Web Writing and Making Money Online FAQ

"Eeek! I'm falling behind in my lessons..."

2008-09-13T10:11:40.215+10:00

If you're finding it hard to complete your SYWON assignment each week, relax.

Take your time. Look on the course as material you'll be working with for many years to come. You'll find that everything works together: you're creating a profitable full time career word by word, and action by action. Just keep taking action, and you can't go wrong.

I've heard that some Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON) lessons come with money-making products and sites we can sell - is that right?

2008-09-01T10:28:09.894+10:00

Yes, it certainly is. From around Lesson 20, each week you'll receive a bonus product you can SELL - an ebook, a script, or set of videos. The resale rights are clearly shown - so look for them. Many of these products include a complete Web site too...

Just upload the site, and sell the products. Just another benefit of being a Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON) subscriber. :-)

How do I add a PayPal "Buy Now" button to a page?

2008-08-28T10:56:27.523+10:00

Adding Buy Now buttons is really easy.

You just copy and paste a snippet of code from PayPal.

Here's a tutorial you can download, which will help.

Can I really make $250 an hour at the end of the SYWON training?

2008-08-23T07:57:15.778+10:00

New writers sometimes query the "$250 per hour" claim of Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON), wondering if it's possible. Experienced writers know that that estimate is on the conservative side.

For example, I'm sure you can write a Web page of 200 words in half an hour or so. I can do it in 20 minutes. Therefore, since an average price for a Web page is $200 to $300 dollars, you can see that this estimate "$250 per hour" is indeed conservative.

SYWON training consists of modules - article writing, creating ebooks, creating your own sites and blogs etc, and any of these modules can give you a six-figure income, if you USE the information.

You don't need to complete a lesson a week, you can take as long as you like. All the training works together.

My goal for the training is that you'll have a great set of tools for life, which will help you to develop the writing career - and the writing business - that you dream of.

Dream BIG. :-)

Which outsourcing sites do you recommend?

2008-08-23T07:16:15.891+10:00

There are many outsourcing sites. I don't have experience with them all, and I don't specifically recommend any particular site.

In mid-2008, I'm using three sites as a buyer of services:

Odesk

Elance

Get a Freelancer

From discussions with students, all three sites work well for service providers. So give all three a try, and then focus on the one which is easiest to use from your perspective.

We discuss the outsourcing sites and how to win bids in Lesson 2 of Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON). However, bidding on projects is not the best way to make money online - get your own site.

Should I be charging for consultations?

2008-08-22T11:07:34.936+10:00

Yes, you should. In Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON), many lessons cover creating Web sites for specific purposes, including selling your writing services in various ways.

Once your writing services Web site is online, you'll get loads of email queries every single day.

While it's great that people are interested in your services, many/ most of these queries are a huge waste of your time.

There's no way you can run a profitable writing services business and hand out free information day after day.

So, what do you do? You can't ignore these queries, can you?

No, you can't ignore them all, but you can qualify these prospects. Every business qualifies its prospects, so it's something you must learn how to do too.

Here's how.

1. Create a Web form so prospects can brief you

This is the first step. Create a reasonably detailed online form, so your prospects can tell you more about their needs. As you can see from the form on my Hot Web Copy site, it's detailed, but not overwhelming. If someone is serious about hiring you, they're happy to brief you.

Once your form's created, every email query is answered automatically with a link to this form. (Check your email program's Help files to see how to send auto replies.)

You'll never hear from 95 per cent of the people you send to this form, and that's fine. If they're too lazy to fill in a form, they're not going to hire you, and you've just saved hours of time.

2. Consultations: Yes, you can charge for the time you spend answering questions

You'll get plenty of work from the clients who fill in your form.

However, some prospects will need more hand-holding. They're not sure quite what they want, or they don't know what to do.

You'll get lots of these people, and they can eat up lots of time.

For example, let's say someone has heard about article marketing, and wants you to write some articles for them. However, they have no idea of WHY article marketing is effective, and what keywords are, etc.

This is where you can either spend time and energy and not get paid, or decide that your time is worth money, and so is the information you provide: charge for consultations.

Here's one of my Consultation pages.

Will people baulk at this? Occasionally, yes. But please realize that the people who baulk at it have no intention of paying you for anything ever, they just want to pick your brain, so don't worry about it.

What's important when I bid on projects at the outsourcing sites?

2008-08-22T07:20:34.151+10:00

I've just posted some projects at the outsourcing sites for a client, and have started receiving bids. So with the frustrating experience fresh in my mind, here are some things to remember:

1. Follow the rules the buyer has made. For example, in my project descriptions, I asked for samples in TEXT format only, not MS Word. I use a Mac as my primary work machine, and MS Word is a resource hog, so I rarely use it. To date 9 out of 10 bidders have posted MS Word files. Of course, I won't hire these writers, because they've shown they can't follow directions.

A tip when you're converting MS Word to text - don't copy and paste, because this leaves artifacts in the files which need to be removed. Use "File Save As... Text". Better still, use a text editor. NoteTab Lite (Google it) is completely free, and it's a must-have if you use a PC.

2. Watch your spelling. Half the bidders on the projects I posted had atrocious spelling. Why on earth would anyone hire them when they can't use a spell checker?

So these two things are vital - follow the directions exactly as posted, and use a spell checker. They're simple points, but are absolutely vital.

You'll notice too, that these points have nothing to do with writing skill.

What are the best free HTML editors I can use?

2008-08-20T08:05:08.051+10:00

My current favorite free Web editor is SynthaSite. You received a step by step PDF on creating your first SynthaSite site with your SYWON materials.

I also like the new Google Sites tool.

If you're using headers and graphics you've received as part of your Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON) bonus materials, use NVU. Not only is it completely free, it comes with lots of tutorials.

What are the best FREE keyword tools online?

2008-08-20T07:57:07.828+10:00

Here are my current free favorites:

* Google AdWords External Keyword Tool

* Free keywords tool from WordTracker

However, there are many keyword tools online, both free and commercial. As your Web writing business grows, you'll want to invest in the best keyword tools you can afford.

Should I share my "niche" sites with others?

2008-08-20T07:42:37.796+10:00

Please don't share the URLs of your niche sites with anyone at all - not even friends and family, especially if you're using Google AdSense. This is because friends may decide to "help" you by clicking on links, and this will get you banned completely from AdSense, and from many other Cost Per Action advertising formats.

There are other reasons you shouldn't share your URLs; the primary one being competition.

So, PLEASE never share your URLs, especially on forums etc. You may say what niche you're targeting, but the fewer people who know you who know the exact URLs the better... if that makes sense. :-)