I know that there are many online business people out there that would disagree with me.  They happily go to places like Elance and Odesk (and you can find good writers there, too, but lets face it – most people go there for the cheap content) and happily purchase the cheapest content they can find.  But, really, are you doing yourself any favours?

I don’t think so and your readers don’t likely think so either.

So bear with me for a moment and consider these 5 reasons why you should pay more for freelance writers to put together content for your site:

1)  You need content for your readers, not just the search engines.

If you are concentrating purely on getting content on your site so that you can be indexed by the search engines then you are missing out on something big – readers.  Yes, when people do a search for a topic, it doesn’t matter if your site comes up #1 or #10 if the reader can’t get any value from what they find on your site.  If they arrive at your blog or your web site and find words that look like they were written by someone whose first language is not English or worse yet, it looks like spun content, they aren’t going to stick around long enough to listen to your recommendations.  They are going to hit the back button and find a better site.

2) When you pay more you get better service.

Have you ever ordered written content only to find that the provider is late, doesn’t respond to emails, or more likely, is not able to follow your instructions?  Annoying isn’t it?  There’s a simple way to get around that – be willing to pay more and you will get more out of your writers.

3) Experience goes a long way.

The years of experience that comes with writers who charge more is valuable to you. Not only can they write high quality content but they also know, without being told, how to put that content together.  They know automatically when to use bullet points and sub-headings.  They might even be willing to find pictures to use with the written content they provide.  They know how to use keyword phrases without sounding like they are stuffing them in.  You can’t beat experience if you want value.

4) Added value services.

When you pay more for a freelance writer you might be able to get added value services included in your deal.  For example, your writer might have social media skills that they will be willing to include or they may be able to take care of posting the content to your blog for you and scheduling it in WordPress or another platform.  When you’re paying less than a cent a word you’re not likely going to get that!

5) Increased vocabulary.

You might not think that their vocabulary will have a huge impact on their writing abilities and the value that you are getting for your dollar but if you are hiring them to write a great deal of content (for example: 50 articles all about the same topic) or if you are going to have them write for you on a long term basis, you will want to have a writer that has a good vocabulary.  You don’t want every article and blog post that they write for you to have the same words and phrases over and over again.  You don’t want them to sound like the same articles.  You want them to be different, both for search engines and for readers.

When it comes right down to it, it is your choice.  You can hire a writer that has minimal skills, pay the minimum fee, and get minimum results.  Or you can step it up a notch like a professional would and pay a writer a fair wage for their professionalism, their skills, and their talents.

What writers do is not easy. If it was, you’d do it yourself.  What writers do takes time, effort, skill, and practice and if you want someone that has all of those things, you need to be willing to pay for it.

Once you have decided that you need a writer to take over your company blog or to write articles for marketing you web site, you will have to go about the task of choosing one.  This is not an easy task because there are many writers out there that will be competing for the job.  It may be tempting to choose the one with the best price but remember that you do get what you pay for.

Here are some tips for finding a writer that can give you the quality that your web site or your article marketing campaign deserves:

1. Look at their web site. Read the content and watch for spelling mistakes, professionalism, wordy prose, and other telling signs of a writer that has not learned to write like a professional.  Watch for exaggerated claims as well.
2. What kinds of promises do they make? If anyone promises you that their writing will put you in the #1 spot on Google for a key term or that their writing will make you millions of dollars leave immediately.  These kinds of promises just are not realistic.  Instead, look for promises of timely delivery and quality writing.
3. Examine the web site structure.  What they have done for their own web site is likely to be reflective of what you can expect for them.  If they have a website that is shoddily put together, has one line sentences, or huge blocks of text that are hard to read you know that they have not put a large effort into their own site.  Why should you expect them to do more than that for you?
4. How can you contact the writer?  The write should make it easy for you to contact them through their web site by providing an email address, a contact form, or a phone number.  If they do not provide at least one of these they must not be too eager to work for you.
5. Look at the headline. The headline should tell you exactly what the writer does in no more than 10 words.  If they can’t write effective headlines for themselves they won’t be able to do it for you either.
6. What kind of experience do they have?  They should have a variety of experience but having a specialty can be beneficial as well.
7. Look for a sensible price – not the lowest price.  Remember that qualified writers need to earn a living, too.

A few years ago all the gurus were screaming “You’ve got to have a web site” and they were right. Now we are being told “you have got to have a blog”. But is this true and are they really worth the effort?

At least blogs are easier and cheaper to set up than web sites thanks to the likes of Blogger.com and WordPress. But is it worth the time and effort writing the posts and keeping them updated ? My answer to this question produces a typical fence sitters reply. They can be.

Sure if you just want to let the world know what an exciting life you lead or let the world know your views on the burning issues that is fine. You should not really expect to make much profit from your blog. It is a hobby, something you are just doing for fun but if you want to make it a marketing tool of your business then you must adopt a professional attitude regarding your blogs.

