It’s getting worse, another major rubbish product launch has happened again recently, I wont name names but those in the know will be aware about the latest ‘push button’ product that doesn’t deliver on what the sales page promises that has been peddled by unscrupulous marketers.
The product creator doesn’t care that the refund rate will probably be over 50% and that there is little or no customer service being offered and that the product is just more rehashed crap that we have seen getting launched time and time again over the last few months.
All he cares about is making sales, so the sales page looks fantastic and converts extremely well to attract as many affiliates as possible.
And this is the problem…
You see, as an affiliate a product like this can look like a very attractive product to promote and it’s easy to see why affiliates jump on board, plus there’s the ‘I’ll scratch your back and you scratch mine’ mentality that means affiliates feel obliged to return any favours owed, something I suffered from and covered in this blog post.
So the affiliates promote and make some money (half of which gets refunded) and they carry on until the next ‘offer’ comes along and repeat the process.
Next time they make less sales…
Then less sales..
Then none at all…
You probably don’t need me to tell you why sales have dried up do you? It’s because their subscribers are sick of getting peddled crap launch after crap launch.
I think sometimes marketers forget that when they send an email they are getting opened by real people with real problems and they are looking to marketers like us for a solution, so when they are peddled rubbish products promising the earth but delivering nothing they quickly unsubscribe.
This is an easy trap for any would be affiliate marketer to fall into, but avoiding this trap is easy. Just remember these 3 golden rules before you promote any product.
- Have you reviewed it?
- Will it help your subscribers?
- Does the product creator have a solid reputation online?
If you answer no to any of the above then you really shouldn’t be promoting the product. In fact if you have any doubts about promoting something before hitting the send button it’s probably best you don’t.
Remember, your subscribers are real people with feelings and emotions and most are looking to you for a solution to their problems. Provide the solutions and you will be walking to the bank to cash your affiliate checks with your head held high. However, promote crap and your affiliate days will be numbered.
You have been warned…
50 Comments
Andy Michaels
December 2, 2010Spot on again John,
Just another example of chasing the short term money with no thought to the long term or to the feelings of the people who buy through you.
We ALL need to be responsible in this industry, start taking better care in what we promote and ensure it fits in with what you believe.
Treat others as you want to be treated!
Andy
Ron Barrett
December 2, 2010John,
GREAT post! It’s one of the reasons that I don’t do a lot of affiliate marketing to my list.
Unfortunately, when you send your readers to someone elses’ list, you have no clue of the content they are going to get (unless you are already on that persons’ list and know the content) and I for one don’t want my readers to unsubscribe from me because the marketer I sent them to doesn’t care at all to build a relationship with them.
Nuff said… keep up the GREAT work. It’s a pleasure following you.
Ken McArthur's "Affiliate Manager"
December 2, 2010As the “Affiliate Manager” for Mr. Ken McArthur, author of the book, “Impact…” I only review goods/products/services that are brought to my attention from members of our “extended JV Alert family”:
– Attendees
– Speakers/Presenters
– Panelists
I usually have met the product creator, face-to-face, at a live event before we even think about reviewing something.
Thanks for the post!
Daniel Sumner
December 2, 2010Hi John,
It’s all about relationship building. I actually wrote a similar post about the constant flood of promotion after promotion into my inbox and no relationship building.
It just seems to be a case of dress it up, make it look good, get as many guys as you can to promote and think about the complaints later and take home half the profit for something that does not do what it says on the tin!
This type of marketing is a fine line between product and scam. It’s a shame that some guys have come to this instead of helping. Granted we are all in the same business, but it’s like you say ‘do they really have to pedal this stuff’
Nice honest post John.
Cheers,
Dan
Dax L'Amour, Ph.D
December 2, 2010Thanks, John, for this post.
Over the years, this has been getting progressively worse.
People are being harmed–both professionally and financially.
In the last 5 years, I have learned (the hard way) to promote ONLY things I personally have purchased and use–that will be of some help to others. And that number of products gets smaller every week.
We have to realize that SERVICE to our subscribers is paramount.
Passing along information or promotions that are not tested and proven to be of absolute value not only is damaging to our people, but kills our reputation and branding.
