With all the content available on the internet, it’s difficult to stand out. It’s even harder to get your information shared. Since showing up in searches and getting shared are two of the most important aspects of getting readers, try these methods for writing shareable reviews. [Read more…]
The Art and Science of Storytelling on the Web
Editor’s note: This post was written by James E. Hein, a web developer with 10 years of experience. He has immense interest and knowledge in the technology area. He is also working as a strategist in projects related to business and technology. You can follow him on Twitter.
Storytelling is one of the oldest (and most effective) forms of communication. Since the advent of language after signs, storytelling became a part of cultural rituals all around the world. In the olden days, every village and town had its own storytellers who used to entertain the locals with their stories every evening. All they needed to conjure up a story was an idea, a gossip, or a stimulus of any kind, and their imaginations did the rest. The art of storytelling has evolved through the ages, but the basics remain the same. Even today, gossips and rumors lead to the publication of featured lifestyle magazines.
All they needed to conjure up a story was an idea, a gossip, or a stimulus of any kind, and their imaginations did the rest. The art of storytelling has evolved through the ages, but the basics remain the same. Even today, gossips and rumors lead to the publication of featured lifestyle magazines. [Read more…]
6 Simple Steps to Improve Your Writing Skills
Editor’s note: This post was written by Kelly Smith, who works at CourseFinder, an Australian online education resource. She also provides career advice for students and job seekers and is passionate about the Australian startup scene.
Many bloggers find writing intimidating. Even if their idea for a post is great, its execution might not always be easy. The good news is writing skills can be perfected. It takes lots of motivation, discipline and a willingness to learn, but the results can substantially improve your style and help you create more engaging posts. Here are 6 simple steps to set you on the right track to help you improve your writing skills. [Read more…]
The Art of Creative Blog Writing
Editor’s note: This post was written by Melinda Osteen, a blogger and an editor who features the latest blogging trends in her articles and intends to share her knowledges with young specialists. She works as a writing expert and an editor at Papersgear writing service.
You put a lot of work in promoting your blog. SEO strategies and marketing techniques are an important part of blog maintenance, but technicalities cannot replace state-of-the-art content. Attracting more traffic to your blog is important, but you need to keep those readers coming back by presenting high-quality creative blog content.
Since the Internet is flooded with all types of content, it’s difficult to stand out with innovation and creativity. Nevertheless, you can’t fight ideas that keep coming out of nowhere. The following blogging tips will help you maintain your creativity on high levels. [Read more…]
Habits of Prolific Bloggers
Blogging can be the easiest thing in the world, but it can also be the most frustrating activity; especially when you run out of steam after the first few months of being on a high.
Some of you may wonder at how other bloggers seem to continue churning out post after post, seemingly without facing the issue of running out of things to write.
Do you want to be as prolific a blogger as those you admire? It’s not entirely impossible. Form these habits, and you’ll be well on your way to publishing posts constantly without sacrificing the quality of your writing. [Read more…]
Why Writing a Good Outline Matters
Editor’s note: This post was written by Steve Aedy, a freelance blogger and a content writer at FreshEssays – company that helps with writing and editing issues. Steve is addicted to literature and essay writing, he also likes to craft useful blog posts. You can contact him on G+.
When faced with the task of writing an essay, a blog post, a novel or a story, even the most experienced writer can become overwhelmed with the process of organizing their thoughts into prose. An outline can be a writer’s greatest tool for structuring ideas and arguments, and the better the outline, the easier and more fruitful the writing process.
There are many benefits to writing a good outline. Here are some of them. [Read more…]
Are You Making These Six Deadly Writing Mistakes?
No one is perfect, and writing mistakes can number into the hundreds. Even established professionals have their days, and writing is constantly a learning experience. Maybe it’s punctuation, sentence structure or something as little as forgetting to add a comma in a couple places. Unlike our Grammar for Bloggers post, I’m not going to get super technical, and talk about things like pronouns or subject/verb disagreements.
