Well if you have not come across him then count yourself lucky, very very lucky indeed.
This post is made in the hope that it saves at least one person and hopefully many more from making a big mistake. That would be handing over any of your hard earned dollars over to him in exchange for any form of training system he already does or may venture to offer in the future.
Back in November 2009 I was invited by a friend to visit Mr Harwards blog in order to take advantage of what was going to be a ground breaking and different internet training course and ongoing lifetime membership of Mr Harwards newly formed BrainTrust. I have known my friend for some time and despite what has happened (yes it is bad… very bad) he is still my friend, you see, I choose my friends carefully, they must be honest, truthful and decent in the way they conduct themselves.
You may have gathered that Matt Harward is most certainly not my friend! He does not come remotely close to qualifying as one.
This two faced charlatan comes across as a great guy, offering to help teach internet marketing the way it should be taught…Man if ever there was a title at the Oscars directly applicable to him he would win hands down… so perhaps he will get nominated for ‘Best Actor’ as the script he performs to, bears absolutely no relation to the promises in what he called his Birthday video.
When I and around 300+ people signed up depositing into his account somewhere most likely between $300,000 and $350,000 we were all blissfully unaware of what was to follow. Well we all got one hell of an education, that’s for sure, but not that which we all signed up for.
Things started off very well and the forum quickly demonstrated the quality of it’s members (with one exception of course) although initially Harward was revered almost as some kind of messiah. I had never ever seen so many thankful, grateful comments in a forum before, the excitement and anticipation was off the scale…but that would not last long.
If only you could read them now!
I am personally $990 out of pocket (I got suckered into his Birthday special)
whilst others delayed a short while and stomped up the full price of $1482 (instalments) for what turned out to be the most shambolic, amateurish bag of poo ever to misrepresent itself on the internet! I should have known better and feel quite the fool (now) as do many many more members who in good faith handed over their cash.
Well what exactly did he offer?
In case you’re interested you can read his blog entry here.
The video that followed is here.
What did he deliver to date?
The answer to this one is easy. Little, very very little indeed.
He got through his AmazonGrabber. If you’ve watched the video this was the one that would likely pay for the course, has made him a fortune when he never advertised it except for a brief one-off campaign on the big G.
Well a member did manage around $200 after a hell of a lot of effort.
I managed a big fat zero after putting in more hours than I care to mention which were mainly spent getting it working (it had plenty of issues when first released and has never been officially finalised). I also ended up helping a few members get their version installed and working, as they had difficulties with the techy stuff which according to Harwards original statements would not be the case.
We were going to absolutely dominate clickbank! in January. Hah! we never got started except for an initial draft document (never finalised).
We were going to get into cheater landing pages…. I think I get the pun (NOW) – cheater….. yeah right (thanks Matt – for nothing). They are (you guessed it still not delivered).
He also was giving us his fantastic REAL TIME tracking tools. Well first off we all wasted weeks and weeks trying over and over again to get use out of his web only version, only to have him throw in the towel because he just couldn’t get it to work…. This from a guy who in one of the very few webinars proclaimed himself as a software genius (Seriously! he actually used those words). He then brought out a desktop client that still has issues and is incomplete in terms of functionality and delivered training. The guy clearly has no concept of what a help file is either!
Some of us were ‘promoted‘ to a special team (that was to have more direct to Harward contact, gifts for work done [ipads etc] and other stuff too) we were and still are tagged as ‘Delta Force‘, which was a result of our contribution to the BrainTrust.
Some people in the Delta Force team have put in a huge amount of time and effort trying to prop up the Harward debacle. The forum has been completely rebuilt and re-organised and to those involved a BIG THANK YOU! but guess what?
Better contact? Nope ( For that to happen Harward has to be around) he simply is no longer available. I have emailed him, pm’d him and telephoned him as have many others. (You really should hear his greeting voice mail message, it’s a peach!) [+1 602-214-4075]. Go on it’s worth the cost of the call just to hear the sheer arrogance of the man.
