Angela Booth's Writing Blog

WordPress User? Here's the 2015 Theme

A new year means a new WordPress default theme for WordPress bloggers. Twenty Fifteen is waiting for you, in your dashboard.

Here’s what it looks like.

I’m a huge fan of the default WordPress themes. Over the decade or so that I’ve been a keen WordPress user, I’ve tried many, many commercial themes. Some were wonderful, others not so much. Hassles of various kinds (slow updates to the theme, updates which broke plugins) ensured that I went back to the default. I’m all about the content, not so much the prettiness or enhancements.

Twenty Fifteen looks amazing — it’s mobile-focused, and responsive — and I can’t wait to try it out. I’ll test it on one of my WordPress blogs, and if I like it, I’ll use it for the others.

The WordPress 4.1 update is waiting for you in your dashboard:

Version 4.1 of WordPress, named “Dinah” in honor of jazz singer Dinah Washington, is available for download or update in your WordPress dashboard. New features in WordPress 4.1 help you focus on your writing, and the new default theme lets you show it off in style.

Have you prepared your editorial calendar for 2015?

If you haven’t done so, install 4.1, and create your January calendar. Remember that you can create as many draft posts as you like. I always create drafts, right in the Editorial Calendar plugin. With your drafts prepared, and ready to go, you’re never left wondering about what you’ll blog about.

Happy 2015. :-)

Blogging Workflow: a Great Template

A great template makes blogging easier. You have a strategy and method to follow. In Power-write Your Blog: 5 Ways to Beat Blogger’s Block, I gave you some great ways to beat blogger's block.

Now you've beaten your block, check out the template in this post, How to Use Evernote as a Blogger | Michael Hyatt:

"Set up a blogging template in Evernote. There are certain components that I want to create or collect for every blog post. "

If you use Evernote (you should), you can blog anywhere. I already have a blog template, but I'll be using Michael Hyatt's going forward.

 

Blogging: Turn Your Blog Into A Home Business

Got a blog? Whether you have or not, you've heard a lot about blogging. These days, blogs are everywhere. Since it's not trendy to call your new online publication a "blog" nowadays, you probably don't even know that many of the sites you visit are blogs. 

I've been blogging since around 2000. Firstly I blogged for fun, as an experiment. I thought it amazing that I could type an article, and within minutes, have that article read by people all over the world.

In the past decade, my love for blogging has never waned. I have well over a hundred blogs now -- indeed, if I cared to count, I'm sure the tally would reach 200... Most don't need any attention. They've been set up for a purpose, and they serve that purpose well.

So, let's take a quick look at how you could turn a blog into a home business.

1. Decide What You'll Sell 

To be viable, your blog must make sales. Nothing happens until you sell something. You can choose: to sell advertising from your blog; to sell a product or many products; or to sell services - your own services, or those of others.

If you choose selling services, make a list of the services you and/ or others will be offering from the blog.

2. Decide How You'll Get Traffic

Four or five years ago you could rely on RSS (Really Simple Syndication, your blog's automatically-created newsfeed) almost completely to get traffic to your new blog. Those days however are long gone. 

Make a list of ways you'll get traffic.  

3. Plan Your Content

Your next step is to plan your blog's content. Don't omit this step. Most bloggers stop blogging because they run out of things to say. 

So write down your topics, and make a list of five to ten blog post titles for each topic. Your topics will become categories on your blog.

4. Schedule Content Creation and Marketing Into Your Day

If you want to turn your blog into a great home business, you'll need to blog every day. 

When will you blog? Early in the morning, or late at night? Schedule at least an hour a day to work with your blog. During this time, you'll create content, and will market the blog. Schedule the hour into your day, and keep to your schedule.

I love blogging. There's never been an easier way to create your own home business.

Resources
Blogging for Dollars Blog -- a blog's a powerful tool, and it's a lot of fun too. 

Lazy Rich Blogger -- discover a step by step route to blogging success.

Image credit

 

Blogging: It's Not About the Blog

I wrote this editorial about blogging in Fab Freelance Writing Ezine over a year ago. I'm posting it in response to queries writers have had about their blogs. 

Blogs became mainstream in around 2004, so by now every writer either has a blog, or feels guilty because he doesn't.

In my chats with writers however, I've come to realize that many/ most writers interpret the instruction to "Get a blog!" or claims about what blogging can do for their writing career in a very limited way. They think their blog is about blogging.

Your blog shouldn't be about blogging per se, and when you blog, it's not about the blog. If that makes sense. :-)

Your blog is just a tool.

