Finding Great Photography for Your Blog

It’s no secret that having fantastic photography on your blog is a great way to garner interest and make it visually appealing. Not all of us, however, have the funding necessary to purchase fantastic stock photography. I am one of said people. When it comes time to illustrate my writing, I usually go one of two ways: I hop on the Flickr Creative Commons train, or I take photographs myself.

Flickr Creative Commons

If you’ve never been to Flickr, then it is high time you take a look. You probably understand that it is a photo sharing website. What you may not know, however, is that not every photo uploaded to the site is available for use. This is where the “creative commons” license comes in. Be sure to find out what license a photo is using prior to posting it on your blog. If it says “attribution,” then you have to mention the photographer—which is generally no problem! I like to put a little comment with a link to the blog posting just to let them know that I’ve used and attributed the image just as a courtesy. You can go straight to this link to visit the search through this license. Whatever you’re looking for you can search. There is often really quality photography from novices just like us!

Using Your Own Photography

I’ve just hopped on this bandwagon, with a new purchase of a Canon EOS Rebel XS… which is a bit of a pricey toy. If you do quite a bit of writing, however, it can certainly be a worthwhile purchase. I absolutely love it. This comes in handy particularly when you are blogging about activities, crafts, food, or anything else that you’ve created. It makes your site seem much more legit to have high resolution shots of your work, and it’s another creative outlet. If you’re like me and do not have the funding (or hard drive space) for programs like photoshop, free online photo editing software is out there. One that I’ve started using, and rather love, is Picnik. There are many out there, however. Find what works best for you! Remember that you don’t need an incredibly expensive camera to get great shots. A clever friend of mine has an incredibly creative eye and uses a point and shoot very effectively for her post photos.

[Edited using Picnik]

There you have it! Two inexpensive means for getting great photographs on your blog. Enjoy!

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Tara, May 20th 2011 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Freelance Writing

How to Turn a Passion into a Success

I just wanted to share a fantastic success story that involves a lot of the things I’ve discussed on this blog. As writers, we don’t always get the pleasure of really turning our passions into something particularly profitable. Historically, that’s the way it’s been for me. Marketing writing, while at times quite lucrative, is not the most exciting or rewarding work in the world. A recent article I published, however, was both– and got accepted for posting on one of my favorite websites. But looking back on what was required for me to create that piece of work is really in depth.

The article: Adaptive Reuse: Green Space as a Tool for Neighborhood Revitalization

Here’s what I mean:

*Networking: Without a bit of networking, I would have never found my way to Buildipedia.com, and now I am a regular contributor. I’m not talking about social networking either, kids. Real life, face to face interactions are priceless even in this digital age.

*Doing my homework: I’ve posted here about HelpaReporter.com before, and it has become an incredible resource for me. I’ve been in contact with fantastic experts in the field of architecture and design, who have given my work much more “oomph.” Just another way to increase your networking potential.

*Going out on a limb: I contact a lot of people every week. People that have written books I’ve read and loved, people that I wouldn’t think for two seconds would give me the time of day. For the most part, I don’t get any responses– but I still put myself out there. I submitted my story to a very reputable and favorite website of mine, Planetizen.com, and to my utter elation they actually posted it. I’ve talked about reading great writing in order to inspire the kind of quality that you wish to present in your own. Live it. It works!

    My passion is the improvement of urban communities through sustainability, and I was able to manifest that into a success in my writing. What is your passion, and how are you going to embrace it?

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    Tara, April 26th 2011 | Tags: , ,
    Posted in Activism, Freelance Writing, Society, Sustainability

    Life Lessons for the Freelance Writer

    I know, no string of excuses will really wash over the pain of my absence. Therefore, I merely apologize. January was a hectic and emotionally trying month. Forgive me. All that being said…

    I have no groundbreaking information to provide to you today, but rather a brief list of some life lessons that every freelance writer should learn at one point or another. Perhaps you’ve just started out and could benefit from these little tidbits, or you’ve been at it a while and read them over with warm nostalgia—thinking of those hair-pulling moments when you learned them yourself. Regardless of your place in the world, enjoy.

    1. The only certain thing in life is uncertainty.

    I’ve learned this in a number of ways (though the military is likely the key place). I have found that even the most seemingly consistent of writing gigs can fall in and out, cut off abruptly, or arrive on your doorstep without any notice. Plan for that inconsistency. Always have a plan B if your best gig falls through your fingers. Be wholly appreciative when luck plays in your favor, and don’t take it for granted.

