by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

The most important thing a freelance writer can do is stay active. Frequent activity keeps readers interested, as well as shows clients that you are serious about what you do.

If you publish rarely, how is anyone supposed to consider you an expert? Even if your motive is not to gain extra clients, there is still the factor of being loyal to your readers.

Why would they want to visit your site or read your articles if you have little to no activity? There is not a set amount that will work for every freelancer because we all have different needs and goals. But try to remain as active as possible for the best results in your career.

More from Lyn:

Private Clients, Contributor Communities, or Yourself? What's Best for Online Article Writers?

Freelance Writing Tips: Your Client is Not Obligated to Please You

Angie Mohr, Expert Writer and Accountant Offers Great Advice to Non-Fiction Freelancers

posted by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

Writing and selling non-fiction can be a puzzling adventure, especially when it comes to the business side of things. That's where fellow writer and friend Angie Mohr steps in to take the mystery out of the freelance writing business. She is currently offering up her wisdom in  3 ebooks, including one with customizable excel templates. A portion of the proceeds gets donated to Rissa Watkins, a fellow writer and friend who is undergoing leukemia treatment. Buy them separately or in  a bundle. The bulk purchase gets you a nice discount.

Managing a Freelance Writing Business: A Writer's Guide to Building a Strong Company

• over 80 pages of great info for both new freelancers and veterans
• helps you to analyze your clientele to make sure you're making top dollar from every word you write
• delves into all the back office issues that confuse many freelance writers, including setting up an accounting system, quoting, job tracking, and insurance

Tax Preparation & Planning for Freelance Writers

• over 75 pages of income tax information tailored to a freelance writer
• details what can and cannot be claimed for home office, auto and other freelance expenses
• puts an end to water cooler myths about what you can claim on your taxes
• helps to reduce the chance that you will be audited by the IRS
• helps you to reduce this year's tax bill and plan for next year's

Customizable Excel Templates

1. Query tracking tool
2. Quoting calculator
3. Job tracking template
4. Home office expense calculator
5. Auto mileage log and expense tracker
6. Direct expenses template

Click here to purchase the books from Angie Mohr either individually or as a bundle package.
Happy Freelancing!

by Ann Olson, Contributing Writer

Using a picture of a flower, or worse, a photo of you in your pajamas, isn’t a great way to gain more clients. In fact, it will make them scatter faster than you can say “But my SEOs are really good!”.

Here’s something all writers need to know: image plays a huge role in how clients perceive you. If you can’t take the effort to lose your hoodie in favor of a nice-fitting dress shirt, how can they expect you’ll handle their next project professionally (and on time)?

Using an effective “author photo”–the one photo used consistently on writing websites, your portfolio/website and any social media websites–is now vitally important for making a good first impression on clients, even before they shoot off that first email.

Does this mean it’s time to deck out the suit and tie? Absolutely not, unless that’s what you really wear.

So how should you dress for your author photo?

For Women:

CLOTHES: Choose dark-colored, long-sleeved shirts. Dress shirts, cardigans or blouses are great for boosting a writer’s professional image.

ACCESSORIES: Keep accessories to a minimum. Avoid wearing too many rings or bracelets–a simple pair of earrings and a bracelet will do.

MAKEUP: Less is better. A light dab of foundation, neutral eyeshadow and lip gloss help polish your face without adding too much clutter.

HAIR: Neatness beats uniqueness. A simple ponytail, bun or hair let down in neat waves, curls or kept straight are great, professional styles to wear in your author photo. Stay away from excessive teasing, messy hairstyles or “big” hairstyles.

For Men:

CLOTHES: Again, dark-colored, long-sleeved shirts work best. Stick with collared dress shirts, and optionally, a casual sport coat for a functional, business casual look.

HAIR: Keep it neat and low-maintenance. Short, conservative hairstyles work best. For long hair, consider styling it in a ponytail.

FACIAL HAIR: Facial hair is best kept short and well groomed. Long beards or goatees are not professional looks for writers.

