Thursday, April 30, 2020

The 5 Best Job Boards for a New Freelance Writer

Making consistent money is probably the number one goal all new freelance writers strive for, right? Theres a ton of advice out there a lot of it on my blog about how to land your first client and grow your freelance writing business. But, sorting through all those tips and strategies can make a newbie have analysis paralysis. All of sudden, instead of going out there and pitching your little heart, youre stuck at a dead end 9-5 job unable to piece together the steps to getting paid to write online. You dont want to know EVERYTHING about freelance writing; you just want to learn how to make money with your words (hint: its using job boards as a newbie!). I get you. Thats exactly how I started as a freelance writer. No training. No experience. I had to learn the hard way, make many mistakes and try and try again before I finally figured it out. And while I have a couple of courses that can help you land some consistent work, for today, lets just focus on where to find a freelance writing job using job boards. Baby steps, right? And to make it easier, Im not going to bother on ALL the ways to land a writing gig; Im just going to focus on one. Because one way is so much easier to focus on, take action on and actually get out there and DO IT. So, whats the quickest way to land a freelance writing job? Job Boards Yes. Some of the big freelance writers dont recommend using freelance writing job boards. Why? Well, they feel the quality of projects are low and the pay is low too. But, I disagree. Ive told my story numerous times that I got my break on a job board. It was the BEST thing that happened to me. Why? I gained confidence. Before I landed my first freelance writing job, I had an incident that almost made me quit entirely. At that time I kept thinking that, Im NOT a writer. I didnt have a journalism degree. Heck, Im not even the best writer out there either. So, when I finally landed my first writing job, boy oh boy, did my confidence shoot through the roof. From that time, I kept landing more jobs, collaborated with more bloggers and found my profitable niche finally! Job boards are perfect for new freelance writers. They: Have fresh jobs daily, even hourly Usually have a low entry point. In other words, a lot of ads stipulate you dont need a lot of experience to land that gig You can apply to numerous ads using only one job board You can see that even though there are ways to land work without using job boards, if youre brand new, this is the best way to find consistent and long term work. But, not all job boards are the same. Here are my top five picks. 1. Contena Contena is a job board that curates all jobs online and not only from other job boards. While this is a paid job board, I like the fact that I have the option to sort through jobs by category, or by niche. I just dont have the time to go through all the job boards out there and for a lot of freelance writers, you should spend the bulk of your time on tasks that will result in a positive outcome (landing work). With Contena you can do that. Another nice feature of using this paid job board over others is Contena Alerts. These are alerts that come to you inbox daily. You set the alerts with the criteria you want like rate or category and Contena will only give you only those matches. So, instead of using their platform, they notify you instead! Contena also has Pro Rates which shows you the average rates within an industry (travel writing for instance). This data is taken from actual freelance writers and from company information. So, if youre new and want to see how much you could make in your niche, Contena Pro Rate can help you figure our your rate. If youre interested in signing up to Contena, use my special 10% discount code elna10. You get 10% off any option or 10% off each payment if you choose the payment route. AND if you pay in full you receive a 20% discount PLUS your coupon will stack on top of that! 2. ProBlogger ProBlogger is one of the free job boards and for a lot of writers, this job board is considered one of the best out there for free job boards. I used ProBlogger a lot when I first started, but it can be a bit competitive since many bloggers and freelancers know about this job board. They recently updated it and now you can search by keyword your niche to help make it easier to comb through the ads. If youre new to freelance writing, definitely go here to see whats available. A lot of these jobs arent high paying, but if all you want is to finally land a job, consider using this freelance writing job board. Pitching is all in the numbers, so be prepared to pitch multiple times a day on this job board (or any job board) to land a gig. Free Course on Getting Paid to Write Online 3. Freelance Writing Freelance Writing job board was the job board I used to land my first gig. Whats great about this free job board is that they have many job sources all in one place (Craigslist, Indeed etc) You can click on a job source and only look at jobs on that platform. Or, you can just see what the listings are for the day from the Freelance Writing platform. You can filter results by using a keyword or you can see whats available by date. I like this job board because it does grab sources from Craigslist and other job sites, saving you time when you are pitching. 4. BloggingPro BloggingPro is a free job site that sorts jobs via type Freelance, Internship, Contract, Part Time or Temporary so when looking through the listings, make sure it says freelanceor the location says anywhere. I personally havent landed a gig on this platform, but I know other established writers have sworn by this site. As the name implies, youll probably find a lot of blogging type gigs, but thats not to say you wont find other types like blog management or copywriting. 5. All Indie Writers All Indie Writers is a great blog for freelance writing tips. Theres a freelance marketplace to see what publications pay as well as a freelance writing job board that curates jobs from multiple places including Craigslist. Jennifer, the owner, offers the pay range in the short description. This saves a lot of time and helps you sort through jobs based on price. This job board is free and you can even sign up to the RSS feed to be alerted of when new postings occur. Job Boards for The New Writer There are a lot of freelance writing job boards out there. Some of them are paid, like Contena, while others are free, like ProBlogger. As a new writer, spend most of your time trying to land work. This means pitching to job boards every day. Good luck! If youre not new, tell me which job board helped you land your first gig 🙂 And to help with that I have a free course on getting paid to write online. Sign up to my free six-day email course and get even more actionable tips to help you succeed as a freelance writer.

