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Random Thought: Do You Need To Enjoy Writing To Be Successful At IM?

by Chri5123
18 replies
Hey guys,

I am not the best writer in the world!

Not by a long shot - you will notice that I cannot use words that are longer than 6 letters! :p

OK, I am not that bad - but I tend to write how I speak and that is where the problem comes in!

Anyway, all joking aside I was thinking about how I would get started with IM if I had to start all over again and to be honest it would be NO different than HOW I DID get started.

By writing A LOT of content in the niche that I have picked.

In fact it is scary looking at it years later how much content I have produced.

I am surprised that I do not need an industrial keyboard!

My question is:

"Do you think you need to enjoy writing to be successful at IM?"

Of course you CAN outsource but I have always found that you end up doing quite a lot of content creation yourself, at least when you are starting out.

How much of YOUR OWN content do you produce?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Chris
#enjoy #random #successful #thought #writing
  • Profile picture of the author usc4seven
    my 2 cents - you don't need to be a great writer, however you do need to understand why people buy and how to motivate someone to take action...
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    • Profile picture of the author Chri5123
      Originally Posted by usc4seven View Post

      my 2 cents - you don't need to be a great writer, however you do need to understand why people buy and how to motivate someone to take action...
      Agreed, but this is more about the sales copy.

      Assuming you have good sales copy - how do you produce content and get traffic without writing?
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
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    I write 95% of my own content at the moment. The other 5% is stuff that I syndicate (I'm easing into that side of the game). I don't think you have to love writing, since you can just make videos, podcasts, or some other type of media. You do have to enjoy crafting content for your given niche though, otherwise you end up with a J-O-B, and that's what most are trying to avoid, right?
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  • Profile picture of the author TheSalesTechnician
    Of course not.

    You can be a horrible writer, but a great manager and outsourcrer.

    You can also be great and creating product ideas, and joint venture with someone that is good with writing.

    Just use your imagination and the creative.

    People that make the most money in this business, spend a lot of time and outsourcing.

    Personally I do produce my own content simply because I enjoy writing.

    I also know that if I produce my own content I will have a higher chance of making more sales because I am well seasoned in copywriting.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnsegui
    I don't really think you have to love writing mainly because if you don't like doing so you can outsource it.

    The problem though is that when you are just starting out you don't have much money(that is my case) and even if you don't like writing you have to do it.

    But when things start going well and your income increases I don't really think there is any problem in outsourcing most of your writing.

    John

    PS: Maybe some of you don't agree with me. That's only my honest opinion from a man who is trying to take off in this business
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    • Profile picture of the author CurtisSWN
      A real writer has a decided advantage in Internet marketing, but that is just one aspect of a successful business. Being successful ultimately requires seeing a real need (market) and effectively serving it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Christophe Young
    I thought about this recently and I think being a good writer and enjoying it is a HUGE part of being successful at Internet Marketing.

    Think about it... You have to write articles, emails, salescopy, slide presentations and most of the content for your niche.

    Sure, you can outsource pretty much anything but I'd never want to have someone else writing articles for a subject they know nothing about. I'm the expert in the niche... I went through the struggles and I know the pain and frustration my subscribers feel and nobody can write about it like I can. I can always tell when IM'ers in this niche are outsourcing articles because they all look the same... no new insights at all.

    Being a good writer and liking it will give you a tremendous advantage and will force you to stick with your business during the storms. If you don't like writing it will be easier to give up.
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    • Profile picture of the author Chri5123
      Originally Posted by Christophe Young View Post

      I thought about this recently and I think being a good writer and enjoying it is a HUGE part of being successful at Internet Marketing.

      Think about it... You have to write articles, emails, salescopy, slide presentations and most of the content for your niche.

      Sure, you can outsource pretty much anything but I'd never want to have someone else writing articles for a subject they know nothing about. I'm the expert in the niche... I went through the struggles and I know the pain and frustration my subscribers feel and nobody can write about it like I can. I can always tell when IM'ers in this niche are outsourcing articles because they all look the same... no new insights at all.

      Being a good writer and liking it will give you a tremendous advantage and will force you to stick with your business during the storms. If you don't like writing it will be easier to give up.
      Cheers guys thanks for all your comments,

      Totally agree with this ^

      I think you CAN make money by outsourcing (you need to get the money back you spent on the outsource though), videos, slide shows etc...

