There are 5 main reasons freelance writers need a blog.

1. Blogs make ideal portfolios for writers

For writers, blogs make an ideal portfolio since a blog is an article. Use your blog to showcase your writing by using a design that will “wow” your visitors, like these writing portfolios.

If you write for multiple genres, a blog is already set up to categorize your posts. You can create as many categories as you like and continue adding to your portfolio over time. For instance, when your clients reject your content, you can post it to your blog as a portfolio piece.

2. Blogs help generate clients

A blog is a wonderful resource for generating clients. Just like any other business, you can advertise your services and provide a way for people to contact you. You can even collect email addresses in exchange for a valuable report you’ve written.

To generate clients with a blog, you’ll need to market your blog. Even if you can get traffic by word of mouth, you can always use more if you’re not overbooked.

3. A blog is a creative outlet

Every writer needs a blog just for the sake of having a creative outlet. It’s hard to imagine someone with a passion for writing not having their own blog where they share their thoughts with the world.

4. You can monetize your blog

Freelance writers don’t always have a steady stream of income. A blog makes it possible to earn income on the side through partnerships, guest blogs, and affiliate marketing.

5. Blogs are relatively easy to rank in the search engines

Ranking a blog isn’t effortless, but it’s easier for writers to rank a blog than it is for some people to rank a website. Many website owners struggle to create high-quality content, whereas writers can create excellent content almost without effort.

Great content is the foundation for every digital marketing and SEO campaign, so writers have an advantage.

Creating a blog is inexpensive

It really doesn’t take much money to start a blog these days. Although, you will need a small budget. While you can get a free blog on platforms like Wix and WordPress.com, your capabilities will be severely limited and will prevent you from creating an optimal blog.

Ideally, you should buy a custom domain name and host your blog on a shared hosting account. You won’t need expensive hosting (like a cloud server or dedicated server) just to run your blog. You can expect the following expenses:

• $15/year for a domain name
• $10/month for hosting (or less if you pay for a few years in advance)
• $100 for a professional theme for your chosen CMS

You can be up and running in 1 day

If you know your way around your preferred CMS, like WordPress, you can get your blog up and running within one day. If you’re not familiar with cPanel or Plex hosting environments, you’ll need to hire someone to set up your blog. However, it won’t take long.

Once you have your domain name and hosting, you’re good to start building your blog. Check out the Blog Starter to learn more about starting a blog in 2021.

Although it’s easy to get a blog going, it will require a big commitment on your part. There are three specific commitments you’ll need to make to run a successful blog:

Commitment #1: Provide immense value

Value is the reason visitors will return to your blog. Whether you provide products, services, or information, people will return if they like what you have to offer.

Commitment #2: Be open to working with advertisers

Once your blog becomes successful, you’ll probably get contacted by advertisers asking to place small ads on your site. You also might want to enroll in Google’s Adsense program. Be open to working with advertisers to generate income.

Commitment #3: Create a budget for digital marketing

If your content is really good, you’ll see some success naturally. However, you won’t get far without professional digital marketing and SEO services.

Be strategic

Be strategic with your blog and take advantage of multiple functions. For instance, use your blog as a portfolio, a creative outlet, and a way to generate clients.

When it comes to content, aim to dominate your niche. You’ll make far more money as a writer if you can make yourself the top go-to freelance writer in your niche.

The post Should Freelance Writers Invest in a Blog in 2021? appeared first on Freelance Writing Jobs.

With micro-job and freelance job sites leading the way in terms of business being passed off to freelancers, there are some great ways to stand out from the crowd while also increasing your earnings and long term business in the process.

In order to survive in the extremely competitive world of freelancing and internet marketing in general, you need to be willing to do more than your competitors, while also building a solid brand and reputable business in the process. Today we are going to highlight how a blog can help with all of these factors.

1) Starting a Blog is Extremely Easy and has Minimal Costs

First and foremost, the most obvious reason for starting a blog to improve your freelance expertise and brand, is because it’s so easy and affordable. Another huge benefit to having a blog of your own, is that there are little to no programming and design skills required.

If you already have a blog, excellent! If not, I highly recommend you read through this guide to starting a blog, as it’s loaded with all of the necessary details and breaks the process down into just a few simple steps.

In short, if you don’t already have a blog and have been sitting on the fence because you aren’t sure what to do next, that excuse is no longer valid.

2) It’s a Great Way to Get More Traffic through Google and SEO

As we all know, Google is one of the most important driving forces for traffic and information in the world today.

Without a website or blog, how are individuals and companies supposed to find the services you are offering? In short… they won’t.

With a site of your own (and some extra promotional work), your blog could start ranking for various terms and keywords that could result in more traffic and business from your freelancing efforts. Best of all, you won’t even need to process or handle orders, you can simple pass them off to wherever you might be doing all of your own freelance work already — such as Fiverr or Freelancer.

3) Allows You to Build Your Own Brand and Portfolio

If you were to buy a new product or service online, would you be as likely to purchase from a no name site that you’ve never heard of, and just has the product and a check out form? Probably not… you would ultimately be looking for a brand that you can learn more about, gains your trust and has a proven track record.

This is exactly what is accomplished when a freelancer has a blog of their own.

