Interested In Freelance Writing? Me Too!

A few days ago, I decided it was time to invest in myself, i.e. my professional skills. I am graduating soon and the future seems… confusing and unfair. So I spent US$10 on the Complete Digital Marketing Course – 12 Courses in 1 on Udemy (original price at $200 but when you sign up you get to buy your first course at a flat rate of $10), in the thought of re-branding myself as a serious, professional freelance writer.

Basically, I’m applying everything I’m learning to my freelance writing career and how I’m going to market it. Every lesson is a step towards accomplishing a specific project or business idea, and my current project… is a new niche blog on freelance writing, which is going to be my first writer’s official website.

A massive update from this blog (in which I’ll nevertheless still post).

So I’m currently at the market research step, in which I get to ask around how my business idea can help you guys. What would you like to see in a freelance writing blog? Whether it’s to improve your writing skills or get started in freelancing, I’d love to get everyone’s input! Especially as readers of my blog, old and new; you guys know my writing best 🙂

Click the button below to fill the survey! It was purposefully built to be completed within 2 minutes!

Launch me

On another note, before starting the course, I had actually asked on Facebook what new niche blog they would like me to build and apart from writing and freelancing advice, the majority also wanted me to create a Survival Guide for University Students blog.
Therefore, I also created a 2-minute survey to ask about everyone’s input on that one; click the button below if you are interested in that particular idea and would like to see it come to life!

Launch me
 
Your responses and ideas matter; without them, I wouldn’t even have considered going forward with any of the two projects. Depending on the responses, I’ll see what I can do and determine whether I should definitely put them into practice.

Thank you for keeping up with me!
An Evil Nymph.

How I Read A Lot—Without Picking Up A Single Book

These past few weeks have been the most hectic ones out of all my semesters in university: juggling among school work, extracurricular work and being a freelancer. I was able to manage it all in the end, but I did neglect something that I consider very important in my life: reading.

I used to read, on average, 30-50 books a year, and we are more than half way into 2016 and I have barely reached 10 completed read books. Shame and horror, I have not even been able to keep up with my daily 25-minutes reading time. Is this what I am becoming/what society is making me become? It reminds me of the time when my friend once said that her mom told her in her teenage years that she should make the most of her reading time while she is young, because once we reach the world of adults… it’s over. I was hoping to contradict this saying, but I believe this year got me.

I also realised that I have been on social media for more hours than I wish I did, however this is how I teamwork in my activities and how I learn about current events for my freelance writing.

Advice on Guest Posting

If you have been following me for a while you should have noticed that guest posts are becoming more and more regular in my blogging schedule.

What is guest posting?

You know, those posts which aren’t written by me, but by someone else – and at the end of the post I place a short bio to credit them? This is a guest post.

You own a blog, and you write most of the articles, then one day, a mail comes in telling you that she/he wants to write for you. Well that’s fine. Less work for me and more exposure for the person, which is then called a guest poster. (I guess)

Okay fine, it’s called a guest blogger.

Sites of the Month: December 2011

A wonderful and festive month is already coming to an end. It’s been a busy but also a fun and enjoyable month. I don’t have that much sites to share with you though because I was mainly trying to keep up with reading your blogs and with going out with my friends in the holidays.

It’s funny though that I did find time to learn cartomancy…

5 Tips to Make Your Website Appear Professional

Another blogging tip for you today! Especially for those who intend to blog or create a website dedicated for real business you know… like ProBlogger.com, About.com…

So you’ve decided to make your living out of a website? These are 5 main things I noticed with professional blogs, company blogs… and you should abide by them to be successful:

1. Keep It Simple

The design should not be extravagant. Professional can mean simple too. Don’t you notice how most of the well-known website have a white background? Your blog should not be too colourful. I’d advise you to choose a neutral colour ranging from white to black. I won’t really recommend black though… I prefer to read black on white than white on black. (Why do you think they changed blackboards to whiteboards?) If you insist on the black you can add some colour but not too much, not too complex. An example of black background but still professional: www.makeupgeek.com.

The font should be simple too. Use Verdana or other similar to that font. It is much easier to read. After all when readers get their first impression of your website (which is always visual) they should be attracted to what is being written and not be distracted by your funky designs… What you communicate through your blog is the most important! About.com is a very good example of all I’ve said so far.

2. Original Banner

Your design might be simple… but it must also be unique. It must be made by you – or your partner or any friend… Your banner, your badge should not be a picture from google. This can follow your imagination. The banner is different from your blog design. A banner can be exaggerated but depending on the subject you’re specialising into, it must perfectly fit in!

3. Advertising but not too much

When I enter a website I don’t like to see lots of advertising popping out of nowhere or preventing me from reading your stuff. I then have to search where the article begins and this is annoying. I feel lost. Therefore most of the time I just go back to google to search for another  “clean” and informative blog.

Of course, you can advertise YOUR blog on search engines, etc as much as you want. Just don’t put in lots of other advertisings in your website itself.

4. The Contact Info Tab

The reader should find it easy to contact you. A tab or notice at the end of each post or page is recommended. Be easily accessible especially if your website involves a company, jobs, services…

5. About YOU

The reader would like to know more about you before contacting you. He wants opinions, an overview on your potential. An About me/us page is crucial! And also: the article should be written IN THE 3rd PERSON! What I mean is instead of writing: “Hi my name is Daphnee (SURNAME), a professional makeup artist. I mainly work in bridal looks…” you should write: “Daphnee (SURNAME) is a professional makeup artist. Her career has mainly been devoted to bridal looks…”

Got it right? You are now ready to start your business! Good luck! 🙂

PS: Don’t mistake my blog for an example because this is NOT a professional blog! 😉

Blogging Yours,

An Evil Nymph.

11 Websites I’m addicted to when I get connected

I’m sure many of you are addicted to some websites in one way or another. Who doesn’t frequently check his facebook profile nowadays? Let’s see if you got the same taste as me. So here’s the Top List:

First and foremost, when I open my browser, I get into my homepage which is Yahoo! So I check my mail…

1. Yahoo! Mail

2. Gmail

Then I check other updates: