Project Black Mask Review
If you are as uncomfortable as I am with ‘black hat’ or ‘grey hat’ SEO techniques then Project Black Mask - the latest ‘tell all’ Adsense product for affiliate marketers – is definitely not for you.
Project Black Mask is the next-in-series of IM products by Chris X, the author of Day Job Killer, Affiliate Project X, and Adwords Miracle.
I read it about a week ago and quite frankly, there’s NO WAY I would take this approach to making an affiliate income. Seriously, why would anyone want to invest in 100′s or thousands of domains to make a dollar a day (probably less) on each through Adsense, when they can earn at least as much or more selling real products as a content publisher through just one, two or three sites?
Granted, the content publisher approach always appears to be too much like work for some folks – especially those who hate to write, don’t want to pay for PLR or ghostwriters, or have no time or inclination to build a list and create real relationships with newsletter subscribers.
If that describes your take on content publishing as an affiliate marketer, then perhaps Chris’ approach will seem like a godsend, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you about domain or software outlays or, if this technique eventually turns out to be another flash in the pan approach to affiliate marketing.
All that said, one section of Chris’ book that is worth it’s weight in gold is the keyword list generation chapter. He says, “I’m a keyword addict. I collect good keywords like a museum collects expensive paintings” and it’s obvious to this ‘keyword addict’ that Chris knows exactly what he’s talking about when it comes to keyword research and generation.
Chris tells you exactly how to build and use big beautiful lists of longtail keywords. It’s absolutely fabulous information and in my opinion, worth the price of admission, whether you’re into black hat SEO or a by-the-book white hat affiliate marketer like myself.
Related Posts
- KeywordSpy: Mini Review
- Clickbank Code Review: Worth the Price for Just the Product Evaluator Spreadsheet
- Review: Google Cash Detective Unveils Your Competition
- Get More Buyers Course: NOT Another Bogus Review
- To Link or Not to Link: The Grocery Store Analogy
Posted / Revised on June 19, 2007 under Product Reviews, Tutorials  |
Need more info?
Rosalind Gardner is a Super Affiliate blogger, author, speaker, and Internet marketing consultant. For more info, subscribe to her No-Hype, No-BS, No Spam NPT newsletter and join Affiliate Blogger PRO to get answers to all your affiliate marketing questions. Thanks for visiting!
Ros
It just seems pretty senseless to venture into even the slightest of Grey areas, be it in affiliate marketing or SEO. The problem is, and I don’t know if many people realize this, that Larry, Sergei and the gang at Google are MUCH smarter than most of these bozo’s that come out with “the trick of the week”.
Basic marketing tactics still work, Find a need, market a solution to a targeted audience.
And leave the “tricks” to the dogs chasing the Frisbee’s at the local park.
Michael Simmons
Hi Rosalind,
In my opinion and personal experience i feel the ultimate products through which you can start raking in adsense dollars are
1. Joel Comm’s INSTANT ADSENSE TEMPLATES membership.
2. Matt Callens HYPERVRE GOLD AND MONTHLY membership.
And for live demos……VISITOR SENSE VIDEOS OF JEAN PHILLIPE [ JP ]
These are ultimate goldmines for ADSENSE KNOW HOWS
Jumaani
Hi Michael,
Thank you! and YES! My biggest concern about playing ‘tricks’ would be about NOT being able to sleep for fear that tomorrow I’d wake up and the money would have suddenly stopped coming in – as we’ve seen happen to too many internet marketers already.
Those of us with REAL online businesses tend to sleep like babies.
Cheers,
Ros
Hi Ros!
I’ve just been unsubscribing to newletters. What
can I say? One after the other and I’m dizzy from
reading the same emails from different marketers.
And…then there’s you, Ros. Taking the time to inform
your subscribers. (I would NEVER unsubscribe from your
newsletter!)
I’ll pass on Chris’ new product. The keyword section
you describe makes it very tempting but I’ll have to
muddle along without it. I did get Project X and liked
it. Especially the part about article marketing.
Thank you once again for your honesty, Ros. Canadians
are just so nice, eh?
~Karen
Hi Karen,
Thank YOU for your kind words and support! That’s just my job as I see it…
Ros
The “keyword list” is not worth endorsing black hat seo, there are so many high quality keyword tutes and software providers, that I dont understand why, other than bandwagon jumping and profiteering that you would endorse this product, tsk tsk Ros.
Still love ya but this endorsing black hat garbage is just all round bad.
Cheers and Beers from Ottawa.
Happy pre-canada day!!!
