Interview with a Proxy Master

I recently sat down and conducted an interview with a friend of mine who is an expert as profiting massively from one of the most seemingly simple projects available on the internet: Proxies! In the interview, he explains exactly what he did to find such success, and offers his advice on what you can do to utilize proxies as a way to make money online. Enjoy!

1. Hello and thank you for the interview! Would you like to introduce yourself?

Thanks Michael, for the interview! My name is Leon (known as Zash on most forums). I got into websites and webmastering around two years ago (so I’m actually fairly new to the game!). I am a competitive swimmer, so when I’m not online or at school, chances are I am swimming countless laps at the pool. I also live in New York (not the city, but very close). Some of my proxies include Guard Tunnel and Unblock Facebook.

2. I know that you’re involved with a lot of proxies. Could you explain what a proxy is, exactly?

Proxies are programs that more or less act as a gateway to the Internet. Rather than access it through your own service, the proxy calls upon it and relays it back to you. There are several types of proxies – IP proxies and web proxies. I stick to web proxies, as IP proxies are totally beyond my knowledge.

3. What initially inspired you to begin doing work online?

I actually started with RuneScape. I hear about the game from my friend, and began playing it. After a while, I got into the game and frequented the RuneScape fansite Tip.It. I eventually became a big part of their forum. About a month after, I submitted an application as a moderator, but was declined because I was new. This made me upset, but of course I stayed. However, I was still very interested in “running” my own forum, so I made my first forum – Land of Guthix (RuneScape fansite).

It ran on Forumer, so I had very limited access. I progressed from phpBB 2 to IPB 3, and by making small HTML modifications and themes (they were horrible now that I look back!), I learned HTML and CSS. Eventually, I left because I wanted more access and moved to shared hosting. Of course, this was a huge step up for me since I didn’t know what FTP was. But I learned. And soon, I was making my own small web templates and websites, nothing big. I made forums, directories, blogs, templates – there was nothing I didn’t try. And that’s how I found proxies.

Note from Kovich: I actually started getting involved in online business from RuneScape as well. I started playing around with it, and desired to create a page and forum for my clan. One thing lead to another, when I eventually realized I could make similar online properties for all of my interests. My first real project was a forum that focused on intellectual discussion and debate, which I shutdown just recently due to a lack of audience. I now run a generalized discussion and debate forum.

4. What was your original inspiration to start working with proxies? Did any of it stem from the social and political benefits, or was it purely profit-based? How did you maintain motivation for your work?

I actually got my inspiration from the book Platinum Proxy Guide. I was at the moment looking around for a new type of site to make (when I’m bored, I tend to make sites). I found the author’s thread on DigitalPoint, and the “Make $700/month” caught my eye (yes, this was very possible back then with proxies :p). I studied the book, and launched Anonymode Proxy Network.

There was no social or political motivation, simply interest.

Note from Kovich: For those readers unfamiliar with the political and social benefits that proxies provide, I will fill you in. There are several countries (China, Iran, North Korea, etc.) that practice heavy internet repression and restriction, and do not allow their citizens free access to information. Many of these people utilize the proxies that we webmasters create to bypass those blockades.

5. At what point did you begin to receive a significant profit? Did you have to make any initial investments?

My profit was actually instant, and being impatient, that was huge for me. Of course, I had to invest in hosting and a domain name (only $20) as well as the guide ($27), but I made that back quickly and it only grew from there. Within two months I was making $100/month, something I could only imagine earlier.

6. Could you share your toolbox with us? What types of proxies do you make? (PHP, Glype, Zelune, etc.) Which advertising networks do you use?

I am using Glype at the moment, because it is still the best and most efficient software. I tried the others, I didn’t really like them. Glype is easily customizable and has all of the features I want. It’s recent history is worrying me however.

I have tried all of the networks – AdSense, AdBrite, GlobalInteractive, CANEP, Adversal, MediaShakers, Smowtion, and xTend Media. I currently use AdSense for the main page, and xTend Media for the proxified pages. AdBrite, CANEP, and MediaShakers I stopped using because of horrible earnings, GlobalInteractive actually emailed me one day and said I was no longer allowed because of my proxy. Adversal and Smowtion I just stopped using recently only because xTend Media surpassed them – they are still good networks.

