First Paranormal Investigation Today

I'm very excited to announce that Returned and Restless Paranormal Research is doing their first full investigation this evening.  Stay tuned for evidence, articles, and the accompanying documentary.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/244547468920472/

Free Quick Publishing and Social Media Tools

Where have I been?!

Getting back into the Bloggospere feels good, and much less stressful than the past few days.

I've gotten my first official freelance assignment on oDesk, and I've been diligently trying not to screw it up.  It is not quite what I'd expect, I'm writing articles and posts on Pick Up Artists (PUAs), dating tips, and more on the art of seduction.  Not the easiest job for a guy with a girlfriend, but I've read The Game by Neil Strauss, so I'm not completely lost.

Plus, I've got pretty decent game myself. . . for a writer I suppose.  But for a guy with a girlfriend it wasn't quite what I expected to be writing on.  However, it is fun and will make a little money each month, so I am far from complaining.

I wanted to update everyone who read my article on different freelancing platforms that oDesk does work, I undershot the competition and made a rediculously low bid on a project that was supposed to span 6 months.  I can watch as I clear my two articles a day, and $3.00 goes into my account.  More importantly, other employers can see these earnings, and also view feedback I get from my current employers.  As long as the money keeps coming, and I don't make any errors with the guy's backlinks, all should be well.

Tip: When you are new to a freelance platform like oDesk, your work history is nonexistent and you may have to make some sacrifices in the beginning to help get better pay later.  So don't be afraid to bid $8.00 on a multiple month project, it gets attention and can transfer into a payment per article situation that is much less ridiculous.  Use the absolute best writing sample you haven't published (I keep one around for all kinds of applications requiring a work sample).  Other than that, best of luck to you.  Just do whatever it takes to get some hours or some bucks on your account.  It'll put you a world ahead of anyone who hasn't found a gig yet.

So that is about it.  I may be writing less frequently, freelancing and building three websites, but I'd still like to hear what is working for others, and what people would like to see on Freelancing For Freedom.

And now comes everyone's favorite part of the blog. . . The Free Stuff!


NorthSocial is a site providing free apps and add-ons to get your Facebook marketing in gear.  It has tools to motivate followers to join, like, and buy your product or service, as well as get people coming back to your page and interacting more with you, and your community.  Try it out, and if it's great (or not) add a comment about your experience.  Connecting your Facebook and receiving periodic updates are all optional and opt in only.

Trafford Publishing is offering a free self publishing guide that everyone should take a look at.  While they do email it to you (meaning you will probably get some sort of period emails from them even if you opt out of the monthly newsletter), you can always block them later or keep receiving if they are useful (i.e. not complete sales pitches but offer advice for writing and publishing).  To get the eBook follow the link in the email they send, choose to download the .pdf, then when it opens in your browser right click>save as> and put it with your eBooks.  It is a bit salesy, but it makes some good points about the benefits of 'going indie' and how the world of publishing is changing.  It's not too long, so give it a shot.

Want to give back? I just started a Facebook Fanpage for the paranormal group I founded called Returned and Restless Paranormal Research.  I'd love to have some more followers and 'Likes' so if you get a couple seconds, feel free to check us out and give us the ol' thumbs up.  It'd be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Returned-and-Restless-Paranormal-Research/165595010194861

Online Jobs and Telecommuting Watch Dog: How My Role Changes As I Learn More

My Initial Intentions

I started this blog with a million things in mind: how to help people like me, with superb skills, that wanted to work from home or wanted advice for their existing business on the wide ocean tides of the Internet, websites that offer opportunities, and strategies to market oneself in ways that are free.

I've come head-on into a collision with my best intentions.  Many of the programs I research and use myself don't end up in money in the bank for my readers, but countless hours refilling out resumes, for nothing.

Maybe I'm just a little down on my bathrobe business casual mentality; that if you have brains and skill you can make rent, or whatever, with your wile and guile and a little know how from a blog dedicated to not only your success, but the success of the person writing it.  No paychecks coming from lying and selling you shit that doesn't work, now is there?

The bottom line is that I'm making this post as self therapy in a way, and also as a warning that working a non-traditional 9 to 5 can be demoralizing, unscrupulous, and downright a waste of time.  So let us carry on and look at the details.

oDesk and it's protection of contractors: to sign an application through this company you must abide by the following code:

1. oDesk does not offer mediation or arbitration services. 
   
   If you do the work and the employer refuses to pay, oDesk will not be able to help.

Please choose Fixed Price jobs carefully. You may want to start off with smaller jobs to reduce the risk.

Good luck!

This isn't what the brochure said, and it sure doesn't make me feel comfortable with the time I've spent doing work for others, who could just as likely not pay me for it with no consequence.

It's disheartening, I know, but the hardiest of my readers will keep pursuing it and hope that they are treated fairly, even though there is apparently no guarantee that they will be.

That's the thing about writers, they have a tendency to write no matter what.

I wanted to bring this little clip to all my readers attention, and let them know that the waters are indeed filled with piranhas.  The best way you can help other readers and help me endorse or not endorse different platforms and freelance job opportunities is to Comment, and share your experiences on what works and what doesn't.

We're all working together in a sense.  Please leave your experiences on this page so we can rule out companies that do not provide the type of work we require, and focus on how to present yourself online in ways that facilitate legitimate work, and finding jobs and gigs that put real money in your pocket.

Malware Protection To Stay Away From

FAIL OF THE DAY

There seems to be a new fad among smaller companies that offer freeware to scan your computer for viruses, trojans, you know the type.  This is what they do.  They forward all your requests to download the latest version (or download for the first time) to a site called Majorgeeks.com.  More appropriately this site should be known as MajorScams.com which is pretty much how it operates unless you get savvy about how you download your freeware.

First, when downloading from their site, make certain you read the fine print, because these freeware companies don't even have enough money to provide hosting offering downloads to thousands of people, but less NOT affiliate market browser add-ons and toolbars, mistakenly make you download some god awful computer fascist program like Norton Anti-virus, or any other way majorgeeks sets up income potential to take you, the innocent consumer of free goods, for granted.

So I'll keep this short.  You can, cautiously, get IO bit Malware Fighter, AVG antivirus, and a number of BROKE crappy scanware over Majorgeeks, but make sure when you click download, and sign your name on the digital dotted line, what you are getting.  Because companies that outsource to Majorgeeks.com have not only sub-par products, but also make their living filling your computer with advertisements and bloatware.

