specific skills, endearing character traits and some pretty massive flaws. Yes, even Maggie isn’t perfect — and even Negan has at least one positive attribute. Was there ever a TWD villain you loved to hate more? (Plus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s got a pretty spectacular smile, so there’s a second positive.)

These positives and negatives, when mixed with the come-and-go threat of zombies and more angst than you can shake a teenager at, make a beautiful(?), grisly, frustrating thing many of us enjoy from our couches every Sunday night during the season. And by enjoy, I mean “yell at a lot and then discuss heatedly on social media.” Why not take some of what we learn and languish over regarding The Walking Dead and apply those lessons to our freelance lives?

Read on to discover your TWD freelancer type and what the character might have to teach you.

Freelancer Rick: Taking the hardest way possible through every project

Rick takes the hardest road to any destination, and he’s pretty good at denial. In a freelancer, this can mean putting off a project you know you should be working on until you’re forced into sacrificing sleep and running on caffeine and popcorn. After barely making the deadline, you even look like post-terrible-event Rick: red eyes, gaunt face and a walk that’s more a zombie shuffle.

The good news: You get that project done better than anyone else. There’s a reason those people keep following Rick, even after all the wrong roads he’s led them down.

The lesson: Don’t put off what you think is a hard or unpleasant task. It’s never as bad as you think it is (in the freelancer world, not in the TWD world, where everything is really that bad).

Freelancer Carl: Perfecting your talent by learning from others

Carl’s got enough post-apocalypse chops to impress Negan and keep himself alive, but remember when he was kind of a brat that wouldn’t stay in the house? He’s learned a lot from those around him and his own experience over the years, and many freelancers can relate. For many of us, this gig came with little former training and we’re picking it up survival style as we go.

The good news: Some of the most talented writers are self-taught, and there’s no tutor like necessity.

The lesson: One of Carl’s weaknesses is that he sometimes forgets there’s more to learn. As a freelancer, never think you can’t improve or learn something new.

Related: 4 Ways for Freelance Writers to Stay Productive from Their Home-Based Office

Freelancer Negan: Never met a project you couldn’t bang into shape

Negan doesn’t deal with people who don’t fall in line. That’s what Lucille is for. Negan freelancers come in all shapes and sizes — some even have virtual charisma. And while you might get the job done as freelancer Negan, you’re probably not making friends. While writers can be Negans, editors often take on this persona out of frustration or a genuine desire to ensure the client gets good work.

The good news: A little Negan goes a long way. Simply bringing out your version of Lucille can help other freelancers understand the seriousness of requirements or ensure clients realize you did mean 30 days net. But we don’t need to actually hit things.

The lesson: Too much Lucille and people will revolt. Or find another freelancer.

Freelancer Glenn: Hopelessly out of date on best practices or instructions

Glenn’s not keeping up with the program these days, and for good reason. He’s dead. (No, it’s not too soon. That was an entire season ago.) Sure, most people loved Glenn, and if you’re moving into a different career entirely, there’s something to be said for being the freelancer everyone liked who no longer freelances.

Otherwise, there’s really no good news here.

The lesson: Read industry content and keep up-to-date on writer forums, or you’ll find yourself missing out on the best projects. Or getting knocked around by a Negan.

Freelancer Carol: The mother-hen other freelancers flock to

Carol’s always taking care of someone. Freelancer Carol is the writer or editor who takes extra time to help colleagues or who shares lucrative leads because someone else would enjoy the opportunity too. If you spend time on a forum explaining projects to others — sans any compensation — this may be your TWD freelance type.

The good news: Everyone seems to flock to Carol even when she does the wrong thing. As a freelancer, this earns you some goodwill points and can even help you land extra work.

The lesson: Sometimes Carol spends so much time worrying about others, she ends up in a dark funk and on a solitary quest. Help others, but don’t let yourself burn out.

Freelancer Maggie: Always in charge of a thing, even when you try not to be

You know what Maggie probably wasn’t thinking back on that farm? “One day I’m going to be a soldier, a politician and a leader of men.” But she always seems to find herself in a leading role. Many freelancers aren’t looking for leadership either — many quit traditional jobs to get away from that type of position. Freelancer Maggies can’t quite escape it, though, and find themselves being called upon to head up work, mentor others or take on more difficult projects.

The good news: Maggie does always tend to come out as stable as you can in a zombie war zone. And Freelancer Maggies tend to have their pick of work opportunities, even when the well is drying for others.

The lesson: Maggie had to make a hard decision to leave Rick’s group and stay at Hilltop Colony. As a freelancer, you may need to learn when to say no and when to accept new responsibilities. Remember: you can’t do everything.

Freelancer Daryl

Let’s face it. None of us are this.

The post What’s Your The Walking Dead Freelancer Type? (No Season 8 Spoilers) appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The good news for writers: First, the need for more content means more available work. Second, many companies are willing to pay a bit more for thought leadership than they do for basic SEO or a unique regurgitation of the facts.

The current challenge: The problem that we’re seeing is that not all freelancers know how to write thought leadership content or even seem to understand exactly what it is.

What Is Thought Leadership Content?

Thought leadership occurs when content provides a comprehensive, high-quality answer to the audience’s biggest or most pressing questions. It doesn’t have to be the most unique content on the subject, but it does have to be some of the best. The good news is that it can come from anyone. One of the things that makes thought leadership content so valuable is that it can level the playing field. It’s not about credentials or pedigrees. It’s about what someone knows and their ability to communicate it to build trust, develop respect and position themselves as a leader in the space.

Related: What You Need To Do Today To Become a More Successful Freelance Writer

What Thought Leadership Content Is Not?

To better understand thought leadership from a content creation perspective, let’s look at some of the things it isn’t.

• Thought leadership isn’t a regurgitation of information sourced online (or even in books), no matter how unique of a spin you put on it. Reworking information into new content certainly has its place in online marketing, but thought leadership means going above and beyond regurgitation to explain, respond or expound on existing ideas.
• Thought leadership isn’t a gathering of relevant statistics or thoughts on the topic. That’s a curated list: again, a valuable type of content, but not one that delves into someone’s expertise on a subject.
• Thought leadership rarely sounds like an encyclopedia article or text book. It almost always has voice and verve that is unique to the brand or person noted as the author.

Tips for Writing Thought Leadership as a Freelancer

Expanding into thought leadership content may help you find more lucrative assignments or build your bylined portfolio. Before you agree to write this type of content for someone, consider these tips.

• Don’t agree to write thought leadership on topics you know nothing about. While you could research your way into it, you might find the struggle to write as a expert on a new topic takes too much time and tanks your hourly.
• When possible, write thought leadership in areas where you are an expert. Even if you won’t be bylined, you’re more likely to please clients looking for an expert voice. Choose niches where you’ve worked or have other extensive experience. For example, my background is in project management and healthcare revenue cycle management. I regularly ghostwrite thought leadership pieces in those niches.
• If you don’t have an expertise outside of writing (You probably do: are you a gardener? Have you manned PTA positions? Do you cook from-scratch meals every day? All of these things make you an expert at something), you may have built up expertise over the years by writing extensively on a subject. I currently write thought leadership in the cremation space, though I’m not a funeral director. I’ve just written hundreds of thousands of words in that niche through the years.
• Keep open communication lines with your client, especially if they are the expert. Ask for links to previous work, video transcripts or audio copies of interviews or a quick phone call to get some original quotes.
• Cite current, relevant and high-quality sources; a thought leader doesn’t have to fill an article with info sources from basic sites because they are familiar with current research and cutting-edge publications in the niche.
• Incorporate original material and thought. Don’t just reiterate what’s already being said on the topic online. Respond to quotes, statistics and facts with an expert opinion, recommendation or argument.
• When possible, incorporate new quotes and material (if the type of content allows it). You might use HARO queries, or simply put the question to your social feed to get feedback.
• As always, follow the feedback and instructions of your client. While the definitions of thought leadership in this post are broad and appropriate, we all know that clients might mean something slightly different when they ask you for it.

For more tips of the trade and to stay on top of managed content work at Crowd Content, don’t forget to join the writer forum. It’s a friendly, efficient place where admins and writers share news and tips.

The post Freelancers: Do You Know How to Write Thought Leadership Content? appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

This post is about what you can start doing to set yourself apart from the pack, consistently land higher paying freelance writing jobs and be confident in the fact that you will have enough work next week.

[ctt template=”4″ link=”8BU2E” via=”no” nofollow=”yes”]Are you a successful #freelancewriter or just another in the crowd?[/ctt]

Stop Making Work Decisions Based on Same-Day/Same-Week Pay

Instant gratification can be addicting, especially when you work in the relative isolation of the freelance world. Immediate approval and payment makes me feel good, and let’s face it: the general economic climate for many of us today isn’t stellar. Fast payment is sometimes needed to cover a car repair or even ensure rent is paid on time.

But if you let paydays dictate the work you do, then you become a slave to the pay period. You’re so busy taking work that will pay you tomorrow, you don’t have time to complete work that’s worth four times as much but pays out in a few weeks. The constant churn of low but fast-paying work has other negative consequences besides limiting your income potential.

• Constantly writing thousands of words daily just to keep up leads to burnout
• Scrambling to constantly complete that much work doesn’t leave time for honing your craft
• It’s easy to get caught in a cycle where you have to write whenever work is available —€” even if that’s at 3:00 am on a Sunday morning — reducing schedule freedom, which is one of the main perks of the freelancing

Breaking away from the pay cycle can be hard, but once you get your personal financials in order and start working a month or more out for income purposes, you open yourself to a variety of work opportunities. One of the best ways to ensure you have work next week is to create a situation where you aren’t relying on this week’s work to pay the rent.

Related: 4 Ways for Freelance Writers to Stay Productive from Their Home-Based Office

Bonus Tip: Work for the Hourly, not the Per Word

I know many freelancers who say “I won’t write for under X cents per word,” but the most successful writers and editors I know say “I won’t work for under X dollars per hour.” That leads them to question assignments not on rates and word counts but on difficulty and time invested (it’s called validating return on investment). They ask questions like:

• Is the subject something I already know about?
• How much research is involved?
• What type of platform will I be working on?
• How complex are the project requirements?
• Does the client expect extras, such as image sourcing?

It takes some practice, but if you track how long jobs take you, you’ll become more accurate at estimating your hourly. A job that pays 5 cpw might seem lackluster, but if it only takes you 15 minutes to complete a 300-word piece, that’s $60 per hour. In comparison, a job that pays 12 cpw but requires enough extra care that you only average 500 words per hour pays the same hourly rate. By applying this reasoning, one full-time freelancer I know almost doubled her income the first half of 2017 by taking more “lower paying work.”

[ctt template=”4″ link=”87NY3″ via=”no” nofollow=”yes”]Successful #freelancewriters learn to make niches work to their advantage.[/ctt]

Become a Specialist

Clients pay for a variety of things, including fast turn-around time, quality writing and creativity. Many also pay for expertise. Becoming a specialist doesn’t mean you can’t write across all types of niches —€” I’m a specialist in healthcare revenue cycle and project management, but I write plenty of product descriptions and delve occasionally into lifestyle and humor.

I just tend to get paid more when I write within my niche because I can create unique thought leadership pieces that are valuable to my clients. My expertise comes from previous job experience, but you can turn any of the following into a specialty:

• Work experience
• Education or a degree
• Professional or organizational certifications
• Volunteer work
• Demonstrated passion for a subject (such as bylined articles or a well-done and maintained blog)

It’s not enough to have knowledge and experience, though. You have to communicate it. I manage writing projects for Crowd Content in a freelance capacity, and that involves communication with a lot of writers. I recently worked with one writer who wanted to start landing nonmarketing work; up until that point, I only knew her as a stay-at-home mom who wrote lovely product descriptions. It turns out she has some extremely impressive professional cred and a very specific, unique degree — a degree that could have landed her high-level writing work earlier if anyone had known about it.

Make sure any of your bios and profiles make your specialties known, and don’t be afraid to drop project managers or clients a line with information on how your experience might help them.

Related: 4 Tips for New Freelance Writers to Hit the Ground Running

Act Like a Business Owner

Finally, act like the business owner that you are. Many platforms in the industry refer to writers and editors as “workers,” but the reality is that you own your business and you have a personal brand to maintain. Take time to decide what that brand is, and then ensure all your communications, marketing, writing blogs and profiles support it.

Acting like a business owner also means staying professional, even when you feel the heat rising in your cheeks and you want nothing more than to slay someone with your words. Trust me: that obscenity- or insult-laden email isn’t good for your brand, and the freelance industry is much smaller than you might think. Protecting your image helps you land the best freelance writing jobs now and in the future.

The post What You Need To Do Today To Become a More Successful Freelance Writer appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

1. Use a Productivity System that Works for You

Entrepreneurs and successful businesses pros — even best-selling authors — have something in common: they all found a system that works for them and stuck with it. The system doesn’t have to have a lot of moving parts; for many authors, the system is simply a consistent and strict regimen of butt-in-seat and pen-to-paper.

Freelancers have to be willing to do the same, so take some time to adopt a productivity system and make it your own. I like the bullet journal system designed by Ryder Carroll. It’s simple, easy and doesn’t require many supplies; while you can buy a custom bullet journal, you can also just use your favorite pen and notebook. Other productivity systems integrate digital tools such as Todoist or Evernote, which let you maintain them via mobile devices.

When deciding on a system to keep you productive in your home-based office, look for:

• Ease of use: if it takes more than a few minutes a day, it cuts into your profitable hours
• A match for your personality: if technology isn’t your forte, opt for systems that use paper and pen
• Affordability: don’t spend your hard-earned money on expensive systems that don’t support ROI

2. Shut the Door — or Door Equivalent

Writing, editing and other freelance activities take concentration, and production is often momentum based. Constant interruptions, whether they come from spouses, children, pets, television, the phone or friends, can increase frustration and make every task more difficult to complete.

To boost productivity in your home office, pick a work space that has a door and shut it whenever possible. If you don’t have a set-apart office, create a space for work and let everyone else know it’s off limits. Shut the proverbial door by pulling a curtain over the area or slipping in ear buds. Even if you can’t work to music, wearing headphones can physically signal that you’re occupied.

RELATED: 7 Habits of Insanely Productive Freelance Writers

3. Invest in Little Things that Bring you Joy

When it comes to interruptions, your own mind is probably the worst culprit (with the possible exception of young children). One way you can soothe your brain and focus better on work is to ensure your space brings you joy. When you’re happy in the space, you’re less likely to constantly consider other activities and locations.

Choose decor and accessories that you love, and be picky: clutter can reduce productivity. Experiment with various types of music, sounds, scents and textures to find sensory items that help you maintain focus and motivation for at least several hours each day. For example, lemon helps you concentrate and remain calm, while rosemary is stimulating and good for memory functions — something that’s essential for freelance writers.

4. Try Out New Tools for Freelance Writers

With technology developing at a rapid pace, it’s wise to try out new tools every now and then. What have you got to lose?

• Focus Writer is touted as a distraction-free word processor — and it really is. It gives you plenty of white space without all the annoying icons and toolbars (until you really need them), and it’s free. I love it because it’s basically me and a blank page — just what I need when I’m staring writer’s block smack in the face. You can also personalize the page with a background photo of your choice and set it to produce the sound of typewriter keys when you type. Best of all, you can save your work as text, Word (.docx) or rich text format and set daily goals for words typed.
• Automate those pesky little tasks using IFTT so you can focus on the work hand. IFTT lets you set up applets to do almost anything you need online. Sync it with your phone, email and Google account, and it will do things for you such as sending you a notification when you get emails from a specific person, saving news to your iOS reading list every time the POTUS signs a new bill into law or blink your Hue lights when your Alexa timer hits zero. Amazing stuff.
• Track your daily activities with RescueTime. The free version lets you set daily goals and tracks how much time you waste everyday reading Buzzfeed articles or keeping up with friends on Facebook. For a nominal monthly fee, RescueTime will block websites that distract you, keep a log of your daily accomplishments and send you alerts when you reach your goals.

Do you have an awesome productivity system or a top tip for pushing past the 3:00 p.m. slump? Share it with other freelancer writers in our comments section.

The post 4 Ways for Freelance Writers to Stay Productive from Their Home-Based Office appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

1. The Overly Aggressive Editor

If you write long enough, you’ll eventually run into an editor who never seems to be happy. You spend hours meticulously composing a piece only to have it sent back with a blunt comment saying it doesn’t meet standards.

Take a deep breath and try not to take it personally. Look over your content again with a critical eye. If possible, read a few pieces other people have written for that client to make sure your tone and style are correct.

If you’re still confused, don’t be afraid to message your editor and ask. Most are happy to provide additional clarification. If the editor is truly rude or nasty, file a complaint with the company.

2. This Isn’t What You Wrote!

Writing is a creative endeavor, and you pour a little bit of yourself into every piece you create. That makes it all the more frustrating when you check back on a piece you’ve submitted and discover that the edited piece bears little resemblance to what you wrote.

This is another good opportunity for self-reflection. Although most content editors will send back a piece that requires extensive work, some will change it to show you where you’re going wrong. Some editors do simply like to put their own stamp on things, though. If you’re working with an editor like that, it’s best to just let it go.

3. The Instructions Are Unclear

Instructions can be confusing sometimes, and it can take time to get the hang of a new project. Many writers fall into the trap of silently struggling along while being too afraid to ask for help.

The solution to this one is easy: just go ahead and ask already! Communicate with your content editors about things that are eluding you. If a project forum is available, take advantage of that. Everyone has been in a similar place at some point, so no one is going to think less of you.

4. The Editor Is Wrong

Sometimes an editor will make a change that you simply don’t agree with. The first step is to take a moment to review it from an impersonal standpoint. Many of these changes aren’t objectively right or wrong, so it comes to down preference. In that case, it may be best to trust the editor’s judgment or at least have a conversation about it.

If it’s a clear error, such as a punctuation or spelling mistake, don’t be afraid to point it out. Content editors occasionally have typos too, and most will appreciate the correction. If your editor refuses to listen, notify someone else in the organization.

Having your work critiqued can be difficult, but approaching it with an open mind is the best way to ensure a healthy working relationship with your editors. Content calibration and good feedback help you improve your skills and grow as a writer, so practice taking it in stride and letting the bad feedback roll off your back.

The post They Don’t Like Me: How to Work with Your Content Editors appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Density Goes the Way of the Dodo

When using keywords in an article it is important to consider how your writing will look from Google’s perspective. If it looks “spammy” or poorly written, Google’s Panda algorithm (released back in 2011) will penalize it. And now that Panda has been incorporated into the Google’s core algorithm, the emphasis must definitely be quality over keyword.

On-Page SEO and the ‘Natural Keyword’

On-page SEO deals with the material you want the search engine to rank. It includes both the content and the HTML source code. When writing an article that uses keywords you have likely already chosen a few phrases or words to focus on. Now it is time to infuse these keywords and phrases throughout the page naturally. This means thinking of the reader and his experience instead of the Google algorithm. Avoid keyword stuffing (repeating the same phrase at the expense of flow) and random placement of keywords (like at the end of a paragraph or at the bottom of an article just to increase the keyword count).

Ideal Use of Keywords in Today’s SEO

The Keyword-optimized article is still a powerhouse for online content writers, as long as you utilize the keyword or phrase in a way that emphasizes user-experience over analytics. Having said that, however, you can make your article more appealing to Google by considering the following advice:

1. Use the keywords in your content at five crucial points: the MetaData (Title and Description), Headings, Image Titles, Article Title and then once per section if possible. This will give your article the needed keyword inclusion without over-doing it.
2. Be specific. Since Panda’s release, Google has had a thing for specialized websites, giving them a higher rank. It only makes sense that if you’re using a keyword, the more specific the better, particularly if you’re writing for a company that is in its own niche.
3. Be creative. Writing an article around a keyword doesn’t mean it needs to be dry or monotonous. Any subject can be made interesting by using your imagination. Write the article from a different perspective or add a little of your individual style.
4. Be honest. In reality, not all keyword phrases can be turned into a masterpiece. If a client asks you to write a quality keyword article around the phrase “mechanics Los Angeles” you’re in for a difficult task. In this case you can try to talk the client into tweaking the keyword phrase to one that sounds more natural. Many business owner’s don’t know a lot about Google analytics or its new preference for quality over keyword density.

The best advice for the website content writer is to put your energy into writing a genuine article with relevant and interesting information. Infuse keywords naturally and be smart about your choice of keyword. Google will take care of everything else.

The post Keyword Optimization for Freelancers appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

What Is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a popular social network that’s based on image sharing. You can create pin boards (up to 200) to reflect their interests, and boards can be organized and titled in accordance with your preferences. A typical Pinterest account might showcase boards for recipes, home décor or things for children. You can then “pin” images to each board from all over the internet or upload your own images. When you click twice on any image, Pinterest leads you back to wherever that pin originated. So, if you’re pinning a recipe for Victoria sponge cake (with sweet cherry topping), you simply click on its image to return right to the source.

Professional Usage

While throngs of people browse Pinterest and use the site to support their hobby or personal interests, many professionals are discovering how it can enhance their professional interests. For example, many graphic artists use Pinterest to organize images for specific web projects. Similarly, writers can use Pinterest to store important research for their projects too. Rather than clog up your browser’s bookmarks, you can use Pinterest to literally pin thousands of links to research.

Pinning Sources

Once you set up your Pinterest account, you can decide how to organize your professional boards. If you have long-term clients, you might include a board for each so if you come across an article or bit of helpful research on the web, you can quickly pin it to that board. You can also create boards that reflect the topics you write about such as marketing, business, or health. If you primarily write on business topics, you can break down this subject into specific areas as they apply

to your work such as office culture, regulations or best practices. As you research online material for your work, you can pin sources directly to your well-organized boards to revisit them as often as you like.

Pinning Ideas

When you use Pinterest to store your ideas, you’ll never suffer writer’s block again. Be sure to create a board that reflects future projects or topics you want to cover. As you research for any given article or blog post, you’re going to come across pieces that might trigger ideas for future pieces. Be sure to pin these to your idea board along with a quick note summarizing your idea. In no time, you’re likely to have a huge file of topics with research to back them up.