Through the use of a blog, there are many ways freelancers and content creations can provide more value and gain trust through the use of their blog. Such methods include:

• Showcasing your content and services in a site portfolio
• Ranking in Google for your brand name and services
• Displaying that you know how to build a brand online
• Having a contact form and phone number for support
• Offering different services and up-sells
• and much more…

As you can imagine, a blog can really make yourself stand out amongst a crowd of freelancers that don’t have one.

4) Your Content is Always Being Shared on Social Media

In addition to the end goal of having a site that is growing in content and traffic all the time, it’s important to add social media into the mix as well.

As mentioned, Google is great for search engine traffic, but it’s also very competitive. With social media, there is still a lot of clutter out there, but it’s also great for tagging companies and individuals, while also making use of trending hashtags and talking points as well.

A perfect example of this would be if you just wrote an article on how to improve your site reach with SEO and social media. That would be a great post to continually promote and share through social media, while also tagging any references or experts that might have been mentioned within your area.

Through the use of social media scheduling tools, it’s a great way to keep sending new audiences and traffic to your top posts and evergreen content.

5) A Blog Opens Up a Whole New World of Opportunity

As someone who has been blogging since 2007, I can tell you that blogging can do wonders for your brand and business when done right.

For the most part, blogging is just an excellent way to build a spot for yourself on the internet, while giving you the opportunity to create valuable content for other people around the world. And the coolest thing is… you never know who might be reading your blog or getting inspired by your content.

Some of the most popular entrepreneurs, influencers and businesses in the world today have started out as simple blogs and went on to become much more. Just a few examples of this can be seen with Perez Hilton, Tech Crunch, Pat Flynn and many more.

The biggest risk you have, is simply not creating a blog. It’s just way too simple, fast and cheap not to.

How to Grow Your Freelance Business with a Blog

After reading through the five tips and recommendations above, you should have a much better idea on how to grow your freelancing business through the use of a blog. However, don’t just read the working methods above and then leave it at that. You must take action!

With more than a billion websites and blogs in the world today, there is a lot of work to do after your site goes live. Be sure to invest the necessary time into learning about how to make the most out of your content creation and marketing efforts once your site is live.

The post 5 Reasons Why Every Freelancer Needs to Have a Blog appeared first on Freelance Writing Jobs.

With income being derived from various aspects, travel blogging can be lucrative enough to provide sustainable income, making the prospect of travel blogging very appealing to many people. Of course, dreaming of becoming a professional travel blogger and actually doing so are two very different things. So here are a few tips for becoming a successful travel blogger.

Create Useful & Unique Content

Travel blogging is already a massive field with every professional and hobbyist adding their two cents online, so standing out in a crowd of established bloggers won’t be easy. There are several tricks that will help you get ahead of the curve, but when you’re just starting out, it’s good to look at the basics. With so many different types of blogs out there, one time-tested truth is that the most successful ones provide useful travel content. Travel blogs that portray exciting moments without letting people know how to experience those moments tend to lose traction quickly.

Top Tips For Running a Blog While Traveling the World

After focusing on creating useful content, the next step is to make content that will grab the reader’s attention. Travel blogs have been around for a while, and the problem is that most of these blogs have already written endlessly about popular destinations. Instead of content concerning famous cities and locales, try going someplace that most people have never heard of, so you can introduce a brand new experience to your audience.

Living Arrangements

If you decide to start travel blogging, then you’ll be spending a lot of time in other cities. Staying in a hotel might do, but there are many services these days that offer travelers the chance to stay in a home or apartment as a better alternative. Your best chance of finding fully furnished living arrangements in other cities is to go online. Click here to learn how to get started. You can pick from one of the many online services that will allow you to book a furnished home or apartment, so you can rest comfortably while visiting a different city.

Use Social Media

Statistics show that, in 2018, the average person spent 144 minutes a day on social media. That number has only increased with time. Social media has evolved from simple networking to one of the largest platforms for advertising. Businesses around the world use social media to connect with customers and advertise their products. Social media will allow people to discover your blog and connect with you. It will also allow them to keep up to date with any developments on your blog.

Use SEO

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is an effective method of increasing online traffic to your blog. SEO involves using certain methods, like incorporating certain keywords into your content, to increase your site’s visibility to people using search engines. With online searches resulting in so many websites, SEO will help push your site to the forefront, giving more exposure to your travel blog. Research shows that search engines drive up to 300% more traffic to websites than social media.

Becoming a successful travel blogger might sound too good to be true, but thousands of people are able to do it every year. All it takes is the right attitude, proper planning, and a willingness to explore the unknown. Oh, and being a good writer doesn’t hurt, either! Good luck!

The post Tips for Becoming a Successful Travel Blogger appeared first on Freelance Writing Jobs.

Well, for one thing, you’re competing with over 4 million blog posts published every day worldwide. But that piece of factoid shouldn’t stop you from writing. It should challenge you to do better, and study and analyze the areas you can improve on in your articles to attract more visitors and readers.

This post will teach you the one simple habit you should consistently practice to increase the reach of your articles. By 94% no less! This habit is an effective technique and it’s by no means top secret. Yet many freelance writers and bloggers haven’t grasped its tremendous power to pull in visitors and lead them to read your blog post. It’s simply this: use blog visuals.

