I continue to do SEO work for people all over the world. Many of these people are great to work for and there’re no problems with payment, specifications, or communication. Some people, however, are a handful.
This could come down to me; I can be a bit forceful sometimes. It could also come down to certain employers. I find that most problems arise when objects just aren’t clear. I’m getting better at detecting those situations before I get into them, but sometimes they still occur.
I like to call them Adventures in SEO writing, and here are a few more.
This could come down to me; I can be a bit forceful sometimes. It could also come down to certain employers. I find that most problems arise when objects just aren’t clear. I’m getting better at detecting those situations before I get into them, but sometimes they still occur.
I like to call them Adventures in SEO writing, and here are a few more.
Restaurants
I recently finished a huge job, one that required me to write a small amount of landing page content for 500 restaurants in Australia and New Zealand. It was a huge job, and it all began to run together after awhile.
I figured out after the first 100 restaurants that I’d have to have some templates. I was already writing the pages up in batches of 15, and many of them were quite similar. The only thing that really differentiated them was the cuisine; Thai, Indian, Pizza, whatever.
I eventually got into a good system where I had generic templates made up for each cuisine, about 15 of them. All I’d have to do was change the address, the restaurant name, and most of the unique menu items. It made what could have been a 10-day job for one person in a 4-day job for me.
I figured out after the first 100 restaurants that I’d have to have some templates. I was already writing the pages up in batches of 15, and many of them were quite similar. The only thing that really differentiated them was the cuisine; Thai, Indian, Pizza, whatever.
I eventually got into a good system where I had generic templates made up for each cuisine, about 15 of them. All I’d have to do was change the address, the restaurant name, and most of the unique menu items. It made what could have been a 10-day job for one person in a 4-day job for me.
Go Carts
I recently had a guy in the US who wanted an eBook on go carts. I said no problem, I can do that for you. What was so interesting about our initial negotiations was how hesitant he was to state a final product goal. Usually I’ll talk with people interested in writing website content and they’ll give me a number of pages or a word count. This guy didn’t know what he wanted, he just wanted it to be good.
I finally got him to say 15 to 20 pages would be enough. That’s when I accepted and got to work. For some reason after that he hired another person to create the exact same eBook. Eventually I lost contact with him entirely and the job just stopped. Sometimes that happens and it’s always a shame not to get to a finished product.
I finally got him to say 15 to 20 pages would be enough. That’s when I accepted and got to work. For some reason after that he hired another person to create the exact same eBook. Eventually I lost contact with him entirely and the job just stopped. Sometimes that happens and it’s always a shame not to get to a finished product.
Luxury Watches
I had someone contact me about writing website content about watches. I checked out some sample articles and the site in question and said alright, we’ll do some articles. I got a sheet from the employer telling me what they expected, and pointing out some things I could talk about, such as celebrities and Rolexes and local basketball players and luxury watches.
I wrote out 2 articles and the person didn’t like them. On one I gave they made tons of edits themselves and then gave it back to me. No problem. I gave them another 2 articles and they weren’t happy with those ones. I made changes and that’s when I decided it’d be best not to continue.
Some people should write their own content. They know what they want and nothing other than what they create will be good enough. It’s really why I don’t do collaborative writing projects anymore.
I wrote out 2 articles and the person didn’t like them. On one I gave they made tons of edits themselves and then gave it back to me. No problem. I gave them another 2 articles and they weren’t happy with those ones. I made changes and that’s when I decided it’d be best not to continue.
Some people should write their own content. They know what they want and nothing other than what they create will be good enough. It’s really why I don’t do collaborative writing projects anymore.
IT Content Writing
I can’t tell you how many IT companies are looking for content writers. I mean, these companies seem to be a dime a dozen. These are the guys that will do your CMS for you, handle your eCommerce site, do your data backup, handle your cloud services, and all that other jazz that’s so hot today.
I love writing this kind of content because it’s so easy. And the companies that want it done often have no qualms about throwing money around. On one of my more recent IT jobs I had told the person what I’d charge, we made our specifications a little more clear, and then he finally just doubled my rate and told me to do it. Boom! That project was finished in a couple days and everyone was happy.
I love writing this kind of content because it’s so easy. And the companies that want it done often have no qualms about throwing money around. On one of my more recent IT jobs I had told the person what I’d charge, we made our specifications a little more clear, and then he finally just doubled my rate and told me to do it. Boom! That project was finished in a couple days and everyone was happy.
Outdoors SEO
Until a couple of months ago I was still living in China. Many who read this site know that I was an English teacher there for many years until I started writing full-time. Well, one day I got some SEO work for an outdoor apparel company, a word of mouth job.
I wrote up a big article based on what they’d given me, and then we agreed that we’d start in on an SEO campaign. A few days went by and I didn’t hear anything, and then a few more, and just forgot about it.
Finally I saw the employer again and they assured me I’d have more work for less pay. Well, they didn’t use those exact words, but that’s what it was. It’s just a waste of everyone’s time when people come to an agreement on what’s going to happen and what they’ll pay, and then things get changed. Happens all too frequently!
I wrote up a big article based on what they’d given me, and then we agreed that we’d start in on an SEO campaign. A few days went by and I didn’t hear anything, and then a few more, and just forgot about it.
Finally I saw the employer again and they assured me I’d have more work for less pay. Well, they didn’t use those exact words, but that’s what it was. It’s just a waste of everyone’s time when people come to an agreement on what’s going to happen and what they’ll pay, and then things get changed. Happens all too frequently!
Ape-Shit in Spain
I started working for a guy in Spain this summer, and he was a great employer. He’d pay me in Euros and he’d often tip. The content writing work was simple but I really thought the guy had a coke problem the way he seemed to be throwing money around on outlandish website ideas.
Well, I had one job doing some blog work for him, about the fourth time we worked together. He suddenly vanished for 2 weeks and I didn’t hear anything from him. We were working through a writing site and so the payment was locked in there. I argued for it and he offered to pay me nothing for the work I’d done. It was a complete about-face for this person.
They began bad-mouthing me and even accused me of stalking them when I emailed asking that they release a portion of the payment. You see, I wasn’t even asking for all the money, just for the time I’d spent, which amounted to something silly like $50. He finally relented in the end and I still see this person throwing away a lot of money. Perhaps some of that could still be mine, but I just don’t need a lot of drama when it comes to SEO writing.
Well, those are a few of my more recent experiences. They’re by no means exhaustive, I just happen to write more about the bad jobs than the good ones.
You can read more of my SEO Adventures or my Monthly Writing Reports, which often discuss the same kinds of things.
Well, I had one job doing some blog work for him, about the fourth time we worked together. He suddenly vanished for 2 weeks and I didn’t hear anything from him. We were working through a writing site and so the payment was locked in there. I argued for it and he offered to pay me nothing for the work I’d done. It was a complete about-face for this person.
They began bad-mouthing me and even accused me of stalking them when I emailed asking that they release a portion of the payment. You see, I wasn’t even asking for all the money, just for the time I’d spent, which amounted to something silly like $50. He finally relented in the end and I still see this person throwing away a lot of money. Perhaps some of that could still be mine, but I just don’t need a lot of drama when it comes to SEO writing.
Well, those are a few of my more recent experiences. They’re by no means exhaustive, I just happen to write more about the bad jobs than the good ones.
You can read more of my SEO Adventures or my Monthly Writing Reports, which often discuss the same kinds of things.
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