It makes me a little nauseous to write about this.
During my Internet business career I’ve had 2 separate “million dollar ideas.” I’m not talking about a random thought where I took zero action. I mean these were two PROVEN methods that worked, but I didn’t follow through to maximize the results.
Today I want to talk about these two ideas and how I *might* have come across a third. I urge you pay close attention to what I’m about to discuss because it might just help when you get YOUR million dollar idea.
Million Dollar Idea #1 – Mass Google Adsense Sites (Summer of 2005)
I’m going to admit something that’s going to make a few enemies. Five years ago, I was one of those people who created a bunch of sites that were full of junk content. Often called “spam blogs” or splogs these sites were specifically designed to make money with Google Adsense – Not help the person find the information they really wanted.
I made money by using a tool called Traffic Equalizer to create thousands of pages – Each targeting a long tail keyword. Back then, there was a major flaw in Google technology where you could easily get a page to rank high for many phrases. So basically, I was making tons of money with very little effort.
Okay, I’m not saying it was very honest income model. But at one point, I was earning almost $13,000 a month by literally pressing a few buttons on a piece of software.
Million Dollar Lesson: At the time I knew this loophole wasn’t going to last very long. I only had a set amount of time to maximize my results. So what did I do? I only worked a few hours a day and goofed off the rest of the time.
Seriously, I was THAT stupid.
What I should have done was streamline this process. Then outsource it to an army of workers who would crank out hundreds of thousands of pages each day.
I made almost six-figures that year with a few hours of work each day. If I was smart, I could have easily made a million dollars by mass producing these sites.
Obviously this loophole was closed. All these sites were removed from search engine listings. Then one day Google Adsense sent me a letter informing me of a lifetime ban from their program.
Yikes!
I got what I deserved. But I often think of what could have been if I went LARGE with this idea.
Million Dollar Idea #2 – Bum Marketing Domination (2007)
My second million dollar idea wasn’t shady like the previous method.
Back in 2006 and 2007, all the rage was the Bum Marketing Method. The idea here was you found specific keywords with high traffic numbers, and create content around it. Then you submit this content to sites like Ezine Articles, Squidoo, and YouTube which are naturally favored by Google.
The incredible thing about Bum Marketing is you could spend 30 minutes creating a piece of content and have it rank really well for a popular keyword. Most people used it to promote affiliate marketing products. I used it to build an email list. This technique worked so well that I still get over a hundred subscribers a day from content I created years ago!
Million Dollar Lesson: Back then I didn’t the value of having content instantly rank for a keyword. If I was smart, I could have had hundreds, even thousands, of articles that were all pointing back to my site.
I didn’t even need to be the one who created this content. What I should have done is create a template for the articles and outsourced the entire process.
Think of this way. I have 450 articles and 100 videos that still generate 100 subscribers a day. This helps me earn a six-figure income. In my niche, there are over 10,000 keywords that people use to find information. Potentially, I could’ve had 10,000 articles created…each targeting a different keyword.
Do the math.
Now you know why I get nauseous thinking about this.
Million Dollar Idea #3 – Go Large Project (February 2011)
On Friday, I had a post that discussed how I made $3,911.32 in one day from a short email I sent my list. What I didn’t mention is I’ve followed up with this list and another I have in this market. In total, I spent about a half hour writing email. And up till now (Thursday 4 PM EST) I’ve made $9799.95 from one website and a few half-assed emails.
This is the kind of numbers that gets my attention.
I’d like to think I earned this money because I’m a smart and cool guy. In reality, it’s probably because I’ve come across a product with a proven sales funnel. Sometimes in life you get lucky. The trick is to take this luck and make the most out of it.
I mentioned my previous “million dollar ideas” because each time I recognized an opportunity, yet did NOTHING about it. I made the mistake of thinking this success would last forever. And as they say, “Nothing lasts forever.”
This isn’t going to happen again.
As the title of this post indicates, I’m going large or going home…
Announcing the “Go Large Project”
I plan on getting the best possible results with this website. I’ve never encountered a program that converts this well. So I’m going to set up a system that sends a massive amount of traffic to the site…every day.
I’m calling this the “Go Large Project.”
