Money Back Guarantee

Money Back Guarantees are an interesting marketing concept. Depending what you buy they can be life savers or they can be lures to get you to buy. This week we learned of a purchase gone bad involving a product with the following line in the guarantee:

If the audio CD set fails to live up to your expectations, send it back in resalable condition, and we'll refund 100% of what you paid for it.

At face value it sounds fine. The practical application was more problematic. What happened was a denial of the refund because the returned package was not in "resalable" condition. OK, I did not see how they returned it. But I know them so I am inclined to believe they did a good job. But setting that aside for a moment, the key take a way here is to be careful about guarantees that have qualifiers. If you check the established scam sites you will find dozens of examples of shoppers getting refund rejections because the seller interpreted a word or phrase in the guarantee to their distinct advantage.

If you are buying from a company you know well and have done business with before you will probably do all right. If you are responding to a sales pitch from an Internet marketer that (a) you don't know or (b) you do not have any objective feedback on their credibility; then, its wise to not count on a qualified guarantee. I much prefer a more honest and direct approach when buying an intellectual product like a book or report. No refund after so many days so they have enough time to make sure it arrived in good shape. It is too easy for consumers to be dishonest and buy a book...copy or read it and then return it. Sellers are entitled to protect themselves from such abuse. Nevertheless books can be damaged, CDs scratched etc and sellers ought to replace those as soon as the damage is noticed.

Guarantees can be a slippery slope and the best protection is buy from reputable folks and do your due diligence first.

I hope this helps.

Paul Myers Home-based Business Email

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Auto Profit Launcher

Well I have been looking at this program for awhile and I have received at least a dozen emails from other marketers telling me they have the best offer and exclusive bonuses. I can't believe they may think that we, the consumer, do not get multiple offers. I have seen almost duplicate bonus offers from 3 or 4 of them.

Now I have not purchased the product--I do not think its a good value. In its simplest form its a tool that helps people make websites. No big deal there. There are dozens of tools like this that cost a fraction of the price. Most of the "review" pages I found were not honest straight forward reviews--every review page I saw was really nothing more than a sales page. In other words, almost useless to someone trying to do some due diligence.

So what red flags do I see?

1. Hypee pitch on the cost and complication of making a website.
2. Complicating the idea of selling other products--there are several programs teaching people how to make small fortunes using really simple techniques with clickbank and other such sites.
3. Like just about 99% of these get rich Internet marketing courses the success only comes if you can get traffic to your site. On this point the pitch claims to give you techniques to do that....ok...but keep in mind most of these techniques you can find online for free.
4.Other needed items like hosting and auto responders etc are not included and you will have to deal with those issues. The pitch makes it sound like you have to pay someone to help you. Not true. Many have great support staffs and they are happy to help you.
5. Pitch claims it CAN cost you $10,000 to get started. I guess that is true if you are not doing your homework. I don't think that is an honest sales pitch. Look in your area and I bet you can find an Internet marketing group and you will quickly learn that the cost to start an Internet business is considerably less than the $10,000 scare number they use.
6. For a product that is supposed to be very easy to use I was disappointed that they did not give any demos or a complete list of what you're getting. Like so many squeeze pages a lot of verbiage and little substance. Look at what the auto profit launcher web site shows you compared to the level of detail shown on the Intuit site I mentioned above. See what I mean?

Lastly, you have to fork over nearly $500 to see what you are buying. When was the last time you went to a store blind folded, paid for a product and did not know what you bought until you got home?...Enough said!

What are your alternatives?

SERIF and Net Objects (to name 2) sell web creation programs at a fraction of the cost...I know some marketers still using Microsoft FrontPage. Web Expressions Microsoft's latest web editor costs $149. to illustrate this I found this presentation in about a minute and unlike auto profit launcher you can get help on the phone. http://www.intuit.com/website-building-software/. Google "website builder software" and look at the other google search suggestions...you will have no trouble finding cost effective options.

There are dozens of beginner Internet marketing courses that cost no more than $27-$67. These program give you step by step instructions on how to find products,set up affiliate relationships, how to market those products and how to drive traffic to your site.

If you are getting started you will probably pick a product or subject matter that you know well and are passionate about it. That will get you a long way writing compelling copy. But let's say you are not a good writer what can you do?

1. Practice
2. Read other sites
3. Ask for help at your library, community college or even at church or clubs you may belong to.

So auto profit launcher may help people who have absolutely no experience online or those who do not know where to find information; but, I think this program's convenience comes at an expensive price. One other thought as you are doing your research on auto profit launcher. I know of no successful Internet business owners that have not learned how the technology works behind an online business. Dummied down point and click tools like auto profit launcher are not going to get you to the level of success you probably are aspiring to. You will only get there when you start and learn as you go. A working knowledge of the technology will help you create tactics, products and marketing ideas. Don't be overwhelmed just take it one step at a time. But most importantly you will not be a sucker for slick pitches and promises of ease or fast money.

To be successful online you have to learn how to drive traffic to your website...that is the holy grail of success. There are plenty of tools and gadgets to help you build sites, find products and even teach you to get visitors to your site....but there is not a short cut to doing the work and executing a sound business plan.

If you need more information on how to build your own auto profit launcher like tool drop me an email and I will send you some resources.

I hope this helps you if you are researching this product.

Kinda wrong

I had to post this. In my last post I wrote, "I am fairly certain that there is not one sales page out there that will tell you to not buy the product unless you have so much experience." Now that is true of the programs I have reviewed. This morning I was checking emails and I got a link to a program Ed Dale is launching. As I read through his pitch page here is what I found:

...Getting serious for a second — if you have never done anything online and you're just starting out, DON'T SIGN UP — the Immediate Edge is not for you. Go take the Thirty Day Challenge. You'll have no risk, it won't cost you a cent and it's a proven system that has gotten thousands of people started on the path to replacing their day job with a real live Internet Business.

So I was wrong there are some marketers that are real teachers as well. Some may try to use this type of language as some kind of reverse psychology on prospects with the end goal to prod them on to buy. But I think this is genuine. I don't think that is the case here. Ed's 30 day challenge is a great program for anyone getting started...it is free and the only income I think Ed's team makes is if some of the students buy products he endorses in the course. OK, by me if they work!

So kudos to Ed.



....still think the page is too long :)

Internet Marketing Systems: Truth or Scam?

Over the past 6 months I have either joined a trial period or bought 8 marketing programs. Each program was presented through a very long and drawn out squeeze page (another term for a sales page). For those of you who are regular readers you know my views on such pages: The more bull on a page the bigger the fool. A good and valuable product can be presented in a few paragraphs. After that the marketer is just trying to baffle you with bull.

Back to the topic at hand. These sales pages had common elements (see if they don't sound familiar), they include but are not limited to:

• Never before revealed secrets
• Rag to riches or a 'I'm-just-like-you' story
  
• You will make $X,000 or $XX,000 per month
• Easy, no work, 15 minutes a day etc
• Proven system
• Testimonials galore
  
• I should be selling this for $1997...but for a limited time only
  

And the list goes on and on.

So what I have learned from looking at these programs?

1. Most of the marketers are making money but they are NOT making money delivering value for the majority of their students. Why do I think that? Because so many of the folks I talk to at events, seminars, online etc all share about the same experience-some good info but limited productive content. I have looked at so many programs I am almost to the point of thinking that most of these people throw together garbage and then start selling each others products to their lists. God help the people on those lists.

I have seen the statistic battered around that only about 3% of those people trying to start a business online succeed. I don't think the failure rate in these programs is that high but its not even a 50/50 success rate either. I think what follows below, in part, may explain why. (Disclaimer: this is not an exhaustive study. One reason is because when I emailed the marketers only 2 responded and neither wished to share this information. One could speculate it's because they don't know or they know the numbers are low. Also I recognize its not a statistically significant pool of participants...so take it with a grain of salt. My goal here is to cast some light on the practices of some unscrupulous marketers). In my ebook and newsletter "Don't Scam Us" I devote a chapter to identifying red flags since it is impossible to identify every scamster online.

2. 7 out of the 8 courses were either videos (from interviews or seminars)or rehashed PDFs (readily available content found elsewhere-note ok to be basic IF good instructional material is added for clarity) and private label right material. Now some of this content was interesting but anyone subscribing to the program or buying then system would not get what the sales page advertised. Most entrepreneurs will cut their own path at some point but when it comes to training they want clear direction and deliverables. Much of the content I reviewed provided neither. One program by Holly Mann did offer a very comprehensive how-to get started course that is straight forward, no bells and whistles-it was precise, complete with clear explanations.