Blog visuals come in many forms, and they’re not as complicated as they sound. They’re images, videos, infographics, data-driven visuals like charts and graphs, annotated screenshots, quotes, GIFs, memes, and more.

In a world where the collective attention span of people shrunk from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8.25 seconds in 2015, the struggle to lure in an audience to click on and read your articles is real. The best content, if presented only in large chunks of text, will never be as exciting as content decorated with visuals. 

Even early studies by the Nielsen Norman Group, a global UX research and consulting firm, found that the average user reads only 20% of the text on a web post, then leaves if the content isn’t interesting enough. But add visuals and the desire to read increases to 80%. Other significant findings show that the human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text and the likelihood of people buying a product increases by 85% after watching a video about it. 

By now it should be pretty obvious that blog visuals play a pivotal role in increasing the reach of your articles. Armed with this info, freelance writers and blog content creators can create work that’s more effective in increasing the conversion rates of their clients’ products and thus be assured of more work from returning or new clients.

As freelance writers, you’ll be ahead of the pack if you include blog visuals in the package you offer to prospective clients. Most clients favor hiring a freelancer that can do the whole project and you can charge a higher fee for it, too. But if the thought of incorporating blog visuals scares you, you’re not alone. Several freelance writers and even blog owners don’t have the graphic design skills for this and are pressed for time to learn even the basics of complex tools. 

Luckily, online tools are now available that take all the hard work out of graphic design. You can create stunning imagery and high-quality videos in minutes with PosterMyWall, a graphic design website with easy-to-use editing tools, even without any prior design experience.

Visual content comes in many types and you can choose which among them to use in a specific article. Here are the most effective, hence popular in usage, blog visuals for web content.

Blog Headers

Impress the reader right off the bat by using an attractive blog header customized for your blog’s theme. The blog header sets the tone for the blog post and hints at the expertise of the blogger. The reader is much more likely to be interested in reading further if they see a customized header than if they see a stock image. You can find stunning blog header templates on PosterMyWall. You can customize the text, fonts, colors, and other elements until you achieve the perfect design for your blog.

Photos

Photos are the easiest visual content to use in articles, yet they have such a tremendous impact. Memory retention of your product is higher by 65% and 93% of consumers say their purchase is influenced by images.

You can use stock photos to make your blog post more consumable, just make sure they are not the overused images that might make your blog post look generic. Original images get better content engagement and you can edit your own images into attractive templates or collages to make them more unique. Here are guidelines for choosing and using photos:

1. Align your Images to the topic of the post.
2. Optimize file sizes for specific platforms and for the web to prevent slow loading.
3. Know the basics of good design; i.e., colors, fonts, etc. 
4. Use high-quality, sharp, and striking images.
5. Keep track of the photos you use to avoid boring repetition.

Most of the work can be done for you by PosterMyWall. If you are not familiar with the basics of design, you can simply choose an attractive template to display your photo or create a collage with eye-catching photos from the vast stock libraries in the editor and add or edit any information as needed. 

Note: Images with people up close attract more attention than beautiful scenery. Showing a body part, like a hand or leg with an object gets more engagement than images with full bodies. 

Videos

The rise of video as a marketing tool has been phenomenal. In 2018, it was the type of visual content that marketers claimed had the best ROI among their social marketing strategies. Facebook also uses video retention as one of the essential engagement metrics to measure. 

Freelance writers should take note of the following to increase the reach of their articles and satisfy their clients.

The use of video in businesses has risen from 61% in 2016 to 87% in 2019 as it has quickly become a highly accessible and popular form of content with the increased use of high-speed internet and smartphone.

Forrester Research says video on your landing page can increase your chances of getting on Page 1 on Google. Add to that the findings that 93% of sellers say that a video on social media was an influence on a new buyer’s decision to buy their product. Given these stats, you must capitalize on this growing trend and start adding videos to your blog for increased engagement. 

But, let’s face it. The act of creating a professional-looking video and uploading them to blogs and corresponding social media pages is terrifying for freelance writers without the technical know-how. That’s why the smart ones turn to sites like PosterMyWall for help. It has thousands of ready-made video templates and stock videos that you can customize easily and download in HD or 4k quality. With unique embed codes for your designs readily available, adding videos to a blog is no hassle. With help like this, you can offer your skills to the clients you write for.

Infographics

Another type of visual content that readers love is infographics. They’re images that contain a summary of text-based information for faster understanding and better recall. Good infographics are visually appealing, fun to read and look at, and convey knowledge and data in an easy-to-understand manner. 

You can do away with the complications of creating one from scratch by using an infographic template. Customize it with your own content and images, and download and post on social media. 

Screenshots 

A screenshot is a digital image of the content of your computer or mobile screen. Screenshots are very easy to get – on Windows, just press the PrtSc button and paste onto a blank canvas. Or use Windows Snipping Tool to get a snapshot of a selection on your screen.

They are very effective for how-to’s and tutorials, especially for help with software or PC issues. As a freelance writer, you’ve probably had some tech issues that seem complicated but are actually quite simple to resolve. A screenshot of the procedures to follow makes a tutorial so much easier to follow than tons of text. It also saves you a lot of time in writing when visual content will do it better.

