It appears that Chris Farrell Membership is going through a transition. In addition to selling products through his membership site, he’s also using the membership site for lead generation and directing members to a $495 training intensive.
Name: Chris Farrell Membership
Website: chrisfarrellmembership.com
Price: 7 Day Trial Membership $4.95, Membership $37/month
Owner: Chris Farrell
Opinion: Not Recommended.
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What is Chris Farrell Membership?
The business model Chris Farrell teaches is just one approach to building a successful online business. Once you learn it, you will have outgrown Chris Farrell Membership and will need to search elsewhere to continue building your online business.
Recently, I returned to Chris Farrell Membership. I say “returned,” because I joined Chris Farrell Membership several years ago, but didn’t stay very long. Back then, I was a complete newbie and found Farrell’s site confusing and overwhelming. Six weeks ago, I joined Chris Farrell Membership again so I could write an up-to-date review.
What has Chris Farrell Membership become?
Immediately after joining, before I even got into the site, I was struck with a One-Time-Offer…a collection of all of Chris Farrell’s best emails for $47. I felt betrayed. I trusted Chris Farrell enough to open my wallet and give his site a try and the thanks I got was his attempt to grab more of my money.
Really, Chris Farrell comes across as a likable guy. The OTO seemed really out of character for him. It makes him look desperate and greedy. I hope he reads this.
As much as I detest One-Time-Offers, I bought Chris Farrell’s OTO so I could report back to you if it was worth it. It’s not. Don’t bother. Skip the OTO. You’ll learn more about writing emails if you read my posts on Writing a Persuasive Email
and Email Subject Lines.
The Chris Farrell Membership OTO.
Once I got through the OTO and my disappointment, I entered the site…
The site has dramatically slimmed down since I last saw it years ago, and it’s now much easier to use too.
The Chris Farrell Membership site is very newbie friendly. Each training module is broken down into short, simple and easy to absorb lessons. Chris teaches most of the lessons himself and he’s a very likable character with a childlike exuberance.
Essentially, the business model Chris Farrell teaches is one of building an email list and then marketing to that list.
To do this requires a three-page website consisting of a landing page, a ‘thank you’ page and a download page. This simple three-page website serves to build an email list using an opt-in form on the landing page linked to an auto-responder service like Aweber.
The objective is to drive traffic to the landing page where visitors are enticed to enter their email address in the opt-in form in exchange for a free eBook. Once they opt-in, they are directed to the ‘thank you’ page which has a link to the download page where they download the promised eBook.
Money is made later by marketing to the email list in coming weeks and months.
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Chris Farrell Membership Basic Training.
In the initial training, each step is made crystal clear. For training purposes, a done-for-you website, complete with an eBook to give away, is provided. However, the done-for-you website is not mobile friendly which will limit its potential since about 60% of internet traffic now comes from mobile devices.
Beyond the initial training, Chris Farrell provides a few additional done-for-you websites in other niches. These are mobile friendly and also have an eBook to give away to entice visitors to opt-in.
I was not impressed with these done-for-you sites. They seem lame to me and, according to Jaxxy, my favorite keyword research tool, the done-for-you sites are in niches on subjects few people are interested in.
The key to succeeding with this business model is traffic. Because the website with this method is so small, it will probably not rank in the search engines and not attract any organic traffic. You’ll have to drive traffic to it, either with free methods such as forum posting or YouTube videos, or paid methods like Facebook ads.
Free traffic methods take time and the results are unpredictable. Paid traffic costs money and will probably require some trial and error before it’s successful.
10 Minutes to Success
This is the core training module of Chris Farrell Membership and should more accurately be called “10 Minutes a Day to Success.” It’s 31 videos that take you step-by-step through the process of creating an online business.
Apparently, the idea is to watch one video a day for 31 days. The videos are easy to follow and the action steps are simple to implement. I found the simplicity exciting and completed all the videos in 4 days.
At the end of this training module, you will fully understand Chris Farrell’s business model and will have a 3-page website in place. Unfortunately, that 3-page website will not be mobile friendly.
This is an exhilarating training module and a lot of fun to work through. At the end of the module, Chris asks you to write a testimonial for his site and makes it real easy to do so. This is probably why his site is ranked #1 in the make money online niche by some ranking services.
Specific Skills
A library of additional training modules is organized under a category named “Specific Skills.” This is a virtual treasure trove of valuable information and skills needed to succeed online. I list some the primary training module found in ‘Specific Skills’ here and then expand on a few of them below.
Training Modules and Subjects in ‘Specific Skills’ include:
- Shattering the Myth
- Permission to Commission
- How to Create Your Own eBook
- OP Lite
- WordPress Wealth
- Understanding Facebook Ads
- Lead Pages
- Video Made Easy
Shattering the Myth.
