I have lost my patience. The bullshit meter is on and it's SCREAMING at me right now: “STOP the BS!!!”
There is so much baloney being served in the internet marketing world. I'm here to say, “I'm done with that.” And I want YOU to join me.
Stop the madness 🙂
Don't keep buying crap that promises stuff that sounds too good to be true.
If it sounds like what you're buying requires no effort, turn around and run away because that offer is only seeking to separate your money from your wallet and enrich some dude who is most likely not going to be there when you have questions, experience a problem, or need some help.
The really disconcerting thing about many internet marketers is that they build stuff (like WordPress plugins) and then neglect one of the golden rules of business: Support after the sale.
I make it a point to refrain from buying software from internet marketers (there are a few that I do buy from but I can count them on one hand, using one finger, but that's another story altogether). The reason: Support sucks from internet marketers. Many–not all–just want to sell you this thing today and then sell you that thing tomorrow. When they move to that thing, yesterday's this thing is no longer on their minds and you're lucky if you even get a response to a help desk ticket.
But this rant isn't just about crappy support. It's really about the state of Internet Marketing in general. I happen to know a lot of internet marketers. Most of them are good people (not all–and no, I'm not naming names), but many have no idea how to run a business or how to serve a customer. They just sell one thing and move to another. Most of the stuff they recommend from others is just a money grab–they don't use the product they're hyping, nor have they even tried it.
That's just a fact.
The worst part about this business is the hype. Here's a typical scenario:
Headline: This is the best thing since fire was discovered
Do you have this [problem]? Are you up at night worrying about this [problem]? Do you feel like a failure because you can't solve this [problem]?
I used to feel just like you, but I discovered a way to solve this [problem]. And I can show you how, too, for just…[get this!] $7!
Buy now! Before it's too late. I'll run out of copies [of this infinite supply of digital material that never runs out] before [some ridiculous time].
PS–If you don't buy this, you will continue to be a failure and your life will suck. Spend less than the cost of a pizza on this right now. Supplies are limited so don't wait.
Okay…
First off, do you really think this guy is the only one who's been able to solve this problem? And do you really think he'd sell this valuable solution for $7? No, what's he's doing is selling you crap that probably doesn't really even work so that he can get your name on a list to sell you more expensive crap that he makes and to sell you even more crap through affiliate relations.
I love the calls to action in these glitzy sales letters, too. (By the way, these sales letters often cost more to produce than the product. There's nothing wrong with expensive sales letters, by the way, as long as they don't promise more than the product delivers.) “Buy now!” “Supplies are limited!” “This price won't last forever!” “…for less than the cost of a [insert some fast food meal].”
Bullshit.
If you're an internet marketer, stop with the cheesy hype. Offer something real. Provide real benefits. Be honest about the virtues of using your product/service. Tell me a story about how you implemented it and how it helped you. Tell me why it's better than the rest.Â
But don't tell me you're giving me the master keys to riches for only $7.
The only thing I'll learn from that lesson is to copy what you're doing by selling $7 crap products to unsuspecting people who want to learn and earn some money. Let's put ourselves on a higher plane.
This ABSOLUTELY resonates with me, and while in the beginning of what you’re saying, that it’s the lack of support that is annoying, frustrating, I’ve recently experienced when I finally did get support, the sheer ARROGANCE of the reply, and the egotistic pridefulness of the seller’s having sold so many of said product that how could it possibly be the product and not, get this, OPERATOR ERROR!
Yes, you tinker with what you’ve bought for a week while waiting for a response to an issue you run up against, and when you FINALLy get a reply, it’s brash, rude, your fault, and “hey! I made ten thousand dollars selling this to happy customers, why should I have to deal with your stupidity? You’re just doing it wrong. It works for everyone else.”
That particular experience has taught me to go to professional, legitimate, above-board developers and marketers for the advice and tools I think I need to run my business. I have been soured by, (and even did a huge sweep of email subscription cancellations,) most of the marketing hype I used to snap up naively. Ashamed, yes. But you live and you learn. Connecting with the real marketers is valuable, and you can get a real good sense of that by hanging out in groups on facebook, and even in the Warrior Forum, and other forums. But you really have to develop that radar, (and know what it is you really want to do about “making money online.” Know your own goals, and know a little about programming, scripting, marketing, all of that helps ward away the scammers and snake-oil salesmen.
You get what you pay for, usually. And when you don’t, do not hesitate to request a refund, and–barring a resolution that way–do not hesitate to file a dispute with PayPal or your credit card company.
When a vendor points at you and tells you that you’re stupid or that it’s your fault, that’s a sign you should ask for your money back.
Typically, while some of the $7 WSO products are worth the $7, the plug ins & software that has not support,… I mean FEE WP plug ins have more support than what most IM-ers offer, too.
It’s also funny, b/c this past week I have been starting to clean up my PC,…
So I have been going thru old emails of log ins for products that I have bought in the past. Many of them have log ins (like a membership),… Going thru the links, and many of these products are now “this domain is available for purchase”, usually b/c the info, while relevant when I bought, is now outdated.