If you’re worried about Pinterest’s public platform, remember that you can make your boards private. So, if you want to keep your research for a client or your own writing ideas under wraps, you can set specific boards to private so only you can see them. If you haven’t used Pinterest to store your research, you should definitely consider this effective resource that will save you time and enhance your work.

The post Pintastic Writers Use Pinterest appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Many people don’t realize that few magazines and online sources are staffed with writers in today’s “gig economy”. In fact, many publications get some, most, or all of their content provided by ambitious freelancers who pitch an idea, and then write an engaging piece on that idea.

Should you add to the work you do with content creation platforms by writing independently for print or online publication?

What should you consider when pitching an article to a major publication? It can be intimidating to present an idea for the first time, but remember: publications need the creativity of freelance writers as much as freelancers need the money and exposure.

Here’s a beginner’s guide to pitching your unique ideas:

Have an Intriguing Idea

No matter how experienced or talented you are at writing what are referred to as “query letters”, your endeavor will never get off the ground if it isn’t backed by a clever idea. With the rise in prominence of media sources like Buzzfeed, we’ve reached a point of content saturation, wherein if you’re going to suggest new content, now more than ever the idea must be as strong as possible.

This seems fairly obvious, but many freelancers overlook it due to anxiety about the pitch itself.

Consider the Editor Receiving Your Pitch

Ask yourself questions about the person to whom you’re pitching your article.

What is the best way to reach them? Most editors only respond to queries made by email, so this is your best bet. Feel free to reach out with a note requesting the best way to make your pitch.

How can you grab an editor’s attention? If your query is unnecessarily long, it has a chance to be ignored simply due to the time it would take to consider it. One successful freelancer recommends putting information about the idea in the subject line, so if the reader is interested in the pitch, it jumps out immediately.

Introduce Yourself

Writer’s Digest suggests breaking down your query letter into sections to make sure you include all the relevant information.

Let’s review. You’ve gotten the editor’s attention with an excellent lead, you’ve presented your idea in a comprehensive way that justifies the writing and makes the editor want to buy it; all of this means very little if you don’t also sell yourself professionally.

This is basically a cover letter for your contributions to the publication. Discuss your background, your qualifications and why you think your writing could be a strong addition to the publication’s existing content. Think of every query letter partially as a job application.

There are plenty of success stories about strong pitches from talented, confident freelance writers. Freelancing can sometimes make you feel defeated, but having a strong basis of how to pitch an article can yield major results and boost your career to new levels. As a supplement to an existing career as a trusted content creator for a reliable on-demand content site, writing articles for larger publications can take your freelance career to new heights.

Have you successfully (or unsuccessfully) pitched your ideas to a print or online publication? Tell me in the comments!

The post How To Pitch an Article to a Major Publication appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Writer’s block can be an inconvenience when you’re writing for you, but a frightening pressure chamber when you’re writing for a client. Luckily, a bad day doesn’t mean a bad article. With these tips, you can get back on the horse, even if it takes a little longer than you’re used to.

Brainstorm Solutions

Even the most challenging assignments have a starting place, and it’s up to you to find it. This doesn’t necessarily mean fully-fleshed sentences, of course; the start of an article can come from anywhere. When you’re struggling to gain traction, a little freestyle brainstorming can help you collect your thoughts.

Jot down ideas, possible section headers, stats and metrics, or anything else that comes to mind. Write words you like, words you don’t, and phrases that meet your fancy. You may use all of it, some of it, or none of it, but going through the paces of writing, even if you’re not writing anything worth reading, can be a big help.

Write Something Else

If one article is stumping you, it may be time to move on to something else. This doesn’t necessarily mean a paying assignment; writing anything at all can help you re-gain momentum to move forward.

Switching focus holds a lot of value in overcoming writer’s block, so take this time to throw yourself into something new. Write a silly poem about your cat, a letter to your imaginary friend from childhood, or a short story. Draft a new diary entry, a business email, or a shopping list to tackle. It doesn’t matter what you choose, but find something and write it.

Read What Other People Write

Writing may be a solitary activity, but writers are members of a vibrant, creative community. When you’re out of your own ideas, reading what other writers were able to accomplish can ignite your imaginative spark once more.

You don’t necessarily have to read articles related to the topic you’re trying to write, although that may help if you’re up to it. If you’d rather switch directions entirely, a few minutes – or a lot of minutes, if you have the time to spare – with a favorite book or well-reputed blog can be all it takes to be inspired once more.

Read What You Write

When you’re feeling like the worst, lowliest writer who ever lived, a confidence boost may be in order. Instead of dwelling on your inability to tackle the assignment sitting in front of you, take a break to read some of your best-received works.

Go over feedback from clients and reread pieces that made a particularly big impact. Return to some of the articles that were the most fun to write, and put yourself into the mindset of the successful writer you were on that day. Remember how it felt to throw yourself into your craft, and embrace the pride and power that comes from well-written work.

Writer’s block happens to everyone, including the very best of the best. It’s a part of the creative process, and working through it is a big part of being a writer. Is it easy? Of course not. But with a little perseverance and the right techniques to adjust your state of mind, it’s possible to keep moving forward. What do you do to beat writer’s block?

The post Four Killer Ways to Shut Down Writer’s Block appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

A client asks you to write a product description and call to action (CTA). But it’s for the wrong market or they have specifics they didn’t tell you about and their conversion rates don’t jump – so of course it’s your fault. Writing descriptions with CTAs shouldn’t be that difficult, right?

Well here’s the thing. CTAs and product descriptions need to be persuasive to make buyers want to have them.

Take a peek at these 5 simple tips that use the art of persuasion to help you increase conversion rates.

1. Focus on the Buyer

You’re writing an article. There’s no time to consider target markets unless the client includes this information, but what you can do is briefly consider who the buyer is and how to pitch to that particular market. Don’t make it too general or they won’t read it. Too narrow and they’ll skip it entirely.

The best way to write effective descriptions with CTAs is to identify with a buyer. One great way to do this is from a you perspective in your description…

You know the cheap windshield wipers that fall apart in middle of a storm? Yup, we hate them, too! That’s why we made these better with a durable frame that won’t bend and can withstand all types of weather conditions and the hardest ice picks. Buy Rain-X 100% Steel Blades Here.

You get the idea…

Imagine the buyer. Picture the ideal client needing that product. Use language that will resonate with the customer. Stick to the word count so it doesn’t get too wordy. Done! Onto the next one…

2. Make it Meaty

When you write a CTA at the end of a product description, a client may ask for lots of details to be included like specs, features, materials, etc., which can put a customer to sleep if they only want to know if it’s a 2-for-1 deal, or what size it comes in.

Because the average consumer isn’t interested in the mundane, consider splitting up your text. Give a good lead or header and close with a strong CTA. In the middle, make that your meat with all the key specs and information. The middle, or meat, is for people who need the specs and want the small print.

Henneke with Kissmetrics suggests:

“Quit talking in vague statements. Stop babbling on about features and specifications. Turn them into enticing benefits. That’s how you seduce your buyer to buy.”

Consider this sample description and CTA from Method Home shared by Justin at Techspect:

Sometimes the scent of seasonal hand wash is all we need to rouse our holiday spirits. Available in an array of festive fragrances, our naturally derived gel hand wash will leave your hands soft, clean and ready to be tucked into a pair of fair isle mittens. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. Brighten Your Holidays Now.

The first sentence is the header/lead. It sets the tone. It’s persuasive. It’s suggestive and draws you into the meat of the description. By the time you get to the CTA, you want to unwrap presents! The description and CTA together make you want a cookie as you curl up in bed and await a visit from St. Nick! And that’s the point.

Psychology Today suggests that brick and mortar stores can trick the senses by scenting the air with sweet smells to make customers feel happy and festive. You can use your writing, so sell them on the experience. Next!

3. Avoid Generic Phrases

When you write a CTA after a description, if you aren’t familiar with the product or if you don’t have a visual in mind, you might use words that are too generic. These are fluffer words like “perfect” or “excellent”. How was your dinner? Excellent! How do those shoes fit? Excellent!

The problem with these fluffer words is that potential buyers can get bored because the wording is too generic. Just check out these two CNET reviews:

The Galaxy S7 Edge has an excellent camera, a good battery and it’s expendable. Buy it here…

The new iPhone 7 is faster, lasts longer, shoots better, has a beast of a battery and it can survive a brief bath. Buy it here…

Well, we know the Galaxy S7 also catches fire and is now banned from all planes, trains and automobiles, but aside from the obvious, the details on the iPhone 7 give a better visual for the product. They both have a standard CTA, but the iPhone’s description is more appealing.

When your description and CTA are too generic, a potential customer can lose interest and trust in the company selling the products. To avoid this, give technical details. This can peak the buyer’s curiosity.

Onto our next exceptional example…

4. Have a Rock Solid Header

Superlatives can come across as cold, boasting and bland, but they can also build consumer confidence when worded correctly.

Quicksprout describes it like this:

“It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90 percent of your money…”

When you create a header in your description, if it’s a product that’s the best in the market, say it. If it’s not, don’t say it. People will know and if they think you’re lying, they’ll take their business elsewhere.

Consider this example:

Airborne Vitamin-C kills germs and bacteria that cause flues and it cures colds. Buy it now and get free shipping…

Well, Airborne didn’t kill the bacteria and germs and they had to pay out $23.3 million dollars in a class action lawsuit because of false/misleading advertising. The shipping may have been free, but alas, the description wasn’t true.

Here’s an example of one that does work:

Amazon’s most advanced e-reader has a patented built-in light with 62% more pixels for brilliant resolution. Order yours here and get it by Tuesday…

See the difference? Amazon uses key words like “patented” that build trust. They also use the percentage that increases customer confidence. Because there’s proof that this is an exceptional product, the wording in the description helps to build confidence and sell the brand. The CTA is also stronger because people will know they can get expedited shipping

Remember: If consumers feel like they were misled, this can lead to negative reviews and negative feedback. Make product descriptions and CTAs accurate, honest and informative.

Ready to tease the senses? Check out #5…

5. Seduce the Senses

Sensory words sell. They can increase sales because there’s a sexy way that a really good description can sell. Aside from that, word play can engage brain power. When you have specific audiences, it may help to research the adjectives they need. Here’s an example – try to guess what these words describe:

Velvety. Smooth. Bright. Crisp.

These words can be used for an ad for a new bar of chocolate by Green and Black, or it can be used to describe Benny Rappas wine menu. The sensory adjectives are powerful words referring to taste, touch, and sound. They make the reader want to try them.

To wrap up, use vivid and seductive descriptions and CTAs that help your client’s customers want to try the products you’re writing about. The more descriptive you are, the more your passion will come through the products and customers will click on the CTA because you’ve aroused their senses. Have you had any issues with descriptions and CTAs like this? Did more research help? Or did you just picture what the client might want? Let us know what has worked for you…

The post 5 Simple Ways to Write Seductive CTAs and Product Descriptions that Sell appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

It takes a lot of time and patience to make sure your content is perfect before posting it online. Even the most skilled content writers need to take time to ensure each piece of content they write is ready to publish.

Without content, people would have nothing to read on your website and the search engines wouldn’t have any organic keywords to locate. This is why it is so important that everything is done just right to make sure your content helps propel your business forward. To help you along the way, here are a few mistakes you need to avoid.

Not Relating to Your Audience

You might be surprised at how many people don’t understand and relate to their audience. Think about the people you want to read your content and visit your website. Then, develop a strategy around them. Knowing who your audience is will help you develop a sound content marketing strategy. For example, if you own an HVAC company, you want to create content that someone is going to read when their system starts acting up on them.

If you create content that doesn’t solve the needs of the customer, it isn’t going to get read. In turn, you end up losing visitors and potential customers. Get in tune with your audience right from the beginning. When you know how to address your audience, you can create content that is engaging and informative.

One of the best examples of a brand that relates to their audience is Denny’s. They know who their customers are and what they are interested in. You aren’t going to see a Denny’s advertisement with a bunch of people in suits, wearing Rolex watches or driving fancy cars. Their ads are targeted toward the typical middle-class family who wants a place to enjoy dining out with their loved ones at an affordable price.

Omitting the About Us Page

Oftentimes, people end up forgoing the about us page in their effort to get their website online. It doesn’t matter what type of business you have. Readers want to know what it is that you have to offer them and who you are. Include information about how your company got started, how long you have been in business, your employees and what you have to offer customers.

The more information you can include here, the better it is going to be for your customers. This page establishes that you can be trusted and helps form a personal connection with the reader. Think about potential questions the reader might have and try to answer them here.

Ignoring the Power of Videos

Oftentimes, people assume that content has to be written. They overlook just how powerful video marketing can be. With 500 million people watching videos on Facebook each day, it makes sense that you should get in on the action. Simple video ads could end up attracting quite a few visitors to your site, plus it helps put a face to your brand and gives people something they can relate to on a regular basis.

By going through the tips above, you can save yourself a lot of stress and hassle in creating your new blog. It takes time to get things going, but it will all be worth it in the end.

If you need a hand, we’re here to help. We make it easy to order unique content for your website that ticks all the boxes listed above.

The post 3 Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Content for Your Website appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Getting Started as a Freelance Writer

Just getting started as a freelancer can feel daunting. You’ll need to know what your skills are before you begin searching for a job that’s a good fit for you. While most people can write a 500 word piece of content, it is the length of time it takes you to write plus your compensation that will determine your hourly rate.

Careful Working at Low Rates, Even if It Means More Work

Some clients will pay you a penny a word. That means five dollars for a standard article. If this article takes you an hour, you aren’t even making minimum wage. Sites that pay a penny per word promising you no shortage of work might not be worth the investment of time for you.

On the other hand, you can double, triple or even make five times that amount if you work for a client that will pay closer to .05 cents a word. This is more standard, and you will make $25 for a 500 word article. If you’re a fast writer and can write two pieces of content an hour, this translates into $50 an hour.

Know What You’re Making Per Hour

When you are ready to let go of your day job, make sure that you have the writing skills and a few clients lined up where you are going to get the work from. Take the time periodically to determine how much you are making per hour. If the amount is too low, you need to either work faster or find more profitable work.

Avoid Burnout

The bottom line is, you can make money as a writer, but to avoid burnout you can’t work for less than minimum wage. As you hone your writing skills and learn the ins and outs of content marketing, don’t be afraid to charge what you are worth to those buying your original content.

The post Understanding Your Hourly Rate as a Freelance Writer appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

In today’s fast-paced business world in the age of the Internet, doesn’t it seem like many businesses have lost their competitive edge?  There are a lot of companies offering very worthwhile products and services. However, they can’t seem to win over a skeptical consumer because the message is being diluted because of so many others offering similar wares that make them all seem just like the other.

With so many products and services being offered to the public, it is of utmost importance for companies to develop branding and marketing strategies that can disseminate a unique message to the consumer and make them say, “Yes, I think I am going to buy that and try it.”

The challenge many times is to come up with a strategy that works — that is unique. Sometimes companies just need to throw out the box and create a whole new one in another universe. Today’s competitive business world dictates the need to develop new paradigms that go beyond the traditional and mundane marketing strategies that many companies have, up until now, been able to use effectively.

Unconventional marketing strategies are worth the effort and investment since they tend to be memorable which often times allows them to succeed.

Case Study: “You aren’t you when you’re hungry”

There are many case studies that drive the point home that a more unconventional means of getting the word out is effective. A case in point is the Snickers commercial where folks seem confused and dazed because they are hungry. When the confused person is given a Snickers bar they miraculously become themselves again. A key component of Snickers’ “you aren’t you when you’re hungry” campaign was the utilization of Google where they targeted “hungry” people each time they made a spelling mistake.

In her article entitled, “Unconventional Marketing Strategies and Campaigns” dated June 12, 2014, Selena Jordan of Stream:20 states that Snickers “used an algorithm to find the most common spelling mistakes. As a result in just two days they reached their target of appealing to over half a million people, 558,589 people to be exact.”

Unconventional marketing does work!

Key to Effective Branding and Marketing

The key to effective branding and marketing is to develop strategies that will get consumers talking about a product or service around the water cooler, at a social gathering or in simple conversations over dinner and/or cocktails. A marketing and branding campaign that can create a “buzz” about what is being offered and multiply that over and over again is almost guarantee to be effective. The following highlights some ideas that can get folks talking and induce others to want to buy the product or service.

∙ Utilizing Social Media

Using social media outlets in a company’s branding and marketing efforts is requisite to success.

∙ Visual Displays

Murals can be a fun and exciting way to promote a brand and help to clearly identify a business and its location.

∙ Use of Vacant Lots for “Pop-Up” Activities

An innovative way to bring attention to a particular business is through use of vacant lots to host an activity or some other event.

∙ Use of Interns/Students to Test Products

Creating and/or utilizing internship programs for marketing and research purposes can assist a company in developing cutting edge products, services and technology.

∙ Champion a Social Cause

There is no better way for businesses to garner great public relations exposure than to champion a social cause that is important to a large sector of society or one that is important to a small community in which a particular business is located.

∙ Give It Away

Consumers love to see companies helping those in need as well as undertaking pro-bono jobs to help spread the word about their services and products.

Key Question

When developing a marketing plan you need to keep in mind this key question. What marketing techniques can be used in my company that can create consumer satisfaction with our product or service that will give my company the competitive edge that other companies have not really utilized, as well as induce others to recommend our product or service to friends and family?

The post Unconventional Marketing: Get Noticed in Today’s Crowded Markets appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

My niece is a writer – she writes homework assignments (she’s eight!), and my wife is a writer – she writes notes for me on the fridge, on my laptop screen, the bathroom mirror…she leaves me lots of notes. My niece and my wife write clearly and concisely, as do my fellow university students, people I work with, so on etc.

But what makes the difference between having the ability to write with some competency and “being a writer”?

For me, the first difference is CHOICE.

Most people write because they have to, or it’s the best option at the time (or, like my mom, they can’t figure out how to leave a voice mail). Writer’s choose to forgo non-written communication for the written stuff (aka “the good stuff”).

Why do writers choose writing over other forms of communication? How you answer that question should give you a good hint as to whether you are a writer or a write-well-er (can I trademark that?). The correct answer of course is, “because writing is awesome!” Or, if you’d like something more serious, writing is a communication technique that is patient enough to allow for thoughtful word choice. Thoughtful word choice allows for the infusion of rhetoric and magic. Or we could go with one of my favorite quotes, “Writing is like a sacrifice to Zeus, it is a ritual entered into voluntarily but the sacrifice to the god is you” – Jim Sliney Jr..

The second difference is SCOPE OF INTENT.

When a writer begins writing there is an intent behind his decision. We can say the same about my niece or wife or mom but when a writer writes his ambition is nothing less than to change the world, even if in very small intervals. A refrigerator note intends to remind or instruct I suppose, but an essay intends to remind or instruct on a larger scale or more cerebral or emotional way.

I write because I can but also because I choose to and because it is a vehicle, the best vehicle, for getting abstract thoughts from inside the curious vault of my brain and purposely into the mind of someone else.

The post Are You a Writer, or Just Good at Writing? appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Tense agreement is what helps your sentence flow smoothly. Your verb tense should remain in either the present or the past tense. You don’t want to switch tenses mid-sentence. This leaves the reader confused and colludes your message. To clearly convey your message, you need to understand the rules pertaining to tense agreement.

Here’s an overview of the lesson.

The Basics

The first thing you need to understand is what tense agreement is and how it applies to your writing. In this lesson, you will get an overview of the different tenses and a few examples of how to correctly write a sentence for cohesiveness and flow.

Adding in Subordinate Clauses

While you want to keep verb tense consistent throughout the sentence, there are times when it is acceptable to use two different tenses. Learn more about when it’s acceptable to change tenses mid-sentence and how the addition of a subordinate clause can change the rules up.

Consistency is Crucial

Lastly, the lesson discusses the importance of consistency when writing content. You can choose what tense you want to write in, but consistency is the key to compelling and engaging copy.

Don’t get caught writing sentences that confuse the reader and leave them bewildered at what they just read. Learn how to hone your writing skills and stay consistent with your verb tenses by checking out the Grammar School lessons on Crowd Content University.

The post Exploring Tense Agreement and Its Role in Sentence Structure appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Writers who want to cultivate their own private clients must have a website. It serves as a resume, sales pitch, writer’s bio and more.

If you’re a freelance writer and don’t yet have a website, or if your site is outdated, here are the essential pages that make a great writer website for landing your own clients.

1. Showcase Your Published Pieces

Clients will be hesitant to hire a writer who hasn’t previously either been published or written for other clients. Therefore, you should include a page on your site that shows where you’ve been published.

When listing credited pieces, every writer wants to post their most prestigious works. Not every writer has Pulitzer Prize-winning pieces in The New York Times, though. List a few of your best works, but don’t fret over whether they’re in well-known publications.

Every writer has to start somewhere, and you need to begin where you are. Post a few of your bylined pieces regardless of how prestigious they are. As you get published in more recognized pieces, you can update your list of published works.

If you’re regularly published in one source, you may want to show that you’ve been published a lot but also demonstrate that you’ve been published in multiple venues. You can do this by listing a few different places where you were published at the top, followed by a longer list below your top few that shows your multiple publications. Scott M. Brodie does this on his site.

To incorporate graphics into this page, you should post the cover of any magazine you’ve been published in. If you have pieces in multiple magazines and journals, showcasing the covers of all of them both enhances the visual aspect of your website and looks impressive.

2. Mention Past Clients (with Permission)

Private clients will also be interested in what companies and businesses you’ve written for. Thankfully, it’s often easy for content writers to find recognizable companies that they’ve worked with in the past.

For instance, Crowd Content lists the following businesses on their homepage: RingPartner, BigCommerce, Shopify, Hootsuite and Rack-a-Tiers. If you’ve written for any of these businesses — which a lot of writers on Crowd Content have — you might be able to list these on your own site.

Depending on your site’s layout and your particular focus, you might list them alongside your published pieces or on a separate page.

Before listing any client, you should first ask for permission to do so. Most content writing jobs are a form of ghostwriting, and some companies may not want it known that you wrote for them.

Some companies and editors, however, will be happy to let you say that you worked on a project for their company.

3. List Your Services and Specialties

With your credentials established, you can now include a page on the services you provide. This should be an outline of the types of writing you do, and it should note any specialties you focus on. If you’re new in your career, this page might list a lot of different subject areas and formats, as you aren’t yet established in any particular field.