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Examination of The Little Matchstick Girl

Examination of The Little Matchstick Girl First published in 1845, The Little Match Girl by  Hans Christian Anderson  is a story about a young impoverished girl trying to sell matches on the street on New Years Eve who is afraid to go home without selling enough for fear of an abusive father. This tragic short story paints a dismal picture of life for the poor in the 1840s but also carries with it that grim hope of a fairy tale with visions of huge Christmas trees and shooting stars appearing before the young match girl- her dying wishes and dreams. The Harsh Realities of Poverty Andersons The Little Match Girl is not far from classic fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm- they both share a certain darkness to their content, a melancholic and an often morbid obsession with consequences for actions or for merely existing. Its an often studied piece in academic circles. In The Little Match Girl, Andersons titular character dies by the end of the piece, but the story is much more about the perseverance of hope. In these sparse, unforgiving lines, Hans Christian Andersen packs so much simple beauty and hope: The girl is cold, barefoot, and poor- without a friend in the world (it seems)- but she is not without hope. She dreams of warmth and light, of a time when she will be surrounded by love, and filled with happiness. Its so far outside of the realm of her current experience that most of us would have long since given up such dreams, but she holds on. Still, the harsh realities of poverty haunt the little girls reality- she must sell a match for fear of being beaten by her father upon returning home and this fear propels her to stay outside all night, which ultimately leads to her death by hypothermia. Lessons and Adaptations Thanks to its brevity and delicate approach to the topic of death, The Little Match Girl serves as a great tool, like most fairy tales, to teach children important lessons about the tougher topics in life like death and loss as well as social issues like poverty and charity. We may not want to think about the horrible things that happen every day, and its certainly hard to explain such things to our children. It does seem, though, that we can often learn the greatest lessons from the children- in how they deal with the most hopeless situations. In those final moments, this little girl sees visions of splendor. She sees hope. But, her passing- punctuated by the shooting of a star in the night sky- is tragic and troubling. Fortunately, there have also been many adaptations of this short piece by Hans Christian Anderson including several animated and live action short films which provide an easier way for children to access the themes of this brilliant short work of fiction.

Examination of The Little Matchstick Girl

Examination of The Little Matchstick Girl First published in 1845, The Little Match Girl by  Hans Christian Anderson  is a story about a young impoverished girl trying to sell matches on the street on New Years Eve who is afraid to go home without selling enough for fear of an abusive father. This tragic short story paints a dismal picture of life for the poor in the 1840s but also carries with it that grim hope of a fairy tale with visions of huge Christmas trees and shooting stars appearing before the young match girl- her dying wishes and dreams. The Harsh Realities of Poverty Andersons The Little Match Girl is not far from classic fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm- they both share a certain darkness to their content, a melancholic and an often morbid obsession with consequences for actions or for merely existing. Its an often studied piece in academic circles. In The Little Match Girl, Andersons titular character dies by the end of the piece, but the story is much more about the perseverance of hope. In these sparse, unforgiving lines, Hans Christian Andersen packs so much simple beauty and hope: The girl is cold, barefoot, and poor- without a friend in the world (it seems)- but she is not without hope. She dreams of warmth and light, of a time when she will be surrounded by love, and filled with happiness. Its so far outside of the realm of her current experience that most of us would have long since given up such dreams, but she holds on. Still, the harsh realities of poverty haunt the little girls reality- she must sell a match for fear of being beaten by her father upon returning home and this fear propels her to stay outside all night, which ultimately leads to her death by hypothermia. Lessons and Adaptations Thanks to its brevity and delicate approach to the topic of death, The Little Match Girl serves as a great tool, like most fairy tales, to teach children important lessons about the tougher topics in life like death and loss as well as social issues like poverty and charity. We may not want to think about the horrible things that happen every day, and its certainly hard to explain such things to our children. It does seem, though, that we can often learn the greatest lessons from the children- in how they deal with the most hopeless situations. In those final moments, this little girl sees visions of splendor. She sees hope. But, her passing- punctuated by the shooting of a star in the night sky- is tragic and troubling. Fortunately, there have also been many adaptations of this short piece by Hans Christian Anderson including several animated and live action short films which provide an easier way for children to access the themes of this brilliant short work of fiction.

