and start to believe your own hype.
How to become a player online… A story.
Find a niche that is conducive to social traffic, generates passion and controversy and most importantly offers readers a life changing experience. Like “Turtle Migration in the Galapagos”…
or
“How to get rich working online while wearing PJ’s”…
It was a tough decision but I went with the second option. Mostly because everyone else was already in the “turtle” debate and clearly didn’t need another voice. Nobody was talking about how to get rich.
Perfect.
Let’s start a blog.
Write a few posts selling the dream of getting rich and throw in a few links to a product that “made me rich and changed my life and only costs $97 – cheap – and did all that without me actually having to buy it or read it.” Brilliant.
Crap. Nobody showed up to read my post. Nobody bought the “Book”.
Damn. Back to square 1. What’s missing in this niche?
Dissent! Yes. A White Knight. Yes. A Good Guy to warn the masses about all the evil predators lurking out there preying on peoples desires – you know those desires… wealth, power, getting the opposite sex to…
Watch out scammers – your days are numbered.
Enter a popular forum that has all the experts in the niche. Zero in on the resident top dog expert – easy to find as they always have something to say on every topic. They have 15,000 posts in the forum – they know everything – because they have 15,000 posts in the forum. You know they never leave the forum and hence – don’t make a dime online – who has the time? You don’t get 15k posts on the forum if you are away working…
So. Swaddle right on up to the expert and calmly say… “you’re full of shit”. The expert goes ballistic… huffs, puffs, rants… and waits for the sycophants to come to the rescue. Those would be the experts in training – the people with only 10k posts on the forum. You laugh and leave while dropping a link back to your blog. And wait…
Lo and behold… people start showing up. Turns out a good number of non-experts used the forum. They too thought the experts were full of shit. They didn’t say anything… timid, unsure, they know they are beginners. “Boy are we glad someone finally told that windbag to shut the…”
Presto… a following.
Step 2 – find a few like minded individuals. Form a coalition – knights of the round table. Venture forth and slay the overlords of make money online bullshittery.
Bask in the glow of self righteous dogoodiness and welcome the growing masses with open arms. Be humble. Tell people the truth – well your truth – they love it.
Time goes on – you have a few critics – they make a few comments that are actually valid… “hey aren’t you selling shit online too?” Fortunately you have a small army of friends who quickly beat the critics into submission. Critics go away. All is right with the world. You’re a good guy – sure you make a few bucks but your way is legit – the bad guys are scum. You let the criticism drift to the back of your list of things that need fixin’ – you have a world to change first. You start thinking this because your friends are telling you how great you are… wow, you have power, influence… holy shit – YOU are a somebody!
But you aren’t. You know it. You have an inbox full of emails from real people – asking for real help and you know that your methods work for you and those like you but not for all – they don’t have your resources. They don’t live where you live. They don’t speak your language. They don’t play golf with the Captains of their local Industry. The world is a big place and success favours those who were clever enough to be born in the right place, have access to all the necessary accessories, first hand knowledge of the market where the money is… N. America. Life isn’t fair. You can’t make it so. You feel like an ass because you sell people a dream that they really can’t achieve as easily as you did, if at all – you didn’t take their money but this doesn’t mitigate your responsibility or collusion in the dream.
You’re no better than the people you warn others about.
Fraud. Hypocrite. This isn’t coming from the critics anymore. It’s coming from yourself.
You quit.
You go back to what you used to do. A little wiser. Hopefully. You leave the shit behind. Spend your time building a business – not a gimmick. It works. No secret, no magic formula – nothing you can sell a book about. Just plain old fashioned work.
It’s boring as hell. You spend all day with a computer. No discourse with the outside world. You make money. Money is nice. It’s not fulfilling but its nice. You miss your friends – not the boot licking sycophants – just the discussions you had with friends who shared your interests.
You re-emerge, throw out a post or two. And wait. Whew – the sycophants have moved on to a new white knight who is going to save the world. Thankfully your friends are still around – wiser too – still working but they too have dropped the gimmicks and got down to business. And the critics are there as well – good – no need to mount a defense. Criticism is the only thing that keeps you grounded, lets you know where you stand, points out your mistakes, allows you to improve and mostly keeps your head out of your ass. “Is he appeasing Google?”… “What’s this shit he’s talking about?”… “An about face?”… If I said I have moved on I’d only be attempting to manipulate the masses – it would start all over again. Those who want to try something different are welcome to follow along, those who like what they are doing are welcome to keep doing it. There is no one way, right way or wrong way – just whatever works for you.
If you want to make a name for yourself online I just told you one way of doing it and the Salty Droid (the white knight link above and by all means spend some time reading his posts) is the current manifestation of a talented writer borrowing a tried and not so true persona (Vic, The Rich Jerk) to wage a war of limited importance (none) against an evil empire of Internet marketers who will always exist and will always make money off of the weak and gullible who, in turn, will always exist and, like lottery tickets, will continue to buy shit even though they know its crap because they don’t want to work for stuff because its easier to dream about getting lucky.