If you’re a veteran of the industry, you might only have a few specialties and be able to portray yourself as more of an expert.

When thinking about specialties, don’t just consider subject areas (e.g. insurance, finance, education). You can also set yourself apart by specializing in a form of writing, such as blog posts and articles, product descriptions, white papers or ebooks. One of the beauties of the writing field is how vast it is.

There are many ways you can narrow the focus of what you write and find your place within the field.

If you’re going to list your prices, this page is a natural place to do so. Whether to do so is a personal decision that every writer must make. Untamed Writing lists the pros and cons of listing rates.

You’ll weed out writers who won’t pay your rates and increase the likelihood that people get in touch with you, but you are stuck at that price, can’t negotiate different amounts with different clients and may loose some people based on a quick judgment of your prices.

Not listing your rates may net you fewer serious inquiries, but you’ll be able to make more tailored offers to those who do contact you.

4. Create an About You Page

Finally, your site should have a page about you. Not only is it standard practice to include an “About Us” or “About Me” page on a website, but you’re ultimately what potential clients are interested in. They’re considering hiring you for your writing ability and expertise, so you need to establish yourself in both those areas.

Your “About Me” page isn’t just a place to tell your personal story, but it’s the place to establish your credentials.

Mention any degrees, industry experience, certifications or professional memberships you have.

You’ve already listed where you’re published and what clients you’ve written for, which lets you focus on other qualifications on this page.

5. Let Potential Customers Contact You

Finally, you need a way for potential customers to contact you. You can simply have them email you or set up a contact form on your site. However you decide to have customers get in touch with you, don’t forget this step. If they can’t reach you, all other parts of the site are for naught.

With a website like this set up, you’ll be ready to begin pitching ideas to private clients. You’ll be able to show them what you’ve done before — and ask them for their business.

Do you have a website? Are you just starting to make one? 

Share your tips and questions in the comments section below.

The post 5 Best Practices for Building Your Writing Website appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

As a result, even the most skilled writers can slip up from time to time, which is why a short refresher from our Writer’s University on topics such as comparative and superlative adjectives can prove so useful.

Here is a short overview of what the lesson covers:

What Are Comparative and Superlative Adjectives?

The lesson begins by defining comparative and superlative adjectives. Like their name suggests, comparative adjectives are used to compare two objects in the same sentence.

In contrast, superlative adjectives describe a single object as being at either the upper end or the lower end of a particular characteristic.

The Simple Cases

Some examples are simple to remember because they tend to follow the rules. For example, one-syllable adjectives tend to use -er and -est for their comparative and superlative forms, whereas three-syllable adjectives tend to use more and most in front of them.

Similarly, adjectives that end up in y tend to use -er and -est as well after the y has been replaced by an i.

The Not So Simple Cases

Of course, English wouldn’t be English with its exceptions, which is why some two-syllable adjectives use -er and -est, some use more and most, and some use both.

Even worse, there are irregular adjectives such as good and bad that use none of the rules mentioned here, meaning that writers should always have Google ready as a reference if they are not sure. In most cases, Merriam-Webster is a great go-to source.

This is but one of the lessons that can be found on Writer’s University, stay tuned for more previews soon.

The post Comparative and Superlative Adjectives appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

As a writer, nothing is more important than grammar. However, sometimes even the best writer struggles with some of the grammar rules.

Subject-Verb agreement is one of those grammar concepts that seem simple, but can actually be quite challenging. Whether you are a seasoned grammar expert or a newbie to the writing game, a quick refresher on subject-verb agreement can really help you out.

Here’s a sneak peak at the lesson.

The Basics

In this lesson, you’ll learn the basics of subject-verb agreement, which should be mastered before you move on to the more complicated concepts. Identifying the primary subject and the verb and making sure they match one another is the key takeaway from this part of the lesson.

Adding In Conjunctions

Grammar concepts are easy enough to master with basic and simple sentences. However, it is when you begin to add more diversity and complexity to those sentences that you run into challenges.

What you can expect to learn next in this lesson is how to begin adding in conjunctions while ensuring your subject and verb still agree. The words “and,” “or,” and “nor” can all make it challenging to make your verbs and subjects agree with one another.

Indefinite Pronouns and Other Challenges

Finally, the lesson moves on to concepts that are particularly challenging. Even the best writers in the business may have trouble with the use of words like “none” and “nobody” when they are the subject of a sentence.

Reviewing the concept of subject-verb agreement can ensure that you are always on-point with your writing. When you are finished this lesson, there will be no sentence that you cannot structure properly.

More Grammar School sneak peaks coming soon.

In the meantime, why not head over to Crowd Content University to learn more about subject-verb agreement, or share your thoughts comments section below.

The post Subject-Verb Agreement appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The freelancer’s world today, however, comes with more stability than it ever has.

There are platforms for content organization that make it easy for freelancers to communicate, collaborate, share resources and find work.

Here are four keys to keep in mind as you embark on those nervous first steps as a new freelance writer.

1. Your Market Share Is at An All-Time High

Content marketing is increasing on the back of an increasing reliance on market analytics used to tell marketers what’s working and what isn’t.

The results have shown that content marketing, the consistent release of valuable content to a targeted audience, has increased significantly.

According to Curata in recent years, marketers are increasing their content budget by 76 percent, showing a firm commitment to a form of marketing that is becoming more and more useful as we learn more about our audiences.

New freelancers are not entering a risky or under-appropriated market, by any means.

2. Qualifications Don’t Matter; Expertise Does

As enters the market as a freelance writer, it’s understandable to have some anxiety about how your credentials compare to your peers.

As some experienced freelancers will tell you, however, this comparison is more a product of your perception than a real concept.

More important than where or how you learned to write is what you develop a specialization for.

If you carve out a niche in the freelance market as an authority on a specific few subjects, you have a direct path by which to grow your personal business.

3. Build Loyalty and a Personal Brand

Many people equate being a freelance writer to being willing to take whatever work comes along, and it might be like that in the beginning, but over time you’ll be able to focus your career and refine the work you accept to specific customers and sectors.

This is where building your personal brand comes into play as a major factor for developing your identity as a freelancer.

You’ll find clients with whom you can maximize your benefit and become able to help each other’s businesses move forward.

4. Embrace Your Freedom and Take the Plunge

Freelance writing isn’t easy, nor should you expect it to be, like any other job. Unlike other structured work, however, freelancing garners you a freedom and versatility to keep your identity with you throughout the process.

Your earning potential is, within reason, whatever you want it to be and offers a flexibility unmatched by work in almost any other sector.

It takes a special type of person to want to take the first steps towards a freelance career, but typically it’s the same type of person who can be a self-motivated, successful part of the freelance market.

Do you have any tips that have worked for you? Let me know in the comments section below.

The post 4 Tips For New Freelance Writers To Hit the Ground Running appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

UPDATE: Thanks for all your support! The Pretty Preemie Hats website is currently down while the founders decide on the direction of the charity. We’ll keep you posted  as they send us updates.

Pretty Preemie Hats is a passion project that helps ease the overwhelming stress new parents experience when their newborn baby comes early and starts life out in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

This charitable foundation provides handcrafted preemie hats to the Victoria General Hospital’s NICU in Victoria, BC. It also sells hats on their website (www.prettypreemiehats.ca), and donates proceeds to the BC Children’s Hospital.

A group of four young commerce students started Pretty Preemie Hats after two team members witnessed their own premature babies struggle for life in the NICU. Nothing is more frightening for a new parent.

You can visit the Pretty Preemie Hats website to read their stories, and to add your own. Through their struggles, the parents behind this charity recognized that sometimes little details can make all the difference. A preemie struggles just to maintain body temperature. It is crucial to cover a preemie’s head with a tiny newborn cap.

Who would think of that? Not many people, since parents enter the hospital hoping and expecting everything to be well with their little one. Parents are not prepared for a premature baby. They are scared and tired. They need help with details.

The problem?

Preemies are so tiny, any available caps don’t fit them.

The solution?

Pretty Preemie Hats specializes in handcrafted hats in beautiful designs that are made to fit premature babies. This simple charity provides comfort to parents, who often feel helpless in the NICU, and to preemies, who need any kind of help they can receive.

A tiny little hat can have a powerful effect. Aside from the practical use Pretty Preemie Hats, their beautiful design is a gift to parents. NICU is clinical. It can seem cold. Parents have waited for their newborn, planning with love and care.

When their baby starts life in NICU, parents want to be able to give their child something that expresses their love and attachment. These preemie hats are just the ticket. They will comfort baby and parents during their time of need, and later serve as a beautiful keepsake (or memorial, should the struggle prove too great).

Whatever happens in NICU, Pretty Preemie Hats provides a way to help Baby and to comfort parents. Family members and friends can also donate to the charity by buying hats online, either for their newborn, or for donation to a hospital.

To learn more about this wonderful charity, visit www.prettypreemiehats.ca. You can also like them on Facebook.

The post Pretty Preemie Hats Help New Parents In a Difficult Time appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

From a freelance writer’s standpoint, this is good news; another platform means another opportunity to earn money. However, if you’re a marketer or content manager working for a large company, it’s awesome news.

Keep reading to find out why.

My Experience as an Editor

I’ve worked as a writer for Crowd Content for a couple of years, and I was excited to be involved with a different aspect of content creation.

The editing platform has given me the opportunity to connect with other writers and editors. As an unexpected bonus, I’ve become more accustomed to focusing on the finer details of building quality content, and I’ve been able to improve the quality of my own work.

Teamwork: Because No Writer is an Island

If you’re a writer, you’ve probably noticed that fellow writers give the best and most helpful feedback. Why? Simple. They “get” the process. They “get” the fact that the first draft isn’t always going to be perfect.

They’re able to look at the content through the lens of their own experience, catching little errors and providing advice on how to improve its overall quality.

As part of an editing team, I not only have the benefit of my own experience, but also the experience of other strong writers. No matter the time of day, I can consult with other editors on any questions I might have about a particular issue.

This ensures that we are able to efficiently complete high volume projects without sacrificing quality.

The Key to Scalability

Even if you haven’t worked with any Crowd Content writers before, a few seconds of scrolling through the testimonials on our homepage will tell you that they know a thing or two about providing high quality content.

Herein lies the awesomeness for large companies: our editing platform allows us to continue providing the same high quality content on a much larger scale.

Here are three ways that the new editing platform is the key to scalability.

1. A Quicker Process

The editing platform allows writers to move through a project more quickly. Once they’ve submitted the first draft of their content, an editor can look it over and provide almost instant feedback.

Revisions can be completed within minutes of that first submission. This has significantly reduced the turnaround time for large batches.

2. A Few Extra Sets of Eyes

Have you ever seen a terrible advertisement or product description that made you wonder, “Am I the only one who sees how bad this is?” A typo and a poorly constructed sentence are all it takes to pull a brand’s credibility to pieces.

The editing platform eliminates that risk by ensuring that each piece of content is carefully examined on multiple levels.

3. Consistently High Quality

If you’ve worked with a team of writers before, then you know that one of the biggest challenges is ensuring consistent quality, styling and voice.

The editing platform allows us to ensure that each piece of content accurately conveys your brand’s voice, even if you have 200 writers working on your project.

Stay tuned for more info and updates as the editing platform is being built.

The post A Sneak Peak at Crowd Content Editing appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

1. Believe In Yourself and Your Writing

When it comes to writing, everyone else is doing it, from blogging, self-publishing to micro-blogging. In fact, recent studies reveal that over 53 million Americans are now freelancing according to Upwork. This is predicted to increase by 50% by the year 2020. The trick is to believe you can equally make money as a freelance writer and secondly, believing that your writing is worth a lot of money.

2. Be Sure To Always Hit Your Deadlines

Nothing will scream amateur louder than failing to submit articles assigned to you on time. And with editors, they’d rather deal with a mediocre article in their inbox than working with nothing at all.

Ensure you hit deadlines and if you have a good reason why you won’t make it, let your editor know immediately.

3. Setup Your Blog

If you haven’t setup a blog yet, maybe it’s time you did. Sites like WordPress offer you an opportunity to start a free site you could use to strengthen your brand.

What do you love writing about? Your blog markets you and equally shows your experience as a freelance writer even for a newbie.

4. Join the Freelancers Union and Connect With Other Freelancers

Freelancers Union is a treasure mine for any freelancer, full of useful information and resources. The site was specially created to grow the freelance community, and its blog is full of interesting articles you’ll surely gain a lot. Moreover, you could equally build a great relationship with fellow freelance writers.

Daily writing tips encourages freelance writers to establish a client-exchange agreement. Whenever you’re busy to handle any project, recommend someone else. This way, they’ll do the same for you.

5. Ask Clients to Act as References

Build the confidence and ask satisfied clients to act as references or write a nice referral note for you. You can easily use these as boosters to land even better paying writing jobs with new clients whenever needed because they’ll be able to rate your experience.

6. Keep the Communication Lines Open

There’s nothing more important than staying in touch with your clients. If you’re unsure about anything in your assigned project, feel free to contact your clients and ask for clarifications.

7. Above Everything Else, Love What You Do And Just Start

Freelance writing is perhaps not the right career for you if you don’t love writing. Amid all the rewrites, challenging requests and dealing with last minute deadlines, you’ll be faced with a very challenging task that requires patience and hard work.

And with Elance reporting a 46% increase of businesses hiring freelancers by the year 2013, there is no doubt something out there for you now as a new freelance writer.

The post 7 Freelance Tips That Helped Me Succeed appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

As many internet users will attest, nothing turns a good website bad like limited readability and poor grammar.

Here are the top 5 grammar mistakes that content writers make.

1. Changes in Tense

Whatever tense you start writing with should be the tense you keep throughout the entire piece. It’s sometimes necessary to change tense in order to show changes in time, but unnecessary shifts are just confusing.

INCORRECT: When I get up in the morning, I always drank coffee before work.

CORRECT: When I get up in the morning, I always drink coffee before work.

2. Subject & Verb Agreement

It’s important to remember that the verb of a sentence MUST always agree with the subject.

If you have a subject that is plural, then you must have a verb that is plural. Likewise, for singular and first person subjects, the verbs must be singular and first person.

INCORRECT: I cannot stand to walk barefoot and have dirt stuck to my feet.

CORRECT: I cannot stand to walk barefoot and have dirt sticking to my feet.

3. Dangling Modifiers

A modifier is a phrase, word or clause that describes something else. When the subject being modified is missing from the sentence, it can often lead the sentence to have an unintended meaning.

In some cases, the modifier is misplaced. This happens when the subject and modifier are not together.

INCORRECT: “The girl was consoled by the nurse who had just taken an overdose of sleeping pills.” – The Writing Center

CORRECT: The girl who had just taken an overdose of sleeping pills was consoled by the nurse.

4. Possessives Mistakes

We typically use an apostrophe or apostrophe+s in order to show possession, however, misused apostrophes are a frequent mistake that content writers make. The point of possessives is to illustrate ownership, and the rules are actually pretty simple.

• Plural Noun = Add Apostrophe After “s”
• Singular Noun Ending in S = Add Apostrophe After “s”
• Singular Noun = Add Apostrophe+s

INCORRECT: “Eating an apple a day will keep the doctor away” is nothing but an old wive’s tale.

CORRECT: “Eating an apple a day will keep the doctor away” is nothing but an old wives’ tale.

5. Passive Voice

The absolute worst, and most common, grammar mistake made by content writers is writing in a ‘passive voice.’

In the English language, the majority of sentences are active i.e. there is a subject doing the action.

However, a passive sentence is where a subject has an action done it to. Passive sentences usually occur when the object is at the beginning, instead of the end.

INCORRECT: The oven should be cleaned every month.

CORRECT: You should clean the oven every month.

Avoid These Common Grammar Mistakes

As a freelance writer, these top 5 grammar mistakes are enough to turn any client away from your work.

No matter how great your grammar, style and word usage skills are, it never hurts for a content writer to review the rules of grammar.

If you’re ready for a review or have a few things that you’re interested in looking up, head on over to the Crowd Content University and look around.

If you’d prefer to hire a professional content writer for your website, be sure to get in touch with us.

What are some common mistakes you see? Let me know in the comments section below.

The post The Top 5 Grammar Mistakes That Content Writers Make appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The growth of your freelance writing career will depend greatly upon how you approach your work as well as whom you choose to work for.

Strategy, planning and organization can be vital for your freelance writing career but you’ll also need to be savvy and have skills related to business and technology.

If you’re not the most adept person in these areas, working daily in the field of freelance writing will help you build the skills needed to become a highly respected writer.

These four steps will also help get your freelance business off of the ground.

1. Find Work as a Freelance Writer

Once your writing career is established, you will miss having days without deadlines and free time to write about your personal interests. For the moment, however, your main goal is choosing a reputable source for freelance writing jobs, somewhere that will help you advance in your writing career.

There are numerous websites for freelance writers and none of them share the same policies and functions, so you will have to choose the platform that works best for your needs and the skills you have to offer.

It would be impossible to list all of the freelance sites providing work for writers, so here are a few worthy of mention.

Fiverr

Writers create small advertisements called gigs which offer ultra-cheap freelance services. While $5.00 seems grossly undesirable for someone with above average writing skills, it is important to think of Fiverr as an excellent source for making new connections.

These connections are site owners and managers who’ve grown weary of sifting through gigs every time they need an article or blog post written.

If you take your work and the deadlines seriously, you’ll gain popularity quickly due to customer feedback and the five star rating system.

Note: It’s against Fiverr rules to trade contact information with your customers but if they like your work, the more resourceful ones will hunt you down and hire you full time. I now manage the content of several blogs due to my humble beginnings at Fiverr.

Freelancer

Completely opposite from the Fiverr platform, the Freelancer site allows website owners and content managers to post their writing projects so freelance writers can bid to get the jobs they want.

Freelancer gives writers access to larger projects including articles, blog posts and product descriptions.

If you are an American freelance writer and English is your first language, you will have an advantage that does not require underbidding to get the jobs you want.

By meeting deadlines and delivering topnotch work, your freelancer portfolio will lure in direct freelance writing offers.

Note: You are only guaranteed payment for work on Freelancer if the employer has uploaded a down payment, called a milestone, for the writing project. While the rates won’t compare to the well paid writers at Crowd Content, this is a great site to learn about the world of freelance writing.

Crowd Content

I have been writing professionally for more than five years. In my personal experience, no other freelance writing site compares to the variety of work and the money that can be made on Crowd Content.

Unlike other sites where writers are charged or paid unfairly and promotions are slow coming, the Crowd Content platform protects the writer and rewards him well for delivering pristine work on time.

2. Sites to Avoid

There are many other great websites for freelance writers, but there are a few platforms to avoid. Personally, I was not impressed with the iwriter platform. Writers are often forced to complete the work they accept within extremely short deadlines, often less than an hour.

You won’t have access to larger paying jobs until you’ve spent a considerable amount of time working for peanuts, and their rating system is severely lacking.

You also won’t have much luck on the Elance platform, which is now called Upwork, until you have established yourself as a successful writer and have an impressive portfolio or solid writing samples.

On this site, you may find that a formal education is necessary to compete with the many other freelancers who are also looking for work.

3. Start Your Writer’s Portfolio

As a freelance writer, it is important to remember that the work you complete for others is no longer owned by you once payment has been received. However, it is highly recommended that you create a writer’s portfolio and share the links to some of your best work.

You should also strive to keep this portfolio updated with recent projects as they are completed.

Note: Regardless of how talented you are a writer now, your writing skills will improve with each new project completed, and this will be evident in your portfolio. There are several sites to choose from but I have found that Clippings Me is the best place to start your own portfolio …and absolutely free unless you choose the optional upgrade.

Establish Credibility with a Website

Regardless of how tech savvy you are, a website that showcases your work and services is detrimental to your successful freelance writing career. There are many options available but if you need something that is both affordable and simple to use, a writer’s website on the WordPress platform will be easiest to manage.

Many successful freelance writers today have opted to include a blog on their dedicated websites to help establish credibility in the field.

It is highly recommended that you also add a blog to your site and write about things which are closely related to the services you provide and helpful to current and future clients.

4. Socialize and Interact Online

There are numerous websites and social media platforms to help you advance as a freelance writer but this will involve dedication and engagement.

Not only will you need to share interesting and relevant information through guest blogging and social media, but you will also need to like, retweet and share the content of others to build a strong rapport in the community.

Social Media

Recommended platforms for freelance writers include Facebook and Twitter. Also, it is important for freelance writers not to overlook the value of LinkedIn and Google Plus when looking for work and advancement.

Guest Blogging

Never underestimate the value of guest blogging.

While you won’t receive immediate reward in the form of payment, your article or blog post will help you establish credibility in the field. In the process, you will also gain helpful links for your writer’s website and add variety to your online portfolio.

Guest blogging on reputable sites such as the Crowd Content blog requires engagement after your articles are published.

For your success, you should share articles to your preferred social media platforms, and respond to questions and comments left by others.

The four steps listed above will help you lay the foundation for a successful freelance writing business. While there is still much more to be learned, this is a great beginning for any serious freelance writer.

The post How Did I Build My Successful Freelance Writing Career? appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

For instance, on its dashboard and elsewhere, it does not refer to writing as blog posts or content.  You’re not merely a content writer, you’re a creator of stories.

Medium calls your work stories, as in Medium wants your stories.

The platform makes it possible for students, entrepreneurs, moguls and nomads to get their feet wet in the world of journalism, storytelling, or editorializing. The site’s algorithms are built to reward the best stories for their quality rather than for the popularity or pedigree of the author.

Just when it didn’t seem possible for freelance writing to expand with more possibilities, Medium came along to nudge the boundary line.

Here are top 3 ways Medium is changing freelance writing.

1. It’s making us all into freelance writers

Anyone could be a writer before Medium, but the platform is making it possible for anyone to gain an audience.

No fiddling with your own blog’s settings to gain loyal readers. Medium does all the heavy lifting with a backbone that is beautiful on a design and user experience level.

Contributors don’t need a Masters in journalism either, and Medium doesn’t care how old you are, where your from and what you believe in.

It’s an open platform where content is king and kings are made by happy readers, not snooty magazine editors.

2. It’s making freelance writing more collaborative

Medium’s mantra is “People create better things together.”

