February Updates

From the time I came back from Las Vegas I didn’t stop for anything. All the time I was goofing around last year and slumping into complacency – riddled with holidays, computer games and excess hours of sleep – I am making them up now at the start of 2011.

1. Three months ago Tony Sanders (real name not revealed) approached me for a partnership to launch a product on ClickBank that offers instant business in a box for the gaming niche. I gave it a name, ClickBank Gamers, and it was on.

2. Problem was, I had never launched a product on ClickBank before, and the ball game is a little different. The fact that ClickBank is notorious for high refund rates and not knowing a single person in the ‘ClickBank syndicate’ didn’t help with the overall morale.

3. To be honest, I nearly wanted to drop the entire the project. I should be glad Tony chose to team up with me over any other marketer, but with so many things against the odds I felt like I lost my marbles all over the floor.

4. Fortunately, I got in touch with Dylan Loh after a long time, and he agreed to be part of the launch team for ClickBank Gamers. A big reason why I went to Las Vegas, US with him. Network with the American Internet Marketers. Get into the inner circle. And we did just that.

5. I was happy to meet some of my online peers and marketing heroes face to face finally, but I was just equally disturbed by all the underground nonsense and dodgy ethics many of these market makers are pulling. It violated all the principles within my core. Just two weeks ago I wasn’t sure. Now I’m sure I wanted ClickBank Gamers to be a smashing success. And that will be just the start.

6. When I came back to Malaysia, I was greeted by yet another unpleasant news: the apartment I’m staying in right now – Casa Tropicana – has been purchased. Someone who is a banker bought the unit at the peak of its price. And paid cash in full. He or she is either very rich or very stupid. Or BOTH. It didn’t matter, because ultimately I had to move out in two months.

7. My landlady offered to sell to me initially – and made the offer TWICE. And I declined. Not that I didn’t like the place; of all the places I had moved into, this is the best so far. It’s mighty comfortable for one person. But one day, I will get married and I aspire to start a family of my own. And a 2-room apartment will not cut it. Besides, traffic here got worse in the last 6 months. It’s a sign I should move on.

8. With prices the way they are for properties in Klang Valley, many and myself forecast a real estate bubble burst – give it maybe another year. I think it’s dumb to purchase any property here at the moment, with the prices being crazy high right now. I feel they are priced way above their true value.

9. In as much as I’d like to get my own landed property right now (not to be confused with the Johor house which I bought for my mother and sister), I have to be patient. So right now I am hunting for another unit to rent temporarily. Then, I am going to look into banks auctioning off properties. If I have to foot in the cost of renovation, I might as well get base price as low as possible.

10. My mom went for an operation to remove a thyroid from near her throat, and in another couple of weeks from now she must go to the hospital in Seremban for cancer treatment. Fortunately, the cancer has been discovered in its early stages and can be eliminated permanently. It won’t be cheap, however.

11. I had achieved most of my big dreams in the last 2 years – got my family a house of their own, appeared in the newspaper, wrote my own book, and visited the countries I wanted to go badly… especially US which was achieved just recently.

To think now that all of these happened almost simultaneously. I see this as a sign to set new higher level goals, work hard and smart to achieve them.

Get a new landed property for myself – decked with a spacious “War Room”. And pursue action film making.

Tips on Getting Highest Rated Comment on YouTube

When YouTube introduced a new feature “highest rated comments” I began to experiment with finding a predictable way to get my comment to be among the top 2 highest rated comments for almost any YouTube video.

I did this out of sheer fun. At this point in time, I don’t think there are any possibilities to monetize – not through this method, since anti-spam is very strict here (which is good, and other YouTube users are 1 click away from marking your comment as spam).

There’s nothing to lose getting exposure though; in fact like I said it’s a nice thrill to enjoy when I’m not opening my browsers for Internet Business. πŸ™‚

I was surprised to find out that getting my comments to be among the highest rated most of the time comes from a few predictable school of thoughts. There are a million ways to do this, but I think you will find this a fun read regardless. Here goes!

TIP 1: It is preferable to comment on a YouTube video that has high 4 figure to 5 figure views.

If the YouTube video has anything less than 5,000 views, in my opinion it’s very, very slow to get your comment thumbed up in numbers. The video is less searched and thus less exposed.

On the other hand, a highly popular video that is getting views into the 100,000s usually come with a flood of other comments too. It’s just as difficult getting your comment thumbed up enough to be pushed into the 2 highest rated comments, due to the sheer volume of comments and yours might be insignificant.