3. Though coaching was emphasized none had a true customer experience process in place. All emails were from a no-reply account so there was no way to reply, ask questions or get more information. You were on your own. There were no phone numbers to reach people. Several had 800 numbers in the membership site but most went to a message recorder. Of the messages left (about 10) I got 1 call back. And that was an upsell call and not an answer to the question I had left.

Just a word on customer experience, like corporate America, internet marketers who want to succeed will figure out this is a must for their businesses. Customer Experience is not service! It is a business process that helps customers succeed so that they buy more and refer people to the business. So contrary to what I have heard at some business development seminars it is an avenue to more revenue not a detour away from cash flow.

Why is there so little attention given to customer experience? I can think of several reasons but suffice it to say that the root cause is a preoccupation with making money by any means available to them. On one site there is actually a video presentation where the speaker downplays customer experience and in the same context talks about several marketers he knows that have been shut down for violating FTC laws. Hello? Where is the integrity? Besides breaking the law its clear that the road to FTC trouble was paved with customers that were abused and misled.

4. Most programs were sold for $77-$150 and the subscriptions were $67 to $97 per month. Based on what I have seen so far I would never consider buying a course for several hundred dollars or more--there are just too many horror stories about bogus programs. Any program possibly worth such a price better provide more detail than what is offered in these ridiculously long pitch pages. I digress....

In all these programs there was not one tip, secret, or technique that could not be found elsewhere for free. The only tangible value with these courses was that someone had organized some information for you already. That's it! And that is ok if you know that going into it. If you have access to a user group, another marketer with experience, other marketers with which you can form a mastermind group, then you can discover 99% of what these big name marketers are selling online. My take-away was that only one or two courses were a true course. The others packaged articles and videos of rehashed information. Seeing the information offered I can understand why consumers move on to what hopefully will be a course that meets there needs. I would like to hear from you if you have bought a course and what you thought of it. My email address is above in the blog header.

5. I have collected nearly 1000 emails from these marketers I signed up with. There was no follow up to the material or inquiry about my satisfaction (remember the sales page sold personal attention--had that not been pitched this would not matter). All the emails (yes, all) that followed were pitches to buy more stuff. Even though you were supposedly on the inside they still pitched products with little to no substantive detail. You had to pay up...now! but they did offer a refund.

Back to quality of help. I asked my wife, who has no internet marketing experience, to go through some of the training and contact the sponsor with any questions she had. Most of her questions were, as you'd expect, basic and most of the answers were half backed. It was clear the the information was all she was getting and beyond that she was on her own. I am fairly certain that there is not one sales page out there that will tell you to not buy the product unless you have so much experience. All of these programs produced no results unless you know how to drive traffic to your site and that is another critically important caveat to success that none of the sales pages let you know about. While on the topic of representations, beware of "review" sites. If a "review" site is not giving details then it is most likely an affiliate trying to sell the product. I recommend you pass.

6. All 8 courses offered guarantees,cancellation and promises of integrity and no spamming.

Let's take spamming first. On seven of the sales pages I used a first name that was joined with partial name of the program. For example, Bobintblueprnt or SueprgXYZ etc. This way I could associate a salutation name with the program it should come from. Within in two weeks I received emails using that program's specific name from other marketers. So much for no spamming.

A word of caution here. Please do not take my meaning to be all marketers act this way--not at all. Just be aware that it happens and in this little test case it happened most of the time. So be aware and use caution if you want to protect certain emails accounts. I would recommend one gmail account to handle all your trials and subscriptions.

Now lets talk about charges and cancellations. With 3 of the 8 I had a very simple online process to go through and with others I had some hoops to jump through. Two programs tried to make charges against my account during the trial period and after I canceled. The Delta Squadron cancellation process is to open a trouble ticket. I opened the trouble ticket and received an email with a video link. The video extolled the benefits of the program (np--its ok for him to like it) but after a while I closed it. I was looking fro cancellation information not a pitch to stay. I received an email acknowledging my cancellation trouble ticket. What I did not know is that to really cancel (asking was not enough) I had to listen to the entire video to get directed to a web page. That is a highly questionable process.

In the mean time Delta Squadron tried to charge $97- that was rejected- and then, very interestingly, they tried a few minutes later to run $37 through-that was rejected. Thank goodness for Bank of America's safeshop program. To Mike's credit when I followed up I got another email explaining the video and assuring me there would be no more charges. Its been almost two weeks no more charges. I don't know what it would have been like to try to get my money back. I suspect they would have stood on the technicality that I did not jump through the appropriate hoops to cancel. Mike Filsaime.com also tried to process a charge I did not know about it. I made a copy of the sales page so unless it was in some small print it was not authorized (it happens and it too is a shady practice). When I learned about this charge I canceled because such behavior is unacceptable.

If you speak to your credit card company they will tell you that it is a common complaint from people that online businesses try to harvest credit card numbers, have spotty or questionable cancellation practices and try to run through charges. You can learn more about such situations on ripoff and scam watch sites that report on these problems.

Mike Filsaime's cancellation process is straight forward. You call a phone number and then get directed to cancelmetoday.com. I don't know why they do not direct you to the cancellation site right away. At the site you have to fill out some user name and password information or the last 4 digits of your credit card and the cancellation process goes through. As of this posting I cannot tell you that it has been completed without a snag.

So my conclusion is as follows. Do not buy a course unless you get some solid information about what you are going to receive. Disregard 99% of what you read on the sales page. Be certain you have protected your credit card. I hope you never use a debit card!!! For more information on what to look for in a good program read my earlier posting on internet marketing courses: Mike Filsaime et al. What to look for in an internet marketing course

Mike Filsaime et al. What to look for in an internet marketing course

Hey folks I am trying out an offer from Mike Filsaime. Clearly this is a guy that has made a lot of money selling information products. I don't know if he has businesses that sell consumer products or if he is just selling courses to teach people how to sell his courses online.

When I entered the site Mike greets you with a very clear and concise video on how to cancel. Some may question this but thinking people who don't like to waste time will be grateful for his direct and candid approach. The trial offer is very limited IMHO. So far I have not come across anything that makes you say, "wow!, that's new".

Much of the material is rehashed (maybe too strong a word) from calls or seminars and there are some good FYI nuggets in there if you are patient to listen all the way through. One thing you will notice is Mike is always selling--kudos to Mike that is why he is so wealthy. He has upgrades, new courses and even in the forum they are linking you to other programs they are promoting. Personally I did not like that. But you can't fault a salesman for selling.

If the purpose of the trial is to show you the benefit of his program then so far its not cutting the mustard. In several sections I get a message I'm not allowed to view that content. It would have been helpful if trial users could get a feel for all the various content sections.

I have more to look at and I will keep you posted. At this point, unless I see something in the newsletter or new information online, I am reporting that this is not a value at $97 or maybe even $47 per month. I'll let you know.

This afternoon I signed up for Eben Pagan webinar on 10 online businesses you can start NOW. When you sign up for these offers you know the sale is coming--that's fine. What I will be looking for, and reporting back back to you on, is whether or not he provided any actionable value other than to buy his course. Like dozens of other marketers he too wants to charge you $97 per month to learn what he has to offer.

For those of you who have been reading this blog or have seen my articles elsewhere I am a customer advocate. When customer experience is done right it's ALWAYS a win-win situation. What I don't like to see is marketers that are really snake oil salesman. I think in the area fo internet marketing 'How-to' courses you have to be careful. There are some great mentors out there that have their heart in the right place and there are others that are all about making the money at any cost. Those folks need to be exposed and avoided.


Here is what I think you should be looking for before buying into any course or subscription service:

1. Does the material meet my needs for where I am today? In other words we all start businesses with different skill sets and abilities. My wife bought a course that did not have one new idea in it BUT it was valuable to her because it was written in a very clear and thorough manner that helped her understand the concepts and was delivered without a bunch of hyperbole or Internet marketing jargon. So the lesson is make sure the program is going to teach you in a way that lets you learn and put it into practice. It does you no good if a very successful marketer talks over your head.

2. Does the program give you the tools to grow? No one wants to be a newbie for long. We all want to move on and run profitable business. If you select someone to teach you make sure they are in it to do just that. They are entitled to make a buck but they need to make a honest buck providing real value. So many snake oil salesman out there made some cash selling some program or scam online and then declared themselves to be a teacher. Rubbish...they made up a recording and wrote some notes and then claim that if you buy their course you too will make millions. They could no more teach than fly to the moon. Take the time to look at what they offer and ask yourself if the program is more about making them money or teaching you how to succeed?

3. Ezine articles tries to make sure that authors don't submit articles that are nothing more than warmed over thoughts and ideas from someone else. You should make sure of the same when you pick a course. Are you seeing creative, well thought out plans and ideas? Or, are you seeing the same 'ol stuff you have seen all over the Internet. Like I mentioned above its ok to offer the basics just so long as the marketer does not over hype and delivers values to the students. A rehash of some phone call does not meet that standard.

