I made a short video to explain to you how my new SEO ranking service works. Check it out below.

Hey there,

John here. You probably signed up for my list from X or from some of my tools.

I’m still cooking on my Facebook pages and I’ve launched a new product for ranking in Google.

Increase Your Google Rankings in as Little as 48 Hours

Smash your rankings

If you don’t know, Google uses Chrome data in its ranking algorithm. I’ve been experimenting with ideas for manipulating Google’s user signals, and I found one that works.

It works by simulating your website going viral. By sending a quick burst of traffic, Google picks up on these user signals and shoots your pages up the SERPs. It sounds simple, but there is more to it.

It works best for sites that are ranking in the top 3 pages of Google, but I have seen pages outside of the top 10 pages move up, too. Parasites worked very well, also.

Check out this example:

You’ll see that the first numbered column is the original rank. The second column is the ranking after running Traffic Smash. Some keywords that were already ranking increased, and many keywords that were not ranking shot up to the first 1-2 pages!

You’ll want to jump on this tactic now, before Google closes this loophole.

Plus, I’ve created an exclusive discount for members of this email list.

Use this coupon code to get 20% off: trafficalchemy

Facebook Pages Update

Twitter tweet

My largest Facebook page is doing pretty well heading into the lowest-paying two weeks of the year for the ad industry. I’m testing different posting frequencies, ranging from 8 to 60 posts per day. I’m trying to figure out what the right cadence is. Most people seem to say once per hour, but I think I am seeing better results posting more frequently.

$2k per month isn’t bad for about 1-2 hours worth of work

The holiday season is when ad spending really takes off. So, I have been running Facebook Page Like ads to grow the page as we head into that. I’d like to grow the page to about 250k followers by mid-November. I’m paying 2-5 cents per like, so that would be an investment of about $3,000 that I hope to make back in November and December.

I’ve add a net of 52k followers in about the past 6 weeks

I only spend 1-2 hours per week because I've built an internal tool that generates images, writes Facebook posts, and schedules them with just a few clicks (yes even 50 per day). I even have a viral news page that is entirely automated that does all of that and makes a WordPress post and links to that post in the first comment.

I’m all about automation. $2k per month is not where I want to be, but it is nice for the amount of work it’s taking me.

Pinterest Update

I haven’t been focusing a lot on Pinterest lately because my sites were removed from Journey by Mediavine for using AI content.

Friends don’t let friends join Mediavine…

I personally think Mediavine is crazy. I used to work with the largest advertisers in the world at Meta. Not once did anyone ask if their ads were being shown next to AI content. The advertisers simply do not care if the ads perform. There is nothing that indicates AI content performs worse than human content from the display ad side.

My hunch is that the group of Mediavine creators (The Facebook Recipe Karens™️ as I refer to them) is bugging Mediavine so much that they had to do something about it.

I tried to move some of the sites to Ezoic, but their approval process is surprisingly more difficult and obtuse than Journey’s! So none of the sites were approved. I did get some of them on AdSense, but AdSense doesn’t pay much.

Pinterest is still driving traffic to my sites, I’m just not monetizing it at the moment. I’ve switched to posting a lot of links to my AI recipe generator tool. I’m considering creating a mobile app to monetize the website through app installs. Similar to what this app is doing.

Twitter tweet

If you’re interested in seeing the types of sites that Journey by Mediavine is approving right now, try my free tool.

Quote of the Week

Just keep stackin’ those bricks!

— John

Hey there,

It’s been a while since I’ve updated you on my experiments and progress. If you don’t remember, you probably signed up for my newsletter from my Journey Explorer Tool. I send infrequent emails about the online money-making activities I’m working on.

Hit a Goal with Facebook Content Monetization

I finally hit $1k in June of this year!

I have three pages in the Facebook Content Monetization program. This program pays you to post to your Facebook page. This program replaces the previous Facebook Bonus Program.

Facebook had demonetized my reels and videos. This was likely a mistake by their algorithm. They started automatically reversing this ban, and now I can earn from reels again.

I started out manually posting content, and I grew my following to 100k likes on this page through Facebook page likes ads. I spent $0.02 - $0.05 per like, so it cost me a couple thousand to build this page up, but I hope to make that money back from monetization.

If you know me, I like to automate things if I can. It’s the only way I can scale without hiring. So for this page, I’ve automated the image, video, descriptions, and scheduling using a custom Python application.

At this point, Facebook is actually recommending that I post 276 posts per week. I’m really hammering this page with content at the moment, but the reach is looking good.

This time of the year is also one of the worst times to earn money from ads. There is a summer ad spend slump in June, and it’s the end of the quarter, so advertisers start to run out of budget. If this trend keeps up, the fall holiday season should be great.

Other Things I am Working On

I didn’t want to make this email too long, so here are a few other things I have going on.

• Vibe coding to the max - I’m pumping out a ton of websites, automations, and tools using AI coding tools like Cursor and Claude Code.

• Directory Websites - I built three directory websites a few months ago: 2 in the food niche and 1 in the health niche. I’m working on scaling these out with backlinks and a method that simulates a page going viral.

• Other Facebook pages - The two other Facebook pages that are monetized are not earning much. I’ve taken one that is in the viral news space and fully automated it. I gather ideas from a few other pages, create my own version of the article for WordPress, and then remix the image to make it unique. I post these to the Facebook page, along with a unique description and a link in the comments. This is starting to drive engagement, monetization, and traffic to my website (which I hope to monetize with display ads soon).

• Content Goblin - This is my AI Content Generation tool that is used by a lot of Pinterest creators. I’m adding new features and plan to expand beyond Pinterest and into SEO and Facebook. I’ve recently added Recipe Roundups, Pin Editing, and a pretty sweet Infographic Generator. I also managed to secure ContentGoblin.com to help protect the brand.

• Pinterest WordPress Plugin - I’m working with a partner to develop a WordPress plugin for Pinterest users. This won’t only be another Pin button plugin, but it will have some advanced features that none of the other plugins have at the moment. More on this soon.

I have dozens of projects I am working on. I’ll try to update more frequently and give more details on how I do these things. I’ll share a couple of the sites so you can see real-world examples.

