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Building a Second Income Before the Second Kid

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

Joe Cassandra

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SELF-EMPLOYED ---> NEEDS MORE AUTOMATED SALES:

I was talking with a client last week...he had just gotten back from a 2-week vacation in Maine (beautiful state!). He was a bit flustered.

Right now, 90% of his revenue each month comes from doing LIVE webinars. These webinars work great...but, it's manual work. After his vacation, he was 'back in the grind' because "Sales sucked ---we didn't do any live webinars."

I thought about my own business. Right now, if I stopped working...besides some residual royalties...we'd be sunk. My wife stays at home. We have a 2-year old. I'm the sole breadwinner.

To thicken the plot, my wife is due in January with Kid #2. Last time we had a kid, I quit my job. For this kid, it's build another freakin' income stream to free up my time!

-----------

You can read my initial journey in my NOTABLE post here.

I've gotten PMs asking the 'hows' and 'whats' about what I did. Plus, some great feedback in the post itself.

I started writing copy 'as a business' in August 2015. I quit my job February 1, 2016 with student loans, mortage, CC debt, you name it. Still, I created a new life for our family.

I believe others could do the same if they knew what to do.

THUS....

I've decided to create a course around what you can do to get the same results:

Course will be based around:
1) Making full-time income writing copy
2) Being able to quit your job in 6-12 months
3) Get better at your copy as you work with clients

INFO MARKETING IS FOR SCAMMERS:

Yes, there is a ton of junk out there. Hopefully, you see in every post I write, there is value coming across. I take each post I make on this forum very seriously.

I believe this course could be one to last for awhile. I'd add new content to it at no-extra-charge to existing members.

For copywriting, there are some Udemy courses that are cheap and general. There's also AWAI. They have courses and conferences. But, their customer service sucks. Plus, their courses are generally not neatly packaged. Typically the modules are just webinars they recorded with experts. Unrehearsed etc. Good stuff. But believe they miss some major pieces (including mindset).

@jkennedy got major flak for his recent post. But, I believe his post was an opportunity window that opened in my head. That day, I was stressing because work was a bit slow and when we have more kids, I can't always be stressing about work. Else, I'll miss out on time with them. Even now, I'm not always checked in when I'm around my wife and kid.

I needed to find a new income stream that's automated. I know very few people who quit their job to write like I did...

------------------
ACTION STEPS:

1. I purchased David Siteman Garland's "Awesome Courses" training. ($1,000). Won't link here for fear of post-banning. David was one of the first online dudes I ever listened to. I finally got to pay him for the help he didn't know he gave.

2. I need your help. Based on the PMs and regular questions I get...the need is there. Not to mention, content is king in this age of the internet. Companies need writers. Good writers.

But, to create the best content possible, I need some outside perspective. See, I live in a bubble working in my spare bedroom everyday. I need other ideas from those who have jobs, who want to quit, who need help, etc.

That's why I've put together a survey. It takes 2 minutes. And, NO you don't need to put your name or email if you don't want.

[Click here]Your expert feedback is most needed at this time.
**YES you can be 100% anonymous in your answer
**NO you don't need to put your info if you don't want
**NO there is absolutely nothing to buy

I'll keep progress of the course as it goes.

I'm not afraid of anyone ripping me off because to build an info-product --- a genuine one --- you need to experience the journey and result yourself before teaching. A scammer can't do that, and people sniff that out fast.
 
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Ouroboros

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Done and Submitted.

Thanks for this Joe, I appreciate you taking the time you put into writing this and responding to my PMs.
 

Dunkafelics

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This has absolutely something I have been thinking about as well. I am working a full-time job while working on my side business at this time. My wife has been very supportive while we have a newborn and she gives me time to work on the business. We are a few years out from having our second child, but I am working like mad to ensure that I have a solid foundation for when that day comes :)

EDIT: After doing the survey @Joe Cassandra, I am very jealous by that mortgage amount. I am coming to your house and bunking up lol lol.
 

Joe Cassandra

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Done and Submitted.

Thanks for this Joe, I appreciate you taking the time you put into writing this and responding to my PMs.

Yep, I'm gonna answer your question (from the PM) tonight or tomorrow in a post on my main thread. It's a fairly common question so thanks for bringing it to the light so I can answer it.

Thanks for filling out the survey. It really helps because I know what content to put into the main thread (and eventually in the course I'll create and market on Facebook, etc.)

This has absolutely something I have been thinking about as well. I am working a full-time job while working on my side business at this time. My wife has been very supportive while we have a newborn and she gives me time to work on the business. We are a few years out from having our second child, but I am working like mad to ensure that I have a solid foundation for when that day comes :)

EDIT: After doing the survey @Joe Cassandra, I am very jealous by that mortgage amount. I am coming to your house and bunking up lol lol.

Here's why I think learning how to write copy for businesses is such an incredible opportunity now --- even if you don't want to do it for a living...

1) Whatever business you start, you'll need copy: That's a given. Especially online. Why not learn in the trenches with real businesses, get paid and keep the experience for life?

2) You can leverage the knowledge into doing anything: My wife isn't interested in starting a business anytime soon (2-year old and another on the way)...but she loves to bake. If she was in a job right now, she could start writing copy for 'baking magazines,' 'bakers selling products/courses' on the side...so she'd get to write about what she loves. While she does that, she could create a course on baking. With her copy chops, she'll be able to market the hell out of it and automate her income. Then, use that money to open a bakery.

