Out of the recent furor around a certain product I am not going to mention any more I created myself a problem. I had got some new readers who are looking for a way to make income online but really don’t know where to start.
Structured Lessons Work for Some People
Now I can teach you some stuff but I prefer to send you on to an expert – and my experts were letting me down!
I have two main mentors that I have mentioned over and over. Grizz provides great information for free – but even he admits that his sites are designed to bring in search traffic – not necessarily with sound coaching and teaching principles in mind! The information is there but you have to dig – and some people don’t learn like that.
Vic – is not everyone’s cup of tea – some people can’t get past the foul-mouthed persona – which is really their problem not mine or his. But more importantly Vic has closed is private forum until further notice as he is busy on a new business venture – which meant I couldn’t refer people to the place I get a lot of my information from.
Now – today – finally- I have a solution. The third person who has provided me decent, quality information is Courtney Tuttle. He started off with a free site – discovered that people don’t appreciate free and went to a coaching/mentoring pricing monitoring. Now to be honest mentoring is not really for me – I just don’t learn that way very well, and of course the time zone difference didn’t make life any easier.
Now Court has, I am pretty sure, a background in consulting and/or coaching in the real world, and he and his partner Mark take a much more formalised approach to teaching the business of making passive income online than either Griz or Vic.
But, and this is the important thing, they are all basically telling the beginner the same thing in terms of doing keyword research, setting up websites, building back links and making money. Its all very professionally laid out, there is no bad language involved, and more importantly the information is good.
The Keyword Academy Membership Site
Court and Mark have launched a new payment membership site: Keyword Crash Course Video Series . The site is new and the main information currently available are 10 videos taking the beginner step by step from doing keyword research, setting up a site with WordPress, adding content, getting backlinks, article marketing, Adsense setup and statistical analysis of your site visitors. Each video is around 40 minutes long. There is also Q+A associated with each video and a full transcript so you can find the bit you want again!
Now this set of videos by themselves could easily be sold for hundreds of dollars. But they aren’t charging hundreds of dollars, or even $100 dollars. They are charging $1 dollar for the first month!
Seriously one dollar!
What’s the Catch?
Is there a catch – of course there is! After the first month you get charged an ongoing rate of $33/month (premium includes access to the forums – only way to go in my opinion). Ahhh you say – so how many months does it take to get access to the videos – 3, 6 or 9? No the initial 10 videos are available to you immediately – as soon as you confirm your $1 payment!
What about the subscription – yes you sign up for an ongoing subscription – can you cancel it? Yes as soon as you gain access if you want – though I wouldn’t recommend it. If you use paypal to subscribe all you do is go to Paypal and cancel the subscription – you don’t have to contact Court and Mark at all.
Why do I say you shouldn’t cancel immediately? Well because the Internet is a dynamic place – the business model that worked 5 years ago or even one year ago may not work now – having access to updated information and support is one of the most important things you need to have to go forward in this business. What I do say – is leave yourself a note and evaluate whether the product is working for you after 25 days and decide whether to continue on with the subscription.
Ahh you say, having been scammed one to many times, you can’t follow the videos without the fancy software right? No, really, the main software used in the videos are:
Keyword research: Google’s free adwords tool
Excel – but you can use OpenOffice – its free
Competitor analysis – SEO for Firefox – free
Statistical analysis of visitors to your site – Statcounter – free and highly recommended by me!
Setting up the site: you will need hosting and your own domain name using the Keyword Academy approach, you can do it for free – but if you are completely new to this I’d advise not to mix and match.
Hosting Hostgator $5/month if you only want one site, $8/month for unlimited.
WordPress – free, recommended themes and plugins – free
Domain name: $0.99c for an info $7.49 for a .com (from godaddy) -cost per a year.
Link building. They mention a bunch of free methods but also recommend that you use Unique Article Wizard for article distribution – this costs $67/month.
Will Keyword Academy Work For Me?
I don’t know where to start – I don’t know how to create a website – will Keyword Academy work for me?
If you are a beginner looking for a step-by-step approach to building an online business, if you are prepared to put the work in (Court recommends 8-10 hours /week) – then this will work for you. The program will teach you how to develop sites optimized for Adsense.
I have information over-load – I don’t know where to start – I need to start reading and take action.
Know how you feel – if you are looking for a step-by-step program – check this out and ignore all the other sites for a month or two. Don’t just watch the videos do your homework and create your first site, or first money-making one, and move forward.
