Freelance Writing

Although I do not spend much time considering the PageRank of this blog, it has come to my attention that Google is in the middle of an update. Since this blog is new, it is still at PageRank 0 at this time. Is this going to change sometime in the near future?

By scouring the blogosphere for a few hours this morning, I came across several posts by bloggers who are using the iWebTool Google PageRank Prediction tool. From what I read, this tool is pretty accurate; being correct 9 out of 10 times for the most part.

Since it only takes a few seconds to use this tool, I gave it a whirl. It is showing ChrisBlogging as having a Current PageRank of 0. The predicted PageRank, whenever this happens to occur, is 4; which is quite good for a new blog. The accuracy is shown at 87.9%, and the backlinks number is showing 3,342.

If this tool ends up being accurate, I will be ecstatic. When it comes down to it, a PageRank of 4 is sure to increase search engine traffic, while also giving me more clout when moving forward with future advertising options.

Of course, despite what some webmasters say, tools such as this one have no way of being 100 percent accurate. After all, Google is not going to make it easy for anybody and everybody to accurately predict this type of information.

There is no way of knowing when Google will update the PageRank of this blog. All I do know is that the updates are taking place at this time. Even though I am not too concerned with PageRank, it would be nice to see an increase in time.

As a blogger, one of your goals should be to provide a quality experience to your readers. Of course, the word “quality” means something different to every blogger. But with that being said, there are a few ways that you can increase the quality of your blog. Here are three factors to consider:

1. Since I am a freelance writer by profession, in my opinion, the number one way to increase the quality of your blog is to increase the quality of your posts. Make sure that you are supplying useful, interesting, and near-error free content. Remember, content is what powers your blog. If it were not for your words, you would have no traffic and no revenue.

2. Use a theme that portrays the content of your blog, while also offering a great user experience. This can be done with a free theme, but if you are serious about taking your blog to the next level, buying a custom design may be the way to go. As I have mentioned, this is my next step.

3. When readers comment, make sure that you comment back. While you do not have to do this every time, it is definitely something that will increase the quality of your blog. At the same time, getting involved with your readers will keep them coming back day in and day out.

These are three of the best ways to increase the quality of your blog. If you are lacking in any of these areas, try to pick up the slack as soon as possible. By doing so you may notice an increase in your blog’s productivity.

Since starting this blog about five months ago, I have learned quite a bit. Not only have I done this through my own experiences, but my readers have also taught me quite a bit as well. Hopefully, as the next few months go by I will learn even more. After all, the more knowledge you have the more comfortable you will feel with your blog.

Here are three blogging lessons that stick with me day in and day out.

1. Take an original angle on every post that you write. There are not a lot of topics that have yet to be discussed. But with that being said, you can add your own angle to give the material a unique perspective. Remember, your readers like your blog for a reason. They enjoy your content, and your writing style. Give them what they want with each post.

2. Do whatever it takes to help your readers out. For me, I have always made it known that I am more than happy to talk with readers via blog comments, email, or even phone. By showing your readers that you care, they will be more likely to visit your blog time and time again. Plus, by staying in touch with your readers you can help them to reach their goals; whatever they may be.

3. Have an idea on what direction you want to take your blog. Even though starting a blog is a quick and simple process, you need to know what you want to accomplish in the future. Do you want to make money with your blog? Are you writing for fun? Do you want to turn your blog into a bigger business? No matter what, have an idea of how you want to expand.

These three lessons will help you to become a better blogger now, and as your blog grows in the future.

Even though it is nice to have repeat visitors, gaining search engine traffic is really the only way to increase overall performance. Not only can search engines help to increase traffic, but when this happens, you will also begin to see an increase in earnings. The question is: how do you increase search engine traffic?

For me, this is not an easy question to answer. I do not know much about search engine optimization, or what the engines are looking for. But by reading other blogs and forums, I have picked up some basic knowledge here and there.

Finally, this month I am starting to see an increase in the amount of traffic that is being sent to this blog from the different search engines. Just as I was getting frustrated with finding a way to increase my visitors, the search engines decided to do much of the work for me.

Unfortunately, I have no idea how I did this? I assume I am starting to get more organic traffic because this blog is growing, inbound links are increasing, and the quality of the content is above average. Outside of that, I have not made any changes that would positively affect the traffic that I receive from search engines.

I am at the point where writing good content is my main concern. In my opinion, if I keep this up, I am sure to see an increase in readership as the months go by. For now, I am glad to see my organic traffic on the rise. I can only hope that this trend will continue as I add more and more content. 

Since starting this blog, I have become well aware that StumbleUpon is a great service. After all, there are certain days when a post of mine gets Stumbled, which results in my traffic doubling at the very least. The question I have is: how do I know who is stumbling my content?

From checking out my stats it is easy to see what post has been stumbled, and how much traffic it has sent me. But more importantly, is there anyway for me to determine who did the stumbling? The reason I ask is that I would really like to return the favor if at all possible. I would hate to think that somebody has thought enough to recommend my posts time after time, but I do not even take the time to read their blog.

So, I ask: is there anyway for me to determine who is stumbling my posts? If there is no way of doing this, leave a comment or send an email letting me know who you are!

Even though I am a freelance writer, I do not have much experience with hiring others to work for me in this capacity. In the past I have hired programmers and designers, but it is not often that I look for other writers or bloggers. After all, if I have a job that needs done I will usually find a way to complete the task on my own.

I have found myself at a point where I am interested in hiring bloggers to help with some of my workload. Over the next few months I plan on starting quite a few new blogs, and with my current work, getting outside help is going to be essential.

