Wasup E’rybody…

Well, I’m sorry to say that this past month-and-a-half (or thereabouts) was definitely NOT my best!..

Yeah, I went and hurt myself somehow several weeks ago (more on that in a moment) and didn’t get very much done online, as a result.

But I still have some cool stuff to share with you in this month’s surf report, nonetheless, including things about me and what I do besides blogging.

Of course, it will also contain updates on my Traffic Exchange Study and the results I’ve gotten from surfing the TE’s, too. Since that is presently the main focus of this post series.

Plus, I have some points of interest about my experience with Google Analytics so far (btw, this is the first time I’ve ever used it), which are worth noting since it is intended to become the “primary” source of metrics for this post series / blog in the future (i.e., once I figure it all out and can rely on it for such purposes).

But first… Let’s get a little personal, K? Cool!

Now, for those of you who don’t know me that well and/or haven’t read my most recent comments / replies for this blog (click here to read them in a new window), I guess this is as good a time as any to let you know what I do to make money offline.

See, I began working with my younger cousin, Paul, about 2 1/2 months ago (right after I started this blog, in fact), recycling scrap / junk metal, which basically consists of several phases:

• collecting / finding / loading the scrap / junk metal items (e.g., A/C units, car parts, home appliances, insulated wire, window frames, whole cars, etc.), either from a few regular accounts we have, or by driving around looking for them otherwise;
• dismantling / disassembling those items and separating the remains into the various kinds of recyclable metals (i.e., aluminum, brass, copper, steel, etc.);
• reloading the different metals into our truck and taking it to the scrapyard where we sell it for a profit;
• repeat all of the above daily (i.e., 5 to 6 days a week, on average, as we are able).

Obviously, this type of work involves a lot of heavy lifting and/or repetitive movements throughout each day and is very tiresome in general. And it’s certainly NOT for everyone. Shoot, you might even say that it takes a special kind of person to do it.

But it has its own rewards that make it worthwhile (to me, anyway), such as, in my case, self-employment with NO boss, since Paul and I are partners and split everything equally. And we are really more like brothers than cousins (having grown up together) and enjoy each others company (for the most part, ha ha), which makes it more fun and/or thrilling (viz., similar to the feeling you might get while treasure hunting) and a little easier overall.

Plus, it’s potentially a very lucrative venture to make money; especially, with what the scrapyards are paying nowadays. It all depends on how much junk metal we get to recycle (the more, the better, of course), which is something we’re constantly working on (in one way or another) and is the most time consuming part of our job (for lack of a better word). So, the current gas prices aside, our overhead is pretty low right now, as we work out of our house / yard (i.e., his parent’s / my family’s home).

Not to mention that recycling (anything) is also good GREAT for the environment! And I like doing my part to conserve energy and keep the Earth beautiful for our future generations (btw, I have 2 wonderful sons, Michael [19] & Wesley [15], and they are my future). But getting paid to do it is even better! Right?

Believe it or not, that is not how I hurt myself, though…

No, I was actually messing around on my PC (you know, reading emails or something), when I felt the first PAIN (in my left shoulder) that started a chain reaction, of sorts, on my entire left side and quickly developed into an “injury” (for lack of a better term) that has nearly incapacitated me a few times and/or has been bothering me ever since.

And while I’m not certain just how it happened or exactly what caused it, I’m pretty sure that it has nothing to do with my line of work, because Paul was sick with the flu and we hadn’t been working for almost a week prior to it occurring. The only exception I can think of would be a “delayed reaction” of some kind, which is always a possibility, I guess; otherwise, my job can be safely eliminated as the source of the injury.

However, I did resume working when he got over the flu, which was only about 3 days later. So it hasn’t made my life easy since then, to say the least.

But I’m getting better, because I’ve been sleeping a LOT more than normal for me, taking it as easy as possible at work and using a shiatsu massage chair almost daily. And it seems to be healing up, slowly. Just pray for me to get well soon, if you’re so inclined? And thanks in advance to those of you who do — I really appreciate it!

OK, enough of the personal stuff… Let’s get down to business, shall we?!

First, as mentioned above, I haven’t gotten much done online this past month or so. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t get nothing accomplished, though.

Indeed, I actually managed to win a surf contest at the only “auto-surf” site that I currently use and highly recommend (i.e., AutoSurfTraffic.com; a.k.a. AST; hint, click on the name or alias to join for FREE)…

Seriously, here’s a screenshot of the email announcing such in their newsletter, as proof (my site name is highlighted in gray):

See, I told you, ha ha… And now I have a new title or honor to add to my list of accolades: 2K8 AST BIRTHDAY BASH SURFING KAHUNA! Wow, what a mouthful, LOL!

Incidentally, I invested the money I won ($25 bucks) into an AST upgrade (i.e., to “Associate” level for 8-months).

I also did a little “manual-surfing” this past month but, sadly, not enough to make a significant impact on my marketing efforts. So I won’t bother mentioning it any further.

Moreover, I still believe surfing the TE’s (both auto and manual) is worthwhile and will, personally, continue using them as much as possible and/or as my health / schedule allows. So stay tuned for further updates on my Traffic Exchange Study in upcoming Monthly Surf Reports, K? Cool!..

Next, let’s talk about Google Analytics for a moment…

Man, I love Google and all, but I’m honestly still quite baffled by Google Analytics and everything it includes (for FREE, btw). And, while I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, I’m certainly not the dimmest! So this is a little discouraging indeed…

For example, according to my NetAudioAds (a.k.a. Pay-Per-Play Ads) stats, I’ve gotten 4 more referrals since last month’s surf report (i.e., I had 6 referrals previously and now I have 10), as seen in the following screenshot:

But, according to the Google Analytics’ “Site Overlay” feature, I haven’t had any applicable clicks on my only landing page for NetAudioAds over the past month, as seen in the following screenshot:

Note: There are 2 “sign-up” links on the website in the image above (i.e., 1 at far-mid-right, adjacent to the Google popover and 1 at bottom-right, in the “Sign-up Now… FREE!” box) and neither 1 has received any clicks as shown.

Now do you see my dilemma? And I really don’t know what to think about this, either. Especially, since I’m having similar results on other landing pages for different opportunities that I recommend and/or promote.

Looks like I’m just gonna have to keep working with and studying Google Analytics to figure out why I’m not showing any clicks received and how to fix it.

Well, that about wraps it up for this month’s surf report…

In closing, I just wanna thank you for visiting my blog and reading this post, and I sincerely hope that you found it helpful in some way or, at least, amusing.

Take Care & God Bless!

Michael Brock

P.S. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that I plan on posting future Monthly Surf Reports on or about the first of each month, since they really cover the previous month’s relative activity and/or findings.