Scott Boulch, The Death of Adsense and what it all means if you want to make money as an internet marketer...
Like several thousand other bloggers, I mentioned Scott Boulch's "The Death of Adsense" after its release. I felt like he made an interesting point regarding smart pricing and what it meant to those relying upon certain Adsense revenue-based business models.
Subsequent to his eulogy of contextual advertising, I posted about his follow-up ebook in which he detailed a click-flipping strategy as the "new route" to success. I have nothing against flipping clicks, but I saw something of a disconnect between the two volumes and would argue that his proclamation of Adsense's demise, although accurate, was little more than a way to engender a great deal of interest in his eventual click-flipping ebook and subsequent products. I don't see the two options as mutually exclusive.
I also feel that the real lesson of "The Death of Adsense" has very little to do with collecting payments for visitor clicks--whether directly or via flipping. The analysis that underlines Boulch's critique of traditional MFA (made for Adsense) sites and his explanation for the potential of click flipping really support a third option--product ownership. I've mentioned that a few times (see: "Click flipping..." and "Before you flip that click...").
Those who are really interested in climbing to the top of the internet marketing food chain need to build the appropriate infrastructure and to then proceed with product creation and ownership. Instead of being the "middle person" as a click flipper or an Adsense publisher, this creates a lot more profit potential.
So, why am I repeating myself today? Well, part of that is self-interest. I create ebooks and other informational products for internet marketers. More product owners means more work for me. Content Done Better can produce great products to exact client specifications, allowing them to take a position on top of the IM food chain. However, there is something I noticed over the past few days that really brings the point home.
This is not the world's most trafficked blog. It's primary repeat audience consists of other writers in the online content and copywriting industry. It's old enough to have a fairly long tail, so I occasionally get seemingly random hits ("crazy eyes killah lyrics," for instance, seems to draw at least one "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fan every week). I also get quite a few people who are looking for a freelance writer, fortunately.
The posts I have written about Scott Boulch, click-flipping and "The Death of Adsense" have created a substantial stream of traffic via Technorati and other social bookmarking tags as well as from search engines.
I am willing to wager that the number of searches for keywords related to this topic has gone up several hundred percent over the past few weeks, based on the traffic surge here. That conveys a VERY important message.
In order to sell anything, you need to get noticed. If you are just another brick in the marketing wall, it will be an uphill struggle to reach the pinnacle of guru-like success. You need name and/or product recognition. Scott went from being a relative unknown to being a very intriguing figure to many searchers within a VERY short period of time. He went from being another (albeit relatively successful) internet marketer to being HOT.
That happened for a number of reasons. He laid out a great infrastructure and created a viral-style means of getting the word out (he's going to be paying many $.50 commissions here shortly). He clearly did many things right--otherwise, people wouldn't be looking for him left and right and trying to find out more about click-flipping at every turn. All of those things, however, trace right back to one indispensable element: his ebooks.
The product has to be there at the end of the line in order for this kind of massive breakthrough to happen. Absent a product, there is nothing to use to recruit names for a potentially lucrative list. There is no way to create that kind momentum and energy unless you can provide some sort of tangible commodity.
For those of you who have found this post while looking for information about click flipping, Adsense, the alleged death of Adsense or Scott Boulch himself, ask yourself a question: Would you be here if he didn't create and market those ebooks?
Now, I'm not going to claim that Adsense, click flipping or other popular means of revenue production don't work. I'm not going to argue that every internet marketer is capable of finding a market need and commissioning the creation of an informational product to fill it. I will, however, argue that "The Death of Adsense" phenomena is proof positive that you can position yourself make serious progress in record time when you own the stuff you're selling.
So, you might ask, why are you writing products for others instead of doing it all yourself? Well, I do have a few projects of my own in the works, but I am a writer first and foremost. I understand internet marketing on a conceptual level pretty well, but I am only now picking up the "nuts and bolts" of actual implementation. As I do that, I am enjoying creating successful products for webmasters and marketers in all niches.
Ready to own your own product and bump yourself up to a new pay scale? Drop me a line and we can get started on your new product. You can use the contact form at Content Done Better or you can drop me a line at cdbrack[at]gmail.com.
