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Blogs

A WordCount blogroll update

By Michelle V. Rafter on May 23, 2009 | 6 Responses

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I’m using the blogathon and the holiday weekend as motivation to do some blog housekeeping – all the better to avoid the real housekeeping I should be doing. I’ve been working on my blogroll, which has been neglected for too long. The great thing about a blogroll is you can make it anything you want [...]

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Posted in Blogs, Freelancing, Writing | Tagged Blogging, blogrolls, Blogs, how to set up a blogroll, what to list on a blogroll | 6 Responses

Freelance link love for week of May 17

By Michelle V. Rafter on May 17, 2009 | 1 Response

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Here’s what I’m reading this week. First, from my fellow bloggers participating in the 2nd Annual WordCount Blogathon: Organization. It’s an art, really. – Tips for work and life from freelance writer Danielle Buffardi’s blog, Horrible Sanity. Partner with others – Nobody said writing had to be a solitary pursuit. Sometimes it helps to have [...]

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Posted in Blogs, Freelancing, Language, Workplace Issues, Writing | Tagged Blogs, blogs for writers, freelance writers, freelance writing, WordCount blogathon | 1 Response

ASBPE guest post: Driving traffic to your blog

ASBPE guest post: Driving traffic to your blog

By Michelle V. Rafter on May 11, 2009 | 2 Responses

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Today you’ll find me over on the national blog of the American Society of Business Publication Editors. The ASBPE’s national blog is re-running my blog post Top 10 strategies to drive traffic to your blog. ASBPE is a 45-year-old professional association for full-time and freelance editors and writers working in the business, trade and specialty [...]

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Posted in Blogs, Freelancing, Magazines | Tagged ASBPE, Blogs, building blog traffic, business magazines, business writing, freelance writing, journalism organizations, trade magazines | 2 Responses

2nd annual May writers' blogathon begins tomorrow

By Michelle V. Rafter on April 30, 2009 | 12 Responses

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Last year in an effort to learn more about Web 2.0 and drive up traffic to this blog, I challenged myself to write a post every day during the month of May. Because misery loves company, I invited writers I hang out with on the FreelanceSuccess.com writers’ newsletter and message board to join me. In [...]

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Posted in Blogs, Freelancing | Tagged blogathon, Blogs | 12 Responses

The use and abuse of Twitter to flog your blog

By Michelle V. Rafter on March 20, 2009 | 10 Responses

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Twitter users fall into one of three categories: people who use it only to promote their blogs, people who sometimes use it to promote their blogs, and people who never had a blog or dumped theirs because all they want to do is hang out on Twitter. Which camp are you in? Plenty of Twitter [...]

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Posted in Blogs, Technology, Web 2.0 | Tagged Blogs, Chris Brogan, flogging your blog, hyping your blog on Twitter, promoting your blog, Twitter, using Twitter, using Twitter to promote your blog | 10 Responses

Top WordCount posts of 2008

Top WordCount posts of 2008

By Michelle V. Rafter on January 5, 2009 | Leave a response

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Hello 2009! New Year’s Day marked WordCount’s first anniversary.  Last year was good for both of us and I’m can’t wait to see what happens in 2009. Before then, here’s a look back at the top WordCount posts of 2008, based on the total number of page views. Some interesting things about the most popular [...]

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Posted in Blogs, My stories, Web 2.0 | Tagged Blogs, top blog posts, WordCount blog | Leave a response

Should you put ads on your blog?

Should you put ads on your blog?

By Michelle V. Rafter on July 10, 2008 | 8 Responses

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Your blog has picked up a decent amount of traffic, enough to make you wonder whether you could actually make money from it. And what’s one of the best ways to make money from a blog? Advertise. That’s the conventional thinking. But when I posed the question to a bunch of freelance writers and bloggers [...]

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Posted in Blogs, Freelancing | Tagged advertising on blogs, Andrew Ian Dodge, Blogs, Frank Derfler, freelancers who blog, Google Adsense, James Burchill, JaWar, Lubna Kably, Melanie Stone Perry, Owen Linderholm, putting ads on your blog, Robin Capper | 8 Responses

More on blog post comments: be careful what you wish for

By Michelle V. Rafter on July 9, 2008 | 7 Responses

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Last week I wrote a post lamenting how difficult it is to get people to leave comments on blog posts. The post generated a lot of comments – ironic yes, but a good thing too – because it proved food for additional thought on the subject. The general consensus of the dozen or so people [...]

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Posted in Blogs, Freelancing, Writing | Tagged 2008 presidential election, blog comments, Blogs, global warming, how to get blog readers to leave comments, include links in blog posts | 7 Responses

10 Reasons Every Freelance Writer Should Have a Blog

By Michelle V. Rafter on February 18, 2008 | 7 Responses

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I took to blogging fairly quickly and I finally figured out why. I wrote a weekly newspaper column for more than five years. After that, I wrote a weekly column for Reuters, the financial wire service, for seven years. After a dozen years, writing something once a week – or more – was so second [...]

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Posted in Blogs, Freelancing, Web 2.0, Writing | Tagged Amazon Associates, Blogger, BloggerJobs, Blogging, Blogs, blogs for writers, freelance writers, freelance writers who have blogs, Google Adsense, ProBlogger, TypePad, WordPress | 7 Responses

Best Blogs for Writers

By Michelle V. Rafter on February 13, 2008 | 21 Responses

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When writers aren’t writing, they’re reading about how to be a better writer, or be a better marketer of their writing, or about who else they could be writing for. That’s what I found when I asked freelance, newspaper and magazine writers and editors to name some of their favorite blogs for writers. It’s an [...]

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Posted in Blogs, Freelancing, Media Business, Newspapers, Writing | Tagged AboutFreelanceWriting, Anne Wayan, Blogs, Bob Bly's Blog, Copyblogger, Copyediting, Copywriter Underground, Copywriting, Dan Santow, Deborah Ng, Dianna Huff's B2B MarCom Writer Blog, Erik Sherman's WriterBiz, Freelance Switch, FreelanceWritingGigs.com, Freelancing, InkThinker, Irreverent Freelancer, John McIntyre, Jugglezine, Kathy Kehrli, Kristen King, Linda Formichelli, Magazines, Michael Stelzner's Writing White Papers, Newspapers, Publicity Hound, Publishing, Publishing 2.0, Romenesko, Susan Johnston Home, The Bad Pitch Blog, The Golden Pen, The Renegade Writer, TheUrbanMuse, Toddie Downs, Web Content Writer Tips, WordHappy, WordWise, Writing, You Don't Say | 21 Responses

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Welcome to WordCount: Freelancing in the Digital Age. You'll see new material Monday through Friday on writing basics, blogging, freelancing, tech tools for writers andQ&As with media professionals. If you're looking for a place to start, check out the Greatest Hits page, with 101 of my most popular posts. Don't miss the weekly recommended reading for writers or my Twitter chat the last Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. Pacific time at #wclw. I also host the annual WordCount Blogathon, a community challenge to post every day in May. Use the Subscribe button to add WordCount to your blog reader or get it delivered directly in your email inbox. Got a question? Email wordcountfreelance@gmail.com.

Michelle V. Rafter

Reporter, editor, blogger, finance, business, workplace issues and media.

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