I’m not saying it’s impossible, but that said it’s easier to get highest rated comment if the YouTube video is getting anywhere from 5,000 views to mid 5 figures.

TIP 2: Bash the Bieber.



Love him or hate him (for some reason most people hate him), a smart comment about Justin Bieber can easily get your comment among highest rated.

I have not experimented with ‘Twilight’ or ‘Edward Cullen’ yet though. But this seems to be the almost guaranteed way to get up to top comment ratings.

TIP 3: Make fun of the DISLIKE crowd.

Came across videos that are truly EPIC? And it boggles your mind why some people can bring themselves to click the DISLIKE button for that video? So you can hit the DISLIKE crowd by writing things like:

“___ people are _______”

Here’s one obvious example of 14 people who clicked the DISLIKE button on an epic soundtrack for the Spetsnaz victory theme for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.



TIP 4: Memorable quote.

This don’t require a genius. Watched a movie or played a game that others can relate, just drop a memorable quote everyone can relate to!

Like Terminator 2 ending for instance:



And the Vorkuta level for Call of Duty: Black Ops:



TIP 5: Point out flaws or something striking in the video’s time frame.

It can be an error, a joke, a flaw, or something most people tend to miss while watching the entire video.



TIP 6: Copy and repeat a popular comment.

This a little more ‘black hatty’. Sometimes, a popular video can have a few to several copies of it by different users on YouTube, and they winded up getting showed in the SEARCH or RELATED videos.

What you can do is copy a highest rated comment from one video, and use it again in another copy of the video uploaded by another user!

This is exactly what I did with The Story Of Riki-Oh (a superbly gross show btw):



TIP 7: Try to make out a foreign language in English.

This is hard to do but if you can pull this off, it can be awesome. I didn’t do this but I’ve seen some highest rated comments worth noting like this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDzJy4SqNFw

TIP 8: *LOOPHOLE ALERT!*

I’m surprised that YouTube actually has this loophole, but they may fix this one day.

Did you know you can thumb up your own comment, and thumb down other people’s comment… over and over again with the same YouTube account?

If you want to go to the dark side, you can thumb up your comment, refresh your browser, do it again, and repeat it over and over until your comment is #1 rated. LOL!

Also note that there is an untold time when no matter how high rated your comment is, it can disappear from the highest rated comments panel to give way to newer comments. It’s not going to be there permanently, but enjoy the little stardom and exposure while it lasts!

Enjoy! πŸ™‚

Las Vegas

5th – 8th January 2011: London
8th – 15th January 2011: Las Vegas, US

After so long, I finally set foot on American soil! πŸ™‚

Before going to the US, I stopped by London for a couple of days. This would be my second time here. It was cold, just like the last time I came here 8 years ago.

I rendezvous with Dylan Loh and together we caught the subsequent flight to Las Vegas, US. (I must mention we narrowly missed the flight… twice!)

I spent a full week here…

– The first 3 days at the West Affiliate Summit 2011 conference,

– Met my marketing heroes Jeremy Gislason and Simon Hodgkinson face to face finally! (too bad no photos tho, they’re very private people)

– A line of other marketers as well like Jeff Dedrick, Steve Iser, and of course the newly acquainted ClickBank marketers

– Went around The Strip for shopping and catching shows with Dylan, Sherrman Cheow and his wife Lisa.

– Met my PLRGold: Videos partner Stephen Luc (finally too!) and we shot some guns at the range. πŸ™‚

Tell you what, just watch these videos. Heheh.



Me using my beginner’s luck at one of the slots at the casino:



Stephen and I firing guns at the Vegas Gun Store:



I Am Going To The US!

Las Vegas, to be exact. πŸ™‚ I don’t know how to put it in words better than how I feel right now.

When I was having my late lunch, I kept looking at my passport. The page plastered with the Visa to US. To think that I waited 4 years for this!

——————————

You see, back in 2006, I wanted to go to the US to attend a JV Alert seminar in Philadelphia. I was year one old in the Internet Business, and I wanted to meet other Internet Marketers in the US badly.

I was staying in Johor Bahru and I didn’t have a car at that time, so I took a bus down to the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. I was to go back the same day.

Imagine the horror when the officer told me, after rushing to get the documents down pat for several days, six hours of getting here, and two hours of waiting before the interview…

The American officer said to the effect of:

“Young man, I am sorry but I cannot approve your visa. You failed to demonstrate strong ties to your country. Your business is so virtual you can just operate from Starbucks and not come back to your country.”