Another idyllic notion that speaks to their guiding principles of collaboration and crowdsourcing. Collaboration starts in the editing phase where Medium encourage writers to share drafts of their stories with others users before publishing.

Notes are used to exchange feedback with other users. Published stories can then be submitted in Medium’s collections, or groups of relevant stories that are organized by their category or theme.

Each collection is a collaborative body of work by many writers.

3. It’s a free education in content writing

Medium gives feedback to writers through 30-day snapshots of their posts and their views, reads, and recommendations.

• Views: How many people saw the story
• Reads: How many people took the time to read the story
• Read ratio: How many people merely saw the story to how many read the story
• Recommendations: How many people recommended the story

Medium comes with a broad built-in audience. All writers need to do is deliver great writing.

The good content rises to the top, stirs up conversation in the comments section and gets shared far and wide.

Writing that contains good research and exhibits a thirst for knowledge is immediately recognizable.

Take what you learned from writing your best content and apply it to the next piece.

Have you used Medium? Let me know in the comments section below.

The post 3 Ways Medium is a Freelance Writing Game Changer appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Typically, it doesn’t take new freelance writers long to realize that writing great articles is as much about resources as it is about spelling, grammar and punctuation skills.

Unless you were one of the lucky few, your early days as a writer didn’t rake in a lot of dough, so those writer resources had to be cheap… or better yet, free.

ALSO – Access Thousands of Freelance Writing Jobs

If you are a successful writer who understands the importance of short and longtail keywords, high page rank linking, and SEO optimized content, you likely have some of your favorite tools installed on your browser or bookmarked for easy access.

Here’s mine.

1. SEOQuake

The SEOQuake toolbar and plug-in is an excellent free resource for a number of SEO practices.

From finding high-quality links to include in your optimized content to analyzing the keyword density of the competition, the SEOQuake toolbar delivers instant access to a wealth of information as you browse the web.

Once it is installed, you will immediately be rewarded with new information regarding your keywords and whom you should be linking to, such as page rank and the age of the website.

For the more advanced SEO user, you can also explore Google SERPs, perform a website SEO analysis, obtain a website’s whois information and much more.

You can also filter your results each and every time you search for information, thanks to the SEOQuake toolbar that will remain in the upper left corner to eliminate the links you have no intention to use.

2.  Small SEO Tools Plagiarism Checker

With so much information available on the Internet about your topic, there’s a good chance that some of your word choices may have already been used by other writers. With the plagiarism checker at SmallSeoTools.com, you can paste your article into the blank field and allow this free tool to score your article for originality.

The image below shows an excerpt scoring 100 percent in originality. However, if there had been any commonly used phrases or duplicate content found by the free plagiarism checker, the line would have been highlighted with red rather than green. By clicking on the plagiarized content, you will be taken to the original source.

3. CoSchedule Headline Analyzer

If you aren’t familiar with some of the great things happening over at CoSchedule, then you may not have heard of their free Headline Analyzer tool. As you probably already know, your article or blog post title is one of the most important aspects of the entire post. This is because your headline may be the only impression that you get to make on your perspective audience.

“On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. This is the secret to the power of the headline, and why it so highly determines the effectiveness of the entire piece.”

Brian Clark, CopyBlogger

The CoSchedule Headline Analyzer scores your title based on a number of factors, such as unique and emotional word usage, length, search engine optimization and sentiment.

With its unique scoring system, you can ensure that your title stands out from the crowd and is designed to generate interest and promote clicks.

#4 – Hubspot Topic Generator

Hubspot’s Topic Generator is another great free tool when you have keywords but lack a clear topic and title. This topic generator allows you to enter up to 3 keywords (nouns) from which it generates numerous blog post titles.

This is a great tool for writers because you can use a title exactly as suggested or use it for inspiration in creating your own topic and title.

The three keywords chosen for the results below were: freelance writers, content creation and free writing tools. With the right results, you will have enough titles for an entire week.

#5 – Google Keyword Planner

Determining the best keywords for a website or even just a blog post can be a serious undertaking. In order to help things along, the Google Adwords Keyword Planner is a great free tool that cal tell you the search volume for a particular keyword, related keywords and the CPC (cost-per-click) of the keywork in question.

It is a great way to determine what the most competitive keywords are, find long-tail keywords that are easy to rank for and hone your keyword strategy.

These are five go-to writing tools used by professional writers who not only appreciate ongoing collaboration, but also want their clients to see positive results with the content provided.

There are still many other free writer resources that deserve to be mentioned, providing aid to freelance writers on every facet of content creation from idea planning to sharing.

Which free tools can you add to this list? Please share in the comments section below.

The post Amazing Content: 5 Free Tools You Need for Your Writer’s Playbook appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Which social media sites and apps are a hit can change rather quickly, but there are opportunities to connect with potential clients on all of them. Follow these tips in order to attract new clients on any social media website.

Spread Your Wings

Don’t stick to just one or two social media pages. It’s important to branch out in order to reach as many potential clients as possible. Simply updating some social media profiles once per week is fine. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, here are some social media websites you should consider:

• LinkedIn – If you haven’t yet opened a LinkedIn profile, it’s time to do so. This is a professional site, so make sure that your posts on this site are polished and professional in tone.
  

  As The Muse reported, your insights will show up on your profile, which can be impressive to your professional contacts and potential recruiters as well.

• Pinterest – Not only can you make photo pin boards of all the place you want to go, you can also make boards that are relevant to the type of writing you wish to do. To use Pinterest, simply download the Pinterest add-on to your browser.Then, any time you are on a website that has content relevant to you or audience, you can click on the Pinterest icon to add your desire picture to one of your Pinterest boards.
• Google+ – While Google can’t quite hit a homerun with its attempts for social networking, this site seems to be enduring, and you can easily post short, professional posts about what’s going on in your career. To post on Google+, simply go to your profile.There will be a blank area in the middle of the screen that asks, “What’s new with you?” You can click the options beneath to share text, photos, links, videos, events, or polls with your followers. It is very easy to use, but be sure to keep posts succinct since it’s a social media platform like Facebook where shorter posts are generally welcomed by followers.
• Tumblr – As a hybrid between a blog website and a social media platform, Tumblr allows you to write longer posts that will help showcase your talents to potential clients. To write a Tumblr post, simply log in at the Tumblr website.Much like Google+, it then presents you with the opportunity to click on icons to get your post started. You can chose to share text, photos, quotes, links, chats, audio, or video. Since Tumblr is considered to be a blog platform, long posts are welcome and accepted there.

Be Informative Yet Succinct in Your Profile

Be sure to fill out your social media profile. When a potential client clicks on your social media page, they should be able to read about you.

Fill out the About sections with a brief, professional, and interesting biography of yourself. Your profile shouldn’t come off as if you were trying to peddle your services.

Instead, the profile should inform followers of who you are and what your interests are.

Create Original Posts

Many social media users simply re-post and share the posts that others create. The creators of the shared posts usually appreciate this, and it’s a nice touch.

However, potential clients may assess your profile to see the types of original content that you are consistently creating.

A page that’s full of simply sharing the originality and creativity of others isn’t likely to make someone want to work with you.

Keep Politics Off Social Media

If you want to rant and rave about the politicians you hate the most, it’s better to call up a sympathetic friend than post them to Facebook.

If you must post that stuff to social media, have a separate account that isn’t under the name you use for publishing your work. You will likely work with clients of all political persuasions, and even those who share your beliefs may be turned off by angry rants.

Finally, keep in mind that the eyes of your potential clients could be on any public post you made. One of the best ways to attract new clients on social media may simply be to filter your posts carefully, and only share things that are of value to your followers.

When in doubt, look at the pages you most enjoy, and find inspiration to create your own posts from the types of content you enjoy.

Do you have any tips and tricks for how to get clients via social media? Please share in the comments section below.

The post How to Attract New Clients on Social Media appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Building a strong and repeated client base takes time, patience and a few relatively straightforward ways that are all too often left by the wayside.

These five ideas can assist freelance writers in capturing and building a strong client base in a wide open market.

1. Writing Beneath Your Level

Freelance writers who choose to write at a lower level of expertise can often capture a market of budding business who may just be starting out or who are new to content marketing.

Often, a company that has never used content marketing will not start out with the most expensive package. They want to see what the hype is all about, what the article looks like, contains and so forth.

Choosing to write lower than your level gives you the opportunity to connect with fresh, new and potentially loyal clients that can grow with you.

2. Adhering to the Word Count

Articles may often require minimum and maximum word counts. While these numbers are important, it is equally important to understand that a freelance writer should never automatically chop off a thought or topic because they will not get paid for anything over the max word count.

Always be sure to adequately complete the item or article. On the flip side of this argument is the fact that some may abuse the word count by adding unnecessary words (fluff) to maximize their earning.

Clients notice this practice and will often choose not to work with freelance writers who continuously engage in this practice. It is in poor taste and extremely unprofessional.

3. Maintaining Contact with Inactive Clients

If you have been slow in work or have not worked with regular clients for a while, reach out to these past clients.

A simple “Hello just stopped in to see how things have been going for you. I hope all is well” will surprise you at how much business this will garner you both immediately and within days of the communication, as well as in the future.

Clients remember your hospitality much more than you may believe and appreciate that you have recognized them enough to think of their well being.

Yes, there will always be that one that says no thank you, I will contact you… Make a note of these so you do not contact them again.

4. Improving Overall Quality

Regardless of your writing expertise, you want to put out your best articles regarding grammar. These conditions include sentence structure, spelling, type of article, punctuation and more.

One of the most successful ways of ensuring a top quality article is through the purchase of a grammar check program.

There are programs on the market such as Grammarly that can scan your content as you type for all of the above checks and more.

A search for these programs can sometimes lead you to a free version, however, keep in mind that many of the free versions do not always provide the best and most comprehensive products.

A high-quality product is well worth the money, it can often lead to a better rating and more job offers.

5. Acknowledging the Clients

Once a job has been accepted or rejected, take a moment to thank the client for the opportunity to work with them on that particular job.

Even if the article ends up with no monetary exchange, you want to kill them with kindness and perhaps win them over for the chance to work with them on another project.

This practice allows the client to see a different side of you. A freelance writer is a human being and deserves the same level of respect that any in-person encounter would receive.

Finding ways to maintain, increase and capture a share of the market share for freelance writers takes a great deal of commitment on the part of the freelance writer.

The level of success for any freelance writer depends on the amount of time and effort they are willing to spend to their business.

Do you have any tips and tricks to get ahead in the freelancing game? Let me know in the comments section below.

The post 5 Ways Freelance Writers Can Capture a Fair Share of the Market appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

One aspect of social media that isn’t always apparent, however, is the fact that social media can help you find exactly the information you need for an assignment.

Save time and find unique content when you use social media as a research tool before you start writing your next article.

Utilize Handy #Hashtags

Hashtags were created for the purpose of helping people find things related to a specific topic quickly and easily.

They’re an essential tool to start your research on social media. Hashtags are used on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by individuals for a variety of reasons. They’re used by businesses to connect with customers.

If you are seeking breaking news, personal opinions, or information about what’s trending on a topic, simply enter the hashtag into the search portal of the social media website, and you should be able to instantly receive results on your exact topic of choice.

Ask (and Promote) Open Questions

If you have an author or writer “fan” page on Facebook, you may choose to ask an open question for more informal research.

For example, if you’ve been given an assignment that simply asks you to solicit opinions on a photo or a hot topic, create a post that showcases the topic at hand and asks an engaging question. Pay to promote the post to your intended target audience, and you should receive valuable feedback.

You could also do the same thing with a promoted Tweet, or a meme photo of the question on Instagram. As Entrepreneur reported, using social media to gather opinions is a rather inexpensive way to gather valuable research and development data.

Gather Information About a Subject

It’s so common for human resources professionals to look up applicants on social media that Time published an article to help job seekers avoid social media pitfalls that could cost them a job.

However, many people are still quite careless with what they publicly post on social media networks. If you need to do a little research to get background information on someone for an article, it’s perfectly acceptable to search social media for the person’s public posts.

When you’re using social media to look up someone’s personal accounts, though, keep these crucial things in mind:

• Don’t ever mislead someone by sending a friend request if you’re simply trying to get information on them. You could then be granted access to friends-only posts that you should not ethically share. Only quote public posts in articles.
• Do state who you are and your position as a writer when sending private messages to strangers to gather information. In many cases, people will appreciate that you are forthright and will answer questions.

When it’s time to research your next project, take the time to gather data on social media before relying on other sources.

Oftentimes, you can get straight to the original source of a post, such as a celebrity’s PR statement on their official pages, and you may also be able to more easily navigate search engines when you know more precise information about what is trending and timely with right now.

Ultimately, social media is a tool that you can use to take your research and writing to the next level.

Do you have any social media research tips? Please share in the comments section below.

The post How to Use Social Media as a Research Tool for Your Writing appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

If you are in any way involved in internet marketing, you have probably heard all of these terms, and you’ve maybe used some of these terms almost interchangeably.

If you are new to internet marketing, that isn’t really a problem, since basic internet marketing generally blends the concepts. However, once you reach a certain point, you need a stronger understanding of the various concepts.

For today, let’s talk about the difference between content marketing and community marketing.

• Content marketing is a marketing strategy that involves the creation and sharing of online media in order to acquire and maintain customers.
• Community marketing is a marketing strategy that involves interacting with your customer community in ways that encourage the community to naturally market your brand.

While both strategies may involve the creation of online media, the purpose of the content marketing is to build customer loyalty, while the purpose of the community marketing is to both reward customer loyalty and reap the rewards of customer loyalty.

It is important to note that both types of marketing differ from more direct advertising in that neither is designed to directly create sales (though indirect sales are usually expected).

Examining the Pros and Cons

The pros and cons of the two styles of marketing primarily come down to one big difference: content marketing focuses primarily on building a costumer base while community marketing focuses primarily on interacting with that base.

Because the user base already exists, a community marketing doesn’t necessarily need to rely on good SEO. Unfortunately, this benefit also has a negative side effect. When a person searches for content and chooses to interact with it, that person has usually been fully engaged.

When content is directed at a person, as per community marketing, engagement is much less likely. Effectively, a brand needs to work harder to maintain brand engagement through community marketing.

Judging engagement is also different for content marketing and community marketing.

For content marketing, there are a number of criteria that can indicate successful engagement, including time spent browsing a web page, number of pages a person visits, whether a person chooses to join the brand community in some way (Facebook page, forums, etc.), or simply if the person makes a purchase.

For community marketing, interaction is the main way to judge engagement, but that can be difficult to judge. A simple post count (for comments or forum posts) doesn’t always paint the full picture and lurkers (people who never or rarely post) are even harder to judge. Judging community marketing success often requires an occasional direct survey.

As for how you can get those inactive readers to actually post something, that is a thought for another day.

Customers Equal Sales

The simple truth is that more customers equals more sales. Both content marketing and community marketing understand this truth, focusing, respectively, on creating customers and interacting with customers.

Both forms of internet marketing are long-term strategies that work best when combined with short term strategies like direct advertising.

The post Defining the Difference Between Content Marketing and Community Marketing appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Well…

If I want to be truly honest with myself, I never actually fulfill any of my resolutions. Maybe that will change this year if I call them goals instead of resolutions. Maybe not, but it is worth a try.

Goal #1 – Use Time More Efficiently

As a freelancer, time is probably my most precious resource. When I don’t have projects to work on, time continues to flow, even though I have nothing useful to do with it. When I do have projects to work on, those projects compete for my available time, as do clients who pretty much always want projects completed yesterday.

In 2016 I am committed to using downtime more efficiently. There are plenty of ways that I can support my freelancing and support my future clients if I put in the appropriate effort. As for times when projects are pouring in, I would like to save time while still maintaining a high level of writing excellence.

Goal #2 – Build a Tool Portfolio

Between reading and writing, I spend hundreds, if not thousands, of hours each year improving my writing skills. Unfortunately, the ability to write well is only one important requirement for a freelance writer. In today’s market, you also need an electronic drawer full of content creation tools. I don’t have one.

My best tool after my keyboard and my brain is pretty much Yahoo search engine.

That is effectively like saying that my only way of watching movies is on my VCR. It works, technically, but it is very outdated and much less efficient than modern options.

Conveniently, this is one goal that I have already started working on. I’ve been compiling a list of useful tools and I am slowly beginning to practice with them. Hopefully, I’ll have a full set before the end of 2016.

Goal #3 – Write a Novel

As my guidance counselor told me in high school, you should always have a reach goal. She was talking about colleges, but the advice works more generally as well.

This particular goal may not even be as much of a stretch as it seems, either. At this point in my life I have already been published in three different short story anthologies and I am scheduled to be published in a fourth before the end of 2016. Moving from short stories to novels is challenging, but definitely within reach.

If I get the right inspiration and time, I will probably publish as an e-book. I’d love to publish a physical novel, but I consider that a future goal.

Your Goals?

Do any of these goals sound similar to your freelance goals in 2016? At Crowd Content, we’d love to hear about your 2016 freelance goals. Shout out in the comments section below.

Happy new year!

The post My Top 3 Freelancing Goals for 2016 appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

When baking from scratch, there is no short cuts that are used in a recipe such as pre-made and packaged foods, it requires more effort and elbow grease to get the job done. The end result is a high-quality baked good accompanied by many compliments. People marvel at how it’s done. Writing is the same.

The post The Ingredients for the Perfect Writing Recipe appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

However, the most time consuming aspect of my most powerful and convincing blogs is researching relevant and compelling support for my topic. Not only do links to high powered authorities with well traveled websites strongly proclaim the veracity of the assertions made by your content, they also support favorable SEO practices.

Over time, all content creators consider the seesaw of efficiency and effectiveness and in my pursuit of the perfect balance, I have developed these five research hacks that have saved me hours of precious time and maximized my earnings.

The post 5 Blog Content Research Hacks That Will Save Time appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Blog writing has become big business. People everywhere are making a living at writing about topics they are passionate about.

There are plenty of resources available on the Internet to help a person enter the blogging game, but what happens once you are in?

This post will discuss helpful tips and tools to improve your blog and pave the way to your blogging success.

Content Creation

Your blog topics are what will draw readers in. Using life as an inspiration is a great way to keep the good topics coming. Your life experiences, conversations, and current events can be the catalyst for some great material.

When life is slow and topics are scarce, try using Hubspot’s blog topic generator. It is an easy to use, helpful tool for when you are stuck.  

Check Your Grammar

Your post is not worth reading if your grammar and spelling are not perfect. Be the blogger who cares about the reading experience and use Grammarly to tighten up your writing.

This free app catches more mistakes than any other grammar/spell checker on the market. It will give you alternatives to words and phrases and help with comma rules. It is great for the run on sentence experts out there. 

Photos Can Make a Post Sparkle

Now that your writing is tightened and worth reading, add pictures. Photos can break up your writing and make your post more eye-catching. For free professional quality pictures, try Pixabay or MorgueFile.

All their photos are free to use and they are high quality. In fact, Crowd Content and other content marketing companies frequently utilize Pixabay for their blog photos.

Call Them to Action

Part of the purpose of blogging is to engage your audience. Inspire your readers to get involved in the process through a call to action.

At the end of your post, place a simple question in a nice eye-catching color to encourage your readers to engage in a conversation about your post. The more you can get your readers to engage, the more traffic you can experience.

Blog writing can be rewarding and, ultimately, drive business. When done properly, you can educate and build your audience. These tools will make your blog more appealing.

Now your post will be ready for prime time. Check out this post from Crowd Content explaining when is the best time to release your post.

Happy Blogging!

The post Blog Writing Tips Most People Do Not Talk About appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Self-employed freelance writers are no exception.

In today’s marketplace freelance writers and the self-employed are pursuing happiness, but falling short.This is because they are failing to understand their minimal viable product (MVP).

A Freelancer’s Minimum Viable Product

Everyone has a minimum viable product to offer, but not everyone knows what it is.

• A minimum viable product is a first generation product, with upgrades to follow.
• More precisely, it is the simplest thing that you can create that gets your product or service through the build, measure, learn cycle.

This is known as validated learning, the ultimate form of learning by doing. Sounds like freelance writing, huh?

While the minimum viable product or (MVP) and build, measure, learn cycle were coined by Eric Ries in his Lean Startup Methodology for small business startups, you can also apply it to the world of freelance writing and content marketing!

Learning Through the Build, Measure, Learn Cycle

Freelance writers:

1. Build through creating content. 
2. Measure what the clients have to say about what they have written.
3. Learn how to become better writers.

By incorporating the Lean Startup methodology into your writing career, you can find the lowest risk investment with the highest reward.

• A writer’s minimum viable product is their ability to write engaging articles, product descriptions etc.
• Writers that can write about most anything are rare and special in the content writing market.

How to Use Writing as Your MVP

The phrase content is king was created with writers in mind. Many gifted writers assume that they’re going to write the next whirlwind novel. But what if I told you that writers are rewriting the world, one word at a time, and getting paid VERY well?

And at the same time the aspiring book authors are feeling like failures because their books aren’t selling, or they aren’t written yet. Freelance writers tend to have little difficulty with writers block because of the diverse topics to write about and the short writing assignments

• Freelance writers write in short bursts for most assignments. These short assignments allow for more creativity, constant change of topics, and (possibly) the end of writer’s block.
• These assignments typically range from 50 to 2000 words, which is a reasonable minimum viable product for writers.

The lean startup methodology can be useful when reaching for those unalienable rights to pursue happiness and freelancing success.

• Freshen up your talent and learn by doing!
• Discover the benefits of recognizing that words are your MVP as a freelance writer.
• Build measure and create your own freelance writing business.

The post Confessions of a Freelancer: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Success appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

What could have gone wrong?

One possible reason for the lack of readership could have something to do with the fact that it hasn’t been picked up by the search engines.

There are plenty of reasons people may not be reading your press release, but here are some tips on how to increase your traffic and get it found on Google.

1. Make it Search Engine-Friendly

By creating your press release with search engines in mind, you will increase its rankings, making it easier to find by both readers and reporters.

If the reporter likes what they see, there’s a good chance they will publish it on their media website. To do this, you need to make a list of keywords you want to get ranked for.

Once you have a good list of words to work with, include them in the article. Also, don’t forget about the metadata; include a few keywords in the metas to increase your chances of getting found online.