    2. Organization is the key to not losing your mind.

    When you write online in a variety of publications, maintain your own blog, and have a steady stream of ghostwriting opportunities, it is essential to keep things organized. Understanding your deadlines and the amount of time you need to invest in each piece will be invaluable. Taking a weekly bubble bath to wind down may not be a bad idea either.

    3. Saying “no” is okay.

    If you are inundated with piles of work that you cannot keep up with, it is absolutely just fine to say no to a request for material. So you may lose one assignment. Be sure to follow up with that person a few weeks later to remind them you are still around, but don’t kill yourself trying to find and keep clients. Work will come if you put in the time to find it.

    4. Know your value, and don’t get discouraged.

    When we all start out, we start out writing for not much more than a handful of beans. This is a rather frustrating experience, but understand that like our friend Jack, we vastly underestimate the power of growth. You have to start with beans to get a beanstalk. On the same note, however, it is vital that you reassess the value of your writing. If you’re getting dozens of emails for assignments because your writing is great, it is likely under-priced. Remember the fundamentals of supply and demand. You can cut down the quantity of work and focus on quality when your writing is priced appropriately.

    5. Love what you do.

    So writing about memory foam mattresses or knock-off handbags may not be your “thing.” That’s fine. There is a distinct difference between writing about things you love, and writing to make money. Just make sure you do both if you cant get them in a lovely package deal. If you’re lucky enough to make money writing about things you love (and we’re out there!), awesome. If you haven’t found your golden gig yet, however, make sure you maintain one place where you write about things in which you are passionate. Even if it’s your own blog, or you make next to nothing for it. That is the key to maintaining your sanity and reminding yourself that you love to write. Remember to love what you do, and the process gets so much easier.

    This is clearly not a comprehensive list, but some important lessons from my own experiences. What life lessons have you learned as a freelance writer?

    ***

    Image by Kristian Clifford

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    Tara, February 7th 2011 | Tags: , ,
    Posted in Freelance Writing, Life

    The Best Writing Advice You Could Ever Get

    It seems everyone has a tip they give when advising budding new writers. Still being a somewhat budding new writer, however, I’ve found the one that really works. It has nothing to do with a morning yoga routine (though I’m sure that would help), nor is it an easy and effective e-book for $9.99. Though I’m sure there are a variety of books, pamphlets, workshops, and websites out there that could be quite helpful in honing your talents, I think the best piece of advice I ever received for improving my writing was this one: Write.

    I’m not 100% sure where I read or heard it, but it makes so much sense, doesn’t it? It seems like we waste a great deal of time looking for that instant gratification product that is going to increase our word count output overnight and drastically turn around our freelancing careers. Social networking is important, sure. Getting our names out there in order to solicit more work is important. Without work, how do you write? But wasting countless hours on Facebook and Twitter attempting to catch your big break just isn’t going to happen– and it will distract you from the matter at hand.

    In my experiences, however, I became a much better writer by just plain writing than I did reading an article on how to do it better. The more I’ve written, the better I’ve become and the more streamlined the work is. I was able to take on more work, then, and write even more. I think it’s unnecessary to point out that this obviously allowed me to make more money (and who doesn’t want to do that?). Beyond the cash benefits, though, I allowed my work to speak for itself. I got referrals from other clients, and the cycle continued.

    I’d continue on with the point, but I think you get it. Stop reading this crap (I know, so counterproductive to my cause…) and start writing. If you don’t have work, then start writing articles about something you find interesting on Associated Content by Yahoo! or a website like it. They may pay you for it, they may not. They may not pay you much for it, even. But writing is just like everything else in our little neural-connected worlds: Use it or lose it. If you want to improve your writing, just do it, then learn from the feedback.

    ***

    Photo by Francis

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    Tara, December 6th 2010 | Tags: ,
    Posted in Freelance Writing

    Finding Sources for Your Articles on a Deadline

    I’ve been neglecting this blog for the last couple weeks—not because I have no love for you diligent readers (or backlinking trolls looking for somewhere to post meaningless comments). I’ve been, as usual, incredibly busy with things. By things, I mean keeping up with my schoolwork, making some fantastic progress over at Sustainability Guild, applying for graduate schools, and meeting the never-halting deadline.