To get more specific, for me, I want to get into TV writing. Writing stories is fun, and the demand for great TV scripts will skyrocket the next 10 years.

Here's the rub --- breaking into this industry is (duh) very difficult. I know it's going to take 5-10 years of toiling, "NOs" and such before a good producer picks up my script and says "Yes".

In the meantime, I'm making my own hours, leveraging my time with a course like this --- all to OPEN UP time to work on this venture without a boss peeking over my shoulder.

Best part of writing copy for businesses...(okay maybe not the best, but a good perk)... it costs virtually $0. Besides books and courses to learn, all you need is Google Drive, email, and your smartphone (your phone you're paying for anyway)!

------------------

@Dunkafelics I heard Canadian real estate is going nuts. Actually, we sold that house ($168k mortgage) as we moved out of Texas to Georgia. Got a better,bigger house now, plus just remodeled the kitchen. Both times, funny enough, I used my copy skills to write the owners a letter during the offer phase. Both times we had worse offers than the top-bidders and got the house :D
 
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Joe Cassandra

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This weekend, I've been up outlining what I expect the course to look like.

For those new to the thread, I quit my job in 2016 after only a few months starting my copy business. I've made over 6-figures since then and have written promotions for my clients that have brought in 6-figures in under a week as well.
Thus, I know what I'm talking about. No theory here.

The plan is to use this course as a 2nd income stream that's automated as we have another kid coming...The plan isn't to turn myself into a "info-marketing" guru.

In the info-space it's easy to rip someone's content off as your own. Thus, in this thread, I'll detail my entire process. However, I'll pull back on super-duper details until the launch.
----------
With that said, I've gotten some great responses from my Survey. (See it here). It's been mega-helpful as I shape this.

Thus, the outline I'm going for in the course:
  1. Opening Day towards your path as a full-time, 6-figure copywriter

    1. One tweak to 'dial-up' your mindset [without this 'copywriter' calibration method, you'll be spinning your wheels the next 10 years]
    2. The gold rush by 2020 [starting today lets you gobble up the top clients before the freelance rush peaks]
    3. Myth buster [won't share right now]
  2. Quick copywriting skills to learn in the next 1-2 weeks

    1. The most valuable skill that could start ANY business you like
    2. Fastest strategy to get to 6-figures writing copy full-time
    3. Daily 5-minute habit turns you into a copy 'wizard'
    4. Copy basics that pick up client starting next week
    • Write up to 10 killer headlines in 10 minutes
    • Short copy: Bite-size bits clients clamor for 5x a day
    1. Myth buster --[won't share right now]
  3. Prospecting with ZERO contacts

    1. 3 places to find your ideal client... forget inbound!
    2. Proven word-for-word scripts to see 20-30% positive responses to your cold emails
    3. The memorable LinkedIn strategy that generated my first $10,000
    4. Myth buster --- [won't share right now]
  4. Master the sales process without being a salesmen (or an extrovert)

    1. My "apples to oranges" trick for when someone asks for samples and you have none
    2. 5-part sales script to go from "hello" to "I'll have the accounting department mail-out the check today"
    3. Myth buster --- [won't share right now]
  5. Leaving the cubicle and tie behind...Quit!

    1. How to make the leap to full-time with the least amount of risk?
    2. "How much money do I need?" "How do I get my spouse on board?"
    3. Quitting
    4. READER QUESTION I HEAR ALL THE TIME?
  6. Advanced copy skills that land 5-figure projects (plus commission!)

    1. Dominating long copy & making clients 6-figures
    2. Bullet-proof outline blueprint to massively increase your shot at a winning ad
    3. My useful step-by-step system to generate BIG IDEAS clients drool over
    4. This section of the ad makes or breaks it [how to make it sing]
    5. How to close anyone without ever meeting them or knowing their name
  7. BONUS MODULE

    1. When to expand?
    2. Taking care of clients
    3. Pursuing bigger clients?
    4. Personal finance questions (insurance etc.)
**I expect this modules and course marketing to take about 300-500 hours of time to put together. If you want to steal this outline, good luck putting together a kick-a$$ course. But, I bet if you're too lazy to do your own outline, you're too lazy to put in the work like I already do.***

[ HOW YOU CAN HELP (FREE): I'm currently collecting survey data about those who want to write copy full-time from home. I need your expertise and opinions. See what I mean -- Click here for survey.(Nothing to buy or spam)]
 

Joe Cassandra

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Exactly a week ago I started this thread.

Wow! I'm up to almost a dozen responses to my private survey (Click here to take it). Many great responses from Forum members ... some fairly detailed and personal. They helped a bunch.

-------------------

I have a white board in my home office where I put "expected deadlines" to wrangle all the content together for this course:
- lead magnets
- modules in course
- bonuses
- sales page

My expected launch date would be around the end of October.

Notes.jpg kerfuffle.jpg

Well, this week I've been on a tear. I had little client work this week, so I've been head-down, up until 2am working on this...and I've blown through an October deadline.

I've already outlined and put together the deck for:
- Lead magnets
- 4 of 8 modules


I expect to knock out the next 4 modules this week. Record them all the following week. Put up website. Then, go full marketing ninja building a list. Could be building list by the 20th.

"Oh, if you put the content together so fast...it must be fluff stuff like those affiliate scammers"

Actually, I've put it together fast because I've worked 14 hours a day on it, plus I'm pulling from content I've produced before. I'm really seeing a vision for the value this course provides.