Dressing for Your Author Photo: Additional Tips

If there’s one theme to keep in mind, it’s this: less is more. A writer’s makeup, clothes or accessories shouldn’t overpower the photo–instead, it should add depth and professionalism to it. Other tips for boosting your professional image include:

• Keep the skin exposure to a minimum. If your blouse or shirt gives people a clear view of your upper assets, change it or wear an undershirt.

•  Like in the workplace, unnatural hair colors aren’t appropriate either. Not willing to compromise? Consider having the photo shot in monochrome or colored digitally by a professional retoucher.

•  Avoid clothes with floral prints or gaudy, bright stripes. Like with bold colors, this draws attention to your clothes instead.

•  Stay away from current fashion trends–they become outdated quickly. Choose conservative and functional items than those seen on the latest celebrities.

Overall, the key point here is that the author photo reflects your credibility, professionalism and dependability. Remember, your author photo is a visual cue that tells potential clients you’re trustworthy and dependable, and worth contacting for a quote.

by Lisa Mason, Contributing Writer

If you are looking for a way to build new article ideas, then consider writing an article series. This can be one of the best ways to write more articles and keep your readers coming back for more. However, there is a proper way that you write an article series. Once you learn this, you will get the most benefit from each article series that you write.

Here are 5 Steps to Write an Article Series

You can write an article series easy with these tips:

1. Do adequate research beforehand to help you write the full article series. This will allow you to sit and write the full series without the need to stop in between each article for more research. The overall structure of your series will be based around the research that you do first.
   
   
2. Create each article in the series where it can also stand alone. This is important when writing articles for the Internet because someone may stumble upon only one part of your article series and it should still make sense, even if they are not in order.
   
   
3. Each article should keep your reader wanting more. While each article should be capable of standing on its own with a beginning, middle and end to the structure, each article should also leave your reader wanting more so that they click to the next part of the series.
   
   
4. Create an outline for each article and for the series as a whole. This will help you to structure the entire series so that it goes in a logical order, covers all the main points and does not repeat points.
   
   
5. Don’t try to cover too many points in one article. Reserve one main point only for each article and follow it up with supportive facts. If you come across a new point you want to make, save it for the next article in the series.
   
   

Beyond the 5 Steps to Write an Article Series

Once you have these 5 steps to write an article series, you can continue to grow and build on this. You can use these steps to write more article series sets or to turn articles into an ebook or free download you can give away online.

Use list articles to create an article series. One example of this would be my “5 steps” above. I could take these 5 steps and break them down, creating one solid article reserved for each one. I can then turn this article into 5 more articles. For point number one, I might talk more about how and where you research and how to turn that research into a final product with your article.

For point four, I may describe how to outline and show examples of ways that you can outline for articles and how to turn your research into an outline. There is plenty of material here to create a total of six articles from this one. Happy writing!

Lisa Mason is a freelance writer, mother to four and youth sports coach residing in Central Texas. She has published hundreds of articles on writing and runs www.writingtipsblog.com to provide free writing tips.

Lisa's a Community Guide at Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been writing professionally since 1998 with a specialty in Internet content. Search her profile for articles on writing and writing tips.

Lisa officially began her writing career at the age of 16 after writing for school and local newspapers as well as trade and regional publications. She is the author of 3 writing books, 3 video game guides, 3 poetry anthologies and a how-to poetry book.

by Lyn Lomasi, Article Writer for Hire

*Note that some resources mentioned below require being logged into your Y!CN account before clicking to read.

If you've just joined the site, you are likely curious about how to succeed. Where do you start? What does it take to get to the top? How long does it take to get where you want to be? As a veteran contributor, here are some of the things I have learned.

Step One: Before submitting that first article, browse around and take a look at some of the articles that are featured. Also, read advice from seasoned contributors. There are some great examples in the tutorials section. Also, be sure your content adheres to the submission guidelines, as well as the Yahoo! Style Guide.

Step Two: Submit your work and learn more while you wait. There is always something new to learn. Do you need to learn more about SEO? Networking? Grammar and style? Ask fellow contributors for their advice and continue to learn from those around you.

