WritingThoughts

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Recently, I read a blog post about how that particular blog had eliminated comments. The change was hailed as an improvement, but was it really?

Eliminating blog comments is nothing new. Several blogs have taken this approach. And some blogs never had comments in the first place.

In this post, I’ll discuss whether comments are still relevant for today’s web. At the end, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. (Yes, I have comments enabled on this blog.) [Read more →]

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At the risk of seeming out of step with the spirit of Christmas, I thought I’d swim against the tide and share a few bad holiday gift ideas for writers.

There are plenty of lists out there to tell you what to get your freelance writer friends for Christmas. I even agree with some of them. But I don’t know if I’ve seen a list of what not to get.

So here we go.

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It’s not what you think. A lot of people think bylines are important because we writers like to see our names published. They think that it’s all about ego.

Well, okay, maybe that’s a little bit true. It is gratifying to see my name on a piece of writing that I’m proud of.

But I have done technical writing and business copywriting for years. Both of those are areas in which the writer rarely gets a byline.

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As a freelance writer, you probably already know that it’s important to have a strong online presence.

A blog is one way to create an online presence, of course. But there are other ways as well.

In this post, I take a look at four places where writers can create an online profile that will strengthen their online presence.

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Do you have the wrong idea about freelance writers?

Unfortunately, a lot of people do. Even some writers get the wrong idea about freelance writing. The amount of misinformation about freelance writing on the Internet is astounding.

Read on to find out some of the most common myths about freelance writing. You’ve probably run into some of these misperceptions yourself.

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Let’s face it, your business blog is in trouble. You had hoped it would attract customers to your business. Perhaps you even hoped to earn some money with your website.

But it’s been a big disappointment. You get no traffic and certainly no customers. What could be wrong?

Well, let’s take a look at your business blog, shall we?

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Content is the hot topic right now. You’ve probably read a lot about the importance of content lately, but do you really understand it?

To make full use of content for your business, you need to understand both content creation and content curation. Many businesses lean towards one or the other, but both are important.

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It’s just too expensive to give my writing away.

Unless, of course, it’s for a publication that’s at the top of its game–say, somewhere like Copyblogger or The New York Times. Even then, I couldn’t keep up writing for free for long.

You see, writing is my profession. It’s how I earn my living.

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The idea that great content draws great traffic is a common misperception. Many website owners believe that all they need to generate traffic is great content.

While great content has the potential to attract visitors, you need more of a strategy than just slapping it on your website and waiting for people to come. Yet, I see website and blog owners making this mistake nearly every day.

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Are list posts the sign of a lazy blogger, or an incredibly effective way to draw traffic to your blog?

As someone who has blogged professionally for over five years now, I vote for the second option. List posts, done right, are an effective way to draw traffic to your blog.

In this post, I’ll share my secrets for writing list posts that work.

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