The Muse Blueprint - A review

[markj]

Hi fellow 4hww'ers,

I completed Tim's 4HWW about two weeks ago (loved it) and have spent the last few weeks researching the market with an eye to launching a muse within the next 6-8 weeks.

I am not new to building websites (I've been programming in PHP/CSS for about 4 years now) and also have read a dozen books on internet marketing, so I may have a head start on a few other members of this board. One of the products that caught my attention on this board was 'the muse blueprint' as it was written purely for the 4hww market and was offered at a price hard to resist. I seldom write reviews except for where I find a really great product (or not!) :)

Here are my thoughts...

- How the product is charged for is not clearly advertised. - Its marketed as an ebook, yet it's actually a monthly subscription to a website (including the use of the ebook for the duration of your subscription). I dont think this is a mistake, i think the owner is hoping to capitalise on the fact that so many people forget to cancel their subscriptions.

- The Ebook is delivered as an executable file (.exe) - I do not understand why any professional would consider this format, but the author insists that its a superior format due to a number of unique features for the reader. I say rubbish. The author has used this format to control the illegal distribution of the ebook (fair enough). When you open the file you are required to login with your username and password. The author can therefor disable any account if its being used by more than one person. Also, if you unsubscribe from the service the ebook will be deactivated. There is nothing in this ebook that couldn't have been done in an online format (compatible with every platform).

- Welcome to the website
What a huge disappointment. It appears to have been designed by a novice in frontpage in less than one hour. Its actually depressing.
What about the most important part, the content?
- Ok, so there is a page describing what a muse is.. um, thanks but most of us know what a muse is.
- There is a page describing what a VA is and the services they provide.. again, we know. The negotiated prices seem reasonable, but why should we trust that the provider has been chosen based on their quality and not on commission/kick-back to the owner?
- A members page with some legal disclaimer and info on an affiliate program the owner is in the process of starting.
- A forum with 10 posts - This has no value at this stage. It needs a critical mass before its got any value to paying members.
- A 'google' page showing a list of all the services google offers (a copy/paste from the google help center) - What is this doing here anyway?
- The authors blog - Except its not a blog. Its a catalogue of CD covers/Ebook covers/templates etc - Of absolutely no value. What is this doing here anyway?

The website is a joke. It has no logical structure nor have I ever seen such poor quality content. It is of no value to beginners or professionals. Its verging on a scam in my opinion.

- The eBook
Waffle, waffle waffle. If you've read 4HWW, there is very little to gain except for a good nights sleep. I'm not sure of the authors age, but i'm guessing its under 16 based on the amount of lol's (laughing out loud) there are throughout the book and the incredibly poor grammar. The content is truly weak and its obvious the author has thrown it together in a few days in the hope to make a quick buck. If you've read 4hww, you can skim through this in less than 1/2 hour. Any of the well known internet marketing ebooks will offer far more in one chapter than this whole book can. The navigation is also very irritating (due to the format).

I would be very embarressed if I were Tim and this ebook was associated with my product. It truly is a disappointment, offers no value and I feel quite stupid for having been conned into paying for it.

0 out of 5 stars.

Mark Jenson
markj@sent.com

[ewing]

WOW....

thanks for the honest review.

i would be very interested in more comments both positive experiences and not so positive. anyone....?

ewing

[jazzdrive3]

Considering that there is trial period where you can get 100% of your money, don't you think it would be best of for people to actually see for themselves? After all, in the words of any worthwhile economist, value is subjective.

I appreciate the honest review, but you left out some specifics, especially the money back guarantee.

[cipherdude]

A review is by definition subjective, so I dont see anything wrong with it. I think the original poster perhaps should've added the fact that there is a money-back guarantee, but almost everything has one nowadays (I dont state it when I write a review for amazon for example).

I have also subscribed to this ebook and agree with most of what has been said except that it probally does provide alot more value to those that have not read the original book - which is possibly who the ebook is targeted at, but thats not what I thought when I paid for it.

So, i guess I will be making use of that money-back guarantee :(

[chigurh coin flip]

It was difficult for a while to not read about this product as it kept getting bumped to the top of the board by its creator.

Content is king as they say, and that's what I was interested in--how could it help in terms of being a muse "blue print?"

