Feeling intimidated ...

[TrishL]

Hi Angelina,

I hope I read your question/concern correctly...

I wouldn't let fear or a lack of experience hold you back if you want to write for income. What I recommend you do is start creating a portfolio of writing samples. If you don't know what to write about - think about what you are passionate about or a topic you already know something about (either through work or life experience).

I've found it is easier to get work if you claim a niche (although I currently write on a wider range of topics) - and all you need to do for that is decide what your area of specialization is going to be, then create some samples related to it (or offer to do some for a reduced cost for a potential client - if they like what you do, they could become your first paying customer).

Good luck - and welcome! You are in a great place!

[suef]

Hi Angelina

If you enjoy writing articles just write what you enjoy as this will show in your articles.

I started my own blog on healthy living as it keeps me motivated to lose weight and managed to have 3 articles published at Ezine articles. So just keep on going and you will see results. From everything I have been reading the published articles will help drive traffic back to your main site. Results will come.

Keep up the good work.

[PpcJen]

Hello Angelina!

Wow - I know the feeling of being intimidated. I'm glad you found this forum. Please know that it's possible to learn anything in small chunks. So take your time, listen to the advice from others in this thread.
We've all been there, and we're here to help you along the way.
Good luck to you!

[Steve]

I would start what some would call a sand box blog. A blog where you write about anything and everything. It's a lot of pressure picking a perfect niche and learning everything else you need to. Play and learn while not worrying about what others think or about making money. You will hone your writing skills, learn about techniques and find your place. You will get some traffic and then put adsense on your blog and go from there.

Steve

[AlexNewell]

First of all Welcome!!

"Problem is: how does writing play into online marketing? I mean... I see all those "writers" offering articles about various topics for sale. However, I don't even know how to start! I'm not even experienced enough to write for someone.. at all. Very very intimidated."

You can start with so called "Bum Marketing" - which means using your writing skills in a no cost way. It was called "Bum Marketing" by the wife of the founder of the whole idea Travis Sago

http://www.bummarketingmethod.com/

Basically the method is about writing an article and popping an affiliate link in the resource box to direct the reader to for example a clickbank product

Here's a cute example of this. David Bocock is an expert with this method and in this article is Bum Marketing his course on Bum Marketing

http://www.articlealley.com/article_1039730_3.html

30 DC is great but if you are feeling it's all too much maybe just focus on your writing for a while?

All The Best

Alex

[Clay Franklin]

Welcome Angelina,

Lot of good advice in this thread.
I need to check out the Daily Do thread that Nelson mentions.
I am also going to get the Affiliate handbook.
I have Market Samuri, yet have been using free wordtracker for post titles lately.

[yuri21]

Hey all, I'm really sorry for the slow replies. Life has been a bit busy and I've been all over my head in things to do! Thank you very much for all the tips and I shall slowly look them over.

Anyways, I most likely will buy Samurai 'cos after using it for a few hours, I feel it is definitely better than any SEO tool I've looked at in the past*. The gui is very user-friendly, it is stable and it's excellent at grabbing and sorting out details. I recall many tools which required tedious manual sorting, had a gazillion tabs, massive data dumps and so on. And some cost much more than Samurai but they were so poorly written, I could cry when I gave them a trial-run.

As for Traffic bug, I know it's probably very good but a bit too pricey for me, atm. I'll probably save up some cash first and then go for it, if I like it.

*I briefly toyed with online biz on and off for many years but was never able to figure out all the steps. It was daunting and very painful trying to see the whole picture as I'm more of a detail-centric person.

[Isha]

I agree with suef - write about what you enjoy and know about, and write what you feel compelled to communicate to other people. Perhaps alongside the writing that you're doing for the 30 day challenge.

To be honest I wouldn't write about choosing a webhost. Because there are already zillions of such articles out there and if you're fairly new to internet marketing then it's not an area you'd be expert in. And it overlaps heavily with the internet marketing niche, where people are the most clued-in and competitive:

The 30 day challenge is a great place to learn about online marketing for very little money.

By the way, I like your writing Angelina

Isha

[KathleenGageSpeaker]

Thank you for your honesty. I believe almost everyone has gone through the "feeling intimidated" stage. Even those who make great livings on the Internet.

One thing to keep in mind is there are some BSers out there and if we compare ourselves to the "boastful ones" we can feel like we will never "get it."

However, there are lots of folks who are so much the real deal (like Lynn) that you know starting from point 0 and building a successful business a step at a time is possible.

Be careful of comparing a month of experience with someone who has been doing IM for years. This can be a surefire set up for intimidation. It's like walking into a gym and thinking in a week one should look like the person who has been training for years. Ain't gonna happen.

So, what can you do? Here is one way to begin the process. First, determine what your area of interest and/or expertise is. You will work a heck of a lot harder trying to make money from something just to be making money than from what your point of passion is. IMHO

From there, who would be interested in your information? (the market). Not only who would be interested but are they willing to pay for it?

From there, develop an audio file, short report, tips sheet, etc., that can be used as an ethical bribe. Or, find an expert who will let you market their item.

Develop a simple landing page outlining the benefits of your giveaway. Have an opt-in opportunity.

From there, write a short (300 - 400 word) article. Add a nice resource box at the end, driving readers back to the landing page with your ethical bribe. Build an opt in subscriber list.

Keep in touch with your subscribers with valuable information. If you don't now what they want, ask them. You can use a tool like Survey Monkey to collect data.

From there, you have an idea of interests. Build your name recognition by continuing to write short articles that have high value to the reader.

Over time, you can turn the casual readers into customers by offering products and services as an affiliate.

It is a process and by doing a little something every day, in a few months you will likely be surprised at what you have accomplished.