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Free Blogging Tips Podcast with Darren and Yaro

Posted By Darren Rowse 25th of July 2007 Pro Blogging News 0 Comments

Just over one month ago Yaro Starak launched a great new Blog Mentoring program called Blog Mastermind. When I first announced the program the reaction to it’s launch was mixed. Quite a few readers signed up, others decided to wait and see what those who signed up said about it and there were others who criticized Yaro’s sales page (in fact quite a good discussion took place about the sales page).

Since the launch Yaro tells me that around 300 members have signed up for the program. The response has been so great that he’s had to hire a couple of extra Pro Bloggers to help with the program.

I’ve spent a few hours this week lurking around the members area of Blog Mastermind and am really impressed with what’s being provided to members. In addition to Yaro’s regular tips there’s some great audio interviews, video case studies and teaching and a great forum area with some great learning going on.

Yaro tells me that he and his team are also working on some more advanced tips for those members who are not coming in at an entry level.

Listen To Yaro and My Podcast Interview

This week Yaro and I spent an hour chatting about some blogging tips and recorded it as a free podcast for ProBlogger readers. Some of the topics we covered include:

  • Yaro on the convergence between the Internet marketing and blogging world
  • How to build buzz and traffic by releasing a viral PDF report
  • Tips on how to build relationships with other bloggers
  • Darren talks about techniques to capture more repeat readers using your blog archives
  • Customizing pages based on where your traffic comes from
  • Why adding an email list newsletter to your blog is critical
  • Tips to monetize your blog or newsletter using direct sponsorship
  • Testing how your ads convert on your site to increase income from sponsors
  • Using split testing software to improve the performance of ads on your blog
  • Testing different elements of your blog using crazy egg
  • Buying sites with the profit you make from blogging

This podcast is freelisten to it here – I hope you enjoy it!

Get a Discount on Blog Mastermind

Yaro’s also been generous enough to offer ProBlogger readers a special discount on the program for those who sign up before Friday of this week – instead of $77 per month he’s offering it for $47 – or $1.57 per day (and the monthly price will not go up if you sign up at this time).

Yaro’s also rewritten a new sales page – especially for ProBlogger readers which has the special discount offer. As always, Yaro offers a money back guarantee so if you sign up and find that the program doesn’t fit your needs then he’s more than happy to refund your money. I’ve heard from one reader that they’ve got their money back on the program because they found that they didn’t have the time to take it as seriously as they needed to.

Lastly – a quick thanks to those ProBlogger readers who have emailed to let me know how they’ve found Blog Mastermind. I won’t republish your comments here – but you’re more than welcome to tell of your experiences of it in comments below to help others worth out whether this is a program for them.

About Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse is the founder and editor of ProBlogger Blog Tips and Digital Photography School. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Comments
  1. I haven’t yet used it, but is it really worth the $47? Especially when sites like yours and mine take people step by step for free?

    One Man. One Year. $100,000 online. It’s OK to watch. I won’t charge you.
    http://www.oneyeargoal.com

  2. Thanks! Looks like great info. Yaro is always informative and helpful. I’m sure it will be beneficial for us.

  3. I’m looking forward to signing up! Sounds great! Yaro really knows his stuff, and that’s wonderful!

  4. I’ve been getting a lot of valuable information from this program. Although I believe you can find success on your own and get some great advice just by reading other blogs, it means expending more time and effort to find the path that works for you. The Blog Mastermind program is like having a map of sorts.

    Much of the value comes from the community as well. It’s encouraging to watch other members’ blogs grow and become more successful.

  5. Darren, I’m glad to see a podcast here, if I had thought of it, I would have added podcasts to my comment when you were asking for suggestions recently. I have really enjoyed Shoemoney’s podcasts and Yaro’s audio recording of his Blog Blueprint ebook. I know I would enjoy regular, quality podcasts (or even video) from you as well. This might help you get your message across more effectively, since you don’t have to spend time writing. You can just talk and someone else could edit it later, then you post it. (I know it’s not quite as simple as that, but I hope you can see the benefit.) With videos, especially, people like to embed them and spread them around virally.

  6. Great stuff, I just listened to the whole podcast. I’m tempted to join blog mastermind, but I’m not really sure I need these lessons, but it’s better to be safe than sorry… I do like the sound of the refund if I don’t find it useful. Hmmm i’ll have a think about this…

  7. Michael Martin says: 07/25/2007 at 7:16 am

    I love the tips you can pick up in a podcast like that, especially with people talking so naturally. :) (And I’m getting really excited about the redesign of ProBlogger!)

  8. I don’t intend to sign up for this…but that’s mostly because I don’t consider myself a problogger (and it’s not a goal of mine, either). In fact, I think the ranks are way overcrowded as it is. BUT…if I were going to sign up, it would just be because of Darren’s involvement. You, my friend, are without question the real deal. It’s the sheep who follow you around spouting the same things that I have questions about. ;-)

  9. My only “problem” with the course has been its focus on WordPress. (I use TypePad for my personal blogs, and don’t want to go through the ordeal of moving several year’s worth of content.) Still, I’m taking notes so that when I come up with an idea for a new blog, I know how to get it going in WP.

