Originally published: August 10, 2012 (https://empireflippers.com/afp-28-business-idea-faceoff/)

We were having a conversation with John The Intern (http://whatthedev.com/) a couple of weeks ago about how Joe and I have significantly different approaches to business.  Based on that conversation, we thought it would be interesting to lay out a few different business ideas to see what we might do differently to make them profitable.

The Business Idea Face Off!

John’s the moderator for the faceoff and we were given the following rules:

$500 starting capital (Unless you state otherwise)
Must reach $5,000 net per month within a year (or state otherwise)
Cannot simply recreate the AdSense Flippers process
Cannot use current audience (Listeners, email subscribers, blog readers, etc.)

Here are the four different business ideas presented:

-Build a team and a business through oDesk 
-Build, monetize, and/or flip one website to hit revenue goals
-Launch a profitable podcast
-Sell Kindle ebooks to hit revenue goals

Topics Discussed This Week Include:

-The TropicalMBA crew and their latest workshop in Puerto Galera
-An update on our Internship and Ryan’s help in building a CRM Building a business around an oDesk team
-Authority site creation and monetization strategy
-Podcasting for a profit
-Killing it with Kindle ebooks 
-Sexy, bed-friendly earbuds and study hacks you could blow a weekend on

Mentions:

-TropicalMBA – Our friends Dan and Ian kicking ass in Puerto Galera: http://www.tropicalmba.com/about-the-tropical-mba/
-vTiger CRM – A highly-functional (Tier 2?) CRM we’re building out for AdSense Flippers: https://www.vtiger.com/crm/
-Niche Site Expansion at SPI – Pat Flynn’s write-up on expanding his niche site and taking it to the next level: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/ultimate-resource-phase-one/
-http://BedPhones.com – A slick product…bedphones are earbuds that are soft and won’t bother you while you’re in bed.
-http://CalNewport.com – Unconventional tips and tricks towards being successful.  (Careful…the content’s addicting!)

Now…over to you! What do you think about the methods and strategies laid out in this episode?  Anything you love?  Anything you hate?  Let us know in the comments below or feel free to say hi on Twitter and be sure to check out more episodes on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id476852137!

Find Us Online:

Website: http://wwww.empireflippers.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/empireflippers
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/empireflippers

AdSense Flippers Podcast - Niche Websites and Passive Income - Justin Cooke and Joe Magnotti

The Empire Podcast #28: Business Idea Faceoff

Originally published: August 23, 2012 (https://empireflippers.com/afp-29-vital-skills-for-internet-entrepreneurs/)

It’s really tough to break down what makes a particular entrepreneur successful because there are so many different ways to succeed and not everyone follows the same path.  You’ll hear competing (and often contradictory) statements about the reasons why someone has been successful.  Even worse, the successful entrepreneurs themselves often struggle defining what made their business work.

Vital Eentrepreneurial Skill Sets

We really enjoyed the debate/discussion format we used in Episode 28 and decided to roll with that again.  You’ll find John moderating a discussion between Joe and I where we each break down our Top 3 traits of skillsets we’ve found in successful internet entrepreneurs.

Topics Discussed This Week Include:

-An overview on our projects including the BuyOurSites page, IntelliTheme, and the looming Penguin update
-The value of consistency and being a good story teller
-Value in carving out your niche Shippability: Can you deliver the goods?

Mentions:

-Our Sites For Sale – We have individual sites available for sale right now: http://empireflippers.com/marketplace/
-Dan Andrews – It’s been great having Dan from the TropicalMBA hanging out with us for a few weeks in Davao: http://www.tropicalmba.com/be-your-own-boss-do-it-from-anywhere-and-make-a-lot-of-money/
-Penguin Update – More info regarding the announcement from Matt Cutts regarding future Penguin updates: http://searchengineland.com/google-further-penguin-update-jolts-to-come-panda-is-smoother-monthly-130804
-Kickstarter – Test through the market on your creative project first before having to deliver: http://www.kickstarter.com/
-http://NoamDesign.com – A very well designed site we talked about in the podcast.  It’s for sale on Flippa here.

Now…over to you!  Any idea on how to make the packages more attractive?  Any skillsets we didn’t mention that we should have included?  Let us know in the comments below or feel free tosay hi on Twitter and be sure to check out more episodes on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id476852137!

Find Us Online:

Website: http://wwww.empireflippers.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/empireflippers
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/empireflippers

The Empire Podcast #29: Vital Skills for Internet Entrepreneurs

Originally published: September 14, 2012 (https://empireflippers.com/afp-30-8-misconceptions-regarding-site-rankings/)

EMD’s are dead!  You HAVE to build links to stand a chance!  Google HATES niche sites!

