If you’re thinking of starting an e-commerce business, you may have heard of Black Digital Blueprint. But with so many online scams out there, you might be wondering if it’s a legit program.
As someone who’s been in the internet entrepreneurship game for a while, I’m in a good position to give you the lowdown on the program. I’ve reviewed hundreds of programs, software, and even MLMs over the years.
Just so you know, I’m not affiliated with Danielle Holmes or Black Digital Blueprint. That means I’m not getting paid to write this review. So you can trust that my thoughts are totally unbiased.
By the end of this review, I’ll also share a better alternative that has helped me earn a full-time passive income online.
In this honest review of Black Digital Blueprint, I’ll cover the following points:
Table of Contents
- What is Black Digital Blueprint?
- Who is Danielle Holmes?
- Black Digital Blueprint Course Breakdown
- Bonus
- Who is it for?
- How much does Black Digital Blueprint cost?
- Refund Policy
- Praise for Black Digital Blueprint
- Criticism of Black Digital Blueprint
- Is Black Digital Blueprint a scam?
- Why I Sold My eCom Business?
- Is there a better way to make money online?
What is Black Digital Blueprint?
Black Digital Blueprint is a digital program created by Danielle Holmes. It is designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge necessary to start an e-commerce business. It promises to reveal the best techniques for developing your audience on social media and turning your followers into loyal customers, generating more profits in the process.
So, how does it work? Upon enrolling in the program, you will be given exclusive access to a membership site, where you can find six modules. Each module comprises video lessons and PDFs to guide you through the learning process.
Learn more:
Who is Danielle Holmes?
Danielle Holmes is active on Instagram where she has 45.5K followers. However, there isn’t a lot of information available about her background.
Danielle claims to have made a 7-figure income from eCommerce and to own 3 online stores. Of course, it’s important to take these claims with a grain of salt until verified evidence is presented.
Danielle positions herself as someone who helps the black community, although her course is open to anyone. However, the price of the course is quite high and may be out of reach for many people.
Therefore, some may argue that the high price of the course is evidence that Danielle is more interested in helping herself than helping others build wealth.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Black Digital Blueprint Course Breakdown
This course consists of 6 modules and has a focus on Facebook ads. Danielle Holmes will show you how to run Facebook ads to promote your online store.
Module 1: Creating Your Customer Profile
In the first module, you’ll learn how to create a customer profile. This is where you’ll find out what your potential customers want, their spending habits, and their lifestyle. It’s essential to understand your customers so you can better target your ads to them. While this information can be found for free online, she’ll show you how to use it to your advantage.
Module 2: Understanding Buyer Psychology
This module covers the psychology of buyers. You need to understand what’s going on in your customer’s minds before they buy something. By doing so, you can leverage their emotions to make sales. While you can find similar content online, she’ll show you how to apply this knowledge to your Facebook ads.
Module 3: Crafting Ad Copy
Module three is all about writing great ad copy. You’ll get to see some of Danielle’s ad copy, as well as some examples from big businesses. This module will help you write compelling copy that will attract and engage your target audience.
Module 4: Navigating Facebook Business Manager
This model introduces you to the Facebook Business Manager dashboard. she’ll show you how to complete a Facebook ad from start to finish. If you’re new to Facebook ads, this module will give you a great overview.
Module 5: Analyzing Facebook Ad Data
In module five, you’ll learn how to analyze the data you get from your Facebook ads. She’ll walk you through creating retargeting ads and lookalike audiences. While Danielle won’t reveal all of her secret strategies, she’ll give you a solid foundation for using Facebook’s ad data to your advantage.
Module 6: Running an Ecommerce Store
The final module is all about running an ecommerce store. She’ll discuss the advantages of outsourcing work and automating certain parts of your business. By doing so, you can free up your time to focus on other areas of your business, leading to enhanced sales.
Bonus
In addition to the core training, you will also have access to the private Facebook group. In the group, you can ask questions and share ideas with other course participants. You will also receive live Q&A sessions with Danielle twice a month.