What I’m going to do is create a bunch of systems around this site. Mostly this will take advantage of web traffic strategies that most people use:
Ø Article Marketing
Ø Video
Ø Twitter
Ø Facebook
Ø SEO
The only difference is I’ll be directing ALL this traffic to a simple lead magnet and email list that’s specifically design to promote this particular product. If you’re unsure what I mean, then I recommend you read my section on affiliate marketing which is detailed in my Income Trilogy report.
What’s in it for you?
Trust me, I know what it’s like to read about all the money somebody is making. It’s frustrating especially if you’re struggling with getting started.
With the Go Large Project, I plan on detailing EVERY lesson and ah-ha moment I discover during this case study. Even the moments where I crash and burn!
What you’ll get is a realistic view of what it’s like to build an affiliate marketing business in a niche that has NOTHING to do with Internet marketing, home business or MLM. I’m not sure if I’ll ever reveal the product/market that I’m promoting. But what I’ll do is provide a ton of FREE information you can use to create your own success with an Internet business.
I guess that’s it for now. I’ll be regularly updating this blog with more information about this project. I’m not sure of the posting frequently. But stay tuned for more information….
Take Action. Get Results.
Hey Steve,
Thanks for the awesome post!
This is my first time to your site and I must say I am impressed! You have a great idea ahead of you. I believe if you work really hard and give a hundred percent into those traffic generation methods you will be successful. Maybe not right away, but sooner than later if you put in hard work. Nothing always pays off like hard work.
Thanks again!
God bless,
William Veasley
Thanks William,
I appreciate the vote of confidence and i hope that you swing by again!
You are certainly right, I have made mistakes in the past; no doubt. But it has helped me learn and really value the idea of hard work being the cornerstone of success. Work hard enough (at the right idea) and you will have success. It is just a matter of time until it happens.
Hi Steve:
Great encouragement to go larger. As it helps to be recognized as a success oriented and ever expanding business, which brings more and more volume to the business and sales funnel jams with new converts.
Steve bring more business action into your life and gain more than the past missed opportunities. You know more now and you can do it better.
Fran A
Thanks Fran.
Certainly going to make a push at some real success in the next couple of months. I look forward to sharing some results with you all, maybe even getting a good blueprint that you can too can use. We shall see, hopefully it all works out.
This is all kinds of awesome yo!
Remember the phone call we had – at the time I was thinking of 7 or so different campaigns but I think I’m going to take what we discussed about with ‘the niche labs’ and push it hardcore.
I’m going big right with ya man – I think, after my PLR project, I’m going to devote my time entirely to this one; it may cut back a bit on Murlu but yeah man, we should definitely chat and share notes – I’ll definitely be reading.
Right on man! Push it. You never know. It is always taking a chance. But better to try and fail than not try and regret it. We will have some good stories at least. 😉
Steve,
Definitely I am looking forward to the Go Large Project tidbits. This is something that I want to do in the future and learning about it from a real-world perspective is the best way to, well, learn it!
Thanks Marlon!
Hopefully I have some good little tidbits to put out there.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for being so honest here. I think we’ve all had times when we didn’t act on a great idea. As entrepreneurs, we tend to have more ideas than time.
You’ve got me all revved up here, and this is not even my own project!
I can’t wait to read about your journey as you Go Large.
Go for it!
Peggy
Thanks Peggy!
I am quite exciting by all of it too!. Hopefully the experiment goes well and I should have some good info to share with you all. At very least a good cautionary tale. 😉
This is truly an inspiring post Steve! Thanks for all of the wisdom that you have provided here. I am looking forward to reading more about your Go Large Project and learning from your trials and tribulations.
Thanks again for all of the useful information here on your site!
Anthony
Thanks Anthony,
I appreciate the kind words and I certainly am looking forward to it all too! Thanks for dropping my and leaving a commen! Have a great day!
Hi Steve, I think this concept is true even if you’re not focusing on affiliate marketing. Every once in a while, you stumble upon a great money-making idea, and you need to suck all the money out of it you can. If you don’t jump on it, the window closes, you get too much competition, and suddenly the cash flow dries up (as you found out).
For example, my husband has found an opportunity where he can buy item X and then easily resell it for a hefty profit. Fortunately, we have enough capital to take advantage, plus a friend with expertise. We don’t know how long this will last, but we are going to ride the gravy train as long as we can. 🙂
Heck ya!
