Facebook and Twitter seem to be the big attention getters when it comes to social networking while blogging has faded a bit into the background. Blogs may not be front and center as the hottest social networking venue, but they quietly and effectively continue to hold profit potential for writers when used the right way.

Here’s the key to profit-producing blogs: profit only comes when you know your purpose for having one. Without knowing your purpose, your blog will be ineffective and your readers will be confused—which means they will stop coming back for more of your words, wisdom, products or services.

Since well-written and engaging content is critical to pulling together a great blog, writers have an advantage. You love to write. You love to write a lot. You love to write a lot and see it published.

You have the talent, now all you need is to identify your purpose and build a blog to support it. Here are three ways to purposefully profit from your blog. Read the rest of this entry

While doing some online research for a new project I’m working on that will bring some exciting changes for the Monday Muse later this year (more on this in future posts), I stumbled onto a blog entry that led me to a website article that then led me to the 2011 Freelance Industry Report: Data and Analysis of Freelancer Demographics, Earnings, Habits and Attitudes by Ed Gandia. Although this report encompasses a variety of freelance occupations, the results are broken down into specific niches with writers making up the largest category. Here are a few of the more interesting—and perhaps surprising—findings: Read the rest of this entry

There was a time when I believed submitting to article directories was a great idea and I did a lot of it. I even earned the right to use the “Expert Author” icon on my website from one of the bigger sites, which, as I recall, didn’t really take much to earn. But, lately, I’ve been rethinking the “article submission” tactic for promoting my site and services and removed the icon from my site that, basically, just promoted the directory.

Interestingly, I find that the same three reasons I thought submitting to directories was a good idea, are the same three reasons that got me to thinking that it is not. Here they are: Read the rest of this entry

Imagine that your 10-year old car suddenly develops an intermittent “knocking” sound. After a few days of continuing to drive the car, the knocking sound keeps coming back so you decide to take it to a mechanic.

Mechanic A listens to your description of what’s going on with the car. He nods while you tell your story, and says, “I see” when you tell him you’re concerned. After an awkward silence you ask, “Can you fix it?” Mechanic A says, “Well, I think I can.” So you ask, “How much will it cost?” He answers, “I don’t know; it depends on what I find.”

Mechanic B listens to your description of what’s going on with the car. He then begins to ask specific questions about the elusive knocking sound; do you hear it as soon as you start it up or after you’ve driven it awhile? Where does it seem to come from (front, rear, side)? Have you recently changed the type of gas you put into it, run over a deep pot hole, or had a different car repair done? He goes on to explain that a knocking sound usually means “X” or is caused by “Y” and he would specifically check for “A, B, and C.” If it’s what he suspects is the cause, it will cost you $70 and you’re on your way within the hour. If it’s something else, he’d explain what it is and what it will cost to fix it.

Who would you trust with your car? Hands down, Mechanic B would get my business. He made me feel more like he knew what he was doing.

Now, it’s completely possible that both mechanics have the exact same competence to do the work. In fact, Mechanic A may even be a BETTER mechanic than Mechanic B, but how I am to know that if he offers little in the way of instilling my confidence in his work?

Writers face the same challenge from potential clients. You may be more competent than the next writer, but if you don’t demonstrate that you have confidence in your work, why should they have confidence in it?

Here are three tips for boosting potential client confidence in your writing ability: Read the rest of this entry

I was having a discussion with a friend, Bob, last week who nearly worked himself into a frenzy while describing his recent experience with an insurance agent. Here’s the short version:

Bob was attending a business event sponsored by an organization of which both he and the insurance agent are members. Now, Bob, who is a remodeling contractor, readily admits that he, like many other members, attends these events to network and potentially attract new business. But the insurance agent’s tactics didn’t just annoy Bob and some of the other attendees, they bordered on being offensive.

After describing the agent’s behavior, which sounded like a full on attack of “sell, sell, sell,” Bob and I started detailing the good, the bad and the ugly of networking etiquette. It doesn’t matter if you are an insurance agent, a remodeling contractor or a writer, we decided that the right way and wrong way for networking comes down to one single—and simple—concept: Don’t attack—attract!

Here’s the difference. Read the rest of this entry