Six Figure Writing

Hi from SueC here at Six Figure Writing! As a new reader, be sure to subscribe to my email list, and my RSS feed to get the most out of SFW. Thanks for stopping by!

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?

Tags: basic web design, freelance promotion, promotion, SEO-friendly, social networking, traffic generation, web design issues

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

Yesterday’s interview with C. Hope Clark of Funds For Writers was really great - she definitely has her finger on the pulse of inside information about finding freelance and full time writing jobs, grants, contests and more. I’ll be posting a free link to the full transcript later this week, if you want to make sure you get a copy, sign up for my list on the right, to get notified when it’s released.

While Hope publishes places writers can find work, it was also interesting to hear her stress that writers MUST take advantage of the technology on the Web to market and promote their work! Writers traditionally are not considered the best “sales people” - how many writers just cringe when they even hear that term?

Yet you aren’t very likely to get to six figures unless you learn how to promote and, yes, SELL, both yourself as a writer, and your work, regardless of market or genre. I am going to be pulling out the stops in the next couple weeks and beyond, to bring you some killer tools to help you promote your self and your career. It’s about exposure, and making yourself visible so publishers, agents, and clients can find YOU instead of just the other way around. So let’s just get started with this open ended question: Taking a look over your current online promotion and outreach, do you use any/all of these tools?

• Blog(s)
• Newsletter
• Email Marketing
• Free giveaways/reports/samples
• Social Networking: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn?
• Web site that is content-rich, and cross-linked EVERYWHERE
• Forum memberships/frequent posting to forums, discussion sites
• Any of the zillions of tools, widgets, apps out there to help you build a presence efficiently

… and if you are, are you using them to their fullest potential to get yourself and your stuff out there?

Tags: blogging, freelance writing, Marketing, promotion

written by SueC \\ tags: blogging, freelance writing, Marketing, promotion