I started this challenge nearly a year ago when I had some free time, I didn’t realise how much time or effort it would take (each post with video is nearly 8 hours, and each post without a couple of hours).  Now I bring you day 19, and then the remaining 11 days to finish day 30 on the day that I started originally, and I hope that you will continue to join me on this journey to the end.

In the time since I last post things have changed, as I was saying a year ago, I believe that Social Marketing is key (head back to Day 1 to see this). This is something I believe even more strongly today, google have introduced +1 for human input to rankings, there are more social networking sites, and more guru’s are getting behind it publically (though only with outdated/over satuated techniques). Facebook is changing (new timeline, instagram etc), Twitter is changing (better spam control/automation prevention), youtube has changed (more advertising/social interaction), many new exciting sitess have sprung up including spotify, pinterest, chill, Wunderkit, Habbo, netlog, Zorpia and more. Making money online is a constantly evolving and diversifying industry, things change and its up to you to keep up without getting lost in the new ideas.

There is a saying I believe in completely, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for life”. This challenge is step by step however I am trying to keep the balance between theory and practicality. Its easy with an idea to give up purely because you do not know where to start, I believe I have solved that already for you (especially the ones that have started making money already). For the last 11 days I am going keep the step-by-step element however I am also going dive deeper into the science and theory. Which words are magic, how seo works (or doesn’t depending on your point of view), what authority actually means, and how you can leverage all these to make more money.

A few notes on Google Penguin and the big angry Google Panda

When I first started the challenge, I said that I was not going focus on SEO for Google etc with my focus being on Social Marketing for Social Traffic. In the past few days I have seen posts popping up saying Google is destroying businesses, people are going from earning thousands to pennies, and now people are asking where all the internet marketing and seo guru’s have gone… I have made a point about diversifying, not putting all your eggs into one basket. Whilst google may be the most popular, there are other search engines out there including Bing (which is the default on windows computers), Yahoo, Ask etc which while singulary may not give you equal results to google, when combined will. However that is beside the point, originally when the internet first started it was links (and Page Rank) that got you high ranking, then it was forums.

Now I honestly believe that the social revolution is upon us. Originally I said that although AI is good, to be accurate the search engine needs to be human edited. Whilst a human will not sit there and review sites in a database, a human will interact social and share/tweet/pin stuff that they like. They will use a description to refer to what they are linking to, they will share it, then if others agree that it is worthy, they will share it as well. People are complaining about crappy new sites getting to the top of the google listings, social bookmarking is one of the oldest tools for getting new sites ranked quickly… And it is also using social interaction, sharing that site across multiple different networks across different users. If I was to construct relevant engaging search results I would focus on the social history of that site, and the descriptive terms that the site is shared with.

Though not obsolete the way blog comments need to be used has also changed, the using keywords in the anchor text boost is no longer a good thing. Its easy to parse the comments from a blog post, and even easier to determine if the anchor text is a keyword. I would suggest that you use a proper name with blog comments such as “John at Crashed Challenge” to ensure that you are not penalised for trying to manipulate your rankings and to show that it is a real person.

Day 19 Part 2: To Follow Shortly

I’ve got a meeting in 8 hours to prepare for now, however I am releasing this now as I believe it will help people in what is a difficult and demotivating time. I will finish part 2 this afternoon and it should follow in the next 24 hours.

Hey Guys,

Crashed here, sorry for my absence I’m just doing my finals for my degree however today I have made our new design live! Over the next few days it’ll be tweaked a little and marks the start of the end of the Crashed Challenge. We’ve got 13 days left to go with new tools to play with, new  websites to use and new ideas to make you money.

I know that for some people the first 17 days have been what was needed to get that action started, to make it simple enough to remove the “don’t know where to start” factor that is all so often a persons downfall. I know that around 130 people doing the challenge have started to make money, and I know that it is in total at least around the $10,000 mark! Congratulations to all these people, and if you have not started, please make today the day you start to take action! In fact I am thinking of writing a short daily tracker tool so you can log your progress here each day if people are interested (let me know in the comments!).

Day 19 is in progress, I am just waiting on my other laptop with all the files on to come back from the repair company (I think the mainboard is dead )…. Once I have that back I will get rocking and rolling with this again!

- Crashed

It’s been a while, my studies (and illness) have kept me busy however here is Day 18. I am sat here Christmas Eve writting this after returning from Midnight Mass, with a cup of cocca and a cheese sandwich. I was wondering what I could share, that would give you value, and was special enough for Christmas Day. I have an idea, however it is up to you how you use what I am about to share.

The Secret to Internet Marketing

Many people have claimed to develop systems to riches, some with large pricetags. However they are all flawed because they rely on certain methods, websites, software, techniques which are all liable (and indeed likely) to change. I know that previously I have covered different techniques, however I have not come across any product that is going give you this.

The secret to Internet Marketing is… Curiousity!

Now traditionally marketers have said that Marketing is driving by demand. Digital goods (software/ebooks/mp3s/websites) have changed that, with very little or no cost to develop products demand is now not so important to a products success. Now CPA Marketing is based around digital goods, you get paid for someone giving out their email address, downloading poker software, or signing up to a website. The cost to the consumer for most of these is minimal, the majority of them are free.

Now you can spout the benefits of what you are trying to sell until you are blue in the face, yet this may not get you the conversion. You can tell them its free, yet by doing so you negate the value of it…

Now if I tell you I’ve found a new method to make money on facebook… Or that I got a free laptop… Or that there is technology to allow you to levitate… Your immediate thoughts are along the line of How?!?! Now this has got your curiousity raised, everyone is curious, just look at the office gossip. Think about why the news media is still going strong… Now people are nosy, however very few will ever admit to this… People are naturally curious, and I use this to my advantage every time I think about a new marketing campaign.

People are now naturally accustomed to clicking on links, if someone is curious they will click. Your job now is get their attention, get their curiousity. People are jealous of someone being better looking, having more money, playing better golf, and having a better phone. Now linking this jealousy to their curiousity is a way to a winning marketing campaign. Test it out for yaself right now (well maybe in a few days time), log onto your facebook and just say something like Just got in the guiness book of records… Or found a way to double my loan free!

Chances are people are going want to know how… This is the curiousity that you need to harness! Its now 3am, and I need to sleep as I am working at a shelter for the homeless today. I would ask you to please take a moment to consider helping Danielle

Help Me Deliver A Christmas Miracle

Danielle, a very good friend of mine is going into her second Christmas in intense pain, seriously ill with her condition having deteriorated from last Christmas. Danielle is only 17. Previously Danielle was full  of life and worked with ADHD/ADD and Autistic Children using horses and natural horsemanship techniques. Now she cannot walk let alone ride as when she is not bedridden, she is wheelchair bound. With over a year of pain she is close to giving up, losing contact with people, and believing that the world has given up on her. This Christmas I ask you to watch the video below, spare a prayer, leave a note on her facebook page (http://rfurl.net/dhfb) or if ya can make a donation (http://rfurl.net/xmaswish) with a personal message to her.