“Shattering the Myth” gave me my greatest ‘aha’ moment since I started building an online business.
“Shattering the Myth” is actually a downloadable eBook and should be required reading for everyone interested in making money online. Written by Chris Farrell, “Shattering the Myth” asks you to take a long, hard look at yourself and decide if you’re going to be an ‘opportunity seeker’ or an online entrepreneur.
Deciding which of these will be your approach to making money online is absolutely essential to your success. Chose correctly and you’ll eventually succeed online with your own business. Chose wrong and you’ll never succeed online no matter how hard you want it.
An opportunity seeker is someone who is forever looking for the fast and easy way to make money. They try one thing after another and are easy targets for hyped, get-rich-quick products.
Compare the opportunity seeker with the online entrepreneur who ignores the parade of shiny object, get-rich-quick offers streaming across the internet. Instead, the online entrepreneur builds an online business based on the same proven business principles successful businesses have been built on for ages…integrity, trust, value, and relationships.
The problem is there are darn few places online that teach you how to do this. Chris Farrell Membership is one, but not the only one and, in my opinion, not the best. The best, by far, is my #1 recommendation.
That said, if you decide to join Chris Farrell Membership, I encourage you to go straight to Specific Skills, download “Shattering the Myth” and read it right away. It will help you commit your energies in the right direction to succeed online.
Permission to Commission.
Permission to Commission is an excellent training module containing 17 short videos that teach permission marketing. Specifically, it teaches the best practices for creating an email marketing campaign.
OP Lite
OP Lite is Optimize Press Lite. It’s one of the tools Chris Farrell teaches for building landing pages. Unfortunately, it’s outdated. The landing pages created with OP Lite are not mobile friendly.
WordPress Wealth
This is an easy to follow basic training module on how to build a website with WordPress.
Lead Pages
This is another tool Chris Farrell uses for building landing pages. Lead Pages makes it easy to build a landing page, unfortunately, Lead Pages cost $37 to $67 a month. This is an unnecessary expense unless you’re building a ton of landing pages each month.
A much cheaper alternative to Lead Pages is to build your own landing page with a free landing page template on a free website. Did you get that? Yes, it’s totally free. You can build and host a website here for free. You’ll have to set up an account, but that’s all free too and only takes a few minutes.
After you’ve set up your account, go to the free site builder and follow the steps. When you’re prompted to chose a template, pick “The Landing Page.” It’s responsive and really easy to customize.
Support
I emailed support with a question about the done-for-you landing page in the ’10 Minutes to Success’ module. My concern was that it was not mobile friendly.
Support responded within two hours and confirmed that the landing was indeed not mobile friendly. This was my only test of Chris Farrell Membership support, but I was impressed that they responded so quickly.
How much is Chris Farrell Membership?
There’s a 7-day trial membership for about $5. If you stay on after the 7 day trial period, you will be billed $37 a month for as long as you’re a member.
It’s worth the five bucks to join for the trial period. Dive in and immerse yourself in the site and you can learn a lot in a short period of time. After that, you’ll know if the site is right for you.
Warning! When you join you’ll be greeted with a $47 One Time Offer (OTO). Don’t get it. You don’t need it and it’s not worth $47.
My Final Opinion
There’s a lot of good in Chris Farrell Membership and a lot to be learned. It’s hard not to like the guy.
Having seen the large membership site Chris had a few years ago, I’m struck by how much smaller it is now. Not everything on it is useful, such as the outdated OP Lite and the done-for-you landing pages.
Chris Farrell is probably making commissions on some of the tools he recommends too, like Lead Pages, Click Funnel and Easy Video Suite.
Plus, when you join Chris Farrell Membership you’ll be slapped with a $47 OTO. I hate that. OTO’s are simply unethical. I’m surprised and disappointed that Chris Farrell has stooped to that level.
Chris Farrell moved his membership site from ClickBank to DealGuardian. I’m not sure why, but it’s noteworthy to mention that ClickBank has a 60-day money-back guarantee while DealGuardian does not.
It appears that Chris Farrell Membership is going through a transition. In addition to selling products through his membership site, he’s also using the membership site for lead generation, directing members to more expensive one-on-one coaching and a $495 training intensive.
The business model Chris Farrell teaches is just one approach to building a successful online business. Once you learn it, you will have outgrown Chris Farrell Membership and will need to search elsewhere to continue building your business. For this reason, I find it very limited.
Click to DISCOVER a Proven Path to Financial Independence!
A Better Option.
Because affiliate marketing can be so lucrative and because it’s a reliable way for a beginner to get started with an online business, I highly recommend it.
Unfortunately, anyone who tries to learn affiliate marketing must first pick their way through a virtual minefield of dubious products and scams. Most are confusing or, at best, a waste of time and money, but some are dangerous. Worse still, some are so darn expensive they bankrupt you before you start.
