Would you join Danny’s Audience Business Masterclass if he promised that you’ll earn $3000 to 6000/month within your first year?
What if he promised to refund your entire course fees as well as pay you an extra $1000 out of his own pocket if you didn’t make at least $3000/month within one year?
Would you sign up?
I didn’t.
It seemed too good to be true.
And anything too good to be true is probably not true, right?
So I checked out Danny Iny. Danny is the founder of Firepole Marketing and best-known for his prolific guest posting, which earned him the title “ The Freddy Krueger of Blogging”. He’s also the author of the Amazon bestseller, Engagement from Scratch, and the Naked Marketing Manifesto (both available free of cost). So that was a bit of an all right.
Then I Googled “Danny Iny’s Audience Business Masterclass reviews.” I couldn’t find any negative reviews. Not one. Unbelievable.
Next, I emailed Danny a couple of times asking him some questions about the masterclass. Both times, he responded within 24 hours.
Finally, I checked out every aspect of his course – I read the masterclass sales page and the FAQs, repeatedly.
I did find these caveats in this infographic:
“You can do this masterclass if…
- You’re an expert in something people care about
- You’re willing to work your ass off
- You can do this without earning anything for a while, and
- You’re reasonably smart, willing to figure things out”
(Just to clarify, by “expert” Danny means you should be reasonably knowledgeable about your chosen topic and be able to talk about it for 30 minutes.)
In addition, you have to follow these four steps in the right order:
- Build the Foundation
- Cultivate Relationships
- Launch Explosively
- Profitable Offers
To accomplish these four steps, the course material is delivered in 14 weekly lessons in video, audio and text format. Most importantly, the weekly lessons contain specific assignments designed to take you step by step to a successful online business.
Danny also promises unlimited email access to him and his team as well as free technical support for the first three months.
However, I procrastinated for four more days before finally signing up for the masterclass. Frankly, I still wasn’t fully convinced that I could have a successful online business within a year. My self-doubt and fear of failure have deep roots. And I belong to the “I’ll believe it when I see it” tribe. It’s like having a bone stuck in my throat.
So I had to promise my fearful internal critic that if I wasn’t satisfied by the quality of the course material in the first three weeks, I would ask for a refund before the end of the first month. As Danny says, “No harm, no foul.”
After joining the masterclass, in the first week, I learned how to identify my audience, select my niche, ensure that there is a big enough market for my niche and analyze my competition. I’m beginning to appreciate Danny’s systematic approach and his attention to detail.
And my internal critic has started to shut up.
[Take note: Rohi’s e-book “200 Humorous Tweetable Quotations” is available for free download from Amazon KDP from 27th to 29th November, Wednesday (Pacific Time): http://www.amazon.com/200-Humorous-Tweetable-Quotations-ebook/dp/B00DG6DU34/]
(27 November 2013)
Rohi Shetty is a medical doctor, Vipassana meditator, writer, editor, translator and blogger. His short stories and articles have been published online and in print. He blogs at http://rohishetty.com.
Click here to return to the index of stories for Stillness and Flow
Please, would you show me success stories from absolute begginners, that went on this? I need to know if totally newbies like me, without any marketing talent, got succesful in a few months or so…
Hi Marie,
Thanks for stopping by.
To answer your question, it depends. Yes, this course is designed for absolute beginners and there are many success stories. I’m not one of them because I bagged a full-time job shortly after joining ABM and didn’t have the time to follow. But I have read all the lessons and I’m sure that if I follow all the steps, I will be successful. Btw, I plan to restart ABM from July 1 – I received a follow up email from the ABM team a few days ago asking if I needed any help.
It’s right to have doubts because it’s an expensive course. However, you are covered by two guarantees. The one-month free trial and the one-year guarantee. My advice is to try it out for a month and see if it suits you. I can give you additional support – DM me on Twitter @rohishetty – so that we can connect. If at the end of the month after sampling the first 3-4 lessons, you can take a call whether to continue or quit. At the worst, taking the free month-long trial will get you started because the ABM team also provides technical support. If you decide to continue, you can use the 1-year guarantee as an additional accountability tool – Danny guarantees that if you follow all the lessons and don’t earn at least $3000/month, he will refund your fee and pay you an extra $1000.
So Marie, if you follow the lessons diligently, you can’t lose. That should be motivation enough. If you join the course through my affiliate link, I will provide extra support and an extra layer of accountability, which will boost the chances of your success. If you click on the link below, I’ll receive a commission without any extra cost to you: http://audiencebiz.com/go/rohi
All the best,
Rohi
I recently signed up with Firepole Marketing through an affiliate but was declined my money back as per their guarantee. I suggest avoiding this company.
Hi Justine,
Please could you give more details? Perhaps I can help you to resolve your problem.
I doubt you were declined money back unless it is YOUR fault because [1] it was outside the deadline and [2] you are OBVIOUSLY, OBVIOUSLY , OBVIOUSLY not an action taker. ADMIT IT . And I will legally DOUBLE cover your fees by guaranteeing to the world you are still broke today..
Hi John,
Thanks for your interest.
I’m sorry I haven’t been able to give Danny’s course my full attention because of other projects, which diverted my attention. I’ve downloaded all the lessons and plan to restart shortly. So I guess you’ll have to wait for a while longer.
My present opinion: it’s not a scam but you do have to work hard.
For example, once you decide on your niche/target audience/ideal reader, you have to use guest posting and other strategies in order to gain 1000 subscribers to your website.
One thing is clear: Danny Iny is not a fraud; he’s a genuinely good person.
I hope this helps.
I’ll report on my progress again in about six months.
Until then, ciao.
Can you do a blog series describing your experience as a participant in this course so that people can see your progression? I think it would be very helpful.
Thanks for your interest, B.
I do plan to write a series of posts about the lessons in the Audience Business Masterclass. Stay tuned…
Hi Rohi,
Thanks for the helpful article. I like your process of due diligence. And your comment that your internal critic is like a bone stuck in your throat. LOL!
You’re right – there’s no real downside to check out this course.
It would be great if you could give us a regular update about your progress on this masterclass – actions taken every week – like a case study. That would be really interesting – unless your bony inner critic coerces you to quit within the first month… :-S
Hi Roy,
Thanks for stopping by and for your witty comments.
Well, I’ve gone past the one month-barrier and will be doing the full Audience Business Masterclass. I managed to resist the urge to quit and ask for a refund. And I’ve spat out my inner critic and left him writhing by the side of the road.
I really like your idea of presenting my progress in the course as a case-study. Perhaps I’ll do just that.
Poor fellow, that inner critic – what with being spat out and left writhing by the side of the road. Could have been tossed out, turfed out or asked to leave (politely or in a harsh tone). But you spat him out, Rohi? A necessity, I suppose.
LOL Aneeta, I couldn’t stop laughing, reading your witty comment. LOL.
This is a great course. I would like to do it. The great part is that Danny is willing to help at every step. I have visited his site too and it looks good. Thank you Rohi for this article. One always try it for a month and if not satisfied ask for a refund.
Hi Abizer,
Thanks for stopping by. Yes, Danny Iny is definitely the go-to guy for building an audience-based business. What I like best is that he’s a prolific writer and a genuinely nice guy.
I’m doing the Week Three lesson of his Audience Business masterclass and so far, it’s all good.