In order to fatten your wallet as well as gain credibility as a trusted writer– editorial and column writing may be just the break you are looking for.

How do you break into editorial writing?

Editors want readers to generate their own ideas. Every column has a certain flavor. Do your homework and find out whether the one you are trying to write for is commentary based, personal, informative and witty, or highly opinionated.  The best way to match yourself with a potential editor is to realize what type of writer you are and look for a column that seems to appreciate those skills. I tend to be the informative, yet opinionated and humorous writer. I like to find the odd bent or intolerable point to a topic and capitalize on it. If I can get my readers to think in a new way, even if they don’t completely agree, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I also being up to my elbows in research. In my case, I would look for the editor who appreciates a combination of entertainment and information–Borat with a pen.

There is a reading segment that prefers straightforward, less entertaining writing, but articles that can entertaining plus inform stand a better chance at passing the editors acid test. Editors want to see new ways of thinking. Choose an interesting and meaningful slant. You can also simplify the process by going straight to the section of the paper you wanted to publish your column in. Then, look online at about 12 weeks of back articles to see what previous columnists have chosen to write about. Doing so will not only help you to brainstorm new ideas, but it will give you an idea of the overall tone of the column.

Pick a handful of newspapers from http://www.newspaperlinks.com/voyager.cfm, the worldwide newspaper website. Analyze the articles to determine the tone and find several that fit your own writing strengths. Getting accepted by a newspaper is like gettting matched on eHarmony. You have to “be” the perfect fit. Don’t try to fake it. Write genuine articles with your own personal style, tone, and flair. Then go about the business of finding your editorial perfect match.

Editors want to see experience and preparation. Many will ask to review a series of seven or eight articles with word counts ranging from 600 to 2,000. If you are serious about getting your foot in the door, write several articles in advance, so you’ll be prepared. After this, the submission process can begin. Visit http://www.smalltownpapers.com/ for smaller newspapers.

Editors like to know you have properly conducted your research. Newspapers are written to entertain, inform- and sell copies. Can your article be linked to a hot local event? If so, you will maximize your chances of publication. Always try to find an interesting hook to play on. Local newspapers want local flavor.  Tie in your  article with a related, yet overlooked local personality or monument–anything to inspire editorial interest.

Keep your chosen editors close through networking. Look for opportunities to introduce yourself to editors on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Read what they are Tweeting about and find a way to strike up a conversation. Social networking can help to spark a freindship that can lead to solid work.

Submitting your work. You may find greater success by sending simultaneous submissions. Unless it is stricly prohibited by the particular newspaper you are targeting, there is now reason to limit your submissions to one editor at a time. How much can you make writing a column for a newspaper? Rates of pay for articles vary from $250 on upward.

Bottom line: Don’t box yourself in to writing for one small group or niche market. I am a writer. I love to write, plain and simple. Whether it’s the ghost written blog post for the business owner, the insightful column, or the SEO content for a brand new website…I am there.

–For more information on well researched web content, ghost blogging, or copywriting, please contact Robin Hale with Writers-Elite today.

Oh, and the gentle reader also accused me of outright plagiarism. Fancy that. I hardly think there is the need for me to stoop to such humiliating levels, especially since over 80% of the articles I read are quite poorly put together. I pondered the thought or the “idea” of the deeper truths of advanced SEO and it kind of made me chuckle a bit. Sort of like Randy, from My Name is Earl, does whenever he thinks about having sex with his wife, Catalina. The deep truths of advanced SEO. Sounds like a new religion and I suppose for all the self proclaimed gurus out there, it kind of is.

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is nothing more than building your blog or website in the most beneficial way possible, to satisfy your reader’s need for information, while also satisfying Google’s attempt to crawl your site and try to figure out if there is a common thread or theme (keywords) that runs through your site. Google likes to catagorize things; makes it easier for the searchers. So, unless you are posting about fig trees in Jerusalem one day and your Aunt Bertha’s bunion medicine the next…eventually you should get ranked for your niche, subject matter, or keyword phrases.

The actual dictionary definition for the word “optimization” is the act, process, or methodology of making something (as a design, system, or decision) as fully perfect, functional, or effective as possible. Not too deep, huh. The websites I work on are all highly ranked because I take the time to follow the necessary steps to get them there.

