Local Business SEO Journal
- Thread starter phoenixrising
- Start date
8/23: $49
8/24: $97.50
Close to my first $100 day from internet-related businesses. W00t. Time to pick up the local SEO again. I just got a call from a guy who wants some flyers to distribute to his clients. He runs a local business center that offers office space, phone lines, po boxes, etc.
Apparently they've been so successful they've opened a few more spots and are opening another one in a few months near me.
I'm thinking since I've had trouble getting people to commit over the phone to a job in the $500 + range, that I need to either meet in person to really sell them and build trust and the relationship, or offer a "intro package" that builds the relationship and shows them i get shit done.
The way I'm thinking of doing that is offering a $50-$100 directory submission from ubl.org. I'd just do their basic plan, so I'd make a bit of profit on that end but more importantly it's something I can do fast, that will accurately put all of their info out there and they will SEE and KNOW it happened. I'ts been hard for me to sell SEO because the avg. small business owner can't see shit happening. People don't like to pay for that, so I need to refine my sales process to get them hooked in and then offer quality service afterwards.
8/24: $97.50
Close to my first $100 day from internet-related businesses. W00t. Time to pick up the local SEO again. I just got a call from a guy who wants some flyers to distribute to his clients. He runs a local business center that offers office space, phone lines, po boxes, etc.
Apparently they've been so successful they've opened a few more spots and are opening another one in a few months near me.
I'm thinking since I've had trouble getting people to commit over the phone to a job in the $500 + range, that I need to either meet in person to really sell them and build trust and the relationship, or offer a "intro package" that builds the relationship and shows them i get shit done.
The way I'm thinking of doing that is offering a $50-$100 directory submission from ubl.org. I'd just do their basic plan, so I'd make a bit of profit on that end but more importantly it's something I can do fast, that will accurately put all of their info out there and they will SEE and KNOW it happened. I'ts been hard for me to sell SEO because the avg. small business owner can't see shit happening. People don't like to pay for that, so I need to refine my sales process to get them hooked in and then offer quality service afterwards.
Good to see everything going reasonably well for you, a nice lesson in perseverance!
I remember from earlier you had decided small businesses were the easiest to work with. Its an easy trap to fall into - small businesses seem easier because you get easy access to the decision maker, but believe me in the end they are a pain in the arse, not the least because that same business owner is used to making all the decisions and probably doing 90% of the work him/herself, thus becoming an interfering SOB who micromanages every dam thing you do.
Also, especially in the current climate, money is tight.
Now owners of larger businesses are used to PAYING people to do things they need done, and though money may also be tight, its relative, so your fee is much less significant.
You need to learn to get past the gatekeepers - pitching the fucking secretary is a waste of time, but once you get that down and start dealing with larger business owners, you will really find it much more enjoyable.
Also, these businesses have a lot more weight in a portfolio than hakeems kebabs.
If the current job market is anything like over here, there are probably loads of low level sales jobs going atm, if you have a bit of time, apply for any B2B based one, if its %com pay only, then you have a very high chance of getting into an induction day and trial week. You really dont want the job, but even a few days of proper sales training in a busy B2B office will do you wonders, and really help get over the rejection block after being told to fuck off 10 times in your first hour of cold calling!
Also, looks like your online stuff is taking off as well, without being too specific, what are you doing for this, im guesssing not the amazon of FB stuff you started earlier?
I remember from earlier you had decided small businesses were the easiest to work with. Its an easy trap to fall into - small businesses seem easier because you get easy access to the decision maker, but believe me in the end they are a pain in the arse, not the least because that same business owner is used to making all the decisions and probably doing 90% of the work him/herself, thus becoming an interfering SOB who micromanages every dam thing you do.
Also, especially in the current climate, money is tight.
Now owners of larger businesses are used to PAYING people to do things they need done, and though money may also be tight, its relative, so your fee is much less significant.
You need to learn to get past the gatekeepers - pitching the fucking secretary is a waste of time, but once you get that down and start dealing with larger business owners, you will really find it much more enjoyable.
Also, these businesses have a lot more weight in a portfolio than hakeems kebabs.
If the current job market is anything like over here, there are probably loads of low level sales jobs going atm, if you have a bit of time, apply for any B2B based one, if its %com pay only, then you have a very high chance of getting into an induction day and trial week. You really dont want the job, but even a few days of proper sales training in a busy B2B office will do you wonders, and really help get over the rejection block after being told to fuck off 10 times in your first hour of cold calling!