    I wanted to talk today about deadlines, because they’ve become incredibly important in my writing career. There are times when I get a deadline for an article that’s only a week or two away. Whereas a 400 word article on the new restaurant in town, or making your own sushi can be accomplished in a mere hour, some of my more recent articles require much more research and journalistic prowess. By that, I mean I have to get interviews with people, talk to experts on subjects that I myself do not specialize in.

    These are fantastic articles to write because I get to reach beyond the hermit-like nature of my job and actually connect with people. It’s a beautiful thing. The only issue is that I have to seek out complete strangers and ask them to talk to this no-name writer writing for a website they’ve probably never heard of. When you’ve only got a week or two to hunt for these people, write emails, finagle a time in your busy schedule for an interview, actually conduct the thing (which involves some really fast typing when you’re talking phone interviews), and then finally putting it all together using the appropriate quotes and themes—it can be quite time consuming and hectic. Thankfully I’m superwoman, and thankfully I have discovered a fabulous resource for all writers out there looking for those strangers with all the expertise.

    A website so appropriately named “Help a Reporter Out” is my new best friend. I don’t remember how I came across this gem, but I’m certainly happy I did. It’s a great tool that is incredibly easy to use:

    1. You come up with a story idea (or get assigned a story idea).

    2. You sign up for an account at Help a Reporter Out.

    3. You send out a “query,” which is a fancy way of saying, “Hey, I’m writing an article about this stuff, and I need someone that knows stuff about this stuff.”

    4. People see your query and write back to you that they know stuff about your stuff, or that they know someone that knows stuff about that stuff (there are quite a few publicists that use the site, I’ve noticed).

    5. Voila, you have interviews.

    I used this site for a few of my articles recently, including one on kitchen design trends and ideas as well as bathroom design trends and ideas. I was able to talk to some really cool people—some that did design work on celebrity homes and really know what they’re talking about. Not only that, but I got about a million responses from my query—responses that I didn’t have to solicit individually after an hour of searching through Google for “interior designers.” Oh, and it’s free (for us starving writers, this is pretty fantastic).

    There were some responses from people that weren’t really what I was looking for, but I got to pick and choose. I was able to pull enough interviews within a week to satisfy both stories and have a lot of input. Obviously, this doesn’t work in the case of all interviews. Sometimes doing a search for something a bit more specific will be more appropriate, but still this website can be an incredible resource—and eliminate a bit of awkwardness.

    I give it a thumbs up, and hope you find it as useful as I have.

    *Note: I did not (unfortunately) get paid to write this.

    ***

    Photo by Alex Steffler

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    Tara, November 11th 2010 | Tags: , ,
    Posted in Freelance Writing

    Tips on Writing a Book for NaNoWriMo

    I have to admit, this is my very first NaNoWriMo. In all honesty, I just found out what it meant yesterday, which ironically was just in time! For any of you who don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, which happens to be November. Writers are encouraged to push out 50k words between November 1st and 30th to win. What do you win? I’m really not sure. I think you just, ya know, write a novel. The great news, however, is that I’ve been planning on writing a novel since I was about the age of 11. Further, I’ve had a plot for a novel decided since I was about 17.

    I decided that this year was the time to get it done. So I’m writing it.

    Yes, it’s true: I do have a million things going on. But the fact of the matter is that I will always have a million things going on. Why? Because I’m a workaholic that really doesn’t have the good sense to say no to anything. The “bucket list,” as you kids call it these days, includes the writing of a book. It’s been on that list since I can remember. If I keep putting it off to a time when I’ll have the time, it will never get written. Ever. So here we go.

    Though I don’t feel entirely qualified to give you advice on how to write a book (because I myself have never written one), I will give nonetheless. This is more or less advice on how to finish your book, rather than writing advice. Motivational information this month will be just as important as any style or character development tips I could give, so here goes…

    Tips on Writing a Book for NaNoWriMo

    *Put aside time: I know, this sounds rather common sense, right? This is true, but this also falls along with prioritizing your time. Understand that if it comes down to choosing between going out with the girls or writing, you may have to give up some time to get it done.

