How to Find a Creative Career You Love

Can you really find a career you love? Is it really possible to wake up on a Monday morning and WANT to go to work?

If you believe the results of a recent 2007 survey by US based "The Conference Board Inc." it's not very likely. The survey revealed that more than 50% of the workforce is unhappy.

Some of these people are dissatisfied with the conditions at their workplace. Such things as rates of pay, co-workers, job security, physical working conditions, benefits, or even their boss, affect job satisfaction. For these people, a change in pay, or recognition for something achieved, may be enough to improve their situation.

But all the other unhappy people are not satisfied with the actual tasks they are doing in their job. The only way they will be happier is if they do something totally different - i.e., take a different career direction.

These people didn't ask the right questions in the first place to avoid making the wrong career decision.

The biggest thing preventing you from getting a career you love... believe it or not... is YOU!

Many people are simply not prepared to put in the effort needed, preferring to take the easy way out and accept second best... or maybe even whatever seemed like a good idea at the time.

And that is such a huge shame!

It's important to realize that choosing a career (or changing careers) is right up there with getting married, having kids, and buying a house. It is one of THE most important decisions you will EVER make in your lifetime!

You spend more than half of almost every day of your life either at work, or traveling to and from work.

And what happens at work, whether it's good or bad, affects ALL the other aspects of your life - your health, family, finances, relationships, self-esteem and so on.

Choosing a career is NOT something that can be done in less than five minutes, but unfortunately, that's how much thought some people put into it. Choosing a career involves:

1. Looking closely at yourself
2. Researching jobs which might be suitable
3. Being able to make a decision, and
4. Acting on, and being happy with, that decision.

The first step of these steps in finding a career you love is "self-discovery". It looks at such things as:

* The things you like and dislike doing
* The things you are good and bad at doing
* The skills you have or need to get
* Your achievements to date, and what you want to achieve in the future
* Your family background
* Your attitudes, values and personal style.

Many people find it extremely difficult, if not even threateningly impossible, to answer such questions about "me".

But a thorough, honest and realistic self-assessment is vital if you are to gather the necessary information to make a good career decision... if you are to find a career you might love to do!

Because once you are armed with all this information about yourself, you'll start to get a really good picture of career areas most suited to you.

And just as important, you'll have a much better idea of what does NOT suit you!

Then it's time to do some more research... this time into the different types of specific jobs available in the area you are suited to.

Find out such things as: What training is required? Where can you do it? What duties/tasks are involved in the job? What hours will I work? How will it impact on my lifestyle? What companies offer work in this field? Where? What opportunities are available for future advancement?

There are always many hard questions that come up that need answers in the pursuit of the ideal career.

For example... suppose you find out you need to do a four-year training course in a different town. Are you prepared to move? How can you support yourself?

Are you going to "have a go" and see what happens? Or are you going to be committed and stick with your decision?

What's going to happen if you have to go in a different direction? Do you have a "plan B" that you will be just as happy with?

You can see why so many people give up chasing a career they might love. It is just so much easier to take the path of least resistance.

Are you going to get what you want from your career? From your life?

Or are you going to settle for second best?

(C) Writing Career

5th Annual Maryland Natural Resource Photo Contest Begins

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is now accepting entries for the 5th Annual Maryland Natural Resource Photo Contest. Sponsors including Ritz Camera Centers, Boater's World Marine Centers, Maryland Public Television, and DNR invite student, amateur and professional photographers to enter their photos of Maryland's rich natural resources - water, wildlife, farms, parks and forests, etc. – now through September 5, 2008.

Photographers of all ages can participate in a chance to win a share of more than $1,200 in prizes and to have their outdoor images published in print and online. Winning entries will be featured in the winter issue of The Maryland Natural Resource magazine as well as the 2009 DNR calendar.

Photos entered into the 2008 contest will be judged within 5 categories:

Birds - more than 350 species call Maryland home;

Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians - fish, frog or fox, you decide;

Invertebrates - Bugs, bugs and more bugs;

Landscape scenes - from the mountains to the Bay;

Wild-growing Plants - including trees, flowers, leaves, fruits and all other cool looking parts; and

Outdoor Recreation - show human interaction with and enjoyment of Maryland's natural world, from hunting and hiking to fly-fishing, shell-collecting, canoeing or climbing.

