The 9 - Live Traffic Leak Case Study (START HERE)

CCarter

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Introduction

The signal went out, 9 were chosen, now we begin...

If you guys never heard of traffic leaks or this is your first time coming across this, you might need to know what we mean - I setup a "brochure" website here for it: http://www.trafficleaks.com/

Well, a bit more then 9 were chosen. There are 9 golden ticket holders and 3 silver ticket holders acting as reserves, totally 12 individuals - henceforth ALL will be referred to as the CC9.

The chosen ones, Metadata, emp acting as the official Scribe, and I are embarking on a campaign of traffic leaking aspects of the internet to gain a more rounded knowledge of what is possible.

The lessons will be posted randomly, but every individual will have goals and objective for their particular project.

First lesson, crash course in on-site, for if the onsite is not good, the amount of traffic coming will not matter. Getting 1000 visitors a day to a site with no call to actions, or clear outlined funnel process would equate to just getting absolutely no traffic in the first place.

This is going to be the main thread. Main topics and lessons will go here. In this OP, I will have an indexed available of all follow up threads which require separate topics, for example if we go into details of what we recommended about onsite changes, there will be a separate thread, since that could in itself become a huge topic like the old big brand thread from WF.

Anyone can comment and answer anything in any of the threads, lessons, CC9 individual threads, or this main thread. Ask questions - but we will not be giving out details of the individual projects.

There is a group PM with all individuals, the CC9, Metadata, emp (Scribe), and myself, where we go into a bit more details about out activities. Either the Scribe or myself will summarize what was discussed and anything else back in the main thread (Here) - again without giving away details of projects (which wouldn't be discussed in the CC9 private PMs anyway).

For privacy and security, the CC9 will not know each other's project, just had to be this way.

To begin with each CC9 (Golden 9 and Silver 3 reserves) will create a thread with general points about their project. These points include:


a) Quick intro about themselves
b) The general niche they are in
c) The overall goal of the traffic leak experiment
d) What they plan to gain out of it
e) Amount of time they plan on dedicating a week
f) Optional traffic numbers OR percentage increases (example got 1000 visitors today OR (saw 200% increase in traffic today - if yesterday was 500 ppl)
g) Personal overall goals they want to achieve
h) Where they currently are at with this project

We'd like to see at least once a week updates on progress, shortcomings, successes, personal notes they take away from each lessons being taught, frustrations, and things to look forward to in each CC9 individual thread update. Comments, criticism, and questions are welcomed. Sort of a journal, knowing you'll be criticized for certain actions, comments, etc. take it in stride knowing that the critics are attempting to help you. One of the hardest things to do in life is to reflect upon oneself and actions, and it's harsher when others showcase your shortcomings, embrace that and work to improve instead of becoming defensive. I personally will not hold back if I see you fucking up, and you will be made aware of it publicly, privately, or in group PM. I'm very abusive, and I'm not here to be your friend, there will be days you utterly hate me - get through those days, since in the end, whether in failure or success, we all will be better from this experience.

My plan is to go over at least 2 CC9 members a day's progress one on one, at minimum - there being 12, that'll give me 1 day of rest.

One thing that should be mentioned, shit happens, like this week I got bottled down with something, that is not an excuse for me or any CC9 to "not work" or "wait on commands", creating momentum by oneself is more important and can lead to developing one's own creativity. As I look now, I already see people making tons of updates to their projects, which showcases to me the seriousness of this.

What we won't tolerate and the reason for the 3 silver reserves are absent or Staccs like laziness. People will get called out, and if it continues, the CC9 member will be dropped from the traffic leak live case study. Not all of us will make it, but for those that show the drive to want to succeed I pledge to you, the CC9, as long as you give it all I will be by yourself and help you in what capacity I can, within reasonable limits. I can't traffic leak for you - that's something you must do on your own, but brainstorming on a particular problem, or finding examples on how to approach a problem - that's what I'm here for.

