I met a very interesting man the other day. He’s in his 60s or 70s (not sure), and still writes every single day “just to stay sharp.” We had a nice conversation about writing, and one of the things he talked about what “really seeing.”

Image: sxc.hu

He said that as a professor in the past, he once brought in a milk carton an asked his students to describe it. Yes, it’s a carton. Yes, it’s cardboard. Yes, it’s white. What else? How many cows are on the label? Are they sitting or standing? What kind of nutritional information is on the label? What color is the sell-by date ink? How does it open? What is the carton’s texture?

We see milk cartons ever day, but we rarely really see them. It isn’t just milk cartons. It’s your whole world.

Sometimes finding inspiration is just about looking at the mundane items around you. Explore your work. Really look at things and see them. You might be surprised at what you find.

I’m officially declaring war on writer’s block, distractions, and procrastination during the month of July. Maybe it’s just me, but the summer months always seem to drag. Well, at least, they do when I’m working. I feel sluggish and uninspired. I can barely force myself to do the work I have to do to pay the bills, let alone work on fun personal projects.

Image: sxc.hu

I blame the sun. During the summer, there’s nothing better than sitting outside by the pool and sipping Sangria or sweet tea. Hell, I can even stay motivated to work out during the summer because it means that I get to go outside and run.

I’m trying not to fall behind on bills and dip into savings this month, like I always seem to do during the summer…and I hope you’ll all join me in swatting away writer’s block and other distractions. Yes, the sun is shining, but if we help one another, we can have a productive, profitable summer. Here are some of the things I have planned for July:

• Writer Interviews: Writers from around the web have come to Bizzia to offer advice on beating writer’s block and finding inspiration among distractions. I’ll be posted a few every week. Yes, you can still participate! (click here)
• Motivation from Masters: What have famous writers and other personalities said about staying motivated? Learn tricks and tips from the masters.
• Inspiration Clinic: Places to find inspiration and inspiration-themed questions answered.
• Procrastination Posts: If you have to surf the ‘net, at least read about the art of writing. I’ll group together the best posts of the week to help you find awesome advice from great bloggers.

Let’s kick some writer’s block/procrastination tushie this summer!

Staying motivated is one of the hardest parts of freelance writing, in my opinion. Writer’s block. Inspiration. The desire to work and do well. Some days, the sun is shining and the pool is calling my name…and I don’t really care how many articles are left unfinished on my plate.

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So, I want to know how you guys and gals stay motivated. If you have five minutes of time, I’d love to hear your answers to a little motivation and writer’s block questionnaire I’ve created. I’ll post responses here (along with links back to your website(s)) starting next month!

If you’re interested in answering the four questions, email me at allison-at-abcontentonline.com with “Writer’s Questions” in the subject line!

Many people mix up fewer and less. These words are pretty easy to understand, though, once someone actually tells you the rule. Maybe high schools these days aren’t teaching this rule?

The Grammar Police have less patience for mistakes than most people. Image: sxc.hu

• Use fewer when you can count the item.
• Use less when you cannot count the item.

Simple, huh? So, you’d say, “John has fewer toys than Joe.” You’d also say “It rains less in Arizona than in Florida.” Less also applies to emotions and other things you can’t see or touch.

You have fewer shoes, but less happiness. You have fewer pillows, but less sleep.You have fewer watches, but less time.

Easy enough - so use the words correctly!

You can see other Grammar Police posts by heading to this page.

Three is a sacred number in many religious. In Christianity, there are three gods in one (called “The Trinity”). In the Hindu world, you have the three main gods - Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Muslims make pilgrimages to three holy cities. Wiccans believe in a rules of three. Odin takes three forms in Eddic mythology, and there are three Greek fates.

The number three is also used in industries and arts. For example, in photography and art, the rule of three refers to the best focal points on a page. Many philosophers have rules of three (for example, Aristotle’s 3-in-1 idea is mind, self-knowledge, and self-love). Some people believe that luck “comes in threes.” I could go on and on, but I’m sure you’re starting to get bored of this by now.

Image: sxc.hu

Why am I telling you all this? Because I also have a Rule of Three, and mine applies to freelance writing. I hinted about this rule earlier today when I talked about being secure as a freelance writer, but I wanted to explain it a little further.

Allison’s Rule of Three is all about clients. There are three parts, each with three components:

• Major clients
• Minor clients
• Intermittent clients

Major Clients

Major clients refers to any client that orders a huge quantity of work every single month. These are your long-term gigs that pay really well. You can set your own cut-off point, depending on your income. For me, a major client is someone who pays me $500 or more.

You should have at least three major clients.

Minor Clients

Minor clients are clients that order work from you without fail every month…but not enough work to pay many bills. Again, my cut-off between major and minor is $500, but yours could be different depending on your income and cost of living.

You should have at least three minor clients.

Intermittent Clients

Not all of your clients will order work every single month. In fact, most won’t. I call these intermittent clients. Some will order more regularly than others, but you don’t have any kind of long-term commitment with these clients.

