Blog Mastermind by Yaro Starak: 2008 Review

Online training is becoming more and more popular. There are a lot of scams out there so it is hard to know just what programs might be worth your time and money.

Last year I decided to go ahead and enroll in a course and I just ended that year long training period with Yaro Starak. If you don't know who Yaro Starak is-you probably are new to blogging.

Yaro is most popularly know as the Blog Mastermind Mentor and for his popular blog, Entrepreneurs Journey.

A few years ago Yaro began blogging and quickly shot to the top of the heap as one of the most successful and well known internet bloggers.

Today he makes quite a good living from his blogging and he formed the course to teach others to do the same thing.

Since I am one of the first graduates, I thought I would share my experience with Yaro Starak and the Blog Mastermind Program.

How I Found the Program

A few years ago I was busy podcasting and blogging but didn't really know what I was doing. One of the PR professionals I knew invited me to join an interview with Yaro Starak.

The interview was all about podcasting but he captivated me with his sincerity and the simplicity. He was a great teacher, patient, and very informative. So, when he invited listeners to opt-in to his email list, I joined.

That was back in 2006. I didn't hear from Yaro right away but when he did contact me, his emails were full of useful information.

Anyway, he invited me to get involved in the early launch of his Blog Mastermind Program in 2007 and I jumped on board without hestitation.

Usualy beta programs are not too great but the Blog Mastermind Program was exceptional.

Let me tell you--It kept me moving! Each week new lessons and assignments arrived in my email box.

A Few Details

Okay, I can't give you all the insider information to you but can give you some inkling as to what is involved in the Blog Mastermind Program.

The core is a series of twenty-seven lessons that is delivered once a week to your email address. Each week I eagerly clicked on the link and read the assignment.

But I also participated in a membership only forum, asked questions of advanced bloggers (including Yaro), and listened to audio interviews from some of the top bloggers and marketers, such as Darren Rowse (Problogger), Brian Clark (Copyblogger), and a whole lot more.

Part of the training includes viewing video case studies and tutorials where student blogs are discussed and suggestions for change are made.

I enjoyed the case studies and watching my classmates blogs change and grow.

Advanced bloggers aslo serve as moderators within the forums and share their experiences along with extremely valuable resources.

One of the other perks is that I got to network with other students. This is a great since everyone tries to help each other, we shared struggles and successes, and built relationships with other bloggers.

Yaro took the time to review a couple of my blogs. Let me say that I didn't like it one bit! However, he had some great insights and helped me optimize to make my blogging efforts work for me.

What are success secrets worth?

At least one other review said that she would be "willing to invest much more in it than I would have in any other product."

If you are new to blogging, it takes time and growing your audience and traffic. Any profits come only after you invest your time and energy.

Yaro Starak makes a pretty good income from his blogging but will you?

Maybe or maybe not. It does take work. What I can say is that if you enroll in the Blog Mastermind Program you'll be guided closer to your goals.

Personally, I am happy to say that I am making some money now. Previously I had not made any money fro my blogs despite blogging for a couple of years prior to enrolling. I was happy to find that the course paid for itself months before I was done with the program.

In my opinion the Blog Mastermind is a great step-by-step program and there is a method to why the course topics are presented the way they are and in the order they are received.

The time frame between assignments allows students to absorb all the lessons but a few people felt overwhelmed while others were chomping at the bit for more.

The nice thing about the program is that it allows people to pace themselves so the only pressure is the pressure you put on yourself.

Also, those that complete the program have lifetime access to the course and any new goodies that will be added in the future.

Another aspect members appreciated was that Yaro is a GREAT teacher. He explains tough concepts clearly and serves them up in bite size pieces AND also takes the time to answer questions in the forum.

