Making It with Jon Davids – Episode 218: "This Simple Website Pulls in Millions a Day (Steal the Strategy)"
Release Date: October 7, 2025
Host: Jon Davids
Guest: James Camp
Episode Overview
In this episode, Jon Davids is joined by internet entrepreneur and marketing strategist James Camp. Together, they analyze the simple yet highly effective business model behind injury.com, a lead generation site for Morgan & Morgan, America’s largest personal injury law firm. Using injury.com as a case study, Jon and James explore the mechanics of direct response marketing, premium domain economics, lead brokerage, scaling strategies, B2B sales challenges, and why entrepreneurs sometimes choose to leave tried-and-true methods in favor of riskier, potentially transformative ventures.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Deconstructing Injury.com: Simplicity and Effectiveness in Lead Generation
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Injury.com Site Walkthrough (01:00–06:00)
- A direct, minimalistic landing page with a headline like “Car Accident? We make filing an injury claim easy," star ratings, and a simple lead form.
- Heavy use of social proof via rotating news logos ("as seen on"), evoking a sense of legitimacy.
“All it is is direct response. It’s supposed to call you out: very specific person in a specific place.”
— James Camp (05:08) -
Premium Domain Power & Type-In Traffic
- The inherent value of memorable, one-word domains (e.g., injury.com, sex.com, business.com).
- Injury.com’s likely advantages in SEO, type-in traffic, and brand recall.
“You’re never going to lose your money on... injury.com. Someone’s going to buy injury.com always.”
— James Camp (07:16)
2. Lead Magnets, Lead Brokerage, and the Affiliate Model
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Lead Gen as the True Business
- Injury.com’s entire value is collecting leads. Morgan & Morgan could even operate purely as a lead broker, much like LendingTree.
- In regulated industries (legal), firms can refer cases and collect 20% commissions—a crucial differentiator for lawyers.
“Even if Morgan & Morgan didn’t exist, this site is super valuable just as a lead magnet.”
— Jon Davids (07:42)“So they have a whole referral network… they cherry-pick the best cases, they send everything else away, and they take 20% of whatever the settlement is because lawyers can do that.”
— Jon Davids (08:40) -
Affiliate and Referral Model Nuances (11:13–13:06)
- Many businesses make more as affiliates (with none of the fulfillment/service headaches) than the actual brand.
- “Pure profit” on referral cases for firms like Morgan & Morgan.
- Sometimes, the affiliate can earn more per sale than the company fulfilling the service.
“A lot of people later on realize, oh, maybe just being an affiliate is better. I make more than the actual business does on each sale, and I never have to speak to a customer ever again.”
— James Camp (12:22)
3. Scaling Lead Gen Strategies to Billion-Dollar Levels
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It’s About the Backend (15:03–16:50)
- The economics of any lead gen operation are dictated by how valuable the backend product/service is.
- The difference between sending leads for small consumer products versus high-value financial services.
“If your backend is I’m selling lemonade, you’re going to make a certain amount of money. If your backend is… settling lawsuits, you’re going to make much more.”
— Jon Davids (15:04) -
Vertical Niches, Targeted Funnel Building, and Customer Valuation (16:49–23:45)
- Riches are in the niches: the tighter the audience (e.g., women over 45 experiencing menopause), the more lucrative the opportunity.
- Affiliate sites for high-value financial products (credit cards, insurance, mortgages) vastly outperform lower-value categories (makeup, CPG).
- Examples: The Points Guy (credit card affiliate, $35M/year), Red Ventures ($1B+ revenue, multiple affiliate sites), Industry Dive (sold for $500M+).
“Promise you, there’s enough people in your niche in 2025 to build a multimillion dollar business.”
— James Camp (22:27)
4. B2C vs. B2B: The Sales Motion Spectrum
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Regulation, Compliance, and Vertical SaaS (28:11–34:23)
- James details his new venture: an AI-driven compliance tool for finance, addressing the pain of storing and auditing regulated communications.
- The challenge: selling to highly regulated enterprises with long, complex sales cycles versus his previous experience with direct-response/affiliate models.
“Every person in a bank...has a little desktop copilot that helps them stay compliant.”
— James Camp (32:25) -
B2B Enterprise vs. SMB Sales
- Jon shares the lessons of enterprise sales cycles (months/years, multi-stakeholder) versus quicker, more scalable mid-market/SMB sales.
- In B2B, trust is built via relationships and procurement processes, not just landing pages.
“You have to choose your game. ...selling to enterprise versus selling B2C is two totally different types of business.”
— John Davids (36:45)
5. Understanding Value Perception: Pricing, Time, and Customer Segmentation
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Why Price Is Relative to Customer Value
- The same product can sell for $1K or $30K depending entirely on the buyer.
- Elite customers (e.g., large enterprises, high-net-worth individuals) assign dramatically higher value to problem-solving and convenience (e.g., flying private).
“We just changed the customer. We said to this person, this is only worth $1,000, but to that person, this is worth $30,000.”
— Jon Davids (40:12)“Spending $10K on that private jet flight is worth the money unequivocally. For the right person, it actually makes sense.”
— James Camp (44:09) -
Time vs. Money Mindset
- Importance of shifting from a scarcity, cost-saving mentality to one that values time and opportunity.
“If you save money, the most you could possibly get to is zero. If you actually spend your time making money and try to maximize, there’s no upper limit.”
— Jon Davids (48:22)
6. Taking Big Swings & Career Forks
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James’ Existential Business Pivot (26:03–34:23, 52:03–59:45)
- Despite past success in digital marketing and affiliate, he’s diving into an entirely new challenge in enterprise B2B SaaS for fintech compliance—even though it means starting from scratch.
