Inspiration for Writing Evergreen

Associated Content and the web in general has much to offer in the way of self-help articles to provide a newbie freelance writer with help for web-writing and publishing. Writing for the web is a bit different than writing for business, for print or for college; just like any industry, it has its nuances.

Rising Star Recognition for SEO and Evergreen

AC Brenna, highlighted this about my rising star award for January in her recent article, "Rising Stars January Edition, "Last, but certainly not least: Kay Balbi's diverse areas of interest, solid grasp of SEO and strong personal voice have all contributed to her early success. Bathroom Floor Tiling - Do It Yourself in 10 Steps is a great example of her propensity to create strong, evergreen content.

First off thank you Brenna, Darnell, Jolynne, Marilisa and everyone else that supported this recognition. It was a great honor and I did indeed do a happy dance because it validated that at least I'm learning, even though I certainly haven't perfected it.

Thank you AC and AC contributors very much for the help and support

What I would like to share with you is what I have learned in the last few months. Many people in the AC forums have steered me in the general direction so go to the help forum and search for things you want to learn about. The thing is, I had to take time to read articles, ask for help or clarifications, and then apply what I was hearing through action. I learned to apply things that made sense to me and keep asking questions on things that didn't.

I have made a lot of mistakes along the way, but what are mistakes if not learning experiences and the very essence of what makes life worthwhile?

Inspiration for an Evergreen story - Where can you go?

At first I thought, what am I going to write about, but that bothered me for all about 5 seconds. I looked around and found I had plenty to write about (see the link to my slide show for ideas).

Mechanics of Web Writing for any type of article - learn the basics first

Then it was, how do I write on AC, was my writing good enough, how could I get an assignment, and get paid.

Then it was how can I increase my PPVs and keep my writing more focused to about 400 - 600 words and write faster. . That lead to my discovery of "how to's", "lists', asking questions in the titles, and applying SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Writing and Learning as I went

I began to document my journey so I could keep track of what I was and was not doing. Then I made a list for myself of all the possible topics I thought I could write abou. It was easy to start and took little or no research. I began to write and publish, and requesting up fronts each time.

As I wrote, I began categorizing my possible topics and trying to come up with a key word list. When I read other people's articles, I looked at the items that were linked in blue. Often there was more than one word - like 'heath care reform'. The light bulb went on - these were key words!

Key words, topic choice and linking it all together

I also noticed how other writers were citing their sources, and quoting other people's work to validate their opinions and increase back-linking traffic to not only reputable sources but other contributors and their own work's too!

I broke all my possible writing subjects into three major categories - finance and business,(Toyota's recall) health and wellness, and home remodeling were inter-related sometimes. I began making sure I used those keywords in the body of my work several times as well as using the sub key words or niche topics in the title, sub title and paragraph headers.

Ads, hits and relating it to current trends and back-links

I used the tools in the links below to help me. Key words research was easy on Google Adwords tool. I found "sub words" or related words that people would search on when looking for that topic that interested me. Soon I had about 50 key and sub key words (or long tails they call them) in each category where the stories could begin or wrap around.

Looking at my previously written content, each time I published something new, as part of the edit process, it would be linked backwards in the text and other links below if related.

Notice that these articles were health and wellness related but also related to the key sub topics I had chosen which were "health care plan", "health care in the ER" "birth defects" and "parenting experiences", each with a different spin.

What is an Evergreen Article?

Evergreen articles are the type of articles that will do well for the long haul, vs. news or events that are sometimes quick hits with views that die off overnight. The 'how to's', 'the lists', and the specific personal experiences that are unique are providing hits over the long haul for me.

Marketing and promotion: use virtual network and personal voice to grow niche

The last thing is marketing. I've done different things to test what worked for me. I believe marketing or promoting not only each article but your "voice" "message',, "hopes",, "dreams", "peeves" is very helpful at improving hits particularly on evergreen work over time. If you can develop a series, you are well on your way to learning and applying SEO and Evergreen writing with success.

Use forums and social networks to get some traction, and don't be ashamed to encourage people to pass your work along. My daughter has passed on a few articles that did well with her friends, and my mom has been adding her "email list" to my network of followers. (Thanks ladies!)

This morning I read an article that I thought was also inspiring, It talks about 'How Writing Leads to Thinking' by Lynn Hunt. It tells us that the writing process makes us think and that seldom do we really know what we are going to write about until we start the process. So the cure for finding something to think about regarding evergreen, is really just to start writing and then focus on a specific angle or piece of the experience.

Sources:

How Writing Leads to Thinking', Lynn Hunt

I had plenty to write about., Kay Balbi

how do I write on AC, Rich Thomas, AC

was my writing good enough, Jan Peterson, AC

how could I get an assignment,Steve Thompson, AC

Google Adwords tool, Google.com