Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Freelance Writers: Why an Ugly Website Can be Good for Business

The heading of this post was today's topic over at BloggingTips.com (BT). An excerpt:

I was reading an interview featuring Markus Frind of PlentyofFish.com. Mr. Frind’s site is the world’s largest online dating website. According to published reports, Markus pulls in over $10,000 to $20,000 a day from Google AdSense alone. His overall income is $5 million to $10 million a year.

Plentyof Fish.com is one of the ugliest sites online. It looks like a newbie web designer threw it up, got it operational and turned his interest to something else. So, why then is it so successful? Read the rest here.

Last week at BT, I wrote about why globalization almost demands that freelance writers get upfront payment. Yeah, I've been keeping my blogging commitment to others, but have been a little lax with my own.

I'm hitting the road!

I'm off to New York City tomorrow. Have lined up a meeting with an internet marketing firm there, and plan to catch up with some friends as well. I'm psyched. After that, I'm off to St. Paul Minnesota for a week to visit another dear old friend -- I'll be working all the while I'm gone, but it's still gonna be nice to get away.

I used to travel quite a bit. Since I bought my house in 2004 though, I've been a homebody (a big a** mortgage kinda demands it), but I'm starting to fly the coop a little more.

Sushi in Minnesota?

FYI, if anybody has any ideas about what I should do in Minnesota, let me know. I've never been, so am excited to see something new (I love going to new places). I love sushi, so if anyone knows of any good sushi restaurants, email me (info-at-inkwelleditorial.com). Put "sushi" in the subject line please, cuz I'm only gonna be skimming my inbox over the next week or so.

The Gosh Darn Affiliate Program!

It simply is not ready to be uploaded. Even though I have only one pithy report to put finishing touches on, it's the other stuff that hangs me up -- ie, converting it to the right file format, uploading it, checking that all links work, yadda, yadda, yadda. I need an assistant!

I really could release it without the reports, but my Type A personality won't let me until I finish some tools I think will help make it worthwhile for you. Once it's up, it'll be ongoing forever, so that's why I keep pushing it back. I'm not even gonna say when again. The next time you hear about it, it'll be an announcement that it's ready. How's that?

And the Floodgates Opened: Is Anybody Else Swamped?

I swear, the harder I tried to prepare for this little trip, the more projects came out of the woodwork. It's like clients knew that I was trying to leave and wanted to get their order in beforehand. Today alone, three clients (two old, one new) placed new orders. One was big, which is what I'll be working on next week. This week alone, I've had 7 new projects come in . . . and this past Monday, I had just one sitting in my inbox. What a difference a few days make.

I'm not complaining, but it just goes to show you, if you market consistently, suddenly the floodgates will open and you'll be swamped. In August, I sent out tons of queries -- 100-200 a week. Now, all of that effort is coming to fruition. And just in time because I just got my annual property tax bill in the mail -- rats! At least paying it won't be a problem.

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Sincerely,
Yuwanda Black, Publisher
How to Start a Successful Freelance Writing Career Newsletter (read all issues!)
Contact: info *at* InkwellEditorial.com
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Yuwanda,

Don't know about sushi, but you should head up to Duluth if you can make it. Actually travel just a little bit north, take in Lake Superior, and watch the leaves change colour. I'm up the road a ways further in Thunder Bay, and have driven the highway along the lake many times. Well worth the trip!

BTW, I hear you about projects coming in before a trip. Last year I left for three business days, and had to work 16-hour days to catch up once I got back!

~Graham

Yuwanda Black said...

Thanks Graham. Actually my friend lives in Duluth. I flew into St. Paul and we went to the Mall of America. Not my cup of tea (I'm more of a specialty boutique gal), but definitely worth viewing. We drove back to Duluth, and I did catch some beautiful leave changes, although, a lot of stuff is still pretty green. I expected more leave changes.

Anyway, I'll see what else I can squeeze in. Thanks for the tip.