8 Major Things I Really Wish I Knew Before I Started Good Looking Loser (and What I've Learned)
I did a lot of things "right" when I started Good Looking Loser, here's what went well -
- "17 Reasons Good Looking Loser is Successful (A Look Back At the Early Days)"
* I'll do a future updated post on this topic.
This list is 8 major things that I did wrong.
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I started Good Looking Loser at the very end of 2011.
So it's been about 5 years.
By all standards, the Good Looking Loser project has been a success.
The money, traffic and influence is much greater than I planned for my first major online project. I never expected it to become my career or anything I'd frequently get noticed in public for.
When I started, the thought of giving dating advice on the Internet bored me.
The vast majority of online 'pickup' material I "learned" was completely useless.
Scotty convinced me that we should do our own little video series and just see what happened.
Long story short, Good Looking Loser became fairly popular and the rest is history.
When I started, other than my first little ghetto website "Hair Loss From Steroids", I had virtually no experience with "Internet Marketing".
Unknowingly, I did a lot of things that were "right" and quickly drew an audience.
People liked that Good Looking Loser was 'non-mainstream' and I took a very personal approach to all the visitors.
In hindsight, I did a lot of things wrong and want to share them with you.
The entire point of 'self improvement' is to help you get there faster than it took me.
#1 I Didn't Try to Build an E-Mail List Until March 2016
This is the #1 thing I did wrong when I started Good Looking Loser.
I waited over 4 years to put any significant effort into the Good Looking Loser email list.
Compared to how many people have read Good Looking Loser over the years (millions), the email list is very small (about 14,000).
When I started, I had the time to publish daily and weekly content.
I figured -
I had never subscribed to any email lists.
That's a good way to get spammed.
If people liked my website then they would bookmark it and come back to it on a regular basis.
After all, that is what I did.
While this is true to an extent, I missed the entire point (build a direct connection to your most loyal audience) but I didn't see the opportunity cost for years.
Now that I don't have the time to do regular content, that email list would be super valuable now.
Most Good Looking Loser posts take weeks to accumulate a lot of comments because only 1000-2000 people read it when I publish.
This is 100% due to not building a email list from the start and it's probably the one thing I really wish I did from the start.
It's important to note -
I didn't start my email list in March 2016, I started it sometime back in 2013 or 2014.
Because I didn't want to be pushy, I only had a barely noticeable button on the sidebar to sign up for it though. We'd get about 50-100 people a month to sign up.
Original Newsletter Subscription Form
Once I installed a newsletter subscription pop-up in March 2016, I gained nearly more subscriptions in that month than in the 3 previous years.
What You Should Do Instead
This one is easy.
Start your email list from Day 1.
Install a non-intrusive, simple signup form that only pops up once every 48 hours for non-subscribers.
I don't, but you can offer them a free ebook or some sort of subscription incentive.
If people like you, they don't mind seeing a pop-up once in a while.
Just don't go crazy with it.
With all that said, my lack of attention to an email list proves that you can "make it" while making a critical mistake.
Fun Facts
I use MailChimp.
AWeber, another popular email marketing service, considers Good Looking Loser to be an "X-rated website" and suspended me within a week. Other AWeber users who have tried to link to Good Looking Loser in their newsletters have had their accounts temporarily frozen.
Ironically, Happy Hippo's email list is significantly larger than Good Looking Loser's - even though Happy Hippo is 2.5 years younger.
Good Looking Loser Email List (12/15 - 3/16)
After installing a newsletter popup in March, my email subscriptions almost doubled
#2 I Put Adult/Farmacy Related Material/Links on Good Looking Loser (Google Sandbox)
I know farmacy is not spelled that way.
With the exception of websites with large pre-existing social media or YouTube platforms, the vast majority of newbie traffic will be from Google.
You want to stay in good standing with Google.
Needless to say, Google does not like adult or farmacy related content (or when you link out to it).
On July 12, 2014, Google updated its algorithm (called the 'Google PayDay Loan 3.0') which virtually remove all adult, farmacy and "spam" sites from the normal listings.
