Professional Freelance Writing

Keeping Your Website Updated

Trina L Grant — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 06:20:00 GMT

Have you ever been so bored one workfree afternoon (what's that, you say?) you found yourself mindlessly perusing your own website (people do that, how sad, huh?) when you stumble upon a typo that has been there this whole time, starting you and the rest of the English-speaking world (and non-English speakers with Bing Translator, I suppose, if you're that hot) in the face to mock your very perfect view of your current setup. Does that knock your mojo a little off-center, because it does mine.

Now, let's get back to to the question of even looking at your own website. If you are not constantly checking and updating your site, you are wasting your time and money even having one. You might as well kick it back to the old free blog on Blogger, hang up a shingle that will stand the test of time, and call it a day. Now sit back and wait for your doorbell to grow cobwebs. And so you tell yourself, well, you are a writer, not a web designer. Once you have it set up and looking pretty cool, you're better off leaving it that way so you won't mess anything up, right? Wrong.

Look mom, I swear you will not break the VCR and irretrievably damage it if you merely practice trying to set the clock. After all, you taught me practice makes perfect, right? Now unless you want to be stuck sitting at home watching and beta (and for those of you who are too young to know I'm not referring to anything having to do with a PC, just sit back and ignore this part), you better practice, practice, practice, until you have at least a working understanding of your website's basic design features. Now I personally use GoDaddy.com, and I have found, that for me, without having much to compare it to, it is pretty inexpensive for the ease-of -use it offers, and I cannot imagine customer service agents being more helpful.

The point is, you have to keep your website, no matter how plain or fancy updated, refreshed with new content as often as possible, and as relevant as possible. The days of business cards are long gone, my friend. You can't just park your shingle and call it a day. The guy next door is out there repainting his business every day, and has a new blinking sign out there every week. You're doomed if you don't jump on the technology bandwagon.

But, if you are like me and not such a website-savvy writer, you will be pleased to know there is hope for us. You pick one of the little programs like Website Tonite, which is what I use to keep my website all lovely, and you put together and aesthetic template you like. Then, you just place some writing here there and everywhere, and keep it constantly updated. If you will notice on my front page, on the right sidebar, I have a place there where I can share interesting stories and news from the freelance writing world. I save the good stuff for this blog, of course.

Anyway, there's your admonishment to keep up your website, not just your blog. And you shouldn't just dust off the telephone numbers and email addresses either. Update the information. And don't forget keep it fresh, interesting, and relevant! Now, go write!

Free Business School in Six-Minute Increments

Trina L Grant — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:33:38 GMT

Bob Parsons of GoDaddy.com is one of the most brilliant self-made businessmen I have every encountered. He has an irreverent style that many may find grating and even somewhat off-putting, but you can't deny the man is an ingenue. Bob has built two businesses from scratch and is now a multi-millionaire. Now, I'm not usually in the business of giving anyone free advertising, least of all self-made multi-millionaires. But I felt it my obligation to share what I have found with my fellow business professionals and small business owners. Bob has a video blog that is not only humorous and entertaining, but is also chock-full of great information about running your own business. He doesn't stick with the techie stuff either. Most of his advice is not about domain names and hosting, but about marketing and advertising and running a small business.

Bob has definitely done things his way. He picked up on the idea of 'sex sells', and ran with it. His now infamous GoDaddy.com commercials featuring race car driver Danicka Patrick, not to mention several other women worthy of a Playboy cover are often somewhat salacious and definitely push the envelope on taste. However, the man knows what grabs people's attention, and he is not above starting a little controversy to get noticed. His site is the number one ICANN site on the internet, so something he is doing is working.

Most of Bob's advice is simple, sensible tips to draw traffic to websites, which, of course, is his forte. He advises subscribers on drawing traffic to their blog and website, advertising on and off the internet, picking good domain names, amongst many other goodies. It truly is like a business course in six-minute increments. I'm sure people who are attracted to 'stacked' women in outfits reminiscent of Hooters uniforms will be equally as pleased with the "smoking hot babes" he uses as sidekicks to help him get his message across.

The thing I think I like best about this guy is that he gives out all this free advice (which is priceless, seriously), and that's it. Just when you are expecting him to say, "And don't forget folks, all '.net' domain names are 10% off this week!", you get...nothing. He never advertises his own products and services in his vlogs. Just advice. He does, of course, manage to slip the advertisements in there. What kind of businessman would he be if he didn't? Certainly not as successful as he is. But he is very clever about the way he does it. He saves the debut of his 'internet only' commercials for the end of his vlog broadcast. The commercials inevitably have some curvaceous, sexy woman (or women) talking in low tones, with much innuendo. But Bob himself never makes a play for the hard sell, and his commercials are introduced as if they were merely bits of raw entertainment at the end of the lesson. Brilliant.

What clever ideas to you use to bring traffic to your site or blog? Have you yet ventured into the mysterious world of podcasts and vlogs? Let us know what you think!!

Welcome Back, Freelancer!

Trina L Grant — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:44:14 GMT

BACK ONLINE AND RELISHING IT! My dear readers, I thank you for your patience while I have worked on upgrading and improving the site. Whew! It has been some work. I am now far more knowledgable about domain names and such, so maybe all the hassle was worth it. Y'all let me know what you think about the new look and format. So, having been out of the loop for some time, I'm going to be honest and tell you I'm going to recycle a couple of popular posts, while I gather new information to tickle your literary fancy. I am also still in the process of moving the old blog over here (more learning going on, no doubt), so bear with me while I work through the kinks and bugs. My sincere hope and stolid plan is to have the site and blog up and running smoothly by the end of April. I'm giving myself leeway here. So, here are a few of my favorite posts (still parked at the old blog, but still as readably delicious)!

BUILDING AN ENDURING BLOG PRESENCE

DO YOU EXPRESS YOUR BELIEFS IN YOUR WRITING & NETWORKING?

SCHEDULING

WAFFLERS WELCOME

FIVE TIPS FOR INTERACTIVE, ENGAGING BLOGGING

HOW TO GAIN EXPOSURE AS A FREELANCE WRITER

FREELANCE FOR MRS. HOTPANTS

WHEN SUCCESS HURTS YOUR BUSINESS

DO YOU KNOW HOW VALUABLE YOU ARE?

FREELANCE OUT-SOURCING A POPULAR ALTERNATIVE TO MARKETING FIRMS

ARE YOU READY TO TAKE THE FREELANCE PLUNGE?