Minisite Formula By Joel Peterson

by magwoi
25 replies
This product has been out for over a month now. Is anybody having any success or failure with it? It was heavily promoted by some gurus but I am still hesitant to join as I have been burnt too many times. Any honest reviews by real users will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Mag
#formula #joel #minisite #peterson
  • Profile picture of the author Strikeforce
    Mag----I'm curious as well. I know this was promoted my Jim Cockrum, who I respect. Jim typically doesn't jump on the bandwagon unless the product is a good one. Hopefully, we can get some feedback.

    Randy
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[673524].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Jim Cockrum
    My own sites are starting to see results and I've also started using my outsource partners to create clickbank affiliate videos. So far we've seen five sales in the first few weeks and are ramping things up.

    If you want a good step by step system with a great support forum you'll enjoy mini site formula.

    Personally, I outsourced the whole thing.
    Signature
    ProvenAmazonCourse.com aka the "PAC" now includes the #1 "Private Label" training on the web (ProvenPrivateLabel.com)! We've been teaching "physical product" sales online since 2002 & we've accumulated over 1,000 success testimonials!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[673664].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author apollocreed
    I bought the Minisite Formula when it came out. There are no success stories on the site's forum todate and I can understand why. Some members have built 20 or so sites but are not able to get any traffic to those sites.

    Joel is very still helpful for minisite formula buyers and has not moved on to his next project. I personally did not have a problem with building the sites, but some newbies say that the videos for actually using the datafeeds to create sites were incomplete. Therefore some newbies have not been able to actually build the sites using the datafeeds.

    The keyword selection process is quite undefined in the training videos as he seems to have plucked keywords from thin air. He says that we should use our gut and common sense to find the right keywords for the sites. As you can imagine, this might be a bit troubling for newbies. An experienced person will know what Joel is talking about but a newbie may not quite get it.

    The biggest threads in the forum and the most pertinent issue seems to be about getting traffic. Joel's main method of getting traffic to the Minisite formula sites appears really to be like tossing a coin and hope you get lucky. I am personally not impressed by it because my own sites have been getting like 2-10 vistors per day from using his chief traffic method. The sites needs over 30 visitors per day to reach the goal of $3/day. The traffic part of the course is very lacking and not formulaic at all. I get the distinct feeling that Joel is not really telling us how he gets traffic to his own sites and that he is holding a lot back.

    The blueprint as it is at the moment is incomplete and is missing some important parts. The upside is that Joel is reacting to these issues and says that he will provide better teachings on the missing bits in due course.

    It would also be nice if some of the people from the testimonial pages were actually members of the site's forum. This would be very motivating for newbies. One of the testimonial givers is a new member, but he says he does not really do the Minisite Formula type sites anymore because he is not really motivated by making money. I personally would like to have one of the testimonial givers who is motivated by money on the forum.

    The method is very scalable, so if you figure out by yourself in how to get traffic to your sites, the system will be very suited for you.

    I personally do not take notice of reviews from people who are promoting a particular product as their reviews are bound to be biased.

    AC
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[674214].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author NetMediaGeek
    I'm a member to, Apollo's review is about right infact spot on !! I to have been trying to nail down Joels traffic technique.I'm using outsourcers to build the site i am going to have them promote them heavy in a more traditional link building way etc. Hopefully that will do the trick. One thing i will say is Joel really does seem to care and is in the forum everyday and i believe he has had the success he states with this system but like Apollo say some parts of the training seem incomplete but Joel does react to the feedback of members and addresses their concerns. I have not seen a return yet but its only been a couple of weeks.....
    Signature
    I'm looking for a JV Broker in the UK
    If you work with local businesses in the UK and want to increase your income PM me..
    If you are a Lead Generator for Offline Businesses in the UK PM Me..
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[674240].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author kyhawk2
      I just got the product over the weekend. It seems very thorough. He mentions about traffic comes from video. Not too sure about doing that yet, as Camtasia is 300m not to mention getting a decent camera.

      I was wondering if the Brian Johnson SEO course might be worth getting also.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[676314].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author halcline
        I have also purchased the product and have gone through all the videos.

        I looked at the site examples he uses in the course. If you reverse engineer his sites on Google, you'll see they really don't have allot of links pointing to them. My assumption is that he is not showing you his highly monetized sites...so its going to be difficult to determine how he is REALLY getting all his traffic.

        I found the course helpful in that he told me about several plugins I had not come across before.

        Depending on WHERE you personally are with internet marketing technologies, you may find some of the material knowledge you already know. However, what is nice is that he puts it all into a nice organized package for you. I appreciate that.

        I have had several questions for his SUPPORT over the past week and have heard back from him/them once...and have made several other support requests to date and have not heard from him.

