Think big
Major media companies are working to beat the recession by repackaging what they do to get more customers – and freelance writers can too. You don’t even have to think of innovations yourself. Just copy what the big boys are doing.
PitchforPR, the un-HARO
(Updated @ 7 a.m. with additional details throughout) When I first heard about PitchforPR, I was confused. The one week-old online middleman that looks to connect companies seeking publicity for products or services with reporters and bloggers looking for story sources sounded a lot like HARO, Peter Shankman’s well-known matchmaking tool. A lot of things [...]
3 questions you should be asking about your blog
Want to keep blogger readers coming back for more? Write on a regular basis, pick topics people care about and be upfront about relationships you have with sponsors. That’s some of the advice I shared in a 3 Questions column I wrote in yesterday’s Orange County Register. The column is regular Sunday feature compiled by [...]
Tweet me a pitch & other social media tips for PR reps
Social media has made a PR rep’s job harder. Should you ask before following a reporter on Twitter? Is it OK to respond to a HARO request even though the expert you represent only kinda sorta knows about the issue? Is it ever OK to just pick up the phone and call someone? No, no [...]
William Zinsser and On Writing Well
It had been a while since I read William Zinsser’s classic guide to writing, On Writing Well. I grabbed it off my bookshelf to share at a writing class I taught at the recent Digital Journalism Camp in Portland – then took it with me on vacation. I own the book’s fifth edition, which came [...]
How to survive a social media sabbatical
It wasn’t so long ago I was telling anyone who’d listen why I didn’t use Twitter. Then I started using Twitter. And never stopped. For the last eight months I’ve tweeted every day, with the occasional weekend off. I tweet eight, 10, 12 times a day: when I put up a new blog post, when [...]
WordCount Repeats: 10 ways writers can beat the recession
While I’m away from my keyboard this week, I’m re-running a few posts that didn’t get the attention – or web traffic – they deserved the first time around. I’ll return with fresh insights on the business of writing next week. – Michelle Rafter You can’t control the economy, or the price of gas or [...]
WordCount Repeats: 12 ways writers can ace a VIP interview
While I’m away from my keyboard this week, I’m re-running a few posts that didn’t get the attention – or web traffic – they deserved the first time around. I’ll return with fresh insights on the business of writing next week. – Michelle Rafter I recently interviewed a management guru who’s a rock star in [...]
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WordPress bloggers can add ratings to posts, comments
By Michelle V. Rafter on August 12, 2009 | 1 Response
How do you rate? You can find out with a Ratings service WordPress.com recently rolled out for users of its free blogging platform. Why bloggers will like this: it’s a quick and easy way for readers to provide feedback on your posts – and what other people are saying about them – even if they [...]
Posted in Blogs, Polls, Technology, Web 2.0 | Tagged PollDaddy, rating blog posts, reader comments, WordPress | 1 Response