I use a clean, easy to search blogging platform (WordPress is the winner in my book) and then I add a super charged, brilliantly SEO friendly theme (Thesis is by far superior to any other themes). After that, I carefully choose the plugins that will help Google to search your site for the best keyword phrases, All in One SEO is my favorite so far.

After that, it’s a matter of constant research to find keyword phrases that are desireable, yet not so competitive that you’ll have a hard time ranking. This can be accomplished through a number of Google tools created just for that purpose. After this step, throw in a pinging plugin, learn to use the power of Social Media Networking (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), claim your business address on Google Maps and continue to supply fresh information in your posts, (no duplicate content, no copying and pasting other’s work) using the chosen set of keyword phrases in the title and throughout the body…and guess what? It works. Throw in some backlinking with anchor text. Supply links to trusted sources that are not competitive, and it works VERY quickly. Here is an excerp from an email I received from a Real Estate client that I’ve been working with for about three months now. This came to me on January 1, 2009. Very fitting indeed:

“Robin… Holy shit!  We are on first page organic Google search this morning for all five of  the keyword phrases you used to SEO our site! Thank you, thank you, thank you! YOU ARE THE BEST!”

Deep truths of advanced SEO? That sort of sounds like the people at church who just don’t “get it.” Having a spiritual relationship with God is pretty easy. It’s basic. It’s based on one or two spiritual truths (Love God with all your heart, Love your neighbor as yourself) and then get to building your relationship. Pray, talk to God…Include Him in your life. Don’t write letters to your Pastor telling him that he needs to teach DEEPER THINGS. If you want a fish my friend, guess what? Go get yourself a fishing pole, a bucket of fish and get busy. But don’t waste your time trying to disprove others who are doing just fine. Sure, you can buy a fish finder, you can get yourself some charts and meters…You can even hire an expensive fishing guide to help you learn the DEEP things of fishing. Or you can walk over to the dude with the cane pole who’s been fishing the same way in the same spot for the past ten years and ask him what he’s using for bait. My bet is on the cane pole guy.

Until next time… Happy New Year to all my fans and my haters alike. Hope you ALL have plenty of fish to fry in your buckets this New Year!

Google Local, which hit the web full-force in March of 2009, has evolved into Google Maps, which now gives local businesses the opportunity to build a solid presence on the web and appear in a top ten list next to an area map. This is ideal for the traveler looking for a certain type of business on their smart phone. By ranking with Google for your location and business category, you can add quite a bit to your bottom line in 2010. If you aren’t getting your share of the traffic, let me show you how it’s done.

If you apply the following tips, your Google Maps ranking will have no where to go but up–Heavy traffic will follow.

Claim and Verifying Your Business Listing

Google Maps gathers it’s local business information through a multitude of online sources. Every listing starts out as “unclaimed.” The first thing you need to do is to look up your own business on Google maps and claim the listing. Once you do so, check and fill in the correct information, (or add your business if it’s not there) and then verify that you are the owner. Google will send you a pin number to your business address through the mail. Once you receive this pin, come back to Google Maps and verify your listing.

Since Google heavily relies on the information it gets from the business owner through GLBC (Google Local Business Center), be as accurate as possible when adding your business information.

Add Keywords to Your Business Name

One tip that will greatly improve your rankings with Google Maps is to include important keywords (such as pizzaria or car wash) after your business name, in the same title space. It’s a small keyword trick that can push you up a few notches in the Google Maps top 10.

Categorize Your Business Correctly

Properly categorizing your business in Google Maps ties for number on the importance level. It can make a huge difference in your ranking.

Google will suggest categories as you type. Use a predefined category for your first couple of category selections. If your type of business is not included in the category choices, come as close as possible with a predefined category,  then  use your other choices to add your own unique category. You are allowed a total of 5.

To make your categorizing more effective, try to think like a searcher would when looking for your services.

Description

The Google Maps description field should be used to relay the details of your unique products or services to your potential clients. In 200 characters or less, describe the remarkable, valuable and unique qualities of your business. What makes you shine above the competition? Here is your chance to make it clear. There is a small, charming Italian meat market in my town that is the only licensed retailer for certified angus beef in our entire county. This is the kind of information to add to your Google Maps description.

