AtomBoy

The thread ain't dead. We're busy.... I'll be sending you the 10 bucks Mike. I've grown attached to my lil website...she's purty.... got some Dita pics up. Fantasy Pinup Art I'll put up some boob shots for WF access only I've made a whole $1.02 in adsense that's ok, I'm patient. I've gotten 2 clicks on EPN from 47 impressions. Allposters has gotten 12 uniques since my last post. All in all a good start. It's all just a numbers game at this point. In 3 days I made about a buck. It may not seem like much, but it's something I can build on. Learn what the customer wants, and give it to them. I'll take 1000 sites just like this doing $10 a month any day over 1 that has to deal with...customers....shiver..... later guys ~Atom

Mike

Yummy Dita Von Teese! I've been a fan of hers for a long time. Never bothered getting a sub to her site though...

BTW, hope you don't mind I hotlinked to your image

Yeah, at this point, I'm dropping the requirement that you have to have made money to buy the domain. So, if anyone wants their domain, it's yours. Just PM me for the PayPal info.

Guys, I got to say, I am really very happy to see the participation that has happened here and the sites that were built. I hope that you all have learned some things. I know I did. This is why I hang with n00bs a lot. Newbies tend to be less pretentious and more willing to work together.

So, here's the question: Should we do another "No excuses" thread when this one ends in about 10 days? Or just keep this one rolling?

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ChrisBa

so how is everyone doing???

I didn't participate in the offer but big props to Mike for bringing this offer to the table!

I just hope everyone took full advantage and made the best out of it!


It'd be great to see it offered again!!

real1022

another no excuse thread would be great - if it gets people doing instead of hoe humming.

thread is great idea - thanks for being as generous as you were.

still trying to figure out how to drive enough traffic to make it work without resorting to PPC.

Lots of competition with forex.

Randstrom

I VoTE YES

I would most certainly be interested but i have a house to build during next month so not much time to spare , could i suggest another no excuses in a month or so.

Lavish

Great, I learnt a lot from this first "No Excuses" thread.

Thanks to SEO_Mike for the opportunity and help.

I don't think I will get anything from my site but it was a good learning experience. Seeing others sites have also helped give me motivation and spurred other ideas.

I vote my hand for the next one too.

- J

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mattgatten

Ok guys, as we wind down our little experiment, I would like to get some analysis of a few things from Google Analytics.

It looks like I'm getting a 'tad' of organic traffic from the search engines. Under keywords I've got several phrases. My question is this: Should I be concentrating on those as some of my 'long tails' as they are getting the traffic? Should I do more research on those and come up with some variations of those? Here are my keywords as listed in Google. If I'm barking up the wrong tree, let me know.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

Keywords:
2009 honda accords
7th generation accords
history on honda hybrids
honda accord 2002 part in japan
honda accord parts 1991
honda accords parts for 1998-2002 models
honda production numbers

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mattgatten

Also, I vote for keeping it rolling but opening it up to some other members if someone has the domains. Perhaps, let them buy a domain then join the project. I can host a few folks if need be. Seriously. I've got the space.

It's fun to watch 'children grow' too. I have learned a lot but think I have much more in the light of this thread to learn yet. In that, I don't think 30 days is enough. I've made about 5 bucks. I think I'm on the cusp of being able to generate a small amount of continuous money from the site (then scale it to many other sites with what I've learned so far).

Again, keep it rolling, open it up to new participants (say 10 at a time or more), if folks don't participate after getting started, cut them quickly so others can 'play'.

I'll help any way that I can.

Thanks Mike and the rest,
Matt

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amateursurgeon

An update from me. This thread has really got my momentum going. Although I haven't done enough with santaradar.net (still not got it listed), I've spent the week coding up a landing page "poll" system and launching a topical PPC campaign -> Poll -> Email zip submit, wired up to Tracking202 for analytics. Result - got 120 clicks so far, and at or above break-even (maybe a profit of $1). Things should improve after I've trimmed my keyword list a little.

