The Blog of Lisa Morosky

Disclosure: The title of this post is “my slightly biased review”. Just being honest. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Dave for the past year, and I can happily say he’s a friend of mine. So if that makes me biased, so be it. But no one is twisting my arm to write this review, and I don’t recommend anything on this blog that I haven’t tried myself and liked.

Straight-up: you want to see a David Risley success story? You’re looking at one.

At the beginning of 2008, I was working at a job I hated and wanting to make some sort of transition out of it. I had been following Dave’s blog and I could relate to a lot of the things he was saying about lifestyle design and job security.

I started following him on Twitter. When he said he needed a virtual assistant, I volunteered myself, and the rest is history.

But more than the opportunity to make some money by being a virtual assistant, I was pretty excited at the opportunity to get a glimpse into what Dave does for a living (since I aspired to do it myself). And over the past year, that’s exactly what’s happened.

At times, Dave was the only person encouraging me to push on with VAforBloggers.com because I had a unique market. He helped me see my own potential. And simply put, through having access to awesome programs like 3 Day Money and the Blog Masters Club, I’ve been able to grow my blog, grow my business, and step everything up a notch. And the revenue has followed.

So, let’s talk about Dave.

I think it’s just as important to talk about Dave here as it is to talk about what the Blog Masters Club has to offer. I mean – he’s going to be coaching you. So don’t you want to know the type of guy he is?

Well, he’s an Internet marketer. In the truest sense of the word. His mind is always twisting and turning and the creative energy is pretty much always spilling out of him. He’s a smart business man. He has demonstrated blog success (and not necessarily in the make money online market either, as he’s successfully made the hard-to-monetize tech market a six-figure business over at PCMech.com). He’s an iron-clad leader in the blogging and Internet marketing industries. He knows his stuff.

But, he’s also this guy (he’s going to be thrilled I included this picture).

He’s a guy you can walk right up to and talk with. A guy who lets me take an embarrassing photo of him over lunch at BlogWorld and post it to Twitter with some silly comment about “how many probloggers does it take to open an Apple box”. He’s a guy who’s driven by the same things you are: family, the need/want to create a comfortable lifestyle, etc. He’s just…a guy. A guy who’s had a ton of success and wants to share the know-how with you.

Now let’s get into the Blog Masters Club nitty-gritty.

I love this course. If I could marry this course, I would. Here are the top 5 reasons why I love it:

• You can come into this course without having a blog, and leave it knowing exactly how to make your newly created blog successful. It takes you from A to Z.
• No matter how you learn, the material is presented in an easy-to-digest way for you. Every module has videos, transcripts (done by yours truly, thank you very much), and MP3s. You’re covered.
• No stone has been left unturned. Dave has seriously covered every topic that pertains to having a successful blogging business. Period. You don’t need to buy any other course to get supplemental knowledge (if you don’t want to, that is).
• You immediately become a part of this awesome community. One of the biggest assets of this course is the ability to network and get help from other people on your level. It’s team-building. I love it.
• You get personal access to Dave. Dave is active in the Blog Masters Club forums, and he holds webinars for students. He’s going to go out of his way to get your questions answered.

And look at these 16 modules. Here’s the broad overview of what’s covered:

• Module 1: Problogger Orientation (My favorite video of the course is in this module, believe it or not. Module 1.4. You’ll see why when you get into the course. It’s life-changing.)
• Module 2: Market Selection
• Module 3: Optimizing Your Blog
• Module 4: Secrets of Effective and Compelling Blogging
• Module 5: Social Media Strategy
• Module 6: Traffic Building
• Module 7: SEO
• Module 8: Video Production
• Module 9: Blog Monetization Strategies
• Module 10: Product Creation & Sales
• Module 11: List Building
• Module 12: Membership Sites
• Module 13: Marketing & Persuasion
• Module 14: Maximizing Profits
• Module 15: The Power of Others
• Module 16: Automation & Outsourcing

See something that’s missing there? Because I sure don’t.

And in addition to all those modules, you’re getting:

• Action Guides for all the modules. Dave helps you take the baby steps and digest all the information.
• Access to a members-only forum. Get help and give help from fellow members.
• Live group coaching calls. The calls are recorded and transcribed for future reference.
• A behind-the-scenes swipe file. Dave is literally handing you the emails he sends to his list to get action, plus all kinds of other demonstrated-to-work materials he’s actually used.
• A rolodex of resources. All kinds of resources and stuff, all in one place.

Look, to me, it’s a no-brainer. It’s a great price for a huge amount of information from a proven expert in the industry.

Get in on the Blog Masters Club.

FYI: the doors are only open until Tuesday, February 2nd. So you can’t say I didn’t warn you!

Comment below if you have any questions about the program. I (obviously) know quite a bit about it, so I’m more than happy to answer questions!

I’m giddy with excitement here because I get to review a book that I totally believe in – Beyond Blogging.

If you’re not familiar with the book yet (and you’d have to be living under a rock, because everyone’s talking about this), it’s written by Nathan Hangen and Mike CJ. These are two bloggers that if you’re not familiar with them, get familiar with them, because they’re brilliant.

Nathan is one of the most dedicated bloggers I’ve ever seen. Before I met him at BlogWorld in October 2009, I had read his blog and loved his approach to blogging as a business. He’s smart – and he shows us something we sometimes forget about: a person who holds a job in addition to pursuing a blogging business. Dedication much?

And Mike – seriously, I love Mike. I’ve yet to meet him (but I hear rumors of him attending BlogWorld in 2010), but I’m looking forward to it when I do. It’s been a delight to interact with him online. He’s an extremely successful blogger – and he sometimes goes unmentioned. He’s brought the issue of blogs focusing on local markets to the forefront of my mind. And his dedication to interacting with other bloggers is truly endearing.

So those are the fellas. But let’s talk about the book.

Beyond Blogging begins by highlighting the journeys of some people whose names you probably recognize: Gary Vaynerchuk, Chris Guillebeau, Chris Garrett, Chris Brogan, Penelope Trunk, and David Risley. You can read about their backgrounds, their best advice, and how they’ve become successful.

You want to be successful (in any area of your life)? Seek the wisdom of those who are successful.

Then the book moves into specific case studies which share unique lessons you can learn from John Chow, Pete Cashmore, Shama Kabani, Michael Dunlop, Jonathan Fields, Darren Rowse, iJustine, Steve Pavlina, and Brian Clark.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, I’m purposefully being vague. You’re going to want to buy the book and check out the details for yourself.

Then comes the very best part of the book. This part makes me want to jump up and down. They bring all this information together into a Six Figure Blogging Blueprint that outlines how you can do it yourself.

Is that not genius, or what?

I know we’ve all seen people throw some interviews into an eBook format and market it as a product. But after you buy it and consume all that interview information, you’re left with information overload, and you’re left thinking, “Boy am I glad I spent the money on something that doesn’t give me any information I can put to use immediately.”

This isn’t Beyond Blogging. You’re going to get a ton of information, and then you’re going to get a lesson on how to apply it.

And if that wasn’t enough, you’re going to get the workbook, which is going to help you focus your thoughts and goals and make them actionable.

Beyond Blogging is a recipe for building a successful blogging business. Truly. Nathan and Mike hand you the information you need to know on a silver platter, and show you how to use that information in conjunction with your own blogging business. If you’re not bursting at the seams with inspiration after reading this, you must not be an excitable person by nature.

Grab your copy here. And enjoy!