Also, looks like your online stuff is taking off as well, without being too specific, what are you doing for this, im guesssing not the amazon of FB stuff you started earlier?
Hey l3msip,
Yea, it sure seemed like SBO were the way to go at the start for exactly the reasons you mentioned. You just walk right up to the decision maker and make your pitch/build the relationship. Bit of a bad play I think after doing it for a bit and failing to get a lot of them on board. Of course I'm not a professional salesman so it could be partly that, but the economic climate / their position as primary decision makers can't help.
I think you may be correct in grabbing a b2b sales job just for the free training. Going to start looking into it this afternoon.
I can't do amazon anymore, I live in California and they passed the essentially anti-Amazon law a bit ago. I like the model I'm using right now so without giving anything away, I'm essentially writing a good bit of custom content at prices higher than the market on BST would suggest is FMV for those types of services. Seems very sustainable to me, as well as scalable and automatable past a certain $/day if I choose to grow it.
Yea, it sure seemed like SBO were the way to go at the start for exactly the reasons you mentioned. You just walk right up to the decision maker and make your pitch/build the relationship. Bit of a bad play I think after doing it for a bit and failing to get a lot of them on board. Of course I'm not a professional salesman so it could be partly that, but the economic climate / their position as primary decision makers can't help.
I think you may be correct in grabbing a b2b sales job just for the free training. Going to start looking into it this afternoon.
I can't do amazon anymore, I live in California and they passed the essentially anti-Amazon law a bit ago. I like the model I'm using right now so without giving anything away, I'm essentially writing a good bit of custom content at prices higher than the market on BST would suggest is FMV for those types of services. Seems very sustainable to me, as well as scalable and automatable past a certain $/day if I choose to grow it.
Total revenue from content project: $1140
Days live: 2 weeks
Still stalling on Local SEO stuff while I get this scaled and automated.
Days live: 2 weeks
Still stalling on Local SEO stuff while I get this scaled and automated.
Don't think I ever called it profit 
None is profit, have to pay off initial expenses for getting the system started. Expected date of payoff is Sept 30, then I should be making 3k net every month with just the current system. Plans to expand it 3x -> pivot to new business model if I feel like its a good play.
None is profit, have to pay off initial expenses for getting the system started. Expected date of payoff is Sept 30, then I should be making 3k net every month with just the current system. Plans to expand it 3x -> pivot to new business model if I feel like its a good play.
ohgod123 - never call on weekends unless already spoken to them before. I don't do local stuff on weekends anyways, I work on other projects.
Working on some things for SEO project - income slowed down a bit to 60-70/day this week, but it should pick up soon.
Does anyone know how to get a 2nd PayPal account?
Does anyone know how to get a 2nd PayPal account?
Great journal! I wish you would keep updating it. Very inspirational as I am looking to start my own web design firm right now. I've avoided doing it since my affiliate income has been great, but lately due to Google's updates my earnings are really down. I avoided doing it since I sometimes hate dealing with people. I have to bite the bullet now though.
I was thinking of running a special to get some clients initially. How about running some Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Craigslist Ad, and Kijiji Ad for something like this:
Web Design - $599 Small Business Special!
Includes custom website, logo, email address and Facebook page!
What do you guys think? You think $599 is too cheap?
I was thinking of running a special to get some clients initially. How about running some Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Craigslist Ad, and Kijiji Ad for something like this:
Web Design - $599 Small Business Special!
Includes custom website, logo, email address and Facebook page!
What do you guys think? You think $599 is too cheap?
Sure, I'll update this.
Since September I've landed work with an author who's sold over 2 million books and had a PBS tv show. I'm working with him on his personal blog, which has 6k uniques a month right now in it's second month of existence and what seems to be some good community building.
I'm also working with his nonprofit foundation that does charity work around the world, and also runs an ecommerce store to support their efforts. This means I get to work hands on with a BigCommerce platform that's selling in $1xx,xxx range in revenue per year. Pretty awesome!
I'm not getting paid much for this (low hourly wage) but I'm viewing it as great experience in the meantime.
Also, I landed a lawyer client for SEO at $600/mo who seems to be less concerned about him actually getting his moneys worth than just hiring someone. I can't seem to get him to deliver me any blog posts, or fill out any of his social media. Granted, I haven't been as attentive as I should be, but he's definitely the one dropping the ball out of the two of us.