    *Plan, and plan well: Things will in fact come up, and you will not be able to write the necessary 1,667 words per day. I’m going to a wedding this weekend, and know I’ll be out of commission all day Saturday. How do I make this up? I make a daily quota that is not 1,667 per day, but based on 11,900 words per week, according to my schedule. I have more time some days than others. I also have split my novel into three parts, which have a set amount of words and distinguishing changes in them. Organization is key.

    *Get rid of distractions: I’ve already found myself updating my twitter three million times about this whole process. It has to stop—both for the sake of my followers and the time I’m allotting to this novel. Close your internet browser while you’re writing, put those headphones on. Do whatever it takes to eliminate the distractions, or you’re going to run out of time.

    *Take it in bite-sized pieces: The other great thing about organizing your novel and planning daily quotas is that it gives you shorter term goals to work with. Writing 2,000 words is a lot easier to swallow than 50,000. One chapter or one part of a book is much easier than a whole novel. Be sure to reward yourself for added motivation.

    *Get involved in write-ins: I have not yet been to one, but it only makes sense that being around other supportive people that are doing the same thing you are would be motivating and help you to stay accountable for your novel. There are several listed in my area, and I’m going to do my best to make at least a few of them. I mean, why not meet other cool people? (It’s a great opportunity for networking as well).

    *Don’t get discouraged: The words will not always come. All of us writers have at one point or another experienced writer’s block. Just realize it’s all in your head… and replace the things in your head with other things until it comes back to you. Go running, take a hike, do karaoke, whatever it is that may inspire you—and don’t let the frustration stint later progress.

    *Have fun: I’m assuming that people participate in NaNoWriMo because they enjoy writing. If that’s the case, don’t forget to enjoy what you are doing. Deadlines shouldn’t bog down your passion, but give it motivation to flourish. If you start resenting it, then stop. It’s not worth it.

    *If all else fails, go to the pub: You all know me… a beer or glass of wine solves many inspiration problems (as always, however, I encourage moderation).

      That’s all I’ve got for now. I wish you all the best of luck on your NaNoWriMo endeavors! Cheers!

      1 Comment

      Tara, November 1st 2010 | Tags: , , ,
      Posted in Freelance Writing

      The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: An Overview of Writing Websites

      When you’re just starting out as a freelance writer, there’s much to learn. I’ve been serious about my writing for only about a year now, and still I feel there’s so much more out there for me to digest and use to improve and market more effectively. However, in my experience, knowing how to go about building a freelancing career using different websites was incredibly nice. I talked to many other writers along the way, and was pointed to a variety of different venues for my writing… and the rest is history. There were many that I came across, however, that I really didn’t care much for at all. Here are a few of my likes and dislikes:

      Associated Content

      This was the site that started it all. Associated Content is a great website for writers that are just starting out—for a few different reasons: 1) you have endless freedom to write about whatever you wish; 2) they offer up front payments for quality work, as well as per view payments; and 3) there is a community on that site that is incredibly supportive, and essential for not only learning a ton about the field, but gaining a core base of readers to start with. I started just writing a few random articles, some restaurant reviews, and relationship articles here and there. Then I applied for a featured contributor position, and got accepted as a Featured Food and Wine Contributor. Eventually, my articles started showing up on the main Food and Wine page. Good stuff!

      oDesk.com

      I honestly have no idea how I came across this site. Possibly a friend, possibly from a Google search. Regardless, oDesk has probably been one of the greatest sites I’ve found. It works more or less like a classifieds site—where businesses can post jobs, and contractors can sign up for an account and apply for these jobs. You can search for flat rate projects, or hourly work. I’ve personally only done flat rate gigs, but I’ve never gotten ripped off, and I’ve made a lot of contacts from the jobs I’ve done—for continued work. Some of those clients now refer others to me as well. It’s pretty fantastic. It takes a bit of time to build up a profile, and really beef it up with experience and tests and the like, but I get invitations for interviews for jobs now without even applying. Very good resource.

      Twitter

      Though Twitter really isn’t a writing site, it’s likely the most useful tool I’ve found for gaining exposure—and writing gigs. Different companies in certain niches I write for, as well as local advertising companies, have contacted me due to something I’ve written and posted on Twitter. These referrals are great, and exposure of course is an important part of building a freelance writing career.

      Alright, now for the websites I’m not so fond of.