No replies, no return calls, appointments missed, same old story from the guy who spends his life in ‘Cave Mode‘ a favourite phrase of his.
As it stands he seems to have vanished (he did have a IMWarfare special get together planned for June/July in Hawaii where among other things we would get to walk across glowing coals! – (A tad too ‘out there’ for me.)
So perhaps he is on the beach in Hawaii – who knows? because none of the members do thats for sure.
If I could only get his home address I would be trying to get the FTC and the BBB involved in order to attempt to recover a 100% refund for everyone.
Damn, he covered that stating no refunds once he had revealed his Amazon secret and software source code….. that might even be fair were it not for the fact that he has not delivered the remaining 90% of the course we all signed up for and paid for!
Well thats all I have to say… before I write a novel (which I could do if detailing all the promises made and not delivered – quite easily).
In the meantime the Harward family get to enjoy their ill gotten gains. I feel sorry for his wife and family who I feel sure are blissfully unaware of what a toerag this guy is. (Yep I am annoyed…. you can tell i’m sure).
If you have any comments please leave them below and if a Braintrust member please email me [contact form above] so that if we ever get a chance of retrieving our money, I can let you know what you need to do as soon as possible.
So I guess you get the message? Give Matt Harward a wide berth and save yourself $$$ and a whole lot of grief in the process.
Looking to conquer affiliate marketing and the PPC model?
then visit the PPC Coach Main Site for a $1 One Month all access pass! Now!
Business Model Generates Revenue With Hard Work
By · CommentsI was recently privelaged to be invited to view a presentation by Matt Trainer who for those not aware of his credentials is a seriously successful and as a result wealthy on-line business person. I say business person because it would be unfare to rubber stamp him as an internet marketer as his involvement both past and present goes well beyond what the typical imm’er gets involved in.
So I listenened carefully for over an hour and took notes…. lots of notes which I have turned into a mindmap and am making available here as a pdf document.
The strategy is not new (as Matt says himself) BUT the whole approach presented is well…. more rounded than other simplified versions. Matt is offering a training course which is beyond my immediate means at $4995 for the over the shoulder program and $9995 for the vip one on one version.
It is actually very good value if you have the money as you watch him build (using the techniques in the pdf) a $1,000,000 per month net (yes that’s right)
business.
If you would like to watch his video then you can find it on Matt’s Blog “The Marketing Moron”
What’s The State of Your Project Management Skills?
By · CommentsProject Management is something I have wrestled with, well… for a very very long time. From the professionals perspective I am a fully certified PRINCE2 Registered Practitioner, a skill utilised in the days of my Public Sector employment (Predominantly Information & Communications Technology [ICT] Projects) but don’t let the digression lead you astray.
PRINCE2 is all well and good for big oft times Multi-Million projects (though PRINCE2 is a methodology spanning the entire small/medium/large project space) – what about projects on a more personal scale?
The crazy thing (at least for me) is that self project management is actually quite hard, providing ample opportunity for cognitive confusion and deep frustration capable of driving a generally relaxed and composed composition into an irritable version of AADD personified!
When it comes to organisation of what I call ‘self-time’ I admit to have tried just about every old/emerging/new technique there is and to be fair, I still have not got it ‘totally’ nailed at least not yet anyway.
My current organisation is based upon the GTD approach with a sprinkling of the Pomodoro technique as a driver with which to FOCUS, and focus is THE key when it comes to actually pulling off an organised approach to lining the right ducks in a row before actually shooting them down!
The main thing which seems kind of ‘obvious’ is to NOT involve yourself in too many projects (In GTD this is anything requiring more than two steps) which is a weakness of the GTD system as described elsewhere. Yes (if we set it all down on paper) we all are likely able to build a very long todo list (and along the way dump a lot of noise from ones mind) but that just isn’t really much use, especially when clusters of ‘TODO’ elements are morphed into ‘Projects’ which in turn become a TODO list of Projects – Aaaagh!