Thanks again, John for this posting. Glad somebody said it!
Omar Martin
December 2, 2010I’M SICK OF THIS CRAP.
There is a particular group of “crooked clickbank cronies” that have been teaming up and repeating their crooked launch process over and over.
They promote each others stuff, they trade membership lists like baseball cards… and the sad part is… they make millions of dollars in the process.
You’ve seen their launches… they claim to have discovered a “secret loophole” in Google …. LMAO C’mon really? You’re smarter than all the Google engineers and found a back door that pumps out money?? LOL — stop, you’re killin me! hahaha
It amazes me that people fall for this kind of crap… but they do. They fall for it because of the clever sales videos and high converting sales copy. They fall for the fabricated proof of income… their clickbank screenshots may be real BUT they were not attained through secret loopholes! –and they never show a screen shot of the refund percentages… lmao
I’ve gotten together with a group of the most ethical online marketers and for the past 6 months we’ve been secretly creating a free service that will finally regulate our industry and hold these crooks accountable.
http://IMtrustWorthy.com
Coming soon – to a computer near you.
As an affiliate marketer it can be very tempting to promote these products as well. This is because the “CCC” (Crooked Clickbank Cronies) are just as cunning and baffling with the sales copy on their JV recruitment pages. Unexperienced marketers fall victim to the promises of high conversions and contest prizes like a “Cruise around the world”.
Its a shame. I’ll have no part of it myself. And I highly recommend that we all carefully examine ALL offers before we promote them and treat our subscribers as we wish to be treated ourselves. It is a person, not an email.
Omar
Paul Guilfoyle
December 2, 2010Hi Omar
I have just signed up for your list for IM trust worthy.
I was recently made aware of IM reportcard via Jim Cockrum.
Will your new site be similar to this or how will it differ?
Maintaining objectivity is really difficult in the IM market ( both good and bad).
I hear what John says about the Warrior forum reviews. I would always go there first but even so even these sometimes have to be taken with a pinch of salt. I recently saw a so called reviewer try to slate what I would say is a perfectly good product from a respected marketer ( I actually bought one of his products from one of John’s promotions way back). He said he claimed a refund after only 5 minutes.The post was eventually removed by the mods it probably caused damage- for whatever reason it seems to have become fashionable for some people to try to wreck launches. I don’t know what there motives are. I know Mike Fisaime has gone into some detail I think in BM manuscript somewhere on tactics the marketer can use to defend himself against unjustified assaults on forums.
My point only is although I myself try to keep things simple nothing is ever that straight forward.
How do you propose to get balanced reviews on your new site?
In any event good luck with it – even with inevitable shortcomings I’m sure it will prove useful for the good guys.
Omar Martin
December 2, 2010Paul you make some good points. And yes I am familiar with IM report card. It’s a good site, but honestly it leaves alot to be desired in terms of reviews and endorsements and the whole commenting system is a bit shady. Why should I trust comments made by anonymous users with fake screen names? LOL
This is the same problem with most “authority” sites. For instance, websites services that offer a “security seal” or a “trust seal”… any scammer can buy a trust seal for $600. I’m sure you’ll agree that just because someone can afford to buy a trust “seal” image to put on their site, that doesn’t necessarily make them trustworthy.
Here in the US, one of the most “Trusted” companies with regard to “seals of approval” is the BBB (Better Business Bureau) They’ve been in business for years and when people see their logo on your storefront, or website they tend to trust you, they say “Ohh must be legit, look they have a BBB seal”… lol
Nothing can be further from the truth. The video below exposes how the BBB is just a big scam itself and people can BUY their approval.
http://news.yahoo.com/video/business-15749628/do-bbb-members-get-better-ratings-22999309
Can you believe that the terrorist group “Hammas” actually received an “A” rating just because they paid $400 for a membership?
IMtrustworthy addresses these issues. It will not only help you identify what websites are trustworthy but also what EMAILS are trustworthy when you receive an affiliate promotion from someone. It will hold marketers to a “Best Practices Act”, it will demonstrate that the marketer CARES and agrees to live up to certain standards.
Be sure to keep your eyes pealed as we plan to make the system available to the world next month.
