contributor weekly (week 1)
DESCRIPTION
A weekly newsletter for contributors, keeping you up-to-date on the latest trends and tips for writing, publishing, and sharing your contributions.TRANSCRIPT
Because Contributors Need Advice, TooWe work with contributors and contribute frequently ourselves. We are always looking for tips to help us become more thoughtful and technically sound writers. This is what weve learned this week.Articles: Read to make yourself a better contributor.When sharing your articles, take this advice from Kevin Purdy first anduse Pocket to avoid alienating your co-workers.Bonus: Easily organize folders of articles that inspire you byusing the Pocket Chrome extension.When you run out of article ideas, it can be creative hell.In this article, Ian Humphreys describes six steps to escaping that purgatory.
You should have your Google Authorship set up. If youre not sure
why (or how),read this definitive guideby Rick
DeJarnette.Bonus:Once youre convinced, you can go straight to the
source to learnhow to set it up.Transform your online connections
into offline conversations by following thesegreat tipsby Erica
Nicole.Trending:Pay attentionto what people are discussing to
inspire new article ideas.Twitter has made a big move against
spambots byofficially killing the auto follow. Contributors can
comment on the effects this has on the companies that attempt to
game the system.Bonus: If youre not sure how to spot a bot,read
this.Googlemissed its Q2 revenue projections, and many are pointing
to the decline of CPC (cost-per-click) ad revenue. Contributors
should chime in about the future of search advertising.Netflixs
original series, House of Cards,is nominated for a few Emmys. We
would love a contributors take on what this means for the TV
industry as a whole.A new surgical knife,the iKnife, can detect
cancerous tissue in real time. Contributors with health expertise
should elaborate on the implications of this new
technology.Resources:Use these tools to improve contributing
efficiency.Twtrlandis a free service that analyzes your engagement
on Twitter, your top tweets, and the demographics of your
followers.Fuel conversation around your articles by participating
in relevant Twitter chats. Find a chat usingthis schedule, and
search the chats hashtag at the scheduled time
usingTwubs.TryBrandYourself, a service that helps you control the
search results for your own name to make sure your column shows up
before your high school photos.Standout contribution:Learnfrom your
fellow contributors.Adam Tanners article about aninfamous mafia
hitman rebuilding his identityis a standout because he utilizedone
of our tips from last weekon using your contributor status to
interview people. He related the niche topic to the masses at the
end, which isnt always easy to do. Bravo, Adam.Voices: 3 Questions
for Josh Moss, Editor at Upstart Business Journal1. What makes a
good contributor?A good contributor is one who can write clearly
and with some style. He or she is open to suggestions and edits,
and the contributor isnt too rigid in how he views his writing.
And, perhaps most importantly, he has an eye for telling a
story.
2. What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to contributions?My
biggest pet peeve is when a contributor goes out of his way to
blatantly pitch his own business.3. What type of content do you
value most?The best content contains honest and compelling stories,
those where an entrepreneur looks deep into himself or his business
and reveals a truth. This can have the biggest impact on others who
want to follow suit.Grammar:Improveyour technical side to win
editors hearts.2 Words You're Probably Misusing1. Fewer vs. LessUse
"fewer" when you're referring to things you can count (e.g.,
people), rather than things measured by mass.Fewerthan two hundred
people showed up for the concert.I should drinklesscoffee.2.
Further vs. Farther"Farther" should be used in instances referring
to physical distance. You can remember that because the word "far"
is in "farther."Chipotle isfartherfrom the office than I would
like.I would like to explore the matterfurther.It's fine to use
either further or farther in cases where it's ambiguous whether
you're referring to physical distance (e.g.,Mary is farther along
in her book...).Contributor Weekly byInfluence & Co.would love
yourfeedback here.