Write, Wrong or Indifferent

Google Penalizing for Ad Placement

2012-01-23T10:33:00.000-05:00

Trying to keep up with Google's algorithm changes is a full time job. One of the more recent announcements by Google discusses possible penalties for ad placement. Advertisements on a website or blog are what brings in the revenue, but too many in the wrong spots and you're likely to get slapped by Google ... again. You'll get the most clicks from ads placed above the fold, but too many and

Keep Content Fresh for Best Search Engine Placement

2012-01-20T21:30:00.001-05:00

With massive overhauls in google's search algorithms in recent months, many article writers and bloggers are taking big hits in the pocketbook when content that previously ranked well is now buried on page eleventy-seven. There's been a lot of speculation about how and what to write to get back into the running again, and fresh content is one of the topics that keeps popping up. After what I

Changing Email Subscription Name on Feedburner

2012-01-17T15:01:00.000-05:00

I have several blogs and purchased domain names for most of them, which meant that the feedburner subscriptions would change also. I decided to leave the old ones in place so as not to confuse my current subscribers, but made a new feed for the new domain name URL also. The downside to this was that those who subscribed through the old feed got email with the old name of the blog as the

Welch or Welsh? Never Welch With the Welsh

2012-01-09T15:39:00.000-05:00

I was typing a response to a friend on facebook a bit ago and wanted to use the word welch, i.e., welch on a bet, but second-guessed myself as I was typing it. Was the correct word welch, or welsh? I typed welch, but thought I'd best double check before posting, and was happy to see confirmation from online dictionaries that my initial use was correct. As I dug further, I wasn't so sure.

End of Year Tax Deductions for Writers and Freelancers

2011-12-29T10:27:00.000-05:00

If you freelance as a writer or otherwise, there are plenty of tax deductions you can take advantage of. If you had planned on investing in your business, now is the time to do it so that you can take those deductions when filing your income tax for 2011. Angie Mohr is a financial professional who has written several books and published countless articles on personal finance. Her book, Tax

Setting Writing Goals and Meeting Them

2011-11-01T09:49:00.000-04:00

Do you set goals for your writing? Is there a dollar figure you strive to earn each month, a word count total, or number of articles each day or week that you hope to attain? Setting goals can help you be more productive, but make sure they're realistic. You want to stretch yourself, but you also don't want to set yourself up for failure right out of the gate. Setting the bar too high is a

Free eBook - Write That Book Already!

2011-10-31T16:45:00.001-04:00

A must read for all published and would-be novelists, Write That Book Already!: The Tough Love You Need to Get Published Now is available free today in eBook format. Amazon lists 10 reviews, eight of them receiving five stars and the remaining two rated at four stars. Editorial reviews listed on the site give just as glowing a report. Don't have a Kindle reader? Download the free version

Of Marines and Bracelets

2011-10-20T07:35:00.000-04:00

My younger son bought me a bumper sticker the day he graduated from boot camp at Parris Island - DANGER - Retired Opinionated Marine on Board. Yep, that would be me. There was a big to-do in the news the other day about Marines wearing unauthorized bracelets while in uniform. I jumped on it and wrote a quick commentary news article and submitted it several hours before the Yahoo!

Blog Post Title SEO

2011-10-07T10:16:00.000-04:00

When writing your blog post, it's important to think SEO when creating the title, but choosing key search words may not be enough. If you look at the URL of any of your blog entries, you’ll see that the title of the post comes after the blog name; that’s how a search engine will read it unless you tell it to do otherwise by changing the title tags. You probably know to ‘front load’ the more

Free eBooks for Writers

2011-08-15T12:44:00.001-04:00

To me, reading for pleasure doesn't include a computer, eReader or any other electronic device, but when I realized that I could download the Kindle app for my PC for free, I jumped on it. Besides the free app, I was able to download from a list of over 1,000 free eBooks of all genres, several of them specific to the world of writing. Here's a small sampling of free eBooks about writing that

Summer Writing Slump? Get a Head Start on Holiday Writing

2011-07-21T09:03:00.000-04:00

If you're an article writer, you may experience a downward turn in the amount of hits you get on your content during summer. Kids are out of school and families are occupied doing other things - vacations, staycations, or just spending more time outside gardening or in the pool - so their butt isn't planted in the chair searching the internet. Don't let the numbers get you down, rather, get

I’m a Millionaire – Now What?

2011-06-21T10:15:00.001-04:00

I finally made my first million page views on YCN last Thursday. I didn’t think I’d ever get there but now that I have, what next? I’ve kept track of my progress daily in a spreadsheet and it seems funny to no longer be fussing with the calculations every day. Ok, new goal. I started publishing on AC in June 2008 but only wrote a few articles before going into hiding for about a year, so I

End of My First Weekly Challenge - How Did I Do?

