FAQ

I’ve been receiving lots of fan mails and applications to join my ‘mentoring’ lately. The response has been nothing less than overwhelming. Prior to this, I’ve been answering the questions one by one… and so, by popular demand, I’ve decided to create an FAQ page for the benefit of my subscribers and my readers to answer all the questions presented to me.

I must admit, I’m not accustomed to this kind of feed back for my writing as you all know that I’ve started out as a ghostwriter and I’ve grown accustomed to having others take the credit for my work most of the time

Therefore, I’m going to put up this post into a permanent page - for your benefit and the benefit of my readers

Here goes!

(1) Khai, your writings are Excellent! How do you become such a successful writer in such a short time?

Hard work is inevitable. You have to lock in the hours daily and be willing to get your hands dirty and do the grunt work. But I’ll be the first to admit, that being a fantastic writer doesn’t necessarily guarantee you success in Internet marketing or any field that you are in. To me, writing is just a tool that you use to get you to where you are. I’ll share with you my personal experiences:

Any successful entrepreneur will tell you that knowing all about the HOW without knowing the WHY wouldn’t get you very far. Not only do you have to work hard, you must work smart!

Just take a look at the cows in the field - they plow the fields all day and work hard but do they get anywhere? Between two slices of a burger bun probably. Or how about the ants, do you notice that they are busy all the time… the question is - WHAT are they busy about?

Don’t be like the cows and the ants. You don’t want to climb frantically up the ladder of success only to realize that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall. Like most people who are employed till they are 65 - the look back only to realize that they have worked hard all their lives only to make others rich!

I’m not trying to run down employees… my father whom I admire is a star-studded employee who served his company well and was rewarded enormously for his hard work and providing a good life for his wife and kids. The point is, are you very clear what you want in life?

I left my full-time job as a computer support technician back in late 2003. My friends thought I was crazy when I left my stable job to venture into the world as an entrepreneur.

At that time, I didn’t have a business plan. I didn’t have a product. I didn’t know what industry to venture into.

All I knew was that I had the desire to own my own business. I didn’t know what business but I just took the risk and went ahead.

Taking risks is very important. The reason why most employees are afraid to step out of their so called ‘dead-end jobs’, is because they are afraid of failure. They hate their jobs so much yet they are afraid they won’t be able to pay the bills without a ’stable’ income. They are afraid to put their time and efforts in a business venture because they are afraid of what their friends might think of them.

In order to achieve success, you have to be a bit ‘thick skin’ at times. I’ve had my share of failures. I dropped out of college, quit a stable 9-5 job, lost money in investments, had a failed business startup, joined too many MLM companies and had to bear the shame and ridicule of those who ‘knew all along that I was doomed to failure’.

However, I wasn’t stupid either. A good business strategy involves switching ships. I wanted to become an entrepreneur so badly that I would try all sorts of things - which explains why I’ve gone from one MLM business to another. I worked very hard in all my ventures but when I learnt that it wasn’t feasible to continue on, I would find another vehicle.

Do not believe the myth that ‘winners never quit and quitters never win’. There is a fine line between:

Putting in the hard work until your business develops traction… and
Beating a dead horse (it won’t come back to life)

Like I said… a good entrepreneur is someone who isn’t afraid to work hard and take risks. A wise entrepreneur knows when not to give up and when it is wise to jump ships. Don’t be like the guy who spends 4 years in Amway not quitting even though he doesn’t have any results. I’m glad that I’ve finally found my ship. The vehicles to the road of success may change but as long as you are very clear where your destination is, you can’t go wrong (just make sure you don’t beat your dead horse).

(2) Is it true that you’ve only been a writer for 8 months?

Yes. My very first writing project started back in December 2006. The time of writing this FAQ is my 9th month as a writer.

One of the reasons why I started as a writer was looking for a home-based business. I wanted to save money on eating out, car fuel and parking coupons.

Before then, I even had trouble writing a proper resume! In my autobiography, I told everyone that I was so bad when it comes to written assignments that my lecturers would swear that I would never succeed as long as my work involves anything that has to do with writing.

Back then, I didn’t have any experience and I would be the first to admit that my English wasn’t perfect (I spend half the time speaking Chinese - but that’s the advantage of being bilingual)! Every skill requires practice!

There are many newbies in Internet marketing who are too afraid to develop their writing skill. They feel that they don’t have the talent for writing that they would give up before even trying to write their first product!

Basically they give themselves too much B.S. why they can’t write and why they shouldn’t start an Internet business. Excuses and success do NOT go hand in hand! You can only have one and not the other.

I believe ANYONE can be a good writer (Ladan Lashkari is the best example) You just need to train your writing skills like a muscle. Remember that you will spend most of your time in Internet marketing on your keyboard. If you develop your writing skills, you will have tremendous advantage over others.

(3) How did you manage to create hundreds of info products in just 8 short months?

From my experience with different businesses, there was one thing I was very clear about my business startups. You have to attempt MANY different business startups at the same time until one of them develops traction.

