Did you do last years challenge ?

[Karen Kramer]

Perhaps I see things through different eyes to other people. I didn't see more people doing less well last year - I saw more people taking part and more people achieving their goals.

I suppose with so many taking part there is a huge proportion (and always was a high percentage) of those who didn't achieve what they wanted or even complete the challenge, but then the same percentages are there for any type of online training in my experience.

Certainly there were plenty of success stories on the old forum and, for me, what was great to see last year was more people using the training in different ways. There are quite a few people now flipping sites successfully as a result of last year's training, while others have used their new skills to help local businesses with their online marketing.

My advice is: don't get distracted (often the folks who are doing the best are not spending hours on the forum because they are too busy taking action); don't give up because it seems to hard, you hit an obstacle or your first project doesn't work - these can all be overcome and are good learning experiences; expect to succeed and put yourself in that mindset; take plenty of action; follow the challenge to the letter.

Best to all!

Lisa

Lisa...as always, you have a way of bringing the sunshine to everything :-)

[Kcrystina]

I didn't do last year's challenge, though I had done every previous one not including the first one. I came to the challenge during it's second year. Have been following Ed & gang since. I would have liked to have done last years challenge, however I had a lot going on. This year is different! This year is the year I'm going through it entirely. Other years I didn't get through due to health problems (mainly ending up in the hospital & surgeries).

[Linnea]

Thanks for your comments Lisa. I've done the challenge twice before, and I always get so much value, and have used the tools and knowledge I've gained in my business, even though my "30 Day Projects" may have appeared unsuccessful. It's all good! Can't wait to get started tomorrow!

[ShannonCole]

I did the 30DC for the first time last year with no internet marketing skills at all. It was a proving ground to me that I could make money online. So, I think it was totally a success. It also helped me in my day job, so again, success. My site is ranked #2 for Google, #1 for Yahoo and #9 for Bing... I haven't actually put a ton of work into the site since the original couple of months and still keep my rankings.

After I proved to myself I could make money, my time has been spent writing an eBook for my niche and an iPhone app. It's been slow going because that's how I choose to work on it. I work full time and have twin toddlers, so it leaves me little time to do this on the side. However, I'm close to launching both, so I expect to see my $$ go up.

To me, this year's success is rated by getting a new site up and running with whatever new techniques Ed has up his sleeve, make that first dollar with said site, improve my current site, and learn a whole bunch in the process that will help me with my day job. I think the new format is going to make this a really great process for me and keep me focused for a longer period of time; which is great!

Some day, my success metric will be to replace my current salary, but I'm not there yet, and that's just fine by me because I know that I will get there if I stay in the game and continue to slowly keep chipping away at it.

You hit it right on the head! The challenge is a great way to LEARN the skills you need, the solid foundation, to make money online. You're not going to get rich overnight. Depending on your dedication, money, and time, it may take months or even years to build enough income to replace your current salary.

I believe that with making money online (like everything else) there is a "tipping point" from where you are making only a few dollars online to making a real salary. A point where things will just seem to "click" and earning an income online becomes second nature.

Shannon

[Sherri Joubert]

I've done 30DC for the past 3 years and loved it. Last year I didn't start any new sites but I used what I learned to tweak all my niche sites. Results improved very quickly. I went from earning about $30 a month to about $150 a month consistently. I earned over $300 this month and will earn about $250 in July. I haven't put more than about 4 hours this whole month into my websites. That's a high hourly wage, and why I want to do it better in the future.

My goal this year is to raise my monthly earnings to the $1000 range. The new format will make that more probable.

This is actually my 3rd job. I tutor high school math and science as many hours a week as I can, but June and July are very slow since school is out here. I'm using what I've learned in the 30DC to market my tutoring business. This year, I plan to put up a targeted facebook ad to local people with high school aged kids. It will be part of a whole marketing mix, but it is much less expensive than Adwords or Yahoo paid search, and much more demographically targeted.

I also work part-time delivering pizza at Papa John's. The work is part I need the money and part sociological experiment. I work very, very hard for minimum wage plus tips. I live in south Louisiana, so that means driving during the day in the hot, humid climate in the sun. The heat index is usually 105 to 110 F in the shade. Dehydration is a daily fight.

It's reminding me why I went to college and graduated, why I tutor for my primary job, and why I want to improve my online income substantially. It's a whole lot easier to sit in the A/C, teach math and science, do research, and work on websites than prep pizza ingredients, fold boxes, make pizzas, and fight heat and traffic. And occasionally get robbed. Some people tip well, others don't tip at all. Along with tips, my wages end up a few to several dollars per hour above minimum wage. I get paid every day I work because I get to keep my daily tips. I get a pay check every other week. It's a lot of work and exhaustion for about $1000 a month (20 hours a week). I make more in 3 hours of tutoring than I make in two days delivering pizzas. The surprising thing is the majority of people I work with are college graduates who have been laid off their jobs and need money.

My advice is to heed what you learn here well, and apply it as many places as you can. It will make you more money for less effort than minimum wage jobs, and it can help you with a professional job or an offline business as well as starting or improving an online business.

[ShannonCole]

I've done 30DC for the past 3 years and loved it. Last year I didn't start any new sites but I used what I learned to tweak all my niche sites. Results improved very quickly. I went from earning about $30 a month to about $150 a month consistently. I earned over $300 this month and will earn about $250 in July. I haven't put more than about 4 hours this whole month into my websites. That's a high hourly wage, and why I want to do it better in the future.

My goal this year is to raise my monthly earnings to the $1000 range. The new format will make that more probable.

EXCELLENT JOB!!! I'm sure you'll reach your goals. Keep up the good work!

Shannon

[Sherri Joubert]

Thanks, Shannon!

I will keep up the work and make it to $1000, hopefully much sooner than later!

[Bob & Tara]

Wahey! First post in the new 'Challenge' Forum (That name is going to take some getting use to!).

I'm hearing a lot of reasons why people can't or didn't complete the 30DC last year, but if you really want to achieve anything in life, you need to be determined, focused and make it your number #1 priority in life. Eat and sleep it. Let nothing or no one distract you or get in your way. Add to that a sprinkling of knowledge, and a touch of support, and you have the original recipe for success!

If you REALLY want it, you'll move heaven and Earth to get it. Mind you, if you don't know what 'IT' is, then you may have a hard time finding it ;-)

Also, I don't think SEO is getting harder at all. The secret is research. Find your micro-niche topic that has sufficient demand, low competition and good monetization potential (And there are still MILLIONS of them!), and using the techniques the Challenge will teach you, you can be in the top spot at Google in no time at all (1hr 15mins is my own personal record).

I can't wait to see what Ed and the crew have in store for us all this year, as you know there are going to be some little gems in there to make our lives as Internet Marketers easier and more profitable.

First post, and I'm already starting to ramble....this is not a good sign.

Pete :-)

Hey Pete,

Can we use you as a keyword research/micro-niche resource or sounding board? I find this the most difficult part. Maybe I am incorrectly using Market Samurai.

Bob