No Excuses 3 - Official Thread

[VIPFactor]

I agree with musiconly, this is very generous offer. Thanks for doing this, SEO Mike.
And thanks to the sponsors, of course.

SEO Mike, what about money prize? There are people from all over the world participating in this contest, and if the TV will be prize, there could be some shipping problems or something.

Anyway, even if there would be no prize, this experience alone is more than enough.

[Mike]

Prize ideas are being tossed about, but in the end, it will probably just be straight up cash. Like you said: shipping is a potential problem, plus the idea is to make the prize(s) something that can help people's business. Your idea of what your business needs and mine may be two completely different things. If it's just cash, then you can put that to whatever you need to grow your business.

You're welcome to everyone that has said "thanks". Now stop saying thanks, my ego's already big enough, I don't want my head to explode.

[Gooddeal]

lets make mike head explode and carry the prize away. lol

[TylerDurden]

Originally Posted by Gooddeal

lets make mike head explode and carry the prize away. lol

What?

[ripple]

can i participate?

[Mike]

Originally Posted by ripple

can i participate?

Sign up for NE3 Here

More goodies for you boys and girls. I just purchased a couple nifty tools from WF members here, and will do vids on those as well. TwitSnipe and FBSpy. Now, I personally hate Twitter (no secret), but I love the idea of trying to make money from it. Doubtful that I'll ever replace PPC with Twitter marketing, but it's more of the mental challenge that interests me. Plus, if I can show that it could make people and extra couple hundy a week or so, great, that would be a big help for some n00bs trying to build cash flow, right?

Facebook has always been an achilles heal for me, so FBSpy hopefully will help me there. I'd love to be able to give people specific advice on how to work with Facebook, but I've never really spent much time on it before. Once, I gave up because after 3 weeks of getting ads denied, it pissed me off. Another time the conversions sucked. My third attempt had such low traffic, I said "Fuck it". Well, it's time to try again.

Oh...you MAY be interested in this...maybe not...

The first 35 minutes of the PPC video are available for viewing

Also, I have got the server, it's set up and ready to go (almost) and if I can squeeze some time out of our sponsor, then maybe you'll get to meet him soon. I'll be contacting the people that need hosting / domains via PM soon and start getting those set up.

Last chance to sign up if you want to be included in the contest and / or need hosting / domain. If you want to participate, but don't care about prizes or don't need hosting / domain then you don't need to actually sign up, just follow along and contribute as you feel the urge.

[KevR1025]

Good stuff. Thanks.

[Mike]

Err....Had to take the video down temporarily. Apparently, I'm a tard and left my A4D information visible...

It's back up. Any feedback on the video? Is it acceptable? Too basic, boring, okay, go too fast? Yeah, I know it needs some music or something, but as mentioned in a previous post, Camtasia is a PITA to do multiple tracks on.

Upcoming Segments:

• Creating the landing page
• Adding analytics scripts
• Setting up Google Adwords campaign
• Setting up MSN Adcenter campaign (maybe)
• Setting up Yahoo! Search Marketing campaign (maybe)
• Setting up Facebook Ads (maybe)
• Tracking and optimizing the campaigns

Possible Segments:

• FBSpy video - Facebook ads research tool
• TwitSnipe - Twitter marketing tool

Not going to do a Campaign Sniper video since Josh already has a very good one, and to try and best his would be silly and a waste of time.

I really think that the sleep campaign could do well, but since it hasn't been tested by me, I'm not going to swear by it. Also, it's a little outside of other campaigns I've run, so other than demographics (sort of) I don't have a solid grasp of where it will perform well.

[Skeletor]

Hey Mike,

The video was great, I thought that it was fine without music, which honestly might have been distracting more than anything. I think most people are watching it just trying to learn and not for entertainment value. The format of the video overall was good, seemed a little basic but it looks like it is leading into some awesome stuff! I could see that you are computer mouse ADD like me too, always highlighting and dragging random shit around the screen lol.

I think that creating a landing page, analytics scripts, starting an adwords campaign and Tracking and optimizing will be the most useful info that you have planned. While all of your (maybe) categories you have planned seem like they might be useful, it seems like they may be a bit repetitve of adwords (but then again I am a noob and have no clue), though facebook would be nice. When can we expect part 2?

[Scotty_G]

Thanks for the video, Mike.

