Tag Archives: freelance writing

Bright Hub Closing Its Doors?

  By Susan Barton | December 10, 2011 - 1:53 pm | , , ,
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I recently received the email below and wanted to share it with anyone considering a “career” with BrightHub.com. As my previous article concerning my experience with Bright Hub explains, I was unceremoniously fired from Bright Hub after challenging the opinion of Ms. Thing Editor, Michelle McDonough, so I’m wondering why I even received this email. From the looks of this email it will now be necessary to write even longer articles for even less money. Good luck to anyone who’s desperate enough to slave away for these morons.

 

Dear Susan Barton:

Bright Hub has focused on providing value to our readers, our writers, and our advertisers since 2007. We have made adjustments along the way to remain competitive in a fast-changing environment, and currently, over 5 million visitors a month engage with the Bright Hub site. None of this would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our writing and editing community.

The last few months have been particularly challenging. Like many companies we are facing the reality of a changed economy, while simultaneously working to increase visitors in a post-Panda world. This combination of market forces has required us to make some hard decisions about our business model moving forward, including the elimination of some internal staff positions as well as our ‘Shared Success’ writer program.

Therefore, our current writer and editor roles have ended, effective immediately, and your last payment for revenue-sharing will be on December 15. Any updates or editing of previously created content will be handled by internal staff.  And, if we should ever need to delete one of your articles, we will return the article and copyright to you via email, utilizing our current article notification system.

Does this mean we are closing our virtual doors? No. Bright Hub will continue to focus on our core content areas of Business, Technology and Education, and will be contracting on an ad hoc basis with a small group of writers and editors, who will work closely with our in-house editorial team. Fees for both writing assignments and editing work will be based on the length and depth of content coverage needed. In addition, content strategy consultants will be utilized in key areas. These will be professionals with their thumb directly on the pulse of the industries we cover. These strategists will work with our editorial team to ensure we are providing a rich reader-experience for our many website visitors.

If you would like to be considered for future contract work, please send a note to support@brighthub.com. This is also the email you should direct any questions or concerns to about the changes we have outlined here. Internally, Bright Hub is losing two key staff members, Kelly Walborn and Krista Cramer.  They were valuable members of our Bright Hub team and we wish them well in their new career opportunities.  In addition, both Kim Lloyd and Neil Henry are transitioning out of their current roles, but still remain at Bright Hub working on internal projects until sometime in January.  Tracy Sabattis will be assuming leadership of the editorial community, with support from Josh McWilliam and Carly Smith.

We understand that for many of you, the time will have come to part ways. Some of you have been with Bright Hub for a long time, and we are crushed to say goodbye to beloved members of the team, both internal and external. We are grateful and reflective of the success we had together. We thank you for all of your hard work, your commitment and your patience as we journeyed together throughout these tumultuous times, and wish you much future success.

Sincerely,

William Phelan

CEO

Bright Hub, Inc.

 

Making the Move from Articles to Videos

  By Susan Barton | November 18, 2011 - 8:39 pm |
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Anyone who makes a “living” writing articles on the Web knows things have gotten pretty darn tough lately. Assignments are just about slim to none.Demand Media Studios hit their writers with a sucker punch to the gut when they fired a whole slew of them, then began what they call a First Look Program and now consistently decline to release any assignments. Sure, you can call us freelancers, not worthy of a typical employee status, but pulling the proverbial rug right out from underneath your bread and butter is dirty and underhanded. After all, who’s making all the money and raising your stocks for you, DMS?

The Evil Panda Monster

So what happened? Some (or most) will blame it on the Panda Monster who gobbled up
(Googled up?) the so-called content farms and spit them out on their
low-quality behinds. Article sites like eHow, Suite101 and others were hit hard
and below the belt by the Google Panda. The problem is, not all freelance writers who write for these sites are hacks; sitting at computers in their underwear and informing the public one more time how to unclog a toilet with a plunger. Yes, that was one of mine, but in my defense I write what eHow asks me to write. I did write it while fully clothed, however.

DMS to Begin Relying on Video?

What’s a freelance writer to do? According to the rumors, DMS
is making a move towards video tutorials and away from the written word, but do
they honestly think people prefer to learn everything online via video? Some
subjects simply don’t transfer well into video. Some subjects are far too
involved to be condensed into a five-minute tutorial.

Test the Video-Making Waters

If  you’re a writer, you may be wondering if you need to run out and purchase video
equipment and editing software. I don’t think it hurts to diversify. You can easily try  your
hand at video tutorials. Most people have a camcorder or a camera with video
recording capabilities. There are some really nice, inexpensive HD video
recorders available. (I did a video review of the Flip UltraHD, which costs just $58.99 at Walmart.com.).  Movie Maker comes standard with most computers nowadays. Start a free blog on Blogger or WordPress (although if you chose Blogger  you can enable Adsense) and post some video tutorials to get a feel for it.