      Examiner

      I am the Cheap Eats Examiner for Akron, and I don’t really care for it. I don’t like the fact that I need to pump up my page views in order to gain revenue from my articles. It seems to get decent exposure, but I only put up two articles in the last year, and have earned a whopping $1.98… I’ve earned much more through Associated Content, and I think posting is a much easier process there as well. I’m sure if I invested more time into Examiner that things may be different… but otherwise, it’s not so great.

      Seed.com

      There are a lot of high-ticket articles posted here, but I’ve never had an article accepted. The problem is that these articles are highly competitive—which is great, but if I spend a ton of time and research on an article, I like to know that I’m going to get something for it. Rejections can always go on Associated Content, but for the rates you get at AC it’s not worth it in my opinion.

      TextBroker

      This one isn’t so bad, but the articles are for rather low rates, and you can’t really use them as writing samples to boost your credibility in the writing world. It’s not a bad site, but I usually have to spend quite a bit of time searching through tons of different topics to find just one I’d like to work on—as they all tend to be really specific.

      So there you go… I hope you find this information useful, and perhaps snag a job or two as a result of reading this. I always try to help new writers out… and those that have been doing it for a while!

      My best advice for grabbing gigs: network, network, network!

      ***

      Photo by John A. Ward

      4 Comments

      Tara, September 26th 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
      Posted in Freelance Writing

      The Key to Success: Setting Goals

      In my experience, it can be incredibly difficult to stay motivated—whether that is motivation to do well on an assignment, find more work, or just get out of bed in the morning. There are different forms of motivation. When I was in basic training (as yes, I am a shining member of the Army National Guard) my motivation came in the form of screaming drill sergeants. I was forced to motivate myself to do a variety of things. There were two distinct patterns this motivation took at that time:

      1. Saying to myself, “well, I don’t really have a choice in the matter. I have to do it right this time because there is no way I want to go through it again.

      2. I would continue to run laps, thinking about how delicious those pancakes were going to be at breakfast (despite the fact I rarely got more than three minutes to enjoy them).

      Though both seemed to be effective for that particular situation, when it comes to motivating myself in terms of my freelancing career, the latter most certainly wins out. I am what some people refer to as a workaholic. My poor boyfriend can attest that I spend way more time working than the average person. When he pleads with me to relax a little, however, I respond that I have goals that I’m working toward. I certainly don’t enjoy spending the better part of my free time typing away, but the fact of the matter is that I’m nowhere close to where I want to be in my career, and though money is certainly not everything, it sure means a lot when you’re a college student neck-deep in debt wanting to travel the world.

      Goal-setting isn’t just about saying, “Oh, I want to do great things,” however. You have to be explicit, and you have to be reasonable. Because I am a neurotic list-maker, this comes rather natural to me. It is quite simple, though, to set simple goals for yourself—be them short-term, long-term, or both. I prefer both. My incredibly short-term goals stand in form as a To-Do list. It is more or less a list of assignments and errands needing run. The minute I finish this blog post, I will cross one more item off of the list. I don’t know about you, but when I am able to cross something off, I feel a great wave of accomplishment and empowerment take over and I tend to feel even more motivated to start on other tasks.

      Making lists of goals is also a great way to stay focused and organized. It is easy to forget that you had to do something or the other. It is also easy to say, “I’m going to try and bolster my freelancing career” with no logical plan for how to accomplish this. My goals tend to be a bit more pointed. For instance, one of my goals for this year is to obtain a job or internship that is either socially meaningful or related to my academic area of study (namely, Sociology). My plan of action in this case is to search, search, search. It is also to write, write, write. As I use this website (and my freelancing career) as a platform for making change, finding more meaningful assignments is another step I take in this direction.

      Goals can be used in every area of your life—be it in a professional sense, a financial sense, or even in terms of personal improvement. The one piece of advice that I give anyone I come across is to be introspective. Many of us are unsatisfied with our lives or ourselves in some capacity. I feel this is natural and favorable if understood the correct way. Visualize the kind of person you want to be and the life you want to live. Write it out. If you want to take this in terms of your business, do it that way as well. You may imagine yourself or your business to be more successful, more socially conscious, or less wasteful, etc. Whatever it is, put it down. When finished, note the discrepancies between who you are now and who you want to be. You now have goals and are ready to create an action plan.

