5 Ways to Write Content on a Shoe-String Budget

My Web Writers 

As a business owner you are faced with challenging decisions every day, if not several times throughout the day. Everything from your focus and vision to your marketing plan, each requires significant attention to detail and countless hours of envisioning, business mapping, and collecting data to support the strategic planning that you put into place to live out your company goals and mission.

One of the most challenging decisions that you, as a business owner, might make is how to effectively develop your company’s web site content to increase your business presence, reach your target audience, and boost your business’ performance while maintaining your “shoestring budget.” You know, it comes as no surprise, neither marketing nor advertising come without cost. Lucky for you, however, we’ve come up with five ways to help you write content on a shoe-string budget.

In-house writers: If your company is fortunate to have a marketing department, albeit large or small, using in-house writers can provide you with good, quality content. As a department, your company should identify the goals it would like to accomplish through the use of its content. Will your content be used primarily online, in print, through various direct mail, email or telemarketing campaigns? Once you’ve hit on the logistics, get your team involved. Creating unique and interesting content doesn’t come easier than to involve a lot of different people. Help your team to understand the company’s vision and then let them be the voice of the company. Each person will come with several different and unique approaches to your company’s marketing strategy.  Whichever strategy your team is tackling, monitor and track how successful your company’s outreach is and develop your future plans accordingly. It will help you to respond to the strengths and weaknesses of the department and meet the needs of your company’s target audience.

Contracted writers: In some cases, companies don’t have the staffing to maintain the necessary presence on the web to satisfy their marketing team’s departmental goals or in-house writers don’t quite have a full understanding of SEO.  If that sounds like your company, consider partnering with a content writing agency to supplement or manage your online presence.  Think about your overall space, administrative, and time costs saved when putting together your budget.  You will get what you pay for, so be realistic.  Look for content quotes that are reasonable to the parameters and demands of the project.

For a smaller budget, your in-house writers can begin their script and merely use contracted writers to edit or spruce up content. However, for slightly larger budgets or needs, freelance writers can take the joys of a blank page, use the mastery of their word-smithing capabilities, and turn your would-be dreams into a reality. And all the better, hiring contracted writers frees you and your staff of their highly valued time (especially if you’re likely to struggle at the stroke of the keys).

Content Management Software and Systems: Allow your company to tap into the ready-waiting success of content management software and systems just waiting to be utilized. If you’re not familiar with Hootsuite, let me give you the quickest, easiest one-two facts about it: It’s an A-MAZING must have. Hootsuite allows you the ability to manage and measure your social media networks all in one suite location. You can monitor and schedule social media messages, posts, and tweets for multiple accounts, while tracking any of your company mentions, all with the luxury of analyzing social media traffic. Sticking to your online schedule is simple when you schedule posts through Hootsuite. In fact, when the thought strikes you, schedule your post to appear in days, weeks, or months from the date you actually jot down your noteworthy thought. It’s a business-saver. And while you’re at it, sign up for an easy-to-use, online visibility account that keeps you in the news with PRWeb. Yep, it’s simple. Your writers can produce press releases about newsworthy happenings within your company and then share them with the rest of the world. Anything from a new employee, event, or product can now make headlines with the ease of online viewership. If you haven’t tried them, you should. Content management software and systems make distributing content affordable and easy, and they will make you seem like a genius!

High School and College Intern: Networking with local high schools, colleges and universities can be one of the most advantageous methods for developing content on a shoe-string budget. At most schools and colleges, student interns are nearing graduation and are experienced junior or senior level undergraduate students. In addition to having the benefit of hardworking students, desiring a position to give them hands-on, transferrable skills to carry over into the workforce upon graduation, employers can work closely with student interns to mentor them and provide them with the skills they desire in an employee on a trial-run basis, so to speak. It’s a win-win; students earn college credit and employers have good quality content written typically at no – or a low – cost.

