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Writers Recharge Your Creative Battery

August 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Writers have a tendency to get “stuck” in their writing. It’s recommended that you take breaks when you write, but this may not be enough. You may have to schedule a short road trip to recharge those writing batteries!

Freelance writers can have many clients or work with one or two steady clients. They’re constantly writing non-stop without any real vacation. This can work against you. It’s important to take a “vacation from writing” now and again. It can do wonders for your creative spirit.

Writers often suffer from writer’s block. This can be cured by taking breaks throughout the day. Take a lunch break just as you would if you worked as a full-time writer for a small business. Take 10-minute or 15-minute breaks throughout the day as well. Go for a brisk walk, listen to music, read the newspaper, or watch some TV.

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Tips to Recharging Your Writing Battery

  • Take a week’s vacation. Getting out of town is a great idea. Go to the ocean, visit a National Park (U.S.), or visit a foreign country. Forget about writing and just enjoy your time away from it; you’ll be back to writing in no time;
  • Take a road trip within your state or country. Visit areas that you’ve never been to before and enjoy the ride. Discover “gems” that are right in your backyard. You may even write about your adventure;
  • Get back to nature. Walking on the beach, swimming in the ocean, hugging a tree, or canoeing on a river can do wonders for your creative spirit. Get some “nature therapy” and watch as the creative juices begin to flow;
  • Read fiction books. Back off of the “non-fiction” reading for awhile. A good book of fiction can spark creativity that may be dormant.
  • Do yoga or meditate. Stopping all thought for at least 15-minutes a day can refresh your mind. It’s believed that humans have 60,000 or more thoughts per day. Yikes! Take a reprise from thinking and tune out for a few minutes. You’ll feel wide awake and ready to write!

Getting out of your comfort zone can help recharge your creative battery. Visiting the ocean can do wonders for your creativity. Walking along the beach is a great way to unwind and relax your mind. Let your thoughts drift away and be present with Mother Nature.

Rebecca

What have you done to keep the creativity flowing?

Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing Tagged With:

The Who’s Who’s on Who and That

July 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

As a freelance writer, I often check myself to make sure that I use certain words properly such as “who and that.” I recently wrote a personal statement for JFK University and had to look this one up. I had a “gut instinct” that I was using ‘who’ correctly, but wanted to make sure.

Apparently, you can use ‘who and that’ interchangeably. Normally, you used use ‘who’ when you are describing a person. For example, “Sara is who Matt is dating.” Who describes a person. Many people are know to use ‘that’ instead. Some people use ‘that’ to show their animosity towards someone.
For example, “Sara is that model looking woman dating Matt.”

The use of ‘that’ is to describe an object. For example, “The blue dress that Emily bought brings out her eyes.” Of course, some people will use ‘that’ to describe a person as in the example in the above paragraph.

Small business owners who send out newsletters may want to check their freelance writer’s work before it goes to customers. They could be misusing ‘who and that’ and you would never know it. Then again you may not care, but your customers may. One of your customers may be a former English teacher! Hopefully, she’s the teacher ‘who’ will overlook the errors. Otherwise, your newsletter could be ‘that’ thing to send her over the edge!

Savvy Writer Rebecca

When have you used who and that lately?

Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing Tagged With:

Add Value to Your Business with a Freelance Writer

July 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Small business owners try do everything themselves from developing their website to fixing the copier, they believe they can do it all. You may need some help from time to time. Perhaps you’re spending too much time on your website and not enough on growing your business. Hiring a freelance writer can alleviate some of your work load and add value to your small business.

Small business owners use their website and marketing materials to advertise their business. Some have a staff of writers or a marketing department, others may have one person. There are some small business owners that write the web copy and marketing materials. Instead of focusing on growing the business their energy is spent on writing

Having to write a blog or web copy can be daunting. If you’re not a strong writer, you may find writing to be tedious. You may find yourself staring at the computer screen hoping that words will magically appear. They usually don’t. Before you know it three hours go by and you still have a blank screen.

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Value of a Freelance Writer

  • Alleviates pressure. Many small business owners may not enjoy writing. Hire a freelance writer because they’re passionate about writing.
  • Has an objective viewpoint. A freelance writer will have an objective viewpoint. They’re not part of the day-to-day business so they’ll look at situations from a different perspective.
  • Cost effective. When you hire a freelance writer, you’re not paying the usual benefits such as medical, PTO, vision, etc…You’ll save money in the long run.
  • Accountability. A freelance writer usually gets paid half up front and collects the other half when the work is complete. This means she will COMPLETE the project because she wants to get paid.
  • Doesn’t take up space in the office. Most freelance writers work via telecommute. There’s no need for them to work in your office. It’s great for the environment because they’re not driving to and from work each day.

A freelance writer can make you money as well as save you money in the long run. A well written email campaign can draw many customers to your website. Not only will you see an increase in web traffic, you’ll see an increase in profits!

If you’re a small business owner considering hiring a freelance writer you may want to search online job websites such as Guru.com and Elance.com. These websites cater to ALL freelancers. All you do is post your ad for a writer or search their database. You’ll find one in no time.

Freelance writers can alleviate the pressure you may feel to write copy yourself. After all, your focus is to grow the business and not write a blog for your website. Remember that a freelance writer can fill-in for staff writers when they take their vacation. If you don’t hire extra help, your staff may feel overworked and overwhelmed. They may not produce their best writing and this can cost you in the short and long run. Don’t make that mistake, hire a freelance writer today!

Savvy Writer Rebecca

How can a freelance write add value to your small business?

Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing Tagged With: ,

The 1980s Called — They Want Their Business Model Back

July 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Network marketing is all the rage. Even Donald Trump is getting on board with network marketing. Actually, he’s re-entering the realm of network marketing. He was involved in a network marketing venture years ago, but there were some “issues” with it. Now he’s back with another network marketing venture. Hopefully this one will do better than the last one. It is, after all, the Donald’s name on the line!

Many people are involved in a network marketing or multi-level marketing businesses. Some network marketing businesses just don’t work. As a small business owner it can be a great way to make income or extra cash, but you don’t want to lose your shirt!

Multi-level marketing or network marketing is not a new concept. Back in the 1980s, a company called Amway (still going strong) was and still is a very well known multi-level marketing company. There are countless others that have been formed since that time. But, all network marketing companies are NOT created equally. You must understand the dynamics, otherwise you could lose more money than you make.

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Pros

  1. A great way to make extra cash. If you’d like to fund your small business or make money on the side while you do freelance writing then network marketing could be for you;
  2. You get to be your own boss. It’s up to you if your investment in a network marketing venture will be a success. You set your hours and how you’d like to run your business;
  3. It can be profitable. If you sell your heart out and really, truly believe in the product then you’ll make money. You can also engage in online marketing of the product if the company allows it.

Cons

  1. Poor leadership at the top. Unfortunately, many network marketing companies have poor leadership at the top. Some of the people at the top forget what it’s like to be starting out. Plus, they’re NOT in touch with the trends and styles of today when it comes to business;
  2. Could be a shady business. Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure you know EXACTLY what you’re getting into and how you can get out of it if it doesn’t work. Sometimes people don’t reveal ALL of the pertinent information;
  3. Most network marketing companies use the “pyramid” technique. You sign up under a person, then you MUST sign up at least 2 or 3 people (or more), then those people sign up people, and so on. The person that signed you up will make money off of you and your people. However, if you don’t meet the monthly criteria you LOSE your spot and people. Yep, that’s right. There are some network marketing companies that will “drop you off” if you don’t meet the monthly obligation.
  4. Presentations can be lengthy and boring. Yes, some people still believe a two or three hour presentation is necessary. These presentations are usually playing on peoples desire such as “own your own home” or “buy that sports car” along with other outdated techniques. They’ll even create a 75-minute video and expect people, especially younger people to sit through it. They haven’t heard of short-form video;
  5. MLM or network marketing has a negative connotation. It’s true. When people think of MLMs or network marketing they often associate them with a “used car salesperson” or a scam;
  6. The people. Your time is valuable. Some members will tell you anything to get you to a presentation. They embellish and misconstrue the business. Before you know it, three hours go by that you cannot get back.

If you’re considering getting involved in a network marketing venture, get the facts. The money can be useful to fund your small business or to supplement your freelance writing. Research all network marketing opportunities before signing up. It will save you time and money in the long run.

Savvy Writer Rebecca

What attracted you to the network marketing phenomenon? How successful are you? What’s stopping you from jumping on the band wagon?

Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: ,

Some People Have the Audacity to Create Podcasts

July 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Small businesses owners can benefit from uploading podcasts onto your website. There are a ton of programs that you can use to create an audio recording. Audacity is a “free, easy-to-use and multilingual audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems.”

“Audacity is free, open source software (available to anyone). It was developed by a group of volunteers and distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).” This is free software and you’ll have the freedom to use Audacity and to study how it works, especially if you’re new to creating podcasts.

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If you use a MAC platform in your small business, you can still use Audacity. All you do is download the software and you’ll be able to create podcasts which can help drive web traffic.

Podcasts can help drive traffic to your website! If your small business is in the pet grooming business, you could create a daily, weekly, or monthly for your visitors. Give them FREE tips how they can keep their dog or cat’s fur nice and shiny. Tell them what shampoo to use if their cat or dog has allergies. The more information you can provide the better. Your business will be known as an AUTHORITY on pet grooming on the internet. Visitors will remember your website and tell others about it.

According to Audacity’s website, you can use the software to do the following:

  • Record live audio.
  • Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
  • Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files.
  • Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
  • Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
  • And more! See the complete list of features.

Adding introduction and ending music is not necessary for podcasting but it does give it that EXTRA SPECIAL something. Make sure the music you use IS NOT commercial or mainstream music. Meaning, don’t use music from your favorite recording artist. You can get into a lot of trouble by doing this. Find Royalty Free Music to incorporate into your audio recordings.

Loopsound is a company from the U.K. that offers Royalty Free Music. You can purchase music and use it over and over again. Take the music that you purchase and “mix it” to create unique pieces to use in your podcast. Make sure you keep the introduction and ending to a maximum of 20 seconds. Anything more than this can be too much.

Podcasting Tips

  • Write out a script. If you feel that you may stumble through your podcast, write out a script. Make sure you HIT the points you’d like to make. Once you record a few podcasts, you may not have to use a script.
  • Familiarize yourself with the program. Before you begin using Audacity get to know it. Go through the Help section and read up on the different aspects of Audacity.
  • Keep podcasts to a minimum of 20-30 minutes. Actually, the shorter the better. Many people will not listen to a lengthy podcast. They may lose focus and start surfing the net or walk away. You may consider “breaking up” your podcasts if they are longer.

Podcasting can set your business apart from another business. Whatever you can do to BOOST web traffic to your website, just do it! Remember that the way people find and receive their information is ever evolving. Make sure you’re part of the process and not left behind in the dust!

Savvy Writer Rebecca

What podcasts have you created? What software did you use?

Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Search Engine Optimization, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , ,
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