Latest Video

I’m really slacking on YouTube lately, but here is the last video I posted about vibe coding my directory websites.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

— John

What’s up, everyone? Welcome back to Traffic Alchemy, where I share my attempts to build and monetize websites, apps, and social media pages. I’ve been on an extended hiatus, but I plan to start building in public again.

Reminder: Most of you joined this list by using one of my free tools.

New Video: Let’s try to vibe code our way to $10k per month

I released a new video about my attempts to vibe code some websites and try to grow the portfolio to $10k per month. This is the first video I plan to do on this topic in a series.

If you don’t know, vibe coding is using AI coding tools to essentially do everything needed to launch a website or app.

Monetizing Facebook Pages

I’ve been building a few Facebook pages over the past seven months or so. One way to monetize Facebook is to try to get invited to the Content Monetization program, which has replaced the previous Bonus Program. The bonus program ends on August 31st, 2025.

You can also double-dip on monetization by building out a website with display ads and driving traffic to it from Facebook.

I managed to get three pages invited to Content Monetization. I had one page taking off with over 100k followers and earning $60 per day after starting, but then Facebook demonetized my reels for “unoriginal content.” That’s BS because I created the content! Now it’s down to a few dollars per day.

I appealed the decision, and Facebook denied that appeal. So, I have to stop focusing on reels, which were crushing it, and focus on images and posts.

The other two pages are making pennies at the moment, but I will try to grow them. I decided to partner with someone to manage one of the struggling pages. That struggling page also has 100k followers, but I haven’t been able to figure out what type of content they like. Let’s see if this firm that specializes in Facebook pages can do better than I can.

I am lazy on the pages I run. I try to automate the entire process to the point that I have to click a few buttons per month, and then it’s hands-off. It’s working for the main pages, but I need to figure out the others. I could probably talk about the automation process in the future.

Rap quote of the week

Okay, if you don’t know, I’m a hip-hop fan. I know many of you might not be into rap, but I think I will start closing each email with a rap lyric. I find much of the subject matter in the songs to be very motivational and to have entrepreneurial undertones.

That’s it for this week, thanks for reading. Feel free to reply if you have any questions.

- John

Finding the right snack can be challenging when you're following a keto diet. But don’t worry—this guide to keto snack recipes and ideas has you covered! Whether you're craving something crunchy, sweet, or savory, these healthy keto snacks will keep you satisfied while staying low carb and high fat.

Best Keto Snacks for Any Time of Day

Tillamook Smoked Sausages: Ideal Keto Snack On-the-Go

Tillamook Country Smoker Keto Friendly Zero Sugar Smoked Sausages offer a great keto snack option with zero grams of sugar and total carbs. Packed with 9 grams of protein per serving, these sausages provide the fat and protein balance essential for keeping hunger at bay during busy days. Crafted from premium beef and pork, they offer a satisfying smoky flavor, perfect for keto snacks on the go.

Pork King Good Pork Rinds: Crunchy and Carb-Free

Looking for easy keto snacks with a satisfying crunch? Pork King Good Pork Rinds are an excellent choice, providing 32 grams of protein and zero carbs per bag. Available in delicious keto-friendly flavors like White Cheddar and Pizza, these pork rinds offer an ideal substitute for traditional high-carb snack foods, keeping you within your daily carb limit.

Jack Link's Bacon Jerky: Protein-Packed Keto Snack

Jack Link’s Hickory Smoked Bacon Jerky is a tasty keto-friendly snack that fits seamlessly into a ketogenic diet. Offering 11 grams of protein per serving, this snack is made with 100% real bacon and contains no added sugar, helping you reduce your carb intake without sacrificing taste.

Mrs. Cubbison’s Cheese Crisps: A Flavorful Low-Carb Snack

These crunchy parmesan Cheese Crisps from Mrs. Cubbison’s contain just one ingredient—100% real parmesan cheese. Gluten-free and keto-friendly, these crisps offer a delicious way to enhance your keto meal plan or enjoy them alone as a low-carb snack option.

Atkins Keto Cookies & Crème Clusters: A Sweet Keto-Friendly Treat

Satisfy your sweet tooth with Atkins Keto Cookies & Crème Clusters. With just 1 gram of net carbs per serving, these tasty keto snacks include high fiber content to keep you full. Individually wrapped, they're perfect as keto snacks on the go, helping you stay on track.

Atkins Chocolate Crème Protein Wafer Crisps: Delightful Keto Snack

Atkins Chocolate Crème Protein Wafer Crisps deliver 10 grams of protein and just 4 grams of net carbs per serving. Ideal for maintaining ketosis, these wafers are delicious keto snacks that fit easily into any keto diet plan, perfect for busy days or post-workout boosts.

Ratio Soft Baked Bars Chocolate Brownie: Low-Carb Indulgence

Ratio Soft Baked Bars in Chocolate Brownie flavor provide a satisfying, keto-friendly snack with only 2 grams of net carbs per serving. Made from almond flour, crunchy pecans, and real chocolate, these bars offer healthy fats and protein, keeping cravings satisfied and your carb intake in check.

Easy Keto Snacks to Include in Your Keto Meal Plan

• Fat Bombs: High fat, easy keto treats made with ingredients like peanut butter, almond butter, cream cheese, and keto-friendly sweeteners.

• Zucchini Chips: A great keto alternative to potato chips, low in carbs and full of flavor.

• Boiled Eggs: Packed with fat and protein, boiled eggs are nutritious and easy keto snacks.

• Keto Smoothies: Blend avocado, strawberry, or raspberry with almond milk and healthy fats for quick and tasty keto-friendly smoothies.

• Keto Crackers: Low carb, crunchy snacks perfect for pairing with cheese or cream cheese.

• Nuts and Seeds: Whole foods like almonds, pecans, and pumpkin seeds make healthy keto snacks that are low in net carbs.

By choosing delicious keto snacks like these, you'll easily fit tasty options into your ketogenic diet, helping you maintain ketosis and keep hunger at bay while enjoying your favorite foods.