ATTN: Majorgeeks and all of your distributors, affliates, scumbags, ect.:  If enough people pass this message along, your game is up.  I'll do everything in my power to make sure that happens.

Sincerely, your unsatisfied customer,

Todd A. Bjarnson

Finding Fiona by Emily Ann Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A writer in my writing group, the Salem Writer's Symposium, has just published an E-book, Finding Fiona.  Congratulations, and great job Emily!  I can't wait to read the whole thing.


View all my reviews

Humor in the midst of the End of Days, and a few words of advice on multiple email management

http://kamikazeearth.blogspot.com/ is absolutely one of the best sites to follow.  I know, it's not about freelancing or business or anything. . . really, that I am usually focused on and talk about, but give it a follow.  And maybe send them an email, because they are hiring writers for their blog.  Surprise!  It really was about freelancing and making dough!  

This site is filled strictly with sick, satirical stuff; mostly about the developing trouble we have gotten ourselves into over the last 10 years as a race and the End Days.  Even if you aren't a religious whack-job or an armchair theorist on the Mayan calendar, you can't deny things are pretty much completely out of effing control, showing no signs of improving, and showing every sign of becoming even worse.

Trust me, don't subscribe to the Week. I can't stop reading it, and thinking about it, and I am to the point I can almost guess what the next  week's cover story is going to be based upon the previous weeks display of hubris, stupidity, and brutality.

Either way, give http://kamikazeearth.blogspot.com/ a thumbs up, and if you got a good pair of 'em to bring humor to the apocalypse, I'm sure they'd love to hear from you.

The 5:30 in the morning Email streamlining lesson
Freelancers and small business professionals often have to present themselves in a variety of ways to a variety of people.  The best way to do this online is to have different emails, and potentially even different profiles to accompany them.  Wouldn't it be nice if you could get ALL of them in one place and have your email client organize and respond automatically to each?  Here is how to do it.

The example I'm using is Gmail, because Outlook, Thunderbird, and their ilk are garbage, pure and simple.  Useless, outdated, prone to error, difficult to maneuver trash.

• First, pick an email to be your master account.  Use it to send out requests to send emails as your other accounts along with names or businesses where appropriate.  When prompted, put the same secondary address in the "reply-to email" option so your clients think they are talking only to one account.  This will make your master account invisible when communicating from other addresses.
• Second, verify this with your other accounts and allow the master account to conduct business under these other names.  While you are here, go into the email forwarding and forward all email to the master address.  You can also send a request to the master account to be allowed to send mail as the secondary accounts.  This may be doing the same thing twice as in step one, but it'll ensure no screw ups occur.
• Third, return to the master account, verify that you'd like all the other email messages forwarded to you, and if you sent the additional requests for the master account to act as the secondary ones, verify those as well.
• Finally, in your master account email options set up profiles for the secondary accounts (i.e. what the name is and what the email address is.  Then select a little further down to automatically respond to emails as the account it was sent to instead of the default (which should be the first profile you had for the master account when it was created).

And PRESTO, you can control as many small businesses, freelancing personas and accompanying tailored resumes, and even a scam or two all from the comfort of one giant inbox.  

While kidding about the scams, the time you will save logging in and out or logging in multiple accounts is real.  

P. S. You just might see me guest blogging on http://kamikazeearth.blogspot.com/, so keep your eyes to the sky for the mushroom cloud of my sarcasm.

Adding New Gadgets, Or Page Elements, And Using Your Blog As A Design Tool

The Challenging Switch From a Blog to a Website Can Change Your Blog's Role To Crash Test Dummy


Adding features, widgets, sharing links, comments, and forums to a website isn't all that much different than adding these features to a standard blog.  In fact, blogs such as Tumblr and WordPress are becoming so complex that the distinction between blog and complete website are beginning to blur.  But any author who wants to take their writing to the next level, and appear as professional as possible, should invest in a website.


Freelancer's Corner:  Most freelance writers maintain some type of blog, whether it is a series of notes on Facebook that interested people can read, or a more traditional LiveJournal, WordPress blog, or a Blogger account through google.  Their intention is to have an accessible collection of work to put on resumes and attract followers and credibility in their field.  But for most, despite provocative content, dedication, and even a word count in the millions, it won't get them tons of followers and won't help them get the jobs they desire.  Though it isn't free (and you know how much I hate things that aren't free), an investment in an official site that can be a new home for your blog, and link to published articles or any content you have had a hand in crafting is really a worthwhile investment.  A WWW.YourName.COM domain name will not normally be taken, and can be purchased relatively cheaply if you shop around.  1&1.com is usually the cheapest ($0.99 domain name special right now, which is UNHEARD OF), but look around for specials.

Planning a website is difficult, and using functions on your blog can help you get a good idea of where you are going before you invest the money in a website.  By adding pages with the appropriate gadget, you can jot ideas in different areas on the kind of content you want, where you want it, and how it will all be organized later on.

Many gadgets are confusing to use, and trial and error is much easier to do with a blog than a webpage involving lots of files that keep track of all the sites information, users, ect.  Getting the hang of locating the code you need, placing it on your blog, and proudly adding it as "Your New Gadget" will be common place when building a webpage.  Before making the big leap and spending around $50 for hosting and claiming a domain name, get your blog looking and feeling as much like a website as possible beforehand.  You'll save yourself money and time in the long run.

And you will do less of this: Offline development and updating.

The time I lost days of my life and almost my mind: a short story by Todd Bjarnson
Developing new functions for, or making complicated updates to, a website should ideally be done via a private host of some type, which allows designers create a mock server on their PC to experiment with the changes before copying them to the live site.  acquia.com/download is just such a product that supports the Drupal web design platform, but as far as I am concerned, neither is user friendly enough to be worth using.  I spent 15 hours (not counting the hours my tech-savvy girlfriend spent helping) trying to get Drupal to work with the local server Acquia had created, just to test run a template with no success.  I highly discourage the inexperienced web designer looking for a WYSIWYG or other webdesign program from using Drupal.  Being open source almost always means there is less help available for amateurs.  And accounts for their tech support can run $50.00/month.  Their templates are pretty flush with features, but the highfalutin attitudes of the developers and forum personas will discourage anyone who wants to get the website built and keep focused on their writing.

