Building a Company in India

September 28th, 2008 Posted in Building a Business, India, Personal | 2 Comments »

When I usually drop off the internet world, it’s usually because I’m pretty occupied with something fascinating. The first time I stopped blogging was when I made my last post on TypeCarl.com about meeting my monthly earnings goal half way through the month. There wasn’t a post for months until I started CarlZetterlund.com.

This time I’ve been busy building a company from scratch in India. Initially, I was supposed to build a staff here with the help of my Indian business partner to build my affiliate marketing business, but now I’m absorbed into creating an internet company for the Indian market.

My goal is to create an internet company in India that rivals the best in the world. Since I have limited capital and India’s internet scene is still a baby, I’m going to have to build the internet in India from the ground up. A major issue in India is there isn’t enough money on the internet. The only people putting money into the system are big corporations who are either branding or trying to build their internet empire as well.

So we’re starting with eCommerce. It’s a great way for people to get comfortable with exchanging large amount of money for goods. It’s a very classic business model, but it is responsible for a large amount of the internet economy in America.

I can’t tell you what I’m working specifically just yet, so until then, I’ll blog about various topics on doing business on the web.

Top Affiliate Challenge Review Part 2

August 30th, 2008 Posted in Top Affiliate Challenge | 3 Comments »

Now I realize I haven’t made a post for over a month, and I did commit myself to posting on a consistent basis. I’m going back to my original schedule to post a couple of times a week. This past month was just spent getting setup in my completely new environment here in India. I’ll talk more about this later, but as promised, Part 2 of my Top Affiliate Challenge Review.

I don’t know how the viewers saw the events since I was actually in the show, but I’ll try best to give you guys the inside scoop on some major happenings.

Team XY7 Surrenders

Many of you saw in an early episode where John Chow was forced to choose a person to go home even though they came in second. This was a “surprise” delivered by Thor Schrock. Well, John and his team didn’t take it so lightly. They were furious.

Furious enough to just quit the whole show as a team. When they all tried to walk off the set, Thor came back and said no one would get kicked off. This didn’t make things any better. According to John Chow, this was the turning point for him. He would now use any devious tactics to get his way on the show, and ended up pissing off the producers. You know the rest.

Big Jason Henderson

This guy is quite a character. I don’t know how he was portrayed on the show, but there were all sorts of drama coming from him. Before the show, it seemed he was best of buds with Jonathan Van Clute, but in the end, he alienated everyone. Here’s a couple of incidents that you may not have known.

When he was kicked off, he started to make all sorts of rumors on his Twitter account which he is always connected to since he has a small Dell laptop attached to his arms at all times. He’d reveal inside information about the show, but that wasn’t the worst. The worst was when he was spreading false rumors that he was sleeping with the host, Monica Durazo. You can imagine how that stirred the pot

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Top Affiliate Challenge Review Part 1

July 23rd, 2008 Posted in Top Affiliate Challenge | 8 Comments »

Ok! I was thinking about procrastinating this since I’m sweating in 100% humidity thanks to monsoon season in India, but then I realized I was spending more time thinking about doing it than it would actually take to write it.

Since I love to blabber on, I’m making it into multiple parts. So Top Affiliate Challenge, where do I start?

The Set

Coming from India, I was just absorbing the American atmosphere again, which was an experience in itself. Just the fact I could walk into a super large grocery store and pretty much get anything I wanted (especially organic produce) made me happy and realize how amazing it is to live in America. However, there is also a sort of distance in America that you don’t get in India. There are literally people everywhere here in India, but in America, it seems strangely desolate.

In terms of the hotel, I really liked it because it had brand new furniture and beds and it was really clean. Many people ragged on it because it wasn’t the Ritz Carlton, but I thought it was exceptional for the level of hotel it was. And no, I’m not getting paid to say this.

Obviously, this was a low budget production, so there wasn’t a really nice stage for the filming but the fact that Thor pulled together this show is amazing in itself so I wasn’t complaining. I mean we had free food from all sorts of local restaurants which was awesome even though I don’t prefer to eat catered foods.

Contestants and Gurus

It was really awesome to see such a diverse group of contestants and interacting with them in my native land (America). In India, I can’t really be myself because there is so much I don’t understand yet about the culture. In America, I can just really be myself and have fun interacting with everyone. Even though some people really didn’t come in with much affiliate marketing experience, everyone was really cool.

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Quick Update from the Airport

July 18th, 2008 Posted in Personal | 12 Comments »

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This is a LONG overdue post, and this post won’t do any justice, but I’ll least let you guys in that I’m still alive. Currently sitting at the President’s Lounge at Intercontinental Airport in Houston waiting for my Emirates flight to Dubai and eventually heading to New Delhi, India.

