I get asked a LOT to start doing paid reviews, and today I am going to share with you the exact reasons why I have been against them, and then at the end of this post, I will be showing you my alternative which will deliver x100 the value to you and your business.

A lot of people have talked about my spoof paid review page and regular readers will know that I am generally against the paid review model as it exists today. Heck, the spoof page was made as a call-out to all the blood sucking bloggers who would sell their gran for a few bucks.

The main reason I dislike the “paid review” model is because it is fake and a lie.

You see, when blog owners say things like “for $500 you can get a review of your site on my blog”, what they mean is “for $500 I will kiss your ass, say nice things about your blog and let’s be honest, for $500 you will get some high strength links to your site and some publicity”.

So why don’t they just be honest and call it a “paid ass-kissing” or “paid links surrounded by nonsense”?

Maybe it is just me, but if I was paying for a professional opinion, I would want a professional opinion.

Afterall, if your doctor knew that you had a potentially lethal disease, would you want him to not tell you, and instead, mention that you have nice eyes and pretty hair?

I wouldn’t!

Surely, if you are paying an expert to help your web business, wouldn’t it be advantageous for the expert to actually help your web business?

So here is what I am going to do…

I am going to start doing web critiques. (not reviews)

Both myself, and my hugely successful business partner (Barry Dunlop) will spend time analysing your site, your content, your branding etc… and we will give you actionable feedback, exploits and ideas that you can implement to help give you tons more traffic and revenue.

Now, if you also want us to publish the critique here at DeanHunt.com and get loads of hugely powerful links and publicity, then we will do. But it is your choice.

If your website hasn’t been getting the traffic you had hoped for, then we are confident we can get you on track, and we will share some of our buzz content secrets with you as well.

I don’t have the time to spend answering hundreds of emails this week, so I am going to qualify you in advance:

The cost for the full website critique from Barry and I is $399

If you also want it published here at DeanHunt.com then that is an additional $249

100% PROOF That We Are NOT Selling Links

For info, $249 is a lot less than many blogs that are much smaller than DeanHunt.com charge, and just to prove how serious we are about focusing on the critique and not the links, we will make all links no-follow links.

The real value is in the critique, and for $399, you would be getting a huge amount of knowledge, tips and expertise from people who have been very successful online.

We may come to our senses shortly, and increase the price, so if you are interested in taking your site to the next level, contact us ASAP: deanhunt08@gmail.com

We realise that despite our best efforts, many of you are simply not financially or mentally in the right place to fly to Dubai with us, so we are doing this as an alternative to help the many, many people that have contacted me looking for an alternative to my Dubai invitation.

Dean

PS: If there is a specific aspect of your business you want us to look at, e.g Exit strategy, conversions, content, SEO, linkbait, branding, PR, selling your site, etc… please specify this when you email us.

PPS: We will give three months free membership to our VERY soon to be launched website at BuzzProfits.com to the first three people to get a full critique.

I am going to share with you an incredible real-life story that happened to me earlier this year.

A good friend of mine called me and said: “Dean, can I take you to lunch?”

Never one to shy away from spending time with close friends, nor a fantastic meal for free…

I happily agreed.

However, as so often is the case, there was a catch. My friend wanted to pick my brain on ways to take his web business to the next level during the meal.

So the night before the meal I put aside 5 minutes to make a few notes, and before I knew it, 30 minutes later I had scribbled over 5 pages of notes.

I really got carried away…

My friend was blown away during the meal, and then I forgot all about it… that was until three months later when he called with the news that DIRECTLY from the info I gave him, he had made over $15,000 additional profit in under three months.

Here is what he had to say:

“Dean is what Malcolm Gladwell, in the Tipping Point, describes as a Maven. He knows an insane amount of useful information about internet marketing and takes a real joy in helping others with it.

I sat down to lunch with him a few months back, having asked him to take a look at our site in the language learning niche. I was expecting one or two tips but Dean pulled out 6 PAGES OF COMMENTS that went on to help us restructure our business, double our subscribers, and ultimately increase our income around 50% without having to do anything shady, black hat, or underhand.

I wanted to know how to provide more value for our customers, while getting our great content out to more people and increasing our bottom line. Dean helped us achieve that goal. The only complaint I have is that he gave us SO MANY IDEAS that, despite the significant changes we have seen so far, we still have quite a few to tick off the list 6 months later!”

