Write Answers and Build Your Writing Reputation!

If you're looking for a way to build your reputation as a writer and you some time to kill, Yahoo! Answers is worth checking out. First, have a look at Danielle's bit about Yahoo! Answers ( it's the reason I was reminded to go have a look at it).

The deal is the same as the now defunct Google Ask, or whatever it was called, except you don't get paid. There are a few things that make this a really good place to sit and write answers though.

Apart from self-promotion (which Danielle reminds us is not the purpose of Yahoo! Answers), this is a great place to share your knowledge about things you are an expert in. As you answer questions and provide useful information for users, your reputation as an expert will increase.

If you run a business or a blog about a certain subject, or you are a freelance writer, this is where you can really show off your stuff. The pages will be indexed by Google, and you may link back to your site from it, but the links will not increase your Google PageRank.

However, the links you put in will give you some traffic, and if you keyword optimize your answers they will have high Google rankings for a short period of time. If other sites pick up your answers to use as content, this will give you permanent backlinks which will increase your link popularity.

As a writer, this is an excellent place to build your reputation as a writer of some expertise on a certain subject. If you know something about anything and you want to use that knowledge to build a reputation as a writer and an expert, check out Yahoo! Answers

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