How Your Blog Images Can Help Freelance Writers Land More Work

Okay. If you dont already know, I L-O-V-E images. From free stock images to using sites like Pixabay, if theyre free to use on blogs and for my clients, Ill spend the time finding the perfect one. True – I might spend too much time designing my blog images, but its a nice break from freelance writing. But, something I never thought of in a million years, was that my blog images generated work and sales for me as a freelance writer. And whats neat is that Im not advertising that I do blog images as a service. So, how do my blog images make me more money? Before we get into that, want to know how to make a slammin blog image for your blog or clients? I personally use Photoshop, but if youre bootstrapping your biz, Canva or Picmonkey has got you covered. Here are some key things to help your image reach more people. 1. Use a Text Box Canva and Picmonkey both offer the option of using a text box. This is a box that can be transparent and its placed behind your text. This makes your text pop out and clearer to read. This is how my feature image would look without a text box. I tried to make it more legible by making the font white instead of black, but as you can see, its still very hard to read. Some images dont need a text box. Those images typically have very little distractions, but generally if you want your image to stand out, try using a text box. A pro tip is to make your box a bit transparent. I know Canva has this option, but not sure if Picmonkey does? 2. Use Script Fonts Sparingly Dont you love fonts? I do. I can spend all day trying out new fonts and scripts. But, if youre doing an image, the best practice is to choose one font and one script font. A script font is a fancy font thats like a handwriting or brush font. These fonts are typically a little harder to read, so to make your image readable, choose only one or two words to emphasize – unless you have a short title or unless the font is easy enough to read ( you can then use a script font for your entire headline). A rule of thumb: capitalize your main font (sans serif font) and dont for your script font. 3. Brand Your Images If you want more traffic to your website, then start branding your images. For the longest time I wasnt really branding my images on this blog. I would pick any picture, choose any font combination and there ya go! No rhyme or reason. But, once I started my new blog, Twins Mommy and branding those images, I noticed something. More people were following me on Pinterest and I was getting more traffic. So, I made the switch and started branding my images on this blog and have noticed a similar change. When choosing a brand style, you want to focus on colors, fonts and images. Use your brand color, find a pair of fonts that you like and chose similar styled images. Play around with your branding style. You can look on Pinterest for inspiration. Always promote your website on your images. I always put my website name at the bottom of my images. This makes it easy for people to identify my images with, which helps bring traffic to my site. Okay, so how does your blog images help you land more work? You Can Share Your Images on Social Media Ive said it before and Ill say it again, social media can be a goldmine for finding freelance work. A lot of my work came from Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest (recently). By being able to share your blog post and images your audience sees it and can re-share it. This has probably been the number one way Ive landed graphic work. Someone sees my posting, goes to my blog and contacts me for work. BOOM! It Shows Youre Versatile Look, I know Ive mentioned to niche down and only write about one topic but, that doesnt mean you cant ever take on a project outside your niche. When clients or prospects go to my blog, they see an engaged blog. They see great images, social shares and comments. They also see how you manage your blog. Are there a ton of ads on it? Is your side bar bloated? Having a professional looking blog can often help you land some design or graphic work. You Can Upsell Your Services Whats great is once you build up your skill set in different areas, you can bundle your services and upsell your prospect. Often, when Im negotiating with a potential client, I mention that I can: Upload my post to their WordPress backend Select a feature image thats Creative Commons licensed Promote it all over my social media channels Optimize my post for keywords When I tell them this, I give them an adjusted quote and most clients take this because I show them the value I provide. Not only do I just write a blog post, but its optimized, shared, and handled all by me. So, if you can find a way to offer a bundled package for your prospects, youll be able to earn more money as a freelance writer. It Shows What You Know Let me ask a question: Do you think a client would rather hire a writer that only knows how to write a blog post or someone that knows how to use IFTTT or Trello or has a lead magnet to grow their email list? I dont know about you, but I feel content clients want writers that know the online world. They want writers that have a presence on social media and are familiar with how to start a blog, grow an audience and various online tools and apps. When prospects see my blog, they know that I know what Im doing. This helps me land more gigs at a higher rate since they know theyre getting more than just a writer. For me, theyre getting a digital marketer too. Focus on Your Blog Images Im all about blogging. I mean Im a blogger and a freelance writer. I have several blogs. I know your blog can help you land freelance work. In particular your images can help spread your brand and get in front of potential clients. Many of my graphic design clients are other freelancers or solopreneurs. I guess they liked what they saw when they visited my blog! Over to you – is your blog helping you land freelance writing work?