Hi Rosalind,
Thank you for giving an honest review. I am sick and tired of most online marketers who claim they are giving an unbiased review when, in reality, they are just trying to make a commission.
I don’t see why anyone looking to earn money from AdSense would ever think of using ‘black hat’ methods. I think that is the quickest way to get permanently banned by Google.
Regards,
Mike
Hi Ros, The hot rod’s will lead people into senseless effort, waste of time and money. I just finished your affiliate book. I have read so much of this information and spent so much money I can’t believe it. Your publication is one of the very best there is and it is the best value I have seen. Thank you very much. I have held off getting my program off the ground due to the fact that I hate to go off half cocked to just get it started. Your book really inspires one to a level of confidence that success is possible. I am planning and developing so when I do hit the bandwidth I know where I’m going. Thank you for the guidance, the tools and resources. You are the best. thank you Darryl
Hi Ros,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Chris’ new product. Because you are not the only 1 who won’t be using the all methods taught and because I like to share good product information with my readers, I’ve put your trackback link on my product review blog.
Thanks again for your review and for allowing us to share it with others.
To Your Success,
Susan
Thank you for your straight-forward approach, honesty, and common sense (not always so common).
Just the name “Black Mask” sounds underhanded or sinister. I am another one who will not be using this “trick.”
Hey Shane,
Happy pre-Canada day to you too.
So how/where did I endorse black hat seo? You need to read it again, sweetie. As for bandwagon jumping and profiteering – you should know me better by now. Do you have any idea how many people steered clear and SAVED their money because of my review?
I also disagree that there are “there are so many high quality keyword tutes” that compare to what Chris has written in Project Black Mask. If it hadn’t been for that portion of the book, I wouldn’t have said anything about it — like so many of the other products that you haven’t heard a peep from me about.
Unless you have the product and can tell me which keyword tutorial is superior, I’d hope you’d think twice about making such comments in future.
Cheers,
Ros
It concerns me that newcomers to Internet Marketing will apply some of this black hat stuff, and not realise that they run the risk of having all their websites banned by Google.
I think it is great that people like you go out of your way to steer them in the right direction.
Hi Ros,
I read the sales page and my scam radar screen said bogey coming in fast at 12 o’clock high. Let’s face it the sales page is a lie. A lie is anything that is not true. To bad they are not in my father’s jurisdiction.
FYI, I find long tail keywords using HitTail.com. I like their service.
Keep up the good work Ros and thanks again for telling the truth.
Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
Frank F Eckdall
Esquire
Ros, I object to your use of an affiliate link within your review of this product. By linking to the product, people might click on the link, and be persuaded by the sales letter to buy. You’re a decent person, surely you don’t want to facilitate people buying this (and profit from it, to boot) – do you?!
Hey Ros 10 days and counting !!
Ok I dont want this to be a pi$$ing contest or anything of the likes. But an aff link IS an endorsement. And it is profiteering from something you say you don’t recommend. And yes I do understand why YOU wouldnt want to use BH tactics. I too bought this (well not me-I told a friend about it) hes a govt hacker and is well versed in this) What he said what this “product” is old news. And if the uninitiated does this they run a serious risk of getting blaklisted and losing their adsense acct and potentially winding up in deep Sh!t with any merchant they’re promoting.
That being said.. my friend also told me this… it contains a lot of rehashed information that was available freely not so long ago. The book itself isn’t written by Chris Mcneely but by Alex Goad of Net Frontier Marketing.
1.Will get your websites Banned eventually, unless you prepare properly
2.Could get your Adsense Account banned
3.Could get your affiliate account suspended
4.That the techniques are almost a year out of date & don’t work anymore unless you have some serious mass & automation techniques
I’ve read the book, it contains SOME useful information like stuff about Parasite hosting but it isn’t revolutionary & is not something that will help you earn $12,000 overnight. (bold face lie) These BH’rs prepare quite abit before launching
If you trawl through blackhat forums like Simplified SEC you’ll see that the guys without automation & mass are losing the battle to build sites that rank quick enough. It’s not just as simple as throwing up 150,000 pages & waiting for the cash to come in, you need to give that site enough link juice so that 99% of it isn’t supplemental, you have to figure out how to do that without tripping the Google Filters. Ok all that was techno babble from someone who knows more about it than i do, but again I personally believe it shouldn’t be promoted to the general public.
Imagine what would happen if someone bought on your reco and then got bowled under by big G. Who would be the first they complained to.
Quick question though, do you hand code the no-follow or do you use a WP plug-in.
Ok over and out.
Still a devotee.
Just had to pipe in about this piece of non-sense.
Cheers and beers
From Ottawa
shane
PS the best Keyword tute I have found to date come from Anik Singal and Brad Callen.
