Proprietary Information for Content Writers
Do you, as a Squidoo lensmaster and content writer, have a concept of ‘proprietary information’? This would include everything from the lensrank history of your most popular lenses, to the way you do updates, and what products sell best for you.
There seems to be a tendency with some lensmasters to “let it all hang out” but… we are not playing games here… we are conducting business. At least, most of us are. There are some very serious and talented earners among us and I aspire to be one of them.
I feel no need to let people know my Squidoo income level. Why others do, is strange to me, to say the least. What are people going to do when they see private income information: feel jealous or feel sorry for you, one or the other. So no, I don’t disclose my income just like I don’t tell people which of my lenses are making the most sales. The last thing I need is for fifty other lensmasters to make lenses that resemble mine and interfere with their success.
If you’re serious about making money, realize that a lot of what you do with your online business is proprietary information. You need your privacy. You don’t need to give away your hard-earned secrets.
I do plan to let people know some of my secrets, but have decided there will have to be a price. I will publish an ebook and those who are willing to pay the price will be allowed to know what I’ve learned… my proprietary secrets… or at least, some of them. I of course thought about putting my method on a lens and giving it free to everyone, but then, everyone who reads it would be doing the same things that I do, so no. I won’t do that. But those very few who are willing to pay for it, yes, they can share in the knowledge. This is my way of making sure that not too many people will have the information I’ve collected and done experiments with over the course of many months.
So, I wonder, do you as a content writer think it is better to tell everyone all about how you conduct your business, or do you think a certain amount of control over your proprietary information is necessary?
More next time…….
December 6th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I wonder about this myself. I have shared bits and pieces about my income on a couple of occasions, I do think it can motivate others to realize the money is there, at some point. Beyond that I don’t plan on sharing, it’s personal.
I think some folks share just enough to gain followers, to gain a reputation, to set themselves up for bigger income etc. Beyond that it gets foggy to me. I know some are very successful and share a lot, maybe they simply believe in Karma? IDK. It would seem that we need to support each other, be friends…but we also need to realize we are competitors too.
In reality, I don’t think it matters how much I share, anything I know is already being shared all over the place by hundreds of others anyway. I don’t plan on telling anyone at this point what topics earn me the most.
December 10th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
I share some of my information but definitely not all.
Good luck with your project.