Photographs must have been taken in Maryland. Photographers may enter up to three entries for a $10 entry fee. Photos cannot be more than two years old or previously published. Non-residents may participate as long as the photos were taken in Maryland. Winners will be announced online October 16. Official rules and contest entry forms are available online at www.dnr.maryland.gov/photocontest/

4 Easy Ways to Find Office Space for Your Freelance Business

The kitchen's crowded and taken at least in the evening for meals, your home has enough bedrooms for the family without any room to spare. To keep your home-based business going, you're forced to set up a small desk and computer in the corner of the living room. Now the business is taking off and you really need office space. But how are you going to do it? Do you kick one of the kids out of the house? Eat out as the only meal options so you can completely take over the kitchen?

Obviously, there are more realistic options out there, and better ways available to find office space from which to run your business. Here are four easy ways you might try to solve your office space problem:

1. If your business is primarily Internet web sites, you may need nothing more than a good laptop computer, a large briefcase/computer case, and a workspace with an Internet connection. Writing and web publishing business can be run out of a reserved room at the public library, if your library system has study rooms available and public Internet access. Cafes and coffee shops often have cozy booths or tables and wireless Internet connections for their patrons. That's another excellent office space option if you want to get out of the house to work and your business model permits it.

2. If you require a permanent office solution and have nothing in your home, look into adding a portable building and furnish it with electricity, plumbing, whatever. Such portable buildings often are used as storage sheds. But if you have a bit of money to invest, they can be turned into one-room offices detached from your house and offering the privacy you need. Word of caution: Make sure there are no zoning laws or building code requirements this solution would violate. You don't want to get your business moved into affordable, practical office space only to run into legal issues.

3. Rent affordable shared-office space in a local office property. Most cities and even small towns have office centers which offer package deals that include one or two rooms, utilities, Internet access, phone access, a mailing address, and even a shared receptionist. You generally can customize such arrangements to meet whatever office and storage space requirements you need.

4. If your business requires it and your budget allows it, go the full route and rent or buy full-fledged, dedicated office space.

Ideally, you have a home-based business or career because you want to work from home and value the so-called career in a bathrobe. You want to work from home to avoid a commute, or whatever. But finding office space outside your home may be something you decide works best for you. It's your career, your choice. Hopefully, these four easy ways to find office space for your home business will help.

(C) Writing Career

Free Service Combats Google's Latest Privacy Policy

Many webmasters hosting Google AdSense on their sites are forced to comply or face consequences once again as Google continues to grind out yet another of their stress inducing compliance tactics.

The most recent crackdown from Google is the requirement for a privacy policy on every site hosting Google AdSense.

Google has gained a reputation for forcing webmasters to scramble every time they implement another one of their "Quality Compliance Rules". This latest rule is aimed at AdSense publishers not hosting a proper Privacy Policy (http://free-privacy-policy.com/).

This particular rule isn't quite as stressful as some previous Google Slaps have been, but it still has the power to get an AdSense account shut off by not meeting Google's requirements.

There are a number of solutions to writing a Privacy Policy which range from free (for example: bonus from a software vendor like Trust Guard) to hundreds of dollars if an attorney is involved. In this case, requirements are easily met for most sites.

All website owners and AdSense publishers are invited to visit the page below to create a quick and easy, Google compliant, FREE Privacy Policy that can be configured to fit any website including those hosting AdSense.

This auto generated Privacy Policy takes less than 15 minutes. Not only is it a smart move to cover your legal bases, but is now mandatory for all AdSense publishers.

For any AdSense publisher or website owner who wants access to a quick way to generate a FREE legal privacy policy in the next 60 seconds, visit http://www.free-privacy-policy.com/

What If You Could Change Careers?

Gone are the days of working with the same employer for 30 or 40 years. Today's generation is expected to change careers every five to ten years. Whether you have been in your career ten years or 40 you may feel that you are stuck in a dead end career because of the potential risk of a career change.

Nothing is further from the truth in today's world.

Some career changes can happen with the same employer, other career changes will require you to seek a new employer or start your own business. Some career changes are of your own choosing and others may be the result of company down sizing.

Have you been dreaming of a new career but have not taken the step because of the fear of the unknown? With some pre-planning you can pursue a new career without risking your financial security.

