Time For A Change

This blogging space is… interesting. It has changed alot, too, since the days when I got started in this niche.

I guess I have some perspective on how things have changed. After all, I’m probably the most “veteran” of almost any online publisher you know. I got started in this business WAY the hell back in 1998.

I was solely a technology blogger up until 2008, at which point I got into this blogger market. I did it because I felt like I had something to bring to the table. Plus, I wanted an outlet to scratch an itch that didn’t have to do with tech.

What many people may not know is that DavidRisley.com actually started out as WebbyOnline.com.

Hehe… to this day, that domain kinda cracks me up. 😉

I can’t say I remember what thought process led me to re-brand as my own name, but it has served me just fine for about 4 years now.

Once DavidRisley.com was live, I quickly went into product creation. First it was 3DayMoney.com… then I went straight into the launch of Blog Masters Club.

Blog Masters Club was a BEAST (and still is). It is frickin’ huge, as it is basically a structured “brain dump” of a decade of online business as an online publisher. I launched it as a pre-sale in early 2009 (Clay Collins would be proud 😉 ), with only Module 1 created. Later, in early 2010, I did a large-scale launch of the product (with affiliates) and it did very well.

From Blog Masters, I went on to create Master Your List, the Inner Circle, then more recently, Time Master Formula.

But, at this point, look at what I had created for myself:

• A fairly busy blog
• 5 different products – which have overlap.

All this in a very busy market where the noise level is increasing all the time.

Then, I Flirted With A Crossroads

Some of you may remember this post, but I talked about a crossroads I was at, and my perceived problems with the internet marketing niche. I expressed some frustration in that post. I flirted with the idea of exploring software development and concentrating my training efforts on the Inner Circle.

There were two things driving this:

• Frustrations with bloggers going through all this material and most of them not seeing it through and getting the result they want.
• A feeling that I was stretching myself too thin.

Both of these problems still exist.

There is an inherent problem in the training being delivered in the blogging niche. Don’t get me wrong… it is good stuff. BUT… if that were really what was needed, there’d be more bloggers making money.

I’ll tell you more about what I think the problem is soon, but I sincerely believe that the “gurus” of this blogging niche are failing. Obviously, it is up to folks to take action and most don’t… but still, there’s something fundamental missing and I think I’ve identified it.

Anywho…

The other thing is that – yeah, I’m stretched thin.

For one, there isn’t enough delineation in my products. I’ve had people ask me what the difference is between Blog Masters Club and the Inner Circle, or whether the material inside Master Your List can be found inside BMC. It is confusing.

And… you should be the one trying to keep all these balls in the air!

It is entrepreneurial ADD!

And… all of this under a brand which has MY name on it. Everybody is expecting me on everything.

Fast Forward… To A Day At Sea

I was sitting there on the aft deck of the Carnival Paradise. We were in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Cruise with the wife – no kids, no Internet. Nothing but time to chill out.

I went into brainstorming mode and let the ideas happen. I sat there with a notebook and a pen… and just… brainstormed.

• Where am I at now?
• Where do I want to be?
• What constraints is my business dealing with?
• What does the next level look like?
• How can I best serve my audience, and where are others in my market dropping the ball?

I left nothing sacred. I started questioning my own personal assumptions. Was I keeping things going just because I thought I needed to? Was I operating on certain self-created rules that needed to be re-thought?

A Course Adjustment

What came out of it was a plan. A loose plan, but it was a plan. And those plans became more concrete in the days after I returned.

And so… some changes are afoot.

Many of them are internal. But, many of them will be plainly visible in due time.

I’m not leaving the market, but I am changing my approach somewhat.

Some changes will be taking place as part of a transition.

And one of them I will announce right now…

Blog Masters Club Is Closing Down

Blog Masters holds a special place in my heart for a variety of reasons. But, for strategic reasons, it is time to pull it from the marketplace.

However, I am making a final offer. There is one, final opportunity to sign up for the full Blog Masters Club training program. I am offering it at a rate which is the lowest I’ve ever offered it for. I think the chosen price point is a good balance between making it as affordable as possible and the fact that it took me a good chunk of a year of my life to create it.

Not only that, my hope is that this “last hurrah” for the Blog Masters Club will also generate some additional revenue to help me fund the development of the new plans I have moving forward.

The training will remain online – in full – for all students. However, after this final offer comes to a close, no new students will ever be allowed into the program.

I will continue to support students inside the Club, too. It isn’t as if I’m going anywhere. In fact, the exact opposite. 🙂

Check out The Blog Masters Club – The FINAL Offer