: Tips on how to update your Writing and Marketing skillsGet Read by: Abdallah Khamis Abdallah As an online marketer or freelance writer, you need to keep pace with new trends in your field as well as gain new knowledge

Posted in: #Self-Improvement-And-Motivation #Information #New #Knowledge #Need #Freelance #Search #Marketing #Online #Courses #Markete

Tips on how to update your Writing and Marketing skillsGet Read

by: Abdallah Khamis Abdallah

As an online marketer or freelance writer, you need to keep pace with new trends in your field as well as gain new knowledge and skills not only for survival but to enrich your work and gain new opportunities.
You also need to plan how you will absorb new knowledge and information to avoid confusion and being immersed in a deluge of irrelevant details and time wastage. You need to draw a plan/timetable or programme of action on how you will approach the whole matter.
When we are talking of updating your skills we are mainly talking of research and training. The two are complementary and are very important. If we take the Internet as an information medium, then we will find that it contains a mass of information, knowledge, products and opportunities which have to be sorted out to be of any meaning.
Here are some tips on how you can keep abreast of knowledge and information.
1) Take a writing/ marketing course
If you are a freelance writer or marketer you cannot afford to miss an opportunity to learn new and essential skills on your craft. Even for the experienced there are new courses emerging or even existing courses which can broaden your knowledge.
Courses available range from paid courses on location, distance learning courses by mail or online to free and paid for ecourses by email/auto responder. Some follow a formal curriculum with examinations provided and certificates issued at the end to informal ones where only a few tips exercise and assignments are provided.
Here are a few websites you may visit and see what suits you:
Freelance Writing

www.writersvillage.com
www.writingschool.com
www.writersdigest.com/wds/
www.worldwidelearn.com/writing-courses.htm
www.active-online-courses.com/freelance-writing.html
www.worldwidelearn.com/advertising-copywriting.htm

Marketing

www.worldwidelearn.com/marketing-courses.htm
www.marketing-resources.com/course.html
www.onlinewebtraining.com
www.marketing-register.com/directory/o/Online_Courses_Marketing/
www.edu-advisor.com/online-marketing-degree.htm
www.get-a-degree.com/distance-learning/marketing-links.htm

2) Subscribe to Ezines and Publications
There are hundreds of ezines and magazines relevant to freelancing and marketing you can subscribe to for the regular dose of news and information. While there are a lot of junk ezines that will only fill your mailbox, there are many good ones which are indispensable to any writer and marketer. Select the few that are good and relevant to your work and subscribe.
You do not need to confine yourself to online ezines, there are also many print books and magazines which you could look into. While you may not have the wherewithal to subscribe or purchase all, there are some which you cannot afford to miss.
Check out the following sites for ezines or publications relevant to your business:

www.directoryofezines.com
www.ezinelocater.com
dmoz.org/Arts/Online_Writing/E-zines/Directories/
www.go-ezines.com/
www.investing-sites.com/News_and_Media/Newsletters/Directories/

3) Online Search and library research
From time to time, you will have questions which you do not know where to find their answers too. You may also need comprehensive and up-to-date information and news. This is where using Internet search engines and on-line virtual libraries and off-line libraries and databases comes in. These are indispensable tools for finding news, knowledge and information.
As a freelance writer, the search for information is an endless exercise. Whether you want to check facts for your article or book or need information for writing a new piece.
For the marketer, pay – per – click search engines are a goldmine for getting prospective clients. Since searchers are looking for particular information using relevant key words, there is likelihood that the information could be on your site.
Here are a few search engines and virtual libraries.
Search Engines

www.overture.com
www.findwhat.com
www.google.com
www.yahoo.com
www.inktomi.com
www.msn.com

Virtual Libraries

www.questia.com
www.brint.com
www.knowthis.com
deserthost.net/wd141/
www.ipl.org/

There are many other ways you can increase the quality and quantity of your knowledge and skills as a freelance writer or online marketer. However, the few mentioned above are some of the most important.