Writing for humans vs writing for the web.

I subscribe to a writer's newsletter that featured an article from a "professional" writer. She was horrified that she had answered an advertisement to find out that the payment for her article would be in the less than $10 kind of payment.

She responds in outrage. She writes in essence that you wouldn't pay your auto mechanic or your plumber less than $10 to do his job, why pay her so little to perform her craft.

So, I visited her web site, where she opens with :

Welcome to the home of freelance writer [name removed to protect her identity]. I write copy for online and offline applications, including keyword/SEO articles, press releases, features, and short fiction.

Now, it just so happens that I am VERY good at writing keyword/SEO articles. If you don't believe me, click here to see a screen shot of the positioning a web site I wrote for has at google.

Yippee for me! I’m a top 10 result in almost ALL of my keywords for the web site!

(By the way, it's essential that you offer some kind of proof when you make claims like this.)

So, not to brag but I write GREAT selling copy. Copy changes I made on a client's site once increased sales four fold. (No proof because I didn't grab a screen shot of the traffic analysis. RATS!)

I write GREAT keyword copy (which is DIFFERENT than selling copy.) See my google screen shot above.

With all of that said, you do NOT want me writing short fiction for you. As a matter of fact, you do not want me writing ANY kind of fiction for you. Any fiction I would write would, from the movie "Beatlejuice" read like "stereo instructions".

My book, Beyond the Niche, was written for people just like our frustrated writer, quoted above. See, while our young writer may earnestly believe what she says inside her web site:

As my portfolio demonstrates, I have proven my skill in a number of different genres. As a talented, flexible writer, I am pleased to offer a wide variety of services.

Chances are that she is either good at SEO/keyword copy OR she is good at fiction. The thing is, if I'm looking for SEO copy, I don't want to see that my copywriter dabbles in fiction.

However, if our aspiring professional writer wanted to continue to pursue both paths, my recommendation would be that she set up two separate web sites, each focusing on her different writing styles.

Oh, and I'd recommend that she stop writing articles which appeal to other starving artist writers. I joined the newsletter to see if there was a market for MY services. However, reading the newsletter for six months now, I realize that I don't really want to write articles that speak to starving artists. I get enough "free web development" inquiries on my own.

Why I love Host Gator

So, I'm searching for web hosting resellers and happen upon my current reseller hosting provider: Host Gator.

When I signed up with Host Gator two years ago, they offered 500MB of disk space for $25 per month. Now, I see that they are offering 1200 MB for the same price. So, I write and ask if they could show some love to a long time customer and bump up my disk space.

Now, I'm still reeling from my Myriad Network experience, but I forge ahead. I get an email from sales at Host Gator. I brace myself before opening it.

I find myself reading a very well thought out response which outlines the REASONS Host Gator can't just bump up my disk space. I realize, I'm not angry at all. As a matter of fact, I'm feeling much more secure in my decision to host with Host Gator. At the end of this MAGNIFICENT email, I am given the opportunity to UPGRADE to the next level. For only $10 more per month, I'll get 4 X the disk space as I have in my current account.

They turned what could have been an ugly situation into one where I felt renewed loyalty to Host Gator. Not only did they keep a customer, but they're going to get more $$$ out of a current customer. NOW THAT IS A WIN/WIN situation.

WebHosting Reminders...

After my HORRIBLE experience with Myriad Networks, I have renewed love for my current hosting provider, Host Gator.

If you wonder why I was host shopping while I had a great one on tap, here's why.

I still would like to have a back up hosting company to go to if Host Gator ever gets bought by the evil INTERLAND. Even though it's been YEARS, I'll never forget the horrible experience of Interland's aquisition of Communitech.

Communitech was founded by two guys in the middle of Kansas. Their support was EXCEPTIONAL (these were the days before $1-2 per month hosting accounts), their service was outstanding.

Then, Interland came to call. Servers were down for DAYS, customer service was non-existent and the forums were filled with angry posts by betrayed customers. If you were lucky enough to get through on the phones to Interland, you would find yourself talking to someone who hated Interland MORE than their customers did!

By the end of my Interland hosting experience, I was threatening to pay my $25 per month hosting bill in PENNIES! Yes, I know that shipping for 2500 pennies is MORE than $25, but that's how furious, not to mention frustrated, I was at the time.

Oh, did I mention that I was hosting about 50 accounts at the time? I lost 30 of them thanks to Interland.

That's why I maintain not one, not two but THREE reseller web hosting accounts. Two are "old faithfuls," web hosts that are performing well at the moment. One is the "scout" account. If the scout account beats out the old faithfuls, then it will replace an old faithful when an old faithful either outgrows it's capacities or is bought by Interland. It means hosting isn't a profit center for me, but that's ok. It's a SERVICE I provide for my web development CLIENTS!

Questioning the safety of online transactions....

I was looking for reseller web hosting account and read a GLOWING review on a third party web site about Myriad Network's reseller web hosting account service. I went and visited the Myriad Network website. Myriad Network has their own forum. Again, nothing but rave reviews for Myriad Networks reseller web hosting account

So, I place my order with Myriad Network for a reseller hosting account. I ask for a user name that can't be created in Cpanel and Jeff has my back. He writes to tell me that he fixed my error and has set up my reseller hosting account.

I go to check my Myriad Networks reseller web hosting account. I'm getting a 403 error when I enter the domain name I used to set up my Myriad Networks reseller web hosting account. UGH! Maybe they don't allow the main account to be a hosted account, I think to myself.