    Otherwise, the ideas I’m getting from Yaro’s podcasts have been excellent. I especially love the video reviews – I’ve picked up some great ideas from these that I’ve already implemented. The forums are a valuable source of info, too.

    I’m looking forward to the next few lessons that concentrate on creating content. It’s been the best money I’ve spent on education in a long time.

  10. I’ve been a Blog Mastermind participant since day 1 (actually it was probably day 2) and I’ve already renewed my membership for two main reasons:

    1. The community that is forming is great. I’ve already met two other bloggers in my blog’s topic and we are working together now to grow each others blogs. The wealth of knowledge in the group (not just from Yaro and his team) is inspiring.

    2. One of the tips I learned in my first week paid for my membership by simply making one change to my blog and it will keep doing that each month because it increased my earnings by more than enough to cover my membership fee.

    I think BM would be suitable for any blogger in the beginner through to medium stages of their blog. Actually an advanced blogger might even find signing up for a month or two worthwhile as a refresher.

  11. I am another blog master mind mentee. I’ve been a member also since day one, and I’m loving the program. I was a bit worried at first about it because I don’t have much money to throw around, but I told myself to stick with it for at least three weeks to see how it goes. And well, I’m up to week five now and I’m staying. The advice has been very valuable, and the motivation from Yaro and the rest of the members has been awesome. My blog is improving daily. I really enjoy the forums and the video critiques are fantastic as well. Well worth the money and I’ll be sticking around for quite a few months more at least.

  12. I have not been able to access this podcast – I’ll try later I guess!

  13. Nice podcast – off to check out Crazy Egg. Good info!

  14. Just a simple “Thank You” for making this great information available to the masses. Keep up the great work!

  15. I will say I am learning alot from this program. At first I was frustrated with the Word Press blogging platform,but now I am getting along with it just fine. I also have Yaro’s audio mindsets burned to cd so I can listen to them in my car on the way to classes this fall. I also make notes and such when I am listening to his audio’s so I can see how and where his information can apply to my blog. It’s like he says you just have to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. If it does go with it and if it doesn’t then go back and try something else.

    Even if I don’t make A-list blogger status the new skills I am learning from this experience will be invaluable.Not too mention the huge networking opportunity provided within this program.

  16. I loved this podcast. Learned a ton about using creativity for solutions to gaining traffic and making more with my blog.

  17. I’m a member of Blog Mastermind and overall, I find the program to be most useful for those who are completely or fairly new to blogging but want a quickstart to make money with their blogs. It tells you what to do in a step-by-step fashion and where to find what, so that you don’t have waste time searching and trying.

    However, the main thing is still CONTENT – something no program can teach you.

    Bloggers who’ve been at it for sometime on their own will find the initial lessons mostly familiar ground. I will stick around for a couple more lessons to see how it goes.

  18. Listening to it right now and loving it, great info covered.

  19. I’ve been a Blog Mastermind member since Day 1 as well. And to be honest, I’d rather not toot the whistle too loud b/c I love it as is. The community is great, and I don’t want it to get too large. I love the direct contact I get with Yaro and the other mentors, and I don’t want them to get stretched too thin with lots more ppl signing up. I’m at the beginner level, so I don’t know how it is for advanced bloggers, but what I’ve accomplished in the first 5 weeks has been amazing. I continue to learn a ton, and I’m having fun doing it b/c of Yaro’s enthusiasm and b/c of the great community energy. It feels good to be starting up a blog in a really solid way that sets me up for success without having to reinvent the wheel and figure everything out myself. ProBlogger and other sites have been very useful as well, but they each offer different things. It’s not an either/or situation: I’m getting a lot from Blog Mastermind that I wouldn’t get from ProBlogger, and vice versa. As with anything, though, what you get out of it depends on what you’re able to put into it.

  20. AWESOME!!! My only request is that I hope you do MORE podcasts! :)

  21. I haven’t listened to the podcast yet, but I did want to share my thoughts about the Blog Mastermind.
    I had my reservations because $47 is alot of money for me.
    The first week after I joined I felt a bit let down because I didn’t learn much, as I’ve been blogging for a year now. But, I’ve been blogging on Blogger and not on WordPress. Things picked up during my second week. Yaro highly recommends using WordPress and I put up my first WordPress blog. I’ve learned tons about WordPress and Yaro’s lessons force me to move ahead and learn about other things like RSS and SEO for my WP blog.
    There is a wealth of information on the blog (lessons, Question and Answer audios, interviews with successful bloggers, case studies of members’ blogs etc.).
    The forum is very helpful and it’s an opportunity to meet other bloggers. There is also technical help available for questions pertaining to WordPress.
    I would very much like to continue into my second month. I would have to say that despite my initial skepticism I recommend Yaro’s program!