In 2025, as AI-generated content dominates online writing, tools designed to detect AI-written text have become crucial. This honest review explores Undetectable.ai, a leading AI humanizer promising to bypass AI detectors by making your content appear human-like.

What is Undetectable AI?

Undetectable.ai is an advanced AI tool specifically created to paraphrase and humanize content generated by models like ChatGPT, making the text appear genuinely human-written. It's designed for content creators seeking to publish high-quality articles without getting flagged by popular AI detection tools like GPTZero, Originality.ai, and Winston AI.

Testing Process for Undetectable.ai

To offer an authentic review for 2025, we rigorously tested Undetectable.ai. We input several pieces of AI-generated text, checking outputs with major detectors such as Originality.ai, GPTZero, Copyleaks, and ZeroGPT.

Does Undetectable.ai Work?

Our findings indicate that Undetectable AI actually excels in bypassing AI detection. The AI-written text we submitted, originally flagged as "likely AI-generated," consistently passed checks post-processing through Undetectable.ai. Tools like Originality.ai and GPTZero failed to detect AI, marking the rewritten content as highly original and human-like.

Undetectable AI Worth It? Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

• Effectively humanizes AI text.

• Successfully bypasses AI detectors.

• Enhances content readability significantly.

• Offers a free trial to evaluate before purchasing.

Disadvantages of Undetectable AI

• Occasional unnatural phrasing requires minor edits.

• The free version has limited capabilities.

Undetectable.ai vs. Competitors

When compared to other tools like Originality.ai, Undetectable.ai demonstrates superior performance in making AI-generated content pass detection checks. It stands out as the best AI humanizer tool for content creation in 2025, particularly valuable for content at scale.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Undetectable AI Free?

Undetectable.ai offers a free trial, allowing you to test the service before fully committing.

How Do I Make AI Non-Detectable?

Use an AI paraphrasing tool like Undetectable.ai, which humanizes AI-generated content to effectively bypass AI detection.

Why Are People Interested in Undetectable.AI?

Many writers and businesses use AI but need their content to pass AI detection tools. Undetectable.ai allows them to publish confidently without detection worries.

Undetectable.ai Alternative

Alternatives include Winston AI and Originality.ai, though Undetectable.ai consistently provides higher success rates in bypassing detectors.

Final Thoughts: Is Undetectable AI Worth It?

This honest review confirms that Undetectable.ai effectively achieves its claim to make AI-written text undetectable. It's an essential AI tool for anyone regularly publishing content, especially as AI detection becomes increasingly sophisticated. Despite minor disadvantages, its ability to consistently bypass AI content detectors makes Undetectable.ai worth considering seriously in 2025.

Vibe coding is a new kind of coding introduced by AI researcher Andrej Karpathy in 2025. It leverages AI-assisted coding tools to allow users, even those who aren't traditional programmers, to write code and build software simply by expressing ideas or goals in plain language. This revolutionary approach is gaining popularity, particularly with platforms like Replit, changing the landscape of software development.

How Does Vibe Coding Work?

AI, Prompts, and Vibes

In traditional coding, a developer writes every line of code manually. Vibe coding flips this around—using AI coding tools such as Cursor or Replit, a user describes what they want (the "vibes") as a prompt. The AI then generates the actual code. This process is iterative: you see stuff, say stuff, and run stuff until it mostly works. Karpathy humorously describes this as coding without needing to remember that the code even exists.

AI Tools like Cursor and Replit

Tools like Cursor provide a coding assistant called Cursor Composer, allowing users to interact with the AI model directly. Users can easily debug, add features, or even make random changes until it goes away if encountering a stubborn bug.

Similarly, Replit integrates AI deeply, enabling users to vibe code projects rapidly—perfect for quick prototypes or functional apps without extensive manual coding.

Benefits of AI-Assisted Coding

Fast Prototyping

With AI-generated code, users can quickly turn ideas into working code, making it ideal for small projects or building a project or webapp without significant coding knowledge.

Accessibility

Vibe coding makes software engineering accessible. Even users lazy to find documentation or those new to programming languages can create functional software with ease.

Enhanced Creativity

Users can fully give themselves to creativity, letting the AI handle repetitive tasks. The approach allows software developers to focus on innovation, design, and user experience.

Challenges of Using Vibe Coding

Maintainability Concerns

Critics, including outlets like Ars Technica, warn that heavy reliance on AI-generated code might lead to issues in understanding or maintaining the code. What does maintainability mean when AI can completely rewrite the software in every iteration?

Quality and Bugs

Sometimes LLMs (Large Language Models) produce errors or suboptimal solutions. Users may find themselves trying to work around it or ask repeatedly for corrections.

Who are the Vibe Coders?

Vibe coders range from experienced programmers testing new workflows to beginners creating their first app. They embrace AI programming, leveraging tools to produce applications rapidly and efficiently. But, are people actually hiring vibe coders for critical infrastructure? Currently, professional environments cautiously incorporate vibe coding mainly for non-critical tasks.

FAQs

Is vibe coding free?
Basic tools are available freely, though advanced features may have costs.

Is vibe coding real?
Yes, it is actively used in modern software development.

What vibe coding?
A method of coding by describing your intention to an AI that generates the actual code.

Is vibe coding bad?
No, but caution is advised for large, critical projects.

Does vibe coding work?
Generally yes, especially for quick prototypes and simple applications.

Is vibe coding good?
It’s excellent for creativity, speed, and accessibility but less suitable for complex systems.

Is vibe coding the future?
Likely a significant part of it, especially as AI coding assistant tools improve.

Why vibe coding is not my future?
If you prefer full manual control or are concerned about AI dependency, it may not suit you.

Coding energy?
It's a slang term capturing the intuitive, conversational coding style of vibe coding.

Will we surrender our craft entirely?
Not entirely; humans will likely always guide, oversee, and innovate.

What happens when the AI can’t solve the problem?
Human oversight and traditional coding skills become essential.

Will the future of software development run on vibes?
AI-assisted methods will certainly shape the future significantly, though traditional coding will persist in some areas.

In conclusion, vibe coding is a transformative shift, enabling faster, more accessible, and creative ways to build and deploy software, reflecting how profoundly coding agents are changing modern development practices.