If anyone has any recommendations for:
- where to store video (best place)
- Autoresponder/email services​

-----------
If you've thought about making money learning copywriting....take this 2-min. survey so I know what content to produce on the Forum and in the course. You'll be helping many people.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE SURVEY [nothing to buy, cross my heart]
 

rogue synthetic

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Glad to be of help. Your original Notable thread was one of the reasons I wanted to join up here. I'll be keeping an eye out for the program, as you're in the position I'd like to be a year from now.
 
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Joe Cassandra

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Glad to be of help. Your original Notable thread was one of the reasons I wanted to join up here. I'll be keeping an eye out for the program, as you're in the position I'd like to be a year from now.

Thanks a bunch. Hard at work at it! Thanks for the motivation.

Nice progress.

From what I hear, Vimeo is a great video host for courses. I was planning a course and was going to use them, but I shifted gears a bit so I don't have any actual experience with them.

Compare Vimeo membership plans | Vimeo

Yeah, bouncing around from Wistia to Vimeo. Looking at Camtasia now for recording, but there's a ton of free options out there. I'd rather dump $200 into ads than into software, so looking at those now.

------------------------
Up to now:
- Prepared outline and modules for ALL parts of the course [way ahead of schedule]
- Prepped bonus report for opt-ins
- Prepared outline and modules for 3-part launch video series

WHAT'S NEXT:

Record these things:
- If anyone has suggestions for screen recording/voice/video editing software (besides Camtasia) let me know. (see my quick comment above)
- Plan is to record 1 MODULE per week. There's 8 modules. I expect this course to be between 12-15 hours of content + written bonuses to read

Set up website:
- Working on this now
- Quick opt-in page with free bonus
- About Page
- 3 blog posts
- Using CourseCats to house my course
- Using Wordpress for main site with a basic theme

LIST BUILD LIKE A WILD MAN [Goal: 1,000 - 2,500 subscribers on list]:
Haven't decided the best strategy to approach this. My initial thoughts:
- FACEBOOK ADS: Fastest way for new subscribers. Could be expensive to test.
- GUEST POST: Find relevant niches needing content and provide killer posts
- GIVEAWAY: Could attract attention if promoted correctly

>>ANY SUGGESTIONS WELCOME FOR FAST LIST-BUILDING<<

EMAIL SOFTWARE:
I'm not 100% sure who to go with. Others have recommended Ontraport. But, it's around $300/month when your list hits 1,001. Seems pretty excessive.
Ones I've looked into:
- Active Campaign
- ConvertKit

>>ANY SUGGESTIONS WELCOME FOR EMAIL SOFTWARE<<
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why build the course first rather than spend time building a list then course later?"

1. ) Based on PMs here, comments, the survey I put up, I'm fairly confident there are plenty of people who need training like this. They want to quit their job and have regular cash coming in. Even if writing isn't what they want to do forever, it's a way to free up their time. Just like I have free time to create this course. Thus, I don't need to build a list and 'figure out' what they want.

2. ) I don't want a hot new lead to hit my email list...get emails for 30 days...cool off...and stop opening emails. While they are excited for new, awesome content, I want the sequence to be:

OPT IN [GET BONUS] ---> 1 DAY LATER ---> VALUABLE CONTENT PIECE ---> 1 DAY LATER ---> VALUABLE PIECE ---> 1 DAY LATER ---> PUSH TO VIDEO #1 OF TRAINING (free) ---> 2 DAYS LATER ---> VIDEO #2 ---> 2 DAYS LATER ---> VIDEO #3 ---> 2 DAYS LATER ---> OPEN COURSE + SALES LETTER + CART DEADLINE.​

Optin ---> 7-10 DAYS LATER ---> CART OPEN FOR BIZ​

Will keep updating.

--------
If you see writing copy-from-home as a way to break the chains of a 9-5, let me know your thoughts. Many that fill out the survey say "Making between $4k - $6k would be the ticket to freedom from a job". I find this incredibly interesting as I fell in this same range when I quit. It's definitely doable even if you're not a 'writer' per se.

Fill out this 2-minute Survey [nothing to buy]
 
D

Deleted2BB3x9

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>>ANY SUGGESTIONS WELCOME FOR FAST LIST-BUILDING<<

Try to get a press release published on a blog. I did this and got around 50 emails using a pop-up after my press release got published. The reason for only getting 50 subscribers was because the blog wasn't that popular. I'm sure if you find a popular blog, you can get over 100 emails - 200 emails. Other than that, facebook ads is how I built my list. Comparing both options, I find the people from the blog were a lot more responsive to opening emails than the people from facebook. Keep up the progress!
 
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JustKris

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For straight up video hosting, I like Vimeo. The Vimeo Pro option is pretty reasonable (200 bucks/yr). Wistia is also nice, but pricey.
Another option is using an online course site like Thinkific or Teachable, which I'm also looking at. (They seem pretty similar, so I can't really comment on the quality of either one.)

For email automation, I've used a ton of options. MailCheat(Chimp) is free and actually has added some very basic automation. Active Campaign is really reasonable ($9/mo to start). My favorite right now is Convertkit, b/c it's so easy to setup automations. The more expensive options (Infusionsoft, etc) are very powerful, but honestly a bit of a nightmare if you're doing everything yourself.

Good luck, man! I'm in a similar boat---2nd child arriving in a couple months, turning my "gun for hire" skills into a scalable solution.
 

