Jennifer Maker – The Genius Bloggers Toolkit

What is the Genius Bloggers Toolkit?

The Toolkit is a collection of 86 expert blogging trainings that would cost over $7,500 individually, but are available together for a SUPER limited time at a 97% discount.

The Genius Bloggers Toolkit is extremely popular among bloggers. I know many bloggers who buy it every year. Me? I’ve gotten it three times so far. I did NOT buy it in my first year of blogging even though I was aware of it. (You’ll see why. Keep reading.)

The 2020 edition of the Genius Bloggers Toolkit is available now until Monday, September 28, 2020 and goes away until 2021, when it comes back with an entirely different set of resources.

Around this time of the year, the Toolkit is pretty much all bloggers are talking and asking about. And the big question for most people is…

Should I buy it?

Here is a letter I wrote for my fellow bloggers considering the Toolkit to help them decide:

I’m going to give you my brutally honest answer about whether or not the Toolkit is worth it here. Please consider reading this before you buy it.

Generally speaking, I think those who can benefit from the Toolkit are:

1. VERY new bloggers or want-to-be bloggers — especially those who have not yet found (or can’t afford) a foundational blogging course. If you are thinking of blogging or are a new blogger, I think this the Toolkit is super helpful for getting started.
2. Bloggers ready to monetize — if you’re at the point where you’re ready to monetize your blog, there’s a lot of good resources in the Toolkit to help with this
3. Established bloggers — those who have a blog that is already bringing some income and has good systems in place, and are ready to deep-dive into specific topics.

So who do I think should avoid getting the Toolkit? The bloggers in the “messy middle” who can be distracted and waylaid by the Toolkit. That’s probably a lot of bloggers. I define the messy middle as those who already have their blogs up, mailing list platforms in place, and really just need to keep making content and attracting people to turn them from visitors to subscribers. Remember, content is king and you need to be prioritizing that content early on in your blogging journey.

In 2017, I was #2 and I bought it. In 2018 and 2019, I was at #3. But in 2016, I was in my messy middle and did NOT buy it.

So if you’re not in the “messy middle,” what’s the benefit of the Toolkit?

Because so many of you ask for my opinion on the Toolkit each year, I got a copy of the Genius Bloggers Toolkit to evaluate the offerings for you.

This year’s is even better than last year’s. And it’s still WAY overwhelming. The key is to focus on a few resources that exceed what you paid for it, really use and implement those items you identified as valuable, and KEEP WORKING ON YOUR BLOG. (Sorry, am I beating a dead horse here?)

So after looking through the list of resources, here’s a list of the people I think could benefit from the Toolkit:

• Those who want to blog but are brand new to the idea. Several resources are perfect for new bloggers, including The Niche Choosing Playbook (to help you choose a profitable blogging niche in 30 minutes), New Blog Tonight (a step-by-step course to set up a WordPress blog), The WordPress Studio (a video tutorial showing you how to use your blogging software), the 28-Day Blog Launch Calendar (to get your blog off to an amazing start), and Deluxe Blogging Binder Printables (79 printable pages to help bloggers organize every area of their blog business).
• Those in need of a mailing list platform. One of the bonuses is 60 days of ConvertKit for new customers (if you already have an account, you can get 10 free automations). That’s $58 right there. ConvertKit is hands down the BEST email marketing platform, and I credit it with some of my phenomenal mailing list growth in the past two and a half years.
• Those who need to automate their Pinterest launch plans. Another one of the bonuses is a $45 off of Tailwind for Pinterest or Instagram. I use Tailwind to launch my pins and it means I barely spend any time on it now.
• Those who want my brand new Course Crush quick start course worth $97 … I’ll get to that in a minute.55

So if you focused just on those resources right there, you’d have a $500 value for $97. Is that worth it? Yes, definitely. You could safely ignore everything else and keep focusing on your blog.

I found a lot of other valuable things in the Toolkit, but whether or not they are helpful depends on where you are in your blogging journey. It may be more beneficial to simply buy the ONE thing you need directly from whomever is selling it rather than getting the entire bundle. So you’d need several things that you know for sure you’ll use to make it worth it. Here are more things I like (and personally vouch for — I know each and every one of these course creators personally) and who I think could use them:

• Building your blogging business takes a big mindset shift and the Think Like A Boss course by Faith Mariah can be a HUGE boost to your mental health. Faith is truly one of the best people I know at doing this, and she can really help you.
• For those who struggle with organizing their blogging tasks, take the Deluxe Blogging Binder Printables by Abby Lawson. Abby has a wonderful binder to help you get organized.
• For those who need help growing their Facebook group, you’ll like the Profitable Facebook Group Workshop: Create & Leverage A Group To Build Community & Increase Sales by Alison Reeves. This talented blogger knows her Facebook!
• For those ready to monetize their blogs with but are unsure what to make, take the Fill-in-the-Blank eBook & Optin Freebie Templates by Lena Gott. This awesome lady is great at helping new bloggers get in front of the right audience.
• For those ready to monetize their blog and start offering valuable services, take the Services By Number by Suzi & John Whitford. Their courses are hugely popular, and for good reason.
• For those ready to try promoted pins, take the Pin Practical Primer Starter Kit course by Monica Froese. I have taken her Promoted Pins course and it’s excellent!

I’m barely scratching the surface here. There’s a ton of value here, but … it’s overwhelming. What some people do is get the Toolkit, take immediate advantage of enough resources to make it worth their money, and hold the rest in reserve for when they have a specific project. For example, when you’re ready to try your hand at a webinar, you can come back to the Toolkit and do the Plan Your Money Making Webinar to Make Sales Over & Over Again.

You have access to the e-books and courses in the Toolkit for one year, and once you download them or register, you keep access forever.