The NetKnucklehead Blog
"My First (failed) Attempt at Blogging"

The following is my first and only attempt at 'blogging'. This blog was located on the original Net-Knucklehead website. As you can see, I stopped updating it at the end of March. Maybe I will try again one day but I'm not sure.

Friday - March 26, 2004 - CLOSING UP SHOP

It's funny - I started this site after stumbling upon Barry Stein's marketing blog and now I'm putting this site ON HOLD the same week that Barry stopped blogging. It is purely coincidental.

Barry said he is bored with his blog. I'm not so much bored with mine as I am exhausted, stressed, busy, etc, etc. And when a person gets themselves in this condition, it's time to step back and take a break.

I'm not sure if I will resume this site when things calm down or not. If I do, I will see you then. If I do not, good luck to all.

Take care........Randal Ray

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Thursday - March 25, 2004

Oh my goodness, I haven't updated the site since last week. YIKES! Not exactly the best way to keep people coming back, huh?

But in my defense, I've been very very busy. My friend and I made the trip from Minnesota to Kansas City for a little winter golf. The courses kicked our a*s and the sun and wind burned my face but it was great to be golfing again.

I still haven't been making any money with my Google ads. Hang on and let me check today's totals....be right back....

Oh yeah, I only have one campaign running and it's just feeding traffic to my Bunko.Biz site. I had 38 clicks today at 5 cents per click for a total cost of $1.90.

For my Google Adsense, I had 20 clicks today and made single digit amount. Woooohooo, I'm +(less than 50 cents) for the day!

I didn't have any sales through Commission Junction or Clickbank or Amazon today so it looks like I can deposit my few cents into my kid's college fund.

There's always tomorrow! Powerball, anyone?

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Wednesday - March 17, 2004

Happy St. Patty's day! Too bad this day of green didn't translate into a day of greenbacks (dollars) for me.

My daily earnings included one nickel from eBay - someone went to eBay via my Bunko.biz site and bid on an itme - and another single digit day from Adsense.

Adwords cost me around $2.00 today so I had a day in the red instead of in the green.

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Tuesday - March 16, 2004

I had one more sale from my Bunko.Biz website today for another whopping commission of $1.70. This covered my Adwords expenses for the day.

Google Adsense generated single digits in revenue so I came out ahead today. (Is this like a poor man's stock market or what!)

My other Adwords campaigns generated very few clicks and even less sales (as in zero).

On the website design front, I'm having lunch on Wednesday with the owners of the local web design company I mentioned in Monday's blog entry. I'm anxious to find out what they're thinking. Who knows, maybe they want to buy my website design business. (NOT!)

And on the J.O.B. front, I received an offer for an IT Project Manager position from a Fortune 100 company. However, the salary was a JOKE and I finally turned them down. I guess I'll keep consulting until something "permanent" comes along. Or better yet, I start making real money with my hair-brained online ventures.

Finally, here are some miscellaneous thoughts about stuff:

• I really need to find some time to do reviews for my WSDs - Weapons of Self Destruction. (The software and ebooks I've tried in the past.)
• I was disappointed today by Jim Edwards' "big early bird announcement" - a whole course about multimedia which he's selling for around $800. It seems a lot of the big name marketers are creating really expensive products now. I think they want to sell just a few expensive products instead of trying to sell A LOT of $39 eBooks.
• It's weird how and where we end up in life.

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Monday - March 15, 2004

Due to a busy weekend, I wasn't able to update the blog. Needless to say, you didn't miss anything because I made ZERO money.

I only have three Google Adwords campaigns running right now. One is for an existing website of mine (Bunko.Biz) that I occassionally 'turn on' to drive traffic if I have something new to offer. It generated one sale today for a big fat commission of $1.50.

The second compaign is the same one I ran when I generated 3 sales. I thought I would try it again since it's somewhat seasonal and it's getting close to its popular time.

The last campaign is completely new. I am using one of CJ's pay-per-lead programs. No clicks so far in this HIGHLY competitive 'industry'. This is the first pay-per-lead program I've tried so I'm anxious to see how it works out.

On a separate topic, I have a part-time, home-based web design biz in addition to my full-time J.O.B. (ugh). I currently have around a dozen clients.

Last week I got an email from a non-profit organization inquiring about me doing website maintenance for them. The charge would be in the $20-30 per month range. So that's good.

And then today, I got a call from web design company in my area asking if I'd be interested in taking on some of their overflow work. Wow!

Not sure what all this good karma is about but I'm not complaining.

In closing, I'm not sure what my Adwords profits are at the moment but I'm guessing they're in the $50 neighborhood.

Til next time....

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Friday - March 12, 2004 - Slumping Big Time

"Another day, another dollar"....funny how this phrase from yesteryear doesn't translate too well to the Internet. It needs to be updated to something along the lines of "another day online, pay me my money".

Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it? But it's closer to reality in this crazy world of Google Adwords.

Before going to bed last night, I did some research at Clickbank to find new products to advertise. Three hours later I had launched 5 new Adwords campaigns. I went to bed feeling confident in my new ads.

