How do you learn SEO strategies to rank your website to the top?
My favorite place to learn about SEO is Ahrefs.
They have a superb blog and YouTube channel.
Out of the thousands of resources to learn SEO, what makes Ahrefs the best?
Everything they teach they show you how to do with their tool.
They also practice what they preach, ranking for over 250K keywords:
If you’re interested in getting more traffic to your website with SEO (my favorite method), check out their SEO for beginners video:
Using their teachings and tool, I’ve grown my website traffic to several thousand visitors per month — with more than 80% coming organically through search engines.
Is there any benefit to making a website if I’m not a business?
Absolutely! At the very least, everyone should make their own personal website.
Why?
- You learn a lot of valuable tech skills while making it: web design, web development, web hosting, etc.
- When you own your personal domain name, you own a piece of “digital real estate.”
- It will help you in your career. A personal website with your portfolio and/or content related to your profession will make you attractive to employers.
- You never know when you might want to turn your personal brand into a business.
- It’s your “digital legacy” and will be around for long after you’re gone.
- You can blog on your personal website — a great habit for improving your writing and communication skills.
- It connects you with the world and builds your network — even while you sleep.
Here’s what Ed Latimore says about his personal website:
What is the purpose of your personal website?
The purpose of my website is to teach what I’ve learned from the different phases in my life. Since I’ve experienced a lot, I think this provides me with a wide variety of topics to write about and my website reflects that. I write about everything from growing up in the hood, to sobriety, to forgiveness. If I don’t know it well, I don’t write about it.
In what ways does having a personal website help you?
It’s a great way to build my email list and generate income. It’s also a great portfolio for my work and connects me to people who are looking for speakers or someone to reach out. The website is working for me even when I’m away from the computer. It’s a great set up for any passive income I want to generate.
What is the #1 tip you have for people who want to build a personal website?
Live life. This is a lot easier to do if you have something to say and you’ll have something to say if you’ve experienced life.
How do I learn copywriting?
If you’re ever selling yourself (and you are, whether you know it or not), copywriting is an essential skill.
Copywriting is salesmanship in print.
The best way to learn it is by studying how the experts do it, and then, by practicing — specifically, practicing writing sales material.
A great reading list to learn copywriting is this list by Jim Clair.
His list is all about how to write effective, ethical, and honest copy. Authors include David Ogilvy, Oren Klaff, Claude Hopkins, and more.
How do you practice it?
- Hand copy great advertisements using pen and paper
- Write landing pages to sell your product or service
- Write video sales letters to sell your product or service
- Write opt-in calls to actions that get people to sign-up for your email list
- Write social media posts that get people to click on your website
- Doing and recording sales calls, and then listening to them after
- Working on your overall communication and persuasion skills
Copywriting is one of the best things you can learn for both your personal life and career because it combines two fundamental skills: writing and selling.
What is the best way of networking to gain connections for the future when you can’t leave your house?
David Perell, course creator, podcast host, and writer, has the perfect answer to your question:
BUILD A SERENDIPITY VEHICLE
Writing is the best kind of networking.
By making it easy for people to find you online, you’ll create a vehicle for serendipity. Call on your vehicle when you want to manufacture serendipity, and you need some activation energy.
My vehicle is the North Star Podcast.
Less than three months after starting the North Star Podcast, I was introduced to Neil deGrasse Tyson, arguably the most famous scientist in the world. All I did was ask for a previous podcast guest to introduce me to one of his friends. Turns out, Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of his best friends.
If you publish content (blogs, podcasts, videos, etc.) regularly, people will discover you and initiate unexpected opportunities. They’ll open doors you didn’t even know existed.
Maintain a website so people can find your bio, share your work, and describe you in a favorable light. Once your website is live, publish content to encourage people to visit your website, advertise your skills and hype you up.
Relationships built on trust, joy and mutual respect are the foundation of serendipity.
In short…
- Build a personal website
- Use it to publish content
- Promote that content
- Do it consistently (this is KEY)
- Watch the magic happen