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3 Things SelfMadeChick.com Taught Me

I wanted to share with everyone a great blog by Christine O'Kelly who is a freelance copywriter I came across on the internet back in October of 2007. Since October Christine's blog has gone from a couple dozen subscribers to over 1150 this week. These are SUBSCRIBERS, not just viewers.

At the time, Christine had just got her blog up and running and I was intrigued instantly with her message which was basically..."How To Be A Successful Freelancer".

This got me thinking about all of us. We are all basically freelancers.

selfmadechick.com A couple of weeks ago Christine released her first e-book, and it's already been a big success.

I downloaded a copy yesterday (reasonably priced at $12.00) and I'm glad I did...the opening chapter about creating "deliverables" is dead on.

So, here are three things that Christin has taught me:

1. Blogging. They key to becoming a successful blogger is becoming totally transparent. Know who your audience is, and show them your successes and failures. Use those experiences to provide value and insight to your audience. You can't tell your audience how great you are...your audience must tell you if you're great.

2. Simple things. It's amazing how much time we spend on great advertising ideas, marketing, business cards, signs, etc., though most of the time simple things bring us the best results. In one of her posts Christine discusses how a simple email landed her enough steady work forever.

3. People will pay for knowledge. E-books are still booming, and are not a fad. I know an agent in California who created a blog soley based on "How To Buy Bank Owned Properties". His blog is getting over 1000 visitors per month and he just started it. He is writing his e-book as we speak...he has knowledge about something people want. We all do. What are you an expert at? There is an audience for you.

As I'm working on my new blog, http://oregonmortgageplanning.com , I am so glad that I came across someone like Christine to show me the path to follow.

If you get a chance, check out her blog at http://www.selfmadechick.com , she may not be specific to our industry, but her principles apply to the way we run our businesses.

John Leach

Posted by John Leach on 02/07/2008 02:30 PM

Comments (9)

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9 Comments on 3 Things SelfMadeChick.com Taught Me

FEB

2008

I love it! Thank you, John for posting this. Did you read her blog titled, "The One Word That Helped My Blog Grow To 800+ Subscribers in 17 Weeks? Very interesting. I am also ordering her e-book.

Hi Sherry,

Yes she is a great writer, and has many posts like the one you mentioned. I'm amazed at how fast her subscriber base has grown...it's not easy to do.

Thanks for the comment.

John

I've never heard of her, but then again, I don't get to read that much anymore, sound intriguing will have to look into it.

FEB

2008

John - Thank you for the information. I'll try to read her book(s). It's a lot of work and thought to do what she is doing. Thanks again for sharing. Have a great weekend!

Hi John, I just started reading Christine's blog a few weeks ago and I love it, thx for the ebook summary.

John -- I had not heard of Christine before, but she is a great find. . .Thanks for introducing us. . .

I had never heard of Christine before. Thanks for sharing her story here, I'd like to see her stuff!

FEB

2008

Thanks for the post. I too had not heard of Christine before, but look forward to reading her posts.

FEB

2008

Thanks for the post. I started reading her blog, and a lot of what she writes rings true (not to mention one of her posts give me the push I needed to complete a business development project). I had to tear myself away from her blog so that I can get some work done!

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