The WM Freelance Writers Connection

by Kerrie McLoughlin

It can be hard to keep track of all the existing social media sites. Sometimes you probably wonder why you even joined half of them. For me, social online media has yielded quotes for articles, jobs, encouragement, wisdom, warnings, interviews, ideas, and friends. Here’s me defending some social media:

1. AuthorsDen is great if you’ve written a traditional book or e-book (or more than one) and want a place to promote these works. You can also provide a link so people can purchase your books. And of course you can make some new writer friends there.

2. Café Mom, a social networking site for moms, started in 2006 and grew to become the #8 fastest-growing site in 2007 by compete.com. It receives more than 8 million visitors per month. Café Mom is a great place for writer moms to hang out because there are a lot of groups to choose from. Plus you can promote your writing with your Journal Posts and What’s On Your Mind thought bubble. Don’t forget to add your business web site address as your outgoing message signature, then when you reply to a post or start a new topic, always click on “Yes” so your signature line shows up to all readers. WM Freelance Connection even has a Group on Cafe Mom!

3. Twitter is something I love because it’s like the fast food of social media. I can pop a topic and link on there in just a few characters, and I have it set up so what I posted also shows up on my Facebook Wall, which means all my Facebook Friends can also see what I posted.

4. Facebook is actually quite helpful if you have a wide variety of Friends. I use it to get national and local quotes for articles I’m working on and made a Fan Page for my blog. There’s also a Fan Page on Facebook for The WM Freelance Connection … so updates to the blog show up on your main Facebook page. When I post a new eHow.com article, I have the option of having it post as my Facebook Status Update, which drives traffic to my articles. When I hear people trashing Facebook as just a time-waster, I quickly defend it by saying I use it to promote my writing and my blog (well, most of the time).

5. My Space is one I don’t really use, although I do have an account there. I think it’s too hard to navigate and find people, and I feel like I’ve just left an adult bookstore when I log out. I'd be interested in your views of My Space, oh dear smart readers of this blog.

6. LinkedIn is awesome for a variety of reasons, most of which I am not even aware yet. I like to use it to get testimonials about my writing for my Author Web Site and to get Linked to editors to see what they are up to. I’ve also learned about jobs through some writing groups I’ve joined on there. On my main page, my personal and author blogs update on LinkedIn, so people can see what you are up to on a variety of fronts. Rebecca wrote a great piece about LinkedIn here.

7. Writing blogs (like this awesome one you’re reading now) are a great place to meet like-minded writing individuals.

8. WritersCafe says it "is an online writing community where writers can post their work, get reviews, befriend other writers, and much more." This is a site I'm still playing around with, considering I've been to the Forum to find friends and some of the threads were last posted to 2 YEARS ago.

9. Yahoo Groups are a good thing to search and sign up for to get encouragement and find writing jobs, interviews and so much more.

Got more social sites for writers? Leave 'em in the Comments section for us.

By Pam Houghton

I've resolved to using social media to get my name out there in, well, cyberspace. For someone who's not a natural at self-promotion, it's a challenge. However, since no one's banging on my door to make use of my literary skill, I've got to get my work out there and show 'em what I can do.

Initially, it felt awkward to share my articles and blog posts on various social media sites. But because of my web presence, other writers have found me on Facebook and LinkedIn. Now I'm connected to people who not only live in different time zones, but different hemispheres as well. Since I'm still in the infancy stages with social media, I figure that's a good sign. The key is to leverage it creatively for payback further down the road.

Here are my experiences so far:

Facebook

When I first started writing for The Examiner, I posted articles on my personal Facebook page to drive traffic to my Detroit Working Moms Examiner page. Initially, it was awkward to share them. I felt like I was cluttering up my Facebook friends' pages with unwanted junk mail. Because I had to get over that discomfort and learn the art of web-based self-promotion, it wasn't long before I was sharing every stinking Examiner article on my Facebook page. Every once in a while, someone used the "Like" feature to indicate they liked one of the articles. Woo-hoo!

