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If you missed it, you can sign up for the “Build a Better Blog” mini-course here.
Leave a comment to let me know if you’d like to see more content in the mini-course format, in the future!
Please leave a comment below.
Note that I don’t reply to all comments, but I do read them all. If I don’t reply to your comment, it most likely means that I agree with what you say and don’t have anything meaningful to add, myself. I appreciate and read all comments and your comments play an important part in what I write about, so keep them coming.
Spammy comments are always filtered or removed. No surprise there.
Hi Shane,
Short is great, and a “bundled” archived copy of the whole set would also be good, after the event.
Kind of like a reference book.
I’m in btw.
Best regards
Gary
Hi Gary,
Thanks! That makes sense. I’ll add something like a bundle to my next mini course for sure.
I like the idea of a non-noob community quite a bit. One danger is over zealous people aggressively promoting their own stuff, but you’ll have anticipated that possibility.
I also like the mini course format. Small chunks are easier to fit in on a regular basis.
Thanks!
Thank you for the input, Mary!
There would most likely have to be a “no promotions” rule, to stop that kind of thing from happening. There’s almost no way around that, in a marketing-related community.
I’m a member of a business forum which has one part where the members can make promotions as they want. That actually keeps the rest of the forum free from promotion.
Hey Shane,
I would like a community where we could pitch our new ideas, products and services, but not to a level of spamming people. What better group to find out valuable insights, experience, know-how and skills if our new products, services and ideas can really work or not. It might be nice to have the backing and confidence from the group because they believe in what I’m promoting. Maybe you can charge a promotion fee to cut down on spammers so only serious candidates share their stuff and split it with the group in reduced membership fees.
Fred Tappan
Thanks for the suggestions!
A specific sub-forum for promotions would probably be a good idea. I can also picture a sub-forum for people to post new ideas and MVPs, to get feedback from. As long as it’s all kept to “pre-development” stuff, we should be able to avoid spammy promotions.
Hi Shane, I liked the way you broke the content down into short actionable chunks. Stick with it! Thanks for all your content btw.
Thanks for the feedback, Mike!
Hi Shane,
I’m in. Also let me know if I/we can help. I own an outsourcing business at OutsourcingExposed.com and ExpertTeam.tv where we have 11,000 Filipino candidates (from virtual admin assistants to webmasters to video editors etc). If this is inline with what you are thinking, please feel free to let me know and we’ll work something out together.
With the mini-course, I’d say the bite size chunks were far more ‘edible’ – and I’d also second Gary’s suggestion to then offer a ‘download the lot’ package afterwards.
Cheers,
Duncan Elliott
Thank you, Duncan. I will keep your offer in mind.
I’m in! I am technical person looking for a place to help people as well as help selling stuff, this sounds perfect.
Thanks Shane, I have been a long time fan of yours.
Mary-Ellen
Thank you, Mary-Ellen!
For me the mini course is too bitty, but I just saved them up until I had all of them.
Can we have a maybe button please???? :-D
Like the idea but don’t have much time for another community to participate in, so it would depend on the cost/time/value equation.
Thanks for bringing that up, Jillian! Personally, I’m always cutting things out that are potential distractions, so I’m not part of many communities. I didn’t consider this perspective, because of that.
If we’re going to go through with it, making the community well worth the time and money would be essential, of course.
I love the idea of such a forum. However I can’t say I’m in, as it depends on the cost and what I can afford at that time. But I’m very positive to the idea.
Also: Prefer a mini course spread out over a couple of days instead of a long video, as I have small kids and seldom can watch something that is very long.
Thank you for your input, Maria!
I haven’t thought much about pricing. The idea I have is that it shouldn’t be massively expensive, but there needs to be a price barrier to keep newbies away.
I like the spread over four days. It made it easier to digest.
I really liked the course. It was simple and reminded me to do a couple things that I had forgotten.
Your secret traffic tip has made me think about what type of product to create.
Awesome work
Thank you, Ian! Looks like the mini-course format really worked for many people, so I’m going to make more mini-courses. :)
Sounds like a great plan, Shane.
Count me in.
Thanks for your feedback, Rudolf!
Hey Shane,
Enjoyed your course—thank you! And yes, the mini-course format worked fine, even though I’m first and foremost a reader.
Absolutely LOVE the idea of a product creation course and forum, as it’s where my main interest is. Although as others have already said, it would depend on the monthly fee vs. what’s ultimately offered.
All the best,
David Coleman
I was actually thinking about the format, the other day. A mini-course with text content or maybe a mix of text and video is not out of the question.