I think the best aspect for me was the way you explained your thought processes as you went about both the initial campaign selection and research. This could be more helpful if you went into more depth as to why you seemed to dismiss one offer and show more interest in another.

I found it concerning that you felt the need(?) to clarify what PPC stands for... if someone is that new, much of the material in the video would probably be over their head. I may be completely wrong about this, maybe people with less experience are present and they should speak up.

Overall, my personal experience at this point involves me doing a hell of a lot of looking at different offers and a lot less with research, so seeing you use and explain a free and awesome tool like google ad planner was extremely beneficial to me.

Generally, I feel like an idiot because, for the most part, I already know how to do everything that you are planning to teach, I just run into trouble actually selecting an offer and thinking it will work - my mindset is usually something along the lines of "How can people actually buy this shit?"

Anyway, thank you again for doing this series out of a purely benevolent and giving motive. I look forward to the next section- hopefully it will continue to help coax me into admitting the [s]stupidity[/s] lucrativeness of the general population.

Godamnit strikethrough didn't work and now I look like a tool.

[Mike]

Good to know that it's a little more basic than what people expected. That's what I was going for. As I'm creating these videos, I have my dad in mind. He's got a load of business experience and even marketing experience, but there are a lot of things that we do that may not be so obvious to an internet marketing n00b that doesn't frequent WF.

The other reason it's refreshing to hear you say it's almost too basic is: it tells me that the only thing probably holding a lot of people back is confidence. If you more or less know what I'm showing in the videos, it may be enough to boost your confidence and get you to actually commit to something. Does that make sense? I guess I'm trying to remember when I started and personally I waited a long time before doing anything because I didn't think I knew enough. Turns out, I did and once I broke the seal and put up a couple site / landers and some Adwords, it wasn't nearly as scary.

That, in a nutshell, it what the original No Excuses thread was. This one is just taking that idea a few steps further.

As for ETA...gawd I hope sometime this week. Unfortunately, I've got to start getting accounts setup on the server, domains purchased, and still manage my own campaigns. So, as much as I would love to say "Fuck it" and just concentrate on NE3, I can't.

[BradleyT2p2]

Good stuff in the vid. That google ad planner looks awesome.

[gjbridges]

Hey SEO_Mike, in your tutorial video when you are going through the sign up of Ads4dough, do we need to sign up for that before this starts or right when it starts?

[Gablablah]

Do it now.

[mprey]

Thanks Mike, that was a fantastic video. Some people would hide it behind a mile-long sales letter and charge $800 for it. I am greatly looking forward to your new ones!

Am I right though in assuming that you'll be mostly focusing on advertising on content networks? And not so much search?

[gtrplyr]

SEO_Mike, I watched the video and I thought it was great. Don't worry about music or making it fancy. We just want to learn.

Very interesting about the demographic research. I had no idea about that Google tool. I'm a little confused about how I use that to create my keyword list...but maybe that is in an upcoming video?

[Scotty_G]

Good to know that you were planning it to be that way. Ironically, my dad is the one who got me into (attempting) this business... he also has a good deal of experience with marketing, but it he has been unable to make anything truly work out on the internet because he is technologically impaired (and therefore willing to follow directions without thinking when using a computer) and a sucker for guru promises, time after time.

I'm thinking ne3 will be the perfect slap in the face for me and maybe for him too. Don't let your own works get thrown off by your charitable service and don't feel rushed to get the next video out. People CAN get their OWN hosting if they do a little bit of homework. Also, a surprisingly small number of people (considering 63 'signed up') have commented so far, so it appears slow progress will favor the many little noobs running about Wicked Fire, mostly thanks to you. :P

[snow5]

Thank you for the video, just finished watching it. It is fine just the way it is - no need to spend time on jazzing it up with music/audio effects.

Didn't know about google media planner. Am playing around with it as I think of an offer to promote.

Have some questions, but will save it till after I see the next video.

Once again thanks for taking time out of your normal activities to do this.

[BradleyT2p2]

Question on our domains - do we buy now or wait until we find a product so we can get a product/niche/industry related URL?

[Mike]

Originally Posted by BradleyT2p2

Question on our domains - do we buy now or wait until we find a product so we can get a product/niche/industry related URL?

