Writers - help businesses within minutes

You can help them get new customers THIS WEEK! [The Writer’ s Life]( January 30, 2024 "If we did all the things we were capable of, we would astound ourselves." – Thomas Edison Hi {NAME}, We'd been in the mountains of Colorado for three days … Wally, our Doodle, had survived the car ride to get there. But here I was, walking him (at his request) for the fourth time that morning. We tried the usual "fix" … Canned pumpkin in the dog food. 😉 It seemed to be getting worse, though. We needed to take him to the vet. But where??? Our vet was back home in Texas! I pulled out my phone and typed in "vet near me." Lo and behold … A few hours later, Wally was diagnosed with "city dog" and sent home with some pills that would fix him right up. (I'm not kidding, by the way — that was literally written on his diagnosis form. And it showed up again on his brother Winston's form two days later. 🤦.) For local businesses, these days, THIS is how they get found. According to our Learning Chief Pam Foster (who also happens to be a brilliant SEO expert), local business websites need to convey what the business does, why it's great, and mainly … where they're located and how to reach them. AND, it has to show up on mobile phones. Because this is how we (and their customers!) find solutions. Most businesses simply don't think to do this — or have no idea … Which means they're missing out on 51% of the searches, simply because they're missing one important aspect of a local website … Something called: N.A.P. Can you guess what it is? Pam shares the details in today's issue below. Says Pam, "You can become your town's LOCAL marketing expert in no time at all … just by auditing their websites and helping them improve their content." Pam's the one to listen to … She's the creator of our popular [Site Audit Certification]( … Which happens to be the fastest way to get your foot in the door and get paid with any client — local or otherwise. [For a deeper explanation and demonstration of site audits go here.]( You'll see how much you can get paid … AND how to get paid a second time, too! Yep — TWO paychecks from the same client. Check it out, and I'll see you back here tomorrow … We're going to play a game. 😉 Rebecca Matter President AWAI $297 In Writing Training – for $11!!! When you grab a subscription to Barefoot Writer magazine today, for only $11 … You'll get FREE access to our Making the Leap program, which takes you wherever you are today … And shows you exactly how to make a smooth transition to paid writing, so you'll have success right out of the gate. It usually costs $297, but you'll get it completely free today! [Grab It All For $11]( Your ALL-ACCESS Key — Just $1! Get instant access to this exclusive B2B writing community and ALL their private resources, including … All the success roadmaps … All the writing templates … All the articles … All the how-to videos All 150+ training webinars … The Forum, the Job Board, the tutorials, the tools … And much more! [Details here.]( Your Freelance Writing Opportunity to Save Local "No Idea" Websites By Pam Foster [Woman holding smartphone scrolling website] Here's a fun activity that will open your eyes to opportunity in about 60 seconds. Whip out your smartphone and search for a local business. Any local business near you will do … such as a dentist's office, pet groomer, hair salon, chiropractor, landscaping company, kitchen design company, etc. Go ahead and look one up, and click to their website on your phone. I'll wait. Once you have a business website showing on your phone, take a look and answer this question: What's the very first thing you see on the immediate screen, without scrolling? I'm going to guess what you may see: - A business logo - A big, beautiful photo or lots of white space - Maybe a headline such as, "Welcome to our website" or "Our business cares about you" - Perhaps a sliding "carousel" that changes photos or messages (very quickly) - Maybe a telephone number How did I do? Was I on the mark? It wouldn't surprise me, because this is what I've seen quite often, after looking at hundreds of local websites on my phone. Now, go back to the same business website on your phone and look again. Don't scroll. This time, note if you see any of the following items on that first screen: - The business name (not just a logo) - The local address and/or the town or city the business serves - A click-to-call phone number - Information on what the business does and the community it serves - Real photo(s) of the local staff - Why it's your best option among other local businesses of this type - A reason, incentive, or offer that compels you to stick around and explore (or click to get something such as a discount) I'm guessing the website you're looking at includes very few, if any, of these items, which is a big problem for that business. I'll explain in a moment. These missing elements are very, very common with local websites. Here are two different local chiropractor websites that illustrate my point. (I blurred the business names/logos to focus on the missing items listed above.) These examples are very typical of how local business websites appear on smartphones. [Example of local chiropractic website homepage] [Example of local chiropractic website homepage] Whoops. I see nothing on these websites that provides a physical address. There's not much information on them at all. I call these "no idea" websites because prospects would have absolutely no idea where these businesses are located or why they should choose them. What does all this mean for you, the freelance web writer? Opportunity! Opportunity to help lots and lots of local businesses attract more customers by providing some basic, helpful information. Here's the thing. It's not enough for a local business to show up in Google searches. Why? Because potential customers will click to see the business website. At a glance, on that first mobile screen, local business websites need to convey what the business does, why it's great, and mainly … where they're located and how to reach them. Most simply do not do this! The most important aspect of local websites is called the N.A.P. (Name, address, and phone number). 