Looking for a Pinterest pin generator to effortlessly create eye-catching, visually appealing pins? Content Goblin, an AI-powered Pinterest pin generator, helps you automate your Pinterest marketing strategy, saving you time and helping you grow on Pinterest faster.

Why Use an AI Pinterest Pin Generator?

Creating engaging Pinterest pins manually can take hours. Content Goblin's AI-powered Pinterest pin generator allows marketers and content creators to generate pins in seconds, maintain a consistent posting schedule, and drive more traffic from Pinterest.

Automate Your Pinterest Marketing

Pinterest users expect visually appealing pins that stand out. With Content Goblin, you can automate pin designs without needing advanced design skills. The AI Pinterest pin maker provides customizable templates and stunning pin designs that attract more clicks.

Create Eye-Catching Pinterest Pins in Seconds

Want to generate multiple Pinterest pins effortlessly? Content Goblin lets you:

• Generate pins using AI-powered tools

• Customize Pinterest pin templates easily

• Automate your Pinterest posts weeks in advance

Visually Appealing Pins with No Design Skills Needed

Forget spending hours on Canva or Adobe. Content Goblin's Pinterest pin generator makes creating stunning Pinterest pins easy. Simply choose your preferred template, and the AI tool will handle the rest, including generating engaging descriptions, titles, and key details.

Pinterest Automation That Works

Pinterest marketing requires consistency. The automated Pinterest pin generator from Content Goblin helps you maintain a consistent presence on your Pinterest boards, allowing you to focus more on strategy rather than content creation.

Free Pinterest Pin Generator

Curious to see how you can make your social media management easier? Try Content Goblin’s Pinterest pin maker today. Generate pins, and see how easily you can customize and create visually appealing content.

FAQs About AI Pinterest Pin Generators

Can AI create Pinterest pins?

Yes, AI-powered Pinterest pin generators like Content Goblin create pins using advanced AI technology, ensuring they are visually appealing and optimized for Pinterest SEO.

Is a pin generator Pinterest approved?

Yes, pins generated using Content Goblin adhere to Pinterest's guidelines and best practices.

Can I upload AI-generated images to Pinterest?

Absolutely. Pinterest supports AI-generated images, allowing seamless uploads directly from Content Goblin.

Do I need design skills to use the Pin Generator?

No design skills are needed! Content Goblin's easy-to-use templates and AI-driven creation process make professional-quality pins accessible to everyone.

Are the design templates in the Pin Maker customizable?

Yes, you can fully customize templates to match your style and message.

What is the best time to post on Pinterest?

The best time to post on Pinterest varies, but generally, evenings and weekends see the highest engagement. Content Goblin helps automate pin scheduling to maximize visibility during peak hours.

Can I create pins in different sizes with the Pin Maker?

Yes, Content Goblin provides options to create pins in multiple sizes optimized for Pinterest.

Start Growing on Pinterest Today

Content Goblin’s AI-powered Pinterest pin generator is your go-to Pinterest marketing solution for creating scroll-stopping pins effortlessly. Try it free today, generate Pinterest content easily, and watch your Pinterest engagement soar!

So, there I was, remodeling my basement, cutting drywall, when my razor knife slipped. One second, I’m measuring twice; the next, I’m down a piece of my finger.

Next, you know I’m running around the house screaming. My wife, who was at a work meeting, came out to yell at me for yelling, and then she realized what was going on.

The combination of adrenalin and the fact that I cut so deep the nerves were gone made the finger more tingly than painful. It was a weird experience.

Spoiler: I went to the emergency room, but they couldn’t reattach it.

What does this have to do with anything? Well, it got me thinking about the parallels between that slip-up and my attempts to make money from websites, apps, and social media.

Learning to Cut Things Off

One thing I often struggle with is the sunk cost fallacy. Basically, I’ve had projects that I invested so much time into that it was tough for me to recognize that it was time to give up.

Often, we need to just “cut off” a project to purge it from our brains and open the thought cycles for other ideas.

One project I was committed to that I could not make work was a programmatic site in the keto diet space. It took me far longer to let it go than it should have.

Had I still been focusing on that, I might not have seen the opportunity to create my AI content generator.

My Newest Project: Facebook Page Scheduler

My newest project is a scheduler for Facebook pages. It’s free, and it allows you to create text, link, image, native FB text on background color, and post the first comment.

The first comment part was the main reason I created it. It takes too many steps for me to do it in Facebook’s business manager. Some tools charge a premium for this type of functionality.

I’ll keep it free for now, but I may try to monetize it if it picks up any traction, but that’s TBD. The ideas that come to mind are:

• Display ads

• Driving affiliate offers

• Creating a full-fledged social media scheduling tool

• Create a Facebook AI content generator (or adding it to Content Goblin)

My Free Trial Experiment Goes Wrong

About a month ago, I offered a free Content Goblin trial to new users. Users who signed up were given 200 free credits to try the tool.

At first, it seemed like a massive success. Then, all of a sudden, I got an enormous spike in paid sign-ups. Almost $8,000 worth in 1 day! We average between $200 and $300 daily, meaning this was a significant anomaly.

It also turns out that someone signed up for my affiliate network and then sent through almost $10k worth of fraud charges. I ended up having to refund all the charges. Then, the scammer had the nerve to ask me to pay them after I banned their affiliate account.

After solving that issue, I noticed we have several thousand new free trial accounts using fake email addresses.

I spent some time fighting this using various tactics, but I was still getting hit with about 60 scammer accounts per day.

I finally decided that the effort to fight the abuse was not worth the reward. I had to “cut off” the free trial program.

Unfortunately, this means people genuinely interested in trying the app can no longer do it for free, but it’s my only solution.

I also had to do a mass ban on all free trial accounts to prevent these people from draining thousands of dollars in AI credits.

Running a software business has been interesting, to say the least.

-John

P.S. It’s hard for me to type without my left pointer finger 😅

Hey there, many of you are new to Traffic Alchemy and probably joined to try my Journey Explorer tool. I share about my experience trying to make money online using content sites, social media, and apps.

