---------------------------------------------------------------------
Now playing: Groove Is In The Heart by Deee-Lite
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Are you looking for a mentor? What a coinkydink—I'm looking for someone to mentor! More specifically, a mentee who would like to be part of a case study for the blog you are reading right now, SkipTheScams.com.
Just a couple of weeks ago, we began a case study with a new student, but due to circumstances beyond his control, he is unable to continue at this time. I don't want this project to fall by the wayside, so I'm holding a contest to find another "protege," so to speak. Anyone who is either brand new to affiliate marketing or not making enough money to break even is eligible to enter.
First, here's what I will do for you if you win:
• Give you a free copy of the Affiliate Marketing Schoolbook Beginner Course.
• Give you one year of free hosting for your first site.
• Give you free one-on-one priority help throughout the course in the student forum, by e-mail, or by IM, and a reasonable degree of continuing assistance as needed in the future.
In turn, you would agree to:
• Follow the AMS lesson plan step by step, completing every assignment, at the rate of at least two lessons per week, allowing SkipTheScams.com readers to view your site as you develop it.
• Report your progress to me once a week by writing a 500-word article detailing the steps you've taken, issues or problems you face, and progress and results you see. This will be published at SkipTheScams.com.
• Buy one year of hosting from me (six months of which will be free, so you would only pay $27.70). (On second thought, let's go with a year instead of six months.) The only other expense you will have will be a domain name, which is normally $7-$10.
A word of warning
A couple of the issues faced by case study subjects in Internet marketing are 1) your site's statistics are often skewed by the extra visitors you wouldn't normally have, and 2) when you reveal your domain name and keywords, others may be tempted to copy your ideas.
I will do my best to offset these possible problems, but obviously I can't guarantee they won't happen. If you are not comfortable with this knowledge, please don't enter the contest. The way I look at it is this: Even if both scenarios occur, you will still attain your goals—learning how to do affiliate marketing and making money with your web sites.
Here's how to enter!
Write two or three paragraphs (100-300 words) on why you should be the next Skip the Scams case study/mentee. Tell us about your goals and why you want to learn to make money on the Internet. Submit your entry by midnight Sunday, April 18 deadline has been extended to Thursday, April 22 via this contact form. Entries submitted any other way will be disqualified and deleted.
I will post the entries on my blog as they arrive until Sunday the 18th Thursday the 22nd. (All entries will be anonymized.) From the 23rd through the 26th, Skip the Scams readers will get to vote on who they think deserves to win. I will choose a new guinea pig mentee from the top three vote-getters and announce the winner on Monday, April 26 Wednesday, April 28.
The winner's first article will be due by midnight, Tuesday, May 4, for publication on Wednesday the 5th.
One last note
If you purchase the course between now and the end of the contest—and happen to win the contest—I will refund the entire purchase price of the course. So if you don't want to wait, you can get started right now.
The fine print: These guidelines are subject to change. This will be the first case study on this blog so I might have to make adjustments as we go. Winner will be required to sign a contract and have a credit card on file in case of breach of that contract.
Please tweet this contest!
I LOVE my “job.” Affiliate marketing takes work, but it doesn’t feel like work.
{ 2 comments }
Fantastic idea Laura! I hope someone very deserving gets it. And the way you have things mapped out here … it looks as though exactly that will happen.
I do want to mention the part about “others being tempted to copy your ideas” … another thing to keep in mind here is this can happen no matter what. Whether you’re a case study or not … this risk is always out there.
I personally have had several of my ideas copied several times over the years. I’ve also often found they don’t last very long. While they steal my initial idea and run with it … they can’t steal my plans. They grab what they can and then find themselves lost, not sure how to move on. Eventually the site loses their interest and the interest of others … leading to a slow and painful death.
So while it’s a risk yes … it’s a risk you’ll take every day of your business. Just know that more often than now you’ll come out on top every time
Good luck to everyone!
Thanks, Anita! You’re right – losers who are too lazy or dumb to come up with their own plans never succeed anyway because, well … they’re lazy and dumb!
I’m very excited to get this case study going. Thanks for stopping by!
Comments on this entry are closed.