In this day and age of texting, YouTube, Instant Messaging, Facebook and Twitter, some people might think that reading actual articles online (or just about anywhere for that matter) is passé. I disagree, as do most other writers. It’ll be interesting to see how the eHow drama plays out over the next few weeks.

 

 

Passive Voice – The Article Killer

  By Susan Barton | November 18, 2011 - 4:26 pm |
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Paradise was paved and a parking lot was
put up. The sheriff was shot by me. Sounds odd and awkward,
doesn’t it? How popular would Joni Mitchell’s, “Big Yellow Taxi” or Eric
Clapton’s, “I Shot the Sheriff” be if they had been written in the passive
voice? Chances are neither would have had much air play. Yet, many writers
continue to pepper their writing with clumsy and wordy sentences.

To Be or Not To Be

As in the examples above, the subjects are being acted upon. The boy was bit by the dog. The door was opened by the man. The experiments were conducted by scientists. Passive sentences typically use a verb phrase of the verb to be. Writers often drop the by in the
passive voice, which leaves the reader wondering who or what was performing the
action. Songs were sung and games were won, but who sang and won them?

Active Voice Gets to the Point Quickly

Active voice is about actors performing actions. The subject is performing the action.
It’s preferable to write in an active voice because that makes for more interesting content. Otherwise, readers won’t move past the first sentence.

This isn’t only true for fiction writing. Article writing needs to be
informative, concise and to the point.

It’s often necessary to stick to a specific word count when writing an article.
Writing in the active voice practically forces writers to conserve word usage.
Sentences written in active voice get to the point quickly, and are a better
way to get your message across to the reader. Reading an article written in
passive voice can sometimes make readers wonder if the writer was simply trying
to reach a word count goal.

Grab the Reader’s Attention and Keep It

While you may not necessarily want everything you write to sound clipped and to be as
cold as an instructional manual, you do want to present information in as few
words as possible. There are thousands of articles on the web competing for
views and most people don’t have time to wade through a wordy article.

Active Voice Is More Easily Understood

When you have something to say you want to be understood. A grammar study,
conducted in July 2010, showed that some people have a difficult time
understanding sentences written in passive voice. Writing content that is
easily understandable by the majority of readers means more views and exposure
for your writing.

Check Your Voice With Word

Many writers are unaware that they’re writing in passive voice. The simplest way to
be sure your writing is not suffering from passivity is to write a draft in Word and turn on the grammar & style settings from the proofing options menu. Word will automatically alert you when you’ve used passive voice. Word will not suggest alternatives.

Relying on grammar checkers has its limitations. Proofreading an article for typos as
well as passive voice is important. If you can say the same thing with fewer
words then do it. Use active verbs to make your writing more vivid and readers
more interested in what you have to say.

Bright Hub Fired Me. Seriously?

  By Susan Barton | August 31, 2011 - 5:54 pm |
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I like to keep my writing options open. There’s certainly no shortage of article content sites online. When I decided to apply to Bright Hub I knew I’d only be making a measly $15 per 750 word article, but I went for it anyway.

The powers that be at Bright Hub approved me to write for two “channels”. This is just Bright Hub speak for “subjects”. I wrote two articles, was complimented nicely by the copy editors who received my articles for editing. No edits were required and all was going well. In fact, I commented to my husband how refreshing it was to write for a site who didn’t expect a thesis-quality document in exchange for $15.

I completed my last, and seemingly final, article, “Retaining a Multigenerational Workforce”. It was thoroughly researched, written and included impressive resources. The completed article contained just over 1000 words. I was happy with the result and submitted it.

Shortly after submitting the article, I received a request to rewrite the entire article. It seems the copy editor who received my article felt I had not addressed the “keywords” properly. Bright Hub is VERY big on keywords. They make a great deal about HTML and META tags. She also stated the article was “too general”. An article with over 1000 words, addressing each of the four generations that now make up the current workforce, addressing how employers could and should attract workers of all generational groups, but this editor (who typically writes crafting articles) was saying my article was too general. Not only are writers required to extensively research some fairly involved subjects, but we are expected to be proficient in keyword usage. And, this is all, as I’ve mentioned, for $15 for an article that is at least 750 words.

I begged to differ with the editor’s assessment of the article. I consider myself pretty darn knowledgeable on SEO techniques; having written SEO content for private clients for quite some time now. I respectfully disagreed with the editor and expressed my opinion that I had written the article with as much information as was available. I told the editor that I didn’t intend to completely rewrite the article and wished to return the assignment to the queue.

The next day I received a curt response from the managing editor, Michele McDonough, informing me that she agreed with the editor. In addition, and to my utter surprise, she advised me that she was taking away my “channel options”, basically firing me.

