Posts Tagged ‘free’

The worst reasons for not hiring a freelance content writer

Monday, December 8th, 2008

So are you all set to enter the 24×7 global marketplace called the internet with your own website or websites? Well, then you have just begun a journey on a path that has a few too many hurdles but also loads of rewards. Have you ever played an arcade video game before? Consider your journey on the internet to be like that. The kind of people you have on your team will determine whether you find your goal or lose in between. A lot of people enter the World Wide Web with a notion that website design is the key to success. They hire the most expensive web design team and design the most spectacular looking website. But, a mere good looking website is like a Bugatti Veyron without fuel. Yes, there was a time when the web design was one of the most if not the most crucial aspect of an online business. In fact it still is very important. But there are other equally important factors that have come into the picture. So, simply hiring the best design team is not sufficient. You need to have an equally efficient content team on board. Yes, quality content is the mainstay of any successful website on the internet today. 

It is very easy to find a good quality writer for your work. There are thousands of freelancer websites where you can easily hire a freelance content writer. But not everyone is comfortable with this thought. I have seen some of the most absurd reasons being quoted for not hiring a freelance content writer. The very word freelance in the term, causes jitters in the minds of many a people. They tend to associate the word freelance with inefficient. But if that were the case, then more than half of the web based content that you see would not be up to the snuff. 

  1. I don’t have that kind of a budget.” This statement would have made sense if you were planning to hire a professional copywriter. Professional copywriters charge on an hourly basis and the charges can be as high as $50 per hour depending on their popularity on the web. Others charge as per page and the charge is no less than $50 to $100. So let’s suppose that you have a requirement for 1000 articles for all your websites. Do you have an idea of what it will cost you eventually? Not all businesses have that kind of a budget. On the other hand, the best freelance content writer will charge you as less as $10 to $20 per page. While you can get inexperienced college students who create fairly good content copy for as less as $3 per page.
  2. I’d rather hire a full time writer for the company“. Now why would you want to make such an investment and commitment when you can get the same benefits without them? Freelance content writers are all about flexibility. There is no long term commitment. You part ways after the work is done. Isn’t that much more flexible?
  3. Words don’t sell my product. It sells on its own“. Does that sound like you? Well, here’s a reminder that you are not competing with your neighborhood grocery store over here. It’s a global marketplace, the World Wide Web and for you to be heard and seen, you need to shout out loud and words are the only way that it can be done.
  4. My sales rep speaks pretty good English language and I think he can write the copy for my website.” Speaking English is very different from creating compelling copy. My hair dresser speaks very good English. Does that mean that I can hire him for writing content or copy? No, not everyone has a way with words. Besides, if your sales rep is going to write the content, then who is going to do the selling? Is it your accountant? Not everyone can multitask.
  5. How am I supposed to work with someone who is sitting in another corner of the globe?” Technology had advanced and today, classroom sessions, boardroom meetings, product demonstrations are held successfully over the internet with parties in diverse corners of the globe. In case of a freelance content writer all that you have to do is give the writer a product briefing and project requirements if any. You will have 4 to 5 articles in your email inbox awaiting your review by the time you have your dinner in the evening. If that isn’t comfortable then pinch me hard, maybe I am in dreamland.

Submitting your site to Google

Monday, December 8th, 2008

A lot of people feel that submitting a website to Google is a specialized task that requires the hands and tools of an expert. If you are one of them, then you are misinformed. If you have acquired this information from a business or a company on the internet, then maybe it has something to sell to you. Maybe, something on the lines of a link submission service or an SEO package. Now here’s the deal. Submitting your website to Google is as easy as uploading a file to an online server. (You will know what I mean if you have ever used an online file hosting service like Rapid Share). Sounds easy? Is easier. Another huge percentage of webmasters are confused about the right time to submit a website to Google. 90% wait till the website is developed and up and running before submitting it to Google and this delays the indexing of the website by almost 5 to 6 months. The remaining 10% are the companies we see on top in the search results pages. How can this be possible? Read on to find more. 

Google Submission FAQs 

I have created a set of FAQs related to website submission. Though the focus is on Google, which according to me is the biggest and the best search engine out there, I have also mentioned some other websites which are equally good and worth a glance. 

