How Stupid Do They Think We Are?
July 1, 2009
So, just how stupid do some marketers think we are?
I’ve just received an email from someone who tells me I can get a piece of software for just $4.95. It’s a July 4th Special. Seems a good deal and I have a July 4th Special deal coming up myself. But my deal will be a deal, not an exercise in obfuscation, like theirs.
What's the real price of this?
So if they offer it to me for just $4.95, how come they really want $47?
The only reason that price is mentioned is to get someone to click on the link and take a look. So from that point of view it works. But in terms of credibility it’s just stupid. It means I won’t believe anything that marketer says again. His emails are now going to be history. I have a feeling that I won’t be the only one with that view, so how many people does he ‘churn’ through from his list?
My guess is that it’s impossible ever to calculate properly what he’s earned by doing this, compared to what he might have earned had he not used this tactic. So chances are good that he’ll use the same tactic again. It’s no wonder the internet marketing community has such a bad name.
What’s even worse, is that the software is good software. It’s worth $47, but being hoodwinked into paying that when the price was touted as $4.95 is just terrible. Here’s what the pitch was:
All this for just $4.95.
Not a sniff, or hint that another payment is due in 3 days time.
I already have this software – I paid full price originally – and I’d have liked a copy for my wife to use, so the offer seemed attractive. But as soon as the real deal is made clear, there’s no incentive for me to rush to get it. My previous good impression has been whittled away by – at the very least – confusing pricing information. It’s not enough to say that the sales page makes it clear what the full price is. The promo email doesn’t – that’s the point. The promo email goes to great lengths to make it look like a $4.95 item, which it plainly isn’t.
I just unsubscribed from 6 lists that I’m on for that marketer. Smart marketing I get, but this kind of thing just sticks in my craw.
Lying Internet Marketers
March 31, 2009
Do marketers who lie really think that’s the only way to make money?
I mean, seriously. Is that the only way they can think of to make a few dollars? By lie I mean mislead.
I’ve just received two emails from marketers whose lists I’m on. Here’s an excerpt (they’re identical emails, by the way, hmmm….):
I've just received a *private* link to a video that I'm not really meant to share with you...
The email goes on to tell me I can get my own money making website – they even hope that I can get in because it’s so limited!
Look, if they weren’t supposed to share that link then they wouldn’t have canned emails provided to them to use in their email promotions!
So let me see.
Either I believe that these marketers are low enough to do something they shouldn’t – share a private link – or they’re lying, right? I certainly call it lying because it’s not telling me the whole truth.
Let’s summarise that:
- They’re low-life pond scum who’ll give out private information that they know they’re not supposed to.
- They think I’m stupid enough to believe their pathetic lie and sign up, earning them a nice, easy fat and juicy commission.
I wonder which of those scenarios paints them in the worse light? Because whether it’s option 1, or option 2, those marketers should be ashamed of themselves. I mean come on, they didn’t even bother to change the canned email the original promoter obviously gave them. They really ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Clever marketing, if it’s ethical, is perfectly fine. But this is disgraceful. At a time when so many people are looking for genuine chances to earn money, is it any wonder they’re so scared of being ripped off when they see things like this? What’s worse is that it tars the rest of us with the same very unpleasant brush.
I just unsubscribed from both those lists. They’re actually harming people who need help, by perpetuating the idea that internet marketing is all about making a quick buck off people the easy way. It isn’t.
There are legitimate and fair ways to make money online – you need some effort and just a little time. And there are a lot of people for whom that could make a world of difference to their lives, but they might never even try for fear of getting caught by garbage like that.
You know what the saddest thing is? Human nature being what it is, they’ll catch some people with this simply because they’re suggesting you can get your hands on something that you shouldn’t have. And for some people that makes it all the more appealing.
Best Affiliate Program?
March 25, 2009
How I’d love to be able to say I’ve found the best affiliate program.
Instead, I think I’ve found one of the worst.
I have a number of sites that promote affiliate products and I’m always on the lookout for a relatively open sub-niche to explore. I thought I’d found one about an hour ago. They offer you a fully branded website store that you can load onto your own domain. Great. The commissions are only up to 2.5%, but repeat business is good and it’s ongoing commission so it seems reasonable.
I signed up, completed the various branding forms and downloaded an entire site, ready to upload onto my own hosting account. Then I had a look at the actual code of the website. There were a couple of places to configure such things as keywords, descriptions and so on, to make the site a little more personalised.
But then I discovered what was a major problem: Read more
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