Just be warned – there is a problem with this kind of fame. In response to those of you who have sent me emails extolling the virtues of the Droid and insisting I jump back on the bandwagon let me say this – it is a doomed enterprise and the internet has a long memory. Once you are known you can’t erase your tracks. If you pursue a crusade – no matter how noble – using inflammatory tactics, sailor language, appealing to base emotions, stifling reasoned debate, banishing your critics and allow your sycophants to massage your ego you will eventually find yourself preaching to the choir and only the choir. The New York Times won’t be asking for your opinion and the silent majority of sensible people who you really need to appeal to will have turned their back. You become a foul mouthed fanatic, entertaining in a freak show way, but unworthy of serious reference or admiration. Your own reputation becomes worse than the people you rail against. Sure you are a good guy – your intentions are noble. It’s just that you’re an asshole about it and the majority of people don’t like assholes.
There is a new direction in Internet marketing – actually it’s not new – just more stable, less prone to sudden destruction. Become an expert. Build an authority site. Become famous in your niche. Let your content (still queen) be your voice and the links (still king) will find you. The thing is – you won’t be dependent on any one source for your traffic so if the links don’t find you, big deal, you will still survive. Build a reputation based on knowledge of the subject matter and keep your personal opinions to yourself – nothing drives off readers and customers like finding out you don’t share their political, religious, ethical or moral views. Unless you are in those niches you might want to keep quiet – I like marketing to everyone – not just those of my ilk.
To some this post is nothing more than a cynical attempt to manipulate my readers or Google. To some it will be the last they see of me. To some it will be my way of apologizing for the past and starting over. For me I just needed to clear the air – my air. I’ve endured the stench of this niche for a long time and need to admit the hypocrisy and bullshitery I engaged in before I can move on. No I didn’t take your money but I let people believe the dream and encouraged it while knowing that it benefited me while not really benefiting others. I talked about tricks and short cuts and manipulation that worked for short term gain and, yes, still works today but I should have said enough – I should have said stop the bullshit and start building a long term business based on marketing fundamentals that will provide a lasting presence and a sustainable income. Fundamentals that don’t rely on tricks or the whims of algorithms or whatever the current social trend is. I talked about A while doing B. It was wrong and I apologize. I don’t have an answer for everyone. I only know what works for me. What I know may help you or it may not. Are you wasting your time in this business? Only you can answer that.
Cheers
Griz
I sense a lot of people are resistant to these ideas because they feel it is an either/or proposition, like there is no gray area. They feel this is a war and they need to pick a side. The great content producing natural links method works. The “good enough” content with tons of backlinks method works(and probably will work for quite a while longer, or even for the foreseeable future). However, there are a hundred levels in-between that work as well, along with many other methods that work outside of these methods. For instance, you can use the backlink method to get some attention, in the form of search engine traffic, to your excellent content. Then you can transition(slowly) to 100% natural method as that attention and authority translates to natural links and natural rankings.
It doesn’t need to be a war, and the success of one method does not invalidate the other methods.
BTW, this isn’t directed at you Griz, but at the inevitable discussions this post will spark.
… wiping away a tear. lol.
Griz – surely not everything you wrote was BS. In fact a lot of it that worked then … still works now. Trouble is, it’s gonna be hard for the Noobs to figure out what is the goods and what is the IM’er hype. Certainly changing ones perspective from being a ‘work in your PJ’s’ IM’er to a respected online business brand will help. In fact when I compare my terrestrial business to my IM business … as far as business form goes, they are the same: produce a quality product or provide a good service – advertise and market – take advantage of word-of-mouth advertising and before you know it, you have more work than you can handle.
This appears to be the direction that you are moving and I’m really looking forward to the Marketing Lessons on the .ca site.
That took balls, Griz, and I really appreciate that. Good work and good luck.
Shaun
The info in your blog is what got me started and for the last 2 1/2 years I have been lucky enough to be a full time internet marketer making enough to support myself.
Just wanted to say Thanks Griz! Without you I would probably be working a 40 hour a week cubicle job.
Nicely done Griz. A refreshing bit of realism.
A – Freakin – Men!
The winds of change are clearly blowing from the big G, and even though spammy niches and mass link building methods still work (and they do!) I just don’t have the stomach to know that I could go to sleep and a $20k a month “business” could be gone by the time I wake up.
Building good sites, good content, and a good user experience takes more time than most potential IM’ers are willing to spend, and in my book that is a very very good thing.
Knowing how to manipulate the SERPs is a good thing, but if that is your only way of supporting your site then you’re in for a world of hurt eventually.
Wow, this post blew me away. Could not be more excited for you Griz, in coming to terms with this stuff in your own mind and communicating it to us.
You are still the ultimate teacher, whether you want the role or not. This post cements it even further! And I think, for those who paid attention, this is really what you were teaching all along, somewhat between the lines. At least that is what I picked up, watching your epic mega-long posts on the old blog….”watch what you do, not what you say” and so on.
Yes, I think you were teaching this to us all along, for those who paid attention. Thank you too for posting again.