Social Media: It should come without saying, plugging into social media is one of the wisest moves a company can make. Millions of individuals, nationally and internationally, visit social media sites daily. By maximizing your presence in various social media platforms, your company will successfully share your message, content, and company mission with the online world. And while you are building your platform, network, network, network. The more contact you make with the online world, the better you will be at getting your brand out to the world.

Marketing can be a tough hill to climb, but it doesn’t have to be. Utilizing the various marketing measures available to your company can help you take your business to the next level. ~Leah

Famous Dead Authors’ Secrets for Writing Success

By Sara, My Web Writers Intern

It has been said that writers are born, not made. Some take that to mean that you are either born with talent, or you may as well not try. That’s probably bunk. If writers are born, they are born out of the sweat and tears of determination and practice. Whether you are drumming up SEO content or working on the next great American novel, writing well and employing the habits of effective writing are essential.

First, it’s important to practice.

Practice keeps you in the habit of writing and thinking about writing. Nineteenth century author C.S. Lewis, most famous for The Chronicles of Narnia, says that “what you want is practice, practice, practice. It doesn’t matter what we write… so long as we write continually as well as we can. I feel that every time I write a page either of prose or of verse, with real effort, even if it’s thrown into the fire the next minute, I am so much further on.”

Another prolific writer, recently deceased Saul Bellow, observed that “somewhere in his journals Dostoyevsky remarks that a writer can begin anywhere, at the most commonplace thing, scratch around in it long enough, pray and dig away long enough, and lo! soon he will hit upon the marvelous.” When you practice the craft of writing and pay diligence to it, you grow. Even if you write tweets for a business firm, you are bound to come up with more unique, interesting, and creative content when you practice. Imagine an athlete who only played her sport at game time — she wouldn’t be good at it and would not be long rewarded for her “efforts.” So practice, practice, practice. Start now. Call it writers’ Spring Training.

Having some “filler” in your drafts is o.k.

It’s certainly tempting for any writer to stop when we have so-called “writer’s block.” Larry Gelbart, though, says “don’t stop.” He wants us to put something there and keep moving. Recently I wrote an article on decade themed parties and decided to employ Gelbart’s advice. I could have stopped and stared at the computer screen when I was stumped on what to write about a 1970s party that wouldn’t be a tired cliché. Instead, I wrote, “too much Footloose not enough Studio 54,” and moved on to the 1980s. Later, while editing and revising, I realized Footloose wasn’t even set in the ’70s, but I understood where my mind was headed. If I had tried to flush that out in the first draft, I’d still be writing it. Listen to Larry. Use filler and keep writing.

Beware of clichés.

“Beware of clichés…. There are clichés of response as well as expression. There are clichés of observation and of thought — even of conception. Many novels, even quite a few adequately written ones, are clichés of form which conform to clichés of expectation.”

-Geoff Dyer

Geoff Dyer is not dead (here is his website), but this advice was too good not to share. Clichés are death to all that is interesting. I can’t say that clichés are never ok, because writing, like most art, only deals in absolutes for the strict business of breaking them. That being said, clichés are never ok. “It goes without saying” that the “early bird catches the worm” and “curiosity killed the cat” so a true “jack of all trades” would never to “keep up with Joneses” by recycling tired clichés.

If it goes without saying, then please, please, just don’t say it.

Ctrl-F and Delete those Adjectives

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

-Anton Chekhov

Adjectives are not the enemy here (Hint: its clichés). Adjectives can be a crutch, though. I recently read an article about a mama raccoon saving her litter of baby raccoons during a bout of bad weather. It passed through my twitter feed with the phrase, “mother raccoon shields her litter on turnpike from cold,” so of course I read it. I read it and said “awwww… how heartwarming and precious!” If the tweet had falling back on adjective addiction, I probably wouldn’t have clicked on the link following “Heartwarming and precious tale of courage.”

“Don’t say it was delightful; make us say delightful when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, ‘please, will you do the job for me?’”