      I’m all about action. So I find that setting goals that are not actionable seems to be a bit asinine and unrealistic. Just saying, “I want to be a better person” or “I want to make more money” is great, but not actionable. Understand why you want to achieve these goals, and how you will do so. When it comes to motivation for freelance writing, my goals tend to fall into a few different categories:

      1. Money. We all want to make more of it, but I remind myself that I need to make more money to achieve my goals, which this year are to pay of my credit card and take a vacation over Christmas.

      2. Impact. I remind myself that in order to change the world, I need to act. I believe just as much as the next person that ideas and visions are beautiful things, but in order to really make a difference you need to do. So I write more.

      3. Pride. When I say pride, I mean so in a healthy way. I’m a person attempting to work toward a greater level of independence, and in many ways my freelancing career is a direct show of what I have built for myself. Be proud of what you have accomplished. You worked for it and built it yourself.

      I’m sure I could ramble on for longer about goals and how great they are (because they really are!) but I think you’ve got enough to start making your own goals. Just remember to keep them close by. I like to write mine down and keep them somewhere visible. These will help you stay focused and motivated. And remember than when it feels like you just cant do any more, there is always a drill sergeant out there that could make you do just a teensy bit more.

      My last point? Don’t forget to take a breather! Hard work is great, but you have to take time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Cheers, everyone!

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      Tara, May 27th 2010 | Tags: , , ,
      Posted in Freelance Writing

      Personality vs. Professionalism: A Fine Line

      I wanted to write a post about the fine line drawn between personality and professionalism for a couple of different reasons:

      1. To explain to those casting a critical eye why “Internet Ninja” is listed as one of my potential job titles, and

      2. To express the importance of humanity in business practice.

      I have, as many, engaged in the business world for the majority of my working years. It may not have been in a corporate setting, but every establishment, every restaurant, every job comes down to selling something—be it vacuum cleaners or a marketing campaign. That being said, face to face transaction is becoming more and more scarce within the global internet community, and technology has allowed us the convenience of ignoring and overlooking personality. Many of us just strive to look good on paper—with a list of qualifications, certificates, degrees, and numbers of years spent at such-and-such a company.

      Whereas I am no different in this—I too hope to have a resume that looks good and drives my professional movement toward where I want to be in life—I feel it is important, if not wholly necessary to retain some amount of my humanity in all of this. I have a certain style about me, that can be entirely academic and professional in nature, but it will always be me, and that is something I refuse to give up. The fact of the matter is that work takes up the majority of our time.

      Think about it. Of the assumed 24 hours in a given day, approximately eight of them will be spent at work. Three of those hours will likely be spent worrying about what will happen or what did happen at some point in your work day, or how much better you wish that time spent was. I have worked many different kinds of jobs, some in which allowed me to sit back in my pajamas, behind the scenes from home, others that required me to put on a certain façade, assume the appearance of always being chipper, cheery, and quite frankly, I was miserable.

      Not to say I’m not cheery or chipper. I like to think I’m an incredibly upbeat individual. But I’m also sarcastic, goofy, and sometimes downright strange. I’m certainly not your average bear. I can’t stand the thought of losing my personality in my work, therefore I don’t. The great thing about freelance writing is that although your work must reflect a variety of topics, industries, and tones of voice, you get to pick what work you take on. I have certainly written with great variety, and still manage to maintain my personality—and within it, my humanity.

      Our personalities and differences are what make us human; distinguish us from the robots that will soon take over (if any of these crazy movies are ever to come true). Technology becomes increasingly more unbelievable each and ever day, but it will never measure up to the innovative and powerful nature of human creativity. There are certainly those out there that are looking for writers that can just pump out content like a machine (they’re usually the ones hiring from third-world countries, offering $0.05 per 300 words or something obscene like that). But I personally don’t want to work with clients like that.

      I believe it is important to work with those that will suit your personality type—your working relationship will be stronger for it, and you will have the confidence to write on just about anything within reason, and still not get burnt out. You have to be yourself in this business, or you just won’t cut it. Selling yourself as a machine will only make you feel like one, and none of us are cut out for that.

      Understand that you have a choice in this. Sure, you should always strive to improve your writing, marketing, or whatever other skills you have. But be sure to make sure that you are always a part of it. I may be an Internet Ninja. I personally love it. It means I have the freedom of approaching the social and professional world as Tara, the crazy college girl that loves to play with words. As a result, I attract open-minded and creative people.