Images and Videos

Google is all about “user experience.” Adding images and videos will help you to gain authority and bring your rankings up. Be sure to include your logo and pictures of your business in the images section. Also upload commercials, interviews, tutorials, etc.

Coupons

The coupon section in Google Maps really excites me. You can actually set up coupons in this section and then track the amount of business you are receiving from Google Maps. Pretty cool, and an easy way to bring new clients to your door instead of your competitor.

Get Reviewed!

Most of your best clients may not even be aware of your business listing with Google Maps. Encourage your clients to write reviews by providing a link to Google reviews right on your website. Google relies on the positive feedback from satisfied clients. This is an excellent way to build a strong business presence.

Follow these tips and Google Maps will help you to make this new decade more prosperous than you’ve ever been before.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• A) Creating Unique, Valuable and Original Posts that contain specific targeted Keywords (No Duplicate Content Please), and
• B)  Using the Keywords in your Title, Meta Description, and SEO Plugins (Such as All in One SEO Pack) to further assist Google in it’s Site Assessment

Other ways to rank well with Google and the Search Engines is by gaining backlinks. Backlinks are other well ranking sites that mention your site and provide a link to you on one of their web pages. Either the site’s writer specifically links to you through an article, review or mention of your site, or you can comment on certain sites that allow links to appear along with your comment.

Those are just two of the many SEO tactics. If you are into writing articles, you can write on sites such as Ezines.com or Suite 101 and link back to your website. Guest blogging on a popular site in exchange for a backlink is another way to earn some Search Engine juice.

Now that you have a bit of an idea what goes into SEO (and that’s just scratching the surface), obviously you can appreciate the importance of a well planned, well written, and well constructed blog or website.

That’s the geeky end of the spectrum.

How does Social Media Networking fit into this picture?

If you are active on Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, and LinkedIn….”Active” being the defining word here, you can go viral for certain information, offers, contests, and articles in a very short amount of time. How short? How about an hour or two. Now I’m not talking about the casual Tweeter with a following of 500 or less, nor am I talking about the occasional Facebook poster. If you have a following that actively engages in conversations with you, then you pretty much know who you are.

If you were wondering, try heading over to a site called Topsy.com. Sign up for a free account. It will sync with your Twitter and show you the statistics of your Tweets. You’ll see numbers such as “How many times other influential Tweeters Re-tweet you” and it even rates  how influential you are, right next to your name. You’ll get a good idea of your authority level.

With that in mind, if you are active on the Social Media Networking scene, you’ll happily enjoy the best of both worlds. You’ll have a site that is easily found and ranked by Google, and you can go ahead and set up your networking sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn to automatically grab your blog posts and display them. You can also Tweet your latest or most popular posts. Just don’t overdo it with the Tweets or it becomes irritating spam and you’ll lose followers.

As a side note, the active Social Networker is NOT someone who wastes all of their time every day on FaceBook or Tweeting away their morning. Use Social Media wisely, just as you would use your email. It’s a tool. You don’t check your email every five seconds, so treat Social Networking accordingly. Once check in the morning with a few comments to individuals and one in the late afternoon should be plenty. It’s the individual who squats on FaceBook for hours at a time that complain about what a time suck it is. It doesn’t have to be.

So, who is the winner? Which is more important? My vote is for enjoying the best of both worlds. There have been times that I’ve Tweeted one of my blog posts and it led to quite a surge of traffic. I wouldn’t want to have to give this effective marketing tool up. But for those of you who really want to know which is more important…My vote is for SEO, hands down.

Why is SEO More Important than Networking?

Search Engine Optimization works for you 24 hours a day. It’s a “set it and forget it” tactic. If you take the time to implement proper Search Engine Optimization into your site and your posts, Google will do the work for you. Ranking on Page 1, 2, or 3 for targeted keyword phrases will bring potential clients to your door while you sleep. I wake up to quote requests for my writing at least three or four times per week. For me it’s a combination of my SEO and Social Networking, but I’ve noticed that I also am approached for my services even when I have neglected my Social Networking. So that’s my take on it. SEO should be the foundation for a properly built site.

