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My Newsletter, Books & Programs About Writing For The Web

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Writing Kick-Ass Website Sales Copy

This is a 45-page downloadable guide and is focused just on writing web pages that are intended to sell.

In other words, if you want to focus on sales pages and landing pages, this guide will take you through every step in the process.

Writing a sales page online is not the same as writing a print ad or a sales letter. Some of the skills are similar, while others are very different.

Writing Kick-Ass Sales Copy...

New e-Book - 101 Web Content Ideas, Tips and Resources

This 152-page downloadable book is focused on writing quality web content.

These ideas, tips and resources will help inspire you to create a wider variety of quality pages...all them designed to rank well with the search engines, delight your readers, and get shared enthusiastically through social media.

In the post-Panda world of web content, new rules apply. And this book will give you a head start on learning those new rules.

101 Web Content Ideas, Tips and Resources

How to Make Money as a Social Media Expert - The definitive guide to using social media marketing to generate multiple streams of income for yourself and your clients.

social media expert

As a freelancer you are in a unique position to make money by offering social media consulting and writing services to your clients.

You'll also learn how to use social media to promote your own business and websites.

This is a huge opportunity for you...right now.

Learn How to Make Money as a Social Media Expert...

Profitable Freelancing – Quit your job as a freelance worker being paid by the hour, and build a freelance business that works for YOU.

profitable freelancing course This course is my "coaching in a box" course for freelancers.

I reveal massive weaknesses in the traditional, accepted model of freelancing most of us take for granted - and show you how to get in the driver's seat of a much more profitable freelance BUSINESS.

Learn more about my Profitable Freelancing program...

Copywriting 2.0 - Your Complete Guide to Writing Web Copy that Converts.

online copywriting course

This course is about 300 pages in length and is designed to teach you the best practices in every major aspect of writing for the web.

After taking the course you'll have the expertise required to write any kind of web page – whether it be a homepage, sales page, landing page, information page, subscription page, catalog page...and so on.

Learn more about Copywriting 2.0...

How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites.

write money making websites

If you have a hobby or interest, and would like to write a website about it, now you can do just that -- and make a healthy second income at the same time.

This is the complete "how-to" package.

You get complete instructions, including lists of the tools and services you might want to use to make sure your website attracts plenty of visitors and generates a healthy income.

Learn How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites...

The difference between an authentic voice and a paid-for voice.

Published on January 26, 2012 by Nick Usborne
authentic voice

Photo courtesy: CBC

Last week, during the fight against SOPA, I was listening to a radio show on CBC, hosted by Mike Finnerty.

He had two guests – Rob Beschizza, Managing Editor of BoingBoing, which went dark to protest SOPA, and Steve Tepp, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel of the Global Intellectual Property Center.

(Yes, this post is about copywriting. Keep reading…)

Finnerty reached them both by phone and gave them more or less equal time to present their points of view.

Both Beschizza and Tepp are smart guys, and both shared very different views on the value of SOPA. Beschizza said it was bad legislation that would result in a lot of unintended consequences for thousands of websites. Tepp said it was excellent legislation that would put a stop to piracy by “foreign criminals”.

Who won the debate?

Continue reading...

Monday Spark: Tips on creativity from John Cleese.

Published on January 23, 2012 by Nick Usborne

john cleese on creativityThe video below is an edited version of a longer talk on creativity, given by John Cleese in Belgium. (Remember John Cleese from Monty Python and Faulty Towers?)

Pretty much everything he talks about applies to freelancers like us. Yes, what we do is creative!

I absolutely agree with him about “sleeping on” a problem. I have had the same experience many times. I’m struggling with something in the evening, sleep on it, and then find the answer to the problem is easy to see when I get up the next morning.

But most of all, I like what he said about carving out some space and time…a place where you can be creative. It’s hard or even impossible to be creative when you are being interrupted or distracted.

Continue reading...

To really understand social media, you first need to know its 30-year history.

Published on January 19, 2012 by Nick Usborne

speakers corner conversationsHere’s a timely quote for you:

“…a place for conversation or publication, like a giant coffee-shop with a thousand rooms; it is also a worldwide digital version of the Speaker’s Corner in London’s Hyde Park, an unedited collection of letters to the editor, a floating flea market, a huge vanity publisher, and a collection of every odd special-interest group in the world.”

That’s not a bad description of social media.

But it wasn’t written about social media.

It was written by Howard Rheingold in his book, The Virtual Community. His book was first published in 1993, before the web even existed.

Continue reading...

Published in social media
1 comment

Is there a market for more social media experts?

Published on January 17, 2012 by Nick Usborne

nick usborne social mediaEvery week I seem to find an article, post or tweet that mocks social media experts.

Granted, most of these pieces are written by social media gurus themselves, who are anxious to separate themselves from this influx of new competitors.

As I say in the video below, there are two sides to this story.

Yes, in one respect these gurus are right. A lot of people claim to be experts, based only on their own, personal familiarity with various social media sites.

But they are also wrong, because there are also plenty of other people who are taking the trouble to dig deeper and learn the skills of true social media marketers.

Continue reading...

Monday Spark: If you had one shot or one opportunity…

Published on January 16, 2012 by Nick Usborne

one shot or one opportunityLook, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

These are the opening lines of Eminem’s song, Lose Yourself. You can watch the video of this song below. As you will see, I chose a version that includes the lyrics, so you can read along as he raps.

I don’t listen to a lot of rap, but when I like it, I like it a lot. For me, good rap is poetry turned up loud.

In this song, Eminem talks about how sometimes life hands you an opportunity that is within your grasp now…but will be gone tomorrow.

As a freelancer, you’ll experience these opportunities.

Continue reading...

What have you done to promote your freelance business today?

Published on January 13, 2012 by Nick Usborne

marketing your freelance businessToo many freelancers, particularly those who have just started out, think that promoting their business is something that needs to be done occasionally.

Not so.

Promoting and marketing your business is something you should be doing on a daily basis.

Every day? Yes, even if it’s something small.

If you are wondering what you could do on a daily basis, I have compiled a suggestion list for you. It is divided into 3 sections – Push, Pull & Engage.

Push marketing is when you deliberately get in front of a prospect and pitch your services.

Continue reading...

Published in freelancing
3 comments
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