I've been a lurker for a couple of years now. After continuous disappointments with model research sites (payment delays, deductions, unreasonable sales people, etc.) I thought it'd be a good idea to go on my own. I read somewhere on this forum that's a good and smart long-term way to supplement my income (ie. working both for myself and for a few companies at the same time).
So I hired an off-shore web developer (found him on odesk.com; also tried elance.com and scriptlance.com). He created a basic but functional website, ie. Home / About / Services / Faqs / Privacy / Terms / Articles / Blog / Contact. I should mention that when I started I was illiterate about web design and programming (still am ; ).
I paid about $700 and had my website up and running within two weeks. I added content, designed my own logo (on paper at least ; ) and was good to go.
Overall, the process was not as complex and time-consuming as I had initially thought. The programmer was helpful and taught me how to update content myself, if needed.
The problem started when I had my website ready. How do I get potential clients to find me? LoL! My hosting company offered a free Google Adwords coupon for $100. I signed up and used it. I had about 200 visits... and one order. A SEO person (ie. the web designer at the same time ; ) told me on average out of 200 people only 1-5 may actually order something. "That's the standard for online merchants," he said. That's fine, I thought. I made about $200 on the order so it wasn't that bad after all.
My main concern, though, how do I keep doing it? What if out of 200 visitors NOBODY orders anything? In that case I lose $100... Has anybody here tried it? How can I increase my chances of getting clients? Should I use another "SEO expert" or it's just a waste of money? After talking to my husband, we concluded it'd be too risky to use Adwords or other forms of pay-per-click ads all the time. Maybe big companies can afford it, but not us. I'm still thinking about paid options, ie. advertising on certain sites, posting essay coupons, etc. But it sounds like a lot of work. Lol.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my story. I don't want to break the rules and advertise my site here. Just my 2 cents. Maybe some other essay freelancer has some ideas or tricks on how to become more independent with my own website. If it doesn't work, I lose $700 but gain invaluable experience :- ).
Cheers!
Joanna