        My last support request was several days ago, and I still have not heard back from him...so, take that for what it is.

        hal
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[677507].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author mediamogul
          I am on my full second week of this. i created 10 sites, all with different niches. All good sellers on ebay too.

          to date i have zero ebay sales but on one site i do have some sales from CJ banners.

          The key here is to build traffic. I spent money on backlinking, directory links. Also add content, lots of it. I am busy so i outsourced articles at $5 a pop. Traffic is building.

          I agree that Joels traffic secrets are lacking. I did learn about some great plug ins, the EPN, and Market sumarai by taking the course.

          Was it worth it? so far i am even with my banner ads. More updates later.

          Quicktip - one thing i did add was i made playlists on youtube on whatever niche i was doing. here is one of my site so far thats doing well on banners. MiniCamcorderReviews.com - Flip HD, Sony Webbie, Creative Labs Vado, Kodak ZX1

          Cheers, Dave
          Signature
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[690875].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author magwoi
    Originally Posted by mediamogul View Post

    I am on my full second week of this. i created 10 sites, all with different niches. All good sellers on ebay too.

    to date i have zero ebay sales but on one site i do have some sales from CJ banners.

    The key here is to build traffic. I spent money on backlinking, directory links. Also add content, lots of it. I am busy so i outsourced articles at $5 a pop. Traffic is building.

    I agree that Joels traffic secrets are lacking. I did learn about some great plug ins, the EPN, and Market sumarai by taking the course.

    Was it worth it? so far i am even with my banner ads. More updates later.

    Quicktip - one thing i did add was i made playlists on youtube on whatever niche i was doing. here is one of my site so far thats doing well on banners.

    Cheers, Dave
    Hi Dave,

    May I ask how much traffic are you getting on average to each one of those 10 blogs?

    Are you averaging $3/per site yet? If not , how much are you averaging? I just wnat to compare if your average is better than my adsense average of 30cents per site.

    Thanks
    Magwoi
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[691248].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mediamogul
    Hi Magwoi, my sites ave. about 30 uniques a day right now. on my minicamcorder site i am getting almost 60. i havent sold a dime on EPN there but i have sold some FLip cameras on my CJ link. I am getting alot of traffic now on my iphone site, almost 100 a day but i put up content every other day there. lots of top 10 stuff. the other sites are making no oney yet.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[692231].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author magwoi
    Thanks Dave for the data. I am surprised though that EPN is not doing it for you. I thought EPN sites would perform better than the datafeedr sites.

    I think your site looks very professional. Great job. You look a lot younger in the video on your site though than in your avatar (:

    Cheers
    Magwoi
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[692339].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author jack101
      I found the sales pitch a bit misleading. For the first 15 pages or so I thought their would be a free offer as in Mike Filsaime's BM v02 but was hit with a $1997 price tag. My immediate reaction was "another Chris Carpenter fiasco."

      The program apparently comes up short on traffic generation with a suggestion that Joel is not revealing the full story. Last week he released a 201 page manual. Does this fill in the gap?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[701756].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jack101
    It's very quiet around here. Anyone having any success? This program seems to be a very good business model. But so far there are no reported winners. The forum costs $50 a month. Is it worth the money?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[735053].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Virtual Banker
      I havent bought the course, but a little reverse engineering of publically available information tells me that it basically teaching you how to use the PHPbay and PHPZon plugin to put up affiliate sites and maybe grab some CJ products to compliment.

      I make my living off PHPbay sites and these sites do not do well just on their own, they need a little magic dust sprinkled on them, which I am not sure if this course provides or not.


      However I can say that even with my magic dust, they still take about 3 weeks to get indexed and earning so you can all take that into account.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[735178].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author magwoi
        Originally Posted by Virtual Banker View Post

        I havent bought the course, but a little reverse engineering of publically available information tells me that it basically teaching you how to use the PHPbay and PHPZon plugin to put up affiliate sites and maybe grab some CJ products to compliment.

        I make my living off PHPbay sites and these sites do not do well just on their own, they need a little magic dust sprinkled on them, which I am not sure if this course provides or not.


        However I can say that even with my magic dust, they still take about 3 weeks to get indexed and earning so you can all take that into account.
        It is more about PhpBAy and DataFeedr plugins. It is not about "PHPZon".

        If you are experienced, the forum will not be of much use. Joel releases a video each week as part of the $50 price. The first month is like free or $4, so it may be worth your while to see if the forum or the weekly videos are of any use to you. Personally I have not learnt anything new from the weekly videos so far, but I am not a newbie.

        I have not seen any real success stories posted on the forum yet from paying members, so the jury is still out. I will update everybody once my first batch of sites get indexed.

        Mag
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[735231].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Virtual Banker
        Originally Posted by Intrepreneur View Post

        To me your post sounds like you have bought...
        actually not, but its not hard to connect the dots after seeing the discussion here, a JV banner on the PHPbay forums and a users sample site.