It's what you do with it that counts, and if you feel that "blogging doesn't work" it's invariably because you've either had no specific goals for a blog, or tried to get one poor little blog to do too much.

It's very common for example to see writers' blogs which are about everything and nothing at all. One post is about a movie the writer saw, the next is a discussion about brands of coffee, the next is about what the writer is currently writing, or trying to write…  

An "everything" blog can work, but it must have an overarching theme.  For example, in his "everything" blog humorist Dave Barry covers miscellany, but the blog's theme is sly humor. Every post in Barry's blog has just one goal – to get a laugh.

Blogs are endlessly useful, and you can make blogging work for you, and there's just one thing to remember – it's not about the BLOG, the blog is just a tool to help you to achieve a goal.

Got a goal?

Get  blog

A blog can help you to achieve just about any goal you care to set.

Want to write a book? Start a blog.

Want to make money? Start a blog.

Want to get people to buy your articles/ ebooks/ writing services? Start a blog.Want to change jobs and get a better job with more money? Start a blog.

When you think in terms of goals you want to achieve, blogs can help you to achieve way beyond your goals.

Got blogging skills? Put them to use

If you're a blogging writer, you have skills you can sell. Tomorrow's issue of Fab freelance Writing Ezine discusses the mysterious and profitable career of the ghostblogger.

Here's an excerpt from the Editorial:

Ghostwriting is essentially writing anonymously. Someone wants you to write a book, or an article, or a blog, and you do it under their name. No byline for you. :-) You're writing for someone else, using their ideas (sometimes), and writing in their voice.

Ghostblogging is becoming hugely popular. Businesses and publications see the worth of blogs, and because they don't have the skills in-house, they hire a ghostblogger.

A word about terminology: "ghostblogging" or "ghost blogging"? I prefer ghostblogging – ghostwriting is usually written as one word, but you'll see references to "ghost blogging" on many sites. Which term you use is up to you. Google searches for either turn up much the same results.
 
Who ghostwrites blogs?
Some writers fall into ghostblogging, others look for ghostblogging jobs.

One point about hunting for these kinds of gigs: if someone's advertising for a ghostblogger, they're generally not willing to pay very much. As with other kinds of freelance writing jobs, the best ones aren't advertised.

Read the rest in the issue, which is out tomorrow.

Enjoy. :-)

Discover the secrets of highly-paid writers: free each week

Want to make great money writing? Discover the secrets of high-selling, highly paid writers, for free. Each week, Angela Booth's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine is delivered in easy-to-print PDF format.

Join the thousands of other writers who are using the information to change their lives. You'll learn how to write, and how to sell. Angela's been writing for 30 years, and shares her knowledge with you.

Back when blogging was new...

This post, "boring” is underrated", made me smile, and remember...

I remember when a guy landing a well-paying job just on the merits of his blog, was considered big news.

I remember when a girl landing a book deal just from her blog, was considered big news.

I remember when Robert Scoble blogging on behalf of Microsoft was considered big news.

I remember when Gawker or Techcrunch making $10K a month on advertising, was considered big news.

Good times. :-)

Enough sentimentality: onward!

If you've just started your blogging journey, congratulations. Prepare for your life to change. And if you've been blogging for years, think about how far you've come.

As a writer, your blog is the center of your writing universe. What plans do you have for your blog? Where will your blog (and you) be in five years?

Share your thoughts in the Comments.

How to Make the Most of Your Blog

A blog is a powerful tool for a writer. Unfortunately, few writers make the most of their blog.

I receive questions about blogs and blogging every day. My responses can be summed up in a couple of sentences: "Create goals for your blog. It doesn't matter what those goals are, as long as you have them."

Your goals for your blog are your destinations. Without them, you won't get anywhere.

I've written extensively about blogging. Here are some links to help you to make the most of your blog.

* Blog - 3 Hidden Benefits of Blogs for Writers

Want to blog? Many writers are hesitant about blogging, until they start. Then they realize that a blog can super-charge their career.

Why are blogs great for writers? Simply because your writing career depends on both your writing proficiency and speed. Yes, speed - if you can write fast, you’ll win many more writing jobs than writers who are slow.

* How to Make Money Online by Writing a Blog

Want to make money from your blog? You can - within days. Here are three easy ways to a quick income.

Here’s an important tip: any blog can be an income generator, but you’ll make more when you think of ALL your blog’s content as being helpful, especially the products you advertise.

For example, if you have a dog training blog, then think about your readers. They own a dog, and they want to take care of him. So find products, both useful and fun which will help them to do that, and you’ll make sales.

* Pro Blog - Get Paid to Write Articles

Do you enjoy writing articles? If you do, you can make money online as a professional blogger. Here’s how.

