Write Now Editing

Review: 6 Surefire Ways to Guarantee Your Guest Blogging Pitch Gets Instantly Rejected (via Blogging Bistro)

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Guest blogging is a great way to spread your knowledge and expertise without having to building anything. Instead, you can tap into someone else’s audience, taking advantage of the work and effort they’ve put into building their online presences and followings.

Getting those guest-blogging gigs, however, takes a bit of research and finesse. You don’t have to spend time building your own audience, but you should spend some time finding the right site for your post.

Think of it like going out to dinner: you can’t just walk in to any restaurant and expect to eat Chinese food; you need to go to a Chinese restaurant.

The same is true for blogging. Each blog has a specific message and audience; your writing won’t be appropriate for every blog. It’s understandable to think that contacting more bloggers will yield more blogging opportunities but that’s not how it works. When you send generic pitches to multiple bloggers, they can tell!

Laura Christianson knows what it’s like to receive bad blog pitches. Owner of Blogging Bistro, it’s sort of her area of expertise. Before you pitch a blog post with an email that starts with Dear Admin, Hello, or Dear Blog Master, read her article and increase your chances of securing that guest post spot!

Do you have any other questions about the best ways to pitch a guest post? Ask them below!

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Making the Switch – Write Now Editing!

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If you want to succeed in business, it’s important to know your audience – who are they, what do they want, and how can you help them. As their needs change, you have a choice to make – change with them or let them find someone else who will help them.

For the past several months I’ve been noticing the changing tide. Fewer people contact me regarding content writing. More people want to know about book writing and fiction editing. Roughly 80% of my income now comes from editing, teaching, and other book-related work … so what does it mean for Write Now Editing & Copywriting Services?

Good-bye “Copywriting Services,” and welcome to Write Now Editing!

That doesn’t mean I’ll never be available to write content for anyone, nor does it mean I’ll stop helping businesses and organizations create more effective copy, but I need to connect with my clients, and those clients are currently in the fiction-writing realm.

What does that mean for this blog?

There will still be social media and design tips (thank you Leslie Krukowski and Sierra Kellermeyer!) because authors need to know those things too! But you’ll notice a difference in the rest of the content – not as much business writing and more emphasis on fiction writing and editing.

I had planned on making this switch later in the year/early next year, but my first novel releases September 1, so I feel like this is the time to transition. It’s going to be a gradual transition; you may have already noticed some of the new tabs and updated links on the page. By the end of the year, the blog will fully convert and new fiction-focused resources will be available.

I’m addicted to content writing, though, so you’ll still find me tweeting about it and sharing some of my favorite tips on LinkedIn. And just because you won’t necessarily find me writing about it here, your questions are always encouraged! If I can’t help you, I’ll find someone who can.

So, here’s to the transition – moving toward my original passion (fiction) while embracing my love of helping others (editing and teaching!). Welcome to Write Now Editing: Editor. Teacher. Speaker.

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When You Can’t Afford an Editor: 5 Easy Tips for Stronger Content

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Few people go into business planning to give it their second-best effort. Instead, they prepare. They plan. They invest in the website and store front, possibly in business coaching and financial planning. They do what it takes – spend what it takes – to provide the best services and products possible.

But not many of them leave room in their budgets for content writing or editing.

It’s one of those things that most people do for themselves (regardless of whether or not they should). But I’m not here today to try to convince anyone that they should hire an editor. The truth is that most of the business owners I know realize they need help with their content, but they just can’t afford it. Until that glorious day when content writing skills are as appreciated as accounting skills, I understand that people will write their own content.

That doesn’t mean I have to sit by and let them do it badly.

There’s no substitute for a professional, trained editor, but there are things that anyone can do to help strengthen their business’s or organization’s content. Here are five easy tips for writing stronger content.

  1. Have another industry professional read it. No one knows your industry as well as the people in it, so there’s no one more qualified to spot an informational error than those people. If you’re in a professional association, see if someone there would be will to fact check your content; if you’re not, ask a local colleague. They’ll help you spot any industry-related inaccuracies that others will miss.
  2. Have someone outside the industry read it. Once the pros have had a go, head the other direction and find people completely unfamiliar with your work. These people will be able to tell you what does and doesn’t make sense to layman (which is especially helpful when you’re trying to draw in new clients).
  3. Have an English teacher read it. But not for grammar. English teachers around the world might revolt because of what I’m about to say, but it’s the truth: your content writing doesn’t have to be technically correct. Remember when you were taught not to start sentences with conjunctions? And when the teacher said not to end a sentence with a preposition? Forget it, especially if you’re writing for your website. Proper grammar isn’t the most important thing; connecting with your audience is! Instead, see if an English teacher (or other publishing professional) can give you a solid copyedit – spelling, punctuation, word usage (should you use whet or wet?).
  4. Read it backwards. Start with the last sentence of your copy and read it backwards, one sentence at a time. When you read it as written, your mind fills in spaces with what you know should be written (even if it isn’t there or if it’s written incorrectly). By reading it backwards, you force yourself to read each line individually, which will help you identify those typos.
  5. Read it out loud. It’s easy to skim over an awkward sentence when you’re reading, but it’s hard to ignore it once you’ve spoken it out loud.

