Tag Archives: reviews

When I began as a freelancer, I didn’t know how my life would change without a time clock to punch and a boss pressuring me to do more, sell more, work more for a once-a-year raise.

Yep, I’ve tried and failed and tried again to align my life with my passions and goals. I wish I’d listened to this audiobook 10 years ago–sure would’ve been helpful to bridge the gap between lifestyles.

A Mindful Guide to Online Living

• What it is: MP3 instant download audiobook OR PDF instant download ebook. Finally, someone else who’s turned off by the hype and flash of making money online! Andre Klein is so refreshing as he talks/writes about how to use your online freelance writing career to create a sustainable life. Klein offers valuable insight on the life-changing choice to work from home, how to restructure your life, where to look for online money making opportunities that appeal to your sensibilities, and how to embrace and integrate your new career. Personally, I’m really into what he’s saying and I hope you are, too.
• Price: Ebook is 14.99; Audiobook is 9.99.

This is some good stuff here. And you’ll love Andre’s voice if you download the audiobook.

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Author: Seth Godin
Available: http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/downloads/knockknock.pdf
Websites: http://www.sethgodin.com and http://www.sethgodin.typepad.com
Cost: Free
Type: PDF; 41 page white paper

Seth Godin has a lovely sense of humor, which is one reason he’s a wildly popular writer and blogger. He has a vivid brand indeed and budding online marketers should not only read everything he writes, they should imitate his style.

Godin’s “Knock Knock: Seth Godin’s Incomplete Guide to Building a Web Site that Works” was first released in 2005, but I believe it’s essential reading. His point that websites must be viewed as a step in a complete process really rings true with me; so many sites don’t know why they exist (a lot of people don’t, either).

Godin begins describing how to build a website that works with buying traffic—Google AdWords, to be specific. He runs through the math on buying customers this way, pitting cost per click against conversion ratios and discovering that poorly performing websites cost money instead of making it. This is obvious but I’d bet most PPC advertisers haven’t done the proper math.

“Knock Knock” continues with the principle of telling a story with a successful website. Godin says that web pages have a tone of voice and visitors have expectations, and if the two don’t match up visitors abandon the conversion process. To avoid design overload, web writers must write to an imagined best audience.

Websites are collections of pages, and Godin recommends eliminating the home page concept entirely and treating everything as a landing page—quite a brilliant way to look at site architecture. I also adore Godin’s opinion on SEO: “It’s like waving your hand to get called on in second grade—but not knowing the answer when you do.” Yep, search engine results are often that dumb and waste my precious clicks.

The book ends abruptly—which Godin does quite on purpose, because he wrote a sequel. I want to read more just because it’s enjoyable and full of gems that work. Download your free copy of Seth Godin’s “Knock Knock: Seth Godin’s Incomplete Guide to Building a Website that Works” by visiting http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/downloads/knockknock.pdf.

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