By noon today, I had very few clicks and no sales. And to add insult to injury, Google sent me a note around 2:00 p.m. basically saying "sorry, but you're a loser so we have disapproved three of your campaigns".

When I set them up last night, everything was working great. But what I didn't notice (due to my popup ad blocker) is that all three have popup ads - either on entry or on exit! GRRRRRRRRRR

As you know, in the world of Google, popups are a no-no.

So here's the current status as of 5:30 p.m. CST:

- Campaign 1: 6 clicks - 1904 impressions (0.3%) - Cost = $0.77
- Campaign 2: 5 clicks - 185 impressions (2.7%) - Cost = $1.34
- Campaign 3: 2 clicks - 145 impressions (1.3%) - Cost = $0.13
- Campaign 4: 1 click - 13 impressions (7.6%) - Cost = $0.05

I have lost approximately $2.35 today. ("Thank you...may I have another?")

Let's take a look at the updated tote board.....drum roll, please........

Current 7 day total profit from Adwords = $54.25 (down $2.35 from yesterday)

P.S. Good news and bad news today.........I received a J.O.B. offer today from one of my interviews this week. But the salary was the same as what I made 7 years ago! I'll let you determine which is the good news and which is the bad news.

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Thursday - March 11, 2004 - Brrrrr, sales are as cold as the weather

I don't know why I keep posting about the weather. I think I'll make a resolution that this is the last mention of the weather for awhile.

But it was sooooo cold and windy today. The only thing colder than the weather was my Adwords campaign.

Let me catch you up on the current state of things:

- 3/9 - Stopped all Adwords campaigns after some early success
- 3/10 - Started 3 Adwords campaigns (two involving CB and one with CJ)
- 3/11 - 3 Adwords campaigns running

I still haven't made any sales since Monday, 3/8. Here are the current campaign stats as of 7:00 CST:

- Campaign 1: 5 clicks, 156 impressions (3.2%) - Cost = $0.43
- Campaign 2: 1 clicks, 145 impressions (0.6%) - Cost = $0.26
- Campaign 3: 0 clicks, 15 impressions (0.0%) - Cost = $0.00

Do I have Google Adwords mastered or what!

I need to do something positive soon before I spend my profits from my earlier sales. But I'm feeling a bit lost. Maybe it's just me but it seems like Clickbank doesn't have any big winners right now. When I get an hour or two, I'll do a bit more research but so far, nothing is getting me too excited.

On a separate topic, I heard about a new product today that supposedly helps you increase your website's PageRank. It is called Page Rank Booster. I'm seriously considering buying it and if I do, I'll let you know how it works for me.

I have one site, Bunko.Biz, that has made about $50 in affiliate sales but the only way to get traffic to it is through Adwords. I need a product such as Page Rank Booster to help improve my Google SE rankings.

Well, that's enough ramblings for now. I may update again tonight but if not, I'll catch ya Friday.

Have a good evening, all!

Current 6 day total profit from Adwords = $56.60 (down $0.70 from yesterday)

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Wednesday - March 10, 2004 - I Took a Day Off

- Campaign 1: 2 clicks, 190 impressions (1.0%) - Cost = $0.54
- Campaign 2: 1 clicks, 98 impressions (1.0%) - Cost = $0.15
- Campaign 3: 0 clicks, 24 impressions (0.0%) - Cost = $0.00

Current 5 day total profit from Adwords = $57.30 (down $0.70 from yesterday)

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Tuesday - March 9, 2004 - The Sun Was Shining (for some)

What a glorious weather day in Minnesota today. Mid-40s, bright blue sky. You can tell that Spring is getting closer. At least I hope so.

My golfing buddy and I are planning a weekend trip to Kansas City next week to get an early start to the golf season. We're only staying over one night so we'll play 18 holes on Friday and 18 on Saturday before heading home. I can't wait to swing the clubs again.

I suppose you want to hear about my Adwords campaigns, huh? Unfortunately there's not much to write home about.

I started a new campaign last night and tweaked some others but everything failed miserably so no sales today and I stopped all my campaigns. What a downer after three straight successful days.

My advertising costs for today were around $4.00 which cuts into my profits.

But not all was lost because I received a very nice email from someone who visited this site. Here it is:

This note made my day. And it confirmed that there is at least one person "out there" that feels the way I do. But I truly wish Paul the very best of luck and I hope he finds full-time success on the Internet.

Well, that's all for today. The Timberwolves are playing Seattle tonight so I better go cheer on the home team. Til next time........

Current 4 day total profit from Adwords = $58.00 (down $4.00 from yesterday)

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Monday - March 8, 2004 - Busy on the J.O.B. front

Today was very hectic. I had a phone interview at 11:30 and a face-to-face interview at 2:00. Of course it snowed another 1-2", quite unexpectedly, and the roads were a mess. I was almost late for my 2:00 interview.

By the way, I work in Information Technology for my 'real job'. My IT Manager position was eliminated in June 2003 and I've been trying to find something similar since last summer. I'm currently consulting at a major electronics retailer until I can find a permanent job.

