Challenge 2010: Are You On Board?

ALL ABOARD!

I’m jumping on the train for the Challenge 2010 to create a journal of the course.
A few days late; so far we’re on Week 1, Module 5.  (W1M5)

My (subjective) observations so far:

• The work they have us doing drilling down into niches and really analyzing them for traffic and competition is fantastic, grade-A stuff.
• The course of the pace is so… staggeringly… slow.  It’s mind-numbing.
• The absolute refusal of the mods on the forums to allow us to actually discuss the Challenge is very frustrating and at times, insulting.

Analyzing Niches

Each day’s module has given us a specific task to do regarding niches.  First we started out just brainstorming a few markets, what niches there would be for those markets, and what micro-niches there would be for those niches. Then we did a little digging on Google’s SKtool and Amazon’s magazine list to get some more ideas. Finally we started working with Market Samurai, a pretty powerful piece of software that does all kinds of analyzing for us.  Using a very strict filter set, we were to further filter down our niches and in most cases, start over from scratch as the filters given eliminate a lot of terms.  Now, keep in mind, this workload (which would normally take someone 20 minutes, more if they were completely unlucky with their niche keyphrases) has been spread out over four days.

Pacing: Forget the rabbit, forget the tortoise… even the snail is leaving us behind

Enter today’s module. Twitter was heating up, the forums were heating up, as we all anxiously awaited the 8am-ish uploading of today’s lesson.
Finally I caught it on YouTube and had it watched before the link was even up in the main training area.
After finishing the video, I sat staring at my screen, slack-jawed.

Part 1 of today’s homework instructions were, I kid you not:

“Don’t worry about the details of each column at the moment; all you have to do for now is practice turning columns on and off, and identifying the five factors that we’re going to use for the Challenge.“

*blink*
Seriously?
No, really…. seriously?

We’ve been working with MS for a few days now, doing nothing BUT hitting little checkboxes to turn things on and off.  Truly, I think we have the concept down by now. I really mean that. My 5yr old has been half-heartedly watching the videos with me and watching me look for keyphrases in MS. Even HE knows how to turn the damn columns on and off now. He even knows how to generate keywords once I type them in, and how to analyze them. (This monumental task in MS is clicking two buttons.)

The 2nd part of our homework was to take all of our keyphrase work that we’ve been doing so far and put it into a nice spreadsheet.  Which, I’d hazard to guess, 90% of the participants did yesterday with their full 24 hours of downtime.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The info that Ed and company are giving out here for free is top-notch stuff. I have no complaints about the quality of the information, or the videos.
But the PACE… oh my god.

I think I figured it out.
The guys behind The Challenge run a membership site called The Edge where you can get all of the info from past challenges, talk in-depth with other Edge members and interact more with Ed, Doc Anthony, and crew, and you get a half-hour call from Ed where you can talk to him about your business.  Ed et al talk about their own marketing strategies that they’re currently employing on different projects inside the membership area, and you can duplicate what they’re doing if you want.

I honest to god think this year’s painfully slow pace is not just based on feedback from past challenges saying “the pace was too fast!”; I think it’s also a marketing tactic to get people to join the $97/mo membership site.  People like me, who are pulling their hair out.  People who know that the past 5 days of homework could have been done in one hour total.

It’s Anthem all over again – no individual thought allowed!

The Challenge comes with a vbulletin forum where we’re supposed to be able to discuss what’s going on.
Notice I say, “supposed to be able to”.
Unfortunately, the board is staffed with a group of moderators who make that very task impossible.

We’re not allowed to question the modules’ methods or why we’re doing it this way.
We’re not allowed fiddle with the filter settings (at least not do it and then tell others we did, and ask for feedback).
We’re not allowed to talk about what’s coming up next with people who have done Challenges in the past.
We’re not allowed to wonder about what type of site (blog, multiple blogs, static websites, etc) we’ll actually be building eventually so we can prepare.

Do any of these things, and you will very politely be told to sit down, shut up, stop thinking on your own, and most importantly, stop corrupting the experience of the other participants with your individual thought and questioning mind.  Do as you are told and wait to be told what to do next.