Note: I intended to send this to you all on Traffic Alchemy, but accidentally sent this email to my Content Goblin mailing list. If you are on both lists I appologize for the duplicate content.

I’m happy to announce that I was fired last Monday!

Why on earth would someone be happy about being fired?

If you don’t know, I have been working long days of 8-10 hours at my job and then working on my business until bed, plus about 20 hours over the weekend. It’s been kind of a grind.

On Monday I was let go from my job at Meta with a few thousand others. To be honest, my reaction is somewhat relief. It’s actually a decent situation that will give me some time to focus on what I really want to do.

The only part I don’t like is that they labeled us “low performers” in the media. I’m not going to let any company label me as a low performer. Not happening. I’ve never held that label in 20+ years of my career.

What I did the first week

This first week I have been super productive with taking care of myself and building my business. I could have sulked, but I decided that was pointless.

Here is what I achieved this week:

❤️ Spent quality time playing with my son on Monday.
💪 Hit the gym every single day.
🥩 Stuck to my diet every single day.
🧊 Cold plunged every single day.
🚀 Launched 2 new features to contentgoblin.ai
🍽️ Launched my programmatic SEO site freeairecipegenerator.com.
🤖 Transferred a tool I bought to my server aitohumanizetextconverter.com.
▶️ Published a couple hundred AI avatar videos to YouTube for an experiment.

I feel like this is pretty good for a low performer if I am being honest.

My plans going forward

I have a few months to figure things out. My ultimate goal here is to not have to return to the workforce. I was running a marathon before. Now, I’m on a full-out sprint. I’m going to grind as hard as I can for the next 2 months or so and see where that takes me.

I do have a vacation to Jamaica planned with my family in about 2 weeks. I’m hoping it gives me a little bit of a break, but I will still have to support my apps while I am there.

I gave up drinking 307 days ago, which was my main activity when I did these all-inclusive trips. I guess these will become health retreats now.

When I return, I’m going back into the hustle of adding more and more features to my SaaS, and I’ve had a ton of ideas on the back burner that I now have time to work on. I was able to launch my last idea in about 10 hours total using AI coding tools. This would have taken me several weeks in the past!

Another note: I’ve noticed that I am not sure how to relax anymore. My idea of fun is working on another side project for a few days. I don’t really do anything else. I don’t even watch any shows. I can’t do any mind-numbing entertainment anymore. I have to be actively involved in whatever I am doing. I do take a break every Sunday morning to watch my son play hockey, which I absolutely love.

I’m also trying to do some physical work by remodeling my basement and the bathroom down there by myself. It helps get me away from the screen for a little bit. I’ve done 3 bathrooms so far and they turned out decent.

Try my tools

Shameless plug at the end here. If you’re interested in what I am building, you can:

• Try Content Goblin for free now!

• See the other tools I’ve built here.

• Try the best new AI recipe generator too.

Wishing you all the best! - John

I wanted to share something interesting my friends Lindsay and Tony are doing with website sponsorships. They have this system that's helping niche site owners tap into a revenue stream most of us haven't considered.

You know how every YouTube video nowadays has those sponsored segments? Here's what's fascinating - these same brands are actively looking for website partnerships, but most site owners don't realize they can position their sites as smart alternatives to those expensive video sponsorships.

Lindsay developed something called the S.P.O.N.S.O.R Method™, and the results are pretty impressive. She's generated over $450,000 for her own site, and her clients have earned millions. The best part? It's mostly just sending a few strategic emails - no complicated processes needed.

Here's what caught my attention:

• Almost everything happens through email (98% of sponsors prefer it)

• There's apparently a clever way to use the sponsor's own marketing budget (involves some smart post boosting - Lindsay explains the details in the course)

• You don't need massive traffic (only about 700 views per day)

One of their members, Jon Dykstra, landed a $7,200 sponsorship in just 30 days using this method. Tony has already generated five figures using these techniques.

This could be perfect if:

• You want a new revenue stream without depending on traffic

• You need more stable income when traffic fluctuates

• Your traffic is declining but still above 700/day

The course includes 30 days of free access to the Maverick forums where Lindsay personally reviews ideas, plus a live Q&A session after 30 days with Lindsay and Tony.

Here's the crucial part: you only get one shot with sponsors. Do it wrong, and you might burn that bridge forever. That's why having a proven system matters so much.

Lindsay and Tony are committed to helping everyone succeed through the forums and Q&A sessions. They're focused on helping people land their first sponsor.

Want to learn more about Pitch & Profit? Click here

If you weren’t aware, I started a challenge to grow a dead SEO site to $3k monthly in 2025.

I started growing the site in the first few days of 2025. Below, I’ll walk you through my method. This entire process may have taken me 4-6 hours over a few days.

Results so Far

I will share updates in the future, but it’s far too early to see results right now. It will take some time before the pins I created over the past week start to see traction.

Analyzing and Planning

I didn't do any analysis or planning at this stage. Typically, I would start with PinClicks to get a good idea of which interests and keywords to target. I sometimes also check the Pinterest trends tool.

I had a pretty good idea for some general recipes related to this niche, and I wanted to bias towards action early on. So, I just went with my gut on these. I hope this pays off.

I’ll talk about how I use PinClicks and why it is essential in future updates.

I did check to see if any of my pins were flagged using flaggedpins.com. This tool shows you any pins that were flagged and might be causing issues with your account. Luckily, I had no flagged pins.

Creating the Content

An example of some of the pin images from Content Goblin.

I used Content Goblin for all the content creation, and it was way too easy. I cranked out 20 recipes in no time. Then, I took those recipes, dropped them into the listicle tool, and used the custom outline option to create a round-up article of all the recipes with internal links.

Then, I used Content Goblin's newest feature: Pin Generation. I recently added this feature to the tool and am very happy with the results. I haven’t seen pins look this good from any other tool. I generated about 800 pin images using Content Goblin.

Scheduling Pins

I scheduled a lot of pins. I will increase the number of pins per day over time.

I’ve previously mentioned that I use two scheduling tools: BlogToPin and Pin Generator. I will use BlogToPin in the future to automate my pinning for the month, but for now, I used Pin Generator’s more manual approach.