Omar
Daniel Sumner
December 2, 2010Hey John,
I just want to throw something else in here:
“Does the product creator have a solid reputation online?
If you answer no to any of the above then you really shouldn’t be promoting the product”
Maybe a ‘trustworthy’ rather than ‘solid’ reputation. What do you think?
We all started somewhere within the marketing business, and sometimes it can take a good affiliate promotion to give you that leg up to where you want to be.
John Thornhill
December 2, 2010I see what you’re saying Dan and I suppose I really mean if the marketer has bad feedback then the product should be avoided.
Jim Crabb
December 2, 2010John thanks for the post, however, I do have trouble with it. You tell us to be careful of a new product out there, but never expose the culprit. Why not? If we are to avoid such products, let us know what they are so we can avoid them.
Jim
John Thornhill
December 2, 2010The product review section of the Warrior Forum usually exposes the bad eggs:
http://www.warriorforum.com/internet-marketing-product-reviews-ratings/
John Bradley
December 5, 2010John,
I agree with Jim Crabb – if you are going to state “another major rubbish product launch has happened again”, then I suggest you tell your subscribers (not WSO subs) who the culprit is! Don’t beat around the bush and try and get the warrior forum to be the bad guy. Why is this product rubbish? There’s tons around and what makes this one any different? I post talking about that would be great
Just my two cents worth…
john
John Thornhill
December 5, 2010You seem to be missing the point of this blog post and it’s not about naming names. It’s not a product review, it’s about affiliates using bad marketing tactics and promoting rubbish products they have not reviewed. Naming the product would’nt change a thing, the point of this post is not to name names but to try to put across that if you are going to promote anything make sure you know the product is worth promoting.
BTW, the Warrior forum is not the ‘bad guy’ as it helps point out the rubbish products.
Adwello
December 13, 2010Yes, my first reaction to your first paragraph, John, was “Oh no! What now!” and then I thought, “Well, really this applies to so many of the latest CB sales pages with big sales hype, sales report screenshots and no real details about what the product actually is, and who will truly benefit from it..”
Maybe CB could ban use of sales report shots? All the latest product sales pages look so similar it is hard to spot the difference! The product names are so similar. The graphics are near identical.
The refund rates are seriously giving CB a bad name: I shun Clickbank products now! CB need to address this issue to protect the interests of those selling products that do what they claim.
Andrew Stark
December 2, 2010Hi John
If I see any offer where the salescopy is blind and certain people are promoting I make sure I distance myself from it.
The sad thing is that these sites convert well to people who don’t know any better, and the people making the real money aren’t the affiliates with the list – it’s the underground affiliates who are use banner advertising at $0.01 CPM and spamming all the non google networks.
Once these networks start slapping the same way as google these type of products won’t work as the list owners are starting to wise up to how crap the products actually are.
Thanks for posting this and trying to eductate your readers who may still be a little green behind the ears
Andrew
David Maddux
December 2, 2010Hello John,
Thanks for reminding us that our “subscribers are real people with feelings and emotions…” Your 3 Golden Rules seem obvious, but yet are often taken for granted and overlooked.
Thank you for always providing great, quality content.
Best wishes.
RandySmith@InternetMarketingRambles
December 2, 2010LOL…. I can’t add much to this John, as we spoke of the same thing on the phone this morning…hehe
But as I said to you… One of the BIG reasons you’re as successful as you are is that you’ve never created a product that is crap!
AND – even when you promote products – be they your own or other peoples … We usually find that reading your promotions even helps the non buyers! <- that is looking after people properly!! (and also why so many come back to buy your products and recommendations!)
But hey – you know how I feel about some of these products cos I know you read my blog. And you also know how often I quote you as the example of how a guru should work (Yeah – I know you're a normal guy and don't think of yourself as a guru… But If more people did and took note of your examples.. the IM world might be that little bit better!)
Randy
http://www.RandolfSmith.com
Ed
December 2, 2010Hey John,
I agree entirely, affiliate marketing is already tainted by wannabe enterpenaurs who just want the quick AND big bucks, people are more and more associating genuine affiliate marketers with hesitation thus not purchasing and entering the sales funnel of these marketers!