Career opportunities are endless. When planning for a career change, make sure you know exactly what you want to do.

Ask yourself some questions:

What do you enjoy doing?
Make a list of all the things that you enjoy doing. What do you enjoy about your current career? What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

What are you good at?
Life is full of experiences and you have learned a few things along the way. List what you are good at. Think about the areas that people ask your advice on. What talents do you have? You can be your own worst critic. Ask others what they see in you.

What would you change about your current career?
You know what you do not like about your current career; make a list of all the negatives. This list will help you determine what you do not want in your new career.

What are your goals?
Make a list of your goals. As you prepare for a career change, ask yourself if you will be able to achieve your goals in your new career.

What new areas of training will you need?
When pursuing a new career, do not allow your lack of experience to stop you. Take advantage of training opportunities. You may be able to find training locally or online.

Making a career change, especially in midlife, is a major decision. The security of your present career may prevent you from venturing into new territory. Research your prospective new career and find out what the income possibilities are. Calculate the differences in the benefits. Using your new career income, calculate your monthly budget. Is it worth it? Can you afford this change financially?

Changing careers can be exciting. Do not let your age stop you from pursuing your dream. From today until retirement can be the most rewarding times of your life, if you choose to follow your dream and start a new career.

Yes, you can change careers. Consider your options and make the smart move to a rewarding new career.

(C) Writing Career

Write Match - A Unique Freelance Market Place for Indian Writers

Chillifreeze launches Write Match, a transparent, seamless and convenient service that provides writers with access to the best writing and editing assignments from around the globe.

Complete transparency in the bidding process and direct communication with the client ensures the elimination of middlemen. Write Match handles the financial aspect thereby allowing writers to focus on their writing, rather than the logistics.

Clients will be able to outsource content development to freelance writers at lower costs without the high commissions normally charged by agencies and intermediaries. This service allows clients to fix the price for their projects and communicate directly with writers on their projects, thereby offering a higher degree of control on the process and deliverables. Clients can post their project in one step using a simple form on Chillifreeze.

Chillifreeze's parent company Chillibreeze with a client base and writer network already running into thousands plans to use the Write Match service to tap into a wider audience and service clientele from industries and domains beyond its core areas. Write Match is perfect for writers because it does not charge writers for connections or bids, unlike some other freelance marketplaces.

Website: http://www.chillifreeze.com/

Print Advertising... The Forgotten Direct Sales Income Generator

Over the years, the Internet has become the primary means of trying to sell products, services, or information for many marketers and businesses. However, as popular as the Internet is, it still may not be the most profitable way to advertise or sell.

In our modern day of high-speed technology, many seem to forget that the tried and true method of direct sales marketing through print advertising can still prove to be the most profitable way to go.

Why is this you say? It's because basic human nature has not changed, nor have human buying triggers. Having something tangible in hand that can be touched is still trusted more than words or images thrown up on a computer screen. In spite of the Internet's capability of reaching out to multi-millions of email addresses or viewers in a matter of minutes... a printed circular or flyer in hand still holds more credibility.

Think about it. When you get a printed circular or flyer that you can hold in your hand... you tend to look at it as something real that is produced by a real person whom you can identify with. You don't generally look at it as some unknown face or entity hiding behind a computer screen trying to scam you.

It seems illogical that so many marketers and businesses are unaware of, or have forgotten this old proven method of advertising and selling. Printed forms of advertising and direct sale pieces have stood the test of time, and have proven itself over and over again against everything that has come and gone.

Here's something else to think about. Most people go online looking for information, not sales offers. So the chance of them running across your online offer is slim to none. However, when a printed direct sales offer is physically placed in the hands of people, they will put forth the effort to seek out the source of the offer. It doesn't matter if it's right up the street from them or online... the printed direct sales piece established a certain form of credibility.

With direct sales, you don't have to worry about getting traffic to a web site, search engine optimization, black hat, white hat, or any of the other online techniques you see touted. People coming online to your web site after reading your printed direct sales piece are generally looking to buy the product or service offered.

The World Wide Web, or Internet should wisely be used in combination with direct sales as an extension of your advertising and sales efforts... not as your primary medium. More people who are ready to buy will find you through direct sales than they would just surfing the internet to see what's available amid the billions of web pages.