4. Lastly, do you have access to people that can answer questions? This is not a trouble ticket system. This means does the marketer or someone on staff make themselves available to answer questions. Many try to offer help by offering a forum. Not the something. Forums are great but they cannot replace that personal interaction when you hit an obstacle. One last word on this...no one can be at the beckon call all the time so don't expect it--that's unreasonable. What you should expect is that the program has a protocol for getting you one-on-one help. It could be a monthly call with two-way interaction, chat or some interactive media. But a course that just offers some articles and video and says, "Good luck" should not be a serious consideration for your hard earned money.

Hope this helps.

Delta Squadron

Enjoyed the site but the content is over priced. Michael made a pitch to help his subscribers save money but I don't think it made the site a better value. Michael has an approachable, easy going demeanor but the content is not the caliber of other training sites. That is not to say its not good, in my opinion its not a value at the current price of addmission.


For those new to internet marketing Ed Dale's 30 day Challenge material will be a much better starting point.

I have started to look at some of Mike Filsaime's material. One thing I liked is he gives very clear instructions for canceling. There are so mnay programs that fail on this point. So kudos to that and I will post on the content shortly.

If you are getting started please read my post: "Listbuilding and more"

Bank Security Info and Unemployment Tips

I learned today that Bank of America has several anti-fraud features. Though I am not a big customer I found today that they are doing pretty good job giving their customers tools to shop safe and protect their accounts.

On a different note....unemployment. I am hearing about several companies selling job search features to people and flat out ripping them off. If you have been looking for work and had very little success let me suggest the following before you pay someone to help you.

Job Help Tips
1. Find support groups. Look online for your area, check churches-they sponsor a lot. You can also find groups focusing on your area of work. Such as marketing, engineering etc.
2. Speak to recruiters that are paid by employers. They are always looking new candidates but more importantly they can give you excellent insight into what is going on in the job field you are searching in.
3. If you think you want to use a pay for service recruiter then take the time to interview several and ask for referrals that they think are similar to your situation. To interview a person in a high demand field will be of little value to you if yo are in a crowded market space like IT.
4. Build your network group by seeking as many meetings as you can.
5. Be aggressive marketing yourself. Employers today care more about what you will do for them as opposed to what you did in the past. Work on branding yourself and write articles to publish online that can set you apart from the pack.

I hope this helps

More on Delta Squadron

Follow up to my early post on this program. The video production quality is good I am enjoying them. The content is not great. For someone starting out I think they'd create more questons than they answer and the program does not provide an easy to follow road map. I think for a more experienced marketer there would be some valuable content and justify remaining a member for a short while.

More to follow.

Delta Squadron

I got this email promoting a live webinar...cool I like these and when done right can be very effective. I got 4 of these from various marketers so I know he is JVing with several people and paying them a commission to promote this program.

Here is what the email said:

...register for this exclusive
FREE Live Webcam Training Event
where you'll discover for free;

- How to push the button of
Massive Passive Income that
will flow into your hands
automatically whilst you
watch TV, go on another
vacation, go shopping or
do whatever it is you want
to do

- You'll be given everything
you need to make MASSIVE CASH
FAST by using the easy
step-by-step secret tactics
of this "overnight" millionaire

- Grab the exact-same push-button
cash tactics that he used to
blast from ZERO to $5 Million
in record time

Well one hour later nothing of value was delivered. Absolutely nothing. We heard about how he had a terrible job (I read online he was an IT guy at Exxon Mobil). So I think he's embellishing a bit....listening to him the first time through I thought he was working a job like a sewer cleaner or some other job you might see on the TV show Dirty Jobs. Working at ExxonMobil in IT... I don't think would qualify.Ok so he did not like it ok.

30 minutes into the webinar he has said NOTHING of value. I know something about his life (TMI really),his apartment and a nasty bed, his job and that he floundered online for several years. Albeit interesting it does not live up to the webinar playbill. I would summarize it as another example of hype and greed appeal hoping to cajole people into trying his program.

Let's look at what was promoted.

- How to push the button of Massive Passive Income that will flow into your hands
automatically whilst you watch TV, go on another vacation, go shopping or do whatever it is you want to do

In the beginning for the webinar he says he is going to give the listener "awesome stuff" later he says he's going to give us the "lo-down DETAIL [my emphasis] of what delta squadron is..." Did not deliver on this. No details, not even an outline or a topical list.

At no time in the entire webinar did he give information about what he did--not even in general terms like niche marketing or MLM etc.
As in so many presentations like this you hear a description that goes no further than calling it a system, secrets or special program etc. You would never buy a product in a store with so little information.

Now what I learned online is he made his money selling another me-to training program that, depending on who you talk to, was a rehash of readily available internet marketing material. As with others, partnering with big list holders can sell a program fast in a very short period of time. A prospective buyer of this program should know how Mr. Cheney made his money because you may not be able to replicate what he did. He has partners and access to mailing lists with thousands of names on them.

Let's look at the other excerpt from the email.

- You'll be given everything you need to make MASSIVE CASH FAST by using the easy step-by-step secret tactics of this "overnight" millionaire. In the video he says he'll be gicing the listener, "down to earth info you CAN START TO APPLY"

This was another failed deliverable. After describing how much money he made he simply concludes that he has now disclosed how he made his money. That's it! The listener is given nothing but anecdotal information and more lifestyle stories. When he is done talking the listener has nothing to act on (except to buy into the trial and program) and does not have any detail.

Here is what I would have preferred he do and as consumers we should insist be done if they want to use some of our time to make their pitch.

1. If you feel compelled to tell your life story, keep it short.
2. Don't blab on about money,money money...we get it! If I am listening I have already come to the conclusion you might know what you're talking about.
3. Give me some detail so I can evaluate your program. Ok maybe you do have some proprietary information but if you cannot give some generic description other than repeating over and over again its a system or secret stuff then most likely you do not have anything of value. We have recommended to our readers that if you cannot say what you are buying or have some idea of the content and you can only get that info by paying up then we recommend you look elsewhere. There are so many mentors that will tell you up front what you will be buying.

So the bottom line is the promo and lead-ins over promised and under delivered.

I did like the $1 trial offer. I am going to do this and will report back here what I find. He refers to his friends Shawn Casey and Tellman Knudsen so I am thinking that I will see some similarity to Casey's business-in-a-box program or Knudsen's ListBuilder Club. Do some due diligence on these guys to get a feel for whether or not you want to work with these folks.

I cannot find any bad reports online that he makes canceling a problem but just in case I would recommend you use the safe shopping techniques I have talked about before.

Check in later and I will let you know what I find out. Mike...drop me an email I'd like to interview you directly.

PS. You would not believe the process for signing up. After you sign up for the $1 you have to go through 3 other squeeze pages trying to up sell you...and the copy is really quite funny. Good insight into how he made his money. As I say, it takes a lot of bull to catch a fool.

Here is the header and then the "No thanks" copy that follows {MY NOTES IN BRACKETS]:
Pressure page #1:
lead in:
STOP!
Your Order Is NOT Complete
Please Customize
Your Order
Order 86% Complete
As my way of thanking you for joining Delta Squadron...
Here's How You Can Get
53 Kick-Ass [SAYS WHO?], Cash-Creating SWIPE Files
That Quadruple Your Conversions,
Make You Money on Autopilot And Hypnotize Top Super Affiliates
into Sending You Thousands of Hungry Buyers! The best part: you are getting
52 of these Swipe Files for FREE!

[You buy or to move forward to conclusion click "no thanks". You can almost hear the whining..hahaha]

No thanks. I already know how to create multi-million dollar marketing campaigns [no I just don't know if you are trustworthy yet], there's nothing that you Michael (with your 14 years' online experience) can teach me [oh please pout elsewhere. This sounds like something you'd hear arguing with a four year old]. Even though you are giving me 52 of the 53 cash-creating power Swipe Files for FREE I'd prefer to go about this on my own and I'll pass up this chance to get a WHOPPING 92% discount on these exclusive ready-made Fast Cash Swipe Files that will never again be available...[yea what a value...how many thousand other people are going to be using these?...yea really exclusive and I'm sure that just one is worth the $127 price tag--baloney!]