I'll get back to looking at the SEO on the site tomorrow

emp

Great going, amateursurgeon.

@mattgatten

Yes, looking at keywords is always a good idea. Research around them and see if you want to add a page or two to your site.

::emp::

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erect

Those are already pretty long-tailed so you can't get milk much more out of them and besides, you've got that traffic in your back pocket ... now you need more. Here are a commonly searched "honda accord" phrases that you can build new pages for.

honda accord coupe
honda accord hybrid vehicles
honda accord models
honda accord colors
honda accord insurance

Sorry it's not earth-shattering great but there are people searching for these and others. I think the point I am making is just to build pages around the words you can get good traffic from & new long tail traffic will come.

If you find you are getting decent traffic for a specific key phrase (around 50/month) then check out your rankings for it. If you aren't #1 then refine your efforts and get there as you can probably pull a few hundred visitors monthly from it.

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mattgatten

Thanks guys, I"m on it!

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CouldItBe

Well this being my first post I think it should go to this thread. I am happy with all the little things learned from here. I don't see how much money could of truly been made with some of these niches, but it does give you more of a challenge I am looking forward to the next you guys do this I would to love to participate especially seeing how I am new to IM. Fantasypinupart came out real nice grats on that site.

janwonders

You should definitely start another 'no excuses' once this one ends. I'd love a go at it as i'm sure many other newbs would too.

mediastar100

And since we are in update mode...

Glittergrafix seems to be doing pretty well from long tail search.

i get about 10-20 uniques a day and I was even on the first page of g for some related terms. Coulditbe - good point - I think if I was going to take a run at this again I would pick a niche with Adsense that payed a little more.

Mike, you said that EPC I was getting for this site was good at 0.17-0.20 - you were right! Its dropped to about .01 - 0.05.... oh well!

The NB ads are getting clicks just no conversions...

Ive made about 2.00 in total but I think the real value has come from the learning process.

The whole point of this thread was no more excuses. Well its given me the kick up the ass I needed. I have spent the last year failing and succeeding with CB, Adsense and PPC in general.

By taking part in Mikes thread I know now the main reason for my failure - I never actually put the effort in. Thats the simple truth and from my point of view the moral of the story (or should that be thread?)

The biggest lesson Mike has taught us all here is that it is not easy. There is no quick fix - it is that simple. Put in the work and you can expect rewards. Bitching about why you havent clear $1000 p/day will get you no where.

I have taken big inspiration from this thread. I may have only made about 2.00 but in the process I have learnt and continue to develop my HTML and design skills. This has opened my eyes and is the single biggest value I have got from this whole project.

I've moved onto developing custom LPs as my main project now. In the past I have had success designing LPs that convert for AM products so its time to put the work in and get this started up again seriously.

Thanks again and big up to Mike for taking the time (and pointing me in the right direction when I strayed!) Truly inspirational stuff.

phwew - my longest post ever...


Cheers

Dave

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Mike

Dave - you've definitely got the point. I didn't expect anyone to bust out with their first site and make millions, or even thousands. I did hope that people would learn that there is more to online marketing than just reading posts and analyzing.

I've made a habit out of failing. But, in failing, I'm learning what doesn't work, and also I'm learning to tune in what does. Most people can ask me "what should I do?" and I'll have an answer for them. Not because I'm gifted, but because I've tried, crashed and burned and built myself back up.

It's reassuring to see many of you on the path to failure as well. You'll be successful if you can keep getting up after each "failure". Affiliate marketing isn't easy. Despite what the gurus want you to think. It's a business. It requires drive. It requires work. It requires a certain "fuck you" mindset. Some of you will fail your way out of AM and back into a 9 - 5 job. That's your choice. Hopefully, some of you will stick with it and continue to fail into success.