A printed advertising or direct sales piece is really much easier to produce than a web site... wouldn't you agree? All it has to do is make people aware of what is available, the cost, and where to get it. If the offer is located in a physical building, then give the address and times of operation. If it is located online, the give the web site addresses. It's just that simple.

Most internet exclusive advertisers will likely see their sales efforts pay off in a much greater way by combining print advertising and direct sales with their online methods. Once a printed direct sales piece establishes credibility, a web site would only need to highlight benefits and give access to the offer.

Now that you realize the benefits and advantages... do yourself and your business a favor, and make print advertising direct sales an important part of your financial well being.

(C) Writing Career

E-mail Marketing for Freelancers

Most newcomers to email marketing think that they can send a promotional email to a list of subscribers and then sit back and watch the money flow in. If only email marketing was that easy. That said, email marketing does have the potential to generate a lot of revenue from promotional email campaigns and ecommerce, but it requires some ingenuity.

If you want to be successful in ecommerce, you will have to work harder than just shooting off a newsletter. With just a little bit of effort, you can double the revenue generated from an ecommerce website All it takes is some effort, careful analysis, testing different methods, and then refining them. Make sure you concentrate on building your email list, creating outstanding content for your emails, managing your list, dividing your list into categories and testing.

A good home page does not necessarily translate to revenue generation. You should get traffic that converts. You have to get new subscribers who visit your website regularly to check out new products or services. This can be done by list building, which in turn is only possible if you expand your current list. Make sure your website has an opt-in subscription form on practically every webpage.

Your chances of getting new subscribers will increase if you offer some kind of incentive. An incentive can be anything from an offer for free shipping to giving $20 off on the first order. You can easily get a new customer's email address through the shopping cart form. Make sure you add a link to the subscription form in the transaction confirmation email. This opportunity can be also used to get further details like gender, likes and product interests.

A Pay-Per-Click (PPC) program, if used effectively, can generate a lot of traffic. One of the most used methods to look for products is to search for them online, and a PPC program will definitely help you here. However, make sure that you have an easy sign-up process, whether the visitor buys a product or not. In addition, concentrate on search engine optimization to get targeted traffic to your website.

If you have a physical location of your business, then offer sign-up forms to your customers at the cash register. This way you get their subscription while the customers are present and you can then send them in-house promotional offer through email. Whenever you send a newsletter, make sure it has an eye-catching subject line,which will compel readers to open the email.

On your website, products should be divided into categories, so that visitors can find it easy to locate what they want. Give your subscribers enough options to select what is appropriate for them. You should not forget to personalize your emails by using the customer's first name. Adding a "send-to-a-friend" option in all your newsletters will help to generate new subscribers, provided your content is good.

If your email message has a great content and design, you can be sure to get a good open a click-through rate. Finally, keep checking your email program so that you can eliminate any issues before the mail is sent out.

(C) Writing Career

NewMediaHire.com, a New Digital Media Job Board

With the launch of the quality-focused NewMediaHire.com, those wanting to post their resumes or hire the most outstanding talent no longer need to wade through one-size-fits-all job sites. The freshest leads for top jobs in new and digital media are now available from a single-minded Internet resource employment job board.

NewMediaHire.com recognized the need for a different kind of site that caters entirely to those who are serious about employment in new media and digital media, interactive technology, marketing, advertising, mobile, internet, multimedia, graphic design or gaming jobs.

The site offers always-anonymous resume posting, job alerts, job feeds, lively discussion forum, some new media news and informative blog access all free of charge.

Website: http://www.newmediahire.com/

Low Budget Online Marketing for Your Freelance Business

The pressure is on those small local business owners who have been holding out, hoping against hope that the Internet would go away. It's become fairly obvious that that's not going to happen.

As a matter of fact, the Kelsey Group says that "70% of U.S. households now use the Internet as an information source when shopping locally for products and services."

It's become obvious that small business owners who don't have an Internet presence are at a serious disadvantage, and are losing more ground every day to their competitors.

But where to start? Many small business owners want to get online but the idea of it becomes overwhelming. One of the things many people are concerned about is the cost. Having a professional website created can be expensive, as can the online marketing needed to promote the site. Fortunately with a little work, there are some great low budget online marketing solutions for small businesses.

