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.