Auguste Mariette Excavation Methods Essay Example

Auguste Mariette Excavation Methods Essay Example Auguste Mariette Excavation Methods Paper Auguste Mariette Excavation Methods Paper Mariette’s research methods were made easy as he had an ability to interpret practically anything. His ability to decipher hieroglyphics and codes led him to many discoveries. An example of the use of Coding in his excavation is the tablet which lay near the Sphinx. This tablet had the path to the Temple of Serapeum but in hieroglyphics. Mariette deciphered the text and discovered one of the most sought for sites in the history of archaeology. Auguste Mariette’s excavation methods in clearing the site were inconsistent in terms of whether they were good or bad but most of his methods were well done. Some of his attempts of clearing the site were somewhat crude whereas other attempts were reasonably well done. In ‘The Monuments of Upper Egypt’, written by Auguste Mariette in 1877, Mariette states â€Å"In blowing up the debris with gunpowder, we discovered a human mummy†. This primary source is evidence of the crude methods of his attempts of clearing a site. The expression ‘blowing up’ suggests that he was reckless. The blowing up method was used in his first discovery, so this question arises, was this reckless clearing method due to inexperience? Mariette did, however, clear the sands around the Sphinx down to the bare rock, and in the process discovered the famous granite and alabaster monument. This showed a different side of Mariette in terms of clearing a site. This time, Mariette cleared the site thoroughly. Furthermore, Mariette hired quite a few workmen in his excavations. This showed his dedication to the discoveries he made. Auguste Mariette located his first excavation site by chance. He became interested in Saqqara whilst studying Egyptology and this attraction led him to the ancient burial ground in Egypt. This is where he discovered the Sphinx, Serapeum and other tombs and temples. It was not his intention to discover these ancient monuments but by chance, things turned out pretty well for him. Mariette examined thoroughly through the tombs and temples. Evidence of his thorough work is shown in his writings, ‘The Monument of Upper Egypt’ where he states, â€Å"†¦and where the ground had to be examined closely, inch by inch†. In the process of recording his evidence, Mariette plotted down a lot of his findings in his journal. He used very detailed profiles and drawings to record the evidence. Figure 1 aside shows a drawn diagram of the Serapeum featured in ‘The Cemetery of the Sacred Bulls’ written by Auguste Mariette. This was drawn during the excavations of the Serapeum and shows a record of the outline of the structure of the Serapeum. An example of the detailed profiles Mariette used to record his evidence is Figure 2 on the right. This evidence is a torn out page of Auguste Mariette’s journal in which he wrote in during his excavations in Saqqara. This shows the profile of the Sphinx and the dimensions of the head of the Sphinx recorded by Mariette. Another example of the detailed recordings of Mariette is stated in ‘The Cemetery of the Sacred Bulls’. In his words, â€Å"measure on an average 7 feet 8 inches in breadth, by 13 feet in length, and 1l feet in height†. This is more evidence of his detailed recordings of his discoveries. It shows that he took the time to measure every dimension of objects he found in his excavations. Bibliography: mnsu. edu/emuseum/information/biography/klmno/mariette_auguste. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Auguste_Mariette drshirley. rg/rel433/hist. html egyptologyonline. com/egyptologists. htm http://weekly. ahram. org. eg/2004/705/he1. htm 1911encyclopedia. org/Auguste_Ferdinand_Francois_Mariette http://server. egypt. com/egypt/historyen/index. php/Ancient-Egypt-History/Ancient-Egypt-Dynasties/Third-Intermediate-Period-Part-I http://members. tripod. com/~ib205/apis_4. html aldokkan. com/geography/serapeum. htm phouka. com/pharaoh/egypt/history/egyptologists. html â⠂¬ËœEgypt and the Egyptians’ by Douglas J. Brewer and Emily Teeter