We get questions, comments, and emails mentioning these types of things all the time.  Sometimes mis-information is distributed by those who stand to profit from our believing it. (Selling you tools, ebooks, or coaching that profits from our fear) Other times it’s a misunderstanding of the data (small sample size, confusing correlation with causation) or a regurgitation of that information by well-intentioned “connectors“.

About the 8 Misconceptions for Ranking Web Properties

How do we know that these eight points are REALLY misconceptions?  We don’t know for sure.  We’re not SEO experts and don’t claim to be, but we know enough to call out those that aren’t either.  The problem with SEO is that it’s vague, ever-changing, and a perfect industry for fraudsters and deception tactics.  We take on some of this in the episode.  Whether you agree with us on these points or not, we’re hoping this stands as a reminder to be critical of ANYONE who’s “sure” when it comes to what works and what doesn’t in regards to SEO, rankings, etc.

Topics Discussed This Week Include:

-CRM Migration, Site Redesign, IntelliTheme Beta, and Joe knocking out some calls to listeners! Does Google really hate niche sites?
-SEO: Everyone’s an expert… Why (as a buyer) you might prefer sites that are NOT on the first page.
-Software to track rankings, giving Squidoo another look, and adding additional users to your AdSense account

Mentions:

-Andy Hayes (http://andyhayes.com/hire-me) – We hired Andy to do a “Top To Bottom” website review of AdSense Flippers and were impressed with his report!
-Whoosh Traffic – We use this service to track rankings across our sites, send rankings reports to potential customers, etc.  Starts at $19/month.
-Claire from http://SkefflingsMakeMoneyOnline.com – She’s done some interesting stuff with Squidoo in recent months.  Check out her per-page monthly earnings from Squidoo here.
-SEOmoz EMD Report – Interesting report on EMD’s from SEOmoz that Joe mentioned: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/are-exact-match-domains-in-decline
-Adding Users To Your AdSense Account – Find out more about how to add users to your AdSense account here: https://support.google.com/adsense/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2646544&topic=2659100&rd=1
-Rank Modifying Google Patent – SEOByTheSea has a great write-up on this issue: http://www.seobythesea.com/2012/08/google-rank-modifying-spammers-patent/

Now…over to you!  What have you heard from the “experts” regarding ranking that just doesn’t seem right?  Any thing you’d like to share?  Let us know in the comments below or feel free to say hi on Twitter and be sure to check out more episodes on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id476852137!

Find Us Online:

Website: http://wwww.empireflippers.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/empireflippers
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/empireflippers

The Empire Podcast #30: 8 Misconceptions Regarding Site Rankings

Originally published: September 27, 2012 (https://empireflippers.com/7-actionable-marketing-strategies)

Have you ever had a great business idea, but when it came down to selling it or getting your product out there you felt stuck?  Have you sat down to start promoting your blog and didn’t know where to start?  This podcast episode is for you!

7 Tactics for the Marketing Challenged

We were talking to “John The Intern” about how to promote his business and he started telling us how frustrating it can be when you don’t know where to start.  Should you just post content and hope they come to your site?  Should you reach out to A-List bloggers and hope for a guest post?  We sat down this week to discuss our thoughts on the best marketing strategies for new businesses and blogs.  We’re far from the best marketers out there, but we thought we could share some strategies for us “non-marketers” that do actually work.

Topics Discussed This Week Include:

-Ways to pinpoint your target market
-How to iterate on the success of your competitors
-Using backlinks to target interview opportunities
-Systematizing your marketing efforts
-Splitting your time between outreach and content creation

Mentions:

-Our 99designs contest – We want a new look for AdSense Flippers and went back to 99designs to get it done!
-Blog Weekend Bootcamp – A great event we attended in Davao City to help out new and intermediate bloggers in the Philippines: http://www.blogweekendbootcamp.com/
-Ria Jose – Well known Davao blogger…was great to hang out with her this last weekend: http://www.riajose.com/
-Codecademy (http://www.codecademy.com/) – Great for learning the basics of several different programming languages.  For beginners!
-LeadPlayer from Clay Collins – The link is to Pat Flynn’s EXCELLENT review of this WordPress plugin: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/leadplayer-review/

Now…over to you!  Any marketing tips for non-marketers you’d like to share?  Let us know in the comments below or feel free to say hi on Twitter and be sure to check out more episodes on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id476852137!

Find Us Online:

Website: http://wwww.empireflippers.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/empireflippers
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/empireflippers

Empire Flippers