As you guys have probably noticed, Fingerman has stopped doing IM for a while now and is just enjoying the joy of traveling off his passive income for many months now and has not really done any type of IM for a while. While that’s all good I’ve always really wanted to have a blog with someone else where we share ideas and work together to make it a big hub of information and share information with viewers via comments/forum posts.
So, many months ago I helped Alex Becker with some SEO tips, he was really interested in doing IM and had already started a few blogs and followed the principles of keyword research most users on this site or who read on TKA know about. Anyway, fast forward to now and he has been doing very well for himself and also has developed expertise in areas where I frankly did not put much time into so much. He has worked on establishing big blogs, managing email lists, creating products and leveraging many other traffic sources then only Google. For these reasons, I think we will make a great team where I specialize in the keyword research/SEO side of things while he has more knowledge on sales letter, email lists, social media and such. Together we are hoping to provide information on the diverse areas of internet marketing and provide something that everyone can probably relate to and choose to specialize themselves in when making a living online.
Because of this, I believe we need a new domain name that is more brandable (because frankly passiveincomeseo.com or PIS is not that cool :P). For this reason we are moving to http://unreallifestyle.net/ UPDATE: changed to http://thelinkback.com/. We will be moving the posts shown on here over there.
Besides adding more content around IM at a much more frequent pace between the two of us, right now we are redesigning the guides to be more newbie friendly and hopefully more complete because we still get so many questions on it.
I’ll probably be doing a domain redirect to there in the next few days, once everything is properly transferred. I’ll transfer the forums too of course, especially to make sure the preserve the journals of all those who have been tracking their progress :).
UPDATE & CLARIFICATIONS
Thanks for the feedback guys, one thing I want to mention is the idea about changing the domain name is that our combined blog will not only be about SEO. I’ll be talking about SEO as much as usual but he will be blogging about the other aspects of IM that might hit home with other people. Principles like building an email list, optimizing for conversions etc are all important to properly manage your traffic (which with SEO is easy to gain, but time consuming as we know…).
Anyway, that’s the idea behind changing a name. I feel it’s necessary to showcase that the website is about more than SEO but maybe not…?
What about the template change, black background vs white background (which will mostly be the only difference), some dislike it, I personally find it just to be different, any other comments on this?
As for the sales type stuff, we both agree we will not showcase products on the banner or whatever, it’s just a basic template but our goal is to provide a blog with content on diverse areas of IM. Keyword research, building a website that converts (adsense, email lists or products), driving traffic to it (seo and more).
This blog just seems very honest so even though you’re getting affiliate income from it I chose to trust you and am following your blueprint at the moment. But after I clicked the link you posted and saw a clickbank sale page i bounced right off…yuck ;(
hmmm where did you see a clickbank sales page? Right now the posts he has there are content he had posted before we decided to merge and I like better his domain name so I think using that one and moving this blog over there is a good move. BTW if anyone has a new great domain name they think I could maybe want to use instead let me know… preferably by contact form so noone steals it :P. We were going for something brandable/general sounding.
I’m talking about the blog blueprint post…
ah ok I see
Just sent you guys an email. I seriously hope you take this design to that site because that site makes me want to close the tab 🙁
Interesting, I guess the black background is not appreciated by all :P. I’m not sure yet on which theme I would rather use, if anyone else has an opinion on which ones they like better make sure to comment and voice your opinion!
Hey Alex,
I think you’re going to lose something by joining that guy, ive seen his posts about IM on RSD and honestly i think he’s full of shit about some of the stuff he claims. You and fingerman just seem more down to earth and honest and the new guy is kinda the opposite of that.
Of course this is just my opinion but i reckon you would do better to keep this blog yourself with a tight focus on SEO etc, maybe keep this blog and start some new posts on the other site too?
Food for thought.
Thanks for your feedback, I”ll keep it in mind. I’ll probably wait a few more days before making a final decision on this.
I agree, the design and the new slogans do not fit to your concept. Until now, your site was like “ok, thats serious, and no pure marketing, something someone as a beginning internet marketer can relate to, and more importantly, believe in”.