JordanK

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I'm very happy and excited that you are taking the time to write a course like this Joe. Freelance copy writing is also my full-time income but I'm not yet operating at the same level that you are at this moment in time. It's always nice to learn from others who are ahead of you on the same/similar paths. Do you have a timeline and price point for when the course will be released?

I have also discovered the major problems with divorcing time from income in this sector but I'm actively trying to get into Real Estate as my second income method.
 

Joe Cassandra

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Try to get a press release published on a blog. I did this and got around 50 emails using a pop-up after my press release got published. The reason for only getting 50 subscribers was because the blog wasn't that popular. I'm sure if you find a popular blog, you can get over 100 emails - 200 emails. Other than that, facebook ads is how I built my list. Comparing both options, I find the people from the blog were a lot more responsive to opening emails than the people from facebook. Keep up the progress!

Thanks BB! I don't see many sites that publish press releases. Many do "contributor" posts (like I've done on Business INSIDERS etc.), but they wouldn't accept a pure, direct press release. Do you have an example of a site that does this. Maybe we're not thinking of the same thing. Thanks!

For straight up video hosting, I like Vimeo. The Vimeo Pro option is pretty reasonable (200 bucks/yr). Wistia is also nice, but pricey.
Another option is using an online course site like Thinkific or Teachable, which I'm also looking at. (They seem pretty similar, so I can't really comment on the quality of either one.)

For email automation, I've used a ton of options. MailCheat(Chimp) is free and actually has added some very basic automation. Active Campaign is really reasonable ($9/mo to start). My favorite right now is Convertkit, b/c it's so easy to setup automations. The more expensive options (Infusionsoft, etc) are very powerful, but honestly a bit of a nightmare if you're doing everything yourself.

Whoa, just looked at Wistia...$2200/year. Shizsters...

I'm looking at VimeoPro.
Also heard about Vidello VIDELLO [anyone have experience with that?]

Definitely didn't want to do YouTube as that cheapens the videos.

Good luck, man! I'm in a similar boat---2nd child arriving in a couple months, turning my "gun for hire" skills into a scalable solution.

Progress thread, brah? :)

*Poundcake* for two kiddies!


I'm very happy and excited that you are taking the time to write a course like this Joe. Freelance copy writing is also my full-time income but I'm not yet operating at the same level that you are at this moment in time. It's always nice to learn from others who are ahead of you on the same/similar paths. Do you have a timeline and price point for when the course will be released?

I have also discovered the major problems with divorcing time from income in this sector but I'm actively trying to get into Real Estate as my second income method.

Thanks Jordan. Real estate's down the list. To be honest, I want to be a screenwriter. Copywriting now and making a bunch now allows me to free up my time to pursue those passions. This thread allows me to free up my time EVEN MORE. See where this is going?

Copywriting today is a HUGE opportunity out there for regular peeps to break the chain of a happiness-sucking job by writing because the need's there. Companies need AWESOME WRITING more than ever because:
- More content consumption from social media...blogs..etc.
- Customer's are as skeptical as ever. Just tacking "50% OFF" on stuff doesn't work as well anymore. You need to convince.

Just got a direct mail piece in the mail trying to get me to donate to their school because the Pope is corrupt! It was a fun read. Not long enough to persuade me though...

Another was a "FREE" offer with a $4.95 's&h' cost for buying their rosary. An obvious front-end offer to sell me some Holy Family life-size statues on the back-end! [Christian marketing is BIG now...huge OPPs]
20170808_170534.jpg 20170809_170306.jpg

Anyway...
-----------------
What do I plan to price this course for?

That's a tricky question. I'm in a battle royale with my mind right now. 'Sensible Value vs. Greed'. If you close just ONE client (doable) for $1,500 - $3,000/month as I have done with a select few...what would you pay?

Or, if you were getting $5k - $10k projects + commission regularly (I just closed a client 1 hour ago for $6500 plus 4%)...what would you pay???

My thoughts:

Tiered pricing:
$497
$997
$1497

Each would have little extras including webinars, private calls, etc. I'm basically giving away everything I've learned. If I had started doing all of this 2 years ago when I started (rather than starting 10 months ago)...I'd be in a bigger house for sure.
 
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D

Deleted2BB3x9

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Thanks BB! I don't see many sites that publish press releases. Many do "contributor" posts (like I've done on Business INSIDERS etc.), but they wouldn't accept a pure, direct press release. Do you have an example of a site that does this. Maybe we're not thinking of the same thing. Thanks!

Here's the site I used: Advertise – Important Media Network
It's a different niche but it's just an example.
They offer sponsored posts. That was what I was referring to, they will publish anything for 100$
 

Joe Cassandra

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UPDATE:

- Finished recording 2 of 8 modules this week...should knock out 2 more by the end of the week [4 hours of content after 2 modules]
- Working tonight on an upsell for the initial free book optin (help pay for the ads)
- Created all the bonuses
- Website is up [not going to post link now]

Website.png

GAMEPLAN:

1. Finish the Modules this week and the next 2 weeks
2. Finish upsell funnel this week
3. Record 3-part launch series video by EOM
4. Create 5 value emails to send to opt-ins
---
LAUNCHING:
5. Driving traffic to my opt-in page. Strategies I'm considering:
- Facebook ads (could get expensive)
- Guest posting (could take forever)
- Sponsored ads (as BusinessBen mentioned above)
- Getting interviewed somewhere
- Posting on Linkedin + Groups

6. Create launch emails
7. Create sales page
8. Set up membership pages
9. Launch the 3-part video series
10. LAUNCH COURSE!!

