At the beginning of March, 2009, Michelle MacPhearson launched a new membership site called Crowd Mountain. I am a huge fan of Michelle. I was read her e-book Social Media Daily.
As soon as I heard about Crowd Mountain I became a member and couldn’t wait for the site to become available. I am happy to say that my expectations, which were very high as I already know what Michelle is capable of, were not only met, but exceeded.
Features
The purpose of Crowd Mountain is to train members in all facets of online business building. Michelle has created an Internet bootcamp, which is the first thing new members will have access to. Michelle has created 6 different bootcamp training modules:
- Niche the Niche: how to properly do research before creating a new website. Members have access to a 17 page workbook that you can download and print, and six training videos.
- Optimize for Size: how to build and SEO (Search Engine Optimize) optimize a website for earning money. Members have access to a downloadable workbook, automatic affiliate profit generating and SEO enhancer plugin,and five downloadable website themes that are already SEO optimized and good for any niche.
- Content Architecture: how to decide what kind of content to add to your site and how to to publish it. Members have access to information on what type of content Google loves, a custom-tweaked plugin to make finding and publishing that content as easy as a few mouse clicks, and a private plugin Michelle had built just for Crowd Mountain that will make building your site around a set of long-tail keywords super simple.
- Monetization Station: how to make money with your niche site with advertising, affiliate programs, or your own stuff.
- Search Engine Assault: what you need to do to get Google to love your site and send organic traffic your way.
- Power Networking: how to use social networking to become an authority in your site’s topic.
The above list is just a sample of what Crowd Mountain members have access to. The rest you can read on the Crowd Mountain website.
What do I think of Crowd Mountain?
At this time, I have only seen and viewed the tutorials found in modules one, Niche the Niche, and two, Optimize for Size. This is because Michelle is releasing one module per week, to prevent confusion and information overload.
Regarding the two modules I have seen, they are outstanding. Contained in the first module are not one, but six, training videos detailing how to do keyword research. The three keyword research videos cover three different niches (one niche per video), so viewers get a very good idea of how to do keyword research.
The second module is all about how to properly set up a new WordPress blog so that it is SEO’d right from the beginning. Michelle details how to install and setup the plugins she considers most important for site SEO. I was familiar with some of the plugins, but, after watching her videos for them, realized I had been using them incorrectly. So, even in an area that I thought I knew, I learned something.
One of my favorite tools, which is exclusive to Crowd Mountain members, is the task manager. Michelle had this program custom made just for this site. The Task Manager software keeps track of what has and hasn’t been done on every website you enter into it. Most tasks are ones created by Michelle, but users can add their own tasks if they like to do things that Michelle doesn’t include. This makes it fully customizable to each member’s wants or needs. I am loving this program!
There is also a Snooper program: “The Snooper was made to look inside Google’s algorithm and literally SEE what link building and social media sites Google likes the most. Those are the sites to focus on – if they’re already in favor, piggyback your own sites on them for quick ranking.” Is it truly as powerful as Michelle claims? Yes! Is it really easy to use? Yes!
Pros and Cons of Crowd Mountain
Pros of Crowd Mountain
- Access to highly detailed training videos, that cover just about all aspects of building sites
- Access to the Task Manager, to keep track of what needs to be done on your sites
- Access to The Snooper, to know in minutes where to go to promote link building
Cons of Crowd Mountain
- None (I cannot come up with a single con for this program)
About the Developer
According to Michelle, “I focus on integrating “Web 2.0? technology - that is, the hip, new, cool stuff all the kids are using - into my marketing, as well as teaching others how to do the same. I believe the internet is turning more and more towards user-created content and grassroots movements.
One of my favorite things to learn about is a new, neat website with some Web 2.0 usefulness integrated into it - and my first questions is, “How do I use this for marketing?”
Cost and Licensing of Crowd Mountain
- Membership Cost: $47 per month
- Cost includes access to modules (one per week), the Task Manager, WordPress blog plugins, the Snooper (an awesome tool!) and anything else Michelle adds to the site!
Visit Crowd Mountain and decide if it is right for you. I can honestly say that everything Michelle promises will be delivered, and then some.