At one time Yaro offered a free preview of Lesson 11 along with the Table of Contents. So here is a copy of the TOC listings:

• Lesson 1: Let's Get Blogging
• Lesson 2: Blog Foundations

• Lesson 3: RSS, Social Proof & Plug-ins

• Lesson 4: Finalizing Your Blog Structure

• Lesson 5: Set Up Key Content Pages

• Lesson 6: Content Focus and Structure

• Lesson 7: Authentic Content

• Lesson 8: Personal Branding and Sourcing Content

• Lesson 9: Hiring Bloggers

• Lesson 10: Copywriting For Blogs

• Lesson 11: Marketing Through Conversations

• Lesson 12: Leveraging Content For Traffic Part 1 Forums
• Lesson 13: Leveraging Content For Traffic Part 2 Article Marketing & Blog Carnivals

• Lesson 14: Leveraging Content For Traffic Part 3 Guest Writing

• Lesson 15: Search Engine Optimization For Blogs

• Lesson 16: Impact Marketing

• Lesson 17: Podcasting

• Lesson 18: Publicity

• Lesson 19: The Traffic Secret Every Blogger Knows

• Lesson 20: The Monetization Process

• Lesson 21: Testing Monetization Part 1 Contextual Advertising

• Lesson 22: Testing Monetization Part 2 Affiliate Marketing

• Lesson 23: Testing Monetization Part 3 Direct dvertising

• Lesson 24: More Monetization Options

• Lesson 25: Email List Profits

• Lesson 26: Buying and Selling Blogs

• Lesson 27: How To Make Blogging A Business

There are also a few extra advance lessons to those who feel they might benefit.

I believe that Yaro Starak's Blog Mastermind will equip any novice or intermediate blogger with all the tools needed to make money blogging--or to take a blog to the next level.

AND the program support is excellent.

So ultimately the Blog Mastermind Program teaches you how to implement strategies to help you make your blog a success. However, let me be clear: It does take work.

Blog Mastermind is not a get rich quick scheme and it has integrity...which is another reason I recommend it. There is also a 30 day guarantee with Blog Mastermind which allows members to experience 4 lessons and to peruse the forums.

Is it something that will benefit you?

When I was asked who could benefit from the program--I said everyone and I meant it.

The only people who wouldn't benefit would be those who are already blogging successfully with large traffic numbers.

As I said, I was already blogging but it would have made my life easier if I had started with the program.

Anyway, if you want to take a peak I'd recommend the Blog Profits Blueprint first.

The free download is the skeleton behind the Blog Mastermind Program--the program itself is much more involved.

If this program sounds interesting to you, just follow the links to learn more.

Also, Yaro has just released a few videos which reveal some interesting information you might not have heard before.

Download the Blog Profits Blueprint Now

Were there any shortcomings to the program?

The only thing I thought was a shorcoming was learning how to navigate and use the forums.

There are public forums and also student forums.As a student you have an all access passcode and make another one for the forums.

At first it is easy to get lost. After a while it gets more intuitive and you can subscribe to threads or search certain topics. I found the "new posts" link the most useful.

What did I find most valuable?

Hmm, good question.

First, I had been blogging a while but I figured Blogger (because it is owned by Google) would be one of the better platforms. However, unless you use their hosting this is not the case.

Because I wanted to build my brand and have the blog on my own domain I first just fed it to a specific page. Yaro discussed the different platforms and why one was better than the other.

Immediate Benefit: Wouldn't you know, once I moved to using Word Press I noticed an immediate increase in traffic and search engines loved me more than they ever had before.

Next, I am the kind of person that jumps in and does things but not someone who has a lot of time to research it all.

Yaro is on top of the curve when it comes to blog specifics such as optimization, advertisers, and other such topics PLUS my fellow students shared their discoveries and resources as well.

Immediate Benefit: I found additional plug-ins, the best places to market my blog, AND tips and hints that I'd otherwise have to spend tons of time looking for on the web.

One of the other things I am not always good at is asking questions--I often don't know (or forget) to ask about certain aspects of a process.

Immediate Benefit: Yaro and the other students would ask questions and sometimes introduce me to new software/techniques/ideas that I could implement, too. The answers are always posted or put up in audio or video.

There are probably many more that I could list but these are a few...and that is why the program is called a mastermind--the collective group sparks more than just a few could.