The Basic Premise of Teaching Sells
If You Want To Make Money From Information, Sell It
The conventional wisdom is to publish free content, then monetize it. As someone who has followed this model for six years, I can most emphatically assure you, it DOES NOT WORK! There are a lot of reasons why this model does not lead to sustainable income, but the main reason is trust and traffic. In order to make a sustainable income by giving away free information, you have to have a solid reputation as an authoritative source for information plus you have to have a massive amount of traffic. Most people will go broke long before they ever reach these two benchmarks.
Blogging For Ad Dollars Is A Dead End Road
If you think you’re going to be the next Darren Rowse, Brian Clark or DoshDosh, wake up and smell the burning coffee! It simply won’t happen. Even if you achieved A-List blogger status, if all your eggs are in the Blogging for Bucks basket, you’re going to be in a world of hurting the next time Google decides to arbitrarily penalize bloggers for doing what mainstream sites have been doing for years. Think it won’t happen, think again!
Blogging Is An Attraction Medium
Just because Blogging for Bucks is a dead end road, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a place in your business model. However, if Blocking for Bucks is the only part of your business model, then you need to step back and look at what is going on in the industry. Most, if not all of the popular A-List bloggers are more than bloggers. Some are publishers, some consultants, some producers, but with very few, if any exceptions, A-List bloggers use their blogs as an attraction medium and make their real money on the backend, out of public view.
Selling Content Requires Careful Planning
If you want to make money online by selling content, whether that be by blogging and selling ad space or buy selling subscriptions to premium content or even if you are starting your own online consulting firm, you are going to have to spend a measurable amount of time identifying your market, assessing the needs of that market, identifying ways you can meet those needs and putting together a plan of action in order to implement your solution. Most bloggers simply do not put that much thought and effort into what they do. Moreover, some wouldn’t even know where to begin.
Successfully Selling Content Requires Expert Execution
Have you ever wondered how certain people can talk about a new project their launching on their blog a few times, then the next thing you know it’s the next biggest thing on the ‘net? It’s called connections and expert execution. With the right connections and the right knowledge, even so-so ideas can take a life on their own and become buzz-worthy.
Case in point is the Amazon Kindle. There was a whole lot of buzz and people beat Amazon’s door down to get a Kindle for themselves, but in all honesty, how innovative is the Kindle? How is it so much different from a black and White PDA? Sure, it has benefits, but the buzz is what made people willing to pay the premium price tag for a limited functionality device that will most likely end up in their garage sale in 3 years.
General First Impressions of Teaching Sells
Smooth Pitch, But Not Perfect
Late last year, it was almost impossible to escape the buzz about Teaching Sells. Just about everybody was pitching it and many were doing a good job of it as well. When evaluating the pitch base solely on the free report provided by Teaching Sells, I was left with the overall impression that the concept was sound, but it still came across a bit sketchy at first. Having had some bad experiences in the past, I chose to wait for the buzz to die down and see how things panned out. I was tempted to jump on board as an early adopter, but again, I’m much more cautious these days.
Polished Minimalistic Presentation
One of the aspects of Teaching Sells that I do like is the pleasing, easy to read interface of their sales pages. The clarity is excellent and you can tell a great deal of thought and effort was put into presenting the program in a very professional light.
I Get The Premise, But I Wasn’t Biting Yet
Having read scores of reviews of Teaching Sells, having read all of the promotional material provided by Teaching Sells, and having done some background research on the makers of Teaching Sells, I have a solid understanding of what the program offers and it is most certainly attractive. However, laying out the monthly subscription cost hasn’t been in my budget, so I held off.
The Free Report
Groan… This Pitch Sounds Familiar
As professional as the presentation was done by Brian Clark and Tony Clark, I have to admit that the pitch sounded a bit familiar. Of course, this is due to the fact that I’ve read and heard hundreds, if not thousands of pitches from Internet Marketers and bloggers over the years. So, I might be just a little jaded. 
Getting Better
As the presentation goes on, I was very impressed by the amount of useful information that was shared. It is quite evident that what was written was written by someone who knows what they’re talking about. After all, I’ve been in this industry for a while and I can spot a bull shitter a mile away.