The new site is like a big red flag “I wanna sell you something, you retarded IM starters, and I’ll write whatever I think will make you do it, and since you’re new you gonna believe anything I hype up anyways!” The slogan rank first in 3 weeks also looks to me just like another rip off… It surely is possible though, for easy terms, but I don’t know… less hyped is often more, I guess? And the titles all tell the same lame (sorry) “I want to sell you something so I gonna sound bombastic” story… Maybe thats the influence of your new partner, no offense, might be working great, but I guess this means a shift in your audience too, from the ones you have now that take things more seriously to the kids that think they can make millions without any work and buy anything that *seems* to deliver that promise. Maybe that will make you more money though, I have not the experience to judge that, but it is sad to see your project go into this direction from my perspective
It’s great to hear that you got someone new in the boat that has expertise in areas you don’t, but please don’t change the concept that drastically and stay more serious and less hyped, otherwise you risk losing reputation with your established fan base. :/
ya I agree with you… My goal with this website was always to have a more serious (and long lasting) audience then the people who jump from product to product hoping the next one will solve their $$$ issues.
Me again, just wanted to say the article about ranking in 3 weeks is nothing more then a long sales pitch, but no serious, independent writing like we are used to on thelinkback.com, unfortunately. Please don’t!
On the other side, the article about better conversions is a great overview on the most important pitfalls of sales writing.. good one. The forum post is a nice one too.
Don’t you think it can be possible to stay serious and (almost) independent and make sales because of it? But maybe I am wrong and an idealist and the only way to make more money is to use the common “I tell you what you wanna hear so I can sell you something” sales pitch…
BTW if you rewrite the guide make sure to remove niche refinery…it’s almost useless now. 893 words job and it went up 3% in a day. If you follow the TKA ebook then you end up with jobs of around 5000 😀
I’ll review that then, I have to admin I have not used niche refinery in like 2 months since the last time I did keyword research. I’ll definitely check it out and see if it should remain there.
ALEX, HELL NO dude! Don’t move this domain, you gotta be crazy, what are you thinkin’? Look, man this blog is basically for IM purposes as to blogging as well. It’s a dope ass domain name… This domain actually has a meaning besides “unreallifestyle” it sounds to me that your life style is not real obviously. I’m just saying dude.
I don’t doubt other Alex has some good advice and knowledge to share. However, I agree with everyone else that his writing style is really salesman-ish which is really annoying compared to this site, where you just give honest write ups about what you’re doing and how different tools and products perform for you.
I’m going to be sad if every other post on the new site is like “5 SECRET WAYS TO DOMINATE ANY NICHE MARKET” and “THE TOP 10 OVERLOOKED SEO ATOMIC BOMBS YOU ARE NOT USING” or some shit.
Another thing I like about this site is that it is focused on the simple SEO keyword research -> sites -> backlinks model, which WORKS and is a simple linear process anyone can follow. It just takes time and patience.
Compared to the “my secret tool can get you ranked for ANY keyword in 3 weeks” is a bullshit attitude that may work sometimes, but for someone new coming up, the temptation to give up is pretty high. If I was not instilled by this site and TKA with patience and looking at SEO as a 6-9 month learning and testing process that I should not give up on, I wouldn’t be here anymore. I would have given up 2 months ago when my sites didn’t immediately rank and start making $500 a month or something.
Tying in things like getting forum following, using e-mail lists to make conversions on other things, etc is cool but it can be information overload for a noob. I hope if you guys join forces there will still be a very straightforward 3 step guide like you have here, and the accessory tactics like how to build non search engine traffic, and harvesting leads through more than adsense/affiliate clicks, etc could have its own section.
The visual design on the other site is also eye rapingly horrible and the domain name reeks of the hyperbole used throughout its writing. This domain has a straightforward meaning that may not be as explosive, but it’s real. We’re trying to make passive income off SEO.
Anyways you rock! If you guys combine forces I mostly hope that other Alex just cuts the salesman schtick and will provide monthly breakdowns the way you do of what you are REALLY working on and the results from it.
Thanks for the feedback, one thing I want to mention is the idea about changing the domain name is that our combined blog will not only be about SEO. I’ll be talking about SEO as much as usual but he will be blogging about the other aspects of IM that might hit home with other people. Principles like building an email list, optimizing for conversions etc are all important to properly manage your traffic (which with SEO is easy to gain, but time consuming as we know…).
Anyway, that’s the idea behind changing a name. I feel it’s necessary to showcase that the website is about more then SEO but maybe not…? (I’ll update the post with this, would love some other feedback).