  22. I’ve been a member of this program from the first week and I think it’s great. I read a lot of people who say why pay for information that you can get for free on the Internet. Using that approach there’s no need for any formal education courses. After pretty much everything is available on the Internet these days.
    For me it’s more about having the information filtered and prioritised and provided to me in a way that I can take it up and use it without feeling overwhelmed.
    And the extras of the audios and interviews are great. I’ve recently started getting more involved in the forums and there’s a bunch of terrific information being shared there.
    As far as I’m concerned it’s an excellent program because it really targets you to action rather than just information gathering.

  23. Great post, I’d love to sit down with Tim one day and just pick his brain and experiences.

  24. I signed up for Blog Mastermind on day one. It was about 2 hours after the official launch hour that I actually signed up, because I was reading through Yaro’s copy, just to see how his copy matched with all the other sales copy I’ve read before.

    A few weeks before the launch, I attended two seminars back to back in Singapore (24th May till 29 May). I think Yaro was there. Anyway, some of the programs and products offered by the speakers were tagged at ginormous prices, in the hundreds and even thousands of dollars. All of them seemed to agree on the part of having a mentor (perhaps a conspiracy among the speakers?). Frankly, I think USD47 per month is cheap, comparatively speaking.

    The one limited resource all of us have is time. Fishing through the Internet ocean for useful information has its merits. I prefer to supplement that with someone telling me what to do as well. I don’t have to do everything Yaro tells me to do, if I think it’s not suited for me. If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

  25. I’ve been in Blog Mastermind since the first day and love everything about it. Yaro is an excellent teacher! Working with Yaro is like having a GPS for blogging – he gives turn by turn directions to reach your destination.

    What I do is grab the great information here at ProBlogger to use within the structure that Yaro provides. It is a match made in blogging heaven.

    I will stick with Blog Mastermind for the long haul.

    Thanks, Darren for doing this great audio on advanced blogging. It is terrific.

  26. I look forward to listening to the Podcast. Thank you for it.

    I like Yaro’s style as a Mentor. He doesn’t promise me that if I jump through these hoops I’ll make a bunch of money, but does promise that if I work hard and follow the program, I will. He’s down-to-earth, direct, and accessible. I don’t feel like I can’t do this because my niche isn’t technical.

    Yes, I want to make money, but it’s not the only “why” behind what I’m doing. Yaro brings in the big picture and I appreciate that.

    He’s also helped a great deal with defining how to spend time as a pro-blogger~I feel like I’m spinning my wheels less and less and not as distracted by all the info I could be taking in.

  27. I joined Yaro’s Blog Mastermind within the first week of its launch. For the most part, I have been very happy with the program. Yaro has kept me motivated and has taught me some new things about blogging. I have been blogging for about 6 months so I was ready to learn more. My main concern with the program is that he focuses some of his teaching on WordPress and I use TypePad. I am hesitant to switch to WordPress because you need to know more technical aspects to make it work right. Yaro should let people know up front before they pay for the program that he focuses some of his teachings on WordPress. Overall, I am still happy with the program and would recommend it to others who want to learn more about blogging and how to make money. Thanks Yaro.

  28. Thanks for all the great comments everyone. I’m glad you enjoyed the podcast too.

    If Darren wasn’t so busy we could aim to do a podcast on a regular basis ;-)

  29. What? Me a blogger? And crazy about it! It is like being obsessed and dazzled with a new lover. When I tell you that I had no idea what the difference was between a web page and a blog until very recently, I would be lying.

    Now I do. As they say in Brooklyn, where I originated, “Who knew?”

    I have traveled several life paths – from business owner to sales trainer, author, lecturer, life coach and TV producer. Blogging is not a big transition for a writer.

    I joined Yaro’s Mastermind Program as soon as I heard about it.
    I like Yaro because he is honest. He took us newbies and said right away to build content and get traffic before you expect to make money. He also said to hire out what you are not good at like the technical part. I got a wonderful techie on his Forum who is also taking the course.

    Some of it is way beyond me right now. But, I am listening.

    If you are new – or experienced – you can benefit from the course. I am loving it!

    Corinne Edwards

  30. I’ve been in Blog Mastermind since the first day and I find it invaluable, I would fall into the beginner blogger class. The community and help from the members is fantastic, and I feel like I am not on my own, but we are working through this altogether.

    I definately recommend it to newbie or beginner bloggers.

    Mandy

  31. When I first thought about signing up with Yaro I looked around at all the places that were offering it and decided to sign up here since this is where I got most of my ‘free information’. I figured you might as well get the affiliate link…. I made myself a note to cancel within the first 30 days.
    I’ve been blogging for a short while, no quite a bit about wordpress, but I made some big changes the first few days that will pay for a years worth of the program. I’ve got three blogs and I’m implementing these changes on all of them.
    You have to pick and choose what to do and follow through on BM as there is so much information. I get as much out of the forums as anything, but I’ve also made incredible contacts.
    Thanks Yaro, Thanks Darren.

  32. Just in case anyone want the WordPress landing pages plugin

    http://theundersigned.net/2006/06/wordpress-creating-landing-sites/

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