* Take the Blogging Fast-Track: Blog Your Writing Career

Want to build a profitable writing career? You can, when you take the blogging fast-track. Discover how in this article.

Let's start by defining "blog." A blog has often been called an "online journal," which is very misleading. Essentially, a blog is an instant publishing tool, which anyone can use to get their message out across the globe within minutes, via RSS.

* Freelance Writing: Make Blogging Work for You

Do you blog? If your answer is "No", start blogging today, because if you're a freelance writer and your name doesn't show up in Google, your credibility is zero. Here's how to get the most from your blog.

There's more to blogging than you think. Forget considering your blog an online journal: your blog is a professional tool.

Blogging makes a great home business

Many bloggers blog full time in their blogging home business, and earn a great income - much more than they could earn at a job.

Discover how you can make money blogging, with Angela Booth's blogging bestseller, Blogging for Dollars - blogging is fun, and profitable.

Blogging: Become a Content Maestro

Blogging is an adventure. You never know where it will lead. One thing's for sure: once you get into blogging, you'll decide that it's the best thing you've ever done for your writing career.

A blog is CONTENT. That content may be text, images, audio, video -- you decide. The options are endless. Although there are many distractions when you're blogging, if you realize that your blog is solely about its content you'll be streets ahead of most bloggers.

Since content's so vital, let's look at how you can become comfortable creating it, so that you'll create a powerful blog.

These tips will help.

1. Plan Your Content at Least a Week in Advance

Life happens. Even if you're a full-time writer, life gets in the way of your best intentions. Without a content plan for the coming week, you'll procrastinate -- the urgent will drive out the important. Before too long, you'll realize it's several days since you last posted to your blog.

Devote 15 minutes on Sunday to creating your blog content plan for the coming week. Then schedule time to make the posts.

2. Write Draft Posts

Here's secret: writing is a process. Just follow the process, and you'll be productive. That process consists of planning, drafting, writing and revising. Professional writers know this, and now you know it too.

Make good use of the draft post option in your blog. Every platform (Blogger, TypePad, WordPress etc) has one.

3. Focus on Content: It's Promotion

The best way to promote your blog is to create more content for it. Please don't concern yourself with traffic for the first few months. Your traffic will grow, but only if you keep adding content.

Some new bloggers are much too concerned with traffic. Traffic is unimportant. It's much better to have five visitors a day to a blog if those visitors respond, than 5,000 visitors who don't.

4. Track Your Readers: What Do They Want?

Once you start getting traffic, check out your referrer logs, to see what actions your visitors are taking on your blog. What's your most popular post?

What search terms do your visitors use? It's been said that behind every search is an intention. Think about your visitor's intentions, and help them to achieve their goals, and your blog will be successful.

Introducing -- Angela Booth's Lazy Rich Blogger method

After several years of trial and error, these days I create blogs which I know will make money: I've cracked the code. Not only do my blogs make money almost immediately, they'll also keep on making money for years to come.

If you wish, you can join me on the blogging journey. I hope you do. As the Internet grows ever larger, there are endless opportunities which can turn you into a lazy, rich blogger.

Blog Secrets: Writing Success with Blogs

In next week's issue of Fab Freelance Writing Ezine, we discuss four blog secrets, and show you how to create successful blogs.

From the Editorial:

Let's at four blog secrets which you can use today.

Here's what's most important: a blog must be valuable to your audience. If it is, it will be successful.
 
Blogging has become mainstream. Millions of blogs are created every year, but unfortunately, most are left to die on the vine. Don't let your blog(s) die, please – every writer who's taken up blogging and has had goals and a method, loves blogging.

Any blogs you create can contribute to your writing success, not just this year, but years from now. In fact, the longer your blogs stay online, the more valuable they become.

Blogging is simple and easy, but this can be a weakness, as well as a strength. Since blogs are so easy to create few writers pay attention to what they're doing – they have no plan for a blog, and it shows, because every blog you create must be targeted and relevant to be successful.

Read the rest in Tuesday's issue of the ezine.

Discover the secrets of highly-paid writers: free each week

Want to make great money writing? Discover the secrets of high-selling, highly paid writers, for free. Each week, Angela Booth's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine is delivered in easy-to-print PDF format.

Join the thousands of other writers who are using the information to change their lives. You'll learn how to write, and how to sell. Angela's been writing for 30 years, and shares her knowledge with you.

