Should You Learn CX or UX from Debbie Levitt?
Spend any time on Reddit, and you will see a few recommendations against learning anything about CX or UX from Debbie Levitt. People who disagree or recommend her often get downvoted. You could easily think that this is someone to avoid.
Should you avoid her? Maybe. Did you try learning from her? Did you take a Reddit post or comment as an honest warning? Why would people recommend against someone without a good reason, right?
You’d be surprised. I’ve seen people get angry at a person and leave a 1-star online rating for their book even though they haven’t read it. Some people have unfortunate intentions.
What is Debbie teaching?
Debbie started in the mid-1990s in strategy and UX design back when it was information architecture and interaction design. She’s not a visual designer. She later got into research. She has a long consulting and work history with known and unknown companies, large and startup, working in various areas of CX, UX, strategy, and change.
She still does the work. Full-time. Some other UX voices seem to have left their UX career behind to run webinars. Some haven’t worked in UX in over 10 years, some even longer. Debbie is still in the work.
She likes to teach techniques you probably don’t know. Task analysis, optimized task flow, Debbie’s version of an Impact Map, Discovery Phase Knowledge Quadrant, finances for freelancers, the ROI of UX and how we can prove our value, risk mitigation, planning research, interpreting unmoderated research, and a lot more.
If you don’t already know these, they could be good to learn.
Where does she teach this and what does it cost?
Debbie has two YouTube channels.
Neither channel accepts sponsorships, so you won’t have to hear about a great VPN or some UX tool. Completely #NotSponsored, which means Debbie makes no money when you view. No coded URLs to click. Some older videos have ads, but Debbie donates more money to charity than the ad money.
The older channel, Delta CX, has over 800 hours of videos. People looking to learn usually love the Micro Lessons playlist, which might teach you some techniques you don’t yet know. Your cost is your time.
The new channel, CX-CC, has already more than 100 videos on a variety of topics. The “Customers Know You Suck” playlist has Debbie’s new book in audiobook form, completely for free. This channel is not in YouTube’s partner program, so if you see ads, YouTube is keeping 100% of that money.
Every Tuesday, Debbie is live on LinkedIn and the CX-CC YouTube channel to take your questions live. All questions are welcome, even those that are challenging or disagree with Debbie. Put her on the spot! The show is live, and she offers an anonymous way to ask questions. Reddit fans should love that.
Debbie has a free webinar series.
The events calendar lists all of the webinars coming up. Some are discussions Debbie leads, things she is teaching, or interviews with special guest experts. These are free, and if you choose to RSVP, you are not added to a mailing list. You will only receive a reminder to attend.
Your cost is only your time. Webinars are recorded and available on the CX-CC channel usually around 2 weeks later.
Debbie posts articles to Medium and LinkedIn.
Both are free. Debbie left the Medium partner program. None of her articles are monetized. You can read them at https://RBeforeD.com on Medium or join the LinkedIn newsletter. Same articles usually published the same day. Your cost is only your time.
Debbie has a free Slack and Discord community.
Need help? Like communities? Have something to give or take? The Slack and Discord are completely free, and open to anybody who hasn’t already been banned… cough cough, someone active on Reddit bearing a grudge.
Debbie’s Patreon has a free tier that you are invited to join. She treats it like a mailing list.
Debbie offers private coaching.
Debbie offers 30 minutes of free coaching to everybody. You’re not put on a mailing list or drip campaign. You don’t have to pay her for anything ever. If you have questions or need help, you can talk to her once.
So far, you spent $0.
No ad revenue, no sponsorships, no income generated from trying to teach or help you. No paid club for you to join to get access to content or lessons. No monthly fee. Considering the time it takes to create this content, Debbie is losing money.
Some on Reddit have said that Debbie preys on unsuspecting newbies and juniors, trying to sell them this or that. It’s important to warn others about questionable courses and coaching offerings out there aimed at newbies, juniors, and those feeling desperate about their UX career.
But is this a fair characterization of Debbie? Can anyone on Reddit point to an example of Debbie doing this?
Does Debbie charge for anything?
Yes. There are ways Debbie makes money from teaching, mentoring, or coaching.
- Debbie’s coaching is $50 USD per half hour. I’ve seen upwards of $300 USD per half hour from other UX voices, so while $50 isn’t affordable for everybody, it’s much less than most other people are charging. There are no maximums or minimums. You can do one session and never book with Debbie again. And everybody gets one free session.
- Debbie’s SPACE workshop (Strategizing Products and Customer Experiences) is 12 hours over three days, live and remote. It’s about how to be more strategic about our decisions, products, and services. Change from being a feature factory to being more customer-centric. Balance business goals with customer and user needs.
- Debbie’s Patreon has paid levels starting at $1 USD per month. That’s $12 USD per year. Unlike most people with a Patreon, the amount of money she makes each month is shown on her Patreon profile. As of January 2024, it’s around $200/month.
- Debbie writes books like “Customers Know You Suck” and she ghostwrote Larry Marine’s “Disruptive Research.” CKYS is available in a few cheap and free ways for those who don’t want to pay for it.
- Once in a very long while, someone gives a Super Thanks on one of her YouTube videos. After YouTube takes their cut, Debbie keeps that money. Debbie got $5.30 in Supers on YouTube in 2023, so this isn’t much of a revenue stream. :)
Hi. I’m Debbie Levitt.
I hope to teach you something. I’d like to help you with your career, work, and anything I’m qualified to help you with. Come learn something from me before deciding that there’s nothing you can learn from me. :)
Connect with us or learn more:
- CustomerCentricity.com — our website
- youtube.com/@cx-cc — YouTube channel
- patreon.com/cxcc — online community and free mailing list
- cxcc.to/ckys — “Customers Know You Suck,” my recent book on improving customer adoption, satisfaction, and retention
