The short answer is yes. Of course you can. Amazon does it everyday. So does Zappos. Google makes billions.
But the operative word in that sentence is “you.” Can people like you (and me) make money online? Even if you’re not the world’s next great entrepreneur, is there a way for a writer to make money online?
I’ve been saying for a while–and I’m speaking theoretically–that writers have a natural edge over a lot of Internet marketers in that writers can write. Writers can create books, how-to classes, home-study courses, and other informational products and sell them online. It’s kind of like being a writer/publisher all in one.
The problem to all this is that you need a website. And building a website is a bit more complicated than you may think–try it and see. You need to register a domain, get a host, point the domain to the right nameserver … and that’s before you do one bit on building the site. At that point, you need to figure out how to get all those words and pictures to appear and how to make the buttons click to where you want them to click.
So where did I learn to build a website? I tried to teach myself. I got some books. I asked some people. But after a lot of trouble and aggravation, I had no website, less money, and a sense that I could not make this happen. Then I bought a course by Jim Edwards on Mini-Site Creation.
Jim Edwards is an Internet guy and I consider him one of my mentors. I don’t want to misrepresent things and act like he’s my friend (although I have met him a couple of times, have chatted with him by phone, and we’ve traded a few emails)–but he taught me a lot. I actually own the vintage Minisite Creator class–his first effort. I think he’s gone back and renamed it Minisite Creator 1, but you can’t buy it now and you wouldn’t want to. It’s outdated.
When Jim offered Minisite Creator 2.0, I jumped on it, and it jumpstarted my online business. For a class project, we had to build a minisite and set it up to sell a product. Well, I had to kind of throw my project today. I labored on the site but I whipped up a very fast, very rough info product just to test the waters and make sure I could make things work.
I sold one.
That surprised me. I hadn’t set out to do anything in that market at all–in fact, my info product was a bit on the skimpy side (I think it was 17 pages). I was just doing a project. But that single sale changed things for me.
Today I have several products on several sites, all built according to Jim Edwards’ principles. Now I’m telling you this because Jim is offering the course again. You have to pay for it, and it’s not cheap. Most really topnotch Internet how-to information is not cheap. But if you’re serious, you should check it out.
The reason I’m doing this post is not to “sell” you the course. Jim Edwards is offering a free webinar to a certain select group of people–and that includes people who read this blog. The webinar is free and there is no obligation to buy or do anything. Just listen to what Jim has to say. Then you can decide if you want to take the course or not.
But I can’t recommend strongly enough that you take the free webinar. Here’s why:
- You’ll get a pretty good idea in this webinar if you like Jim Edwards and his teaching style. I’ve taken several of his classes and he’s rock-solid consistent. He has a very specific way of instructing people. He is very organized, very step-by-step, but he can be a little blunt. So you need to see if you can “click” with this guy.
- You can also assess for yourself if he knows what he’s talking about. Maybe you already know how to build websites or you are already making boatloads of money online. Even if that’s the case, you should still hear the guy out and see if you think he’s for real.
- You can also decide if you like the format–Jim does tons of webinars. He even calls himself the Webinar King and has a goofy graphic of him wearing a crown. You’ll be getting a lot of your instruction via webinar, so this is a safe, free way to see if it works for you.
- You’ll learn something. I can practically guarantee that if all you ever do is take this one webinar and never spend a dime with Jim Edwards, ever, you’ll still get some solid information and maybe even a few laughs out of the webinar. You’ll have fun, and you’ll probably get some insights.
What you need to do is sign up! So How do you do that? It’s easy. You can click on the link off to the right (in the gray panel on the right of this website) or you can go to the tab (look at the top) that says Jumpstart and click one of those links. Or use the link at the bottom of this page (FREE Webinar).
Hurry, the webinar is June 10 and I promise you that once this class fills up (and it will) I won’t bug you about it again. I’m only bugging you now because I really think it’s a great class and too few writers participate!!
Hi Joann – great site and good article. I find the site helpful and inspiring – and uncluttered. Personally I find too much info on one site a bit overwhelming and this is just right! I’m following up many of your pointers/suggestions and plan to do the free webinar. I’ve never done one before so it will be a new experience. Thanks
…I forgot to ask – there is no reply address for the webinar and I wanted to ask do I need any special equipment apart from my pc to do the webinar? I live in New Zealand. ??
Hi Rosa,
I’m so glad you’re going to do this. I am not kidding you–this is really a good move to do the Jim Edwards webinar. Jim is a real friend of mine and he really makes money online–he knows what he’s talking about. He’s also a writer–in fact, a syndicated columnist. (He writes about the Internet.)
To do the webinar, just click the link. You will see a kind of busy “sales page.” You can read it or just scroll down to the bottom and enter your email address and your name. You will then either get re-directed or get an email with a confirmation. At that time, you’ll get a phone number and a link.
At the right day and time (and it’ll be an odd hour for you, I bet, being in NZ) go to the URL on your computer. There is usually something there even 10 minutes before the webinar starts. Then dial the number. They’ll ask you for some kind of code (which you’ll have from Jim Edwards). Then you just listen by phone and watch on-screen. It’s kind of cool because you can actually watch Jim draw or illustrate the points that he makes.
I know it works outside the US because I do Jim’s webinars all the time (I do a lot of the kind you have to pay for!) and there are always international folks on the line. There are regulars from the UK and Australia but I don’t recollect anyone from New Zealand. But I’m sure it would work.
I would give it a chance. See if you like Jim and if you think he’s got info that would help your business.
Now I want to tell you that Jim is probably going to offer you a course at the end of this, that is, you will be able to buy more training. That’s really the point of this call. But it’s rare that this kind of program is offered and it’s the best way for you to try-it-before-you-buy-it.
Hope you like it, write back afterward and let me know. (I don’t know if I’ll be there–there are only 500 lines and I hate to tie one up, particularly since I’ve done this whole course twice…but I would still like to hear from you.)
By the way, what Jim is saying about limited places is real. They have to reserve a fixed number of lines and then each person gets a phone number/password for that line. You can’t get onto the call without registering first and when they use up capacity, they stop registering people.
Jo Ann
hi Joann – I did the seminar – (webinar
– it was 11am here. A good time. I actually sat to do it at 7pm the evening prior but with a few extra calculations eventually got the correct time! Very interesting and comprehensive. My current website is offering a proofreading service actually – however I would much prefer to write so am going to attempt a blog as you suggest. I put the site up to simply advertise (of course!) however I see there is much more to it than that. Was really to test the waters anyway, however I did not do my research I see from the webinar, so certainly it has all been food for thought.
Anyway thanks for your interesting info. I’ll be back!
Rosa