Google is getting better at weeding out the spam sites and ranking the valuable, original, well constructed sites. Get in on the SEO train now, and your site will be ready for a profitable 2010.

Telling someone you can bring them to page one rankings without disclosing the keyword phrase that will be targeted is like selling someone waterfront property that is actually a shanty sitting on a retention pond. Oh I know I’m ruffling some feathers here, but actually I’m quite sick of the smooth talking web designer or freelance writer that so ardently makes that promise. “I will bring your site to page one rankings within two months,” they boast. Well, guess what? I can bring a site to page one rankings in less than one week if it’s for some obscure search term such as “Robin Marie Hale of Cape Coral.” But that’s not a very good plan, if I want more web traffic.

Recently I had a heated discussion via email with an individual who just “didn’t get it.”

Web design companies who aren’t keeping up with Search Engine Optimization SEO and the purpose of SEO articles, sort of dance around the subject in an obvious, yet sad sort of way. During my most recent conversation regarding the importance of keyword and meta descriptions, I was met with a zinger, “Surely you are not speaking to me regarding this issue, since my company has been building websites for the past ten years.” I promptly put at least five of this company’s sites through a few rankings tools to determine the unique visitors and proper use of keyword phrases, and just as I suspected…Every single site was a train wreck. Hiding under the fact that “you’ve been doing it for X amount of years” is a very poor argument. It’s like the hairdresser who is in her 50’s and thinks that people still want perms and mullets.

Why am I telling you all of this? For one, to get it off of my chest. I personally collaborate with two of the top Search Engine Optimization and Website Design firms in the world–One is based in Orlando and the other in Germany. I study, test, re-test and print pages of data regarding best practices for search engine friendly sites. I don’t like it when I know that there are companies out there, blindly building websites that are not easily read by Google and even worse, are causing their client’s sites to become banned because of duplicate content and placing META keywords in the description box that simply aren’t found in the posts.

Search Engine Optimization isn’t rocket science. There is a simple, easy formula to start off with and once you learn the first few vital steps, it’s just a matter of continued learning and building off the basics. But the basics will ALWAYS be the basics. Let’s talk about targeted keywords for a moment:

• Targeted keywords and keyword phrases should be planned out before ever writing that first blog post
• They should be used in the Title
• They should be used within the first couple of sentences of your post
• They should be used naturally throughout the post and never forced
• Targeted keywords should consist of words and phrases that will be searched by an average individual that is typing into a Google search box (This seems to be the most difficult one for people to understand. If you are not a celebrity than your name should not be considered one of your main targeted keywords. Someone in Texas is not going to wake up in the morning and say, “Heyyyyy…. I think I need a blog built. I think I’ll look up the words Robin Hale.” If you build blogs and you want traffic and business, one of your targeted keyword phrases should be “build my blog”… Get it? It’s not that difficult.)

Yes, it’s a bit more complicated than that, because you shouldn’t try to compete with major keyword phrases. That will make it much more difficult to rank well. If you sell Detroit Tigers pencils, don’t try to rank for the keyword phrase “Detroit Tigers.” You’ll be up against ESPN, Sports Authority and everyone else. Instead, use the keyword phrase “Detroit Tigers pencils” and write blog articles that include the phrase “Detroit Tigers pencils” in the title and body of your post. That’s how a winning niche blog gets to page one for a term that someone looking for Detroit Tigers pencils will actually search for. SEO is all about getting noticed, being found, and letting your potential clients know where you are. If you are selling Detroit Tigers pencils, don’t fill your blog with articles that you rip off from ESPN about baseball. You may think to yourself, “Hey…This is interesting stuff. My readers probably want to see this.” What readers? By copying and pasting other web content directly to your own blog, you are creating duplicate content which Google greatly frowns upon (let alone the plagiarism factor). When Google searches your site and finds that your new post is already somewhere else on the web, guess what happens? Your site tumbles in rankings. A couple more mishaps like that and your site will be banished forever to the Island of Misfit Blogs.