2011-06-18T18:44:00.000-04:00

I challenged myself to earn at least $60 by writing four or more articles this week. Did I make it? You betcha! I wrote and submitted five targeted assignment articles for $10 each and they were all published either the same day or the next morning. I submitted a beat assignment article this morning for $8, making six articles written this week. I'm counting that as earnings for this week

My Writing Goal - Success!

2011-06-16T12:33:00.000-04:00

I challenged myself to write enough this week to earn a minimum of $60 with at least four articles published - peanuts for many of you but a considerable amount for me. I posted yesterday that I had reached half of my goal so far and didn't think I'd have trouble making up the rest. I did it, and then some! My fourth article published this morning for an additional $10 and I'd forgotten about

Halfway to My Earnings Goal

2011-06-15T12:41:00.002-04:00

I posted my personal writing challenge the other day, coaxing myself to shoot for earnings of at least $60 this week with a minimum of four articles written and published. So far I'm well on track. I started my challenge on Sunday, so I'm not counting the article that I wrote on Saturday that was paid for and published on Monday. I wrote and submitted two articles yesterday and one so far this

Writing Goal - My Personal Challenge

2011-06-12T07:21:00.002-04:00

I've been in a serious writing slump lately. Between personal issues and the stifling heat (in a home without air conditioning), I've just not been able to get it together. That stops here. Time to set a goal for myself with a writing challenge. I was able to get a few articles written last week and while not nearly where I should be, it still left me with a feeling of accomplishment to get

GBE 2, Week #1 - EXPECTATIONS

2011-05-22T18:02:00.001-04:00

GBE 2 is up and running! Click to learn about the Group Blogging Experience, then jump on the train and enjoy the ride! Beth has chosen the topic EXPECTATIONS for week one. It doesn’t matter the theme of your blog, just somehow tie in the word EXPECTATIONS into one of your blog posts this week and add your URL to the linky tool below so that others can find your post for this week’s topic.

Welcome to GBE, the Group Blogging Experience!

2011-05-22T07:29:00.000-04:00

Back in the days of MySpace, a lovely lady named Alicia started a blogging group she called the GBE (Group Blogging Experience). Each week, Alicia posted a very general topic for participants to blog about. When they’d posted their blogs, they left a link back on Alicia’s post and then she assembled them into a tidy list so that everyone would have easy access to read and comment on other blogs.

Tips for Giveaways and Contests on Your Blog

2011-05-14T10:51:00.001-04:00

Last month I shared how hosting a giveaway or contest on your blog can help increase readership. Since then, I've come up with a few more tips that you might find helpful. Contacting the Winner When hosting a giveaway, make sure you tell your readers they they must leave their contact information in a comment. Even those logged in with a blogger account don't always leave a trail to find them;

How Often Should You Blog?

2011-05-09T10:06:00.000-04:00

If you ask other bloggers how frequently you should post to your blog, you're likely to get a variety of answers. I follow most of my readers through my blog roll and I don't have a chance to check all four of my active blogs daily. If my fellow bloggers post every day, I might miss a few posts here and there unless I'm subscribed by email, so if I apply that same logic to my own blogs, some of

Networking With Z to A in May Bloggers

2011-05-03T18:45:00.001-04:00

We're up to 67 blogs signed up for the Z to A in May challenge as we finish up day two. Those of you who didn't do the April challenge, I hope you're enjoying the blog challenge experience so far. It's not so bad, is it? Many of us are freelance writers who know each other from sites where we publish online, but there are a few random folks who joined in by way of the other challenge, or just

New Tool for Z to A in May Bloggers

2011-05-02T18:05:00.001-04:00

Z to A in May is underway! With things rolling out today, I have a new tool to share with you that will help you support your fellow bloggers in the challenge if you don't have time to visit everyone on the list. Many of you used the button on the A-Z Blogging Challenge last month that allowed you to visit either the next or a random blog. I asked the person who created the code for that

Kicking Off Z to A in May

2011-05-01T10:42:00.002-04:00

With today being Sunday, Z to A in May will officially kick off tomorrow, but I wanted to toss out some info before we get started. I'll be posting on my local blog - Ross County Roundup -for the May challenge, but I will use this writing blog to host the event as well as post updates and any helpful tips, etc. If you are signed up for Z to A in May, please follow and/or subscribe to this blog

All Wrapped Up, From A to Z

2011-05-01T10:32:00.001-04:00

This was my first attempt at a blogging challenge and as I've been known to do, I jumped into something with both feet without realizing just what I was getting myself into. I not only took the challenge with this blog, but I entered with three other blogs also. Completing 26 posts on four blogs in one 30 day period was definitely a challenge - but I did it, I completed the challenge on all

I Need a Zacation

2011-04-30T18:02:00.002-04:00

Day is done, gone the sun. Taps - a most beautiful, yet extremely melancholy melody. It's what I hear in my mind today as we bring the A-Z Blogging Challenge to a close. With four blogs entered in the challenge, it's been quite a ride, but I persevered. There were a few times when I almost threw in the towel, but since almost 100 of my peers rose to the challenge when I initially threw down