Tuesday, 1 November 2011

How to make money writing online stories

There are networking sites out there that attempt to link business communities but they can't compete with the level of accuracy, detail and personal touch you or I can bring as local writers in our respective communities. You are local to the area so you know the business community and can bring that local touch and feel that will connect with your neighbors. I'll be honest with you, it's a lot of work developing these Story Sites but once you get the word out and businesses in your area begin seeing the benefits of your online network they will be happy to pay you to write for them. And compared to the hundreds and even thousands of dollars they are likely paying for newspaper, radio and television advertising, chances are you will get a fair price for your work here. I only charge a small fraction of what they would pay for comparable newspaper advertising and I I certainly can't complain with what I'm making. By following the ideas I am about to lay out, you can create your own online business network and make some decent money in the process.

Pick a target community

The first thing you need to do is designate a business area where you can begin focusing your efforts. A small city with a defined downtown business district with at least 20 businesses is a good choice. If you live in an urban area choose a particular business district or block to focus on. And if possible stay in familiar territory. The closer to where you live the better because you will likely be doing onsite interviews and photos for your stories. And if you can do it in an area where you are already familiar with the people and businesses the better off you will be as well. Just try following that whole concept about writing on what you know and you should be okay. The more you know your area more success you will have getting your online business community up and running.

You might write for free at first

You will likely need to start by giving a discount to the first five or so businesses you write about. You might even consider writing them for free to get the ball rolling. Try to be diverse in the businesses you choose at first so businesses that you approach later on have a variety of examples to look at when considering whether to buy your pitch.

Write with timelessness in mind

When writing your stories you want to choose topics that will remain pertinent for readers during every season and for years to come. Talking about a store's grand opening is great for the local newspaper but it means nothing for an online story that will be on the Internet when that same store is entering its fifth year in business. Now there are instances where the business owner may insist that you mention that grand opening and in those cases you should keep the customer happy by writing what they wish but be sure to explain to them why you discourage it.

Research your subject

Before doing your interviews do your research on the business. Ask them for copies of marketing materials they use or any stories written in the past. Study their Web site, if they have one. Walk through the business and see what is unique about it. I did a story on a Native American artist who displayed an American flag in the front of his gallery. After seeing the flag on my first visit to the gallery, I remembered it during our interview later on and asked him about it. He told me a story about how he was given the flag by an Army unit stationed in Iraq as a thank you after he designed bear claw necklaces for every one of the soldiers in the unit. It was an observation I made while walking through his shop that became a great lead to a interesting Story Site story that would eventually help drive traffic to his site and customers to his gallery.

Photos make the story

Photos are the second most important element beyond the story itself. And in some cases, with the right photographer shooting, a photo can stand alone and tell the story without words. Catchy headlines and good writing can only do so much to capture a Web visitor's attention. Photos will grab a curious person's eye, pulling them into the story to read and learn about the business. So take plenty of photos. Try to have people in them whenever possible and write a caption below each photo sharing with your readers what is in the photo. The more information you give the better it will work to attract and keep the attention of your visitors. And the longer they stay at your Story Site the better chances they will find interest with the business and find out where it is located and the hours it is open - all information that should be included in the story.

Getting visitors from online to onsite

The story itself is a nice way to convey useful information to prospective customers, but the main objective of the story is to lure those people from behind their computers and into the business. So be sure to prominently display 1) the store's complete physical address, 2) any phone numbers and 3) the hours they are open. If the business has Web site and e-mail links include them as imbedded link with the rest of the contact information. Be sure to include exact directions to where the business is located with a MapQuest or other online mapping link. So if the business is at  make sure there is a link in the contact information leading straight to that location on a MapQuest page. The bottom line is - short of driving them there yourself - make it as easy as possible, using direct links and accurate information, for the visitor to find everything they need to get to that business.

Friday, 28 October 2011

Make money fast today!!!


Making Money From Home
There are a lot of ways to make money from home which is perfect whether you’re a stay at home mom, student, currently unemployed or just need some extra cash. Everyone could use some extra cash, especially in this economy. Sure, you probably think that all of the make money fast things you here online or on TV are scams. However, many aren’t. There are some actual sites out there where you can make money online from the privacy of your own home. Believe it or not you can make quite a bit of extra income if you find the right one. Many places give you sites where they expect you to pay for a product; those are the sites to stay away from. Why should you have to pay to make money? Remember, you’re trying to earn money from home for you.
The first thing to do is to think about what you like to do and think about how you can earn money doing that particular thing. If you like administrative work, try to find at home data entry positions. There are some out there if you know where to look. If you’re interested in receiving a free newsletter by mail with daily home based jobs visit www.moneyvoucher.blogspot.com.com. From here, you’ll receive a daily newsletter filled with jobs from data entry to freelance writing.
If you like freelance writing jobs, I recommend textbroker.com. At textbroker.com you pick and choose your writing assignments at your leisure. Plus you get paid regularly. You don’t have to wait for views of your work to get paid like many of these other companies. It’s not based on that.
Learning how to make money from home isn’t that hard. You just need to weed out the good offers from the bad. Now that may take some time, but it’s worth it in the end when you actually do find the right one and begin making that extra cash. Plus, the great thing about working from home is you get to pick your own hours. If you choose the right offer, many places offer anywhere from $50-$500/week, maybe more. This of course involves marketing part or full time.