Then they lock the thread to stop the discussion.

Here are a couple of responses the mods gave from different discussions on the board, just before they locked each discussion.

On a thread where a person asked if using Google Wonder Wheel would be all right, as Market Samurai bogs down and locks up his machine:

I am sweeping into the forum here, and I confess I will be ruthless – eek! (I am scaring myself )
Please please please, respect that this is Ed’s Challenge, that he and the team have created specifically a certain way. This year we are doing things differently.
Our target is Newbies, with Veterans very very welcome to be here, as those veterans who are, know there is always something new to learn. I also believe people have the best intentions – and the Veterans want to help.
However in jumping ahead, you are negating the way Ed wants to do this.
We are working this year at a slower, methodical pace. Veterans may well know what is to come – please keep it to yourself. Please show respect.
If I, or my team see posts where people are jumping ahead they will be moderated – as it’s potentially confusing for Newbies, as it brings up the feeling that they should know what you are talking about – so it brings up fear, doubt, insecurity and other emotions that aren’t much fun when you are new.

On a thread where a person asked for hosting suggestions:

This thread is jumping the gun somewhat.
I really ask that you be patient, sit tight, and when we get to that point in the training – then post on it.
I will close this thread for that reason.

Another poster who did the Challenge last year was poking around and playing with numbers (which was “ahead” of where we were):

I am closing this thread, purely for the reason that we have asked people to focus on The Challenge and work at our timing.

And these sort of posts keep popping up – and it’s not fair to Newbies.

Another poster asked about using Traffic Bug:

I think the other two mods have made it clear as to why they are not giving an answer.
At this point in time Traffic-Bug is not part of the challenge and it may or not be part of it in the future
Thus it is irrelevant to discussion here.

On the lesson day that we were told to think about markets, niches, and micro-niches, a poster asked where others got their ideas for thinking up markets and niches. A few folks chimed in and started tossing around ideas. Bookstores, tv commercials, etc.  *Buzzer noise*:

Again, as well as over-thinking this, you are pre-empting the training.

I know I’m sounding like a stuck record (those were those large discs pre-CDs) but please don’t rush ahead – not only is it confusing for new Challengers who start to panic that they’ve missed something, but it means you are likely to miss something in this year’s training because you are already a few steps ahead with what you think is being taught.

If you do want to discuss this further then post in the advanced IM forum that has just been set up until this portion of the training is covered.

If you watch the video today (and I suggest everyone watches it more than once) all you have to do is grasp the concept of a market, a niche and a microniche. There’s no discussion of finding obscure markets and niches, or ones that you’re interested in, or ones you think you can do something with. Just grasp the overall concepts and wait for tomorrow’s training!

The moderator bolded that, not me.

Okay, so heading over to the Advanced Marketing Chat board as suggested, you see a lot of people trying to talk about… well, marketing. While there are no locked threads here, nearly every thread is peppered with multiple moderators going Borg:

I really encourage every one (especially you 30DC veterans!) to practice patience and wait until Ed teaches this for this years Challenge. Especially we do not want to give our dear Newbies the wrong impression that they should be doing anything to do with this right now. By all means – many may come to The Challenge with ideas (please unglue yourselves from them though – you’ll find out soon enough why).

Huh? Isn’t this the Advanced chat forum?

Remember the response given by a moderator above where she was “sweeping in” and “scaring herself”? I found that same moderator giving the same exact response in a thread in the Advanced board, when a poster asked about different market research techniques.

Finally a frustrated poster asked what the Advanced board was supposed to be about, if the participants there were continually being discouraged from discussing anything even moderately “advanced”.  All was revealed:

As for what the “Advanced Marketing Chat” forum is all about … it has recently been clarified for us — moderators, that is –that the “Advanced” forum is a place for people with experience in the Challenge (and who know the types of lessons that are covered in the Challenge) to discuss ideas that are not covered in the Challenge. The Advanced forum is not to be used for moving ahead and having “early” discussions about topics that will be covered in future lessons.