Good Looking Loser, although neither truly an adult or farmacy website, got swept up in this mess and has been there ever since.
You will not see Good Looking Loser in ANY non-adult organic searches. (unless you type 'Good Looking Loser' into the search)
Despite having some of the best information in the entire world, Good Looking Loser does not appear in Google search for 'dating advice', 'approach anxiety', 'how to meet girls' or ANY non-adult topics.
I have removed all the farmacy content from the website in an effort to get back in good graces with Google.
While the Google sandbox is INSTANT DEATH for most legit websites, I still get a lot of random adult traffic that helps sell the "male products".
So don't feel too sorry for me.
While my business (Get Paid) posts show screenshots of old revenue reports and other various analytics, I don't show total or specific traffic stats because I don't want competitors seeing what keywords I rank for.
All you need to know is -
Good Looking Loser's SEO is weird, very weird.
The normal traffic is not as much as you'd think but I have certain 'special populations' that pour into the site.
I'll leave it at that for now.
Can I Just [NOFOLLOW] or [NOINDEX] My Adult or Undesirable Posts?
Good question.
[NOFOLLOW] or [NOINDEX] means you tell the Google bot to not index specific pages.
This will keep your undesirable posts from appearing on Google, but it doesn't mean you won't get flagged.
A competitor can use a robot to share your undesirable content on social media (most importantly: Google+) and get you flagged.
It happened to me.
Thankfully, no one has ever gotten punished by Google for linking to Good Looking Loser.
I link to Good Looking Loser from this site all the time.
What You Should Do Instead
While most websites will probably be fine if they have a couple of posts with not-so-Google-friendly content, once you get on Google's radar as a popular 'undesirable' you will eventually get flagged.
Unless you are an adult website, I'd stay away from publishing that content.
If you do have an adult or 'undesirable' website, you should also have a separate non-adult site, like I do (this website).
Fun Facts
Good Looking Loser is currently banned at Chick-Fil-a restaurant, the Nike Store and supposedly in the People's Republic of China.
While it's good to be paired to a popular keyword, some are not good
#3 My Titles, Length and General Approach To My Posts Was Wrong
Although Google doesn't really like Good Looking Loser, I didn't exactly help myself either.
The content on Good Looking Loser is great.
You know it and I know it.
Back in 2012, the "dating advice" was absolutely cutting edge.
In many ways, Good Looking Loser is the final word to dating (Get Laid) advice.
It confirms and/or refutes absolutely every other approach to picking up girls.
But many people will never see it because Good Looking Loser was never SEO-friendly.
Posts like -
- "Swag Factor (Coolness) - The Missing Piece to Getting Pussy v1.0" (currently missing from GLL)
- "A Night of Screening Women in the Bar Scene"
Make absolutely no sense to Google (and most people) whatsoever.
They should have been titled -
"How to Be Cool and Get Girls" and "How to Pickup Girls At a Bar", respectively.
I could retitle them now, but that is only part of the equation.
Google friendly posts are 800-2300 words long (it doesn't mean that longer posts won't appear on the first page of Google search, I have some long posts that do), but that is the general blueprint.
These posts are super long and have a lot of terms/words that I invented.
They likely won't rank anyway.
While Good Looking Loser would have better SEO if the posts were shorter, the content wouldn't be half as good. The only reason that Good Looking Loser was groundbreaking is because of the enormous, highly in-depth discussion that we have.
You guys agree -
What You Should Do Instead
You want to do "How to" and "# Ways to" titles.
For example -
- "How to Make Money Online (What I Learned After 1 Year of Blogging)"
- "How to Meet Girls At the Beach (What I Do At the Beach to Pickup Women)"
- "10 Ways to Build a Successful Start-up Business (How I Built a Profitable Company in Just 12 Months)"
I don't like the rules, I think those titles are unimaginative and highly generic.
But that is what what newbies/most people type into Google.
You are at a significant disadvantage if you don't play the SEO game.
You can use the Google Keyword Tool to see what the popular searches are.
Make an effort to write to the keywords in 800-2300 words, without it totally compromising the quality.