I don’t do Google Adsense – I want to sell affiliate products or my own products – is there any value here for me?
Regardless of what you want to sell you need organic traffic to your site. The Keyword Academy will teach you how to do keyword research which will work regardless of your monetization method.
I’m an experienced Internet Marketer – will I learn anything?
Grizz, Vic, Court all have slightly different approaches to making money online – but all work for them. What works for you may be an exact copy of one their models- or a mash-up of your own – but these guys won’t put you wrong.
I learnt several things that were either new to me or I had been muddled on by skipping through the videos. The final video on how to flip websites was all new to me and well worth the $1 in my opinion!
Bottom Line: Is Keyword Academy a Scam?
No its not. You are committing one dollar to signing up for the video marketing course. In fact if you don’t think its worth a $1 email me at lis at lissowerbutts dot com and I will refund the $1 personally to your paypal account (paypal only I don’t have a US bank account) – the risk to you is nill.
Try the videos and forums for a month- you may find they don’t work for you, you don’t want to make money this way, you don’t have the time – whatever – you have lost nothing. Sign up for the forums options so that you can ask questions for a month – you may not like the answers – you can can cancel it cost you a $1 – which I will refund you if you want me to.
Will following the videos guarantee that you will make money – no it won’t! Nothing in life is free – and free money doesn’t exist. You will have to do some work. Most of us value our time so this is going to cost you some time. It is going to cost you some money for domains and hosting. But if you are flat broke you could still try this out by developing a site on blogger.com for fre e…
Why Am I Recommending Keyword Academy Video Series and Membership Site
- It will work for people who want a structured learning environment -the cost is reasonable, there is no long-term contract the pricing model is transparent and fair.
- The principles taught make me money – they work.
- They will make you money if you put the effort in. I am strongly recommending that you sign up with the premium version because most people need access to a forum for on-going support.
- There is an affiliate program – if you click on a link to sign up with the Keyword Crash Course Video Series for $1 I will get a commission. I will happily take Court’s money for introducing you. Oh and you already have to be a member to be approved as an affiliate so anyone promoting the product has seen what they are selling.
Related posts:
- Third Tribe Marketing and Keyword Academy Reviewed – Can Membership Sites Help?
- Site Build It Scam Review
- Understanding Buying Keywords with Market Samurai
- Third Tribe Review – Inside Rowse’s Third Tribe Is it a Scam?
- You Really Can Make Thousands on Hubpages
Do You Want to Make Online Income
I strongly suggest you check out my review of the Keyword Academy - its not free but you can try it out for $1
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
Great information and review Lis. I don’t have the keyword academy videos but I have followed Court and Mark for a long time (especially Court) and I can testify to their knowledge of making money online. They definitely know what they are talking about. I have no doubt that these videos are full of great information and more than worth the price!
Thanks for commenting Trent – I am listening to their website selling video – really interesting stuff.
Hey Lis
is nice to see people posting a real post without all the affiliate links, etc.
I joined the course and I plan to continue for 30 dollars per month. In a funny way I simply enjoy their way of explaining. I don’t love all the ideas, like blogroll exchange… but at least they don’t call people n00bs and the videos are delivered in a very professional way. Now for the price, it is worth it
Yes I am little surprised by the blogroll thing to – but I think I see where they are going with it – remember they are talking about new domains- I usually buy pre-owned domains these days, so they are trying to avoid the sandbox and look natural so I can see the blogroll exchange working for that.
Their style has always been very professional, straight down the line and that suits a lot of people.
Great review Liz,
I received an email yesterday (well I think it was yesterday it might have been two days before tomorrow with the time change) anyway I was going was about ready to signup when I saw you had a word or two to say and I read your post. I’ll use a link above.
Thanks
agrande’s last blog post..Zero Carb Foods and Glycemic Index
Thanks agrande – sometimes the time difference down under works to my advantage! – manged to review this why most of North America was asleep!
court and mark are excellent. You forgot to mention the access to the member forums and the video webinars each month making it a great deal.
nomadicmatt’s last blog post..Interview with Thailand Writer, Suzanne Nam
Hi Lis,
LOL, I had to laugh at the title of this post. You obviously learned at least one thing from the SBIers, and their fake “is it a scam? review sites”.
… the difference being, your review is real, and Court and Mark’s site is definitely worth checking out.