Sounds like you have your own “go large” idea. Good luck to you too! I look forward to hearing more of your success too!
You are certainly right about having to hit while the “iron is hot” opportunity knocks, but it doesn’t wait around for very long
Hi Steve,
In my experience, it is really easy to avoid acting on a great idea. Whether it is because of other commitments (work/family/etc.) or because it is more fun to not work, we all have times in our lives when we pass on opportunities.
I really like this idea (#3). Certainly, I think there is quite a demand for it & I am really looking forward to it.
BTW – That Adsense thing is amazing. I remember someone talking about those kinds of sites, but I knew nothing about Internet marketing at the time, so I did not really get what “lifetime ban” from Adsense meant.
Nice job staying with it. I bet some of the people ended up getting jobs they did not enjoy after that ran its course.
Have a good day!
I feel a little guilty about the whole adsense thing. It was definitely “black hat”. I made some really good money off of it, but looking back I should have either not done it at all or really capitalized (the million dollar thing).
But you live and you learn. I stay away from anything dodgy these days. But the money was nice.. 🙂
Awesome stuff, dude.
I hope you blow the doors wide open. 🙂
See, this is what’s great about this site and they way you run it. Putting it all out there and trying to help others truly find success.
I love the game plan of setting up multiple systems, many of which can be applied in other ways as well. Great project name, says it all. It really does capture the reality of what we have to do.
Looking forward to reading more and the work that lies ahead.
Thanks for the post and the good news on the project.
I am thinking you need a productivity coach. You know someone that rides you and won’t let you slack off, like you did the first two times.
So for a small fee, I can call you every …
OK, I know you are going to rock-it! Looking forward to the posts!
The biggest lesson I’ve gotten already is to build an email list in a niche and send them tons of awesome content. That doesn’t happen overnight, and is the part that most miss. That aside, I do look forward to seeing the system that you set up and how it might be applied to someone that doesn’t already have the list in place.
Hi Steve,
I love the sound of your Go Large project. It’s going to be great to have a front row seat to this.
I love that you’re willing to share all of your experiences; the good and the bad. I learn so much from following along step by step.
You’ll make it easier for all of us just by sharing the things that don’t work so well. I can’t wait to see you get started with this.
Go Large, Steve! You can do it! 🙂
Hey Steve,
I think many of us had some million dollars idea at some point but because we failed to take the risks and make it large, we lost the opportunity to become millionaire.
Even today, I want to kick myself and in the head, when I know what I could have done back in 2000 when I started to this internet thingy, but I just sat on my lazy bum and wasted my time.
I will follow your story closely and maybe I will be inspired to go big, just like you will do!
The important thing to remember is that everything you do you’ll learn form (hopefully). They were some great ideas, and now you know what you gotta do to reach those million dollars. Seems like we always miss that moment when we could really make a killing :/
Great article, Informative. I can’t wait to see the Go Large Project when it finally is out.
This title really caught my attention, and am looking forward to the information. I’m starting to put a lot of your suggestions into action in terms of linking back to my content and promoting it. I don’t think I will do YouTube just yet, mainly because I don’t feel confident in front of a camera. Perhaps I could do the visuals and hire a voice actor from Fiverr and such.
I can’t believe I missed this series. I’m going to try to read them all over the next few days. Sleep, who needs it?
Thanks for all this great information in your book. I’ve been reading it for the last 2 hrs.. I see you are really into building a list. How do you feel about using popups to get people subscribed into your list?
To be honest I have mixed feelings.
One one hand there is zero doubt in my my mind it adds to signups (with a good offer). On the other hand I do know some people get annoyed by it and leave.
What I do is sort of of find a compromise solution. I throttle pop-ups. For instance on this site, I have pop-ups set to go off for first time visitors and then only recurring every 30 days afters. This way people who come a lot are not annoyed by pop-ups, yet i still get some effect for new people (and the monthly reminder for recurring traffic.
Seems like it is a good balance to me.
Hope that helps somewhat.
Glad you are making use of the book! 🙂
-Steve
Steve, you naughty pirate! Thank goodness your shenanigans didn’t harm Google as it struggles to make AdSense affiliates wealthy, pretty much as a public service. I’m excited because my blog is among the top 2% and trends indicate I will make my first AdSense $100 in about 2014.