I've decided to give in to the hype and give WordPress a try.  It works in essentially the same way, but has a reputation for being very user friendly.

Not to mention it is popular among writers, who aren't often renowned for their more technical skills.  Imagine that?  If they were they'd be engineers and surgeons instead!

Writing For Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG)

Tie In Fiction and MMORPGs: Multi-Million Dollar Market
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 10 years, You have heard of the World of Warcraft (WoW), an insanely popular game developed by Blizzard Entertainment.  What you may not know is the extent to which WoW has prospered: in the first few days of launch it had over 140,000 players (http://www.independent.co.uk).  As of 2011, estimates range from 11.5 million to over 12 million users.

Note: These games are so popular there is actually a rehabilitation program to help people stop playing.  The World of Warcraft rehab program in Seattle, WA costs $28,000.

So these numbers are pretty amazing, but what does it mean to freelance writers?

It means there is an already abundant, targeted audience for your fiction, provided you've played enough of the game and know enough of the lore to write a compelling and accurate tale.  This is one of the greatest barriers to publishing in this niche which is known generally as tie-in fiction (writing that piggy backs on already established settings or worlds, including timelines, landscapes, and historic scenarios, characters, and events).  Here is a more accessible example of tie-in fiction which may help readers understand the basic principles of successfully breaking into tie-ins.

The most popular example of tie-in fiction would probably be the sci-fi and fantasy genres.  Specific worlds give a targeted readership base to dozens upon dozens of authors in the worlds of Dragonlance and the Forgotten Realms series (if these examples are unfamiliar, think of the world Tolkien created for his series The Lord of the Rings.  He had a map with landmarks, forests, mountains, cities, peoples, and villians.  The lands of Dragonlance and ForgottenThe work  Writers do what they should naturally love doing best, reading, and become acquainted with the world of one of these platforms.  After researching maps and detailed descriptions of places and people online, reading quite a few of the novels set in these worlds should be enough to give a firm base of facts to follow in crafting an original story.  Querying before writing may be especially important in this rule-laden genre of writing: if an author proposes a story to an editor that completely defies aspects of the world's landscape, timeline, or critical events, the editor will either reject the idea outright, or if the mean gist of the story is solid, will work with the author by correcting facts, changing details, and rearranging elements of the story so they fit into the world that, as much as in the imagination as on paper, already exists to its readers and creators. 

These worlds, characters, events, and time-lines are considered the intellectual properties of the companies and persons who designed them, and editors who accept queries or manuscripts are paid secondly to pick out great stories, and firstly to protect the integrity of the intellectual product of their respective company.  These gatekeepers take their work with the same seriousness that a historian takes to the correct accounting of actual events.  Like writing a novel set in the written world of Krynn, the world of the Dragonlance sagas, the digital worlds of MMORPGs and other game titles might be even less forgiving when it comes to fiction that fits.  (More to come!  Time to "research" my MMO short story : P )

Elance Gets Mixed Reviews Online

Elance Gets Hammered In Forums From Employers

I'm almost done with the seemingly endless requirements, testing, verification, and personal information gathering required to start applying for jobs on Elance, when I stumble upon a huge number of articles slamming Elance for misrepresenting their contractors, not handling the prepaid money employers put up for a project correctly (this fund is called escrow), and making employers fight way to hard in a system with little customer service and hole-filled safety measures for returning the money to its rightful owner if the job isn't done right. 


While this is a freelancing blog, this is also a business blog, and I want to make a statement here to people who are considering using Internet employment/professional connection sites like Elance to contract out some of their writing, editing, or coding business needs.  From what I hear online, Elance is not the place to go to find contractors for website development, and especially the more complex types of coding.  Several links to these stories, and the inexcusably poor customer service Elance offered them concerning large sums of money follow.  I think the scariest part is when a gentleman had thousands in Elance Escrow, had a completely insecure product created for him, and had to call over a dozen times; pretty much just to get someone to answer the phone (which they usually don't).

• http://preview.tinyurl.com/3b9v39p - When outsourced coding looks good at first, then. . .
• http://preview.tinyurl.com/3uv9tun - Great insights on how the whole system works and advice on avoiding loopholes that allow contractors to rip you off.  BE SPECIFIC!

Here are two articles that compare the major outsourcing/freelancing websites

• http://preview.tinyurl.com/3e9cmdz - An impartial review of 6 of the top outsourcing platforms online, and some solid advice on getting the right person for the job, and clearly identifying what that job is.
• http://preview.tinyurl.com/3pdvt9n - Discusses Elance, oDesk, and Guru, offering insights for both employers and freelancers.

Freelancer's Corner
For my freelancing readers out there, I give you the thumbs up to try it.  I did not see much in the way of complaints from contractors (writers, editors, content developers, web designers, and coders) and there are reports than some contractors, whom are likely organized as a small business or group of individuals, are making millions per year on Elance.


The first advantage of Elance, and possibly the most important during a time when people are so strapped for cash, is that all employers must put the money for the project in an account with Elance to guarantee the funds actually exist.  Elance Escrow requires the funds be placed in an Elance holding account until the project is completed, or a weekly timesheet is verified and the payment authorized (did I mention they pay weekly?). 


I can't even count the number of horror stories I have heard from people: not only online freelancers but contractors, remodelers, and others, who finish the job, do it well, and get a sob story from the employer about how they can't pay for it right now.  Even worse are the stories where the project is completed and the employer refuses to answer emails, phone calls, or make any communication whatsoever.  As much as these slime bags deserve to be arrested for fraud, receiving payment for services rendered usually falls into the murky waters of civil law, and can take a long time and a lot of money for contractors to get what they deserve.


Elance has minimums for both hourly and flat rate jobs, so you won't end up working for three hours on an article that makes you absolutely nothing like many blogs and content mill sites (sites that post your articles, cover the material with ads, and share the ad revenue with the author).* 






Elance only allows projects to be posted that pay hourly or a flat rate for a certain project; revenue sharing based on popularity, Adsense revenue sharing, and a ton of other shady trade-ins for your time are not allowed.  This is a far cry from companies that take your article, cover it with ads, and give you a percentage of the money they make off the advertising, of which they generally keep 40% anyway.** 






While I don't recommend Elance.com for Employers I still think it may be a legit way to get busy and make some fair money for freelancers, so if you need a new avenue to find long- and short-term gigs, give them a go.


