Resources

Becoming an Expert

by Allison Whitehead (Allison writes for Constant-Content.com, Learn how to buy articles like this)

Being an expert on a particular subject (maybe even two or three) is a great way to multiply your article sales fast.  But how do you become an expert?  How do you choose which subjects to become an authority on?  And how does it save you time?

Gain knowledge first

When it comes to writers, knowledge is power.  The more we know about, the more ideas and articles we can come up with.  And being an expert on a given subject is an excellent way to develop your writing career and increase those sales.

If this is a new technique for you, try starting with your hobby.  You’ll probably find that, given half an hour with a notebook and pen, you’ll have plenty of ideas for articles and illustrations, and a wealth of knowledge already at your fingertips.  This is one advantage of being an expert - it limits the amount of time needed for research, as you already have a good grounding from which to start.

Diversify your expertise

Ideally, you should have two or three subjects you know a lot about, so if one falls out of favour for some reason, you can still continue with the others.  Limiting yourself to a single subject can become restricting, and as you most likely have more than one main interest, why not make the most of all of them?

Being able to write about subjects you have a passion for will also improve your writing - your enthusiasm and knowledge will shine through, enhancing your writing and increasing your sales.  You will also find it easier to come up with ideas on a subject you know a lot about, which again will give you more chances of making those sales.

To give you an idea, I have an interest in cats, and have two of my own.  I have sold many articles on their escapades (and those of other cats I know), as well as pieces on the many common sayings they have inspired, their appearances in television and film, their history, and so on.  I have also used two or three real life events as the basis for some short stories for a cat magazine - all of which have sold.  So bear in mind you can use your expert knowledge to inspire fiction as well as factual pieces.

But perhaps the most important aspect to all those feline sales was that they required very little research - and this is where we can begin to see the advantages of being an expert in a particular area.  As you develop your interest you will begin to create a home library on the subject.  Books, magazines and newspaper articles can all be stored ready for use whenever you need them.  Add to this the knowledge you will have inside your head, and you will soon be able to write an authoritative article on your specialist subject at a moment’s notice, with no need for a time consuming research session.

Keep your info up-to-date

When you have put together a home library in this way, it is important to make sure it is kept up to date.  Add any new material as you come across it, and make sure any out of date information is kept in a separate folder, labelled appropriately.  You might be wondering, why keep it at all?  Well, how about an article on outdated methods and so on?  We live and learn, and articles on how we used to do things can be fascinating, often amusing, and sometimes embarrassing!  It’s good to keep outdated and sometimes incorrect material - providing you know it is outdated and incorrect, and only use it as such.

Lateral thinking

You may think being an expert on a subject limits you to markets dealing directly with it.  But with a little lateral thinking you can sell articles far and wide.  I managed to combine two of my favourite subjects (cats and the supernatural) by selling an article on ‘alien big cats’ to Prediction magazine.  There may be opportunities for you to combine two of your subjects together like this.

There are also many other ideas you can gain from a single subject.  Compare your speciality with every magazine you come across, and ask yourself if you can find an angle that would interest that magazine.  For example, with my interest in the supernatural, I could offer articles on various ghostly pet stories to Cat World, Dog World, and so on; a light-hearted piece on how to spot a haunted house to a potential home buyers magazine; and numerous pieces on specific haunted locations to the county magazines.  These are just three ideas which could produce many articles, all specifically slanted towards the appropriate magazines.

I’m sure you can see that, with three specialist subjects, you could soon have more ideas to write about than you have time for.  And finally… when you have a selection of published articles on a chosen subject tucked away, have a think about producing a non-fiction book on it.  Photocopies of published work in the same vein can help a book proposal enormously, so bear this in mind.

I have written an article (974 words) which I would like to add to the Google website. Can you tell me how I go about it?

As a fellow writer, I can tell you that there are many ways to get your article out there on the Internet including publishing it on a personal Web site or blog, submitting it to article directories, submitting it to sites that pay for articles, and submitting it to a site such as Google Knol. Each has its pros and cons and it really depends on your goals for the article. For example, if you want to use the article to drive traffic to your Web site, submitting it to an article directory might be a good move. If you simply want the world to see your words, a site like Google Knol is easy for self-publishing. On the other hand, if you’d like to make a little income from your hard work, there are many good markets for selling articles on the Internet. Since you asked specifically about Google, let me show you how to submit an article to Google Knol.

What is Google Knol?

Google Knol is a user-generated collection of knowledge with “knol” meaning “unit of knowledge. Users must sign up for a free account. From there, they submit articles which can then be read by anyone interested in the topic. These articles are indexed by the search engines, so it’s conceivable that readers will find your article via Google, Yahoo, and other search engines.

Signing up for Google Knol

First, you need to go to http://knol.google.com/k and sign up for a free account. If you already have a Google account, simply sign in with your existing Google username and password.