Generally, I have a niche / product in mind before purchasing my domains, but you could also think of getting a generic domain that would work well with anything. For example: 1000reviews.net (which is available). You could set up landers on subdomains:

• weightloss.1000reviews.net
• sleep.1000reviews.net
• whatever.1000reviews.net

The choice is yours.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

For those of you that needed hosting and / or domains, I have PM'd you. Get back to me ASAP.

For EVERYONE that wants to participate in the contest portion, you need to signup with Ads4Dough.com.

In case you have not figured it out Ads4Dough is the sponsor of NE3. I want to take a moment to thank Smaxor (aka Jason Akatiff, owner of A4D) for providing the hosting, domains and prizes for this project.

Prizes will be based on earnings. The person with the highest earnings at the end of the project wins the grand prize of..............we haven't decided yet There may or may not be prizes for 2nd place and lower, not sure about that yet.

Methods of promotion: anything that does not violate Ads4Dough Affiliate Marketing Agreement.

My disclaimer: I am neither an employee of Wickedfire or Ads4Dough and am not receiving any sort of compensation from either group. I'm doing this because I love WF and have a great relationship with A4D (I make a lot of money on their network ). I wanted to thank both entities for everything they have done for me, and hopefully introduce some n00bies to the wonderful world of self-employment.

Good Luck to everyone! NE3 will officially start sometime next week. So, get ready!!!!

[dewme5]

If you are in for part 3, you will find a lot of good info in part 1 and 2.

no-more-excuses
and
no-excuses-part-2

[dreamer13]

The video is AWESOME, Mike!! It's simple, but JUST what I need.... Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!!! (yes, I realize I might be contributing to the swelling ego problem...) Getting back to your PM, asap...

[jonny5]

NE3 made me break my lurker status
Thanks mike!

[vtec9k]

Great work on the vid mike, no need for music just the infoz is cool. I think the comments by ScottyG above are spot on, confidence is something newbies need so we can focus on the campaign rather than worrying and over analyzing.

Actually just signed up with A4D and spoke to my AM Arthur a few days ago so great timing. I'm sure he'll love you for helping me push some $$ his way

[Mike]

A couple people have had questions regarding the signup page at A4D. For your website URL (if you don't have one) just put anything. It doesn't matter. Promotion methods: online marketing. Under comments, make sure you tell them that you are signing up because you are participating in the No Excuses 3 thread. Under the place where they ask who refered you just put SEO_Mike. They all know me there.

Also, if you are going to participate in the contest portion, you MUST run A4D offers. It would be kind of fucked to run another networks offers, then expect a prize, right? So, if you don't want to be considered for prizes, it doesn't matter what network you work with, but for those of you that do: run A4D.

[Mike]

I think I need to add a clarification about what NE3 is here to do.

NE3 is supposed to help / empower you to become a better online marketer. It is NOT to hold your hand. I've had a bunch of people say "Just pick a domain for me, and tell me what niche to run". NO, not going to fucking happen.

Seriously folks, if I did that, why would I bother giving it to you? I'd run it myself. To be honest, I'm actually offended that people have asked me to do this. The point of this project is to HELP you become a better online marketer (oh, did I say that already? let me say it again). Hand holding does absolutely nothing for you and makes my life miserable.

Here's how you should figure out what niche you want to get into:

• Talk to your affiliate manager. That's what they are there for. Let them know your situation. They can help you choose an offer.
• Do the research. Adplanner (in the video) is a great resource. Google search, MSN search, etc.

Folks, I'm pretty easy going, but don't ask me to run your business for you. Believe me, you can't afford me.

This is YOUR business, and this thread is simply a guide. I'm just a mentor, not a manager. I've got my own business to run.

/rant/

I need more coffee. Those PM's really upset me.

[Lovelife]

Hey Mike...I'm an extreme noob..I have only been looking at PPC and affiliate stuff for about 4 days now..so I'm pretty much at information overload right now..and pretty confused...I only found this forum yesterday...but after reading so much I feel like I really need someone to just tell me somewhat step by step how it works/show me (video or something)...

Anyways..I've read through this thread and some of the NE1&2...and watched your video which was so much better than trying to read everything to figure it all out...so I was wondering if this would be a good thing for me to do even though I am still at the not comprehending how everything works yet and will have many retarded questions lol...or if I should figure out more on my own first before trying to jump in and start a site and everything???