-C.S. Lewis

Reflect on What You Wrote

In Politics and the English Language, George Orwell claims that a “scrupulous writer” will constantly, even after every sentence (so definitely before sending that tweet), ask him or herself four questions. I leave you with those four questions to take back to your own stack of papers and document files (and practice!):

What am I trying to say?

1. What words will express it?
2. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
3. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?

Other Articles from My Web Writers:

Tweet for ReTweets- Twitter Tips

My Favorite Writer and Online Marketing Websites and Blogs

What Stephen Covey Knew about Marketing

Tell a Better Story: Tips and Tricks from Mark Twain

Overcoming the Beautiful Little Fool

Party Crashers App Embraces Digital Marketing and the American Dream

Annual Essay Contests You Shouldn’t Miss

How Do I Become a Writer?

By My Web Writers

Photo by Virginia Hammer

Ernest Hemingway allegedly quipped, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Writing is a hard, often frustrating processes. Nonetheless, for those with the talent and the desire to write, there isn’t much more rewarding. To become a writer, you’ll need more than talent and practice, you’ll also need to find your niche, join a community of writers, and train yourself in the craft of selling your writing to editors, publishers, and readers.

Finding Your Voice

If you study the lives of great writers, you’ll find that they all practiced their writing. A lot. Work on your writing every day, even if it’s only for a half an hour. As you produce more work, even if it’s not good, you’ll begin to notice the techniques you’re really good at and those that still need more practice. More importantly, you’ll begin to learn what your voice sounds like as a writer.

What type of writer you want to be will determine how you practice your writing. Different types of writing careers demand different conventions and styles. For example, if you want to write essays and articles for magazines, read the best magazines out there (The New Yorker, TIME, or major titles in your fields of interest) and study what makes a great article. Then practice. Do research, conduct interviews, and commit yourself to writing an article a week. That way you’ll train your voice and produce a solid portfolio of pieces to pitch to possible employers and editors.

If you want to write poems, books, or other literature, keep up with new titles and trends in contemporary publishing. Learn what is selling currently and consider how your unique voice fits in or fills a gap. Produce a poem, short story, or chapter a week and continue to revise.

Blogging can function as a way to practice and train these skills, too. Post new work to your blog at least on a weekly basis (the more frequently the better), network with other bloggers, and get feedback on your work. (Check out our tips about making your blog a brand.) Focus your blog on demonstrating your particular genre or style of writing. That way you can both work on your craft and on making a name for yourself.

Writers’ Communities

An essential part of developing a writing career is an active writers’ community. One of your most valuable resources is the feedback of other people. Other writers will be able to give you better insights than someone who isn’t thinking critically about writing (or someone who loves you, like your mom). Search your area for local workshop groups or find an online writing buddy. For those striving for a literary career, one of the best ways to really develop your writing is to enroll in an M.A. or M.F.A program in creative writing. These days many successful journalists also have a Master’s degree. Whether you’re already in school, or thinking about enrollment, the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference is an excellent resource. Their annual conference draws thousands of writers from across the country to network, workshop, and have fun.

Find Your Audience: Writing is a Business Too

Though a lot about writing has changed since Hemingway sat down at his typewriter, the basic skills for turning your creative passion into a publication or a career continue to hinge on your ability to sell your writing. Writing is an art, but it’s also a business. In addition to daily practice of your writing, you’ll need to learn how to write a query letter in order to find an agent or a job. If your aim is a literary career, practice writing queries, synopsis, and sample chapters. Hand them out to writers in your workshop group and ask them if they’d buy the project you’re pitching. The Literary Marketplace is your guide to finding agents and places to publish. If your goal is a freelance or marketing career, check out our list of  Job Sites for Copy Writers. In the meantime, keep up with that blog to maintain your online presence.