LinkedIn

I posted my Examiner articles on LinkedIn too, although I had to find the right audience. Since the articles were geared toward working moms, I submitted them as news articles to groups such as Moms-on-the-Job, The Integrated Mother Network and All Moms Work. I also posted them in my MSU Alumni Association group where, surprisingly, some of the articles seemed to really connect with the readers there. (Maybe they were just supporting a fellow Spartan.)

Likewise, I submit posts from this blog as news articles on the writer groups I belong to on LinkedIn. The key is finding the right audience for your stuff. If a story really connects, readers may add comments. Articles that get a lot of comments go into "discussion" mode and continue to cycle through daily e-mail updates for that group, giving an article (and you) additional exposure.

For a good overall view on how to use LinkedIn, see Carol Tice's Thursday post.

My Own Website

I couldn't proceed in my freelance career without a website. I had to prove that even though I'd been employed in a completely different occupation for 20-plus years, I had been writing all along. And that I'd been published. So I hired someone to design a website where my published clips and corporate writing projects could reside in an online portfolio. Plus I could link to sites (such as this one) for current writing examples. I don't have the functionality to know where my traffic is coming from. However, with administrative privileges, I can see the data that shows which pages are more frequently visited than others.

Blogs (this one and my own personal blog)

The beauty of writing for this blog, The WM Freelance Connection, is the built-in audience. I don't have to hunt down followers. Plus I like the structure of knowing that I post one day a week (Saturday), and all content is related to the subject of writing. This is unlike my personal blog, where I struggle to muster up ideas every time I consider a post. Even so, it gives me the latitude to write about just about anything...and hopefully, over time, I'll create a consistent blogging style.

photo by irisfeer/stock.xchng

By Rebecca Sebek

Twitter is a social media outlet that has mesmerized the world. Celebrities, big corporations, small businesses, authors, bloggers, and individuals use Twitter to connect with people. For those who are still unsure about Twitter it's "a real-time information network powered by people all around the world that lets you share and discover what’s happening now." You have 140 characters to make an impact on your followers. Hopefully, you'll gain more business and traffic from your Tweets (your postings). Marketing yourself with a sexy Twitter background isn't a bad idea.

If you don't have a customized background, you have the option of using one of Twitter's standard backgrounds. These backgrounds are not the best way to position you on Twitter. It's best to have a Twitter background that matches your blog, website, and brand.

Twitter backgrounds at your finger tips

There are many websites that provide you with backgrounds. These may not be exactly what you're looking for, but they're better than nothing. Most websites categorize their backgrounds which makes it easier for you to locate a design that will fit with your blog or website's color and design scheme.


Links to Twitter background

Twitrounds
Twitr Backgrounds
TwitterBackgrounds
Twitter-Backgrounds
TwitBacks
Twitter-Images

Customizing your Twitter background

You can create a customized Twitter background using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or some other graphics program. The dimensions will depend on your computer. Some people use dimensions such as a width of 1920 and height of 1000. This gives you more space to create your background. It's important to leave at least five inches of dead space on both sides of your background for the Twitter white posting area.

Example of Twitter background measurements

Image width: 1255 pixels
Image height: 555 pixels
Left graphic width: 245 pixels
Right graphic width: 250 pixels

Please note that these are general standard measures. There are other dimensions based on different computer monitor screens.

Choose a color palette that matches your website. Use graphics from your website or find other pictures that are similar. The goal is to have continuity. Again, it's about marketing yourself and your brand on Twitter.

How to utilize Twitter

Most people don't think about their Twitter background, but it's just as important as the Tweets you post. People will remember and recognize you if you're website and Twitter background match or at least complement each other.

Keep your Tweets short, to the point, and make sure they add value to your readers. Avoid posting personal information such as "you just had your gall bladder out!" This is only appropriate if you blog about medical topics or you're a celebrity like Ashton Kutcher who has over 1 million followers.

Marketing yourself with Twitter can increase traffic to your website and help you gain clients. You're not the only one on Twitter. Having a sexy, snappy background will help you stand out from the crowd!