When you plant a tree, don’t sit there all day waiting for the fruits to drop from that one tree. The best thing you can do is to plant one tree after another. Plant your first tree, nurture it, plant your second tree while waiting for the first, and keep doing it over and over again. When you see the very first tree that sprouts a good fruit, focus your attention on it while chopping down the bad ones (because you don’t want your attention to be divided on doomed projects).

I knew it would be very hard for me to compete with other Internet marketers. When I first started out, I don’t have a mailing list or connections to leverage my efforts on. I didn’t have much money to invest in PPC advertising. But I knew one thing, I can develop content FAST! I knew that I could turn my KEY ASSET into gold by focusing on what I do best while I outsource the rest (I’ll talk about outsourcing another time).

I made lots of money through ghostwriting, copywriting and blogging. I basically did everything that would put food on the table and worked very hard at it. I knew that it would take me a while to overcome the learning curve in Internet marketing and I had to worry about putting food on the table NOW instead of tomorrow.

So I wrote - E-books, special reports, sales letters, squeeze pages, articles (by the truckload), E-courses and blog posts. A friend of mine named Peng Joon asked me if discipline was possible if someone is working at home - wouldn’t the distractions and a comfortable lifestyle affect my ability to work?

Well, I would be the first to admit that discipline is quite a challenge. As a matter of fact, (without disclosing any details regarding my clients) I charge at least $1,000 (RM3,500) for every writing project assigned to me. I have the ability to complete each project within 3-5 days and collect my payment in full. I would be able to live VERY comfortably in Malaysia by working on only 2 PROJECTS LIKE THIS (I get more than 2 each month) by spending at a maximum of 2 weeks a month, and spend the rest of my time goofing off!

Of course discipline would be a huge challenge when you can can do things fast, you would be tempted to goof off!

So I devised a plan and I explained to Peng Joon what my typical work day is like.

KHAI’S DAILY SCHEDULE

9AM - 12Noon - Ghostwriting / Copywriting

1PM - 4PM - Internet marketing, doing research on affiliate programs, sending E-mails to my mailing list

5PM - 7PM - Blogging, blog hopping, posting comments, getting new content and writing articles for E-zine article submission

9pm - 1PM - Reading a book or articles on self-improvement, Niche marketing, setting up new blogs, Clearing unfinished work & Reviewing my short term and long term goals before I end the day.

If someone told me that he wouldn’t know what to do if he had a whole day at home, I believe he isn’t taking his business very seriously. If you have too much time on your hands, then there is something very wrong with your strategy. Once you are very clear how you are going to tackle your business, you will definitely find a lot of things to do. So GET BUSY!

Every month I produce at least 25 articles, 10 E-books & special reports (My highest record is 15 full fledged E-books), blog all the time, and improve my copywriting skill on a daily basis - and I’m enjoying every minute of it because you must have PASSION in whatever you are doing!

(4) Is it true that you’ve made money in your FIRST MONTH in Internet marketing?

Yes - at least a $1,000 in sales. It was a joint venture with Edmund Loh selling PLR products. We discussed about the products, what titles, what we wanted to sell and what the marketing strategy on how to get as many buyers as we can within a 24 hour period.

It was a huge encouragement to me at that point in time (coming from an MLM background where it is quite common to see people not making their first buck after they have joined for 6 months). Once you’ve tasted your first success, you must take full advantage of the euphoria and go all the way before it dies down.

It is very easy to be discouraged in business but when you build success upon success, you will be unstoppable!

(5) What is your secret to doing Joint Ventures With Top Infopreneurs like Sen Ze, Edmund Loh, Aurelius Tjin, Vince Tan & Gobala Krishnan?

I will share with you a few key factors on getting good joint ventures:

No matter what business you are in, you must BUILD RELATIONSHIPS - and I don’t mean with the opposite sex…
You must provide OVERWHELMING VALUE for your JV partners and they will keep on coming back to you! I didn’t have a mailing list to promote their affiliate programs. Neither did I had the reputation they could leverage on. So you know what I did? I focused on building THEIR businesses by writing TONS of material for them. I wrote, and wrote and wrote… Edmund Loh has commented that I am able to produce E-books at a miraculous pace, almost overnight (his ghostwriters usually take about a week to produce the same thing). Vince Tan said that I’m the best writer he has ever found. I produce quality content for them and their businesses grew as a result. I was known as the ‘GO TO‘ guy whenever quality content is needed because of the way I branded myself.
When you have a strong friendship with your JV partners, they will come running to you immediately when you need their help. Help others first and they would help you without even thinking twice!

(6) What are the rates of your services?

People ask me this question a LOT!

I charge at least $1,000 (RM3,500) for a sales copy and $300 (RM1,000) for a landing page (I normally charge higher but I understand that the majority of people can’t afford these kind of rates when they are just starting out or if cash flow is a concern).

As for ghostwriting, I’m NOT taking any clients at the moment because I don’t want to spread myself too thin unless the rates justify my time. (For your information, I had charged one of my clients $50 for every 1,000 words - a 30 page E-book would be about $600)

I don’t take ANY client however, because I am very clear that my long term reputation is at stake. Some people pay ghostwriters expecting a miracle to happen but a ghostwriter or even a copywriter for that matter is not responsible for the client’s conversion. I want my clients to be 100% satisfied with my work. There is a tendency for a poor marketer to put the blame on the writer if their customers do not convert (regardless of the tweaking) so if I want to work with a client, he/she has to be credible enough.

