Constant Content

I am having some issues and I am wondering if some of you might have some ideas.

In order to be successful it is recommended that we do some self-promotion. Some do blogs. Some build their own websites. Some do all of the above.

I have no sales yet (it's only been about a week, but still). I also have no work to form a resume. Is it still in my best interest to build a website? What would I list as credentials? Are credentials necessary? I have received recognition for my writing, but not in non-fiction and not recently. I don't know how to deal with this issue.

About blogs... I don't understand their purpose. As I wrote in another post, it seems as though blogs are either places to rant poorly developed opinions or post excellent short articles. I don't understand how a blog is better than further developing those excellent articles. I am not being snippy. I am really trying to understand.

With both of these issues, and my author page, I am doing nothing because I am worried that doing it wrong or prematurely would cause more harm than good.

My love of writing goes back to kindergarten. I have always wanted to write professionally. I sincerely hope to overcome these obstacles and achieve some degree of success.

Thank you all.

~~KMD

I just started my "professional" blog through wordpress.com

A website can be a great way to list your previous credentials, and even if they are ages ago, simply use it as a sign that you are now resuscitating your once wonderful writing career (or something to that effect). A website is also a place you can direct people to contact you through, say you meet someone at the dentist office (yes, this happened to me), I pointed out a spelling mistake on a poster across the wall, and we both shared a laugh. I simply said "Yeah, now that I am writing full-time, I notice the little mistakes around me too much." The gentleman raised his eyebrows, and asked "What do you write?" We spoke for a quick second, and then my name was called. I gave him my business card, that has my website and email on it, he contacted me because he needed some help with training manual for his sales associates he wrote, but wanted it edited. Turns out, he owns a hardware store in the small town by my house, and it was a manual for this really ancient key making machine.

At any rate, I would have lost that contact to a filling without my website and business card (I printed them at home, but hey I still have them). A blog is another tool to draw people to your website. Your blog and website could be anything you want it to be.

Try out wordpress.com. If you can post on this forum, I promise you can use wordpress. I was surprised by just how easy it is. Plus, since you say you don't really have a resume, what better replacement for accolades than real examples of your writing?

It would be my suggestion that you wait a while to see how things go at Constant Content - get some articles and some sales under your belt to prove to yourself and others that you are establishing a freelance career. Success here is every bit as important as a resume, maybe even moreso.

And my goodness, sales can take a long time. But I recommend you keep on submitting articles one at a time. Practice practice practice!

Just my two cents.

I wasn't going to say anything unless one of the writers did, but I tend to agree with Grouchy. Invest your time in writing quality articles for CC. Not only will you build your confidence, but you'll discover what kinds of topics appeal to you most. These, you might explore further in a personal/promotional blog.

If you're just starting out, spending time on a blog might feel futile when you could spend time writing articles that will make you money.

Everyone has a different perspective about this. It really depends upon the amount of time and energy you have available.

Ed

I agree with the blog issue. I started a blog last summer and it got to the stage where I wasn't posting anything to it because 1) I couldn't really see the purpose and 2) I wanted to concentrate on writing articles for CC and building things up in that area. I think that a blog does need to have a purpose of sorts for it not only to be interesting, but for it also to stimuate the owner's interest enough to keep posting to it.

Even having now registered a domain name and being in the process of putting a website together, I have only my experience here at CC to use as 'promotion'. I can put links in to the articles I have sold here at CC and are up on the Web, but that's about it.

With the blog, I have abandoned the original one and am creating one that is more relevant to my writing experience. I intend to post some articles to it that I have here (yes, I will change them them usage rights only!), and link to that from the website.

This is a huge learning curve for me. But it's something that I throughly enjoy doing, motivates me, and gets me out of bed in the mornings. Which is why I'm sticking with it

Jane

Here's my two cents about blogging:

Unless you have a niche, a distinct point of view and a specific area of your life that you want to talk about and share with others, don't blog! Blogging is time consuming, even if you only blog a few times each week. As is true in any business, a specific niche is key. So if you're just putting up a blog about your writing, it's not going to help you much or attract a following.

On the other hand, if you are blogging about your adventures in stockcar racing, or your attempts to master the art of making milkshakes, you can create a way to show off your writing style and develop a following. People get jobs, dates, publishing deals and agents from blogs, but it is generally because of the niche subject matter and the blogger's unique voice.

I agree with Ed and the other writers. Write articles first. And then write some more. I started my freelance career with no marketing at all, and I have been working steadily for years with literally no marketing at all. It's all about great writing, cultivating relationships, and good referrals.

That said, I am considering building a website. I'm just a little too busy to focus on that end of things. Also, I do have a blog, but it's really a way for me to write what I want and stay connected to my own voice, rather than the needs of my clients. I don't post articles, I just blog a couple of times a week. It's fun.

Good luck!

Annie

Thanks for the advice, Annie.

I am still a little hesitant about the whole blog thing. I think that you are absolutely right about the niche - and it's finding that niche that's the difficult thing! It might need a little more thought...