I set my nameservers and set up a test account. When that domain name starts resolving, I'm seeing a page with a message about how Cpanel isn't correctly configured.

So I send an email to Jeff at Myriad Network. Jeff replies with "contact support@myriadnetwork.com

I try the address he gives in the email, and it bounces. So, I try sending to him again, telling him the support address he gave me is bouncing. In this email, I tell him thanks, but no thanks. Got off to a bad start, please close my account and refund my payment.

His response:

"Please fill out the cancellation form in the link I provided above and I
will gladly terminate your account immediately. Any futher emails sent
by you to my personal email account will be deleted."

So I went to the page and cancelled my account. There's a box to explain, so I did.

Jeff decides that he is right and I am wrong. Even though I can't email him, I start getting emails from him in my email box:

This was recieved AFTER I filled out the cancellation.

> Wow.
>
> I ordered a reseller account. It\'s not the first time I\'ve done such a thing, but it\'s the first time someone emailed me and told me to never email again.

Correction: you were told to stop emailing me AFTER you cancelled your account. If you still feel the need to email me direct, which you were not only not instructed to do, but asked /not/ to do, your emails will be deleted, simple.

>
> My account isn\'t working. I get a 403 error on the main account. The resold accounts get a Cpanel set up error. Now the \"wonderful support\" I\'ve read about in the forums has informed me emails to his personal account will be deleted.

Yes, you were informed of this AFTER you stated you were cancelling. Let's not obsure the truth here to make yourself look good and us look bad.

>
> OUCH!
>
> I\'m just trying to imagine telling one of my clients, \"My email address is not a replacement for support. Multiple methods of for contacting support are mentioned in your Welcome email.\"

Last time I'll say this: you were asked to stop emailing me direct AFTER you said you were cancelling"

So Jeff is right and I am wrong. Goodie for Jeff.

Then, five minutes later I get another email from Jeff, again telling me how wrong I am and how right he is.

AND ANOTHER ONE!

Now I'm getting nervous. Unfortunately, I used my CC to pay for this, so as a result this toad has my CC information and all kinds of personal information. I'm starting to get nervous. "I think I'm going to have to cancel my credit card that I used to order hosting" nervous.

Yeah, I'd better report my CC stolen. Unfortunately, the toad also has my home adddress instead of my business post office.

I've done a LOT of online transactions in the past few weeks... Christmas is coming you know and I hate fighting the traffic at the mall. It's scary how you just assume the person on the other end is trustworthy and how horrifying it is to find out they aren't.

The sweet smell of success

Dean Hunt maintains a blog. He's been blogging since June of 2006.

He blogs about affiliate marketing, about SEO and life in general.

He got a bizzarre email over the weekend. As a result, his story has been picked up by the national media. He got so many hits on his blog that it crashed his server.... twice.

Is the story for real or is it a hoax? The guy is in the SEO business.

In any case, he certainly has created a viral campaign....

Opening up to the search engines

With the upcoming release of my book, I've forced myself to open my site back up to the search engines.

About three years ago, I reached an enviable place in my practice. My best clients were coming from referrals and I made a conscious decision to set up my web development web site so that it wasn't search engine friendly. I did this by "hiding" the navigation bar inside a javascript. The search engines would reach the opening page of my web site, find a little bit of content and nothing more, then move on.

Like I said, I did this on purpose. Well, about six months ago, as the book publishing process moved from the writing phase to the publishing phase, I began to look forward to the phase which follows the publishing phase... which is known as the marketing phase. To be honest, in my eyes, the marketing phase is the BEST part!! It's fun and exciting.

So I launched a web site for the book. I launched it in blog format because the search engines LOVE blogs.

OOPS!!!! While the search engines love blogs, they HATE new urls. Well, I had a solution for that. My original web site is OLD SCHOOL in the search engines. I just needed to uncloak the inner pages and begin the linkage!

Well, opening up my site to the search engine has had positive and negative effects.

On the negative side, on Friday night at around 8:00 PM the phone in my home office began ringing. The caller called three times in rapid succession, each time reaching my answering machine. The fourth time, I picked up the phone. I found myself on the phone with a gentleman with a heavy accent.

The call began with the caller asking whether I did web sites or marketing.

"Both," I replied.

"How much do you charge for hosting," he asked.

"What type of site are we talking about hosting?" I asked.

"Does it make a difference?"

"Yes. If you're wanting to host video or audio, it takes a lot more diskspace and bandwidth."

"Is video better? Is that what I want?" he asked.

"Wow! Video is great for almost any business, but I still don't know what kind of business you have," I replied. I could hear the Christmas music wafting in from the family room where my children were decorating the Christmas tree.

"Well, how much do you charge for a web site?" he asked.

At this point, I was getting annoyed. Was this guy for real or was he a competitor price checking me?

"Sir," I began, "it's impossible for me to answer your questions without more information from you. Right now, it's like you're calling me asking to buy a house. I don't know where you want to buy the house, let alone how many bedrooms and bathrooms you need."

In the end, the guy had bought into some "get rich quick" web site programs. You know, the kinds advertised on late night television . Well, this may come as a surprise to you, but $2500 up front and $75 per month later, this gentleman wasn't seeing ANY results from his investment.

I ended the conversation by explaining to the gentleman that I worked with people who had real businesses. He announced he wasn't ready for that yet, and we ended our conversation. He's off trying to find a quick and easy way to earn money on the internet. He wants to pay someone to put up a web site for him that will make him money without any effort on his part.

Phone calls like this are the reason I closed my site to the search engines.... but then, then next day... I got an email which made me glad I did open my site up....