Have a great weekend
Well the problem with this trick is Google is targeting just for Adsense websites now and will catch on in a matter of days.
Hi,
I am the Admin. on a medium sized Form and I noticed a posting that quoted you post.
Here is my reply:
========================
jimfurr
Joined: 08 Mar 2007
Posts: 262
Location: Harrisonburg, Virginia USA
PostPosted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:19 pm Post subject: Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster
Let me reply to this:
=======================
I read it about a week ago and quite frankly, there’s NO WAY I would take this approach to making an affiliate income. Seriously, why would anyone want to invest in 100’s or thousands of domains to make a dollar a day (probably less) on each through Adsense, when they can earn at least as much or more selling real products as a content publisher through just one, two or three sites?
—————-
He goes into just as much detail, maybe more,
about Affiliate income as he does about Adsense.
—————-
Granted, the content publisher approach always appears to be too much like work for some folks – especially those who hate to write, don’t want to pay for PLR or ghostwriters, or have no time or inclination to build a list and create real relationships with newsletter subscribers.
—————
Again, he talks about List Building toward the end.
—————
If that describes your take on content publishing as an affiliate marketer, then perhaps Chris’ approach will seem like a godsend, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you about domain or software outlays or, if this technique eventually turns out to be another flash in the pan approach to affiliate marketing.
———————
Nearly all techniques die on the internet, it is a fast moving place.
He shows techniques that cost little or no money to get the same results.
Yes, some of the tools can cost a lot of money, get them when you are
ready for them.
———————
All that said, one section of Chris’ book that is worth it’s weight in gold is the keyword list generation chapter. He says, “I’m a keyword addict. I collect good keywords like a museum collects expensive paintings” and it’s obvious to this ‘keyword addict’ that Chris knows exactly what he’s talking about when it comes to keyword research and generation.
Chris tells you exactly how to build and use big beautiful lists of longtail keywords. It’s absolutely fabulous information and in my opinion, worth the price of admission, whether you’re into black hat SEO or a by-the-book white hat affiliate marketer like myself.
————–
Like I said before, I learn things from this ebook that are very valuable.
————–
=======================
Now, I am still not addressing the moral issues here, just the facts.
Either you will hate this stuff or love it.
I really enjoy the knowledge learned.
Jim
>
_________________
Jim Furr
Sorry about the spelling mistakes
in the above first line!!
Maybe other places too …
Jim Furr
>
Hi Ros,
I had a copy of Project Black Mask given to me and am half way through it when I did a google search on the topic, and hence, here I am.
I must say I feel a bit better since reading your comments, and the comments of the people above.
Im a newby, but have been preparing myself for a bit over a year, educating myself. I was a bit scared when I first started reading Project Black Mask, as I felt that many people would run out there and do what was in the book. I was also really disappointed that people WOULD do this.
I have bought many many items over the last year, and have gone to many internet conferences,and have found that I really like the Callen brothers, and Mike Filsaime. They strike me as having integrity. I also find that their stuff works (i am hoping to do a lauch of my products soon, so expect it to work on a big scale as well as my trials).
Ros, I do agree with Shane that by having a link to the book is a form of endorsement. Before i read all of the comments below your article, I thought firstly “wow, I really like that this lady has set people straight on this book” and then I saw your links to the book and I then thought “what is she doing, I thought she was warning people, but then there is this link”. This is truly what I thought, and then I read the comments below.
One thing that I REALLY HATE is going to that type of site.
And one thing that I HAVE LEARNT from this book is that I will NEVER AGAIN put my google adwords anywhere except on the google search page, (ie: no adds in other peoples pages) as I DO NOT WANT people to think (by seeing my ad) that I am the one producing this annoying Black Hat page.
Im all for integrity and this book just doesnt cut it for me.
Bridget
I try and buy an ebook from different segments, e.g. AdSense, AdWords, Affiliate Marketing, etc and I bought Project Black Mask. I teach SEO at the professional level and for the same reasons as mentioned above I requested a refund before I reached the end of the ebook. I received the refund with no discussion involved.
The basic premise of the book is, “You will get banned in a couple of months, but if you make money, what the heck?”. That is being “honest”, but you find that out after buying it. Losing your AdSense account is not a pleasant prospect. There is an underlying insinuation that Google won’t do this, because it makes money from the ad clicks, but that risk is not for me.
Most of these get-rich-like-me books omit to mention when a particular tactic stopped working. Their masked screenshots of earnings predate important Google algo changes. Nevertheless, it is worth subscribing to their mailing list purely to observe their tactics and language.