While the article should be easily scannable by search engines, remember that actual people will be reading it, so don’t stuff keywords where they aren’t necessary.

2. Write About a News-Worthy Topic

As much as we all want to sell our products or services, that’s a big no-no. Even if it ranks well on Google, no one is going to read it if you are blatantly trying to get them to buy something.

What big change has been going on with your company (new management, product launches, etc.)? Also, make it sound professional by using a third person writing style so that it doesn’t sound like you have a biased opinion.

3. Optimize Photos

Most audiences are more likely to read an article or press release that has an image. Pick one of a customer using your products or something else relating to your business.

Include meta tags and links on your image so that it is easier to share on social media by your audience.

4. Create a Great Headline

The first thing readers will notice about your press release is the headline, so it’s vital to have one that captures their attention. It should be short and sweet, yet act as a little teaser to give your audience a hint at what it will be about.

5. Promote it on Social Media

I’m sure you already know this, but social media is one of the most effective ways to get the word out, so don’t forget this step. Post a link to your press release on all of your social media pages where your target audience hangs out in order to make it easier for them to find.

Press releases are a great way to keep your audience informed on what’s going on with your business, while also being used as a way to build links to your website.

With these tips, your press release will be much easier to scan and find by the big search engines and your potential customers.

The post 5 Tips for Optimizing Your Press Release appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Proofing your writing can sometimes be difficult. You have spell-checked it, looked it over for grammar and punctuation, used “Find-and-Replace” to get rid of extraneous words or overly-used adverbs, and you think it’s perfect.

However, your computer won’t catch missing words, awkward sentences, orphaned phrases, subject-verb agreement, or misuse of tense.

One way to find these errors is to have your content read aloud and hear how it sounds to the reader. 

Enter text-to-speech technology.

Text-to-Speech Apps

Many text-to-speech (TTS) apps are available to let your computer, laptop, tablet, or phone read to you. Natural-sounding voices in any language read from your content.

VoxDox – One of the newer, free TTS programs available. Presently in BETA, they welcome newcomers. It was fun to hear my story read aloud.

VoiceDream – Also a great option. It’s considered one of the better TTS apps with 36 free built-in voices, and a choice of 100 more at a cost of $1.99-4.99. It can download any text format from PDF, ePub, Word, Daisy, and more. It is available for iPhone and iPad on Google Play. 

Create Your Own TTS

Make your computer read back to you without installing an extra program. If you have a PC, you will have to attach an external microphone and speakers; laptops have them built in.

 1. Use the Sound Recorder on Your Computer

Click the start button. In the search bar, type Sound Recorder and press enter. If you have Windows on your computer, it comes with an automatic sound recorder.

Double click to open the sound recorder. Click the red button to start recording, and read your writing into the microphone. When you are finished, click the blue “Stop Recording” button.

2. Save Your Recording for Later Listening

Name your recording to a special folder previously made for your recordings, or to the desktop where you can easily find it. A Windows Media Audio (WMA) file is created for later listening. To listen, simply double-click the icon. Your new TTS opens in the Windows Media Player.

Improve Writing Skills

Whether you use a free text-to-speech app or create your own audio file with the sound recorder, utilizing TTS technology will help polish your final product and help to sharpen your content writing. You’ll pick up on common overused phrases or words and make sure your words flow and make sense to the reader.

The post How to Perfect Your Content Using Text-to-Speech Technology appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Creating a brilliant, search engine optimized e-commerce store with product descriptions that drive sales requires a unique synchronization of SEO expertise and writing skill that select few product description writers have managed to master.

How do the experts do it?

1. Create Unique SEO Content Using Reviews

Customers are savvier and more intelligent shoppers than ever before. As such, one of the biggest factors in deciding whether or not to buy a product is the experiences of other shoppers.

Not only can you use customer reviews (instead of sales material or case studies) to create unique and valuable product descriptions that appeal to your target market, but you can also encourage consumers to leave product reviews that would continually generate unique content.

2. Category Descriptions Are Essential

Just as brick and mortar stores are organized into different departments and sections, your online store should also be organized according to category. Category descriptions not only provide search engines with keyword-rich SEO content, but they also allow consumers to easily find what they need or browse in areas that interest them.

Unlike product descriptions, category descriptions’ main purpose is to guide and inform consumers. They should not be promotional or include any sales pitches.

While word count may vary, on average they tend to be between 100 and 200 words depending on the products.

3. Use Product SKU Longtail Keywords

You may already know that longtail keywords are essential in SEO content, however, you may not have considered the importance of including product SKUs in long tail descriptions.

SKU numbers represent a specific product, as such they can also act as a highly targeted keyword in order to drive quality traffic.

In addition to this, longtail SKU keywords can also help smaller businesses compete against the biggest leaders in e-commerce and potentially even find their listings on the same search results pages as their industry leaders.

While there is no simple formula for creating the perfect e-commerce store, it is possible to create SEO content and product descriptions that appeal to both search engines and consumers.

With a skilled writer that can create enticing content and the right SEO formula, you can create brilliant SEO product descriptions that put your business in the running with the top industry leaders in your niche.

The post 3 Things You Need to Know to Create Brilliant SEO Product Descriptions appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

As an online marketer, writing irresistible sales copy is one of the most important sales techniques that you can master. Regardless of the degree of awesomeness you have to offer your target audience, a forgettable sales copy will do nothing to improve your bottom line.

So how do you create a sales copy that sells? Keep reading for four fast tips on how to create website content that puts your business front and center.

1. Catch Their Attention with a Compelling Headline

When you think of a typical sales copy, your mind may conjure up images of bold, red font, highlighted text, or an overabundance of exclamation points. While these tactics may initially capture a reader’s attention, they may also come across as overly aggressive.

As Heidi Cohen explains on Content Marketing Institute, a headline that catches the eye and piques interest is an effective way to encourage your audience to keep reading, without weakening your credibility or brand image.

2. Talk to a Person, Not a Faceless Group

This may be a difficult skill to master, but it holds the key to relating to your audience. When creating your sales copy, don’t write to a nameless, faceless crowd. Create a customer persona, and write for them. How is your product, service or cause a good fit for their needs or desires?

Apple provides an excellent example for what it means to write to your audience. In its iPhone5 sales copy, the word iPhone is used 81 times. The words you and your are used 110 times.

The sales copy not only shares information about the product, but also how the product is relevant to the reader.

3. Readability Matters

On average, a majority of readers will skim a page. According to the Nielson Norman Group, only 16% of readers will actually read every word. Effective website content caters to both types of readers. It packs inspiring, information-rich content in a layout that is easy to digest.

While the actual content of your sales copy is important, its presentation matters as well. Have you ever visited a page that had a dark background, with small text that was only a few shades lighter?

How long did you stay on the page? It could provide the coordinates for the fountain of youth, and its readers would be none the wiser.

By ensuring that your sales copy is both rich in information and readable, you can ensure that it provides the biggest impact.

4. Don’t Forget the Call to Action

The final step to creating a great sales copy is including a call to action. An effective call to action encourages the reader to take the next step, whether that is to make a purchase, connect with your company or find more information.

By following these tips when creating website content, you can ensure that your sales copy gives you the best results possible.

The post How to Write Irresistible Sales Copy appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

How often do you send an email straight to the trash without opening it?

If you’re like most people, it probably happens to you dozens of times every day. Unfortunately, in today’s busy world, many emails that aren’t absolutely essential are delegated to the trash can instead of claiming a few seconds of a reader’s time.

While email marketing campaigns can be very effective, some campaigns work better than others. With these tried and true tips, you can be sure your email newsletter is effective, interesting, and, most importantly, opened!

1. Make Sure Your Subject Line Is Catchy

While it’s important not to judge a book by its cover, it’s altogether too common for a busy professional to disregard emails that don’t have a compelling or important-sounding title.

In order to catch a reader’s eye and convey the message that your content is worth reading, choose a title that is to the point, catchy, or witty but still conveys the message you are trying to send.

An interesting title is an asset, but you should try to avoid subject lines that could be considered clickbait, or a misleading title designed to generate as many clicks as possible.

Although clickbait can be effective at drawing in readers, most people dislike clicking on an article or opening an email that has a completely different message than what the title implied. This creates distrust in readers, driving them away from further communications.

2. Keep Your Content Professional

Above all else, email marketing content should be high quality. While email communication is often casual and relaxed, an email marketing campaign is a big part of your online reputation and should speak to what you have to offer.

If your email newsletter is littered with grammar issues or uses text message abbreviations, your readers won’t take you seriously, resulting in a marketing campaign that does more damage than good.

By relying on professionally-written content that is aimed at the interests of your readers, you can be sure that everyone who opens your emails will get an accurate image of the prestige and reputation of your business and what you have to offer.

Many companies also see utility in HTML content with images, providing a more put together look and feel for readers.

3. Keep Content Brief and Easy to Read

Most working adults lead very busy, full lives, making reading long articles a luxury for which there is little time in the day. In order to best attract readers, keep your content short, to the point, and easy to read.

Rather than overwhelming your readers with technical language and long-winded articles, give them something they can read over easily.

Many newsletters don’t provide full articles but rather titles, highlights, and summaries from successful content marketing pieces with a link to the original blog or post. If you feel as though shortening content sacrifices your message, this method allows you to provide a brief yet informative experience to readers while still allowing them full access to articles that may attract their interest.

When handled properly, an email newsletter can be extremely effective. By crafting titles that are are captivating and content that is proper, professional, and easy to read, you can ensure your email marketing content is read and appreciated.

The post 3 Steps to Mastering the Art of Email Content appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Do you know something that might be of interest to others?  Do you have a specialty that you would like to share or teach?

If you do, you have the stuff great articles are made of and captivate and audience.

Respected authors recommend that when starting out as a writer, you should write about what you know.  Just as a child has to learn to crawl before it can walk, so a writer has to get experience in his craft.

As a content writer, here’s a few tips I’ve learned along the way.

1. If you’re not sure what to write about, think about your job, your interests, and hobbies. These are usually the things you know a lot about and are passionate about. When you write about them your passion will shine through.
2. Once you venture outside your comfort zone, thoroughly research the topic you want to write about. You need to know the facts. Nothing destroys your credibility as a writer more than presenting an article with incorrect or outdated information.
3. A great title is so important. You need to make your article easy to find for people who search the web for information. A suitable title will tickle curiosity. The introduction of your article should consist of a summary of what the reader of your article can expect.
4. Remember SEO content. SEO content are keyword phrases that search engines pick up on. These keyword phrases should be pertaining to the subject of your article and repeated a few times in the body of your article. Don’t pepper your article with keywords though, remember that you are directing yourself in the first place to a reader, not a search engine.
5. Read your work, preferably out loud so you can hear the flow of the sentences.  Pay attention to punctuation. Finally, spell check your work and read it again. A spell checker may pick up on most of the mistakes, but not all of them. When in doubt, Grammarly can help. Not only will Grammarly help with spell checking your document, the program pays attention to good grammar and can be used as a plagiarism checker.

Do you have any content writing secrets? If so, share the love below.

The post The 5 Secrets of a Great Article appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

It’s interesting, from a marketer’s perspective, to find out where these searchers are going for their information.

What’s more pressing, however, is how businesses are attracting those searchers to their sites. The answer is content.

The answer has been content, even through Google changes, image popularity, vines, and all other mediums that have come and gone. Content has been the steadfast go-to for over a decade.

Creating the content that will attract your audience is the key to generating attention and encouraging your audience to take action towards the end goal- a sale.

Create the most eye-catching content by answering the basic five “W’s” of reporting, and the “H”: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Who?

Who are you trying to attract? This is the first question that must be answered. Content for a five year old and her parents will be much different than content for a 35 year old man searching for a date.

Identifying the audience will require footwork; research who you are selling to, then gear content toward that audience. Creating content that is out of the intended audience’s interest or educational range will turn your core audience away.

What?

What is your point? Do you reach it quickly? Do you give the reader a reason to keep engaging with your content? What are you selling?

If you want the customer to reach the call to action, you want to reach your point quickly and give the reader a reason to keep going.

Understand what you are selling, and you will easily create content that will keep readers engaged.

When?

Timing is everything. If your product is best suited for a holiday, gear up a few months before with some great content for that holiday.

Consider when the customer would use the product, and convince the customer in the content that your product is perfect for their time frame. For example, if a customer would use your product early in the morning, consider sharing articles about waking up early, and how the product would help at that time.

Where?

Location is another important aspect of great content writing. An article geared toward a Northeast audience is quite different than an article geared toward a West Coast niche.

Consider where most of your customers live, and create content built around their lifestyle. Creating content that speaks to a customer will draw in the reader, and create a bigger audience through social media shares.

Why?

Your customer needs to know why you are communicating to him or her specifically. As consumers, we are “sold out”. We’ve been sold to so many times that it’s old now.

While your reason for creating content is sales, this must be hidden within the great story you are sharing. Tell the reader why he or she should read the content, why he or she should purchase the product, and why he or she will have a better life because of the product.

How?

The method of delivery is essential. How are you delivering the message? Many marketers have become storytellers through necessity. Again, we are sold out, and we crave something interesting to read. Perhaps a joke, or a story, will better deliver the message than a generic sales pitch. Consider the audience’s needs to best understand how to deliver your content.

The post How to Create Content for YOUR Audience appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The internet is incredibly packed. There are millions of blog pages and content marketing sites and literally billions, if not trillions, of web pages total.

Among that sea of words, it can be difficult to create content that consistently draws new viewers and inspires them to return regularly.

Part of the reason this is so difficult is because nearly everyone is trying to stand out, which means that many of the same strategies are being used by others that you might use. The following content creation tools and strategies will help your content marketing stand out, even in the chum filled waters of the internet.

1. Don’t Rely on Trending News

On February 27th, 2015, Leonard Nimoy died. It was the news of the day and every single news agency, blog, and social media user was talking about it. If you had posted your list of “Top 10 Leonard Nimoy Roles Other Than Spock,” your post would have gotten lost among the millions of similar posts that were all created that same day.

That is fine if your blog has a loyal following and the post was simply a one-off to honor Nimoy. But, if every post on your blog is following the trending news, your blog will rarely ever get new visitors.

2. Find Your Niche and Double Down on it

If you want your content to stand out in the crowd, you need to find a specific niche that receives very little attention from other writers. Then, you need to not only write about it, but become a scholar on the topic. Since you have intentionally chosen a topic that has very little coverage on the internet, this means you will have to do research and study offline.

Mastering your topic may require any of the following:

• Taking a course in the subject
• Research at a library
• Engaging in active practice of the topic (ex: carpentry, playing video games, etc.)
• Traveling to locations where you can observe your topic

This approach effectively requires a leap of faith, because this type of study takes a lot of time and until you start writing authoritatively about the subject, you can’t be certain your writing will draw an audience.

But, assuming you truly gain mastery of the subject, it is a safe bet that there are people who are searching the internet for information on that topic.

3. Focus on Solutions

Of all the ways to make your content stand out in the crowd, one of the most successful ways is to focus on solutions. Readers that are searching the internet for information about a problem, usually aren’t looking for a discussion of the problem as much as they want a simple, straightforward solution to that problem.

There is nothing more frustrating to a reader than searching for information about a problem and discovering that lots of people have encountered the problem, but finding no meaningful solutions for it. The following are some good examples of blog topics that directly solve a problem:

• Removing Superfish malware from Lenovo computers
• Choosing the right knitting material to prevent itching
• Advice for convincing your boss to give you a raise

If your content always provides a solution to all problems that it discusses, you will definitely stand out and readers will return to your website confident that it is a valuable source of good information.

The post 3 Ways to Stand out from Savvy Content Marketers in Your Industry appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Why Fresh Content Is Important

Blog Ergo Sum: I Blog, Therefore I Am

As any online business owner will tell you, if you aren’t listed within the first three pages of a search engine result, your business may as well not exist.

SEO guidelines evolve all the time to ensure high quality, relevant results for the user, making it difficult for online marketers to ensure high rankings. However, there is one SEO strategy that you can always count on: search engines love fresh content.

While you may not see the wisdom in taking the time to update your product and service descriptions every week, you cannot let your website become stagnant. If you have a blog (and you should!), adding a couple new entries each week is an easy way to add fresh content to your site. As Jeff Bullas explains, regular content writing demonstrates to search engines that your website is up-to-date, active and worthy of high rankings.

Fresh Content Creates a Social Hub

Regular content writing gives your followers new opportunities to interact with your brand. An interesting, on-site blog with regularly updated content allows you to:

• build a social network
• create contagious content
• transform casual visitors into engaged, loyal followers

Fresh Content Establishes You as an Expert in Your Field

Regular content writing is a great way to demonstrate to your followers that you are knowledgeable in your field. By consistently updating your content, you can show that you are up-to-date on the trends and ideas that interest your customers.

3 Easy Tips for Generating Fresh Content

1. Update Old Content

While giving older pages a facelift isn’t considered by search engines to be quite as fresh as a brand new page, it is a quick and simple way to update your site. However, remember that search engines don’t just consider when the page was last updated. When you incorporate fresh content into an older page, make sure you actually rewrite a significant portion of the page.

2. Use Visuals

Infographics, informational videos or relevant photos are not only easy to share across social media platforms, but they are a quick way to give your site some fresh content.

3. Keep Content Concise and Scannable

Bulletpoints, short sentences and subheadings not only make it easier to organize your thoughts, they also allow your reader to quickly read your content.

By ensuring that you are keeping up a steady stream of fresh content, you can increase your website traffic, create brand loyalty and improve your bottom line.

The post The Case for Fresh Content appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

When we begin thinking about ourselves as small businesses, we begin to realize the full scope of that definition. We must budget, we must produce, and most of all, we must market. Marketing experts attest that email is alive and well for the 2015 freelance season, which means that freelancers must sit up and pay attention to what that means for them.

Marketing efforts are focusing on less direct, or word-of-mouth, marketing, and more on email campaigns. How, then, do freelancers use this information to increase personal success?

What Is Email Marketing?

We must first understand the true definition of email marketing. It is the online version of the direct letter; instead of fliers and newsletters to a home, a business sends the same information through a digital connection. Most of us already have this information; what we must glean from the definition is the fact that this type of marketing is easier to track than direct mail. As a small business, a freelancer can find out what types of mail are being opened and read by existing and potential customers.

Essentially, email marketing is more than its base definition: it is the newest, and among the best, tools for freelancers.

Different Types of Email Marketing

There are many different types of email marketing employed by small businesses. Freelancers have the opportunity to choose what fits their marketing plan best and engage its  -or their – services.

• Newsletters – This type of campaign is among the easiest, because it’s all about you. The newsletter is a quick update on what you’re doing, what’s coming up in the future, and any new offers your business has on the table. Newsletters are often sent bi-weekly or monthly.
• Invitation Emails – These are quick blurbs highlighting a special service from a small business. Perhaps a freelancer has a 10% off white papers special for the next two weeks. Let customers know in an invitation email.
• Promotional Campaigns – This can include coupons or encouragement to invite new clients. They are sent in the days leading to a sale, such as a coupon for a free article next month, or a coupon for free editing to anyone who refers a new client.
• Survey Emails – Small businesses use these emails to find out more about their market base. Many of a freelancer’s clients are happy to fill out a brief survey, especially the satisfied clients. Find out what makes your clients happy to recruit new clients with the same types of services.
• Lead-Nurturing Emails – These emails are sent to prospective clients. This is where a freelancer’s virtual “commercial” happens. Freelancers send these emails in an effort to convert potential clients into paying customers.
• Transactional Emails – These are simple, “Thank you for the business” emails. These are important to freelancers who want repeat customers.

Tips for Email Marketing

Tips from those who have found email marketing successful include:

1. Determine Target Audience – Random emails don’t work. Find out who you want to work with and target them through email.
2. Outline a Campaign – Every campaign must have an end goal, complete with a method of arriving there. Find out how to obtain email addresses, determine which method of email to use, track opened emails, then determine if your client goals have been reached.
3. Review – Look over the emails to find out if they are effective. If they’re not, look over your campaign to find where it is breaking down. Are your emails being opened? Why not? Are they being read thoroughly? Why not? Are you getting a positive response? Again, why not? Reviewing an email campaign is a repetitive process, but it’s necessary for a freelancer’s success. Small businesses are consistently reviewing their email strategies to ensure success; freelancers should do the same.
4. Focus on What You Have – Use email campaigns to focus on existing customers first; new customers can be obtained after the initial email campaign has proven successful. Keeping current clients is easier than obtaining new clients through email campaigns, so freelancers should use their first email campaign as a “test run” to keep current customers happy. Subsequent campaigns can be used to obtain new clients.

The post We Are Small Business – Why Email Tips for Small Businesses Work for Freelancers Too! appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

It is because SEO requires a greater understanding that it is valuable for content marketing writers to take a “back to the basics” approach when examining the relationship between SEO blogging and content marketing.

“S” Stands for “Search”

In an effort to create great content with strong keywords that will inspire readers to continue reading, make a purchase, or share the content with friends, it is easy to forget that the first step of SEO blogging is to hook the reader.

If the content never appears on the first page of search results or if readers never click on the content, because the title or metadata doesn’t attract their interest, then the content has no SEO value.

Keywords, Metadata, and Titles

In the past, before Google updated its search engine algorithm extensively, keyword saturation was king of SEO. That time has passed. But even though keyword density is no longer critical, quality keyword usage still is.

You want your content marketing to use important search keywords naturally and in conjunction with related search keywords. This lets the search engine algorithms know that your content has value to the reader.

If you aren’t sure what keywords are best for your content, use a program like Google Analytics to determine what people are searching for.

Keywords are only half the equation though. Keywords get you on the first page of search results, but metadata and titles get readers to click on your content. You need to appeal to the instincts of your target audience when creating titles and metadata. Try to make sure that the tone of your title and metadata fit that audience.

In general, unless you are writing purely for academics, something slightly witty will draw the attention of potential readers and earn a click.

Engagement is Critical

The key to any inbound marketing strategy is engagement through excellent, focused content. Readers are more likely to click links, share links, or make purchases when they find the content of a website engaging. Furthermore, the search engine algorithm changes that companies like Google constantly make are literally designed to promote more engaging content.

By making your content marketing more engaging and more valuable to your target audience, you will get better returns from your investment in that marketing.