Getting into the world of freelance writing, editing, and coding can be a very long and arduous process.  It is filled with scams, job listings that are really a sales pitch for a pyramid schemes or 'business opportunity', employers who refuse to pay after the writing is done.  The list of pitfalls for budding freelance writers, editors, and entrepreneurs is virtually endless.  That is, in a nutshell, why this blogs exists.  To make freelancing safer for new freelance writers or business owners, and sucessful veterans alike.  I try to steer readers to legitimate services and warn them about unscrupulous ones.*** 


Sites like Elance and many others which will be discussed in greater detail in the future require aptitude tests, pages of personal information, phone verification. . . the list of time consuming tasks goes on and on.  Do your research and read what people have to say about these companies before you blow hours creating a profile that does nothing for your career (or your wallet).


*  Note On Reasons to Blog: If you are a blogger, Adsense is fine but always blog for personal reasons: to share your message, to teach, to get people thinking, whatever.  Don't do it because you think it'll pay your mortage.  Blogs like this one are best written to help others, or help yourself practice your craft and share your expertise.  Anyone who tells you your blog is an Adsense cash cow and wants to sell you a book on how to start raking it in is a conman.  There are a few exceptions to this rule: when blogging draws traffic to your personal website, when a blog helps sell a product (yours or even someone elses through affiliate marketing programs), when a blog helps promote some sort of goal you want others to participate in, invest in, or donate money to, or when a blog helps you co-promote other bloggers who cover similar topics as you.


** Note: My Weekly E-Rage Minute: Factoidz.com. . . you still owe me $1.03 for at least  6 or 7 hours worth of writing.  I'm coming for it Factoidz.  Soon, you freaking crooks.  (While upsetting, these articles were written early in my career, and my SEO was probably not what it should be.  You can see all these articles here: http://tinyurl.com/3w2jolm, http://tinyurl.com/3l5gutj, http://tinyurl.com/3wmtxne (The third link is a particularly good list of resources I found for all types of search optimization for any type of content, whether it be articles, Websites, and more.  Definitely worth a look in my opinion).


READER FEEDBACK:  Which freelancing services has been working for you?  Are there job listing sites (i.e. freelancewritinggigs.com)  you use to find niche openings on Elance, oDesk, ect. that help narrow the search for jobs?  Do you have experience writing for a couple different sites?Share your experiences and answer the aching question: which one pays the best overall?  Still have questions or additional info. we'd all benefit from?  COMMENT, and get the conversation started.

Writers and Publishers Can Keep Content Safe With Copyscape Services

Protect Yourself From Plagiarism, Re-authoring, and Use of Your Work Without Citation 

The threat of plagiarism has never been higher than it is today.  The threat of research, fiction, nonfiction, or any type of written information being copied, pasted, and assigned a false author has never been easier.  The copy/paste routine is a much simpler option for a lot of unscrupulous folks out there who don’t have the know how or are just plain lazy to create the same content.  Though I am not certain I'd label Copyscape a watchdog group quite yet, they do offer the ability to find out where writing has been stolen.  The recourse against the theft of your content may be up to you.

Note: I like to pass on great Internet resources to my readers.  Every single one of them, up to this point has been free, if I am remembering correctly.  This is a sort of hybrid: the service is a paid one, but it also offers a free download that is darn near as useful as the service itself. 

I’m not an affiliate of this or any of the websites, communities, or services I scour the internet for, to bring the best to my readers.  I just like finding cool stuff and sharing it!  Social Tsunami is my business so I’ll be talking more about that as the days go on, but that is, I hope, obviously different.  So be assured I am not a sell out.  Yet, anyway. . . .

Now on to the good stuff: protecting your writing and content online, and searching for instances where it has already been reproduced in a non-cited, unauthorized, or just plain plagiarized, re-authored manner.

Copyscape is a Web service dedicated to protecting your content.  Simply copy and paste the URL of your article, homepage, squeeze page, whatever you are concerned about, into the search engine.  It will scour the web for instances where your words have been duplicated.  If your name is not cited, and you did not sign a contract allowing someone to reproduce your material in the manner it has been, there is a problem.  There is also a free search  available if you would like to take the service for a test spin.

This is a great way to make sure all of your hard work isn’t making someone else Adsense revenue or helping them present themselves as an expert on subjects that they clearly aren’t.  Likewise, your stories belong to you, and shouldn't be out winning other people contest money or book deals.  It should be clear enough, but I seriously discourage anyone from tossing a completed manuscript for a book all over the web for a variety of reasons, even if it is copyrighted.  This can get messy with critiquing groups, editors, and people you think you can trust.  However, this is a complex topic better covered in another post. 

The paid service (starting at $4.99/mo.) not only increases the search capabilities, but also has the option of periodic scans of content you put into Copyscape’s database of your work.  They will notify you and tell you who the culprit is automatically, even if you don't think to make a search.  This can save a tremendous amount of time.  If you find someone duplicating or using your work unscrupulously, you are protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).  

This is a great service people in a variety of professions: content developers, webmasters, freelance writers, novelists, and even teachers who grade essays should check up on it.  One more tool in the tech-toolbox, but that’s not the best part for us bargain shoppers.

Free Tool Alert: Copyscape offers a variety of banners you can put pin on your work to deter others from plagiarizing it.  The few seconds it will take to input an image at the bottom of your blog posts, paste in the footer of webpages, or append to a full length article you submit to an editor for publishing (usually before you are actually paid), can save you a lot of heartache and potentially a lot of money and time pursuing plagiarism later on.  

So take some precautions, especially when they are free.  Start using the Copyscape Banners whether you have the service or not.  It will make you look savvy, and the rest of the world think twice about ripping you off.

And as always at Freelancing To Freedom, we believe free is a pretty good price.

Free Networking Meetings Can Lead To Writing Work

Free Networking Meetings Can Lead To Writing Work

Today I followed a Craigslist ad in the community>groups sections that said "Our Clients May Need Your Services."  As I often am I was dismayed to realize that the post wasn't exactly what it had touted itself to be.  But it had value none the less.  It was a meeting to a referral (or networking) group called "I Take The Lead."  It features a ten minute presentation by one business and a chance to mingle, shake hands, and exchange information.  

