Affiliates who cannot write content?

tonyr · 24-07-07

Hello, I have been lurking here for a while - (great forum BTW!)
I am a struggling "newbie" affiliate and I am finding that my biggest problem is that I cannot get myself to write content for my websites.
I understand the importance unique content and that the affiliate needs to add value in some way to "presell" the merchant offers, or else you end up with just another "me too" shopping directory thin affiliate site.
In Fraser Edwards podcasts he advises new affiliates to write 10 articles about a subject they are interested in. I have tried it and it seems to take me forever to write even a page and I don't enjoy it!
Are there any experienced affiliates here who do not enjoy writing and they pay others to do it? Or is writing really a "core skill" of affiliate marketing and if you cannot do it then you should do something else?
Tony

Frostie · 24-07-07

Tony - Welcome to the forums

OK, writing... well I think I speak on behalf of most of the affiliates here. Writing an article, or articles on a subject that you are involved in or interested in yourself is 1000x easier than writing on a subject you aren't interested in. I would suspect many affiliates woudl therefore write their own articles in these areas.

Personally, I have someone else write the articles for me once I have done a bit of keyword research, so I know which words should be included in the article. This is purely for websites that are based around a theme I have no interest in or any experience in.

You could try just writing a page to start off with and add to it overtime. There is no set rule!

Failing that, have a word with a copywriter and see if they can churn out some articles for you are a reasonable rate. Search on the forums for copywriters as I am sure someone was advertising not so long ago.

HTH

gadget · 24-07-07

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyr

Or is writing really a "core skill" of affiliate marketing and if you cannot do it then you should do something else?
Tony

If you want to keep your hard earned profit, then yes!

Chose a subject you're knowledgeable about. If you chase the bucks then you'll probably find that someone else (who knows the subject better than you), will be, ere, better than you!

Search for sites that are in your arena for 'ideas' .. don't rip them off though.

Keep at it!

tbp · 24-07-07

I was thinking a similar thing last night.

I`m currently creating a new site, but stuck at the design stage. I have an idea in my head of what I want, and it looks great in my head, but I can't transfer that onto the screen, and end up working for an hours on a design and then end up scrapping it.

I don't want to pay someone to do it, as I don't know until I try whether the sites going to work or not.

Made we wonder though about some sort of skills swap. I`ve noticed that affiliates on here have a broad range of different skills. Was thinking about how feasilble it would be to set up some sort of site that allows us to trade one skill for another. For example, I`m good at writing content, and coding is my strong point, but Im not a graphics person or designer at all. So, I could trade with someone who's good at design, but has problems with or doesn't enjoy writing / coding.

What does everyone else think about this? Not sure about the logistics of making it work, but could be something that could help us all.

Flightmapping · 24-07-07

Caring about your subject matter is vital, but you also have to pick a topic which can earn revenue. So even though I could quite happily don anorak and bore for Britain about the trains, the revenue is in flights. If you can find a financial services niche, then even better, but there just aren't as many keywords to chase, and it is very competitive out there.

As an old hand at that game, I have to recommend Dragon 9.5 for anyone who really wants to churn the stuff out like there's no tomorrow. Stay out of the forums, switch off the phone, and lock yourself away for a few hours. With proper training, you can produce a minimum of 1000 words per hour, but it is difficult to, err, keep it up for more than a couple of hours at a time.

If I'm still here by 12, I'm ignoring my own advice.

HarveyC · 24-07-07

Tbp, like your idea, but I feel more comfortable outsourcing to a foreign country (or indeed UK or America occasionally) to somebody who calls themself a web designer, not an affiliate marketer - it'd just be too likely that people would rip your ideas/content/design for me.

tbp · 24-07-07

Quote:

Tbp, like your idea, but I feel more comfortable outsourcing to a foreign country (or indeed UK or America occasionally) to somebody who calls themself a web designer, not an affiliate marketer

Thats fair enough, as I said it was just a thought that occured to me. Haven't got the time myself to set it up at the moment.

Just something I was thinking about last night when I`d just binned the design I`d spent hours working on lol, then the start of this thread made me think about it again.

user1635 · 24-07-07

Anybody can write about anythings IMHO. I've just spent the last 3-4 days writing 15+ pages of content about somethings that I have no interest in at all.

I think the key is practice, the more you write, the easier it gets. When I first sat down to write content for a website it took me about 3hours to write 400-500 words of decent content. Now it takes me about an hour including research for most pages.

The skills swap sounds like a good idea. Failing that you could create a partnership with someone who has the skills that you don't.

davidg · 24-07-07

I have used professional copywriters that specialise in online content for a wide range of informational and affiliate sites. Not cheap but with an extra drop of seo the results speak for themselves. In fact if anyones interested I'll dig out their contact details.

D-Mac · 24-07-07

I pay a guy to write content on specific topics. He produces good quality original content on a wide range of topics. I know he is looking for more work at the moment, so if anyone would like his contact details, feel free to PM me.

I do on occasion produce my own content too, but generally I find it better to outsource. I tend to only write about topics that are experimental, with no obvious immediate revenue stream.

tonyr · 24-07-07

Thanks for all the helpful replies everyone.
I will look for a profitable area based around my interests and start writing again and see if it gets easier with practice!
Tony