Write More. Write Fast. Write Now.

Freelance writers in the 21st century do much of their writing for the internet. While some get by without ever using HTML, most would benefit from the ability to include HTML tags when appropriate. Writers become easier to hire when they can produce content that is ready to insert in a website. These three HTML cheats freelance writers should know will show you how to start producing internet ready content.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

HTML Basics for Freelance Writers

HTML – an acronym for Hypertext Markup Language – is the primary language used by web pages to define what content will look like on a web page. For example, using paragraph tags indicates where a paragraph begins and ends, and using bold tags indicates bold text.

Why should a freelance writer care? HTML does not use the same tags as those found in word processing programs like Microsoft Word or OpenOffice. In fact, when someone copies text from one of these programs and pastes it directly into a web page, it will usually create errors as the word processor’s tags are misunderstood or ignored.

When you submit a .doc or .odt document for publication on the internet, someone has to make changes by stripping off the word processor tags and adding in the HTML tags. The freelance writer whose work is internet ready does not create extra work for the client and has an advantage when marketing her writing.

Also, the person charged with converting your text to HTML might not make the appropriate stylistic or SEO choices for your work. The more HTML you include in your text, the more you are able to influence the way your words will appear in final (and somewhat permanent) form on the internet. These HTML cheats make it easy for freelance writers to learn how to include HTML in their writing.

HTML Cheats – #1 Use a Blogging Platform

One of the best ways to see how HTML looks is to use a blogging platform like Blogger or WordPress. These platforms have What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editors that you can use to enter your text as if you are using a word processor. After entering your text in the WYSIWYG format (labeled Compose in Blogger or Visual in WordPress) you can toggle over to the HTML version of the text to see what the tags look like in your document.

Using this simple HTML cheat, a freelance writer can start creating simple, internet ready text documents without any understanding of HTML.

Blogging Platform Cheat

• Create a blog at Blogger.
• Start a new post.
• Type your text into the Compose editor.
• Toggle over to Edit Html.
• Copy the HTML text.
• Paste the HTML text into a text editor like Notepad to save as a text document OR paste it directly into a website editor if appropriate.

You can see how HTML adds tags before and after your text to mark it as bold or italic, how bulleted lists are created, and how links are identified. But even if you do not care how it is done, this HTML cheat allows you to do it yourself without understanding how.

HTML Cheats – #2 Try It Yourself at W3Schools

W3Schools has the best HTML tutorial I have seen. If you plan to write any HTML on your own, you will want to bookmark this website. Spend an afternoon working on the Basic lessons, and you will learn all a freelance writer needs to know to start creating HTML ready documents.

Of course, you probably will not memorize all you learn in an afternoon, but you do not have to. The tutorial is there for you to reference whenever you need it.

The best part of this HTML cheat is that each lesson features “try it yourself” windows where you can test how an HTML document will look outside of a blog. This can be useful for testing sales pages or other web pages that are not built on blog platforms.

Try It Yourself Editor Cheat

• Write your HTML document in a text editor like Notepad.
• Copy your HTML text.
• Visit this try it yourself editor.
• Paste your HTML text over the text on the left.
• Click the button that says Edit and Click Me

With an understanding of HTML basics, a freelance writer will open up new markets. For example, creating not only the words, but also the appearance of sales pages increases your worth as a copywriter. This simple HTML cheat gives you the ability to test your final copy before you send it to the client.

HTML Cheats – #3 View the Page Source Code

Sometimes you will see something on a web page that you want to duplicate. This HTML cheat will save you having to hunt for a tutorial or explanation of how it is done, especially when you are not sure what to call what you see. You can view the source code on most web pages using this simple cheat.

Page Source Cheat

• Right click any blank space on the web page (you don’t want to right click on a link or a photo.)
• Left click on View Page Source, towards the bottom of the menu that pops up.
• View the HTML code for the web page in a new window. With experience you will learn how to read this code and find new ways use code you see on a web page.

I find this HTML cheat helps me “know what I don’t know.” Once I see the code and a tag I do not recognize, I can then search for more information about that tag. Otherwise I would be stuck trying to articulate in words what I see that I do not understand.

Freelance writers can use this cheat to copy and paste format snippets. I suspect you want to be careful not to be caught plagiarizing entire pages of other people’s code, but for formatting a table or saving yourself some repetitive typing, this HTML cheat cannot be beat.

Beyond HTML

HTML is not the only language necessary for creating web pages. Javascript creates items that change, like dates or counters. If you decide to branch out into website creation you may need to learn about CSS style sheets or PHP code as well.

However, you have enough to start writing internet ready content with these three HTML cheats. Freelance writers should know how to use these simple tools so they can make themselves versatile while they focus on writing the content that sells.

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