The important thing to take on board AND put into active practice is to rationalise that Project list down to truly significant (important to you) list of projects, rather than list out a train spotters manage of things you are in all likelihood never going to get around to. In so doing you will find yourself fitting into a practical and workable approach to organising your ‘productive’ time.
Another article which further explores my ‘rationalise the project list approach’ – further, can be found over at lifehacker.com (a great site by the way) in an article entitled ‘how-to-maintain-a-project-list-that-doesnt-crush-your-soul‘ it’s a good read and you will I think, find it useful.
I’d be interested in exploring what aspects of self Project Management you find challenging and why? Leave a comment and let’s explore different experiences/tips/approaches.
PPC Coach – PPC Coaching Beginner to Very Advanced!
By · CommentsThe guy behind PPC coach one of today’s most advanced PPC coaching programs is Will Haimerl, he’s been in the on-line space for …. well let’s just say a hell of a long time. He is also the co-owner of a CPA network called Wotogepa.
So what does this coaching program offer?
I think the first point to make is that Will set’s his stall out from the get go and is totally focused on getting his students into the position of having generated income as quickly as possible. He also is keen on the idea of teaching from basics in order to ensure that his students have a thorough grounding in the fundamentals and to ensure that they move forward with their individual businesses (for that is what you will have at the end of your very first month) with the confidence of knowing that perhaps for the first time they actually do know what they are doing.
(The ‘Learn The Basics Mantra’ is something I totally support — I see too many trying to run before they can walk — don’t buy advanced tools if you don’t understand their background to use)
I could drone on and on about what comes in the months after month one, but frankly it would not serve any long term purpose as the content of his program is constantly being updated in order to ensure that it reflects the current state of the market in terms of what works and works ‘now’.
So What’s In Month One?…
Perhaps the best thing to do is play you a short audio clip of Will himself explaining part of Month One’s activities, because it is a ‘full’ month, lots to do and lots to watch (over 24 videos if recall correctly) and lot’s to take on board. The emphasis on month one is ground up…. nothing is missed and no stone left unturned when it comes to getting his students up and running and into money generating mode.
Oh, and don’t be worried by his
“I don’t want you to use any tools or tracking”
statement. That is very deliberate on his part. Of course you will get into using some highly sophisticated tools as you progress through the program. As Will would confirm, it’s no use using a blade to cut with, if all you do is bleed to death as a result!
Here’s that Audio
Go check out the PPC Coach Main Site Now!
Howies Apprentice System – My Review & Thoughts
By · CommentsIf you are still very much learning the skills to market on-line then look at Howies stuff….
If you are very experienced and already know most of the basic to intermediate techniques, then still look at Howies stuff.
Howie Schwartz is one hell of an on-line and off-line marketer that is for sure. But, should you go out and enroll onto his Apprentice Program? Well my take on that is it depends…
I myself stomped up $1997 to go through Apprentice 4 and the short answer is that if you are new to the on-line marketing world then Howies system is for keeps. Rest assured you will cover a lot of material over the 10 week course. You will generate results, you will learn skills that should stand you in good stead for your business activities long after the program has finished.
However, if you are relatively well experienced, know your way to a good or very good level in respect of SEO, understand how to drive traffic (efficiently and effectively) to your sites, I would then say this is not for you as you would only find a small number of elements/ideas truly useful (as did I).
But as I say, If you are new (< 1 year say) to the on-line game, then Howies course is worth it.
You will learn a great deal but be prepared to work and work very hard, why? because that is what it takes to succeed, there are no magic bullets!
I will warn you now. The senior coaches can be VERY direct at times, in fact one of them severely pissed me off by going too far (of course I said my piece as I am inclined to do 
) But overall they do have your best interests at heart.
They just have little time for slouches who are not prepared to work, yet still demand results. If you are like that then Don’t sign-up because I warn you now, you will be told and told in no uncertain terms.
