I Suck At Writing. Can You Help?

This sounds like a really slow process. You said $200 per week, so it takes you a week to flip one website? That's kind of long.

In a month it's not that much, for anyone who has to pay bills, feed a family etc... and it doesn't seem like you are really going to push this or upscale alot any time soon either?

Thanks for the feedback acraisal! I hadn't thought about it like that

You're absolutely right though, $200 a week isn't anything monumental. But I'm not expecting someone else to make it a full time project - while I will.

But when you only spend 4-5 hours on a project, that's between $40-$50 per hour for writing.

Maybe I'm way off base, but I think that people looking for a part time income would be looking to earn $40-$50 per hour.

What timeframe do you think would be more reasonable? My thoughts are 2 Days for writing and research, and 3 days for an auction. Even though most of that time is just waiting, you can't say that you "flipped a site in two days."

Thanks again for the feedback!

-Lance

Yes, that does sound more reasonable. If you get an experienced writer, it shouldn't take them very long to have a fast turn around time. That sounds very reasonable, which means you could squeeze at least 2 in then, making it at least 400$ per week, which then turns into about $1600 per month.

As you said as well, it's only a few hours, so it's not that bad either. But I am wondering if you are wanting the person to simply write the sales copy or the product itself, or both?

Ideally, someone that could do both, but I understand that most people who are expert copywriters are doing just that - professional copywriting.

Most of the developers in the neighborhood for these "quick flips" are planning on revamping the copy, and adding in their own lead capture anyways.

My goal is just to give them the building blocks to do that with.

Product, conversion engine, just add traffic and optimize and you've got a web site generating revenue! I know that's oversimplifying, but you get the idea.

-Lance

One way or another 10-15 e-books per week rolling out. Whether it's from one writer or ten.

Well, I'd like to build a lasting relationship with some writers and not burn anybody out - so probably 2-3 ebooks per week from 3-5 writers.

Now I know what you're thinking. Yes, I've thought it too. What about market saturation? Go ahead. Pat yourself on the back for a legit question. It was the whole thing that got me away from the site flipping model initially.

Well there's two points to that. First off, I'm going to be putting my money into developing a list of website investors. That way, when we have a site for sale we shoot an email out letting everyone know, and they go out and bid on it. That will bring our prices up and make our auctions more action packed.

But here's the other part of the deal. Instead of sticking to only "quick flips" we start grouping e-books into complementary packages, using them as splinter products and then upselling to a bundle. Hold for a couple of months and sell a network to a serious investor for 6-10 times revenue.

Next question: Why not just do that from the beginning?

Because I've got $10,000, and want to leverage that $10k as much as possible. Sure, I could buy e-books from elance, but it'd suck up my budget for lead generation and business development. Plus I'd probably get shafted with sub standard content because I wouldn't be passionate about working on it.

Did I stop making sense along the way? Sometimes I'm not quite as good at conveying my plan as I am thinking it (why I do so many process maps).

Thanks for the interest everybody!

-Lance

Lance,

I like the way you think! And BTW you may not like to write but you can write.

I have way to many websites. If you can help me flip em and add some of your creative thought process to it, I might be interested in taking a shot at your project.

What topics are you thinking of now?

PS: $397 not $400

Lance
FWIW, I'd say you are a far better writer than many people who earn a living at it so don't sell yourself short.

With that said, it isn't clear what you want. I understand that you do graphics and Webmaster stuff and that's your end of the deal you're proposing. But I'm not sure what the writer is supposed to be bringing to the table. Is it sales copy, articles, landing pages... Can't tell from your post.

I'm not really interested in flipping sites. But I do need some of your skills from time to time and would be open to a possible trade for services. Check my credentials on the site in my sig and hit me up if you see any kind of fit. Good luck, I appreciate your initiative.

I agree---I would be interested. I am a freelance writer with a degree in journalism. Would love to partner up with you. Let me know more.

Hey Lance,

Give me a shout. I do copywriting, I've got a course or two and a product or two of my own, so I've got experience in all of those fields.

Cheers.

Hey Lance,

Why not just buy PLRs and make them CB ready - I know some PLR membership that gives you almost ready CB packages.

Thanks,
Steve

Hey Guys,

I've got some good news and some bad news.

The good news is, there's a bunch of hard working, extremely high quality authors out there, looking to make their lives better.

All the responses I've gotten here have been way constructive - good or bad, it was all extremely helpful, and encouraging. You guys helped me see the problems and highlight the good points.

Also, the response was pretty overwhelming. I was thinking that it'd be a struggle to get two to three writers interested, and over fifteen of you guys responded! Safe to say, I'm more than stoked.

But now the bad news.

I'm a soldier in the Virginia Army National Guard, and some things have come up with that. This past weekend was my monthly drill, and let's just say I got some pretty cool news.

A slot in the Honor Guard (the dudes who carry the flag at funerals, etc) has opened up, and I was offered the job.

One of the things I'm most passionate about is representing my country (hence joining in the first place), so I said yes.

The problem is, I didn't take much time to completely think about what the time commitment is going to mean. Pretty much all my free time I had in between classes is now going to be taken up. And homework is going to shift from days to nights (I'm a Math/Physics major).

So, this whole grand scheme I had concocted falls apart.

Now, this isn't going to mean I'm ditching the IM world completely. It just means my time is drastically reduced. Making it way impossible to deliver what I should to all of my potential partners.

Really, I'm forced to look at slower, more autopilot stuff, and move away from the elegant simplicity I have such a good time with.

The bottom line is, I can't make a commitment to you guys that I know isn't realistic. It's just not fair to you, as much as I want to make it work.

I understand that many of the cool people that responded here are probably bummed, and more than a little irritated, and I apologize profusely.

It was never my intent to waste your time (or mine) and I seriously apologize.

Thanks so much for all your interest, and good luck with all your future business schwag .

-Lance

P.S. Seriously. Sorry again.

This sounds very interesting. Well, for a college student who doesn't need to pay much. It caught my attention. I'd be interested. I do freelance writing. And, if you decide I'm not right for it, then I'm ok with that. I just have a couple of bills to pay each month.