Douglas James is a former Navy man turned successful online marketing entrepreneur. After learning digital marketing, he reached 8-figures in revenue and his expertise has been in running paid traffic ads on platforms like Facebook and YouTube for other businesses. His agency, Amped Local Inc, has helped many companies increase their revenue exponentially with his paid traffic methods. In this Douglas James training review, we'll cover what his story is, what products & services his platform offers, student testimonials, compare and contrast paid traffic versus free organic traffic, and more.
We'll even dive into Douglas James's origins as a digital marketing expert. His mentor, Dan Klein, taught him the local lead generation business model in 2014. Although Douglas now focuses on paid traffic, Dan taught him everything he knows about generating leads organically for small businesses. Dan has a net worth of $30 million and still runs one of the most successful coaching programs online with over 7400 students who are ranking and renting digital properties every day. I'll explain why I believe this business model is the better choice over other online courses in 2024.
Pros
Douglas is an 8-figure entrepreneur who has helped other business owners and online coaches to grow their business.
He is an expert with Facebook and YouTube ads who shares his own proven scripts, funnels and templates
Douglas helped John Crestani grow his online business
Douglas James marketing courses have many student testimonials proving his legitimacy
Cons
Paid traffic can get expensive fast and isn't a passive online business model
Douglas James Reviews
"Hi, Jeff here. I'm one of Douglas James' students in the Industry Marketing academy program. For a few years, my own Facebook ads agency struggled to scale past $10K per month in sales, and this was extremely frustrating because I really wanted to reach the goals I had set for myself and for my agency.
The best decision I made was reaching out to Douglas and investing in this program. As soon as I joined, I was given access to funnels, ad templates, and even targeting that I can copy and paste to implement immediately. It was refreshing to see how Douglas James puts everything together in his ads and in the ClickFunnels templates.
I was able to see what I wasn't doing previous to joining and learned the key things you have to do with your ads if you want to have success.
Within eight weeks of joining, I was able to see a major growth with our paid ads. It took some time, but we're now doing over $30 to $40K in revenue every month, thanks to Douglas James. I'm very grateful to him and his team. This program is packed with value from all the templates you get, all the automation systems you get access to, the live weekly coaching calls Douglas hosts in the private Facebook group, and you get support through Facebook messenger, which is fantastic.
I completely recommend this program to any agency if you're having a hard time scaling like I did. You will not regret it. Just know that you're going to be paying a few thousand dollars to get started in the program."
"Hi, I'm Cynthia. I'm going to give my experience with the Douglas James Industry Marketing Academy course. I had some prior digital marketing experience before taking the course, mostly copywriting and social media management. To be honest, I had never run Facebook ads or any type of advertising before, and I really wanted to learn, which is how I actually came across the course in the first place.
As I was spending my time researching different Facebook advertising type courses, Douglas James course came up and seemed like a good way to monetize the Facebook advertising knowledge. The course set me back a few grand and going through it there was a lot of great information in there. I really had high hopes that I would start making good money pretty quickly with the course. But I actually ended up finding out that it was lacking in the most important aspect of making money online, which is actually getting clients.
It's already been about eight months for me since I got the course and I've only been able to land one client so far. I’m essentially breaking even when considering ad spend and then the ClickFunnel and Active Campaign subscriptions, which are pretty expense.
I hope I can continue to scale my business and get more clients and get more efficient with my Facebook advertising campaigns, but I'm definitely not making money within the first couple weeks, like apparently others were able to. I did gain a lot of good knowledge from the course and I think I just need to figure out a way to attract more clients to work with me."
“Hey, I'm Melvin. I took Douglas James Industry Marketing Academy courses this past year and I've actually had really great results. I previously spent about two years trying to make money from online advertising in lead generation, and I used it a bit in affiliate marketing as well. My results for lead generation weren't that great, and I was having trouble landing any long-term clients because I just didn't have much proof of performance to back on my offer.