-------
Tech still need set-up

- Vimeo
- Amazon storage
- I have an old license for OptimizePress...I might be able to skirt past having to buy a software like Course Cats. Will need to try it out first.
- Stripe payments
- Deadline Funnel (?)
 

Joe Cassandra

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QUESTION FOR ANY SEARCH-ENGINE-OPTIMIZATION (SEO) EXPERTS:

I'm thinking of using this as a secondary strategy to generate traffic to my site:

1. Find an older post by an influencer in my niche that is killer content
2. Reach out to author of influencer
3. Ask them if I can re-post their 'old' post on my site, give them credit, link back to them, in the footer link to their store/products
4. [If necessary] offer them $50-$100 to do so
5. [If necessary] rewrite article so it's not word-for-word but same ideas, same links

My angle here is:
- They do ZERO work
- They could get clicks over (including to their store...sales)
- Content writers love being shared on other sites
- I'm not some wantrepreneur, I work for myself

HOPE: I would get a small percentage of them to share the post on my site to their audience (traffic for me)
---------------
SEO GENIUS INPUT:

1. Would this harm the influencer's SEO?
2. I'm sure my post wouldn't rank, but I don't care as I'm looking for traffic. Will my site get blacklisted?

Thanks for the help!

[@AndyBlack you do Adwords, any experience in this arena?]
 
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rogue synthetic

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On SEO question, my understanding (take with required grains of salt) is that (1) it won't harm their SEO and could just as well boost it as one more link provided that (2) you don't get a duplicate content penalty:

Duplicate content is content that appears on the Internet in more than one place. That “one place” is defined as a location with a unique website address (URL) - so, if the same content appears at more than one web address, you’ve got duplicate content.

While not technically a penalty, duplicate content can still sometimes impact search engine rankings. When there are multiple pieces of, as Google calls it, "appreciably similar" content in more than one location on the Internet, it can be difficult for search engines to decide which version is more relevant to a given search query.

The trick to this is either rewrite the post so that it's different enough not to be a carbon copy, or make sure that you use the rel=canonical tag to indicate the original source of the material.
 

Joe Cassandra

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On SEO question, my understanding (take with required grains of salt) is that (1) it won't harm their SEO and could just as well boost it as one more link provided that (2) you don't get a duplicate content penalty:



The trick to this is either rewrite the post so that it's different enough not to be a carbon copy, or make sure that you use the rel=canonical tag to indicate the original source of the material.

The key point I want to verify is that it's not hurting their SEO. I'm going for pure traffic right now...not SEO. At the same time, I don't want to spend time having to explain about SEO as everyone might not understand the duplicate content penalty.

Wondering if I'd get more "yes" if:

1. Find one of their older posts
2. Rewrite just enough of it
3. Say I'll slap their name on it if they approve
4. Publish

That way they don't have to worry about duplicate content and I won't need to explain about SEO.

The key is that they do ZERO work but get a link to their site and publicity. Then, perhaps a few, post a link to it to their followers.

I got this from Ryan Deiss. He uses Oprah as an example. Oprah doesn't write 99% of the stuff on her website, she finds other authors to do it. They get spotlight time, she gets traffic as these authors share and of course searches from Oprah.
 

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The key point I want to verify is that it's not hurting their SEO. I'm going for pure traffic right now...not SEO. At the same time, I don't want to spend time having to explain about SEO as everyone might not understand the duplicate content penalty.

Wondering if I'd get more "yes" if:

1. Find one of their older posts
2. Rewrite just enough of it
3. Say I'll slap their name on it if they approve
4. Publish

That way they don't have to worry about duplicate content and I won't need to explain about SEO.

The key is that they do ZERO work but get a link to their site and publicity. Then, perhaps a few, post a link to it to their followers.

I got this from Ryan Deiss. He uses Oprah as an example. Oprah doesn't write 99% of the stuff on her website, she finds other authors to do it. They get spotlight time, she gets traffic as these authors share and of course searches from Oprah.

Wanted to chime in here.

I like this plan because you're essentially offering them a guest post spot, without the work.

Just a thought, you might have a bit of trouble at first because for the bigger names, they get 'enough' traffic and may be hesistant to connect their work to a new site. Will you some original content already in place?
 
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Wanted to chime in here.

I like this plan because you're essentially offering them a guest post spot, without the work.

Just a thought, you might have a bit of trouble at first because for the bigger names, they get 'enough' traffic and may be hesistant to connect their work to a new site. Will you some original content already in place?

Yes, I have a handful of posts already up.

Well, the plan isn't to reach out to Oprah or some mainstream peeps. More like, "online famous entrepreneurs."

I'm starting with people I've interviewed before. See, 4 years ago, I co-hosted an entrepreneur podcast and interviewed many "online famous" people. You can see it here --> entrepreneurshowdown.com [The site's been deserted for 3.5 years so no benefit of linking it]

My plan is to start with the folks we interviewed...some of them, like Pat Flynn have over 300k followers on social. We got all these "online famous" peeps by simply asking, just in case you thought I'm taking some shortcut.

Yes, that podcast failed, but perhaps there's a way to monetize on it years later...

NOTE: This is just one traffic strategy. Plan to use FB ads too,

-----------------------------

If anyone has any other thoughts, let me know!
 

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Rolling along with this...

Been a bit slower than I want as I have tons of new client work from my copy business coming in. So, this is a "1 am project" at the moment.

