Market Samurai, need some advice and have some general questions & comments...

[Michael Barrett]

Howdy friends and neighbors,

I'm looking for some feedback and advice.

I put two micro niche sites together (without WP Direct) because they did not support the hosting company I have been using - 1and1. I'm considering migrating all of my 20+ domains to Hostgator as I get things stabilized and learn this system thoroughly.

During the research period, I actually found several really strong niches (and got a couple of the domains) but chose to focus only on one FROM SCRATCH to concentrate all of my Challenge attention on learning - rather than mechanics and site migrations, et al...

And to prove to myself, that once and for all, I can do this thing and that the Challenge works. I'm kind of a show me guy even though I was not born in Missouri. ;-) ;-)

Here is my basic plan:

My number 1 goal is to get my first new micro niche (and the Challenge system) to pay for all the 'system tools' used in the 2010 Challenge, hosting fees, domain fees etc from net profits.

When that is achieved, I plan to go through each of my existing domains and undeveloped domains - one by one - and clean up my act - while I simultaneously develop new niche sites - one at a time.

I have diligently followed directions, paid attention and studied this program in depth so that I can apply it to everything else I am working on systemically. Sometimes it seems like it takes me longer than others to learn new stuff, but once I get the hang of it, I seem to accelerate. I have to do the stuff a lot and then I "own it" - kind of learning.

BTW - today's Market Samurai rankchecker shows me at #6 on broad match for Google for my micro niche keyword and #1 in Yahoo.

Ccool eh?

This whole techno thing is pretty wild for me because I was not born with an IPod in my mouth or an Apple on my desk. An apple was a piece of fruit...

When I went to college (senior year) desk tops as we know them, did not exist. We had a shared terminal in the college that was a remote terminal for a main frame computer in a corporation several blocks away. We had to create Fortran cards and get in line to use the terminal for class projects and only one of us could use it at a time.

A bit of desk top history from Wikipedia:

IBM's first desktop microcomputer was the IBM 5100, introduced in 1975. It was a complete system, with a built-in monitor, keyboard, and data storage. It was also very expensive — up to $20,000 USD. It was specifically designed for professional and scientific problem-solvers, not business users or hobbyists[2]. When the PC was introduced in 1981, it was originally designated as the IBM 5150, putting it in the "5100" series, though its architecture was not directly descended from the IBM 5100.

I graduated in Jan of 1978 for the record.

What a great course this 2010 Challenge...

Ed - you and your staff are internet gods and goddesses. I am in AWE(someness)...


A couple of questions...

• Market Samurai price
  
  Working on a monthly budget for all the marketing tools and I can't find a price for Market Samurai. Did I miss something on one of the modules? I sent in a support request to MS as well and haven't heard back. I 'm sure it's a low priority item...
  
  Any tips?

• Hostgator options
  
  Which option is the best way to start with Hostgator. I am interested in dedicated ip addresses and am thinking about VPS hosting. Suggestions?

Been with 1and1 for a couple of years and have had really good luck with some exceptions:

1. their billing system
2. mailing list weirdness
3. no cpanel

Their customer service has been pretty good and the server has always been stable for me. The price is right too.

I'm ready for action now and feel like I want to automate wherever possible, deluxe plugins etc and new themes for some of my blogs, etc...

So WP Direct, MS, Traffic Bug and the awesome cast of tools Ed has introduced us to is on the near horizon - including an IPad and maybe even an IPhone...

One step at a time for me and this time, there is no plan B.

Thanks

Michael

[akalafr]

Hi Michael, I can't say too much about hostgator as I use bluehost. As for market samurai their regular price is one time fee of $149 but in the past they've offered a substantial discount at $97. I'm not sure if that will be the same this year, but I would definitely wait till the end of the challenge to find out.

[Michael Barrett]

Hi Michael, I can't say too much about hostgator as I use bluehost. As for market samurai their regular price is one time fee of $149 but in the past they've offered a substantial discount at $97. I'm not sure if that will be the same this year, but I would definitely wait till the end of the challenge to find out.

Thanks akalafr...

Wow that was fast.

What a bargain for the software.

Appreciate the response

Michael

[Sandra]

Michael,
I went with the baby plan in hostgator. It is $7.95 a month if you purchase annually. I am really happy with my current host though, so I purchased monthly to see how hostgator stacks up. Do check around for coupons for hostgator and if you do a search here you will probably find lots of different ones. I got my first month at hostgator for .01 (coupon found via this forum) and have just paid 9.95 for the second month. I think I will keep both hosts and may switch to an annual purchase when the Aus$ & US$ favour me.
I will wait until after the end of The Challenge though, as I am definitely having the full Market Samurai, and will do all of my budgeting, then.
Sandra
ps Don't forget to enter Hostgator via Module 2 Day 1, there is a link on the right side, so that The Challenge gets a share. I hate to think about the cost of keeping all this wonderful free stuff on air, for all of us.

[Michael Barrett]

Hi Sandra,

Thanks for the tips and I forgot about the Hostgator link on Mod 2 day 1...

Just to address something you said specifically:

"I hate to think about the cost of keeping all this wonderful free stuff on air, for all of us."

I get what you said and I'm really grateful for what these guys give back to the internet community.

Thanks for the feedback.

Michael

[Michael Barrett]

BTW, I heard back from Market Samurai with the Challenge dicsount it will be $ 97...

[Ryan Smith]

If you sign up for the trial of Market Samurai and buy during the trial it is $97, They may of extended the trail or that offer after the trial for the Challenge not sure, but that was the deal I got as I bought it prior to finding the Challenge

[Michael Barrett]

If you sign up for the trial of Market Samurai and buy during the trial it is $97, They may of extended the trail or that offer after the trial for the Challenge not sure, but that was the deal I got as I bought it prior to finding the Challenge

Thanks Ryan

[MrMRT]

Hi Michael,

Sounds like you are on to a good plan with the sites. One thing you might want to consider as you work through your sites is that there will be a bit of downtime between activities as you put another site on line and get that working. YOU might want to see how many parallel sites you can get going so you maximise your time. YOu will only ever be doing one thing at a time its just that while youhave to wait for things to take effect on one site you can be working on another - might accelerate you to multiple streams of income.

On the technology front and your Fortran cards I think I can beat that - I was in the Navy when when we still had to load the battle computer on the ship with paper tape and it had a massive 16K Ram ferrite core memory that had to be air cooled and was held in 2 large cabinets the size of telephone boxes.

Before that the ship I was on was a "manual" ship - it had no computer system and the action information system was a big table with a map, little plastic ships and able seamen with long sticks to move them around (I kid you not - We are only talking 1987 here so it is not that long ago LOL).

If anyone else wants so swing a lantern or two, we should start a Salty Sea Dog thread LOL

Michael

[Michael Barrett]

Hi Michael,

There's a restaurant & watering hole near us called the Old Salty Dog.

Assuming what you mean by parallel sites is similarly themed sites. My thoughts seem to be similar to what you're saying.

Wow a 16 K ram storage system...

I remember my first AT Clone with a Rocket Ship 486 chip and 8 MEGS of ram.

Not sure what 'swing a lantern' refers to... A rocking ship on the ocean swells???

Thanks for the note - nice meeting you.

Michael