I did like the mini-course and would like to see others as I think it does encourage yo uto consume it in easy bite size chunks.. I’d also like to see it combined with a forum so maybe the end of each training can elicit some form of response/interaction to keep people keen.
Thanks for your input, Jay! I’m glad you liked the mini-course format. :)
Hello Shane,
Great idea for the community. Let’s do it. Please consider some sort of screening process or application so that only those with some experience and who have a service or product based business would participate. Also exclude anyone whose first objection is the cost. If this can save me time, help me in taking my company to the next level then cost is not an issue. It never is. I spend money to save time and make money and help others. People whose first thought is “how much” have the wrong mind set. Plenty of goo roos out there willing to help them make a few bucks.
Also I know if you are involved with it that it will be something special. You never do things half-assed. That is why I have followed you from the beginning and you helped me get where I am today so I am ready to participate, contribute and help however possible. This would be a great way to give back for the success I have had. I’m in. Send me the application when you are ready.
Thanks
Charles
Thanks for the enthusiastic answer, Charles!
I’ve been thinking about screening, as well. I hope that the right messaging and a price tag will do the trick, but we’ll have to see.
Mini course format good idea and more would be good. The last one was a bit of a jump from video 3 to 4, i.e. 4 allot more advanced stuff so bit of a dis join there and consequently you did not go into detail there of creating products.
With regard to Video 1. What is the difference (from a marketing perspective) of having a static first page and a static post? Assume the same testing and tracking etc has been carried out?
With regard to the membership site for existing product creators. Good idea and paid does ensure that you get informed responses and not like some of the free forums. Would be cost sensitive, i.e. dear enough to keep tyre kickers out and cheap enough to deliver value.
Thank you and keep up the good content.
Thank you for the reply, Paul!
Concerning the blog homepage, there are usually some differences between static posts and pages, depending on the theme that is used. A post is generally a bit more cluttered with meta information, a post date, related posts etc. whereas pages tend to be more focused. But this depends strongly on the theme that is used.
Hi Shane, you got a great idea with your minicourse. no doubledutch, only importand stuff at the point- well done! sorry, let me use my deutsch, ich find es klasse, eine gruppe mit leuten ins leben zu rufen, die den newbee- status überwunden haben. ich bin sehr gespannt! Danke für Deine tollen Videos!
All the best!
Matthias (a fan)
Dankeschön, Matthias!
Hmm, guess I missed that little course of yours Shane, but I just signed up to check it out and go through it.
I will say, that since having coming across your products more by accident than anything else, and having purchased a couple of others since, I’ve been very impressed by with your guys’ support.
Also, your mailing list is one of the very few that I’m even on these days. You do offer great content, and I get quite a lot of insight from your ideas as well.
Anyways, I think it’s a pretty good idea…the only thing I’d be a little wary of is the price point. I’d be interested, but I certainly wouldn’t be willing to be paying anything like $97 a month or something like that. Not at the moment anyway.
Great idea though, and my 2 cents worth.
Thanks for the feedback, Davin!
I don’t think I’d go for $97/month either. I don’t want to be charging much, just for the sake of it, even though it could be an effective screen.
In the end, an important basis of any product, this community included, is still that the value provided is worth more than the money charged.
Your proposal is interesting, and you do an excellent job of conveying concepts and strategies. As far as the community is concerned, I’d have to say it’s a maybe, depending on where I decide to go with my blog and other ideas i’m considering.
Thanks for the reply, Kent!
The minicourse is good but like what others mentioned to have an option to download these courses so that we can refer to them again as a consolidated course.
the community is good too, depends on price and value again
thanks
Thanks for the comment! I’ll definitely add a “bundle” for my next mini-course. Now that I’ve seen the idea mentioned, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself. :)
A1: I don’t think I’m a complete n00b, but I’m not sure I qualify as an experienced IM’er. So, I don’t know if I would be interested in a paid non-n00b forum.
A2: Short videos are definitely better than long ones.
Thanks for your feedback, Howard!
I like the short video series.
Thank you Katherine, glad you liked the video series. :)
Short videos are a nice chunk size to act on. And I am gutted but finaly got rid of my sliders:-)
Thanks, Dave!
Sliders are incredibly dominant in web design, right now. I know it’s hard to believe the one dissenting voice when seemingly every website has a slider as the centerpiece. I’m actually collecting case studies that show the performance of sliders vs. other elements and will publish those somewhere.
Hey SHane,
2 other thoughts
1. I know Rich Shefren uses a screening process of a mandatory application for a few of his higher end products – to apply for access to a course or product to show I am worthy. This is a deliberate barrier to entry, so the newbies get removed – you have to be motivated to bother to complete the forms. Plus if you ‘make it through’ the application process and get accepted, like hazing, you feel more bonded to the product or company.