      However no matter what you are promoting online sooner or later you will need to put pen to paper so to speak.

      * Contacting people for JV's.

      * Writing content for promotion.

      * Writing sales copy.

      * Contacting affiliates

      The list is endless.

      I personally think that is why alot (not all) people give up on IM.

      There is a misconception after reading books like the 4 Hour Work Week that you can just tell A,B,C to write content and then you are rich.

      You need to be a good communicator and since we are online that is done mainly through typing.

      Just my 2 pence.

      Also to add - you don't need to be academically brilliant at writing but you DO need to be able to communicate via the written word.
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  • Profile picture of the author RoboCod
    Originally Posted by Chri5123 View Post

    Hey guys,

    you will notice that I cannot use words that are longer than 6 letters! :p
    That's a good thing! At least, using long words to "sound smart" causes clutter and impedes your message. "Utilize" instead of "use", "purchase" instead of "buy", etc.

    Sometimes a long word is the right word because its meaning precisely sums up what you're trying to say. But "writing like you talk" - or rather, writing like your target market talks - is exactly what you should be doing if you're writing to sell.
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    • Profile picture of the author mrsvirtualassistant
      You don't necessarily need to enjoy writing, but to be familiar with the topic you are writing about or at least have good research skills. Some people enjoy writing at the beginning, but lose their interest over time. However, this doesn't stop them from being successful and writing content that sells and provides value. On the other hand, you can enjoy writing but lack marketing skills. Being successful in IM requires a bit of everything.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    No. It helps though. Since all content is words and words most often come in written form before being turned into audio or video, writing is a huge part of the game. But you don't have to do it. There are many ways to get excellent content to your sites. Lots of them have already been mentioned here. BTW, your writing isn't bad at all.
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  • Profile picture of the author icoachu
    you can outsource the writing part. There are fiverr deals where you pay only .003 USD per word

    No, I didn't mess up on the decimal. We're talking 1/3 of a PENNY.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    I don't know if you have to enjoy it, but somewhere along the line there had damn well better be somebody who is good at it...
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  • Profile picture of the author Patrick Batty
    I really enjoy writing and recording my blog posts..
    I think it's quite enjoyable.

    But if someone said write 10 articles a day.. I'd definitely outsource that.

    A mentor of mine once said.. "If you want to earn $5 an hour.. do the $5 an hour job... If you want to earn $500 an hour... do the $500 an hour job and hire the $5 workers."

    It may sound harsh, but you just can't scale your business if you do the $5 jobs.

    Just one mans opinion though.
    All the Best
    Patrick
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  • Profile picture of the author Anthony Carrera
    writing how you speak is an advantage... people write for years trying to write how they speak but to answer your question no you dont have to like writing.... you it helps to be a good sales man because all marketing is about salesmanship in whatever vehicle you use to get your message out print,space ads, internet ect
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  • Profile picture of the author NuZu
    I no longer build content sites. Everything I do is mobile now. I have however owned over 70 sites that had at a minimum 40 pages of content each.

    I hated writing! Even when I was working on a site that I actually enjoyed, just "having" to write on a consistent basis was draining for me. I learned to love outsourcing once I found the right writers and I never wrote another word. = )

    Those sites were very good to me for 2 years and continue to produce income today. So I would say no, you do not need to enjoy writing to be successful at IM.

    ** On a side note, content sites are only a VERY small slice of the IM pie. There are many options available to you as you grow and learn.**
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  • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
    You either need to be a good communicator (that means you need to know what to put in your emails, sales letters, articles, etc...) if you want to run your own IM business OR you can join forces with someone who is a good communicator and you specialize in another aspect of the business. Also - know what you ARE good at as well as what you are NOT good at. You say you are not a good writer, what are you good at?

    Jeff
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  • Profile picture of the author Chri5123
    Thanks for your posts guys,

    The general view seems to be that somewhere down the line you WILL need to be able to communicate with the written word.

    I totally agree but as I say I don't mind writing.

    Is there anyone making a full time income without writing?

    I am not talking about outsourcing because SOMEONE is still writing content. I am talking about NO writing at all.
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