Crayon Writer

If you’ve been reading the comments, you might remember the discussion about whether writing for PayPerPost and other paid review sites is a wise idea.

I argued that I’ve seen an increase in Google traffic since my PR was dropped from a 3 to a 0. I also argued that this is my site, not Google’s, so I can monetize however I see fit. There was praise for my courage, and concern that I would never get PR (I thought “never” sounded like a mighty long time, sort of like “life” and “forever” (Prince fans know what I’m talking about)).

Well, I found out that, as opposed to being “slapped” by Google, I’ve been lightly caressed. I now have a PR2! Interesting, especially since I’ve stepped up my paid reviews.

Was all the Google hoopla just a scare tactic? Did Google make a mistake that they’ll soon fix? Will Google really banish the thousands of paid reviewers to PR0, despite the age of our blogs and the incoming links?

While we ponder these mysterious questions of the Googlesphere, I’ll take advantage of the increased pay from reviews that a PR2 will bring.

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Lately I’ve been wondering what readers think about Crayon Writer. Why do you come back to read more? What interests you? Who are you? How’d you find my site?

Luckily, a wonderful post on PureBlogging, 99 Ways to Improve Your Blog, reminded me about polls (it was lucky number 13 on the list). I quickly downloaded the poll plugin, and voila!

Check out the sidebar to place your vote. You can choose up to three options, and you can of course choose “other” and just leave a comment with your answer(s).

This first poll ends Friday night. I’d like to know what you’d like to see on Crayon Writer. Then, stay tuned. I’ll be changing the poll frequently to get a better idea of who my readers are.

Now, if only I could figure out how to put the poll directly into a post…. Maybe next time.

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I mentioned a while back that I joined Entrecard, and I thought it might be time to tell everyone how much I like it.

Entrecard Pros

One of the best things about Entrecard is that I’ve met a lot of other bloggers. I’ve made some new online friends, I’ve found some really great blogs, and I’ve even made some money.

With the influx of traffic comes clicks on my sidebar items, so I’ve made a few sales and some Adsense money. I’ve also written several guest posts, which has brought me even more traffic. Recently, a cool site started a contest that featured my blog. (Thanks Leisa!)

I’ve also decided on an Entrecard philosophy for dropping cards. I don’t drop cards on blogs that I don’t want to support for whatever personal reasons. I like the idea that Entrecard popularity could wind up being a democratic process, so I do my part by not “voting” for some.

Entrecard Cons

Entrecard can take a bit of time, because you have to visit a lot of sites to drop your card (which earns you Entrecredits). And if you’re like me, you can’t help but read some of the posts as you go along.

Besides the amount of time it takes to maintain a high position or to grow your site, I have one more complaint. Though Entrecarders do visit often and even leave comments, my subscribership hasn’t budged.

I also gave up offering my writing service for Entrecredits. For now. I wound up taking on too many projects, and I wasn’t sure that the amount I was “charging” was really worth my time and effort. I wound up refunding (plus interest) several buyers’ credits. My time is probably better spent trying to get new clients that pay real money. Now that Entrecard is starting a service for buying and selling credits for real money, I might start again, but I’ll only do one project at a time.

Have you tried Entrecard? If not, why not? If so, have you noticed any particularly good or bad things so far?

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Well, sort of.

Crayon Writer was started in February 2007, I moved it from Blogger to WordPress in March 2007, and I moved it to my own domain in April 2007.

In any case, Happy anniversary, Crayon Writer! I’ve learned a lot this past year. I had never blogged before, and Crayon Writer introduced me to a whole new world…the blogosphere. It’s been quite a ride, and I’m not stopping any time soon.

I’m curious. How long have you been one of my readers? Let me know if you think you’re one of the oldest.

If you’re new here, welcome! Please take a look around, comment, and subscribe if you want to read more. I’ve found that I never remember to go back to a blog, even if I plan to, unless I subscribe to it.

This week would be a great time to go back to the beginning to see where it all started. Personally, I’ve noticed that I’m still dealing with some of the same conundrums I started with. For instance, I still haven’t enrolled my daughter in daycare, but I consider it almost daily. But now that she’s a year older, I may finally be able to handle it .

Enjoy traveling down memory lane with me, and feel free to add comments to some of my earlier posts. They’re quite empty.

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If you’ve been reading Crayon Writer for a while, you know that my primary method of getting new clients is via cold emailing instead of cold calling.

I’ve never gone into much detail about how I do cold emailing, and I also wanted to discuss the anti-spam legislation as it relates to cold emailing.

Thanks to my Entrecard travels, I met a great blogger who asked me to be to his first guest blogger. I was honored, and the article I wrote is up and running. Of course, the guest post I wrote is about getting new clients using cold email.

A big thanks to Marcus Hochstadt from the Internet Business Guide for this wonderful opportunity. His blog has some very helpful information about building an Internet business, so definitely hang out there for a while. And enjoy my guest post too.

If you get a chance to check it out, please leave a comment here or on Marcus’ site (or both). We’d love to hear your thoughts! 

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I recently talked about writing for review sites, and PayPerPost is one of the best known. I just started seriously writing for them , and I think it’s a great deal.

Writing for review sites requires that you use sound blog ethics. For instance, I won’t claim I’ve used a product I haven’t, and I won’t say I love something I hate.

