Tag Archives: Blogging Secrets

Networking Tips for the Self-employed

September 11, 2016 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 54 Comments

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One of the best ways to position yourself as an expert, get new clients and grow your business is to network. You need to learn how to make strong connections with people.
When you network, you put yourself in the midst of people who are your potential clients, those who are in the same niche as you and those you can partner with. With this in mind, you need to make good use of the opportunity you have to network with people. Because of the importance networking has to freelancers and small business owners, I’ve put together a few tips to make each networking experience profitable.
1.    Set a clear goal or purpose for networking
Although networking can be fun and quite informative, you should not forget the real reason why you’re doing it. For this reason you need to have a clearly defined goal you want to achieve at the end of the networking event or meetup. This will keep you focused and encourage you to be strategic about what you talk about and how you conduct yourself to achieve that goal. But remember to have fun in the process. It’s not necessary to be so formal while networking.
2.    Master your elevator pitch
I first heard about the elevator pitch on a Pro Blogger podcast. I have mastered it since then and use it every day to sign up new clients. When you walk up to people or when people approach you, it is likely that they’ll ask you what you do for a living or what business you’re into. Make sure that you know you have your elevator pitch ready. An elevator pitch is a short description of what business you’re into, what you do, who your clients are and what you do for them.
Take time to plan and rehearse your elevator pitch before networking. You have 60 seconds to make a good impression, so make it count.
3.    Keep the conversation going with open-ended questions
Nobody likes an awkward silence, especially when you try to start a conversation with someone. Conversations that are engaging and memorable create a deep connection with the person you’re talking to.
Develop the skill of asking open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are questions that encourage people to answer with sentences.  They encourage a conversation unlike close-ended questions which encourage a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. When you ask open-ended questions you prompt the person to speak more and that keeps the conversation going, which is great for you.
4.    Always carry your business card
When you meet someone who is a potential client or someone you want to connect with in the future, it’s a good practice to share your business card with them. Your business card contains all of your contact details written in one place. It makes you look professional and it saves you the time you would have spent to bring out your phone, share your phone number and store the other person’s number in your phone. I never leave my house without some business cards.
5.    Be yourself
When you’re surrounded by so many accomplished people, there’s a natural urge for you to try to fit in so you won’t feel left out. However, it’s so much easier to just be yourself. Do not forget your true self all in the name of trying to impress a couple of people. Be real. Stay authentic, but polite. Those who will be your clients or friends will love and appreciate you for who you are.

 

How do you network? Do you have any tips to share? Sound off in the comment section please.

Thanks for reading.

6 Facts about Writing for Huffington Post

September 7, 2016 By in Blogging Tips Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 85 Comments