If you have posts that are over 3000 words, break them up into separate posts (series).
Fun Facts
The Internet is essentially a battle between legit guys/products and Internet marketers.
There are very few guys that are both.
Use the Google Keyword Planner to See How Many People Search For You
* Not all the 'Good Looking Loser' searches are for me, many are though
#4 I Did a Very Poor Job of Organizing Good Looking Loser
As you know, when I started Good Looking Loser I had never really read any other blogs.
I never heard of RooshV, Bold & Determined, Danger & Play or any of the popular Red Pill websites.
While this was largely an advantage (I didn't let others' ideas influence me), it was a major disadvantage because I didn't know how to organize my website.
The original Good Looking Loser had a million categories - most posts were in multiple categories.
It didn't really matter when I only had a couple posts, but things eventually got out of control and people complained that I had by far the most unorganized website ever.
We've made a valiant attempt to better organize the site, but many of the old urls and sub-categories had to remain as to not totally mess up the existing SEO and generate 404 errors (broken urls).
What You Should Do Instead
KEEP IT SIMPLE!
Have a handful of topics and place them into a handful of obvious categories.
Fun Facts
I was on a nationally televised dating show in 2002.
#5 I Rarely Published Unique Images (Just Stock Photos)
Google insists on websites having unique, non-duplicate content.
I certainly have some of the most unique content on the web.
Pun intended.
While creative and funny, what isn't truly unique is the clipart images that I used to style Good Looking Loser.
You know, the cartoon Hippos, bunnies and other characters.
I've always liked cartoon-y images that add a creative juxtaposition to the otherwise edgy content.
In the Internet world of online alpha males and generic "Frank Sinatra-looking-lifestyle-guy-in-a-suit with bourbon drink", I give you cartoon signs and communist propaganda posters -
I like my styling and it adds a humor element that is missing from ultra serious self-improvement sphere.
These clipart cartoon stock photos and Chairman Mao posters aren't unique images however.
They do nothing for me other than break up the text and add aesthetic appeal.
I do have some unique images that rank really high on Google.
Are Non-Unique (Stock Images) Considered Duplicate Content by Google?
This is a never ending debate.
The answer, in my experience is -
No.
I have so many clipart cartoon stock images that I wouldn't have a single post that would rank in the top 10 if Google penalized stock photos.
Besides, Google even said that they don't penalize non-unique photos.
What You Should Do Instead
Pull out your smartphone and snap a picture, when possible.
Mike Cernovich discusses this -
Again, I haven't been penalized for this so it's not a huge deal. Non-unique images shouldn't hurt you, but they won't help with SEO either.
Fun Facts
#5 I Hired An "Marketing & SEO Expert" Idiot Who Knew Nothing
After Good Looking Loser was making well over $100,000/year, I thought I needed to hire an "expert" to help me.
Some of my posts weren't doing as well as I thought they should be (I would later discover that my problem wasn't "SEO" but the adult/undesirable content).
He had a beautiful resume.
4.94 stars on oDesk.
I gave him the green light to work his magic and stepped aside.
He began to rewrite my content on a live website, adding fake followers to Twitter and doing damage to every part of my website.
It took me months to see 100% of what he was doing was totally wrong and destructive.
To this day, I still discover random things that he messed up.
What You Should Do Instead
Learn it yourself.
After 6 months you'll be better qualified than 99% of the "SEO Experts" out there.
If your "SEO guy" (or any potential hire, in general) can't show you HIS OWN successful projects, don't even consider hiring him.
They all read and do the same crap and most of it is either ineffective or damaging in the long-run.
If they were any good they would have their own automated business and wouldn't be doing random freelance.
With all that said -
Once you have the money, hire a USA (or English speaking ex-pat) web developer/administrator to manage your websites. I waited far too long to hire a local developer.
The language barrier on highly technical work becomes exhausting and it probably took 5 years off my life.
Fun Facts
99% of Internet marketing experts don't have a single website that makes any money.
None of this stuff matters and it's not that complicated. Great content matters.
