The Wild Wild Web

The Wild, Wild, Web By Stephen Kelley

It’s tough to succeed on the Internet. Starting your own online
business from scratch, with no computer or marketing experience,
turned out to be a little more time consuming than I ever would
have thought.

The best advice I’ve received so far (and the one I would pass
on) is persevere. Don’t give up on your dream.

While the time and effort invested now may seem huge, the
rewards can make it all worth while. We all know the majority of
jobs keep us Just Over Broke, whereas running your own business
has the potential to solve most of your monetary problems.

But be forewarned: Running a business is not for everybody,
whether it be online or off. Everyday, people are trying to
start a business on the web and the biggest reason most fail is
they are not getting enough traffic.

Everything I’ve learned about marketing online leads back to how
much traffic you get. What you have to sell is not nearly as
important as the amount of traffic you draw to your website.

Of all the ways to generate traffic, writing articles is one of
the best. Certainly one of the cheapest. There is no better way
to establish creditability in a world full of scams than writing
articles that people enjoy reading. When you read enough of what
someone writes you develop a feel for their personality. It
takes the place of talking in the offline world.

I had to write this article … and didn’t know how. Ever been
in a situation like that?

After listening to others and giving it some thought I came to
this conclusion: the only way you learn how is to sit down and
do it.

Writing is learned, not gifted. While some excel more than
others, anybody can learn the basics if they apply themselves.
Just remember - you are unique and so is what you write

Target your audience. Who are you writing to? What are you
trying to say? Those are the two most important questions you
can ask.

I wanted to write this for the many who may find themselves in
the position of having to write and not having any confidence in
their ability.

Always keep in mind that the first draft is going to look
nothing like the final product.

While most of us don’t speak well enough to be a super salesman
or a dynamic public speaker, anybody in business knows, we have
to speak well enough to converse with our customers.

I’ve found this to be true writing articles for the internet. I
don’t have to write award winning novels or “Killer” sales copy;
but I do have to write well enough it’s readable for the average
person, well enough to connect with my potential customers. The
biggest problem people have with writing is they lack the
confidence. But confidence only comes from doing. Not being able
to write for your customer online is no different than not being
able to converse with your customer offline.

I never meant this to be a *how to* article but rather a source
of encouragement for those who suffer from the “Blank Page
Blues”. We sit and stare at that blank white page and don’t know
where to start.

The best way to overcome this is to just start writing. You can
always revise what you’ve written and you will only get better
as time goes on. When you start at the bottom the only place to
go is up. Just remember writing can only be learned by doing.