2. I have been mulling a related idea to have a paid-for training membership, where one of the main benefits is to NOT use affiliate links in any suggestions, to get past the affliliate-link apathy or cynicism of ‘you’re only promoting that because you get the commision’. So the systems, processes, products and services suggested are known to be recommended only because they are good.
Duncan Elliott
Thanks for the input, Duncan!
I like the idea of such a vetting process. It would also be a chance to get to know each member better.
And I think the community would have to be free of affiliate links. We’ve got enough of those elsewhere. :)
Hi Shane,
I’m a long-time fan and, as usual, love your ideas.
RE mini-course: the length is perfect. A transcript of each session within a day would be even better for underlining, memory, and retrieval purposes.
RE community: a great idea. Price is not the only, nor necessarily, the best way of keeping out newbies. For example:
An automated screening process: an online squeeze page where applicants:
1. first are warned: you must be able to afford a monthly fee of $200 (or whatever) and you must have sufficient experience to contribute to the community.
2. then they fill out the form, but it’s not your name & email form. No, you would be intentionally nosey: list their website, years in business, product or service, vendor affiliation (Amazon, Clickbank, Paypal merchant account, etc), and any other DISqualifying, but fair factors.
3. If any field is blank or below a programmed cutoff level (e.g. years in business <2) then the applicant get a polite automated rejection. Only the super-motivated will persue further contact and that alone will be a point in their favor. Plus they will have been alerted that you are very serious.
4. Those who pass the initial test go to form #2, containing any further qualifications you choose plus this open-ended question: "What specifically are you willing and able to contribute to the community?" And a checkbox "Yes, I can afford $200 per month for a high-quality community as described."
5. Those who answer that, are your final candidates. Check out their references (as you would any business partner) and send out the acceptance letter to those you want. The PS. of the acceptance letter will contain the clincher, "the price is only X% of what was previously quoted. But I must have your answer within 7 days."
Sorry to be so long-winded. There are lots of mini-options to be chosen or rejected there, but to me it represents a cohesive psychological whole. The end result, you weed out newbies, at miminal staff time, with no hard feelings, and can still be totally flexible in your actual pricing.
Thank you for these detailed suggestions, Oran!
Those are some pretty cool ideas for a vetting process! :)
It’s actually going to be very challenging, to balance the sales message with the barriers to entry. On the one hand, I still need to make an attractive proposition, so that the right people want to join, but on the other hand, I can’t make entry too easy.
Automating some of the process, as you suggest, is definitely a good idea.
Shane,
Re: Group. World Domination… why else would you join? I think you have the mind, talent and discipline to lead the parade.
I am noticing that people who match complementing talents are rocking and rolling. Examples are: Jason Fladlien & Wilson Mattos; Jay Boyer & John Rhodes; Tina Williams and Trish; and on and on.
Perry Marshall has recently created events designed to give people with diverse talents and interests the ability to mingle. I believe it was billed as a “Rainmaker” event. Some guys have tremendous technical abilities, others have tremendous relational and sales abilities – a match made in heaven.
I would say a round of team launches (“hey, I’ve got an idea help me get it off the ground…”) combined with a gathering in the real world once or twice a year would be the ultimate ideal. A little face to face goes a long ways.
Your post on “the grind” is one of the most insightful posts ever – offline or online. It is on a par with Perry Marshall’s post on the difference between strategy and tactics (one is enduring, the other has an expiration date – easy money from adwords arbitrage is a case in point).
Anyway, I always enjoy touching base with your world.
Neil
Thank you very much, Neil!
I agree that teaming up with the right people is amazingly valuable. It has been central to my own businesses as well. If we could have a community full of driven people, where you could find qualified counter-parts that complement your skills, that alone would be incredibly valuable.
And adding some live events would be a great idea as well.
Shane, I had to check the no box because I’m a newbie! But I think it’s a great idea for the more experienced out there.
I loved the mini-course and also loved the short videos spread out over four days.It is much easier to fully grasp your ideas one at a time, so to speak, than trying to retain a lot of info at once. In fact, I think that’s one thing that others are doing that hurts them…making loooong videos…people don’t have time for them, honestly. And they get overwhelming (at least for newbies).
Love your site and don’t abandon us newbies entirely…we NEED you :D
Thank you for your reply, Sheila!