- Finished recording all the modules/lessons [about 16 hours of content before bonus materials]

- I remember I bought OptimizePress last year. I didn't realize they have a membership area. So, I spent hours yesterday trying to sort that out and setting up all the different 'locked' content areas [still haven't figured it all out including how people actually log-in]

BIG TIME NEXT STEPS:

So, many would disagree with this...

But I'm building my course first, then promoting my site afterwards. Many recommend doing both at the same time. For my sanity (with juggling my business and a pregnant wife), it's easier for me to get the course stuff out of the way, figure out all the hiccups with that, and then concentrate 100% on promotion rather than 50/50.

The reason being: if someone optins in now, I don't time to write cultivating/nurturing content to keep them engaged. I'd rather have the course done and spend all my time cultivating.

1.) Figure out how to lock all the content up in OptimizePress
2.) Upload videos to VimeoPro
3.) Set up 3-part video series for launch promo
4.) Write Sales Letter
5.) Then, 100% focus on promotion
6.) At 500 optins --- Launch course!!!
 

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Rolling along with this...

Been a bit slower than I want as I have tons of new client work from my copy business coming in. So, this is a "1 am project" at the moment.

- Finished recording all the modules/lessons [about 16 hours of content before bonus materials]

- I remember I bought OptimizePress last year. I didn't realize they have a membership area. So, I spent hours yesterday trying to sort that out and setting up all the different 'locked' content areas [still haven't figured it all out including how people actually log-in]

BIG TIME NEXT STEPS:

So, many would disagree with this...

But I'm building my course first, then promoting my site afterwards. Many recommend doing both at the same time. For my sanity (with juggling my business and a pregnant wife), it's easier for me to get the course stuff out of the way, figure out all the hiccups with that, and then concentrate 100% on promotion rather than 50/50.

The reason being: if someone optins in now, I don't time to write cultivating/nurturing content to keep them engaged. I'd rather have the course done and spend all my time cultivating.

1.) Figure out how to lock all the content up in OptimizePress
2.) Upload videos to VimeoPro
3.) Set up 3-part video series for launch promo
4.) Write Sales Letter
5.) Then, 100% focus on promotion
6.) At 500 optins --- Launch course!!!

That's a lot of content---good job!

Doing the same thing (creating the course first and then focusing on promotion). I don't know how people pre-sell a course and then create it in a couple days. It's just not enough time if you have work/family responsibilities.
 
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That's a lot of content---good job!

Doing the same thing (creating the course first and then focusing on promotion). I don't know how people pre-sell a course and then create it in a couple days. It's just not enough time if you have work/family responsibilities.

Yeah, for many they'd say "oh, you're afraid of selling and doing the real, rough advertising stuff". Nah. I just don't want to rush a great course. Plus, I'm having to figure out all this tech crap that I don't want to be stressed about later on. Thanks for the encouragement.

-------------
Trying to keep the updates weekly at minimum...

What I've worked on:
- Figured out the OptimizePress stuff (took some time...plus dumb SSL troubles as well...fixed after hours with programmers)

- Uploaded my videos yesterday and today. Not with Vimeo. Trying out Vidello. Seems smooth so far. My process was recording my screen with the Screentastify Chrome plugin ($20 and works awesome!). Then, upload to Vidello. With over 16 hours of premium content, you can imagine this takes up a lot of space and takes forever to upload.

- Finished writing an upsell letter after someone optins and putting together the sales page. Had to figure out the tech for this too.
KEY POINT: The best time to ask for a small sale is right after someone opts in to your list. I'm upselling a $7 ebook I wrote. It also gets someone BUYING. A BUYING CUSTOMER is worth WAYYY MORE in the long-term than a non-buyer.​

- Opened my Amazon S3 account and uploaded all the downloads/slides

WHAT I'm DOING NEXT:

- Linking up all the Vidello videos with the course pages. Plus, the downloads from S3. Plus, writing the content on each membership page. This is very "repetitive/manual-labor" intensive, so not looking forward to this, but happy when it'll be done.

- After this, it's really marketing time. I'll do my blog outreach method above. Plus, start FB ads.

- Have NOT written the sales letter for the product itself, but I'm a bit burned out right now and don't believe I'll write a good one at this point. Will wait until my head clears after some subscribers come through and I get motivated again.

-------------------------
I've managed to squeeze in this stuff while juggling new clients and projects. I can't wait to finish this 'upfront work' portion and then simply open the cart and see what happens.

I'm working fast as lightening and into the deep hours of the night. Doing this because I know a few new copy clients are about to get kicked off and I'll get sidetracked by my actual business. Thus, this would stall. Need to get this grunt work done ASAP.
 

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Hey Joe, looking forward to watching your progress. Your thread reminded me of a similar company called Proofread Anywhere. You might be able to pickup some ideas from them. Keep up the good work!
 

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Following. Didn't see I was tagged earlier. Don't know much about SEO.

I've a course, and am just now looking to promote it outside of the forum.

It's hosted on Thinkific, just for speed of getting it online. It doesn't really have a sales page, the sales page is the Marketplace Ad in the forum.

I know @Fox is using Optimizepress to host his course. I actually have OP but bought Thrivethemes last week to use to build my optin page.

I'll probably start with AdWords paid search to try and build a list. I want the consistency of paid search traffic, and if I can build it so that the CPC matches the EPC then it can run fly-wheel like.

Then I'll look to other channels.

I'm looking at Drip as my email service.


