Rules of Engagement
What defines the rules of engagement when marketing online? I`m starting to see more and more, shall we say less than honorable sales tactics being used over the internet for short term gain. One that comes to mind is the tactic of the ninety nine cent offer. The marketer offers you a good set of marketing tools for just ninety nine cents. Then when you click on the buy now button, you are taken to an agreement page which states that the first month is ninety nine cents and ninety seven dollars a month thereafter.
Slick huh. Well it may be slick but it is downright dishonest and many a newbies are caught by this trick and when they try to cancel it sometimes takes months to cancel. Meaning they could be out of several hundred dollars before they straighten the matter out. One of my clients was taken by this scam and yes, I classify this as a scam. He was so happy to cancel his subscription, he never bothered to go after the three hundred dollars he was charged prior to his cancellation.
Although I will admit that it is up to the buyer to read the fine print and most do not. That is why I am writing this post for the new members of the internet who is looking for real ways to make money online. Just because a marketer is well known does not mean that he will send you some bad information. Remember, he or she is online to make money, so do your home work.
I got an e-mail from a marketer who I have watched a video that had some powerful information. Then I got an e-mail from him about two guys with some good marketing tools. The guys were pretty hyped up because they had about 5,000 people on the call and another 15,000 opted in. I`m thinking that is great. Then they offered everyone a set of DVD`s free! You only had to pay shipping an handling of $7.95, plus they threw in a free list building course (Value $2,100.00) as an added bonus.
I Thought, that`s a great deal. I`m in. So I click on yes, send me my free DVD`s and was taken to another page that stated that yes, the DVD`s would be shipped to me for $7.95 and my credit card would be charged $97 a month thereafter. I thought whoa! Whatever happened to free? Then I got to thinking, they just lied! My next thought was what else did they lie about? So did they really have 5,000 people on the call or 15,000 optins? I don`t think so or why would they lie.
Some else happened too. The well known marketer who alerted me to the call, just lost my respect and he either did not look at the call or if he did, he is about as low as you can get for promoting junk like that. Why do people even tolerate junk like that? Greed! They feed off of people who are greedy to make money online. Below are some ways you can keep yourself safe from these tricky methods.
1. Do your homework, look up the website on whois.
2. See if they have reliable contact information and use it.
3. After making contact, if they do not reply, don`t buy.
4. Make sure all of your questions are answered, do not be afraid to ask.
5. Find out what there refund policy is.
6. See if you can find any reviews of the products or services being offered.
7. Read the disclaimer. You`ll notice that most will say that ‘You May Not Make Any Money!’
8. Read the terms and service agreement( Most are betting you won`t)
Please feel free to ad to this list. On closing, I saw a software product that I was thinking of getting and they offered a free version. I tried the free version but was not too satisfied with the results. Still, I was thinking of buying the paid version for $95. I went to the website and found the link for contact. I sent the owner an email stating that I had money in hand and was ready to buy but had a few questions.
He sent me a reply saying that it was possible to use the software in the manner I wanted to use it for. But my next question was that after using the software it would just say idle, so he asked me what operating system I was using. I replied and have not heard from him since. Needless to say he did`nt get my money and I`m still shoping.
That` it for today. Tomorrow I`ll talk about some good rules of engagement in marketing that is honest and will help you grow your business over the long term. One of my clients asked me how come customers are not beating down my door. My response was, I don`t sell them hype. I tell them the truth. :)
David Bowie
Offices at:
293 Lustrosos St.
Oceanside, CA. 92057
(760)505-4117
Founder - Pro Traffic Center
http://protrafficcenter.com/resellers
Executive Director of
Global Search Engine Submitter
http://www.global-search-engine-submitter.com
