This probably isn’t breaking news to many of you out there, as many of the people that visit this site are bloggers and are familiar with Darren Rowse from ProBlogger.net. He is one of the top bloggers online and provides tips on how to make money online blogging. His blog has been around for quite a few years now and he is one of the leading authorities on blogging for profit.
Darren just recently opened up a blogging forum for members to learn and discuss blogging issues like; blog design, content creation, finding readers, how to make money with your blog, social media, etc…. Unlike a blog where you usually can only ask questions in the comment area about whatever the blog post is about… in this forum you can ask any question you can think of when it comes to blogging. The other members, as well as the moderator and administrators are there to help answer any question you might have!
One thing that is different about this forum is… it is not free. It is a paid membership forum, but the price to become a member is only $1.95 per month… which is the least expensive thing I have ever paid for online so far.
Why is he making it a paid membership forum versus a free forum like many other forums? Listening to Darren, it totally makes sense. Here are some of the reasons…
- The first reason he is going to staff it with a paid moderator (which is really cool) and administrators that put time a side to make sure it is a valuable community.
- Another reason is he wants to put a small barrier (the $1.95 per month fee) to keep out spammers and people that are only visiting the forum to promote themselves. He is all for being able to promote yourself to the community, but he doesn’t want that to be your primary focus. The goal is to be able to promote yourself while helping others… which I am totally for!
- He doesn’t want the community to get too big. He is looking for a more intimate community where members can get to know each other and hopefully collaborate with one and other on different projects.
Now I could go on and on about this community, but I will give you the results I have had since I joined just a few days ago.
Since I have joined Darren’s forum I have met several bloggers that I am sure I will be working with in the future on projects, I have also received ten new subscribers to my newsletter from members of the forum, plus I have been contacted by four very good bloggers that are writing Guest Posts for Making Money Online right now, from a simple request on the forum. So I would say I have gotten way more than my money’s worth so far… and I think it is only going to get better.
The only negative thing I could say so far is there are not that many members on the site when I visit, which is to be expected… as he just broke the 1000 member mark a few days ago. But there is usually a few members viewing each section of the forum and most of my posts have been replied to very fast… which I really like. As the forum continues to grow this won’t be an issue to me at all.
So if you are able to afford an extra $1.95 per month, I strongly suggest you give Darren’s blogging forum a try.
If any of our readers are already members, I would love to hear what you think of the community so far in the comment section below. I know there are least a couple of you that have joined as I have seen you in the forum 
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Typhoon on Wed, 7th Oct 2009 4:52 am
ya, I have also spend my money into it and have really liked that forum. By the way did you got my friend request on that forum ;0 ?
Typhoon´s last blog ..WebHostingRating – Find the Right Hosting of your Needs
Doug Dillard on Wed, 7th Oct 2009 8:14 am
I don’t think I did get your friend request. Is your handle Typhoon in the forum?
Typhoon on Thu, 8th Oct 2009 7:10 am
Nope, I am using “smartbloggerz” on that forum.
Typhoon´s last blog ..WebHostingRating – Find the Right Hosting of your Needs
Melvin on Wed, 7th Oct 2009 5:42 am
I had some doubts but overall I would recommend anyone who is into blogging to jump into that forum.. Darren was able to answer all the questions I had in my post http://www.melvinblog.com/2009/10/problogger-forums-fine-long/
Melvin´s last blog ..Blog Updates And Announcements
Doug Dillard on Wed, 7th Oct 2009 8:19 am
I don’t think a paid membership forum would work on too many sites, unless you had a HUGE following on your blog already and a GREAT reputation which Darren has both.
To be honest, I don’t like having to pay to be a member of a forum… but if I can get my money’s worth out of it (which I did many times over already) it is worth it to me.
I am excited to see what other plans he has in store for the members.
Teen Blogger on Wed, 7th Oct 2009 11:12 am
Nice Post.
I have read about this forum on almost every blog now and have heard only postive feedback about this. I think Darren will do very well and think this forum will be a helpful resource to many people.
Great price as well
Teen Blogger´s last blog ..Are Make Money Online Ebooks Winners Or Losers
Asswass on Wed, 7th Oct 2009 2:27 pm
All this guy sells turns into gold. Incredible. I’m not into forums so I guess I wouldn’t join but it is another great idea from Darren.
Asswass´s last blog ..Rule #10 Radical Marketing: Be Loyal to your Brand
Darren Rowse on Wed, 7th Oct 2009 4:13 pm
thanks for your post – glad you’ve found value in the community so far – we’ll work hard to keep it valuable for you.
Asswass – not everything I do turns to gold – I’ve had 30+ blogs over the years and only 3 still run today
earningstep on Wed, 7th Oct 2009 6:29 pm
this maybe the best price darren can give .. once the community become a huge number , i am not sure darren will stay on this price
earningstep´s last blog ..Shows your real time statistics about your blog with statpress reloaded – best wordpress plugin
Samjien on Wed, 7th Oct 2009 7:55 pm
It will surely become one of the best forums. I like Darren’s reasons for putting a membership fee and that is to create an intimate community where people could interact and know each other. Even though, I prefer MakingMoneyOnline as a hub to learn more and meet other great bloggers
And its free so thanks Doug 
Samjien´s last blog ..Win More Than $900 Worth Of Prizes From NinetyNineWays Blog Contest
Lee Ka Hoong on Wed, 7th Oct 2009 8:51 pm
That would be a great community for all the pro and beginner bloggers to share and learn new things! I’ve registered and yet to make payment because it requires a verified paypal account to do that, I’m still waiting for the approval of my credit card. $1.95 per month is definitely a killer price!
