“Why Do Internet Marketers Act As
If We're Stupid?”
Do I have "stupid" stamped on my
forehead? Do you? I ask that question because
sometimes Internet marketers seem to act as
if we do.
This article by Willie Crawford
is not only timely, with bonus overload
in overdrive these days. It's also an important
statement about marketing ethics. Thoroughly
recommended reading! I've bolded the highlights
in case you're short of time today.
-- Gary Harvey
What am I raving about? I'm raving about
the tactics and techniques desperate Internet
marketers sometimes use to sell us things...
especially big ticket items. I can "sort
of" understand the marketers using these
techniques. What I have a hard time understanding
is why we fall for them over and over again.
Almost every time that there is a big ticket
product launch, marketers feel the need to
put together huge bonus packages in order
to get us to "bite." The huge bonus
packages are sometimes "worth" 20
times what the basic product is worth. Too
me, that points to two fundamental problems:
1) The marketer takes advantage of our basic
weaknesses, pushing our buttons, and causing
us to stop thinking rationally.
2) The marketer either doesn't believe in
the product enough, or is not skilled enough
to sell the product on its own merit.
Let's examine both of those problems in more
detail.
The problem of greed
First, the marketer is usually taking
advantage of the ONE weakness that seems to
cause more Internet marketers to stop thinking
than any other. That weakness is greed.
A skilled marketer can simply put together
a package that is so HUGE, and so "valuable,"
that many potential customers simply stop
thinking.
What should you be thinking anyway when you
see one of those huge packages? You should
ask yourself some basic questions, such as
"How can he afford to give away $20,000
worth of products when he's only selling a
$997 product?"
Another factor that you should question
is if you need, or would use, much of the
stuff in those huge bonus packages. Examine
how much of the stuff you used from the last
gigantic bonus package that caused you to
whip out your wallet. If the answer is "none"
or "very little," then that should
weigh heavily upon your decision as to which
bonus package you go for... if any.
When you look at one of those huge bonus
packages, you need to realize that a stack
of useless "junk" is worse that
worthless. As you spend time going through
that stack, you are actually distracted
from the projects that you should be focused
on. Instead of moving forward towards completing
that big project, you are often sidetracked
and derailed!
Let's get back to how they can afford to
give away so much stuff, when their commission
on one of those big ticket packages is 50%
at the most, but more often 40%. The answer
is that they can afford it because they offer
you stuff with high perceived value, but very
low hard costs. They also often offer you
stuff that has never been sold before. That
brings up a bit of an ethical issue. If
something has never been sold before, at best
the value that you can attribute to it is
just a figure you've pulled out of thin air.
I submit to you that a value pulled out of
thin air tends to be "inflated."
Pun intended.
It makes absolutely NO sense to give away
something that costs more than the commission
earned... unless it's made up on the backend.
If you look at a bonus package and can't figure
out what the angle is, then the value is probably
exaggerated. Yet, many of us get so caught
up in the hype that our thinking simply shuts
down.
The second problem: Bonus overload
Let's move on to problem number two. Often
the marketer is motivated by the money, and
NOT what the product can do for his customers.
Sometimes, sadly, that's because the marketer
has no clue what he's selling. He's never
physically examined the product. Since
he's never examined the product, he can't
possibly be 100% confident that the product
is right for you. To ease his guilt, he pluses
up the package in case it's not all that he
expects it to be.
There's a simple solution to this problem
that I offer to all of my readers who are
also affiliate marketers. NEVER sell anything
that you haven't actually taken a look at.
Buy the product and dissect it! In some cases
you can even get a free sample. I do this
with every product that I market. If I'm sifting
through Clickbank and notice a product that
I think my market would love, I either buy
it, or drop the product owner an email asking
for a free sample. In the majority of cases,
they have given me free samples of their products
;-) Especially if it's a digital product,
and they're convinced that I may be able to
"move" a few copies, they'd be foolish
not to.
There are a few instances where you can't
examine the complete product before recommending
it. An example is a product that I'm currently
promoting by Ewen Chia called "The Super
Affiliate Cloning Program." The reason
I haven't examined the full product is that
part of it is seven weeks of live webinar
training. I spent many hours examining all
of the parts of the product that were available
though.
