22 Year Old Making 5 Figures/Month : Link Back Exclusive Interview with Glen Allsopp of Viperchill.com

Hey guys Becker here,

Today I have something truly special for you guys. I truly believe one of the best ways to succeed online is to learn directly from the people that are absolutely CRUSHING the market. There for, I have been contacting Internet Marketers who are doing just that and have lined up interviews so that you can see first hand what is going on in the heads of these online giants.

So, because I love setting the bar extremely high our first interview is with  Glen Allsop himself.

About Glen

Glen is head of one of the biggest internet marketing blogs in the world ViperChill and among worlds most well known experts in SEO/Internet marketing. Ironically, his 5 figure MONTHLY income is not generated from his massive blog or teaching internet marketing, but from his affiliate marketing sites. This has allowed him freely share information on his blog that many would charge thousands for.

I could go on and on, however I think it would be better to  simply stopped by his welcome page if you would like to know more about him (http://www.viperchill.com/hey/) . With that being said l can think of very few role models to look into if you are interested in really getting serious about making money online.

Anyhoo, I now feel like my nose is adequately covered in pooh so lets get straight into this interview.

What originally got you into internet marketing? How did you know it was for you?

Glen:I never intended to get into marketing, it just happened as a byproduct of looking for ways to promote my technology and DJ websites. As I learned more and more about SEO and the like, the topics became a real passion of mine. Suddenly I was spending as much time testing my ranking theories as I was working on the sites I was testing them for.

I think you always know when ‘something is for you’. You just feel it. And more importantly, you want to pursue it.

I know a lot of people that choose to go down this path (myself included) have an extremely rough time the first year or two due to the steep learning curve. How long did this last for you and when did you really start to see results from your efforts.

Glen:I like to think that it’s still lasting, since I’m always pushing myself to get bigger results or try different ideas. I had a lot of success early on, and then success spread out sporadically over three years in between a lot of failures. I really started seeing results when I got my head down on a few ideas instead of fleeting between different projects. From there I just expanded on what was working and thankfully it all paid off.

Was there ever a point where you wanted to give up on internet marketing and go down a more traveled road?

Glen:In terms of someone marketing my own websites, then no. If you are referring to teaching marketing then sure. I’m totally fine with the possibility that I won’t be writing about this stuff for very long. My passions change quite a lot. That being said, I’m having far too much fun using the internet to express those passions, so I don’t think I’ll ever disappear and build a business offline.

For someone who likes to be creative, being able to share your ideas to people around the world is pretty amazing.

From your point of view, what are some of the best ways to start seeing results as fast as possible or grow into a competent marketer quickly?

Glen: Know who your audience is, know what they want, and deliver it to them in a way that they can’t get anywhere else. You won’t attract everyone to your idea, but you’ll attract the rightpeople, and the right people can help you make money.

 

Google is constantly changing how it ranks sites and SEO in my opinion is becoming a very risky game to put all your eggs in. What do you expect in the future of SEO and from Google.

 Glen:Search results right now are terrible for long-tail phrases. They’re probably at the worst I’ve ever seen them. Ever since Google+ was introduced it seems like the ranking algorithm has had one too many tweaks placed on it. Google are clearly putting more emphasis on brand sites than ever before, which I think overall is a good thing, but it does make it harder to enter some verticals.

They’re also clearly focused on social, calling G+ something that “can not fail.” They believe it’s critical to their success as a search leader.

Now more than ever it’s important to build sites that people will talk about and share whether they found you via search engines or not. And funnily enough, that’s the kind of site which gets good rankings.

 

The internet marketing niche right now is one of the most profitable niches on the online. However, I am also noticing it is quickly becoming one of the most jaded because of the amount of people attempting to cash in on it (IE the dozens of WSOs released every day on the warrior forums). While you make your real cash flow outside of the IM genre, what do you see in the future of the Make Money Online niche?

