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eBook Review: Twitter Dummy – Guide To Increasing Followers and Making Money

January 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

John Paul over at johnpaulaguiar.com hit me up last week and asked if I would take a look over his new eBook, Twitter Dummy, and review it here on RobbSutton.com. As a friend and loyal reader of this site, I jumped at the chance to take a look. Twitter Dummy is John’s new eBook on the tips and practices to grow your Twitter following and…in turn…grow traffic to you blog, company or whatever else you are promoting on or off line. Titled as “the only Twitter guide you will ever need”, Twitter Dummy has a tall order to fill to be the do-it-all Twitter guide…so let’s take a look inside…

First…Who Is John Paul?

John Paul blogs over at johnpaulaguiar.com, but…more importantly…what gives him the right to educated on Twitter? First, John has a sizeable Twitter following at over 35,000 as I write this. Furthermore, he is not following more than that to get that number. While this can be accomplished through automated script programs, from what I can see…he is actually engaging with his audience and they are engaging back. So…at least you do not have to worry if this is another one of those “I’ll help you get xx,xxx followers in xx days…but I don’t even have xxx followers!” gimmicks. He is talking the talk on Twitter and it shows through his profile.

Twitter Dummy eBook Review

Twitter Dummy is 37 pages on everything about Twitter. It will take you from setting up a Twitter account to interacting with followers and actually finding those followers. What I do find refreshing within the pages of Twitter Dummy is that John stays on the straight and narrow track as it pertains to spamming on Twitter. He definitely shows that the conservative approach to Twitter marketing still works when done correctly. John goes through the motions of showing you exactly how he grew a sizable, targeted Twitter following that brings traffic to his blog and related products.

There is a lot of emphasis on creating value for your followers and that part I really liked. He goes into extreme detail about how to provide that value and why it works on Twitter. He gives examples on self promotion and  the proper techniques that will not put off your followers and ways to bring them to your content.

Going through the eBook…I picked up about a half dozen Twitter tools and sites that I didn’t even know about that are going to drastically improve my Twitter experience. Kind of one of those…”just when you thought you had seen everything…you are surprised”. Well…going through Twitter Dummy opened my eyes to several more off-Twitter areas I need to look into to provide more value and find more targeted Twitter users to follow. There were also several techniques that I hadn’t considered using specific Tweet urls to drive traffic to my profile that I am going to start using now.

Is this 37 page eBook worth the $25 dollar price of admission?

It depends. Like most eBooks on the market, it will be invaluable for some and probably not worth it for others. There are a lot of people I follow on Twitter (and won’t be for much longer if they don’t change) that need to read this eBook just for the holistic and honest approach John takes with Twitter. Their results would skyrocket if they changed their Tweeting habits.

If you are in the camp that is still saying “I don’t get Twitter”…you should pick up a copy right now and get to work. It will spell it all out for you in a way you can understand so that you can start using Twitter as a viable social media asset.

If you are struggling figuring out how to use Twitter for your blog or gain followers in your niche, Twitter Dummy will show you how to find followers without any scripts or spammy tactics.

If you are an experienced Twitter user with a sizable following that is actually interacting with you, the beginning info and explanations will probably not be for you.

Pick up your own copy of Twitter Dummy by clicking here.

Filed Under: Ebook Reviews, Reviews, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

Review: Blogging to the Bank 3.0 by Rob Benwell

November 18, 2009 By 7 Comments

If you haven’t heard of Rob Benwell by now…you have not been searching about how to make money through blogging enough. This 3rd version of his highly successful ebook has sold over 20,000 copies (at 37 bones a pop…I’ll let you do the math). With a tagline that reads “The Blueprint of a Blogging Millionaire”, you would expect this ebook to drive income to your household through your blogging and that is exactly what Rob lays out in BTTB3.

Review: Blogging to the Bank 3.0

In the 58 pages of Blogging to the Bank 3.0, Rob Benwell takes you through his process of making money online through blogging. In the beginning stages of this ebook on making money with your blogs, Rob takes you through initial setup, SEO and creating your initial content. Unfortunately, there is not really much detail in these areas for 100% beginning bloggers and I feel that there were somethings during the setup process that could have been expanded on, but – for the most part – you can get up and running.

Where this ebook really gets going on content is through the promotion and making money chapters…which would be expected given the title. Rob’s method for making money through blogs is not a new one by any means. It is – however – one that is not talked about much in the blogging blogs as he takes a slam in your face approach to diversification.

Blogging to the Bank 3.0 takes you through the process of expanding your own blog network through careful keyword selection and outsourcing tasks to make managing multiple blogs much easier. Much of Rob’s profitable blogging process includes getting content written from multiple sources, promoting your blog through sites like Technorati and Squidoo and then flipping your blogs for profit as you move on to other profitable niches.

My Overall Thoughts On Blogging to the Bank 3.0

I think Rob has developed a formula with Blogging to the Bank 3.0 that can be highly profitable when done correctly. His methodical approach to making money online through blogs does work. The ability to bring in multiple income streams from multiple sites is a proven way to make money online, but it might not be for everyone. If you are looking to pour all of your resources into one or two blogs and create long lasting brand awareness through positioning yourself as an expert, his explosive diversification technique may not be what you are looking for at this time.

However, there is some incredible insight into how you can grow a single blog’s reach and traffic by implementing some of the techniques BTTB3 lays out to bring traffic to multiple blogs quickly (ex. press releases, social media promotion, etc.). While reading this ebook, I was reminded of a few extra traffic techniques that I needed to brush up on as well.

The ideal reader for Blogging to the Bank 3.0 would be a blogger that is looking to expand and diversify by increasing their blog network or a blogger that has been struggling with monetizing their current blog. I do think that true blogging beginners might get confused by some of the information as most of it pertains to a blogger to knows their way around the web. Luckily, Rob goes pretty in-depth into the different resources, so you can push your way through if you are feeling froggy.

The Positives with BTTB3

  • Ambush white hat techniques for making money online through diversification (diversifying income streams is the only way to make it in my opinion.)
  • Multiple promotion techniques that equal traffic including long tail keyword research
  • Flipping blog techniques to turn your work into profit
  • A load of “free” bonuses included with purchase that are actually useful

The Negatives with BTTB3

  • The blogging purists will not like the content outsourcing and running multiple blogs for income
  • Beginning setup content is a little light for beginning bloggers

Overall, Rob Brenwell did a great job structuring Blogging to the Bank 3.0 by laying it out as a making money formula through blogging. After I finished reading this ebook, I was reminded of things I need to do in my own blogging to increase revenue and attract new subscribers through other web outlets. At this point in time, I am not looking to have a dozen different blogs with outsourced content, but it is in the back of my head now for future projects. At $37 dollars for purchase…you can easily make your money back and more by implementing some of the techniques on your blog.

Buy Your Own Copy of Blogging to the Bank 3.0 by Clicking Here

Filed Under: Ebook Reviews, Reviews Tagged With: , ,