With that said, there is a real reason why corporations and businesses pay writers (such as myself) to create unique, intelligent, well researched, and ORIGINAL web content for their blogs. They supply the writer (me) with a list of keyword phrases that represent their product or services and I take that list and plug those words and phrases into the title and body of my articles. It’s both a science and an art to be a good web content writer. First there is the talent of writing something that another individual actually wants to read, and then it must be combined with the ability to plug certain keyword phrases into that creative, witty, informative content…..Whew!

On a good day, I personally have the ability to write five well researched and search engine friendly articles. Some subjects take a bit more time and once in a while I get a brain block, but overall my average is five. I’ve read forums where countless “writers” boast over ten articles per day. I’ve even heard claims of one article every 20 minutes. I cringe when I consider the quality of these 20 minute disasters.

Just like anything else, some people get it and some people don’t. I suppose the ratio will forever stay the same, regardless of my level of approval or disapproval. Just remember, when writing your next blog post:

• Do not copy and paste another person’s work (even if you give them credit)
• Do figure out your site’s targeted keyword phrases in advance and use them naturally throughout your post
• Use one of your keyword phrases in your title

If you do those three things, you will be miles and miles ahead of most of the blind bloggers and web writers out there. We’ll talk about linking strategies in another post, but for now at least you won’t be banned to the Island of Misfit Blogs… Merry Christmas.

Contact Writers-Elite today for blog posting, web content management, site creation and more.

editor@writers-elite.com

Professional bloggers can often spin topic ideas off of questions and comments that are sent to them or posted on their blogs. But what if you are relatively new to the blogging world and are experiencing somewhat of a brain block?

Here’s an awesome and helpful tool for you: Google alerts. Hands down, Google alerts is one of the best tools for perusing through the latest and hottest  content in the blogosphere that are directly related to your niche.

How do you use Google alerts? Easy. Simply enter the topic you wish to monitor by typing in a particular keyword phrase, include your email address and soon you will begin to receive email alerts on recently indexed posts relating to your niche. You’ll find yourself buzzing with new blog post  ideas and have instant inside information to the newest trends in your market.

There is also an area to input the type of selection you want. Maybe you are only interested in alerts from news websites, blog posts or video blogs.  There is also a period setting  which is handy if you don’t want a continuous barrage unleashed into your inbox. You can set the alerts to arrive daily, weekly or as-it-happens. I use the daily option but if you want the news “as it hits the web” you may want to brave it and choose the as-it-happens option.

Tips to get the most relevant alerts? When setting up your Google alerts, make sure to use a small and precise number of keywords to get the most accurate results.

You can create up to 1000 alerts, but unless you have all day to read blog posts, I’d keep it to 5 or under. Be specific with a topic and keywords.

Just as a side note idea: If you are a business owner and want to know who is saying what about you, set one Google alert to your first and last name and one for your business name (including your city). If you own a franchiseone set up a seperate alert with only your business name so that you can be aware of all the news and views pertaining to your company as a whole.

Pretty cool stuff, huh? With this convenient tool, your next great blog post idea could be waiting for you right in your inbox.

For those who’ve been instant messaging, using MySpace, YouTube and other social media platforms for the past several years, adding social media to the mix of their workday is not really a big deal. In fact it seems a rational progression to the normal marketing efforts of the company.

If you are new to social media, still considering it, or wondering what it is, first ask your resident teenager. If you don’t have one, then here is a brief overview, (and we also have a social networking handbook for you).

Social Networking: What is it?

Social networking in any form is nothing more and nothing less than a doorway to the world. You can do as much or as little as you’d like with it. As an example, I’m not going to tell you a business success story, although there are many. Instead, I’m going to tell you what the teenagers that I personally know have done with MySpace.

When MySpace first became popular, I personally observed as my teenagers became more and more interested in it. Once my son figured out how to use MySpace to showcase his band videos it got a bit more interesting. At first he was merely using MySpace to share his thoughts, photos, and talk to high school friends. Then the switch occurred. When he began posting videos of songs that he had written himself, I watched as his site gained a notable amount of traffic.