Q. When do you submit a website to Google?

R. The right time to submit a website to Google is the minute you register a domain. This should be done irrespective of the content, the hosting, the future business plan etc. “Hey, I haven’t even bought a hosting plan yet”. So what? Do not wait. The reason behind this is that a website always takes time to get indexed in Google. In ordinary circumstances, you can expect it to get indexed in about 10 to 12 weeks time (The time may differ). Add another 6 months for your website to start getting ranked based on the kind of SEO strategy you have chosen. Now that’s almost 9 months we are talking about. If you submit your domain to Google, the minute you register it, then you can utilize these 9 months to get the business plan in order, execute it, create a well designed website, write the content for it and start online marketing and search engine optimization. Besides all these factors, you have the Google Sandbox to counter. 

Q. What is the Google Sandbox?

R. A few years ago, some webmasters noticed that their websites were not getting ranked in Google despite them using the best SEO strategies. Almost everything about the website and the SEO strategy was right. But the website would not get indexed in Google. After much research and speculation, they came to the conclusion that Google had made some modifications to their search algorithms and introduced a set of filters called Google Filters. The Google Sandbox is one of these filters. Each Google filter has a distinct function. The function of the sandbox is to withhold the indexing and the ranking of a new website until Google determines its credibility. So every new website that is submitted to Google gets sandboxed for a certain period of time. 

Q. How do I submit my website to Google? Should I hire paid services?

R. Do not spend money out of your pocket for things that you can do on your own. All that you have to do is visit this URL: 

http://www.google.com.au/addurl.html 

You will then be asked to describe your website or domain name in a few words. Think of a few words that best describes your future business plan and click on submit. 

Q. Will this guarantee that my website will be indexed and I will get high rankings in search engines?

R. Unfortunately, the answer is no. This is only an inclusion into the Google directory. It means that the Google spiders or robots which scan new websites every now and then will scan your website on their next outing on the World Wide Web. Everything from there on, including your position in search results pages depends on the website design, the kind of content on the website, the quality of back links and your online marketing strategies. 

Q. Do I have to submit to other search engines? If so, which are they?

R. Google itself is such a gargantuan search engine that almost 65% of web users use it to find what they want. Also it is firmly believed that once Google indexes your site, the rest will follow automatically. It’s follow the leader. About 25% use 10 other search engines. This means that these 11 search engines cover almost 90% of traffic on the web. Now that’s a lot of traffic. I am sure it will suffice for your business needs. Here is a list of the remaining 10 search engines. 

  1. Yahoo
  2. MSN
  3. Alta Vista
  4. Netscape
  5. Fast / All the Web
  6. Ask Jeeves / Teoma
  7. Hotbot
  8. Lycos
  9. AOL
  10. Look Smart 

Now, let me also add that some of these search engines overlap in their submissions. For example, submission to Alta vista is covered by Yahoo submissions and submission to Netscape is covered by Google and so on. Also a few search engines offer separate free as well as paid submission services.

 

I hope I have helped you to clear off a lot of doubts regarding submission to search engines. Maybe I helped you save a dollar or two. If you want to learn more about SEO, Google and related subjects, then browse through my articles below.

How payday loans work

Monday, December 8th, 2008

Let’s have a recap first. Payday loans are short term, fast and hassle free loans that are the ideal solution for any unexpected shortage of money that may arise in your life. It can be a medical bill, a credit card bill, a loan installment, money to repair your car, fees payment or just a shopping deal that you cannot afford to lose out on. You can borrow $100 to $1500 via payday loans but it needs to be repaid by the next or subsequent paydays. Payday loans are the second name for convenient lending. So you can apply from just about anywhere. There are thousands of payday loan outlets around America and you can either walk into any one of those or apply online. The online payday loan industry has boomed in the last few years. You can log on to any search engine and choose an online payday loan lender. 

Criteria to be met 

Most lenders have three requirements that will qualify anybody to receive a payday loan or a cash advance. 

  • The person must be a US citizen and over 18 years of age.
  • He/she must be employed and make at least $1000 every month. ($800 every month if he/she receives the income via a government program)
  • Must have an active savings or checking account with an American bank.  

That sums it up. If you satisfy the above mentioned criteria, then you can qualify for a payday loan within minutes. There is no pre-approval verification or unwanted documentation. If you look closely, you will find that there is no credit check either. This is one of the biggest advantages of a payday loan over others forms of loan. It means that you can successfully qualify for a payday loan even if you have bad credit. Once you qualify, you will either receive a check for the amount or it will be credited directly into your checking account.

