Warrior Forum Red Versus Black Team Challenge

[TiffanyDow]

Hi Warriors!

I am a big fan of shows that pit one team against another - like Hell's Kitchen for instance. I also LOVE challenges - it makes us work even when we don't want to (like the article marketing challenge we did awhile back). I also think it's a good lesson in learning how to properly JV with others.

So I thought it'd be fun if we brainstormed a way to do a Red Versus Black (WF colors) team challenge within one niche. I need help brainstorming the details, but something along the lines of this:

1.) We let the WF members vote on what niche the teams should go after. (no porn so everyone feels clean and happy)

2.) While the votes are coming in for a week, we get 2 teams of X# together. For instance = each team can have the following positions:

-writer
-graphics/minisite designer
-SEO expert
-PPC pro
-Forum marketer (someone who knows how to immerse w/out being spammy)
-autoresponder list person (responsible for list building and communications)...

etc...not sure what all positions should be in here but I want to write for one of them!

3.) How could we measure success? Money earned? Domination in search engines?

4.) What's the winner get?

5.) The teams could split the revenue earned among themselves - one person would have to have the payments coming to them but everyone could see the sales, etc.

Anyone up for it?
Anyone better at I am than developing the details?

UPDATE: Here's a lens where Warriors can vote and add their $0.02 into the challenge: http://www.squidoo.com/warrior-forum...lack-challenge

I just love to compete...
tiff

[ChrisDeals]

Hey Tiffany, this sounds like a great idea. I'm looking forward to it!

[Kelly Verge]

Sounds like a cool idea.

It might be more interesting if the teams aren't pre-established with specific skillsets. Just imagine the new things that could come out of a team full of people with similar backgrounds. Synergy.

[TiffanyDow]

Originally Posted by Kelly Verge

Sounds like a cool idea.

It might be more interesting if the teams aren't pre-established with specific skillsets. Just imagine the new things that could come out of a team full of people with similar backgrounds. Synergy.

Yeah the only reason I felt we needed skillsets pre-established is because then let's say one team is all writers - they're going to have a much bigger cost in outsourcing for graphics, etc. So if someone comes in able to deliver that, it means less money the team has to pitch in.

Which brings me to another question - should each team member have to ante up a certain dollar amount for expenses like PPC advertising?

[valerieSONORA]

Sounds fun.

But how bout a rule like no paid advertising-like PPC-which would make the results more fair. If one team did a lot in paid advertising/ppc and the other didn't the results would be skewed b/c the team that didn't could have won if they did ppc.

[TiffanyDow]

Originally Posted by valerieSONORA

Sounds fun.

But how bout a rule like no paid advertising-like PPC-which would make the results more fair. If one team did a lot in paid advertising/ppc and the other didn't the results would be skewed b/c the team that didn't could have won if they did ppc.

I LOVE that idea because I'm not a fan of PPC - so all organic SEO and traffic? Even better! Warriors could learn from our results.

[Sheryl Polomka]

Sounds like fun, how would you put your teams together, do people have to audition and pass tests to get in

[TiffanyDow]

Originally Posted by Sheryl Polomka

Sounds like fun, how would you put your teams together, do people have to audition and pass tests to get in

Good question. Maybe we could vote! Have it be really Warrior member run.

For instance - we could have a lens on Squidoo for each position. So if we had a position for writing, for example, I would create a lens called warriorwriter - and then each person could submit a "Why Choose Me" - and I'd stick it in a text module. Then there would be a poll on Squidoo with each candidate's name - the top 2 would be the writers for team Red and team black.

We could do this for each position.
Tiff

[Eric Land]

We should have a draft of warrior forum members ...

[jjpmarketing]

Here is a thought... why not make it a bum marketing challenge. No forms of paid promotion whatsoever. This would create a huge drawing for all of those numbers of people that join here and immediately ask the following:

1. I'm broke. How do I make money online quick?
2. I can't afford... blah blah blah Help me!

and on and on. Almost seems like something along these lines is asked almost daily. That would eliminate a need for any investment whatsoever from team members. Obviously if you had each of those experts in a team, then you would only need to invest your time and not your money. So essentially zero risk involved.

