Do 'online guru/mentor courses' work?

If you want a mentor find someone who's doing what you want to do successfully and copy them. You don't need to buy someones product or coaching.

Now if you find someone who has the success you want (and it's from outside proof not their proof) reach out and ask how much for a 1 hour call.

I have done this in many areas. The hour costs less than you might expect and if you're prepared you should get all the action steps you need.

Ignore the screenshots and fancy cars.

If you want to make money selling "art" check out the licensing expo trade show in Vegas this summer. You'll learn more there in 3 days than any ebook can teach you.

Verification is crucial

Relying on 'word of mouth' or 'reputation' might not be enough. Seriously.

Look for a proven track record and some sort of guarantee ASSUMING you actually carry out what your guru tells you.

Also, cross reference whatever methods you learn.

Your 'guru' might be feeding you outdated info - this is especially relevant to those looking to master FB marketing.

I like the idea of asking for a phone call. Some great advice.

However, like webmarke states, it seems every guru has a coaching program and I've just been wondering is what they teach to become a 'guru' themselves and have their own coaching program, and then they all recommend and vouch for each other. Thats what got me thinking.

Unfortunately when I said art, my art is just illustrations and caricatures, characters and not anything you'll see hanging next to a Andy Warhol

You probably wouldn't sell anything at the expo. The purposes IMO would be to a) see what others are doing, so you can emulate--it's easier when someone shows you how; and b) start some relationships with people who could be good prospects down the road.

You're right to be skeptical of most of the gooroo programs.

A few years ago, I busted one faker when I recognized 'his' beach house. A slightly wider shot would have shown the 'For Sale' and 'Open House' signs next to the gated driveway. The Ferrari in the driveway? Zoom in and check the sticker for the rental car company in a corner of the windshield. I couldn't verify it, but I'm guessing the 'hot girlfriend' was also a rental.

Not all of these courses are bogus, but you have to keep your BS meter set to 11. Your best bet is to buy into coaching that teaches something specific. For example, if I wanted to learn about launching a product, Jeff Walker is the guy. Want to learn Adwords? Perry Marshall. Like Brad said, find someone who is doing what you want to learn and learn it from them.

Nowadays, that McMansion/sports car/bikini model shot is a major disqualifier for me. I see that, and I run the other way.

John, I'm glad you said that as I wasn't sure if I was just the 'buzz killington' in the room - as I done a google image search on some of these 'luxurious gifts' and seen they were lifted off other websites. Just wanted to know if anyone has been successful with these programs. Cheers

Excellent points Brad, I don't understand how some people are so influenced by these pictures of houses and cars and decide to give their money to these so-called high-rollers. If they have to show pictures of cars and million-dollar properties, they sure don't need your $9

I'm already in the cartoon clip art licensing space.

Feel free to emulate (just don't flat out copy) what I do over @ VectorToons.com and setup your own ecommerce store for your works.

I started with a few items and grew my catalog to 16,000+ items for sale.

There are different gurus as well. I made my first $ from Guru course and from the knowledge I learn from that Guru I build a list of 1000 subscribers. Its all about taking action. :-)

What I'm seeing here lately, is that some gurus are starting to offer "certification programs".

This is where you pay the guru to take a course, and when you complete it they give you some sort of diploma or "certification" complete with their branded logo on it. The implication here is that people will now start to take you much more seriously when you go out to do freelance work.

However, I doubt most clients would give two farts about these so-called "certifications". Many of your potential clients have probably never heard of these gurus.

No they don't at all, 0, nada, caput. Just corporate meaningless talk. Nothing practical in this guides.

As someone else suggested find somebody in your area that has been successful and try to reach him/her. But i am still skeptical why they would help. They are busy making THEIR money.

I did get soload coaching.. expensive but worth it.. went from making 10$ a day to making 50$ a day.. still not much but its hell of a upgrade for me and i had to invest a lot to be honest. And what others here say.. 'ebooks' promising unrealistic things are usually washed out methods that barely work. Everybody who has a private method which banks good will most likely keep it private.

Was it my imagination, or did someone say "It works if you work it."

If I had to choose one point of confusion in all the internet marketing promotion I see is that people often don't realize that they have to do the work.

Maybe it's all those mouth-watering Done-For-You deals that confuse folks. Still, the better marketers will add the caveat that while some groundwork might be laid, you're going to need to get your ass in gear to make it all happen.

And then there are the added costs. If you don't have a list and are told it is essential to have one, you're going to have to spend money on advertising or solo ads, etc. Cycling a promotional post through Facebook all day just ain't going to make it.