Blog: take your writing life online

Can a blog help your writing career? Let me count the ways:

* A blog ensures that you write, and this is no small thing. Most writers procrastinate;

* A blog gets you known, and the more people who know you, the more your career builds (yes, it really is who you know, and who knows you);

* A blog gives you opportunities -- the best writing jobs are not advertised;

* A blog gives you credibility. Anyone can call himself a writer. A blog is your showcase;

* A blog is an investment. In 2008, a small blog sold for fifteen million dollars. A blog you create may never sell for anywhere near this sum, however (especially if you create a blog with the aim of selling it one day), a blog is a fantastic investment of your time and energy;

* When you blog, you come to see that there are many different kinds of blogs. Some are created purely as money-makers, and bring in daily income: $50 one day, $400 the next, $200 on another day... all for an investment of a few hours of your time.

Want to know how to blog, and make money?

Visit my new site, Lazy Rich Blogger. Charter memberships are now open. In 2010 and beyond, blogging is a skill which can change your writing life.

Blogging: get benefits from a dead blog

Blogging takes a commitment of time and energy. Both are in short supply: we each have just 24 hours in a single day. So it's natural that sometimes blogging falls by the wayside, and you realize that (SHOCK) you haven't updated a blog in months.

Relax -- blogging should be fun: if it's not fun for you, stop doing it. :-) Don't feel guilty about a dead blog, but do take steps to ensure that you still get value from the blog, even if you're not updating it.

Firstly, ask yourself why you created the blog.

There are many reasons for starting a blog: creating a portfolio blog to get blog jobs, creating a platform and online presence for yourself, making money, for fun, for a project which didn't work out, etc.

Write down your reason.

Now work out how you can use your "dead" blog in the months and years to come.

Here are some ideas.

1. If you created a portfolio blog

There's nothing further you need to do. The blog is a testament to your blogging expertise, so don't feel guilty if you don't have time to update it. Add the blog's URL to your electronic and paper portfolios, and add it as one of your sites on social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook.

2. If you created the blog to build your platform

If your blog's aim was to get you visibility, then link to the blog from other online properties you own. And as in #1 above, link to it from social networking sites.

Add a short post to the blog: "This blog is no longer being updated. Visit my new blog/ site at __________, and contact me at _______"

3. If your blog is a money-maker

If your blog's making money for you, there's little you need to do. Chances are you're still making an income from it, but the income will drop as the site loses presence in the search engines.

I have many "money" blogs, and sometimes I don't update them for months. The money continues to come in from advertising and affiliate revenue.

In your diary, make a note to review the blog once a month. You don't need to add content, but change any affiliate links which haven't made a sale within the month. Swap the old links for a newer product which may make sales for you.

4. If your blog is for a defunct project

Follow the advice in #1 above -- use the blog as part of your portfolio, or sell it.

5. If you no longer need the blog, sell it

If the blog's of no further use to you as a part of your portfolio or for any other reason, sell it -- there are many sites online where you can sell a blog.

Try eBay, in the "Internet Businesses & Websites" listings, and Sitepoint's Marketplace, for example.

Big tip: old blogs like old wines, increase in value over time. Search engines like Google give authority status to older sites, so your apparently worthless blog today may bring in big dollars tomorrow. Let the blog age -- look on it as an online investment, because that's what it is.

Never, ever DELETE a blog. A few months back a writer told me she'd deleted a ten year old site ... she almost cried when I told her that that site would have easily brought her $15,000 to $20,000 on Sitepoint.

Want to know how to make money blogging? Professional blogging is one of the skills you'll discover in Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON) training. It's an essential skill for a Web writing career.

Discover the world of Web writing - make a great income writing from home, or from anywhere

Sell Your Writing Online NOW

There's great money in Web writing. Some Web writers are making $20,000 a month by blogging for a stable of sites. Others are writing articles or ebooks.

Join the Web writing gold rush with Angela Booth's comprehensive training: "Sell Your Writing Online Now".

Money Blogging: Get Hired to Blog Today

Want to get hired to blog for others? You can: blogging can provide a great part time or even full time income. Here's how to get started.

1. What Are Your Areas of Expertise?

Before you start promoting your services as a blogger for hire, work out what your areas of expertise are. This is essential: you need some experience in the topics you're hired to cover, no matter how slender that experience may be.

For example, let's say a company which manufacturers fencing is looking for a blogger to blog several times a month. In this case, there's no need to be an expert on fencing: you can interview experts from the company.

However, you do need experience with the company's audience. All this means is that if the company makes garden fencing, you should own a home and a garden, and know a stone fence from a wooden one. This makes you part of the company's target audience, so you'll speak to their concerns, and will do an excellent job of blogging for the company.

Make a list of your areas of expertise: include job experience, lifestyle experience, parenting experience -- and so on.

