"Followed. Follow back, please." I and other fellow writers are probably just as sick of hearing those words as you are of typing them. Seriously. It's time for a new strategy because all that one does is make me NOT connect with you. Harsh? Possibly. Necessary? Yes.
Don't Make Demands or Expectations If I see words of expectations or demands in comments on my profile or content, I ignore those users. To me, if you are the type of person that expects or demands things from people, you aren't my kind of people. Therefore, there's no need to check out your work. You'll have much better luck by leaving comments on my work or that of someone I read. I thoroughly enjoy seeking out and connecting with new members. However, if I am expected to or someone tries to force me to, it'll never happen. Do Show Me Your Awesomeness If you want me to check out your work, give me a good reason to instead of demanding or expecting that I follow back. Write good content that people will want to check out. The thing is, I am not going to connect with you just because you connected with me. That would be too many notifications to handle in a day, not to mention the fact that some would likely be spammers. No thanks. I connect back when I like the content or the person behind the content -- or both. Show me I should connect with you simply by doing what we writers do best. Don't Connect With Me Just So I'll Do The Same It's very obvious when people do this. Unless you actually have the intention of reading my work and aren't just seeking a follow back, don't bother connecting with me. A connection is worth nothing if you never intend to read the content posted by that member. I repeat, if you are only hitting that follow button just to see if I'll do the same, go away. Please. Umm, now. On the other hand, if you actually want to read my work, I'd love to have you around, of course. Just don't ever ask me to follow back. If you're any good, I'll likely do so naturally without the demand. Just be you. This goes back to showing me your awesomeness. I don't want to see you using techniques to get a reciprocal follow from me. I just want to see you. The uniqueness of each writer is what gets me to connect with them. A connect back request will prevent me from seeing that awesomeness because from that point on, you are invisible to me. But unique content, thoughtful comments, and a respectful attitude toward fellow members is very likely to win me over. Just be you and I just might connect back. *I originally published this elsewhere (no longer published there).
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![]() by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer "Please subscribe to my work. I promise I will read yours too." Those are words many web writers hear on a daily basis. But should those words be put to rest? In mentoring fellow writers, I often get asked about promotion. Many times people ask me what to do. Now I'm going to tell you what not to do. Here are 5 of the many marketing no-nos for web writers. Don't blast the same links on twitter all day long. Not only is this annoying, it is considered spamming and can get you banned from twitter. It makes me cringe when I see fellow writers sharing the exact same article link every hour all day long. If you want to reshare an article, wait for another day or share it elsewhere, not continuously in the same space. The same goes for when you're sharing on other social networks or anywhere else you promote your links. Oversharing could be a TOS violation. When you violate one thing, readers and clients may question your ethics. Don't use social networks purely for link posting. If you join a social site, then be social. Posting only links is not considered being social. Even if you click on links others post, you still aren't being social. Have conversations. Participate in the community. If you aren't going to do anything but post links, then you are probably promoting to dead air space because that's considered spamming. Don't demand reciprocation. If you follow another writer's work, don't expect them to follow yours. Sure, they might want to return the favor or they might like your work. But just because you read their work does not mean they are required to read yours. Think about it from their perspective. How do you feel when people expect you to do something? It's not a fair way to treat people. Instead of asking for or demanding reciprocation, leave people to make their own decisions about your writing. Don't expect family and friends to read everything you write. This is something many web writers will deal with. It's definitely a good feeling when family members and friends want to read your work. But don't make them feel as if they have to. Not everyone is going to understand your passion for writing. That doesn't mean they don;t support you. They may just have other interests. It's one thing to drop a quick link on facebook where everyone you know can see it. It's quite another to repeatedly email the same links to family members and friends. Don't use shady promotional tactics. If you want readers and clients to take you seriously, avoid certain marketing tactics. Selling traffic traffic clicks, using pyramid schemes, and other such promotional tactics may sound tempting at first. But these type of marketing campaigns are often frowned upon and are even against the TOS of many content sites and publications. Keep the trust of your clients and readers by only using trusted promotional techniques. Your clients will trust your work ethics when your traffic is verifiable and your readers will trust what you say if you are ethical in all your actions. **Photo Credit: Lyn Lomasi **I originally published this content on Yahoo! Voices on July 5, 2011 Even the best of writers make errors. From typos to grammatical mistakes to run-on sentences, mistakes in writing are common. In internet writing, many writers are editing their own content. This works well most of the time, but we all have our off days. Even a star editor can make a mistake in their own writing. So, how can you solve that? One way is to get a writing buddy. What is a Writing Buddy? A writing buddy is another writer whom you trust with your work. This writer also must entrust their work to you. Writing buddies give their final proofread copies to each other to be sure the work is of good quality. What exactly do writing buddies do? Writing buddies read over each other's final drafts and make correction suggestions if needed. If both writers also are good editors, there may not be many corrections, but it always is good to have more than one set of eyes looking over a project. It's a great way to ensure quality work is produced as often as possible. Why Should I Get a Writing Buddy if I Never Make Mistakes? Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone. No one is perfect. I'm sure that anyone combing this very post will find at least one (if not more than one) suggestion to make. There always is more than one way to look at writing. Also, like I stated, nobody is perfectly accurate all the time. I have gone over pieces of work several times, thinking they were up to par. Then, after they've been published of course, I've found grammatical errors or typos. Having a writing buddy can minimize the chance of inaccuracies. How Do I Find a Writing Buddy? If you're a writer, chances are you know at least one other writer. If not, you really should start networking. Having other friends who write can be extremely beneficial in more ways than just the one listed here. I recommend choosing your closest writing friend for this particular project. Be sure that you and this person can fully trust that neither will misuse the other's work in any way. I won't give legal advice on this because I am not a lawyer. Only you can decide how you should handle the legalities. But, I will say that it can be extremely helpful to have a fellow writer give an opinion on work before it is turned in to the client. How Many Pieces Should My Writing Buddy Check? All of them, if possible. However, if you are like me, then that may not be possible. I write way to many articles in a day to fairly have a buddy check them all. You and your buddy should decide on a fair number that is feasible for you both. Once you get a balanced writing, reading, and editing routine down, you may be able to add to that number. 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