Adsense and the Thirld World
Ya know, I’ve been checking out some of the Adsense forums over at Goog and I am starting to think that there is half a planet full of people who might not have much but they have a computer and they know about Adsense.
There are way too many people with posts over there such as “Why don’t I make money with my adsense”? And sure enough, they have a blogger blog that’s about….Making money with adsense”. It’s hard to communicate sometimes due to language barriers somewhat but more because there seems to be this expectation that if you build it they will come.
I know Adsense can be a fantastic money maker but the expectations of so many is way too high.
Share ThisCraigslist Robbery Ring
I think we all know how valuable Craigslist can be for our marketing efforts both whitehat and blackhat but these losers have really taken it to the next level.
A group of teenagers in New York were posting ads in Craigslist “selling” Porsches. One of the ads had a 2002 911 Turbo selling for $50,000 obo. Another one had a 2005 Carrera GT being sold because the owner was “getting too old” for the car.
The ringleader was 17 year old Agniesika Banach (say that 5 times very fast) who recruited 6 dudes to be her muscle. They posted the ads in the affluent Long Island section hoping for people to show up for the cars with cash down payment.
It seemed to work. One couple from Pennsylvania drove up to New York and were attached by 4 guys who then stole the $4,000 they brought as down payment and in a separate incident, 2 guys who showed up with $22,000 were assaulted although they managed to get away losing only $500. Who carries this kind of money???
And I used to feel guilty when I’d post an ad on CL for some affiliate offer.
Buyer beware.
Share ThisTrying to just focus on tasks
I swear I’m developing ADD. Lately I have hardly been able to just pick one goal or task and finish it! As some may know, I have a money generating technique that has been good to me, I average about $xx,xxx/month with it. But it’s a time consuming bitch, incredibly boring and causes me brain freeze by the time I’m done every day.
So by lunchtime, I’m going nuts. Of course by then, I’m also scouring the posts at BlackHatWorld.com trying to find just ONE project I can sink my teeth into. Well, what happens is I wind up zipping back and forth in the forum, browsing posts or worse, downloading yet another freakin’ bit software or ebook and then taking the rest of the afternoon off while checking that out.
I’m scattered. I am making money but I need back up to what I’m doing. I need to diversify and I am not finding something I want to do yet.
Share ThisMyspace Cyber Bully May Face Trial
Something I read in the L.A. Times this morning over my coffee: Looks like a federal grand jury in LA has begun issuing subpoenas in the case of the Missouri teen who hanged herself after some taunting on Myspace
I’m sure you remember the case, 13 year old Megan Meier thought she was being rejected by a 16 year old boy she “met” in the shithole more commonly known as Myspace when in fact it was Lori Drew, the mother of one of her former girlfriends. This stupid bitch created the account solely for the purpose of communicating with Megan to see what Megan was saying about Drew’s daughter.
Prosecutors in Missouri have been trying to find some way to charge Drew with something but have been unable to find any statute under which they could prosecute her. However, in an interesting twist, prosecutors in the US Attorney’s office in Los Angeles are looking into charging Drew with fraud against Myspace by creating a false account.
Federal wire fraud and cyber fraud statutes are being looked at in the hopes of filing charges against Drew. Since Myspace is headquartered in Beverly Hills, the prosecutors think they can file the federal charges in California.
Interesting stuff. I guess I have two thoughts on this. The more important of the two is in relation to Drew who in my never humble opinion needs to be charged with something. What I don’t know but to let this fucktard get off without even a slap in the face is not acceptable.
The other is the detail on which they are looking at charging her and how it affects internet marketing. As we all know, many internet marketers have used Myspace in the past for for their money making ventures. Myspace and other social networks such as Hi5 and Facebook have been the target of bots used to create numerous, bogus profiles, add friends, comment and bulletin round the clock. Myspace has clearly cleaned up their site but there are still people using this method. In the past, Myspace made an attempt to delete fake profiles and in some cases, ban ip’s but I wonder if this case in Missouri and California might set a precedent on future efforts.