I don’t recall reading this punishment in any of Bright Hub’s guidelines. I sat faithfully through the ridiculous Learning Hubs required of all new writers. I don’t remember seeing the little cartoon character telling writers that if they dared disagree with an editor or returned an article to the queue we would be stripped immediately of all writing privileges. For all I know, Ms. McDonough could be establishing these rules as she goes along.

I contemplated sending a message, but didn’t feel I could do so without injecting a bit of umm, sarcasm (perhaps suggesting Ms. McDonough get acqainted with my friend Jenny Craig). I decided to just let it go. I did enjoy working with the previous editors. They were quite pleasant. I didn’t enjoy writing long, extensively researched articles for pennies, however. I also didn’t enjoy the once-per-month payout either.

Even if I were somehow successful in having my writing privileges returned who’s to say this kind of thing wouldn’t crop up again. Ms. McDonough seems to have quite a few “channels” under her and I honestly have no desire to communicate with her again.

How about other writers? Do you have any experiences writing for Bright Hub? I’d love to hear from you.


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  By Susan Barton | June 16, 2011 - 8:49 pm |
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Blogging For Fun And Profit

  By Susan Barton | June 15, 2011 - 6:48 pm | ,
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So you have a blog and happily post as often as you possibly can. You write about things that are important to you. You share funny stories about your children, spouse, co-workers, neighbors. Maybe you even use your blog as a way to let off some steam. Unhappy with the customer service you’ve received at your local superstore? Write about it. Your boss is a jerk? Write about him (leaving out his or her name of course). Your husband constantly leaves the toilet seat up or hogs the remote? Share all the irritating details on your blog. There are literally millions of blogs out there in cyberspace so why shouldn’t you be joining in on the blogging fun?

There are many reasons why you should consider starting a blog. Many free blog sites exist so there’s no financial commitment to make. Register, choose a theme and begin posting. It’s as easy as that. As mentioned above, blogging is a good way to share your life with others. Families set up blogs where each member has a chance to post updates to let relatives near and far know what’s going on in their lives. Include photos and videos and it’s almost like being there with your loved ones. If you’re looking to change careers or are currently out of work you should consider creating a blog. Include a resume page and links to relevant accomplishments and you can advertise yourself via your blog easily with one click. This is definitely an overlooked free marketing strategy for job seekers.

Do you have a business website? If the answer is yes, you should absolutely include a blog on your site. Write articles and how-to’s related to your business field and your customers will appreciate the added information. Let’s say you own a tree trimming business and you have a business website. You can write articles about types of trees to plant, the best time to trim and prune, known diseases prevalent in certain varieties of trees, how to start a leaf compost bin, and on and on. Inviting readers to leave comments and questions gives you the opportunity to put in a good word for your company.

Blogs can be money makers all on their own. Most, if not all, free blogging sites do not allow advertising on blogs. But if you purchase your own domain you can include money-making ads on your blog. There are numerous pay-per-click and affiliate programs available online. By placing company ads on your blog you make money when a visitor to your site clicks on an ad and/or buys a product from the company. You most likely will not get rich doing this but you get paid for doing very little and that’s a pretty good thing. If you have several ads going on each page of your blog you up the ante that much more.

In order to make money from advertising on your blog you need to bring visitors to your site. Submitting your blog to search engines is key. An often overlooked method to bring visitors to your site is to write articles. There are many article network sites where you can submit articles on literally any topic. Your information, including your website address, appears with the article and that translates to free advertising for your site. I will go into more detail on this technique in future articles.

Blogging can be fun, an expressive outlet, a marketing tool and a money maker. Once you start blogging you’ll begin to look at things in an entirely different light. News reports, radio programs, even a trip to the grocery store can all be fodder for your blog writing. Keeping a small notebook and pen with you at all times helps you remember little tidbits of everyday life than can be written about later. Happy blogging!

Hello and Welcome!

  By Susan Barton | June 15, 2011 - 6:27 pm | ,
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I began blogging many years ago, with my original site, lovesleftovers.wordpress.com, as a way to share my personal views on just about everything. I’d like this site to be just as eclectic, but a little more focused – hence the Quotes, Photography, Articles and Podcasts tagline.

I’ve been a freelance writer for years, first while my three children were babies and throughout their childhood. I managed to raise my children as a single mom while running a couple of home-based businesses, most notably a daycare business and my writing business. I’m currently a contributing author to several article directories and websites and have several business and individual clients I write for. If you I can write something (articles, SEO articles, web content, newsletter and ezine articles, etc.) for you please let me know by contacting me via email at info@lovesleftovers.com. Or you can visit my business website to see how my associates and I can help you.

I am also an Indie book promoter and marketer. If you’re an Indie author and would like some FREE marketing services, please visit eBook Review Gal for more information. I also provide services to artists, musicians and business owners.

I’m a photographer, and so is my husband. Although my husband has his own photography website, I’ll still be sharing some of his beautiful photos here. Please don’t copy any photos. If you’d like to use our photos, we ask that you email us for permission to do so. This request goes for anything else included in the site.