Breakthrough Guitar (BG) ads are everywhere. And this method has sucked in the internet buzz. But not everyone’s buying in on the hype.
“For real dude. The entire time…(he’s) so vague” and the…(whole).. video ad is just stringing you along and continually mentioning “the secret” without just already saying whatever it is.”
A Reddit user let loose of the words everyone’s really thinking. What is the secret and does someone else know it?
Here’s the secret revealed. Plus, is Breakthrough Guitar worth your hard-earned money?
My answer? Maybe.
I screenshot BGs guitar diagrams, AND they’re good. Another Reddit user explained.
BGs Cons
Breakthrough Guitar Con #1 Not the Method Founder
Boyd admits he learned the method from a classical guitarist. And he is not Michael Pillitiere and vice versa. What Boyd brings of value is the ability to take a Pillitiere-like method and break it down into digestible size bites.
The Guitar Rosetta Stone (as Boyd’s voice-of-customer calls it) is already on YouTube. And for free. If you search Reddit, you’ll find many users who point this out to would-be Breakthrough Guitar program shoppers. Below is a sample of Pillitiere on video.
Watch this You Tube below for more information.
Oh, and that’s just one video. There’s more. Pillitiere cracked open the guitar algorithm. Now hold on for part 2, 3, 4, and maybe others.
Breakthrough Guitar Con #2 Not the Master of the Algorithm
Pillitiere’s documentation in his online book slants evidence to him inventing the algorithm. This gives you the option. Would you rather learn from the figurative Christopher Parkening or Andes Segovia? The student or the pupil? Also, would you like to add to the empire of Breakthrough Guitar or contribute to the person who figured out a similar if not identical system.
Breakthrough Guitar Con #3 No Expanded Theory Revealed without Cost Increase
Pillitiere wants to empower guitarist with the whole method.
Boyd wants you to digest it bit by bit.
There’s a trust that Boyd establishes right away in his videos. He isn’t going to let you, the student, get lost. Just do this much as the time allows, then, move on to the next idea.
This is much in line with the marketing messages of the buyer’s journey. For example, each student of Guitar Grid 101 is a potential student of Irresistible Phrasing. Boyd has built a funnel where he has one more presentation hiding behind the curtain that will make your guitarist life better.
But in theory, he shouldn’t reveal the extra classes until the time is right.
Pillitiere, on the other hand, gives you everything you need to know for a lifetime on 12 pages.
Breakthrough Guitar Con #4 Jam Method Strategy Rip Off
Boyd mimics Pelletier’s jam method with his own tracks. But Pillitiere had the same strategy Boyd advocates. This was years before Boyd released his method. Here’s Pillitiere’s advice quoted right from the video above.
“Easiest way to learn how these methods work is by playing them with a backing track. This is the great because they are all over the internet and they usually tell you what key they are in.”
Sound familiar to Boyd, yet?
Breakthrough Guitar Con #5 Musicianship Modeled on Both
Well, Pillitiere even talks about musicianship…which I was thinking was Boyd’s addition to better scale methods. But the difference is Boyd teaches musicianship (string bends, syncopation, slide etc.) with easy-to-follow examples.
“By improvising and moving all over the neck with these backing tracks…you’ll improve your musicianship at the same time as mental reinforcement of where the notes are on the scale.”
Yes, Boyd did hear an echo in Pillitiere’s advice, didn’t he?
Pillitiere’s Pros
Price
$2 vs. $99+
Order Pillitiere’s eBook and you’ll see what I mean. He’s not here for anything but to share value. Pillitiere’s not interested in schools, e-courses, or communities. If you choose to follow him, great. But he truly lives the lifestyle of the reluctant hero. And he has the price tag to prove it’s no mistaken identity.
Pillitiere’s method is much, much cheaper. Boyd was asking $99.00 for his signature course. And about that for community access courses each MONTH.
Pillitiere price? Nothing for the YouTube channel. $2 for the Google book. About $4 on Kindle.
No Funnel
A funnel is short way of explaining the action steps set-up by a company to turn a lurker into a paying customer. Boyd has an overpriced funnel.
A tripwire in marketing is the first product sold a customer after he takes the free offer. Tripwires turn fans into paying customers.
The tripwire should be $5-$20. The product or service is supposed to be a certain percentage of the highest product sold, what marketers sometimes term as upsell 3.
Look at Boyd’s entry funnel.
- First Lesson Lightbulb Moment on guitar…. Free (Lead Magnet)
- Tripwire…. Guitar Grid Mastery (with bonuses) $27
- First Course…. Guitar Grid 101 $99
Boyd uses his $27 offer to give you access to a course that course name (Guitar Grid Mastery) sounds very similar to the $99 course (Guitar Grid 101). He sets his tripwire price at $17.00 above the recommended price. I was very leery once I saw this number. But Boyd boasts of bonuses, so I Paypaled his offer.
By contrast, Pillitiere has no funnel. He has only a paywall up for membership extras.
Breakthrough Guitar Con#6 Breakthrough Guitar Tripwire Costly at $27
Remember, a tripwire is an offer that asks for a customer to pay anywhere from $9.99-$19.99. Pillitiere asks for coffee money and a membership. Boyd asks for $27 for his tripwire and then $99 for his flagship course. That’s a lot of money. But if Pillitiere is too much material for you to put into action, Boyd is your second choice.