Now You’ve Got My Attention
As an Internet Professional, an IT Technician, and a College Instructor, there are certain domains of knowledge I hold that make it possible for me to recognize sound reasoning and a well thought out presentation. The Teaching Sells presentation does exactly that and backs its information with hard facts.
Groan… The Windup and Then The Pitch
After 25 or so minutes into the presentation, I was quite impressed and I was quite eager to learn more, but then the build up for the pitch came. Now, in all fairness, marketing is marketing and I know I have to expect this. However, after several years of learning and being active in marketing, I tend to be critical of it. Still, I have to give credit where credit is due, the pitch was not high pressure and was done very professionally.
The $1 Squeeze Pitch
Cup of Coffee VS. Teaching Sells Trial
Recently, I found where Teaching Sells is giving away a $1 trial week of their program, which ends April 17 th at noon, by the way. I’m use to these types of pitches and the thought came to me that I could go ahead and spare the buck to see for myself whether the buzz was all just hype or if there was actual substance to this program. After all, one less cup off coffee certainly wont hurt me.
INFORMATION OVERLOAD!
If you are under the misguided impression that you’re going to sign up for the buck and download everything there is to learn from Teaching Sells during your 7 day trial, think again! The amount of information provided there is immense. After only a couple hours browsing the site, I was thoroughly impressed with the quality and volume of information provided.
Welcome To The Pressure Cooker
Though there is no high pressure tactics used on the site to get you to commit beyond your trial period, there is a subtle, but ever present pressure for you to commit. This is partially due to the volume of information, but it’s also due to how the information is presented. There is no way to bulk download the content of the site. You have to visit each page to get the content that is available to you. After a little while, you realize that there is no way to get everything in 7 days. Then, your brain starts thinking about that subscription fee.
The Target Market for Teaching Sells
Tire Kickers Need Not Apply
Something that became clear within a very short amount of time of viewing the materials available on Teaching Sells is that this was not a program for those looking for a “pump and dump” scheme. The core content outlined principles and techniques that require sustained thought and effort. If you are serious about your business, this is a good thing and will command your respect.
Intelligent People Only Please
Not to be overly blunt here, but if you don’t have at least a certain degree of intelligence and for that matter, experience, most of the content on Teaching Sells will go clearly over your head. It’s not that the principles are too complex or that the content is written using overly complex copy, quite the contrary. For those who have a mind for such material, you’ll find it to be a well written, well thought out read that can easily be digested. However, if you find business principles hard to consume or if reading comprehension is not a particular strength of yours, you may find the material a bit hard to follow.
Looking For the Magic Pill? Look Elsewhere
Again, I must emphasize that there is nothing about the material on Teaching Sells that gives any indication of being a magic pill or a quick solution to your financial problems. Every aspect of the copy presented there suggests serious work for those serious about building their business.
What Members Get For the Money
A Little Hand Holding Goes A Long Way
It’s All Spelled Out For You
On every last page of the site, there are detailed instructions on what it is you are doing, and where you need to go for more information. The usability of the site is nothing short of outstanding. At no point was I left wondering “what do I do now”.
Help Is There When Needed
A particular point that I found comforting is that there is several instances throughout the site inviting you to ask for help if you need it. This goes a long ways for those of us who are uncertain.
5 Information Packed Core Courses
I’m not going to break down what is in the Core Course offered at Teaching Sells. You’re simply going to have to see for yourself if you want that information. However, I will state that the Core Course available, in and of themselves, are enough to bring about a profound impact on the way you generate and market content. Even being an experienced publisher, I learned something new within the very first lesson. That’s no small feat.
4 Enlightening Advanced Courses
Once you have mastered the Core Courses, there are Advanced Courses to help you take your Internet Business to the next level. While these courses are not mandatory for you to start achieving success, they certainly can help you multiply the success you are having exponentially.
2 High Profile Case Studies
All of the above is nice and impressive, but I was still feeling skeptical until I got to the Case Studies. It was at that point that I learned about Aaron Wall’s story and Rand Fishkin’s story. If you are even remotely involved in SEO, you will instantly recognize these two names as industry experts. If you are like me, you might wonder why they would want to pay Teaching Sells to learn anything. You will be very surprised when you find out why and to the extent that Teaching Sells helped these two industry leaders restructure their business model for greater profits than ever before realized.