Pressure page #2
lead in:
Your Order Is NOT Complete Please Customize Your Order
Order 97% Complete [oh, please make it soon!!]
Congratulations! You're almost done, but if you're serious about making money online...You must read the following IMPORTANT life-changing announcement...
I've Done All The Hard Work For You And Created 7 Profit-Pumping Products,[...that thousands of others will be using....we've seen something like this on cheap Jeff Paul TV infomercials] Stunning Salesletters And Websites For You To Sell As Your Own!
(And You're Getting SIX of Them For FREE!)Yes! You just have to pay the low [this is cheap and common], one-time, one-off investment of $397 for one product-pack and I'll give you the other SIX for nothing! :-)

[to move on click the no thanks that says:]

I don't want SIX free, professionally-created, ready-to-earn products, I don't want SIX free sales-inducing salesletters and I don't want SIX free mouth-watering graphic sets. I would rather spend hundreds [give me a break!!] of hours slaving [you can almost hear your Mom here after you messed up the kitchen] away to create my own one single product from scratch rather than have you hand me SIX free ready-made, professionally-researched, expertly hand-crafted, ready-to-sell products, websites and salesletters right now [that soon thousands of other would-be marketers will be popping up all over the internet...yup that sure is a value!]. I am already a celebrity [when you can't convince with fact and value try using sarcasm...what a class act-NOT] in my marketplace with thousands of customers begging to give me money so there's nothing I can learn from Michael's advice so I will pass up this insanely [maybe insane to trust someone using these sales tactics] great offer of getting all the Secret Weapons for a jaw-dropping 89% discount [I'm wondering if he made his money using high pressure garbage like this? For someone dedicated to helping others he has a lot to learn about appealing to people honestly and with respect]

Add sales page #3
Lead in:
STOP! Your Order Is NOT Complete Please CustomizeYour Order
Order 97% Complete
WAIT! Before you miss out on all the Profit-Pumping Ready-To-Earn Products...
PRICE SLASHED BY 50%!
Sorry The Last Offer Was Too Expensive For You - Now You're Getting ALL 7 Ready-To-Earn Killer Products at a 50% Discount! [ I wonder if you got fed up with this ridiculous copy and closed out if you'd still get the program trial?]

No thanks- even though you have SLASHED the price from its real value of $3491 [so YOU say] all the way down to $197 which is a 95% saving I still want to walk away from this incredible deal.[sounds like the guy selling the hollowed out rolex and its yours fro teh low price of $500...wow what a value....it's spent! useless!] I know that you will never make this available to me again [yeah right, I'm getting the impression you'll doing anything, say anything for a buck] and that I will kick myself afterwards for not grabbing these READY-TO-EARN products, cash-creating websites and stunning salesletters. [or sigh with relief that I did not get ripped off like so many other hard working people looking to make an honest dollar selling a good product]

This is really funny. Most readers probably don't know who this is, they certainly know nothing about the quality of the content because neither the pages nor the webinar gave any detail and yet the marketer has the gumption to act as if you have insulted him by not buying his product SITE UNSEEN. I will post what I find out in the program but based on what I have read so far this sounds like a real snake-oil salesman

Listbuilding and more

Over the last few days I have been looking at several online sales pages also known as squeeze pages. These pages are usually one (very long) page with all kinds of sales hype. I have developed this safe shopping formula to help avoid garbage.

The greater the bull the bigger the fool

This is what I mean. The more hyped up claims, bold statements (without one word of support),and ego challenging come-ons you see on a page the greater the likelihood they are looking for a fool. Don't let that be you. You will save yourself thousands of dollars if you guard your mind from falling into these big money come-ons.

Here are some examples:

1. Our most successful member will choose this option

"Really? Oh jeez I better jump on this even though I can't verify what you're saying". I want to be part of the "success" group. Nonsense for all you know the only members he has are his dog and cat. It is not relevant to you what others are or are not doing. What is important to you is does this person offer a good product that you can use to your satisfaction?

2. And I’ve convinced these marketers (the same people I learned from) to reveal their top success strategies, secrets, and tricks for you each month, helping you to generate more money – FASTER! This is the kind of insider info they’re not revealing anywhere else!

You have got to be kidding! Do you mean to tell me that you are the ONLY one....wow. You convinced them....really? how? No convincing here other than offering to sell his folks what they are selling their folks....but hey he did say this was "secret" so maybe they are marketing good Samaritans. Not.
This is clearly hyped up none sense. No where on the page does the marketer ever give the reader a solid description of what they are buying. You should also know that very often its not the content or "secrets" that has made them money but the marketing list they have. A list that takes time to build. More on this later.

3. WARNING! Making Money Online Just Got Push Button Simple…

Warning? what's wrong? these nothing-to-it come-ons are the worst of the bunch. Anyone in Internet marketing will tell you it takes effort, you have to attract customers, you have to write good sales copy, offer a good product and provide good content and the list goes on. When you see something like this just know you are being treated like a fool and they expect the reader not to think but just react.

4. I don’t want you to buy something from me… that’s not what this is about…[variants of this are "it's free", "no charge", "giving this away"

Wow great!....but then over 5000 words later they are still going on and on about how wonderful they are and how they just want to help you. If they're giving this away or as was quoted above, "I don't want you to buy...", then why are they trying so hard to SELL you something?

5. ...it’s just “too good to be true

When a marketer tries to use this to make a reader think that it's NOT too good to be true then it probably IS too good to be true and you are going to gt ripped off.

6. YES, JEFF! SIGN ME UP! Please send me the XXXXX training, and grant me immediate access to the XXXXX List Building System for 30 Days FREE. (I'll be billed a simple low $47/month after that if I decide to stay on - no pressure!)

Well when I searched the page there was a privacy policy link and and terms of use link but no documentation about cancellation etc. So you are asked to give your credit card number to buy a program- the exact contents of which you don't know-under terms and conditions that are not disclosed. Does that sound like a good idea? No!

7. This will change your life

One sales letter went on for over 6000 words talking about who he was, his poor beginnings, how he helped his father and brothers and then throw in some testimonials and some money shots. Oh don't forget the big house and expensive car shots...dang almost missed that. Anyway there is nothing on this page that could come close to being "life changing". So clearly this is hype. Another rule of thumb...."hype is directly proportional to the probability of waste". The more hype and filler wording you read the greater the chance that you will be buying fluff.

I hope this helps. There are good opportunities out there and a ton of garbage so be careful.

Internet marketing "universities" and schools

Over the last few days I have received some very interesting sales emails from various guru courses, schools and universities and I am surprised at some of the tactics they use:
1. the oft over used make millions
2. no work needed, do everything you need in an hour
3. we teach you EVERYTHING
4. we teach you SECRETS

And, the list goes on and on. The purpose of this post is to remind my reader that though some of these courses may be of value you must be careful in your selection process. Any course, program or school promoter should be available for questions. If they are not just imagine your frustration level after watching a video and you have questions. Forums can help but anyone who has been through any legitimate school program knows that sometimes you need to talk through a question or problem. Further, not all forums have an atmosphere or disposition that is conducive to question resolution. Especially if the seasoned members think you are asking a dumb question.

Before you sign up for a course make sure you have a good understanding of what they are going to give you. There are hundreds of people on the Internet selling rehashed, easy to find information as "SECRETS". Before paying big bucks for a program or school consider a membership site. You can get a lot of information fast and you will get a feel for the value of the school you are considering.It would not surprise me if some members could give you feedback and insights into the program you are considering. While on the topic of members and forums, I think you will find that the membership is much more accommodating and, for the lack of a better word, tolerant of new marketer questions and issues.

I hope this helps you work through what programs and courses you will select as you develop your online business.

In this blog I try to focus on products, ads or whatever else I find that tries to bamboozle, mislead or deceive people. I don't get into politics because that topic is full of spam, scam and misinformation. However....

I got the following email and thought it was thought provoking. It is certainly skewed I will tell you that upfront but it does make for interesting dialogue. I have added some editorial [my comments] for added spice.

Conservatives and Liberals.
Random Thoughts On The Difference.

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, they don’t buy one.
If a liberal doesn’t like guns, then no one should have one.
[But isn't it crazy that neither can agree on accountability and severely punish violent criminals? Recently in Africa I learned from a game warden that poaching had been stopped completely in one park. Amazing I thought and how wonderful. "How did that happen after decades of failed programs?", I asked. The warden told me that the a law was passed and the word put out that anyone carrying a weapon in the park would be shot! Tourist and those using the park properly had no problem with this. After several criminals were shot, they quit too. Now there is much to discuss here but I shared this to make the point that accountability works.]