Suddenly, almost alarmingly so, he went from regular high school kid, to someone who had quite a large following of fans from all over the country. Soon he was texting and building relationships with fans and other musicians all over the world…pretty amazing. Before long, people were anxiously awaiting his new songs. He even designed and sold his own t-shirts. This entire process from obscurity to recognition evolved over a period of approximately six months.

Stop Stressing Out

Did he ever stress over it? No. Did he wonder what it was or freak out over whether he should become involved in it before registering? No… So, what am I saying? I’m saying, “Just do it.”

Just go ahead and either assign yourself, a few key people, or a social media ghostwriter (such as myself) to handle your corporate social media strategy….but please don’t waste another minute in the planning and waiting stage. It’s not that difficult.

Social media is basically a “meet and greet” for the world. It’s an inroad. It’s a way to become visible and to even go viral if you’ve got the right stuff to interest the world.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got the perfect plan from day one. Stop procrastinating. Sign up already. FaceBook, Twitter and LinkedIn are your friends. They are there for you. Make use of them.

Social media should be the norm. It’s no different than using email blasts or attending a business after hours. If you need help getting started, we at Writers Elite are here for you. We can build your FaceBook page, Your Twitter account, and hook you up with LinkedIn.

We even offer a Social Networking Handbook, that is updated quarterly to keep up with the constant changes and improvements to the online world. We will connect your social networking platforms to your blog and help you go viral. We will do whatever it takes, or you can do it yourself…but do it! Make the decision that for 2010 you are not going to allow things that you don’t understand to stand in your way. Change is a way of life, so get on the social media networking train today. Your bottom line will be glad you did.

For our social networking handbook, just sign up to receive our monthly newsletter (on the right hand column of the home page) and you’ll receive information on our newest and most useful tutorial.

So, you’ve come to the realization that a business blog is the next logical step for your business marketing strategy. First of all, congratulations! The business blog (or mini-website) is the perfect way to get noticed both locally, nationally and even internationally.

Why? Because Google loves blogs. And according to Matt Cutts, from Google’s spam department, if you’ve chosen WordPress as your blogging platform, you have automatically positioned yourself far above the rest of the individuals and businesses trying to gain top Google rankings. At the 2009 Word Camp in San Francisco, Matt gave an enlightening blogging strategy workshop. One of his first points was in recognition of the benefits of WordPress and the fact that this blogging platform is built to take care of 80-90% of the mechanics of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

So, you’ve made the perfect social media decision: Begin blogging to gain visibility for your business and you’ve chosen the perfect platform: WordPress

Now, that you’ve got a perfect beginning, let’s look at the recipe for creating a perfect blog post.

Why am I calling it a ‘recipe?’…because I like to cook. Okay, in all honesty I can spend hours on AllRecipes.com. I have my own account, I make recipe contributions to their website and I get abnormally excited about discovering a new dish. Along the way, I must admit that there are certain recipes that I consider to be perfect. One of them is my banana bread recipe. Now, I’ve tried other people’s recipes, but I always come back to the only one that has ever worked perfectly every time. I acquired it from a children’s cookbook that is now out of print and it is absolutely fool-proof. Never burnt on the outside and mushy in the middle, never dry–it’s perfect.

There is also a perfect recipe for blog posting. Whenever I use this recipe I get more traffic, more comments, and usually an email or two that eventually leads to new clients.  I’m going to share that recipe with you now. Keep it safe, because it really does work…every time, just like my banana bread recipe.

The Perfect Blog Recipe

1. Blog Post Headline: This one ingredient can either help catapult your post into a virtual buzz of interest or cause it to quickly die in the murky waters of ho-hum blogging.

Tips: Your title should fit in a Twitter tweet, so 110 characters or less will leave plenty of room for retweets. Also, titles that contain numbers, such as “The top 5 ways to….” or “The 10 best” work incredibly well.

2. Have a Point
Telling short side anecdotes is fine and can increase interest. It shows that you have a personality, but ultimately you must stick to one main point. Your post should address a concern, refute a popular idea, provide an answer, solve a problem, etc.

3. Search Terms or Keywords
In light of the subject of your blog as a whole, along with the main point of your post, figure out one or two popular key phrases that a person looking for your information would type into a Google search. Once you have them figured out, be sure to include these keyword phrases in your blog approximately 3-4 times throughout the post.

