Update: The MP3 audio version of the Roadmap report has been added to the download page and it’s free too. Now you can read and listen to what it takes to build a great blog!
I’m very excited to announce that my latest report, co-authored with Gideon Shalwick, my partner in the Becomeablogger.com video site, is now ready for download.
Gideon and I have been working hard for the past few months preparing this report for you. It’s called “The Roadmap To Become A Blogger“, or as I like to simply call it – “The Roadmap“.
You can download the free report right now from here -
Why Another Report About Blogging?
I don’t release new products very often. The reason why is because I prefer to invest time in something to make sure it delivers tremendous value and I like to have the opportunity to develop a product with feedback from active participants.
Back in 2007 I hired Gideon Shalwick to produce a series of videos I had envisioned for a domain name that I acquired called becomeablogger.com. I wanted to have some very basic training presented in video for people new to blogs so they could learn how to begin the blogging process by themselves, no matter what skill they currently possessed with technology.
Fast forward to today and we are nearing 60,000 viewers of those videos. Gideon did a fantastic job and I’m so pleased the site has truly taken off.
Gideon and I both agreed that if the videos were well received we would like to do more. However, in order to devote the time and resources into creating the videos (the free videos we currently give away cost several thousand dollars to create), we would need to make the service a membership site, and hence the idea for Become A Blogger Premium was born.
This new premium video membership site will open December 4th 2008 to invite the first intake of students. I’ll have more news about that soon.
As soon as we decided to launch the new training program I knew we would need something to give away as a teaching tool to introduce people to the concepts we are presenting in the new series of videos. After going back and forwards between delivering the resource in video or text, we decided to use both, but focus our core message in one document – The Roadmap.
What Is The Roadmap Report?
The Roadmap is a completely new guide to successful blogging based on my core strategies for building a great and profitable blog, but with an added dimension, because it’s been interpreted and augmented by Gideon.
Of course I didn’t want to produce *just* another guide to profitable blogging since my Blog Profits Blueprint already does a very good job of that. That’s why the Roadmap deliberately take a different approach, yet still introduces you to the fundamentals of good blogging.
You can look at the Roadmap as an extension of what was started in the Blueprint. Some of the materials overlap, but you will see in particular the second half of the report is a critical update for our current blogging environment. Things have changed and the Roadmap gives you some tools to excel in the current Internet landscape we all operate in.
Rather than me try to explain everything here, go download the Roadmap for yourself and set aside 30 minutes to read it. You will be glad you did.
Here’s the link again (it’s free) – http://www.becomeablogger.com/roadmap/
Gideon Teaches Me Something New
After working with Gideon and becoming his friend, I began to experience what unique talents he possesses. The first thing that was pretty clear to me after our initial collaboration is that Gideon is great at teaching beginners through video. Just watching the free videos at becomeablogger.com is enough to see that.
I joke with Gideon that he’s like a “sesame street” presenter for blogging, teaching people how to use blogs and web tools with a style simple enough that children could follow his instructions. This is a good thing of course, because when explaining what can be complex tasks on computers, you need to clearly present what people need to know without overwhelming them.
As I got to know Gideon better another talent surfaced, and it was something I was very pleased to see as it’s not a strong point of my own (it’s good to surround yourself with people who are good at what you are not).
Gideon has an uncanny ability to keep up with the latest and greatest marketing trends online that use social media and multimedia. It’s no coincidence that Gideon decided to become an expert at video – there’s a passion driving that motivation. Gideon constantly buzzes me on Skype with links to new tools, interesting videos, social media sites and all kinds of resources.
All these resources, when used in the right way, can be powerful marketing tools and I wanted Gideon to teach me and others how to use these tools to promote a blog.
Blogs, as we all know, do not succeed without marketing and it’s getting harder and harder to stand out from the crowd. I came to realize that what Gideon knows is a differentiation factor. By implementing his Web 2.0 techniques your blog becomes a dominant player – and I’ve been using his ideas ever since.
Now it’s time to share them with you.
The X-Factor
The Roadmap really is Gideon’s creation. I wrote the introduction and I advised him on what should be in the document and my advice led to him completely scrapping the first version of the report and writing it again. This turned out to be a very good thing and the latest document is fantastic in my opinion. This is Gideon’s baby and he should be proud.
The first part of the Roadmap is exactly what it describes – a roadmap for going from a standing start, setting up your blog and then completing a set of milestones in a sequence to build a successful blog.
For experienced bloggers, this may not be something new to you, but it’s definitely worth reading because it will tell you what you are not doing that could be stopping you from building a great blog.
The second part of the Roadmap contains Gideon’s magic – what we call the “X-Factor” techniques that you need to apply to your blogging in order to stand out in the current environment.