There are several things I am going to look for when hiring bloggers. Three of the most important details are listed below.

1. Ideally, I would like to hire bloggers who have some prior knowledge of the topic they will be writing about. While researching online is fine, finding bloggers with a passion for the subject matter would be great.

2. I need bloggers who can devote enough time each day to writing for their given blog. This should not be much of a problem because I will only be asking for five posts per week of somewhere between 400 and 600 words.

3. Payment is the final detail that I will discuss with bloggers who I am hoping to hire. This is a touchy subject because I want to pay a reasonable rate, but at the same time, I need to keep my expenses under control in the early stages of each blog. I will probably offer several payment options to each blogger, and then see where things go from there.

Now for the fun stuff. If you are interested in helping out as a blogger, send me a quick email with some information about your experience, favorite topics, and how much you would charge per post. Hopefully I will be able to find several qualified candidates so that I do not have to write all the content on my own. After all, I do need to sleep from time to time!

By this time you are probably tired of hearing me say that I have no technical skills. But when it comes down to it, this is something that I have to deal with everyday. For instance, how is a blogger to increase traffic without any technical knowledge such as SEO, coding, etc? Well, this blog may not be getting as much traffic as it would if I were a technical genius, but I have come up with some ways of my own to get the job done.

Here are three non-technical ways to increase traffic to your blog.

1. Quality content will outdo any “technical trick” any day of the week. Of course, you may get more traffic faster if you have good tech skills, but in the long run quality posts will win out. Remember, your readers are visiting your blog for the information you provide, not because you have a vast amount of technical knowledge; unless your blog is about a technical subject, of course. But even then, words power your blog!

2. Meet other bloggers who are interested in the same topic as you. This is a great way to build a network, and hopefully get some links pointing towards your site. Back links are non technical, and one of the best ways to increase traffic.

3. Try to offer information with your own unique spin. Even though there may not be many topics that have not been touched upon, you can surely put a unique twist on everything you write. Simply put, have your own voice.

Chances are that you may have come across similar tips in the past. But as number three states, I hope that putting this in my voice will help you to realize that you can increase traffic to your blog even if your technical skills are not advanced. 

Since starting this blog, I have posted new content at least once per day; that is until yesterday. Trouble with my ISP held me back from posting new content for the first time in about three months. While this is not a huge deal, it can be disappointing. After all, I take great pride in updating this blog every day.

So what did I learn from this? First off, using the WordPress time stamp feature is a great idea. If I would have had a time stamped post waiting, the lack of an internet connection would have made no difference.

Additionally, I also learned that blogging can be an addiction. I was checking my internet connection all day long in hopes that I could sneak in a quick update for all my readers. Unfortunately, this never happened, but none the less I spent a lot of time Saturday thinking about this blog.

When it comes down to it, not updating your blog one day is not going to kill your readership. But remember, this is not a habit that you want to get into. Hopefully I can start another long streak of at least one post per day!

When you start a new blog, do you set a deadline for success? In other words, do you know that you will give the blog one year (or some other time frame) to hit all your goals? I think that it is very important to set goals for your blog, but as far as setting a deadline for success, this is another topic entirely.

I don’t know much about search engines, but from what I have been reading, it appears that there are two things a blog must do in order to achieve success with them. First off, posting unique content seems to be the best thing you can do in order to catch the eye of the major search engines such as Google and Yahoo. To go along with this, I have read on three different blogs that you need to be consistent for at least six to twelve months to see solid results. As mentioned above, I have no idea if this is the case or not.

Personally, I have no timeline for the success of this blog. I enjoy writing at least one post per day, and as long as that does not change, ChrisBlogging will live on!

If you are going to put a timeline on your blog’s success, there is one very important thing that you must do. You need to know what the word success means when applied to your blog. Does success mean attracting a certain number of readers? Or are you like most bloggers who measure success with dollars and cents? Once you know what it takes to meet your expectations of success, you will at least have a chance of meeting your deadline.

While I am not one to put a timeline on the success of a blog, you may be different. Just make sure that you know what you are working towards before you set a deadline for success.

Do you know what it means to be a productive blogger? If so, you are halfway home. But guess what? Just because you know what it takes to be a productive blogger does not make it easy to fit this mold at all times. 

There are many bloggers who try hard, but when it comes down to it, a lack of productivity never allows them to succeed at a high level. Does this sound familiar? Do yourself a favor and try out the three tips below. They should help you to increase productivity in one way or the next. And if you are serious about blogging, it is imperative that you are as productive as possible at all times. In fact, that statement holds true no matter what type of career you have.

1. If possible, turn blogging into a routine. In other words, write your posts and market your blog at the same time every day. Once you do this for a week or so, you will find that you always leave time for blogging. And when this happens, your productivity is sure to increase.

2. Do you ever find yourself in a writing groove? This is when all the right words come out smoothly, and ideas are flying out of your ears. The next time that you hit a groove like this, go with it. Instead of writing one post and quitting, keep going until you have compiled several quality articles. I am not a big proponent of this, but when I am in the writing groove I always push my limits. After all, this is a much better situation than running into writer’s block.

3. The biggest way to become unproductive is to become distracted. This goes along with number one which states that you need to set time apart for blogging. When you are working on your blog you should turn the television off, put away the potato chips, and get to work. The bottom line is this: if you have an excuse to not concentrate on your blog there is a chance that you will get off track.

You may be surprised to find out that increased productivity will do a lot for you. Not only will it make you feel better about yourself, but it will also go a long way in increasing traffic.