4. Bold Subheadings
Break up long passages and multiple paragraphs with subheadings. This is a general ‘best practice’ for web readers who like to scan articles for main points of interest. Using bullet points also helps.

5. Include an Image
Unique and thoughtfully chosen photos and images greatly increase the readability and of your blog posts. People like pictures. Your blog should not be boring.

6. Authority
If you are making statements in your posts, you can immediately add value to your post and increase your credibility with your readers by linking directly to trusted resources that will provide proof of your claims. In the first paragraph of this post I mentioned a quote by Matt Cutts. In order to add authority to my claim, I added the direct link to the video of his seminar. By doing so, your readers will trust you and also look to you as a provider of excellent resources.

Don’t worry about losing readers by linking to other sites. When you provide valuable resources your readers will come to you again and again as a source of information.

7. Call to Action
Always try to end posts with a question that will generate more comments or some other call to action. The more engaged your readers become, the more followers and subscribers you will have.

If you have found this recipe for the perfect blog post useful, or if you have additional tips, please leave a comment and let us know!

If you are like most freelancers, you LOVE being free from punching that time clock and spending all of your time working to make money for someone else.

Now that you are a freelancer, those days are over…but I’m sure you’ve quickly realized that in order to profit as a small business owner or an SEO writer, you’ll have to up your accountability level. Instead of reporting to a boss, you are reporting to yourself and your bank account is keeping the score.

It’s ironic, to be sure. As you strive to increase your income and become more successful, you’ll realize that neither will come without strict time discipline on your part.

Setting Your Business Policy

Now that you work from home, friends and family will think that you’re available for babysitting services, errands, phone chatting, etc. Since part of the pleasure of freelancing is in the area of time flexibility, you may say “yes” to some of the requests.

Be careful though, the “occasional favor” can become a slippery slope and your lack of attention to the projects at hand can quickly lead to part time wages in your bank account. If you have a family, enormous chunks of time can slip away through small but numerous interruptions.

The best way to deal with time thieves is to have a clear “policy,” worked out in your mind. When you are able to say “I’m sorry, my policy is to devote two hours per week to doing favors and this week I’ve already used them up,” you’ll probably be met with very  little resistance. Having these types of personal boundaries in place, shows others that you are serious about what you do.

A Simple But Powerful Daily Schedule Document

As a freelancer, you’ll need to create a system of scheduling that works best for you. Everyone is different, which is most likely why there are so many programs out there. I’m extremely old-school. I like my assignments written in a daily planner.

Another extremely powerful document is my “Daily Scheduler & Time Sheet” It helps me prioritize my most important projects by blocking them out in half hour increments. This one powerful tool, single-handedly shames me into doing my daily exercise routine, and forces me to be accountable throughout the day. If someone needs a favor of me, it must go on the Daily Scheduler where it “bumps” a work item.

Want to Create Your Own  Merciless Task Master? Here’s How:

Since it’s so easy for us freelancers to procrastinate when we’re faced with a task we’d rather put off, I like to write  “How will I earn money today?” at the top of my Daily Scheduler.

This forces me to put aside the fun but less important jobs, to focus on those that are immediately lucrative. SEO article writing projects, blog creation, and web research are a priority. They make my daily bread and butter. Even if some of my side tasks include developing tutorials and websites that will eventually make money for me…I have bills that are due TODAY, so today’s pay must be dealt with first.

My Daily Scheduler also has two columns: the left hand column is for “Task”; the right hand column is for “Activity.” The Task column shows what I should be doing at any appointed time during my day. The Activity column shows what I am actually doing. Now this kind of thing only works if you are truthful and cooperative.

Having to write down what I’m actually doing under “Activity” helps prevent me from veering off in the wrong direction, off on rabbit trails that detract from my income. You can just imagine how powerful it is to acknowledge — through the act of  physically writing it down — the fact that you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing!

If you want to put this method to use for yourself, be sure to create your daily schedule the night before. That way you’ll have time to prepare your research and gather whatever additional  items you will need so you can truly stay on schedule throughout the day.

By working from your  Daily Scheduler you’ll be able to increase your productivity, quickly recognize your personal work weaknesses, and conquer the procrastination monster.