See, the thing is many $7 WSOs aren’t worth $7. They’re not researched well, have zero real-world proof (a “testimonial” from somebody who got the product for free doesn’t count), and are often incomplete (you can’t get the full value of this without buying the OTOs–another bugaboo of mine).
I’m with you on that. While I learned a VAST amount of knowledge over the years at Warrior Forum, and there still are a LOT of good people there, it’s turned into a virtual spamfest. That’s why I don’t bother checking in there anymore.
In all my years online, I don’t think I’ve EVER seen a $7 product worth my time. A FEW $17 products, but even those aren’t very often. The fact is, quality PROFESSIONAL tools cost money, and you won’t find most of those in a WSO.
Regarding the screaming headlines and such (my personal fave), they even sell packages that contain them, pre-written, in an awesome product JUST FOR YOU! Except… if the marketer doesn’t know you, and if he doesn’t even know what your product is… HOW THE HECK CAN THESE HEADLINES BE APPLICABLE TO YOU?! Granted, there may be a few situations in which they would work, but it still won’t look very good to potential customers if they keep seeing the exact same headlines everywhere they look.
There’s nothing wrong with buying IM products, but make sure that what you are getting will be of use to you, is of professional quality, made by someone you trust, and don’t be afraid to ask for personal recommendations instead of relying on canned testimonials that always appear in sales copy now. It doesn’t take a whole lot to read between the hype.
The fact is, there are no shortcuts in business, whether you are in IM or any other business. You have to put in the reading, learning, networking and work. Generally, like most other things in life, you get out of it what you put into it.
It all comes down to ethics. Personally, I’ve had opportunities to work with big names in IM but I cut ties fast when the bullshit meter starts buzzing. I just don’t want to make my money that way.
False scarcity, incomplete/ underdeveloped products and courses add up to something I wouldn’t be proud of at the end of the day.
It’s no big deal to make money online, but I’d much rather make more modest money than make it hand over fist by being dishonest.
Like anything else, there are forks in the road. One is that proverbial straight and narrow path. The other is a shortcut.
And shortcuts appeal to the lazy part of our psyche.
And nothing good comes without considerable positive effort, including earning a living.
Interesting article. Me and my partners sell software and we have always given support for it. Hell I do a lot of the customer service on our wso thread and the help desk. You would be amazed at how people buy things on the warrior forum and have no clue as to what they actually do, despite the fact that we post videos of what the software is about. We are patient with our customers and work thru their problems either on the help desk, via skype or using teamviewer.
I know my partner uses scarcity to on some of his wso threads. That particular scarcity is true…he uses the “this wso will close on this date and after that it will only be sold on my website at a much higher price” which he does. As a matter of fact he just closed one of his wsos yesterday and somebody was crying about it. I regularly post on the threads about when they are closing and people still think its false scarcity. I have customers and mastermind members that say…I wish I would have listened to you before because this cost me a lot more now! We dont lie or hype. We tell it like it is. I do agree with you…too much hype, too many lies when marketers could simply say here’s my product, this is what it does, buy it or not!
My personal favorite is ..“this is best thing since sliced bread!”😉
That is absolutely spot on Bill. I’ve had this nasty feeling about $7 products for a long time now and it seems they just aren’t working anymore. Then because they’re not working anymore the seller decides to sell even more crap to cover his losses from the last lot of crap he didn’t sell.
Often I get emails from people telling me about a great product that he/she says does everything for you for the usual $7. Go to JVZoo and look at the stats and they’ve sold under 25 of them or less than 50 in 3 weeks. Not very good ad for the product.
I always, rightly or wrongly, got the impression that selling these cheapies is a bit like hustling for the small change. Then having to keep hustling for some more small change. Why not take your time and build something really well researched and worth while that will help many more people and make more money for yourself over the long term.
Grab a Grand is still alive and living in Lala land.
Thanks, Bill
Andy
I get why people make offers that cost $7–it’s for the “backend.” Hell, I’ve given loads of stuff away for the return on the backend. But I’d like to think my offers weren’t loaded with hype and that people knew I stood behind my products.
Hi Bill,
you hit the nail right on the head. I used to buy junk nearly every week. I went to paypal once when i tried to get a refund,and the guy wouldnt respond. Wow! Was he mad,cursed me and said i was destroying his business.I told him i wouldnt ever buy anything else from him. I dont buy anything anymore. I have a short list of people that i pay attention to. Your on the list. Thanks for the article. Maybe it will help the ones just starting out in Affiliate marketing.
I once bought a plugin that offered a “100 percent money back guarantee if you’re dissatisfied for any reason.” I was dissatisfied because–ahem–it didn’t work. The developer was a first-class a-hole who wanted me to “prove” it didn’t work. I said your guarantee made that a pointless endeavor, since it said, “…for any reason.”
It’s THAT kind of BS that turns people off. A lot of these guys never ran “a real business” before and haven’t a clue as to what customer service is.