Great news! Recently, Terreece has joined two stellar teams – About.com – a New York Times company and IT Martini, a company that connects the IT community through events that promote leadership, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy.

As the new About.com guide for Columbus, Ohio, Terreece is charged with highlighting all the

great neighborhoods, events, venues and opportunities in the Columbus Metropolitan area.

I moved to Columbus from Toledo, Ohio in 1995 to attend The Ohio State University and quickly fell in love with the city. Columbus has a lot of things to offer that many people in and out of the city don’t realize: a booming indie arts and foodie scene, a budding fashion hub, great schools – public, private and college, fantastic museums, music and a thriving business environment for both established companies like Nationwide Insurance, Huntington National Bank and start-ups like KidsLinked.com and Local Yokel. We also have a growing tech force and social media community.

There is a reason why Columbus has made so many national lists for being a great place to live, work and play. I can’t wait to explore it more and show it off.

In addition to becoming a guide for About.com Terreece has joined IT Martini as their web content editor.

This is the great thing about being a freelancer, I work with a variety of people and businesses. The IT Martini crew is fantastic, they’ve built a great brand – the events they produce are top-notch – and they have a philanthropic component that makes working with them even better.

I get to apply  my editorial and social media experience with a new audience. It’s one of those ‘happy dance’ opportunities. IT Martini is making an impact not only in the IT community, but in the local community of each event.

Does it make money?

The IRS asks this question and it’s a big one for you. Are you making any money? The IRS requires businesses make a certain amount before they can be claimed as a business. Your goal should be growing your business to support your lifestyle. If not, you have a hobby or at the most, a side hustle.

Do you have a plan?

Every business should have a plan. Types of clients, where the business is projected to be in 5 years, plans for cash flow, etc. If you consider your business viable and do not have a plan for growth, you may have a hobby state of mind.

Do you have a passion?

Read the rest at ClarkeColumbus.com

I would like to see more suggestions for headlines and making them SEO friendly. Is it better to put your keywords in the first part of the headline or does it make a difference?

SEO writing for headlines isn’t as difficult as many make it out to be, especially traditional media journalists who often deride writing for ‘a machine’ as stifling to creativity. The key to making SEO headlines work is to make SEO a natural part of the headline. Already, the headline is comprised of a description of the article so the important keyword(s) should already be included in it.

Keyword Placement

To answer Cheril’s question, I don’t think keyword place in the headline makes much difference as long as it’s before the natural search engine cut off. Search engines give you anywhere between five to ten words in their listing before they cut of your headline with the lovely period of ellispsis (…), so if you’re title gets a little wordy, be sure to hit that keyword before it wonders off into nothingness.

Read the rest at Freelance Writing Gigs.com – Published March 2010

A freelancer’s day is a varied as the writer, but there are some we all have in common. Whether it’s waiting on a check, a love of coffee or an obsession with checking email or Tweets, no one understands like your fellow writers. So take a break and enjoy!

6:00 am: Stumble out bed and wander to desk. Open one eye long enough to check editorial calendar for the day – it’s full. Realize it’s a caffeine day. Head to kitchen.

6:15 am: After falling asleep in the bathroom, finally make it to the kitchen. Worship at the alter of the caffeine gods and scurry to the office before anyone in the house decides they want strike up a conversation.

6:23 am: Get caught sneaking to the office. Maybe if you stand still they won’t see you.

6:24 am: No such luck. Not only are they speaking they are asking questions. Apply “grunt and walk away” technique.

6:25 am: Safe in the office and both eyes open, check email account – 112 emails. Damn. Perk up when you realize 93 of those are for “Awesome Penis” products.

Read more at Freelance Writing Gigs.com Published July 2008

Parenting is not an exact science — it’s a messy improvisation. For every one “child whisperer” expert, there are 4,000 parents just trying to keep spit up/juice boxes/soccer mud/random glitter/mystery goo/sweatsock funk off their last clean shirt.

There are those days when “good enough” is simply good enough. Shortcuts and outright trickery are a part of life as a parent.

Read the rest at Columbus Parent Magazine - published April 2010