As you go about your online reading, do you ever find yourself thinking, “This is something I just have to blog about.” Or maybe you find an article that contains information that you know you can use for an ongoing project with a client. All to often, these ideas get put “in a safe place” in our minds, only to be forgotten by the next morning. I had these problems until I started using Evernote solely and learned how to use some of its numerous features; now, it’s the first thing I open whenever I sit down to write.
If you’ve not heard of Evernote, it’s a free cloud-based application that runs on, and can be synced to, any computer or mobile device that you have. Away from home, you can access your data by logging into their website. Users can opt to pay for the premium service, but so far I’ve not found that necessary.
Aside from keeping “notebooks” containing my completed and work-in-progress writing for various clients, I use them to save information as I do research, or while surfing the net. Here are four ways I save info to Evernote :
Searching the Internet- Install and use the Evernote web clipper to save full articles, selected text or just the URL of material that you need or think will be useful in the future. You can even take screen shots and save them to your folders.
RSS readers- With the click of your mouse, or tap of your screen, you can save blog posts to your account to access later.
Emails- Forward important emails to your Evernote account using the email address that you’re given when you register for your account.
Scanning- If you have magazine articles or newspaper clips that you want to save, just use your computer’s scanner to make a digital copy and save it in the appropriate folder.
After hiring a freelance writer, clients can use Evernote to store articles which they want referenced in the content that is being produced for them. If you’re creating a niche site about coffee makers, you can store details about coffee brewing, tips, recipes and accessories in a virtual folder. Then pass the materials on to your writer so he can make use of them as he writes the content.
This is just the tip of the Evernote iceberg. As I said before, it’s a tool I use daily for research, writing and saving important information. How do you use it in your writing business?
Charlotte E is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
