Internet Marketing Sharks
April 18, 2009 by Marj Wyatt
Filed under Home Business, Life as an Internet Entrpreneur
Among the circles that I frequent, there has been a lot of recent discussion about all of the internet marketing scams. Each of us have our own opinions about what constitutes a scam but one thing is certain, new internet marketers are easy prey for Internet Marketing Sharks.
As a Realtor®, I was acquainted with many sharks. Although I found them difficult to work with, I understood their bravado and learned a lot from observing them. Unlike Internet Marketers, all Realtors® are bound by similar ethical guidelines that are policed by regional and local boards. One of the first things that good Realtors® do when they connect with a potential buyer is to qualify them for their ability to purchase in the price range they wish to shop.
Internet marketing has no enforced guidelines or regulations and the ethical choices are left up to the marketer. Internet Marketers rarely, if ever, provide a phone number to call but a credible marketer will and, if it is there and the marketer is credible, it will lead to more than a recorded call from some opportunity meeting in the past.
When considering the Reverse Funnel System years ago, I decided to use Google to locate all the people promoting the product. I found a page with a phone number and called to ask how much one REALLY needed to invest in this system to obtain the fantastic earnings that were described on their page. Not surprisingly, the cash outlay was vastly understated, as well as the amount of time that it would take to be in profit. I will always be grateful to these Internet Marketers for their honesty.
It is up to the individual to perform due diligence for any purchase. Not everyone will persevere at this task for the amount of time it takes to gather all the facts about a product that has captured their interest. New internet marketers may not be savvy enough to read between the lines of the product or service claims. When I hear stories about new internet marketers who have over-extended their credit resources to purchase a program they could not afford, it is heart wrenching.
All too often, a website owner may have only recently stumbled upon the business opportunity and are using a replicated page to position themselves as experts in a field they know nothing about. Tiny print might include language that stipulates no earnings guarantees or cautions that income results from the testimonials are not typical. This is only good information if someone takes the time to read it.
Internet Marketers are taught that people are looking for solutions. As an authority in our niches, I feel it is important to be sincere about all our offers, regardless of the impact to our sales volumes. We know that most shoppers choose to buy on an emotional level and that our carefully crafted sales letters are specifically designed to overcome any objections. Some marketers circumvent rational judgment by imposing a fear of loss system to enforce immediate action on the part of the buyer. Sadly, as P.T. Barnum observed, there is a sucker born every minute. Even more tragic is the fact that some internet marketers will not stand behind their products or promises.
I sometimes pull pearls of wisdom from entertainment sources and confess to being an avid fan of Star Trek Next Generation so I hope you will appreciate what I feel is a relevant reference from that show. In one episode, Data criticized his captor by saying, “It is a pity that you have used your superior language skills for mere hucksterism and the advancement of your greed.”
There is a reason that people distrust internet marketers. Do your business practices support of debunk this point of view?
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Well stated Marj! Great post!
Your insights are right on the mark as usual. I agree with your philosophy of marketing and would only add that by doing things in an ethical manner will only provide you with quality people to work with. Those that are willing to learn and work are the type of people we want. It’s no different on the Internet than it is in the corporate or brick and mortar businesses.
By doing your homework when looking at any job or opportunity, you will be doing yourself a favor and will be able to put yourself in a much better position. As Marj stated we tend to do things based on emotion. And that is fine you do have to be passionate about what you are doing. But at the same time, make sure that the people you are working with are ethical and passionate about your success as well as their own.
Bill
Yes Marj I agree with you on most of your views about the Internet Marketing Scams and specially the new comers get captured and are vulnerable to it.I have also gone through a few programmes like these even PPC companies have done me for a ride.
But I think with this kind of Blogs,Newsprints etc there is a considerable amount of awareness spreading around for people taking risks into these Scams etc.So I will appreciate it and say that you are doing a good Job to caution people about such Scams.Please keep this Good Job up and going so people will be more cautious before going into these risky programmes without any kind of Investigation in to it.
Thank you once again and Good to know people like you are around to caution the vulnerable in this Internet Jungle.
HI Marj,
This is an excellent Blog post.
I too am WEARY of the ALL the Internet scams, the cheating & the lies.
There are so many gullible or maybe desperate marketers ‘out there’ that they are ’sitting ducks’ for the countless Internet Marketer ‘SHARKS’
I hope many would-be online marketers read your Blog & take heed.
Best Wishes, Mary The Supergranny
Good points, Marj!
Hi Marj,
Great header and start on your new blog. Keep us up to date on your new posts nd how things are going!
William Clements
I agree with the contact info; phone number. Credible marketers will provide a phone number and that is why we have one on all of our pages. Even the so-called “guru’s” hide behind sites without phone support.
Oh William,
This blog has been in existance for months. Thanks for your comments and interest.
I never thought of googling invitations to the next big opportunity! But I’m gonna do that from now on. I noticed being on Skype with a large contact list that I get lots of invitations from different people on the same next green meadow, sometimes even the same text
then I know, something new is out there, trying to capture a lot of people.
It’s also interesting to find old emails in my inbox, where people rave about a business they just started and when clicking on the provided link, the site/business does not exist any more. But then, I guess, some of my ventures have gone south too. We all need to do more research but sometimes we are just sold by a cleaver website and copy … as long as we learn from these experiences. Thank for the tip, tho Marj, I’ll google and research more should I ever feel the urge to join another business.
Thanks for article. Everytime like to read you.
Have a nice day
GlenStef