It always occurred to me that the site was about IM – maybe because I got here from bhw – but you need only one second on the site to see its about passive income – from im – and seo to do it… but it does not exclude other traffic sources, at least not in my opinion.
Its my experience anyways that when you are building a brand, what the brand name is about is only a small part of branding – more important is your reputation and what people connect to it, and to the brand. Maybe a slogan added to your already established brand passiveincomeseo would be a better idea to make the topic broader?
like
thelinkback.com
“create a passive income through internet marketing”
not hyped but for real and the dream of most IMers.
Anyways, I think its contra productive to throw away a brand just to create a new one.
I would say don’t fix what isn’t broken. I know it’s to “make it even better” type mindset, but i think it would be a big mistake for reasons others have already said. This template is simple and sleek too, don’t change it in my opinion.
Ey dudes its alex,(the other one)
I see there are alot of stuff you guys dont like about the unreal lifestyle domain. This is all good stuff that is going to help the site be the best possible blog to help people.
Honestly, me and alex just want to make the best blog possible to help people get exactly what they want online.
I really looked back at the articles and they are a little…salesy =P (SORRY!!!)… Which was not my intention. I was really just fucking pumped to be starting a blog about one of my biggest passions and I had just gotten done writing a sale page for the past 4 hours, so it kinda carried over in my writing
My main goal though was to just try and convey how excited I am about this blog. I am not experienced writing post in this niche so your input is highly appreciated guys.
Also, the book ad was to see how it would look. (there is not even a book out yet =P) I am currently working on a product with a partner of mine where we created a site and ranked it first in google in 3 weeks time and documented the entire process. Hence the ZOMG 3 WEEKS TILL FIRST adline, but it is not going to be sold on Unreal.
The site is not ready and your input right now is going to heavily influence the final outcome because they blog is really being made for you anyways =P.
I really have nothing to sell you guys. What Alex and I want to do is give you guys the complete fucking package when it comes to starting a business online.
Our biggest goal right now is to have a total guide for beginners in something like a 8 part series (nothing being sold) and then once you are caught up to speed provide you with the best advanced material we have.
So what do you guys want to see?
and please forgive my brutal grammer errors! Im on a major no-xplode pre workout buzz right now RAWWWWR
hey man,
looking at your website, the background and coloring makes it look like a children’s science website or some shit. Go for a more professional looking theme and as I’m sure you’ve picked up — tone down the salesmanship.
I already emailed Alex on this but I agree with the comments on not to take this blog and make it a home on “unreal” (This domain is great, but don’t forward it to unreal – create another). No offense to the other Alex, but that site is just like the rest, and is made up of what a lot of people don’t want to see anymore. I would rather NOT see a mix of those “types” of posts with Alex T’s style, in any way shape or form. If the author at “unreal” would have a style of writing that is more “user friendly/down to earth”, then sure.
There’s something honest and true about this website. Maybe it’s the fact that you’re completely straight forward about your method and have never included any bullshit or adsense. You’ve got clear reviews of what worked for you and what didn’t. There’s no loss in translation between you and the audience.
I don’t know the author of the other website, and I’ve seen earlier that he’s explained he might have come off off too salesy, but this domain and forum is something great and personally I don’t want to see it mashed with something new.
I don’t see any reason you couldn’t do a joint venture together and leave this site how it is. Two websites aren’t always better than one, but in this case you’ve got a loyal following an excellent reputation for responding to your audience’s needs in both the comments on the blog and the forum.
Try doing both for a while. You don’t have to sacrifice this website (even if it labeled PIS in my favorites) in favor of something else. This website is golden and I’m happy to purchase products through your affiliate links because of the value you give.
Good idea and cool name for the new website. : )
I can hardly wait to check the new website…
I simply follow the “hard work” insight all the way here…
Hope can follow it up untill success…
I feel the same as everyone else. I like this blog because of the down to earth approach that you convey your findings with us without all the sales pitch that has affected IM when trying to learn it. I hope you keep the blog the we way it is and avoid the toxic nature that the the others have already conveyed here thus far.
Hey Alex, I signed up with TKA (via your link) and the Niche Refinery video seems to be missing (although the article is still there).
I’ve been trying to follow the instructions manually, but as they say it’s taking HOURS.
Can you recommend a good replacement for the Niche Refinery?
Thanks
Mark
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