Welcome to my personal journal
This is where I’ll keep you updated with what’s happening in MY world.
I’ll tell you what’s working for me, what inspires and motivates me, and where I think you too might also focus your attention to copy my success.
I won’t “sugar coat” it – you’ll also hear about the challenges I face day-to-day in my journey and the “ups and downs” in the life of a real work-at-home entrepreneur.
I hope my story inspires you to take the next step in your own journey, remember:
千里之行，始於足下
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao Tzu
Update – 22 April 2021
Time for a quick update, first my YouTube channel!
As you can see, the channel is growing nicely, despite me not having enough time to make the number of videos I would have liked – in fact in April I’ve only made 3 so far!
With that said, views are up 64% in a couple of months, watch time is up 67% and so are subscribers at 67% also – that looks almost linear to me – interesting (previous numbers below).
You can see a definite trend in the graph, the highs are becoming consistent, and the lows are not as low as they were previously. It’s only a matter of time before it takes off…
Writing/Copywriting
As you know, I’ve been making up to $125/hr writing, well I just finished my first contract at $150/hr! I took my own advice and tested pushing my price up, try it 🙂 I know you may well be at a lower, or even much lower rate, depending on where you are in your career BUT keep pushing the ceiling and you’ll be amazed how much more you can earn for much less work.
My vidIQ Exposed Mini-Series
I’ve put together a series of 10 videos that do a deep dive into vidIQ and I show you how I’m using it to grow my YouTube business, find out more about it by watching the video below (the vidIQ Exposed Mini-Series is FREE):
That’s it guys, remember to hit me up if you need my help in any way 🙂
Update – 6 February 2021
Well, January was…shall we just say “different”.
As I said in my last entry, the whole COVID thing was pretty crap but, thankfully, that’s behind us now – yay!!
I only started uploading vids to “Earn an Extra Income With FYF101” again in the middle of the month (Jan 14th actually) but the results on my YT channel for Jan were the best ever, it looks like this:
January – 11 videos published, +24 subscribers, 939 views, 58.2 watch time (hours)
Totals since my channel started (as at end of Jan) – 50 videos, 85 subscribers, 3.7k views, 236.8 watch time (hours)
In other words, my best month ever for the Earn an Extra Income With FYF101 YouTube Channel and encouragement to keep pushing on. This is what the graph looks like:
Look closely at the end of the graph and you can see that the trend is pushing out and up. My job now is to keep this momentum going in Feb, and I’ll report back to you guys on how successful I am with this!
Stay safe guys, getting COVID is not good 🙂
Personal Update – 13 January 2021
Guys, I decided to take some time off in December and went on holiday for a few days. The bad news is that COVID hit the family starting with the first symptoms on Christmas day. My wife and I went down badly, but the kids were asymptomatic. I’m slowly getting back to my desk but still have limited energy/stamina although it’s improving daily.
So, I’ve done virtually nothing new with the YouTube channel for a few weeks now BUT it continues to grow and now has 67 subscribers! I’ll do a full report at the end of Jan.
Also, doing a little work each day I managed to update my book for 2021, check it out here: BLOG YOUR WAY FROM NOVICE TO WELL-PAID FREELANCER
Keep healthy!
My YouTube Channel Update – 30th November 2020
Got back into my YT channel this month and was pleasantly surprised that 2 of the videos I made went through the 100 views mark! As recommended in the ATS course (link: https://fyf101.com/invite) I set up 5 Facebook pages and dropped the vids there, that must have helped. I made and uploaded 4 videos since the middle of the month and I need to step that up!
I made 2 AWAI (@ $800) sales in November and started a new Playlist promoting Affiliate Tube Success (ATS).
November – 4 videos uploaded, +12 subscribers, 625 views, 38 watch time (hours)
Totals since my channel started – 36 videos, 53 subscribers, 2,4k views, 152.3 watch time (hours)
My YouTube Channel Update – 31 October 2020
I was very busy with client work this month so didn’t spend any time on my “Earn an Extra Income With FYF101” channel. However, it’s a marathon, not a sprint and it’s still growing – here’s the latest numbers:
October – 0 videos uploaded, +8 subscribers, 310 views, 17.2 watch time (hours)
Totals since my channel started – 32 videos, 41 subscribers, 1,8k views, 114.3 watch time (hours)
My YouTube Channel Latest! – 30 September 2020
Latest stats (Totals since my channel “Earn An Extra Income With FYF101” started) – 32 videos, 33 subscribers, 1.5k views, 97.1 watch time (hours)
As you can see from my last update on the channel – it’s growing! I made some longer videos which have helped my watch time more than double in about a month.
Right now I’m taking part in a 21-day YouTube challenge, so expect the numbers to grow further.
BEST YOUTUBE COURSE?
Okay, so I’ve been asked which course I’m following to build my channel out and I’m finally ready to let the cat out of the bag – it’s Affiliate Tube Success by Paul Murphy.
Here’s a link where you can check out a webinar to see how you can make money by getting placements of your ads, products, or services on the front page of Google FOR FREE using Paul’s system. Having worked with Paul for 4 months now, I’m happy to give him and the course my endorsement.
