How to Become a Ghostwriter
August 24, 2007
Ever wondered how those busy celebrities manage to find the time to churn out scores of autobiographies and how to books? Well, they don’t actually write them themselves – they use a ghostwriter. Â
If You Enjoy Writing, How About Setting Up In Business as a Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is someone who gets paid to write for other people. Once a ghostwriter has written the article, book, speech, etc, and the customer has paid the ghostwriter, the customer then owns sole rights to it, can put their name on it and use it however they choose. The ghostwriter retains no rights and gets no public credit for the work. The good news is, they are usually paid extremely well. If you are a skilled writer, proofreader, etc. ghostwriting could be just the business for you.Â
What skills are helpful? To become a ghostwriter you need to have reading, writing, proofreading, communication and grammar skills. You also need strong researching skills as you often find yourself writing on topics that you have no personal expertise in.Â
What tools are needed? Ghostwriters need to have a computer with a word processing application like Microsoft Word. You’ll need an internet connection and fax machine. Keep a good dictionary and thesaurus handy as well. You will also need to be a good writer. Practise daily and learn as much as you can about your craft.   And get experience in various different types of writing before making a pitch to write a complete biography. The following resource is a great guide:
25 Great Ways to Make Money as a Writer
How do you get started?Â
To start a ghostwriting business you need a website. You can use a site builder or hire someone to build it for you. Your website needs to clearly define your services available, your rates, etc. The next step is to find some clients. Take a little time to research your competition and find ways to stand out above them. Don’t expect to have a website up and running one day and the next to be swamped with work, that’s not reality, although there is a big demand for skilled ghost writers among the internet marketing community.
Online networking groups are a great way to get out there, advertise you, and start building some relationships. There are freelance sites that allow clients to post projects for you to bid on. Some of these sites require a paid membership from you to participate.
Building up your business will take time and a little elbow grease. If you have the desire to be your own boss, be home for your family then that motivation should keep you going even in the slow times.
Flipping Nuts or Future Billionaire?
August 23, 2007
Out of the box thinking multiplied by acting fast are the hallmarks of famous entrepreneurs like Richard Branson.
Let me show you a real example of how an ordinary person like you and me can profit by coming up with a great idea and acting on it immediately.
I read a guest post on Shoemoney blog by Ryan Stewart, who’s trying to earn some cash online to put himself through medical school. He’d noticed some ad space on John Chow and thought it was undervalued. But, Ryan had two problems: 1) He didn’t have anything to advertise. 2) He didn’t have the cash to buy the ad anyway.
Now, at this point, most of us would have forgot all about the ad and got on with something else. Ryan didn’t. He bought the ad on his credit card for $1000 and sold it for $1250 two days later.
A 25% profit in two days is impressive, but he didn’t stop there. Flipping the ad gave Ryan the confidence to put a website up for sale that he didn’t really want anymore and he made $5000 from that.
Brilliant isn’t it? But it didn’t end there. On top of the profits he’d already made, the story generated a heap of publicity and traffic to his own blog at Eleven 21 . John Chow blogged about Ryan and he also got to guest blog about it on Shoemoney.
Now, you’re probably thinking one of two things: 1) Great story - the guy is a genius and he’s definitely going to be a billionaire, or 2) What a stupid risk to take when he didn’t even have the money.
It was a big risk, but it was a calculated one. At worst, he might have been stuck with the ad and he would had to have found another way to raise the cash to pay for it. But the upside was unlimited rewards and I’m sure he will go on to do great things.
Sheldon Adelson - one of the world’s richest men started out by doing something similar to ad flipping. He rented stands at tradeshows and rented them out to others at a profit.
Now, maybe you don’t feel comfortable taking a risk like Ryan took, and that’s ok. Just do one small thing each day that makes you feel a little uncomfortable and you’ll soon find yourself taking bigger risks.
Affiliate Marketing - Pot of Gold or Pile of C…?
August 22, 2007
What is affiliate marketing? Can it make you rich beyond your wildest dreams, or is it just a load of crapola?
A reader asked me to write a basic guide to affiliate marketing for beginners. She also wants to know whether you really can build a decent business around affiliate marketing. Or is it just overhyped by the so called gurus?
