I love my job. I can’t wait to start working in the morning and often spend a ridiculous number of hours each week glued to my computer screen. It’s crazy. I’ve become a workaholic! I would have been the last person anyone would have described as a workaholic but I guess I’ve changed. Or maybe it’s that I don’t really consider what I do to be work because I love it so much? Who knows.
One of the reasons I probably never seem to tire of working is because there are so many different elements to this job. Each of the elements of this kind of work lines up really well with stuff I love to do so not only do I get to do something I like, I get to do a variety of things I like. This means that if I get bored of doing one task, I can happily switch to another and do that until I want to move onto something else.
I thought it might be interesting to break down all of the individual parts of my job to give a well-rounded picture or what it is I actually do and why I love it so much.
- Entrepreneur – I wasn’t sure what to call this bit because I guess overall I am an entrepreneur but what I’m referring to is idea generation. Spotting a business opportunity and forming a plan to capitalize on that opportunity. I never sit down to brainstorm new ideas because I seem to have so many old ideas still to work on that I don’t have time for thinking up new ones. But the ideas pop into my head at various moments and new projects are soon added to the list (or sometimes pushed to the front if I think the idea is really good). While I don’t dedicate any time to brainstorming new ideas, I do spend time fleshing ideas out as they come to me, coming up with plans and thinking about how to make money from it. I really love this stage… maybe it’s the business grad in me. Perhaps my degree wasn’t a total waste?
- Web Designer – I’m not really sure what to call this part either (I guess dividing my tasks up is more complicated than I though!) but what I’m referring to here is the creation of the navigation and organization of a website and the initial building parts, not the actual design part of making it pretty. This is one of my favourite things because at this stage I will be working on a brand new project and will be able to steer it in any direction I want. I love trying to think of a logical path through the site and the best ways to divide the information up.
- Writer – I would never call myself a writer but there’s no denying that writing plays a huge part in what I do… at least until I can afford to outsource as much of this part as possible. Unlike most people who seem to want to make a living online, writing is not one of my favourite tasks. I’m capable and I like writing about certain things (this blog and articles on certain travel topics) but, for the most part, I would rather take on an editorial role and have a troop of article writing minions submitting stuff to me.
- Photographer – Surprisingly, photographer is one of my least favourite parts of this gig. I love to take photos but I don’t really know how to use my camera which leads to a lot of frustration when the images on my camera screen don’t match up with what I want them to look like. At the moment, snapping photos for my websites is more of a must do thing than a creative thing which takes some of the enjoyment away. I keep meaning to take a photography course so maybe when I learn how to use this thing, I’ll enjoy the photographer role a bit more.
- Researcher – Once an idea is thought up, some research has to be done to make sure it’s a reasonably viable one. Sometimes I don’t care if it’s viable or not and I skip this part but, more recently especially, I have been undertaking a lot of competition and keyword research before I go ahead with a new project.
- Graphic Designer – This is another of the areas along with writing and photography that I would have initially thought would have been my favourite. But, as it turns out, graphic design is the thing I hate to do the most. I love art and drawing and painting are hobbies I dedicated loads of time to growing up. I can draw. I can paint. I’m creative. But I don’t know how to get the pictures in my head onto the computer screen. I can get by with Photoshop but my skills are basic, and I wouldn’t even know where to start with Illustrator. I keep meaning to spend time learning with online tutorials but there are just so many other things I need to do and I can never seem to justify the time, especially since I can get by ok and a website can make money even when it’s not sexy.
- Marketer – I can recognize a really good marketer when I see one, especially in the context of online business. I’m not much of a marketer and am crap at self-promotion but I do like it. I find the internet to be such an interesting place to do business and I’m learning more and more and enjoying trying different things to promote my sites.
- Salesperson – I got canned from my job in London as a travel agent mainly because I can’t sell anything. I’m terrible at sales. Fortunately, at this stage, advertising on my websites seems to sell itself and waking up to an email asking to buy ads always puts a smile on my face. If (when?) this changes and selling advertising starts to take more effort on my part I could find myself in trouble. But for the meantime, sales without having to actually sell works for me.
- Supposed SEO Expert – SEO these days seems to come naturally, at least the onsite stuff does. I love optimizing my sites so that all of the boxes are checked for onsite SEO and I think my sites do well in this area. I’m learning more about link building and offsite SEO and I actually enjoy it. I love finding my site languishing on page seven of Google for my keywords before I go on a link-building campaign and then seeing where it is afterwards. It’s really motivating to see the sites climb as I work on SEO, especially since I know how important good results with Google are to a site’s success.