But that is just a thought. Take it for what its worth.

Dennis Grubbs

[Steven Wagenheim]

Tiff, while the idea sounds so exciting (I for one would love to be on a team)
the logistical nightmare of doing this would be just that...a nightmare.

Not the least of the problems...where does the money go from any income
earned? Who's merchant account are we going to use? There's such an
issue of trust here (forget about how to even monitor the contest) that
I for one would probably have an aneurysm just trying to keep track of
everything.

And then of course there are all the different personalities.

Person X wants person Y but person Y doesn't like person Z who is already on the team.


And I'm just scratching the surface here.

[RevenueRabbi]

as long as Kevin Riley and His Hamster are on opposing teams...

[jjpmarketing]

LMAO. Steve, you just don't know how right you are. And yes it was a nightmare. I have witnessed this first hand. Maybe the better option would be to just donate the funds from both teams revenue to a charity of the winner's choice.

Dennis

[jasonl70]

what might be interesting is long copy vs short copy, articles vs ppc, squeeze page vs no squeeze, content emails vs pitch fest, content blogs vs standalone review pages... you know - topics that get a lot heated discussions.

Originally Posted by valerieSONORA

Sounds fun.

But how bout a rule like no paid advertising-like PPC-which would make the results more fair. If one team did a lot in paid advertising/ppc and the other didn't the results would be skewed b/c the team that didn't could have won if they did ppc.

Originally Posted by TiffanyDow

I LOVE that idea because I'm not a fan of PPC - so all organic SEO and traffic? Even better! Warriors could learn from our results.

then perhaps you should consider learning ppc if you think it gives an advantage??

Maybe it would be better to give an overall starting budget? some might decide to use it for ppc; another might prefer to use it for nicer graphics, etc.

[TiffanyDow]

Steven, I'm not worried about that - it's what makes reality TV so FUN to watch

As for accounts - we could create one consumer ClickBank account, for example, and let all members have the password to it. The team would just have to trust one member to take in the money and dole it back out.

That point person would probably have to be someone we all knew pretty well - not a newcomer to the forum who we don't yet trust.

I'll make a lens to pinpoint some of this down so Warriors can vote on it.

[Eric Land]

Originally Posted by TiffanyDow

Steven, I'm not worried about that - it's what makes reality TV so FUN to watch

As for accounts - we could create one consumer ClickBank account, for example, and let all members have the password to it. The team would just have to trust one member to take in the money and dole it back out.

That point person would probably have to be someone we all knew pretty well - not a newcomer to the forum who we don't yet trust.
- Eric Land can hold the money we all trust him

I'll make a lens to pinpoint some of this down so Warriors can vote on it.

Yea no problem just send all the money to my account and i will give everyone there equal share in the end you all can trust me

[ChrisDeals]

Here's an idea; maybe both teams can document the step, and processes, and tricks they used during the challenge and put it in a PDF report. They can give it away free or do a low cost WSO.

[valerieSONORA]

How about everyone who wants to do it say "i'm in" then divide up everyone into 2 teams?

Fun idea but a lot of things to work out.

[valerieSONORA]

Originally Posted by jasonl70

then perhaps you should consider learning ppc if you think it gives an advantage??

Maybe it would be better to give an overall starting budget? some might decide to use it for ppc; another might prefer to use it for nicer graphics, etc.

That is NOT something you can learn over night. I know from first hand experience of losing a lot of money. There's a lot more to it.

[ladyjane]

Sounds like a lot of fun! I've got both writing and SEO expertise that I'd be happy to contribute to something like this. I'll be following this thread as things progress, and would love to take part if it gets to that point.

[jjpmarketing]

I'm no Darren Kaye, but I could help with graphics, ecovers, banners, etc.

[TiffanyDow]

Created a lens where Warriors can vote on ideas for the contest and add their $0.02 too:

Warrior Forum Red Versus Black Niche Marketing Challenge

[ShayRockhold]

Sounds interesting.

