Certainly the first “writers” were storytellers who “spoke” their stories. From there, written language developed, and practically since the very birth of writing we have had ad copy writers around, haven’t we? That’s probably an exaggeration. I don’t honestly know when the first recorded ad copy was created, but I know from studying history that every civilization from which we have any sort of written records has left behind ad copy.
Read more on Advice for new writers: Never forget the power of written words…
I’ve mentioned some time back that I spent about three years at a job that involved transcribing about 30-50 dictated letters a day. It was for an insurance company. It was fun learning to listen, type, and edit lightly all at the same time, while combining that with a required minimum keyboarding speed of 50 correct words per minute. (The real “downer” about the job is that most of the letters were denying clients’ home and car insurance claims. Depressing.) I went into the job with a very naive, almost arrogant ignorance: “Hey, it’s just typing. Who in the world couldn’t do a job like this?” It was a real learning experience for me and a real eyeopener.
Read more on Specialized forms of writing take special skills…
What can you do to benefit from keywords if you already have a website and want to add a blog? You already have a name for your website, you already have a domain name, so how can you use keywords in the new blog in ways that will draw traffic?
Read more on Benefit from keywords in titles when you add a blog to a website…
When you create a blog or website, try to use a name that people might search for in Google and it could pay off for you in free search engine traffic.
Read more on Try to use targeted keywords in the name of your blog or website…
How often to you get to write what you want to write? Are you often forced to write what your job requires instead of writing what you want to write? Most of us find most of our writing time devoted to a job or a project that we must do for our “day job,” and have to fit the writing we really want to do into the day when and if we can.
Read more on Two kinds of writing — ‘wanna write’ stuff and ‘gotta write’ stuff…
Sometimes I assume, since I write a lot of content for my affiliate marketing websites and I write several blogs, that most people reading my writing understand and use concepts like “long tail keywords,” and wouldn’t be interested in what I have to say.
Read more on Internet writing — look for ‘long tail keywords’ to draw web traffic…
When I was a kid, it was always fun when my grandmother — with whom I lived after my mother died — allowed me to eat at friends’ homes who had televisions, because I often got to sit in front of the friends’ television and eat off a TV tray.
Read more on Does your word usage date you? Using archaisms in your writing…
According to a government funded scientific study released recently, if present trends in American health and lifestyle continue, “86 percent of American adults will be overweight by 2030, with an obesity rate of 51 percent. By 2048, all U.S. adults could be at least mildly overweight.”
Read more on Government study projects 100% cure for anorexia in adults by 2048…
I’m reminded of that Bible passage in Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season.” One of the basic facts of writing, whether online or offline, is that readers enjoy seasonal stories/articles — and so do editors. Those general seasons of the year, autumn, winter, spring, and summer, are a great background for anything you’re writing. And specific, widely observed seasonal holidays, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, etc., especially attract readers and often provide a good slant to use when approaching editors.
Read more on Don’t ignore seasonal writing opportunities, seasonal deadlines…
