5 Reasons You Must Blog: Issue 53 of Fab Freelance Writing Ezine
October 17th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
A blog is your most powerful writing tool. Discover why in this issue of the ezine.
Subscribe to Fab Freelance Writing Ezine and have it delivered free to your Inbox each week. In addition to the subscriber bonus, you receive bonus issues, which are for subscribers only.
Includes:
* Editorial: Apologies If The PDFs Didn’t Work For You
* Article: Five Reasons A Blog Is Your Most Powerful Writing Tool
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** Write It Once And Sell It Forever - **
Get A Constant Flow Of Cash By Writing And Selling Ebooks… It’s Much, Much Easier Than You Think
Ebooks are BIG online. Most ebooks contain from five to 100 pages, and sell anywhere from $10 to $100 dollars, and over, depending on the information. Clever writers are realizing that there’s gold in ebooks, and that they’re well-placed to mine that gold…
Discover how you can self-publish online, and make a great income, writing and selling ebooks with “Write and Sell an eBook: Every Writer’s Quick-Action Guide To Writing Ebooks”:
abmagic.com/ebooks/write-ebooks.html
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[Editorial] Apologies if the PDF format didn’t work for you
We’re back to text format this week.
Apparently the PDFs caused hassles to many subs. My apologies to you if couldn’t access the PDFs. This happened to readers who only have an Internet connection at work, and also to readers on slower dial-up connections.
So the plain text format is back. Of course you can access the Archives site at any time for current and past issues - www.fabwritersezine.com/
I’d love to offer both formats, and I surely will next year when I have more help, but time constraints mean that until then we’re limited to one format or the other. So text it is.
=> NaNoWriMo is only two weeks away
NaNoWriMo (the site’s at www.nanowrimo.org/ if you’re not familiar with the project) is just a couple of weeks away. I wish you enjoyable writing, if you’re taking part in the novel writing marathon this year. It’s great writing practice for novelists.
Next year I’ll be offering special NaNoWriMo help on the new “Write A Book” site (announcement on a launch date soon). In the meantime, there’s lots of NaNoWriMo information on my writing site at copywriter.typepad.com/ Check out the new companion blog to the new site too at www.justwriteabook.com/blog/
=> Blogging’s powerful for writers
This week’s article “Five Reasons A Blog Is Your Most Powerful Writing Tool” discusses blogging’s many uses for working writers. Enjoy.
=> Writing coaching is available only with my ebooks currently
I’ve had several requests for private coaching over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, I’m completely booked for the rest of this year with no more slots available. However, most of my ebooks have coaching, so copywriting, blogging and other coaching is available in that way. (Book coaching is coming soon via the new membership site.)
Have a superb writing week. 
Affectionately,
Angela
P.S. Re blogging, if you’re already blogging, my ebook course “Blogging For Dollars: How to become a career blogger — in your PJs, if you want”, teaches you how to blog full-time: abmagic.com/Blog/blogging.html
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** Freelance Blogging: Fun, Easy and VERY Profitable **
Want a new freelance writing career? Become a freelance blogger.
I’ve been blogging since 2001, and for the past 12 months I’ve been swamped with offers of blogging gigs, and so have other freelancers who are highly visible on the Web. Blogging has huge returns on investment for businesses, so they’re hiring bloggers to update their blogs each day - often several times a day.
My new ebook, “Blogging For Dollars: How to become a career blogger — in your PJs, if you want”, teaches you how to blog for pay, full-time:
abmagic.com/Blog/blogging.html
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** The Unlimited Writing Market, The Web **
When you write for the Web, you’re never out of writing work. All Web sites need writers, and as the competition online grows, site owners hire writers to improve their sites.
The writing world in general hasn’t caught up with the Web. Now, YOU can — and you can cash in. Freelance writers just don’t realize how much money there is to be made by writing for the Web: many writers use the Web as a research tool, they don’t see the Web as a mass of millions of markets. They don’t realize that Web sites are STARVED for good writers.
Want to get paid REAL money to write? How does $150 an hour sound to you? Discover how to write for the Web today:
www.abmagic.com/Web_Write/Web_write.html
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* Article: Five Reasons A Blog Is Your Most Powerful Writing Tool
(c) 2007. Angela Booth.
Let’s look at five reasons a blog is your most powerful writing tool to help you to build your writing career. I hope that by the end of this article, if you don’t have a blog, you’ll create one right away.
In 2007, a blog is not optional. I get email messages every week from writers wondering how to get more lucrative writing gigs. Heaven knows there’s plenty of sweatshop writing gigs out there.
The answer’s always the same: get known. When you’re known, you set your rates. When you’re unknown, you take whatever rates (often dismal) you can get. A blog is the easiest way of getting known.
