tips

Read Before You Write

It is obvious why you should read before you write. Reading helps you get a general idea of what you want to write about so when you start to write, you don’t get stuck half way through the writing.

The worst scenario when you write about something is when you are stuck with no ideas on how to get the flow going.

This is why you need to read up as much as possible before you write so you have tons of ideas in your head of what you want to write about, how you can write it out and how you should write it.

If you want to write about SEO, of course you need to learn about SEO. You can never conjure an article without knowing the spell.

You can search for more information on the web about the topic you want to write and read up. I am sure it is easy to search for the relevant information you need to know.

Whether printed books or digital books, you can get all the information you need easily.

Remember, when you want to write about certain topics, check out the information and read up before you start writing to make sure you have a good flow of sentences and information you want to convey.

10 Tips Writing For SEO

When you are writing for SEO for your clients, what do you have in mind?

How many percentage of keyword density? How do you arrange the keywords? Your clients will be able to tell you how many percent of the keywords they want but you will have to craft your way in writing, after all this is what you do right?

Here I have ten tips to help you through your ‘nightmare’, if that is what you are experiencing.

I had such a nightmare when I first wrote my SEO article but after a few trial and error I finally got it right.

10 Tips:

1. Write the whole articles first without thinking about SEO. Write from your heart about the topic you want to write about. Forget about SEO now, we will get to SEO later.

2. Don’t rush when you are writing the articles. Usually, it takes a long time to create a masterpiece but it is worth it.

3. When you have finished writing the articles, read and proof read.

4. Research your keywords. It is obvious that you need keywords for SEO (or keyphrases – whatever you call it). Use Google Keyword Tool to help. This is the most basic tool.

5. Now, it is time to get your keywords in the right place and in the right density. Read your article and amend whenever you feel you can insert the keyword.

6. This only applies if your clients give you a set of keywords – make sure you use the keywords as it is without alterations by adding a word in between.

Example:

Keyword: UK Travel

Sentence: You can spend a romantic honeymoon in UK. Travel agencies have many interesting offers for honeymoons.

*Notice that between UK and Travel, there is a dot [ . ] and search engine will still read it as UK Travel.

7. Check your keyword density using a Keyword Analysis Tool. The percentage depends on your clients.

8. A biography or signature is often added at the bottom of the article. Usually clients will not ask you to write it but in some cases when you have to write it, make sure it is not too long, contain the keywords and the correct links.

9. If your job including submission to article directories, make sure you submit to EzineArticles, ArticleBase and Articlesland.

10. Do not use an article spinner or submission robot to do all the work. This is to make sure you are doing everything the right way (white hat).
Additional tip: Some people suggests BOLD for keywords. You can try this but don’t use this excessively. Maybe you can BOLD one or two keywords in an article but not all.

Have a new tip? Leave a comment!

Losing Your Job – What You Can Do And Not Do

It is devastating when one is being fired. It is even more devastating when the one who is being fired has a family to feed. More people are losing jobs thanks to the recession. Every day, there are news about companies firing people to save cost. If you still have a job, congratulations. If you are jobless and reading this, all I can say is that look on the bright side of everything that falls upon us.

Latest news title:

598,000 workers lose their jobs in January

Not so new news:

Workers in 30s and 40s losing jobs at fastest rate as young families bear brunt of credit crunch

What You Can Do

  • Get enough rest. Stop thinking about your job loss. Look into the mirror and tell yourself ‘this is not the end of the world’.
  • Get a new job. Go online and search for jobs. When one door closes, another door opens. Keep on trying until you get a job.
  • While you are looking for a permanent job, get some part time job so that you get some income, even when it is not the usual wage you get from your previous job.
  • If you can write/design/do coding – there are many freelance jobs you can get. Check out the freelance writing sites to help you get started.
  • There are other simple part time jobs you can do. Depending on your geographical area, you can be someone’s gardener, baby sitter or dog-walker. There are many ways you can earn extra $$$.
  • If you are not doing anything, get some companions and go for a cheap holiday (if you can afford it). You need people around you to make sure you do not fall into depression and get worse.

What You Should Not Do

  • DO NOT linger around at home doing nothing – this will beat your emotion, you will feel depressed over time and it is best to have people surrounding you at this time especially your close family.
  • If you are a man, I know you have your ego, but you SHOULD NOT keep your family in the dark. They deserve to know that you lose your job and they will be there to help you through the tough times.
  • If you are a woman, you SHOULD NOT hide this from your husband.
  • If you are not married, you SHOULD NOT keep this from your parents or siblings.
  • You SHOULD NOT blame yourself when you lose a job. It is not your fault.

Keep these in mind and you will be fine. If not, you can always add in your own ways to beat joblessness.

Freelancing Scams – Equipped Yourself With These Tips

When you start out as a freelancer, there are many unexpected things that would happen but if you read this, I am sure you can avoid some of the bumps (specifically freelancing scams) along the way and have a smooth ride in freelancing.

This is based on my experience so I would be able to tell you what happened to me along the way but if you encountered something new, feel free to share with us.

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I had registered as a member at GAF (GetAFreelancer, edit: now known as Freelancer.com) and it was time to place some bids on the projects suitable with my abilities.

I got 15 bids a month and if I needed more bids, I would have to upgrade my account ($12 a month). However, it was my first time looking for jobs through GAF so I didn’t upgrade.

I placed a few bids in a day hoping that someone would actually hire me but I waited and waited for days, weeks and finally one day someone did answered me.

It was a content writing task for a website but the pay would be $24 for the whole project.

Still, this was the very first project I got. Hoping for better projects to come along later, I accepted the task and completed it within 2 days. Then, happily I got payment from my first client.

Feeling good about myself and my performance, I continued to bid for more projects and definitely high pay projects.

My second project came along but it wasn’t as lucky as the first project. This was a scam.

At first, I didn’t noticed the signs. I had no experience, what would I expect?

Here are a few guidelines on how to detect scams in the first place… so that you can avoid.

1. The buyer always insist on paying through PayPal or other payment methods but never use Escrow. While this doesn’t seems like a problem, actually this is also the biggest problem. Before you get to know your buyer, request for Escrow to ensure that you get paid when you have completed the work. Many scam cases are buyers refuse to pay when the freelancers have completed the work. There is no way to ‘force’ the buyers to pay except through Escrow because only freelancers have the right to deny a payment when the payment is in Escrow.

2. The job description is brief. You should get more details before you bid on any projects (no matter which sites you are using).

3. The buyer will ask for samples. Usually when a buyer request for a sample or two, the buyer will give a few topics and request you (the provider) to complete all the topics (or maybe one – depending on the buyer). This is also a sign of scam. You write the sample and hand it in to the buyer. The buyer gets the article for free and you are not being hired for the job. The buyer wins and you lose.

4. Follow your heart. If you are suspecting something is not right, don’t bid on that project.

5. Check out forums like FreelanceAIR.org for information on scams especially the list of scammers to prevent falling into traps. This forum is specially created to raise awareness about the scams happening in most freelancing sites.

6. Con man usually offers rates that are too good to be true. Something similar as in work less, earn more. In reality, money doesn’t fall from the sky.  Don’t be a fool!

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While these are guidelines on identifying freelancing scams, they are not necessary true for all projects. As a prevention, you need to be cautious all the time. Otherwise, you will end up doing work without getting paid.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.