51% of local mobile searches are looking for a local business address, and "a physical address is the most important info." But shockingly, most local websites don't even offer a physical address. Let's say you need a chiropractor in a large city, and you want to go to one located near your neighborhood. You visit the websites I showed you above, and you have NO IDEA where they're located. You have to click back and forth from the main search page to the business website, trying to decide if it's a good practice for your needs. This lack of clear, local, and helpful content — plus the back-and-forth address hunt — is an "epic fail" you can easily fix with your web content skills. Actually, the entire list of local elements I mentioned above can be fixed by you. And the great thing for you is — this "no idea" situation is happening in every niche market imaginable. If you're focused on law firms, the N.A.P. is often missing. Landscape companies? Same thing. Veterinarians? Yes indeed. Same with piano teachers, locksmiths, bakeries, the list goes on and on. I even once helped a big-city community college realize what they were missing onsite: a physical address. Goodness! This means you can become your town's LOCAL marketing expert in no time at all … just by auditing their websites and helping them improve their content. Auditing local websites is a great way to build lasting, lucrative relationships. I've been writing my accountant's local website content for 25 years. I also write his quarterly client newsletter and other marketing materials. And he does my taxes. It's been a great arrangement and I've met other clients through him as well. Recently I hired a kitchen design company to renovate my 1980's kitchen. And guess what? Her website needs help, too. She wants to work with me, and she told three colleagues about my web-writing services. My work for them will pay for the kitchen renovation. Yahoo! You can do this, too, for local clients you already work with or come across in your town. It all starts by [offering a Site Audit]( using a checklist similar to what I included above, in this article. You get paid to conduct an audit and show local businesses what they're missing (clarity, traffic, and sales!) … and then get paid to help them with your web-writing skills. Now that you know this, take another look at the local website you found in your town for the exercise at the beginning of this article. Is that website part of the "no idea" group? That's a great place for you to start. Editorial Note: Start getting paid to do Site Audits NOW with [Pam Foster's upcoming mentorship]( … She'll give you everything you need to start getting paid $2,000 for each Site Content Audit you do, including the tools, techniques, and the 21-Point Usability Checklist she uses when doing them herself. This is an ideal opportunity for beginners or experienced pros. [Check out all the details here.]( What's Hot at AWAI … 👉 [Check out our Site Audit Certification here!]( 😟 Still feeling unsure? [Here's the easiest way to approach new clients.]( 🤩 [From driving limos to writing with legends.]( 2 clients, one skill … Yes, I currently have two clients. I got both of them with the great Site Audit skills you taught! I'm doing some SEO work for both of them. I'm almost wrapping up with the small construction company. The small nonprofit is ongoing. Thanks Pam. Thanks again for the support, cheers, and great classes. – Donna Davis Donna was able to land two clients with the skills she learned through her Site Audit training! Have your own story to share? Email us at mysuccess@awai.com, or [post it over in the Facebook group](, so we can celebrate your win too! GAME TIME! Join our Learning Chief, Pam Foster on Wednesday, January 31 at 11 a.m. ET for an hour of fun … And learn how to get your foot in the door with ANY company in ANY niche! You'll also learn how to turn this fun activity into a $2,000 paycheck any time you do it in the future. [Join for FREE Here]( Featured Jobs You can find these jobs and thousands more on [WritersWanted.com](: --------------------------------------------------------------- Senior Content Writer – Argano Full-time, Remote The Senior Content Writer is responsible for creating and managing high-quality content across various platforms, including websites, blogs and articles, whitepapers, client success stories, collateral, and other marketing materials. --------------------------------------------------------------- Training Writer – WalkWater Contractor, Cupertino, CA In this role, you will develop learning content for a variety of training formats for our business user groups across the People organization. --------------------------------------------------------------- SEO Content Writer – ClickPerfect Media Part-time, Remote Produce high-quality, SEO-friendly content for various digital platforms, including websites, blogs, social media, and email campaigns. --------------------------------------------------------------- Trouble viewing this email? 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