I took each of the 21 links and put them into Pin Generator. Pin Generator allows you to make custom pin templates. I created a 9:16 template that is only the image so that it fits the pins I generate. I then uploaded the pin images for each URL that Content Goblin generated.

I use the AI tool in Pin Generator to generate unique titles and descriptions for each pin. I seed the tool with keywords from the top of my head, then see what it returns and select the best ones. The tool also gives you some volume estimates.

Sometimes, I’m not happy with the AI-generated titles, so I go in and edit them. I often do this with the round-up articles because I like to keep a number in the title. For example, it might generate “Delicious and health recipes for {niche},” but I used something along the lines of “25 Easy {niche} Recipes for 2025.” I’ll do some different variations on different pins.

I scheduled over 940 pins using Pin Generator. I used the smart shuffle option to ensure it did not post the same URL repeatedly. I started at 10 pins per day. I always modify the default posting window that Pin Generator uses to the entire day. By default, it has two tiny time windows. Once I increase the number of daily pins, I don’t like to flood Pinterest during these times, as I think that could trigger a spam flag.

Monetization

Journey is the best-paying ad network with a low traffic requirement

I initially thought this site was not on an ad network, so I would wait to apply until I could meet the requirements. However, I found that it is approved and using Google AdSense. Therefore, I will leave AdSense on until I can apply for a better-paying network. This site made a whopping $1.90 last year…

I installed the Grow plugin from Mediavine. This is necessary because the Journey by Mediavine ad network approves traffic captured by the Grow plugin. Once I have 10,000 monthly sessions, I’ll apply for Journey because it pays much better than AdSense. 

That’s all for this update, but stay tuned to see where this challenge goes next. If you want to create content optimized for Pinterest, check out my tool: Content Goblin. 

- John Ward

Hey everyone, it’s John here. As you know, I like to send updates on my work to earn income from websites and social media to the Traffic Alchemy community.

Today, I’m announcing my plan to grow a dead site into a Pinterest monster.

Why Pinterest?

As you may know, I shifted much of my focus to social media traffic after my SEO sites were destroyed. I like Pinterest because, at least for now, the algorithm seems more “fair” than others. With my Facebook pages, I need to build up a large following to get decent reach. With Google, you basically have to be Reddit to rank now, but Pinterest seems to give everyone a chance to get impressions.

The Site and Goals

The site is “established” in that it’s been around for a little over a year. It currently has 197 AI posts written with search engines in mind. The content is not optimized for Pinterest. The site is related to a specific type of healthy lifestyle.

Here is the traffic graph for the past year:

The slight uptick at the end is from a couple of pins.

As you can see, the site got 569 visitors over the past year. I’d call that dead. The site is not accepted into any ad network.

I won’t reveal the site yet, but I think I might in the future. I want to get some traction first before drawing any attention.

The Goals

I will set a goal that I think is achievable but still a stretch for a site with pretty much no traffic.

1. 10k impressions by March

2. Get accepted into an ad network like Journey by Mediavine by April

3. $300 per month in ad revenue by May

4. $1,000 per month in ad revenue by June

5. $3,000 in ad revenue by the end of the year

Like I said, I think this is achievable based on other results I am seeing, but it could totally fail. Plus, the internet world is unpredictable, so predicting how things may change is impossible.

How I Will Do This

I will use an approach that has worked for me for the past few months. The content will be AI-generated, including text, images, and pins.

• I will use Content Goblin for the AI content (this is a tool I created)

  • create listicle content for the niche

  • create recipes related to the niche

  • create pin images in bulk

• I’ll research the topics to post about using PinClicks

  • 30% discount code: PINPOINTTRAFFIC

• I will schedule pins using three different tools:

  • BlogToPin - to schedule posts for an entire month with a single click

  • Pin Generator - If I want to schedule specific bulk posts

  • Pinterest Idea Pins - to create some tools natively in Pinterest

I’ll focus primarily on recipe-type content because it fits the niche of the healthy lifestyle I am targeting, and recipes do very well on Pinterest.

Some people may question posting AI recipes without testing them, but I get excellent feedback with Content Goblin recipes:

👉👉 If you want to follow along, make sure you are part of the Traffic Alchemy Community.

Hey, everyone. It’s John here. Today, I’m very excited to announce the launch of the tool I have been working on: Content Goblin.

Content Goblin: Generate 20 sections with 20 images in about 20 seconds for 20 cents.

What is Content Goblin?

It’s a tool I’ve been working on to help scale the content creation process for image-heavy listicles.

I was spending all day generating images, adding headings, descriptive text, etc., when I decided there must be a better way. So, I created my own script to do that. I started generating content quickly and driving traffic to it from Pinterest and Facebook. I monetized the traffic using display ads. Things started working really well using this method.

So, I decided to create a simple tool for anyone to duplicate my process. That’s when the idea for Content Goblin came to me.

With Content Goblin, you can save hours. You can create full listicles in mere seconds.

If you want to learn more or try the tool, click the button below.

Hey Content Goblins, I sent a video last week showing Jesse Cuningham’s thoughts on my new aptly named tool: Content Goblin.

How I Automate Website Content Optimized for Pinterest and Facebook

Here’s my sneak peek at how Content Goblin works. You’ll see how to generate a 20-section listicle with 20 images in 20 seconds for 20 cents.

Ok. That thumbnail image is killing me, but I had to try it.

Why did I build Content Goblin?

Image-heavy listicle articles have always done well for me. I can use the images to generate traffic from social media sites like Pinterest and Facebook. Users stay on the page because of the listicle format and quality of content.

There are other listicle tools, but I couldn’t find one with the image quality I wanted, so I created Content Goblin.

For launch, Content Goblin will focus on listicles. I wanted to do one thing right before adding more functionality. I will be adding other tools as I receive feedback from users.

I have tons of ideas and scripts to automate most of my content and posting. Most of these could be added to Content Goblin as features.

How to get access to Content Goblin

I’m slowly opening up access to ensure everyone with access has a good experience.

You can head over to contentgoblin.ai and enter your email. You’ll be the first to know when I open registration up.