One last thing…..we don’t like you because we think you are a guru….we like you because you are a guru who is so darn honest. Plain and simple. We see the honesty, it comes through. That is why we cling to every post your put out there. That is why you are exalted. Simple honesty.
Then you go and make this humble post…..now it is even worse!
If you ever need a favor just email me and ask….it’s yours. I owe you one.
Unfortunately that’s the problem – I backed myself into a corner where the image has become absurd and I can’t escape it. I really am just another schmo looking out for number 1 while trying not to cause too much damage to others along the way. I would like to help when I can but I don’t have all the answers and being called a “guru” makes me cringe. I’m the least “sociable” person I know in real life and trying to impersonate someone I’m not has taken its toll. If nothing else I just want my friends online to know that I don’t believe all the hype and you shouldn’t either. Sure the stuff I talked about worked and still does but I was still talking about it long after I stopped doing it myself. I didn’t really have a way out of the conundrum so I just buggered off. Now that I’m back I have to clean house and be honest about it. Thanks for the kind support.
Hi Grizz,
I’ve only just started IM, and I have to say, short-cut or no short-cut, your old blog (and your friends whom your inspired) was where I learnt the most. And from what I can gather, some of the strategies you outlined still work.
Thanks for providing novices and noobs free information in such an entertaining way. You at least made us aware of what other people are doing in terms of short-term SERPs gain (and have us decide for ourselves whether to engage in those strategies or not).
You’ve outlined your position now regarding building a long term business, and co-incidentally, TKA and Leo and RT and other IM experts have also come out in support of this. Surely this is the way to go for our business to be sustainable.
I welcome this and thank you for your candor as always.
of course if you didn’t like the attention, you could just silently go away…
Tried that for the last year but… kinda missed the fun. Good point though.
Don, Shush… don’t tempt him to leave us again!
lol
Wow Griz that was a great (and deep) post. You might know it or think it anymore, but you have taught/helped a lot of people a heck of a lot more than most bloggers/marketers have — and for free. And in doing so you have created a lot of successful internet marketers who would not have become that way without you. Of course, there are plenty who tried to follow you but just couldn’t do it for whatever reasons. But you didn’t take them for all they are worth in the process. And I would say the good has far outweighed the bad. I, for one, am damn glad you are back — no matter what anyone else thinks!!!
I honestly don’t have a clue what you are talking about.
I have always written content and gotten links. Worked then and works now. All of it, and I mean ALL OF IT my 100% unique content. Why should I change?
I sure thought that’s what you taught. At least that is what I took away from the stuff you wrote.
Now everyone is in cahoots saying be social. Not gonna happen with me. I’m just going to keep on posting and linking. I’ve always tried to build quality from the start.
Those were the days, my friend…
hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7jcRaO4Y0A
I love history, as reviewed with the benefit of perspective. Not always fun or easy to do, but there are lessons to be had for those willing to see them. Kudos to you.
Happy New Year!
So…I guess that pretty much rules out the much anticipated release of the Grizzly T-Shirt and coffee mug combo pack?:(
I appreciate the commentary and the honesty in this post and I really do hope you sleep well or at least better after writing it. I’ve always enjoyed what you’ve written and found it interesting…whether I agreed with it all or not. I can’t help but agree with where you’re going now because it’s about as fundamental as you can get in running any business…online or offline. There is a known path to success and it doesn’t come from short cuts, tricks, tactics. Sure you can pull in a few lucky charms by doing this or that but sustained success is a much different animal.
And if it’s any consolation, I really never looked at you as a guru…but just another chum who hacks it around the links and likes to support that filthy habit by working for himself rather than somebody else.
Make 2011 your best year ever Mr. Griz!
Hell no – I’ll be using the mugs and T-shirts as door prizes for the first annual Grizzly Golf Tournament. Should be a huge event as I believe there are now officially 3 other golfers (besides me) in IM.
This is sad news for me. I so much hoped to sip my morning coffee from a Grizzly mug! Given my golf skills, I might not qualify
Griz, do you happen to run a golf lessons website where I can learn to play like a pro without even getting close to a golf field? If you do, please send me the link and count me in for your Grizzly Golf Tournament
Simonne, Simonne… IM rule #1 Never build a site that targets men over 40 – you will starve to death. (Expensive sports cars and condos excepted)
Stick to females under 12 – anything that has Justin Beiber on it. Females over 12… anything Oprah likes and has shoes involved.
Hey a Justin Beiber Golf School with free shoes just might work… (as seen on Oprah) Brilliant! Thanks Simonne.
I might actually buy a Grizz coffee mug! That’s a niche worth testing
WTB a Grizz mug!
Another fine post by you. I’ve always read between the lines of your posts. Whether you meant for us to or not? I saw that there was a method to the madness in your posts. I viewed your make money online blog as a case study.
Count me in for your golf tourny. I own some clubs, suck at golf, but can drive a cart and drink with the best of them :0. Plus I only live 3 hrs away.
Griz are you drunk or something?
WTF is this post?
So you are feeling sorry for yourself and feeling guilty for doing A while you told us to do B? Are you kidding me? B worked man!