I find a good way to combat that is by only promoting affiliate products within a ‘niche’, that way you have narrowed your research on your product choice all the time and you can focus better on which are quality offers that you know your ‘niche’ targeted audience will buy…
WHICH…
Will of course keep them in your sales funnel for a long time to come!
Great post John, you touched on a very important issue….Ed.
Syed Alam
December 2, 2010John,
Thanks for the timely post. It amazes me to see some of the marketers fail to see their futures beyond their own “shadow”!
For a few fast bucks some of the reputable (now questionable!) marketers has put their reputation behind this so called “push button” system (even called it a software!)…no real representation of a very hyped sales pitch!
I’ve removed myself from everyone who promoted this product!
I’s a shame…There are a lots of new (and unwary) hopefuls entering online money making promise land just to get taken for a ride and leave heartbroken, not to mention with their wallets emptied!
I hope to see a quick demise of these unscrupulous marketers for betraying the trust of their loyal subscribers. No reasons (even if for a legitimate reciprocal obligation)justify these type of actions.
I’m glad there are some ethical marketers who travel the “high road” on the internet moral and lead by example.
-Syed
Paul Warner
December 2, 2010Of all things that goes on in the Internet Marketing scenario that proves to be dirty, corrupted, and in a lot of cases plain out stealing is product launches. The fact that you know of a launch, and the people launching it, that it is less than ethical, but you are not willing to tell us the product or its producers makes me suspicious of your motives.
The same old sales letters that don’t even give you a hint as to what is making this work so well, previous history stories, the unbelievable loopholes, proofs of income, and all the other crap that goes with this, is sickening and boring. Worst of all, is all the marketers that jump on the bandwagon to promote something they have no idea whether it works or not, leaving us to not only accept the product producers lies, but all the promoting affiliate’s lies too.
Every week is the same old story. A prelaunch, a new product launch, and days and days of affiliate emails promoting the product and it wouldn’t be so bad if it was only one product launch but there a many in a weeks time, to the point that it is no fun facing the computer every day, and that putting together an Internet business is so much more tedious and exasperating than it needs to be. The sad part is the longer that you are doing this the less people there are to trust, as to whether they really have your well being in mind.
Simply put, as to everything else that goes on in this life, money is the root of all evil, and money is the only power leverage that holds its weight as to what does or does not happen, and the Internet and it’s people are no different than the rest of the world and its actions.
John Thornhill
December 2, 2010Paul, check out my reply to John McNally below.
There’s nothing wrong with a good old fashioned product launch so long as the product provides value. What’s wrong with that?
“The same old sales letters that don’t even give you a hint as to what is making this work so well, previous history stories, the unbelievable loopholes, proofs of income, and all the other crap that goes with this, is sickening and boring. Worst of all, is all the marketers that jump on the bandwagon to promote something they have no idea whether it works or not, leaving us to not only accept the product producers lies, but all the promoting affiliate’s lies too.”
This is exactly what I’m talking about in this blog post but not every launch is like this.
Graham Price
December 2, 2010Hi John – You don’t need me to tell You that You are obviously right, it can and will lead to a downward spiral if we are not careful.
Probably why this industry has such a bad reputation anyway but let me please ask You – How do people who lets say have not been arround the block so much with their current online involvement distinguish from reputable sales copy and pure hype and re-hashed previously failed products?
Due dilligence and research in amongst the afore mentioned added to the fact that dig enough and You will find dirt re. anything out there only makes an informed decision that more difficult.
Kindest Regards,
Graham Price
Edson Buchanan
December 2, 2010Hi John,
its actually relieving to know that I have signed up with some really good people that I actually can trust and learn something new. The last few weeks I have been getting updated blog posts about these so called marketers that are really scamming people out of their money and I’m happy to know that my close friends/marketers such as yourself John do not do business as these click-bank scam artist.
I feel with these crappy launches that seem to happen from the same people more and more often each days, its really taking away from those products that actually work and actually have great customer service.
Learning from people like, Omar, John, Daniel, Randy, has really taught me to value the customer, provide a good quality product, and over deliver!