Hey there, Content Goblins! I have something to share with you. It’s a tool I’ve been working on for a while, and its name is quite fitting for you.

I haven’t been this excited for a very long time

Jesse Cunningham got early access to my new Content Goblin tool and is sharing how it completely changed his workflow for monetizing Pinterest traffic.

This tool is precisely what you need if you’re driving traffic from Pinterest or Facebook to listicle-style articles. If you want to start to monetize social traffic, this tool will give you an advantage over other creators.

Visual content does really well on social media. A solid strategy right now involves using a quality image, linking to a listicle on your website, and monetizing with display ads.

Content Goblin completely revolutionizes the process of generating images and listicles

Listicles are posts like “Top 10 Cocktails for Your New Year’s Eve Party.” They show a list of images of drinks with some text underneath. As I said, these do exceptionally well on social channels.

With this tool, you can:

• Generate 20 images

• With 20 descriptions

• In about 20 seconds

• for 20 cents

No more hiring a VA to sit in Midjourney all day generating images and hoping they come out decent.

Want access to Content Goblin?

I’m slowly rolling out access to ensure early users have the best experience possible. You can sign up here to get on the waitlist. If you sign up, you’ll get priority when new spots become available.

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Hi Content Goblins, welcome back to Traffic Alchemy, where I share tips on monetizing websites and social media pages. This week, I have a tip for increasing Amazon earnings by up to 25%, and I will dive into Pinterest’s earnings report.

Some of the links in this email are affiliate links. I make a small commission at no additional charge to you. I only promote products I use or like.

Make More Money with Amazon

I’m sure many of you have heard of the Amazon Associates program, but if you haven’t, it’s an easy way to make money by sharing Amazon product links. You get paid a commission on any purchase after the user clicks your link, not just the exact product you shared but any other product they may buy.

The good thing about Amazon Associates is that Amazon converts really well. In many countries, it’s one of the most trusted e-commerce sites, if not the most trusted.

The bad thing is that they’ve been reducing commission percentages for the past decade. It’s still a good opportunity, but not quite as lucrative as it has been.

That’s where Levanta comes in. Sellers need sales volume and reviews to rank higher on Amazon. Levanta connects sellers with creators to help drive sales, and therefore, more users are able to leave reviews.

The way it works is very similar to Amazon Associates. You link to a product, and if a sale happens, you make a commission. However, where Amazon might pay 1-4%, Levanta will pay up to 25%! Plus, that can be on top of what Amazon is already paying you. Levanta does only pay on the exact product, though, but you still earn regular Amazon commission for any other products purchased.

This is a simple way to increase your affiliate income via Amazon drastically. If you’re interested, sign up for Levanta today.

Pinterest Earnings Report Takeaways

Pinterest's quarterly earnings report was on November 7th. Since I generate much of my traffic from Pinterest, I wanted to analyze what the company's performance means to us creators.

• 📈 Earnings were up 18%, approaching nearly $1 billion at $898m and beating estimates.

• 📈 Global Monthly Active Users grew 11% to 537 million.

• 📈 Revenue per active user is also up.

  • $7 in US and Canada (+13%)

  • $1 for EU (+10%)

  • $0.14 for the rest of the world (+18%)

• 🤖 There was a mention of the AI personalization efforts to drive a better experience for users and advertisers.

• 🤑 Lower funnel ad tools are the fastest-growing part of Pinterest’s business.

• 🛍️ Investments in enhancing “shopability” through AI seem to be paying off.

Pinterest is positioning itself as a platform for inspiration, curation, and shopping, attracting more advertisers.

What does this mean for us? Pinterest is still a growing platform, and they are staying true to the promise of heavy product focus they made at Pinterest presents.

I believe there is still room for them to improve monetization at $7 ARPU. Facebook sees an ARPU of about $68! That means more ads and more opportunities for advertisers in the future.

The shift to using more AI could impact the visibility of our content as the feed becomes even more personalized. This could be a good or a bad thing for creators.

Pinterest has focused heavily on products this year. If you have a product business, it makes sense to advertise on Pinterest with lower funnel optimization. However, I still don’t have a strong strategy for using the product focus for sites monetized with ads. Maybe there is an affiliate play that can be a cross-over.

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The election results could impact you as a publisher

I don’t talk politics here, but the results of the US election might have an impact on you. With the change in leadership, the fate of Google’s anti-trust trial and potential break-up is now in question. This could impact anyone getting traffic from Google search, buying Google ads, or monetizing with Google AdSense. Read more here.

Traffic Alchemy is back with another email about trying to turn traffic into gold. But first, quick reminder of what we're about: I share my real experiments in building and monetizing websites and social pages.

The links in this email are usually affiliate links. I make a small commissions at no cost to you. I only recommend things I have used and liked.

It’s been a long time since I’ve sent an email. I apologize. To be honest I’m still recovering from hand surgery and I just wasn’t “feeling it.” I’m back now baby!

Facebook Page Growing

I've still been diving into social media, with Facebook and Pinterest being my primary interests at the moment. Have about 6 Facebook pages that I currently manage. Most pages have been slow to get reach, but one page started taking off.

Reach is looking good 🚀

4.5M reach is pretty good. You can see 3 peaks. The first, I had my biggest viral hit. The second two are when I reposted that same post. You can see that while not as large as the first spike, that same post still drove a lot of engagement the second and third times I posted it.

I did get two pages accepted into the Facebook bonus program. If you’re not familiar, this is a program where Meta basically pays you to post and keep people on their platforms. The two pages that did get invited have low engagement though, so the payouts have been nothing worth talking about.

Links on my Facebook posts are starting to drive some traffic

This page is a bit more risqué, so I don’t think it will get invited to the bonus program. My way to monetize this one is going to be to drive traffic off-site to my own website and try to monetize there. I will try to get approved for a display ad network soon, but with the content being iffy, I’m not sure if that will happen either. I have some other monetization ideas still.

I’m also building an email list for this site. I don’t have major plans for how I will use it, but conversions rates have been around 8% on popovers on the site.

What I do know is that if you can get traffic, there is almost always some way to monetize it.