Well - I’ll try to break this down question by question.
1) What is affiliate marketing? In a nutshell, affiliate marketing is all about recommending other people’s stuff and sending visitors to the websites of other business. When they buy a product based on your recommendation, you get a commission.
2) Can you make a lot of money from affiliate marketing? This is a bit like asking if you’ll get as rich as Richard Branson if you buy a record company. Like any other business it depends on you. And your success or failure in affiliate marketing will depend on many things, including the products you choose to recommend. But, the biggest factors will be your determination, and the effort you put in. Some people will won’t make enough to buy a cappucino. And others - including this guy, have made millions from affiliate marketing.
3) Are there any secrets that could help me succeed in affiliate marketing? There are so many “gurus” out there who’ll tell you they can show you the secrets to getting rich in affiliate marketing. Some will even tell you that you’ll start making money in the next thirty minutes. Or that you’ll make several thousand this month. Basically, it’s a load of bollocks.
Instead of looking for shortcuts, you should try to learn as much as possible about affiliate marketing and business in general. And you should work at it constantly. Treat it like a real business - not just some get rich quick scheme.
4) So are you saying there are no books on affiliate marketing that can help me get started? No. I’m just saying that there’s no book, or magic formula, or special pill you can pop that will make you rich overnight. If you want a comprehensive guide to affiliate marketing, I recommend checking out the Super Affiliate Handbook.
It won’t show you how to get rich overnight, and it doesn’t claim to. But, it will teach you how to get started in affiliate marketing and avoid the mistakes that other beginners make.
5) What are the pros and cons of affiliate marketing? There are heaps of advantages and disadvantages to affiliate marketing, just the same as there is in any other business. And I’ve listed a few that spring to mind below.
Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing
You’ll need to get yourself a website. (Some say you don’t need one, but this is not recommended)
Some of the commissions are lousy. Whilst some products can earn you 50% plus commission - others are 1%.
It’s a bit like being a commission only salesman. If you don’t sell anything this week - you don’t get paid.
There’s a lot of competition in the most lucrative areas - eg: anything to do with sex, money, diet.
You will need to put in a lot of hard work before you begin a decent amount of money.
Advantages
No need to buy stock, so can be much cheaper to get started than other types of business.
Hundreds of thousands of products available for you to promote, so if one is doing badly it’s easy to replace.
You can work from anywhere - at home, on the beach, or even whilst you’re travelling the world.
You’re not tied to the clock. There are no phones to answer, and no goods to despatch, making it easier to start part-time.
Click here to read more about affiliate marketing.
Is It Your Fault You’re Being Scammed?
August 21, 2007
I hate scammers more than anyone. The fact is, I despise them so much that I wrote this report on how to spot a scammer on the Internet.
The think I detest most about scammers is that they want something for nothing, and they don’t give a toss about who they hurt in the process.
But, do you know what? I was thinking about it today, and I came to the conclusion that some of those who are scammed are just as bad as the scammers themselves.
So why is that? Am I telling you that I think you deserve to be scammed?
Well, yes and no. I know that some of you will do what most of us would. You’ll see a product on the Internet that sounds great, and you’ll do your research to try to discover if it really is as amazing as it sounds.
You’ll type the name of the product into google along with the words “scam” and “reviews”.
If that sounds like you, then it’s not you who deserves to be scammed. It’s the greedy plonkers in the other camp.
Here are the people I mean. They’ll visit message forums and ask questions like. “How can I make a lot of money fast”, or “How can I set up something really easy, that doesn’t require much work and will bring me in 10k a month?”
It really is hard to sympathise with them. They’re fuelled by greed - they want something for nothing. And that is what the scammers want too.
In fact, those who have been scammed are even worse than the scammers in some ways. You see, unless they’re really stupid - they’ll quickly realise that the scammers product is pretty worthless. But instead of demanding a refund - and walking away like you or I would - they often see it as a way to make easy money. So they encourage other people to buy into it too.
So who really is worse - the scammers or the scammed? And could you bring yourself to do something so meaningless for money? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
And if you want to know more about protecting yourself from being scammed online, you can read my report here.
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