After taking Douglas James course, I'm now making between $1,500 and $2,500 in profit per month, just part-time after my day job. The plug and play funnels and ads were pretty effective themselves, but what I really found valuable was studying them and coming up with my own ads. Also, my previous process just was very meticulous and caused me to spend a lot more time than I currently am running ads.
Douglas James really taught me how to automate a lot of my efforts as well, so I can maximize my time and have more time for other things, whether that be making money or just enjoying life. What else can I say? Ah, the weekly phone calls, I really don't attend them much anymore, but in the beginning, the weekly phone calls really helped to hold me accountable and put consistent effort in every week to improve.
I think they're still extremely valuable and you can get little tips out of each session, but at this point, I'm happy with my results and the process I have going for me. I don't think it's as necessary for my growth. All in all, I found the course extremely valuable and I'm happy with my purchase. I guess if there's anything that I would change, maybe I'd like to see a little more activity and participation from others in the private Facebook group.”
"Hi, my name is Jess. I found success working with Douglas James team. We were struggling with paid traffic for a couple of years. It wasn't working no matter what we tried. No matter how we structured our campaigns on Facebook or Google. It seemed that there was no formula to make paid ads work. Many times we wanted to give up because we were putting so much time into trying to figure it all out.
We ended up spending some money with marketing agencies, who of course, promised that they would give us a great ROI. But after a couple of months, they just seemed as clueless as we were and we lost money with them as well. When we came across Douglas James, what we liked was that he was transparent.
So we signed on and with the help of his automated lead generation system, the customized ads that he had, the marketing funnels, we were finally able to see growth. We're finally able to see results.
Our company 3X our monthly revenue. His team really helped us get to where we want it to be as a local business and we really couldn't be happier with the results that Douglas and his team got for us."
Douglas James' Story
Douglas James is an 8-figure entrepreneur, and Navy Corpsman from San Diego, California. He is considered a Facebook ads guru and is nicknamed "The High-Ticket Client Guy" for his mastery in generating high-ticket leads for other companies. His agency, Amped Local Inc., offers internet marketing services for the San Diego County.
Douglas served 10 years in the Navy. In 2015, after being deployed on a humanitarian mission to Papua New Guinea, Douglas realized he wanted to continue helping and uplifting other people.
Upon returning home from active duty, Douglas found digital marketing and saw how those particular skills could help local businesses of all sizes. His mission to continue helping others was possible.
In 2015, Douglas learned the local lead generation business model from Dan Klein, just like many other rank and rent coaches have done. Here you can see Douglas with Dan at a live Job Killing (previous name of the coaching program) event in Las Vegas.
In the next photo, you can see Douglas seated next to Abdul Samad from the Modern Millionaires program. They all got their start in lead generation because of Dan Klein's program and used the skills they learned to create their own programs.
What does Douglas James Do?
Today, Douglas continues providing value and support through his digital products and services. He's trained over 5,000 entrepreneurs and he's active on his Douglas James YouTube channel for his over 9.5K subscribers. On Instagram, he has over 99.5K followers. Douglas has also been featured in Inc. 5000, FOX, Entrepreneur, and more.
Douglas James Net Worth
Douglas James' net worth is estimated between $1 million and $5 million when you consider that he's made over 7-figures from all the sales of his training program and the 7-figures he's generated with his lead generation business.
Douglas James Training Review
Here is a list of all Douglas James training courses.
The High-Ticket Experience
This is a system Douglas put together to help you book sales calls for your high ticket coaching programs. After taking Douglas James' free training and joining, he goes over how to use behavioral data to generate the perfect lead for your program. You're also shown a proven value funnel that will make your leads want to do business with you. It's all about providing value upfront to entice your potential customers. Douglas also shares his exact phone script that has already generated over 7-figures online. Finally, you learn how to charge over $10K or more for your online program/service.
