Site Review: menwithpens.ca

It’s hard to believe that Men With Pens is only about a year and a half old. They have put out such an enormous volume of useful articles that it seems like you can spend a whole year just reading them. It helps that they have two “men”, no wait, three men, no wait, four men and one of them is a woman. I can’t keep track. If someone told me there was a fifth I would have to believe them.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that MWP used to be an advertiser here and I would gladly have them back. They are easy to recommend and they pay good money. I like that in an advertiser. At the moment though, no money is coming my way so I am relatively bias-free.

Also, in the interest of being well-rounded in my review, I can say that I don’t really like their most recent site design. I’m really not a fan of sites with dark backgrounds. Furthermore, their blue highlight color doesn’t look good against the gray and black background. It kind of hurts my eyes. I should also mention that MWP is a business first and a blog second. They don’t force their services down your throat, but they do want your business, so keep that in mind.

I have come to praise MWP though, not to bury them. On the Internet, content is king and they have content coming out of their ears. MWP focuses on site design, content development and freelancing. There are also a substantial number of articles about writing fiction and inspirational articles about writing in general. They have an active comment community that adds value to almost every post. Overall, this is one of the best sites for writers on the web.

Their archives are great, but they keep coming out with great new stuff too. Just this week they published Do You Have a Magic Ring?, which had a great productivity idea. The idea is to wear a reminder on your body (a ring, a necklace, etc.) and every time you think of that object you have to do the task associated with it. For example, every time you touch or adjust your ring, you have to write for ten minutes. It is a great idea. Here are some other past articles I would recommend:

Are You Losing Faith in Your Writing Dream?

An inspiring prompt to get you going again.

The Single Freelancer Policy that Saves Your Soul

Great advice about setting up a revision policy if you are a freelancer

Build it from Scratch or Customize a Template?

Tips about when to consider (almost never) builing your Wordpress template from scratch.

Four Choices To Brand Your Online Business

Site branding is often misunderstood and poorly executed, this article offers good basic advice.

Why Your Website Content Loses 7 Percent of Customers

Every time someone is expected to make a click, you can expect to lose 7% of your readers.

Should You Tell People Their Blog Design is Ugly?

Yes you should, and they do…

Drive-by-Shooting Sundays: Simplistic Thoughts

One of the many site reviews (emphasizing design) that MWP has posted over the past year. These articles are priceless if you are starting a new site and you want to figure out what to avoid.

Related links

• How to Become an Expert Writer in Any Field (0.500)
• 10 Steps to a Freelance Writing Career (0.500)
• Successful Freelance Writers Know How to Use a Feed Reader (0.500)
• Successful Freelance Writers are Surrounded by Terrible Freelance Writers (0.500)
• Successful Freelance Writers Don't Take Revisions Personally (0.500)