There are some tips that will make the failures easier:

1. Have a thick skin. Don't let relatives, friends, your spouse shame you into quitting. Stick it out.
2. KNOW that you will meet your goals someday. Don't wish it, DO it. It'll happen.
3. Question everything. Why did this campaign not convert? Why am I getting traffic from XYZ site? What can I do to increase my Quality Score? Etc.
4. Think in digestible terms. If $1000 per day is too hard to conceive of, shoot for $100 per day, if that's too much then set your goal at $10 per day. But always up your goal when you near the first one. So, if your goal is currently $10 per day, and you start consistently making $8 per day, up your goal to $20 or $50 per day.
5. Don't get too attached to any one site. Build an empire. Create lots of sites across lots of niches. Sure, one niche may make you the vast majority of your money, but it's always a good idea to have a fallback.
6. Teach others how to fish. Nothing makes things more worthwhile than sharing what you have learned with someone else. That's why I have threads like this. It's selfish. I enjoy helping others because it makes me feel good and I learn as well.

Well, it's time for me to go to bed. Keep up the good work everyone!

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neonlights

Hey I'd love to participate in round 2 of this contest.

I would kinda feel bad for using your resources coz I don't need hosting and have 100s of my own domains (adult related). But I think I could really benefit from being given a random topic and being forced to build a site around it. And the competitive side of it would be fun.

So....when can I start?

Ady2k

This is an awesome thread and should be read by every newbie that comes here. Good to see the WF-tone dampened down a little for the newbies aswell

I would also be interested in a round 2, although Ive been doing this for awhile and have my own domains and hosting, I still feel like a newbie and need something to make me do some serious work on my sites.

puroz

Ive been lurking for a few days and this is by far the best AM forum ive found. This thread is very inspirational and I would be interested in round 2. Im already set up with adsense and have a some small blogger blogs.

Mike

Guys, today is the last day. I'll leave your hosting accounts alone for at least a week. After that you'll need to find a place to live. Shameless plug - Free year of hosting at Lunarpages

Anybody that does NOT want to keep their domains, just do nothing and they'll disappear into the abyss. If you DO want your domain, PM me.

Everyone any domains not claimed will be recycled for round two. That will start in approximately 10 days (July 1 or soon after).

If any other senior members (or n00bs) has hosting space to offer or domains to offer for round two, PM me. I'll throw in hosting for about 10 people.

Also, round two is going to be a little stricter regarding domains and activity. If you do not have something up within 96 hours (4 days) of being issued your domain, you lose it. No warning. Everyone will be required to post a progress report at least once a week, and keep all questions in the thread. I'll post rules for it when we start.

This thread will remain unlocked for about 48 hours for people to get final questions in, brag about how well they did, or discuss what they'll do next time.

Thanks for making this a success! I've enjoyed it and I hope you have to.

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JamesH

I tried to monetize editorialize but it didn't work. I'm willing to try again in round two with my own domain if thats ok?

Mike

No problem. Bring your own domains, or borrow someone else's. Whichever.

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montydad5000

You won't find better info anywhere else on the 'net, that's for sure...and Mike knows his stuff. He's helped me with some landing page ideas a few months back.

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mediastar100

Ok update time on GlitterGrafix

In the 30 days I made about $10 from adsense. I had Neverblue Ads up there as well but they didnt deliver any conversions. Im on the first page of G for some key search terms which is nice but they are longtail so traffic is not huge. Im averaging about 15-20 visitors per day.

The thing I am most happy about is the CTR I acheived on this project for my Adsense ads. I was hitting 50% + CTR on somedays. Overall its sitting between 30-40% CTR which I am happy about. The only downside to this was the payout per click which is very low for this type of niche.

I was really banking on getting Myspacers to the site via the longtails and then converting them up with the NB ads. It reality it seemed to work the other way around.

I think if I was to do this again I would apply my learnings on ad placement to a niche which will deliver higher revenues per click and cash in that way.

Really enjoyed the experiment though, so thanks a million Mike.

Dave

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Mike

Alrighty, thread closed.

I'll be deleting accounts from my server, so if you want your files or need help moving them to a new server PM me.

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