        It actually seems like a great course that would save a new IM'er lots of research and trial and error as the formula does actually work with perseverance and your own self-developed tricks

        The trick you need is getting traffic, I know exactly how, though it took me a year to figure it out. a purly white hat way and another grayish hat way, though I wouldn't tell anybody these ways unless I was able to cash out.

        I am not sure if the mini-site formula actually goes deep into traffic generation specfically for these types of sites aside from the usual suspects...
        though this will be the money shot to test its value
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[735699].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author jimmytron
      Banned
      [DELETED]
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[736113].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author DukeNasty
        Originally Posted by jimmytron View Post

        It does look quite good. How does Joel recommend you get traffic to these mini sites? Adwords? or just straight SEO work?

        From other reviews I have read, the getting the traffic discussion was the piece of the puzzle that was lacking which is what caused me not to purchase the package. Granted, I have never seen the package myself so you can't take my word for it, but the several reviews I read pointed to this shortcoming as well as the fact that Joel never shows one of his sites for demonstration purposes.

        I would love to find out more info. as well (especially about the traffic piece), because the concept sounds intriguing, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of info out there.

        E.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[736661].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author CBrooks
          I bought the course when it first came out-- he relies on video marketing to generate traffic and is a huge fan of tools like Traffic Geyser. Did not work for me.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[739022].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JK Nyerere
    Originally Posted by CBrooks View Post

    I bought the course when it first came out-- he relies on video marketing to generate traffic and is a huge fan of tools like Traffic Geyser. Did not work for me.
    I thought it has only been out for less than 2 months. May ask how you tested it i.e how many sites did you put up, did you use traffic geyser or its free equivalent etc.

    JKN
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[739127].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author nanexist
    Thanks for all the helpful reviews, I was thinking of purchasing this and I'm feeling like it's definitely worth a shot.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[739257].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Graphix Guru
    Yikes!

    It's awfully quiet in this thread now.

    So, I was just looking into Joel Peterson's Mini Site Formula myself. It sounded great until I hit this thread. Now it looks like yet another pig in a poke.

    Is there anybody out there still using this system and ACTUALLY MAKING MONEY with it? I understand traffic generation is the big problem (as it seems to be with every "make money online" system).

    • Has Joel revealed how he *really* does it, traffic wise?

    • Does anybody have any updates on their progress?

    • Is there enough in the course to make it worth buying if the traffic issue hasn't been addressed (I suspect the answer here is no...)?

    Inquiring minds would like to know...

    Thanks in advance.

    -- Mann
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[956816].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author csm
      I did not purchase this specific course based on what I'd read here and in some other forums as well as several reviews of the course. Even the positive reviews helped me decide not to buy as my impression was that the course did not offer much new and that a great deal of it was quite common, beginner knowledge on how to select niches, keywords, find affiliate programs, set up sites, promote, etc. As stated in this thread, he advocates video marketing as one traffic-generating method.

      From some of the early promotions (including the video John Jonas did to promote this course), I understand that he recommends Datafeedr.com as one of the site-building tools. This is a very powerful and robust system that allows you to build Wordpress sites filled with datafeeds from a choice of many affiliate networks.

      If you are interested in that particular tool, which I highly recommend, then I would suggest you just purchase a subscription there instead of the Minisite Formula course. In the support forum, there is a Case Study forum where Stefan, one of the owners of Datafeedr (and a Warrior), has outlined a case study of building a store and promoting it, building traffic via several methods (article marketing, video marketing, Web 2.0, social bookmarking) and walks through it step-by-step, week after week, providing results and statistics in a very detailed format. It's an excellent tutorial for any affiliate marketer on planning a site, building it, promoting it and tracking results, then taking those results to do further promotions and keep building from there. Really good stuff.

      Susan
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[964299].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Dilli Gaf
    Thanks guys! You just saved me $97.

    Still looking for a complete package to create mini sites for Adsense / affiliate sales that includes niche finding, keyword selection, wp setup, traffic and everything else I need to know.

    Dilli Gaf
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1647827].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author magwoi
      Originally Posted by Dilli Gaf View Post

      Thanks guys! You just saved me $97.

      Still looking for a complete package to create mini sites for Adsense / affiliate sales that includes niche finding, keyword selection, wp setup, traffic and everything else I need to know.

      Dilli Gaf
      My two favorite and probably the best systems I have come across for achieving exactly what you want are:

      1. FatCat Blueprint - Make Money Online
      2. Adsense Masters Course - Adsense Masters Course

      If you can not make money with either one, then you probably can't with anything. I prefer the first one as it covers many of the problems that you may encounter and how to effectively deal with them while the second one just expresses a system.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1648151].message }}

Trending Topics