Not all, but many of the miracle techniques I'm familiar are often black hat shortcuts that will probably get you banned some day from one platform or another.

Finding the right coaching program can be difficult. Hyperbole and hype abound. But there are honest, talented coaches out there.

Just realize that to be successful always takes a good work ethic and most often some sort of monetary investment above and beyond your sign-up fee.

I haven't been around in a long time so take this with a grain of salt. I won't get into the gurus type thing as in my opinion they don't exist most of the ones you see are just selling you the dream. They search forums, MOZ, whoever, then repackage the content and sell it to you for $97 or $997.

I haven't been around in a long time so take this with a grain of salt. I won't get into the gurus type thing as in my opinion they don't exist most of the ones you see are just selling you the dream. They search forums, MOZ, whoever, then repackage the content and sell it to you for $97 or $997.

There are some excellent mentors/products/courses out there that help you a lot.

Notice I said "help".

The products themselves won't make you one red cent.

YOU need to make the money, a good product can only show you how to get it done.

It's kind of like how a gym trainer can show you how to get super-fit but only YOU can actually do the work to get in shape... makes sense?

So while it's true that a lot of courses sold by "gurus" aren't that good, even a good product can't save you...

You are the one that makes it work (assuming it's legit).

Regards,
Daniel

The lifeblood of internet marketing is traffic. There are numerous ways to get traffic, both paid and organic. None of these ways are easy if you don't have a deeper understanding of the platform/medium that you are using. Realistically, you have 2 choices:

The lifeblood of internet marketing is traffic. There are numerous ways to get traffic, both paid and organic. None of these ways are easy if you don't have a deeper understanding of the platform/medium that you are using. Realistically, you have 2 choices: 1. Study one and just one way of generating traffic. You need to focus on it, despite the 1000s of distractions that you are going to encounter in your inbox and during your browsing sessions that say "The Complete Beginner's Guide to Work From Home". Test different angles and get good at tracking what works and what doesn't. Do more of what does work. There are plenty of resources, free resources, if you look for them. Google, Bing, Facebook, etc offer their own resources. This is going to take a lot of time and a lot of effort, but if you are technically inclined, it might be very well worth it. 2. Find someone who can generate leads for you. You will have to pay for those leads - pay the people that generate them and pay for any expenses that they have made on your behalf, such as web hosting, web design, advertising expenses(if you do paid advertising), content generation, etc. I can help you with both of these options(send me a message) - with free advice, should you want to do it on your own or with lead generation if you need someone to do it for you. Most of the gurus have a hidden angle, a way to make money off of you by promising a map to the riches that you desire. The reality is that most people want to get a lot with a minimum amount of effort/money. There are people that are ready to make a promise that you will get your heart's desire for the low, heavily discounted amount of(insert amount here), but for that price, you usually get just the promise itself and a watered down version of those previously mentioned free resources. It's the same thing that happens in the weight-loss vertical. The pills never work, at least not without a strict diet/exercise regime, but it is still a billions of dollars(with a B) market because the people will always fall for what they desire.

I learned PPC from Perry Marshall's free info.

Well, you can find great "internet gurus" out there, but you can find a lot of shit as well and scams. When I say a lot of shit I mean A LOT OF SHIT.

The better thing I can recommend to you is building your own network where you can ask people you trust a recommendation, in this case, a guru. That way you will find a good one for sure!

there are a lot difrent gurus some are scams ;/

Well, I believe where there is "GOOD", there is "BAD".
So to say that ALL gurus out there provide nothing would be wrong.

A mentor will always guide you in the right direction, teach you
stuff which is tested, plus will also save you thousands of dollars
getting wasted. I can personally name you more a dozen mentors
that have SUCCESSFULLY coached many students.

The thing isn't about whether mentors work or not because there
are con artists, scammers everywhere. It should BE US who need
to do proper 'RESEARCH' and homework before going for any mentorship.

Regards
Dawood Khan

Mentors can go way beyond just slapping a product together or instructing someone what to do. That part is easy. The mental game is what most people lack and often times when a true mentor can assist with. Other's may need that extra push or supervision, there is lots of reasons people may need a mentor, but you can certainly succeed without one.

I have attended some of IM guru/mentor's packages over the years. It is most effective when you really put into practice what he/she/they have taught while the knowledge is still fresh in your mind and the techniques taught are still current, as you must be aware that some techniques will soon turn obsolete over probably short period of time.