Freelance Writing Just Got Better

Co-written by Ken Bradford & Dr. Deborah Bauers

It has been both a privilege and an adventure in co-writing "Writing Better Web Content" with my good friend and colleague, Dr. Deborah Bauers. This book consists of 14 chapters intended to help all writers at all levels to be better storytellers and learn how to better promote their work.

What makes this book different or better?

There are certainly enough books out there to tell us how to write better content, but most of the books I've read don't go into much detail about applying the lessons being taught to the actual everyday experiences and challenges of freelance writers.

Freelance Writers Must Deliver Unique Content

Unique content delivers unique value to the reader

Many content writers seem to get confused about writing quality and unique content. You can
certainly write a quality blog post and still have it rank poorly in the search. The reason could be that the post, even though unique in nature, didn’t actually provide any unique value to the user.

Let’s look at some characteristics that indicate blog and web content isn’t unique unless it delivers unique value to the reader.

The First Key To Successful Blog and Web Content Is Quality

 

Google’s quality guidelines indicates quality content must be unique, valuable, and engaging. These guidelines also ask the question – “Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?” Quality content provides real answers to people’s questions. It’s content that people can easily digest and appreciate because it entertains them or tells them how to do something. Quality content is content that gets quoted, linked to, and shared.

Freelance Writers Creating Evergreen Content

Evergreen content is not timeless, just sustainable.

When you think of “evergreen”, more than likely the pine tree in your back yard or at the park comes to mind.  Evergreen content in your blog or website, like the tree,  stays fresh and alive for long periods.

Many companies have built their businesses using evergreen content marketing techniques. Let’s look at how to create evergreen content that stays relevant to your audience.


Companies like eHow, Wikipedia, IMDB, and About.com have managed to build very large audiences on content that others have created years ago.  These companies manage to keep the information evergreen because editors keep the information current.

It is important to understand that evergreen content is not necessarily timeless; it is content that can be sustained to remain fresh and current.

In Business Blog Writing Does The Length Of The Blog Post Really Matter?

Is the length of a blog article related to its quality?

Freelance blog writing is not as simple as posting to Facebook or other social media.  Successful
business blogging takes planning and the time and patience to deliver quality content to your target audience.  There is a lot of discussion on the right length of a good blog post, but in business blog writing, does the length of the blog post really matter?

Examples Of Blog Elements In Business Blog Writing

 

Let’s look at five elements of a quality blog article and hypothetically assign a word count to each element:

• Title/Heading:  8 words

• Introduction:  80 words

• Conclusion:  75 words

• Call to Action: 70 words

In this example, your article is already 233 words in length and you haven’t written the body of the article yet.  Let’s assume that the body of your article will contain three paragraphs of 75 words each; that would make your entire article 458 words, plus the by-line. This might be sufficient for non-technical articles, but the important thing is – is it long enough to get the job done?

Blog Writers Need A Google Word Processor

If only Google could invent a word processor for freelance blog writers.

Most blog writers seem to be in a dilemma about just what type of blog content people and search
engines like and trust. Since Google appears to be making all the rules in online content marketing, it’s about time  the company designs its own specialized word processor. They certainly have the money and blog writers need a Google word processor.

With the new word processor every blog writer could immediately determine just what quality web content is and how to design it to rank best in search results. Here are some ways that a Google word processor could benefit everyone.

Does Your Word Processor Have A “Title Checker”?

 

If you have made it this far, the title of this article was a success. That’s exactly what blog post titles are supposed to do – get the reader past the first paragraph. Some say that a title should be no more than 70 characters. Others say the title should be 12 words or more. Who’s right? The correct answer is – it really doesn’t matter. The title must be relevant to the article, be eye-catching, and cause the reader to at least scan your article.

If Walt Disney Had Been A Blog Writer

Walt Disney would have been a genius blog writer.

Unfortunately, Walt Disney died in 1966, some 28 years before blogs became more than bulletin
boards and discussion forums. Mr. Disney was a genius and there is no doubt that he would have turned the world of blog writing upside down. Through his work he brought the world joy, happiness and a universal means of communication for all people.

Even though Mr. Disney is no longer with us, his life and his experiences can help every blog writer become better at writing and communicating.

Walt Disney Believed In His Goals

 

If Mr. Disney had been a blog writer, here’s how he would have approached blogging:

“When we consider a project, we really study it–not just the surface idea, but everything about it. And when we go into that new project, we believe in it all the way. We have confidence in our ability to do it right. And we work hard to do the best possible job.”