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There’s nothing as exciting as writing for a highly recognized and respected website like Huffington Post! I was so thrilled when I got accepted to be a Huffington Post blogger. There are plenty of opportunities hidden behind writing for Huffington Post. It all depends on how you make use of these opportunities. There are some writers who do not encourage writing for Huffington Post, and there are some who are blatantly against it. I am neither, I am all about how to make the most of any opportunity I get and writing for Huffington Post when I have the time does have its perks. It all depends on how you make use of the opportunities Huffington Post offers you. Here are 6 facts you should know about writing for Huffington Post:
1.    Huffington Post does not pay its bloggers
This is one of the main reasons many writers are against writing for Huffington Post, and they are right –to some degree – to feel upset for not getting paid for their hard work. What they don’t know is that you can land sponsorship deals with businesses and advertisers. The money that you’d get from those deals will be adequate compensation for the hard work you put in writing for Huffington Post. Sometimes we have to look at things differently to see the big picture. I choose to write freshly written articles Huffington Post on rare occasions (I have written only once this year) because I need the credibility, I want to be able to reach a wider audience, and I want the freedom to write certain articles I won’t want to publish on my blog.
2.    Huffington Post does not publicize your articles
Promotion is not Huffington Post’s responsibility. It’s yours. You are responsible for your success as a Huffington Post blogger. Promotions can be a lot of work but it is extremely rewarding. As you share your posts on social media or to your subscribers in your email list, you are creating awareness about your writing skills. This is a good way of attracting clients to yourself.
3.    Writers can leverage on Huffington Post’s prestige
This means a lot for a Huffington Post blogger. Having the articles you published on Huffington Post looks very good in your portfolio. Since Huffington Post’s credibility is known all over, people will respect you as a writer. This opens doors for paid opportunities.
4.    It validates your work
You know how competitive it is in the writing space – in fact, any industry. So when you pitch for work, you have to compete against so many other people pitching just like you. Saying that you’re a Huffington Post blogger sets you apart from the crowd. It creates the impression that you are skilled and credible. Since you were able to make it to Huffington Post, this gives you an edge over other applicants.
5.    Huffington Post allows you to republish your earlier work
Unlike some websites that don’t allow you to republish your posts anywhere else, Huffington Post gives you the opportunity to do so if you wish. This is time-saving, especially when you’re also trying to maintain your own blog. You can republish your earlier blog posts on Huffington Post while you concentrate on creating new content for your blog. However I always write freshly written articles for Huffington Post, I don’t like confusing Google by republishing my blog content but many writers do. At the end of the day, the choice is yours.
6.    Access to exposure on Huffington Post
Huffington Post is very popular and it receives a high dose of traffic from its loyal readers. When you write for Huffington Post your article gets a chance to be viewed by several readers on Huffington Post. This helps to increase exposure to your article as well as to all the other articles you had written for Huffington Post. You may also get traffic and new followers on your blog and social media platforms if you include your links at the end of your articles.

 

Do you write for Huffington Post? Would you consider writing for Huffington Post? Do share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thanks for reading.

Inspiration or Outright Copying?

August 14, 2016 By in Blogging Tips Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 88 Comments

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Lets talk getting inspiration or outright copying in the blogosphere.There’s a very thing line between inspiration and outright copy. It’s a good thing to be inspired by other bloggers. You only have a problem when you are ‘too inspired’. Whether it is photography, design or writing, copying continues to be a serious problem in the blogging industry and I wonder why. Imagine spending hours thinking, researching and crafting your masterpiece, only for someone to copy almost everything you’ve done. It makes me angry and upset just thinking about it.
We should all strive to produce unique quality content every time. And we should take pride in our work. The uniqueness we posses is what makes us stand out as individuals, as bloggers. No two human beings can create the same content. You would have to have lived my life, and I would have had to live yours!

Being original is so very important, but it is ok to be inspired. We all get inspiration from somewhere, I know I get inspiration from some of my favourite blogs. Inspiration gives birth to something new, while copying is a reproduction of the original. Have you come across a blog whose content sparks an idea? The blog post becomes a starting point, a foundation upon which you build something that reflects who you are and your style or brand. What is produced is a completely different variation from the blog that sparked the idea. Copying does not do that. It clones the original. It makes no addition, no change in perspective absolutely nothing. The copied content is just a mirror of the original.
An inspired piece is backed up with hard work, while a copied piece requires little or no effort. When a blog inspires you to create something, you’re always motivated to do your own research to make your piece unique. To make your work stand out, you put in time and effort to make your article reflect your views. The other blog inspired you to do your discovery and make your own post. A copied article is hardly backed by any effort. It is written down almost verbatim. The only time spent was to recreate the original blog post, which can be very annoying for the copied blogger.
A blog post is inspired if it reflects you but it’s copied if it reflects the originator of the post. It is as simple as that. When you write a blog post that was inspired by someone else, your blog post will always reflect your personality, your thoughts and your feelings. Someone else might have inspired your article but there’s hardly any trace of that person’s thoughts, personality or style. The post truly reflects who you are. It’s easy to tell if a blog post is copied. A copied blog post reflects only the original owner’s thoughts and personality. Although you reproduced it, there is no trace of anything that reflects you in the article.
There are obvious differences between inspiration and copying. No matter how cautious you try to be, it’s always good to play safe. Don’t copy. Be original. But seek inspiration and give credit where due. It’s only fair to acknowledge the originator even if you didn’t copy.

 

What are your thoughts on inspiration or outright copying? Sound off in the comment section please.

 

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