#6 I Largely Ignored Social Media For 5 Years
I literally did nothing daily with social media until September 1 2016 when I committed to Twitter to help stop the Kratom ban. The campaign was a huge success.
There's only so many hours in the day and social media is hardly the most important thing when you start.
I've never put a lot into social media because the likelihood of my account being suspended (due to the nature of my content) is high. I've seen that with YouTube 4 times.
Still, social media, especially if you enjoy it, is something that you should start from the beginning.
For your website to be successful, you'll eventually need multiple streams of traffic.
What You Should Do Instead
You don't have to be super active on social media to have it.
You don't even have to be active at all.
Use something like HootSuite to schedule your posts.
It's better than nothing and I started use it this year.
There's probably a few others, but we use Hoot Suite.
Fun Facts
Social media was huge in [temporarily] stopping the Kratom ban, so many people signed up for Twitter to support our movement.
I called the DEA to discuss the Kratom ban. I got through right away and they were polite. I encourage you to call. pic.twitter.com/hx7aQraAHa
— Good Looking Loser?? (@GoodLookingLosr) September 2, 2016
#7 I Made YouTube Videos With Crappy Audio
For non-professional long webcam videos on obscure topics, my Youtube videos are pretty successful.
Although my basic webcam video will never get the views of professional entertainment videos, many people watch my unedited webcam videos from beginning to end.
The per capita engagement is super high, compared to the average webcam video that gets about 30-50 seconds of watch.
WebCam YouTube Video Stats (Last 28 Days)
When I started, however, the views and engagement were not as good.
It had nothing to do with the video (people don't mind average video quality when they are just listening to you), it was the audio.
I don't listen to video or audio with bad sound quality.
Neither do you.
What You Should Do Instead
You don't need a recording studio to make a good webcam video - you just need a good microphone and a room that doesn't echo (I rarely do videos in my Los Angeles apartment with hardwood floors).
I recommend and use the "Blue Yeti USB Microphone".
You should eventually get a good webcam because YouTube judges video quality in their rankings (get one that can do 1080p HD videos, even if you only set it at 720p HD).
I recommend and use the "Logictech HD Pro Webcam C920".
And By the way -
Make sure you save your YouTube videos. Put them on Dropbox, Google Drive or something like that.
Fun Facts
Here's some stats on my webcam videos.
#8 I Exchanged Emails When I Should Have Been Creating Online Content
When I started Good Looking Loser, both Scotty and I did a lot of "email coaching" (always free) with a lot of guys.
While I certainly helped some guys (Zuberi totally turned around his life), the hundreds of hours I spent writing emails were completely worthless.
Just like in real life, very few guys actually applied my advice.
Not only was it completely worthless - it was counterproductive.
Some of my best insight and deep experience is sitting in random emails that no one will ever see.
Digging it up is not easy.
There were hundreds of email threads on very specific situations.
Blah.
What You Should Do Instead
Don't do emails with people.
Work on your website.
If someone wants to hire you, maybe consider that.
Fun Facts
"Email coaching" is generally worthless because the guys have to actually turn their life around don't need "email coaching", they read the information and get to work.
Thinking on the bright side, the "email period" wasn't totally worthless.
I got to know a lot of people, helped a minority of them, but also got to see the issues that a lot of guys were struggling with.
I used those insights to make Good Looking Loser great.
Tomorrow, November 8 2016, is a historic presidential election.
Here is the internal Good Looking Loser poll (98% males, age 18-35, Red Pill leaning) -
Pour Conclure
This isn't a comprehensive list.
There's a lot of of things I wish I knew before I started Good Looking Loser.
These 8 were the major ones however.
Still, it didn't stop Good Looking Loser from being a significant success, even against all SEO odds.
At the end of the day, the major success is largely because Good Looking Loser has enriched the lives of hundreds of thousands of men who helped spread the word the search engines would not.
There is no "Internet marketing hack" that is better than that.
Been reading old posts by @GoodLookingLosr
— Red Pill Reviews (@redpillreviews) November 6, 2016
Wow.
I forgot how great those are.
Chris, you changed my life.
Thank you.
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