This is going to be difficult for all of us, I move quickly, and spot opportunities out of the blue and act, some people might find my actions/advice too fast or too slow at times, but my actions will always be calculated for the benefit of the CC9 member.

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So now begins the CC9 intro threads. Just free form it from the above intro points.

My work now includes doing individual assessments of each project with Metadata, emp, and the CC9 member, and creating bullet-point on the actions we see needed for onsite. Once all the members are updated, I'll create the crash course of onsite on what we saw, and thought should be improved as the first lesson. The next lesson is finding the correct target audience, with exercises, then doing proper research creating on-site content that can be used to traffic leak traffic to - you don't think we are traffic leaking to the home pages do you? Maybe we will, maybe we won't - that'll depend on the individual project.

Example, when browsing for content for my SEO Saas, I noticed that most SEO were not aware that Google follows non-linked urls - meaning they are not in the hrefs html code, just blank on page. I've known this for a long time, but this astonished people- so what seems to be common knowledge may not be so common knowledge after all, creating content in your field accordingly is as easy as finding out what topics people are asking questions on, especially if they are newbie to your niche/industry, cause a newbie is scared, and someone giving them knowledge will immediately make that giver an authority in their eyes.

--

Index for CC9 individual threads:

1. DrSmiley - CC9 - T Swift
2. RiverStyx - CC9 -- Yvonne
3. badya122 - СС9 -- Meg Chamber
4. Calamari - CC9 -- Sasha Grey
5. ModernMarketeer - CC9 -- Kaylee
6. Satvrn - CC9 -- Ms Green
7. Politico - CC9 - The Wilde Card
8. chaddicus. - CC9 -- The Stormborn
9. lyannastark - CC9 - Natalie Dormer
10. Kimoto - CC9 -- Missandei
11. vinnypolston - CC9 - Random Dude
12. Bamafan - CC9 - Jimmy
13. Enya - CC9 - OmniBoss - One Above All Else
14. CCarter - CC9 - Final Boss
15. built - CC9 - Donna
16. ::emp:: Scribe

--

Index for Lessons:

1. On-Site Crash Course - Big Brand Refresher
2. Audience Psychology
3. Identifying Trolls
4. Polarizing Content
5. Creating "Compelling" Content
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Extra & Misc:
1. Subtle Traffic Leak Examples
2. The Social Media Beast
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Quick Update:
Next Lesson went to 1st Group PM with homework. First gave 2 examples of 7th degree blackbelt level traffic leaks used in the past. Transcript:

Play time is over - we've had some fun, but now come the serious work and for some of you this might be the hardest thing you've done in your lives. With permission to share I want to show you some examples of subtle traffic leaks:​
[ classified example #1 ]
Another example:
[ classified example #2 ]
^^ This is some masterful subtle traffic leaks.​
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It gives users multiple options, so it's not overtly obvious which one is the link, therefore removing any possible argument that this is self-promotion. This guy's a master, and he's gotten creative with the process - it's an art, you can't make the story "too" elaborate, but just enough to have people scratching their head and creating content for you.​
--
Your homework
Skill evaluation:​
1. Identify 3 traffic leaks from within your broader niche. Sites off-limits, Facebook, twitter, Pinterest.
Overview: This exercise is to help us gauge your level of being able to spot traffic leaks, even the most subtle ones. For each traffic leak explain in your own words what a) they are doing, b) what they are doing wrong, and c) how you would improve upon that aspect.​
Calamari is excluded from this exercise since he was the only person able to properly find and list 3 traffic leaks in the application process - [ redacted ].​
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2. Create a Customer Profile (page 2-3 of MarkResearchChecklist.doc) & Demographic Issues and Trends (page 7 of MarkResearchChecklist.doc) report and send it to me via the current direct CC9 PMs I have with each one of you (Do not copy and paste it into the comment, send us a direct link to it - possibly online storage like dropbox or mega).
http://www.wickedfire.com/enlightened-members/174376-market-research.html
- Sites off-limits: Facebook, twitter, Pinterest.​
Overview: To see if you understand your ideal customer. Telling me your demographic's trends are to "visit Facebook" is not an acceptable answer. If you can't identify your customer profile or create a make believe backstory for your customer - you haven't put any serious thought into your business.​
Hint: You might just want to finish up the whole MarketResearchChecklist for your own edification or in case after we evaluate everything we ask for more information.​
--
3. Create a troll account in your niche - then find 3 examples of trolls (does not have to be in your niche) and post them to this Group PM. No sites are off-limits.
Overview: We're going to practice trolling, why cause in trolling you have to start an argument then figure out if you can exit an argument as the victor. Why? Cause if you can exit an argument you started, when people attack you, you'll be able to quickly defeat them at a 7th degree blackbelt level. There are "levels" of traffic leaks, like levels of marketing. Subtle ones are like the masterful 7th degree ones I posted up top, but less subtle can cause problems for your business if you can't handle backlash - that's where the trolling capabilities will engage leaving your opponent looking like a fool and you walking away while the audience judges the situation and comes to the conclusion you are the victor.​
What you need to understand as a troll is the opponent is NOT the target. The opponent is merely an object that you'll use to gain points in the audience's mind. The audience IS the target - their perspective of you and the way you handle yourself. The way you structure arguments and your answers is critical since even if you are completely wrong you can make the opponent feel like they lost and go into defensive mode:​
"In battle, if you make your opponent flinch, you have already won."​
— Miyamoto Musashi​