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Is Affiliate Marketing with CPA’s Legitimate?
So I was running some thoughts around my head, which is always dangerous, and I kept wondering if my one big money-maker is something I should be losing sleep over. It’s not spamming or phishing or anything of that nature but it does involve a bit of, shall we say, creativity.
And while this venture has been making me some nice money, I’ve always felt that if I could get a site with enough traffic I would sleep easier if I was making money with something more “legitimate”. Like with some affiliate sales via a CPA Network.
So after trying my hand with some CPA offers and making a few bucks here and there, it really dawned on me: So much of this stuff is total shit. I mean, “free” iPhones, “free” ringtones, “free” Xbox. Has anyone actually ever tried to go through the process to get any of thes freebies? It is a maze of crap that nobody is willing to go through.
So I concluded that even if you have a totally white hat site, say a Myspace resource site, and you’re making your change with CPA offers, it’s still a nasty, blackhattish way to make money. YOU get your bucks for the referral, the network gets their money and the vendor gets their lead. But the poor shmuck who clicked on the ad gets nothing. Or worse, gets bombed with future offers or charged for ringtones he didn’t want.
So I’m sleeping better, ya know? It’s all a game. It’s marketing in the 21st century I guess
Share ThisThe Bucks Report - From e-commerce to affiliate marketing
Well, you have to start somewhere. After spending the last 6 months of 2007 getting my feet wet in the world of affiliate marketing, cpa networks, Adsense and some, ahem, less than nobel means to generate income, this is my first post of my first “real” blog that deals with all of the above. Basically, I’m in this to make MONEY.
Just a brief history of myself for anyone who winds up reading this: I started dabbling with html and making cute little web pages for friends in the early 90’s. Sometime around late 1998 I decided to put my newfound interest in the internet and one of my hobbies together. The result was a website that became a full blown e-commerce site.
It was all hand coded html in notepad or word. It was labor intense, time consuming, unrewarding financially and I loved it. Over the next few years the site grew and in those early days of Google, I began to dominate on some very popular search terms. In fact, I was #1 on Google for 2-3 years for my most important search term.
Unfortunately, this did not lead to the riches some would think. My business did increase but the profit margins were incredibly slim. I had my own site, my own shopping cart, my own merchant account, my own UPS account and I was dealing with vendors and customers. I was also shipping out items at an increasing rate by myself from my home.
I finally started drawing some income from the business and felt I was doing good for a couple of years. Then, Google had their Jagger update and I was fucked. My listings dropped like a rock and in the end, having no money to hire an SEO team and having not been able to keep up on SEO myself, the business started to dwindle.
I still have the website although it’s been parked for a couple of months. This, to me, has been on of the biggest failures of my life and I am determined to revamp my “baby” and let her rise from the ashes like a Phoenix. I believe in 2008 that will happen. It will not be the same format but I will incorporate affiliate marketing and other monetization methods.
As I mentioned earlier, while I had more and more time on my hands, I started dabbling in buying some turnkey sites, monetizing with adsense and CPA offers. As I got deeper into this (while still not making any substantial income), I also started looking into some darker methods. Nothing spammy but just some alternative, creative ways to bring in some cash.
To be brief, I literally had an epiphany one day. I started a system that has made me anywhere between $300-$700/day on average since the middle of 2007. With that luxury, I’ve been spending more and more time in forums that help people like me and I am determined to make 2008 a fantastic earning year.
So, you’re saying, “Big fucking deal. What’s this going to do for me?”
What I hope to do is share some info here and maybe help someone else. Presently, I’m not prepared to share my “big” gig that I do because I am totally and utterly paranoid that I’ll lose it due to someone elses incompetence. Maybe one day.
In the meantime, I’ll just post. It might be shit, it might be something that leads you to earn big bucks which is why I’m calling this BucksReport.com
And hopefully I’ll learn how to optimize a wordpress blog in the meantime.
Peace to all and I hope anyone who reads this can at least grab one morsel of inspiration if nothing else.
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