Mark the focus of your screenshot with an arrow or a circle. You can use a free app like PosterMyWall or Windows Paint. Or, you can annotate the screenshot with relevant text.  

Quotes

Quotes are nuggets of inspiration, humor, wisdom, education, and other information that evoke a positive emotional response in the reader. Used strategically, it imparts a message that relates to the topic of your article and can boost awareness of your client’s brand. Quotes create a connection with the readers even if it comes from the ideas of other people.

Quotes in an image give the message a visual and emotional appeal that a quote in text-only form, even with enlarged fonts cannot. You can place your chosen quote on a stock image or your photo or on solid color background. For maximum effect, use an eye-catching quote template to convey your message. 

Visual quotes catch the readers’ attention and are more memorable and shareable. They split a text-heavy article and send a message that is easily consumable because it is short and simple. 

Summing Up

With the online freelancing community growing at an incredible pace, you need all the help you can to stand out from the crowd and showcase your ability and finesse in your projects. Adding blog post visuals to your writing package is an effective way to facilitate your client, have a unique offering and, of course, make more money. Now it’s time for you to implement this strategy and take the freelancing world by storm.

100+ Websites that Pay Writers in 2019

The post Increase the Reach of Your Articles by 94% With This Simple Habit appeared first on Freelance Writing Jobs.

Blogging is effective for many reasons, including increasing name recognition, boosting search engine optimization, and informing purchasing decisions. Nearly three-quarters of companies that use blogging say it increases the quality and quantity of their leads, which explains why the real estate blogging market is so big.

Read: The Importance of Blogging for Freelancers

As a freelance writer specializing in blogging, you’ll likely be asked to write a few real estate posts during your career. But when it comes time to put pen to paper, so to speak, you might find it’s harder than you anticipated. You’re not a real estate expert—how can you succeed? 

Successful bloggers use their intuition, knowledge of the topic, and good writing skills to excel. With this in mind, use a few tried and true methods to improve your real estate blog posts.

Tips for Real Estate Writers

1. Include Links to Listings

One of the most valuable aspects of blogging is the ability to link to your client’s listings. Not only does this provide easy access for your client’s audience, but it also helps to boost search engine visibility.

When including listing links in blog posts, do so tastefully. Avoid stuffing the post with links, and instead, look for tactful ways to include links.

For example, a listing page featuring several new construction homes in Phoenix could be used in a blog post about the pros and cons of buying brand new homes. This is relevant content where the link could be very useful to the intended audience.

2. Value What the Audience Values

“I want my clients to be the most informed and to save or make the most money possible in a real estate transaction,” says Jeff Nelson, author of the top real estate blog Live Gulf Shores Local.

He aims to improve his followers’ knowledge base because he knows the value. His informative blog posts offer practical tips, buying and selling hacks, listing information, loan advice, and more. He also helps clients understand the value of a good transaction, knowing that’s what they seek.

Read: How to Make Big Bucks: Enter Real Estate Writing

Nelson prioritizes clients’ interests, despite the potential cut in his commission. It might seem like a move that will hurt his profits, but it increases local interest, and he has no problem acquiring listings. If you follow his methods in your property-based blog posts, you’ll impress any real estate client.   

3. Write for Other Realtors 

Many realtors focus on generating content only for the use of their clients. This is a great way to generate leads and provide valuable content to help the masses. However, if you want to improve your client’s blog, try writing to other real estate agents.

This is an intimidating move, as you know you’re not the top expert in this area, but you can delve into research and craft something worthwhile to publish. Most well-known bloggers aren’t the smartest, most educated, and most experienced people in their industries—they were just the first to write things down.

4. Watch the Details

Many bloggers believe that the quality of the ideas in their blog posts is all that matters. They don’t pay much attention to the way content looks or comes across. However, the details of appearance impact consumer decisions every day. 

First, the blog post you write should look good. You’ll probably be writing blogs that are an extension of your realtor’s site. Use the theme your client uses, including color schemes and logo placement. Prioritize white space and use sans-serif fonts that are easy to read.

Double-check your writing for grammar and sentence structure issues. Don’t forget: “When you publish blog posts with rampant grammatical errors, you communicate to your audience that either you never bothered to learn the rules or that you don’t care enough to fix your mistakes,” an article from TheBlogPress.com astutely explains.

You want to leave a good impression on your real estate clients, so it’s important to do your due diligence. You don’t have to be an expert on the topic—you simply have to know what your client’s blogs need to succeed.

The post 4 Things Real Estate Writers Should Understand appeared first on Freelance Writing Jobs.

One of the most common obstacles in this process however, is that most writers are site designers or bloggers. The good news, is that WordPress makes this process a whole lot easier. In short, there are pretty much zero technical and design skills required to have a site of your own.

This is all done through the power of WordPress, which is a free software solution that can give you the ease to create your own website with all the features of an completely custom site, but without the headaches. It is the most popular platform for blogging as well. In fact, WordPress has helped in the hosting or creation of more than 60% of the websites present on the Google search engine. 