Looks like we're both at the marketing / promoting stage... only difference is I don't have another baby on the way so wasn't under the gun. I also went for a short-sharp course with only one hour's worth of videos.

From my Marketplace Ad you can see it's priced at $399 with a discount voucher for $100. It could really be priced at $499 ish.


I may create a $99 offering and maybe something even cheaper (monthly email(s) for $9/mth?).

I can definitely see some more advanced courses that could either be bundled with the Jumpstart course or sold separately.

We'll see.



My *plan* (will change as soon as I take action) is to get people to a page where they optin to get a report and/or a daily email course.

Immediately after they optin I'll send them to a Thank You page showing the course and an option to Hire Me.

If someone wants to buy a course or hire someone there and then I feel I'm doing them a disservice to not immediately give them the option.

Then each email that gets sent out has a standard footer with links to the course and the hire me page. It's there all the time. I'm not going to wait till the seventh email to tell them there's a course.

Similar to you, I don't have to build an email list then ask them what they want. People already asked me if I have a course, so I created one, have sold it enough times, and have enough good feedback to know it helps people and there's a market for it.

I realise that people ending up on my list may not want to buy the course at all... so yeah, I might end up surveying them, maybe right on a page prior to the Thank You page.

The main reason I'm doing this even though it's a distraction from my main DFY business is that I think some DFY work might come out of it. It's a possible lead gen system that pays for itself with the DIY offerings, while bringing DFY leads. This will likely help the service side of your business @Joe Cassandra...
 
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I forgot to mention...

I get automated emails telling me of Stripe or PayPal money coming in from clients on monthly plans. They're great to see.

The ones that come in from sales of the course always surprise me because they average about one a week and are so random. Getting a payment notification for my course always has me looking at my phone wondering who that client is that's just paid, till I realise it's my course.

I've actually forgotten I've got a course, and apart from mailing people who signup for the free trial, I don't do any work on it now.

What makes these payments even more special is that I don't have to do any additional work once paid. The work for the course was already done. The work for the clients still has to be done that month.

I get a little buzz each time an email comes in. I can't imagine what it must be like averaging one a day, and then multiple a day. (Just to put that in context... say I get one $300 sale per sale, then that is an extra $9k per month... and it's pretty damn passive.)

Hmmm... maybe I should also create a progress thread just on this part of my business?
 

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Hey Joe, looking forward to watching your progress. Your thread reminded me of a similar company called Proofread Anywhere. You might be able to pickup some ideas from them. Keep up the good work!

Thanks man! This actually could be a great partner to work with. Sending the CEO an email ASAP! If you know of any other good sites like this that are indirectly correlated, feel free to leave them in this thread (may help others interested).

Following. Didn't see I was tagged earlier. Don't know much about SEO.

I'll probably start with AdWords paid search to try and build a list. I want the consistency of paid search traffic, and if I can build it so that the CPC matches the EPC then it can run fly-wheel like.

Looks like we're both at the marketing / promoting stage... only difference is I don't have another baby on the way so wasn't under the gun. I also went for a short-sharp course with only one hour's worth of videos.

From my Marketplace Ad you can see it's priced at $399 with a discount voucher for $100. It could really be priced at $499 ish.

I may create a $99 offering and maybe something even cheaper (monthly email(s) for $9/mth?).

My *plan* (will change as soon as I take action) is to get people to a page where they optin to get a report and/or a daily email course.

Immediately after they optin I'll send them to a Thank You page showing the course and an option to Hire Me.

If someone wants to buy a course or hire someone there and then I feel I'm doing them a disservice to not immediately give them the option.

Then each email that gets sent out has a standard footer with links to the course and the hire me page. It's there all the time. I'm not going to wait till the seventh email to tell them there's a course.

The main reason I'm doing this even though it's a distraction from my main DFY business is that I think some DFY work might come out of it. It's a possible lead gen system that pays for itself with the DIY offerings, while bringing DFY leads. This will likely help the service side of your business @Joe Cassandra...

Thanks Andy!

My current funnel:

FREE EMAIL OPTIN --> $7 UPSELL (get buyers asap) --> Push to video series --> Open cart for course (thinking of $997) --> UPSELL $197 copy critique of 5 pieces --> UPSELL to 1-on-1 coaching ($997).​

At some point will add on more UPSELLS to the $7 product, but that's done the line once this machine gets running. After initial LIVE launch, hook up DEADLINE FUNNEL (product) and let it run evergreen.

I'll simply be plugging in new content to emails/site while the rest runs on auto-pilot. Each email would have a "insert ad" or "CTA" to a product/service.

My goal IS NOT to find "copy clients" from it as the audiences are too dissimilar. I fully expect to keep building my copy business. This (as I mentioned in OP) is to get some passive income so I can take time off from writing.

I know many "info-marketers" want to build businesses around "info" rather than their service. I feel I can do both. This course isn't meant to be a $10 million/year thing. Maybe $250k/year to pay all the bills. Then, my copy business I can pick and choose my clients without "worrying about the bills."
-------------
I'd recommend FO SHO getting a lower priced offer in there. $99 if not lower. Much easier to sell your DFY or DIY services if they've already bought. My $7 product took me 3 hours to put together. You could do the same.

I forgot to mention...

What makes these payments even more special is that I don't have to do any additional work once paid. The work for the course was already done. The work for the clients still has to be done that month.

I get a little buzz each time an email comes in. I can't imagine what it must be like averaging one a day, and then multiple a day. (Just to put that in context... say I get one $300 per sale, then that is an extra $9k per month... and it's pretty damn passive.)