It’s business, simply business and they treat you that way for a reason.
Apprentice 5 is the next one available to the public and will be focussing on DOMINATING clickbank. These days that’s not my scene so I won’t be going along despite the great discount I have been offered.
So in conclusion.
If your new on-line, bite Howies hand off and get the course, work hard and get yourself skills that will go the distance.
If you are experienced on-line then spend your money elsewhere.
Either way do take a good look at what Howie is offering as whether you go and grab the course or not, you will still learn a few things.
Howie is quite prolific when it comes to giving away useful perspectives that if you take them and use them will be quite useful to many.
To find out more and get the inside track on Howies updates – why not grab Howies Free insight into 25 NEW HOT NICHES
Free SEO Traffic Getting Plug-in for WordPress
By · CommentsEver Heard of Jeff Johnson?
I have a lot of time for him as he knows his stuff.
I thought you might like to take advantage of his newest free SEO software that you can use to grab more free traffic from the search engines. This plug-in was developed for WordPress and works like a charm whilst being easy to set up, especially with the help the Jeff makes available.
All you have to do is plug it into your blog and his software does all the rest.
Check it out:
Traffic-Getting SEO Plugin
This plug-in is FREE, you can download a copy and put is to good use and it really does work well and installs in minutes too.
It’s really easy to get up an running.
Here is what Jeff has to say
What is my new “Traffic Getting SEO Plugin™” for WordPress?
It’s a WP plugin… which means that it is easier, faster, and more powerful than my Free SEO Blog Software™ .
It’s easier for you to install, faster for you to upgrade your blogs to future versions of wordpress, and more powerful because it allows us to issue updates and tweaks to the SEO settings with much greater efficiency.
It basically takes all the guess work out of “which wp plugins do I use, how do I install them, and how to configure them for maximum traffic-getting power?”
It literally tells you which wp plugins I personally use and have tested, helps you install those other wp plugins automatically via the wp 2.7 api… and then pre-configures those wp plugins based on my parameters.
Here are the plugins that I pre-configure (tweak the settings) for you in the free version of Traffic-Getting SEO Plugin:
All-In-One-SEO Pack
Google Sitemap Generator
Sociable
Ping Optimizer
Akismet
Database Backup
Simple CAPTCHA
Permalink MigratorThe Professional version has 7 additional pre-configured plugins.
My “Traffic Getting SEO Plugin™” for WordPress is “push button SEO” at its finest… easier, faster, and more powerful.
And don’t worry:
If you already have a WP blog you can (with care) plug it in and let it work its Traffic-Getting magic.
Hope this proves useful.
Enjoy!
Expression Engine Meets TextMate
By · CommentsIf you read my earlier post concerning my adoption of Expression Engine and have taken a look, had a play and realised just how powerful this platform is then you will be grafting away and wearing down the tips of your fingers (insider joke).
So it is always worth looking around for tools that may be of some assistance and then you just might get lucky.
Those of you who know me understand that I am no programmer (except for the occasional embedded system developed in Pascal and usually for PIC micro’s). But even I have been known to knock out the occasional hand coded site although that will likely decrease as my shift to EE increases.
Anyway I happened across TextMate which is an awesome editor for anyone involved in typing anything from text to a full on Ruby code block.
It was not long before I was hooked given the obvious efficiencies that this editor par excellence offered.
Anyway this post is not really a review on TextMate, just take it for a free spin and you will soon see what I’m on about. It does have a collection of pre-assembled syntax bundles that allow rapid pre-assembled code phrases to be placed by the use of a quick shortcut or three. Sadly no bundle for Expression Engine (boo, hiss, heckles etc.).
But a quick search and voila! Mr Chris Ruzin to the rescue… he took the time to build one – great job Chris! you can grab your copy over at his site chrisruzin.net
And so whilst playing around I thought it might be useful to create a cheat sheet (handy whilst getting to grips etc).
If it is of use to you, then print yourself off a copy.
Enjoy!