As someone else stated--thank you for being honest in your review and not pulling punches. You've hopefully saved some folks some hard earned money.

[wildsoul]

That was a review that didn't hold back, but it seems more than fair to post it here, since the person who's been promoting it here hasn't held back.

Dunno about how ya'll feel, but I'm leery of people that want to create a product off of Tim's copywrited concepts. Did you read his comment on his blog about how he was getting sick of rip-off sites and said it it kept up he'd bring the lawyers into it? As an entrepreneur myself, I totally support him in protecting his IP.

Also, I think it's great if people announce their projects here (both for feedback and the occasional "hey look at me, I finally did it!" It could actually be a great way to find new resources while supporting a fellow board member's success.

But I'm not down with flagrant advertising aimed at the group. I really hope this board doesn't turn into a spam arena. We've got a cool thing going otherwise.

I know this is a little off-topic from the thread, but it's been on my mind.

Anyone else dig what I'm saying?

==> And BTW, does anyone have a problem with sig lines? After my little rant about not spamming, I realized I've got a link in my sig. It hasn't bothered me to see others sig lines, so I added one too. But I don't want to be a hypocrite! I just hate flagrant spamming. I'm not against tasteful stuff that just lets people know who you are.

[RichB]

IMO sig lines are in the 'ok' pile

[Marcie]

I agree...a lot of boards I have been on frown upon "selfless self-promotion" - I think the spirit of this board should center around discussion, helping eachother, feedback, constructive criticism, and the like!

I don't have a problem with sig lines either, I like to know (and would like to know more) about people, where they are from, what they do, etc. I put a picture in my profile, I would like to see more faces to go with the names, just my 2 cents!

:)

[Gerto]

I'm a bit surprised at this review; I think that Mark read a different Muse Blueprint than I did ... because what he describes is NOTHING like the Muse Blueprint I read.

The Website: In the beginning , it may not have been too stunning; But it was redesigned a couple of weeks ago and I think it looks very good now.
About the content: Well, it may not be the most informative website I've ever seen; but maybe that is because there is SO MUCH INFORMATION in the ebook?

For me; If I get an ebook with a couple of hunderd pages full of value, I personally won't start whining if the website accompanying it doesn't add hunderds of extra pages of value...

The website has some valuable information though:
-The forum is great to discuss the ideas from the Muse Blueprint (I don't think I've seen mark there?)

-The MVA section! Now this section alone is REALLY worth the price of the book. Before The Muse Blueprint had been released I started searching for an VA to help me write a newsletter! I posted a project description and waited for all the 5$ an hour offers to come in... I got 5 or 6 bids... between $20 and $40 an hour. Now that was NOT what I had expected. Then I found the Muse Blueprint, I now have someone writing my daily newsletter for $5/ hour. The service has been really great! I explained what I needed, gave feedback for the first few days, and now I just wake up and click "Send Newsletter", a lot easier than having to come up with new content every day!

For me, that alone is without doubt worth the money, it's saving me $15 an hour :)



Now, about the ebook: I like the extra features the "exe" ebook gives; When I read a pdf ebook the author says "Do some google searches on your interests" I think "Yea, yea, I'll do that later, I'm reading now." and off course, I never get to it and miss valuable content.

Now, The Muse Blueprint says "Do some google searches on your interests" and RIGHT BELOW THAT, on the same page! there is a google search form; I can do what the author asks me to without even leaving the ebook; Now I think that's cool :)

It is true that the word "LOL" is said in the book, but common, is that a problem? I found it funny, the author focuses great on content instead of writing a "formal ebook like every other ebook on the internet".

I'm also surprised that you said that he created this ebook in a couple of hours just to make some quick money. One of the things I think are absolutely great is that it often happens that I open the ebook and POOF, suddenly, a new chapter has been added!

This ebook gets longer and more valuable every day! There's not many ebooks that have that eh.


Well, that's my opinion. I'm a bit surprised that Mark thinks so differently of this, but well, guess it's impossible to make everyone happy.

I really liked the ebook and think it's absolutely worth the money! What Tim's book did was giving me inspiration, motivation and a whole new bunch of ideas! I immediately got started ... and quickly found a lot of practical problems (like for example the VA thing I said earlier), then the Muse Blueprint came along and brought me right back on track. I think that's great :)

-Gerto