Submitting an Article to Google Knol

Once signed in, click the Write a New Knol button. This will open a form where you can cut and paste your article’s title, subtitle, summary, and text. Off to the right side of the screen, you’ll see an area where you can create your user profile as well as select options for your knol. For example, you will need to “publish” the knol by clicking the Publish button once it’s ready as well as select the licensing and collaboration levels for the article.

You can change both the collaboration and the licensing settings by clicking the Change link next to “All Rights Reserved.” By default, collaboration is set to “Moderated Collaboration.” That is, users can suggest changes to you and you can either accept them or deny them. If you prefer an open model (like Wikipedia), then choose Open Collaboration. If you want to be the sole author, choose Closed Collaboration.

“All Rights Reserved” is the default licensing option. That is, users are not allowed to copy and paste your text and use it as they please. If you don’t mind sharing, choose one of the Creative Commons license types.

Once you have entered your article and made your choices, click the Publish button and your article will be on the Google Knol site for the world to see. Happy publishing!  

Hi, when I try to log on to Facebook, once I’ve put in my email address and password it just redirects me to the same page - any ideas on fixing this problem?

This is not an uncommon problem and there are many things you can try to solve it. Because I don’t know what is causing the error, I’m going to list possible solutions for you to try in order from easiest to more difficult.

Password Issues

Are you absolutely sure that you are using the correct username and password? Do you have the caps lock pressed while you are entering the username and password? It may seem very basic, but you’d be surprised how often this happens. If you enter the incorrect information too many times you can get this error.

Internet Issues

Have you tried using another browser? For example, if you are using Internet Explorer, try logging on with Firefox. Your security settings may be too high - some users have had success removing the ICHP filtering from the firewall. Clear the cache, cookies and Internet history. To do this:

1. Open your internet browser and go to Tools.
2. Find Delete Browsing History.
3. Put a check by: Temporary Internet Files, History, Form Data and Cookies.
4. Select Delete.

Some users have had success by going to Open DNS and changing the DNS servers to 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.

There may be some patches that have been upgraded. To get to these, shut down your modem completely, wait a few minutes and then turn it back on again. When you reboot, try Facebook again and see if there is more success.

Computer Issues

Are you trying to get into Facebook from a bookmark or through your desktop? It’s possible that they have changed the login page and you are not seeing it through the bookmark that you are using. Go directly to the Facebook homepage at http://www.facebook.com/ and then manually go to the login page. If this method is successful, set a new bookmark and delete the old one.

I read of one user who was getting this username/password loop, and his solution was to set up a new user on his computer and then log into Facebook using this new user account. You could also try using another user’s account on your computer if you already have one set up.

If these don’t help you with your login problem, you have a couple of choices. Facebook doesn’t really have much support, although you can try to login under another user’s name and access the general help page, although they say that they won’t answer questions about a personal profile - this may fall under the heading of a general question. There is an unofficial website - All Facebook Help that may be able to help you with your issue.

Issue with connection on MySpace (all others such as AOL work fine.)

Since the issue is only with your MySpace connection, the problem is most likely related to an application on your website that is interfering with that specific website. I’m not sure if you aren’t connecting to the site at all or if you are simply having problems with some of the web pages. It’s easier to diagnose a problem when a specific error message is given. Try the suggestions here to fix your problem.

Troubleshooting MySpace Connection: Switch Computers

One of the strategies that you can try to verify that it is the way your computer is set up is to attempt to access the website from a different computer. If it works, then you can assume the problem is not related to the website.

Troubleshooting MySpace Connection: Clear the Internet Cache

Sometimes, it is almost as though a computer can get stuck in a bad action and never recover from it. Clearing the temporary Internet cache often fixes the trouble. Follow these directions to delete stored information that might be contributing to the problem:

• Open Internet Explorer.
• Select “Tools” from the top of the menu.
• Select “Delete Browsing History.”
• Mark off the boxes in front of the following: cookies, form data, history, and temporary Internet files.
• Click “Delete.”

If you are using a different browser, please check out the information for this article: Clearing Browser History.

Troubleshooting MySpace Connection: Security Software

It is possible that your security software is preventing you from accessing your MySpace page. Have you recently installed or updated any security applications? Is it possible that your security settings have changes to a more restrictive level? You can disable your security software temporarily and check to see if you can access MySpace. If you can, then you can tweak the settings in your security application to allow you to access the MySpace website. Perhaps you can lower the restriction to a lower setting when you restore the security software.

In addition, if you are child living at home, your parents may have blocked access to MySpace using parental controls software. If this is the case, you’ll need to convince your parents that you are responsible enough to use the site safely.

Troubleshooting MySpace Connection: Routers

You can see if resetting your router by holding in the reset button for ten seconds will correct the connection error. MySpace is known to create problems with certain settings on routers so you might also need to contact the manufacturer of the router that you are using with the computer. Explain the situation to them in detail. They should be able to take you through the steps needed to change the settings on the router that are preventing you from connecting to MySpace while allowing you to connect to other websites.