I can help with writing.

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by TiffanyDow

The team would just have to trust one member to take in the money and dole it back out.

You're kidding, right???

OMG, I can see the fallout now.

I think I'll just watch from the sidelines and see how this all plays out.

I hope it works out for you because I can see how much you really want to
do this, but if I had to bet my life on this going smoothly, I'd make sure that
my life insurance was paid off first.

[TiffanyDow]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

You're kidding, right???

OMG, I can see the fallout now.

I think I'll just watch from the sidelines and see how this all plays out.

I hope it works out for you because I can see how much you really want to
do this, but if I had to bet my life on this going smoothly, I'd make sure that
my life insurance was paid off first.

No, I'm not kidding at all

That's why I said we choose well-respected/known Warriors to handle the monetary part - people who have been 'round these parts for ages. I know I sure as hell wouldn't risk my entire reputation and business my scamming fellow Warriors out of their money and I'm sure I know many others who wouldn't, either.

Where's the trust, Steve? Jaded at your young age?
Tiff

[AnneE]

I think this is a cool idea Tiffany.

Just bounced over to the lens. Someone suggested having two people for each position. That makes sense to me... two heads are better than one and if someone drops out, that team isn't left with a big hole in skills.

I voted for only one month for two reasons. The first time through this is going to be a learning process and you may find something about the rules just don't work out... so why be stuck with them for 3 whole months?

Secondly, so many people today need money FAST, that it would be good to see what can a bunch of pro's churn out in 30 days.

But one rule needs to be defined. Are contestants allowed to use their existing resources (other than skills) or should they restricted to working from the ground up. In other words, can you boost your search engine results by having team members with established websites link to new sites that you are creating? Can you mail promotions out to existing lists?

I would favor a Survivor Island scenario... (no, you don't vote someone off) but you don't have all your normal conveniences, you are stuck with using the bare essentials. Again... so many WSO's and promotions telling newbies they can go from 0 to $100 per day in next to know time... so let's see what CAN you really do in a month with simply your know how.

Just my two cents. I'll stay tuned in... either here or on Squidoo.

Cool idea. Keep up coming.

[Jagged]

Should work it somehow that a portion (if not all) of the total proceeds go to charities chosen by each team.

JMO.....Ken

[MarkR]

Tiff,

I admire your courage to take this on! I love the "color outside the lines" idea, even with the possible pitfalls.

I think this gets down to which team has better marketers. Isn't that what we're really trying to prove / compete on? If so, you may want to consider each team selling the same exact product (CB, CJ, etc.), and let the marketing success be the determination for who the winner is.

Run for 30/60 days - most profitable team wins! Simple as that.

Just my .002 worth.

Mark

[JMLebeau]

This really sounds great, I'm gonna be participating in that for sure. I could play as a designer in one team, I gonna fill the survey now.

Keep us posted!

[Anthony Robinson]

Tiffany,

I like the idea, but let me add something to this just to make it more complex:

What if there were more than 2 teams? Maybe it could be set up so that the top warriors act as coaches and draft members to their teams? This way, you would have someone known/respected to lead the team and share knowledge and strategy, and would allow folks who aren't as well known or successful yet the opportunity to learn from the best here, as well as get to know some of their fellow warriors. It would also clear up any concern about the money involved, since the coach would be a known, trusted, and respected member - they would set up an account for the money to be held. Could be a great opportunity to develop JV partners as well. I think there should be a stipulation that in the end, all teams have to show their hand and reveal what they did (or didn't) do. This way, everyone (whether they are on a team or not) would be able to see how effective the various strategies were.

P.S. Finally got to 100 posts...maybe not 9000 like some folks here, but still...

