In the past two months, I've witnessed some really bizarre behavior from a couple of once-great freelance writers. From being serious full-time writers earning a full time income, they morphed into strange zombie-like creatures led by the nose towards the lure of the ever-present 'Hype-monster'.
You see, both of these writers often wrote articles, ebooks and web content for and about the Internet Marketing industry as a whole. Their job was to make it sound lucrative and easy and like something anyone can do. Actually, those things are true - affiliate marketing, Internet marketing and info-product creation really ARE things that are easy to start and anyone can do them - and after some time and effort they really can be quite lucrative.
What they forgot about is that it takes a whole lot more work and effort to get those things rolling than anyone ever expects or foresees. The market is also a whole lot tougher - and bigger - than most people anticipate. And that's for those people who have built up a name for themselves and their writing and from their previous success in Internet marketing.
Oh sure, I earn a decent enough living from affiliate sales and other forms of Internet marketing. But that doesn't mean I can rely on that income every month to pay my mortgage and cover my bills. It fluctuates from day to day, let alone monthly. It would be a lesson in insanity to believe that I could launch one simple PLR website and make a full time income from it. It would be absolutely crazy to assume that one basic ebook in a small, low-paying market niche is going to hit the jackpot and make me rich overnight.
And so I let that "passive" income roll in each month, but I still continue my life as a professional freelance writer, making sure I still keep my clients happy and never burn the bridges of anyone I've met before who could potentially become an ally in the future.
So why do people fall for the hype?
Why do they throw away lucrative freelancing careers that pay them actual real money every week and end up living on the smell of a dime just to pursue their belief that they'll "get rich quick" following the hype that we are partially responsible for creating?
Maybe those people were never cut out to be writers in the first place.
It's really the oddest thing to watch a once-great freelance writer stop being productive and turn into a blank-eyed zombie and head off down the path of the Hype-monster.
A PLR website is hard work (I know, I have a friend who owns one). Cutting ties with all your previous clients, not writing anything that earns an income and putting all your hopes onto one little website that has no chance of survival in a very small niche market is a little unusual.
Writing one ebook that is also in a very small, low-paying niche market is also a very strange way to ruin a freelancing career.
Don't get me wrong - I sell some PLR stuff on my friend's site and it does quite well. I also have a couple of ebooks selling quite well around the place. And yes, I own my share of affiliate marketing websites that bring in comfortable amounts of money each month. This is all done as a side-income to my primary freelance writing.
So why do people fall for the hype and believe that they don't need to work any longer?
I need to find a graphic that represents the evil Hype-monster that lures good writers away and turns them into mindless zombies : /