Local Business Funnels & Ads
This digital product by Douglas James is an automated lead generation system for local businesses. After applying and being accepted, you'll be given access to custom ads that are proven to convert, and marketing funnels that are great for capturing essential lead information.
Industry Marketing Academy
The Industry Marketing Academy course is your guide to dominating Facebook ads. Douglas included over 50 ready-to-use funnels, ads, targeting, updated training, and automated systems using Facebook, ClickFunnels, Active Campaign, and more. They claim members make money within weeks of implementing everything that's learned in this academy.
The High-Ticket Expert
The High-Ticket Expert is a DIY (Do-it-Yourself) coaching program. They teach you how to generate more applications and how to book the right calls for your high-ticket services. The goal is to help you focus your time on the right people to keep your sales call calendar full and the money constantly coming in.
Online Training Course Development
If you're looking to create an online course, Douglas's Online Training Course Development program will help you house your training content and media.
Outsourced Traffic
You can have Douglas James and his team manage your paid traffic and scale your business for you. The goal is to help you focus on servicing your new clients. The investment needed is determined case by case.
The VIP Agency
The VIP Agency is a DFY (Done-for-You) program where Douglas and his team build and run a high-ticket local marketing agency for you. It all starts with filling out an application to see if you have the funds to pay them to set it all up for you. Expect to pay $20K+ for your agency to be profitable.
The VIP Agency Douglas James Review
The VIP Agency Douglas James review on the BBB site is of an unhappy student. She said the VIP Agency was not worth the $25,000 for several reasons. Apparently, Douglas James and his team did not execute on any of their promises and they did not communicate well with her. It appears she didn't make her money back. Douglas James and his team responded with what appears to be a detailed breakdown of a legal letter refuting her allegations.
Other Services Douglas Offers
Amped Local Inc Services
The agency offers 6 services in San Diego County that help local businesses drive traffic and increase their sales. The services are offered in these areas:
The programs offered are:
Customized service plan that covers content keyword and market research along with an in-depth evaluation of competitors. Organic SEO tactics paired up with paid ads for best results. Content writing and backlink building are also included.
Comes with a complete audit of your business to detect and correct any discrepancies that might affect your ranking. Optimization of the client's site for Google+ Local and Bing local. The client's business will also be added to local business directories like Foursquare, Angie’s List, Yelp, and Mojo Pages. The agency will also create business citations and help get online reviews.
The agency creates a complete, optimized, mobile-friendly custom website. Includes calls to action, password protected content, online purchasing, forums, event registrations, etc. The package also includes content marketing through well-written blogging for more inbound links and social media shares.
This service includes:
- In-depth keyword research - ensure that the business is able to rank on searches.
- Ads creation - creation of eye-catching and trending ads optimized for Facebook.
- Landing page optimization - dedicated sales page for clicks from PPC ads.
- Split testing and ads comparison - monitored ad testing to find the most efficient ads.
- PPC mini-campaigns - specific area targeted ads with campaign designed to promote one specific product or service.
- Detailed reporting of ROI - customized detailed pdf reports of ROI from ads and other important information.
The agency does a comprehensive assessment of the location. This includes population density, market size, geographical boundaries, and surrounding city divisions. The information will be used to create a new website designed for local consumers looking for your product or service in that area. These sites will be optimized for Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Client's business will also be included in local top business listings.
Reformatting of the online contact request form that converts any contact request into an immediate call with a sales representative. The entire process will take about 45 seconds in order to avoid loss sales due to lack of email follow-up.
Douglas James Cost
Douglas James cost varies and depends on what you want to learn and what program, course, or service you sign up for with Douglas James and his team .
Douglas James Free Training
A Douglas James free training is only going to be a webinar you watch prior to being sold any of his courses. The free training webinars give you a taste of what to expect should you decide to work with Douglas.
Douglas James BBB
Douglas James BBB listing has some positive reviews, even though the most recent post was a complaint from an unhappy student. Nabeel signed up in June 2021 and said their experience was a good one. After implementing everything Douglas teaches in the course, they reached over $10K in revenue.
