What do you do with IMers who dont really know how to get where they're going?

Well, it's good that you have a kind heart and want to help out the newbies..but there's probably only a few ways you can go:

1) Just give them what they want or need and do nothing else
2) Give them what they want and help them only when you have the time to do so
3) Reject their offers if they don't want to listen to you

I mean, there's really nothing much you can do if they are unwilling to take the time to find out the basics by themselves or listen to you.. right?

I wouldn't worry about it. They're paying you to write articles for them and may not want the additional advice on what to do with them.

So build a course for them that teaches what they need to know. Sell it to them, or include it with purchase of a group of articles from you.

:-Don

I think you have gotten some good advice here. You are a writer - not an Internet marketing expert or a coach. It's great for you to offer suggestions or advice but as Shannon suggested, your client may have a long term plan rather than short term. And if you want to create an additional stream of income perhaps an ebook related to this information would sell or maybe using it as a free give away would entice new clients.
Just my opinion.

You'll feel a lot less stress when you don't take on the frustration newbies are having. They will need to get their answers somewhere of course and if you can point them in the right direction by all means help them, but I remember how frustrated I'd get when I'd show someone an entire business model that works and see them clueless. The best you can do is provide the resources for them to succeed, at that point it is up to them. Or if you're really smart, I agree with Don, package it and sell it to them.

That is such a good question.

You know, in over 2 years here, I'm amazed, looking at this thread's title that I've never really seen this thread's equivalent before.

I know the feeling - in spades.

When you're providing any service to marketers, you sometimes get asked for stuff that you know isn't what they really need.

- Articles for Clickbank products with stinking sales pages that you know can't convert the traffic;
- Articles for silly, non-buying keywords;
- Articles to go directly to EZA because people won't put them on their own site first;
- Articles onto which people insist on putting their own badly written resource-box (those are sometimes the people who call it a "bio box", of course);
- Reports that don't fit their intended market;
- Autoresponder emails that are too few and too salesy;
- Sales copy which includes obviously fake testimonials (I won't do that. I've even once been asked to write the testimonials with the sales copy!! ) ...

... and so on.

I've always erred on the side of trying to "advise" them, when I can, telling myself that it actually is worth the effort - even just from my perspective - because doing so will increase the chances of turning them into regularly returning clients. But it isn't always easy.

Which is why, I think, the more I do for myself and the less I do for other people, the more comfortable I am, really.

What's that saying..you can bring a horse to water but...you know the rest.

I'd say do what you are paid to do and create a product you can market to people that are interested in how to do proper keyword research. The people that truly want/need that info will appreciate it much more and you will have another nice income stream.

Hey Simba, it's great to see you again...it's been awhile.

I see your article writing business has taken off -- :--}.

I'm going to answer each one of your concerns below the best I can
in the fastest way possible on a very REAL level:

1. Never...and I mean NEVER question another business persons way of
doing business. What you THINK is right or wrong for that person doesn't
have much merit because YOU are not the one who's using your articles
to get the results you THINK your client will get (unless you are doing
something more than writing for others).

It's easier to "think" you know what's best for your client, but only your
client knows what's best for him.

If they're campaign failed, let it. Unless he asks for your advice, refrain
from GIVING it. It can imply you can do a better job than he can, and
worst...you have nothing (other than writing for others) to back up your
advice.

If you have experience marketing, that's a little different, but I would
still keep myself from giving advice unless asked.

It's one of those things where all you can do is let some people learn from
their own mistakes.

You can force someone to go to rehab, but unless they ASK to be cleaned
up there isn't anything you can, nor should you WANT to do.

2. Again, you're clients should do whatever they want to do with the
articles you write for them. Your job is to make sure they get the best
service they can so they come back for more.

You don't know what they're long-term goals are, so saying that you feel
the articles they pay you to write for them is being "misused" can put off
a lot off people -- despite good intentions.

Also, scrap the free hourly consultation. You ARE wasting your time (less
you have time to waste). You are not being compensated for this free
coaching and a lot more people will take whatever advice you give them
for granted...and what did you have to gain out of it?

Nothing.

If you want to get into consultation, at LEAST charge something for it.

3. Again, not your responsibility to help to learn what to do with articles
once written. If you feel uncomfortable writing for someone who doesn't
know what to do with them, let that client be and charge $10 - $20 for
information on how to write articles and send them 1 or two reports you
recommend.

Avoid wasting your time grooming someone to success. You are not in
the Personal Development business.

This advice was helpful to me and it will be the same for you. I hope you
can implement and immediately apply this advice as fast as you can give
it to your clients.

The results you will get comes from speed of implementation, because it's
solid.

Yep, it's pretty easy to tell the difference between a client who has some inclination of what they're doing, or at least some kind of half-decent plan, and a client who is just stumbling around in the dark, grasping at straws. There is a "please help me" vibe to their queries and they have way too much enthusiasm about what you can do for them, as if SEO content is the missing piece they've been looking for.

I typically turn these clients away--some of them I even recommend the Warrior Forum to. Most of them have been ripped off by a couple people already, in different ways, but don't seem to be learning their lesson. I've given advice to them before, but all it takes is looking at one thread on this forum where someone gives away a gold nugget to see what a complete newb does in that situation--they will take as much as they get and suddenly you're giving free coaching.

I'd much rather work with professional clients who I know are going to profit off of my work and keep coming back.

I do offer some consulting services, but I only offer them to clients I think can benefit--I'm real picky about this. If I think they have no idea what they are doing, I tell them that I only do marketing or conversion consultations for businesses that are already making a substantial amount of money because it's much easier and less expensive to help a profiting business in this regard than to take someone who is completely new from idea to profiting website (and that's true).

I then tell them that I can do the content for them but I want to be sure they don't have any misconceptions about what that's going to do for their site because it's just one small piece to the puzzle.

Don't get me wrong, I can and do offer suggestions to my clients, but there's just no helping someone who hasn't got a clue what they are doing, and if they aren't willing to pay BIG BUCKS for how much advice they really need, it's really to much to take on for free.

I know marketing teams who charge a $45K starting fee to build people hands-off websites as investment packages--why in the world would you get yourself into a situation where you were doing it for free? Going above and beyond for a client is good business strategy. So is handing them tips that help them grow their business.

Hand-holding is not...