What You Need To Know About Online Writing Courses Before You Jump In

Online writing is already a booming business, and so many writers are making a lot of money from it. Be it freelance content writing, copywriting, blogging, or creating e-books, everyone seems to want a piece of it. But if you are new to online writing, you may wonder where to start and how to reap its benefits.

Looking for advice, you would most probably ask someone who is already making money from writing—either an old friend or a renowned writer on social media. Writer friends or colleagues have many ways of telling one how to become a writer, including what courses to take. 

However, they won’t tell you whether the courses they suggest are useful to you and your writing aspirations. It’s up to you to figure out what course will help you launch your online writing career. But with a myriad of online writing courses popping up every day, the fear of analysis paralysis is always present.

So how do you choose a writing course that is best for you?

That is the question this post will answer. I will offer you all you need to know so that you don’t waste money on a course that will not deliver value.

Continue reading

5 Ways Virtual Interactions Prepare Writers for Future Jobs

Even after engaging in a few video calls or virtual hangouts, I admit I am still nervous to speak in front of a webcam. In most cases, especially before a call, I will Google desperately for ways to engage better, but everything falls flat immediately when the conversation begins. Even my usual mantra doesn’t help!

I believe I have some kind of social anxiety that makes me turn down any conversation or interaction via a webcam. Or maybe it’s imposter syndrome, making me hide behind emails. 

Camera shyness is a typical thing for most people, especially millennials. One survey found that 73% of millennials still prefer to communicate through email and aren’t comfortable with web conferencing. Many, like me, are struggling with social phobia.

That leads to live videos, virtual communication, and virtual hangouts being immensely underutilized by the millennial workforce.

If you provide writing services, chances are you will need to speak to prospective clients, sources, and other writers through platforms such as Skype, Zoom, and Google Meet. 

While each person may have valid reasons to avoid virtual interactions or online interactive events, such connections can offer you additional skill sets that you can draw from in your career and business.

Let’s look at ways virtual interactions and hangouts can help you in your work. From realizing the power of web meetings to fighting writer’s block using virtual technology, modern solutions have a lot to offer to a writer.

Continue reading

6 Organizational Habits That Also Benefit Writers

Writing means freedom to many people, especially individuals transitioning from the corporate environment to freelance writing.

It’s freedom from all the corporate policies that come with an organization—don’t forget customer complaints and pressure from top executives.

That is what I thought after I was given the ax by my former employer and jumped into freelance writing full-time. Instead of feeling anger and disillusionment, I felt a sigh of relief.

Finally, I would be away from all the corporate impositions that governed my day-to-day activities, such as hard-to-hit targets, several admin tools to use, and even training days that required me to be away from home.

So the first thing I did when I got laid off was to exit chat rooms and work-related messaging apps and flew into freelance writing.

But as I got deeper into writing and freelancing, I came to realize that the organizational practices that I despised and trampled weren’t all that bad. In fact, they help maintain sanity in the workplace and in an individual.

Continue reading

What Writers Can Learn by Attending a Social Media Conference

Social media conferences, unlike writing conferences, may not ring a bell in you if you are not really into content marketing. Still, it is one among many types of conferences that writers shouldn’t ignore, especially if they’re into writing fiction or do content production for online and social media consumption. 

If you want to up your social media marketing skills, boost your creativity in design and writing, or open up to new possibilities in areas such as tech, you may have to look beyond conferences aimed just at writers. 

Luckily, the start of a new year brings with it many conferences for writers and digital marketers. It is also a time for us writers to reflect, make resolutions, and plan on events to attend during the year—and this is where social media conferences, just like writers’ conferences, should enter in our planner.

Continue reading