In this article, today you will learn about the many benefits of using WordPress to power your site and grow your freelance writing business, while also learning more about tools, tips, and tricks for when it comes to using WordPress plugins to rank higher in the search results.

Why and How to Get the Most Out of WordPress

As covered, WordPress makes the process of site management and content creation extremely easy. All you need to do is pick a domain name, set up your web hosting, and start using WordPress to create content for your site. If you don’t already have a website of your own, be sure to read through these VPS hosting reviews and you can learn more about the different options, rates, and hosting plans out there to choose from. If you’d like to see what’s possible through the use of WordPress, follow that link and see what a customized site with a lot of reviews and a custom theme in place looks like. FreelanceWritingGigs is also running off WordPress as well.

WordPress themes and plugins will also come in handy during this process, as they are the little bits of software that are added to your sites to enhance it’s functionality. WP plugins are written in PHP and you can create your plugin in WordPress that suits your requirement. They are very important in improving Google rankings.

How are WP Plugins Used to Improve Google Rankings?

As freelance writers, you are probably already familiar with the concept of writing content for a site — and then having the client use that content for their site, and also in hopes to rank it in Google. In order for content to rank in Google, it actually comes down to a number of factors. Featuring the best visual and amazing website is worthless unless you add the quality content and the other most important things that are necessary to rank your website in Google search engine.  Some of the most common ones are:

• Focus and length of content
• Age and domain rankings for the publishing site
• Backlinks and social shares to an individual article

As important as these are, on-site SEO improvements can help as well. This is where WordPress plugins and settings come into play.

Default interface of WordPress is not very user-friendly, so you need to optimize that according to your desire. Similarly, as you change the setting on your laptop and phone to make it more comfortable to use.

Now here are a few tips that can improve your Google search ranking.

The setting of permalinks.

Permalinks are the URLs of your website that are searched and referred by the users or another website to give a reference to your site. Initially, your URLs are very short in forms and they are not supposed to have any keywords that are searched most commonly on Google. But you can edit the settings of permalinks easily. You just need to be careful that your permalink contains the keyword that you want to be searched. It is the first step that can improve your Google ranking.

Impressive title tags.

The beginning title of your site must be attractive and comprehensive as well. The title depicts the content and moreover, it is the hook impression of your site. It must be 50-60 characters long. You can take a guide from headline analyzer to improve the impact of your title tag. Add the most searched keywords from Google to make it appear in the top sites. 

Give a sitemap for your website.

WordPress introduces plugins called GOOGLE XML SITEMAP. This sitemap help to index the number of pages you are having on your website. This XML sitemap is very easy to use. Just by using this plugin, Google can reach the right index of your site.  It can help Google to improve your site ranking.

Google analytics.

This very helpful tool in analyzing the source of your traffic, the behavior of your audience, and to examine the basic attributes. This tool is offered free by Google and moreover, this tool helps in improving and targeting your source audience. Google analytics gives a brief discussion on your traffic and their behavior’s. It can help to improve your ranking as well. All you need is to observe your strategies more carefully by getting the analysis from Google. This can help you in locating error 404 and examining the behavior of your audience. 

Use of optimized content.

1 – Using appropriate tags.

You can add a media file to grab the attention of your readers. But before adding the media file just be careful to add at least one keyword in the image title. Images are the most important tool that helps to attract the reader but it can help you more if you use them in the right way.

2 – Proper use of HTML readings.

Proper use of HTML readings can enhance the impression of your content. Yoast can give you better examples of using headings in the most appropriate way. Using H1 for the main heading then secondly, H2 for subheadings and use H3 for the subheadings of H2. Keep the headings in order to keep the content flow in order.

3 – Linking with high ranked sites.

Linking to higher ranked authorities can improve your rank in the search engine. It casts a positive effect on the search engine. Outbound links are very helpful in upgrading your rank in search engine.

4 – Linking to the internal links.

Well if you will provide the internal links of your pages on the top of your site then it will prevent the bounce off rate. This is just to provide ease to your targeted audience.

5 – Length of content.

Most of the high ranked content is of least 1500 words. You should be careful to use the least count of 1500 words in your article. It can help your site to reach the high ranks in the search engine of Google. Most of the blogger have opposite reviews on this; they say that quality is better than quantity. Summarizing this means that short reading stuff is more attractive but the results of Google search shows that high ranked sites are contained up with least of 1500 words.

6 – Social media sharing buttons.

Creating social media sharing buttons on your website can give the opportunity of sharing the relevant stuff on audience profile as well. It helps to attract traffic more. These buttons can give a fascinating look of your site as well.

Use of optimized theme.

Now there is a large variety of themes on WordPress but you are in need to put the one, which is more optimized for search engine. The best-practiced SEO theme is far better than the beautiful appealing theme. Always chose the one, which goes best with your search engine requirement. Here are some crucial factors that are needed to be discussed. (as referenced here)

• Open graph meta tag incorporation to improve social media sharing
• Appropriate use of meta title tags and heading
• A neat and clean structure that employs valid and proper HTML.
• Correct use of the canonical URL meta tag.

Use SEO plugins.

There is a variety of SEO plugins provided by WordPress. You can select the one for yourself. Yoast SEO, ALL-IN-ONE so, and many more are there to use. They give you ease to introduce Meta title, Meta description, Meta tags, and most searched keywords. They provide all the solution for SEO in WordPress.