Todd
Hi Lis,
when I first saw the post title in my RSS reader I got ready to put my boxing gloves on again! LMAO!
I have to agree that The Keyword Academy membership offer is NOT a scam at all. In fact, Court is a really good teacher (Mark Too)
I paid to be a part of one of their keyword webinars a couple months ago (which is now part of their training series) and I must say that it was very organized, easy to follow and did contain a lot of pointed information that I was able to use immediately. Mark and Court also took extra time to answer every question during the webinar, which was cool too.
I think that this series would be great for beginners and advanced-beginners for sure.
AL
@Matt – I hadn’t realised they kept adding to the webinars- very cool.
@Todd- well I have a fondness for the term now! Actually I used to search for “XYZ is a scam” when I was trying to decide whether to buy something.
@Allyn – sorry to disappoint
After a long absence from MMO, I signed up too. I always knew the basic steps but what Court and Mark did for me was it forced me to be organized and brought out the quantitative measures for me. Before, I always did the keyword analysis in my head. Their formula now gives me a basis to shoot by. So does their link building goals.
I mean, is it really all that different than what Griz and Vic say? Keyword analysis, build links, build links, build links. I’m sure there are more tricks coming up in the next few months to streamline the process. I’m also hoping that the forum becomes a place where we form relationships to help each other out. So far so good, can’t complain about the $1!
Mariam’s last blog post..Would Google Acquiring Twitter Be a Bad Move?
@david I like reading too so its good that they have both – its hard to find what you want to hear again with videos!
@ Mariam no there is very little different – all 3 teach very similar principals – there is some variety -Vic is more into $7 sales and affilites, Grizz focusses on blogger blogs but they will all get you to the same place. The real difference is the teaching style not the substance
I signed up for a dollar, how can you loose? I think I’m different from most in that I’d rather read than watch a video though. So I think it’s nice they have transcripts you can read through if you like. I was a little curious about the blogroll thing myself, they mentioned it several times and very specifically. Still, it’s solid information, well presented step by step, it would work for basically any platform although they seem to like the self hosted WP.
David’s last blog post..Music Keys Chart: I IV V in Different Keys.
Hi Lis, I have to say I was totally stoked to see Court and Mark make this offer and move to a monthly membership model. If I’m not mistaken, this course is the course that they have originally been selling for between 500-1200 dollars I think. I’m not sure, can you confirm?
Anyway, I was strongly considering joining and had just entered Mark’s phone numbers into my cell to call about it when i saw the offer in the latest blog post.
I joined thru the premium link and have just gotten thru the 1st video. Definitely good stuff! I wouldn’t imagine anyone would pass this offer up for a measly $1, but if anyone has considered simply blowing it off, you’d be a fool.
That’s my two cents, anyway, thanks for the heads up for everyone Lis.
wu yi’s last blog post..Where Do I Find Wu-Yi Tea?
@Wu – I don’t know if its the same course they were originally selling for the higher price – I think the the higher price included 1-on-1 coaching as well and the monthly membership doesn’t but I don’t know as I never had the cash for the higher priced option
Hey Lis,
I just signed up and I made sure to go through your link in order to do so — not saying I’m gonna stick around past the first month — who knows? But I’ve read a bit of your stuff and I wanted to (possibly) throw a little money your way.
Keep your head up. Remember, most people give up right before the dawn breaks.
nat
nat’s last blog post..Top 10 Stocks to Buy: Part II
Thanks Nat – I seem to be retaining most of the people who orginally signed up which suggests that they are finding value in the program.
Yeah the dark before the dawn is hopefully where I am at at the moment LOL
If I’m not mistaken, this course is the course that they have originally been selling for between 500-1200 dollars I think. I’m not sure, can you confirm?
It’s essentially the same, Wu. They have made a few changes to the program, such as requiring members to build something like 10 sites to start out. There are a few other minor tweaks, but for the most part, I would say that they have only made the program better than ever. I’m not sure what the deal is regarding one on one with the current setup, but that is what they were doing with the big one time fee course.
Fiar | Political Humor’s last blog post..Top 10 Reasons Why Obama Has a Bucket Stuck on His Head
The current setup there isn’t formal 1on1 AFAIK – there are a couple of phone in times each week- though -I’m not sure if thats the same thing? The 10 sites to start is right too.
Wow Lis,
After I read your hubs on earthquakes and looked them over I don’t know how you do it all. Do you outsource any of these at all? I had to come over and check out your flagship site again.