To become a writer you’ll need to figure out how your voice contributes to the existing marketplace or field. What makes your writing worth reading? Continue to practice what makes your work unique as well as strengthening the areas where your writing is weak. Developing an awareness of what your writing offers is a key way to selling your writing in query letters and manuscripts. ~Kasey

Good luck!

My Mother Has ALS. Can She Borrow Your Eye Gaze Equipment?

By My Web Writers

Today’s post is a personal one and an excerpt from a speech that I recently gave at Huntington University.  I hope you draw some inspiration from it.   ~Jean

My father delivered some news to me over the phone when I was a senior in college.  Mom was diagnosed with ALS.  Some of you don’t know what that is, but some of you know all too well.  It started with weakness in her limbs.

I had no clue what Lou Gehrig’s disease was, though I’d heard of it.  Looking back, I’m sure my parents wanted to protect me from fully understanding what the diagnosis meant because Dad’s details were sparse.

I headed over to the university’s library to research the disease on microfiche and micro film.  I can still remember the shock of reading, “Decline in the motor neurons…weakening of extremities … eventually the diaphragm stops…mind stays aware… death occurs in most patients from 18 months to 3 years.”  The best prognosis seemed about 5 years, though about 5% of cases could live as many as 20 years. My mother was 59.  I was 22. I started crying in the library. Life had changed.

Tonight, I’d like to honor my mother by attempting to demonstrate how she carried her personal torch through that time period.

Droves of neighbors, relatives, and friends made the pilgrimage to our home to visit my mom that next year.  She greeted each of them and encouraged them that she would beat this disease.  They smiled at her, read Bible verses, gave her hugs, and said they’d pray for her.

I suspect this is when you begin to think you really might die.  Otherwise, none of these people would be visiting all in one year’s time.

It’s a reminder to all of us to visit the people you care about today – and don’t assume tomorrow will give you that opportunity.

Dad always said that Mom could outlive him, but when he passed away the family had a deer in the headlights look.  We thought Mom would go first.  Now what?

She lived by herself in a handicapped accessible home that Dad had built for her before his death.  She wanted to maintain her independence in her own home for as long as possible.

But when it was time to stop driving or to move to a retirement community, she knew it, and as an act of personal responsibility, she didn’t put up a fuss about it.

Mom demonstrated that handicaps, terminal illness, being a widow, and senior citizen status are not barriers to having fun and enjoying life. We’re all terminal.

She started a romance with Peter, a former bank president.  I remember Mom bragging to her older sister that she was now dating a banker.  Mom’s sister smiled and said, “You sure know how to pick ‘em, Joan.”

Mom was quite taken by Peter’s whit and go-getter personality.  He loved jazz and would take Mom out to shows.  I think several ladies had a crush on Peter, but he and Mom became an item. These people were like teenagers again and we kids were like the protective parents.

Mom took several trips with my family.  One time, in Plymouth, we stayed in a home right on the beach, but it had a steep ramp, so we had to go slowly to get her in and out of the home.  Just to say we did it, Mom and I took over an hour, one afternoon, navigating and struggling over a short, rocky path to the shore. 

We eased her into a kayak.  After 11 years with ALS, she was afloat in a bay!

On a different trip to Florida, we hitched a ride in a groundskeeper’s pick-up truck and set up Mom’s walker at the Gulf’s edge.

We met my cousin, Jon, there that day.  He has since passed on.  Don’t let a task that seems too overwhelming or burdensome keep you at home on the couch.  If my Mom could do it, you can do it!  I’m so glad we didn’t skip this moment.

Mom’s mobility decreased through the years and she developed dementia.  She could not remember where we had been or why we had been there on the way home from being bedside during her sister’s passing.

Many relatives and friends never suspected that this frail, little lady would actually outlive them- my Dad, the next door neighbors on one side, the next door neighbors on the other side, members of the church who prayed for her, all of her siblings, several nephews, friends of mine, her high school classmates, friends from the retirement center, and even Peter, who passed suddenly from a heart attack.  She outlived them all!

