I remember recently reading recently a relatively well known Internet Marketer apologised to his customers for the lack of success they experienced after reading his eBook. In fact, he even went so far as to quote a statistic on a poll he did: only 2% of those who purchased his eBook actually made any profit. Two percent! That’s shocking!
He continued to also apologise for automatically subscribing all customers to a forced continuity program. Essentially this meant that they all received bills every month for an ongoing program that they didn’t really sign up for. He closed his apology (which was on his landing page) with a lovely speech about he will now “do things differently” and proceeded to try and sell an updated version of the eBook. Maybe he’s got some new tips to share in this new edition – maybe he learned a few lessons. Yeah, right!
Get rich quick, make money online, work from home: you’ve heard all the phrases so often, and so often they are connected to the “hard sell,” slightly shady websites and products. There are a few diamonds among the rough, but the vast majority of these turn out to be scams. This isn’t to say they live in Nigeria or have billions of dollars to share with you if you would only unlock it for them; they are scams in the sense that so many people are selling products, such as eBooks and programs that merely deliver a few tips they read on forums, or in another eBook.
Often they go further, where a budding webmaster (earning nothing from his hobby) begins to sell “make money online” products. The premise is that they have the experience and expertise to actually know what they are talking about, yet often they are making $10 per day from 20 hours a week in work – they are selling what they don’t have. I’d call these scams in a broader sense.
Getting sucked into a “Hard Sell” sales letter is costly. Most buyers loose their money, time, effort, and often morale as they pour their resources in to find their dreams don’t turn out the way they hoped.
While not every eBook and training program is bad, we need to “have our thinking caps on” so that we are wise in what we resource ourselves with. Here are a few tips for keeping with the honest crowd:
1. Never be desperate. If you waste too much time on forums, you’ll always come across people who say “I need to make $2000 a month within the next 3 months. Someone help me!”. They are the perfect candidate for a scam. It might not be so extreme with you, but are you sick of your job? Looking to make a full time income online? Looking for freedom? You might also be a candidate for ruthless marketers. I’ve heard many online marketers say that one of the easiest ways to pick a niche market is to look at the needs of people – especially when they are desperate. When you’re content, no one can tempt you to part with your resource unless it’s of a high quality!
2. Listen to language. Someone’s writing style gives away subtle clues about the facts they are portraying. Exuberant claims, or over-optimism are dead give-aways. “Work from home! Earn $4000 per week!”, “How to pay off your house in 3 years” and “Cure Acne in Less than 24 hours! Revolutionary Technique!” are extreme examples of over-optimism.
3. Read the reviews. This is a tricky one, since we now work in a world where reviews are paid for and often bribed. However, the information you can glean will help you cut away all the “buzz” and get to the honest truth. When you do a Google search, look for blogs and forums – they’re most likely to have individuals posting for help or criticism. The chances are, almost every software and eBook is missing a feature or appendix. People do post about what they purchase, so if you can’t find much balanced feedback – let that be a flag.
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