I want to apologize for the delay in getting to this post. I was recently in a car accident and suffered severe whiplash; am getting better with the help of a wonderful chiropractor.

Sincerely,

Yuwanda Black, Publisher
InkwellEditorial.com
InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com

**************************

Now, on to the much-delayed Part III of this post, Lessons Learned from Two Years of Blogging.

Lesson 11: Reference other blogs. Referencing other blogs means that you must read other blogs. Much like reading a newspaper to know what’s going on in the world, read other blogs to find out what’s going on in the blogosphere.

POST CONTINUED BELOW
*************************

Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com to learn how.

*************************

Lesson 12: Stay on top of blog technology. Referencing other blogs benefits you in numerous ways, namely:

i) Updates you on new blog technology. Want to learn which technology allows you to blog faster, make more money, advertise your blog better, etc.? Like all mediums, blog technology changes rapidly. Consult other blogs to stay abreast of it.

FYI, Darren Rowse’s blog, problogger.net, is a great one to consult about all things related to blogs – software, increasing income, pervading opinions on blogging, etc.

ii) Increases your blog’s rank. Especially if you link to high-ranked blogs like http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com, http://www.thegoldenpencil.com, and http://www.writersweekly.com.

Lesson 13: Copyright your material. Many blog without ever thinking about how they might earn income from it down the line. Most think in terms of making money from the ads that appear on their blog.

BUT, you never know when your ideas – the text itself – can become invaluable. I copyright all of my material. Why? A little story:

I was watching Oprah one day and Dolly Parton was her guest. She asked her about her finances and where most of her income came from. She said from her songs, as in, the publishing rights to the library of over 3,000 songs she’d written.

When Whitney Houston recorded I Will Always Love You (yes, that was written as a country song by Dolly), she said she made a mint. Her songs have been sampled, re-recorded used in movies (she wrote the hit, Working 9 to 5, for the popular movie, in which she starred), etc.

Every time any of these happened, she was paid.

So, while it may seem like your copy is disappearing into a black hole on the net and no one cares about it but you, you never know who is reading it and may have a valuable use for it.

Lesson 14. Make your blog posts serve double duty. What do I mean? Each entry I make into my blog serves three purposes:

i) first and foremost, it’s a blog post;

ii) second, I circulate this material to free article directories to drive subscribers to my site; and

iii) sell it whenever possible.AssociatedContent.com pays for content – whether it’s been published before, or not. It’s a nominal payment (pay ranges from a low of $3 up on up to $40), but I figure, as long as I’ve written the material, I might as well get paid for it.

Other Ways Your Blogging Can Pay

a) It serves as a body of work to show to potential clients; b) You can dig deeper into a topic – I try to keep my posts to between 700-900 words. See my 10/10/06 post for why I think this is an ideal length for articles/blog posts.

You can also do a web search for an article I wrote entitled, Why Longer Articles Make You More Money. It’s found on several sites on the web.

However, many times I’ve written a post and wanted to learn more about a subject in order to sell the piece, which I go on to do. This brings me to my next lesson:

Lesson 15. Use series whenever possible. Many write to me wanting to know how I find fresh topics to write about, especially as I write within a niche. One of the ways I expand posts so that I don’t run out of material -- which you never have to worry about even if you don’t use this tip -- is to write series (eg, Part I, Part II, etc.).

Like soap opera cliffhangers, series not only allow you to break longer posts into smaller ones, it gives readers a reason to come back. If readers think enough of your writing to return again and again, before long, you will build a loyal readership who come to trust and rely on your blog.

Lesson 16. Link back to articles on your blog. Why? Quite simply, I find that it creates connectivity and gives readers a sense that you really know what you’re talking about.

If you’ve written a body of work that is so valuable that readers can find useful info in posts from a year ago, then you’re on your way to becoming more than just a blog; you’re building a resource – with you as the “expert.”

Tomorrow’s Post: Cash in My Pocket -- Some Benefits I’ve Derived from Blogging (And How You Can, Too!)
*************************

Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com to learn how.

*************************

Like what you read here? Find the content useful and informative? Subscribe to the Inkwell Editorial feed (under the LINKS section to your right) to receive new content immediately upon publishing. OR, email your address to subscribe and receive job listings -- immediately!