I don’t think this type of Facebook group or live Q&A is helpful. They are not well-organized and you might lose out because of the misleading information.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Who is it for?
If you’re a business owner, freelancer, or service provider from the black community, you might be interested in Danielle’s Black Digital Blueprint program. The course is specifically designed to help black people succeed in the digital world.
Danielle named the course after the black community because she wants to dedicate it to them. She noticed that many courses in the digital space were being created by white men, and she wanted to create something that reached out to more black people.
However, it’s important to note that the course comes with a hefty price tag of $5000. While Danielle claims to want to help the black community, some may wonder why she didn’t set a lower price point.
How much does Black Digital Blueprint cost?
Danielle’s Black Digital Blueprint program costs $5000, which is far more expensive than other eCommerce courses.
Because most people cannot afford it, they offer a few different payment options, including
- Option #1: $875 a month for six months
- Option #2: $850 every two weeks for three months
- Option #3: $2,000 upfront and then $650 a month for five months
- Option #4: $2,500 upfront and then $525 every week for two months
Refund Policy
Danielle has a strict no-refund policy for her program. You won’t get back your hard-earned money even if you’re not satisfied with the course.
Of all the legitimate programs I’ve reviewed, Black Digital Blueprint is among the few ones that don’t even have a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Praise for Black Digital Blueprint
1. Some basic training on Facebook ads
There is no benefit to taking this course unless you want to learn the basics of Facebook ad placement to promote your eCom store. Unfortunately, if you want to grow your business, this course won’t help you. You’d better join Foundr’s Facebook ad course. The price is much lower, but it offers much more value.
Criticism of Black Digital Blueprint
1. Expensive price tag
The program costs a whopping $5,000, making it one of the most expensive eCommerce courses on the market. This high price might be a deal-breaker for some.
2. Short and limited training videos
The training videos on Black Digital Blueprint are brief, and they mainly focus on Facebook ads. While Facebook ads are essential, eCommerce involves much more than that. To succeed in eCommerce, you’ll need to know about email marketing, sales funnels, social media, writing product descriptions, and other important aspects of eCommerce. Unfortunately, this program does not provide enough information on these areas, which might not be worth the price.
3. No refund policy
It is not acceptable that there is no refund policy for such an expensive program. If you are not satisfied with the course content or you don’t find it useful, you will not get your money back.
4. Lack of verified success stories
There are no verified success stories from the students who have taken this course. Unlike other legitimate courses that link to testimonials, there is no clear evidence that this course works. Without verified success stories, it’s hard to tell if the program is worth the high price.
5. The information is available for free online
Let’s face it – the internet is a treasure trove of information. So, it’s not surprising that most of the information in Danielle’s Black Digital Blueprint program can be found online for free. This is something to consider before you shell out your hard-earned money for this course.
6. False promises in the sales video
One thing that really rubbed me the wrong way about the Black Digital Blueprint program was the sales video. It makes it seem like buying this course guarantees that you’ll make $10k per month. But let’s be real, that’s not how things work in the real world. It’s a bait-and-switch tactic, and it’s completely unethical. So, if you’re considering purchasing this course, keep this in mind.
7. E-commerce is not easy for beginners
While it’s true that you can build a successful e-commerce business, it’s not the easiest business model for newbies. Knowing how to set up a Shopify store and run some Facebook ads is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s also the issue of dealing with customer service problems, fraudulent orders, product returns, refunds, and more. So, if you’re new to e-commerce, keep in mind that there’s a lot more to it than just setting up a store and running some ads.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Is Black Digital Blueprint a scam?
While I don’t think it’s a scam, I do believe it’s overpriced and not worth it.
The truth is, there are plenty of other eCommerce courses out there that are much cheaper and more comprehensive. You definitely don’t need to shell out $5,000 to learn about eCommerce.
In my experience, the training provided in Black Digital Blueprint is pretty basic and doesn’t offer much in the way of unique strategies or advanced techniques. Honestly, the course is so short that I don’t think it’s enough to help you actually make money in the eCommerce space.
Plus, important topics like Facebook ads aren’t covered in enough detail, which can leave you feeling pretty confused and unprepared.