I am most interested in the potential of meeting clients for Social Tsunami Business Services, my social media consulting business, but to an enterprising freelance writer who doesn't mind spending a few bucks on business cards, these kinds of meetings can be a great place to connect with business owners and professionals from all walks of life.    

Even my little brand of consulting can involve writing for businesses, and while I will probably spend most of my time drawing attention to the breadth of services I can provide through other areas of expertise, writing is still one of the main services I'll offer.  The most significant angle you can take as a freelance writer is business writing which is an all-inclusive term for any type of written communication done in the pursuit of running a company and selling products and services.

Business writing covers a wide variety of niche business-related tasks the freelancer can offer help with.  Marketing materials, pamphlets, advertising copy, and even emails fall under business writing.  Beyond the obvious opportunities of writing sales script, don't forget the freelance writer's Go-To's: Online Content Development, Articles and Blogging.  Nearly every professional and business needs to have a presence online, and some (statistics say most) go to specialists to build the image of their "know how" and add to their credibility.  Someone may also want to save time having an experienced writer answer emails, type correspondence to other businesses, partners, clients, or address complaints in a professional and conciliatory manner in writing.  Business is always full of forms right?  It isn't the most exciting thing to create, but it looks good on resumes and pays.  But how do you find the right person with the right need that you can fulfill?  There are two ways. 

Approach People, Get Information, Probe for problems, Offer Solutions.

(Note of Caution: Probing for a problem is the touchiest of the four goals, and should be handled with subtlety.  Most people will be out to present the best side of their business as possible, which doesn't include telling strangers about any problems that may exist.  In most cases you may learn a bit about what they do, and get their card.  It shouldn't need to be said but I'll go ahead and say it: Don't go asking people if their email response time is from 2 weeks to never, or if they have a mission statement with all the literacy of a third grader, or that their brochure is so littered with typos that it has been selling nothing more than laughs.  Accept the card, and hopefully you'll find these things out using the second strategy.)  

Be outgoing, meet people, and get them talking.  Learn about their business and ask questions with an ear for problems: things they haven't gotten around to writing, processes that are expensively outsourced, things they don't like to do, or things they don't do well.  People that tell you about problems right off the bat probably have a chip on their shoulder, or are having a bad day.  You may even do well to look for the grump in the group.  People also loosen their ties and talk about the negatives and areas you can offer help in when they are outside smoking, waiting for elevators, when they are relatively alone, and after the majority of the group has left and they don't feel so "on stage."  Try to pry a little if you have to while seeming innocently interested in what they do and how their company runs.  If you find a soft spot where your writing can solve a problem or where the writing you can perform can save them time and money, then get ready to offer yourself as an alternative solution.  

When it is your turn to share (which you have politely waited for) give a brief description of your writing business, and then that is when you bring them back to the customer emails that are backing up, the new product that is sitting around waiting for marketing materials, or the employee handbook riddled with typos.  There may be angles for writing jobs that you haven't considered in businesses that you are unfamiliar with, but if your expertise can solve someone's problem, they will be excited to hear about it.

Because what do you do again?  Solve their problems, naturally.   

Second Chance: Follow up, Use Notes, Offer Your Services

Even if you don't get a hook in at the meeting itself, you still have a fistful of business cards.  As soon as you discretely can (at the meeting or just after), jot down notes on the back of each card so you can recall parts of the conversation later.  Focus the notes on areas that your writing or editing might be of service.    Things like the name of their terrier or the bathroom remodel they talked about can warm these leads even further.  Make your message personal if it seems appropriate, but try to recall each person and frame your inquiry according to how you read each person and what their expectations would probably be.

Send an email or make a phone call introducing yourself, what you do, and where you met.  Give a short list of your services (or just mention business writing), mentioning a few components of their business from the back of your card that seem related, and ask if there is anything they might have for you.  If not, thank them anyway and see if it would be okay to check back with them at a later date.  You may call some who say fine but prefer email.  Some may say no that they have other ways of applying for formal positions.   Some may be a little annoyed.  It happens.  It seems simple, but if you are making a call and you’re not experienced in sales it can be somewhat nerve wracking.  Don’t sweat it, just know that it gets easier and write “cold-calling experience” in your resume with pride.  Put the contacts and call outcomes all in a database with their responses and call it your pipeline (If they tell you to stop calling or emailing, I’d suggest leaving them out, wouldn’t you say?).  You have made contact with these people twice now, and if you made a good impression each time the chances they will work with you down the road has increased.

Networking meetings is not the usual route a freelance writer will take.  I think it is important to cover it here and present a strategy for turning face-to-face meetings into business or at least contacts. 

The people a writer meets at local referral clubs and networking meetings are part of a mutual community.  Meeting someone who is a mover and shaker in your own city is worth a thousand friends on Facebook you have never met.  They may not send you boards and buckets on Farmville, but they just may send you a check for your writing someday.

Need Newsletters? Free Email Marketing With Mailchimp Is Finally Here

I happened to recall, as I cruised chrome for good things to share with the world, my desire to have a free service that will manage a newsletter.  This is big news, and many of you know that having a huge newsletter following can mean big profits if it is targeted to the product or service you offer.  Bottom line:  Opt-in emails are people who care about what you have to say, and want to hear more of it!

Enough with the sell, there is finally a site out there that will give you a very reasonable following and mailer service for FREE:  http://www.mailerchimp.com.  It's free application will collect up to 2,000 subscribers and allow 12,000 emails per month; this means that a full subscriber list can create 6 newsletters a month.  This sounds like a lot of power, and it is.  It also probably sounds like a lot of limitations, and this is true as well.  Your ability to use this service depends upon the popularity of your other platforms, as you will have to bring subscribers to a custom page link to enter their information.

As with any good newsletter or emailer there should be value to the subscriber.  You can do this best by creating organized and visually pleasing information and links to expanded articles.

Tip:  These articles do not necessarily have to be written by you.  Find related articles that you found enlightening, write a summary of them, and connect the reader with the full article via a link.  Here you not only look humble, but well versed in the exchange of ideas and information.  You technically steal someone else's work, but both sides win.  The author of your featured article receives traffic from you, and your readers forgive the fact that you as an expert didn't write the article yourself but still located it in the dumping grounds of public access information available online.