Little Known, But Powerful Resources
Software
Simply put, I’ve made a career out of finding, evaluating and implementing free or inexpensive software as solutions to clientele problems. I consider myself and expert in this area and I even learned of a few applications through Teaching Sells that I had not even heard of before.
Research Sources
I was thoroughly impressed with the shear volume and quality of the research resources provided by Teaching Sells. There were, of course, the noted research resources many of us in the industry use, but there were also hidden gems that provide a wealth of knowledge that, again, I had never heard of before. Quite impressive!
Niche Content For Days
This is where I normally make a bee line straight for the close button. Every time I see an arbitrary list of “niche content” available for download, I instantly think, “Oh great, another load of over marketed crap that nobody wants.” Well, my first impressions were dead wrong!
I took the time to research some of the niche content available through Teaching Sells. Unlike most niche content collections, you will not find what they offer there all over the net. You won’t even find it on bittorrent, which is no small thing.
A Friendly Place For Collaboration
Having years of experience on community forums, one of the first things I check is the friendliness and usefulness of the support forums. Pure and simple, I was highly impressed. The level of friendliness and professionalism is exceptional. You can tell that the people that participate there have at least some class.
The Quality of the Content
About The "Instructors"
Anyone who has been around the blogging or copywriting industry for more than a day knows who Brian Clark is. He is the mastermind behind the highly successful Copyblogger, a blog that is consistently rated among the top blogs in the world. Moreover, Brian is an industry expert who has produced numerous successful, high profile sites.
Brian’s partner and co-instructor is Tony Clark (no relation). Tony is a highly skilled software developer, consultant and Internet Entrepreneur who has enjoyed great success online.
Come Prepared To Be A Student
Every aspect of the Teaching Sells content mirrors the concepts that are being taught. Not only is the material masterfully written and executed, but it also sets the environment for effective learning, thus providing a tremendous value to the service. From the first few moments on, the impression I had of the service was that of an online classroom. Being a college instructor as well as a college student, I appreciated this feature and felt comfortable with the environment.
How Does It Stack Up To Traditional Text Books?
Simply put, the Teaching Sells site blows away traditional text book media. The interface is indexed in a familiar enough way that it is easy to find the information you are looking for, but the cross references and interactive media make the site much more engaging than a traditional text. Also, the way the different sections of the courses are laid out, you can digest each section in just a few moments and come back later when you have more time. There is no endless droning on about a topic. Everything is clear and concise.
I Hate Reading, What Do I Do?
I have ADHD and Dyslexia. Reading is a chore for me. On average, it takes me three times longer to read a section of text than it does a “normal” person. That being said, I found the Teaching Sells content to be extremely easy to read. The content is well segmented and enough emphasis is used to make the content scanable. As hard is it is for me to read chunks of text, in no time I found myself devouring sections. If you still are worried about the amount of text that needs read, know that there is interactive media that covers the major concepts and serve as a nice break from reading.
Comparing Teaching Sells To Traditional Institutions
What’s The Cost to Benefit Ratio Compared to Traditional Institutions?
If you consider the average tuition rates as listed by the American Council on Education, you quickly see that, even a two year institution has a much higher total cost than the Teaching Sells, and that doesn’t even include texts and materials. Factor those values in and you’re looking at 3x the cost. That’s just for the core classes.
You might think I’m comparing apples and oranges here, but I’m not. If you sought the same level of training at a traditional institution, you would easily spend 5 times as much or more. Reason being is that you would have to pay tuition, books, program specific fees and you would have to pay for prerequisite classes that are deemed required. For professionals seeking to further their careers, this is not only cost prohibitive, but also a tremendous was of time. The only benefit of seeking a comparable education through a college is the accreditation the institution has. Given the world of professional training, the cost to benefit ratio is very much against traditional institutions in this scenario.
Will The Content Delivery Work With My Busy Schedule?