I’m extremely happy that I have these upstanding people to turn to and I did not get stuck in the wrong type of group as it will make a world of difference between true success and a scam artist.
BTY- If I offended anyone, ummm dont read my comments
Regards,
Edson Buchanan
John McNally
December 2, 2010It’s a pity you won’t name names John, as you said the sales promotion is very slick, so some of your readers could still fall for it.
Ethical marketing means you can look yourself in the mirror each morning, and feel good about yourself. As a bonus it’s also a great long-term business strategy. 8)
John
John Thornhill
December 2, 2010Hi John,
It’s not about naming names, it’s about affiliates choosing to promote bad products. Anyway, most of the products I’m talking about aren’t hard to spot. Most contain tons of slick graphics and screenshots of ClickBank earnings which were taken from the last launch and not from the product in question being sold. The product is sold blindly (meaning you don’t know what the product is till you buy) and promising autopilot riches. You try to exit the page and are presented with about 8 exit pops (total overkill, one is enough) and if you do decide to buy you find out that to make the product really work you need to invest another $297 in the upsell process.
Products like this are not hard to find and 5 minutes spent in the product review section of the Warrior forum will reveal the bad eggs:
http://www.warriorforum.com/internet-marketing-product-reviews-ratings/
Hope this helps.
John
John McNally
December 6, 2010Thanks John, this does help and I shall start looking at the Warrior forum for reviews.
Terry Conti
December 2, 2010Hi John, be selective in what you promote is the key. Most marketers don’t review what they promote and wind up causing more harm than good to themselves. Good point John about great sales pages and crap product.
It’s quite simple- It just makes good business sense to know what you are selling.
If you promote crap you are going to get crap thrown at you so remember what ever you promote online be selective because you will be noticed. What all marketers should know is Good or bad you will eventually be noticed.
Quality is what will separate you from all the rest.
Terry Conti
Steve Wilkins
December 2, 2010Hi John,
I have a strong feeling I know the product you are talking about as I received a ton of email promos from affiliates yesterday, infact one inparticular very well-known Internet marketer from here in the UK was offering a ridiculous $148,000 bonus for buying through his link (yes you did read that right – ONE HUNDRED & FORTY EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS worth of bonuses) and this is for a front-end $47.00 product.
Well needless to say this didn’t stack up for me and there was obviously going to be a ton of high-value back-end offers and I have since read on the WF, a ton of awful reviews for this rehashed crap product!
I have also of course unsubscribed from this very well-know guru’s list for daring to try and insult my intelligence with this offer and blatent promotion of a product he probably didn’t even take the time to review. I really am as sick as a parrot with being blasted email after email from these well-know guru’s and I am currently unsubscribing from them one-by-one.
I’m really glad yu wrote this post and continue to be one of the few ethical marketers online. Your advice is always trusted on my end!
Thanks again,
Steve Wilkins.
Paul Guilfoyle
December 2, 2010Steve,
I agree with your comments.However,the problem with unsubscribing from their list is you lose sight of what they are up to.
It is sometimes quite useful being on many lists just to gain some inside information on what the good and bad marketers are doing. You could try setting up an email address solely to subscribe to many lists,keeping your primary email address free.
Personally I hate the emails trying to tell me I have made a sale (in the headline) only to go on to tell me that this is the sort of message I could be getting by signing up for their (lousy) affiliate program. I usually can’t resist the temptation to hit unsubscribe from these jokers
All the best,
Paul
Steve Wilkins
December 3, 2010Hi Paul,
Completely agree and I do actually have several other email accounts set-up where I solely sign up to grab a ”free report” and to keep an eye on what the marketer is like as well as their email marketing style.
I actually had to set up a bonus email address where I bought a particular product from a marketer solely to grab their bonus offer which sometimes means keeping the email you address you signed up with ”active” to receive all of your bonuses. So this is another way I stay on top of it all however I rarely actually check the content of the emails as it is all just too overwhleming.
Cheers,
Steve W.
Virginia
December 5, 2010Hello Steve,
If you want to find out why the marketer is offering such a big bonus, check for the inconspicuous affiliate link – usually found at the bottom of the page. It will inform you that there are some “nice” up-sells including, quite often, a monthly membership for the buyer. Check it out some time!
