tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79598712755576504332024-03-13T11:51:18.900-05:00The Writer's Blog By Dana PrinceWelcome to Dana Prince's freelance writer's blog. I share: tips for writers, start writing discussions, provide mentoring to new writers, and share my own journey as a freelance writer.Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-19976258728620121142010-06-18T10:14:00.004-05:002010-06-18T10:16:15.208-05:00The Writer Has Left The Blogspot Building...I've decided to FINALLY move this blog to its own domain. Hope to see you there?http://thefreelancewritersblog.com.Subscribe?Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-9565647156613498852010-05-25T07:55:00.003-05:002010-05-25T07:55:00.059-05:00Value-Added Freelancing – Are Your Clients Getting Value from You?My previous corporate life taught me a lot about value. Providing value to my customers brought them back, got glowing letters written to my superiors, and helped me feel great about the job I was doing. I felt good when I showed customers ways I'd saved them money or hit corporate goals and stretch goals. I loved getting a "Wow that was fast" or "Dana, you're awesome!" I work hard today to get Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-71514161381266890272010-05-22T08:43:00.006-05:002010-05-22T10:54:31.663-05:00How Much Could You Earn if You Stepped Outside Your Comfort Zone?If you’re an experienced freelance writer, when is the last time you learned a new skill? Could learning a new skill help break some earning barriers for you? Is your comfort zone stopping you from earning the sort of money you want?I took on a new skill area in November. It was one I really had zero desire to tackle. I had given a job lead to a writer I knew. She was a very experienced Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-3015704004756056072010-04-07T23:23:00.008-05:002010-04-08T08:18:42.590-05:00How to Stop Freelancing on the WeekendsI never said I wanted to work 350+ days a year but somehow it just... happened.When I started freelance writing in 2006, at first I worked around my two-year old's schedule so weekends were a necessity but now that he's been in kindergarten for a while and attending school full days alternate weekdays, I expected to be able to work fewer nights and weekends. But it hasn't changed. So...I need to Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-74409300292736202242010-02-06T12:37:00.007-05:002010-02-07T09:40:40.970-05:005 Steps to Help Writers to Develop An Online Presence (And Attract Clients)There are different ways to approach freelance writing for the web. One way is to quietly go about the business of being a ghostwriter and apply for jobs and stay in the background. Another way is to put your name and face out there and try to attract people and get them to approach you. I like the latter approach as a way to get clients tracking me down rather than being on the constant hunt Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-60072867024725270442010-02-02T08:31:00.010-05:002010-02-02T09:11:25.094-05:00Get Help Setting Your Freelance Writing RatesA fair amount of traffic comes to The Writer's Blog asking how much freelance writing pays. The answer is that you can set your own freelancing rates. How do you do that so that you can remain competitive but not give your words away for well below what they're worth? Here are some tips:Rates Research-Do some research. A job bidding site like Elance, Guru, or GetAFreelancer can help. Beware, Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-33867426635821218192010-01-20T09:45:00.006-05:002010-01-20T11:44:43.925-05:00Freelance Writers: Should You Be Blogging?
<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } <![endif]--> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-10984116047841563862009-12-14T10:10:00.006-05:002009-12-14T10:20:05.630-05:00Inspired Author.com Short Story Contest - Winter 2009Inspired Author is having a short story contest. I think it's a great way to do something creative and have some fun with writing this winter. It runs from now until January 10 and I'm helping to run it.Here's how to play:-Start an Inspired Author blog. The blog is free and yours to use however you see fit plus you can monetize the blog, too: http://inspiredauthor.com/wp-signup.php.