The structure and methodology of the Teaching Sells program is very much designed for the busy professional. You can easily spend an hour or two a day, on your schedule and participate in and benefit from everything the program has to offer.
Interaction Is Important In Learning. How Much Interaction Is There?
When compared to a physical classroom, the “in-class” interaction is not as high in that you are not looking eye to eye with your peers and instructor. However, there are forums set aside for each section of the courses specifically for asking questions and interacting with your peers and instructors. That means that if you’re working on a section at 1am in the morning and you have a question, you don’t have to wait to ask it. Just post it on the forum and you will get a response as soon as possible. From what I’ve seen of the forums, the response times are pretty fast as a whole.
Currency Of Information
This is one area where traditional institutions simply cannot compete. Traditional institutions typically have advisory boards that select and approve classroom text books. Often times, these books are no less than one to two years old by the time they are available to the students. Often times, these texts are even older. What this leads to is students learning stale knowledge, then, needing to get up to date on the fly as they enter the workforce. This is not the case with Teaching Sells.
Due to the dynamic and flexible content delivery system that the Web provides, updating the course content is cost effective and only takes moments. This ensures that students receive current information that will save them time and money as they venture forth and expand their businesses.
Justifying the Recurring Fee
Is That It? What Do You Get For The Recurring Fee?
As much as I’ve written about Teaching Sells here, you may wonder why there would be a recurring fee. This is because the program is not static. The content will continually be updated and expanded to meet the needs of the students and the industry at large. At any time, you can cancel your subscription and venture forth with the knowledge you have gained. No matter how long you remain subscribed, you will benefit significantly from the service.
How Is This Worth The Subscription?
Again, not only are you receiving detailed training from industry experts who put the principles to practice every single day, but you are also gaining the opportunity to network and collaborate with the instructors and fellow business people. This bonus “feature” is worth the price of admission on its own merit. Nowhere else will you have such a skilled captive audience who are actually interested in networking with you.
Can I Recoup The Fees?
Absolutely! Members in good standing are invited to participate in an exclusive affiliate program that pays a very generous commission. If you refer just a handful of members to Teaching sells, you will more than cover your costs.
Putting It into Plain English
Is Teaching Sells Worth The Fee?
In my opinion as an industry professional, yes. I have seen countless people charge significantly more for training programs that did not offer near the value of Teaching Sells.
Is This A Get Rich Quick Scheme?
No! In fact, if you approach it as one, you will fail miserably. Teaching Sells teaches you sound business practices in premium content delivery and knowledge transfer. You are learning a skill, just as if you were to attend a college course.
What Kind Of Income Can I expect?
As with all things related to legitimate business, your success is directly proportional to your effort. There is no hard and fast rule on how much you will make. I will say, though, that if you do not make at least ten fold your investment back, then you seriously need to consider a different line of work.
What Are The Prerequisites?
The only prerequisites I could find are a desire and ability to learn, the willingness to follow up with action, and enough humility to be held accountable. If you have these qualities, then you can succeed with Teaching Sells.
What Are Others Saying About Teaching Sells?
This Google Search turns up scores of reviews of the Teaching Sells program. Some are from industry leaders, some from obscure authors. To date, I have yet to find a negative review. So far, anyone who has put forth the effort has achieved at least some measure of success.
What Do I Do Next?
Download the Free report for yourself. Don’t just take my word for it. Sign up for the $1 seven day trial and kick the tires like I did. Once you see for yourself the quality of the material and how comprehensively it covers the subject matter, I think you will agree that the value Teaching Sells presents far exceeds the nominal fees charged for the course.
When I first read about Teaching Sells, I was extremely skeptical, but I continued to watch the program grow. I’ve now spent a substantial amount of time researching the program and in my opinion, Teaching Sells is a solid business that provides a valuable service.
But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself before the $1 trial offer ends on April 17th at noon!
You have read my two cents. Now have your say!
So, I started working on my term paper, as best as I could with my nephew running around the house like a crazed lunatic. My mother swears I was just like him as a kid. Now I understand why my mom is a couple bricks shy of a truckload some days. Nothing against her. She would be the first person to admit it. Now I know why. 
Regardless, I love the boy to pieces, but today, he was tap dancing all over my last nerve.