We didn’t like you because you were down on the other IM’ers who flogged $97 ebooks, we liked you because what you told us gave us another perspective on this IM game. And it really did work. And what didn’t work for us we were able to massage our own way until it did. Because we had confidence in our own abilities now.
So you hid behind a bear picture. So what. So you had a ‘persona’ online that didn’t match your true intentions – again so what. I’ve watched enough movies to know that the actors are not really like that in real life.
If you choose to take a different direction now then good for you. I may or may not follow because I have free will and can make my own decisions. Yes all your followers (like me) have their own thoughts and opinions too, aren’t we lucky.
But guess what, WE DO ALL still like you and respect what you say – Yes Grizz, we like you, we really like you. So I choose to keep following you because I enjoy what you have to say no matter where you go and what you say now. My choice.
Come on Griz, snap out of it.
Lol… This post makes more sense if I had published the stack of recent emails with it. Let’s just say I was talking to the crowd that doesn’t typically post comments. Thanks Tracey – snap snap…
Are you still publically giving out your email address? If so I want it! Are comments like these with the propper anchor text a “no no” now if I’m making a comment anyways? So instead I should link to my competitors?
Best tee prizes I’ve come across in awhile (been slim pickins on the Callaway gift cards:) so count me in!
Griz you’re full of crap, what the hell does a wild animal know about making money online anyway…….crap I jumped the gun – I guess I should have put up a site first before stirring the pot for traffic.
Griz, at the end of the day this thing is always going to change. I remember one of your last posts when you challenged the status quo and in the comments some guy was going of about his one page site is solid content or whatever. Bottom line: this is FEAR demonstrated through an emotional knee jerk reactions. Regardless if a person’s one page site is the greatest article ever written about a subject – if the algo is programmed to axe a one pager then poof it’s gone – call it collateral damage.
I get the whole reinventing yourself (much like the algo seems to be doing), but don’t worry about the haters and those that can’t deal with change. A lot of what you wrote about still stands in this apparent paradigm shift. You still command a lot of respect at TKA.
BTW – Hurry up and start writing your how to posts! I’m really looking forwarded to your revamped method. Not to be spoon feed but more to confirm stuff some of us have been seeing.
Your the coolest Winter-peger I know!
Its coming Darren – just had to put this issue to bed before proceeding to the next chapter. Everyone in Winter-peg is cool – its 20 below outside.
Hey Darren,
It’s me you are talking about in your post, and:
1. You have no idea what you are talking about;
2. I have the utmost respect for Griz, I have been following his blogs for almost 3 years now. Starting a debate does not mean I’m a hater.
I stopped by via link on James’s blog and I really enjoyed your posts. The style reminded me of a Fulghum essay.
But I have to take issue with this:
. . . current manifestation of a talented writer borrowing a tried and not so true persona . . .
I’m not going to comment on the fact that a supposed “attorney” doesn’t seem to have the slightest concept of what constitutes as libel or what “freedom of speech” actually covers. And that this same “attorney” thinks copyright infringement is a joke and that there is nothing wrong with “acquiring” someone’s files on a private online account because “they showed up in Google.”
I’m also not going to comment on the fact that the vast majority of commenters don’t seem to have the basic understanding on how business in the real world works and think everything is a big conspiracy (sometimes I think they were originally heading for InfoWars.com and took a left turn somewhere.)
Whatever . . . everyone has a right to be an idiot and to their own opinion.
. . . but a “talented writer?”
That I have to take issue with.
If you think that site is an example of “good writing,” then you’ve been reading too much spun PLR. Go to the library and pull out some classics . . . please!
Saying people read that blog for the writing is like saying people watch porn for the acting.
Carla
Carla,
Do I detect a bit of a grudge between you and Jason? No worries – unlike the Droid I don’t censor (other than spam) and all viewpoints are welcome. I’m not sure I said he was a good writer – what do I know about Good? Talented… well he does have a following and that does take some talent. I don’t like a lot of successful people online but I have to admit they have talent even when they aren’t my cup of tea. Nice to meet you.
This is why you can never trust the Grizzly! Many have tried and failed.
I don’t think I want to try to tame you or put you in a zoo. I am just going to respect who you are and keep admiring how true to your nature you stay.
Well if you have to Denise… sending money would be OK too.
Hey well, sometimes the point of blogging is to work out some thoughts. It isn’t a finished product. You’re just going over theories and trying to use the process of writing to find out what works best. Sometimes your posts were contradictory. For example, your post about credit cards and your post about long titles. Everything I learned from your blog…
Links matter.
Anchor text of links matter.
Not answering the question makes more money from Adsense
Google is the devil
Darren Rowse is wrong(actually though he says a lot of the same stuff about SEO that you do, and TKA charges $5 for a forum so what’s wrong with problogger.com…)
Allyn Hane and Splork write great content
Darren Rowse sells pure fluff and fluff and fluff… gag and gag and gag but… I’m over that…
Ha! Who knows what to believe with the Griz? It’s always been watch what you do, not just listen to what you say.
