A number of bloggers have asked me to write my reflections on being involved with running the Six Figure Blogging course over the past couple of months. Yesterday Andy and I did the last of six calls and today I’ve been reviewing how I felt it went.
While there are a handful of things that I think we will do differently in future runs of the course – overall I’d have to declare it to be a success on a couple of levels.
Business – Firstly it was successful in a business sense. We had 1100 or so people sign up for the free preview call (which indicates it’s a pretty popular topic) and 80 or so enroll in the course. This exceeded our expectations and made doing it worth our while. Some have commented that we must be rolling in cash as a result of it – I would encourage them to remember that half of the fees were paid to affiliates, there were then expenses of calls, transcripts recordings etc and that lastly Andy and I shared the revenue.
I’m not saying we made a loss or anything – it was worth our time – it just wasn’t at the level that some have written about :-)
I would also add that while it was worth while it was also a lot of work. Between preparing content, answering questions between calls, proof reading transcripts, keeping the course blog up to date with content and moderating comments – it was a pretty busy six weeks on top of my normal schedule. It was definitely fun – but not something to be entered into too lightly.
Learning – Secondly after hearing the feedback we’ve heard so far I’d say that the course was a pretty successful learning experience for all concerned. Some of the feedbck that we got at the end of yesterday’s call was pretty amazing. One person told us all that he’d put some of the principles into place that we mentioned in the first two weeks and in doing so had paid for the course already. THAT is what the course was really all about so I was pretty satisfied that we must have done something right. I also learned a few things – not only about running a tele-seminar course but also about ProBlogging.
Where to from here?
This is something that Andy and I have talked about quite a bit. As you’ll see on the course home page – we’re now working on a home study version of the course. This is in response to the many people who have expressed an interest in participating but who couldn’t afford to participate in the live version. We’re yet to set a price but expect it to be in the vicinity of half of what the live course is. Cheaper because you don’t get the interaction of the live calls, but still covering the same content that we did over the last six weeks.
Andy and I are also hoping to run another live and updated version of the course early in 2006 for those who want a more interactive version. We’ve also even talked a little about a live in person intensive version of the course somewhere in the US next year if we can find enough people who would be interested in coming to spend a day or two with us.
I think it would also be a pretty safe bet to see Andy and I working together on some other similar products in the year ahead.
If you haven’t already signed up for the free preview call of the course you might like to do so here. It will give you a free hour long preview call but will also include you on an email list that will announce when the home study version and any new courses are ready to go.
As always, a pleasure to collaborate with you Mr. Rowse and I thank him for making our course such a fantastic and fun ride. Yes, folks, we are busily formulating plans for more honey-sweet bloggy-goodness so be sure to stay tuned!
And about the rolling in money part, I giggle at that. Until I can truly afford a nice drug addiction and star-quality treatment, we aren’t bathing in dollars, just yet.
Well, I am glad that you have decided to do a home-study version of it; I am definately interested in that. The money was a little too much for me, and the time comittment to get the most that I could out of the course was even more prohibitive. I am glad that it was successful for both of you.
Reflections of the six figure blogging curse! Damn you Google.
Six Figgure Blogging Course is a waste of money
I never understood why the hell one would sign up for Darren Rowse’s Six Figure Blogging Course. I have nothing against the guy and he probably does make over $100,000/year, but people paying $325 to find out how to make…
Luis:
Did you take the course? If not, how can you say it was a waste of money? Perhaps you are allready a pro-blogger and are over the six figure mark,perhaps you just like to ride Darren’s traffic for free? Your blog makes some pretty amazing conclusions that indicate you have no concept what the goals and deliverables of the course were.
I can tell you that I took the course and I found many insights which were individually, worth the cost of the course. I also felt the course was not a get rich quick scheme, and Andy and Darren made that exact point in the first session.
Being a newbie blogger, the course enabled me to get up to speed in blogging in less than eight weeks-and provided the platform and motivation for me to make a concerted effort at building a blog network that I believe will generate a decent sum. Within 8 days I have 7 domains, blogging sw installed and am blogging on a number of niche topics, so the cost of the course was probably mitigated by the time I saved getting up to speed. I think that says something about the value of the course.
hahahaha … I love the guys who post comments like Luis – the reveal so much about themselves while being little more than legends in their own lunchbox.
