And with my decision came the inevitable Ill-do-anything mentality.
After a year of this, I decided to move into full-time copywriting.
So I stepped away from the freelancer label to become a business owner.
Our team has compiled alist of creative waysyou can fatten your bank account this week.
This is a long list, so dont get overwhelmed.
Well keep it updated as offers changes or expire.
Customers go out of their wayandpay higher prices for The Best.
And The Best is usually created by people who specialize.
Turns out, theres one project I love most: About pages.
A companys About page is the most important page on its website.
But businesses ignore it because its hard to write and even harder to get right.
Did you know?
Ive managed website launches since 2009, so I already knew the varying pieces that go into a launch.
With extra time in April, I tackled my to-do list and started building.
Step 1: Name the Business
Time: 5 minutes
Cost: Free!
I wanted a fun and quirky name with a nod to weird internet culture.
One night, as I was falling asleep, the name just popped into my head.
The next morning I did a quick Google search to see if it was available.
It was, andOh Hai!
I wanted a clean design I could easily customize.
Their platform is easy to use, with gorgeous templates and quick customer support.
So since I was now a company, I needed a separate email to keep things neat and separate.
I turned to99Designsfor help.
The process was easy and I received 40 designs in four days.
Because Im a visual writer, I prefer to see my words how theyll appear as I write.
I formatted my website in tandem with writing my web copy.
Not only was I trying to sell my services, but I was also displaying them.
I did a bunch of customer research during this time, as well.
I followed the same brand exercises I use with my clients while writing my web copy.
If youre not a copywriter and need to hire someone to do this for you, costs vary.
A decent copywriter will charge at least $1,000 for a full site.
Step 7: Create an Opt-in Offer
Cost: Free
The services I created arent cheap.
I needed to warm them up.
To do so, I needed to get them on my email list.
I created a short ebook featuring my favorite About pages the ones I go to for inspiration.
I hit them with a secret copywriting weapon: the autoresponder.
Autoresponders warm up your leads.
you might give them advice, answer questions, provide case studies or resources.
I wrote eight emails containing everything from writing exercises to About page teardowns.
The final email is another tip, plus a reminder to use their code before it expires.
I use MailChimp, which is $10/month to access its automation services.
The price increases as your email list grows.
Cost: $150
I cant afford not to have the best copyeveron my website.
It only made sense to have her take a final pass through my site.
She made sure the commas were in the right places and my story was clear and compelling.
I usedWisePopsto create a pop-up with a catchy headline offering a free download of my About page guide.
I went ontoFiverrand spent $25 on a Squarespace developer who could help.
How Its Going So Far
My business went live on May 3, 2016.
I havent spent any money on advertising.
From my personal and social media networks alone, Im now booked up for the next two months.
Your Turn: Will you start your own online business?
Would you ever do it this quickly?
Marian Schembari is a writer, blogger and founder of Oh Hai!
Copy based in Dusseldorf, Germany by way of San Francisco.
She writes about travel and creativity, and spends way too much time on the Internet.
It sounds appealing right?
Check it out here!