Ashton is another student to take action with Douglas' training. He matched his full-time income within 4 months of joining the program and after 8 months, he started making over $10K in revenue, too.
Douglas James Reviews Reddit
The Douglas James Reviews on Reddit are not positive. This first person didn't take the course but is skeptical as to its legitimacy, saying it's hyped up and overpriced at best, and at worst, it's a complete scam. Their overall view of online courses isn't a good one to start with.
The following Reddit post is from someone who did a review on Douglas James. They posted a link to their in-depth review of Douglas James marketing courses and features. As a spoiler alert, they highlighted that his courses are not a scam, but they may not be the best investment option because of how expensive his courses are.
Douglas James Testimonials
Nicholas Bayerle is the CEO of The Billion Dollar Body. Douglas James consulted for Nicholas' company and helped them achieve a massive ROI. After only working together for one month, Douglas helped Nicholas increase his monthly revenue by $30K. The Billion Dollar Body generated thousands of fitness leads by leveraging the Facebook ads platform.
Cody is the CEO of the Lovely Nights transportation company. Before working with Douglas James, Cody's company couldn't push past the 6-figure threshold in sales. After letting Douglas take over their marketing and implementing his paid traffic strategies, their transportation business grew to over $1 million in revenue.
John Crestani is an online coach who teaches one of the most popular affiliate marketing courses in the Super Affiliate System 3.0 course. They have featured him in Forbes, Yahoo Finance, and more. John says that Douglas increased his monthly spend to over $300K. As a result, John earned over 7-figures in sales. Douglas James is a huge reason John Crestani has had so much success.
Ashton Wilson - Case Study Student of Douglas James
Ashton's Background Story & Current Business Status:
Background:
- Profession: Ashton was a cardiac physiologist in a hospital in Chicago, armed with a master's degree and experience in cardiology.
- Career Shift: Disillusioned with his role in healthcare, Ashton ventured into digital marketing for a more fulfilling career path.
Business Focus:
- Specialization: His agency caters specifically to gym owners and personal training studios.
- Business Model: The focus is on optimizing group training programs, which are more profitable for gym owners than one-on-one sessions.
Current Performance:
- Revenue: Ashton's agency recently reported earnings of around $10,900 in a single month.
- Rapid Growth: This success was achieved within months of joining Douglas James's marketing program in July 2022.
Ashton's Top Business Tips & Lessons:
Niche Specialization:
- Ashton's deliberate choice to serve gym owners exclusively showcases the power of niche targeting in digital marketing.
Value of Group Training Models:
- He pivoted his agency's offerings to emphasize group training, maximizing profit margins for gym owners.
Importance of Sales Skills:
- Recognizing a sales bottleneck, Ashton enhanced his sales skills by working temporarily as a sales closer.
Learning and Adaptability:
- Transitioning from healthcare to marketing, Ashton had to learn digital marketing from the ground up, highlighting the need for adaptability in career shifts.
Starting Small:
- To gain experience, Ashton initially provided services for free, building his portfolio in the digital marketing sector.
Ashton's Biggest Challenges in the Business:
Career Transition:
- Moving from a structured healthcare career to the dynamic world of digital marketing required a significant change in skill set and mindset.
Building a Client Base:
- Ashton's initial client outreach involved sending about 5,000 emails, demonstrating the challenge in building a clientele.
Overcoming Limiting Beliefs:
- He faced mental barriers transitioning from a secure job to the uncertainties and risks of entrepreneurship.
Developing Essential Skills:
- Ashton educated himself in digital marketing and sales, significant challenges given his background in healthcare.
Financial Uncertainty:
- Starting his business journey by offering free services, Ashton navigated through early financial uncertainties.
Balancing Growth and Quality:
- As his agency grew, maintaining service quality while scaling operations became a crucial challenge.