I felt so proud of the fact that I could help change someone’s life, and I have been bitten by the bug ever since.

I think as far as ROI goes, the $100 investment for a $15,000 profit is pretty darn incredible.

In fact, if you take the $100 as the investment, he increased that investment a whopping 150 times in just three months.

Imagine putting $100 into a bank account and getting $15,000 three months later.

It would be the most popular bank on the planet!

So I am now, for the first time, going to invite you to your very own $15,000 meal. What’s more, this time, instead of you paying me for the meal, I WILL PAY FOR IT.

Oh, and instead of it being a small restaurant in a little town, it will be a luxurious restaurant in one of the most breath-taking places on the entire planet…. Dubai.

All you need to do is do what a proper business person would do, go get your tickets and book a flight right now.

Here is exactly what you will get from your investment:

* A ticket to Dubai for the Unlimited Power Online Seminar

* Learn the secrets from expert guest speakers such as Joel Comm, John Carlton, Mike Filsaime, Me, Barry Dunlop & loads more…. (yes, this is a MAJOR event, one of the biggest of 2008)

* Come out of your comfort zone - if there is one piece of advice that all successful business people agree on, it is “nothing worth doing is done from within your comfort zone”. More on this in a moment.

* Have a life changing experience - If I could promise you a life changing experience right now, something to tell friends and family until your dying day, how much would you invest?

For me, there is no amount of money that I could value it at.

Life is not how many breaths you take, it is the amount of times you have your breath taken away.

I used to think it was allabout fancy cars, big TVs, huge houses with swimming pools… until I got all that, and realised it meant nothing. It is my experiences that define me, make me happy, and fill me with great memories.

* Vastly improve your business for years to come - times are hard. But history proves that those businesses that cut back and go defensive, are the first that will crumble.

* Join Barry and I personally, for an amazing meal and evening of fun, great conversation, oh, and we will personally give you a consultation… face-to-face (we would normally charge tens of thousands for this).

* HUGE networking opportunities. Sure, you can play with Twitter and mess around on forums and pretend you are networking, or you can join the big boys and hang out with the elite. After all, what % of the losers who post on the forums would have the balls to do this?

Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone (Loser Zone) and Change Your Life

I will be honest, I often make this mistake as well. The vast majority of us are brought into this world with a poor person mentality. I am as guilty as anyone.

When I first got the opportunity to hang with the top marketers at a major event, my bullshit-ometer kicked in and I started making excuses.

“I can’t afford it, it is not my sort of thing, it sounds very American, I am really busy with other stuff, money is tight right now, the flights are probably really expensive, I don’t know anyone there….”

The bullshit just kept on flowing, like verbal diarrhoea, and what’s more, they seemed like genuine reasons at the time.

It was Barry, a guy with a winner and kick ass, mega-rich mentality that literally drag me kicking and screaming into the mindset of a successful entrepreneur.

So I am going to do the same for you, in fact, I challenge you… leave a comment with your reasons for not coming, and if they are 100% legit, I will send you a free copy of my upcoming book.

If however, you know a once in a lifetime opportunity when you see it, sign up right now at: Seminar Details

Oh, and by the way, Barry and I don’t make a cent from this. Well, we make a small amount from the affiliate sign up, but it won’t even cover a fraction of your meal tab. We will actually LOSE money for each person that signs up.

Seriously, that is how passionate we are about this, you should too.

No bullshit, no excuses, no poor man’s mentality.

My friend left his comfort zone, and now has more than doubled his business already, and he hasn’t even implemented half of the ideas I gave him.

See you there.

Dean

PS: When you signup via this link: signup here please email me and let me know how you like your steak cooked, your favourite drink, and your website URL.

PPS: Have you started making excuses yet?

Hey,

Dean Hunt and Barry Dunlop here. If like us you normally skim through blog posts, we urge you to take a few minutes to read this one in full. It could transform your life, oh, and if that is not enough…

There is free steak and drinks involved.

Before we get started on this, I want to share a photo with you:

Pretty incredible isn’t it.

It is a photo taken from the tallest structure on earth… can you guess where it is?

That’s right, Dubai. Where else?!?

We love this photo for two reasons:

1) It shows the mind-blowing feats that the human race can achieve.