Glen:Great question. I actually hate this industry for the most part. Trust me to be so passionate about something that has such a bad stigma ;).

I would have said that the ethical guys will rise to the top and people will stop listening to everyone else. That’s what I thought a few years ago. Yet, it still hasn’t happened, and looking at Clickbank sales figures for another ‘Affiliate Crusher’ or ‘EMillions’ course it doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon.

Let’s just say that I know what I would like to see, but I think the current trend will continue for a long time yet.

What is one of the biggest mistakes you see internet marketeers making? How can they fix this?

Glen:Thinking being social on Twitter and Facebook is building their businesses. If you can afford to hire someone to do just that, then it is. Otherwise, you usually have 99 other things that are a better use of your time. Too many people are focused on what’s easy, rather than what gets results.

 

If you could attribute one characteristic or attribute to your success in this career field, what would it be?

Glen:Applying my knowledge.

 

One of the biggest problems I had when I was learning, was deciphering good from bad info online. What are some great learning resources that help you?

Glen:The resources I used back in the day were great for me at the time, but I wouldn’t recommend them to people now since there are much better offerings out there. Two people I think are doing great work right now include Rishi (http://explicitly.me) and Adam (http://thefuturebuzz.com).

What are some of the most useful tools that you use to rank highly or assist you with marketing?

Glen:Assistants ;). Hah. Though I would love to always advice that you should focus on getting high-quality links, I’ve found a ton of low quality sources to help me in my efforts. Though I sound like a broken record, the best recommendation is to test the theories you hear about and see what works in your field.

Doing something for an hour is far better than reading about it for ten.

I have found that one of my greatest assets when it comes to making money online is the sum of all my random skill sets combined ( Graphic design, coding, SEO, being personable etc etc) It is blatantly obvious after looking at Viper Chill you are somewhat of an online renaissance man. What skills have you found most valuable? How did you obtain them?

Glen:Someone noticed that I don’t just write? Thanks!

Yeah, designing is actually the most enjoyable thing I do. Then again, if I had to work for others when I do design work (I have on occasion as freebies / favours) then the fun quickly disappears. I guess I just love the creativity that comes with having a blank canvas. Though I still have a long way to go, I mostly improved by tweaking website templates (actually my Myspace page back in the day) and seeing what affected what. Any skills I have are built through reading tutorials online and then going through a lot of trial and error.

I notice one of the biggest selling points that brings people to Viper Chill is value that is constantly being given with nothing expected in return. However, one problem I know a lot of GREAT blogs have is they do not know how to bring new traffic to the value they are giving. What are some of the most potent ways to get traffic to a new site/blog.

Glen:Find people who are not only in the position you want to be in (large audience in your niche) but putting out a message you stand for and believe in. Start engaging with them, wherever they are. Don’t kiss ass. Just be normal.

Then, make sure you’re doing something worth talking about. The rest will take care of itself.

What are some things you enjoy doing offline to stay sane?

Glen:When I’m not working on a project I’ll party 4-5 nights per week. I like just getting out of the house and being sociaI. I used to smoke way too much hubbly (hookah) since it’s really popular here in South Africa. My excuse was that it would help me relax and it’s great for when you have friends over, but really it just messes up your lungs. I quit that a few months ago.

I have a big side hobby but I don’t want to get into it just yet as it’s probably the next direction I’m taking my internet career.

Any last words for an aspiring internet marketers out there?

Glen:The last time I was asked this I said ‘Don’t look for the answers in people’s last words’. All you have to do is take what you read, try it out, and continue testing until you hit a winner. That has never changed, but less and less people seem to be following it. Since there are enough people offering the overnight riches, enough people will eat up the ideas.

You won’t fall for them though, will you?

 

Fin

Pretty good stuff right? Thanks again to Glen for the great interview!

This is the first of many interviews guys. Expect to see many more big interviews like this in the future!

Keep Linkin,

Becker