But no matter. The regular commenters here respect you. You’ve earnt that respect by helping them and this post won’t change a thing.
Besides, what you taught before works and it’s not incompatible with what you’re saying now. Most people have already worked that out already (give us some credit!), but they wouldn’t have even been on the path without you.
Thanks Stephen. It’s good to hear from you – I trust things are well?
You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. I came to your blog about 1.5-2 years ago obsessed with being in the MMO niche and making scraps. Hell, I didn’t even know how to tag right. Now I’m about 3 months away from being able to live without ever really working again. You have no idea how many times I referenced you to my dad and gf. I’m sure they thought I was crazy, going on about Griz is this guy from Alaska that’s the real deal or Griz said to do this so I’m trying it in niche XYZ.
I always knew you made money and you wanted to make money. That’s the name of the game, right? Yeah, you had some ads on your sites and had an affiliate product or two but so what. You gave away golden, golden information for free. I mean the insight on current G trends, the no hiding the ball, step-by-step guides on how to do stuff – this was invaluable info that I ran with and am now successful with. It has paid huge dividends for me. Your knowledge has proven so valuable to me, if you ever had a PPV newsletter or info session every month, I’d buy without even thinking.
Some people aren’t going to get it. Some people were never going to get it. Making money online with niche blogging takes a certain kind of person that grasps simple but intricate details.
And by the way, I made my money without a lot of resources. Sure I’ve spent a few $100 on domains and webhosting on the niche blogs I have but I didn’t have a ton of resources at my disposal other than your text. And by my count I never saw you once say you had to spend money to make money online.
In my eyes, I saw someone that ranked #1 on Google for “make money online” and said that’s good enough for me. I ran with every word you wrote and it’s paid off big time for me.
You always said what you thought was the truth and I think you did so with uncanny accuracy.
You’re no white knight to me. You were the badass that got to #1 on Google for one of the most competitive keywords out there. You gave simple and sound advice to beginners and it worked because it was the truth. Worked for me anyway – and I was on the outside looking in.
The blog post was brilliantly written btw.
Well Kris… flatter me all you want but I’m still going to fleece you for all you have.
(Thanks – quite sincerely)
Grizz,
No, no grudge . . . why would I?
What you sense is exasperation at how many times I have read people use “he’s a good/talented/creative/etc” writer as their excuse for why they follow that blog.
People follow it because they like seeing someone take pot shots at the “head honchos.”
Own it and be honest about it, but don’t try to wrap it up in a pretty package and say it is “because of the writing.” (generalized comment, not directed at you in particular.)
The people he attacks are big fish in a very tiny pond. They may be causing big waves in the tiny pond . . . but it is still a tiny pond. No one knows who they are outside of the IM crowd.
I think that’s why he started in on The Secret guy. The self help market is a much larger audience.
Yes, there are scammers in IM, just as there are in every industry. It doesn’t mean that every prominent person in the industry is a scammer or that it is okay to malign everyone in it just because there is some sort of association between them.
If someone is reading the site because they are looking for some sort of “justice,” their moral compass should be telling them that a lot of what spews from this “crusader” site is not right at all.
Carla
You are preaching to the choir Carla – as mentioned in my post if you want to make a name for yourself just pick a fight with the reigning “expert” and have at it. Works every time – no moral rectitude needed. It’s not right and will bite him in the ass eventually but I have little sympathy for the targets or him. While a few decent folk float around in the IM sewer the bulk are exactly where they belong – sinking in their own excrement.
Grizz,
Appreciate your posts and watching your marketing skills. I didn’t start reading you as a white knite blogger, you just happened to be one of the first people I found online. My earnings are growing even though I haven’t done much the past few months. Been taking a break for a while as my wife has been very sick this past year, and I’ve been tending to her. Here’s to a great 2011. Looking forward to your reading your lessons website.
Thanks Medic and happy to hear from you but very sorry to hear your wife is ill – my thoughts are with you.
thanks for the thoughts.
Hi Griz,
You used a couple somewhat quotes from a post I made:
” “Is he appeasing Google?”…“An about face?”” etc…
I also said in that post(or in the same topic). That I do not know you(other than from your blogs). Pretty much alluding to the fact that I have no clue the real answer and was saying what I thought was going on.
It’s pretty cool to get quoted from a guru
Glad you were able to post this and say what really was going on.
As for your recent talk about local marketing with small business, I have been doing it since 2005 and it is much easier than running on the link treadmill, but I do build sites and build links and will continue. If you can do both why not?
Deek,
I was paraphrasing comments on the TKA forum and the mountain of emails I’ve received – not sure who said what but didn’t matter – I caught the gist of it all. Hopefully the teeth gnashing will subside.
