Six Figure Writing

A couple weeks ago I asked readers to submit their sites if they’d like a review of their sites for user-friendliness, along with suggestions about how to optimize to attract visitors and start getting the traffic that leads directly to more revenue.  (Heading toward those six figures, right?!)

So - here’s the video of the reviews of three sites I selected from a few dozen submitted by readers.  I noticed a few themes that ran through nearly all sites I saw: writers are too busy writing to learn about basic SEO-friendly site design, and are taking baby steps when it comes to social networking and Web 2.0.  Yet these are seriously important lessons to learn if you want to bring readers right to your virtual doorstep.

Without considering basic Web design issues, your site comes off like an old-fashioned brochure or resume website. Plus, you want your site positioned and designed to keep visitors engaged once you start using all that traffic generation to bring them there!  (That is, you want them to stay and READ, right? You are a writer right?!

So, with this review I’m providing a starting point for writers to consider when they build or tweak a site.  Warning:  this may be too basic for some writers who are already well-versed in online promotion, but judging by those who sent me sites to take a look at, many more know they need to do something, they just aren’t sure exactly what. Hopefully this will give everyone some ideas.

After your take a look at the video walk-through of my three winners’ sites right here.  then we can have a good long discussion of how writers can use (1) and (2) to build income.   

What would you do to enhance these sites?

written by SueC \\ tags: basic web design, freelance promotion, promotion, SEO-friendly, social networking, traffic generation, web design issues

Here’s an extremely interesting take on how to be successful in a music career, which I think has a ton of great advice for writers as well.

Derek Sivers is a musician who built the business CD Baby. Last month he published a free ebook titled “How To Call Attention To Your Music” giving musicians really incredible, distilled advice about reaching a bigger audience.
I think this amazing doc has a really important message for writers who want to be successful into the future.

Writers need to grasp that the publishing industry is going the way of the music industry - decentralized, far less attention (meaning marketing muscle) given to the smaller artists in favor of the big, sure-thing blockbusters. But also, the tools to make a career are now in everyone’s hands thanks to the massive technloogy changes in the last 2 decades.

Since it’s really only been 20 years of technology, I can understand why some don’t feel the ground shifting yet. For example, I read a hilarious set of posts on a big writer’s forum recently (which were truly sincere and not trying to be funny) on a writer’s forum, where some posters seemed to say that in order to be published there was a lot of praying involved.

But look at Siver’s website: the technology gurus he bookmarks, the ideas. he generates.

Then think about how musicians are coping now that their dreams - of being picked up by the mega-music conglomerate for multi-multi-million record deals, massive international concert tours - you know, the next Beatles or Rolling Stones - are virtually gone, because it’s not viable in an iTunes world.

While those dreams might be fruitless, yet musicians’ options have dramatically multiplied - itjust takes a different mind set to be successful.

Can writers learn the same lesson? You’ll have to eventually. Why not figure it out sooner than later?

written by SueC

A couple weeks ago, readers of my mailing list were invited to submit their home page URLs to be chosen as for a little project I am doing here on my blog: Reviewing websites to demonstrate the kinds of modifications, design considerations and other tweaks that can increase traffic to a site, enhance the user experience, and help sell more writing.

The selection criteria was simple: I was looking for sites that were writing-related, i.e., sites built by writers to promote their writing, whether fiction, nonfiction, freelance, or ghostwriting, and sites that had some basics in place, with potential to build upon (in my subjective determination!). Out of a few dozen submissions, I’ve chosen these three sites:

Two of the site owners have published books, two are freelance writers, and each site is in a slightly different stage of development and design.

I’ll be uploading video of each site at least twice: Once when I show you what to look for when assessing your site’s design elements, and next, when I describe the steps these site owners have taken to implement changes to enhance their results in terms of traffic and hopefully revenue generation.

I think as a reader of this blog you can benefit from these reviews regardless of the type of site you have, since many of these techniques are well-known and used by all kinds of online businesses and freelancers.

Take a look at these sites to see what you would do to enhance them, and if you have (constructive!) suggestions for these writers, post them here.

written by SueC

I sent a post to the SixFigureWriting mailing list a couple weeks ago, offering to give a web site review for selected readers who might be interested.  My review consists of offering ideas for (1) making the site more traffic-friendly, and (2) features to add to attract long-term visitors and add-on business.

Out of several dozen submissions, I chose three that I think show how different writers approach using the web, and each site is in a slightly different phase of development, from fairly basic to significant content.

For each site, I’ll be suggesting changes, and the site owners will select three to implement and track.  I’ll be posting all the details and progress here on SixFigureWriting, including videos and screen capture so you can follow right along with my analysis.  I’d be itnerested to hear reader’s comments too, things you’d have suggested instead, or questions that you think of when you see what I recommend.

Stay tuned!

written by SueC \\ tags: Search engine optimization, site enhancements, Site Management, Web Design and Development, website traffic