Tag Archives: Joe Wallace

advice, editorial

Top Five Freelance Writing Noob Mistakes To Avoid

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What’s a noob? A Noob is a newbie. A newcomer. Someone who hasn’t quite learned the basics yet. What’s wrong with being a noob? Nothing. What’s wrong with letting an editor THINK you’re a noob? EVERYTHING. You may be new, but you don’t have to make the mistakes your fellow newcomers will.

Be more competitive and edge out those other so-and-sos but taking heed to these five freelance writing noob mistakes. Some are so common you’ll want to bite your thumbs off in embarrassment for even coming CLOSE to making them. Only one directly pertains to dealing with editors, but at least one other one will give you a serious competitive edge in your writing. Many noobs fail to heed this advice to their peril. Don’t be one of them;

5. Admitting up front “I have no experience.” Never lead off a query letter by saying you have no publication experience. If you don’t have any experience, just DON’T MENTION IT. If the editor ASKS you for clips, THEN address the issue. If your query letter has caught someone’s eye, you have a much better chance if you let them ask rather than wave a big, red flag.

4. Spending a lot of money on writer’s market books. Books that have market information can be a GREAT help, and don’t think I am saying NOT to buy them. I am saying that you should make your purchases carefully and try to save your money. Use the library, do your research online and spend wisely. You will learn many things from all kinds of books. Don’t invest in resources to find markets until you know the game well enough to understand what size markets are right for you at this point in your career. Here’s THE SECRET about writer’s markets: If everybody knows about a particular market and it’s well represented in the writer’s market guides online and in print, how many thousands of queries do you think those poor editors get in a single day? That’s right, enough to paper the San Fernando Valley.

3. NOT buying a copy of the AP Style Guide and The Elements of Style. I have been writing since 1987, I am very nearly to the point of bringing in six figures a year from my writing and editing work and I train and mentor new/intermediate writers. And I still use these two books regularly. They are THE resources you need to improve your work no matter how long you’ve been playing the game. These two books are cheap and short, full of the best knowledge you can get about the actual mechanics of good writing. Continue reading Top Five Freelance Writing Noob Mistakes To Avoid →

advice

Top 20 Words That Can Kill Your Query or Newsletter

Does your newsletter suck? Is your query letter a piece of crap? You’re probably doing everything right, telling the story, and making the pitch; is your e-mail actually getting read? Freelancers who want to write newsletters for other companies or to enhance their own blogs often run into one big problem in the early days of learning the ropes; getting snagged by spam filters on Gmail and Microsoft Outlook.

How can you avoid getting snagged by a spam filter? Two simple things can help:

1. Avoid spammy keywords in the subject line of your newsletter in general.

2. Avoid spammy keywords in the headlines of your newsletter or query.

While much of this is critical for newsletter writing, freelancers should NOT dismiss this article just because you don’t write newsletters. Spammy subject lines and headlines can cause a perfectly legit newsletter or query to be devoured by the spam filter, reducing your chances of getting read to zero. Don’t miss out on the chance to be read.

Take this list of spam keywords to heart and learn how to exterminate them from your vocabulary–at least where the subject lines and headlines are concerned. You may never think about sending a query letter with the words “Adults Only” in the subject line, but one day you might just want to write an article about sexual health or the affects of certain foods on the libido, recovering from surgery or any hundreds of other ideas where some of these spammy keywords could creep into your subject lines.

Top Ten Spam Keywords to Avoid in Subject Lines: Continue reading Top 20 Words That Can Kill Your Query or Newsletter →

advice, resources

Google Analytics 101 for Bloggers: What’s a Bounce Rate?

If you have a writing resume site, freelance blog, or any other kind of online destination, you owe it to yourself to install Google Analytics to properly track and measure your success on the web.

Once you’ve got Google Analytics up and running, one of the first things you will notice is a statistic called the Bounce Rate. For seasoned bloggers, this is a very well-known term, but if you are just getting started, the Bounce Rate is something you need to get literate on, with speed. Aren’t you glad we’re here to help? I’ll try to wipe the self-satisfied grin off my face.