[I.M.Good]

There must be a missing category, as I don't see one I'd be considered an expert at. I.M.Good

[JMLebeau]

Originally Posted by chopper180

Tiffany,

I like the idea, but let me add something to this just to make it more complex:

What if there were more than 2 teams? Maybe it could be set up so that the top warriors act as coaches and draft members to their teams? This way, you would have someone known/respected to lead the team and share knowledge and strategy, and would allow folks who aren't as well known or successful yet the opportunity to learn from the best here, as well as get to know some of their fellow warriors. It would also clear up any concern about the money involved, since the coach would be a known, trusted, and respected member - they would set up an account for the money to be held. Could be a great opportunity to develop JV partners as well. I think there should be a stipulation that in the end, all teams have to show their hand and reveal what they did (or didn't) do. This way, everyone (whether they are on a team or not) would be able to see how effective the various strategies were.

P.S. Finally got to 100 posts...maybe not 9000 like some folks here, but still...

Good idea, first of, we elect the team captains we an election based on a poll or something like this (maybe we won't even have to do this if there is not enough people wanting the position) then everyone that wants to be part of the game setup a lens or something like that to sell himself, we build a list on this and we choose a draft day to create teams.

[grover69]

I for one love the idea of having the money earned go to charity. I know it means people would quite possibly not "do what they are supposed to do" as there isn't a profit involved, but just think of the PR for donating some funds to a good cause.

[TiffanyDow]

#1 I like the idea of ground floor-up because it SHOULD show what a newbie can do from start to finish with no existing power behind them.

#2: I like the idea of having more than 1 team - maybe three - the white team, red team and black team - all Warrior colors.

#3: I don't force anyone to give to charity. There are some people who will want to spend business time on this and therefore should get paid for their investment. IF anyone who is on a team earns their share of the pot and wants to donate it to their charity of choice (as my corporation does for Adopt a Platoon), then they have that right.

Okay I think I'm going to add a poll asking how many people want to participate. We need a ballpark # of how many are going in or want to go in. Check back on the lens - because I'm adding polls.

[Steve Faber]

Tiff,
Sounds like a great idea! It would be like WF Apprentice, or some such . Count me in. I'm a jack of many trades, but probably a true master of none. I'd say go for 60 days. That would let things shake out and then really get ramped up.

Who gets the list? We would be building a list, wouldn't we?

[jasonl70]

Originally Posted by valerieSONORA

That is NOT something you can learn over night. I know from first hand experience of losing a lot of money. There's a lot more to it.

nothing can be learned overnight though.. compare Steven's success with article marketing vs all the people who struggle to make money with it.

If there's a skill one could learn that would give them an 'advantage', then I just think perhaps it may be worth learning instead of discouraging.

True, a contest using only free methods would attract a lot of followers. And it would probably be easier to get people to participate. But as a ppc marketer, it pains me to see so many people around here dismiss something that can be so powerfull. But this is probably not the time nor place for this conversation

[valerieSONORA]

I would need to know more about how it works and the rules before I know if I want to be in or not. There's still several details that need to be worked out.

[TiffanyDow]

So far, just for the record as far as polling goes, the majority is voting:

-We should have specific positions and one person to fill each position.

-Organic all the way...

-winner determined by Amount of money earned as a whole

-winner gets Nothing more than bragging rights

-team members should be chosen by this method: Let Warriors Vote Up the Top Two People 4 Each Position & Then Put 1 on Red and 1 on Black

-winning team's process Sold at an affordable price - they earned it!

-should last 3 months

-have 2 people for each position? Yes, but just 2 people.

-50/50 on whether the visitor wants to participate or watch from the sidelines

[TiffanyDow]

Originally Posted by opportunitiesaplenty

Tiff,
Sounds like a great idea! It would be like WF Apprentice, or some such . Count me in. I'm a jack of many trades, but probably a true master of none. I'd say go for 60 days. That would let things shake out and then really get ramped up.

Who gets the list? We would be building a list, wouldn't we?

I'd like to say the team captain gets the list for the additional organization and work he or she will be doing. I do NOT want team captain position, FYI. I just want to be ON a team. I don't have time to manage the whole thing.
Tiff

[TiffanyDow]

Just added a section so we can map out the positions for each team:

What Positions Should Each Niche Marketing Team Have?

The lens URL is above - go add to the list and if you disagree with anything I started it out with, post it in the comments section on the lens.
tiff