What's not mentioned in the interview: Ashton Wilson's revenue number of $10,900 per month is not all profit. In paid ads agency, the profit margin is around 15-20% so his take home income is signficantly less than the reported number which could be misleading.
Also its not easy to keep a paid client long-term. A follow up interview would be neccesarry to see if Ashton was able to retain this client past 6 months.
Is Douglas James a scam?
Douglas James is not a scam at all and the skills Douglas teaches are legit. He's helped some of the most popular internet marketing experts exponentially increase their sales with his paid traffic methods. Not only that, he learned the local lead generation business model from Dan Klein, who coaches the best rank and rent course online.
If you tune into his social media accounts, you'll see that he is often posting valuable content and his success stories prove that what he teaches is worth listening to and implementing.
Paid Traffic vs. Free Traffic
Look at the pros and cons of generating paid traffic compared to free organic traffic.
Paid Traffic
Pros
Good for generating leads quickly; You don't need to have as much skill to run ads as you do for ranking sites with SEO
You have several ad platforms to choose from (Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, TikTok) depending on your target audience
With a finely tuned campaign, you can scale your business quickly. If a campaign on one platform is successful, you can transition it to another platform.
Cons
The rise in competition makes running ads expensive
It takes time to find an ad that will convert well since you have to split test and see what works best
You don't have as much control as you own nothing. Paid traffic clients are a hassle because they want to be more hands on with what you're doing and want things done their way. They can fire you whenever they want.
Your income will be inconsistent because ad platforms can change their algorithm and ruin your campaign, causing you to lose money. The rise in ad cost is causing marketers to lose out on profits because business owners don't want to pay more.
Free Organic Traffic
Pros
You own your digital properties; No one can fire you. Only you can choose to stop working with a client if you so choose.
It's easier to grab the interest of a potential business owner since you own your digital properties and can afford to pass on a few free leads to help gain their trust.
Clients are easier to work with because all they expect is leads. You send them leads and they'll always be happy. Most times, they'll want to pay you more.
You'll earn a predictable income each month
Cons
The skills required to rank web sites take time to master. It's easier to learn how to run Google ads or Facebook ads, but the best SEO skills are learned in few online courses.
It's take some initial out-of-pocket investment to build and rank your own lead generation sites. View it like if you're building your own real estate.
Ranking your lead generation sites can take time. It all depends on what niche and market you decide to go for. We tell our students to build 10 sites from the beginning because some may rank faster than others.
Paid Traffic Isn't Worthless
Paid traffic isn't a worthless way to generate leads. It has its purpose in many online business models and, if done properly, can provide you and your clients will a great ROI. My gripe with paid traffic is that there are too many variables that are not in your control.
In our coaching program, we teach the use of paid traffic to quickly generate a few leads to draw the attention of a potential client. Paid traffic is perfect in that scenario. Not as a long-term business model. Long term, paid traffic can cost you hundreds and even thousands of dollars in a matter of days with no return on investment to show for it if you aren't paying attention to your campaigns.
If you want to start a long-term business model that will pay you on autopilot and that you're in control of everything aspect, rank and rent is the way to go.
Conclusion
Local lead generation allows you to be in control of your business.
First, you choose what niche to build your websites in. In 2014-2015, I built this site that offers tree care services and ranked it on Google.
After you rank your lead generation site on Google in your market, you then choose what small business owner to work with. You can even do a trial period to see how they do with the leads you send them. If they do good, you come to an agreement when it comes to commission. If they aren't up to standard, you can just forward the leads to another business owner.
My tree care site has paid me $2000 each month ever since it ranked.
The local lead generation coaching program goes in-depth in teaching you all the skills you need to rank and rent sites and earn a passive income.
To learn more about how you can join the over 7400 students worldwide who are ranking and renting their digital properties, and getting paid on autopilot each month, check out the original local lead generation training program, where Douglas James learned everything from.