Try Mailchimp out for yourself, if you have enough people listening to consider an online mailer a good use of your time.  If you have a following on your blog, Twitter, or otherwise, you may just increase your readership for free, exponentially.

Tip:  Remember that sharing is caring, and increasing your following needs well placed widgets where people can share cool things (like your newsletter) with others.  If your newsletter doesn't lead to more people taking notice of your hard work then it is not time well spent.

Good luck and good gathering, I might one day be one of your 2,000 subscribers, so follow these guidelines and don't disappoint: sell yourself first, and links to the information your readership wants second.  

Aggregate marketing isn't about taking credit for other people's work.  It's about knowing quality when you see it, and your subscribers will admire that and appreciate you taking the best of the web right to their doorstep.

How To Get Writing Sooner: 3 Efficiency Tips For Writers and Entrepreneurs

Identifying Useful Activities That Have Gone Overboard
Time wasters are everywhere, but not everything we do that keeps us off task is a waste.  Hours can be spent on perfectly necessary projects such as maintaining a connection through social media and email, or honing our taste in literature by reading.  Reading tips from other writers can also help you make connections, and is a form of continuing education (though you'll never receive a grade, and I wouldn't recommend putting that you read Writer's Digest on a resume).  So here are some thoughts on how to stay productive while keeping yourself connected and informed.  Most solutions have a bit of Psychology and self-help included, so get ready to use a little metacognition (thinking about thinking) or even "listening to thinking" to better organize your time.  I'm sure after reading the following list you will have no trouble identifying things that are occupying too much time.

Time Wasters and How to Manage Them

1. Email:  I have three or four email addresses that I check frequently, and taking the time to sign in and out of them can get excessive over the course of a week or a month.  This time adds up quickly.                     Solution:  Use forwarding to check all your emails at once with a single "master" email you check once to see what was sent to all the other accounts.  
2. Reading:  Reading is an important part of writing and is certainly time well spent, but when you can't put down the novel you're engrossed in or the magazine with the fabulous advice, it becomes counterproductive.  Solution:  Keep a journal of your peaks and troughs of efficiency and arousal.  Use the times you are most "with it" to write, and times when you are not as energetic on more passive endeavors such as research, enjoying a novel, or gathering tips in magazines, blogs, and websites.  There is great information out there, but if your all strategy and no action, you won't get very far.                                               

1. Facebook/Twitter:  Though I use Facebook much more than Twitter, they are both a distraction when used for more than networking or sharing your work with potential readers (or clients, if you have a business).  These Internet powerhouses can help a great deal when creating a platform that is free and attracting people interested in seeing what you are doing (let me rephrase that: people are interested in how what you are doing CAN HELP THEM).  But, as most people know, it can be a serious distraction when you really should be writing and creating content.  Solution:  No two people are going to have the same solution to dealing with the engrossing distractions of social media, but remember advice I gave earlier about peaks and troughs in arousal and performance.  Use the times you are at your best to maximize your content, write your novel, or do the brain crunching stuff that really takes a lot of mental power....                                       

Because I think we can all agree that checking our Facebooks isn't exactly the most demanding thing in the world.  The same typically goes for email, and emails that are important should be given thought and consideration.  Draft important emails (if deadlines and time constraints allow) when you are feeling energetic and "on it".

So don't stop reading, connecting, and building your platform.  Put these activities into perspective and make sure you use your waking hours as efficiently as you can.

What other time wasters can you think of?  How do you deal with them?  Help us all out and tell us in a comment.

Suite 101 and Demand Media Studios: Fair Pay Freelancing Sites

Like any freelance writer, I'm always keeping an eye out for new markets for my writing.  I made the decision a couple weeks ago that finding an appropriate market or writing program was the most important thing on my plate at the time.  After all, bills don't pay themselves.  So I have returned from my long silence with two programs that may help article authors find fair pay homes for their writing.

Demand Media Studios - Touted as the best online writing community on the web, and started by the guy that built Myspace, Demand Media Studios is at the forefront of content creation and is the largest contributor of videos to YouTube.  This phenomenal company pays twice a week in two basic modalities: flat rate and profit share.  The flat rate for writing an article is typically $15.  Profit share payouts occur over time and are dependent upon the popularity of the article.  Payment type is not something that is changed after the article is written; the author chooses assignments from a list of computer-generated titles that are designed to rank well with search engines and other writing sites such as About.com and eHow.  The writer doesn't have to worry about marketing the article, because it will not have the original authors name on it.  The article will instead read "Demand Media Studios", a process that some authors may have an aversion to.  Losing authorship may be worth the $15 to some, but for authors trying to get their name out in cyberspace, they may feel more at home writing for a more entitling site like Suite101.com.  Demand Studios also has positions available for video makers (like writing most paid video content is on how to topics) and copy editors.

Suite 101 - Suite101.com also requires a writing sample and application to be accepted as a writer, and only offers profit share from articles.  But what it lacks in comparison to Demand Studios' flat rate and twice weekly payments, it makes up for with author flexibility.  Author's can write about anything they want, so long as they fit into one of a broad number of categories Suite 101 provides.  Articles are checked for grammar and appropriate content before they are posted, but the editorial process is nowhere near as strict as that of Demand Media Studios.  Writers who prefer the freedom of Suite 101 to the stringent criteria and pre-made title system of Demand Studios should also become versed in search engine analytics using a program such as Google Trends, Wordze, or Word Tracker to test various titles for search engine user search compatibility.  Knowing how many people will be searching for similar information can help authors tailor their articles based upon what their potential audience is searching for online.

No two pay-to-write programs are identical, but Demand Media Studios and Suite 101 are more promising in many ways than their competitors.  Both require an application and a writing sample to be accepted, which is something that is worth putting some time into and doing right the first time.  Demand Studios will accept only on application per person, per position, and while an author could always get a different email address and resubmit, they may get flagged anyway.  Reading examples of other articles these companies produce is a great way to get familiar with what types of articles are acceptable.  The preferred style for both companies is third person, so either write an article from a third person perspective (no "I", "you", "we" ect.), or rewrite another unpublished article to follow the third person perspective.