Anyway, back to the good stuff.....I MADE ANOTHER SALE TODAY! Yippee, Skippee. However, the commission was only $11.00 and as of this writing, expenses are approximately $6.00 for a big profit of $5.00.

I ended 2 Adwords campaigns today. Well, actually Google ended them for me.

One of them was promoting a book about PHP programming. It got 23 clicks out of 5,211 impressions (0.4%) and 0 sales. Google stopped it because I had mistyped the display URL. Instead of fixing it, I decided to end it since no one was buying it anyway.

The other campaign was promoting a video on how to make cigar box purses. Google stopped my ad because you can't use the word 'cigar' in the text. Although I understand their point, it's still kind of silly since it wasn't related to smoking. This particular ad received 13 clicks out of 4,862 impressions (0.2%) and 0 sales.

I believe the people that clicked on these two ads were hoping for free information. Oh well, at least I know now.

I currently have 6 Adwords campaigns running. I think I will spend a bit of time researching new products to promote before I go to bed.

Current 3 day total profit from Adwords = $62.00.

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Sunday - March 7, 2004 - What the %$#@^%!

I checked my Clickbank sales as soon as I got up this morning. I shouldn't have bothered. No sales. Still stuck on $23.00.

But I received an email alert from Affiliates Alert that new products have been added to Clickbank. I spent some time going through the new products and ended up setting up another campaign.

7:13 p.m. CST Update - Whooppeeeeee - another sale! It's the same product so another $23.00. So far, expenses are at $5.88. Profit is roughly $17.00.

My 2 day total profit is $34.00. Wow, I could get use to this.

I'm curious to see if sales will be different on the weekdays.

9:43 p.m. CST Update - WHAT THE %$#@!^% IS GOING ON AROUND HERE??? I just checked Clickbank again and I have another $23.00 sale! That brings today's total to $46.00 and the two day total to $69.00. Expenses for the two days are currently around $12.00.

Guys, trust me - I'm not bragging. I'm completely floored and blown away. Barry Stein, I LOVE YOU, MAN!

By the way, I have 8 Adwords campaigns running at this time. All three sales have come from the same one and it's not even the highest performing one, in terms of impressions and clicks.

Current 2 day total profit from Adwords = $57.00.

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Saturday - March 6, 2004 - Not A Virgin Anymore

What the heck is going on! I actually made a sale and earned $23.00 today from one of my Adwords campaigns that I set up yesterday. What a rush!

Advertising expenses were $6.10 so I made a profit of roughly $17.00. I know, I know it's not much but it ain't bad for not doing a darn thing.

Now I'm REALLY motivated to find more products and create more campaigns.

I fired up all my tools - Affiliates Alert, Adword Analyzer, Wordtracker, and Google Adwords - and began my search. Within an hour or two, I had created two more campaigns.

That's good enough for today. Let's let it simmer for awhile and see what happens.

Current 1 day total profit from Adwords = $17.00.

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Friday - March 5, 2004 - Ugh, More Snow

It snowed last night and it was snowing when I woke up. Heavy, thick stuff and it was coming down in bunches. Not a good situation when you're about to commute 30 miles in heavy traffic.

It took me about an hour to drive the 30 miles to my mindless J.O.B. But on a positive note, I knew I'd be able to print out the remainder of Barry Stein's blog entries and read them over lunch, which is what I did. Gawd, it's good information.

I came home and immediately downloaded the Affiliates Alert software that Barry mentioned in his articles. After taking it for a short test drive, I upgraded to the Professional version so that I could receive the early email alerts of new Clickbank products. I think this 'insider info' will be gold.

Using the Affiliates Alert software, I picked out 5 products that I thought might sell and then used Adword Analyzer to review the current campaigns. I set up Adwords campaigns for all 5 products and went to bed feeling very hopeful.

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Thursday - March 4, 2004 - Call It Fate

I don't remember what I was looking for at the time but for some reason, I ended up at Barry Stein's website, aWebBiz, today. Call it coincidence, call it fate, call it whatever you like.

I was 'mesmerized' for several hours as I read story after story about his experiences with Google Adwords and Clickbank. Here was someone talking about his actual earnings and expenses in very plain English. I was blown away by all the information, not to mention his daily commissions (wow).

The genesis of Barry's online business career was Chris Carpenter's GoogleCash eBook. I bought GoogleCash in September 2003 and tried a few Adwords campaigns without much success. But at the time, I didn't really understand how to use Clickbank with Adwords campaigns like Barry is doing.

Instead, I concentrated on Commission Junction affiliate links and get this - the affiliates paid a whopping $1.62 for the product (a board game) I was promoting. Can you imagine trying to run an Adwords campaign for less than $1.62? And why would anyone bother?

That's why they call me 'The Net Knucklehead'!!!

I was SOOOO excited after finding Barry's site. Through his articles, he introduced me to a whole new world of possibilities. I started feeling like it really was possible to make money on the Internet. Yes, I was still skeptical and I wanted to see it firsthand, but at least there was a glimmer of hope.

I printed as many of Barry's blog entries as I thought I could get away with. (I was at work trying not to get caught by my boss.) Then I came home and read them til the early hours of Friday morning.

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