Well, today I decided to bite the bullet. I registered for the program. I even paid for the whole thing up front so I could get the 10% discount. My materials will be shipping on the next business day after my payment is processed, so I should have them next week, or possibly sooner.
In all seriousness, I’ve been considering this program for about two years. The thing that’s been holding me back has been the utter cheesiness of their marketing materials. (The content is compelling, but the photos are a little too Pleasantville for my taste.) As I said to a more experienced freelancing colleague earlier today, “Surely not *all* of their graduates have moved to Paris or become beachcombers…” But he assured me that, despite the cheese, the program is solid and worth checking out given my specific goals in enrolling.
I’m not about to get all unethical and share the course content with others who haven’t paid for it, but I’ll definitely keep you posted on my progress in the program and how I feel about the skills I’m learning. And who knows, maybe this will turn out to be a great opportunity for all of us! I’ll get some great new tools for my writing arsenal, and you’ll get someone who can speak from personal experience about this particular program so you can decide whether it’s something you want to pursue.
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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest
www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest
Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King. All rights reserved.
Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King
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Will be looking forward to hear what you think of the course. Have been considering registering for their travel writers course…but remain undecided at present.
Cheers, Liz
The site turned me off so badly, my feeling was, if they can’t be bothered to create a professional, compelling site, why would I trust them with my money?
So I’m interested in hearing about your experience.
With me, anyway, advertising is more likely to turn me off a product than get me to buy it.
well, I have been an AWAI student since 2003. A great basic course, but not even close to all you need to make their promised “six figures.” most students never finish the course, but go out and find paying work (and other mentor programs) first. I’m one of them. I was mentored by some of the best in the biz, some I met through AWAI. One word to the wise: be cautious about ordering from them a lot. It’s a sales-oriented program, they have a ton of back-end stuff and they suck you in. I know, I have several programs, all of which has paid off, but so many AWAI students just buy and buy and don’t ever use the resources to make the money back. Copywriting has been a great biz, but it’s an intense journey. Not for the faint of heart.
HTH.
Okay, bought the course in 2003. It’s good. It launched my copy career, but . . . I haven’t finished the course yet. I found other mentors and resources on the web (several through AWAI) among them Harlan Kilstein, Tina Lorenz, Alex Mandossian, John Reese, John Carlton, Dan Kennedy, Clayton Makepeace, Gary Bencivenga, Gary Halbert and, well . . . AWAI is a great foundation and a fun skill to know, but it’s not entirely learned through AWAI. Be careful being sucked into their sales funnel (back-end products up the kazoo) and keep an open mind and you’ll be fine. http://www.realbrilliantcopy.com
Thanks, Anon and Tricia (are you one and the same? I can’t tell). I’m not exactly putting all of my eggs in the six-figures basket (though making six figs would certainly be nice!). I’m really more interested in learning so new skills and developing my current ones. However, I’m keeping my mind open to the possibility that this could, I don’t know, revolutionize my business or something because, hey, that would be cool. Don’t want to shoot myself in the foot by being self-defeatist, after all.
It hasn’t even gotten here yet, so I’ll reserve judgment until then. :] I LOVE all this input though! Keep it coming, all.
kk