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AFFILIATE PROJECT X & DAY JOB KILLER — Combination Review

First, there's the issue of whether Day Job Killer, released a scant four months after Affiliate Project X, is really nothing more than Affiliate Project X, Part II. Maybe. Probably. But does it really matter? It doesn't bother us when novels and movies are released with their sequels already pre-plotted.

This raises the question of whether Affiliate Project X and Day Job Killer are worth their $97 price tags, or whether alleged sequel, Day Job Killer should have been a freebie for Affiliate Project X buyers. (We'll circle back to this one.)

Then there was the criticism that Affiliate Project X was a rehash of AdWords Miracle. Affiliate Project X is much more than a rehash. While it's true that there is some crossover between AdWords Miracle (reviewed here in 2006) and Affiliate Project X, the duplication of content in Affiliate Project X exists largely to fill in a backdrop for inexperienced affiliate marketers.

To duplicate or not to duplicate is a question that plagues every author who publishes multiple books on the same topic. If the sequels skip past the basics, some will say that the sequel is Too Advanced, Not For Newbies. If you refer them to your first book to bone up on the basics, some will accuse you of schilling.

Then there was the criticism that the techniques in Affiliate Project X and Day Job Killer require capital risk, and that these techniques are easy to lose money on. We say: Not necessarily. Some techniques are riskier than others, which we'll point out as we navigate throught the details of each product. The reality is that the AdWords campaigns always entail a certain amount of capital risk. It's a numbers game. Even the experienced marketer can lose money pretty fast when tapping a niche in which they're inexperienced.

The important thing to know is that McNeeney's techniques don't send you off on fool's errands, running blind hit-and-miss AdWords campaigns. Anyone who consistently loses money on his techniques is doing something wrong. Vague keyword sets, unsellable products… there are a hundred ways to screw up a campaign. Sometimes the tiniest tweaks can make all the difference. Good research and good ad copy will drastically reduce the odds of scary credit card bills. McNeeney shows you how to do both. And gives you ample "risk warnings" at every turn.

Some have remarked that Affiliate Project X and Day Job Killer are too advanced for the beginner. Yes, AdWords Miracle was more beginnerly. But when it first launched, even AdWords Miracle was labeled by some as Too Advanced. Here's the thing: most of the so-called Beginner AdWords Manuals waste your money rehashing the basics of AdWords account setup. You can get that stuff free from Google's own Help section, plus a million other free sources… articles, newsletters, etc.. Not worth paying for.

It's not that the techniques in Affiliate Project X and Day Job Killer are so "advanced." If you follow directions and do the research, you can pull them off. If you understand AdWords campaign setup, keyword research basics, the landing page concept, and know how to source products to promote as an affiliate, you're qualified. And sure, it is a good idea to practice your copywriting skills (clue: focus on relevancy) with a few simple, easy-does-it campaigns before diving into Affiliate Project X's and Day Job Killer's more innovative techniques.

Both Affiliate Project X and Day Job Killer offer advice on sourcing products, sizing up merchants, keyword research and even a basic, quickie intro to affiliate programs.

Chris's tactics have always had the potential to pull in large sums of money through scaleability. Work out a handful of profitable campaigns and keep duplicating them. Both Affiliate Project X and Day Job Killer offer techniques which are infinitely scaleable.

Affiliate Project X exposes the dirtiest of the dirty little affiliate marketing secrets… and shows you how to exploit them to financial advantage. Day Job Killer is dirtier still.

McNeeney's tone has changed since he published AdWords Miracle. Apparently he's been consorting with the so-called affilitate marketing gurus who love phrases that contain words like DESTROY or DOMINATE. Personally we miss the kindler, gentler AdWords Miracle Chris. With Affiliate Project X and Day Job Killer, his tactics have become increasingly more parasitic in nature. Making the big AdWords bucks, he seems to have decided, is best accomplished by copying ads, stealing rewriting copy and paying Bid Price Chicken with every competing advertiser in sight.

Affiliate Project X…
A chunk of Affiliate Project X is devoted to the art of the pre-sell (see the Leech and Affiliate Diary methods), building a squeeze page that lures opt-ins and devising a series of autoresponder emails that converts. The Leech and Affiliate Diary methods, with their real-life examples are good, though buyers could really benefit from more examples.

When it comes to the pre-sell, Chris is one of the best in the business. One of his greatest strengths as an affiliate marketing coach has always been his focus on copywriting — for both pay-per-click ads as well as the long pitch. He's good at it. His 20,000-word product pitches are a bit long-winded, but good. And both Affiliate Project X and Day Job Killer will show you why you'd better get good at it, too.

Which is why we're not too crazy about his latest "Copy the Best" techniques. There's way too much "copying" in the affiliate marketing world, as it is. We would have liked to see him devote more words to words. It's his special talent. But it is true, of course, that you absolutely can beat the best AdWords advertisers at their own game… with their own copy and their own keywords.