Just wanted to let you guys know that I will be writing a full review of my experience at Top Affiliate Challenge and posting it in a few days. Overall, it was an amazing experience and I’ve taken a slightly new direction because of it. Just want to give a shout out to the winner, Jonathan Van Clute, for taking the crown and simply being a badass.

I’ll also get back on my regular blog updating routine, so be sure to check back often.

Until then, I’ll be enjoying the Boeing 777-200LR to Dubai.

India to Nebraska Here I Come!

June 19th, 2008 Posted in Making Money Online, Top Affiliate Challenge | 7 Comments »

There is something about going from India to Nebraska that just makes me chuckle. Just thinking about… We’re talking about a complete opposite in cultures. The good people in Nebraska will truly embody the American individualism, which is a stark contrast to India’s more community based culture. Cows wait to be butchered in Nebraska while Cows roam the busy streets in India.

I’m a big fan of contrasts and will definitely enjoy this transition, but what I will find most exciting is being on a 2 week reality show with some amazing Internet Marketers. Shoemoney, John Chow, and Ken McArthur are absolute superstars known all over. Then there are 11 other contestants that come from all ranges of experience and personalities.

It’s the making of a unforgettable experience. The potential impact that this show will have for me is just mind numbing to think about. Who knows, I might even win it!

I’m REALLY just ecstatic that I even got into the show. When I first found out about Top Affiliate Challenge through Shoemoney, my heart almost skipped a beat because I knew this was my opportunity to show the world I have with it takes to be a great internet marketer.

Now that I’m one of the contestants, I’m building my focus to make sure I do my very best. I also believe only good can come out of this experience no matter where I fall.

Be sure to tune into www.topaffiliatechallenge.com on July 1st to see the first episode. It’s JUST 24 hours from the actual videotaping everyday. There will be daily shows for 2 weeks which will be entertaining as well as informative.

I know many of my friends are working in 9 to 5 jobs, so if you’re one of those friends, I highly recommend you pay attention. You never know… you may find yourself embarking a new adventure sometime soon.

P.S. I’m especially looking forward to meeting Shoemoney who is quite suspicious in how I made my money.

Less than 24 hours Left in the Top Affiliate Challenge Auditions!

June 14th, 2008 Posted in Making Money Online | 1 Comment »

It’s been a crazy ride that lasted over 3 months, and it’s finally coming to an end. I ended up submitting two videos which were very different in style. The last one caused a little bit of controversy since many people thought I really ate my own sh*t. Fortunately, it was good enough for me to get a base score of 7 which is huge.

Now the final hours are here, and the drama is hitting a high point.

It has mainly to do with Super Votes since anyone can almost buy themselves onto the show if they have a good enough video. The contestant at #1, Ty Hurd, has strongly come out and voiced against the act of buying your way on the show, but then Jason Henderson has strongly voiced as well that he’s just being a smart marketer.

I can definitely see both perspectives and I personally think it isn’t that big of a deal. For one, it is a great way to generate money for the actual show. Every dollar will make the show an even better or at least make the prize pot for the winning contestant worth writing about.

However, the interesting thing is that deeper pockets will be able to beat out other contestants with highly rated videos. This is because the Super Votes are heavily outweighing the number of open votes contestants are getting. As long as you made a video the producers liked and you have the money, you’re in.

This means that contestants who have a base score of 7 or above will be able to get on the show if they are willing to buy enough Super Votes. This means they could beat weak base score 8 contestants and achieve score in high sixties.

For myself with a base score of 7 and currently in the top 10, this means I will need to defend myself from a last minute Super Vote buying spree by a lurking 7.

Thor, the producer of Top Affiliate Challenge, mentions that the Super Votes will be credited in real time, but I have no verified this. It will be interesting to see how much money gets spend in the finals hours. Maybe many of the base score 7 people have given up or maybe they are planning to most clever coup.

We shall see! If you’re not auditioning, it’s probably not a big deal, but for me, it’s got my stomach churning, so help me out by voting 10 and getting your friends to do the same!!!

Click here to vote 10 on my audition video.

P.S. I have a feeling the auditions were supposed to get a lot more votes which would have reduced the effectiveness of buying your way in unless you were willing a crazy amount of money.  So in the end, the producers are essentially almost picking the contestants in the top 10 with a base score which is fine since all reality shows are done like this. I guess the voting part was to generate more traffic and make things exciting.

Irrelevant Search Results Can Make You Rich

June 11th, 2008 Posted in Making Money Online, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | 1 Comment »

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If I had to name a single reason for why I was so successful so fast, it is because I discovered keywords with completely outdated and irrelevant search results in Google. Even though the sites in the top 10 were big sites, they were only there because they had one page that was pertaining to an issue a year ago.