For these reasons, I don’t recommend Danielle Holmes’s Black Digital Blueprint if your goal is to make money online. It just doesn’t provide the value that you need to succeed in the competitive eCommerce market.
One thing to note is that the creator, Danielle Holmes, doesn’t really talk about the difficulties of eCommerce, likely because she’s trying to sell you her course. So if you’re new to online business, it’s important to understand that eCommerce can be more challenging than you might think.
Why I Sold My eCom Business?
I started an e-commerce business in 2016, but I sold it 3 years later. What made me quit? Listed below are the reasons:
1. Advertising costs can eat into your profits
If you’re starting an e-commerce business, advertising is crucial to reach potential customers. However, advertising costs can be expensive, especially if you’re using Facebook ads. The cost of Facebook ads is increasing rapidly, and it can take a while before you see a return on investment. You might even have to take a significant financial risk before you start seeing any profit.
2. The learning curve for Facebook ads is steep
Facebook ads are effective, but only if you know how to use them. Unfortunately, the learning curve for Facebook ads is steep. The algorithm is constantly changing, and if you don’t have experience, your ad account might be banned. Also, Facebook ads seldom stay effective for too long, and you might need to keep investing time and money to keep your ads working.
3. Dealing with suppliers and customer service can be time-consuming
In e-commerce, you’ll have to spend a lot of time communicating with suppliers and dealing with customer service. If a customer has an issue with a product, you’ll need to contact your supplier to fix the issue.
This can take a while, and if your supplier isn’t helpful, you’ll have to bear the loss yourself. Poor customer reviews can also impact your business, and it can result in chargebacks or even getting your payment gateway shut down.
4. Finding a profitable product can be challenging
E-commerce is a highly competitive field, and finding a product that will go viral can be tough. Most products will reach their peak in a few months or even weeks.
Competitors might steal your product or create a better ad, making it hard to keep generating cash flow. Posting impressive revenues online is not a guarantee of profitability, and some businesses might not be sustainable.
Is there a better way to make money online?
If you don’t want to waste your time or risk your hard-earned money, you might wonder if there is a better business model that doesn’t need Facebook ads and can do it as a side hustle.
Yes, I would suggest you get started with affiliate marketing. It is far easier and less time-consuming as you don’t even need to handle customer service.
In affiliate marketing, you can run your business almost with zero cost. Most importantly, you don’t need to invest in creating and developing any products.
But How Much Can You Earn in Affiliate Marketing?
A 21-year-old student from my #1 recommended training platform of affiliate marketing was able to earn $7,395 in just 1 week, which means he made more than $1k a day…all while using free traffic methods and affiliate marketing.
Wealthy Affiliate has existed for more than 10 years and there have been many success stories over the years.
To give you more examples, here are some of the other inspiring success stories of Wealthy Affiliate members.
Where to Join Wealthy Affiliate?
Wealthy Affiliate has a very simple pricing scheme. It has a free and premium membership.
If you want to feel about Wealthy Affiliate, you can sign up for the starter membership here (no credit card required). You can select to be a free member with no time limit.
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You can enjoy all these values without paying a penny.
So I strongly recommend you register a free account and see it yourself.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Jeff Smith, Founder of High Income Source, is an online business coach with a BBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Pennsylvania. His online business coaching program is so popular that more than 100 students have benefited and started successful online businesses under his guidance.
Jeff started dabbling in online business while he was in college, where he began with dropshipping. After college, Jeff worked at a marketing agency and freelanced as a writer. His breakthrough came when he realized the potential of blogging, leading to a $100,000 sale of a dog-focused website. His expertise includes SEO, affiliate marketing, Amazon FBA, blogging and dropshipping.
I’ve been with Wealthy Affiliate for 2-3 weeks, and I started their training the day I joined. In this training, I was guided in developing my niche and establishing my first affiliate site. My first affiliate commission came in the first week I signed up with an affiliate programme. It was a total surprise. I wouldn’t have been able to reach this point without the training I am receiving from Wealthy Affiliate.