“If you can do both why not?” – exactly…
Thanks Deek
Hey Griz, I personally don’t mind the old information you have given out. It works and there are ways to make it work better by mixing it with the whole social type media thing and being clever. While yeah, I haven’t made a dime(I won’t monetize until I know its worth it –getting in the top 3–), I have actually risen in the serps with more than two sites. The one that gets hundreds of visitors a day, I don’t think can bring in any money unless it starts to bring in like 10s of thousands per day by having CPM ads. The other is for a pretty highly competitive term(the one I emailed you about) that surprised even me by how close it comes to getting to page one. Granted, I think that when I started that site, I didn’t have a grasp on how tough the competition was(or how best to go about marketing it) . They actually have their own SEO teams… that I definitely know for sure. They don’t always play fair either. The closer you get, the faster they will try and knock you back. I will say that each time I start a new site or a new page, I do things better than before and think things out which in turn shoots up faster and more stable than I thought it would ever get to.
Your posts are so long, that sometimes its kind of confusing to understand. Are you basically saying, to all those that believed they could get to page one for “auto insurance” by making links and following your advice that it basically would never happen without spending money?
I kind of realized at one point that following your advice would only get me to a certain point and the next hurdle would be a money one, I think the trick here is to find a niche where the money hurdle isn’t too damn expensive. I’m not talking about buying shoddy links either, but press release links for quality content. Maybe I’m just talking out the side of my ear though, I don’t know if that’s what you are trying to say.
Red,
I always tried to keep the money side out of the conversation given the audience but lets say I don’t shy away from the issue with my business clients. There are niches that require some cash to change hands or a helluva lot of luck. Nothing seedy or unethical mind you but paid advertising has its place and other listings that don’t come cheap.
I’m happy.
Happy with what you said.
Happy with with your realizations.
Happy with your admissions.
Happy with your intentions.
Happy to know somebody who thinks alike.
I am happy.
Costa old friend, are you, by any chance… happy?
You bet.
By the way, an old site of mine thatI first tried to seo, but got rid of was eventually scoopped up by a domain grabber(it had a pr2) and redirected it to a Galapagos vacation information/service site. I thought that was kind of funny that I read that in the title. I never even heard of the place, it just rung a bell. I checked my old domain and yeah, still redirected to that
It’s kinda out of the way and doesn’t have a golf course (?) so I haven’t been but I believe Chuck Darwin used to vacation there…
Well, Now that you have that off your chest, good luck! All the bes in the new year.
Hi Griz
-20 c hey…nice and balmy here in Calgary -4c and getting warmer. Gotta love that Chinook weather here….
I think Tracey pretty much summed up much on how I feel. We all are individuals and have to decide what we want and what is right for each of us. Like you mentioned, there is not one right way to do things. We all need to adjust and adapt as the algo’s change. I am going out on a limb here, but, I am sure you don’t mind Google sending you those checks from Adsense, even if they are from a MMO niche. So, you don’t need to feel bad, but thank you for being honest anyways.
Since you are changing up the way you do things online and what amounts to a Griz cleanse
does that mean you are going to finally tell us your real name?????
Have a great day
Ok my turn now.
Grizz.. I’m certainly not your friend (as I haven’t get any email responded 2 or 3 years ago) and I don’t know where i’m standing here… but the truth is that I saw it coming.
The internet is full of crap and within that crap we are trying to make a dime… Real information is always there hidden on plain sight for those who want it (and take the time to read it ofcourse)… but the problem is that real information sometimes pays you shit.
At the end… it always falls on the fact that you don’t know if you enjoy what you are doing…bla bl abla
promises of a world that never was and never will be… pointless useless stuff that worn you out.
you found yourself spent and been aware of the situation you pulled your ass out..doesn’t worth it…
now my concern..
wtf are we (the guys who try to read within the lines in order to UNDERSTAND the governing dynamics of this business so we can OWN IT as we SHOULD) are gonna do?
we lack the resources… we nay not live in North America.. and the process is slow and boring…
I say so because I trend to read your post to recharge the batteries… This guy did it… why I cant?
it is not as complicated… I just got in the game late… so i keep pushing forward (After spending an afternoon reading you) and it started to pay off..
I just find myself with mixed feelings so don’t get me wrong… I HAD TO TALK IT OUT.
weput over and out.
IMHO, that was the best thing you’ve ever written. It was a joy to read.
You verified something I had already realized while trying to assess your new direction and what it might mean for me: I know what works for my niches and what will allow me to sleep peacefully at night. And that’s all I need to know.
Thanks for your honesty.
PS — In case you didn’t see it, I answered your comment to me on your last post. You may not have even seen it, because of the zillion nested comments.
WTF???????? I have to learn GOLF ….. now you bloody tell me!!!! Stuff that has worked for years still works for me- which is lucky – cause I don’t think too many Industry Capitains play min-put do they?
Just don’t turn this into a golf tips blog – please – the marketing I can maybe the handle – the golf – nope a step too far I think.
Looking forward to the next chapter …
1. This post is a freakin’ masterpiece.
2. I fully understand where you’re coming from where developing a false online persona is concerned. Heck, on one niche site of mine, I’m a woman–try explaining that to my wife.
3. Whether you felt like your online persona reflected the real “you” or not, the info was solid gold.
4. My first six months with Adsense, I made a grand total of 48 cents. Yup, 48 cents. Found your MMOFB blog. Making a WHOLE lot more now.
