This week I actually clicked the link on the email which suggested I could make $4,000-a-week without having to go to the bother of actually selling anything.
It was one of those “no, no, no” emails, the kind that tells you what the program isn’t about and very little else.
This sort of thing in fact:
“…make over $4000 each and every week…WITHOUT doing a single bit of marketing!
“That means:
“- NO PPC
“- NO SEO
“- NO Mailing lists
“- NO Facebook, Twitter or any of that
“- NO bogus paid surveys or emails.”
You get the idea.
So I clicked on the link and read the long copy sales letter which was full of more details of what the program was not about.
Here is a screen grab from part of the site:
According to the dictionary, the word “fact” means “something which is indisputably the case” and the first of the facts shown on the sales page is that “anyone in any country can make money with this.”
A bit of a bold claim I thought as I read that, so I checked the small print and found this:
The small print says that people who use this system: “…may lose money…or make [no] money at all.”
So putting the two parts of the puzzle together I can only come to the conclusion that if I buy this product one of three things will happen:
- I will make some money
- I will make no money
- I will lose some money
Having read through the entire sales letter, and still being none the wiser as to what the product wasm I decided to close the page but was stopped by an exit pop-up.
The marketer in question was so disappointed to see me go without buying his product that he wanted to give me a “free money-making website” for my trouble.
Apparently this website’s normal retail price was $1,995 but I could have it for free simply because I didn’t buy anything.
I wonder what my free gift would have been if I did actually decide to buy from him?
A small planet and a gold-plated mermaid perhaps?
I’m normally pretty savvy about these nonsense offers but still managed to fall victim to one this week. The video was very tempting. The guy went on about how much he’s earned from these mysterious ‘commission cash codes’ and numerous payment proofs from Clickbank whizzed across the screen. The guts of it was that the codes made whatever you are promoting go viral in a way you’ve never seen before and it used Facebook. As usual with these things, once you had decided to sign up – and of course there is an offer when you decline for the first time and try to close the page. The price goes down and down till it was something that I was willing to pay. $23 I think, or about that much
Once you sign up, then you get several upsells. I ignored them and just kept saying no. One of them was for 50 special websites, decline it and the price halves, keep on declining. You get offered additional free cashcodes too, based on an electronic ‘wheel of fortune’ button. I was supposed to get 36. Then the next upsell, Unlimited cashcodes for some astronomic price. No thanks. Finally I got to the point where I had a login to a site. Then I found that I have to have a Getresponse account to make it all work. More money. I signed up for a trial, just out of curiosity about the main product.
This is the beef. You combine your GetResponse web form with their Facebook app. It replaces the form with a button that says ‘Connect with Facebook’. After your users have been to Facebook, their emails are supposed to be in your GetResponse account, they are invited to post on their page which puts a link to your site there, that’s how it is supposed to go viral, then they get re-directed to whatever it is you were promoting. In my case, button is on blog post to talk about product, then after the FB post, it goes to the affiliate page. It would be a good idea IF it worked. But the email never gets collected and you never get re-directed. You do get a post of your link on their page if they share, but nothing to tell you who they are.
There are other cons, but this is the worst. I have a support ticket in but zero expectations that it will get fixed. It is being advertised elsewhere as PlanB Marketing or similar, so watch out.
Tonight there is supposed to be a webinar. I’ll stay up and see if it comes to anything and let you know here.
My point in telling you all this is maybe to warn off newbies to Internet marketing about the ruthless and crooked upsells that go on after you buy a product. How many thousand times have you seen this trick Patrick?
Twitter: chattopatrick
Hi Jenny,
That seems a really terrible marketing campaign you have described here. I certainly hope you either get satisfaction from your support ticket or that you can get a refund.
I actually have nothing against upsells when they are used properly and by this I mean when you buy product “A” and the company asks whether you would also like to get product “B” at the same time.
What I really hate though is when you buy product “A” and the marketer tells you that you really need to now buy products “B,” “C” and “D” in order to get your original product to work properly.
If I buy a product and I need to make additional purchases to make it work then I want to be told this information before the “buy now” button and not after.
Thanks for highlighting this experience.
Patrick.
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Twitter: ITSergioFelix
Hey Patrick,
Well it doesn’t mentions it has nothing to do with sex or cam shows… maybe that’s it? LOL
Hope you didn’t take the offer bro!!!
Sergio
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Twitter: chattopatrick
Hi Sergio,
I think it actually turned out to be something to do with betting – in any event what these kind of offers are about do not matter to me because this kind of marketing just wants to make me say “no” regardless of the offer.
Maybe i am just far too old fashioned. I just want a marketer to say something like this:
“Hey Patrick – you are so awesome.
“If you have a blog or a website then you should always be tracking your website analytics.
“Here is what I use to track my stats.
“Here is a video so show you what I have just written.
“Here is a link to get the same stuff I use.”
In fact if people click your “Real Time Web Analytics With Getclicky” post above they will see what I mean.
OK so you didn’t say “Hey Patrick – you are so awesome” but you covered all the rest of the points I mentioned.
P.
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LOL LOL Patrick! “A small planet and a gold-plated mermaid perhaps?”
Very funny ending Patrick
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Twitter: chattopatrick
I would probably have even settled for a silver plated mermaid…i am easily pleased.
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I really like your humor Patrick! I just to love to read your stories, for the moment, I was there with you analyzing the e-mail. And the end of your story… “A small planet and a gold-plated mermaid perhaps?” really awesome! Thanks for the laughs!
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Twitter: chattopatrick
Thanks Freddie.
I am not sure where that gold-plated mermaid comment came from. Sometimes expressions like that just pop into my head.
I am glad you liked it though.
P.
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This is just a scam, or a marketing tactic just to get a sell. They will pour in all flowery words as if you are about to earn $4000 a week. Frankly, just like any other online networking scams I see. But nonetheless, you’ve analyzed things greatly Patrick.
Twitter: chattopatrick
you are quite right Helena.
People should set aside the flowery language and the emotions it all stirs up and ask themselves things like:
(i) what is it that I am being asked to buy?
(ii) what will it do for me?
(iii) do i want it?
(iv) do i need it?
(v) can i afford it?
(vi) would i use it?
I am sure you could think of several more similar questions too.
P.
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