Examination of The Little Matchstick Girl

Examination of The Little Matchstick Girl First published in 1845, The Little Match Girl by  Hans Christian Anderson  is a story about a young impoverished girl trying to sell matches on the street on New Years Eve who is afraid to go home without selling enough for fear of an abusive father. This tragic short story paints a dismal picture of life for the poor in the 1840s but also carries with it that grim hope of a fairy tale with visions of huge Christmas trees and shooting stars appearing before the young match girl- her dying wishes and dreams. The Harsh Realities of Poverty Andersons The Little Match Girl is not far from classic fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm- they both share a certain darkness to their content, a melancholic and an often morbid obsession with consequences for actions or for merely existing. Its an often studied piece in academic circles. In The Little Match Girl, Andersons titular character dies by the end of the piece, but the story is much more about the perseverance of hope. In these sparse, unforgiving lines, Hans Christian Andersen packs so much simple beauty and hope: The girl is cold, barefoot, and poor- without a friend in the world (it seems)- but she is not without hope. She dreams of warmth and light, of a time when she will be surrounded by love, and filled with happiness. Its so far outside of the realm of her current experience that most of us would have long since given up such dreams, but she holds on. Still, the harsh realities of poverty haunt the little girls reality- she must sell a match for fear of being beaten by her father upon returning home and this fear propels her to stay outside all night, which ultimately leads to her death by hypothermia. Lessons and Adaptations Thanks to its brevity and delicate approach to the topic of death, The Little Match Girl serves as a great tool, like most fairy tales, to teach children important lessons about the tougher topics in life like death and loss as well as social issues like poverty and charity. We may not want to think about the horrible things that happen every day, and its certainly hard to explain such things to our children. It does seem, though, that we can often learn the greatest lessons from the children- in how they deal with the most hopeless situations. In those final moments, this little girl sees visions of splendor. She sees hope. But, her passing- punctuated by the shooting of a star in the night sky- is tragic and troubling. Fortunately, there have also been many adaptations of this short piece by Hans Christian Anderson including several animated and live action short films which provide an easier way for children to access the themes of this brilliant short work of fiction.

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Archaeological Evidence for Domesticating Potatoes

Archaeological Evidence for Domesticating Potatoes Potato (Solanum tuberosum) belongs to the Solanaceae family, which also includes tomatoes, eggplants, and chili peppers. Potato is currently the second widest used staple crop in the world. It was first domesticated in South America, in the Andean highlands, between Peru and Bolivia, more than 10,000 years ago. Different species of potato (solanum) exist, but the most common worldwide is the S. tuberosum ssp. Tuberosum. This species was introduced in Europe in the mid-1800s from Chile when a fungus disease almost completely destroyed S. tuberosum ssp. andigena, the original species imported by the Spanish directly from the Andes in the 1500s. The edible part of the potato is its root, called tuber. Because the tuber of wild potatoes contains poisonous alkaloids, one of the first steps made by ancient Andean farmers toward domestication was to select and replant a variety with low alkaloid contents. Also, since wild tubers are quite small, farmers also selected the bigger examples. Archaeological Evidence of Potato Cultivation Archaeological evidence suggests that people were consuming potatoes in the Andes as early as 13,000 years ago. In the Tres Ventanas Cave in the Peruvian highlands, several root remains, including S. tuberosum, have been recorded and direct-dated to 5800 cal B.C. (C14 calibrated date) Also, remains of 20 potato tubers, both white and sweet potato, dating between 2000 and 1200 B.C. have been found in the trash middens of four archaeological sites in the Casma Valley, on the coast of Peru. Finally, in an Inca period site near Lima, called Pachacamac, pieces of charcoal have been found within the remains of potato tubers suggesting that one of the possible preparation of this tuber involved baking. Potatoes Around the World Although this may be due to a lack of data, current evidence indicates that the spread of potatoes from Andean highlands to the coast and the rest of the Americas was a slow process. Potatoes reached Mexico by 3000-2000 B.C., probably passing through Lower Central America or the Caribbean Islands. In Europe and North America, the South American root arrived only in the 16th and 17th century, respectively, after its importation by the first Spanish explorers. Sources Hancock, James, F., 2004, Plant Evolution and the Origin of Crop Species. Second Edition. CABI Publishing, Cambridge, MA Ugent Donald, Sheila Pozoroski and Thomas Pozoroski, 1982, Archaeological Potato Tuber Remains from the Casma Valley of Peru, Economic Botany, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 182-192.

