Kenster's rags to riches questions

by asc
5 replies
Thanks to cooler1 here, I have just read through Kenster's Rags to Riches great Ebook about CPA...and it has been fantastic and in-depth read, and all for free so thanksagain cooler1

I appreciate that the literature is around 7 years old so I have a few questions as although a lot of the information may be relevant still (i have not yet tried all of the methods, but going to try most!), I am looking for feedback and advice on what is currently too out-of -date or banned.


Questions...

Is url redirect still allowed and valid? i.e. simply buying a domain and sending the user straight to another offer and site?

Is classified ads like craiglist, or gumtree etc in the UK still an option? anyone any experience with this?

Making physical flyers with domains on them, going around and putting them in shops?? free offers for teeth whitening etc? to be honest this sounds like a very viable idea and might try creating flyers around my town.....but anyone actually done this??

buying domains with 'misspellings'....thing of the past or still maybe worth considering??? I doubt it due to transparency but interesting if anyone is doing this with success...

how do you weigh up competition? as in what is high medium and low, and what is feesable to aim for?

making websites for small businesses, look for sub-contractor niches and set up an example website page..tell them they could have it for £50.00...etc choose around 50 businesses IN THE SAME NICHE.... anyone actually seen this trhough with good results? this is another one that I can realistically see working..


any thoughts/experiences of these methods etc would be great to hear about

Kind regards

Alan
#kenster #questions #rags #riches
  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    Direct linking (buying a domain and just doing a redirect) is less popular than it used to be, most people are using landing pages now.

    Classified sites are pretty dead and not allowed by most networks
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    • Profile picture of the author jjhf
      People still direct link. If you look at any of the spying tools out there you'll see direct links all over the place but if you talk to anyone whose been doing this a while they almost all end up going with landing pages. You just get so much more info with a landing page.

      I doubt you'll find a cpa network out there that will take craigslist traffic for their offers. That doesn't mean you can't do it but you just have to get creative. Now a days you'll have better luck building a list from craigslist than promoting offers. In general though I think most stay away from it.

      I've never done the flyers thing but I think it's a great idea to get started with a small budget. Especially if you have access to a large city. I have head stories of people doing it. It's all about the hustle. Those who get out there and try things out will find out what works and doesn't.

      I wouldn't put to much into trying to find domains with misspellings. If you come across one great but there are huge organizations devoted to snatching things like that up along with anything else they think they can turn around and sell for ridiculous prices. Just try and find a good domain name and you'll soon realize the frustration

      - Your completion question is to broad. Competition in what? Seo, ppv, facebook, ppc, native ads, mobile? etc...


      - I could see the website thing working but now a days you'll probably have better luck finding crappy looking websites, redesigning them and then approaching businesses. I swear even old mother Hubbard has a site for her cupboard these days.

      Hope that helped
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  • Profile picture of the author JC Web
    Most of what you asked about is not advisable to do.

    Legitimate networks don't allow Craigslist advertising and it definitely is against CL's own terms for you to advertise any type of affiliate offer, even if it is indirectly, even if using your own website, even if building a list first - they make it very clear that under no circumstances is it allowed. This is not what CL is for.

    Most networks nowadays also do not allow offline marketing, but you may be able to do it some places with specific approval. If you belong to a network that allows it under some circumstances then you will need to give all the details to your AM and wait for approval before implementing. Many advertisers will say no to all offline marketing because of the huge amount of fraud that comes with it, along with liability issues for breaking local laws.

    A url redirect, assuming you are NOT talking about blackhat cloaking, can be allowed if the offer allows direct linking. Some offers have restrictions on direct linking or make you get approval first. Many offers don't have direct linking restrictions however. The advertising platform on the other hand also may have restrictions and you have to follow the terms of all parties involved - the network, the advertiser, the ad network or social network, etc. You also should keep in mind that even if it is allowed by everyone involved, it is not the best way to market. Now, iff you are talking about using a redirect in a deceptive way, then no you should not do that.

    Misspellings are not likely to get you a lot of traffic. That can vary based on the specific domain and what it is a misspelling of, of course. You are unlikely to find a misspelling of a valuable domain anyway and you should stay away from misspellings of brand/trademarks because you can still be found guilty of trademark infringement or at the least have your commissions invalidated.