The Bounce Rate in GA is used to identify how long your visitors actually stay on your website. This metric is probably the only one you can rely on as an across-the-board way to view how well you do on the web. Why? It’s simple. Bounce rate determines what some call the “customer experience”. If you land on a website and see that it’s not what you wanted and leave quickly, you’ve BOUNCED. Continue reading Google Analytics 101 for Bloggers: What’s a Bounce Rate? →

resources

Freelance Networking: Events and Seminars

I returned this weekend from my trip to NYC with a head full of ideas. I was a panelist for the Fair Media Council’s Connection Day, and for some reason it never occurred to me that there would be displays and booths set up by industry people advertising their services. I pictured the whole day as nothing but seminars and meetings. Wrong!

Then I realized that many others probably thought the same thing, but these journalism events can be quite a boon for a smart freelancer. What’s the last thing you’d expect to find at an event where the sole purpose is to help PR and marketing people better understand and connect with the media?

How about a bunch of booths set up by companies that use freelancers for their articles, web content and feature pieces? Naturally, these booths were set up to market the services rather than find new writers, but you can see where a huge networking opportunity exists. Never underestimate the power of your local chamber of commerce events, journalism and PR organizations and other groups that **seem** to have little to do with your needs as a freelancer. I talked to three different reps from companies all actively seeking writers, and the consensus is naturally “We’re not looking for writers. We’re looking for GOOD writers.”

These companies offer you a chance to write at levels beyond web content sites and SEO marketing gigs beginners often wind up using to further their career, and if you are reaching the point in your freelance writing work where you feel the need to move to the next level of pay, responsibility and quality in your assignments, these are the people you’ll want to connect with.  Check the web for the next media-related event near you or a chamber of commerce meet and greet. You may be surprised at what you find.

advice, editorial

Ten Habits of Highly Paid Freelance Writers

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Freelancers with big paydays have many things in common, the least of which is the business savvy to know those paychecks don’t always come as often as they should. In 2008 I moved out of the low-to-mid 30s into a much higher income bracket thanks to respecting most if not all of the things you’ll find on this list. Not everything on the list is true for everybody, but some of this will be true for EVERYBODY who tries to earn a full-time living working from home whether you are a freelance writer, voice talent, any career path you choose.

10. Highly paid freelancers aren’t highly paid all the time. This is Rule One and should be the cornerstone of all financial planning. This leads us to the next rule.

9. Highly paid freelancers are forward thinking and plan for the worst. Never assume that the fat pile of cash you make today is going to last even until next week. You should have something better than a rainy day fund; highly paid freelancers have a “The Sky Is Falling” fund.

8. Freelancers don’t start off being highly paid, but if they persist, hone their writing/marketing skills and don’t give up, their business will expand over time. 50% of your competition will drop out before you get discouraged enough to think about quitting. Don’t join them.

7. Highly paid freelancers get many assignments from editors they already know. This comes after a lot of networking and making contacts in the business. You don’t start out with those contacts overnight—much of developing these relationships is about trust building. Be trustworthy and your relationships will develop.

6. Highly paid freelancers share what they know. If you aren’t volunteering to help struggling freelancers on the career rung below yours, you could be doing yourself a disservice. Get involved in the writing community. Insulated, homebody writers look at their yearly earnings and wonder why they can’t get to the next stage in their careers. Reference this with #7 and see if you notice a pattern of advice forming here. Continue reading Ten Habits of Highly Paid Freelance Writers →

editorial

Connection Day, Thursday October 16th in Long Island

Today I am writing this from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, where I’m waiting to catch a plane to Long Island. I’m flying out to NY to be a panelist at Fair Media Council’s Connection Day. I’m part of the morning session called How To Develop Relationships With the Media, and an afternoon workshop called Speed Pitching, which gives people a chance to learn techiques to effectively pitch stories to the media and get coverage.

Fair Media Council has spent the last 30 years fighting for quality coverage of news. Their focus is both on accuracy in media and coverage of actual news stories as opposed to non-events, fluff and “issues” that distract people from real problems. It’s an organization I’ve been aware of for some time as a columnist for LongIslandExchange.com, but this will be my first participation in an FMC event. It should be a great time, I look forward to filing a report from Connection Day!

Connection Day is held at the Long Island Hilton in Huntington and runs from 8-4PM tomorrow, October 16th.  If you’d like to attend, the Hilton is at 598 Broad Hollow Road, Melville, New York and Connection Day is in the ballroom.