First, don't immediately buy web space or register your domain name with the first site that pops up in Google. Web space can be pricey or fairly cheap; it all depends on what company you go with. There are some sites that offer free hosting, but those sites usually force you to include banners or pop-up ads on your site. If you want to be taken seriously, you definitely do not want to host your business on a free hosting site.

There are places on the web that offer a good amount of storage for less than $100/yr, which is not bad. You can also find sites that will register your domain name for less than $10/year, such as the popular GoDaddy.com.

Once you have your website set up, how do you get people to visit? One of the best ways is to take advantage of social networking sites like Squidoo.com and MySpace.com. MySpace.com is a huge site designed to let people keep in touch with others. However a lot of businesses set up MySpace profiles and send out "friend" invitations to clients and prospects. Retail store owners, service providers, authors, bands, magazines and even tourism companies do MySpace marketing. Same thing with Squidoo. This form of marketing is becoming even more powerful than reciprocal linking.

Don't forget message boards, chat rooms and link exchanges either. They are great ways to get your word out. When you first began your low budget online marketing campaign, you'll probably spend anywhere from 5 to 10 hours a week promoting your site, or you can train an employee, intern or your resident teenager to do it.

The simplest way of marketing your small business is to include your website address in your signature in emails and posts to message boards, even if they aren't related to your business. While this doesn't market directly to your targeted audience, it does make people aware of your website. Who knows, maybe they'll know someone who needs your services.

It's very easy to do low budget online marketing for small business because so many things on the Internet are free -- message boards, networking sites like Squidoo and MySpace, and of course, email. The main thing it will cost is time, but even that can be "bought" at budget prices on sites such as rentacoder.com and getafreelancer.com. So there's no reason for even the busiest small business owner not to get their business online, even if they're on a tight budget.

(C) Writing Career

New Online Marketplace Puts Creativity in the Hands of the Crowd

crowdSPRING, the online marketplace for creative services, launched its site to the public today. crowdSPRING (http://www.crowdspring.com/) puts the power of crowdsourcing in the hands of individuals and businesses, giving them access to a largely untapped global pool of talent.

The explosion of "user generated content" - from Threadless and iStockPhoto to YouTube and even blogs - is proof positive that people are looking for outlets for their creative talent, whether it's graphic design, photography, video or copywriting. crowdSPRING is empowering this underground, underdog creative community and giving them yet another outlet for their creativity, while giving buyers a new way to purchase creative services on their own terms.

By allowing designers, illustrators, writers and photographers - whether established professional or talented newcomer - to compete based solely on their creativity and the quality of their ideas instead of bids, proposals or portfolios, crowdSPRING levels competitive playing field for creative people worldwide. It also protects the intellectual property of all by offering completely free, customized written legal agreements for every transaction.

Article Writing Made Easy

Writing and submitting articles is an effective marketing strategy to deliver targeted visitors, increase your rankings and boost sales. However, it is easy to equate article writing with onerous tasks such as writing high school or university essays. The memories of the pain involved in this form of writing can take time to fade away. The good news is that after learning a few simple steps, writing your own articles isn't as hard as it appears.

One of the biggest hurdles most new writers face is finding ideas to write about. The easiest way to begin is to write about things you are interested in and preferably passionate about. You already have knowledge in these areas which can be shared with others. It is easy to under-estimate your own abilities in areas you are experienced in. Talented people are often surprised by the level of questions novices ask (it is important to remember that there is no such thing as a stupid question - only stupid answers).

Once you have decided on a general area, a good way to narrow the topic down is to focus on the problems that people have. Typically, people read articles because they want to be entertained or they want information. Writing entertaining articles is a particular and more difficult skill. However, writing informative articles can be as simple as sharing tips that you have learned. A guiding principle is to expect the readers to be looking for "What's in it for me".

You may already know the common problems that people have in the particular field, but if not, a good source of information is to look at related online forums and note the most common questions asked. If you don't have all the answers a small bit of research can assist. Often the answers are readily available with a Google search which the readers could do themselves. However, you are adding value and convenience by providing a range of answers in a single document.

Most people don't like to read large documents from the Web, so unlike long essays, articles tend to be around 400 words long. If you break the article into an introduction, a small number of sub-headings and a conclusion you may only have to write about 50 words in each section. The sub-headings may be for authoring purposes only, but if they are relevant they can be left in the final article.