Cheap and Tiny and Problogging
CheapAndTiny is a weblog about cheap and tiny gadgets, exploring the lower boundaries of size and cost in the world of personal electronics. Your writer:…
Darren,
I’m suggesting that you and Andy, who is from the area, come to Louisville, Ky for the live version.
It’s beautiful city in the spring and you can come around Kentucky Derby time and have a double good reason for people to come to your event.
Or wait until the week before/after and make it more affordable, yet still attractive.
I’ll pay to hear you guys talk blogs and $$$.
Coming to Louisville! We can stay at my folks place across the river. Dinner at Kingfish!
As for Luis and company’s comments, it’s too bad they have such vitriol without having any firsthand experience of the course. I take issue with his implication that I abused exclamation points. There’s only four on the entire salespage. I made damned sure of that.
I love the comment: people paying $325 to find out how to make $10,000+ per month is just stupid.
Actually, that’s called a ‘return on investment.’
Nick, Stuart, and Andy you all fell for the oldest trick in the book. He is merely trying to attract attention to his blog and it worked.
Jeez. You guys call yourself bloggers?
Who the hell would have checked out his site if it was another “Great job Darren!” fellating comment?
Bank – who said I even looked at his site? I’ve been in affiliate marketing for years – I know how how some people go about attracting traffic and fools like him don’t fool me.
If anyone thinks that the best way of attracting people to their site is by criticising and belittling others then they are sadly mistaken. Sure they might get a few extra hits but the long term damage to their name and reputation is far more than any short-term gain.
Hopefully he’ll wake up to that one day before he’s wasted all his energy for absolutely zip.
I found the course well worth the money, and what I really appreciated was both Darren and Andy’s honesty throughout the course.
I liked the way Andy and Darren emphasized building a relationship with people on a blog, which is what they are both doing on their blogs.
I liked the way they talked about finding a niche that will be fun for each of us to do – no sense in having a blog just for the money because it becomes too much of a chore.
Since taking the course I now have a lot of respect for those who make their income from blogging. Since I’ve started work on my own blogs, I can see that it takes a lot of dedication and many hours of work.
Thank you very much for the course Andy and Darren. I found it very useful, and the money was all worthwhile. I’m fairly new to blogging and I know enough now to be able to make an income from it.
And, now I understand that it takes a little time too, just as any business takes time to build.
Thanks again!
I found the course worthwhile. My only suggestion would be that you only take it if you have time to really work on the stuff and implement it. I found myself a little swamped during the course and unable to really go at it in depth.
Luis F. Escalante’s Blog
This is a review of Luis F. Escalante’s Blog.
Luis F. Escalante’s Blog
Writing:
Well lets see the writing style is ok, and there is correct punctuation. However, there is no originality in his writing. I can ascertain from reading his really…
I really enjoyed the Six Figure Blogging class with Andy Wibbels and Darren Rowse. I think their presentation was highly informative and professionally delivered. The notes that were supplied were fantastic and I took three times as many from the lectures. I’ve never received so much value packed into only 6 weeks and I’m starting to work in the suggestions on my own TypePad blogs which are under development. In addition, both Andy and Darren made themselves fully available for questions about any of the material throughout the course. I don’t know of any type of course which offers such a level of service. I highly recommend Six Figure Blogging to any one who wants to take their blogging to another level.
I also took the course, and have been blogging for the last year. What many forget is that very few get into blogging for the dollars initially. It is only after they get involved, invest a great deal of time, and realize that their return is next to nill do they decide they need to monetize blogging or face a battle with their significant other.
We decided to take the course as we both fear our significant others wrath and want to continue blogging. The lessons learned may be self evident for others, but when you are looking at turning a blog from a hobby to an income producing venture, it would be hard not to recommend these two. They laid out the different money making tools available, insight on how to use these tools, and anecdotes that provided a comfort factor that empowered the participants to start using the tools effectively.
So Andy and Darren, thanks for a great class, a foundation for future earnings, and a pleasant way to spend 6 Wednesday evenings.
Tom
Already falling behind and random acts of blogness
After my burst of 10 posts on the day this blog went live, I’ve been posting sporadically. I did make a decision though: I won’t post to this blog during work hours unless it’s something very important, juicy, etc. Basically…
Well, as someone who took the course, I’d like to share my reflections.
Since they are quite long, they can be found in this post:
http://media-supermarket.com/blog5/products/six-figure-blogging/