Six Figure Blogging Review

I was first alerted to the 6 Figure Blogging course by a tweet (Twitter) from Chris Brogan, a highly respected expert on social media, not to mention a friend and colleague after meeting briefly at PodCamp Boston 2.

I have been blogging here on TroyRutter.com for many years, and I have always been interested, fascinated, irritated, frustrated at not having the ability to actual monetize the blog.  AKA – make money.

After reading the course is presented by Darren Rowse of problogger.com and Andy Wibbels who works at Six Apart, I decided to give it a try.

Preview Call

Before purchasing the course, the pair conducted a free preview call to introduce themselves and the course. Both of them spoke well, were engaging, and most of all made sense.  I decided to go for it.

The Course

The course is divided into several (six) conference calls, each on a different topic.  Some examples include choosing a niche, monetizing a blog, working with adsense, writing good copy, etc.

Darren does much of the talking, only yielding to Andy for a couple of minutes, and also when there are phone calls or emails from participants.   Once the Q&A section is over, it goes back to Darren who continues to chat about the topic at length.

My Experience

To me, I was disappointed that the course on Six Figure Blogging was so elementary.   The advice and lessons that were given in the course were very beginner-like, and would have been the subject of “Two Figure Blogging” if not less.

I already make four figures blogging and on my personal web sites, so I was looking to take it to the next level.  While I did find some tips and tools that I didn’t know before, the majority of the course was “old hat” to me, and I felt very disappointed when the course was over.

One of the things that was extremely disappointing was the way the Q&As from the audience were handled, and the call ended.  At times it seemed like Andy couldn’t wait to get off of the call and do something else.  He would quickly ask for questions (sometimes forgetting to answer the ones submitted through the web site) and quickly ask again for questions and then end with “I guess there aren’t any questions… goodbye!”

It was this rushing through user’s questions that I felt damaged the course.  Also, the interaction in the forums was there, but it was more reactionary than participatory.  I expected Andy and Darren to use the medium to elicit conversations, not expect the “class” to start them.

Did I learn anything?  Certainly – a few tools.  Would I recommend the course?  I would recommend it for the beginner blogger who has either just started or is looking to start their first blog.  But if you have 1 or more years under your belt, I would seek a course better suited to your knowledge level.

Find Out More About The Six Figure Blogging Course

[tags]six figure blogging, andy wibbels, darren rowse, troy rutter, course review[/tags]

Finding Content Ideas

Many bloggers, or would-be-bloggers, end up with the same old cry of “I don’t know what to write about!” Well, the answer is “WRITE SOMETHING! QUICK!” I always like to think of writing a blog post like going to a botanical center, or a friend’s house that has a pond full of koi. I always like to feed them, and when you drop in food, they always rush and bump into each other, each frantically trying to get to the food. (the same activity can be seen in the popular game Insane Aquarium.) Your content is the food, and Google / Your audience are the koi. They are waiting there for your next post.

So where do you get ideas?

Well, you can wait for Chris Brogan to post another 100 Ideas for Bloggers on his blog. But the best way to never run out of ideas is to make yourself an editorial calendar. You can use a regular calendar, a Google Calendar like Steve Rubel, or even Microsoft Excel like Andy Wibbels does.  I started using the Andy Wibbels spreadsheet last week, and it has proved useful every day.   I have days marked with Content, Community, Commerce, Facebook, Social networks so I know what I can talk about on a certain day.  By getting into this habit, your readers will also know what to expect.  Now everybody knows that I should be talking about “content” on Wednesdays.

Content is so important to the web, from getting a good PR, to simply providing something useful.

Where do you get your ideas from?