Also was wondering how much money u would suggest I have to try PPC for this 30 day class???...I have a lot of free time to devote to learning how everything works..but sadly not much money

[imincognita]

I just finished watching the first PPC video and just wanted to say I think it's perfect for your target audience. Even the noobiest of noobs should be able to follow the tutorial.

I really appreciate you taking the time to put NE3 together. It was the inspiration I needed to flex my PPC muscles.

I'm looking forward to getting started.

[Diego86]

Thanks for doing this Mike. I have run some very small PPC campaigns in the past but nothing even worth speaking about.

Im going to stick with my currect PPC networks as i have a few that i've never generated $1 for and i dont want to go jumping into yet another network yet.

Cant wait to see your future tutorials.

[vtec9k]

LoveLife - tbh the sooner you start the sooner you actually learn to make cash. I made the mistake of "researching" for like 6 months and basically just wasting time. I've been pushing hard on actually doing things the past 1-2 months and have learned 100x as much as the previous 6.

Like Mike said before, you can use things like twitter or yahoo answers to get cheap traffic without PPC.

[Lovelife]

Vtec..yeah i totally agree with not getting stuck in the information circle..which is why I was asking about joining..I just wanted to express the fact that I am so new that I might need too much hand holding than is offered..don't want to be an annoying pest ya know ...I'm so new I barely understand the general what to do let alone how to do it ya know lol

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Lovelife

Vtec..yeah i totally agree with not getting stuck in the information circle..which is why I was asking about joining..I just wanted to express the fact that I am so new that I might need too much hand holding than is offered..don't want to be an annoying pest ya know ...I'm so new I barely understand the general what to do let alone how to do it ya know lol

LOL!! Ask anyone, I'm pretty good about letting people know when they are becoming an annoying pest. My rant this morning was partially due to my low coffee to blood ratio and also people asking me to pick their domains / niches / scrub their backs / and run things for them. Asking for genuine help will not be frowned upon.

[Lovelife]

Well I PM'd u some of them..I hope u don't regret letting me ask u questions by the 500th one..lol

[Scotty_G]

If you guys want automatic cash generating systems, check out these "wonderful" products:

http://affiliate.a4dtracker.com/rd/r...mp;c2=&c3=

eBay Success System

Fast Twitter Profits

http://affiliate.a4dtracker.com/rd/r...amp;c2=&c3

Home Based Business - As Seen On TV

On second thought, don't, because those products are all bullshit. If you want someone to do this for you, then you are missing the point. You must be capable of synthesizing information and coming up with your own ideas.

Google is not a fucking ATM machine!

Mike is already doing more than I've seen any guru type do by PROVIDING HOSTING AND DOMAINS. If you don't want to learn anything about the process AFTER THAT, then you ARE NEVER GOING TO MAKE ANY MONEY ON THE INTERNETZ. Godamnit, I don't want to kiss Mikes ass more than EVERYONE here has, but I'm pissed off just hearing that people are asking him to pick their niche. That is like asking another man to guide your member into into your girlfriend's vagina for you. Fucking A.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Scotty_G

That is like asking another man to guide your member into into your girlfriend's vagina for you. Fucking A.

ROFLMAO!! Fucking classic. I'm almost worried my dad WILL sign up here. Not sure if I want to expose the old man (sorry Dad) to this insanity

[Scotty_G]

If Mike is unable to respond to your questions and it seems like I might know more than you, you guys can hit me up on AIM and I'll see if I can help with your easier questions. ask me what qualifies a good niche or where to find that information. do not ask me to select a good niche for you.

AIM: esteegeeaffgroup

[Like Whoa]

Originally Posted by SEO_Mike

Oh...you MAY be interested in this...maybe not...

The first 35 minutes of the PPC video are available for viewing

Hey Mike I just watched that video. Thank for that it was great I can't wait to see more.

-Nick D.

[yellowarrior]

Yet another "thanks SEO_Mike. post. The vid is perfect, and the "ums" help me keep up.

Cheers

[TripleT]

I signed up before I read the whole thread. I already signed up for ads4dough last week through Nickycakes. Too late to edit now, but count me out for the contest/free stuff part.

[TaloN39]

Hope Im not too late. Just signed up at ADS4DOUGH.

[Putnam Junior]

Wow this is great. Thanks for the help SEO_Mike

[_dave_]

Adding my name to the list. I'm in a similar boat to a few above - been lurking far too long and should have read easily enough to get started but just somehow haven't done anything yet.