Today good writing alone is not enough and the X-Factor is what you apply to your blog in order to take it to a level, where you start to realize all the big benefits of blogging, namely -
- Huge traffic
- Preeminence in your marketplace
- And of course, significant profit
Once you learn the X-Factor techniques presented in the Roadmap, you will have the keys for finally realizing what you want from your blog.
You can download your copy right now from here -
http://www.becomeablogger.com/roadmap/
Why You Should Download The Roadmap
If you like what I have to say about blogging in my newsletter and on this blog, if you have benefited from Gideon’s training videos at Becomeablogger.com and you are a devoted fan of the blogging dream, then you need to pay attention to this report.
For some of you this will be partially old news, but there’s enough in the Roadmap that I believe even seasoned veterans will benefit. If Gideon can teach me something new and I’ve been in this game for four years now, he can definitely do the same for you.
If you are completely new to blogging you are in for a treat. The Roadmap is a fantastic – and most importantly – a basic introduction of the world of successful blogging, plus it has some absolutely killer new ideas that most people won’t know and certainly don’t do, that you can start your blogging journey with a big advantage.
Here’s that download link one last time…
After you finish reading the Roadmap stay tuned for some more great resources coming up. Gideon has some short videos to teach you a couple of the X-Factor techniques and then of course, on December 4th, Become A Blogger Premium is open to new students.
Yaro and Gideon
Become A Blogger Trainers
PS. One last thing – Make sure you leave us your feedback about the Roadmap as comment replies to this blog post. We really love to hear what you think of the new report and the ideas presented within.
Yaro
How is this course different than BLOG MASTERMIND?
Which course would you recommend if you had to choose one?
Jim
Hi Jim,
The two courses are quite different. They are intended to be complementary programs, so one doesn’t replace the other, but there is a little overlap in materials.
BAB Premium is a video course led by Gideon targeted at beginners who like to visually learn how to do things themselves. It’s also a more affordable course, but as a result it’s not as comprehensive as Blog Mastermind in terms of training resources included and the level of advanced topics covered. Gideon also goes into more detail with social media and multimedia than I do.
Blog Mastermind is for beginners too, but covers more advanced business concepts, is focused on text (lessons) based training and includes lots of ancillary resources. It’s also a higher price, but the included materials and support justifies that.
If you are an absolute beginner and you love learning through video, or paying $100 a month is out of the question, go for Become A Blogger.
If you have some experience already as a blogger, or you want the most comprehensive blogging course available or video is just not your think, Blog Mastermind is the best choice.
I hope that helps!
Yaro
Hey Yaro & Gideon!! Thanks for the report. I personally found it extremely interesting and useful. I have to admitt I am very fond of the way Gideon coaches using videos and I have watched all 10 of them!
What I found most usefull was having to write down what I like, what I do best etc as this did help me identify 3 main passions that I could definately turn into successful blogs – with your help of course : )
Thank you again for an easy to digest report, tremendously usefull tool
All I can say about Roadmap is WOW!
This report not only opens the door but TURNS ON THE LIGHT to becoming a successful blogger.
But we all should know that nothing happens until action is taken and I am excited about the premium Become a Blogger launch!
I’m talking about it here:
http://www.ActionCreatesThings.com
Thanks for this great report!
Hi! Yaro. Thanks for this great report. This is a good compliment to your Blog Profit Blueprint, my guide to become a professional blogger someday soon.
Good bless!
Loved the roadmap!
I printed it out and I was quite happy that there were practices to be made. Read the whole thing, including doing the practices, in a couple of hours.
I also like the way that there are exercises/goals to be made/accomplished. As I printed out the roadmap, it is not only “Yaro and Gideon Roadmap”, but it feels like actual “Yaro and Gideon Coaching to Diogo’s Blog” after everything is underlined, made, with notes on the sides etc.
I must say that I have printed the PDF using two pages per page (how do you say that?) and the letter size was still quite comfortable to read.
A nice complement to the Roadmap is Problogger Series on Strategic Blogging, which can be found at http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/08/04/strategic-blogging-complete-series/ . I printed the articles and made the exercises on paper: old school and ugly handwriting
This series was a great deal of help on thinking about strategy on my blog.
Cheers,
Diogo
The URL I posted has a final dot on it. I would appreciate if the webmaster can do something to fix my mistake — sorry about that and thank you for your attenttion.
Dear Gideon & Yaro,
After reading the Blueprint and joining Blog Mastermind, I couldn’t resist getting the opportunity to read your Roadmap. It was so full of information it almost made my head spin. I was honestly surprised as to how many idea you could stuff into such a short report.
It’s made me think of my site in a whole new way, and how to re-focus and take it to the next level. It was a nice touch to include some action plans and links to take the next step. I am not sure everyone can do these things on their own, in which case they may want to sign up for the premium course.
