by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

If you browsed my Facebook wall (or other social media sites I am a member of) and hadn't before (or were not made aware of what I do), you might quickly become confused. Why? I often share work written by my friends as well as what I create myself. This means some topics might conflict with my personal viewpoints and other things posted -- and that's okay. However, it is confusing to some people and I receive questions about it often.

Here's the deal. Freelance writers often get paid based on page views. Therefore, I frequently share to help them out once I have read a piece. Sometimes I agree with the points made in my friends' articles and sometimes I don't. I don't always share based on topic because I can disagree with a topic and still feel the article has value. Even if someone doesn't agree with me, they have a right to speak their mind as well. Unless it's harmful to others, opinion doesn't affect my choice to share the link to someone's work on various social networks.

My strategy for reading when my friends do the same is to click what I'm interested in and ignore the rest. It's silly to send a message to someone asking them not to post certain things. Yes, I have had that happen: (http://www.articlewriterforhire.com/1/post/2013/10/please-dont-tell-me-what-to-post-on-facebook.html). I realize I do share lots of stuff on social sites. Please ignore what you aren't interested in and only share what you are. After all, sharing should be organic, not forced.

What's your sharing strategy? Do you use opinion as one of the deciding factors in sharing content on social media?

Photo Credit/Copyright: Lyn Lomasi

I originally published this on BUBBLEWS (no longer published there)

You're looking at your fan and follower lists and you want them to grow. But there are certain things you just shouldn't do to achieve that. Because many web writers get paid an incentive when people read their articles, every view counts. However, did you know that the majority of views actually won't come from your fans and followers? In most cases, the majority of views come from people finding your work in search. It's still great to have fans and followers because it means you know what your readers want. It's also a fun way to connect with your readers and the writing community. But there are some fan and follower no-nos that every web writer should be aware of.

Don't expect someone to be your fan just because you are theirs. This is something web writers come across often. If you become someone's fan or follower on content sites with a community aspect, they often reciprocate, but not always. Don;t be offended when the don't. They may just be too busy to read other people's work. You may also write on a topic they are not into. There are plenty of reasons someone may not want to follow your work, even if you follow theirs. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, this is how it should go. A reader who is interested in your work more than in your reciprocal following is more valuable.

Don't personally advertise your work to people who already follow you. I see this issue come up often. Person A subscribes to person B. Person B is excited to have a new follower. So each time Person B publishes, he excitedly tells Person A to go check out his work. The problem? Person A is subscribed. He receives the notice in his inbox already. He doesn't want to be asked to read it twice. After dealing with this a few more times, Person A unsubscribes and starts ignoring messages from Person B. There's nothing wrong with being excited about your work. But don't force it onto people. If someone has subscribed to your work, they're interested and will probably read it. But don't eliminate that interest by overdoing it on the reading invitations.

Don't assume that because there is no comment, a person didn't read your work. Once you make a certain amount of connections, there may not be enough time in a day to do all that you want. Some people, like me, save time by leaving little to no comments on the work they read. Not getting a comment should not have you sending messages asking people if they've read your work. If they want to read it they will and they may or may not leave a comment when they do. If you ask your fans and followers if they've read your work, this can seem like pestering and cause them to unfan you or unsubscribe to your work.

Don't ask "Can you be my fan?" This can actually cause people to turn away. If someone reads your work and they like it, they will become your fan. But asking someone to be your fan is considered bad netiquette. I have a great following, when it comes to my work. Do you think I got there by asking people to add me? Not at all. I don't ask people to become my fan. If they want to, that's great. But I'm not going to pressure people into clicking that fan or follow button. There are many reasons may not be able to fan or follow me and maybe they don't enjoy my work. That's perfectly fine with me. I'd rather have fans and followers who actually want to be there.

More from Lyn:

Web Writing Tips: Marketing No-Nos

How Much Money Can I Make Writing for Yahoo! Contributor Network? 

Web Writing Tips: Getting Started