Jane

I forgot to mention the URL of my blog:

http://theflingitself.blogspot.com

Right now I have a tribute post up, which is not the norm. My blog is really about my journey toward health and wellness, so that's the niche. Even if I write about silly or racy or seemingly unrelated topics, I always bring it back home to the focus of my blog. It's a blog in the original sense, an online journal. It's really quite self indulgent, but again, it shows my style so I just give myself persmission to do it. It soothes the soul.

Take care, everyone!
Annie

I thank all of you for taking the time to write such thoughtful responses.

Ed and others pretty much confirmed what I had been feeling about self-promotion... you have to have some sort of resume or work history to direct people to. I'm still working on that part.

I can clearly see the benefits of having a website. I just think doing it prematurely can be a fool's errand. I'm still not there yet.

I am also glad to hear that I am not the only one confused about the necessity of having a blog. I don't have a niche to develop a following around. I think I would rather invest that time in writing articles.

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions.

I thought I really had to say something on the topic of blogging. I started my blog because I heard that blogging can pay well, and every blogging opportunity that crossed my path led to questions about my blog. It didn't seem unreasonable for someone to expect that I had experience blogging.

When I finally started a blog of my own (I dragged my feet for well over a year), I discovered that I really enjoyed a more casual writing style. I found that I could fit some interesting ideas into what I liken to a chat with someone over a cup of coffee.

I was careful about the topic I chose (herb gardening). I wanted something that I knew well and for which I has lots of reference material. I also wanted something that could be visual, instructive, and anecdotal. I didn't care too much about it being a popular topic. The more the merrier. As an added bonus, I wanted to find a subject that could segue easily into other more topical subjects like: the environment, health and wellness, decorating, cooking, foreign cultures, history, and literature. You get the idea.

I remember taking a class with a woman a couple of years ago. She was complaining about the instructor not getting down to business fast enough. Her thinking was that she really didn't have the time to indulge in anything that wasn't informative. I really took that casual comment to heart and have been trying to provide value along with a little entertainment.

The blog has worked well for me. It's gotten me work, some notice, and some complementary products provided for evaluation purposes. It has helped me develop more discipline about writing every day, keeping a backlog of product and ideas, and developing a unique voice.

With some forethought and a little passion, I think blogging can be worth the investment of time and energy.

Thanks for sharing that, S.A. During this thread about blogging, I was thinking of your post the other day in which you told us about the recognition your blog had received, and felt that you must be blogging about something that you had a real interest in as well as it being a topic that you could link into other areas, as you say. I think if you find something that you have a passion for (or at least quite a bit of interest) and it can offer something to people then that's the way to go. You seem to have found it - congratulations!

Jane

Hi KMD,

I'm going to shoot this out from a different perspective. I agree with everyone that crafting great articles for C-C should be your focus. Instead of blogging or creating a website when you have down time or need a change of venue, work on a resume and portfolio. Anything you have ever written well, including college papers and fiction, can be used as part of a portfolio. If you've been recognized for creative writing, that's a good selling point regardless if it's fiction or non-fiction. Create a resume that does not focus on your lack of experience, but on what you can do for a client and how you would approach a job. Make it the best damn resume you can.

Next, get business cards and carry them with you everywhere you go. Elizabeth Ann is so right...you never know when you might bump into a possible client. By the way, you can find pretty cool free business cards online and you only pay the postage.

Have you thought of going to your local newspaper? A part-time gig writing high school sports stories or being the reporter for school board meetings and local events offers experience and clips.

Make a list of companies and business that you could target with a letter of introduction outlining what you can do for them.

Build a portfolio from all angles for success. I hope you take all the advice given and go out there and join the ranks of great writers here at C-C and beyond the web. Good luck!

T

I'm so relieved that I'm not the only one who thought blogs were useless for the longest time! LOL!!

My first blog (several years ago now) was on Livejournal, and I basically just started it because you couldn't participate in any Livejournal communities unless you had one. Livejournal communities are just blogs devoted to a certain interest or subject and anyone who "joins" the blog can make posts (not just comment on posts). There is usually one user who is the primary user or "mod". They've basically used a blog engine to create forums.

I slowly started making virtual friends through the LJ communities and started posting on my LJ blog as a way of speaking to them. I wasn't really keeping a diary, nor was I trying to "attract" viewers - just share topics of interest with my online friends...and if others stumbled upon them, great.

Most blogs I've come across are either diaries, soapboxes for very angry people, or sort of online magazines (like S.A. Holt's herb garden blog). Eventually I want my wordpress blog to find a focus, and build some traffic so I can monetize it tastefully. Right now, I'm just congratulating myself for having one. I'm confident that as I blog, a focus will manifest itself. I know I should be concentrating on writing for CC, but I need to get in the habit of writing - and I don't always have a topic in hand that is article material.

Besides, every blog entry on my blog, if it's good, can be submitted to CC for usage rights, yes?


AThompson

Yes, you're right, they can (posts on your blog be submitted to CC for usage rights only).

Sounds as though there are a few of us in the blog haze

Jane