Long Term Strategy

One of the main advantages of SEO for content marketing is, unlike social media marketing or e-mail marketing, it is a long term strategy. Your content can and will be discovered by random searching for years to come.

You want the majority of this content to be evergreen, so it is just as engaging ten years from now as it is today. Finally, make sure to periodically update this content to maintain engagement value and keep it in line with evolving SEO algorithms.

The post The Relationship Between SEO and Content Marketing appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Whenever someone talks about marketing, they immediately think of the TV commercials that we are bombarded with each evening while trying to unwind from our day.  We need to realize that we are marketing ourselves on a daily basis without ever realizing.

What are you telegraphing?

Much like a boxer who telegraphs their punches to their opponents, we telegraph ourselves to the public long before we ever arrive on the actual scene.

• Why else would employers and law enforcement officials what to search out your Facebook page, or follow you on twitter?

Simply to determine who you really are when you aren’t wearing the mask of professionalism when you applied for that job, or to determine if you could be a possible suspect in a crime.  All of which can be determined by one glance through the social media sites.

In today’s society, we are telegraphing all about ourselves from the time that we are born.  Our baby pictures are posted all over the internet and you can always find that person who uses their social media account instead of keeping a daily dairy.  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc…are excellent sources of personal marketing places.

• All of these social media accounts connect together to form a pictograph of you, your life, your hobbies and even your habits.

The more of these accounts that you post to on a regular basis, the more you are providing windows for others to look into your world, and your world views.

We would all do well to forget about what your mother said about having to put her face/makeup on before she could be seen in out in public.  Those days are long gone, having one face for the public, and one for behind closed doors.

• The doors of privacy have been sprung from its hinges as we are marketing ourselves and our children long before we ever realize.

 How does this apply to the Write Side of content marketing…this writer chuckles?

With all the content that is currently out on the web, with all its bits and bytes, now look at it in the context of words on a page.  See what I mean?  Words are everywhere, putting all sorts of information out for the world to see, read and listen to.  All that information had to be written by someone. Who?

• No one knows who for sure, but that doesn’t negate the fact that it is still all out there!
• If a writer can combine the REAL person behind the keys while engaging a specifically targeted audience or a wide variety, this is all that is required in becoming a writer in the content marketing world.

With each of us having distinct personalities trying to find our place in today’s rapidly changing world of technology, each are all screaming for the genuine, REAL people to connect with.

This is where freelance writing assignments and content marketing are pushing the writers of today to step out of their own desire. That desire to become famous which often hinders the best of us.  The world of content market requires that writers have two simple abilities:

• The ability to place bits and bytes of themselves into writing content that only the person who requested the article, product description, or quite possibly the NEXT great idea, and the writer who wrote it for them knows. And…
• The openness and genuineness to connect with an audience.

The Wrap Up

• We have learned that we are marketing ourselves sooner to the public than has ever been possible before.
• Social media is telegraphing your personality to the world.  If your online personality and off line personality don’t match, you lose creditability and genuineness that society is demanding.
• Engaging and genuine personalities are rewriting web content a bit and byte at a time.
• Content marketing allows for those engaging personalities to have their personalities injected through every word the write.
• Be honest, didn’t you laugh or even slightly chuckle at just one thing that I said in this article?  We connected…nice to meet you, I am glad that I made you smile.

The post The Write Side of Content Marketing appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

As a marketer, you need to be able to send out marketing emails, but the ultimate goal is to get your email marketing list to read the emails and to stay on your list.

How do you keep your message from being seen as a nuisance? The answer is to put yourself in the place of the reader.

Why Do You Read Email?

When you read your own email, you aren’t thinking about what you can do for the companies that send you the emails. You are looking at what you can get from those emails.

Some of the marketing lists that you receive emails from may be of an informational nature. They may have a lot of concentrated information that you want with a marketing message somewhere within it.

Others are sale or deal emails that give you coupons, let you know about sales, new merchandise, etc. Both of these types offer you something that you’re looking for. That’s why you’re reading them.

What Do They Get?

When you create your own marketing emails, read through them and think about what your reader will get from them. They will only want to read it and stay on your list if they get value of some kind from it. They aren’t interested in your company’s name recognition or in what you have to say about yourself. All they want to know is what they get from it. If they get nothing, they will unsubscribe.

Think About the Value

If you are having trouble maintaining your email list, think about how you can add value to what you send to it. Could you cut out some of the marketing speak and replace it with more information? Could you make the coupon codes of a higher value?

Consider giving your email list access to information or coupons that aren’t available anywhere else. Let your list know that what they get is something they can’t get elsewhere.

If what you offer to your list is valuable and gives subscribers what they are looking for, your list will grow. It will allow your customers to stay engaged in what you do. It will also keep your name recognition spreading.

The post What’s in It for Me? A Guide to Not Being Deleted as Spam appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Valuable content requires a writer to organize, research, put themselves in the shoes of both the business owner and the consumer and make sure the content passes the value test.

The following are 5 ways to ensure that your written content is valuable:

1. Valuable Content Requires Organization

Valuable content is organized content. Creating templates for content creation can help ensure that your content is consistent, has all the important information it needs and will appeal to the targeted audience.

Creating templates for landing pages, home pages, about us pages and other pages can make your writing flow smoother and make sure that any valuable information is included on its respective page.

It is also helpful to create a spreadsheet based on a sites structure to track the status of each page and where it is in the content creation process.

2. Valuable Content Requires Research

Research starts with asking the client important questions about their particular business. This includes when the business started, what type of products or services they offer, their targeting audience and any wording or information they want or do not want to be included in the content.

As a writer, you must be able to ask the right questions that will provide you with information specific to each client to help you build informative, unique content that will help increase traffic and sell their product or service.

Research competitor websites, trusted sources and create a reference page to use while writing the content.

3. Put Yourself in the Client’s Shoes

By putting yourself in the client’s shoes, it means that you need to become a temporary expert on the products or services the client offers.

For example, if you are writing content for an auto dealership that has a large amount of competition, put yourself in the client’s shoes and determine what makes this dealership different from the others.

Pick a few points that stand out such as the makes or models of vehicles they offer, a service they have the others do not or a variety of other points. By writing content from a client’s perspective you are able to highlight the unique nature of a specific business and increase the value of the content.

4. Play the Role of the Consumer

By looking at content from a consumer viewpoint, you can offer value by answering consumers questions. Why should they choose the products or services this company offers? What makes them different than their competition?

Exactly what products and services do they offer? Have previous customers had a positive experience with this company?

Imagine that you are interested in the product or service the client offers and provide all the information you would want to know and what would make you choose that business.

5. Rate the Value of Your Finished Content

After content in written, reviewed and edited, it is important to put it through one last check, a value check. Go back to your templates and make sure all the information the client provided you with is included. Make sure that any keywords are included and flow with the content.

Make sure that every point that was touched on in the initial interview has been covered.  In other words, simply ask yourself if you have highlighted the unique nature of the client’s business and have created consumer-friendly, informative content that will keep a consumer interested and answer the call to action.

Increasing the value of your content requires organization and dedication to your client as well as the products or services they offer. By providing valuable content you will offer an invaluable tool for success for both clients and yourself.

The post 5 Ways to Ensure You Are Writing Valuable Content appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

He was referring to the demand curve explained by this infographic:

The Biggest, Yet Least Competitive Part of Search

Long tail searches work together with head searches to bring traffic to your site. For a website that follows the stock market, the search “Good Stocks” would be a top search and “Good Social Media Stocks With Profits” would be a long tail search.

There is a greater chance that someone will find your site with a longer search. Creating content that incorporates both head and long tail search keywords brings increased search engine visibility to all websites instantly.

Long tail searches feature less competition and incorporating long tail keywords into content is an inexpensive way to increase the earning potential of any business by simply better utilizing resources, which already exist.

The Internet makes many niche businesses, which were impossible due to limited demand, not only profitable and feasible, but highly desirable. Long tail items, which were too obscure to be stocked by traditional retailers find buyers on the Internet. In fact, 70% of Internet search traffic is comprised of searches, which are considered long tail.

Furthermore, the fastest growing segment of search is for  longer searches. In general terms, long tail searches tend to convert to paying customers or returning visitors at a higher rate than head searches. Consumers tend to search with longer terms when they are closer to making a purchasing decision.

Think About Questions Your Customers Ask

If you offer guitar lessons in Detroit, Michigan, publishing a great website with copy describing that you offer guitar lessons, are experienced in rock and blues, are available seven days a week and have 20 years of experience will be missed by many searches unless you mention that you are located in Detroit, Michigan as well.

Most people searching for guitar lessons would specify a location. For people interested in buying insurance, the search “insurance” would be a top search, while “home insurance in Denver, Colorado” would be a related long tailed search.

Research search terms customers are using to find your website now and expand on those. Build long tailed versions of the head keywords, which bring visitors to your site. The longer and more diverse the trail of long tailed keywords that are left for potential visitors on the web, the greater the potential they will visit you site and convert to paying customers, subscribers or returning visitors.

The post Long Tail Keywords: What They Are and How To Use Them appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Fre.sh

This free website application will allow you to track what is trending on the internet. Use this resource to keep your marketing blogs fresh with trending topics.

Topsy

Topsy is similar to Fre.sh, except that is searches social media sites for trending content. This resource is better used to keep your social media campaigns engaging.

Piktochart

Infographics are an effective way to increase engagement of your content marketing. Piktochart is one of the best online resources for making high quality infographics.

Many Eyes

Many Eyes offers the ability to make a plethora of charts or graphs. This isn’t as flexible a tool as Piktochart, but it is a better tool if you only want to analyze data.

Social Crawlytics

This is a critical tool for any business in a competitive market. It will automatically search competitor websites and reveal what content they are sharing. Use this tool to avoid getting left behind the competition.

Visual Thesaurus

Visual Thesaurus is a great resource for updating your blog. It provides word chains to help inspire new ideas that are conceptually linked to previous content.

Memegenerator

Memes are one of the most effective ways to creating an engaging message on social media. Use this simple tool to create interesting memes that will market your content.

Wikimedia Commons

Visual content helps improve engagement with your audience, while lowering your bounce statistic. Wikimedia Commons is the best source of free pictures on the internet.

Icon Monstr

Sometimes a digital icon makes a better impression than a picture. When you want to add an icon to your marketing content, Icon Monstr has thousands available.

Polar

Polar allows you to easily add polling to social media marketing campaigns. It works best with Google+, since the company just partnered with Google, but is effective for almost any social media.

The post Are You Missing Out on these Content Marketing Resources? appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

1. Speling and Grammer are Important

Customers are turned off by pour spelling and grammar. Unless u r tweeting. don’t use single letters or numbers 4 words either.

2. Revise Old Content

If you have a static web page that was written more than three years ago, revise it. SEO standards have changed a lot during that time. A revision that takes into account the content driven standards, as opposed to the old keyword driven standards, will improve your search engine rankings.

3. Update Regularly

Customers don’t want to receive spam, but if they like your product or brand, they do appreciate regular updates on important changes or new products. Use an email newsletter to provide updates to keep your customers engaged.

4. Maintain a Blog

Blogging is another great way to offer up to date information. A blog is a good place to include smaller news than the information you put in a newsletter. This lets interested customers be informed without being pushy.

5. Consistent Voice

If you hire content writing from a writing service, try to acquire the services of a single writer, or just a small team. This will create a consistent voice, which makes your content marketing more effective.

6. Schedule Your Marketing

Create a calendar and schedule your marketing in advance. This assures that you are oversaturating or undersaturating your audience with content.

7. Plan for Mobile

The vast majority of your audience will interact with your content via a mobile device. Create content marketing that is mobile friendly.

8. Add Video to Your Content Marketing

As much as 85% of people on the internet visit YouTube every month. Video is simply a force that can’t be ignored. If you aren’t using video content in your marketing, resolve to add video in 2015.

9. Don’t Set Arbitrary Number Guidelines for Content

Arbitrary guidelines limit the quality of your writing, without adding value. For example, don’t decide that a list needs to have exactly 10 ideas, just because it is a commonly used number in lists. If you can only think of 9 things to say, but they are all really important things, then just be satisfied with that and post your list of “9 Important Things.”

The post Nine Content Writing Resolutions for 2015 appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Just find out what successful, insanely productive freelance writers are doing and do what they do. Don’t just read a blog or two.

Study their habits until you completely understand them, tell yourself you can do them too, and start incorporating the habits into your work life.

Seven must-know habits of successful freelance writers:

1. Build relationships –  John Corcoran advised freelancers to think strategically about business relationships in his article How Relationships Can Help You. Relationships established with editors, publishers and bloggers inevitably lead to more opportunities.

Therefore, don’t let relationships head to the graveyard after submitting an article. Keep them going by following-up.

2. Plan – If you don’t plan for success, plan on failure. Set aside a planning day for reviewing and goal setting. Sometimes, you have to ask yourself the hard question, are you working efficiently?

You won’t be able to lie to yourself if you create an action plan and measure your accomplishments.

3. Understand and practice sound marketing – Freelance Writer You must bring marketing and writing expertise to your assignments. Tom Ewer wrote in his article 15 Principles of Success, very few of his clients wanted him to just write great articles.

They also wanted promotion that fit into their overall marketing objectives. “They want to make sure that their online marketing strategy is sound,” Ewer stated. “They want their website to look good and convert well.”

4. Be a problem solver – The audience reading your copy is looking for a solution. If we do not know who our audience is and what its needs are, how can we ever present the best solution?

Beyond knowing our audience, we cannot forget about the client. Ask yourself, who is the client really, what is his or her need and what problem is being solved.

5. Think, “I am a business” – Dave Cohen reminded readers of The Guardian, even though Giant Conglomerate International used to be an employer, now that they are freelancing Giant Conglomerate International is definitely competition. In order to be successful, freelance writers have to do whatever it takes to get their names and businesses known.

Starting out being afraid to ask for work is normal. However, every time you get out there and talk proudly about yourself, you overcome that fear. When the day comes you’ve finally built a relationship with a potential client, kill the fear and ask for the job.

6. Train and learn – While a four year degree may drown you in debt, oftentimes courses to enhance your expertise are no more than a hundred bucks. Enroll. Do whatever it takes to become an expert in your field knowing in the long run your knowledge and extra training will increase your pay.

You might even find free online course that can help you develop. Check out Teaching Guide for a list of free Udemy courses available, along with suggestions for some great paid courses.

7. Pay your taxes – Once you really start earning, Uncle Sam will soon come knocking. Be prepared for the unwanted, but annual holiday visit by setting aside a certain amount of each pay check.

Of course this list is not exhaustive. If you are a freelancer, whether just starting out or not, please comment below.

The post 7 Habits of Insanely Productive Freelance Writers appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Here are some key areas you can investigate to unlock compelling threads that are engaging as your story unfolds.

Topics

Discover the interests of your audience. A quick scroll among your followers will reveal repeated terms. Identify top keywords used to engage with your brand.

Consider looking at areas of influence on Klout.  And take a look at the competition, how are they talking about their brand? What are their customers and fans talking about?

This can help you distinguish yourself, recognize important attributes that bring a customer to your brand rather than to a competitor.  Grab on.

Follow the topic as it relates to your product and as it extends in other areas. Have fun with it—even topics that are “unspeakable” can be addressed in a tale or two. Consider the antics of PooPourri.

Trends

Capitalize on the trends. Seasons. Holidays. Events. News. Fashion. Sports. There’s an opportunity to hook your brand story on to what’s happening—as appropriate and applicable—and continue to unfold your story as it relates to current events and timely happenings.

When you hook onto a trending concept with your product or offer, you gain awareness among those interested in the trend while staying relevant with your message.

For instance, take a look at the Dough Boy taking the the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Many brands participated in the trending event.

Themes

Develop content themes based on trends and topics relative to the goals of your company and your customers. Find the most universal theme to carry your story to the widest relevant audience.

For instance, happiness. Show how your product inspires and spreads joy. And then, tell it like it is—with pizazz. Make it memorable. Here is where creativity conquers.

Get your audience involved in your story and you will have a life-long fan. A great example of this is the Dancing Guy who was sponsored by various brands, beginning with Stride Gum.

With this investigation into topics, trends, and themes, you can build tantalizing messages that unfold consistently while continuously telling the tale that is at the core of your brand.

The post The 3 T’s of Storytelling appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Whether you’re looking to attract new eyeballs to a site or keep the current audience happy, these tools can help you tackle the task with greater efficiency and purpose.

1. Flickr Creative Commons Search

A picture is worth a thousand words, and sometimes the cost of top-quality photography for a website does surpass the price of a thousand-word article too!

Savvy content producers are increasingly turning to the large array of options available through Flickr to populate their articles with compelling images.

It’s important for a website operator to maintain an ethical relationship with the larger community on the Internet, and when using images they should turn to licenses that permit them faithful and free use rather than appropriating images outside of copyright laws.

With the Creative Commons Search feature on Flickr , a site owner can quickly find superb images available for free use in return for attribution and a backlink.

2. Quickly Create Infographics with Easel.ly

Website visitors love to look at and share infographics, and the website Easel.ly allows you to quickly put together sharp-looking and informative images that audiences will enjoy. The site includes easy-to-use templates that allow anyone to snap together visuals in a jiffy.

3. Keep Up with Social Media Using Storify

Content creators are increasingly turning to social media as a starting point for new articles and to understand general trends about what users love. Storify allows a website operator to develop a better sense of what’s currently popular in the social media zeitgeist.

4. Google Fonts

Creating compelling content is one thing, but presenting it in an engaging fashion with professional typography that draws readers in can be quite another problem.

Modern web fonts allow content creators more options than ever before to produce good-looking and compelling websites, and one of the best places to start is with fonts from Google’s repository.

Google Fonts allows site owners to search through tons of freely available typefaces and find something that’s well-suited to their goals.

The post Christmas Present: Free Content Creation Tools! appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The directness of this type of sales pitch can lead website owners to neglect the written copy that’s present on a page to the detriment of both the visitor and the site. Placing a greater emphasis on content writing can help a site leverage its landing pages to greater effect.

More Than a Headline

One of the most common problems on landing pages is an excessive dependence on headlines. It’s easy to reduce the process of building a landing page to an artless and scientific process that simply assumes the visitor will follow the steps from A to B to C.

Unfortunately for site operators, the modern website visitor is often a skeptical sort, and it’s important to build the copywriting on a landing page into something more robust than a strong headline and a distinctive product photo.

What Makes Good Copy?

Content writing on a landing page needs to service the basic list of goals that should be expected of any direct marketing effort. A landing page ought to:

• Be concise and purposeful
• Clearly state benefits
• Deliver strong proof of claims
• Make a call to action
• Permit follow-through

A landing page has to do a lot of work during the limited time that a visitor allows. More than other types of writing for the web, landing page copy needs to be geared toward real people.

Website operators should consider finding a writer through a copywriting service in order to achieve professional results.

ALSO – What is Copywriting?

In fact, working with multiple writers can allow a site’s operators to conduct extensive A/B testing and see what appeals and styles work best to direct visitors toward a particular action.

What to Expect

Professional content writing for landing pages should be a form of direct marketing. Remember that every product page on the web is direct and unapologetic.

Solid copywriting on a landing page should get to the point, explain the benefits of a product or service and allow the visitor to figure out what the next step might be toward taking the desired action.

The post How to Write Killer Content for Landing Pages appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

If a person was looking for content marketing tips before the Google Panda update, the most likely response would be: more external links.

But the Google search engine has become more sophisticated with the Panda update, now more effectively judging the quality and content of your external links. In this new reality, you need to modify and update your link building techniques in order to market your content more effectively.

The Problems with Automated Link Building

Automated link building is effectively the shotgun approach to link building. You fire hundreds of virtual “bullets” into the internet and hope that a few of them hit. And while this does result in external links for you content, it does nothing to assure those links will actually improve the SEO of your website.

In fact, one of the major ways that the Panda update changed content marketing is that it is now possible for an external link to decrease the SEO of your website, if that link is to a site that has no meaningful connection to your site or is a link farm.

Since the traditional automated link building methods can now potentially hurt the SEO of the content you are marketing, these techniques must be discarded completely.

Conduct Human Link Building

In today’s environment, the best answer to that hypothetical person’s question about content marketing tips is: content appropriate external links. While the full extent of the Panda update is still something of a mystery, some things have become very clear.

First, meaningful content is critical to good SEO. One of the main ways Google confirms that content is meaningful is by comparing site content of external links. If they are related, then the content is more likely to be useful to readers.

Additionally, external links from highly rated site improves the rating of your site. What this means when link building is you want links from sites with high quality, appropriate content.

Instead of spamming for links, take a personal approach. This means that you need to offer unique and specialized content to your link partners and should send personalized queries. This is more time consuming, but like the parable of the turtle and the hare, slow and steady actually wins this race.

The post Content Marketing Tips: How to Conduct Human Link Building appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Determining why some emails are opened while others are sent directly to the trash heap is a content marketers bane – but it is something that has been figured out and mastered. When writing meets email marketing, a perfect email is born, with increased open rates and even higher conversions.

1. Begin at the Beginning

The subject line is the first stop for all email recipients. It must catch the reader’s attention and be enticing enough to push the reader toward the “open” button. The subject line has only two jobs; get the email opened and make an implication as to the main point in the email.

Basically, the subject line is a one-line summary for the full email, or, a thesis statement.

2. Keep It Simple

Marketers know what writers quickly forget – the average attention span is approximately five seconds.  Additionally, most emails are read on mobile devices.

Many people don’t want to scroll through lengthy emails to get the point of the pitch. Keep the message to the point and short, remembering bullet points, which help readers scan for main points faster.

3. Answer It All

While the message must be short, it must also contain all five “W’s” – who, what, why, where, and when. Follow up with a “how”, or, the call to action. Make sure the call to action is clear and precise.

Any time sensitive requests must be accompanied by a date, but do not create a false sense of urgency. Shorter sentences typically work to fulfill both the required shorter length and the answers to the five “W’s”.

4. Personable Emails Can Go Too Far

While an email should be personal, it must also be professional. There is a happy balance, and it falls in the formality of the words. This is your chance to shine and pull the recipient into the call to action; read through the email a few times to ensure the tone is correct for the recipient.