Go check out how you can also sell affiliate products on YT using FREE traffic here:
https://fyf101.com/invite
Hope it helps!
Continued progress with YouTube – 25th August 2020
Although I’ve only been working actively on my YouTube channel for just over 2 months, I’m definitely seeing signs of progress when I compare month to month figures. I posted the first video on 19th June and now have 25 videos, 20 subscribers, 853 views, 42.9 hours of watch time, and 18 subscribers. Not massive yet, but moving in the right direction and increasing as I put up more videos and gain more traction.
Additionally, the channel has sent over 100 clicks to an affiliate product I’m promoting!
Early days and there’s work involved but I still believe video is the way to go!
Here’s my latest effort!!
Update on my new YouTube Channel – 10 July 2020
I’ve been working steadily on the channel (client commitments allowing) and now have 22 videos up, including a series that looks at the AWAI Accelerated Program For Six-Figure Copywriting in detail. Here’s the last in the series…
The first video on my new YouTube Channel – 19 June 2020
After a lot of work behind the scenes, the first video on my FYF101 YouTube Channel is live, check it out…
Looking for a decent (free) WordPress theme? – 29 May 2020
If you’re looking for a free WordPress theme that gives you quite a bit of flexibility right out the box, I’ve just discovered OceanWP. So far so good, highly recommended based on my experience so far!
Update on the YouTube Course – 12 May 2020
Okay, so I’ve been working the course for a week now and put in quite a few hours, including working on it over the weekend – and so far I’m impressed.
It’s a solid way of driving traffic from YouTube to basically anywhere you want and, for an affiliate marketer, it could be very profitable indeed. Thanks to my previous experience with keyword research, keyword selection, understanding buyer intent, and building sales funnels, I’m not finding it too difficult.
It may be something I recommend going forward but quite a bit of work still to do…
Finally found a decent YouTube Course – 5 May 2020
Okay, so I’ve been meaning to get organized on YT for quite some time but my efforts have been very hit and miss – 3 channels and only about 7 videos. I finally found a YouTube course that teaches a method that doesn’t need millions of subscribers and watched hours to get an ROI.
Not cheap, but the upside could be very profitable – watch this space!
I finally gave in! – 27 April 2020
I’ve been reading articles on medium.com for well over a year now and the quality of writing of the articles they promote (send me via email) is excellent. They have a clever strategy right now, you get to read 5 per month for free, then you have to pay a monthly or yearly subscription. Well, today I gave in to their marketing and signed up for a yearly plan – I was getting frustrated reading the first few lines of articles and not being able to read further. Now I can read all I want!
The takeaway – persistence pays; it took them more than a year, but they got me in the end 🙂
Well worth a watch – 24 April 2020
I came across this video today, a TED talk – The Future is Freelancing by Laura Briggs. Highly recommended (click on image to watch).
Thanks for the Guest Post – 19 April 2020
Big shout out to Godfrey Wambani for his contribution of an excellent guest post for the FYF blog. You can check out Godfrey’s post entitled “Freelance writing jobs beginners can do” HERE.
I guess it was inevitable – 16 April 2020
Well so far, I’ve managed to dodge a bullet, but I suppose it was inevitable that COVID-19 would eventually impact my business, and it happened yesterday.
I had a call with an anchor client of mine (who pays me a steady $2,000 a month) and found out their major clients are asking for payment holidays due to the COVID-19 crisis. The knock-on effect is that they’ve asked me to suspend billing them for a couple of months until the situation settles down.
I have to say, it wasn’t totally unexpected, it was only a matter of time.
Well that’s the problem, now here’s the solution
- First off, I’ll look for a replacement client. I’m pretty sure my client will come back but I can’t guarantee it, so I need to be pre-emptive. If they do, great, it’s a bonus.
- I need to revisit my finances and plan at least 3-6 months ahead to make sure all my expenses are covered comfortably in the event of a disaster. I’m working with 3 other clients right now, but I need to plan for a worst-case scenario.
- I’ll talk to my existing clients to find out if they’re going to be affected by COVID-19 and what the outlook is for them.
- I’ll look at my existing clients to see if there’s a way to get more business from them. For example, I’ll check their websites over again and see if I can propose changes, perhaps more blog posts or a different approach. Maybe I can suggest a white paper to write, have they been emailing their clients recently (perhaps they need to keep them updated in view of COVID-19 – any angle I can think of to drum up more work!
- I’ll continue working on my alternative income sources where I spend time when I’m not busy freelance writing.
Challenging times, time to knuckle down.
No one is immune from feeling insecure – 15 April 2020
Regardless of where you are in your freelancing career, whether you’re a beginner or experienced freelancer, feelings of self-doubt can creep in at any time. Working for a brand new client can be stressful because you have no idea if they’ll like/value your work. Read more about my personal experience with a new client recently.
Some thoughts on COVID-19 and what it means for Freelancers – 19 March 2020
No one can deny the current pandemic will have a devastating effect on the world’s economy. It’s serious, we’ve never been here before, and nobody’s 100% sure of the long-term consequences of such a virus. Here’s why I believe you need to re-visit your current situation and give your future some serious thought.