I meet people every day who have fallen for online scams. I’ve been taken more than I want to admit and have come to see getting scammed as a rite of passage for serious affiliate marketers.
Because the it’s so challenging to find a legitimate place to learn affiliate marketing I offer my coaching for FREE. I also recommend the FREE starter level of the Online Entrepreneur Certification Course. If you want to make substantial money from home and you’re ready to do the work, I’m convinced the Online Entrepreneur Certification Course is your best shot. To learn more, Click Here.
If you found this article helpful or have experience with chris farrell membership, please leave a comment below.
I’ve often come across this guy and I always show an interest due to the fact he’s British. I have been a member of the wealthy affiliate for quite some time now but I’m Welsh so this guy appeals to me. Some people report that the training is lacking whilst others think it is excellent. I just don’t know what to think of it overall!
Hi, Chris!
I understand your confusion about Chris Farrell Membership. Chris Farrell comes across as a very likeable guy; he has a gift for teaching and he still has a good reputation online. However, much has changed at Chris Farrell Membership since the Google updates a few years ago.
I’ve been a member of Chris Farrell Membership twice. First a couple of years ago and most recently to research for this article.
When I first joined Chris Farrell Membership several years ago, it was focused on teaching a ‘Google Sniper’ style of online business. His business model was to build a small 5-page website in an under-served niche and then build backlinks with article marketing, forum comments and blog comments. At the time, this model worked and was newbie friendly.
Then Google got smarter and de-indexed these kinds of websites and that business model no longer worked.
The Google changes gutted Chris Farrell Membership. He now teaches a method that is dependent on paid traffic. Essentially, his new business model is to drive traffic to a landing page with paid traffic and get people to opt-in to an email list and then market to that list.
This method works, but it is not recommended for newbies because it is very easy to lose a lot of money when paying for traffic. This business model is my greatest criticism of Chris Farrell Membership and why I don’t recommend it.
The second criticism I have of Chris Farrell Membership is it is loaded with sneaky upsells. A newbie has no idea what online tools they might need. Chris Farrell does a disservice to his members when he pushes upsell after upsell. None of the upsells are necessary and appear to be only a money maker for Mr Farrell.
If someone wanted to learn how to make money online the right way, based on time proven ethics and rock solid business principles, I recommend reading my post How to Really Make Money Online and Never Get Scammed.
Thanks for stopping by Chris. I hope this clears up some of the confusion about Chris Farrell Membership.
All the best,
Gary
It has been very interesting to read your review on the Chris Farrell membership program.
I haven’t tried this particular program myself but what struck me first about your article was how you said that you felt betrayed when you first signed up and were approached with another offer right away.
I can understand where you’re coming from on that because I run across this form of advertising often.
I didn’t know that so much internet traffic is now via mobile devices, but that does make so much sense! So many people now have smartphones…
I used to be what you call an “opportunity seeker” because I have tried just about everything to set up my own business but didn’t stay involved in anything long enough to actually see it succeed.
Thanks for the information on the Chris Farrell membership program!
Jess
Hi Jess,
Thanks for visiting and taking the time to comment. Before the big Google changes a few year back, Chris Farrell Membership was a good place for newbies to learn the basics of internet marketing. That was when you could build a small, 5-page website, build backlinks to it and make money. That was what Chris taught originally.
Then Google got smarter and de-indexed these little websites and that business model stopped working. Now Chris Farrell Membership is mostly a sales hub and lead generator for Chris. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s foolish to spend $37 a month on a site that tries to sell you more stuff.
All the best,
Gary
Hi,
I’ve heard of the Chris Farrell Membership before but never really read an honest review like yours before. Most of the reviews I’ve read in the last were very positive and I got the feeling that they were affiliates of the program so I never trusted them.
I’m glad you’ve looked into this and given me some honest information. Now I know I won’t join this. I’ve been looking to get into the Internet marketing business but I’ve never known where to start. I think I’ll have a closer look at Wealthy Affilaite like you suggest. Thanks
Robert
Hi Robert,
Thanks for taking a moment to comment. Until about two years ago when Google made so many changes, Chris Farrell was teaching how to build small 5 page websites and how to get them ranked with artificial backlinks. At the time, it worked, and a lot of other internet marketing teachers were teaching the same thing. But then Google changed how they ranked sites, and all those little websites tanked.
It appears to me now that Chris Farrell is using his membership to sell more internet marketing products. The guy is likeable, but I feel he’s gone over to the dark side.
If you want to learn how to build a legitimate online business that works in cooperation with the search engines, definitely check out Wealthy Affiliate . I’m convinced it’s the best chance most people will ever have to achieve financial independence.
All the best,
Gary