Heard of Wikirank? It’s a promising and useful tool.
By · CommentsWhat is Wikirank?
Wikirank shows you what people are reading on Wikipedia. It’s based on the actual usage data from the Wikipedia servers, which the Wikimedia foundation makes available as a public service. They take that data, process it, and give it back to you in a format that’s easy to use and share. Wikirank reveals emerging trends, and lets you embed relevant charts in blog posts and on social media sites. All in all it’s a really cool tool for that elusive niche research toolbox I never seem to get finished 
Here’s the link: wikirank
Analyse Your Online Business
By · CommentsShort Notice I Know!
I have followed the development of a desktop (read secure) software that fully tracks all your PPC campaigns down to the last cent. The product is called statsjunky in case you have not heard of it before.
I have a collection of ‘stats’ tools some good some not so good and frankly, Statsjunky blows them all away.
I mentioned short notice above and for those who miss the date I’m sorry because your chance will have passed.
Until close of play this friday july 31st they are offering a once for all time subscription in the form of a single payment to cover lifetime membership (it’s usually $99/month) so $297 for life is a real steal and even more so when you consider the daily (yes daily) training they make available.
So if you run Clickbank, CPA (in fact, any network because if it’s not there they WILL add it for you) you can in no time get the most detailed, focussed view of your business model you ever thought possible and because the data is held on your machine and heavily encrypted too, you can feel secure in the knowledge that your personal financial details are secure from prying eyes…. they’re even going to take integration right through to your bank accounts in the next release so that you have the total picture.
The truly great news for me personally is that they are launching (soon) a MAC version too (hurray!).
So take my advice and grab a copy now whilst you can and once again, sorry for the late notification.
See a short video intro by visiting the StatsJunky site.
Its Time to make a change continued…
By · CommentsWell I am well into my new tool of choice for building database driven sites and it would be true to say that I am VERY impressed with it’s capabilities, in fact I would go as far as to say that this ‘platform’
is —AWESOME— which is a word I don’t believe I have used anywhere on this site, before now.
So why is this site building tool kit so great? Well for me, it combines the best of everything I have worked and believed in for some time. But rather than utilising a disconnected set of tools, Expression Engine delivers the whole kit & kaboodle and in one well structured and realatively easy to understand combination. There are some excellant training materials out there too (I’ll cover those in another post) and the forum is – well like forums should be. No BS, No Bitching, just helpful dudes and at all levels of ability too, which is great.
The link above is an affiliate link (just thought I would be clear on that) and I would appreciate you using it to find out more. The trip will be worth it and the base engine (core) is actually free for personal non-commercial use, though do read the terms and conditions (as for any product).
[As a sidebar, the affiliate link is protected using a product I created called yourlinkmaster and will only function when clicked on from this site — It cannot be hijacked as it won't function off site — Because you are a reader of my blog I'll cut you a special of 80% off the listed price (The site purchase url's are in the process of being upgraded and are for the present deliberately broken ). If you're interested contact me via the post comment submission (below). End of obvious plug! ]
Getting back to the reasons behind the change, I think Open Source platforms such as WordPress, Drupal and Joomla are great in and of themselves, but having used all three over the years (this blog is wordpress) I have to say that for me the Expression Engine power, versatility and availability of additional capabilities fits very well with —Everything— I need for my on-line endeavours.
Now, I realise that is quite a strong statement to make, but I have got to the point where I want to settle down…. with a single delivery platform and totally master it, albeit over time.
Sure I can hand code sites from the ground up to standards compliant xhtml/css2/3 but doing a quality job takes a huge chunk of my time, which is why I like Expression Engine so much. I get to do the hand coding bit when I want, yet have the power of embedding blogging capabilities and other cool database stuff, wherever and when ever I want. Of course the power goes way beyond what I have time to comment on here, but I hope you get the idea.
Give it a go (the free version is fine to start with) and let me know what you think.
See you in their forums (handle is ‘weightonman’ — long story….