7. You recently started a proxy hosting company, correct? Could you tell me a little more about that business? Was it difficult to start? What sort of server did you need? How do you promote your service?

I have been hosting my own proxies, so I know what kind of server proxies need. Lots of RAM is always important, definitely abundant bandwidth, and disk space isn’t as necessary. eAccelerator is always a plus.

After hosting client proxies for several months back, I recently decided to go public and open up my host, My Proxy Hosting. It was actually a site I wanted to in September, but decided against it. One of the reasons I opened it was because of the complete lack of competition. Most proxy hosts have gone under, the only ones remaining in my opinion are Tech Entrance and O2ProxyHosting. Tech Entrance is a little expensive in my opinion, but O2 is about equal to me. Of course, competition is good, no? I have no template on my site as a symbol that I want customers from good experiences and reviews, not a flashy template that can be uploaded by the average Joe in a matter of minutes. No promotion has been done outside of NetBuilders and DigitalPoint, either.

8. What were some of your most successful projects?

I’d say my two proxies are my most successful – one of the reasons I stay with them. Some might think that proxies earn nothing, but that’s only because they aren’t being original. I don’t use proxy lists. I don’t buy listings (except the occasional Proxy.org listing). And yet I still get more than 100k uniques per month on my two proxies.

I never did too well with forums, mostly because of my lack of patience. Same with a blog – I posted a bit and then got bored. Another one of the reasons I like proxies, after the initial setup there is little work.

And in regards to my proxy host, at the rate that it’s growing, soon enough it may just be my most successful project!

9. Have you ever had any negative experiences with either proxies, or the networks that advertise on them?

Actually, my experience has been very positive. To my amazement, not one complaint has reached me about my proxies.

The only negative experience with a network I had was with GlobalInteractive, who banned me because I had a proxy. They claimed that they only allowed proxies that country specified their ads. I wasn’t going to go through the effort for them. Luckily I only lost like $60. I see they’re no longer online anymore.

10. Was networking with other people at all helpful in this industry?

Yes, networking is very useful. I’ve gotten lots of advice from many proxy owners, in addition to link backs and free advertising. It’s always good to have a network, regardless of the industry.

11. If someone reading this has an interest in getting involved with proxies, what sort of advice would you offer them? Do you have any tips you picked up over time that you could give to a newbie?

The one thing that I can say is not to follow the crowd. People everyday are complaining about proxies dying and earnings going horribly down, but I am not seeing that. It’s because I experiment with new ways to get traffic, ways to advertise, and connect with my users (I actually run surveys occasionally that yield around 400 responses or so). Overall, I work hard on my proxies.

Toplists are not the way if you want to succeed. Toplists provide at most 100 visitors, and you’d be lucky to get a few cents from that. Stop wasting your time, and try doing some SEO. It’s a lot more permanent and gets you more visitors in the long run.

Also, don’t go for free templates on a long term proxy. They have been seen too many times, and users are blind to them. Learn some HTML, or get somebody else to make you a template. It’s not too tough.

Note from Kovich: If you’re interested in taking Zash’s advice and doing SEO, check out these:
How to Choose the Right SEO Keywords
Five SEO Tips to Increase Website Traffic
Understanding Organic SEO

12. Last but not least, has your business been growing, maintaining a steady pace, or declining? Do you have any plans to expand your work in the future? Any new projects coming up?

I will answer this on a per proxy basis. My newer proxy (and by new I mean September) Unblock Facebook has actually
surpassed and beat Guard Tunnel in terms of traffic and earning, while Guard Tunnel has been slowly declining. I think it is because I optimized Guard Tunnel for the keyword “unblock myspace”, and as MySpace dies out so will traffic from that keyword. Therefore, recently I have done SEO on Guard Tunnel for “unblock facebook” and it’s picking up traffic as it’s making its way to the top of the first page. Only time can tell, but so far this month’s earnings have been around 150% of last month’s!

I currently own 3 proxies that I care to acknowledge, and I don’t plan on making more. I do plan on making a different site called Voucher Freak, which will be a rewards-based website where you can fill out surveys to earn points. I have no ETA however, hopefully by the end of April.

Thanks for having me!