Staying Writing, Staying Motivated

Writing is an immensely personal venture that brings us closer to ourselves. We often don't know what will come out of our keyboards or pens until it is already on the paper, or sometimes, embarrassingly enough, until it's been published. This will be the case with this particular post. It is not going to see a strong editing hand, or be reworked and reworded for ultimate accessibility and organization. Hell, the spell checker on my copy of Open Office doesn't even work. But I do want to write, and I do want to share it with others.

As I sit on my porch overlooking a good part of the valley that comprises the southern end of Salem Oregon, I'm thinking about my motivation to write and my approach to what I write. Where does my inspiration come from, and where does it go when it's not around? These things would be helpful to know, but I have no idea. Some days I want to write, and it doesn't seem to particularly matter what I write about; I just keep writing and writing. Other days I can barely seem to get anything done. While faux psychologists and lay-shrinks out there would probably point to depression or some other type of mental illness, I don't think it's that simple, or that serious. I think everyone goes through these micro ups-and-downs, these small moments of inspiration, motivation, and drive, and moments where we just don't feel like doing anything, much less trying to produce something of value of others. Keeping motivated and focused is tough with all the distractions that are out there, and let's be honest: freelance writing, especially in the beginning, can seem pretty hopeless after countless hours are spent writing and only a few dollars (or less) have come in.

There are a few things that help keep me motivated, and much of it is perspective. How I feel about myself and my writing career are important. Even if you haven't made a dime yet, it is just as easy to arbitrarily believe you will be successful than to arbitrarily believe you will fail. I can tell you that believing you'll be successful and everything you do is working toward that success is infinitely more valuable that languishing in self-doubt.

Environment plays a huge part in success versus failure in writing. The people I live with, their moods, behaviors, and habits all have an effect on my writing. Be careful as a writer to set aside space, both mental and physical, to get writing and get focused. Other people will have their good days and bad days, and it is good practice to not let it effect you negatively. The closer the person is to you, the more difficult this will be.

These are a few of the most important considerations I have for new writers to be successful, and to stay writing when the chips are down and the paychecks are few and far between. Managing your environment can help keep what is outside of yourself from interferring, and staying positive about the venture of writing can help quell distractions that arise from within. And remember the greatest distraction of all, T.V., has to be set aside for success to happen. This is true of any home business, and really, life in general.

Good Luck, Good Day, and Good Writing!

Roku and Boxee? New things I must know, or old things I should have known about already?!

I know I've been quiet today, I am still working diligently on getting into great paid writing programs and being able to share some great news and help everyone who reads my blog out.  As I was briefly scanning some locally posted writing gigs on Craigslist, I came across this:

"We are looking for a freelance PR person in the Portland area who knows the tech world well. If you have a handle on the iPhone/iPad landscape, can tell the difference between Android and WinMo, and know a bit about internet appliances like Roku and Boxee, then you are a perfect fit. Its only a couple hours here and there probably, but could turn into more in time if you wanted."

I realized that someone is speaking a very foreign language of apps, sites, and services I MAY really benefit from knowing.  What I can gather so far (and this may require revision as I'm about to go to bed and have zero research into the subject) is that this particular job involves posting updates, relevant business correspondence and presence in an online format.  We have WinMo, most likely referring to a Windows mobile sort of platform, a mention of Android which leads me to the mobile device with the same name, and two other names that as of yet have no meaning whatsoever to me, which could be something similar to delicious, reddit, or some other rating and sharing social networking services. 

Could this gig I'm completely unqualified for be a starting place for learning some new skills that could help me find freelance work in the future? ABSOLUTELY.

Being a freelancer is about being flexible, and approaching opportunities in a unique way.  If I were to approach this curious little shout out with the usual "I am very interested in your position for... whatever it is exactly you are talking about" with an attachment with a resume nowhere near resembling what they are looking for, it would be an obvious fail.  But what I can do, is perhaps reply with open ended questions learning more about what exactly they are looking for someone to do for them and the methods they are using to accomplish it.  I may be able to fish out a whole new avenue of online marketing I hadn't known about or I hadn't known how to accomplish.

Food for thought, and the real take home here is even a freelance gig you can't accomplish doesn't mean you won't ever be able to accomplish it.  The beauty of the internet: anyone can become an expert.

Writer Tip: Date Everything In Your Archive

If you are an article writer or blogger, you know the value of keeping an archive of everything you publish online.  Having a single library (or folder) that contains all of your writing is an invaluable resource when it comes to filling out applications that require a writing sample.  You also never know what may happen to your online content: blogs get hacked, content gets removed or shelfed, a variety of things can cause all your hard work to disappear.  So make sure to back it up!

If you are like me, there's often a number of projects in the works at any given time.  Organizing your writing archive by date can help you keep multiple projects on schedule, and if you don't have a set schedule, at least give you an easy measure of how long a certain piece is taking you.

The article I'm spending the most time on right now is a 1300 word piece about writing, publishing, and marketing e-books.  I started this little ditty 5 days ago.  I know because I named it 1_12_11MarketingEbooks.doc.  I started it assuming I'd give it to Factoidz, in which case I'd be done with it by now.  This article's new home is going to be the inbox of a couple of editors from different websites who are looking for new writers.  The take home lesson here is that it is okay to spend a considerable amount of time on an article that is used as a writing sample.  It is also helpful that I can see when I started the project and know that I should probably finish it up soon!

The way I organize my archive includes a couple of important dates.  The first, as I've already discussed, is the date I started writing it.  The second is the date it gets published, which I put below the title at the top of the document.  This isn't always important, depending on where the article is published, but I'll tell you why I do it.  When an article is posted to Factoidz.com, it must be fresh content (not published anywhere else at the time of submission), and it cannot be published anywhere else for 30 days.  After that, your article is essentially your property again and you can post it to your blog, or anywhere else you'd like to go with it.  

Customizing your Twitter with Themeleon

Going to bed and waking up early is not really part of my nocturnal life plan, but sometimes you gotta make a buck when the writing isn't enough.  Anyway, while I'm off selling firewood out of a pick up truck (I'm only half hick, on my mothers side), I'm sure YOU will be comfortably sitting in front of your laptop, chain smoking cigarettes in your garage (everyone does that right?), and using the knowledge I'm about to bestow.

If you are using Twitter to send article spam to all your lovely followers and followees (or whatever their called), dress up your Twitter page a little with Themeleon.  Not all of their pre-formatted images are spectacular, and many include a lot of obnoxious lens flare effects, but download the plug in and give it a whirl.  Their options are much better than the 15 or so options you get through Twitter, and it will give your page a much more professional look.