Wednesday, 26 October 2011

Online article writing opportunity

Every website needs contents. The more the quality of its articles, the more satisfied its visitors are, and the easier it is to make them come back, buy something or click on links that would make the site's owner money.
However, a lot of website owners are not able to write articles, and they don't think it is worth it disturbing their heads learning how to write their articles themselves when they could simply employ  writers to do it for them.
For the website owners who could write articles, they have nevertheless found out it will be killing for them to continue to write articles to update their websites, some of which having hundreds of pages. To them, it is far more rewarding to outsource the writing to freelance article writers, pay them a few dollar per article, and save themselves time for other things.
In fact, the goal of many webmasters is to build dozens of websites in different markets and accumulate earnings from them all - this is how they make millions of dollars from the Internet yearly.
Certainly, these webmasters never try to write the articles for the websites themselves, therefore they have to find freelance writers from any part of the world who can do it for them at a reasonable fee.
The demand for freelance article writers as content providers for websites has grown remarkably consistently over the years as millions of websites are created and uploaded to the Internet. 

Tuesday, 25 October 2011

Have You Ever Considered Working Online?

Have You Ever Considered Working Online?
Kelly Richards from Brooklyn, NY never thought that she would, until curiosity got the best of her and she filled out a simple online form. Before she knew it, she discovered her secret to beating the recession, and being able to provide for her family while at home with her three children.
I read Kelly's blog last month and decided to feature her story in our local job report. In our phone interview she told me her amazing story. "I basically make about $6,000-$8,000 a month online. It's enough to comfortably replace my old jobs income, especially considering I only work about 10-13 hours a week from home.
Working online has been a financial windfall for Kelly, who struggled for months to find a decent job but kept hitting dead ends. "I lost my job shortly after the recession hit, I needed reliable income, I was not interested in the "get rich quick" scams you see all over the internet. Those are all pyramid scams or stuff where you have to sell to your friends and family. I just needed a legitimate way to earn a living for me and my family. The best part of working online is that I am always home with the kids, I save a lot of money."

How to make money from your blog: 5 tips


blogging   Many people who write blogs today simply want to share their opinion on something. But then there are the business-minded folks, who have found a way to use blogs, or Web logs, to bring in a little extra cash too.
If you're interested in taking it further — blogging for bucks, if you will — here are five strategies that could turn your blog into a moneymaker.
1. Sell advertising. This is likely the most common means of leveraging a blog to generate income. If yours happens to become a well-known blog, or one that is well-received in a particular niche, it's always possible to sell ad space on your own.  services such as Google's AdSense or BlogAds, bloggers can establish ad programs. AdSense's — which lets you select several ads that are consistent with the content of your blog — pays you based on how many readers click on the ads for further information. Even better, it's free. BlogAds, on the other hand, hooks bloggers up with would-be advertisers and levies a commission in return for any ad placements that result. "The nice thing, too, is that the ads are relatively unobtrusive," says Scott Allen, co-author of The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online.
2. Help sell others' products. Here is another click-through opportunity. Affiliate programs enable your blog to serve as a conduit between readers and online sites offering various goods and services. One popular choice is Amazon.com. If, for instance, you offer book reviews or even just mention a book in passing in your blog, an affiliate program provides a means for your readers to click directly from your blog to Amazon to obtain further information about the book.
If they break out the checkbook or charge card, you get paid as well.
3. Solicit contributions. Not every blog-related income opportunity involves hawking goods or services. As Blanche DuBois said in A Streetcar Named Desire, consider relying on the kindness of strangers. Ask for contributions. If, for instance, your small-business blog supports a cause or issue in some fashion — say you repeatedly mention tax reform, health care or some other topic — you can always ask for reader support. Even if you've attracted a group of regular followers who simply enjoy reading what you have to say, they may be willing to underwrite their loyalty with a little financial help. Programs such as PayPal make it easy to establish a simple on-site contribution collection button. "There are lots of worthy 'cause' blogs that would qualify for donations from grateful members of the blog community," says Las Vegas communications consultant Ned Barnett.
4. Market your services in your blog. Many people associate blogs exclusively with a cyberspace-based soapbox — a place to shout your opinions and little more than that. Granted, blogs are an ideal venue to share your thoughts with others, but don't overlook their capacity to generate new business as well. When appropriate, work in references to what you do and, in turn, what you may be able to offer any would-be client or customer who may be reading your blog. That can spread your opinion and your business moxie at the same time."Instead of short commentaries that begin a dialogue with readers, as many blogs do, I write the equivalent of journal articles that demonstrate my abilities, strategies and perspectives on specific issues," Barnett says. "When it resonates, it means money. Since starting this approach, I have generated three new paying clients and brought in about $10,000 on revenue — directly attributable to specific blogs."
5. Use a blog to deepen your existing customer relations. Nor does any marketing material inserted in blog content have to be limited to bringing in completely new business. By using a blog to regularly communicate with existing clients as well as other readers, you can take advantage of the opportunity to fully inform them about everything your business does. That may expand your readers' understanding of the full scope of your products or services."My blog has helped existing clients determine the range of my skills and services," says Ted Demopoulos of Demopoulos Associates, a Durham, N.H. consulting and training concern. "One client who had only used me for training in the past was surprised at my range of expertise and is now using me for a consulting project. Another who only used me on technical projects is now considering me for a more business-oriented project."
 

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