Given my moral obligation to only offer my
clients something that will genuinely improve
their lives, I didn't use the fact that not
all of the program was complete as an excuse
though. I dug deeper on other fronts. You
see, there's always evidence as to the quality
of a product.
In the example above, the product is a course,
and live training, designed to teach buyers
of the course to become super affiliates.
So, then my question became, was the person
who created the course qualified to teach
this.
I'll let you in on a big "non-secret"
here. Many people in the Internet marketing
world teach things that they have never done.
They do what is often referred to as "fake
it until you make it." The problem with
that is that, since they are really clueless,
they often unknowingly teach BAD information.
Their customers buy and follow this misinformation,
and when they follow the teachings, they are
doomed to failure.
Since Ewen is teaching people how to be a
super affiliate, it stands to reason that
there should be evidence that he is a competent
enough affiliate to sell more affiliate products
than your "average" affiliate. After
some digging, I discovered that Ewen has made
in excess of $1.4 million dollars in affiliate
COMMISSIONS in a period of less than 5 months.
Furthermore, he provides proof of those earnings.
"How did he do that?" you're probably
wondering. Obviously, it wasn't selling $27
ebooks. Ewen is very good at marketing big
ticket items. He's so good that he's consistently
among the top sellers during most of the big
ticket product releases in the Internet marketing
arena. John Reese, Mike Filsaime, Marlon Sanders,
and many others who offer big ticket items,
readily share that Ewen is one of their top
affiliates.
Marlon, who has NEVER publicly endorsed any
other products (other than his own) boldly
endorses Ewen's product. He not only did a
video testimonial, he did a 43 minute teleseminar
where they examined some of Ewen's methods,
and why they are so effective. Knowing Marlon
personally, and how much he cares for his
affiliates and customers, that was enough
to sell me.
Notice that only after considerable research
did I personally become convinced that "Ewen's
system was good enough to offer to my clients.
That's because I am very protective of my
clients. I've earned their trust, and deeply
care what happens to them. I have this saying
that "No man has the right to play
with another's dreams." Many marketers,
who will offer their subscribers anything
for a buck, don't seem to live by that rule.
I do, and I guess that's why many of my subscribers
refer to me as "The Most Trusted Guy
On The Internet." You can read what they
are saying about me at: http://TheMostTrustedGuyOnTheInternet.com/blog/
In case you're wondering if I offered a bonus
when marketing Ewen's program. The answer
is yes. Because of market pressures, from
others offering huge packages of "JUNK,"
I felt compelled to offer something too. In
brainstorming, I came up with the bonus of
one years membership in my "Virtual &
Real World Mastermind Group." This group
meets every other Wednesday night via telephone.
Any time that I am speaking at a seminar,
we also have a 2-hour get together at the
seminar location.
What value did I put on my bonus? I didn't.
I'm putting my clients in a group of like-minded,
serious, affiliate marketers, and then facilitating
live and virtual gatherings. In these groups
we'll not only discuss things Ewen teaches,
we'll discuss other affiliate marketing techniques
that we've tested, along with the results.
The potential value of this is at-least six-figure.
However, for the person who does nothing with
it, the value is zero!
I resent marketers that treat me like I have
"stupid" stamped on my forehead
so much, that I simply refuse to treat my
clients that way. That's why I don't offer
"junk" bonuses. That's why I try
extremely hard not to use hype. That's why
I actually advise some of my clients, who
ask me about certain product I market, NOT
to purchase them. Again, it all goes back
to not toying with another man's dreams...
and also to treating people the way that you'd
like to be treated.
I hope that this article actually leads to
you adopting some of my philosophies. I also
hope that it causes you to stop and think.
I do encourage you to check out Ewen's system,
and if it's appropriate for you, to join my
bi-weekly "Virtual & Real World Mastermind
Group." Check out Ewen's system at: http://EwenChiaUncovered.com
Copyright 2006 by Willie Crawford
Willie Crawford has been teaching Internet
marketing for over 9 years. Take advantage
of his uncanny insights and unusual candor
by subscribing to his free, information-packed
newsletter. Also visit his top-rated blog.
Do both at: http://WillieCrawford.com/blog/
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