If a conservative is a vegetarian, they don’t eat meat.
If a liberal is, they want to ban all meat products for everyone. [We have a vegan in the family so this one was funny....tough buying for 2 separate menus but on the good side we as a family are eating better....but don't pass the humus just quite yet. Bad products can be made illegal but legislating behavior is a slippery slope and I don't think good can come from it long term]

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.[an element of truth... but blown out of proportion. This brush is too broad to be certain. Will the hawkish conservatives admit to being belligerent sometimes? I would like a modern Teddy Roosevelt]

If a conservative is homosexual, they quietly enjoy their life.
If a liberal is homosexual, they loudly demand legislated respect.[I am against any group trying to push their values, mores or views on the world and in this case it seems like we get a lot of just that. ANY sexuality is A CHOICE... lets keep it that way. But some choices are wrong and should not be allowed particularly those involving children! The good news is we can turn off the TV and enjoy engaging in conversation...and WE can VOTE if an issue comes to that]

If a black man or Hispanic is conservative, they see themselves as independently successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.[is there an entitlement mind set? yes--we have all experienced it or seen its effects on people. Is their a "you owe me" mind set?--yes, I bet we've all experienced this. Is there government abuse? Most definitely! To change all this we all need to engage in the electoral process and don't let politicians obfuscate the issues. Start small--make progress and grow. We don't have to eat the whole elephant at once]

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.[Hyperbole!!Both liberals and conservatives talk too much and personally should do more...get involved and help others. It is really great. And, while you're passing out food or stacking cans at the food bank have a meaningful conversation about some of these things-try to learn from someone else]

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.[yeah I think this is true. The fairness doctrine discussion is silly (and potentially dangerous) since its the government geting involved. I like to listen to Public TV,Fox and MSNBC(yea TIVO)some are consistently good others are just outrageous. It has been my experience that MSNBC likes to chide and mock rather than engage in meaningful dialogue, I have seen FOX people talk over guests and the list could go on--it really does not matter because I can chose what I want to watch. Bottom line, if you don't like liberal or conservative radio/TV CHANGE THE CHANNEL but I think its good to listen to different views. I draw the line when they are malicious or condescending that type of mean spirited reporting is useless..IMHO]

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
A liberal wants any mention of God or religion silenced. [I agree and would add that there those that do not like our national heritage and therefore try to rewrite it or eliminate it. Freedom of religion is part of our heritage and should be left that way, no one is required, harangued or cajoled into following or obeying any religious or belief system- so get over yourself. If there is an expression of faith in a historical context leave it alone--hey maybe you'll learn something from it. On a personal growth note, if this is something you get bent out of shape about you may want to look into the research that convincingly shows that a person with a spiritual side to their life lives longer and is happier than those that don't. Don't blame me that is what the research shows]

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that his neighbors pay for his.
[a needed change...but a case study for how government can screw it up and how people can mouth off about it without having done their homework. I would strongly recommend everyone read this blog post: http://www2.wholefoodsmarket.com/blogs/jmackey/2009/08/14/health-care-reform-full-article/

Well I hope that was interesting. Send me an email if you'd like to chime in or post a comment.

Cell Phone Cash System

This is a brief note on the Cell Phone Cash System. I am just looking into this but one thing that I noticed that consumers need to know about is that the marketing is not giving prospective buyers the full scoop. Anyone buying this program and planing to use it to sell products needs to give careful consideration to the associated marketing costs. Unlike some other marketing strategies that are free this is more akin to email marketing where a marketer has to purchase lists of cell phone numbers that have opted in to get ads. One writer said,"In just 12hrs of starting with CellPhoneCash I was able to earn $22.10, not a million but it definitely shows the great potential this program has." That's fine but I'd like to know how much he spent so get that.

Another page said, "There are over 4.3 Billion cell phone users worldwide and
if you know the right techniques you can plug into this
untapped market with incredible ease." What is the inference here? Yeah...YOU can tap into 4.3 billion cell phone users. That is not true. Google unsolicited cell phone ads and read up on cell phone spam. As of this writing I could not find stats on how many cell phones have opted-in to receive ads. But, it is certainly NOT all 4.3 billion cellphone users. So why use that number if not to hype and mislead?

Of course, you can always begin to build your own cell phone marketing list. So count the cost: system cost ($25/mo)+ marketing costs+ your typically online operating costs.

The other thing to be aware of is that anyone can sign up to be an affiliate...so be aware that someone selling the program (rather than use it to sell product) may not have used it at all so do your due diligence and take the financial pitch with a grain of salt.

"Notice of Underreported Income"

There is an email going around with this subject line trying to get your personal information and download malware to your computer. The copy of the email says:

Taxpayer ID: yournamehere-00000174073547US
Tax Type: INCOME TAX
Issue: Unreported/Underreported Income (Fraud Application)
Please review your tax statement on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website (click on the link below):
review tax statement for taxpayer id: yournamehere-00000174073547US
Internal Revenue Service

We changed the name to "ANYNAME" at ANYDOMAIN.COM and we went to the same page. Here is the screen shot



You will notice that the link in the middle of the page is an executable file (.exe)--DO NOT CLICK ON THIS.

With Uncle Sam looking for more money these days this is a nefarious scam. We have also seen phishing emails from: Bank of America, Ally, Chase and Morgan Stanley....there are probably donzens of others we have not seen.

Be careful and follow common sense email protocol.

Oh Really?

I found this intersting...funny really. Now as many of you know the most successful internet marketers got to the top of their game by developing very large and very profitable marketing lists. Many IMers boast lists in the tens of thousands or more. I got this email from Shoemoney.com.

I only sent this email to you and a few
other people. I don't want everyone
finding out about this special offer
so please keep the promo code to
yourself :)

"Wow we must be buddies...real pals!"

Truth is you know thousands of people got this! But I guess when the copy says only a few that is supposed to make the reader giggle with glee about being chosen to be apart of a select group.

"...oh man I better buy right now, yeah!"

Hey folks don't use this patronizing copy in your emails or marketing. You will find people respond better to honest, straight forward value presentations.

Cost Effective Internet Marketing Training

More on this to come but I wanted to publish a note to let people know that if you have been looking for solid, comprehensive marketing instruction but have been put off by the $69, $97 or $127 per month programs you have choices. Many of these choices are less than $40 per month from companies that really do have legit guarantees and will cancel memberships in a timely and professional manner. There are also clubs available to you that charge modest dues each month (some as low as $7/month) to have access to their forums and training that they have collected or put together over months and years.

When you look at so many high priced "systems" and "secret" programs you quickly figure out they are all telling the same story with a little different spin. Save your money to pay your bills and market your business and hook up with a program or teacher that is not going to charge you an arm and a leg for information you could find on your own.

These opportunities don't spam you with inflated claims or promises of overnight success or five figure incomes. The financial success of the participants is not dependent on the club member hustling someone else into the money making scheme. Most teach the students how to market products and to build solid long term business.

As I said, I will be posting more on this in the coming weeks. Email me if you have questions.

LGN Revolution

I received this well done email that, like so many others, touted this amazing program that will help me make tens of thousands of dollars each month. Oh, the hype was wonderful...the sky is the limit. Well I started to do some due diligence and found out that it was no great shakes--though I'm sure the guy that started it is doing well. As with so many of these programs the problem is not in what they tell you upfront but rather what they don't tell until after you have bought in.

I found this one article over on Ezines that did a good job of pulling back the curtain for a prospective customer. http://ezinearticles.com/?LGN-Revolution---Little-Guy-Network---Scam-Or-Legitimate-Business?&id=1622500

Now you have to be careful with Ezine articles many of them are nothing more than extensions of the sales page but if you look around you will find articles from people trying to help. I referenced this article because it does just that.(NOTE: I don't know anything about the guy that wrote it so don't take this as some endorsement)

A few highlights:
1. Whereas the LGN Revolution sales pitch makes it sound like you don't have to do anything we learn from this insider that you do in fact have to work and you are only going to make money if you know how to run an internet business.
2. We learn that there are undisclosed costs that can amount to several hundred dollars. So if you were considering joining this program you will have to count the cost that you will be in the red starting out and every month going forward until you make a sale.
3. When the writer said, "The best income seems to be in selling the business opportunity." That, in my opinion, is a huge red flag. It makes the program a little bit better than a ponzi scheme. The products are of modest value and you are really looking to talk someone else into the program so they can pay you. The day these programs are run out of town the better off we all will be.
4. The "no cold calling" pitch is attractive to a lot of people looking to make some additional dollars. What many people do not realize is that it does take a lot of time and work to get prospective customers to come to your website and buy your product and so each month that goes by with no buyers you have to keep making monthly payments to LGN Revolution.

In my search I found several "review' sites which were nothing more than extended sales pages.

On one site the marketer tells you that he is tired of all the "hype" and wants to give the view the full story so they can make an informed position. From that point forward its a selected telling of what is needed for someone to be successful. This is always a be careful and count the cost signal.

