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AWAI Member Mike Ervin's "$30,000 Secret" to Make Money Online This Year
Written by: AWAI’s The Golden ThreadArticle Overview: Guillermo Rubio, AWAI Staff Writer, discusses the crucial mistake most newbies make when they first put up their website. AWAI Member, Mike Ervin, talks about how to avoid that mistake to improve the success of your website.
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AWAI Member Mike Ervin's "$30,000 Secret" to Make Money Online This Year
Most people who want to make money online make a monumental mistake when getting started.
They focus first on how they’re going to make money from their website. They research what products they’re going to sell, and they consider what kinds of ads they’ll feature.
There’s only one problem with going this route …
It actually hurts your chances of making any money. Because you’ll end up missing the most critical piece of the entire online money-making puzzle:
Creating great content.
The fact is your content will ultimately determine your success or failure online.
Think about it … 99% of people access the Internet to find useful information. So, without great content on your website, they’ll never find you … because the search engines won’t index it properly. And for those people who do manage to find your site, they won’t stay for long – let alone make a purchase – if your content doesn’t have anything of value to offer.
AWAI member Mike Ervin experienced this first-hand.
After coming out of his second retirement, he decided he really enjoyed working with patents. So he studied and passed the Bar Exam of the U.S. Patent Office and became a registered patent agent.
Like most people, he set up a website. Not surprisingly, he got zero clients from it. The only clients he did get came through referrals.
Mike’s breakthrough came when he attended one of AWAI’s Bootcamps.
While there, he spoke to Bob Bly, who told him, “Don’t just wait for referrals. Load up your website with a lot of good content so people will find you.”
Mike took Bob’s advice to heart. He got Nick Usborne’s program, How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites, and he signed up with Site Build It!, because they provided him with all of the technical capability he needed to create a fully capable website.
The result?
In the past three months of targeting lead generation, he’s gotten three clients from his website (worth $10,000 each)!
That’s the power of great content.
Says Mike, “I haven’t even started to monetize my site yet, which I know Nick’s program will help me do. I know this is the way to go. I’m building a long-term asset that will make me money for a long time … and it’s the writing techniques I learned from AWAI that have made the difference.”
No question, once you know how to write great content, you’ve taken care of 90% of what it takes to succeed online.
Four Characteristics of Winning Content
So what makes for good content?
According to web expert Nick Usborne, all great website content has these four characteristics:
1. It has a clear voice and personality. You are what separates your website content from everything else out there. That’s why everything you write needs personality and a clear voice. Establishing this is vital to writing content people actually want to read. One way to find the right voice and personality for your particular website is determining what Nick Usborne calls, “a point of view.” Take a stance on how you’ll be writing to your audience. And above all else, don’t try to please everyone with your writing. It simply doesn’t work.
2. It has credibility. Your visitors need to trust you. Otherwise, they’ll never buy anything from you. For example, if they come to your site and know instantly that your intention is just to make a quick buck, they’ll hit that back button in no time flat. Just be honest. Be objective. And be real. These three qualities will ensure your sincerity shines through, quickly gaining your visitors’ trust.
3. It’s interesting. This goes without saying. Your content needs to engage your visitor. They need to think, “Wow, this is really good. I’m glad I’m reading it.” Too many people try taking shortcuts, either by using content-creating software or flat out copying someone else. This never works in the long run. Because ultimately, your visitor will know he’s being duped. The best way to ensure your content is interesting is to do your homework. Research the topic you’re writing about. Find interesting little factoids. Write in a conversational tone. Better yet, do a little keyword research to find out what your visitors find incredibly compelling and interesting. Then make that the topic of an article on your site.
4. It’s useful. Make sure you’re giving away valuable information in your website content. Answer your visitors’ potential questions or provide solutions to their problems. Either way, make sure your visitor is better off as a result of having read your content.
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About the Author: AWAI’s The Golden Thread RSS for AWAI’s The Golden Thread's articles - Visit AWAI’s The Golden Thread's website This article appears courtesy of The Golden Thread, an e-letter from American Writers and Artists Inc. (AWAI) that delivers original, no-nonsense advice on how to build your freelance copywriting business. For a free subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/thegoldenthread. AWAI is the publisher of the world's best home-study programs for learning the art and science of direct-mail copywriting. Formed over 11 years ago by master copywriters and marketers out of an industry-wide need for talented copywriters who can deliver copy that sells, AWAI boasts a staff of more than two dozen accomplished professionals – all of whom have contributed to growing and perfecting its extensive lineup of available programs. AWAI's Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting (http://www.thewriterslife.com/evancarmichael/) gives step-by-step instruction in one of the most lucrative fields of writing that there is: direct-response copywriting. The program not only teaches the skills needed, but then gets the individual working and making money as a professional copywriter as quickly as possible. Click here to visit AWAI’s The Golden Thread's website 10 Questions to Help You Determine Why Your PPC Campaign Is Losing Money How to Turn Your Lifelong Passion Into a FullTime Publishing Gig For Emails That Work Avoid These Disaster Words Katie Yeakle CoFounder of AWAI Shares What Its Like to Start a Copywriting Company Make Money Online in Your Spare Time |
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