These plugins can help to generate an XML sitemap for your site. These plugins can help to add more functionality in your site to give it best look.

Google page speed insights

These are the tools to insight the page loading speed of your site. It is considerable fact on the Google ranking. You can view the loading speed of your pages on the Google page speed insights. They provide you the ease to enhance that as well. All you need is to stay updated with your work and its progress.

Responsive design.

There are a large number of people who access the website through their mobile phones. Recent research shows that the responsive design of your site attracts more. You can view that from the browser’s viewport. If you are using WordPress then your website has the most responsive design already. While making it more responsive, just give it an overlook from your phone as well.

High quality is written content.

High-quality content must have a number of qualities but the most helpful one are uniqueness, shareable, informative and helpful. Google is really strict if someone steals the content of the other site, and in worse cases, a site can be completely penalized and dropped from their search rankings altogether.

With this in mind, always be original in writing your own content. Use your creative skills to create unique content for your site. It’s also a good idea to quote references of any case studies or stats you are writing about, as this will help with improving the overall quality of your content as well.

Google is helpful in providing you’re the concepts but it never allows copying the efforts of others. Make sure that content is unique. Then it must be informative and it must fulfill the initiative of the writing. If the audience will not find it informative then they will never search you back again. Always keep in mind that you must provide information to your targeted audience. Just keep focusing on the quality by adding more of the research work. You can also add more facts and figures that actually depict the high informative content.

Now the last important fact is to make your content shareable. When a person can share your content with his friends and followers, it will give a heap to your site. It can be effective in publicity of your content even more. People can make the reference of your site in their content also. So be sure that you are facilitating the audience with the sharing options.

The post 7 Ways Freelancers Can Improve Google Rankings with WordPress Plugins appeared first on Freelance Writing Jobs.

So how do you build a loyal readership as a freelance writer? These 4 strategies can keep everyone on the same page, and make your work more appealing to publishers by promising them a pre-formed audience.

[bctt tweet=”As a freelance writer, you need a solid following. Here’s how to build one.” username=”freelancewj”]

4 Tips For Building a Following As a Freelance Writer

1. Maintain A Newsletter

One of the simplest things you can do to build a loyal readership as a writer/blogger is to make sure your readers know what you’re up to by sending out a newsletter. Your newsletter is an opportunity to connect with your readers on a personal level, but also to send them direct links to anywhere your work is appearing. Whether there’s a new post up on your personal blog or you have an article appearing on Buzzfeed or in the Washington Post, your newsletter is an easy way to make sure your readers know about it.

2. Be Social

Your social media following is your secret weapon as a freelance writer. Many publishers check your following when deciding whether they want you on board – and a strong following can equal high publisher demand. Find your social media audience and build interest through organic, topical content. You can do this across platforms – on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram among others, and don’t forget to build a professional writing page on Facebook, in particular.

As part of your social media following, you’ll want to learn a few supporting graphic design skills, but luckily there are plenty of tools available to you. Use an app or site like Smilebox to create visually compelling announcements for your social media pages. These might announce upcoming publications, display quotes with links to articles, or notify readers about events or appearances. Visuals have a lot of power online and you don’t want to skimp on aesthetic impressions.

3. Craft A Portfolio

Having an online writing portfolio is an important part of building your freelance career and your following, but how do they work? The idea behind writing portfolios is typically that you can present them to potential employers who will review them when deciding whether or not to hire you. But that’s not all they’re good for.

In addition to serving as a promotional tool for your work, your writing portfolio is something of an archive for your most loyal readers. Since your work is likely scattered all over the internet, your portfolio centralizes those pieces and lets your readers comb through it all.

4. Chat It Up

Whether you’re responding to comments on your Facebook page or messaging with readers through Twitter, participating in conversations with readers is central to building their loyalty. Though it may seem like a distraction from your real work of writing, responding to your readers creates connection and anticipation. Not only are readers connecting more closely with your work, but they’re seeing you as a person as much as a writer. That’s a real turning point in the career of any freelance writer.

Too often, freelancing seems impersonal and disconnected because you don’t have a home base for your writing. That’s why it’s up to you to bring it all together. From your readers’ inboxes to their Twitter feeds, keep connecting. It’s all about that ongoing relationship with your readers; the stronger that relationship, the greater the demand for your work.

https://freelancewritinggigs.com/2016/07/find-a-profitable-niche/

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It would be really great if fantastic content were all that was required to create a successful blog. That’s how it worked when blogging was first getting popular. Today, though, there is a lot more involved in creating a successful and profitable blogging career. It takes a lot of work and, thankfully, most of that work is pretty fun.

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How to Build a Successful Blog

Getting Started

With traditional marketing, you start with the service or the product and then use it to build your buzz (a blog can help with this). When you’re trying to figure out how to grow a blog, say the experts at Shopify, the first thing you need to know is that the opposite will be true for you. As a blogger, your first goal is to build your audience and then find methods of monetization that jive with that audience’s expectations and preferences. In simpler terms, if you want to grow your blog you have to start with yourself, not with a shiny new invention.