Digging further you will learn that all the "resources" are primarily private label rights books and software (available elsewhere for less and in some cases for free) and at the higher level travel vouchers-also available elsewhere. I guess if you had no idea of what else is available to you this might be an interesting starting point. But its important to understand that you are primarily going to be in the business of recruiting others to ante in. Noteworthy is the fact that of all marketing sites reviewed for this program only one made any mention of the income opportunity from selling the products in the program.

Compare this to a program like the thirty day challenge where the students get all the training and set up for less than $50.

So what's good?

I had an interesting conversations the other day about my blog. I was asked, "What positive things do I write about? Doesn't it get old just blowing the whistle on charlatans and scams etc?"

Two great questions. I'll answer the second question first. No, I don't get tired of busting bad programs, scams and anything else that rips off a consumer. I have had family and close friends ripped off by internet marketers. There are so many people out there who have the singular goal in life to make as much money as they can regardless of the cost or who they hurt in the process. That's wrong, IMHO. To be clear, so I don't get emails about being industrious and successful....nothing wrong with making money...buckets of it even...but when a person deliberately takes advantage of folks (particularly these days with people out of work struggling to make ends meet)or sell a product that is bogus then they have gone too far and I am happy to help good, hard working folks know what to stay away from... and look to make money somewhere else.

Now on to the first question. The Thirty Day challenge put on by Ed Dale is a great course and a generous program on the part of Ed and his team. The challenge is over but you can still see much of the content on youtube. If you can't find it let me know. From this FREE course you can learn everything you need to know to get started making money online and once you are started you can grow from there. So many programs from "Gurus" are nothing more than rehashed material seasoned with some of their thoughts to make it their own. The information I have seen from, for example, Jonathan Budd or PotPieGirl is good stuff but I don't think it lives up to the hype and cost. Much of the material available elsewhere for free if you're wiling to do some digging.

In the 30DC its straight talk and good instruction. The program had a pre-launch period to help students get a look at tools and tasks that will need to get done during the course. And man its a lot to learn and execute in 30 days! Awesome. Since you can get the material online I won't go over the content list here. Suffice it to say that it covered all aspects of niche marketing, blogging, articles, PPC, squidoo, adsense etc, etc. The course is free but just to provide full disclosure, they are making money during and perhaps after the program. They get commissions on recommending the services they use themselves and know to be reliable and a good value to their customers.

With the 30DC you get excellent, complete training with a great customer experience and they make, what customer experience expert Frederick F. Reichheld refers to as, "good profits"--profits made by adding value to your customer and helping them in their business--not cut throat or dishonest profits.

Here is another thing I liked about their course. So many internet marketers don't tell you, when they try to dazzle you with big money, that great success comes from hard work, diversification and a great marketing list! That's how they make the money and the course you'd buy from them may or may not get you there. It takes time and effort to build up a good marketing list. With the 30DC you hear this upfront so you have a clear understanding of what is expected of you and what the rewards can be. You gotta love honest, upfront advise.

So kudos to Ed and the 30DC.

Twitter Cash Kit aka Easy Twitter Profits

Twitter Cash Kit is an old scam in a new skin. The pitch is the same...you pay a small shipping and handling fee to get "free access" and that also starts your seven (7) day trial period. If you do not cancel appropriately your credit card is charged $47 or more. I found two names associated with this program: Prosper University and Mary Steadman. I share the names here so you can do your own research but the feedback I found was not good.

I looked at several Twitter Cash Kit and Easy Twitter Profit pages and they all had the remarkable earnings stories (READ THE DISCLAIMER BEFORE YOU GET TOO EXCITED) and then a dozen or more testimonials extolling the merits of this program. Word to the wise here....tread carefully and take everything you read on a testimonial page with a grain of salt.

There are several red flags on these pages that should alert you to stay away. Do your due diligence and think twice before joining programs like this that bill you monthly. At a minimum make sure you use a safe shopping credit card for online purchases.

If you decide to try it and learn its a rip-off, please take note of the name of the marketer that promoted it and post your results on sites like scam.com and rip off report so others can be alerted to the marketers behavior.

Update: One of the pages promoting this questionable program was made to look like a newspaper article. It said: "City CHRONICLE Serving the area. Balanced news. Breakings news. The ONLY news." This`is not a real newspaper...its a fake!...that alone should tell you to stay away.

Pot Pie Girl Marketing Course

My wife liked her style so we bought the course. I will give a more detailed review in my 'Don't Scam Us' newsletter but for now let me say that its an ok course. Much of what the author talks about is her Squidoo strategy. I enjoy the information but I think most of it could be found without buying the course. I gave the course a 'C+' because it saved me some time looking stuff up(yet,nothing that makes you go- Wow I never heard of that!) and based on what I have seen the $47 price tag is high. The other parts of the course are a one week plan and checklist and a transcript of a forum dialogue with a newbie.

Manifestation Meditation

I got an email the other day inviting me to buy a product that will help me realize everyone of my needs, wants and dreams. Yes you heard right, it did not matter if I wanted to heal myself or someone else, miraculously receive 10 million dollars, get elected to be President or find the love of my life. They say,

… you can automatically manifest health, wealth, love & happiness and immediately ignite the law of attraction to rapidly achieve your goals all on autopilot... working for you... even when you're asleep or on vacation enjoying your life by using this secret, scientifically tested and designed, manifestation tool that I discovered and tested years ago!

Part of the Don't Scam Us mission is to pull back the curtain on product offerings so consumers can make an informed decision about a product. To help people cut through the hype and get to the facts. So as Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the story.

Many of these programs go back to books like Norman Vincent Peale’s , “The Power of Positive Thinking”. More recently, when the book "The Secret" came out it was a huge seller. It discussed the same topic-the law of attraction. Today, you will find stories of people claiming miracles others crushing disappointment. I won't debate the merits of this "law"--that is up to each of us individually. What you will learn after doing some research is that just about all that is in this offering is available online for free....or at the used book store for a fraction of the price. What you should know when evaluating offers like this is:

1. The program is not scientifically tested. Some related aspects maybe (like meditation etc) but not this exact program. See number 3 below. Many sales pages promoting health or fitness products try to add credibility to their product by association with related research. If the consumer associates the product with the research, even though they are not directly related, then all the better for the sales pitch. That is disingenuous and a good reason to move on.

2. A quick Google search shows you that there are hundreds of these “think it, pray it” whatever you want into reality schemes. As is the case here and in so many others the process is to get the consumer to make a small buy in and then get the larger money in a monthly subscription. The longer you hang on for some success the more money they collect. In this case its $97 PER MONTH. If you have money to burn then have at it but don't be surprised if you get a pig in a poke.

3. This is misleading marketing at its best. It’s all there; the allure of easy riches; no work required; anyone can do it, etc. They even do a bit of misdirection by referring to research at various universities. I wonder if I call the universities referenced on the page if they will be so quick to make the same “guaranteed” claims as this product does? I think not.

4. The sales page, to the savvy consumer, is full of red flags that this is not all it appears to be. I'm sure he is meditating on me giving him some of my money. I am going to save my money, and not get on his marketing list. And if you have an interest in learning more about meditation and all its benefits then seek out the folks that are not internet marketers but professional, trained practitioners.

5. The sales page says,

"When your brain is given a certain stimulus, through your ears, eyes or other senses, it gives off an electrical charge as a response, called a Cortical Evoked Response. These electrical responses travel throughout the brain to become what you "see and hear"."

This is almost an exact copy of what is said on the Transparent Corp company sites that reads,

"When the brain is given a stimulus, through the ears, eyes or other senses, it emits an electrical charge in response, called a Cortical Evoked Response... These electrical responses travel throughout the brain to become what you "see and hear"."

Looking at their website I see they have an affiliate program--perhaps they give affiliates permission to use copy off their web site.

6. Another interesting factoid. Several of the testimonials are from other internet marketers. If this program is run like others of its kind there is a good chance they are making some money on this. As a consumer you may like to know if an advocate has a financial interest in your purchase decision. Carefully looking at how testimonials are used, or what claims are made etc on a sales page can tell you something about the character of the marketer.

7. The Manifestation Meditation page invites you to download the audio CD (the "free" one -excluding shipping and handling- mentioned at the top of the sales page) but once you click to get it you have to give them your first name and email... No download yet. Then on another page you must provide your last name, mailing address and a phone number--still no download. Once you have gone through those steps you have to give them a credit card for the $9.95 needed for shipping and handling...no download. So why promote a download and then not provide it? Instead, you are asked for a lot of private information. Why do I need to pay S&H when I am supposed to be signing up for a download? Very fishy! Calling the toll free number I learn that the download is no longer available and that I must open an account and pay the S&H to receive the CD. OK, pass.