LinkedIn is a highly useful social-media site for writers looking to connect with possible editors, copywriting clients, sources and other writers. If you haven't already built a profile on LinkedIn, I recommend it -- it's one of only three or four social-media sites I use with any frequency. Get on, fully flesh out your profile, and start connecting with people you already know to build your links.

by Kat Foust

When you're in any kind of business at all, the foundation of that business is exposure. No matter what product or service you're selling, if people aren't aware that you're selling it, they are never going to buy it.

Writing is no different. Social media helps us to expose our work to the public. Not only that, but it helps us to develop more resources and learn from other writers. My personal favorite way of using social media is by using writer's forums and groups. These are great places to meet other writers, learn writing skills, develop ideas and find more work.

One of the ways that these groups and forums works so well is simply by being a place to drop off links. Most forums and groups encourage promoting one's work. They do require that you post more than just a link, but that gives you a chance to be social as well. Did you know that part of Google ranking is based on the amount of links to a site? It's not only a matter of people coming to your links, it's the quantity that are found across the web. Hence a person with a site and only one link to it isn't going to get the page rank that a site with ten links is going to get. Not only that, but some companies like Brighthub, actually pay you to put links to your articles out there.

The forum I'm most active on is Accentuate Writers Forum . I enjoy the people there. They are very encouraging and personable. Of course, WM has its own group as well and I encourage you to join. The idea is not only to promote your work, but to develop relationships with people who understand the profession and each have their own point of view.

If you don't belong to a writers forum or writing group, then why not create one of your own? Facebook and Yahoo both offer free services to groups, as do many other social media sites such as Myspace. It's worth the effort to promote your work and cultivate professional relationships.

By Angela Atkinson

Most everyone who's anyone is actively involved in some form of social media these days, and freelance writers are no exception. The great news for writers is that we're natural communicators, and social media is practically made for us. Not only can we promote our own services, but we can use our expertise to promote the services of our clients, thereby increasing our income potential.

What is Social Media?

Social media is basically a type of online media in which people communicate, share links and photos, network and discuss. Social networks also often provide feedback, comments, polls and voting, and generally share information of interest to (usually) targeted people.

What Makes Social Media Different Than Plain Old Advertising?

Instead of the traditional one-way broadcast or print advertising, businesses and other professional individuals can use it to carry on a two-way dialogue, allowing current or potential customers and clients to feel connected or linked to "real people" through direct interaction. And, most often, social networking is free or relatively cheap, in comparison to more traditional methods of advertising and networking.

Social Media Week at The WM Freelance Connection

Each of our writers this week will cover a different angle on social media--from specific forms of social media to tips for using them successfully, and everything in between. To start the week off, please enjoy this short, dynamic video, full of interesting facts about social media and the effect it has on our society today.



In case that didn't convince you, let's discuss some of the benefits of social media for freelance writers.

Website Traffic/Blog Hits/Page Views

Whether you're a blogger looking for hits, a freelancer looking for new clients or a content mill writer looking for page views to help boost your income, social media is your friend. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and LinkedIn are great places to submit your links and information. Not only can you reach people who want to read your work, but you may also be able to find new business. And, gaining popularity on sites like Reddit or Digg can help to significantly increase the quality (read: related or relevant) links to your sites.

Stay Informed

Active participation in social media offers freelance writers the ability to stay up-to-date on news and trends, both for the purpose of writing as well as for managing your freelance business.

Expand Your Network

You can gain job leads, find interesting people for human interest stories and topic experts for your journalistic articles. Plus, you'll often make connections that can help you in future endeavors. For example, a PR agent I worked with on a story recently sent a long-term private client my way. Social networking can also help you to get new story ideas, brainstorm ideas with and learn from other writers and even find a writing partner or group to join.

Friends With Benefits

Joining niche-specific groups is a great way to not only stay informed on your chosen niche, but also a way to gain readers and related contacts.  As well, commenting on and following related blogs can also draw you into a like-minded community.

The Tip of the Iceberg

I've just barely scratched the surface of the many benefits and uses of social media today. Check back each day this week as our writers delve into the specifics of social media and social networking and how it works for freelance writers.