Sigh.

Now don’t get me wrong.  These moderators are the nicest, sweetest people you’ll ever meet. They’re incredibly helpful to the newbies all over the board, even going so far as to suggest keyphrases to look into.  It’s just the overall mantra that is bothering me.  Stop thinking for yourself, wait to be told what to think.  Be quiet; you’ll scare the children.

Suggestions

Whenever I have a complaint about something, I try to come up with a suggestion on how to improve it or how it could be done differently.  That way I’m not whining or being negative, I’m being constructive.  And in all honesty, I hope that if the Challenge “gurus” and “moderators” read this, they are able to step back enough to view it constructively.

1. I have no complaints at all with the quality of the material being presented.  The videos are also well done, with interesting graphics, clear screenshots, and clear examples of what’s being explained.  Extra kudos for converting the lessons into multiple formats, so people can watch on their iPhones, etc.
2. I realize the aim this year was to stretch things out. That being said, when the only homework you can come up with for a module is to practice clicking checkboxes on and off, a warning flag should pop up.  That is dragging it out too much.  Add a little more onto the module to give the participants real work to do, even if it shortens the overall course by one day. I’m sure at the end, those extra days could be filled in covering questions the participants will be putting on the forums at that point.Remember, when you write something or present something, you should present the information on a sixth-grade level and can reasonably assume that the audience can respond on at least a sixth-grade level.  When looking over the homework assignment ask yourself:  ”Is this too technical for a sixth-grader?” If the answer is yes, break the material up further.   If the answer is no, then ask yourself: “Is this too simplistic for a sixth-grader?”  If the answer is yes, add in more ‘meat’ to either the presentation, the homework assignment, or both.While my 5yr old son has been intermittently following along, my 12yr old son is working right alongside of me during this Challenge.  That’s the typical age for a sixth-grader. His response to today’s homework:  (Part 1 is presented) “You’re kidding, right? Well wait, part 2 must be really big then.”  (Part 2 is presented)  ”That’s it?!? Mom, do people really not know how to click checkboxes?  That’s all we did yesterday and the day before!”It might even be a good idea to get a few test subjects and actually test the presentations.  Include a few 12 year olds in the test group .  Then actually pay attention to their feedback.
3. Locking multiple threads and repeatedly shutting down or discouraging conversations on a forum is a good way to stop knowledgeable people from posting there.  Continue along this path, and you may find that the experienced Challengers are not around in a month to help out the newbies whatsoever.  They will simply take their knowledge and real-world experience to their private teams; and then everyone loses out.Rather than shutting down discussions from people who are experienced, use the tools available to you: move the discussion into the Advanced Marketing forum.  Make it clear that that forum is an “enter at your own risk – confusion may ensue” zone, and if by chance a newbie insists on going in there and gets confused – gently but firmly encourage the newbie to go back to the module forums and general Challenge chat, and to come back to the discussion once he’s gotten the training to understand what’s being discussed.Think of it like a big family gathering – you wouldn’t insist that everyone talk on the level of the three-year-olds that were present in order to avoid confusing them. That would just result in a very empty party and lots of uneaten food!  If the adult conversation is confusing the three-year-olds, you have the adults take their discussion off to the side.  Everyone’s happy.

All of that being said, there are resources for Challenge participants who are a little more bold. The video lessons from past years are still up on YouTube and easily findable. The information there may not (and probably will not) match exactly what we’re doing this year, but watching those will allow you to go more in-depth on a subject if you want to. Just keep in mind that last year there were multiple videos for a single day, so be sure to look for all of them. Also, if you go this route and insist on moving ahead with the themes you’ve worked up so far, that you hold a couple of themes off to the side and work on those at this year’s pace. That way, you can satisfy your need to feel as if you’re getting something done, but you can also still follow along with everyone in the Challenge this year. Heck, it might even be a good testing method; comparing the results at the end of the three months.

Here’s looking forward to Saturday’s lesson, and my apologies that this post was so long… I was making up for 4 days of not journaling.