-Write your Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-32328197641490525772009-12-02T14:12:00.009-05:002009-12-02T22:54:41.864-05:00Make More Money Writing with TwitterSocial media is something that nearly everyone is using. It’s not just for teenagers, for techies, and spammers. I firmly believe it can be useful to anyone. It has certainly been useful to me as a freelance writer. Sure, some social marketing tools can be time wasters but there are definitely benefits of using social media to get writing gigs. Sure, there are a few 'paid to tweet' services that Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-82504918766994374292009-11-02T08:49:00.009-05:002009-11-02T10:06:32.724-05:00The Basics of Using Elance for Writing WorkI joined Elance last year. I wouldn't call myself an Elance guru by any stretch of the imagination but I did want to share the bit of knowledge I have learned in the last little while. I don't work there constantly but have earned about $4400 in the past year there doing the occasional writing gig. (I do know a writing company that is approaching 7 figures of earnings on Elance since the year Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-20618526510376088542009-10-16T17:31:00.009-05:002009-10-17T10:05:23.111-05:00How to Write for the Web Series - SEO Article Writing TipsIf you want to wow your writing clients with your work on SEO articles, give them more than they bargained for.SEO articles are written primarily to increase the client's ability to be found as a listed result when their target audience searches for a word in Google. While these articles are written mainly for this purpose, they can convert visitors to buyers as well.When my writing clients sendDana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-3943316372313833152009-10-02T12:16:00.005-05:002009-10-07T07:27:57.172-05:00Don't Hunt for Writing Work ---- Let it Hunt for You InsteadDo you spend hours endlessly looking for writing jobs? I'll let you in on a little secret....Most people who want to hire a writer don't post the job on a job board. Most of them do what you do when they want to find something online. They Google for it.So, doesn't it make sense to optimise yourself for Google so that people who want to hire a specialist that does what YOU do will land on your Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-51086172052593409812009-09-30T20:01:00.009-05:002009-10-03T12:07:49.401-05:00How to Write for the Web Series - Figuring Out What Your Client WantsEvery once in a while someone new asks me how to write for the web. I often share advice and decided that maybe it was time to write a series for this blog that helped those just delving into the world of writing for the web. Because this blog has been about my own journey as a freelance writer, posts typically illustrate where I am in my writing career at the moment I write the post. I thought aDana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-48241871493114516552009-08-18T08:36:00.003-05:002009-08-18T09:31:21.580-05:00Free Writer Tools : Plagium, A Copyscape AlternativeYesterday I found an option similar to Copyscape Premium without paying .05/search. I remember looking for a Copyscape alternative before opening my premium account last year after some unfortunate incidents with a team member but I didn't find anything that was quite the same. Plagium is the closest thing I've seen so far.Plagium is a beta tool that's currently free that offers you the ability Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-23772235217377605552009-07-28T11:01:00.004-05:002009-07-28T11:09:42.007-05:00Inspired Author RelaunchInspired Author has had a recent makeover and it looks great. If you haven't been by lately, the site has a new look and new tools are being added to help writers promote their craft and their work as well as learn from one another. As the site's new community manager, I aim to increase membership so please stop by and register your free blog. My blog used to be a blog to help beginner writers Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-68742886536966516372009-05-17T10:31:00.009-05:002009-05-21T08:50:11.743-05:00How Much Does Freelance Writing Pay, A 2009 UpdateIn July of 2007, I wrote a post called How Much Does Freelance Writing Pay? At the time I wrote it because I found that people were arriving on my blog because they asked the search engines that question. I decided to answer it to provide people with information. At that time, I was proud to report that in just over a year of writing for the web from home I had doubled my rates from about .01/Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-52115837774344726912009-04-14T08:05:00.005-05:002009-04-14T08:28:14.390-05:00Favourite Writer Blogs - GetPaidToWriteOnlineI've decided to start a series of my favourite freelance writer blogs. I don't have a set criteria for choosing which blogs to feature other than the fact that these blogs provide value to me as a writer. My first feature has got to be Sharon Hurley Hall's Get Paid To Write Online blog. I met Sharon in 2006 on a blogging community called WritingUp (it's no longer around but was a great