But as BMM students will we also be able to ask Gideon for advice on the Roadmap, or should be sign up for this course to? Are these things we will talk about later in BMM? Just wondered how the 2 programs relate? I saw your note above about BMM being this program’s bigger version, but the multimedia level of this course really appeals to me. Just wondered how they will coincide.
You should have received an email from me about a 50% discount on the video course for Blog Mastermind students.
You don’t NEED this new course as a Blog Mastermind student, but if you like multimedia, Gideon is a good teacher in this area and the discount price is a bargain in my opinion for his videos.
Hello Yaro,
I am a total newbie at all this stuff, and a generation behind all the computer genius’s. I am still on your free two week trial and have just received Lesson 2 of Blog Mastermind. With this new “Become a Blogger Premium” video course just about to start, where you are offering $27.00 a month for the first 6 months, is this the same course as the one I am on now on, or just an advanced overview of Blogging. I just need to learn about all this blogging business quick smart. The “Roadmap” book is a top read, thank you for putting it out there.
Yours thankfully,
Ken
Hi Ken,
I suggest you make use of your Blog Mastermind trial. There’s enough content in there to keep you busy and I’d like you to properly evaluate the course before deciding whether to continue beyond the trial.
I love The Roadmap – it not only takes becoming a blogger out of the dark – it literally turns on the light.
The X factors are awesome and anyone can follow through on the 5 key milestones. This should fast become the definitive report on blogging for pleasure and profit.
Thank you, Yaro and Gideon, for such a great report – I cannot wait for the launch of Become a Blogger Premium.
I let my readers know at http://ActionCreatesThings.com that downloading and reading The Roadmap is only the beginning – taking ACTION on the milestones and X factors is where the magic begins. And you are both magicians (and generous ones at that!)
Kudos,
Pamela Brackett
Super! I am totally agree with this idea. I respect people who know how to convey their knowledge to the audience.
This roadmap is absolutely wonderful. I’ve been blogging for 6 months and I just starting to get an increase in traffic to my site. I’ve started a video component that I always intended to be a part of the blog. This guide simply confirmed what I was already doing was wise. I love that I get to help people change their lives while I change mine!
Kimmy B. “The Prosperity Blogger”
http://www.prosperityblogger.wordpress.com
Hi
Thanks for a great book. It is full of great ideas and inspiration. I love the action plans at the end of each section. Keep up the fantastic work.
Julie
Thanks for the great FREE report Yaro!
I’m already amazed . . . by all the comments you got about your blog/book. It is still a mystery to me how people make money by writing blogs, though. Is it because people like to advertise on blogs, or google pays you for hits, or what?
This is a very informative report. One of the best I’ve come accross in quite some time. There’s so much in there I still haven’t finished reading it yet. Definitely more info than you’d find in most $67 or $47 ebooks!
Great work guys.
Glenn
Hello Yaro, Gideon and friends,
What I really fancy about the report is the ad overlay on video thingy. Superb idea.
http://wealth-inspiredbooks.blogspot.com/
…inspiring wealth into your life!
Thank you very much Yaro.
. It was like i’ve got much water in a desert.
Your report was very interesting and amazing for a newbie like me
You and your team are totally rock…
Thank you very much for the report, very good and informative as always.
I downloaded the report and I am glad I did. There are some gems for even old bloggers. Thanks for sharing.
Name one. what is this “X-FACTOR” we were promised? Add videos and pictures to your blog – because thats what the “new school” bloggers are doing. Ohhhh. Use social media sites. Mmmmmmhmmm.
Hi Mike
Thanks for your feedback.
It’s good to hear what other experienced bloggers such as yourself has to say about the report.
Obviously, the report is not for everyone. We’ve had an overwhelming positive response to the report already, and last time I looked, there were already 7,422 downloads in under 3 days – quite a few more than I expected.
I had a quick look at your blog, and it definitely seems that you’re a very advanced, and technically able blogger.
Keep up the good work.
Gideon Shalwick
I’m just getting into blogging and there’s a lot to learn! This information has been great and I can’t wait to finish going over all of it! Thanks
Thanks Gideon and Yaro,
I thought the report was a good guide to blogging. I especially enjoyed and learned about some of the X-factors that are available through this report and realize that there is so much more. I really felt empowered by the Overly tv X-factor I really see the potential and am looking forward to applying this technique to my blogs. The report was also great confirmation of some of the techniques I have learned and use in my blogging adventures. I am looking forward to more and hope to join you in the becomeablogger site, videos are the prime way I learn subjects.
Thanks and good luck to us all. Be prosperous.
Sweet… just filled in the details and will download the report in a few minutes
The beauty about a report from you is that a blogger at any level will be able to take something away from it given your success
Cheers
I hope your servers will be able to handle the demand. I’ll be there! I love becomeablogger.com and refer to it often. Thanks for taking it a step further. It’s just what technically-challenged newbies like myself need.