A few weeks ago, Mom’s RN indicated that it was time for hospice.

Some might choose to stop eating at this stage as a last measure of control, but my mother chooses to chew her food each day, even when she chokes on it. She gathers tears in her eyes when we tell her how much we love her.  It must be difficult not to be able to answer with a voice.  She does have dementia, but in those moments when her thoughts are clear, I think she wants to express herself beyond her sweet gazes.

I’ll confide that I am trying to find someone who would be willing to let us borrow their Eye Gaze equipment.  Maybe it’s sitting in a closet getting no use.  Because my mother is now receiving hospice services, I’m told that Medicare will not cover the costs of this expensive equipment.  My sister, who selflessly cares for our Mother, questions if the dementia will make it too difficult to learn and use the equipment.  But given what we know about Mom, we’d like to give her a shot at trying. If you would take a moment to share this story, maybe we’ll find someone who can give Mom a chance at a voice in her time left here.

How Do I Make Money Writing Online?

By My Web Writers

MacBook writing courtesy of Håkan Dahlström

In today’s job market, many people look to supplement their income with a second job. Writing online can provide wordsmiths a way to make money doing something they love from the comfort of their own home. Getting started making money writing online can be tricky, but you can do it with some persistence and awareness of the marketplace. First off, you have to be aware that many of the opportunities available are scams. If it seems too easy or too good to be true, it probably is. Even a post I found on LinkedIn lead me to a scam page. Be diligent in looking into the opportunity before you make contact. You’re trying to make money, not get scammed out of it.

Monetize Your Blog

A common way to make money on the internet is to make your blog a profit generator. Monetizing a blog works best if you already have a niche or an audience. (If you don’t, My Web Writers has plenty of tips to increase traffic to your blog.) You can generate revenue through your blog by supporting ads or becoming a member of an affiliate program. Google Affiliate Ads or AdSense are both easy to use ad programs that can generate a small commission for each link or ad clicked on your site. Be sure to check if your blogging platform supports ads, as not all do. An affiliate program such as Amazon Associates allows you to include product ideas in your blog posts or sidebars. You then earn a small commission if a reader buys the product. For example, if you blog about films, you could link to DVDs. A cooking blogger could link readers to the kitchen tools he or she uses. The trick is to make the products fit seamlessly into your posts so that they enhance the content, not dominate it. Often, bloggers are most successful when they are part of a popular blogging genre (mommy blogs, cooking blogs, etc.) or a blogging community such as Blogher. These support systems help you sustain traffic and determine which ads are best for your readers.

Web Content Writing

As SEO demands continue to evolve and influence e-commerce, may companies are hiring web content writers or outsourcing their writing to specialists outside their office—that could be you. According to InkWell Editorial, an experienced copywriter could earn between $30,000 and $50,000 a year. To get to that point you’ll have to build a pretty solid portfolio and client base. First you have to get your foot in the door. Keep track of the changes in SEO and web marketing so that you can use the techniques necessary to do a great job and talk to possible employers intelligently about what you have to offer. You can find web content writing work through credible job searches such as LinkedIn and JobTarget. Again, there are a lot of scam sites out there, so be aware of who you’re working with. Check out our list of credible SEO companies for places to start looking.

Writing web content and doing SEO work is usually on a by-contract basis. That means that your income may vary, as will the workload. These jobs are great for people who can diligently pace their work and self-motivate to meet a deadline, similar to a more traditional freelance job. Though the internet has created a larger variety of freelance writing opportunities, the basics of starting a writing career haven’t really changed. Brush up on writing query letters, update your resume, and prepare to contact many companies before you get a job offer.

E-Book Publishing

Finally, if your passion is writing books, the internet has made self-publishing easier and more cost-effective than ever. Through services such as the Kindle, or even a simple PDF, you can create an e-book and sell your novel, self-help book, or other manuscript online. Many popular blogs, such as Zen Habits,  have gone this route to taking their writing to the next level. ~Kasey