I did my best to assure the officer I would come back to Malaysia, then he went on to say:

“Your visa application is declined and that’s final. By the way, please don’t try again next month. Don’t come back the next 6 months. Don’t even try again next year.”

And I let those words sank in. Those words kept playing, over and over again in my mind, on my way back to JB. I was despaired.

Problem was, I was a total nobody on paper. Granted, I was doing somewhat okay financially.

But I was not a student.

I was not an employee either.

And as a business owner, I didn’t have a company registered at all.

To add, I didn’t have anything else to back up my proof that I would return to Malaysia. I didn’t have a house or even a car to my name to prove that!

I went home, dropped an email and told the people in US I had to give up my seat at JV Alert. It totally SUCKED.

But I was very sure that one day I would overcome this.

… And that day actually came! Albeit a really long wait.

——————————

It’s been a while since I last heard from Dylan Loh. And when he messaged me on Facebook, he asked me, “Hey Edmund, wanna follow me to Las Vegas?”

There’s an Affiliate Summit 2011 going to happen soon. There will be the big shots and giants of the Internet from companies like Google, Facebook, Zynga, Twitter, etc. going. There will be a ClickBank party too.

I had been spending unusually a lot as of lately – the recent Egypt trip being one. My mother was to go for operation to remove a thyroid from her neck which is going to cost a bomb.

But I knew I cannot pass this up this time. FOR REAL.

So I hurried to apply for my Visa to the US for the second time – paid the processing fee, get my visa-sized photo done, and went through the tedious application form on the Internet.

“This has got to work!”

——————————

Yesterday, I drove to the embassy. It’s been 4 years since. Cold. Impersonal. Nothing at this place changed.

I surrendered my car keys, hand phone and IC to the guard house before entering. It was less than two hours before it was my turn to get interviewed.

While waiting, I heard the American officer booming through the glass window at some of the applicants.

Vietnam guy didn’t make it. A lot of discrepancy in his application.

Iranian woman was feared that she won’t return ever, even though she already has a family there.

Then… my turn.

And I was more well prepared than I was years ago. My company is registered. I have a house and 2 cars to my name. And a healthier bank account. I’d also like to think that I was lucky to be interviewed by an officer with a more positive attitude.

“Your visa application is approved, Mr. Loh. Collect your passport from Wisma MCA tomorrow anytime from 3.00 to 4.00 PM.”

YEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!! WOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!

Las Vegas baby, here we come! 8)

This is like a dream come true for me. I’m going to be meeting some of my marketing heroes face to face for the first time ever – two of them being Jeremy Gislason and Simon Hodgkinson!

I hope I can meet up with Stephen Luc too, though he stays far from Vegas. All these years of communicating online, I really can’t wait to meet face to face. πŸ™‚

Also, another reason why I really want to go for this is so I can meet up with new joint venture partners for my business. I have no connections with the ClickBank marketers at this stage, and I have a launch coming up that is going to use ClickBank as the main platform.

I’m looking forward to this – 5th January 2011. I’ll be back in Malaysia again on the 18th. πŸ™‚

YAY!

10 Days in Egypt!

Almost exactly a year ago, I was crafting my dream board (I’m looking at it right now). One of the places I must visit was Egypt.

Going there wasn’t a problem. Finding a companion to go with was the real challenge.

And we did it… finally!

I went with Elle Wong and Colleen. 8) Colls is the latest member of our “work from home” gang. πŸ˜› And I should thank my lucky stars, not all the time I get to travel with two beautiful women LOL πŸ˜› (oh, and I got to know another one during the trip too!)

So we joined a tour group, Globalite, and went to Egypt for 10 days 8 nights (27th November – 6th December).

A total of 28 in all, we Malaysians were joined by Egyptian tour leader Haytham Mostfa (pronounced ‘Haisem’) and we covered several places.

From the temples of Luxor and markets of Azwan, cruising the Nile River, to the city of Alexandria and the streets of Cairo. Of course, the best saved for the last, we also had been to the Great Pyramids of Giza! πŸ˜€

I uploaded a bunch of photos on Facebook, the other bulk is also on Elle’s photo album.

I have to admit: ever since I learned to compile videos, I got a lot more lazy uploading photos on my blog.

Check out my video – it sums up the trip in 5 minutes. I only wish I bought a Federer hat and leather jacket before the trip. Enjoy!



To see more photos on Egypt, check out my Facebook profile or Elle’s. πŸ™‚