- Social Butterfly – This is something I’ve gotten into a bit more this past year than I have previously. I started this blog to connect with other people in the web development and travel website industries but, besides writing the occasional post and replying to comments, I hadn’t really been too social online. These days I’m really enjoying connecting with people on Twitter and on other people’s blogs. I don’t look at forming relationships online as part of my job or something I do to help my business but there’s no denying that it’s a benefit.
That’s ten components to thing web developer/internet marketer/whatever its called job of mine. I really like that there are so many different parts and I think that’s one of the reasons I hardly ever find myself getting bored.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Yeah, I identify with many of those points, especially the photography, it takes so much time to edit, upload, play about with the position etc. And when you have a slow internet connection it is no fun at all.
For your last point, as a traveller and a webmaster/entrepreneur; whatever you call someone who makes money online like us I don’t really know. Anyway you may enjoy Ian and Dan’s podcasts, I know that I find them inspiring. http://www.lifestylebusinesspodcast.com/
So if you don’t like the photography part, why not just outsource that part by using microstock images? Wouldn’t it be far more efficient to buy an image for less than $1 from a choice of millions rather than spending a lot of time taking the photos yourself?
I totally agree – me the workphobic – spent most of the last 2 days – working – that was Saturday and Sunday LOL! Someone once said find your passion and you’ll never work a day in your life!
I think the freedom has a lot to do with it – having someone telling me to do something by a certain date – has never worked – but now I can get the boss to just go with the flow LOL
Well, aside from being a workaholic, its like your working all around the web!
I wonder how you can keep things up in a good shape despite the fact that, you do have lots of tasks to do and to finish.
It is amazing how much time some of this work takes and when someone else looks at the results it all looks effortless. Building web sites for example, takes so much time and the end users just have no idea about that.
I admire that you hand code your web sites for one, because the two I have looked at look great.
I guess though that the aim of this kind of work is to make it all look effortless.
I also want to say thanks for your writing Nerdy Nomad. I really love both your blog and the way you live. You are an inspiration to me, sitting in in my work cubicle.
Kirsty you are definitely right about their being so many elements to when it comes to being an internet marketer, so many people underestimate what it actually takes to be one! I dislike doing graphics myself… too time consuming, and plus I don’t have the artistic talent to have a vision of something. As far as articles and writing is concerned it depends on the day, and the topic I am writing about. I guess like any part of my internet marketing roles, I like each one at it’s own time so to speak. Example.. there are times I can like programing, and there are times I can hate it, that sort of thing.
Till then,
Jean
I really enjoy all the different roles of being an internet marketer too. The great part is if you are not skilled in one area, it is very easy to outsource that work. That also applies if you simply do not like certain tasks. You just have to outsource the tasks you can’t or don’t want to do and then concentrate on your strengths. You do have to be careful when you try to take on too many roles. That can leave your efforts spread thin and make progress difficult. Take into consideration the 20/80 rule where 20% of your efforts result in 80% of your profits.
Great topic!
I just wanted to say that there is nothing wrong with your photography, like the “personal” look to each post. You get to see a glimpse of what you experienced and invision how one could be where you are and experience it with you. Tired of seeing the same old stock photos used everywhere, guess that’s the curious one in me speaking!
It is always good to share the innovative ideas with others on our demand.That is the main way for the people to know about the useful types of techniques to equip it. It will really gives the crucial moments for others to know about it. It is a useful passion for the people to select the beneficial categories of the stories on the requirements of using it..
You are all to correct with this post. As an internet marketer people don’t understand just how many hats you have to wear. You have to be multi-faceted. It isn’t enough to not be that way wither. If you don’t you won;t make it. The internet community is rough and there is always someone out there willing to take your place and they will if you let them.
@Stooly: I agree about the photography. It adds a personal touch and can be another source of traffic for this blog. A travel related blog definitely needs good photos like these. It likely would be worthwhile to take a photography course. Just think of it as a tax write off that will make your job that much easier.
You can outsource many of these jobs, but the truth is you really do need to learn them especially for those who are just starting out as an internet marketer. If you have the money to invest in outsourcing when your just starting out then you may never learn some of these jobs. Very interesting post Kirsty, thanks for sharing.
Internet is full swing and now it;s booming field so their are
so many jobs of internet marketer …
keep cheers..
Jacob lee
Hey, I feel the same way, internet marketing does not feel like a job at all to me. I am currently in college finishing my BA and going to apply to a Physician Assistant school, but I wonder if I can make a full-time income from internet marketing. I will experiment this winter break. Thanks for the motivation.
Well, aside from being a workaholic, its like your working all around the web!
)
Your such a workaholic person… It reminds me of my boyfriend that works a lot.. always on his computer and doing stuff… Anyway, the result you will get is also great!