5. I’ve never darkened the doors of the Warrior Forum, or any other loser-fest online hangout. All I’ve done is work quietly, like you talked about. Authority sites are the way to go. Hard, boring freakin’ work…that’s what pays the bills.
6. Not trying to “butter you up” because I don’t flatter, but you are a real hero to many people that you don’t even know about. This online income that I’m making now is REAL. It REALLY pays bills. It REALLY buys my kids Christmas presents. It REALLY helps me get out of debt. Regardless of your motive, the collateral damage is minimal compared to the benefits that I and many others have received from the information you shared.
7. Black hat, white hat, grey hat, polka-dot hat, they’re really all the same when it comes down to it. We ALL manipulate the SERPs to one degree or another.
8. The most valuable thing I learned from you is to not expect some step-by-step plan that a brainless fartknocker could do, but rather experiment until you find out what works for you. Many of my experiments crapped out, but some have truly struck gold.
9. If you want to walk away from all of this IM insanity, I fully understand. It’s crazy and stupid and ridiculous. But thank you for what you shared on that God-forsakenly ugly Blogger blog–it helped to change my financial life.
A good post in many ways Griz.
Hi Griz!,
As you said,
“I don’t have an answer for everyone. I only know what works for me. What I know may help you or it may not. Are you wasting your time in this business? Only you can answer that.” ……….. a bit later …. “To some it will be the last they see of me”
Well I may be dub as *uck
but but… this is certainly not the end of YOU for me. So in my humble opinion…. as you said – all the results at the end depend on our skill level as readers or the way we take in your opinion in other words.
So, I’ll try them both ways and even try to make my own way out of it (shiz have a look at my little ego
), because I certainly don’t know in what way I’ll succeed until I try one.
But what you’re saying the way I get it is —>Always try to “spin” the content that creates a safer margin in Search engines point of view.
After all , there isn’t really anything “original” (at least what I think). Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote his famous book but some says his writing style is very similar to his childhood favorite another Russian writer who’s name I forgot (shit
kinda destroyed the momentum… man why this always happen 
).
We hardly ever creates something original, so anyway, all I know is that I’ll listen to you (especially through that .ca site hi hi
) and listen to you well.
And you start those IM lessons pretty soon Griz, kinda having a really hard time waiting
.
“Just” Gyan. – hope this won’t end up in the PASM folder
There is absolutely nothing I can say about all this. In my own inimitable way, I’ll just write about it on my own blog.
Thanks Griz,
I appreciate your honestly and your willingness to state the facts as you see them. If you are as old as I am it sometimes takes a while to see change and admit that changing is worth the effort. Sometimes it is easier to change but not tell anyone about it until you can prove that the change is good for you and them.
I look at Internet Marketing just like I look at a review of a product. A review written today will reflect the current technology. A review written two years ago is most likely out of date and worthless unless you are buying a used car. The latest marketing gimic today will be worthless in less than two years. Like product reviews the hard part is wading through the sales pitches and whiners to find the truth.
One simple thing I have learned. For every niche there are 500 Internet Marketers out there trying to sell you something with the least amount of effort on their part (2-5 page niche sites), there are 20 passionate people who enjoy the niche but don’t have a clue on how to market their ideas or product and 2 who are passionate (actually know what they are writing about)and know how to market (they have learned from the straight up few like you). Those are the ones making the maximum amount the niche can handle.
Yeah right, Griz “just another schmo”!
Next you’ll be trying to tell us you can’t even walk on water!
I, too, am not the most sociable person in real life, but if my posts were as entertaining and informative as yours, I’d be cashing in BIG time.
As far as I know, I’ve read just about every word you’ve published online (that has your name on it;-) and I may not be a rich internet marketer because of it (my own fault), but I’m not scarred for life because of it either.
I’ll still be looking forward to every post!
[...] evil caricature of itself. It's not always intentional; it usually comes with the territory of becoming popular.In the Internet marketing arena, it's a dog-eat-dog world, or so it seems. That's why, [...]
You’ve got to be happy with that post!? Excellent to really hear you.
So where to now, can you keep that level of honesty? I hope so it’s very good.
I’ve always liked your stuff but never that much, but I do owe you a lot as I found KWA through you and they’ve set me on my way.
If you’ve now reached a point where you’ve “made it” and feel more secure it would be incredible to hear your real voice week in week out.
Thanks,
Jamie.
I’ve taken a habit of trying to read something inspirational the first thing every morning, and I have often read something off your blog… This doesn’t really qualify, you almost brought tears in my eyes.
I have found myself using short term strategies “only for now, since I need some ‘fast money’”, and never really making the move to the longer term strategies, because short term money needs a lot of maintenance.
Fidning your blog two years ago and quitting my dayj-o-b a year ago were great, but now I am facing something that might put an end to to it. Even so, count me in as a golfer even though I haven’t been playing as much the past few years as I would have liked..
Geesh.. its -20C outside here as well..