Step Three: Apply what you learn and rinse and repeat. There is never an end to what you can learn when it comes to writing. This is even more true for web writing. Rules are constantly changing, as is the needs of the audience. Keep learning and applying that knowledge to your work. If you put in the effort, you will see results.

Things to Remember:

1) You get what you put into it. If you put in effort to ensure your work is what Yahoo! is looking for, you will see results. On the same vein, if you choose not to pay attention and just write what you want, no matter what Y!CN or the audience is looking for, you won't get very far.

2) Write what you know. It's easy to see the success of others and want to mimic what they have done. However, that can quickly cause burnout and loss of interest...and it will show in your work and your productivity levels.

3) Define your personal success. What does success mean to you? Is it getting your work published across multiple channels? Is it just knowing your subject matter could make a difference in someone's life? Do money amounts play a role? Figure out why you are here and what successes you wish to work toward. This will be different for each person.

4) Web writing is not the same as print writing. If you are good at writing for print venues, that's awesome! But not all of what you learned doing that will help you in web writing. Click here to learn more about web writing.

Helpful Articles for Success at Yahoo! Contributor Network:


The Newbie's Guide to Success at the Yahoo! Contributor Network

AC Tips and Tricks

Writing Your First Article

How to Write Compelling Headlines for Search Engines

Web Writing: The Ground Rules that Make a Good Web Article

Best Article Writing Tips from Career Professionals

How to Get Your Work Published on Your Favorite Yahoo! Sites

Professional Article Writers: The Importance of Self Editing

How to Build Residual Income Writing Evergreen Web Content

Why Am I Not Making Money at AC? Page Views, Offers, and More

How Can I Increase My page Views (PVs) on Associated Content?

Internet Writing: Simple Strategies that Attract Readers

Importance of Authentic Voice in Writing for Y!CN


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If you have questions, there is always someone around to help, be it one of the Community Guides (like myself) or any other helpful contributors.

List of Community Guides:

Lyn Lomasi

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben

Carol Bengle Gilbert

Lisa Mason

Abby Greenhill

K. Valentine

Sylvia Cochran

Kathy Browning

Jan Corn

Cathy Montville

Online article writers serious about their writing must remember the purpose of our content is to provide someone else with the information they need. Even when the writing goes to a client that will not return any page view or click revenue, remember that their audience still needs accurate and relevant info as well. Ultimately, someone will be reading the finished content. Here are five ways online article writers can get and keep clients.

Continue reading this article>>>

Are you constantly browsing Associated Content, Yahoo! News, Shine, or omg!, hoping your name will be featured there someday? If you're a part of the Yahoo! Contributor Network, it can be! As someone who has been featured across multiple Yahoo! destinations, I can say for a fact that it's possible and attainable. Perhaps my experience will help you get your work featured on Yahoo! sites as well.

Continue reading this article>>>

It's time to pay the bills but your freelance writing hasn't pulled in nearly what you need. Staring at the figures in black and white may make you cringe if you're a freelance writer who hasn't quite reached your ideal goal. Maybe you haven't even touched the surface. But don't give up hope. Perhaps you just need to change your strategy. If you have all the tools and talent, but still can't quite get there, try making your goals more attainable. It's easy to set goals and expectations too high or make the possible impossible by over analyzing. If you aren't meeting your goals in freelance writing, it's time do a complete overhaul of your strategy.

Continue reading this article>>>

If you're new to online article writing, you may not be aware that the real work begins after you write your article. Article maintenance has many components, not the least of which is editing. You will also need to decide where to place your article and how to categorize it. All these thing will determine the success of your article. Lastly, you must promote your article and link to it from other websites. This is how your article gains popularity on the web. Why do you want your article to be popular? So it will get page views, of course. Unless you have a problem with making money. I didn't think so.

Continue reading this article>>>

One method of writer promotion is to maintain a facebook fan page. But in order to take full advantage of having a facebook fan page, you need to keep it updated. A freshly updated facebook fan page keeps people coming back for more. This should be done in a variety of ways to attract more people and keep them interested.

Continue reading this article>>>