PPC Inner Circle
My review of PPC Classroom 2.0 has brought to light that many people, including myself, were confused about the “PPC Inner Circle”. Anik Singal left a response and I had some discussions about it with the affiliate manager. The upshot is that the PPC Inner Circle is not just the forum, but rather everything other than the 9-module PPC essentials course. This includes the tools, the webinars, and the forum, as well as additional modules and webinars in the months to come. But they decided to lock new members out of the forum for a month in order to keep the forum from being flooded with newbie questions. I was initially interested in the forum, but from what I hear there’s not much going on there so I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. The PPC Classroom folks seem surprised that I and many others were confused by all of this, but we were.
I also discovered from several readers who left comments (thank you) that this is a re-launch of the product with a different pricing model. Previous members paid a $77 upfront fee and then $30/month going forward for new modules and webinars. The current model is $7 upfront and $97/month going forward. I’m pretty sure everyone is getting the same content.
I imagine the price was raised like this in order to attract affiliate marketers to promote the product, and I think it worked. Many, many marketers are offering big bonuses for people who purchase PPC Classroom through their affiliate link. Brad Fallon, for example, seems to have received over 3000 orders through his affiliate link because he’s offering some of his famous software products for free as a bonus.
And, as regular reader Dave Starr commented, the “free” DVD that the PPC Classroom folks are selling is still making them a profit. Look at the Kunaki price list, for example. I doubt they’re using Kunaki for fulfillment, but you can see that it’s quite possible to burn and ship a DVD for less than you might think. They won’t get rich on the DVDs alone, but if they sell enough (and right now they’ve sold over 7,500 of them) then it’s still a nice chunk of change.
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13 Responses to “PPC Inner Circle”
What I want to know is if it’s worth getting into the program. Yea I’ve seen the “success stories” on the sales page, but I want to hear from people who’ve been with the program if it’s helping them make anything. I know it’s cheap, but I rather not get stuck paying almost $100 a month finding out it’s chunk.
I’m curious, too, and I asked some of the commenters on the main review if they’d be willing to give us their opinions. Hopefully someone will…
Eric
Nice writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Chris Moran
I was part of PPCC2. The product is good yes, but I had to unsubscribed from it myself. There are no “insider” dark secrets with the program. They do run thru the setup process, but not the day to day activity that make the money. They do have a great source of bonus material. But your not going to see any scripts or API information. No special PHP coding for a landing page. No scripts for ad rotation. Most of the information you can get from free sources such as ppchero.com. I mean based on what I recieved from PPCC2, $100 a month is to much to pay for what you get. Here’s the main lesson I have recieved from the course. DO THE WORK YOURSELF. Stop going to forums and paying for subscriptions. Spend the money on your business, study the numbers, read blogs like ppchero.com or ianfernando.com that are free and have great content. But just do the work.
I would give it a B+
So I take it that this program is not recommended then? As a newbie, do you think its best to stay away from the pay services? I checked out those two blogs that Ron posted then seem good.
Hi Eric,
I agree with the assessment by Ron above. For newbies the 9 modules are quite good but for anyone who has already used Adwords a lot of it will be too basic for you. If you are a newbie then it’s good info but you will need to devote a good chunk of time to working through your classroom homework. Coz the longer you take to do them..well the monthly fees add up you know!
So for that at $97 a month just for the 9 modules, page templates etc + a few extra modules and webinars is way overpriced I think. I thought the ‘inner circle’ would be something like the ‘VIP’ option with loads of extras and advanced adwords info but it appears that the $97 just gets you the same as what the $30 per month folks are getting? Or if you cancel the $97 do you get free access to what others are paying $30 per month for? Apart from the forums but really if you go to warrior forum (free!) there is much more good info there (not just on ppc) than in the PPC Classrooms forums which are fairly quiet. In that case I might as well cancel and rejoin then cancel the inner circle?! So I am still a confused consumer Eric!
I mean $97 monthly, that’s $1164 a year (!) I think they are going to get a lot of cancellations over the next few months…unless the ‘inner circle’ really is some whole new level, but it doesn’t sound like it’s anything more than what the $30 a month current customers are getting? ?
For me I still think that Perry Marshalls guide is the ‘best’ adwords guide once you have got beyond ‘the basics’. And all the adwords how to basics can be found for free: in Googles own Adwords help section and also from other places online with just a bit of searching. Then when you know how to set up campaigns, research keywords, use broad, phrase and exact match, seperate bids for content and search (or turn off content) – etc etc – once you know all the basic stuff like that, then Perrys stuff will help you with the fine tuning, the techniques to improve your results and tracking, testing, all that stuff…
Sorry Eric, rambling again but hope that helps…
The $97/month fee seems steep to me, but I think the $7 one-time fee for the DVD and the course is decent value. Too bad you have to go through all that hassle to get to it.
Eric
Hi,
I have ordered and read a lot of material by Perry Marshall who I believe to be a master at Adwords.
I took the $7 option just to see what the hubbub was all about and at least form some kind of opinion.
I appreciate your comments and the others as well who have already had some experience with this program and their creators.
Thanks
Rick
What about all of us novice users? I agree with Eric that the cost is a bit steep. I think I would have to go with the one-time fee for no more than I would use something like this, ya know.
Janice
Thanks Ron, I believe you answered the questions most of us had. Great post I found information that is helpful to me as someone new to the game.
Hi Eric and commentors! This is how the relaunch was explained to current students – hope that helps clarify?
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“As you are finding out we are giving PPC Classroom out for free this time around for about $7 or so for the price of shipping.
Some maybe be upset but its because you dont understand exactly what is going on
Prices are going up significantly and you are grandfathered in
You are locked in at your existing price level. Prices are NOT going up for existing students so dont quit now if you like PPC Classrom
Basic Student price ( Inner Circle ) will go up to $97/month
VIP Student price will go up to $397/month
Yes it’s **free** for new member’s for the first month (without forum access) but the basic charge will be $97/month for all new members
Inner Circle Membership is basic membership rebranded. We have hired 4 new coaches to support VIP ticketing and the forums.
Difference between VIP and basic
VIP – support ticketing, VIP forum, VIP bonuses – Yes we will be actively improving VIP bonuses such as OMS
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To be honest up untill now I’ve never heard of PPC Classroom. But, it does seem like a good resource although it does seem a little expensive.
I’m pretty sure that those fellas know what their doing, but I HIGHLY recommend checking out the Arbitrage Conspiracy. I know them personally and can tell you that they are 1000% legit!
I have had several customers for my Adwords Smackdown Affiliate Tool come directly from the Arbitrage course, and I must say that these people were COMPLETE newbies and they are kicking butt with what they are learning there.
Cheers,
Aaron