The Ins and Outs of Houzz – Firms in the green industry are finding ways to use Houzz, an up and coming online platform that links homeowners and professionals. Founded in 2009, in 2013, it boasted 12 million unique viewers, 89 percent of whom are homeowners with an average home value of $450,000. This Landscape Management article outlines how to Houzz.

Using the WordPress.com platform, I create websites with blog capabilities. I make it easy for any person or firm to have a bright, lively website presence without a lot of work — or expense.

Examples of my work includes this website, DiannaOBrien.com, SteveWeinbergAuthor.com and HockmanInteriorDesign.com

Here’s what Sherry Hockman of Hockman Interior Design said about my work:

“I really enjoyed working with Dianna on the development and re-launch of my website and blog for my interior design company. Before we started, my blog was basically dead in the water. Dianna helped me revitalize the website and created a site that people return to again and again. In addition to redesigning the website, she developed and wrote weekly blog posts and in three months, the number of visitors to the website doubled and as a result, I have several new clients. Dianna was professional but also personable, and made the entire process fun. Working with Dianna was a good investment, one which I’m sure will continue to pay off by new clients finding my new, helpful online presence.”

I’m a former newspaper reporter, so I hit my deadlines, fact check and do it quickly and professionally. Best of all, I love what I do and bring that enthusiasm to each and every story I tackle.

Here’s what Columbia Business Times Managing Editor Sarah Redohl said about me:

“When I assign something to Dianna I know it will get done on time, and there won’t be extensive edits or fact-checks that don’t fare well. Furthermore, she will not cower in the face of a challenging story. Instead she does whatever is needed to get the story done and frequently digs up additional dirt in the process.”

I’m no diva – whew! I am just a writer who loves what I do and I do it well. If you are looking for someone who can write clean, clear, interesting articles and blog posts, give me a call or email me at dobrien387@gmail.com

The Ins and Outs of City-Wides.

This article includes a look at why employees do it and how employers are caught off guard. A tips box provides law-enforcement guides on how to stay safe and a list of the top 10 Boone County embezzlers show the breadth of the problem.

Now, that day is almost here and to help him prepare for their arrival, hundreds of Columbians have given him everything he needs — from furniture to a computer — for his family of four children, including one child his wife adopted before she’d learned Rwenyaguza was alive.

Read the story here: “A Community Comes Together.”

I’m sure every freelance writer has his or her favorite magazine; Writer’s Digest is one of three magazines I subscribe to.

The magazine has a website, http://www.writersdigest.com/, in addition to the magazine, which is published eight times a year.

Each issue includes articles and features for freelancers, although the bulk of the magazine is devoted to writers of books, poetry and short stories. Yet even the features devoted to these areas, such as author profiles give freelancers like me insight and something to learn. For example, the profile of Julia Cameron, the author of The Artist’s Way, notes she began by writing feature articles and freelancing.

Here are just a few of the departments and articles I’ve found especially helpful:

Standout Markets – a list of various markets, it always includes markets for freelance work.

Conference Scene by Linda Formichelli offers a view of places where writers can gather for networking and learning. Each installation of Conference Scene has a theme, such as Writing Without Borders, writing conference throughout the world, or Finding Your Niche, which listed conferences for screenwriters and pet writers.

“The Wired Writer,” in the July/August 2011 edition of the magazine outlined various apps writers would find useful.

Write a How-To Article in Six Easy Steps, by Christina Katz, also in the July/August 2011 broke down a formula article into six easy steps.

The Not-So-Fantastic Four. This article in the July/August 2011 issue outlined four freelancers’ biggest problems, with tips on how to solve them. The examples in the article included an AWOL editor, vague assignments, late-paying clients. The article was by Kelly James-Enger, author of Six-Figure Freelancing. I enjoyed reading this article because it told me that I’m not the only freelance for face these obstacles.

The fact-check checklist, May/June 2011

101 Best Website for Writers, May/June 2011

Getting Started in Ghostwriting by Kelly James-Enger, with a box on markets, March/April 2011.

Best Online Markets by Vanessa Wieland & Jennifer Benner, Nov/Dec 2010.

And so I do make sure I’m there early. But sometimes there’s no way to make someone trust me as a journalist. They may have been burned or misquoted and despite my assurances that I accuracy check all my articles, i.e. let a source review for accuracy the entire article before submitting to my editor, some people still are nervous.

That was the case with Travis Huff of Pure Audio when I interviewed him for this article, Creating sounds of something great, published in the Columbia Business Times on August 19, 2011, reprinted from Columbia Home’s August/September 2011 issue.

After the initial interview and then a change in focus from the editor, Travis asked if I could interview him by email. No problem, I thought, except for follow-up questions. Journalists know that the follow-up question can be the most important one of an interview. There’s no way to know everything we need to know before we arrive, so when a source says something interesting, it is crucial to follow up with a question.

What followed were several days of emails. But then I learned another downside of email interviews. Travis’s answers were great. But they were very formal. We all write in a more formal tone than we talk.

So how to bring a business story to life? Ask the people who are affected — Pure Audio’s customers.

The result is an article that highlights what Pure Audio really does. Sure, Huff explained that the company installs digital sound and video systems for homes and offices. But John Schuppan and others explained what Pure Audio really does — help people enjoy the digital sound and video systems in their homes.

Now that’s something worth writing about.

Here’s a summary of the article:

August 19, 2011, Creating sounds of something great, Columbia Business Times. Columbia firm Pure Audio & Video Specialty installs digital media systems in new and older homes, simplifying the music/video system. Yes, you can have just one remote for the whole house, and no the television does not have to be the focus of a room. A reprint from Columbia Home, August/September 2011 issue.

Below is a link to the SPJ’s online journaliststoolbox.

The SPJ, founded in 1909, is dedicated to “the perpetuation of a free press as the cornerstone of our nation and our liberty,” according to its website.

For more information on the SPJ, see its website at http://www.spj.org/index.asp