I need to learn to be more interacting online, I have left an entire 10 comments or so in the last year.
I joined the Academy Training early on before the first 50. My full time auto biz takes all my time and it is just outright frustrating not to have the time right now to do the projects as fast as I want to.
The Keyword Academy is hands down the best structured training program online. I have purchased several, I’d even like to complain about a couple of them but I will leave that for another time.
Lis, your a hard producer to compete with, I classify you right in with Griz, Vic, Court and Mark.
Thanks for all the great tips.
Cheers,
Dirk
Dirk’s last blog post..How To Make money On The Internet
Hi Dirk – I really am a geologist – and know a bit about earthquakes and have lived with them for years -those weren’t hard hubs to write! I do outsource – but “lissie” and this blog is all my own words – it actually gets easier as you get more experienced writing! I totally argree the KWA is the best structured training available online – but you’re wrong comparing me to GVCM group – they make serious money – I don’t, yet!
Hey Lissie, I was not referring to the make money part, I was speaking of the helping other people part, so I believe I was totally correct in comparing you with that group, making money is just a major bonus!
Dirk’s last blog post..How To Make money On The Internet
Hi Lis
I have been looking for a way to set up a internet online business for the last six weeks and only became disillusioned with all the apparent scams that exist in the market. Luckily i came across your blog and for the first time i feel confident with your recoommendation of this Tuttler guy in keyword academy. Their site came over as hones reliable and nor pushing. What i like most is that they are willing to give you basically a free test period to decide. Love it. Thanks for the advice
Hi Lis,
I’d first like to thank you for starting a controversy with Site Build It. I posted a comment that was non vulgar and straight forward when you went for Dr. Evoy’s cult (in your opinion). My SBI Child Obesity site has received a ton of traffic from your blog thanks to you.
One of the best lessons I’ve learned from SBI is creating multiple streams of income which brings me to my other thing which is attraction marketing. I know you have heard of Mike Klingler and Ann Sieg. Well I’ve been in business with Ann for over a year and now am immersed in their Renegade Professional tutorial training program. There is a huge demand for training and their program is loaded with value. Over 100 hours of on screen training plus webinars. Mike is a natural teacher and does an awesome job. They get you into action creating a web of content and linking your content. Plus article marketing, social networking, YouTube, building a blog, etc.
It is more pricey Fifty bucks a month but it pays for itself and the University is totally free just to get a taste of the pot of gold.
Oh yes, the language is clean too.
There is plenty of room for trainers in this market, as a matter of fact, there is a shortage.
My philosophy is (and I hope it never changes) to always make early contact with my referrals and be there for them. This is how you build working relationships and trust. People like to do business with those that they trust.
If Courtney is working this same model I have no doubt that all will succeed with some work and motivation.
.-= James Rouse´s last blog ..Trust Builds Business – Tips To Help You Build Trust Online =-.
Curious that SBI alone didn’t make you a fortune so you are now using the next popular model? I am sure you did get a ton a traffic – the question is was it useful- did your income go up? Yeah I’ve heard of them and it took me some effort to get of their lists as well I seem to recall. You miss the point of my business model completely – I don’t want customers, I want passive income!
Lis,
Actually no. I found SBI through the Renegade Network Marketer System. So this model has been in my arsenal all along. My SBI site is totally different from my blog and the training. SBI never did and never will proclaim to be a get rich quick software package. But since my site is self serving it allows me to explore other opportunities. Didn’t you say something about passive income? No I did not miss the point.
The Renegade Professional, University, and Network Marketer are not only about creating a web of content to attract targeted business. They also are passive income models. You may have missed that part. In the back office there are over 40 different affiliate programs that you should sign up for. When a referral purchases a product you earn money plus its 2 tiered. So while you are concentrating on your main business the back office keeps putting money in your pocket without you even doing any promotion.
What I like about SBI is the SEO tools. They have the best keyword research and page analyzing tools on the planet. Plus monetization modules, PPC modules, content building modules, and value exchange for finding link partners without you having to go through all the work. And that’s just for SEO.
Some software packages charge up to and in excess of $500.00 just for this kind of Search Engine Optimization but SBI’s whole package is $299.00. What I do is run all of my online content through SBI’s Analyze It tool. Then I know its ready for the web. It’s not surprising that my content is listed on page 1 or 2 of the SERP.