    The last thing you asked about is not at all related to CPA. People do make money selling websites to small businesses of course. You need to do the research and you need the right approach. Cookie cutter websites are not the best and will decrease your sales and the amount of revenue. They are easier and quicker of course than building custom websites and I assume that is why they appeal to you. I prefer offering value to my customers but if you're just looking for a few sales without much work, then you could go that direction. There are always some people that will buy low value sites if the price is low enough and if they are clueless enough. There are certainly many clueless people out there and the price you mentioned is low enough that I'm sure you could get some people to buy who didn't want to actually invest in their business properly. So, yes, people do make money doing that, but I wouldn't do it myself. I'd make real websites for my clients or not get into that business at all.
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    • Profile picture of the author asc
      Originally Posted by JC Web View Post

      Most of what you asked about is not advisable to do.

      Legitimate networks don't allow Craigslist advertising and it definitely is against CL's own terms for you to advertise any type of affiliate offer, even if it is indirectly, even if using your own website, even if building a list first - they make it very clear that under no circumstances is it allowed. This is not what CL is for.

      Most networks nowadays also do not allow offline marketing, but you may be able to do it some places with specific approval. If you belong to a network that allows it under some circumstances then you will need to give all the details to your AM and wait for approval before implementing. Many advertisers will say no to all offline marketing because of the huge amount of fraud that comes with it, along with liability issues for breaking local laws.

      A url redirect, assuming you are NOT talking about blackhat cloaking, can be allowed if the offer allows direct linking. Some offers have restrictions on direct linking or make you get approval first. Many offers don't have direct linking restrictions however. The advertising platform on the other hand also may have restrictions and you have to follow the terms of all parties involved - the network, the advertiser, the ad network or social network, etc. You also should keep in mind that even if it is allowed by everyone involved, it is not the best way to market. Now, iff you are talking about using a redirect in a deceptive way, then no you should not do that.I was asking about url redirect - not sure if i have the right end of the stick, but having an advert via ppc with a domain maybe weightlossnow.com - or one which I bought, and then if a user clicks then they are taken directly to the offer....I am thinking that the offer would look far better than a landing page that i could create, but the domain would read well and hopefully very well-related ...not misleading. Or is this 'black hat'?

      Misspellings are not likely to get you a lot of traffic. That can vary based on the specific domain and what it is a misspelling of, of course. You are unlikely to find a misspelling of a valuable domain anyway and you should stay away from misspellings of brand/trademarks because you can still be found guilty of trademark infringement or at the least have your commissions invalidated.Yes I thought this would be an old and bad method...just as it was mentioned in the guide I was wondering if people were still attempting this as a method of traffic

      The last thing you asked about is not at all related to CPA. People do make money selling websites to small businesses of course. You need to do the research and you need the right approach. Cookie cutter websites are not the best and will decrease your sales and the amount of revenue. They are easier and quicker of course than building custom websites and I assume that is why they appeal to you. I prefer offering value to my customers but if you're just looking for a few sales without much work, then you could go that direction. There are always some people that will buy low value sites if the price is low enough and if they are clueless enough. There are certainly many clueless people out there and the price you mentioned is low enough that I'm sure you could get some people to buy who didn't want to actually invest in their business properly. So, yes, people do make money doing that, but I wouldn't do it myself. I'd make real websites for my clients or not get into that business at all.Yes I appreciate that, but looking around at my local town, and I am thinking my area is far from unique, there are dozens of types of small businesses that want a very simple website with contact details or some images, and this could be a viable option -and also a simple budget site that they need to put on fylers or business cards etc, mobile hairdressers, plasterers...and if I were to focus on just one small niche of business then to replicate would be simple and effective...but yes fully appreciate if the website was integral to their business


      Ps, thanks for your in-depth advice and thoughts

      Alan
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      • Profile picture of the author JC Web
        Originally Posted by asc View Post

        ...
        having an advert via ppc with a domain maybe weightlossnow.com - or one which I bought, and then if a user clicks then they are taken directly to the offer....I am thinking that the offer would look far better than a landing page that i could create, but the domain would read well and hopefully very well-related ...not misleading.
        ...
        If you're advertising via PPC on any of the major ad networks, you will need to use a display url that matches the domain the user actually ends on. So the user would not see your domain in the ad, they would see the domain of the offer page. You could use your redirect domain as the destination url but the end user doesn't see that. If you try to use your redirect url as the display url, you will get kicked off the major ad networks.

        So in the case of using PPC, the only purpose a redirect domain would have in a direct-linking setup is for tracking purposes, not for end-user experience or making your ad more attractive. You'd really want to consider making a landing page and not direct-linking to an offer if using PPC. But if you do direct link, you cannot use your redirect domain in the visible part of the ad, only in the behind-the-scenes part that the user doesn't see.
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