So: who are you? What do you care about? How do you approach challenges? And, most importantly, how well do you relate to others?

You Have to Care

Anybody can set up a blog and fill it with generic sounding content and earn a few bucks through affiliate linking. If you really want to create a successful enterprise, however, you need to blog about something you love or, at the very least, enjoy talking and learning about. Readers can tell when you don’t care about your blog’s subject and are just in it for the clicks and ad dollars. They’ll spend thirty seconds on that site then leave and never come back. When you’re enthusiastic about your blog’s subject, though, that enthusiasm will bleed through–even if your writing isn’t perfect–and that is what will keep people coming back.

You Have to Interact

What makes blogging different than other types of marketing is that, in order for it to be successful, you can’t just shout into the void and hope for the best. Well, you can, but you won’t get very far. The comments section, for all its well-earned vilification now, is a big part of what made blogs different from regular news-y sites. Today most blog comments sections see more tumbleweeds than typing because the conversation has moved over to social media but the point isn’t where the conversation happens, it’s that it happens at all.

Figuring out your social media strategy can be difficult. The best thing you can do as you’re building your blogging and social media habits is to follow the golden ratio: 20% of your social media posts can be blatant advertisements. The rest must be interactions, sharing other people’s’ stuff, and talking about non-blog-centric topics that you find interesting.

Subtlety is Key

When you’re ready to monetize your site, it can be tempting to just toss up as many ads as your site can fit. Resist this urge. Instead go for monetization methods that your audience will respect and, sometimes, even request!

You likely already know the basics of contextual linking and affiliate sales. Let’s explore another (and some might even say superior) method of monetization. There are two important monetization methods that will earn you more than most passive income streams will bring in.

1. Subscriptions. Set up monthly subscriptions through portals like Patreon where you offer some extra value to people who are willing to pay for your efforts. If you have a loyal audience you should be able to cover at least your operational costs if not a lot more. Some bloggers earn a full time living with Patreon!
2. Create Your Own Products. You don’t have to write a huge long book to bring in money. You can write longer form content (like essays) and sell them on Amazon as Kindle Singles. You can also sell them yourself as zines or direct downloads. You can sell prints of your artwork or photos. Get creative!

It takes time and work to create a successful and high earning blog but remember: your blog’s success all comes down to you. Are you ready to get to work?

Further reading: How to Start a Blog and Make Money

This post was written by Shah, a professional writer and blogger interested in writing about various aspects of SEO, marketing, tech and design on Designermag.org. You can join Shah at Google+ or Twitter.  

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If you have a website or online business, you are likely already trying to collect leads and bring in as many new customers as possible. No matter what type of marketing budget you have in place, there are plenty of ways to make your content, marketing, budget and time go a lot further if you know the right methods to use.

To help with this process, I wanted to highlight some of the best working methods for both lead generation through SEO, content creation, and marketing — all important components of the content writing and outsourcing process. Best of all, no matter what type of brand or business you currently have in place, you can start implementing each of these methods today and start seeing steady results tomorrow.

Create Great Content to Rank Organically

If you want to offer real value to your audience and also have a long-term strategy for ranking in the search results and continually bring in new traffic, you are going to want to invest in some quality content for your site. When done correctly, creating content for your site that provides is a win-win situation for both your audience and your business. Search engines like Google love really good content — but it has to be really good! Gone are the days when a 500-word article gets the job done. Now it’s all about creating 2,000+ word resource guides, tutorials or how-to posts. If you know what your audience is looking for, you simply need to create a great reference and value for them, while also giving them a solution to their problem.

Once your article is live, it’s then time to put in the necessary time and effort to make sure it gets promoted to the right audiences and referenced on other sites within your niche. This all goes back to the quality of your content. The better your content, the more likely you will find willing sites to link and reference your site within their own content (thus further improving your search results). If you are completely new to the concept of how to rank in Google, check out these simple SEO tips.

Skip SEO and Simply Pay for High-Quality SEO Leads

As effective and wonderful as content creation and ranking within Google is, it definitely takes a lot of time, work, and effort. This is especially true if you have a website or blog that doesn’t have a lot of authority, or is already in quite a competitive niche. The good news, however, is that there are other ways to rank at the top of Google, or simply get leads from other sites that do. The first and most obvious example of this is to simply create a Google Adwords campaign and pay a high cost per click to rank for whatever keywords you like. Another option is to buy data from sites that are already ranking in the search results organically and generating leads that would apply to your business or lead-gen process.

A perfect example of this would be Buy SEO Leads. Instead of scaling out their business to serve the excess of leads they are generating, they instead created a service to pass such leads to relevant clients. They explain this process on their site as “All Leads are people that expressed interested in SEO or related service such as Reputation Management or Web Design“. Since millions of sites are ranking organically in Google for millions of search terms, it only makes sense for businesses to cater to this audience, when not every site can rank at the top of Google on their own.

Use Whiteboard or Explainer Videos to Increase Conversion

When you’ve mastered the art of content creation and getting people to visit your site, then it’s simply a matter of testing different methods to see how you can improve the conversion process. In most cases, your content and backlink references are going to help with the rankings for your site. However, getting traffic to your site is only the beginning.