place forDana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-53844715328256596032009-04-03T08:43:00.010-05:002009-04-03T09:12:59.862-05:00Bukisa Passive Writing Income Payment Update: Payment Number TwoI have just received a payment from Bukisa for $12.10.While I haven't been aggressively working on making money with Bukisa since my first month, they are demonstrating to me that they are a good source of passive income because I've done very little since my last payment two months ago to earn this money.Bukisa PaymentBukisa paid me $12.10 USD yesterday, bringing my total earnings so far up to $Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-30671006500064899552009-03-25T07:47:00.007-05:002009-03-25T12:03:46.028-05:00Why I Decided to Start Writing for eHow for FreeeHow currently won't let me participate in their Writer's Compensation Program because I'm outside the U.S. This means I can write but I won't get paid. But, I've decided that I'm going to write for them anyway. Why? Self-promotion, article marketing, and in the hopes that eventually they'll change their mind.I've written for eHow in the past. A little over a year ago I wrote about 100 or more Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-82211415872183431452009-03-23T07:42:00.004-05:002009-03-23T08:09:54.544-05:00Article Sample Scam AlertToday I read about a new Craigslist AC scam on the wahm.com forum and as many experienced freelance writers know, there are a lot of scams to watch out for. People lure you into applying for a gig when in reality they really want you to opt in to their email marketing list so they can sell you something. Or, people want you to write samples so they can spin the articles with their software and Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-6354315203128727202009-02-20T14:47:00.006-05:002009-02-20T15:02:19.155-05:00Copyscape: What A Nickel of An Investment Can Do For Your Writing CareerToday I want to share that .05 cents could save your writing reputation. Small price to pay, huh? There's a valuable writing tool for web writers called Copyscape. Copyscape has a free service that looks for copies of work online and allows five searches a month but the premium service is only a nickel per search and can help you check your articles before they get posted online. You can buy a Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-60889695661957397322009-02-19T09:12:00.004-05:002009-02-19T09:34:06.895-05:00Writers Helping Writers: Getting TrafficI thought it might be time to start a new series here on The Writer's blog called Writers Helping Writers. Instead of this just being my soapbox to talk about my journey as a writer, I'm going to move the apostrophe and make this The Writers' Blog for a bit and hope some other writers will participate in the conversations. This writer loves getting traffic and has had some great advice given to Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-62472564044312027162009-02-11T11:45:00.007-05:002009-02-11T19:29:54.990-05:00The New Kindle 2 - Will The E-Book Business Boom?I'm drooling over the new Kindle 2 for two reasons.....Some impressive Kindle 2 features:-Wireless access to the Kindle store to buy titles (no wireless fees or worrying about finding WiFi) electronically-Kindle can use text to speech functions to read text to you if you want-Holds up to 1,500 titles-Crisp text makes it as easy to read as a page, even in the sun-Weight of just over ten ounces-YouDana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-51110871694874363142009-02-08T14:16:00.017-05:002009-02-13T16:24:15.921-05:00Business Integrity: It Can Cost You But It Will Pay YouI believe wholeheartedly in living my life with integrity. This is not a sales pitch for me. Sometimes it costs me money or extra time and effort but because of my principles, my actions don't keep me up at night due to a guilty conscience. My conscience speaks much louder to me than greed so it's in my best interests to listen to it. I also know that when little miracles happen in my life, thereDana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959871275557650433.post-66850655510195134102009-02-01T09:51:00.006-05:002009-02-01T10:26:10.485-05:00Bukisa Update: First Payment SurpriseI haven't spent much time on Bukisa since I initially started The Bukisa Experiment and earlier today was alerted that the Bukisa index was lowered to 3.65 for February. Dropping Bukisa Index?First it was 4.0 (I believe), then 3.95 and now 3.65. Is this a problem? This doesn't really concern me because I know a new site has to attract members at first and then may need to scale back their payout Dana Princehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07039144757399178470noreply@blogger.com10