Hello, Another week, another topic to write off my chest In my line of work, I talk to all kinds of clients in just as many industries. One thing they all got in common is that exceptions excluded, they all have no idea what they are doing when it comes to online marketing. They all seem to think to think that simply putting up some text on a web page, is sufficient for getting the traffic to come in and start buying their stuff. Lets illustrate this with an example shall we, one that recently happened: A client, active in a brick and mortar business, approached me for a set of articles, and since he provided nothing more then a set of topics, I inquired about the purpose of these articles, and he came back with the reply that he wanted the articles to draw in some more traffic, and for the SEO he thought using the topic was enough. Now normally I would take such a client under my wing, and make him an offer for a SEO package, in this case, I decided to do him a favor, and teach him a few basics on keyword research. Within minutes after taking him through the basics, he discovered that he was targeting all the wrong key words and search phrases, so we changed it into ones that will work well for him. Now he has a nice set of articles coming to him, that are bound to hit a couple of first page Google spots when they get indexed. It' s nowhere near the service I could provide when he takes a SEO package, but still this client is getting more "bang for his buck" then most do, because he is one example, but the reality is that 99% of all clients are the same way, when it comes to knowledge on SEO, so those buy a set of articles, that may be nice to read, but do nothing for SEO, and then will be wondering why the traffic does not come.(Of course the writer will get the blame.) This by itself is fine, after all it' s my bread and butter to do it for them, but unfortunately, with the lack of understanding, also comes the absence of any realistic thought into the work involved, and therefore the cost of such a service. I think this is one of the key problems we are seeing here when content buyers offer assignments, at prices that would not even warrant 5 minutes of my time. Content buyers/Site owners should realize that if they don' t know what quality is, they cannot expect to recognize it when it actually is delivered to them, and as was stated in this forum several times before, this should be explained to them. The smart ones, do not post on the content creation forum, they contact me direct, and expect me to do my job, which is advising them, and ultimately set up and deliver their SEO campaign. So in short, when you filter out the greedy slave driving content buyers that want quality crap for $ 1/500, the other type would be the uneducated kind, that contribute to unrealistic pricing for quality SEO jobs. Add to that the large amount of writers offering "SEO services" without even knowing what that entails, and the mess is complete. We should create a course for content buyers on what is realistic and what not, it would help producing more results from their bought content, and root out the so called SEO writers, who cannot deliver.
At the moment it varies per case. I always try to tailor a budget to the client. but I am working on some very attractive packages, that will have a fixed price. To give you a ballpark figure on my work now: anywhere between $ 50 and $ 500 for a campaign. It all depends on what the client needs, and can afford. I won't bend over backwards, but in general, I don't try to clean out his pockets either
There's a big difference between the business owner you mentioned and the folks trolling for cheap content in the BST area. Your client is too busy running his business to mess around studying trends on what folks think Google may or may not be doing. He's probably never visited a site like DP and has never heard of Adwords, Adsense, Analytics or keyword density and has absolutely no idea how much thought and effort is put into each written word. The BST, on the other hand, is populated with buyers who are web savvy, probably know as much or more as we do about SEO and are simply looking for cheap content.
You would be surprised, once you enlighten people, who are actually looking at these forums A little education goes a long way, turning buyers into real clients. Let me just say this: What you see in the marketplace forums, is merely the messy tip of the iceberg, but underneath lies a wealth of good clients, if you are willing to make the effort of enlightening them, how it works.
In a few hours I can take a person that knows how to write, and teach them more about sentence structure, keywords, word positioning, and finding effective search terms than any member on BST. I can prove it myself, or have 3 others that can. Please do not lower the potential of the members of this section of the forum, YMC. Some are now doing what Kraven is mentioning. I spent many years advising high ups in the multi-billion insurance industry. If I had that attitude, I would have never made a dime. I like Kraven's approach. Start thinking like an adviser or advisor, depending on the industry. You should be the specialist who client seek. You certain do not go to you doctor making demands. You go seeking advice. If a person will not listen, then so do not need them. Sorry, but my thinking was prospective clients needed me, more than I needed them. A writer needs to become the pro, and a leader. Show proof to a person what works and what will not. Think of them retaining your services. That is the way they think of themselves for their skills. In fact, then they appreciate your knowledge. In turn your personal and financial rewards grow.
Dyadvisor, I think you completely misunderstood my post. Even you would have to admit some of the folks trolling for content at ridiculously low prices have terrific SEO skills. Perhaps, not well-rounded ones like good writers need, but mad skills nonetheless. There are also many web pros here that approach writers via PM and pay fair rates. That wasn't my point though. I thought it was somewhat unfair of Kraven to compare a busy, non-technical client to those folks who do know, or at least should know, the behind the scenes work that goes into creating quality web content. The typical person operating in the BST area knows exactly what they are asking of writers and knows how much time and effort it takes to research keywords, competing websites and the rest. They are usually perfectly capable of writing their own materials but simply don't want to bother to take the time when they can hire someone else to do it, even if poorly, for pennies on the dollar. They are interested only in volume. Kraven's client, like most of my own, was not looking for a wage slave, sweat shop labor or hundreds of keyword stuffed pages. They were looking for well written materials to help build their business. Unlike most in BST, they simply don't understand what goes into each word that we write. The comparison, IMHO was unfair. I spend perhaps only 10-30% of my efforts for clients on actual writing. The rest is spent on business analysis, explaining how the web can be used to market a business, exploring new avenues of business and so much more. In several cases, I've led my clients to discover entirely new product/service offerings. That's all before I even begin to consider keywords and SEO. The techy stuff is utterly meaningless if the written words I put on their website can't convert. I end up spending way more time and effort for my clients than I could possibly hope to recoup. Most have no idea how many hours I actually spend on their projects. I could get all lawyer like and charge for every second their business is occupying my thoughts but I'm not going to start charging for daydreaming about how I could approach my client's About Us page or paging through monster truck magazines for ideas for an industrial equipment manufacturer while I wait on my mother to pick out her groceries in the supermarket. What my clients do know is that I take a genuine interest in their business. I ask them things about their business they hadn't considered in years. Sometimes I make them mad by telling them the hard truth. But, to a client, by the time we're done working together they are as excited about their business as when they first started it. I love what I do. But, I would never for a second compare any of my clients to the low-balling, lower than a snake's belly crowd that frequent the BST area.
YMC I have no doubt in your personal abilities. You have an excellent site, and are very knowledgeable. Thanks for the commentary, as you make some excellent beneficial points. You certainly are a PLUS to this section of the forum. I think others can learnfrom the professional manner you also take, That is what exactly what I am attempting to get more to do. Prove their worth, and guide their clients, instead of the other way around -----I just punched the star button you deserve it----have a great day-----------------------
Well, as long as I have been here, I haven't encountered any. I did however teach a few a thing or two. Should being the key word here. They should, but in all honesty most don't.