Whether you agree with trolling or not doesn't really fucking matter - you need to know defensive modes in case you get attacked randomly by a would be competitor employing guerrilla tactics against you - it's like self-defense, you make sure your kids know self-defense in case they are in situations where they need to defend themselves - doesn't necessarily mean they'll go out bullying people around.​
--
I'll post the non-private topics, yeah topics - I've done a ton of writing while you guys were fiddling with speed optimization :wink: - in the public section in a moment - any questions let me know.​
 
A while back someone asked for a favor. Unfortunately sometimes things have to be altered cause of a leak. But that's marketing - when plans don't always go your way, capitalize on what you can and keep it moving. Here's a early christmas gift, new leaked song officially released 3 days ago:


"You have little time left, and none of it for crap. A fine state. I would say that the best of us always comes out when we are against the wall, when we feel the sword dangling overhead. Personally, I wouldn't have it any other way." - Carlos Castaneda
 
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Quick Update:

I took it easy on the 9 for Christmas, but am rounding up the team to get caught up. Last thing we want are people getting booted, but hey, who knows - some people might not be taking this seriously and wasting time - and they will get booted off the island if we don't see serious progress. Next up, after this "catch up week", are 'outside the dojo' exercises.
 
In life there are powerful elemental forces which work for us and against us externally and internally - but none is as strong as our own internal will. If the desire of a man is to move forward and win - at whatever they are doing - no external force can stop them, but if the desire is not there... It's just simply not there. No matter how much one tries to take a journey - without fuel you simply will not move forward.

Understand, if you do not love what you do, or want to take a journey - it's best to let go and join a path that you will ultimately love.


"Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore you must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if you feel you should not follow it, you must not stay with it under any conditions. To have such clarity you must lead a disciplined life. Only then will you know that any path is only a path and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you to do. But your decision to keep on the path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. I warn you. Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary.

This question is one that only a very old man asks. Does this path have a heart? All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. In my own life I could say I have traversed long long paths, but I am not anywhere. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.

Before you embark on any path ask the question: Does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it, and then you must choose another path. The trouble is nobody asks the question; and when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him. At that point very few men can stop to deliberate, and leave the path. A path without a heart is never enjoyable. You have to work hard even to take it. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy; it does not make you work at liking it." - Carlos Castaneda

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Due to a family emergency Styx cannot continue with the CC9.

The one thing in life you cannot gain more of is time, unfortunately external circumstances are forced upon us at times leaving us with little recourse. Take this lesson as a wake up call to seize the opportunities presented in life once they have been laid before you as soon as possible, cause one day, your options maybe limited due to unforeseen events.