Thanks for the help Mike, following this thread will I hope give a much needed kickstart

[yellowarrior]

I have a question SEO_mike, Instead of sending it to you, I figured id post it since someone like scotty_g might be able to answer it as well.

Since we will have landing pages set up with these offers, and some of the offers have small print related to the offer that clear the company, should we have any additional small print on our TLD's that states that these are offers from other companies and "1000reviews.com is not responsible for any programs blah blah blah. Basically when setting up a landing site, do we need small print of our own?

Hope I am not jumping the gun, and the question makes sense. Just want to make sure that my ass is covered from any people with reoccurring payments.

Cheers.

[tonyfloyd]

is it too late to signup???....please say NO!!...

[Mike]

Originally Posted by yellowarrior

I have a question SEO_mike, Instead of sending it to you, I figured id post it since someone like scotty_g might be able to answer it as well.

Since we will have landing pages set up with these offers, and some of the offers have small print related to the offer that clear the company, should we have any additional small print on our TLD's that states that these are offers from other companies and "1000reviews.com is not responsible for any programs blah blah blah. Basically when setting up a landing site, do we need small print of our own?

Hope I am not jumping the gun, and the question makes sense. Just want to make sure that my ass is covered from any people with reoccurring payments.

Cheers.

That's up to you and maybe the advertising network you use. I have one that requires a shit-load of disclaimers, etc before they'll let me run anything. It's ridiculous.

Anywhooooo....

Seeing as people are still asking me for domain ideas and how to choose a niche, I thought to myself: "Self, why create, edit and post a video that may or may not answer all their questions." And of course I replied "Well, me, that's a good fucking question".

Then, between me, myself and I (I was left out of the previous discussion, but I did come up with this) I decided:

Why not just do a live demonstration? We have the technology, and after today's successful test, it's a go.

Without further adieu:

Tomorrow between 2pm CDT and 3pm CDT Live from your computer:

Choosing a Niche and Domain Name

And for those not familiar with hyperlinked text:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/840721915

That's the sign up link for tomorrow's Webinar. For those that can't attend it will be recorded so you can play it back at your leisure.

Spots are limited (until I get the Pro version) so signup NOW! Using the link, of course. BTW, it requires your first and last name and email address. Sorry, I can't take that shit off of the signup page. So, get over it. I'm not going to spam you, or even use your email address for anything at all. I'm not sure if you can use a fake one or if the system will send you a confirmation email with a link to confirm. Use a real one that you can access.

[BradleyT2p2]

The thank-you page shows what you need to get in the webinar. But if you're going to do NE3 you should trust that SEO_Mike won't spam you.

For me it's during real job work hours but as long as we don't have our weekly meeting at that time I'll be good to go.

Thanks for doing this.

[CPW-Carl]

Hmm, that would be 5am my time. I'll have to watch the recording me thinks.

[rediim]

Hi all: (2rd post)
Now this is the 'juice'... I agree, SEO techniques are found in many net corners. So actually: researching, developing, executing, and analyzing a real live PPC campaign would be the ducks nuts, in my opinion.

P.S. I just signed up today, is it too late to join the group??

Last: fuck the SEO tutorial, figure it out on your own. Seriously though, I don't think it would be the best benefit for the most people. Sooooo....instead I'm going to do a tutorial on launching a PPC campaign from ground zero to actually running it. The tutorial will have a real campaign with a fixed budget. I'm not going to create a completely fake campaign for "widgets" or something. I'll go through the process of research, signing up for an affiliate network, choosing an offer, creating a landing page, signing up with an ad network, writing the copy, testing, etc..... Hopefully, it will even make some money. We'll see though.

Realistically, with all that needs to be done, NE3 is still probably 2 - 4 weeks away. I know, I know, stop your groaning, but I want this to really help people and not be a repeat of NE2. In the meantime, feel free to hit me up on AIM if you need help with something (other than sex or money, and sex is negotiable if you're female and really hot).

Get back to work, you're not making any money reading forums.

[Mike]

Whew! Just finished up with the webinar about 15 minutes ago. 90 minutes of questions, answers and tangents. I'll be posting the recording on A4DHelp.com for everyone to view once it's finished converting.

[vtec9k]

Was really good thanks Mike Couldn't get my mic working with it but was cool to just listen.