There was a time when most freelance writers thought that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was a mystery: not anymore.
We all know that SEO is important for getting online traffic. Traffic leads to sales. And it’s big business too. Currently, the SEO industry is valued at over $80 billion, so it isn’t going away anytime soon.
For freelance writers, they can flat-out ignore 80% of SEO!
So why does it matter?
For the most part, companies can get traffic online two ways:
- PPC Traffic, or Pay-per-click. These are services used on high-traffic platforms like Google or Facebook. …
How to get a piece of today’s $290B e-learning market
In these difficult times, “forced entrepreneurship” is a thing.
Of course, that’s the aftermath of COVID-19, the economy tanking, and people scrambling to make money.
One direction many people have gone is the online course creation route. And why not, it’s one of the hottest businesses to be in. According to GM Insights, in 2019 it was a $200B market. E-courses are projected to be a $375B market by 2026.
Those are big numbers, but what can the little guy do? Apparently a lot. I’ve worked with a client that makes over $120,000 a month with a single course.
“Articulate…
Are we living in a democracy or an oligarchy?
Does democracy die in darkness?
Apparently, the perception of it thrives.
After reading Time magazine’s article The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election, I’m second-guessing if we’re even living in a democracy today. Maybe it’s a post-democracy America. I don’t know what’s next, but it ain’t right.
If you’re late to the conversation, this article was a doozy — even for hard-core apolitical people like me. Basically, the journalist Molly Ball revealed how the 2020 presidential election in America was really won: through a secret plot to help Biden. …
Ditch the academic style and reach more people
If I’m honest, the first few years of writing online is a painful memory.
I had a chip on my shoulder from being a university educator, but deep down I knew that my writing was not popular online. Few people read my articles and I wasn’t willing to admit how terrible they were.
Over the years, I’ve gotten better from writing more and teaching some of the most amazing writers.
For those of you who have ever taken an advanced writing/literature class in high school school, or at least one college-level writing course, this article is for you.
The truth…
Tough love that will make you a better and more honest writer
I’m going to piss a lot of people off by saying this, but that don’t make it necessarily untrue.
I’ve been on this platform since the early days and I’ve noticed a few things about writers. I’ve noticed a lot of posts on how to be successful on Medium mostly done by people not making over $10,000 a month writing.
Because let’s face it, it’s often more profitable to show people how to make money writing than actually being a master writer yourself!
In truth, it’s not helpful to listen to a so-called expert when you can learn from a…
Destroy Writer’s Block And Get Proven Ideas For Successful Posts
If there’s one thing you can’t guarantee, it’s a viral post. However, we can do things to increase the odds of writing something more people will see:
Write about a great topic that’s already successful.
Fortunately, it’s easy to get data on this and come up with the best ideas to write about.
Here are the eleven ways to get more views and keep you from ever having writer’s block.
No, Unless You Have These Two Key Assets
I’m usually an early adopter to tech trends and I pride myself on it.
- Bitcoin, check! (But I didn’t buy nearly enough)
- Medium, check! (Created a profile and deleted it in 2015)
- Online courses, check! (Since 2005)
- Social media for business, check! (Published Viral Ventures in 2009)
However, Substack has me wondering. Is it more than a newsletter with lo-fi design capabilities?
Does it matter that Andreesen Horowitz invested in them? They seem to pick a lot of winners, but they’re horribly wrong about AI.
Forget about billion-dollar bets.
Normally, a master’s degree in literature has practically zero value in this planet.
Seriously, direct applications include teaching and . . . .
A lit major is not a marketer, copywriter, author, or journalist. Far from it.
I mean, who can’t write stuff or read books? Literacy is at an all-time high: it’s 99% in the USA. So most people can do everything I can I do, except maybe use a semicolon four different ways. (BTW, I’m with Kurt Vonnegut. Semicolons are so over-rated, and I haven’t used one in five years.)
Most of the time, despite not being very…
#2 is an obsession that had me productively working all night.
I run a writing business where I charge $1,000 — $3,000 an article. That’s weird to say, but it’s true. However, I went through this massive skill and technology growth phase in the process.
Too many failures to mention, so we won’t go there!
So beyond leveling up my brand journalism skills, technology is a major part of my success. Here’s something I’m trying to figure out: Is my obsession to try out web-based tools for writing one big procrastination scheme, or will all that time testing them actually make me wealthier?
Well, the jury is still out on that…
As if 2020 couldn’t get any worse, a business icon dies but leaves a legacy of remarkable leadership advice.
I never thought that Tony Hsieh wanted to make a billion-dollar company. Deep down, I thought he wanted to make a billion people really happy — and he did.
When I was a college business adjunct, I had many discussions with my students about startups and what makes them work.
I also had a penchant for talking ad nauseum about how startups fail since most of them do. I felt people ought to brace themselves for difficult times.
Startups are odd beasts and there is no perfect formula. Of course, value creation is very important. We also love billion-dollar markets…