2) To us, it signifies going the extra mile, and rising above the crowd to be at the top.

You see, Barry and I get to travel the world and party/network with some of the leading entrepreneurs on the planet, and at times, we feel like one of the buildings in this photo. We feel we are part of something that the average business person will never see, we are with the people that really are at their peak.

For the first time ever we would like to invite you to join us.

Interested?

Let’s get straight into it…

Unlimited Power Online Seminar

Barry and I are going to be in Dubai this December as speakers at the Unlimited Power Online Seminar.

All the big names will be there, including Joel Comm, John Carlton and Mike Filsaime (plus tons more).

Now, to show how excited we are about this seminar, we are going to do something special, something that nobody else on the net is doing.

We are not only inviting you to be at the event to transform your business success, but we are personally offering to take you to a great restaurant in Dubai, and hang out with us, getting advice and consultations during the evening.

Oh, and not only will it be a unique opportunity to get face-to-face consultations, with the opportunity to ask Dean Hunt ANYTHING about marketing, life, creativity or the truth behind the kiler bunnies… but the meal and drinks are on us.

Sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity doesn’t it?

That’s because IT IS!!!

My Bizarre Steak Story

Hey, Dean Hunt here… I wanted to tell you a bizarre story that happened to me recently, in fact, this story is the inspiration for this incredible opportunity.
I was doing an interview, and I was asked to describe success… there is nothing out of the ordinary here, I get asked this question often, but what was weird was what happened during the remainder of the interview.

I had the smell of steak all around me, in fact, I could even taste it.

The strange thing was that I was in my office, with no food, and I hadn’t eaten steak for over a month.

I searched my office, opened windows, and still it remained. It was only once the interview had finished that the smell went.

It was only later that night that I realised what had happened.

You see, Barry and I travel the world, and wherever we go we always have one ritual that we follow blindly… we always ensure that we have a kick-ass steak meal during our trip.
We have done this in Vegas, LA, Washington, Austin, Miami, Madrid, Memphis, London and numerous other locations, and over time, my head has begun to associate steak with the feeling of success.

How bizarre!

So we want to bring you into this world, we want to invite you to one of the biggest events of the year, in Dubai, with over 12 of the biggest speakers and entrepreneurs on the planet.

These events create brand new entrepreneurs every single time, and this will be no different.

So, there is an evening of great food, amazing drinks, great company, and free consulting from two of the net’s most popular entrepreneurs. And this amazing offer is only available to the first five people to sign up below.

Oh, and Barry tells me that there are vegetarian steaks in Dubai, for all the vegetarians out there.

Signup Today For These Exclusive VIP Bonuses

You can get full details of the seminar, including time, location, the speakers and the topics that will be covered via this link.

We don’t want to hear excuses, so clear your calender and make sure you are there. These opportunities don’t come along often, and trust us, there is nothing worse than a lifelong regret for what COULD have been.

When you have signed up via the link above, simply return here and leave a comment or email us at: dean@buzzprofits.com and providing you used the above link, we will put your name on our exclusive VIP guest list at the restaurant.

Here is to the sizzle and smell of success.

Barry Dunlop & Dean Hunt

PS: Just being in Dubai is a life changing experience. Something you will never forget, something to talk about for decades, and a damn sight more rewarding than you could ever imagine. Please don’t pass down this opportunity and regret it, there really is nothing worse for an entrepreneur than a missed opportunity.

PPS: Here is Dubai at night: click this photo to get started.

I had a wacky thought recently… can you learn the skills required to be a good public speaker by picking up women?

Sounds crazy doesn’t it… but according to experts, the key areas to pickup up women are things like:

• Body language,
• Humour,
• Voice tonality,
• Inner and Outer Confidence (and a good mindset)

Which is also a similar set of skills required to be a good public speaker.

I decided to look into this further, and recently wrote an article for the hugely popular ChrisBrogan.com

You can read my article here: learning to become a good public speaker (please also leave a comment)

Even if you are happily married, the article shows you how to make your goals and challenges in life as fun and interesting as possible. So there is a lesson for all of us there.

Enjoy.

Dean

Have you ever wondered how cool and potentially life changing it would be to have your very own entourage? Just like the celebs have…

Over the past couple of months I have been slowly building my very own entourage, a team of people that make my life easier, happier and more productive. But here is the best part… it is nowhere near as expensive as you may think.