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After tons of back and forth and much deliberation internally with myself and others I'll be making a major announcement later on today regarding the CC9 and the evolution of this project.

Sun Tzu Wu was a native of the Ch'i State. His ART OF WAR brought him to the notice of Ho Lu, King of Wu. Ho Lu said to him: "I have carefully perused your 13 chapters. May I submit your theory of managing soldiers to a slight test?"
Sun Tzu replied: "You may."

Ho Lu asked: "May the test be applied to women?"

The answer was again in the affirmative, so arrangements were made to bring 180 ladies out of the Palace. Sun Tzu divided them into two companies, and placed one of the King's favorite concubines at the head of each. He then bade them all take spears in their hands, and addressed them thus: "I presume you know the difference between front and back, right hand and left hand?"

The girls replied: Yes.

Sun Tzu went on: "When I say "Eyes front," you must look straight ahead. When I say "Left turn," you must face towards your left hand. When I say "Right turn," you must face towards your right hand. When I say "About turn," you must face right round towards your back."

Again the girls assented. The words of command having been thus explained, he set up the halberds and battle-axes in order to begin the drill. Then, to the sound of drums, he gave the order "Right turn." But the girls only burst out laughing. Sun Tzu said: "If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame."

So he started drilling them again, and this time gave the order "Left turn," whereupon the girls once more burst into fits of laughter. Sun Tzu: "If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders ARE clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers."

So saying, he ordered the leaders of the two companies to be beheaded. Now the king of Wu was watching the scene from the top of a raised pavilion; and when he saw that his favorite concubines were about to be executed, he was greatly alarmed and hurriedly sent down the following message: "We are now quite satisfied as to our general's ability to handle troops. If We are bereft of these two concubines, our meat and drink will lose their savor. It is our wish that they shall not be beheaded."

Sun Tzu replied: "Having once received His Majesty's commission to be the general of his forces, there are certain commands of His Majesty which, acting in that capacity, I am unable to accept."

Accordingly, he had the two leaders beheaded, and straightway installed the pair next in order as leaders in their place. When this had been done, the drum was sounded for the drill once more; and the girls went through all the evolutions, turning to the right or to the left, marching ahead or wheeling back, kneeling or standing, with perfect accuracy and precision, not venturing to utter a sound. Then Sun Tzu sent a messenger to the King saying: "Your soldiers, Sire, are now properly drilled and disciplined, and ready for your majesty's inspection. They can be put to any use that their sovereign may desire; bid them go through fire and water, and they will not disobey."

But the King replied: "Let our general cease drilling and return to camp. As for us, We have no wish to come down and inspect the troops."

Thereupon Sun Tzu said: "The King is only fond of words, and cannot translate them into deeds."

After that, Ho Lu saw that Sun Tzu was one who knew how to handle an army, and finally appointed him general. In the west, he defeated the Ch'u State and forced his way into Ying, the capital; to the north he put fear into the States of Ch'i and Chin, and spread his fame abroad amongst the feudal princes. And Sun Tzu shared in the might of the King.
 
Anyone have an example of a leak that went well they'd be willing to share (specifically looking for an example in the wild) I'm not going to share it (or write about it) but looking for a reference point to compare notes against.
 
Here's one from Reddit

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Excellent - thank you very much. I'm trying to explain this to a new team member and also curious to see others out there beyond what we've done. Also worth noting my most successful ever never broke the 1k upvote mark.. so I personally still have a SHITTON to learn. Thanks man.
 
I'm trying to explain this to a new team member and also curious to see others out there beyond what we've done.
I would not allow a new team member to do this technique with Reddit or any big platform until they have successfully done it on smaller platforms and understand the finesse of doing it correctly, cause the backlash can be detrimental if done incorrectly with an in-experienced individual. You have to know how to control audiences and both sides of the conversation just in case. Successfully steering a mob is very delicate work.
 