2. Start a Blog on Your Favorite Topic, It's Your Advertisement for Your Business

Many new bloggers for hire want to skip over creating a "demo" blog. Please don't. You need to show what you can do: you'll attract clients who can pay you well.

Your blog is an advertisement for your blogging business. The time you spend blogging is an investment. It will ensure that you're paid a good rate -- businesses willing to pay you $1 a word and more for blogging must be convinced you're worth it.

3. Contact Potential Clients: Tell Them What Blogging Can Do for Their Business

When you first start blogging, take any blog job you can get. It's all experience.

But here's the most important tip in this article: the best blog jobs are not advertised. You get them by approaching companies, and suggesting that a blog will help their Web site to get great rankings in the search engines.

After you've been blogging for a few months, you'll have the credentials to approach companies, and you will get hired. These unadvertised blog jobs you've hunted down pay much better than advertised jobs, and you'll be amazed at how easy they are to find.

4. Testimonials Bring You Business if You're a New Blogger

Finally, until you become a "name" blogger, remember to ask for testimonials from all your clients. Testimonials establish your credibility, and they're gold to you.

So there you have four tips which will help you to get started as a blogger for hire.

Imagine... $1,000 A Week For Just Ten Hours

You can get paid to blog. The current rate for experienced bloggers is around $1,000 to $1500 a week for from two to five posts a day - VERY nice writing income.

Find out how to blog with the blogging best-seller "Blogging For Dollars: How to become a career blogger -- in your PJs, if you want". It's my complete new ebook package, with free coaching/ consultations as well.

Writing Blog of the Day - please SUBMIT again

If you've submitted your blog (or someone else's) for Writing Blog of Day in the past 24 hours, please send it to me again, if you would. My email messages are filtered, and somehow several messages have vanished into the ether... I know they were there when I checked earlier, but now they've completely gone. I've removed the filter for now, so please just make sure that your message has WRITING BLOG OF THE DAY as the subject line, in caps, and resend it to angela.booth(AT)gmail.com Sorry for the hassle... Many thanks.

Blogs in 2008 - blogging is vital to your writing success

Gotta blog? I hope you said YES. :-)

Blogs are vital to your writing success in 2008 and beyond, for many reasons.

One of the primary reasons is to help you to make a name for yourself.

Yesterday I published the article "Sell your Writing: Get the Writing Gigs You Want" on Writing Hacker, my new site. This article is for writers trapped in freelance writing ghettos. Blog(s) will help you if you're trapped in a ghetto; not only does your blog help you to stand out from the writing crowd, it also helps you to explore new avenues for your writing, AND set higher fees for your writing.

There are many other ways you can use blogs to build your writing career. I explore some of them in Fab Freelance Writing Ezine on Wednesday. This week our feature article is: "Blogging for Beginners – Set up a Blogging Empire" - subscribe now, and you'll receive the issue in your Inbox.

The article will show you the many different types of blogs you could write, and the many different ways you can use blogs to enhance your writing career. The article will help you to look at blogging in a completely new way.

Resources for blogging

* Writing Success with Blogs, by Angela Booth. How to use your blog to start, develop and power your writing career;

* Blogging For Dollars: How to become a career blogger -- in your PJs, if you want … and make more money than you thought possible with zero financial investment;

* Writing For The Web - discover the secrets of Web writing.

Subscribe to eNews & Updates on my new writing site, Writing Hacker - (right-hand column). Writing Hacker helps you to build your writing skills with great writing tips and how-tos, including video presentations.

 

Technorati Tags: blog your writing, blogging, blogs

The blogging writer: your blog gives you confidence

One of the biggest benefits of blogging for a new writer is that your blog gives you confidence.

This is great news. Many new writers find that sending out their writing - article and book proposals, applications for online writing gigs and so on - takes real courage.

Questions buzz around in your skull: Is your writing publishable? Will you be rejected? Do you have talent?

It's perfect natural to be nervous when you're doing something new, but it's excruciating too.

When you publish on your blog, you can publish anywhere

Blogging is instant publishing. Press the "Publish" button on your blogging application, and hey presto - it's published, ready for one billion surfers to read.

When you get used to hitting the Publish button, editors and other buyers of your writing lose the power to intimidate you.

As many other blogging writers have found, your blog will make you more creative, and more confident. Publishing your writing suddenly seems natural, and you lose your self-consciousness.

Take the first step. Writing Success with Blogs by Angela Booth gets you started blogging.

Got a blog? If you're a blogging writer and your blog helped you to get over your shyness as a writer, please share your story in the Comments to this post.

Technorati Tags: blog your writing