8. Beware of payments –even small ones. Here is the problem I have with this. Unless you use some safe shopping techniques you may find yourself having trouble canceling and you will get hit with the monthly charges you agree to pay when you go through this sign up process. Guarantees, “easy” downloads and service numbers are all very common-make sure you do not accept them in lieu of your due diligence. Until you know the vendor is credible and honest make sure you do your homework.

One last word on purchase terms that is related to this--no refund return policies. It’s not a bad thing, in and of itself, if a product has a no-refund policy. You will see this from time to time and so long as you know the product and it makes sense for that type of product then you can go forward. For example, with a”How-to Guide” or other perishable information product it is difficult to accept returns. These are often no refund because, unfortunately, there are buyers that will order the book, read it and then return it-effectively getting it for free. Some would argue stealing it. After you have read and consumed the information you can’t very well ask for a refund.

9. The privacy policy refers to terms and conditions but those terms and conditions are not available on the page. Not good. Any time you are asked for personal information and/or credit card information and you cannot read all the terms and conditions and privacy policy do not do anything further on that site.

10. The sales page did not provide any samples or a clear understanding of what exactly I would be buying. So, I did some research on the various terms I found on the page. Here are some sites with sample Entrainment sounds and music: http://www.soundfeelings.com/free/music_medicine.htm And another: http://www.mindwaves.co.uk/entrainmentmp3.htm ....and still more: http://www.musicmefree.com/

After listening to these samples it answered one question I had after reading the web page: Why weren’t there any samples? I think I know why. Perhaps consumers would not be as impressed or amazed as the copy tries to make them feel. Sounds and music are very subjective things and maybe they did not want to let the consumers know what they were getting until they made at least a small sale? Regardless of the reason the research showed that I can get samples before I buy and I can purchase similar products for less money.

The take away here is do your due diligence before buying into an online offer, especially when you know very little about the person or company selling the product.

More Google Cash Type Scam

This is an old scam that seems to reappear every so often under a different names. The pitch is simple: learn how to make several hundred dollars per day with Google.

The pitch never provides any substantive detail. No how-tos or detail about what the customer has to do. You the reader are asked simply to spend $1.97 to learn the secrets that will make you rich!!....but that is NOT the whole truth.

The site says you get:

Items
Fortune Kit (What is in it? What is required to be successful?)
Online Tutorial (This is not specified...no details about what you get.)
Unlimited Customer Support (woooohooo! what ever this means?)
Subtotal
Processing & Shipping Fee... for $.99 Wow what a deal....not if you don't read the small print.


Here is an excerpt from the terms of condition page:

"By submitting an order, You automatically receive a 5-day trial to the Google Start up Kit. Your 5-day trial begins immediately upon placing your order. You will be billed $0.99 up to$1.97 at the time of order submission. Once Your trial is active you have 5-days to decide whether to accept Your Subscription. Prior to the expiration of the 5-day trial period, You may cancel Your subscription by calling toll-free at 1-800-440-4397. Should You fail to cancel Your Subscription within the 5-day trial You will be billed $84.84 at the completion of the 5-day trial and $35.47 every month thereafter for continued services and hosting of your internet web tools software unless canceled by You."

The sad story here are the number of people who try to call, who try to cancel, and run into some problem or another that hinders getting the cancellation done in time. The result is they get their credit card hit with outrageous monthly fees. The squeeze pages may mention Google Starter Kit, Google Cash System or the latest I have seen, the Google House Profit. Get the facts!

As we recommend in our ebook,take some time to do some due diligence. Do not buy into the marketing hype, get the facts and do not get scammed. There is much about this program that is not revealed to you until you have given your credit card number and are in the system. We suggest that you do not put yourself into this position.

Carbon Copy Pro et al

I get asked a lot about how to figure out what is a good opportunity and what is a scam? Even though its been around for several years I was asked about Carbon Copy Pro and whether or not they should get involved with this program. In my ebook I give several red flags to look out for and share how to do due diligence that covers most of the questions but I thought a brief posting here would be helpful.

The only information my friend had about Carbon Copy Pro (CCP) was what he had read on the sales page and picked up from reviews--or at least that is what the author called them.

I hope the following thoughts will help you decide about what programs to join/buy. You can also read my article on Ezine.

So lets get started. There are dozens of pages on Hubages, Ezine, Squidoo etc promoting Carbon Copy Pro (and other programs) and many claiming to be a review( supposedly an objective description and commentary on the product or offering). However you will find that most of these "reviews" are really promotional pages.

In this posting I want to give you some things to look for so you don't get suckered by these fake reviews. For this purpose I am using carbon copy pro as an example. Clearly it is a real opportunity but the level of candid and straight forward information on the program is all over the board.

If you Google "carbon copy pro" you can find several articles, webpages and videos about the business. Many tout the opportunity but most only give a partial picture of all that is involved. What is missing from most reviews are answers to fundamental questions:

1. What product are you selling? Is it a real product or are they just trying to get others to buy the program (some even have a token product to comply with some of the laws controlling MLM programs)
2. What are ALL the costs involved? If you find that they tell you there is a cost of $X and later learn that there are additional costs not disclosed up front--pass!
3. Is it turn key or do you have additional work to do? What marketing do you have to do? Do you have to right articles? Do you have to do any social media campaigning?

Most "reviews" of this program and several others do not provide a professional well researched review. By way of example here is one that comes close:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Internet-Entrepreneurs---CarbonCopyPro-And-Wealth-Masters-International&id=1057093

The review lets the reader know what companies and people are behind the program- who they are and what is their interest in the program. The article let's you know there are recurring charges (missing from many sales pages and articles) and additional charges for marketing support. Most reviews do not give the reader this detail, therefore they should be discarded as marketing material and not research material. This article provides insight into what the additional charges are. Information that you should know up front before spending any money.

Another critical factor is getting visitors to your business site. Money comes with visitors, you need to drive traffic to your site and that is the most challenging part of an internet business. Even if a company provides materials for a site, or even gives you a finished site, you still have work to do to drive traffic to your site. If consumers are not coming to your site then there is no way they are buying. This is a significant factor to the average online failure rate of 90% plus.

Once you understand the details of the program your next task is to evaluate your ability to drive traffic to your site. Looking back at the referenced article, the writer advises that only experienced marketers should consider joining this program. This is good advise. Someone new to online marketing could loose their shirt waiting for visitors to convert to buyers. With programs and clubs like CCP, you have fixed costs each month ($149 for the program plus hosting etc) and if your site is not converting sales right away you are loosing money. So make sure you fully understand all the costs, know what red flags to look for and then do a thorough job of estimating costs and sales. Good luck.

Who cares just buy this

Today I received an email in one of my network groups telling me about an absolutely marvelous opportunity. His email said that this opportunity was,"...great, it was a real money maker, he made ten gazillion dollars in a month..."

Had he read my scam ebook he would have known that all he accomplished was to send an email with examples of scam red flags. The link "howimakeinternetmoney" was a rehashed version of a program that claims to tell you how to make tens of thousands of dollars off of Google and all you have to do is pay $1.95. It has several names, the last one I saw was called "Google Cash". To make a long story short, do the research and you will discover it is a program you should avoid. As one posts said you don't make any money online you make money trying to get someone else to buy into the program.

I posted this because it is a perfect example of how online marketers pay lip service to customer experience (how are you the consumer going to fare in this deal?)and are really focused on making money by hook or by crook.

Customer Experience is about being genuine

Do you want to do more business? Would you like to have customers that valued your relationship with them? Of course you would. Well if that is the case why don't companies do a better job of building a relationship? Doesn't it take more than using someone's first name in an email? Let me demonstrate. I received the following follow up email to a quote we requested for a customer:

Hi Steve :

As we have not heard from you since we sent you our quote, we wonder whether you require further information before deciding to place an order. Your feedback is very important to us because we want you to receive the personal attention and best possible advice on our products.

We look forward to hearing from you and hope that you will afford us the opportunity to provide you the best products and also excellent service.
Thank you!

We look forward to working with you!

Looks ok doesn't it? Sure. But here is the problem, this is the 7th or 8th time I got this exact same letter without any phone follow up or acknowledgment of the information I had sent to them about the project. So what's the lesson here?

1. An auto-responder is fine for an initial response but any personalization loses its effectiveness when it's clearly rote. In cases like this where they are dealing with a specific project, reference the project shows you are in touch with what is going on.
2. Get your facts straight. In this case they have received 2 emails and 2 phone calls in response to their quote. So this email leaves me, the customer, wondering who is minding the store?
3. The letter tells me that MY feedback is important but then they keeping sending the same letter and do not mention or address the issues we included in two previous responses. This leaves the customer thinking they don't care and do not understand the project.
4. They affirm that they want to provide "personal" attention yet do nothing to make that personal connection. To have a viable customer experience practice in your business you must strike a balance between cost saving automation and personal contact with the customer. This is a must!
5. The last response that was sent to them had some very specific questions about the specs of the display and how we can cool the unit in our outdoor application. Questions are an opportunity to serve and wow the customer. In this case my inquiries were followed up with 4 or 5 identical form emails paying lip service to "excellent service". The end result is they loose ground rather than building a relationship.