AyQ1jM2.png

Here's a sampling from my current main site. To balance what @built was showing, I never go for self text posts.

I'm always link submissions. My philosophy is that, the post better be damn good because Redditors are not only tech savvy but can see through bullshit in a heart beat and will all jump on the pitch fork wagon. Most of them can't think for themselves. It truly is a hive mind, which is why it's important to get early upvotes. Nothing influences other readers more than how they see other people judging the content. On top of that, you have to outpace the other marketers online at the same time slinging downvotes at other marketers so theirs rises above.

I spend as much time crafting the title of the post as I do writing them. It's all about the title if you want traffic. Say too much and they don't need to click. Say less and make it as enticing as possible without using any clickbait tropes. Also, you need to be stabbing your knife right into one of the:

Life Force 8:
1) Survival, enjoyment of life, life extension.
2) Enjoyment of food and beverages.
3) Freedom from fear, pain, and danger.
4) Sexual companionship.
5) Comfortable living conditions.
6) To be superior, winning, keeping up with the Jones.
7) Care and protection of loved ones.
8) Social approval.
#8 there is so easy to exploit that it's absurd. As I said elsewhere on BuSo, Millenials care more about pretending to be virtuous than being virtuous. They only need to signal it and all of the others will give their approval. This is Tumblr's life blood, for instance. Give them something that lets them show everyone else how virtuous they are with an upvote and a comment, combined with a fantastic title, and your job is done.

What you see in the image, if it's orange I submitted it. If it has a lower score it was to a smaller sub-reddit. I don't mess with those now, because as you can also see from the gray numbers, my content in good enough that when I do big leaks, people share other posts on the smaller subs for me.

There's no tricks really. Know the rules, know the culture, then be the best submission out there every time.
 
I would not allow a new team member to do this technique with Reddit or any big platform until they have successfully done it on smaller platforms and understand the finesse of doing it correctly, cause the backlash can be detrimental if done incorrectly with an in-experienced individual. You have to know how to control audiences and both sides of the conversation just in case. Successfully steering a mob is very delicate work.
OH I completely agree.. it's just a very abstract concept for a new recruit and I've found (at least when teaching how to identify poaching opportunities from organic SERPs) it's best to show examples in the wild to help transfer the practical understanding.

AyQ1jM2.png

Here's a sampling from my current main site. To balance what @built was showing, I never go for self text posts.

I'm always link submissions. My philosophy is that, the post better be damn good because Redditors are not only tech savvy but can see through bullshit in a heart beat and will all jump on the pitch fork wagon. Most of them can't think for themselves. It truly is a hive mind, which is why it's important to get early upvotes. Nothing influences other readers more than how they see other people judging the content. On top of that, you have to outpace the other marketers online at the same time slinging downvotes at other marketers so theirs rises above.

I spend as much time crafting the title of the post as I do writing them. It's all about the title if you want traffic. Say too much and they don't need to click. Say less and make it as enticing as possible without using any clickbait tropes. Also, you need to be stabbing your knife right into one of the:

Life Force 8:
1) Survival, enjoyment of life, life extension.
2) Enjoyment of food and beverages.
3) Freedom from fear, pain, and danger.
4) Sexual companionship.
5) Comfortable living conditions.
6) To be superior, winning, keeping up with the Jones.
7) Care and protection of loved ones.
8) Social approval.
#8 there is so easy to exploit that it's absurd. As I said elsewhere on BuSo, Millenials care more about pretending to be virtuous than being virtuous. They only need to signal it and all of the others will give their approval. This is Tumblr's life blood, for instance. Give them something that lets them show everyone else how virtuous they are with an upvote and a comment, combined with a fantastic title, and your job is done.

What you see in the image, if it's orange I submitted it. If it has a lower score it was to a smaller sub-reddit. I don't mess with those now, because as you can also see from the gray numbers, my content in good enough that when I do big leaks, people share other posts on the smaller subs for me.

There's no tricks really. Know the rules, know the culture, then be the best submission out there every time.
This is really helpful perspective - thanks
 
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