How to Create an Advice Column
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Giving Advice To Others
Are you a natural-born giver of advice? You might consider starting your own advice column!
Creating your own advice column is simple, especially with the help of the Internet. These days advice columns are springing up left and right. Most people give advice, but don't really label themselves as "advice columnists."
If you like to give advice and want to learn how to start your own column, I'll give you some pointers here on how to do that.
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Are you in it for the long haul?
Creating an advice column might seem like great fun. But there is something you should ask yourself--Are you in this for the long haul?
For a column to really take off and be a success, you depend totally on your readership. Building a strong, solid network of readers is challenging. Here are some things you should consider before you create an advice column:
- Can you be consistent in writing and publishing your advice column?
- Can you create a stock pile of extra columns in advance, to prepare for unforeseen emergencies?
- Can you write sage advice that is non-biased?
- Can you avoid burn-out by taking breaks and interacting in other ways?
An advice column can become both boring and yet challenging in many ways. It can also take a lot out of a person, if you do it over a long period of time. And this is the only way you will create a big audience.
Your readers depend on you to be consistent and on point...all the time. So it's up to you. Are you in this for the long haul? Or is this just a passing fancy? If you don't think you can reasonably be consistent over a long period of time, it will be difficult to build a readership, which means your column will probably flop.
Collect Questions
One of the first steps to creating an advice column is to collect questions from your target audience. The quickest and easiest way to do this is to head straight to the source--your audience--and start probing them for questions.Find out what burning questions are on their minds.
Here are some tips to help you collect questions:
- Conduct a telephone survey
- Conduct an online poll
- Start a list and gather questions from your subscribers
- Scan magazine covers in your niche for questions people are asking there
These are just a few simple ways you can collect questions.
Another way to gather questions is to have a brainstorming session. Gather a few friends and/or colleagues and have a pow-wow. Write down as many questions as you can think of that your intended audience might have for you.
Stay tuned for the next step to creating an advice column...
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Comments
You're welcome. :) I'll be adding more later...
hi im a gr.9 student in Bayview high and i was wondering whether you could send me kinda like a tutorial on how to write an advice column, because im really interested in your article. I'm pretty sure in a few of my writing assignments(english class) i will have to write an advice column or two.
thanks.
ever since i can remember i have been writing i love giving advice because it makes me feel like ive helped someone improve there life, as i am quite young i know whatyuong people want but also i am mature for my age so i would be able to answer any question of any catagorie
Thanks for writing this, as it's something I'm sure plenty of people consider. I've been told that to be an advice columnist, you have to have a degree in something, usually Psychology. Is this true, or is it alright to start an advice column without college degrees? Is a degree a bonus, but not needed? Thanks.
Hi Brandy! No, you don't have to have a college degree. There are many syndicated columnists out there who don't have a formal education.
Oh, awesome! Thanks for the reply.
Very interesting... I'll be followig up!
is it better to have a degree? if a person if looking for a paying job with a newspaper or other publication, would it be easier to get a job with a college degree on a resume or would experience with a column be more helpful?
Having a college degree might help you get a job at a newspaper. However, I have learned that experience goes much farther than a college degree. In fact, I was hired on at a daily newspaper and the editor told me exactly that, when I mentioned the fact that I don't have a college degree. Start writing, get some clips under your belt, and get that experience.
Very interesting ! I can't even go to the store or a fast food place without someone asking me advice or just telling me their troubles ! Heehee....no lie. Maybe, that's exactly what I should do. I wonder how I could start an advice column online ? thanks.
how much would it cost to set up a online advice column?
You can start with ZERO dollars Terri. All you have to do is set yourself up with a blog (I prefer Word Press, but some recommend Blogger). If you are running on a low (or no) budget, I'd suggest starting there first.
If you have a small budget to work with and want your column to be super-professional, grab your domain name (about $10) and a small amount of hosting (anywhere from $5-$25 per month). You can set up a blog on your domain and post your columns there. It will look more professional if you do this, than if you use a free blogging service.
Hope that helps!
exactly where do i go and what do i do to start an advice colum????
where can i go to start an advice column, beause mostpeople's articles only tell you how, they don't tell you where to go...
~Sami~
I have another Hub that tells you how to create an advice column online. Go here to read it: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Start-An-Advice-Col
How can you charge for your advice?
Hi do you no how to create an advice webpage for young teens?
how to get paid when starting an advice column...how do you charge and how much
I plan on starting an advicce columnist for teens i think i will do great st this among the other things i have planed. thanks to whom ever created this helped alot
jtboswell says:
2 years ago
Thanks