I like your new direction. Although you always came across as honest to me, even when you weren’t, if you know what I mean! I’m guessing that many of your readers didn’t see you as some ‘all knowing guru’, but instead just read between the lines, as others have said. Personally I’ve always taken what resonates with me from your posts, and left the bits that didn’t, as with any other info source. I’m sure most people who have found success after reading your stuff are those who can think for themselves and put their own spin on what they learn, rather than just following along blindly. It must be tough to have people putting you on a pedestal though, and I like the advice to avoid attracting that kind of audience by just focusing on the subject matter & staying away from controversy. I’m not a social person either, so keeping a low profile personality-wise suits me fine.
I decided last year to focus most of my efforts on a single site in a niche I know & love, with minimal link building. I second-guessed that decision a couple of times (with negative results, as I mentioned in my comment on your last post), especially when I read around at TKA and saw that most people – many who are making much more money than me – are doing the opposite. I wish I’d had the confidence to trust my own gut feeling from the start. But it’s nice now to have settled on a plan of action that lines up with my own values.
It’s great to see more people shifting to a model where they add genuine value to the web, rather than spewing any old rehashed rubbish just to get clicks or sales. I think everyone – searchers, publishers, advertisers & search engines – will benefit from a quality-centered approach in the long run (though I can just see some ppl rolling their eyes at that lol)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Say it ain’t so Grizz.
Tell me you are still backlinking like a thing possessed and targeting tough terms that need lots of links.
Just messing (well, not really no) but at least you are giving peeps some food for thought. Not that I am going to be giving up the joy of writing the same old content over and over for links
You do know that you are confusing the hell out of a lot of people don’t you? I understand the post though. You want to be honest about what you now do and don’t want to give advice that you don’t follow anymore.
Damn I’m glad you’re back Griz. Thank you for the honesty and integrity. I’ve learned a lot from you in the past (all good), and this post just confirms to me that I was right in moving on toward authority and respect in my niche as opposed to freak-linking at 2 a.m. and participating in the (thanks Splork) web sewage. Good to hear your voice again …
Best,
Scott
Nice post Griz,
It is really just the natural progression of this marketing medium isn’t? Everybody thought the internet was some brand new thing. It really isn’t, it is just another way to reach a market and more and more people are starting to realize that.
I hope you continue to post because I always enjoy your take on this business.
Griz.. I trusted you when you said you were going to gain our trust and then fleece your readers.. Maybe you did it through affillates like BLS or TKA or something else. However, I never forgot you said that you were going to do it. You gained trust by providing useful information that when implemented worked.
I also remember you saying contact me before buying anything from your site. BTW.. my last adsense check went all to Christmas presents and the kids loved it and said it was the best Christmas ever. I just thank god I found you first when I decided I wanted to make money online. I never hung out in the MMO sites or forums because I found you first.
I laughed as I watched some of the things you said. I also shook my head as I defended you on occation thinking… good greif I have become one of these cult members defending the leader..lmao..
I do know this..what I have learned from you has helped me make money.. I know this because I have two accounts of stuff I tried with you and stuff on my own.. Your way makes me money.. My first account I set up after I started following you at the end of 2007 has 9,347 impressions and 67 bucks sitting in the account
) compared to what I make today. Your instructions with my own tests have made me money.. we are all responsible for doing our own due diligence.
You have entertained me and satisfied my analytical side.. If you made a few bucks off of me good for you…LOL.. I wish you the best to you, your wife and your daughter in 2011.
BTW.. if you ever run out of something to write about..I would love to hear what a work day looks like for you or how you days looked like when you made your first 5K
Hey Griz,
There are really big companies that provide crappy content just for the sake of serving the ads, while building links to their posts. ehow.com and mahalo.com are just the first 2 examples that come on top of my head. There are lots of content mills out there. So the content mill can be a valid business model (especially if you are big enough so that Google won’t nuke your site). As you said, nothing is black or white in this industry.
However, since you started going on the brand path, would you mind sharing a site of yours that falls under the new rules that you are following?
Thanks.
I personally believe that the title of this post says it all:
.
.
“Careful… You may become popular…” . If you allow me, I will add the ending
Careful, you may become popular in the IM niche. And unless you are saying all the right things, it could jeopardize your entire business.
I think that your lasts few posts could be boiled down to these 2 sentences
Hi Griz,
greetings from Brazil. I don’t know if you will be reading this later on, but anyway.
“The world is a big place and success favours those who were clever enough to be born in the right place, have access to all the necessary accessories, first hand knowledge of the market where the money is… N. America. Life isn’t fair.”
I do not agree with this one – or maybe I haven’t really understood it. I’m from Brazil and I can still use most of what you say here. For sure there are some disadvantages but they can be surely overcomed with a bit of hard work and proper analysis. I know that there will be certain aspects of this “game” that I won’t be able to replicate here, but that will not stop me from acting and finding other ways to do something. Like I said, all it requires is a bit of hard work and some time spent on it. We all just need to stick with it long enough to actually see some results …
Anyway, could you – or anyone out there- point out relevant websites where you consider there are good info in regards to good on-site SEO optimization?
Thanks.