Richard Davy
December 2, 2010Hi John,
As usual a very thought provoking article, thanks for the link to the warrior forum review page.
Some excellent feedback, unsurprisingly all here agreeing with your message.
Unfortunately, it is the innocents on these slick marketers lists, and often those that cannot really afford to spend their bucks that end up suffering from these promotional messages. Many don’t even know how to apply for a refund from Clickbank, and sometimes don’t know they will get a refund and write off their $47. And just give up on their dream.
The affiliate promoters don’t care as they have a plenty more customers out there attitude.
The whole method from the c**p product to the greed of the promoter needs some control.
Perhaps clickbank (and the others) also should be more selective in the products that are listed.
Cheers,
Richard.
Glen
December 2, 2010HI John,
You have hit the nail on the head…BIG TIME!
There is so much utter crap being released onto the market today, that I’m almost embarrassed to say I’m an ‘internet marketer’.
And there is no sign of these cowboys slowing down, so look out for an increasing numbers of crappy BS courses hitting the market in 2011
Because of these low-life cowboys, how long is it going to be before ALL internet marketers are branded as ‘scam artist’.
Well, we donlt have to wait….. it’s happening now.
All this makes it harder and harder for credible marketers with legitimate quality products to be believed.
I also blame money hungry Clickbank for much of this. They allow any crap to marketed through their system without questioning anything or anyone.
I mean if they allow a product owner to market a product that has a 40% refund rate, what does that say about their ethics
I’d better stop now, before I get myself into trouble.
–Glen
Adwello
December 13, 2010I totally agree, Glen: I feel quite worried for the state of Clickbank marketing as this company were around more than ten years ago and have become one of the internet marketing success stories of the past decade, but now so many marketers are ruining the trustworthy reputation CB took 10 years to build. Clickbank need to moderate the products and sales pages, ideally starting with banning any vendor who hits more than a 20% refund rate on any product.
I would be ashamed to create then market a product that achieved less than an 80% success rate. Look how efficient you have to be to remain as a seller on eBay: 98% feedback rating.
I think if we all shun every product with the sales hype graphics and claims, and instead aim to purchase and promote and develop sales pages with a new graphic design and ethical approach to copywriting: avoid earnings claims and actually describe what the product is, what it is meant to achieve, and to whom it is suited, then we can beat the hype.
We don’t have to stand for this kind of marketing: it would not be tolerated in magazines and offline media because of the Advertising authorities so why don’t we all contact Clickbank and seriously complain?
Clickbank will be the ultimate losers if they continue to allow these products to be sold from their platform. Most Top 100 sites like eBay and Amazon would quickly respond and shut the accounts of this type of seller.
We don’t have to take this – we can complain and get CB to change their standards. Does anyone agree with me on this?
Eamon Diamond
December 2, 2010Hello John,
Class post, it’s good to know that Internet Marketers like yourself are about to give advice as it should be.
Where would a lot of people be now if it wern’t for good posts like this knocking on their door now and again to remind them not to fall into this trap.
It is good if you can check to see if the product creator has a solid reputation online, but let me ask you John, what would you say if there were a few people starting out with their first or second product launch and hadn’t quite built up a solid reputation thus far.
Eamon Diamond
John Thornhill
December 2, 2010Hi Eamon,
If that were the case I’d make sure to get a review copy to see if the product delivers and possibly ask the product creator a few questions to check their support/response times.
Jacinta Dean
December 2, 2010Hi John,
I have actually removed myself from quiet a few people’s lists over the last couple of months purely because they are doing nothing but promote promote promote and not providing any content what so ever!
All they want is my dollar! 😡
As a new marketer I have a policy that I will only ever promote a product I believe in. I will have either bought the product for myself, reviewed the product and absolutely trust the person who has created it.
I know by having this policy I will miss out on a lot of launch promotions, however due to my ethics this does not really phase me. I am in this business for the long haul not the short term.
If a product is as good as the launch implies then it will be worth paying that few dollars more down the track once the launch phase is over and the true feedback is in.
Hope everything is going well.