Additionally, use words that are on par with the reader. If the email is too hard to understand, it won’t be answered. Similarly, if it is too lazy in its vocabulary, it will also be ignored.

Get a second opinion, if necessary, to make sure the email is written for its audience.

5. Bring P.S. Back

The P.S. at the end of a letter is a marketing attention-grabbing idea. Marketers should begin integrating this idea into marketing emails, simply because humans tend to remember the last line read.

The P.S. might be a reminder toward the call to action.

The post Email Marketing – 5 Ways to Get Your Emails Read appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Content marketing has become married to storytelling; as writers and marketers have quickly discovered.

As marketers begin to nurture a closer relationship with writers, the two are beginning to learn from each other. The lessons exchanged from a fiction writer to a content marketer is one that should not be taken lightly.

Use Suspense

It is a marketer's nature, and necessity, to be data driven individuals. Mysteries don't work for the marketer, who must know how content is pushing sales RIGHT NOW.

The fiction writer can see the issue with this mindset right away. Content marketing has become a storyteller's world, and what holds a reader's attention better than suspense? Holding the answers until the end may drive a marketer crazy, but it really is necessary if the reader is to be taken through the whole text before reacting.

This Isn't Show and Tell – It's All Show

Marketers are far too used to telling customers what to do and when to do it. Fiction writers tend to use words to create a mental image.

It's become necessary to lean more toward that mental picture than toward telling customers what to think. Marketing has been plunged into a customer-centric world, and those customers can no longer be told what to do or what to think. It's far too easy to go to a business that helps them imagine how the product will make their life better.

That's what the story is for – and that's why marketers need to use words to show off product advantages rather than tell a customer how to feel.

Use a Central Conflict

What story does not have a conflict? If there were no conflict, there would be no end resolution, and no reason for the reader to continue reading.

Engage readers by presenting a conflict in content writing, such as a problem faced by a customer that can be solved by the product in question. Use conflict lightly, but make sure it's there, to keep the reader holding on to the call to action.

Love Your Writing

Fiction writers don't tend to stray out of their genre, and there's a reason for that – they're writing what they love. Sticking with the genre that works for the product being marketed is always the best course to keep readers engaged.

When writers, or content marketers, stray, the writing turns into an unsure piece that no one wants to read. If the product or service is in an unfamilar category, it's always a good idea to hire someone else in that field to write the content.

What content marketing tips have you heard that have helped you out? Let us know in the comments below!

The post A Few Lessons for Content Marketers, from Fiction Writers appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

I’m currently in the process of writing my first novel, and so writing and the idea of how to create interesting and engaging literature – both fiction and non-fiction (such as marketing material) has been bouncing about in my head a lot!

After much brainstorming and consideration of the experience I have – as a fiction writer, an academic and an experienced trainer in customer service and educational roles – I decided to share a few points here; these would be the key points that I find useful when approaching writing.

I know that there is so much more to writing than these, but when I first approach content, these are usually my key points to consider.

Choose Your Style and Tone!

If you have a specific target audience, tailor your linguistic style to them – in the case of marketing a product, you wouldn’t normally use formal language to promote one that is aimed at a younger audience.

Similarly, you might want to be more formal with older, more professional markets, but always make sure that your content is striking and engages with them.

Social Media Examiner  is a blog that focuses on social media, and the choice of language and tone clearly suits a more tech-savvy, younger audience. The focus on apps such as Instagram clearly appeals to a younger generation than the older (retired) audiences who surf the Internet.

Be Imaginative

Being generic is boring, regardless of the market and product. Be creative and bold, to make your work stand out.

Heidi Cohen’s blog  is focused on general marketing, however it shows a flair and dynamic approach. She uses a colourful approach with social media links throughout, such as Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook.

Utilising social media can make the blog much more than just a page with writing on it; with so many different platforms available online now, you have a much wider audience; why neglect the opportunity to integrate this into your content?

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

There are few things in life that put me off a piece of writing – whether it be a novel, a pamphlet or an advert for a product – than poor spelling, punctuation and grammar.

As someone who has worked in education, I do understand that learning difficulties affect writers, yet (without hopefully insulting anyone) I feel not taking the time to spell check with an online checker at the very least is a sign of not taking care.

I personally would gladly proof-read for free!

Be Disciplined

If you are hired to do a job, or you set yourself a goal to write a certain amount, then stick to the deadline.

It’s admittedly difficult at times, but getting into the habit quickly can ensure that you don’t miss deadlines.

In addition to this,  you won’t get a negative reputation for not delivering on promises.

Looking to the Future

With social media gaining an ever-stronger foothold in the lives of so many, the opportunity to engage and inspire a larger audience grows daily.

With that in mind, what other ideas have writers here developed to reach out to readers? Does social media improve their writing experience, or impair it? I would be interested to read what others think.

The post How to Engage with Your Audience: A Writer’s Perspective appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Looking for new ways to improve the quality of your marketing content? There are literally hundreds of online content writer tools and applications that can help you.

The following top ten content writer tools are the best digital options to help you improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your content marketing.

9. Google Calendar – This free, easy to use online tool lets you organize the release date of your content to avoid flood and famine marketing. A great addition to your content writer tools.

8. WordPress SEO by Yoast – If you have any difficulty with metadata tags on your WordPress articles, this tools will help you always pick the best tags for your content.

7. Tag Crowd – Tag Crowd creates a visual representation of your keyword density that allows you to judge how efficiently your content can be found by search engines.

6. Dropbox – Besides providing additional storage, this tool simplifies online collaboration with client or other writers when creating content marketing.

5. Piktochart – Infographics are both popular and effective in content marketing. This valuable application will have you creating your own in minutes.

4. Yahoo Style Guide – This is one of the best style guides available for content marketing because it was specifically designed for internet content, as opposed the AP Style Guide.

3. Keyword Planner – Keyword use is much like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You don’t want too little or too much. You want it just right. This tool is ideal for your needs.

2. Brainy Quote – An on point quote will make your marketing more memorable and memorable marketing sells better. This tool will help you find famous quotes quickly.

1. Thesaurus.com – Your audience will bore quickly if you call a product “amazing” more than twice. Use this website to call it “fascinating,” “incredible,” “marvelous,” and “prodigious.”

The post Top 9 Tools Needed to Master Writing Quality Content appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Despite what you might think, you don’t sell products.

That’s right, you don’t – your unique product descriptions sell (or don’t sell) your products.

Chances are good that no matter what you’re trying to sell, somewhere on the Internet, there’s a competitor who has the exact same products that you do. Maybe the other guys have lower prices, cheaper shipping or a better return policy.

To keep pace with the competition, you need powerful, sales-focused product descriptions – strategic sets of carefully-crafted words that convert casual shoppers into paying customers. Here’s where you need to start:

1. Know Your Target Audience

Focusing your sales and marketing efforts requires knowledge – you need to know who your customers are, what’s important to them, what makes them tick. Mark Macdonald of Shopify.com states that “the best product descriptions address your ideal buyer directly and personally”.

Invest some up-front time on developing a buyer persona – a profile of your ideal (imaginary) customer. Write content that speaks to that person; use a tone and style that resonates with your buyers to distinguish your company from the competition.

2. Discuss The Features & Benefits

Customers want products that make “life easier, richer or more pleasurable”, says Henneke Duistermaat of Kissmetrics. When describing the features of your product (such as the color, size, compatibility) remember to let your readers know why these features are important – what’s in it for your buyer?

3. Don’t Be Boring

Internet users expect to be entertained, even while they’re shopping. When crafting your unique product descriptions, engage your readers using humor, empathy and nostalgia. Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to use predicable phrases and recycled content – that’s just plain boring.

Not much of a copywriter? No worries – you can always outsource your content creation to a professional writer. Just remember, when it comes to unique product descriptions, don’t just tell -sell!

The post 3 Essential Tips on Creating Product Descriptions That Turn Browsers Into Buyers appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

This is quite possibly the toughest question posed to online copywriters, because it’s hard to explain exactly what we do. When I respond to this question, I always say, “You know that stuff you read on your favorite store’s website? I write that.”

That’s when the deer-in-the-headlights look hits, and my conversation fades away.

What if, instead of that dry answer, I said, “I’m a storyteller”? In fact, that’s what I’m becoming – one of the Internet’s best storytellers, and I’m doing it because it’s necessary.

As copywriters, we need to convert to telling stories to keep our work relevant.

Consider further the salesperson trying to sell a television. Does he just tell you the brand and refer you to Google? No; he tells you a long drawn out story about all the cool things the television can do for you.

You hear all about how that television will make your life better. It’s a story, and it is what copywriters have been doing for a long time.

Businesses that don’t write and who don’t know how to write for their websites are beginning to tie sales, i.e. storytelling, to content marketing. Finally, clients are beginning to tie their content to storytelling, which leads to sales.

Copywriters must become storytellers, if they aren’t already, to fill this need rising in corporate America.

Add in the fact that many Americans have learned to tune out advertisements, and the necessity for storytelling copywriters becomes clearer. What gets the most shares and likes on social media? That’s right – stories.

It’s obvious what the public is asking for, and giving them what they want is how sales come in droves. When it’s this easy for customers to go elsewhere for services, businesses are forced to give them what they want.

The people want stories. They want something to read, share, and experience. Similar to face-to-face sales, stories are becoming necessary on the Internet.

Stories are how the company relates to the customer, pulls them in, and keeps them reading, then buying. The copywriter’s sales storytelling is the modern face-to-face sales pitch.

America is pulling out of the stores and pulling into their living rooms, where the convenience of shopping at home is much more tempting than talking to a salesperson.

Tell a story today. Convert some sales, and give the people what they want most. We’re all writers; we all have it in us to make the transition from dry sales pitch to storyteller. This transition is going to be easy compared to other transitions we’ve dealt with as copywriters, such as social media “updates”.

How are you changing your copywriting to fit client’s needs? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Tell A Story – Reasons Why Storytelling is On The Rise in Content Marketing appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The purpose of these short stories was to market her novels by introducing these characters a new audience and to maintaining the interest of her past audience.

While physical magazines are much less popular today, the principles behind this idea remain true. Short story publishing is an effective way to market your fiction novels.

Short Stories as Marketing

The best way to publish your short stories is on a blog dedicated to your fiction. This proves to your readers that the fiction you are writing is actually canon.

A blog also lets you easily provide links to your author bio and, more importantly, the novels you are marketing. When writing these stories, remember your audience.

You need to write stories that entice new readers and reward past readers for their loyalty. In general you should focus on your most engaging characters.

One difficulty you will need to deal with is bringing readers to your blog in the first place. The nice thing about writing short stories is that they practically advertise themselves.

Publish an excerpt of your story on popular fiction forums that discuss your genre of fiction, or even fanfiction.net, with a link directing readers to your blog page for the full story.

A good excerpt will draw traffic to your blog and a good story will earn sales for your novels.

Serial Writing to Expand Your Fictional World

In addition to one-shot short stories that paint a vignette about a character or piece of your fictional world, you can also engage in serial writing. This requires effort similar to writing a full length novel, but has the advantage of getting return traffic to your blog, which will increase your blog’s search engine ranking.

Since the purpose of serial writing is to drive sales of your novels, you want to avoid revealing too many major events of your novels. Weave the events of your serial story to the events of your novels in a way that augments and builds on them, without revealing them entirely.

Make sure to tell your audience, in a footnote, exactly what novel is being referenced.

For example:

The events depicted above tie into the events in chapter 14 of “Dancing with Penguins.”

This points the reader directly to where they can read more about the events described. When your reader sees the major the serial content is tied into your novels, they are likely to have an interest in purchasing those novels.

The post Using Your Blog to Market Your Fiction Novels appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Even though the numbers you see in front of you may be low, there are others who are paying attention to your social media activity; namely, Google and Bing.

Both search engines use data streamed from social sites to decide how high your website should rank on their pages.

This means that, even though conversions may not be happening directly through social media, there's still an indirect connection between your sales and your social media activity.

So what is the true impact of social signals on your SEO ranking? Answering this question means understanding social signals as a ranking factor.

Direct ranking factors include the number of people who like the Facebook brand, number of Twitter followers, number of Facebook shares, number of people who have your business in their Google+ circles, and number of tweets related to your brand or website.

Indirect impact stems from an increase in inbound links and citations, an increase in positive reviews, and a decrease in bounce rates mixed with more time spent on a site and more repeat visitors to your site.

Direct and Indirect Signals Picked Up by Google and Bing

It's easy to see why business owners would grow frustrated with the required maintenance to social media, which does not bring immediate results. The direct and indirect results above have one thing in common; they take time to get results.

When a business owner doesn't feel that time is a luxury, the social media marketing strategy quickly becomes a nuisance.

However, if Google and Bing are paying attention, then so shall you. One of the biggest rules in sales right now is to follow the Google and Bing rules. If the top two search engine companies are paying attention to your social media page, and are using that activity to help rank your website, it only makes sense that you follow suit.

Keep Up the Good Work

While maintaining social media is tedious work that doesn't seem to pay off quickly, it is necessary work. Think of social media signals as a small investment made today that will pay off in a few months.

Businesses worldwide are striving to learn how their website can make the first page. Social signals are an investment that will get your website on the first page of both Google and Bing.

The post The Real Impact of Social Signals appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “You can find anything on the internet.” It does seem true. No matter what you’re seeking, you can more than likely find it on the world wide web.

This has opened up opportunities for businesses to greatly expand the way they reach consumers.

We have officially entered the era of internet marketing.

Creating Personalized Content

My first full time gig as a freelance writer started over a year ago when I barely knew what I was doing. I had no idea how to build my brand or even what my next step should be.

Since then, thankfully, I’ve learned a great deal. I learned that information doesn’t always have to be linear. If you’re trying to get from point A to point B a straight line isn’t always the best path.

If you’re in the market to write web content try to remember the following tips:

• Make it Fun– If your content is boring, no one is going to read it, even if the information is important.
• Write from Experience– Your life is amazing, try to remember that and add it to you’re writing. If your audience knows you’ve been down the same road, they’re more likely to continue reading.
• Less Fluff– Especially when writing SEO content, make your material original. No one wants to read, visit your favorite shop (insert name here) over and over again.
• Never Stop Learning– Whether you’re just starting out, or you’re an old pro; never stop refining your craft. There is always something to learn, some way you can improve each and every time.

My “Ah-Ha” Moment

My Ah-Ha moment came when my editor told me I needed to make my articles more lively, more entertaining, or she’d have to find someone else to fill my spot.

If that’s not motivation I don’t know what is. I learned over the following weekend that every piece of content answers one of the five questions we learn in grade school: Who, What, When, Where and/or How.

However, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun to learn. I found that by interspersing my own experiences with the products and services I was writing about it was not only easier to reach my given word count, but my articles were much more personable.

I liked reading what I wrote and I found that others enjoyed it as well. This boosted not only the business traffic to given websites, but also my own ability to gain future and reoccurring clients.

Pay It Forward

Even as I write this, I find myself learning new things, like how to create a proper hyperlink. It’s been a thorn in my side to say the least. However, here are a few blogs, in hyperlink, that I found helpful and spot on for today’s content writers.

Brand Fans: This blog totes the effectiveness of word-of-mouth, or word advertisement.

Getting Started: This blog is perfect for the beginning content marketing writer. It’ll splash your feet a little bit, so that getting them wet the first time won’t be so scary.

Audience Matters: I found this blog extremely helpful in understanding my audience. Writing for the right audience is probably the most important factor in content marketing strategy.

The post Creating Personalized Web Content: A Writer’s Perspective appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

• Provide valuable information about current events and how they affect your company
• Present new ideas that encourage open discussion
• Educate readers about new research findings

As a white paper writer, you may feel overwhelmed with the amount of time and research that goes into creating a document that is worth reading. By using information that you already have on hand, you can efficiently create a white paper that will set you apart as an expert in your field.

Keep reading to discover five time-saving tips for writing your next white paper.

Create an Outline

When efficiency is the objective, taking the time to create an outline can seem counterproductive. However, this pre-writing step allows you to hone your focus and organize the layout. This will save you time by allowing you to quickly write your first draft.

Mirror Your Editorial Calendar

An editorial calendar is a great tool for strategically planning your content and reducing stress. However, as Roanne Neuwirth of Content Marketing Institute suggests, editorial calendars can also provide an outline for your white paper. Use your white paper to tell your readers what to expect from upcoming blog posts, newsletters or videos.

Use Your Knowledge of Your Customers

If you have a strong social media presence, you have already had the opportunity to discover what topics resonate with your audience. Use the research you have already gathered to create a white paper that will interest your readers.

Repurpose Your Content

As a white paper writer, you likely already have all the information you need for an effective white paper. Use the information you have already gleaned for infographics, blog posts and product descriptions to quickly create an information-rich white paper.

Keep Moving Forward

Once you have gathered the necessary information and created an outline, it’s time to begin writing. While you want your first draft to be as smooth as possible, getting hung up on perfection will slow you down. As Ann Handley, the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs advises, one key to efficiency is embracing the ugly first draft. After all of your thoughts are committed to writing, you will have time to polish the white paper before sending it on its way.

Writing a white paper does not have to be time-consuming. By using the information you already have on hand, you can quickly create a piece that will bring value to your readers.

The post 5 Time-saving Tips for White Paper Writers appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Press releases have been a cornerstone of public relations since their inception nearly a century ago. While they have always received a great deal of criticism, they remain one of the most effective tried and true ways to produce results.

As a press release writer, you have the responsibility of creating awareness of a new product or service. As Wendy Marx of Marx Communications explains, a press release should answer five basic questions: Who, What, When, Where and Why.

A well-written press release is compelling, scannable and offers the reader everything they need to know upfront. Whether you are writing a press release or are purchasing one from a professional press release writer, there are basic guidelines to follow.

Read on to learn about how to write a press release that will stand out.

The Elements of an Effective Press Release

The tone may vary depending on the purpose of the business and the length is subjective according to its needs, but every press release follows a basic format.

The Headline and Subhead

The headline is the reader’s first impression of the press release. It should accurately explain the purpose of the press release, while compelling the reader to continue reading. Proper formatting dictates that the headline is written in bold font, while the subhead is italicized.

The Body

The body of the press release should be as concise as possible, while still covering the pertinent information. Your target audience, who in this case is the media, is unlikely to spend more than a couple minutes reading over the press release.

The first line of the body should include the city of the press release’s origin, as well as its release date. A press release writer should include all the important information in the first paragraph of the press release. The details of the announcement can be further expounded upon in the following paragraphs, but the reader should have quick access to the essentials.

While the press release should be factual, this does not mean it needs to be dry. Incorporating a quote from an authoritative figure regarding the announcement will bring color and interest to the piece.

The Press Release: An Important Aspect of Your Marketing Strategy

As Heidi Cohen states, a press release alone is not enough to ensure the success of your business. However, when integrated with the other aspects of your marketing strategy, it can be effective in driving your campaign.

The post What Every Press Release Writer Must Know appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Before the written word, verbal history was handed down generation after generation.

Even in our day of over stimulation and information overload, there is something about engaging the imagination of your reader that will endear them to you.

If you can capture their imagination, their heart, you will gain their respect and when they like you and trust you, they will buy from you.

Story telling is both an art and a science. For web content creators, this means there is an opportunity to learn how make this work for you in practical ways by touching the heart and imagination of your intended target.

Sometimes the value added is the entertainment and inspiration given. It makes them want more. It endears your audience to you. Create a brand with storytelling.

Taking your brand and telling a story to your audience that will help them remember you is where the rubber hits the road.

How to make story telling work for you

The best advertisements tell a story. Being able to get that story heard and shared is the key. Memorable stories will outlast any other form of advertising, hands down.

What your readers or audience will remember is the feeling or ideas that will ‘stick’ with them when they are considering the product or service that you provide.

Keep the story relevant to your audience and relate it to your product/service.

The use of social media today gives as many opportunities to tell you story as it does challenges to be heard. Every opportunity you get to tell your story, take it!

Remember, facts tell stories SELL! Keep in mind your audience, if you are speaking to conservative businessmen versus a group of teenagers on the topic of gaming ~ you’ll want to tell your story a bit differently to each group!

Storytelling can be a great web content resource, provide material that will quickly impart your knowledge, all the while exposing your expertise and willingness to share yourself with your audience.

It endears you to them and more quickly imparts the advantages of your service or product to your intended audience faster and will last longer than telling facts alone.

The post Web Content Resources: How to Tell a Story appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The Internet holds a wealth of information on becoming a better writer, and it’s true that writing is a very personal journey.

What works for you may not work for your writer friend. However, there are a few general tips that will propel every writer from good to great.

1. Don’t Edit First

Avoid editing while you’re writing your first draft of anything. Creating is a process that should be nursed, editing is a completely different part of the job.

You wouldn’t put the bread down before the plate, would you? Look at editing as a completely separate process from the creation part of your work.

If this is difficult, try turning off the monitor and just typing. This trick is great for those of us who are too tempted to edit while writing.

2. Keep It Up

Every writer should be writing every single day, for at least 30 minutes at a time. Ideas come faster and the craft becomes honed through daily practice.

Just as you would make time to eat, make time to create anything, even if it will never leave your computer hard drive.

3. Seek Criticism

We’re serious about this one. Look for those that would criticize your work honestly, because strangers will be much harsher. Never let a criticism deter you from writing; simply use it to improve your craft.

No one is perfect, and our goal as writers is to continuously improve ourselves. Criticism is one of the best ways to do this.

4. Too Many Words

Watch the number of words in every sentence. There should be no unnecessary words. Again, ask the critic if the piece is too wordy. As with other forms of art, too many words deters a reader and loses audiences.

5. Read

Read successful fiction and non-fiction authors to find out what they’re doing. What is their style? What is their story? How do they sell all those books every year?

Learn from those who have been there.

6. Pick Up the Habits of Others

Find out how successful writers work, then adopt their habits. If they network, you should network. If they designate a time every day for their craft, so shall you.

Adopt their good habits to develop some of your own.

7. Be Realistic

Follow a realistic writing schedule. You’ll never succeed if you can’t create a time every day to write, and you’ll burn out if you try to write when the timing is wrong.

Find a time when no one else will bother you, and when you can realistically concentrate on your ideas.

8. No Lingo

Be cautious of expressions and slang, unless the writing calls for it. Try to avoid sayings that have been grossly overused in society, and avoid slang completely for any serious pieces of work.