I've got a couple other projects netting me around $30-50 per day.
On the skills front, I'm learning PHP, JS, Python, SQL and some basic web stuff. Really putting a LOT of time into this and actually just got paid for my first programming gig (little script for $15) which is a cool milestone.
If there's interest, I'll keep this updated on at least a weekly basis.
Since September I've landed work with an author who's sold over 2 million books and had a PBS tv show. I'm working with him on his personal blog, which has 6k uniques a month right now in it's second month of existence and what seems to be some good community building.
I'm also working with his nonprofit foundation that does charity work around the world, and also runs an ecommerce store to support their efforts. This means I get to work hands on with a BigCommerce platform that's selling in $1xx,xxx range in revenue per year. Pretty awesome!
I'm not getting paid much for this (low hourly wage) but I'm viewing it as great experience in the meantime.
Also, I landed a lawyer client for SEO at $600/mo who seems to be less concerned about him actually getting his moneys worth than just hiring someone. I can't seem to get him to deliver me any blog posts, or fill out any of his social media. Granted, I haven't been as attentive as I should be, but he's definitely the one dropping the ball out of the two of us.
I've got a couple other projects netting me around $30-50 per day.
On the skills front, I'm learning PHP, JS, Python, SQL and some basic web stuff. Really putting a LOT of time into this and actually just got paid for my first programming gig (little script for $15) which is a cool milestone.
If there's interest, I'll keep this updated on at least a weekly basis.
Good to here things are going well and you have others financing additional skill sets.
Like to weigh in on the attorney situation quoted above. In my experience this rarely ends well. Even though you may have had an agreement on what each of you were responsible for if they drop the ball it hurts their perception of YOU. For some reason the client conscientious or sub-conscientious does not give weight to the fact they are at fault. What they will remember is that I paid phoenix $x for x months and the expected results did not happen. If long term revenue from this client is the objective vs. a hit and run you may want to consider having a heart to heart talk with the client.
In my experience when I was able to upsale from the original agreement with my side handling more of their responsibilities we both won with longer relation$. Since you are not at the core of their business you cannot always cover what they were responsible for 100%. Often though you can do a large part of it and submit it to them as draft for approval. This additional $ervice can save them time and the end result is edited for approval vs. never getting done.
Other times because of the nature of the business you cannot help out with this aspect and there is little you can do to be proactive. I guess my main point is don't be surprised if the clients perception of your performance drops because they did not follow through with their part.
Good point UpTime and I can definitely sense that this guy is PROBABLY going to follow that route. I need to figure out a way to get him back on track, because right now it would hurt a bit to lose his $600/mo in income - pays for all of my non-rent bills.
I'll come up with a strategy and keep you all posted.
I'll come up with a strategy and keep you all posted.
Just redesigned the website for my local Toastmasters group, which happens to be the club in the richest area of town, so lots of successful people attend. I've been going for a year or so now, so hopefully this will drum up some extra business and attention - got a footer link in there as well 
Definitely lost the lawyer client, not responding to emails or calls. On to bigger and better, though.
Been working on a bunch of independent websites as well as pitching clients. Just threw up my first adsense website today and already raking in some cash from clicks - going to be following a couple of the case studies in the enlightened members section and seeing how they work out. Build, build build!
Been working on a bunch of independent websites as well as pitching clients. Just threw up my first adsense website today and already raking in some cash from clicks - going to be following a couple of the case studies in the enlightened members section and seeing how they work out. Build, build build!
Sup guys,
Not sure if anyone still reads this but IDGAF. Just had an electrician over and floored him talking SEO and marketing. The guy is pretty savvy and already has his shit ranking decently well - in google places at least - but was shocked when I pulled up the SerpIQ competition analysis for a few keywords. Definitely made a good connection and he's hooking me up with a testimonial though I haven't even done anything for him yet. I shot him a report which will hopefully lead to either referrals or work down the line. Making connections like a boss.
Not sure if anyone still reads this but IDGAF. Just had an electrician over and floored him talking SEO and marketing. The guy is pretty savvy and already has his shit ranking decently well - in google places at least - but was shocked when I pulled up the SerpIQ competition analysis for a few keywords. Definitely made a good connection and he's hooking me up with a testimonial though I haven't even done anything for him yet. I shot him a report which will hopefully lead to either referrals or work down the line. Making connections like a boss.