There’s No Such Thing as Overnight Success on the Web…

Unless you have a whole lotta money…

And even then, it’s an iffy proposition at best. There’s a lot of bad information and charlatanism on the Internet. Get rich quick schemes abound. And the only people who get rich from those guys are the sham artists pushing the “How To Do It” ebooks, videos and seminars.

Of course, if their methods were really successful, they’d be doing it rather than selling it. They’d be hobnobbing with people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Richard Branson rather than, surprisingly, each other. Ever notice the same names keep showing up on each other’s websites endorsing each other?

Well, don’t buy it. There’s no such thing as getting rich quick on the Web. However, there is such a thing as being successful on the Internet. And getting there isn’t that difficult. What it takes is time.

Time, that is, and the willingness to keep working at it. I have a pretty successful web copywriting business. But it took me 6 years to get here. I didn’t start out as a web copywriter. I started out as simply a copywriter. Print, web, media; pretty much anything anyone needed written. And it just wasn’t going much of anywhere.

Find a niche

I needed a niche. I realized just how many badly written websites were out there. And decided to focus my efforts on that niche. Then I had to figure out how to have a successful web presence.

How I started promoting my online services

I created a website and started promoting myself as a web copywriter. I started contacting web designers and offering my services through them. And I started regularly adding content to my website. I published articles on my site every week.

“Your website really sucks”

Then I got some great advice from a web designer. I was giving a seminar on “Writing for the Web”. A couple of guys who owned a successful marketing and web design firm, Help Me Ty, arrived to learn a bit about web writing and a little bit more about me. After the seminar, they told me the seminar was great and then Mike Demopoulos, their web designer, hit me with a thunderbolt.

“We’ve tried to sell your copywriting services to several of our clients but as soon as they get a look at your website, they tell us, ‘no thanks’. You’ve gotta upgrade your website or we’re not going to be able to sell your services.”

Build a better mousetrap

Okay, I got the message. First thing on my agenda was getting my website redesigned. Since that happened, I’ve been getting regular bid requests from Help Me Ty. And from other web design firms who want to offer a premium service to their customers. (Or are tired of waiting for their customers to produce copy). The other trick that has boosted my Internet business has been this blog. Blogging regularly has boosted me in Google’s rankings tremendously.

So, what did we learn about Overnight Success on the Web?

 • Don’t expect to be an overnight success on the web
 • Find a niche market or business and focus your website on that one thing
 • Get a really polished and professional image on your website
 • Add content regularly (at least two to three times per week)

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