9. Get a Coach

While it can be pricey, getting a coach or writing instructor will be the editor, mentor and critic rolled into one. Many successful writers have done it, and many continue to seek peer advice.

10. Edit Older Pieces

Editing older pieces is a valuable place to review what you don’t want to repeat. You’ll also see where your writing has gone and how good you’ve become at your craft. Don’t be afraid to redo those old pieces as often as you can.

Do you have any tips to become a better writer?

The post 10 Tips to Become a Better Writer Today appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

I have made the rounds in online writing circles, and, at one time or another, my work has appeared on almost every content writing site out there.

I spent almost two years writing home improvement how-tos, and earned a pretty good living at it. Although they took down my bylines, a big chunk of main how-to sites were my work. Ha. So, when I say Crowd Content is refreshing, I know whereof I speak.

When I first took a look at Crowd Content, I wasn’t too sure if I really wanted to enroll as a writer. After all, rates are a little lower than I like, and the work seems a little slim, at least at the bottom of the stack, but all in all, my experience has been incredibly positive!

Here are five things I have learned, and I am sure there is so much more to come!

1. Work Goes Quick!

I have found that by the time I even see the email listing the projects that have been added at my quality level, it is probably too late. I did manage to pick one plum $20 blog post the other day, but with a limit of one, it’s pretty tough competition!

2. The Crowd Content Site Is One of the Most User Friendly Writer Interfaces I Have yet to Use

This is the first piece I have actually composed inside the writing interface, but it seems effective and simple. I like the fact that it is one big word processing window, instead of a series of dialog boxes, each with their own failure rate.

The profile, job center, and community sections are well laid out and easy to navigate. Things seem to be in a logical place, and everything is grouped well. A few sites I have worked for were built like an old house, with pages added on creating pools of duplicate and similar content that were hard to navigate when you needed information. 

3. Getting Input Direct From the Client is Nice

While I have to admit that I learned more from the editors at my first full time article gig, getting direction straight from the end user is much better.

Many of the editors on other systems are highly inconsistent, and although they say they get articles at random, once one does not like you, it’s hard to win them back.

I really like being treated like a professional, after all, I do have my own clients, as I am sure most of you do as well.

4. Transparency in the Ratings System

Crowd Content has done several things right, and, in my opinion, one of them is their ratings system.

While I am sure there are intricacies that I have yet to appreciate, the idea that producing a certain number of pieces at a certain quality level will gain you a raise in rates is great!

Most other systems I have come across have a fair amount of mystery involved in who gets the “good stuff”. They always claim it is for excellence in writing, but after turning in, and getting paid for, hundreds of assignments in a row with no corrections, one has to wonder.

5. Validation and Community Are Important

I had been out of the saddle for a while. I spent about twenty years as a carpenter, and every now and then when writing work gets slow, I pick up my hammer and go back to work. So, even though I am a seasoned veteran, I was understandably nervous about turning in my first assignment. It turned out great. The client’s request was clear and concise, the research went well, and the assignment was accepted with no problems. It was nice to know that I still got it.

I haven’t spent much time in the community forums yet, but I like what I see so far. All in all, I have enjoyed my first week here, and as a side line, I think I will enjoy adding assignments from Crowd Content to my work flow.

The post 5 Things I Have Learned as a Writer in My First Week at Crowd Content appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Use these tips to help make your freelance career is on the right track to success.

1. Make a Business Plan

The first step you should make as a freelance writer is to make a business plan. You may have all these ideas in your head of what you’d like to achieve, or what you’d like your business to be, so get them down on paper. Having an official plan is a great way to measure milestones down the road, and periodically assess where you’re at.

2. Plan Your Days

Always have the upcoming weeks planned out. Being organized helps your freelance business run smoothly and ensures that nothing slips through the cracks. Being organized and planning things out becomes important, especially with multiple clients.

3. Use Free Software

Depending what you are doing as a freelancer, all costs for your business fall to you, which can become expensive. If you’re just starting out and don’t have clients to make up for your business spending, it may seem overwhelming at first. There’s a lot of free software for all your business needs that can help you get started, and keep money in your pocket.

4. Be Professional

As a freelance writer, first impressions aren’t the only impressions that last. Being professional to clients and potential clients will create a positive image for you and your business.

5. Make a Website and Use Social Media

Social media helps connect you to potential and current clients, and keeps you in the loop. Making a blog or a website helps boost your professionalism, and gives clients a place to see your contact information. It also gives you a place to post testimonials that could lead potential clients to you.

6. Learn to Say No

Once your services become requested more, learn to say no to potential new clients if you don’t have the time to give them 100%. Taking on more than you can handle could wear you down. Taking on work you can’t handle can also cause a stir and gie you a bad reputation if not completed on time.

7. Get Allies

Everyone you meet has the potential to be a great contact, client, or advertisement. Build connections with everyone you meet, because word of mouth spreads and brings in new business.

8. Work When You’re at Work

Make a schedule and stick to it. Create work hours and make sure that all personal matters are taken care of after your work hours are over. Answering personal calls/emails, running errands, or taking frequent breaks while working could cause things to slip through the cracks.

9. Ask for Feedback

Being your own boss means that you don’t get constructive criticism from a boss or manager. Ask clients for their opinions on your services. Doing so gives you the opportunity to see what you’re doing right, and where you could improve.

The post 9 Steps to a Promising Freelance Career appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Ironically, one of the worst parts of being a writer is that you no longer go to work. You to stay at home.

This may sound contradictory, but in reality, it’s not. Working from home requires some major adjustments both from yourself, and from those around you.

Discipline Yourself

The first major issue that you will have to deal with is the idea that “at home” is synonymous with “off work”.

To many, the draw of the television, the telephone, or latest video game can be strong. However, remember that just like in any other job, as a writer if you don’t work, you don’t get paid.

It is best to set yourself a regular schedule and adhere to it. It doesn’t mean that you can’t take advantage of the freedom that writing at home brings. It just means you have to have a little discipline.

Family and Friends

This is where life gets complicated. Spouses have a tendency to feel that, since you are at home, you are free to take care of the laundry, run errands, and clean the house.

Your friends may feel that, since you are at home, you can drop everything to chat on the phone or that it is OK for them to drop by for a visit.

Solutions

Everyone has to find a balance and their own path in dealing with the issues that arise when working at home, but here are a few pointers that might help.

• Establish your own workspace. It can be a card table, but make it clear that this is a work area. It is not for kids coloring books or craft projects. It is your office.
• Establish the expectation that  when you are in your workspace, you are working.
• Turn off personal phones (including cells). If you need a business phone, get a separate line. Shocking as it may be, no one is going to die from not being able to reach you every minute of the day.

Writing can be a very rewarding career, but it can also be very challenging. There is nothing worse than being on a roll, where the words are flowing and have your train of thought disrupted. It can cause instant writers block.

To prevent this, always remember that work is work and play is play. Treat your writing business as a business. If you wouldn’t allow it in an outside office, don’t allow it in your home office.

What is your biggest challenge of working from home? Do you have any suggestions for other writers?

The post The Challenges of Writing at Home appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The goal of any SEO campaign should be to draw the most direct line possible between a person’s discovery of a website and that individual acting in a fashion that’s consistent with the site’s goals.

Whether you’re trying to raise money for a small non-profit organization or build the next billion dollar website, here are a few factors to keep in mind along the way.

Know Your Keywords

One of the first steps in any SEO content creation effort should be to set up analytics for the website in question.

The Google Analytics platform allows you to look at a wide range of information about the people who are visiting your site. You can easily find data about the keywords that are bringing people to your site.

The platform even tells you whether the traffic is coming from organic search, paid search or social media!

You should focus on the traffic that’s coming from organic search and social media in order to tailor your pages toward content that has a demonstrated appeal to your audience.

Check Your Bounce Rate

Google Analytics also allows website owners to check how many people take one look at a website and leave, a concept that’s known as a site’s bounce rate.

If a site is experiencing a high bounce rate, then you can bet that visitors aren’t sticking around long enough to feel inspired to do anything.

While knowing this doesn’t help you build inspiring content, it does provide an early warning that your efforts might be falling short of your goals.

Inspired Writing

Has a reader found your website and decided to see what it has to offer? That’s great, but now you need to be sure that your site’s writing nudges that person to do more.

Your goal is to produce high-quality and relevant SEO content that the reader will love. The content should focus on topics that matter to the reader. It should also inspire readers to action rather than presenting them with a dry or direct sales pitch.

The post Creating SEO Content That Inspires Action appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Search engines tend to prioritize web pages with oodles of engaging write-ups. Due to this fact, many members of the SEO blogging community take the opportunity to optimize their content by targeting specific keywords in order to help their web addresses climb to the top of the SERP (Search Engine Results Pages).

Although targeting keywords in your web content is a proven method to generate more traffic, most people make the mistake of targeting keywords that are way outside of their reach, meaning too many other bloggers are focusing on the same term. This is where researching and using “long tail” keywords comes in.

Here are some tips on how you can use this type of optimization effectively.

What Does “Long Tail” Mean?

A long tail keyword can be any search term made up of three or more words. The end game of using long tail keywords is to target very specific searches and limit the amount of competition you have while doing so.

An example of this would be to focus on one specific term like “shoes”, and build descriptive phrase around that word. What type of shoes and what sizes are most suitable? If you add those answers into the mix, you’re now left with a search phrase that looks like “size seven woman’s shoes”.

By targeting specific terms like this, you lower the amount of searches you generate from each keyword phrase, but you will maximize the amount of conversions you receive since the content is relevant to what is being requested.

How to Research Long Tail Keywords

When you first start targeting longer keyword phrases, it can become a bit challenging to decide what the most practical terms are to use. Most SEO blogging professionals make use of keyword generation tools to help get them started.

There are a number to choose from, including Google Adwords, Market Samurai and Wordtracker to name a few. It will be a bit of trial and error to find the right search term that generates the most amount of traffic, but the extra time you spend finding these little gems will pay you back ten-fold.

Overall, choosing the right keywords to target in your content will be one of the most time consuming, yet important aspects of your SEO campaign. If you don’t put in enough research, you can exhaust your efforts and resources in targeting keywords that bring you little traffic.

However, by utilizing certain optimization tools and creating specific long tail keyword phrases, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you will begin to generate quality web traffic to your blog.

The post "Long Tail" SEO Blogging Tips to Generate More Traffic appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Two weeks ago, I asked the question, what is quality content?

In the article, we heard from four bona fide content marketing thought leaders. We also checked out some pre-existing research on the question and heard from you, the audience, in the comments section.

Overall, it was a great exercise. We heard some amazing answers giving insight on what the term quality content really means.

But we didn’t stop there. Last week, we asked the same question to 2,500 marketers at Content Marketing World – one of the largest and most respected content marketing conferences in the world.

The response from everyone in attendance was amazing! High profile marketers were digging deep to really explain what they believe quality content is.

I mean, sure, it probably helped that we were giving away some hip content marketing tee shirts in exchange for a comment, but the sincerity was admirable and what came out of it was inspiring, to say the least.

But, don’t take my word for it – watch the video yourself to see how the attendees of CMWorld 2014 define quality content.

Thank You to CMWorld Attendees!

We want to thank all participants for getting in front of the camera and providing such passionate responses! In particular, we’d like to thank the following participants who were featured in the final video:

Dan Rosenbaum, Center Ring Media
Meredith Millman, TELUS Communications
Jay Baer, Convince & Convert Digital Marketing Advisors
Michael Raybman, Reactor Media
Heidi Cohen, Actionable Marketing Guide
George Rafeedie, Tell Your Story Brand Communications Inc.
Cindy Valladares, Tripwire
Trey Pelz, Clear Entertainment and Marketing Group
Lauren Moskowitz, Marketo
Celia Brown, SAP
Primoz Inkret, Business Media
Kimberly Collins, Wonderlic
Kevin Michalowski, US Concealed Carry Association
Lauren Martinez, American Greetings
Janet Tyler, Airfoil
Helena Dobbins, Airfoil
Dayna Rothman, Captora
Jen Konecny, NotYourMamasMarketing.com
Andrew Bredenkamp, Acrolinx
LaToya Smith, Brass City Media, Inc.
Brandi Rice, Allegion
Karl Bear, Cassel Bear
Chris Peterson, SnapApp
Patti Boerger, Freddie Mac
Vicki Kreher, Southern Illinois University
Sarah Skerik, PR Newswire

Do You Agree?

Do you agree or disagree with the attendees of Content Marketing World? Let us know your opinion in the comments below.

The post What Is Quality Content? #CMWorld Edition appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

What’s wrong?

In an era of short attention spans, scannability makes it easy for readers to find the information that they’re looking for on your blog, instead of moving on to a different website.

Relax with Whitespace

Just because you have lots of words on a page doesn’t mean that they’ll be read. In fact, your readers are more likely to feel overwhelmed by reams of text.

Adding whitespace — areas with no text — makes your writing feel less dense and easier to read.

Emphasize with Formatting

Use, bolding, italics, underlining, and changing your font size to emphasize your key points. Your readers’ eyes are naturally attracted to formatting changes, so they’re more likely to read those words.

Make sure that you don’t overuse formatting changes. A text in which everything is bolded is equivalent to a text in which nothing is bolded.

Share with Hyperlinks

Include hyperlinks to other reputable websites to support your claims and to give readers another place to read more about the topic.

Also include relevant links to other pages on your website so that your reader can learn more about you.

Break Your Text into Lists

Lists are a handy format for scannability since they break text into small, neat chunks. You can use numbered lists or bulleted lists.

Combining lists with bolded text is a great way to highlight key points while also providing more information.

Tell a Story with Subheaders

Subheaders are the signposts of your writing, telling your reader what’s next. Copyblogger recommends writing your title and subheaders first.

This technique gives you a clear outline of what your key ideas are and makes you focus on what your reader is most likely to read.

Entice with Pictures

It’s easier to look at a picture than it is to read a blog post. Once you’ve got people looking at a picture in your post, they’ll likely read the caption too. 

Include a picture with a deep caption — a caption that’s two or three sentences long and is likely to grab readers’ attention.

Also place pictures by your main ideas, so that readers who look at the pictures notice your text as well.

Attract Attention with Block Quotes

Adding a border or changing the background colour for your quotes sets them off from the rest of your text.

As discussed in the formatting section above, readers notice formatting changes, so they’re more likely to read a blocked-off quote.

Don’t let your great content get lost in poor blog design. Improve your scannability to grow your readership.

The post 7 Secrets for a Scannable Blog appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

What does that mean?

User generated content includes things like blogs, videos, and forums that are written and created by “end users.” This is different from content you create yourself or hire content writers to create.

If you are a business, these are your customers! Not only are users generating the majority of the content online, but consumers are more likely to trust messages they read from other consumers.

Why it’s Important for Your Business

So what do you do if you are trying to sell a product or service?

You can’t guarantee consumers are going to create content that promotes your business, and you also can’t control whether messages about you are good or bad.

Or can you?

If you want people talking about your business you have to give them a reason to. The best way to do that is to get engaged.

No, you don’t need to run out to the jewelry store and start buying diamond rings, but striking up conversations with your audience on a social media site, like Twitter, is a good start.

Make sure your interaction is always two-sided. Never leave a question or comment from a customer unanswered. Just a simple thank you for a mention will leave a great impression with that consumer and they are more likely to talk you up in the future.

Sticks and Stones

You know the old saying: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

Well, that is not exactly accurate when it comes to business. Words, particularly those that are user-generated, can be very harmful to your brand if not handled appropriately.

Got a not-so-glowing review of your business from a disgruntled customer? This is a golden opportunity to transform a “hater” into someone willing to give you another shot.

If you make it right with them, others will respect the effort you put in and may be less influenced by the negative review.

Incentives – Work Every Time

Not sure how to get your customers to talk about your business? Sometimes a little incentive is all they need.

People love free stuff, so have a contest and give something away if people mention your business or give you a review or referral.

Make sure to follow through on the giveaway and encourage the winner to share their experience. Everybody wins!

Need some inspiration for engaging with your customers? Check out what LEGO did.

The post Why User Generated Content is King appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Freelancing comes with plenty of perks: You can choose your projects, set your own hours and work wherever you like. Yet the same flexibility that makes freelance writing an attractive career can put you at the risk of burnout if your workload and stress levels get away from you.

Burnout is more than the normal fatigue that comes with pushing yourself during a busy week and needing extra rest. Caused by prolonged stress that impacts the entire body, burnout is an emotional and physical exhaustion that won’t go away. It’s become so prevalent among workers that the World Health Organization now considers it a syndrome.

Let’s take a look at what this occupational phenomenon looks like for writers and how to avoid burnout as a freelancer so you can build a satisfying, thriving career.

What Is Writer Burnout?

A little stress or exhaustion is normal. Maybe you’ve taken on too many projects and are racing to meet deadlines. Or perhaps you’re struggling to meet the demands of a particularly difficult client. Occasional stress is a part of life, and most people bounce back and move on.

Burnout, however, occurs when the stress is so unrelenting you feel physical and mentally drained. Our bodies are built to handle pressure once in a while, but chronic stress impacts everything from the muscles and heart to the digestive, endocrine and nervous systems.

Why Freelancers Are Susceptible to Burnout

All workers are susceptible to burnout, but according to a study by IPSE, two in five freelancers report high levels of stress. It’s common for writers to feel obligated to be available around the clock — there’s no one to fill in when you need a day off, and dropping the ball can mean losing a valuable client.

Freelance writers can find it difficult to:

• Turn down projects. Freelancing is unpredictable, making it challenging to say no when work is offered.
• Establish a work-life balance. It takes effort to set clear boundaries when you don’t physically go into an office.
• Take time off. When you’re paid by the word or project, downtime can seem like lost income.
• Connect professionally with coworkers and colleagues. Writers often work in isolation without a network of support.

What Writer Burnout Looks Like

The World Health Organization characterizes burnout as follows:

Constant Feelings of Exhaustion

It’s normal to feel tired if you’ve stayed up late to meet a deadline or pitch in on a project. But if extra sleep doesn’t make you feel better and the exhaustion persists, you may be experiencing burnout.

Feeling Detached From Work

Sometimes, you might take on a job you don’t love just for the pay cheque, but if you’re consistently going through the motions, something else may be at play. When you’re burned out, you’re no longer energized by the writing process and take little satisfaction from your work.

Reduced Productivity

Writer’s block is normal, but if you’re easily distracted, lacking motivation or struggling to put words down on the page, burnout could be affecting the quality of your work. You may need to take time off to refresh your creative energies if your normally sparkling prose feels stuck or forced.

How To Avoid Burnout as a Freelancer

Fortunately, freelancers have more control over their workload and environment than most employees. Use the following tips to make sure your brain and body have regular opportunities to recover from work stress. When you’re at your best, you’re more creative, productive and engaged.

1. Create a Distinct Workspace

One of the biggest challenges for freelancers is to keep work life separate from personal activities. It’s hard to put aside thoughts of looming deadlines when you work in the same chair you’re trying to relax in or your client briefs are in plain view on the table beside you.

The best option is a designated office that you can close the door to or at least a desk in the corner of a room. Even if you’re short on space and write on your sofa, try to carve out a distinct work area — for example, use a table you can fold up when you clock out. Put away your notebooks and laptop in a cupboard, stop responding to email and signal to your mind the workday is done.

2. Manage Your Projects

Freelancing is notorious for being feast or famine. We’ve all had those days when projects are scarce and the bank account is low. That’s why it’s tempting to accept writing assignments when they’re offered, even if your plate is already overflowing. But if you continuously say yes to projects without a second thought, you run the risk of never taking a break.

As a freelancer, judge the amount of writing you can reasonably complete. Allow yourself time off or suggest alternate deadlines that fit your schedule. You can also expand your skills and marketability so there’s a steady flow of writing opportunities available when you need them.

3. Work Smarter

The easiest way to spend less time writing is to work smarter. Multitasking is a no-no — when it’s time to write, write. Don’t stop mid-blog post to make a dentist appointment, throw in a load of laundry or answer a text message. You’re interrupting your flow and stretching yourself thin.

If staying focused is a challenge, try the Pomodoro technique and work on a single task in blocks of time followed by short breaks. During a work block, tune out all distractions and concentrate on completing the set task before the timer goes off. This approach is great for writers who get easily distracted by the ping of notifications — most messages can wait until the work block is finished for a response.

Working smarter also means reducing interruptions. If you share your home with people who like to pop in any time, make your work hours clear and ask them to wait until you’re done.

4. Take Regular Breaks During the Day

It may seem like a good use of time to power through as much writing as you can, but regular breaks are important for refreshing your brain. Instead of working while gulping down a sandwich, take a real lunch break and walk around the block. Schedule your coffee breaks as if you were in an office. And don’t scroll social media during your break. Get up and stretch, walk on the treadmill or do something away from the screen.

5. Connect With Others

Freelancers tend to be more isolated than those in office environments. You may not be able to chat around the water cooler or spontaneously grab lunch with the coworker in the next cubicle, but you can make an effort to connect with others during the workday. Schedule coffee with a friend or call family members to check in.

It’s also helpful to make professional connections. Join writers groups and local business associations. If you’re able, consider a shared workspace with other freelance consultants.

6. Manage Your Finances

One of the biggest reasons freelancers push themselves so hard is to take advantage of work when it’s plentiful. A sound financial plan can go a long way toward relieving some of the stress that comes with the unpredictability of working as a consultant.

Yes, budgeting may be boring, but it’s essential. Build in savings for those slow times so you can better manage your workload.

7. Book That Vacation Time

While eight out of 10 freelancers want to take more days off than they currently do, it’s not always easy to book the time and get away. According to the above-mentioned IPSE study, 62% of freelancers worry they’re letting clients down if they go on holidays, and 60% are concerned about not having work in the future as a result.

While you want to be responsive and available to clients, it’s not realistic to work nonstop — in fact, 63% of those surveyed say taking time off improves their work performance. Budget for your vacation (see #6 above!) and let clients know ahead of time you’ll be away so they can plan around your holiday. You may also be able to complete some work before you go.

And when you’re away? Well, 58% of freelancers still check work-related email, and 30% work while on vacation. Check email first thing in the morning if you have to, but to thoroughly recharge, aim to disconnect from work completely.