I need help with commenting and blogging.

Inappropriate Blog Comments

Allowing readers to post comments on your blog is a fun way to both interact with others as well as receive feedback about your post. Unfortunately, the occasional reader may post something offensive or inappropriate. In addition, spammers love a free link and often post comments on blogs simply to promote themselves or products and websites that they represent. Not only do these types of comments affect you, they can affect your readers. For example, if readers know that your blog posts are filled with spam comments, they won’t bother to read them. On the other hand, if they know that you actively moderate your blog’s comments, they’ll be more likely to value the blog as a whole.

Managing Blog Comments Before They Appear

Most blog software provides some sort of control over comments. You are generally able to determine whether or not to allow comments as well as edit or delete comments once they’ve been made. For Example, if you use WordPress, you can set up your preferences for comments in the Settings > Discussion area. In WordPress’s case, a variety of options are available including default comment settings, user registration requirements, comment notification, comment moderation, and comment blacklists.

If you are receiving excessive spam comments, enabling moderation and setting up a blacklist are two steps that you should definitely implement if available through your blog host. Comment moderation at its simplest involves having an administrator approve the comment before it is posted.

Many sites, such as Filetonic.com, use a validation of some sort to ensure that the comment poster is a real person and not an automated program. In Filetonic’s case, the user must answer a simple math question in order to post the comment. The comment then sits, unpublished, until one of the administrators reads and approves it.

Blacklisting, if available from your blog host, involves creating a list of URLs, e-mail addresses, names, or specific words. When these items are contained within a comment, the comment is marked as spam and not posted. For example, if your blog is attracting a lot of spam comments along the lines of “buy Viagra online,” you can enter that phrase in your blacklist filter and any future comments with that phrase will automatically be filtered out.

Managing Blog Comments after They are Posted

While your comment settings will weed out the bulk of the inappropriate comments appearing on your blog, inevitably a few will slip through the cracks. Fortunately, most blog programs have mechanisms for dealing with posted comments. In WordPress’s Dashboard area is a section aptly labeled “Comments.” Clicking this category displays the Edit Comments screen where you can view pending, approved, and spam comments. You can also edit and delete the comments from here.

Managing comments is an important part of running your own blog. It’s your blog, so make sure that you are completely comfortable with the comments posted on it. When it doubt, delete the comment.

Maximize Your Blog Income with Google Adsense

If you own or operate a blog, chances are you use Google Adsense as a way of generating income. Known as one of the major money-making powerhouses for bloggers, Adsense requires a certain amount of knowledge if you want to maximize your earnings.

The average blogger, however, doesn’t have a lot of time to calculate Cost-Per-Click (CPC) or Cost-Per-1000-Impressions (CPM). You want to spend time writing content for your blog, not fiddling with algorithms or adding up figures.

Fortunately, there are a few tips that will help even a beginner blogger see a jump in Adsense earnings. They’re simple, and they work with almost any blog program.

Get Visitors

Choose a topic that sells. Certain topics will drive traffic to your website and generate higher-paying Google ads. If you seem to get paid pennies per click, you may want to reconsider your topic.

Get Ads that appeal to your readers

Write keyword rich content. Good, useful content is the most important part of getting readers to visit and return to your blog. But you’ll generate even more traffic–and get more relevant Google ads–by writing blog entries that target your keywords. If the ads appeal to your readers, they’ll be more likely to click on them and increase your income.

Make ads noticeable

Position ads in the right spots. Visit Google’s Adsense Help section and search for their ad placement diagram. It shows “hotspots” for your ads. By placing your Google ads in these spots, you’ll get more clicks–which mean more money.

Make ads consistent with your blog

Pick the right colors. Yes, your Google ads should be noticeable. But they should also be consistent with the rest of your blog. When creating your Google ads, make sure you choose colors that match the rest of your blog posts. It creates the appearance that the ads are part of your blog, which means readers are more likely to click on them.

Use everything

Include a Google search. Google searches are so popular these days that the phrase “Google it” has become part of our vernacular. Include a search bar–provided by Google Adsense–as another way of generating income.

Use variety

Add images and text. Text links may seem the least intrusive, but image ads draw the eye. Use text links in parts of your blog where it blends with your posts, and include image ads on the side or at the end of a page.

Follow the rules

Obey Google’s guidelines. Nothing will get you kicked out of the Google Adsense program faster than breaking the rules. Don’t click your own ads. Don’t ask friends and family to click ads. And limit yourself to the maximum number of ads that Google allows. By following Google’s guidelines, you’ll continue to generate income for as long as you own your blog.

Change your ads until you find what works for you. Everyone’s blog is different. Your content, your style of writing, your page design and every other aspect of your blog is unique. What works for one person may not work for another. When working with Google Adsense, remember to experiment with things like colors, images versus text, ad placement and keywords to find the right money-making formula for you. All it takes is a little bit of time to maximize the earning potential of your blog!