So here we go; five reasons a blog is your most powerful writing tool:
=> 1. A blog gets your name known, so USE your name, if you intend a long-term career as a writer
Your name - your real name, not a pseudonym or a business name you’ve selected - is your brand. It takes time to build a brand so that editors and people who hire you know your name and what it stands for, so the time to build your name is now - a blog is a super way of getting known.
Major, major tip: Please don’t use a handle, or a nickname. Use the name you were given at birth on your blog. There’s a reason for this, and here it is: a freelance writer writes many things over the course of a career. Who knows what you’ll be writing a year from now, or ten years from now?
Change what you write as often as you like, but keep ONE name, your own, on your blog.
Another tip: If you want a keyword-specific name for a topic blog for search engine reasons, then add your photo to the blog so people know it’s one of yours - you’ll notice that my photo’s on many of my blogs. I did this after I realized that few people knew that a particular blog was mine.
=> 2. A blog gives you visibility - in 2007 and beyond, publishers and businesses are looking for writers on the Web
You must be visible. I’ve been offered some fantastic gigs because my name on a blog post came up in connection with “business proposals” or “creativity”. I got these gigs because I blogged about those topics, a publisher saw my blog post, and got in touch.
=> 3. A blog gives you a platform: when you get readers, you can use that platform to write books, or anything you choose.
Perhaps you’ve heard about “platform” in connection with writing a book. A platform is essentially people who know you and know your work. A platform gives you clout, and blogging helps you to build your platform.
=> 4. A blog leads to offers of writing gigs and other opportunities
All the established blogger-writers I know are booked up months ahead. In connection with this article, I called three writers yesterday and asked them whether their blog helps them to get work and how many enquiries they get.
In a nutshell, each said they receive from one to ten enquiries a day, and their blogs are their major source of writing gigs. They’re well booked, as am I.
=> 5. A blog is a creativity enhancer
Writing begets writing, especially when your writing is building your career and is well paid. Every writer who’s ever said to me “I wish I’d started blogging years ago” has said that their blog has made them a better writer, and more creative.
So, if you’re wondering whether you should blog, I hope you’ve decided that you should. Happy blogging.
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** Get Copywriting Clients In Seven Days **
My ebook/ course “Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success” has been taking the mystery out of copywriting for new copywriters for five years.
I love it when writers call me and say “I got a client!” or “I’m booked solid for three months” - I expect that, so it’s very satisfying.
The fact is - if you can write copy, you can write your own ticket. You WILL get clients, you WILL make as much money as you want to make. Copywriting is a necessity for every business. In just a week, your life can change.
“Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success” is your key a great lifestyle and security for you and your family:
abmagic.com/Copywriting/copywriting.html
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** You Can Become A Web Publisher Too: Become A Web Mogul **
For the past year, I’ve been receiving messages from writers who want to create their own Web sites. They’ve heard how much money there is in Web publishing, and want a piece of the action.
So, I’ve written a new ebook, “Super-Fast Money-Making Web Sites For Writers: Join The Web-Publishing Bonanza” -
www.abwebconsulting.com/web_sites/
The ebook (and its fabulous bonus ebook) outlines step by step, with images, how to create Web MONEY-MAKING sites fast. What could YOU do with an extra $300 a day?
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** New Writing Opportunity “Beat Your Paycheck! Web Writing SECRETS” **
“How Make More Money With Web Writing Than You Ever Will With A Paycheck… In A Month Or Less”
Even if you’re a new writer, you can make enough money from Web writing to leave your day job - fast.
As a writing teacher, I work with new writers every day. Many would love to leave their day job, but they don’t yet have the skills to write copy for corporate clients, or for national magazines. Writing in your home office seems like a dream. Many promising writers give up writing because their lives are too busy - with a full-time job and family, they’re too tired to write.
If this describes YOU, I’ve found a solution. I asked a new writer who’s making great money writing for the Web to share his secrets. He’s happy to do so. Read my new ebook:
abmagic.com/Beat-Paycheck/index.html
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** ANGELA’S BLOGS AND ARCHIVES **
Fab Freelance Writing Blog: fabfreelancewriting.com/blog/
Fab Web Writer: www.fabwebwriter.com/
Top Ebook Writer: www.topebookwriter.com/
Archives: www.fabwritersezine.com/
Angela Booth’s Writing Blog: copywriter.typepad.com/
The Creativity Factory (copywriting and search marketing): www.angelabooth.com/wp/
Seven Days Copywriting: sevendayscopywriting.com/
New: Just Write A Book Blog: www.justwriteabook.com/blog/
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Beat Your Paycheck! Web Writing SECRETS: How Make More Money With Web Writing Than You Ever Will With A Paycheck... In A Month Or Less By Angela Booth
Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success
Fab Freelance Writing Ezine