Before you post anything you must decide exactly what you hope to achieve with each blog you post. So what are the options?

You might want to sell something – either your own or an affiliate product.

In which case you might consider a review or an explanation of how to use the product and or the benefits a buyer would receive. Your one purpose with this type of blog is to pre sell the product and get the prospect to click the link to the full sales page and hopefully make a purchase.

A blog can also be a great way to establish you within your specialised niche.

It can help you get your name known and increase your credibility. But this will only work if you write fresh thought provoking copy. A rehash of others work or hackneyed ideas will do little for your standing especially if your niche is small and close knit.

Another option is to write a series of “how to” blogs giving your readers information on specific aspects of your niche. This can often be a good introduction to offering them a complete “How to” e-book or program. I look on these as very similar to the e-courses that many Internet marketers offer.

Instead of setting them up on your auto responder you post them to your blog at regular intervals.

The bottom line is that if you are to make posting blogs a worthwhile option then you need to have clear in your mind exactly what you want to achieve with your blog before you even write one word.

Do you have a LinkedIn Profile? You likely do. Almost anyone that has done or is doing business online has taken the time to join LinkedIn. But what does it say about you? Does it say, “I joined LinkedIn because someone told me I should but I have no clue what to do with it” or does it say “I tried to do something with my profile but I’m not sure what I should say” or does it say “I don’t think I have anything valuable to say or contribute so I’ll just fill in my name and the basics.

Do you have a Summary, Job Descriptions, Testimonials? If you don’t you aren’t using LinkedIn to your best advantage. Pimp that baby out!

Take a look at this video from LinkedIn regarding your profile:

Your LinkedIn profile is a resume and sales page combined into one. You’re not selling your product or services – you’re selling yourself! You’re selling the idea of a real person behind the products and services so don’t be afraid to reveal some personal aspects. Tell them what is important to you and why. And yes, share what it is you do online – including your products or services.

Still not sure what to do with it? Contact me and I’ll send you a form and you can fill

Well, the answer to that really is determined by what you are doing in marketing.  Do you need a Facebook page?  Not if what you are already doing is working for you.  Not if you don’t feel a need to make more money.  Not if you have no desire to connect with your customers.  Not if you don’t want to get noticed on the Internet.

But if you want to make more money, connect with customers (both current and future), and you want to brand yourse

Image via CrunchBase

lf on the Internet…YES, you need a Facebook page!

The amount of people that are using Facebook is increasing every single day – despite the fact that Facebook has been around for about 4 years now.  The growth that Facebook has experienced can’t be compared to any other social site out there and it isn’t showing signs of slowing down.

The ways that you can connect with people are growing as well.  With apps, pages, groups, and profiles you can find many ways to make connections with people.

It’s not about sales – it’s about making connections with people that will guide them to that place where you can make the sale.

You don’t have to be a genius or a social marketing junkie to have a Facebook Page.  In fact, unless your business is social marketing, it’s better that you are not.  People like to talk to others on their own level.

All you have to do is make connections with people.  How do you make connections in real life?

• “Hey, did you hear that XYZ company is shutting down?  Does anyone have the scoop on what happened?”
• “I just found out that __________ – check it out and tell me what you think.”
• “I love our new _____________.  What do you think?  Would you have made it any different.”
• “People keep buying this product from our store.   Do you have one?  What are you using it for?”

Those are just a few suggestions.  Find out who your audience is and what they want to know.  Then give them what they want!

People go to school to learn about marketing and they learn marketing online from self-taught gurus.  I wouldn’t say that either one is better or worse than the other.  It is what you do with the information that you take in that makes the difference.

And sometimes it is how long you do what you’ve learned that makes the difference.

Have you ever learned or thought of a new marketing strategy, decided you wanted to give it a try, implemented it on a site and then promptly forgot about it?  It didn’t work very well did it?

That’s the thing with marketing strategies.  You need to give them time to work.  Very few legitimate marketing techniques see success immediately.  You need to do it over and over again to see it work.

For example:

Facebook:   You decide to start a Facebook page for your business.  You get some pictures added, all the critical information, start linking to your site.  You might even add some relevant links.  You get a couple fans (maybe a couple dozen) and then you get busy with something else and it sits there.  Then you remember you have this Facebook page so you go back a week or two later and throw up some updates.  A couple more weeks go by before you return.

Your Facebook page is not going to have success if you are not consistent.  You need to return every day to let your fans know that you are worth following.  You need to converse with them – ask them questions, get them to share their links, compliment and challenge them.  And you need to be on that page at least once a day.  A couple days pass and they forget about you.  A couple of weeks pass and they are asking themselves why they liked your page in the first place and looking for the “unlike” button!

The biggest mistake you can make in your marketing is NOT using your marketing strategy for a long enough period.  If you give up on in within a week or even within a month you will never know if it would have been successful or not!