Monday, February 17, 2020

A critical study of credit risk management in the First Bank of Dissertation

A critical study of credit risk management in the First Bank of Nigeria PLC - Dissertation Example First one is reaction against bank losses from the Newton, it is realized that losses are unbearable after the losses have occurred. The second aspect is that that bank has been pushed by the recent progress in the area of financing securitization, commercial paper and competition with other non-banks to find possible loan borrowers. Big and stable companies have been seen to shift in the open market sources like those in bond markets of finance.The degree of risk of assumed losses can be minimized by organizing and managing the lending criteria with professionalism and also with active approach. Credit risk management issues can be measured if bank could tap progressively refined measuring technique.The adoption of more rigorous credit risk has been facilitated by the technological developments, predominantly the growing availability of low cost computing power and communication. A lot of banks still have a long way to go in the implementation of such new approaches.Competition in t he provision of financial services is increasing probable due to the acceleration of change in credit risk management in the banks which is viewed as an unavoidable response to an environment and, thus need to classify new and gainful business prospects and appropriately measure the related risk is mounting for the banks and other financial institutions. ... When banks extend their credit considering that borrowers will pay back their loan amounts then the extended credit to the borrowers may be at the risk of default, banks income decreases due to the necessity for the provision for the loans as some borrowers usually default. Commercial banks are exposed to an additional risk of variability as they do not have a clue of what proportion of loan borrowers will default. As a matter of fact almost all the financial institutions bear a certain degree of risk when these institutions lend to consumers and to the businesses, hence when certain borrowers fail to repay the loan amount, they experience some loan losses. Credit risk face by a bank has a possibility of loss arising in case of non-repayment of interest or principal or both. Payment delays and the credit risk among procedures can be transferred by the banks and other financial intermediaries (Demirguc-kunt and Huzinga, 2000). Certain techniques are developed for the measurement of th e credit risk which can be linked with pace of evolution (Laker, 2007; McDonough, 1998; Couhy, 2005; Brown, 2004). Different banks are differentiated with their adoption of different credit risk management policies. A bank having assets that constitutes of loans in their portfolio are relatively illiquid and exhibits the highest credit risk (Koch and MacDonald, 2000). According to the asymmetric information, good borrowers and bad borrowers are might be impossible to distinguish, which can result into an adverse selection and moral hazards problems (Auronen, 2003). Due to the adverse selection and moral hazards banks are led to substantial accumulation of non-performing accounts.

Monday, February 3, 2020

Financial report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Financial report - Essay Example The process of determining the viable option entailed the application of mathematical techniques and models such as the regression analysis, the LM test and the decision rule to arrive at the most promising and viable investment option. Therefore, 50 countries were used to apply these tests, while using variables such as the GDP per capita, the inflation rates, the consumer price index and the secondary schools to modify the mathematical models and reach at a conclusive decision on the most promising investment opportunity that could be adopted. After the application of the mathematical models and the modification of these models with the above mentioned variable, a decision was reached that investing the 2 billion in secondary school education was more promising than investing the same in the banking sector, where the money could have been used to bail out the banks. Financial decisions are among the most difficult decisions to reach. This because, while making a financial decision, varied considerations should d be made, which call for a greater level of accuracy and precise estimations (Ingersoll, 1987 p47). Additionally, financial decisions are not hundred percent dependable, owing to the large number of factors that affect financial investments and savings. Most significant is the fact that the complexity of making financial decisions is added to, by the nature of the risks involved in the financial sector, where a slight mistake either in prediction or estimation could mean the success or failure of the investments made (Batyrshin, 2007 p23). Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that financial decisions are reached with the highest degree of precision possible, while at the same time putting into consideration all the factors that determine the viability of the decisions. This financial report presents the considerations that were