No, you shouldn’t have just three intermittent clients! You should have enough of these clients in your life that at least three of them order work from your every month. You can’t make people order work, so how do you ensure this? Have some of your “intermittent” clients be places where you can opt to take work or not, depending on your schedule. For example, Demand Studios is a place where you can take work some weeks, but decide not to take any work other weeks. Writing companies in general are good for this type of thing. They fill the space when you lose a major or minor client as well!

I’m not always the best at following my own rules. For example, right now I have just two major clients and more minor/intermittent clients. This is about a goal though. Strive to fulfill Allison’s Rule of Three, and you’ll have a much more secure workload as a freelancer.

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Earlier today, Deb Ng at The Freelance Writing Jobs Network wrote a post regarding job security in the freelance writing world. Actually, the post was more about the lack of job security for people who write online. As long as their contract to you is upheld, clients don’t owe it to you to continue giving you work month after month. Today’s $1000 job could be gone tomorrow.

And one day, it will be. Few websites have continuously hired freelance writers for years. The ones that have rework their payment schedule and amount often. This is a business, and as their freelance writer, you’re a “bottom rung” expense. In other words, when things get tough, websites fire contractors before they cut other expenses in many cases.

Even if you have money saved for “dry” months, it can trigger a panic attack if you suddenly lose a job. Granted, if you did good work for the client, they’ll likely be more than happy to recommend you for other jobs, but that’s not a lot of comfort when bills are looming. So how can you feel more secure?

1. Split up the eggs.

Image: sxc.hu

You’ve heard me (and others) say it a thousand times - don’t put all of your eggs into one basket. In other words, you should have multiple clients every month, so that if one suddenly pulls out, you have other money to cushion the fall. My personal plan is what I like to call “rule of three.” I try to keep three major clients (people who pay $500+ every month), three minor clients (people who pay less than $500 every month), and three intermittent clients (people who don’t order work every month). I keep a big enough bank of intermittent clients so that usually three or four of them order work every month.

2. Look for a permanent part-time job.

Having a job outside of writing can be a real weight off your shoulders. I recommend looking for around 15 hours a week at a place near your home. Of course, these jobs aren’t guaranteed either, especially in today’s economy, but if a place is hiring, they likely won’t be firing anytime soon. The added bonus here is that if you do lose a big client, you can ask for a few more hours at your part-time job or you can volunteer to cover for people on vacation.

3. Apply to at least one job every month - or at least, keep trolling every so often.

I know a lot of writers who fall into this state of security when their schedule is filled, never applying for other jobs. Do you know how to job hunt online anymore? Trolling for jobs is an art, and applying for them can be difficult. Once, I went on a three-month streak where I didn’t apply for any new jobs…and then when I started looking again, one of the websites where I commonly got work had closed down and another had significantly changed its format. Stay on top of these things! If you’re a bidding site member, it also looks better to be continuously active, rather than to have huge lulls where you’re not around.

4. Split your costs.

It can be nice to live alone, but as a freelancer, that’s also very dangerous. I highly recommend having a roommate if you’re not married. And, if you are married or have a roommate, it’s a good idea that you work different places. Best-case scenario? Your spouse/roommate has a secure, full-time job. If he or she is a freelancer too, though, avoid working at the same places as much as possible. That way if one of your websites closes, the person splitting costs with you isn’t in the same boat.

5. Stay in contact with clients.

I’ve mentioned how important it is to have a bank of clients, so to speak. You want a large number of people who order work occasionally so that you’re always busy with something. Don’t forget to stay in contact with clients who haven’t ordered work in a few months. Otherwise, they might never contact you and instead just put out a call for writers. I like to email people when I haven’t heard from them in 3 months. I just say something like “I’m creating my schedule for the summer and was wondering if you foresee any upcoming projects.” Many times, they order work after getting an email like that.

Freelance writing online is never going to be stress-free and easy. The rug can be pulled out from under you at any given moment, and even if you aren’t living paycheck by paycheck, you’re never truly secure. We do this because we love it, right? Just remember - that huge paycheck could be gone tomorrow. Protect yourself today.

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Thinking about starting your own blog? From experience, you’ll have a much better change of getting off the ground if you have these seven things:

1. An “About” Page

Your readers will undoubtedly want to know more about you and your blog. Your about page should be linked near the top of your page and include a way to contact you.

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2. A Blogroll

Some bloggers are opting to leave off the blogroll, but I honestly think that every blog should have one, filled with great related resources. When you do link to other blogs, make sure you introduce yourself so they know you’re adding them to your blogroll. They may return the favor.

3. An RSS Button

People can subscribe to your blog without click on an RSS button, but it it inconvenient. The button reminds people to subscribe and makes the process super easy for your readers.

4. Dates

Some bloggers opt not to put a date on posts, and I think that’s a bad idea. People who come to your homepage or follow a link to a single post want to know when the blog was last updated.

5. Pictures

To me, nothing says a blog is amatuer-ish more quickly than a lack of pictures. Yes, they can be a pain in the tush to use, but they’ll instantly make your blog more interesting.

6. At Least 10 Posts

Before you launch your blog, make sure that you have at least 10 posts written. New readers want to look through posts and see whether they actually enjoy your blog and want to subscribe or if they just enjoyed one of your posts.