Repayment

 Borrowing money is always great until you have to repay it. Payday loans have to be repaid by your next payday. Let’s say your payday is on the 10th of every month and you borrow on the 21st of the previous month. Then you have about 19 days to repay the loan plus an interest fee (about $15 on every $100 borrowed). You can arrange for the money to be debited directly from your checking account on the next payday. Or, you can give the lender a post dated check that will be cashed on the payday. If you are unable to make the payment on the next payday, it can be extended to subsequent paydays. But the interest rates will keep mounting and additional late payment charges will also come into the picture. Believe me; you don’t want to do that. Some other repayment options offered by most lenders are 

  1. Repay the loan amount and roll ahead the interest charges to a separate loan.
  2. Repay the interest amount and part of the loan and roll the remaining amount to a separate loan.
  3. Pay only the interest charges and roll the entire loan amount to a separate loan. 

But if you look at all these, you will notice something common. They all require you to borrow another loan. Now, unless you have another emergency requirement for money, why would you want to borrow another loan? So stick to your plan and repay it as soon as possible. Here’s a tip. If you find yourself in financial emergencies more often than not, then you need to go back to the drawing board and review your finances. Do not rely on payday loans as a long term solution for all your financial woes.

What are payday loans?

Monday, December 8th, 2008

According to me there are two types of people in this world. The first category of people are experts at money management right from the day they start getting their pocket money. They know the precise amount that needs to be saved each month, the right amount to be spent on dates, socializing and booze. These guys always seem to have some hidden resource of money to tap into and for them money is as abundant as pollution on the planet. Then, there are the second category (I belong to this category) of people. These are the guys who spend money faster than they earn it. Saving money is always a pipe dream. Spending money is based more on instinct and impulse rather than planning. They live from one payday to the next. And on more occasions than not, their bank accounts are as barren as a desert by the 25th day of the month, if not earlier.

Now, if you belong to the second category, then there is no room for an emergency crunch situation in your life. What if you have to rush your loved one to the hospital? Where do you arrange the money from? Let’s look are a far milder situation. Let’s say you have to pay your credit card bills (You already have bad credit and you cannot afford another delay). Do you go from door to door asking money from friends? That’s more embarrassing than being caught with your neighbor’s daughter with your pants down. Not everyone has a backup resource to tap into. So, don’t feel distraught if your friends are not able to help you.

I thought we were discussing payday loans 

Relax pardner! We are getting there. The reason I mentioned the two categories of people and the kind of money management problems they might face, is because I myself have been through it. Let’s face it. At some point or the other, we all face an emergency shortage of money. Some can afford the luxury of tapping into their bank accounts or using credit cards to withdraw money. Others have to rely on more conventional methods like loans. But when you need money fast, you really do not have time for credit checks, documentation, verifications etc. And that’s what loans are all about. Do you think you can walk into a Well’s Fargo outlet and walk out with a check in your hand? Nopes. That’s where payday loans differ from the rest. They are fast, easy, short term loans that can bail you out of most emergency money shortages within as less as 24 hours. There are no credit checks, no documentation and no unwanted delays. You simply apply online and watch the money being credited into your bank account.

 Wait, there has to be a catch 

Not really, except for the fact that you have to repay back the loan by your next payday. If you are unable to do it, then the interest rates will mount, late charges might be applicable and the amount might increase faster than the blink of an eye. But isn’t that the same with all forms of loans? Besides, payday loans are all about flexibility. They are most useful when you have a short term requirement for a small amount of money. Do not expect to borrow $10000 via a payday loan. The maximum amount that a payday loan lender can lend you is about $1500. Now, the interest rates for a payday loan can be substantially higher than any conventional loan that you know. The charges usually vary from one lender to the other. But they usually range from $12 to $15 on every hundred dollars borrowed. This means that, if you borrow $500, then you have to repay $575 on the next payday. 

If you consider this to be atrocious, then maybe you can head back to your friends and start looking for alternative methods of money. Think about it. Where else can you get money as fast and easy as payday loans? And when you weigh it against some of the other possible outcomes of not having the money, it seems fair enough.

So you want to know more about Payday loans? Feel free to browse through the rest of my articles on it.