Will these five tricks turn you into a master copywriter? Sorry, no, but using these tricks with help you strengthen what you’ve written, making your content more effective.

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10 Steps to Effective Copywriting (via Entrepreneur)

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If you’ve ever read a piece of junk mail, turned on the television, or opened a newspaper, you’re sure to have seen these sales techniques. Flashy fonts and proclamations sometimes work, but what really sets an ad campaign (or website) apart is its content: now what the words look like, but how you tell your story.

Susan Gunelius, a VIP contributor to Entrepreneur, nails it when she says:

Copywriting is about more than writing the hard sell sales letter that many short copywriting courses offer…Well-crafted copywriting doesn’t need to beat a person over the head. It doesn’t have to drown in bold typeface and capitalization. The message should stand on its own without an overabundance of heavy-handed sales language and design embellishments.

But how can you – an inexperienced copywriter – write that kind of content? Gunelius breaks it into ten easy-to-understand steps:

  1. Exploit your product’s benefits
  2. Exploit your competition’s weaknesses
  3. Know your audience
  4. Communicate W.I.I.F.M. (What’s In It For Me?)
  5. Focus on “you,” not “we”
  6. Understand your medium
  7. Avoid T.M.I. (Too Much Information)
  8. Include a call to action
  9. Y.A. (Cover Your Ass)
  10. Proofread

Even though she wrote this article in 2009, the same principles apply (and work!) today.

I encourage you to click on over and check it out. Even if you’re pretty sure you know what she’s referring to in each step, give it a read and refresh your memory – it’ll at least help you strengthen your copywriting foundation. At best, you’ll walk away with ten new tools to help you with your content-writing needs.

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Making The Most Of Your Instagram Account by Leslie Krukowski

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It’s time to get noticed and gain followers on one of the fastest growing social media platforms!

If you have a highly visual communication style, Instagram is the social media platform for you.  Anyone with an affinity for their camera can gain a great following –travel, style, and food bloggers, as well as artists, have really taken advantage of the amazing visual capabilities of this platform. Plus, it has seen exponential growth over the last few years. If you are ready to start utilizing Instagram for yourself, here are some important tips!

Take a good photo.

Make sure you photograph has good composition and good lighting.  If the photo isn’t good enough, keep taking pictures until you get one that is. I cannot stress that enough.

Once you have your picture, what filter are you going to use (if any)?

Instagram allows you to choose between several filters within the app itself. The filter that has garnered the most Instagram “likes” is Clarendon, second is Gingham, and third is tied between Juno and Lark. Take your time and choose the filter that honestly makes your photo look better (or more dramatic or softer or whatever feeling you’re going for!)

Proper Use of Hashtags

Using hashtags in your Instagram posts is extremely important to gain attention! It’s a little different than using hashtags on Twitter, which describe the topic of conversation. On Instagram, hashtags should describe your content or your photo.

Hashtags, when used properly, will help gain followers because people on Instagram are looking for photos and videos based on hashtags. For example, #glutenfree, #puremichigan, #beach, #cat, and #dog are some very popular!  If you are unsure of what hashtag to use, do a little research and find similar photos to see what other people are using.

Getting the Right People to Follow You

After you have your page started and you’ve posted your first pictures with the right hashtags, it’s time to find followers. The first thing you want to do is follow all the people that you feel are relevant to you or your brand/business. Once you follow some of those businesses, then you can go into those business pages and can see who follows them. Take initiative and follow all those people too. It will seem like you are following a lot of people with very few following back at first, but that won’t last long.

Now, the hard work begins. You need to engage with the people you are following.  Like their photos and comment when appropriate. When other people see that you are engaging, then you will become more attractive for them to “like” as well. You will attract friends of the people you are engaging with, which should be people you want to attract towards your business as well!

As a social media manager, I love Instagram. I feel that it’s a great way to reach out for very little cost (Facebook has become difficult to navigate for businesses, not to mention expensive!). Instagram is a great alternative for many businesses or professional individuals. Don’t be afraid to explore the options out there. Facebook isn’t the only game in town!

Leslie Krukowski is the principal, CEO, and main consultant of Black Dog Business Group. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English and sub-concentrations in both marketing and business management. After spending several years in management, marketing, and social media marketing positions, she received a Master’s Degree in Administration. She has proven success in managing large groups of people and loves leadership development. Leslie has two black dogs at home, Bertuzzi and Scout. Feel free to reach out to her at leslie@blackdogbusinessgroup.com for a free initial consultation.

ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Copywriting

Copywriting

Karin understood my advertising and marketing writing needs and accomplished the project in record time. She asked all the right questions up front to equip herself with enough … [more]

Editing

Editing

Karin Beery's keen attention to detail helped me immeasurably to improve my craft. During our association as critique partners, I could always depend on her suggestions to point out the … [more]

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Lover of all things fiction, I also love University of Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, kayaking, gluten-free cupcakes, and my husband.

Resources

Resources

Press Release Tool Kit Stop waiting and hoping for people to notice you and your organization! With this Press Release Tool Kit, you’ll learn to apply the step-by-step process I use to … [more]