Howdy all. I've been a freelance business writer for about six years now. I fell in love with the internet and its power to connect people at the tender age of twelve. The web has definitely changed how the world works, especially the world of business. Writing content for businesses has given me a bird's eye view of the online business world. Here are a few things I've learned along the way:
1. You're not the only one with your idea. Never assume you are. Even if you put a fresh spin on an old idea, there's probably someone already doing it or going to do it soon. As of this moment the entire indexed web contains upwards of 1.71 billion pages. That makes being absolutely unique a very daunting task. So rather than trying to be totally unique, aim to be the best at what you're doing. Which brings me to point number 2...
2. Passion matters. The good news is that most of those web pages are worthless chaff. Most of them are abandoned blogs, bad landing pages, boring copy, and half-hearted websites full of PLR articles that have been hacked and spun to death. Site visitors know when you're a hack just doing it for the money. They also know when you're passionate. Look at sites like Gizmodo and Search Engine Land. You can tell that the contributors love their chosen topics. So think twice before executing an idea just because it's in a lucrative niche.
3. You get what you pay for. I caution those who hire freelancers who compete on price. Look at it this way: You hire someone to write articles for you at $5 each for 500 words. As a freelancer, I have to make it worth my while, so I'm going to write each of those $5 articles as fast as I can to meet my hourly rate. Meaning it's probably some hastily thrown together text that just barely passes Copyscape. Does that sound like something that has the power to drive huge traffic?
Now if someone pays me $35 for that same article, I can afford to spend more time on it. I want to do a really good job and make my client happy because writing for $35 an article is way less stressful, time consuming, and soul-sucking than writing a dozen $5 articles a day.
4. Value sells. People come online for purchases, entertainment, information, and interaction. So making money online requires you to offer value in one of those areas. Sometimes that means giving things away for free. Sometimes that means going above and beyond customer expectations (SUCS as MJ put it). Offering value goes beyond exchanging a product or service for money. You want to have a superb product or service because you've used all of your customer feedback to tweak the ish out of it. You want to become known as an expert in your area because you provide the most useful blog posts and give away reports full of gold nuggets. You want people to sing your praises on Amazon because your book is more than a 350 page promotional tool.
5. SEO is not magic. If the endless stream of Google algorithm updates have taught us anything, it's that SEO shortcuts don't work. Even if they did work, even if you could still use black hat tactics from ten years ago to manipulate people into visiting your website, what good would it do? SEO is building your reputation online, one link, one social mention, one blog post, one press release at a time. Yes you're excited now. Yes you want traffic now. I know you don't want to hear that patience is a virtue, but when it comes to SEO, it is. SEO is reputation building, and reputation building takes time. Just ask any company that's on the first page of Google for a competitive keyword (or any company that has justly felt the pain of the Google slap).
6. Stay on top of things (because it's easy to fall off). To say that web trends are always changing is a gross understatement. Sometimes I look at my RSS feed and it makes my head spin. A new app has exploded in popularity, one company has bought out another, Google has changed something, there's a new social network, etc. New developments can mean new marketing channels for you (e.g., the explosion of the mobile web), or that one of your products or services needs an update (especially so with information products). So choose a few blogs or news outlets that will keep you abreast of what's going on in the online space. If you can't stay on top of online trends, then you can't compete in online business.
7. Go outside! Seriously, go outside. Us webpreneurs can get so caught up in our work that we easily forget the world outside the screen. Plus, sitting down for long stretches can cause serious health problems over time. So stand up and stretch after a few hours. Go walk your dog. Walk your neighbor's dog. Get some sunshine. Go get lunch with a friend you haven't talked to in awhile. Emerge from your secluded office, squinting in the sunlight, and rediscover the world you've left behind.
So I hope this, my humble contribution to the Fastlane forum has been useful. May it be the first of many more to come.
1. You're not the only one with your idea. Never assume you are. Even if you put a fresh spin on an old idea, there's probably someone already doing it or going to do it soon. As of this moment the entire indexed web contains upwards of 1.71 billion pages. That makes being absolutely unique a very daunting task. So rather than trying to be totally unique, aim to be the best at what you're doing. Which brings me to point number 2...
2. Passion matters. The good news is that most of those web pages are worthless chaff. Most of them are abandoned blogs, bad landing pages, boring copy, and half-hearted websites full of PLR articles that have been hacked and spun to death. Site visitors know when you're a hack just doing it for the money. They also know when you're passionate. Look at sites like Gizmodo and Search Engine Land. You can tell that the contributors love their chosen topics. So think twice before executing an idea just because it's in a lucrative niche.
3. You get what you pay for. I caution those who hire freelancers who compete on price. Look at it this way: You hire someone to write articles for you at $5 each for 500 words. As a freelancer, I have to make it worth my while, so I'm going to write each of those $5 articles as fast as I can to meet my hourly rate. Meaning it's probably some hastily thrown together text that just barely passes Copyscape. Does that sound like something that has the power to drive huge traffic?
Now if someone pays me $35 for that same article, I can afford to spend more time on it. I want to do a really good job and make my client happy because writing for $35 an article is way less stressful, time consuming, and soul-sucking than writing a dozen $5 articles a day.
4. Value sells. People come online for purchases, entertainment, information, and interaction. So making money online requires you to offer value in one of those areas. Sometimes that means giving things away for free. Sometimes that means going above and beyond customer expectations (SUCS as MJ put it). Offering value goes beyond exchanging a product or service for money. You want to have a superb product or service because you've used all of your customer feedback to tweak the ish out of it. You want to become known as an expert in your area because you provide the most useful blog posts and give away reports full of gold nuggets. You want people to sing your praises on Amazon because your book is more than a 350 page promotional tool.
5. SEO is not magic. If the endless stream of Google algorithm updates have taught us anything, it's that SEO shortcuts don't work. Even if they did work, even if you could still use black hat tactics from ten years ago to manipulate people into visiting your website, what good would it do? SEO is building your reputation online, one link, one social mention, one blog post, one press release at a time. Yes you're excited now. Yes you want traffic now. I know you don't want to hear that patience is a virtue, but when it comes to SEO, it is. SEO is reputation building, and reputation building takes time. Just ask any company that's on the first page of Google for a competitive keyword (or any company that has justly felt the pain of the Google slap).
6. Stay on top of things (because it's easy to fall off). To say that web trends are always changing is a gross understatement. Sometimes I look at my RSS feed and it makes my head spin. A new app has exploded in popularity, one company has bought out another, Google has changed something, there's a new social network, etc. New developments can mean new marketing channels for you (e.g., the explosion of the mobile web), or that one of your products or services needs an update (especially so with information products). So choose a few blogs or news outlets that will keep you abreast of what's going on in the online space. If you can't stay on top of online trends, then you can't compete in online business.
7. Go outside! Seriously, go outside. Us webpreneurs can get so caught up in our work that we easily forget the world outside the screen. Plus, sitting down for long stretches can cause serious health problems over time. So stand up and stretch after a few hours. Go walk your dog. Walk your neighbor's dog. Get some sunshine. Go get lunch with a friend you haven't talked to in awhile. Emerge from your secluded office, squinting in the sunlight, and rediscover the world you've left behind.
So I hope this, my humble contribution to the Fastlane forum has been useful. May it be the first of many more to come.
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