7. Good Navigation

To me, the nail in the coffin for any website is weird navigation. I want categories, archves, and an easy way to get to the homepage. If a site’s navigation confuses me, I likely won’t be back.

Do you write for scanners? No, not computer scanners…I’m talking about the kind of reader who doesn’t actually read an article, most of the time. I haven’t seen any official studies done on it, but I’m willing to bet that 90% or more of Internet readers scan articles quickly - and then maybe read them. I do it. You probably do it too.

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So how can you make your blog post, article, or other piece of writing easier to scan? Use these tips:

• Bold-face the things that are most important.
• Use headings for longer pieces.
• Add bullet points or numbered lists.
• Use pictures.
• Break up huge chunks of text into smaller paragraphs.

Yes, I know, these aren’t ground-breaking tips…but to be honest, only about half of the websites I see actually use these tips at all, so I felt like I HAD to write something.

When a reader can easily scan your article, they’re more likely to actually stop and read it, and creating an easily-skimmed article doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality.

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Writing online can be a little about online dating. You’re dealing with people primarily through email and instance messages and occasionally in person. Sometimes, a client may want to have a meeting with you to talk face-to-face, and when that’s the case, it is important to do so safely. You may also have online writer friends that want to meet you for a drink while in town. Writing is your business, and the issue of safety may not cross your mind as readily as it would with online dating…but the risks are still there.

Image: sxc.hu

That client who wants to meet you in person, they likely really do just want to talk to you about the project, and when you meet writer friends, you’ll probably have a great time hanging out together. Likely. Probably.

Be on the safe side. This is a stranger, no matter how long you’ve been communicating via email. Use these tips to stay safe:

• Meet in a public place. Have a business lunch together or find another place where there are people around. Your home office might be most conducive for work, but it just isn’t a safe idea.
• Limit your alcohol intake. You might want to have a few drinks with a friend when you both happen to be in the same town, but if you get drunk, your judgment will be compromised.
• Take someone with you if you can. This may not be a good idea on a business meeting, but it is if you’re meeting online writer friends for pleasure purposes.
• Tell someone where you’re going and when you expect to be back. Call that person when you get home.
• Remember, this person likely knows where you live. Lock your doors, close your windows, and make sure that your house is secure. They know that you won’t be home, and there’s always the chance they’ll take advantage of that knowledge.

Your clients will understand when you want to meet safely. In fact, they’ll probably appreciate your good common sense.

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Often, I’m hired to write pieces that use keywords or include descriptions. The client usually sets the parameters here, telling me exactly what he wants as far as search engine optimization.

I know that some writers refuse to take jobs that involve SEO at all. While I respect that decision, since it can cramp your writing style, I believe that there is such a thing as white hat SEO. Some would disagree with me and say that all SEO work is manipulative and, therefore, black hat.

Wearing a white hat is always better. Image: sxc.hu

If you’re new to freelance writing, though, you probably have no idea what those terms mean, let alone how to responsibly include SEO tip in your writing! So, let’s go over it a bit:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

First and foremost, search engine optimization is simply the process of ensuring that people will find your website through search engines. This involves not just the text, but also the site design, links, pictures, and so forth. For writers, the most important SEO technique is the use of keywords. Basically, when search engines scan over the text, they look at what words you use. When someone types a phrase into the search engine, the results list is, in part, based on whether or not that phrase is use on your website.

Of course, that’s just a small, small part of how a search engine and SEO works. Darren Rowse at Problogger has a pretty good post that explains SEO much better than I have here.

White Hat vs. Black Hat

In any industry, white hat techniques are “good” and black hat techniques are “bad.” They aren’t necessarily bad in the sense that they won’t help you - think of it more as good versus evil. Black hat techniques are behind-your-back, manipulative, scummy techniques that you shouldn’t even consider if you want to be an ethical writer. If you’re just starting out, though, you may not understand which SEO techniques are white hat and which are considered black hat.

AHFX.net has a great article that talks about white hat versus black hat techniques, giving specific examples straight from a presentation on the subject by Google. Basically, here’s what you need to remember:

Content that ONLY serves to get people to a website is probably using black hat SEO techniques.

In other words, yes, you can use keywords in your writing, but you still want that page to be relevant information to the reader. If you’re “tricking” people into coming to your website, you’re a black hat SEO-er. On the other hand, if you’re using SEO techniques to make sure that the people who are looking for your website can actually find it, you’re probably not doing anything wrong.

Each search engine has its own rules when it comes to SEO. As a freelance writer, I recommend that you get to know the guidelines, at least for Google if for no other search engine. Here’s where you can find out more about some of the major sites:

• Google Webmaster Guidelines
• Yahoo! Webmaster Guidelines
• Bing Webmaster Guidelines
• Ask.com Webmaster Guidelines

Learning about SEO techniques is important to writers. Clients want writers who can properly use keywords and give them advice about optimizing their content. You increase your value as a writer when you can provide optimization to your clients, and that means you can charge more for your work. It can be confusing, but learning about white hat techniques is worth your time.