See you back here soon!
Cheers
Jacinta 😀
Cragar
December 3, 2010Hello Sir John,
As you know…I am a 2009 graduate of your Master Class.I wanted to share 1 point that I use for Affiliate Marketing to add to your list.
I am not afraid to promote existing proven products that I have heard about and are able to get REAL honest reviews of.But with that said here is what I do with new product launches.
If the product is software-If they have an unpaid version I try it out myself.All of the features may not work but it will give you a good idea of what the full version will do and allow you to know if the developer has good skills and done his homework.If not…I ask for a trial on it.
If it is a membership site- I ask them to enroll me for a 1 month trial so I can review the product.
In the case of a new product launch I am having to assume that you are on someones list or belong to an affiliate promotion site such as JvNotify. This give you ample time to check it all out and get in on the pre-launch.(Which IMHO is vital.
The only thing that I have ever been asked to do is show the owner a website based on the product or give them a screen shot of my subscriber list.
If they do not meet my criteria I do not promote.
Business reputation and using your list correctly (by gaining trust from them because they know that you have criteria that has to be met) insures that your list will open there mail.Proper use of your list is vital and they should not be underestimated or exploited.
Hope this helps..And thanks for adding it to your blog.
Cragar
My newest affiliate site is below
http://www.freeonlineguitarlessonsforbeginners.net
Steve Deerfield
December 4, 2010Hi John, thanks for putting the dark side of shady product launchers back into perspective and reaffirming the core values of honest marketing. All of the excellent responses indicate a similar distaste and contempt for those who use all the tricks but lack the treats. Honesty + integrity = a good nights sleep
Cheers, Steve D.
Gary Simpson
December 5, 2010Hi John,
Yahoo! Somebody of authority who shares the same ideals that I do. In fact, I went on a MAD RANT about this over at my TEMPLE (LOL) just a few days ago. I went totally inter-continentally BALLISTIC over this and then…
… the comments went ballistic too. I couldn’t keep up with the replies, the emails, Skype messages. It took me 2 full days to deal with them and they are still coming in. Like you, I am sick and EFFING (sorry) tired of these ZOMBIE marketers pushing crap at everybody.
In fact, that word (crap) was used so many times in my post and in most of the replies that I began laughing just reading them all. The Keyword Density must be something like 3%! It will probably give me the #1 spot on Google for the keyword: CRAP! LOL.
The sooner the zombie marketers (I also call them locusts) go out of business the better for everybody. They have ruined email marketing, adswaps, giveaways and everything else they have raped and pillaged. The latest is “solos” – I will never rape my list by doing that just to sell some sh*t so-called product. I see now, too, that the solos have just about run their race. Thank GOD!
So many of the zombie-locusts think the ONLY determinant of a good marketer is the SIZE of their stupid list. They celebrate in the Skype-chat rooms by saying crap (there’s that word again) like: “Woo-hoo! I just BROKE 10,000!” and then all the other goons congratulate them. DUH! In fact, DOUBLE DUH!
It’s like they are comparing pen*s size in the changerooms after they have used one of those Austinn Powers “devices.” It is hideous but I find it SO entertaining because they are so engrossed in it all that they don’t realize that they are going OUT of business before they are even IN business.
It is so insidious AND incestuous – so many of the subbies are on ALL their stupid lists. Their open rates are tiny but they keep talking it up. These people offer NOTHING. They are all TAKERS and they are getting exposed daily. But, in the meantime, EVERYBODY has to suffer because of what they are doing.
I got so mad with one jerk the other day that I sent him an email saying “This is the WORST so-called ‘marketing’ email I have EVER seen.” No response, of course. His subject line and text were HIDEOUS. And he even sends from multiple names.
One other guy sent 37 emails to his list in 24 hours! All of them were GARBAGE and from numerous aliases trying to disguise his true identity.
No wonder IM has gone to… sorry… crap.
Anyway, John, you can see how passionately dispassionate I am about all these practices and the zomie locusts causing it all. However, I am inspired that you are onto this and – judging by the response you have had here and what I have been inundated with – some of us are making a stand.