The first draft should be for your eyes only. Don't try to produce a final copy as you write. It tends to be much quicker to get your thoughts down and come back to edit later. The final step in the writing process is to proofread your article making sure that the writing flows and would be interesting to the reader. Ask yourself, 'does the article provide information the potential reader is looking for?’ It can also be helpful to have someone else proofread the article. This is also the time to remove spelling and grammatical errors.

If you still have problems writing you may want to do a search for 'article writing software'. There are many packages around which can make the process easier. Similarly, there are numerous e-books available on the topic and many of them are available for free.

Once you have written your article you may want to add it to your own website as an item that search engines love - a piece of original content. If you add an 'About the Author' section with a link to your website, you can also submit it to article directories. As other websites publish your article you receive another thing that search engines look for, one-way back links. Article submission can be a tedious process, but software and websites that can submit to multiple directories in one go exist to make the job much easier.

After writing your first few articles you will find it is not as daunting as it first appears. You never know, you may even want to offer your services as a freelance writer on the Internet as a way to make some extra income.

(C) Writing Career

MarketingSherpa’s Fourth Annual Viral Marketing Hall of Fame

MarketingSherpa is looking for marketing and advertising agencies and companies using viral marketing and advertising to submit their best viral marketing and advertising campaigns for MarketingSherpa's 2008 Viral Marketing Hall of Fame, at http://viraladvertising08.marketingsherpa.com/.

"This is the fourth year for the Viral Marketing Hall of Fame awards," said MarketingSherpa's Editorial Director Tad Clarke. "Last year we had a hard time selecting the winners because there were so many good submissions."

To enter, simply submit your video/audio clips, e-cards, online games, Flash, tell-a-friend boxes, microsite or social networking campaign and give details about the campaign, strategies used and the buzz it generated. The campaign submission deadline is May 16th.

Free Templates Online

Free Templates Online invites users to download free web templates and use it to create their website free of charge. The customers are also authorized to make any necessary modifications to the products to fit their purposes.

To learn how to make these modifications, Web Design Tutorials and Articles section has been enriched with the new materials. Photoshop, Flash, HTML, Web Design Basics, Site Maintenance and other tutorials and articles can be used as the supplementary training and informational resource that will raise the designers' experience and creativity and help with customizing and development of a new website.

Website: http://www.freetemplatesonline.com/

Storybids Launches Product Placement Auction House

Storybids, Inc. has launched its product placement marketplace where online video content creators can get paid to feature physical products in pre-production user-generated videos, serial mini-dramas, videoblogs and webisodes. Advertisers may use Storybids' searching capabilities to seek out video creators that meet their demographic criterion such as viewership, subscriptions, and ratings or by genre or age demographic.

Video creators looking to fund their independent or professional film projects may now seek out product placement advertising opportunities by targeting specific advertisers that complement the storyline of future content. Storybids also works as a social media marketplace for filmmakers by allowing them to connect with other filmmakers for advice and collaboration on film projects.

Website: http://www.storybids.com/

A Writing Career Is More Lucrative Than You Think by Tony Jacowski

However, if you have a zest for writing and want to make it your vocation in life, here is some very useful information that introduces you to the various options.

Contrary to what people think, a career in writing can be very exciting, intellectually satisfying and financially rewarding.

Opportunities in Journalism

Writing expertise can help you become a journalist in print media. You can write articles and news for magazines, newspapers, sports and trade magazines. To be a successful journalist you have to be good at research, whether it is politics, crime or any other subject. You will have to conduct interviews of prominent personalities in various fields and also present the views of the public to make your reporting interesting, informative and aimed at presenting an unbiased picture based on facts.

As a journalist, you are expected to be armed with specialized education and training. To become a journalist you need to be a graduate or have a post graduate degree in mass communications or journalism and then try for an entry-level position with a good local or national newspaper. It is a good idea to take an internship as a trainee writer/journalist with a publisher to gain practical exposure and polish your professional writing skills.

Openings for Writers in Ad Agencies

Another field with career potential is that of copywriting. This is a different field from journalism and involves using creative skills to prepare marketing and promotional material for television, radio, newspapers and magazines. There are increasing opportunities for employment within various advertising agencies that require good copywriters with writing and visualization skills and for those who develop and sell their ideas.