      As I always preach, words do matter, and every one you type says something about you. Do you want your resume to say, “I sucked in a bunch of catchy sounding words and spit them up so I look impressive?” or do you want to be reflective of who you really are? Be proud of who you are, and don’t let it get lost in professionalism. It’s a thin line, sure, but your humanity is a huge sacrifice to make.

      Keep up the good work, kids. Til next time,

      Your friendly neighborhood Internet Ninja

      (P.S. Yes, that is me in the photo, and you can check out other wonderful photography from this artist at NoelSmart.com)

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      Tara, May 12th 2010 | Tags: , , , , ,
      Posted in Freelance Writing

      Meaningful Words: Incorporating Consciousness into Your Writing

      When we make the decision to be freelance writers, we often dream of being able to write about bigger and greater things—the things we truly love and care about. It sounds all too glamorous: press passes, interviews with experts who can give us insight into the world of our passion, and the glory of seeing our names on a byline wrought with fame and fortune. The reality of the situation, however, is that as freelance writers we don’t always have the freedom to write about our passions.

      I have written about everything from concrete polishing to designer handbags to motorcycle parts auctions. When it comes to SEO, we can get incredibly limited by the assignments we take on to pay the bills. Even if you’re writing for a site such as Associated Content ,where your options are opened a bit, to make any money you need to follow the assignments they offer or rely on SEO practices to get page views. I want to say, however, that you are not entirely limited, and the writing you do can make a difference.

      As previously stated, not everything I write about is particularly riveting, or even interesting to me. I have, however, sought out assignments and projects that do make a difference. They didn’t just fall into my lap, however. In some cases I had to look for a while. Still in others I had to be creative. Regardless of the means, I still made it a point to do some writing that was beneficial on a community level—even if it means not making quite as much money for that time I used to write it.

      Here are some tips for incorporating more meaningful writing into your career, based on my personal experiences:

      Put in the time. We all want work that comes to us easily, sure. But to find that gold nugget, we have to keep looking. I managed to find an incredibly rewarding job through oDesk.com, ultimately working for a wonderful organization by the name of Sustainability Guild International. Whereas some of the writing I’m currently doing for them is more marketing-related than research related, supporting the organization is still a great way to give back and get the message out. If you’re looking to seek more meaningful work, one way to do this is by offering your services to nonprofits or similar advocacy groups. Every cause needs exposure, and even if you’re not interviewing starving children in the midst of civil war in Africa, you can be doing your community a great service by helping these organizations get out necessary information.

      Be creative. Even when the jobs for social activists groups do not walk through your door, there are ways you can practice writing and online marketing in ways that are meaningful if you approach them the right way. In my freelance writing career, I’ve decided to make my work meaningful by promoting the support of local business. So even if I’m just writing about certain products or services for a particular company, or if I’m just doing restaurant reviews for local blogs and marketing companies, the push to stimulate local economy and support the little guy gives me drive and a purpose in my writing. Understanding business in a creative way is an excellent way to practice community conscious writing without having to sell all your belongings to keep up with the cause.

      Be conscious. If you do happen to earn your keep through SEO article writing or something similar, sometimes it’s just important to understand the implications of your writing. Writing such as this is used to sell a product or service. It is obviously to some extent manipulative in nature, as it is intended to be persuasive. I’m not going to turn my nose up and tell you that this is wrong (aside from it being hypocritical, it’s the way business works, and business is what drives the world forward). However, think about what you’re trying to sell. I can’t say I felt I was doing the world a disservice when writing about designer handbags—to be honest, I felt many of them were ugly, and entirely overpriced. So rather than writing about how wonderful these handbags were, I decided to write about how to find the right handbag that would get the most use in a person’s wardrobe. Though perhaps this is still a bit superficial in nature, those people who are interested in articles about handbags obviously already purchase them. Helping them to make an informed purchase that will hopefully save them money in the future certainly helps me sleep at night—and still allows me to make money using effective (and creative) SEO practices.

      So don’t beat yourself up if your writing is all business. We’ve all got to make a living. But remember that words are not just words, and there are ways to make a meaningful career for yourself even in the face of a competitive market riddled with demand for high-impact marketing. It can be done! You just have to set your mind to it.

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      Tara, May 6th 2010 | Tags: , , ,
      Posted in Freelance Writing
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