The question is if Google is all about what other sites are linking to you (backlinks) and content relevancy, then how can you come out of nowhere to rank in the top 10 so quickly.

It all has to do with the new way Google judges sites. I strongly believe that Google is putting a large emphasis on studying the behavior of searchers and having that be a huge criteria in ranking. It’s not definitely not everything, but with my personal experience, it can mean big bucks for you.

I was fortunate enough to find keywords with completely irrelevant results on Google. The second I made a site that was relevant and targeted to the keyword, Google put me in the testing phase, which usually lasts a 1-2 days.

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Book Review: Mastery by George Leonard

June 7th, 2008 Posted in Book Review, Now, Perspective | No Comments »

cover5.jpgTyler recommended his readers to read this book called Mastery. As with any of his suggestions, I was immediately intrigued to what this book could hold. Tyler talked about how this book clearly lays out his journey from being a social misfit to becoming an extraordinary social presence.

Mastery it seems is quite different from what we are taught in school or at least in American society. It’s always about getting to that next step. First comes high school, then comes college, then comes a job, and then comes retirement. It’s an endless serious of goals that makes up the American dream.

However, there’s a serious problem. I have never seen so many depressed people in my life when growing up in America. I’m not even talking about the ones who are so depressed that they contemplate suicide. The average American truly seems unsatisfied with life.

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5 Reasons to Quit Your Job and Jump Head First

June 4th, 2008 Posted in Making Money Online, Perspective | 2 Comments »

I just passed my 1 year anniversary from when I first quit my job. If you’d told my old self where’d I be today, you would probably be confronted with a raised eyebrow.

To be fair, I didn’t quit my job to get into Internet Marketing, but I did jump head first into a business venture. My business partner and I were supposed to create educational software that would change the world. Due to early conflicts, it didn’t end up working out. Instead of getting my old job back, I decided to prove to myself that you could succeed even with a negative networth. After being quite uneasy for a few months, I managed to push through and make it happen.

I believe a significant part of my success was jumping in head first. After much thought and reflection, I present you 5 reason to quit your job and jump head first.

1. Motivation

When you make failure not an option or almost not an option, you somehow do incredible things with your time. I wouldn’t recommend this as a motivational strategy for the long term, but it sure does work well. It’s similar to how great artists keep starving themselves since their best ideas come from having nothing.

There’s two types of motivaiton as well: internal and external. You and I always carry what we believe is who we are, our identity. If you believe you are a person who deserves success, the mismatch will drive you to meet your identity. Externally, other people have an identity for you. You parents probably have the strongest one, which will make them bother you relentlessly. (Thanks Mom and Dad for annoying the crap out of me for months)

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Finally Revealed… How I Made $110,000 Profit in 5 Months from Nothing

May 30th, 2008 Posted in Making Money Online | 7 Comments »

I’ve decided to just reveal this secret I’ve been holding onto for months now. This is by no means my way of showing off. In reality, this could actually hurt what I have built and created. Obviously, I feel there is greater overall gain to share than to hide.

I know there are thousands of people out there struggling to make money online. Any sort of encouragement will help you get over that hump that will put you on the upward slope to internet riches. I sure do remember reading posts of others making thousands of dollars and it definitely inspired me to put the high amount of effort needed to do the same.

Keep in mind this is only one of the many ways to make money out there. I firmly agree with Shoemoney that there are tons of ways to make 100 dollars a day. I believe my guide is just one of these ways to make 100 dollars a day or potentially more. More importantly, it will be a first stepping stone which you can build off in the future.

I will start off with earnings screenshots and give you some background. Then I will follow with the strategy I used to get there. I encourage you to learn from my guide and then go ahead and try it on your own. However, I don’t want you to stop there as many specific tips and strategies don’t come from an eBook or guru. The strategies in the guide came from me just trying random things to see what worked. That’s the only way you’ll be able to strike it big.

Earnings Screenshots

Screenshot from my CJ.com Account:

CJScreenshot Finally Revealed... How I Made $110,000 Profit in 5 Months from Nothing

Photo of my CJ.com Account (to verify it is my account)

CJPhoto Finally Revealed... How I Made $110,000 Profit in 5 Months from Nothing

Screenshot from my Amazon.com Associate Account

AmazonScreenshot Finally Revealed... How I Made $110,000 Profit in 5 Months from Nothing

Photo of my Amazon.com Associate Account (to verify it is my account)

AmazonPhoto Finally Revealed... How I Made $110,000 Profit in 5 Months from Nothing

Background

It all started in August. I knew absolutely nothing about internet marketing. All I did know was that you could make a blog and smack adsense banners on them. Then by sheer luck, I stumbled accross the Thirty Day Challenge teaching you how to make your first 10 dollars online.

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