ONLINE WRITING TIPS FOR FREELANCERS.

The subject of how to write online is a large one and this post is only an introduction. All it takes is a quick search on the internet and you'll find a host of books and websites with detailed information on how to write online. I strongly encourage you to take time to study this topic a little further by reading through other related posts on this blog. In the meanwhile, here are a few basic tips:

Write tightly focused articles.

Think about how you read an online article. What are you looking for? Are you looking for a long introduction that goes on forever with a slow and steady build up until you eventually find the information you want? Or, do you want your information front and centre?

 More than likely, your eyes scan through the article stopping at the subheadings until you find the subheading for the topic you are interested in. You may read the particular subheading first and if it is what you're looking for, you may go back and read the entire article, or you may not. The writer must capture your interest and provide action packed information in that one subheading. If not, you won't bother to read the rest.

As an online writer, you have to write for the way readers want to read. Most articles are to the point and tightly focused. Long drawn out introductions and build-ups are better placed in novels. Online writing is information packed and to the point. Write using subheadings and short paragraphs. Short paragraphs and subheadings help the reader to quickly scan through the article and find the necessary information.

Don't impress yourself.

If you have a large vocabulary and like to let everyone know it, write in a journal. Superfluous wording, unnecessary adjectives and over descriptive work take away from the meat of the article. Only use descriptive words when necessary. Your goal is to keep your reader interested, not show the reader the size of your vocabulary.

Keywords and search engine optimization.

Why should a freelance writer learn anything about search engine optimization? After all, they are not webmasters. All freelance writers need to be able to do, is write grammatically correct copy, use spell check and engage their reader with their content; right? Well yes, that is true but in order to be a well-paid internet freelance writer, you need to know a little bit more.

Understand SEO & keywords as a freelance writer.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a large field. The intricacies of how SEO works are always changing. Even though there are new developments all the time, there are some basics that remain the same.

Search engines: What your reader sees:

A woman who is about to make a major investment in a pair of green shoes is curious to find out everything she can about green shoes before spending her hard earned money on the shoes. She uses a search engine of choice and inserts the words “green shoes.”

As a result of her query, the search engine displays pages and pages of links to websites, articles, pictures and/or videos about green shoes. The search engine has reached into its green shoe bank and displayed everything it had on green shoes. The reader happily clicks on the various links to learn about green shoes.

Search engines: What the reader doesn’t see:

In order to provide such detailed information about green shoes, the search engine sent out its army of spiders to comb the web looking for articles, websites, etc., about green shoes. The spider (who is actually as blind as a bat) cannot read the page itself to know whether or not the page is about green shoes, so it reaches into its ‘spidery belt’ and pulls out a weapon called an algorithm. Algorithms have the power to read the page and determine if it has information on green shoes.

These algorithms help spiders to find the words ‘green shoes’ and related terms such as ‘laces for green shoes’ and ‘cleaning green shoes’ and ‘shades of green shoes’ …you get my drift. When the spider finds green shoe information, the information is sent back home to the search engine, which stores the information in its green shoe bank waiting for someone to perform a search for green shoes.

This is an over simplified version of the process, but it gives you an idea of what goes on behind the scenes. You have to write your articles in such a way that the spider can find it and display the link in the search results. Keywords are what you, as a writer, must use to entice the spider to pick your articles.

Using keywords.

Keywords determine how your users will find your blog. When you get through writing an article, ask yourself, “How will a reader find my article?” Think of words that one might type into a search engine in order to find it. Take those very same words and sprinkle them throughout your article. Make sure the keywords appear naturally. Readers should not be able to tell which keywords your articles are targeting.

If the reader can determine your targeted keywords, that means that you put too many keywords and your article can be penalized for “keyword stuffing.” Keywords should be obvious to the search engines only.

That is it for now. Let me have your feedback in the comment box below. Have a nice time.