Try the Daily Scheduler for yourself and see if you don’t get more done, increase your income, and feel more successful — because you will be!

Well, okay the methods don’t actually involve cheating, but they do use Associated Content and EzineArticle in such a way that will cause you to receive the most page views possible for your article submissions. Now that’s good news!

Here’s the deal. What if I told you, if you were to change just three small things, your article submissions would become supercharged? That would be cool.

And keep in mind that you’re not going to break any rules, not even one, by using these three methods. Ready to follow along and optimize your article submissions? Good.

1.  The first optimization trick that will drive traffic to your blog is so simple that you’ll wonder why you didn’t see it. Whenever you publish a piece on Associated Content, you’re required to place something in the “descriptive overview” box, right after the subtitle. Don’t strain your brain trying to write your description–The best thing to put in that spot  is  the first 150 to 200 characters of your article. Easy as pie.

It doesn’t ‘look’ redundant to anyone, because that field appears on your Content Producer Page. But spiders “recognize” it!

Those wonderful programs (lovingly called spiders), who are sent over with every inquiry on every search engine only see the patterns and/or instructions of what they’re programmed to.

Bottom line when you are writing, make your article reader friendly AND spider-friendly. All of your work is pretty pointless if you don’t.

2.  The second happy little trick to optimize your article submissions should be used when writing or your own blog or website as well as Associated Content or EzineArticle. This one involves a couple of tools. Since we now know that we need to please the spiders as well as the visitors, counting keywords in our articles is absolutely vital. Counting cards may get you kicked out of Vegas, but counting keywords will drive traffic and sales right to your door with your article submissions. A lot of us try to determine keyword density by counting the words ourselves, just by skimming over the article. If that’s you, stop now… There are free tools to do that for you silly!

The absolute BEST tool to use for this is Textalyser. It’s free and fast. I’ve used other programs, but the feature that sets Textalyser apart is that it not only counts your individual keywords, it also determines your keyword phrases, which is much more important. It also calculates the keyword density percentage. Just copy and paste the body of your text into the program and let the analysis begin…

A rule of thumb is to keep your unique keyword phrases at about 6% keyword density.

The easiest way to do this is to place your best keyword phrase in the title, the subtitle (if applicable), and twice in both the opening, and closing paragraphs, as well as every 100-200 words, within the body. (Don’t forget to name your image with one of your keyword phrases…yes, spiders crawl your photos too)

Also, in order to find the best (most searched) keyword phrases, use Google’s free keyword tool and refer to my Ninja tutorial on exactly how to use it. Okay, your article submissions are almost supercharged…

3.  Here’s the final, vital, non-negotiable step to your article optimization campaign. This is the part that really makes the other two steps take off. This is also the part that most people question, or  just plain ‘don’t get.’

Ready? Here it is: Promote other people’s work. In fact, promote the websites of others at least three times as often as you do your own.

That means for every link of your own that you post, you should put at least three links to the valid and reliable works of others (including entire subject categories) out there too. Why? To be nice? No, it’s so much more than that.

If you’re linking to only your own work in blogs, social networking sites, and other places, Google’s spiders will see you as probable spam. (Yep, you got that right) You’re quite literally pulling the rug out from under yourself if you don’t link to other sites and promote other writer’s work.

By posting just your own stuff you’re actually hurting your Google Ranking by being to pushy. Yes, the Google Police can quantify “pushy.” Amazing. Huh? When you build your own little kingdom of niche blogs, linking to ONLY each other, your little world will remain unnoticed.

So use your blogs and your article submissions to lead to others sites as well as your own. It will help your rankings, you will see.

Does all of this sound like work? Of course it is. But keeping your eye on the bigger picture, if you are going to write the articles, you should take the time to do them correctly. Only by optimizing your article submissions will you be able to generate enough traffic to  lead people to your sales page or back to your own website.

Lastly, keep in mind that none of these methods will work as well alone as they will together. You should do all three to really see the benefits.

There you have it,  your three little cheating tips (that don’t really involve any cheating) to optimize your article submissions like a madman, or a Ninja, or whatever cool thing you wish you were…