Earning passive income is awesome but its more than slapping a text link or banner on a page and counting your money. You still need to pre-sell the product by writing valuable content that addresses the concerns of your target market. But you already know that.
.-= James Rouse´s last blog ..Trust Builds Business – Tips To Help You Build Trust Online =-.
LOL!!!
Dear God, these SBIers do love their long-winded comments. Now if you can just get them to keyword target all of the free content they are giving you
Well written article on TKA, by the way.
.-= James @ GH5 Cheats´s last blog ..Whats New In GH5? =-.
James,
Are you saying that Lis needs all the help she can get and now she’s relying on SBIers for traffic?
LOL!!!
.-= James Rouse´s last blog ..Trust Builds Business – Tips To Help You Build Trust Online =-.
Lissie,
I followed you from hubpages to this post =). I am definitely, definitely interested in this site you recommended. But I need to find that one month where I can listen to all those videos LOL. I bookmarked this post so that I can get back to it later when I have the time. The $1 is a non-issue for me because you’re right, it is a great deal! Thanks for your post and your tips.
No problem emievil – yes definitly don’t bother signing up until you have a bit of time to devote to it – did I mention it does actually involve quite a lot of work!
I have heard good things about the keyword academy too. Those guys know what they are doing and they are helping a lot of people make money online. Aside from reading Courts blog I don’t have any personal experience with the keyword academy but once I get some free time I will enroll and check things out.
.-= Internet Marketing Coach´s last blog ..Hover Wizard Review =-.
Def worth enrolling!
@emievil, Liz & all others who have tried or are thinking of trying the Keyword Academy.
This is a fantastic structured learning program!
Can’t wait to race through the rest of the videos.
It is positively addictive.
You don’t get hype or promises of instant wealth!
You get structured, methodical, informative lessons.
Thanx Liz for the recommendation!!!
i’m so pleased you are having fun adpc! You will have to race thru to the end and then work your way thru methodically
Have you noticed a difference in comments since you’ve been using Keyword Luv? I was considering installing it.
Hey all!! I’ve been looking around and doing research on all these online money making scams. So far I haven’t found anything proving The Keyword Crash Course to be a scam. I’ve read all the good comments written by everyone. So I’m thinking about trying it out. But I know very little (really almost next to nothing) about building websites, lingos, and so on so forth. So would this be good for a beginner like me, or is there something else out there that would fit me? Any input from anyone would help alot. Thanks.
I’ve seen the keyword crash course over the last few months take many beginners from where you are not to making their first $ online. It does involve quite a lot of work on your part – but most things do! My best advice is try it – signing up will cost you a $1 – you have access to all the core course videos and materials. If its not for you cancel within 30 days – all you will have paid is $1 (all you do to cancel is cancel the paypal subscription – one click, no argument from anyone)
JB, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know all the lingo/terminology. The process they will guide you through is pretty straightforward, and from that point on you will essentially get out what you put into it in terms of effort. As far as the things you will need to learn, all the instructions are simple and easy to follow. TKA is a perfect system for beginners.
jb,
My best advice. Go with your gut.
Think about what you need or believe you will need for additional tools. If they are included. All the better.
If your site going to need a lot of photos be sure that there is enough storage. Check into the bandwidth. is it unlimited? Do they have a good support system? Are there any hidden fees? Domain name registration, tracking, SEO tools, on page analysis, etc.
Hello Lis,
I wanted to tell you that last week, I clicked from this site and joined TKA. So far, so good. The videos are well-done and I’m enjoying them.
As much as anything else, I am getting a kick out of the two partners’ personalities — that is, Mark and Court. Although I don’t know what Mark looks like, he seems like such an earnest type. He comes across as very sincere. And I do believe that everything he has written on their web site is meticulous and painstakingly accurate. Good for him. Fun stuff!
Hey Lis. I hear about this Vic guy but the only site I have seen of his is hasn’t been updated in a year. Point me to a site he runs? I agree with TKA review. Its a nice community. Unfortunatley I had to unsub for a bit because it was more of a time sink than I was getting out of it atm. Totally my fault not theres. Sometimes I need to take some massive action instead of massive reading ( a lot of times actually)
Hello Lis:
I learned more about keywords in the three months I was with them than I did in the previous three years.
I built sites and got ranked! I even fell into the sandbox which I think wasn’t adequately addressed at the Academy.
Mostly very good though – you gotta hand it to them!
Riley West – An Internet Marketer In The Making