Hmmm... maybe I should also create a progress thread just on this part of my business?

Yep, automated income!!! Woop!

Progress thread, baby!
 

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Things moving along...

I'm backlogged with client work, but I can't seem to put this project to the side. I just want to get to the launch phase and get it done with.

I'm ready to share the site and all its glory with you...

Make a Full-time Living as a Copywriter in Under 10 Months -
Quit Job to Write-logo.png
As you'll see, the site doesn't have a zillion pages. Most of the work has been done in the course itself, behind hidden links you won't find on the site.

------------
THINGS I DID:
- Hooked all the videos up
- Got ConvertKit set up, email sequence plugged in
- I actually did write the sales letter for the product. Decided to pump it out

---------
THINGS LEFT:
- Create a few intro videos for the course (will be done in a week or so)
- BUILD A HOT LIST!

Right now, I'm setting up FB ads and expect to put a good $5k - $10k towards it to build the list.

I'm feeling very lazy and haven't attacked my "organic" growth piece where I reach out to content marketers, rewrite their stuff, then hope they promote it.

FB ads may be the easy way out, but I'm so backlogged with client work, I'm afraid of dumping so much more time into the grunt work.

Maybe I should hire someone to do that part of the marketing for me. They rewrite the article, I simply pitch it to the content marketer. What do you think?
 
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Things moving along...

I'm backlogged with client work, but I can't seem to put this project to the side. I just want to get to the launch phase and get it done with.

I'm ready to share the site and all its glory with you...

Make a Full-time Living as a Copywriter in Under 10 Months -
View attachment 16313
As you'll see, the site doesn't have a zillion pages. Most of the work has been done in the course itself, behind hidden links you won't find on the site.

------------
THINGS I DID:
- Hooked all the videos up
- Got ConvertKit set up, email sequence plugged in
- I actually did write the sales letter for the product. Decided to pump it out

---------
THINGS LEFT:
- Create a few intro videos for the course (will be done in a week or so)
- BUILD A HOT LIST!

Right now, I'm setting up FB ads and expect to put a good $5k - $10k towards it to build the list.

I'm feeling very lazy and haven't attacked my "organic" growth piece where I reach out to content marketers, rewrite their stuff, then hope they promote it.

FB ads may be the easy way out, but I'm so backlogged with client work, I'm afraid of dumping so much more time into the grunt work.

Maybe I should hire someone to do that part of the marketing for me. They rewrite the article, I simply pitch it to the content marketer. What do you think?
Make sales one at a time?

Engage the market in hand-to-hand combat?

Are there people who already know, like, and trust you that this course would help? Sell it to them first?

E.g. I released my course into the forum. I didn't heavily promote it, just got it rolling. Then I sat and watched to see if it would sell.

I could have also emailed people I already knew, but I didn't feel comfortable selling to friends. Instead I gave them a copy if they were interested. And watched to see if they spent their *time* by going through the course.

Sales have trickled in of their own accord, so now I'm going to sell to people who don't know me yet (aka "cold traffic"). Which, as you know, means getting them to know, like, and trust me first. I.e. Replicate what I did in TFLF somehow, via an automated email sequence.


Maybe (just maybe) you're getting to the point of releasing it into the wild and the lizard brain is starting to dig his heels in?


Happy to have a chat sometime Joe. A copywriter and a media buyer is a powerful combo and a potentially interesting chat that other forum members might get value from.
 

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Make sales one at a time?

Maybe (just maybe) you're getting to the point of releasing it into the wild and the lizard brain is starting to dig his heels in?


Happy to have a chat sometime Joe. A copywriter and a media buyer is a powerful combo and a potentially interesting chat that other forum members might get value from.

Thanks Andy.

I honestly don't think it's the lizard brain. Really just exhaustion at this point as I have a bunch of client projects, while trying to juggle this.

I only started this thread July 29th-30th, so it's only been about 45 days. It's probably just laziness as I get to the finish line :).
Part of the laziness feeling is I've built this course...now I'm building a list from scratch, which is a whole new project in itself.

Now, I'm just complaining. So, I'm working on FB ads and getting those up (hopefully by tomorrow...they're taking a long time to approve...).

@Andy Black, I'd be happy to set up a chat if you think it'll be helpful. Send me a DM.

----------------------
JOB OPP:

I need help for a writer out there (blogger is fine even if you're not a copywriter per se).

I need someone to take someone else's posts and rewrite them keeping their same ideas, etc. I want to make it a "new" piece while still keeping the info from the old piece. Then, I will post their content on my site (a la curated content)

Much like when you read MJ's stuff on various sites he's featured on...many of the ideas are the same, just written differently.

PAY: Here's how I'd pay:

FIRST: I'm a writer too, so I never like to be gipped either or write $5 articles. So, I wouldn't do that to you. I honestly think, to rewrite a 500 word post would only take 1-2 hours at most.

-
$50 for rewrite of post
- $50 BONUS if the original author says the post is good enough to repost on my site
POTENTIAL: $100/article

[In perspective: Many freelance articles go for $5 - $25. This isn't even coming up with ideas. Just rewrite well enough.]

**Note. If after the first one, it shows you aren't a good writer, I have no qualms about firing you. So, if you don't think you can produce good writing, don't reach out.

WHAT TO DO IF INTERESTED:
- Send me a PM with the subject line "INTERESTED"
- Link 1-2 posts you've written before (even if on your own site)
 

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