Best Wishes
Gary Simpson
PS: Sorry for the long comment. I’m gonna add planetsms as a recommended reading blog in issue #3 of my new NO opt-in TEMPLE talk newsletter.
web design bury
December 5, 2010Hi John,
Also hello to Gary Simpson..
How refreshing is to read something like this. This kind of posts are very rare and I think I know what triggered it.
Normally I promote only products that I tried and seen the value.
I also ask the owner for me to review the product and sometimes I receive such a weird responses which tells me that there is something wrong with the product.
Our internet marketing success is made of several choices we make along the way. One of them is promoting crap or not to our list.
Regards,
Gordan Bosnjak
G. L. Jack
December 5, 2010Hi John,
I appreciate your valuable advice, everyday a lot of doubtful information products was offer online. Affiliate marketers or end users must know how to choose the right products to promote/purchase..
Jack
Keith Purkiss
December 5, 2010Hi John,
I don’t even bother looking at most launches nowadays because of the way things are going. There’s at least one marketer who’s packed in after seeing the direction IM is going in.
In the long run I’m sure the people who consistantly produce (or promote) quality products will stand out.
Thanks
Keith
Gav
December 5, 2010I agree, I mean how many ways can u dress up an article submitter, every one seems to be selling or trying to sell me a disguised article spinner/ submitter !!
Barry Wells
December 6, 2010Hi John, another post full of good sound advice.
I read a post by Andrew Hansen last week where he was saying about a conversation he over heard at a seminar, in the bar area a few meters from the people they were selling to. He was saying about some of the products being sold needing further products to get the best from them, as you mentioned in one of your replys above. As well as some of them becoming obsolete in a matter of months. As I said in a comment yesterday, the fact that they’re face to face and telling blatent lies just to rip people off is disgusting and we should all try and avoid them at all costs.
I class myself as a 2nd year newbie and as a result of reading these kind of posts i have written one similar, not from an affiliate marketing point of view, but from a newbie save your money point of view.
I’m in the process of building my list and I make myself very aware of which products i promote. Like many of the commentators above, I only promote products and services that i have used, or had access to.
I’m a firm beleiver that you get out what you put in. Be that your bank account, work or your mailing list. If you push crap you’ll receive crap results, if you give value you’ll receive value in some form or other.
Thanks again for the advice John,
Barry
Gary Simpson
December 8, 2010Well the cat is among the pigeons now. I just released my 55 page no-opt in report about zombie marketing.
I’m just so SICK of all the stupid sh*tty “tactics” these people use. Whenever I see them peddling their junk in my in-box I just keep thinking one word: zombie. Now, after I’ve had my counter-attack, I’m thinking it’s just about time to leave them all to it. I’ve had enough. It’s become INSANE.
Regards to all the THINKING people here.
Gary Simpson
Clive O'Hagan
December 10, 2010Hi John,
I just have to say this is my first comment on your site and I wanted to say first of all good luck with the launch and I know it will do well and give lots of useful, informative and correct content. I have been following you for a while now and was trying to figure out if you were for real and have come to the conclusion that you and the other guys in your circle are the ultimate people in ethical marketing tactics. I look forward to seeing the course and maybe promoting it in the future to my own subscribers.
Kind Regards,
Clive O’Hagan
Clive O'Hagan
December 10, 2010P.S. I nearly forgot to add this into the comment, so if you can cut and paste into comment above (minus this would be great)
I think the post is so, so true and I for one have bought a lot of products over the last few months, primarily to see if they were actually worth re-selling and secondly to learn some new cutting edge tactic. Tactics??? they may as well have been selling Tic-tac’s for all the good they were.
I reviewed most of them in about 10 minutes flat before I quickly went to click-bank and got my money back and added it to my list of “not with a barge pole!” and put the promoter down on the naughty list but not before sending a WTF? email to his or her blog and/or direct email. Which BTW I never received a reply. Any way I rant to much.
Regards,
Clive O’Hagan
Christine
June 23, 2011Great post! Excellent advice! I am new to blogging and affiliate marketing and there is soooo much junk out there. Establishing and maintaining a good reputation will ensure longevity. Plus you can go to bed with a good conscience when you know you have added value to someone’s life and business!
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