- The choice: continue with what you’re best at, or pursue a new, high-risk opportunity for transformative impact?
- Importance of leveraging “overlapping skillsets”—not reinventing yourself from scratch, but finding a new Venn Diagram for your abilities.
“If it works out, it just changes the rest of your life forever.”
— James Camp (54:40)“Every once in a while, you’re given an opportunity and it sort of…defines who you are.”
— James Camp (55:17)
7. Bootstrap vs. Venture Scale: Choosing Your Growth Path
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The $10–$200M Dilemma and Optionality (59:45–62:18)
- Pursuing VC funding means playing a different game—venture funds want $1B+ outcomes, not $100M companies.
- There’s no shame in building a $10M–$100M ARR business; it’s both achievable and highly lucrative.
- True optionality lies in building a strong, profitable foundation first.
“Let’s just go build a $100M–$200M company. Then, if the optionality is there, we can keep going.”
— Fund partner via James Camp (61:05)“Building a $10M or $15M company is actually a noble business goal.”
— Jon Davids (62:18) -
Venture "Anti-Consensus" & Why Some Bets Make Sense
- Venture funds thrive by making outlier bets that few others believe in; 99% failures is part of the model.
- Adam Neumann (WeWork founder) receives new funding because (as a16z says): “The only way we make these giant wins is by making bets the consensus thinks are wrong.” (64:20)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On Direct Response Marketing Simplicity:
- “It’s very direct response. There’s only one thing you can possibly do on this website, and that’s contact them for your injury claim.”
(James Camp – 05:09)
- “It’s very direct response. There’s only one thing you can possibly do on this website, and that’s contact them for your injury claim.”
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On Affiliate Model Economics:
- “The affiliate side…you might actually make more than the brand does in a lot of affiliate things with way less work because you don’t actually have to fulfill on the product.”
(James Camp – 12:22)
- “The affiliate side…you might actually make more than the brand does in a lot of affiliate things with way less work because you don’t actually have to fulfill on the product.”
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On Riches in Niches:
- “There’s enough people in your niche in 2025 to build a multimillion dollar business—any niche in the world.”
(James Camp – 22:27)
- “There’s enough people in your niche in 2025 to build a multimillion dollar business—any niche in the world.”
-
On The Real Value of Backend Monetization:
- “If you had to build an affiliate site that drives people to buy lipstick versus one that drives them to get a credit card…the second one is way more valuable.”
(Jon Davids – 16:49)
- “If you had to build an affiliate site that drives people to buy lipstick versus one that drives them to get a credit card…the second one is way more valuable.”
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On B2B Sales Cycles:
- “You don’t just cold call the chief compliance officer at JP Morgan.”
(James Camp – 34:00)
- “You don’t just cold call the chief compliance officer at JP Morgan.”
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On Pricing and Perceived Value:
- “Spending $10K on that private jet flight is worth the money unequivocally. Now for me, not billing $20K a day, it would be stupid. But for the right person, it actually makes sense.”
(James Camp – 44:09)
- “Spending $10K on that private jet flight is worth the money unequivocally. Now for me, not billing $20K a day, it would be stupid. But for the right person, it actually makes sense.”
-
On Entrepreneurial Risk and Growth:
- “Every once in a while you’re given an opportunity…and it sort of defines who you are. Are you the person who looks at this fork and says, you know what, I’m going to try and do this kind of crazy thing…?”
(James Camp – 55:17)
- “Every once in a while you’re given an opportunity…and it sort of defines who you are. Are you the person who looks at this fork and says, you know what, I’m going to try and do this kind of crazy thing…?”
-
On Venture Capital Anti-Consensus:
- “The only way we make these giant wins is by making bets the consensus thinks are wrong.”
(Andreessen Horowitz partner via James Camp – 64:20)
- “The only way we make these giant wins is by making bets the consensus thinks are wrong.”
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:58–06:08: Injury.com Walkthrough & Discussion
- 07:00–08:22: Value of Premium Domains & Type-In Traffic
- 08:40–13:06: Lead Brokers, Affiliate Model, and Legal Referrals
- 13:36–17:56: Backend Monetization, Scaling, and Niche Strategy
- 18:18–23:45: Affiliate Site Economics, The Points Guy & Red Ventures
- 26:03–34:23: James’s Existential Pivot & New RegTech SaaS Startup
- 34:26–39:55: B2B vs. B2C Sales, Mid-Market Insights, Pricing Psychology
- 40:12–48:28: Perception of Value, High Net Worth Decision-Making
- 48:22–52:03: Time vs. Money Mindset, Scarcity vs. Abundance
- 52:03–59:45: Why Chase New Challenges, Overlapping Skills
- 59:45–62:18: Bootstrap vs. Venture Path, The $10M ARR Milestone
- 62:18–67:01: Venture Capital Risk, Betting Against Consensus, 10,000x Thinking
Tone and Style
The conversation is candid, lively, packed with actionable insights, and moves fluidly between personal anecdotes, pragmatic advice, and deep dives into business models. Both speakers maintain a practical, slightly irreverent tone that encourages entrepreneurial experimentation and reminds listeners not to get caught in the hype or constrained by arbitrary “rules” of business building.
For entrepreneurs, marketers, and business builders, this episode is a masterclass in extracting value from both new and time-tested strategies, understanding when to double down versus when to reinvent, and why simplicity in your business model can be the most lucrative move of all.