The Workhorse method — which revolves around articles — works, of course, but is: (A) Lots of work, if you do it well; and (B) Slow to convert. It's not new and revolutionary, though it's a tried and true tactic that should probably be part of every marketer's promotional plan. The Thief In The Night is simple and has merit, but again, not revolutionary. Nor is the Opportunist. Or the "Advanced Tricks" section, which are not advanced at all.

Affiliate Project X should include more freebie keyword research resources, but it is unswervingly devoted to — and was in fact, criticized for — its shameless hawking of Keyword Elite (like we just did with that link!), but in all fairness, Keyword Elite is a quality product, which some keyword researchers consider indispensable.

The best reasons to buy Affiliate Project X are the pre-sells, squeeze pages, and the step-by-steps on product and merchant analysis. Affiliate Project X is largely devoted to Google Cash alternatives, essentially suggesting that the Google Cash method — the lazy affiliate's favored AdWords M.O. — is more or less dead, courtesy of the infamous Google Slap…

Other Day Job Killer techniques are rather ingenious in what can only be described as a diabolical sort of way. Take Campaign Nuking, in which you swipe the campaigns of other advertisers — affiliate or merchant — doesn't matter. It's dirty pool, it's brutal… and verrrry effective. This is not an AdWords campaign — it's a military campaign, that sends outrageously high cost-per-click napalm raining down on whomever is unfortunate enough to be in your way.

But perhaps all is fair in love and AdWords?

The objective of Campaign Nuking is to nudge competing advertisers out of the game, and set it up so that if they want back in, it costs them a fortune. This tactic can empower you to successfully compete head-to-head with popular product vendors themselves. It's a brutal poker game (in this scenario, you're the card shark) and it has its risks, but Chris does show you how to know when to fold 'em. This one requires you to keep your eye on the ball.

McNeeney is a gambler, and he runs AdWords campaigns like hands of BlackJack. Nowhere is this more evident than in Campaign Nuking. But for what it's worth, you're getting advice from a guy who's good at counting cards.

The Leveller method, sold as How To Rob A Guru, might be thought of as a fortified Leech method (introduced in Affiliate Project X). It's (diabolically) clever in its tactics for choosing a matrix of related products and playing all sides against the middle. Like Campaign Nuking, it's also brutal and likely to infuriate other marketers. But it also has the potential to produce serious revenue by dominating the hottest niches. Pick your poison.

The Undercutter centers around another thievery technique which involves profiting from swiped sales copy. Is it lucrative? Potentially. But it's a cheap trick, unoriginal, parasitic and — more often than not — plagiaristic. So we're not crazy about this one. Just our pious 2 cents. Oh, and the Undercutter is paired with One-Time Offers, popularized by Mike Filsaime in Butterfly Marketing, reviewed here.

The Media Manslaughter and Cheapskate Undertaker methods are unconventional in that they go offline to bring back the bacon. Media Manslaughter is well thought out and has potential, but should be used carefully, as McNeeney does point out. The Cheapskate Undertaker is an interesting experiment to try if you're interested in transforming yourself into a persona.

One final little detail… the table of contents in McNeeney's books are the unhyperlinked, dark side of minimalistic. For ninety-seven bucks, one deserves hyperlinks and chapter subtopics.

Is $97 a pop too expensive for the three McNeeney products? Maybe. Depends. Who knows? With these particular products, the answer is subjective. Will you learn one thing in each manual that's worth ninety-seven bucks? Sure. Absolutely.

Exactly how should we compare the value of affiliate marketing manuals, anyway? What's the yardstick? How one stacks up against a less expensive offering? Maybe. But you should only buy the cheaper one if it's the better one. You get what you pay for and all that. Anyway, perhaps the bigger issue is that practically every affilitate marketing product on the market is overpriced?

It bears mentioning that McNeeney has consistently offered more creative methodology than most other pay-per-click authors. And he's easy to read, his step-by-steps are easy to follow.

As they say in the music business, Day Job Killer and Affiliate Project X are both essential for the Chris McNeeney completist. But are they both essential for the first-time buyer? Perhaps not. Bottom line: You can own either one and benefit. You can own both and benefit more.

If you can only buy one...

We're taking the contrarian view (the majority of the reviewers will probably disagree with us). If you can only buy one, buy Day Job Killer. It's the most progressive of the three McNeeney products. It whiffs of the future of AdWords profiteering.

If you buy Affiliate Project X and/or Day Job Killer, do you still need AdWords Miracle? Not unless you're truly green, and/or money is no issue. AdWords Miracle is much stronger on the fundamentals, but a bit too devoted to old Google Cash methods. Affiliate Project X and Day Job Killer are not only better optimized for the current (and future) internet economy, but, as a whole, more innovative — way beyond the freebie advice you're likely to pick up on the internet.