Finding clients to hire you for freelance writing is usually the thing that most starting out in freelance writing have the most trouble with.  This is because, unlike traditional job searching, you can’t just grab the classified ads or browse Internet Help Wanted ads to find work.  Instead, you have to find clients using business-to-business methods.

This doesn’t mean it’s hard or impossible for you to do on a tight budget, however.  Most of it is just getting past the traditional “look in the want ads” mindset and thinking outside the box for freelance writing jobs.

Start locally to get on your feet and build a portfolio.  Small, local newspapers and other publications are often looking for good material, especially from local writers.  In many areas, weekly or bi-weekly newspapers are willing to pay a few dollars to have you act as a freelancer, covering local events or submitting commentary.  Other annual publications, such as coupon books or local business directories are often looking for “filler” writers to produce material to fill in the margins, extra pages, and other space in their publication.  Many times, just walking in the door with a couple of samples can land you a trial position.

Freelance-specific websites and directories are another source.  While most focus on technology (Web developers and so forth), there are many with writers in mind.  These sites generally come with a price, but are worth the percentage paid from your revenue to use, as they get near-instant connections and give you access to world-wide job opportunities.

Finally, the old standby of using a printed writer’s directory (purchased or from the library) to send material to editors is always an option.  It’s slow and you can expect a 99% rejection rate, but print outlets generally pay much better than websites do and once you’re in the door, you’ll find it easier to return for more.

There are a lot of options for the freelance writing enthusiast and there are plenty of freelance writing jobs out there if you just look for them.  Go ahead and try!

Do you want to find the perfect font for your blog?  Often it is hard to visualize what your words will look like in a particular font.  That is where Font Picker can really help you out.

Font Picker allows you to type in a word or phrase and see how it looks in various fonts.  In fact, I bet that it has over 100 fonts.  Font Picker can also be installed on your desktop as a desktop application for both Windows and Mac operating systems.

Yesterday I went to Borders Bookstore and picked up a coins magazine.  I couldn’t believe how interesting it was.  I love going into bookstores and reading through magazines, but few interested me as much as this one.  It was also very helpful in finding niches for build a niche stores.  One article lead me to create this cool page on my US Coins Store website – Indian Head Gold Coins.

I find that magazines are one of the best things for brainstorming niches.  The advertisements in the magazines show you immediately that there is a market for the products that are being advertised.  Advertising in magazines is very expensive and if the advertiser can make enough from its magazine advertisement, you know that people are buying the product.

Therefore, if you are having trouble finding niches to write about on your blog, check out your local bookstore’s magazine section.  You might find an awesome niche about 20 Saint Gaudens Gold coins.

While most of you already know what a blog is, I thought it would be fun to examine what is a blog? Or put another way, what makes a blog a blog?

When I sat down to write out my 2008 blogging goals for Newest on the Net, it hit me that one of my primary goals is to help new bloggers. Therefore, it is important to start at the beginning.

What is a blog?

Blog is short for weblog.  I think that the following factors highlight what makes a blog a blog.

• Articles arranged in chronological order with the most recent articles listed first
• Always changing content with the post of new articles
• The ability for readers to comment on articles and on other peoples’ comments

There might be a lot of other characteristics, but to me this is what sets a blog apart from other media.

Some people say that blogs are personal in nature.  At one point this might have been true, but now it is just a type of medium that publishers use to communicate.  Traditionally, blogs have always implied written communication, but that is changing now too.  More and more bloggers are incorporating audio and video into their blogs.

Here are have other bloggers defined a blog:

Daren Rowse from Problogger defines a blog as,

a blog is a type of website that is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent ‘post’ (or entry) at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom.

Michael Arrington from TechCrunch states,

I believe the term “blog” means more than an online journal. I believe a blog is a conversation. People go to blogs to read AND write, not just consume. We’ve allowed comments here on TechCrunch since it started.

In other words, Michael agrees that comments are a defining characteristic of blogs.

Meg from Dipping Into the Blogpond states,

Essentially, the word “blog” is short for “web log”. Entries (also called “posts”) are displayed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent entry being displayed first (at the top of the page).

How would you describe, what is a blog?

Do you want to make money online blogging?  Well, Google’s Knol could be a great way for bloggers to make money blogging.

What is Knol?

Google’s Knol is that latest announced but unreleased project that google is working on.  Knol stands for “unit of knowledge.”  Google Knol will be a user content creation system similar to Wikipedia, Squidoo, and Mahalo.  People will be able to write Knol articles about any topic of interest and publish them on Google’s Knol.

Unlike Wikipedia, Knol is going to allow authors to promote themselves in these articles.  Additionally, Google will share the ad revenues that an author’s knol page generates.

How Can Blogger’s Use Knol To Make Money Blogging?

Well for starters I am sure that Google’s Knol will perform very well in Google’s search engine results pages.  This means that you can indirectly promote your blog by writing great pillar Knol articles.

Also, like Squidoo, the revenue sharing on Google’s knol could be a great way to make money blogging.  There are bloggers who are making very good money with Squidoo.  Getting in early with Google’s knol could be very lucrative.

Will we make money blogging with google Knol?  We will have to wait and see.  The proof is always in the pudding with any online revenue program.  But, I know that I will certainly be testing it.