If you find advertising interesting and have a sense of humor that reflects positively in your work, you have the necessary makings of a great copywriter.

Scriptwriting

Are you able to dream big? Do you often let your imagination fly? Do you have knack for weaving your dreams into stories? If you do, then scriptwriting may be a good career choice. With your writing skills you can develop a framework for a good story and turn it into a screenplay. You need to be a keen observer of whatever goes on around you in life because it is from real life events that great ideas for scripts originate.

There are numerous opportunities for scriptwriters in films, television, announcements, sports, theater and radio news. Employment opportunities exist in television and radio channels and the film industry. If you have a good script that is made into a film, there is no limit to the money that you can make.

To make writing your career, you should have a good work ethic, writing and typing skills and imagination. If you have all these things, then with a bit of experience and a lot of luck, you can make writing your life's work.

About the Author:
Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for six sigma professionals such as, lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

New Versions of Free Video Editing Software

DVDVideoSoft is offering free video editing software. This site also provides a free video converter and multimedia software guides and tutorials. Unlike software and shareware catalogs collecting third-party products, DVDVideoSoft carefully designs, develops and releases all free software titles under its own name and makes them available to computer users without any hidden fees, subscriptions or registrations. The new versions features the batch mode, more supported input and output formats, 9 new optimized presets for Apple players: iPod, iPhone and iTouch and numerous interface and internal engine improvements.

Today DVDVideoSoft at http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/free-dvd-video-software.htm offers 15 simple tools, including the set of programs to download video from YouTube and Google Video: Free YouTube to iPod, iPhone and PSP Converters to prepare video for portable players; Free YouTube Download to download YouTube and Google Video clips to a hard drive as AVI, original FLV, 3GP and MP4 files and Free YouTube to MP3 Converter to turn videos into MP3 songs or mobile phone ringtones.

Another set of programs offers video editing and audio editing tools: Free Video Dub, a lossless video editor to cut unwanted parts from AVI (DivX, Xvid, MPEG 4, H.264), MPEG 1 and 2, MP4, MOV and FLV video without re-encoding and Free Audio Dub to edit audio files.

One more set of programs features video converter tools: Free 3GP Video Converter to convert video to 3GP mobile phone formats and back 3GP files to AVI, MP4; Free Video to MP3 Converter to extract audio from video files, Free Video to Flash Converter to turn video into web-friendly Flash clips applying more than 40 good looking flash player skins; Free Video to iPod, iPhone and PSP Converters and Free YouTube Uploader to upload video to YouTube (bypassing YouTube's Web interface). Plus two more simple programs Free Video Rotate and Free Video to JPEG Converter.

In addition to all these programs Free DVD Player can be downloaded from http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-DVD-Player-Software.htm.

All programs from DVDVideoSoft are absolutely free and run under all Windows versions, including Vista.

Making Money as a Freelance Photographer

The first thing to do if you want to make money from photos is learn how to take great ones. In the world of commercial photography clarity sells. The subject of how to take a good photo is too comprehensive for one article, however the following is important:

· Have a decent camera.
· Know how to use it.
· Have an eye for detail and colour.
· Be ready to grab an opportunity when it presents itself.

If you happen to be driving through the hills of Scotland and come across a lone piper (or even two), grab that camera. Watch for sunsets, moonrise, cloud formations and tree shapes. Keep a sharp eye on your pet for unusual poses, and visit your florist every so often. Flower pictures are surely many photographers' bread and butter and they can be photographed in the light on your windowsill. Greeting card markets love photos of flowers, gardens and pets doing something unusual. Wildlife and nature are great for calendars and geographic magazines and educational markets.

Diversity is the keyword for topics in photography. The wider the range of topics you cover, the more likely you will be to get a sale. Anyone can make a good living from stock photos. Freelance photographer Lee Frost (UK) sells just as many photos taken from his own backyard as from exotic and far-flung locations. In fact he sold a pic of the dandelions in his garden to a natural health book. But if you love travelling, put your holidays to work for you. Travel guides, brochures and websites could be possible markets for your photos.

So what to do with that fantastic shot? The edges are sharp enough to cut with, while the clarity would bring tears of joy to many publishers. The main thing to aim for with any photo is to sell it to multiple markets. This is taken care of if you submit to a photo library. You don't have to be responsible for selling your own stuff then, but since the word is 'diversify' aim to do both. Offer it to non-competing markets over several years, since you are not selling the copyright.