In fact, I’m a walking contradiction, having done horribly in English class all through my school years, yet eventually becoming a writer. Rather than diving into the most basic of writing mistakes, here are six that can have a serious impact on your blog posts:
Writing For Search Engines, Not People
I touched on this topic briefly, and it is one of the easiest ways to kill interest. People can tell when you are forcing out some awkwardly worded, SEO-optimized mess of words. It has been drilled into our heads how important SEO is (which it is), and many take things a bit too far.
You do not need to have eight of the same keyword in a 350 word blog post, or always have the main keyword at the beginning of your title, often churning out yawn-inducing results. While search engines are your friend, they are not your target demographic. [Read more…]
Writing for Top Blogs with Nate Swanner, Editor at Android Authority
How did your writing career first get started?
I got started when I left a job I was terribly unhappy at. I was working myself to death, and had no respect or recognition for my efforts. I had no real goal in mind when leaving, other than I wanted to be happy again. I just wanted to live life and not feel beaten down by “the man” all the time! I started writing for a small Android gaming site for fun, and people liked my work. I was doing it for free (which anyone who is serious about blogging or writing should do), and really learning how things worked. From there, I saw that Android Authority was looking for writers. I sent my “elevator pitch” to those who are now my bosses, and the rest is really history at this point. [Read more…]
Getting Paid to Write with Allison Boyer
Allison Boyer is a freelance writer who is most known for her work with New Media Expo. New Media Expo or NMX for short, is the world’s largest conference and tradeshow for online content creators. Make sure you stay tuned for the end of this post as Allison has a special surprise for Blog Herald readers :-)
How did you first get involved with freelance writing/blogging?
When I was a senior in college, I kind of freaked out because I suddenly realized that I didn’t want to write for a newspaper or teach. What else do you do with an English degree? I had no idea. What I did know is that I enjoyed the part-time freelance work I did from time to time. So I decided to give it a go as a full time freelancer. From there, blogging kind of fell into my lap when I just happened to get a job working for a blog network. The pay was horrible, but I really loved the conversational style. So, I slowly phased out other types of writing jobs and started working exclusively as a blogger, both for clients and for my own blogs.
One thing I noticed early on is just how difficult it can be to break through all the noise, and establish consistent work for yourself. What’s some advice you have to those wanting to make a career out of writing or blogging for a living?
What worked for me is to start on the very lowest rung and climb up. No one wants to work for $10 an hour, but hard work pays off in the end. If you’re a new writer, it doesn’t matter what you think you are worth. People who hire bloggers need to see a return on their investment, so you have to prove yourself first. If you do an amazing job every single time without fail, you’ll soon find that you don’t have to look for work anymore. Opportunities will come your way because people recommend you. And remember, it’s about more than just being able to write. Without a strong work ethic, it doesn’t matter how well you write. [Read more…]
How to Kick Writer’s Block to the Curb
As once said by comedian Steven Wright, “I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” Writing is a major part of any blog, and most of the time you’ll have an idea that leads to cranking out a great post in no time flat. Other times you’ll be at a dead end, unsure of where the road lies ahead. You may even think to yourself, “There’s nothing else to write about it!” I know I do, and I write for a living.
Commonly referred to as writer’s block, there is no way of escaping it completely. No matter how skilled or creative you are, it will surface from time to time. Like a lonely puppy, it’ll keep bugging you until you do something. Unfortunately, most people let the hopeless feeling overwhelm them. They allow distractions which are oh so prevalent in this social media age we live in, to keep them from what needs to be done.
However, as crazy as this may sound, your best work is ahead of you. Us humans are very resourceful creatures, and we are designed to create. In fact, did you know that every two days we create as much information as we did up until 2003? To help put this into perspective, that’s around five exabytes or over five million terabytes of data. The craziest part? This statistic is from 2010, so hard telling what mind blowing figure we’re at now. [Read more…]