(7) What are the secrets to being a good writer?

The secret to being a good writer is to practice, practice and practice! You have to get your hands dirty and do all the work by yourself!

A good writer is also a flexible writer. Not only must they be good at writing they must train themselves to become good copywriters and good bloggers as well. Writing, copywriting and blogging are all different tasks. A good writer may not necessarily be a good blogger and a good blogger might not be good at copywriting at all!

Try your hand at ALL if not, everything that is related to writing. Here are my recommendations:

Start off with article writing - you can compile a bunch of articles into an E-book allowing you to break up your work into manageable chunks
If you hate article writing, you can start with blogging. By learning to blog, you will get the ‘feel’ of writing and work your way up
Start writing your own special reports - it is shorter than E-books and you can use it to market yourself
Learn the art of writing E-course and get the hang of starting your own E-zine/newsletter at the same time
I would recommend any new writer to read a lot of books, study the sales letters of great writers like Sen Ze, Michael Fortin and Perry Marshall

(8) How do you become a good copywriter? How did you learn copywriting in 8 months?

A good writer might not be a good copywriter.

I didn’t have any formal training when it comes to copywriting, but if there is one thing good that I’ve gotten out of my MLM days, it was learning the ability to SELL.

Ryan Healy quotes this on Michael Fortin’s blog:

It was the young John E. Kennedy who proclaimed in 1904 that advertising was “salesmanship in print.” His definition stuck. Copywriters understand the “print” part; they often overlook the “salesmanship” part.

Fact: Most successful copywriters have face-to-face sales experience in their past. They knocked on doors. They did sales presentations. They worked the showroom floor.

This real-world sales experience then translated easily into print. They had little difficulty making the transition between speaking an effective sales pitch and writing one.

On the other hand, people who love to write, but who have never had sales experience, are at a disadvantage. That’s because they do not know how to persuade people to buy.

If this describes you, then I suggest you get some sales experience. Find a part-time job where you can learn the ropes.

I spent a few years in the trenches. During my days as a salesman and an MLMer, I knocked on doors, pounded the pavement, made cold calls, drove for miles to see customers and even did business presentations in front a large crowd.

All I needed to do is take those experiences online. And that was how I became a copywriter.

(9) If I can write well, what strategies would you recommend for a newbie like me? How do I start making money online as a writer?

I would recommend that you develop a short term and a long term strategy.

Learn a skill first. These are my recommendations:

If you want to become a well-known blogger who is earning thousands a month from advertising, start off as a pay-per-post blogger WHILE Creating your personal blog!

Pay-per-post will pay the bills for today while building your blog for tomorrow’s long term residual income. After all, blogging isn’t a get-rick-quick scheme. It takes time to build a long term business. What better way to get ‘on the job’ training through pay-per-post?

Gobala Krishnan, a well known Wordpress expert is hiring writers at his blog. This is a good place to get started.

If you want to ghostwrite your way to success, here is your blueprint…

Don’t be afraid to give your content to others and let them take the credit. You will gain their trust if you do your job well. Keep on ghostwriting until you are ready to ask an established Internet marketer to brand your name together with his name. For example - Ghostwriting secrets by Vince Tan & Khai. You can do it for free in exchange for building a shared list or your own list. People will also know who you are because you are leveraging on the credibility of others. Finally, when you have your list and your fame, will you be ready to come out on your own!

(10) In your book - The Khai Factor - you said a lot of things about building credibility, why do you say so?

You can’t just sit around doing ghostwriting all day without building your own brand.

As a matter of fact, a ‘famous’ ghostwriter is an oxymoron - like a ’round’ square (after all, have you seen a ghost before?) I think we get the idea…

Branding & credibility building is one of the most important aspects in building your business. Just like having your own dot com after your own name. You must stand out. People will only remember OUTRAGEOUS things. Do something crazy (in a good way) that will get people to remember you. Be famous for something that will keep them coming back to you for more.

Do something crazy!

The author of Dilbert - the infamous Scott Adams gave some marvelous advice on his blog on building a successful career.

He quotes:

If you want an average successful life, it doesn’t take much planning. Just stay out of trouble, go to school, and apply for jobs you might like. But if you want something extraordinary, you have two paths:

1. Become the best at one specific thing.
2. Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things.

The first strategy is difficult to the point of near impossibility. Few people will ever play in the NBA or make a platinum album. I don’t recommend anyone even try.

The second strategy is fairly easy. Everyone has at least a few areas in which they could be in the top 25% with some effort.

I know that it is very difficult for me to be the BEST writer in the world (although I strive for it). It would also be very hard for me to become the BEST Internet marketer in the world… I also love blogging… but if I could be the top 25% of these two or three things, I would be ‘famous’ enough so I’ve found my synergy… what about you?

I guess that wraps it up. Hope this LONG FAQ answers your questions

43 Things tags: Khai, info product tips, copywriting tips