Making Money Online: Finding Work From Home Writing and Editing

So Many Websites, Which Ones Actually Pay?
If you are looking to make some money writing online or are looking for a career where business casual is your bathrobe, I'll have some articles coming out in the near future that'll help you get started.  You can be assured that you absolutely will make money writing for the websites I review because I will have made money writing for them myself.

oDesk:  Here are my experiences making money on oDesk to date.  Check out the tips section for how I got the job and strategies to getting that first gig.

Some articles are better than others

As a writer for Factoidz for the last several weeks, I've had an opportunity to make a little money and look at which of my articles are receiving the most attention from readers.  In the process I've learned a couple of things about what it takes to make an article a serious traffic generator.  But here, I'd like to make a few notes on what went wrong with the other articles, pose some questions to my readers, and look into the future a bit.

Problems with article keywords
The first thing that comes to mind when I consider my articles that aren't getting hits is my state of mind when I wrote them.  I usually write all night and I don't think this schedule is really as predictable as waking up every morning for the quality of my writing.  I think the articles that aren't getting traffic are written fairly well, but by the time I was done with them I was exhausted.  This didn't leave me much energy for the last step which is selecting all of my keywords.  The process of choosing keywords is probably just like using the "Labels" box in blogger.  You fill it with enough words that search engines can get a good idea of what your article relates to, but not too many that you get flagged.  By not spending enough time choosing good keywords I was pretty much guaranteed that these articles wouldn't be looked at by very many people.

(Interesting side note: adding words like "Walmart, Martha Stewart, or CNN" just because a lot of people make searches on them may positively effect your ratings.  Another term for this is "Black Hat" SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  Black hat tactics try to drive traffic using unrelated but popular keywords to describe their page.  When people search on these unrelated topic, they may happen to click on the article, adding another hit to the counter.  White hat SEO involve honest and legitimate ways to attract people without misleading or violating a search engines Terms of Use.)

A question for my readers
One of my articles is about URL redirecting services, and it is here I have a question to pose to my readers.  A URL redirecting or shortening service allows users to create short links of their own to other content on the internet instead of including long hundreds of characters long URLs.  The google URL shortener is called Goog.le and another popular service is Bit.ly.  So aside from the obvious keywords such as "URL shortener", what is the best keyword to use for something like Goog.le or Bit.ly?  Do you leave the period out of the entry (i.e. Bitly instead of Bit.ly)?  That isn't an option with Goog.le; without the period there is no way to tell the difference between the company and it's shortening service.

Onward and upward
Of the little money I have made so far, I see a huge percentage coming from articles that have titles offering advice on how to use some of the major players in social media.  Websites like Facebook, Twitter, Google,  and LinkedIn are becoming more important to nearly ever type of business every day; and writing helpful articles for people to better use these websites can be big bucks if you do it right.  Utilities like URL shorteners are great, but you will have to wait for the nickels and dimes to start rolling in if you write about them before they reach their height of popularity.

Before I leave you, here is some food for thought.  After watching two articles tank and another continue to generate a steady stream of hits, I can't stress enough the importance of choosing an appropriate title and keywords.  My next step is to start using Google Analytics to gather more detailed information on my articles' traffic, and also choose subjects and topics that people will want to read.  Many companies offering freelance gigs will help you out by giving you lists of hot keywords.  Sticking to these lists and writing useful relevant content will almost guarantee you some exposure.  But, as of the time this is written, I cannot locate this supposed list on Factoidz and they have not answered my repeated requests to help me locate this list.  If I find it in the future, you can be assured I will share this secret cleverly hidden in yet another terribly designed website.

Happy keyword hunting, and good posting.

Choosing a Writing Goal Wisely, and a Word on Ethics

After writing a review of some of the myriad websites that claim to pay people to write for them, I have learned that there are, as you can imagine, a ton of them. Most, if not all, for the purposes of making a consequential amount of money are relatively crooked. Writing for these programs is like trying to make your millions in an MLM (Multiple Level Marketing): you work and you work and all your doing is making the guy at the top richer than he already is.

Every freelance writer should keep a product in mind they would like to develop, whether it is a book, an information product, website, or even (though I wouldn't recommend this as a first choice) someone else's product. Somewhere along the line you are going to want your standing in the communities you are active in and all the meticulous SEO and backlinking you have done to culminate into something, and that's where your product comes in. Trust me, all your hard work, all your hours of coffee guzzling and keyboard slapping will NOT pay off if you only have ten cents a month from a WebAnswer to "How to best remove a bandaid". I can, with almost complete certainty, guarantee you it will not happen for you like this.

Blogging and article writing should be the means to getting recognized and connected, not the end itself. Writing, commenting, and networking puts you on the map: a little blot of land in a giant sea of people who aren't you. Some people begin to recognize you as an expert in your field of focus, or at least take notice that you exist and occasionally have something worth saying. These people, your followers on Twitter and fiction writing group on LinkedIn, will help you more later on than you can imagine. Because to those people, what you say has value, and by gaining their respect, you will also have a warm audience to present your product or service to when the time comes.

This is the power of social networking, but do not fall into the errors that so many writers fall into thinking that it is the be-all-end-all of anything, much less a career. And I cannot stress enough that social networking is a tool and NOT A MARKETING PLAN! A marketing plan will involve many circumstances and many people on different levels depending upon the product or service you market. A marketing plan to sell hemp jewelry out of your trunk should vary greatly from a plan to market an information product through affiliates and independent contractors. One effects what people have on their wrist, while another could change the lives of the people who buy your advice or sell your your product. There is a different level of responsibility and impact you have between asking someone to wear your necklace and telling someone what to do to be successful or make money.

I don't want to paint a drearly picture of article writing, but looking to it as an end goal for producing income just isn't realistic. I want you, the writer, the reader, to know that it is important step in establishing oneself as a professional. It also serves as a useful marketing tool in too many ways to consider listing here. But most importantly it is keeping us writing. Good writers must write. A lot. There is simply no replacement for practice and experience. And when it does come time to tackle a bigger hurdle, to mount a bigger project, those who have kept writing in the meantime will have a truly better chance of succeeding in a project that clearly mirrors who they are creatively and professionally.