Pinterest Traffic Down, Earnings Steady

If you’ve been following along, I have a Pinterest page that I’m testing. It’s mostly inspirational style content, which tends to do well on Pinterest. I realized recently that my impressions have been cut in half, which is impacting the number of outbound clicks that I see to my website.

The surprising thing is that earnings for the month are stable. This is is because my RPMs on Journey by Mediavine continue to increase. 🚀

Pinterest peaked at 180k impressions per day and dropped to 90k impression.

But these metrics are all increasing:

• Engagement rate is up 54% 📈

• Pin click rate is up 64% 📈

• Outbound click rate is up 117% 📈

This tells me that users are engaging with the content, which makes me think they like. However, Pinterest is not distributing the content to as many people. This is probably partially due to the Pinterest algorithm update that happened a few months ago.

I’m going to try to create some fresh content and optimize the keywords I target in the pin titles and descriptions with PinClicks. PinClicks is a tool that allows you to explore the interests on Pinterest, find top performing pins, and see the official annotations for the pins. Those annotations are likely added by humans and machines and are words that Pinterest recognizes. You can use them in your pins to optimize for Pinterest’s search engine.

PinClicks is the only tool that tracks rankings on Pinterest

Speaking of PinClicks, they recently released a Pinterest rank tracker. This is the first of it’s kind. I’m not aware of any software that tracks how your pins are performing. If you’ve ever done search engine optimization (SEO) work, then you know how valuable knowing this information can be.

If you want to give Pinclicks a try you can sign up here.

Tool Updates

If you don’t know, I sometimes release free tools on my website. Recently a popular YouTube channel by Jesse Cunningham mention the Journey By Mediavine Explorer tool that I created.

As a member of Traffic Alchemy, you get access to this tool. Though it may ask you to enter your email again.

The point of the tool is that you can see the types of sites that are being approved for Journey by Mediavine. You can examine the sites, find niches, and apply similar content strategies.

My thought is that if they were able to meet the requirements to join Journey, then they are good examples for those of you just starting out.

What’s Happening Next?

I plan to release a video about how you can put Pinterest pages on autopilot. You can create and schedule your posts with one click and be done for the month. You’re not going to want to miss this one.

Welcome new members of the Traffic Alchemy mailing list! In these emails, I talk about my experiments making money online. I’ve done everything from affiliate marketing, to SEO, to ad arbitrage, and most recently have been diving deep into social media.

^{Disclosure: I include affiliate links to products that I like and use. If you purchase from these links I earn a small commission.}

The Pinterest Experiment

Over the past few months I’ve been experimenting with driving traffic to a website from Pinterest. This site was specifically made for Pinterest and Facebook. It is not optimized in the way you would optimize a traditional SEO site to rank in Google.

I create this Pinterest account at the beginning of this year. I didn’t really post for the first few months. In June I decided to double down and start posting more content. That’s when I started to see results and realized that Pinterest is a numbers game for the most part.

It took some time to ramp up, but the outbound clicks continue to grow

Optimizing Content for Pinterest

I actually started posting some content in April to May, but as you can see in the chart, the traffic didn’t take off until June. I said it’s a numbers game and I do believe that to an extent, but there are clearly ways to optimize your content to perform well on Pinterest.

In June I started optimizing my Pins using PinClicks.

PinClicks allows you to analyze the best performing interests and pins. They also added a feature to track keyword rankings on Pinterest. Think of this like Google keyword trackers, but the first of its kind for Pinterest.

One of the things I like to do with this tool is find Pins that are performing well for the keyword I want to target. Then I copy the annotations for the top 5 or so pins.

Annotations are official entities that Pinterest adds to Pins to tell the system what the Pin is about. I imagine these are both machine generated and edit/added by human annotators.

I filter out the phrases that I don’t want and then have ChatGPT or PinGenerator use those phrases to generate my descriptions.

This allows me to have keyword rich pin descriptions and titles. Remember, Pinterest is a search engine at the core. We want to optimize for their search algorithm, which is different than Google.

How I’m Monetizing the Site

I’m currently monetizing the site with display ads and some affiliate offers from Amazon Associates and Levanta. Nothing to write home about on the affiliate front: I only earned $2.57 in the last 30 days.

However, Journey by Mediavine is proving to be a great potential earning source. I earned $308.41 in the last 30 days with an average RPM of $19.82.

The great thing about Journey is that the RPMS continue to increase. I’ve seen $30+ RPM days. I’ve never gotten more than $4-8 RPM on other any other ad networks that I have used.

I have heard of others getting up to $80 RPM on some of the premium ad networks though.

I also made a free tool that let’s you see sites that were recently added to Journey. This can give you an idea of the types of sites and the niches that are being approved by the program.

These numbers are not life changing, but they show that there is some potential if I keep trying to scale my Pinterest sites.

I’m not some kind of guru. I’m just a regular dude that tries to be real and not give you BS numbers. 

A Failed Pinterest Experiment

I’ve tried to use Pinterest ads to drive traffic to affiliate offers as an arbitrage tactic. So far, I am seeing very low conversion rate from Pinterest. I am using Amazon Associates and Levanta for this. The purchase occurs on Amazon for both of these programs.

Here is something I recently realized. Most Pinterest users use the mobile app and the mobile app has a built in browser. When a user clicks my affiliate link in the in-app browser, it opens Amazon, but they are probably not already logged in like they would be in their default browser of choice. Do you even remember you Amazon password?

I think this is crushing my conversion rates with Amazon. I have two potential options to try before giving up:

1. Target only desktop Pinterest users — My theory is that desktop users are using their browser of choice and they are likely already logged in to Amazon. This should make the conversion easier to capture.

2. Test a non-Amazon affiliate program — I tend to use Amazon Associates because it’s simple and converts well, but the payouts are also low. Levanta can make this better by paying up to 20% bonus on top of Amazon, but I think I should probably try an affiliate program that is not tied to Amazon to see how it converts.

Wait, Don’t Miss the Next Update!

You won’t want to miss the next email. I’m going to completely change the way you manage your Pinterest accounts by teaching you how to put them on autopilot with this amazing tool I found.