Today I am going to share the details of my entourage, including the costs and benefits, and who knows, this time next week, you could live the celebrity lifestyle as well.

Entourage Member #1: The Cleaner

The cleaner is not exactly the most glamourour of positions in my entourage, but it is one of the most useful.

I have a cleaner that comes to my home twice per week for one hour, and ensures the place is spotless (oh, and even does my ironing).

As well as saving me a lot of stress, it saves me approx 4 hours cleaning per week, as I am much slower than she is. I pay $13 per hour, and frankly, I live in an expensive area, so you should be able to get one for $10 or less generally.

Weekly Cost: $26

Time Saved: 4 hours

Entourage Member #2: The PA/Secretary/Assistant

I recently hired someone to help me organise my life. Specifically, all accounting and paperwork aspects.

I am notoriously un-organised and messy, so she comes round once per week and collects invoices, receipts, mail, prepares my accounts, pays my bills and organises my contacts.

I can’t even begin to tell you the stress and worry this saves me, and that frees up my mind to get on with being creative.

What’s more, it saves me at least 2 hours per week on average.

Weekly Cost: $16

Time Saved: 2 hours

Entourage Member #3: The Hypnotist

I may go into more detail about my hypnotist and what he does for me (if anyone is interested leave a comment), but essentially, I have seen him twice, with the aim of becoming more comfortable in public speaking.

I only really need to see him twice per year, but I will probably do 4 times per year this year.

The hypnotist doesn’t save me any time, but he opens up new doors and possibilities, things that could transform my life for ever.

Weekly Cost (based on 4 sessions per year at approx $75 per session): $5.76 per week

Time Saved: Zero

Life enhancement value: Potentially huge

Entourage Member #4: The Gym Trainer

I joined a local golf course, and as part of my payment, I got free access to the gym and other facilities. Part of this includes a session with a qualified trainer, and he/she will also spend time with you weekly to make sure your program is right for you, to motivate you, and to ensure you are using the equipment correctly.

I must stress this is NOT a personal trainer, but for me, it is everything I need to get into shape this winter.

It doesn’t save me any time, in fact, it uses 5 hours of my time per week, but, it keeps me mentally and physically sharp, improves my body and health, and it could add years to my lifespan.

Time Saved: Minus 5 hours

Weekly Cost: Technically it is free, but for the sake of fairness I will put the cost without golf = $10 per week

Entourage Member #5,6,7,8,9,10….: Lifestyle Management Team

When my bank heard that I was earning xxxxxxx per year, they told me about a premier service that they do for their “high-end” clients.

As well as VIP access to all airports, VIP tickets to major events, and tons of other stuff, it included my very own lifestyle management team.

This meant that I could call my UK based team and get them to plan and research my train journeys, or find me the best price for car insurance, or book me a hotel in LA, or find me a cleaner in my area who is insured and highly rated.

Basically, they can do pretty much anything to save me time, and I have already successfully used them numerous times.

I did once call them up at 1am when I was drunk with friends, and ask if they could get alcohol sent to my house, which the lady at the other end politely replied “sorry, sir, we cannot provide that service at the moment”.

I was very embarrassed the following day.

Time Saved: Approx one hour per week

Weekly Cost: Nothing

Summary

So there we have it. My very own entourage. I must stress that I also have people online who help me, but I wanted to focus solely on people in the offline world. I also haven’t bothered to include dentists, hair dressers etc… as they are standard practice.

I appreciate that not everyone can afford to do this, but it actually is not as expensive as you may think.

Total cost = $57.76 per week. Which is approx $230 per month.

What’s more, on the first day, my PA discovered a council tax ruling that said I could get a 25% discount. This saved me $50 per month, thus bringing the total down to $180 per month.

Also, excluding the time spent at the gym, which I see as essential, I save an average of 7 hours per week due to my entourage. Now, even if I valued my time at $50 per hour (it is vastly higher), that would be worth $350 per week, or $1,400 per month.

So if I use even a fraction of that free time correctly, I should come out well in profit from this.

Oh, and I am much more happy and stress free as well.

So there we have it, proof that you can create your very own celebrity-esque entourage in 2008 for a fraction of the investment that you would expect.

Question of the week: Having read this, would you now consider building your very own entourage?