Dick on Thu, 8th Oct 2009 8:30 am
I joined the other day and am finding it useful although there are so many newbie bloggers on it, I could get bogged down with questions just like Darren does. I look forward to more people joining who have been bloggers for a while.
Dick´s last blog ..Caution: Golf May Be Hazardous To Your Health
Jared P Little on Thu, 8th Oct 2009 3:39 pm
Wow, Doug I was going to e-mail you and ask if you had any what you thought and if you had any real contact with some guru’s out of this. Well I guess comment #5 makes the cost worth that online. Filling out registration now. See you on the inside.
Jared P Little´s last blog ..Another Great Blog Contest
Liane YoungBlogger on Fri, 9th Oct 2009 6:55 am
You beat me into this post Doug! LOL. I strongly agree! There’s a lot of things you’d miss if you don’t join the forums
Liane YoungBlogger´s last blog ..The Five Simple Truths On Promoting Your Blog
DiTesco on Sat, 10th Oct 2009 7:17 am
Hi Doug. Just like some other people may argue, I am not into forums myself, precisely because of the reasons that you have now convinced me to take my fear away from participating in such communities. Having an actual dedicated person to moderate discussions is already good enough for me. I’ll head over there and check it out. Thanks for the heads up
DiTesco´s last blog ..How To Become A Better Blogspot User?
Tycoon Blogger on Sun, 11th Oct 2009 1:44 pm
I have not heard about this until your post, so thanks. I think I will check it out. I am active on Digital Point and Bloggeries and I have benefited from those communities. Like you said, 1.95 is a small price to pay if you can build your following and blog exposure.
Tycoon Blogger´s last blog ..It is great to get back to blogging!
Klaus @ TechPatio on Sun, 11th Oct 2009 4:05 pm
I read that the amount of moderators/”gurus” available there was not enough to fill the need, when looking at all the newbie questions etc. I mean, if it’s just going to be “newbies helping other newbies”, then any other “blogging-minded forum” might be of as much help, or more. But of course, if he gots a staff ready to really assist or at least provide some general great content, it’s a whole different deal.
Reading your thoughts about it Doug, though, certainly makes me much more interested in joining the forum – at least just to try it out and see what I might learn from it.
Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..Learn How To Launch & Make An Income From Membership Sites
ZXT on Tue, 13th Oct 2009 8:10 am
I don’t know, I can see many other forums that bloggers and webmasters are providing help with each other like Digital Point for instance or Authority Blogger.
But on the other hand, the $1.95 is on a monthly basis so you can quit if you think its not worth it.
ZXT´s last blog ..Sunday’s Babe of the Week
Gautam Hans on Tue, 13th Oct 2009 9:56 am
Doug thanks a lot of letting me know about the forum, i think i like digital point forums, but i think it has a lot of members and so it is difficult to get attention, as the people just bump your posts down. But i think problogger community can help me a lot
Gautam Hans´s last blog ..36 Quality Tweeps to Follow
Ching Ya on Wed, 14th Oct 2009 4:39 am
It’s all about preferences. Some likes the idea while some not. However, if you do have $1.95 to spare, instead of an ebook maybe you can try on subscribing for a few months to test it out. I myself haven’t really got in as I’ve heard it’s more suitable for money-making/affiliate niche bloggers. Whether it’s true or not, I believe there’s a value in it. Will keep an eye on it.
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
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Corey Freeman on Wed, 14th Oct 2009 12:21 pm
Problogger.com is a really great community and I’ve already made a ton of new connections with some awesome people. The community is extremely professional and definitely worth more than $1.95/month.
Corey Freeman´s last blog ..I’ve Been Interviewed on Blog Engage!
RAGordon on Fri, 16th Oct 2009 9:12 am
I have to agree, in just a short time I’ve already come across some really helpful and great people in these forums.
Before joining these, I was beginning to believe that the blogging world had turned all competitive. Whilst I still think this is occurring, I’ve now been given a lot more hope that there are some fantastic people out there!
See you on the forum!
RAGordon
Future Conscience
RAGordon´s last blog ..Ethical Blogging: Climate change, blogging for the common good
Ramakrishna on Fri, 23rd Oct 2009 9:52 am
I am curious to join this forum. But I am not sure how I can profit with the kind of lifestyle blogs that I have without any business in it.
Ramakrishna´s last blog ..I went to a movie
NIche Blueprint 2.0 Review on Tue, 12th Jan 2010 11:22 am
A forum for bloggers is a great idea and incredibly useful. I will be switching over to wordpress soon for my blogging and so I imagine I would get a lot of tips and techniques there.
Thanks for this.
Chandan on Thu, 11th Feb 2010 3:29 am
It’s a good idea. $1.95 is not much and it will help out newbie a lot. There are so many thing to learn to be successful. Thanks for sharing the information. Have a great time
Chandan´s last blog ..Earn Money From Home – Let’s Get Real With It
Alamin on Fri, 30th Apr 2010 7:24 am
Actually i haven’t joined yet. But after reading this post i may think it again