So why PayPerPost? With their new ranking system, I don’t have to worry about my Google rank in order to make money. In the past, a lot of the advertisers wanted blogs with a certain Google rank, but Google’s recent “slaps” works against this system in a drastic way. PayPerPost, whose parent company is called IZEA, came up with their own ranking system to alleviate this problem. This means I don’t have to write a bunch of $5 posts for companies I’m not interested in.

Right now my blog earns anywhere from $5 to $20 per review. Not too bad.

PayPerPost guidelines help keep people from littering their blogs with paid posts, which of course would be a disservice to the advertisers. You can’t write more than a few per day, and your blog has to have a balance between paid and non-paid posts. Fair enough, right?

If you haven’t tried it, and you’re looking for a way to monetize your blog, do your research and see if it’s for you. It’s free to sign up.

Interested? Just click on the logo above and you’re on your way!

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Freelance writing is not just about huge, glamorous projects. While I’ve done work for mid-sized to large companies, most of my work lately is with smaller gigs.

For some time I thought it was a bad idea to blog for companies like Sponsored Reviews or PayPerPost, but I’ve had a change of heart. Blogging for profit is still freelance writing, and as long as I’m picky (I make sure not to spend more time than the pay deserves), why not do it?

Google PageRank is talked about a lot, but I’ve decided to ignore it. After “fixing” my blog to their standards, my PR of 3 was never restored. Besides, freelance writing means (to me anyway), that I get to write for whoever I choose. I get to decide how I make money. Google’s method wasn’t putting money in my pocket, so I’m moving on.

What does that mean for you, my loyal readers? Take a good look at my disclosure policy, and know that I will write honest reviews (whether or not I label them as sponsored posts). I’ll do my best to accept reviews that have some relevance to the theme of Crayon Writer, and I’ll try to keep them balanced with non-sponsored posts.

Does freelance writing include sponsored posts for your blog?

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You’ve probably heard that Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo!, which recently rejected Microsoft’s unsolicited bid.

So maybe that’s why Yahoo! is making some moves. I’m not a financial person, and I don’t keep up with the goings-on of big companies, so if you have any insight on the matter, let me know.

But what I do know is that Yahoo! has launched its new Yahoo! Toolbar, and they want people to try it out (here’s a handy link if you want to download the Yahoo! Toolbar). Apparently Yahoo! has a lot of the same things that Google does (again, I haven’t kept up with these things, so maybe it’s not news to you ). They even have a hosting plan, which I’m going to have to try the next time I need a new provider.

I was actually a Yahoo! person until recently, and now I use Google for everything. So I’m willing to give Yahoo! a try again, starting with their toolbar. It gives me quick access to my Yahoo! Groups, Yellow Pages, Personals (dating online isn’t a bad idea), and their search engine.

What do you think about the Yahoo! Toolbar and the other products? Will Yahoo! be able to compete with Google again? Will there soon be Yahoo! pagerank too?

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One of the perks of owning a home-based business is that you set your own hours. You can work late at night, early in the morning, or during “regular” hours. It’s up to you!

But when are you most productive? It probably depends on the task you have to complete, and also on your lifestyle.

For me, mornings are best for dealing with clients and for marketing. I work with clients all over the country, so I need to be able to contact people who live on the east coast. If I wait too late, they’re usually gone for the day. I’m most productive in the morning hours once I’ve woken up, eaten, and cleaned up.

My writing is best done late at night. I’m no good during the middle of the afternoon. That’s when I get overcome with sleepiness. So I’m kind of a night owl, and I get my second wind after 9 p.m. This might be because my daughter is blissfully asleep then, and I can’t write well when she’s up running around.

Blogging activities (replying to comments, dropping Entrecards, writing posts) are another story. When my daughter’s at home I can usually take care of most blogging tasks, but sometimes I wait until the wee hours of the night/morning.

What are your most productive times for the jobs you do at home?

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Recently I mentioned that I was writing articles for blogs who “bought” my services with credits from Entrecard. I gave it some thought, and decided against it. Why?

While Entrecard is great, and while Entrecredits can be used to “buy” advertising space on other blogs, Entrecredits aren’t worth enough for me to sell my services in exchange for them.

Some people have started selling ECs on Ebay, getting as much as $20 for 1000 EC, but often much lower. And I don’t remember high school economics that well, but I do believe there’s a reason the government limits the amount of money in circulation. If money keeps being created, the value of a dollar decreases. With Entrecard, you earn 1 EC whenever you drop a card, and 1 EC whenever someone drops you a card, and the only limit so far is in the number of cards you can drop each day.

All I know for sure is that ECs are not legal tender.

At this point I’ve decided it’s a better use of my time to write guest articles if the mood hits me, since guest blogging is a valuable form of advertising. But when I write in exchange for ECs I feel obligated to write, and I prefer to be paid real money for obligatory creativity.

One thing I learned from the Entrecard experience is that people are looking for great content. And they’re willing to pay something for it (of course, we all knew this anyway).

Let me direct your attention to my newest header tab: Article Writing Services. If you’re a blogger or website owner, and you simply don’t have the time to write lots of great articles, Crayon Writer is your new source for excellent web content.

Contact me so we can figure out your needs, and I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.

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