Judex, Fellow Aussie Here lives in Sydney born in Brisvegas!
Thanks for that report. I read it as soon as I got it and several times more while some wacky issues with my internet connection were resolved:) Some great stuff there. Ironically I feel that I got more from that small document than I did from a whole semester at university studying a unit of marketing and promotion.
And that 50 things you like! That really pin pointed the theme that runs through my life, you call it a passion and I guess it is.
The second best thing was the tip on using blogs to research and find where you may fit your niche.
Good one.
Hope I don’t miss out on signing up tomorrow because I have to work.
Onwards and upwards
Judex
Hi Yaro,
this really is a great road map, and to have all this info in one place is a thrill, you and Gideon have done a great job.
This guide along with your blueprint is all a blogger needs to start.
To more blogging success
cheers, amr
I just wanted to say congratulations and that I think your become a blogger info is fantastic. I think that most all bloggers alike should get it and read it. It only takes one tip or strategy to take your business (blogging) to a new level of success.
Hello Yaro!
Thank you and Gideon for the roadmap report.
A question about the discount price for BM members.
Did i get it right, that BM members will get an additional discount?
So they would have to pay less than 27,- $/month if they join the first week?
Because i am interested in both courses but like BM more, on the other hand really like video, an additional discount would lead to buying BM today and maybe even BAB today too.
So did i get the idea right? If not i think i’ll try at first BAB and then ‘upgrade’ to BM (<- definetly gonna get it).
Again, thank you for the impact you made on my life not only in terms of internet marketing.
Sebastian
-The German Guy-
Hi Sebastian,
Yesterday I sent a link out to all the current and graduate Blog Mastermind members for 50% off Become A Blogger Premium membership (bringing it down to $13.50/m – a bargain!).
As soon as you join Blog Mastermind you qualify for that discount too, but you will need to email supportATblogmastermind.com so we can send you the discount link since you would have missed that email.
Note that price is good until next Thursday when Become A Blogger Premium price increases, in which case the discount still applies, but its on $47/m instead – so $23.50/m for Blog Mastermind members.
Just bought both programs. Thanks to your fast response.
Already excited to get started. Thanks again.
And thanks for the quick handling of the payment issue.
I know you must have a lot of work right after the launch.
I think i’m gonna enjoy this. Now i have to make my
money back.
You have inspired me to create a blog site. I think all the information on your website is very useful. Keep up the good work!!!
Hi,
You said that when you started in 2005 that you weren’t even sure what a blog was.
I would like to know though whether you came from an IT/web design background? If so I would have thought it would have given you a real edge over those who have little or no knowledge of programming.
Thanks
Finished Roadmap yesterday. Just when I’ve been trying to find out about using video and audio, you provide this valuable info. I probably could have done without all the x-factor bologna, but I was still impressed with the content. Keep up the good work.I like your stuff because you stay away from all the “you-can-make-$100,000-a-minute” b.s. and provide solid info with reasonable expectations.
Sounds great, looking forward to a good read. I always find your work easy to read and full of helpful tips.
Yaro:
Cheers to you and Gideon. Great content and easy-to-read format. Maybe for those that are experienced at blogging, some of this may seem obvious. But, for me, a newbie to blogging, I find your insight very useful.
Plus, I love the videos on BecomeABlogger.com. They were a great help in getting my blog, The Solopreneur’s Guide, up and running quickly.
All the best.
Yaro,
I haven’t put up a review on the free report – so here it goes:
“This free report should be free – Apart from the X-factor teaser (really, really teasing!
) the content is superb and way, way much better than the ebooks I read (and paid for) in the past – I guess the saying, “the best thing in the world is freebies” still holds true for this free report 
”
Cheers
Very good map.
I like the question-driven approach and the focus on milestones and criteria.
I really enjoyed reading and following your free blog blueprints report (as much as John Chow’s).
I look forward to checking this stuff out too!
I’m a newbie and just finished the video tutorials cant recommend them enough. They are the best tutorials for a bigginer like me – things like Feedburner/RSS are now so simple to understand – will be signing up to the free blogger newsletter soon – dont want to take too much in all at once – keep up the good work and thanks again
Hi just finished reading blog profit blueprint and also John Chows Make Money Online and have to say that they both get 10 out of 10. Both these books are excellent for someone new to the biz like me – will know aim to put the knowledge into practical use – thanks
god blesss your blog
Very good map.
I like the question-driven approach and the focus on milestones and criteria.
Thanks for the recommendations Yaro. Much appreciated.
I viewed the video tutorial for becoming a blogger. OMG it was great!! I am recommending the videos to everyone I know. I tried to subscribe to the Roadmap to Become a Blogger and never received an email. I’m kind of stuck until I get that.?Anyone got any suggestions
great stuff , i bookmarked it. very knowledgeable article.
Thanks
Misbah Mumtaz