We've all seen the comic set up of when one person is talking to someone who is clearly disinterested in who is talking and what they are saying. Yet when asked if they are listening, they give a nod as if to say, “yes, fascinating, please continue”... only to drift away again into abject apathy. They can make it funny on TV but in real life no one likes this and it will hurt your business.

Next week if you want to impress your customers, then:
1. Respond to inquiries quickly
2. Be responsive to acknowledge their reply and answer questions fully.
3. Follow up with a call.
4. Follow up correspondence should affirm your understanding of their needs and your commitment to meeting those needs. A business relationship is defined in the details.

Work From Home? Be safe. Be smart.

There is some encouraging news coming out that perhaps, just maybe, indicates there is some light at the end of the tunnel and its not another train coming. Still customers are struggling today to make ends meet.

Over the weekend I saw several work-from-home and start-your-own-internet-business ads. Customers can take steps to help them get value and a good customer experience and not get taken for a ride.

1.When you see these infovideos, sales pages etc take each and every word with a huge grain of salt. Many successful internet marketers are the 21st century's version of snake oil salesman. They have a program for whatever ills you. They have made excellent livings selling "secrets", "special programs", and "revolutionary systems" to an audience desperately looking for some financial security. Some may have merit but a lot do not. Many times its a recording of their musings and thoughts rather than solid, actionable teaching. Understand their job, like a carnival sideshow barker, is to get you to sign up and spend some money. It is very much a buyer beware world.

2.Carefully run the numbers. If you are considering joining a membership site calculate the cost and the breakeven point to do business. I saw an ad for a new program called Affiliate Jump. It seems to have a reasonable monthly fee but newcomers would be wise to wait and see if the payout is there or will this be another flash in the pan program that really never delivers for the majority of its subscribers. Newcomers must understand that so many of the seasoned marketers endorse and hype up programs of fellow marketers with little concern for the customer experience and subsequent results. It's up to the consumer to do the due diligence. It is a sad truth in internet marketing that thousands of people spend $39, $49, $59 or more each month hoping to build an online business only to find themselves swimming in red ink. So what should you do? Get the full story of what is being offered. Try to get references in your area to talk to-- at a minimum get someone from the program on the phone to talk through the details. Lastly, do research online about the offering.

3. Manage YOUR expectations. Even good programs cannot guarantee your success; and, add to that an already busy schedule, it is easy to get flustered if you are not seeing the progress or results you were hoping for. Do not blame the course or someone else, stay the course and keep your focus on being successful. I recently joined the ListBuilding Club and was not impressed with the content and I did not like the amount of up selling I was having to deal with. They charge $97 per month to have access to information I have seen elsewhere for less or free; so, I decided to move on from that club. A good learning experience but a bad program based on my expectations from the sales materials I saw. NO gripes with the company and so long as they process my cancellation properly we will separate and each go our own way. I am sure there are members that consider the club a good value and others that don't--the point is be proactive about getting help and manage your own expectations.

4. Lastly, if you have bought into a program that was more hype than substance, after you have gone through the right procedures to get your money back--win or lose--spread the word about your experience. Send me the details. Get the word out about who has acted poorly or dishonestly? Who is trying to sell a pig in a poke? By being proactive you are going methodically expose the charlatans and help others find legitimate help.

(here is an interesting read on the expression "pig in a poke"--enjoy. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/a-pig-in-a-poke.html)

Never too big to help

It seems that we are back where we started from and find ourselves dealing with politics as usual. No change that makes any sense for the good of the country, no change in politics as usual...but I am hopeful. I hope that as we focus on whats important we'll move forward and be a better people, a better country.

The following is a story that I think is very pertinent today and a lesson for our elected officials-the corporal in the story.

A group of colonial soldiers were repairing a section of a defensive position during the American War of Independence. The leader of the group was barking orders and strutting across the battlements with some air of authority and a very distinct sense of self importance. A man, wearing civilian clothes, rode past the soldiers. He took notice of the leader shouting instructions but doing nothing to help the others. He asked the leader why he was not helping with the work that needed to get done. The leader pushed out his chest, set his chin high and replied with great fanfare, “Sir, I am a corporal!”. The rider, acknowledging the corporal, stepped down from his horse, asked what he could do to help and began to help the visibly exhausted soldiers.
When the job was done the stranger got back on his horse and remarked to the corporal, “May I suggest that next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it that you go to your commander and get more help. If he cannot find more men I will come and help you.” The corporal responded, “…and who shall I say ask for?” The stranger, as he rode away, answered over his shoulder, “ George Washington”.

The grease to make the wheels turn better

In the closing days of World War II, General Patton's motorcade was heading down a raised dirt road, not much more than a berm really, on his way to a military parade. He was festooned in his full dress uniform with all his metals and ribbons—quite a site to see. (If you saw the opening of the movie Patton, with George C Scott, you have the right picture in mind.)

Back to the story. Patton’s motorcade was stopped by a tank half in the ditch and half on the road. The driver of the tank was trying, without much success, to get the tank out of the ditch. Patton ordered his car to stop and stepped out to see what the problem was. The air was filled with the smell and black smoke of the diesel engined tank, dirt sprayed up on the road into a pile where the tank tracks had done an efficient job of moving dirt and nothing more. Hearing the soldier’s dilemma he instructed the driver to get out of the vehicle, the staff was shocked, jaws gaping widely, as General Patton climbed into the dirty, diesel smelling tank to see what he could do to help.

A few tense minutes ticked by as soldier and general staff wondered what the General was doing in the tank. The silence was broken when the tank motor gave a load, strained roar--the engines tachometer racing into the red zone-- and then, in the blink of an eye, the General popped the clutch and the tank leapt out of the ditch and came to rest in the middle of the road--the motor purring quietly.

The soldier, forgetting who he was talking to, yelled out a colorfully worded compliment to Patton. The General smiled and asked, “Do you see how its done?” Proudly nodding his head in affirmation he climbed onto the tank. But he was not quick enough because before he could get a firm grip the tank was thrown into reverse, dumped the soldier on the side of the road, and placed right back into the ditch. Dusting himself off, the soldier looked up as Patton passed by, adjusting his uniform,saying, “Good, now you do it”. The motorcade went on its way and the driver to this day probably still tells the story about when the Tank General gave the tank driver his best driving lesson.


I have always enjoyed this story because it reminds me that the best leadership is leadership by doing, leadership by example, and not by show or posing. Our government and corporate leaders would do well to follow Patton’s example and get into the ditches with those doing the work and lend a hand.

In Bad Times Prep the Soil for Spring

It was a good weekend working in the yard so please excuse the gardening lead in. The point to be made is that when times are tough it’s easy to get fixated on what is not going well or what’s wrong rather than taking actions that will lay the ground work for better times.
As you work to survive add one element to your plan, take time to focus on your customers, be involved with their business and show concern about what is going on with them. They know...that you know...that they are not buying right now, so when you continue to be there for them and add value, without a pending sale on the table, you will reap (sorry, there I go again) tremendous amounts goodwill and customer loyalty. Regardless of what market you are in there are some things you can do to prepare your customers for better times.
1. Be available to them….stay in touch and ask about their business. Talk to your customers about their plans and expectations for the coming months. We all have experienced the benefits of having people around us to help us think through difficult times. Also, if you were Johnny on the spot when times were good and they were buying but now, when the money is not flowing, you are nowhere to be found, your customer WILL notice your absence and they will remember that when it is time to reward a good vendor with an order.
2. Share ideas that you pick from others that may help them. Recently, a friend of mine told me about his landscaping company that gave him a great marketing idea. Sure it needed some tweaking but it helped him come up with a new idea to sell more products.
3. Help your customers’ to network. If you belong to some networking groups invite a customer to come with you to the next meeting and introduce him to others that may be able to help him.
4. Lastly, research tells us that 90% of businesses do not have a proactive customer experience process in place. Help your customers by helping them to get focused on customer experience. Share your experiences. At our company we give feedback to our customers and vendors. It’s a win-win to help customers be better customers (manage expectations) and vendors be better vendors.

We know that single digit improvements in employee retention and customer loyalty pay double digit dividends in total revenues. When the economy is down, use the down time to invest in your customer relationships let them know that you are a true and caring partner.