It is important for any photographer to keep a portfolio of his work to show. You never know when you'll meet a prospective buyer who wants to look at your work and they will not be impressed if you have to rummage through a dusty desk to scrape them together. When you do score a sale, don't charge a pittance just because the picture only took a few minutes of your time. You've spent years learning your craft and your photos are worth a decent figure.

If you really know what you are talking about and can take a fantastic shot, think of submitting it to a photographic magazine, along with all the details of the precise equipment you used and a step-by step account of your procedure. A bit of a challenge maybe, but worth the effort. There are many other markets to consider too; all kind of magazines, newspapers, catalogues, travel brochures and books. So grab that camera and start shooting.

(C) Writing Career

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Earn $200+ per day taking simple photos in your local area!

Freelance Writer Advice by Bob Younce

I frequently am asked, sometimes by a total stranger, what it is like to be a successful freelance writer. My answer is always the same:

"It's the hardest job I've ever had. It's also the most satisfying."

Here are the most important bits of advice and encouragement I can offer regarding freelance writing:

First, you need to know that freelance writing is a somewhat complex and unpredictable business, especially when it comes to freelance writing online. One day you can be at the top of the heap, and have to beat potential clients away with a stick. The next day you might be begging former clients for any work whatsoever. In this way, freelance writing is a lot like a roller coaster ride, but with less nausea and more loops.

The good news is that, for the dedicated and talented writer, there will always be work. While the medium may change, for example from print magazines to the Internet, people will always want to read. They will always need information, and the freelance writer is uniquely positioned to deliver that information to the people. Yes, sometimes you'll need to struggle a bit in order to find work. But it's out there, you've just got to be dedicated about looking. The world will always need writers.

Freelance writing requires a good deal of business sense. The talented writer can only go so far if he can't figure out how much to charge, how to negotiate a contract, or how to collect payment from clients. You don't need to be a Wall Street wizard, but you do need to have some degree of business sense. I often recommend that freelance writers take a course on business management from a local university, just to give them that all-important perspective.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that, regardless of what the latest Search Engine Optimization guru or blogging expert tells you, good writing still matters. If you want to be a success as a freelance writer, you have to write well. That is just as true online as it is for print freelancers. While writing well doesn't guarantee success, writing poorly spells almost certain doom for a freelance writing career.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bob Younce is a professional Internet writer living in Linwood, Michigan. Bob loves helping new writers improve their craft, avoid the most common sorts of Internet Writing mistakes and fully realize their dreams. Visit his blog at http://www.writing-journey.com/.

Your business, in words: The power of a good slogan

If you're like most business owners, you need to make your marketing efforts work hard for the money. And one of the keys to successful marketing is to start with a well conceived message that captures the essence of your company or product, is memorable and appeals to your target market: in other words, a good slogan or tagline.

Of course, if you've ever tried to write a tagline for your company, you know that the process is a lot harder than it sounds. Join PROFIT Editor-in-Chief Ian Portsmouth and Steve Cone, author of Powerlines: Words that Sell Brands, Grip Fans, and Sometimes Change History, as they discuss:

- Problems encountered when creating slogans and taglines

- Good taglines for small business

- Slogans that miss the mark, and what makes them bad

- The steps involved in creating a tagline

- Strategies for outsourcing to creative-types or staying 'in-house'

Rated as one of the top podcasts available for download during the run of its first episode on Apple iTunes, the new Business Coach episodes offer new insight and information in an updated format to help small business owners run their business better. Since October of 2007 podcast episodes have been regularly available on iTunes, as well as on bmo.com and PROFITguide.com. Previous releases include: "Lessons from the Dragons' Den," "Building an advisory board," "Family business," Personal finance," "Better Workplaces," "Social Media," "Tax Planning," "Going Global," "Retire Rich," "Cash Management," "Fortune Hunters," "Economic Outlook," "Search Engine Optimization," and "Market Value."

The Business Coach podcast is offered in both English and French, with the English language interviews hosted by Ian Portsmouth and broadcaster André Hains leading the Francophone episodes. The podcast is produced by PROFIT in cooperation with BMO Bank of Montreal.

Visit PROFIT online at http://www.profitmagazine.ca/