Don’t worry, this is not a case of abandoning newbies. The content I publish on the blog and things like the mini-course won’t change. I’d just have a dedicated place for the more advanced stuff, as well. :)
I love the idea of a community for non N O O B. I would hate it if people were allowed to self promote unless……. There were a seperate section where people could do so and it did not clutter up the the main meat and conversations of the community.
I am part of a few mastermind groups where I get a lot of value. At least for me it would be great to have a community also where we could help one another, bounce ideas off too.
Thanks, Annie!
I agree 100% about the self-promotion. That’s something that needs to be kept under control, otherwise it can easily ruin the community.
Maybe I’m just optimistic, but I think if we do this right, we’ll end up only appealing to the right kind of people in the first place and we’ll have less of an issue with spam and promotions.
Hi Shane,
Yes I would be very interested in being part of an advanced group; unfortunately I will have to say that at this point in time ongoing monthly costs is something I am very conscious of.
Over the last three years I have forked out over 17 thousand in all sorts of training courses, mastermind groups and software. Although I consider myself fairly knowledgeable now, I am still not at the point where I am making a full time living with online business.
I can say that I have definitely suffered from information overload and like many, have gone in too many different directions at once without achieving the desired goal. In the last couple of months I have been going through a heavy culling process and have now unsubscribed to all but three and one of those three is you.
In fact I would say that you are number one of those three, I like the information you offer, and the way you present it. So if I make the cut, yes I would like to be part of your advanced group.
Short videos are definitely better than long one, time is precious to me as I am sure it is with most everyone else. Having easy access to re-listen to it again in the future would be a definite plus.
You have become a roll mode that I would like to emulate, so keep up the good work.
Regards Anton.
Thank you for your feedback, Anton!
Keeping the budget under control is important, for sure. The community would come with a monthly fee, but I’m not looking to charge a lot of money just for the heck of it (although I could probably get away with that). More importantly: we are not looking to sell anything to anyone who can’t comfortably afford it. That’s a position I’ve always held, with all my products. There’s nothing wrong with not joining/not buying a product yet, because it doesn’t make financial sense at the time.
Hi Shane,
Thanks for the video. Yes a community for ‘non-beginners’ would be a great idea as I am fed up of joining courses that end being ‘only for beginners’.
Also the mini-course idea is great. Not too long, not one off post. In fact I am going to employ the same strategy on my education blog from now on!
Thanks, Trishan! Very cool to know that you’re going to try the mini-course format as well!
For the benefit of everyone subscribed to the comments: the “Impact Insider” (working title) community is definitely going to happen. The response has been overwhelmingly positive (and the poll results prove that there’s an unusually large percentage of non-newbie people folling IM Impact).
Current plan: we will launch the community as an MVP. It will be quite bare-bones at the beginning and we’ll make sure to grow it and shape it based on what the community needs most. Stay tuned for further updates. :)
Hi Shane,
Thanks for an interesting mini-course on blog sites.
I have already implemented the ‘Big Fix’ with landing page and I can completely see the logic now when it’s done.
Your idea of increasing traffic by selling products is a very compelling idea as well. Looking forward to testing it over the next few weeks :)
Thanks again Shane.
Best regards,
Thomas
Thank you for your comment, Thomas! And congrats on taking action and putting one of the steps into practice, right away.
I am interested in joining your new community as long as it would also cater the needs of those non-newbies who live and do online businesses in the non-english speaking countries. The monthly fee is not really much of a concern for me as long as it would benefit my businesses more. I would think the community is like a mastermind group of people who are serious and sincere in grooming their own businesses as well as others’. If you think you could provide such an environment, please be so kind as to let me in.
That’s exactly what I hope this community will be, yes.
As for the non-English factor: that’s definitely an interesting point. All I can say is that entrepreneurs who are active outside the English speaking regions are more than welcome in the community and it would be awesome if we could get many of them together.
I just finished the mini course today. It was fantastic.
In the last video you talked about why one should create their own product. Here is an idea: I know a lot of people struggle with what kind of product to create. Do you think it makes sense to do a video for your readers that examples ( of different types of generic products they could create.
ex: a book, a course, a video series, a live webinar class, an app, a plugin etc. Just an idea..
cheers Shane…
Thank you for your reply, Annie!
I’ve written a post like that here. I think that’s quite similar to what you suggest.
Also, to help figure out what product to create, I am working on something on the topic of finding (and evaluating) product ideas.
Hey Shane, I when through the mini course and great job with the training videos. It was fantastic. Please keep me posted I love to see what comes out of this because so many people have enjoy the course.
I do agree with you that building your own product is best for long term success. Also having a good blog that can support all your products, will take you a long way.
Thanks Dennis.