One method that has been working extremely well for websites and brands over the past few years has been whiteboard and explainer videos. We all know the power of online video, but whiteboard and explainer videos have been proven to work extremely well because of how they engage with the audience and makes them want to keep watching and learn more. The more a visitor watches a video on your site, the more likely they are to complete the specific call to action you might have.

While the concept of creating a whiteboard or explainer video might seem exciting, it can also be quite costly and time-consuming process to figure out. Fortunately, there are some better solutions out there for any site owners or brands working on a limited budget. MySimpleShow.com has created a platform where such videos can be created with a simple drag and drop platform, while also adding in your own text and voice overs. This is definitely something everyone should check out and invest some time and resources in.

Publish a Unique Infographic in Your Industry

While “Content is King” is a popular saying for content creators around the world, it’s also important to remember that not all content needs to come in the form of basic text. An excellent way to bring your content to life is through the use of a custom infographic. Infographics make the process of consuming ‘boring’ data a lot more fun. At the same time, they are one of the best methods for generating additional traffic, social shares and backlinks to your site.

The best way to create an effective infographic for your site is to first decide what type of content your audiences likes best — and where you can also provide the most value. A good example of this would be if you had a social media marketing based-business and wanted to highlight trends on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin for your audience. You can actually see a live example of this here.

Once you’ve pulled together enough content and data for your infographic, find someone who can design a custom image for you, or simply use a free solution like canva.com to get the job done. After you’ve created your infographic, it’s then time to post it to your site and also share it with your audience. Be sure to also reach out to other relevant sites in your industry to see if they’d like to post it to their site with a unique article as well. You can also view this list of infographic directories for quick and easy infographic submission.

Go Live with an Expert Roundup with Industry Experts

One of my favorite methods for creating high-value site content, while also featuring authority expertise, is through the use of expert roundup posts. The way an expert roundup post works is simple. All you need to do is come up with a simple question for industry experts in your space to answer, then compile all of their answers into one big mega post. You can see 17 examples of this here.

The concept sounds easy enough, but this can be a very time-consuming process the first time around. This is mainly due to the outreach process and making sure you get the right contact information for each of the experts you want to feature. When sending out your email, be sure to make it short and sweet — simply asking them a question for your upcoming roundup, and also letting them know they will get a profile picture and backlink to their site as well.

Focus on Your Content Strategy to Expand Your Business in 2017

It doesn’t matter if you are currently writing your own content or outsourcing it through freelance writers, the end goal is still the same — which is to provide value to your audience, while also converting new visitors into valuable leads and paying customers.

The game of content creation and SEO is a long-term strategy, but one that works extremely well when you put in the time and effort. Run through the list above and see which of these best working methods for generating leads and traffic through content creation and SEO might be best for you. Each method is unique in it’s own way and will vary depending on the niche you are in. The important thing to remember is to put in the time and effort to research how you can best provide value to your audience and make sure your content is getting seen in the process. The more value you have in place, the easier it is to attract new audiences and grow your brand.

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Today, the starving artist has to get even more creative to actually make a living at what they spend hours upon hours of their lives dreaming about. The time spent honing the craft isn’t even factored into the equation.

When people hire out writers, entertainers, painters, or anything of the like, that requires talent mixed with training. They don’t think about the fact that the artist has poured so much into their craft that the wages they’re being offered are almost laughable in comparison.

The issue of artists and making a living wage from their work is multifaceted and gets messy very quickly. In the end, things need to change across the board, but for the time being, if you’re a writer and you want to actually make money doing what you love, here are three ideas.

Make money as a writer

Enter Through Side Doors

Perhaps the dream is to be an award-winning novelist; but in today’s world, you have to start somewhere, and you just might have to fight for your right to climb your way to the top. If this means you have to enter the biz through a side door, so be it. You have to generate money. You want to spend your time developing your craft because time spent doing anything else is a waste to you.

Consider starting a blog that will generate you income. It isn’t hard, and since you’re already a writer, it only makes sense. It may not be the novel you’re working on, but if you blog regularly, you exercise your skill, so that’s actually not a bad way to spend your time at all – especially if you’re making a bit of money in the process.

Write People’s Websites

Because you’re such a good writer and you’re naturally gifted in this area, it doesn’t make sense to you how people can be terrible writers. They’re just words. You were raised speaking the language. How can it be that hard to put sentences to paper? Well, other people don’t have the same sentiments. The world is full of mediocre and straight up awful writers. Since you are neither of those things, you can capitalize on this fact.

Do this by starting up a business where you write the content for other people’s websites. Have a dialogue with a business owner about what it is they would like to say, and then organize that dialogue into a neat and concise, grammatically correct statement that can then be placed on the client’s website. You get good at this and you can charge a hefty fee for simply being smart. Not a bad way to go.

Be Strategic

Everything in life is about who you know. There is no easier way to put it. You can be the most gifted person out there but if you sit in a dark room and don’t get yourself out there to network, it won’t matter.

You have to be strategic if you want to make money as a writer. You could have a lame book and make a million dollars if you know the right publisher. You could have a masterpiece and never see a dime if you leave strategy out of the brainstorming process.

The world needs you and your writing. What are you going to do to make sure you’re getting fed as well as seen?

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