Logic, No Warm Fuzzies
Pillitiere uses zero emotional buzz words. He sounds like an engineer, not an artist. So, Pillitiere labels concepts with a dry usefulness. Boyd makes concepts pop. But from what I’m looking at right now…. it’s a lot of fizz but low flavor.
Pillitiere has the method. He has some simplicity. But he’s lacks Boyd’s charisma and gifts as a teacher.
BGs Cons Revisited
Breakthrough Guitar Con #7 Boyd’s Bonus Bust
Boyd’s copy sets you up with a whole lot of bonuses. Irresistible Phrasing 101. Jamming Tracks, Guitar Grid Mastery. Dexterity exercises. But I had yet to get access to anything other than the free Lightbulb Method and one other similar narrative course. Seriously, the whole second course in the bonus bundle is the story of a struggling guitar player and reliving his epiphany moment. Guitar Student Cheerleading 101?
Boyd’s Shaky Promise
Boyd made a promise. Don’t like the font on the screen? He boasts…I’ll give you your money back.
He says, one year guaranteed. No brainer, right? Oh, warning. It’s a wait to get your $27 bucks back. (Boyd now has a $37 price tag and 200% guarantee see, here.)
Breakthrough Guitar Con #8 Boyd’s Not in the Continental US
Boyd operates out of Puerto Rico. This can be an issue when you have service concerns. Check out my correspondence to get my problems resolved of a refund and access to bonus courses.
Product’s Problems
Boyd’s recordings are adequate. He could really invest in a more user-friendly platform. It takes close to thirty minutes to explain it all. And to be honest, if he weren’t trying a bait-and-switch feel with locked and unlock modules, you wouldn’t need that much instruction.
Boyd presented bonus after bonus in his pitch. But when I got the actual course, I was locked out of my bonuses. They gave me some odd advice switching servers to correct the problem. But as you see from the correspondence, I was feeling cheated and wanted out of the deal.
Breakthrough Guitar Con#9 Sneaky Marketing
Ambiguous Reviews
This one tactic felt like it burned my throat. Boyd uses the same testimonials for ALL his courses. So, you have no way as a website visitor of knowing which course triggers the comment, “It’s like finding the Rosetta Stone on Guitar”.
Problem is Boyd’s oral presentation frames it like the $27.00 course is what impressed the satisfied customer. Most likely it was the $99 course that got this mystery fan bragging. But it could also have been the community Boyd’s gathered on his platform. No way to tell.
When I saw this slick little marketing trick, I felt cheated and determined to get my money back. My trust in Mr. Boyd was 100% GONE.
Ignores Buyer’s Journey for FOMO
That’s a horrendous marketing technique.
As any value-based marketer knows….
You present a new product when the timing is right, when the next logical progression is for that student to take that next course. Boyd’s marketing doesn’t harmonize timing with the buyer’s journey. Instead, it focuses on the fear of missing out (FOMO).
This FOMO moment jarred me to act when his email campaign hinted that Boyd’s offer was going away. Then, when I bought the course and saw this same FOMO ploy, I asked for my $27 back.
Here’s the mistake. Boyd hits you after purchase with a one-time offer for his community. It’s discounted to $59 a month for the first month and $99 each month afterward. I believe those were the amounts if my memory serves me.
Gut Reaction
When I saw that marketing move, I was poised to write-off the course purchase as a business expense. I sat at my terminal for weeks committed to wait and see if Breakthrough Guitar was a scam.
Happy to report, (unlike PerfectResume.com, who charges your debit card without permission) even though it took some persistence, Boyd was good to his word.
Marketing Genius Only Short-term
The smart wording of Boyd’s sales script points out, you don’t have to decide today. This is ingenious. “You can decide after 30 days or 60 days. Or later.”
You have a guarantee supported, no questions asked. Well, in truth, there are a lot of questions asked. It took me quite sometime to get my refund. And why would you use this strategy and then hit someone up for $59.
So, the disguised trip wire of $27.00, and the complementary email campaign were convincing. But a long-term customer relationship was not established using these tactics.
See the correspondence trail below. But in the end on 12/5/2022 Boyd did give me back my $27.00. This is honorable that he was true to his word.
Wrap Up
Breakthrough Guitar is a legitimate program. Boyd breaks down the similar technique of Pillitiere who unlocked the algorithm of guitar and teaches it for free. It seems everything Boyd teaches you Pillitiere has a more technical presentation of that method on his You Tube video series. These videos are free and Pillitiere’s accompanying book is sold for $2-$4. Pillitiere also has a network of support you can contribute to.
Boyd’s genius is four-fold.
- He loves guitar
- He’s a skilled teacher
- He’s an expert marketer (or has hired one)
- But most of all he’s a pro guitar coach
Boyd’s business first looked like a marketing machine. But I soon saw monster sized cracks his funnel’s foundation. The $27 product did not meet the high expectations especially when considered that bonuses weren’t included as I opened that product.
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Thanks so much for reading. I hope this info helps you make the right choice for your guitar tastes and goals.
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