Internet Marketing Consultants - suddenly there are so many....

[donna]

Hi All,

I am noticing an increasing number of "Internet Marketing Consultants". I wonder is this is the latest way to make $$. Many of these Consultants are from different walks of life including selling property.

Lots of them run seminars to make $$$ and many also use the referral (maybe like pyramid) selling schemes e.g. someone you know may say:

"I've just been to this amazing Internet marketing event - worth every cent etc.....click here" and when you do click you are putting $$ (or maybe cents) into that referrer's pocket.

Some of these websites don't actually allow you to see the great marketing pitch UNLESS you click on a link that also have the referrer's id

e.g. you can not go to www.webvision2020.com - you have to click a link that has a suffix that is the referrer's unique code so they get paid (I guess).

Do you think people that suggest you visit a website that is marketing an event, product etc should declare upfront that they get some payback for sending you there?

If they did mention it upfront would you think any differently about what they say about the site?

Why isn't it possible to just view the (sales) material on these Internet Marketing Consultants or tools sites without being referred or having to join their referral program? (not true for all but definitely for many)

Is the information really that wonderful or is it the fact that when you do click you get sold to on how you can earn referrer $$ from just pointing traffic to the site?

There are lots of 'sneaky' ways to earn $$ off the Internet and without knowing we can be the pawns. I suppose some of you may think - "oh what's in a click?" (maybe nothing - or maybe there should be some transparency i.e. "this is an advertisement" then the pitch...."hey all, go to this amazing Internet Marketing site blah blah and the click thru link"

I think the method of making $$ from others without their knowledge of it is not overly honest.

Just a few thoughts....

Cheers,

Donna

[BusyLizzy]

I would agree with you, Donna. Often when I follow a link like that, I will remove the affliate ID from the link. I'm happy to acknowledge the affiliate IF I were to buy something, but as you said, it's a bit sneaky if it's not declared.

The fact that the some sites won't allow you to look without an affiliate link is just wrong - and it reeks of 'dodgy' to me!

[ActionMan]

I disagree with both of you. You're not paying for anything if you click on the link. You only pay if you buy the product.

The affiliate has used space on his/her website to advertise the link.

The affiliate has also taken the effort and time to register the website, build the website, pay monthly hosting, sending out monthly newsletters, blogging, putting in useful information and also probably paying for monthly search engine advertising (eg Google AdWords).

Why rob them by removing the affiliate id.

[Marc]

I have to admit I am getting real sick of all the affiliate stuff out there.

On Twitter you get hammered by all the people trying to send you to web pages that can be classed as "Buy product X and you will make a million dollars!" or "Increase your traffic by using our fantastic product X".

Again - the only people who make real money are the promoters. Now that maybe a good business model but I refuse to go to these sites and I am getting the feeling alot of people are now classing this crap as spam.

You can get great content on the web for any topic you are interested in without paying for it.

There is a group of us on Twitter that instantly blocks (like a ban) anyone sending a link like that to us.

The latest one you will see come up is "Social Media Experts" which in my opinion and many others means "this person hasn't a clue".

6 Reasons You Shouldn’t Brand Yourself as a Social Media Expert

http://personalbrandingblog.com/6-reasons-you-shouldnt-brand-yourself-as-a-social-media-expert/

Social media gurus don’t call themselves social media gurus

http://blog.arhg.net/2009/02/social-media-gurus-dont-call-themselves.html

Top 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger

http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/2008/12/18/top-25-ways-to-tell-if-your-social-media-expert-is-a-carpetbagger/

Cheers

Marc

[Dean@Massiveaction]

I think it's the boomers showing their age maybe. There is this largely unjustified position that internet marketing is somehow dodgy because of internet porn etc. In reality it is the fastest growing means of retail sales globally, they estimate that last year for the first time over half of all retail sales were done online. So as the fastest growing medium on the planet you would expect a proliferation of people in the industry.
Gen Y is now old enough to be in positions of power in business.

For example it is a prerequisite for senior management in business development positions in Fortune 500 companies to have a blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts. It is part of their application.

Welcome to teh future of retailing.

[ActionMan]

I guess its the same as people complaining of all the ads they see on TV.

The ads we listen to on Radio.

The Bill boards out there.

All those signs on cars, buses etc...

Mags, news papers and all those websites.....

When will it end?

As long as there's money...and people to spend it?

[Xav]

Internet porn advertising is dodgy. It is important though to note that such a viewpoint does not necessarily stem from a particular moral standpoint regarding pornography, but can also stem from the advertising techniques used. Those techniques are becoming increasingly advertised as a "get rich quick scheme".

There is a huge difference between the use of blogs and social networking sites for viral marketing and the like on the one hand, and that type of advertising on the other.

Techniques such clickjacking and arbitrage scripts are fairly universally despised, as well as being in breach the terms of service of the advertisers, Google etc.

Affliate Marketing at its simplest level I don't have a problem with, but the inevitable undisclosed benefits are a major problem. If you are going to buy into one of the advertised pre-existing affiliate schemes you may as well buy into a multi-level marketing scheme, they are basically the same thing only the former is in a sufficiently complex area to disguise it from the average person.

It is possible to make money doing it, but to sell it as a get rich quick scheme to people with little or no technical knowledge is ridiculous. At least with Richmastery the basic concepts are not beyond your average person, regardless of how flawed they may be.

On top of that, with a network sufficiently large to affect search engine results (primarily Google), it is possible to make it difficult for people to locate any impartial comment (or indeed anything apart from affliate links).

Ironically, it is actually possible to make a lot of money using the internet with very little capital input and little technical knowledge, just not in ways that are commonly taught.

[tpr2]

Very interesting thread indeed.

Are you certain Donna that the people who click on your Google ad's on the left here know they are paying you a few cents or maybe even up to a few dollars when they click on that link?

If you didn't own both property talk and mobilize mail would property talk charge you by the click or for the banner ad placement?

I understand the frustration because I actually feel the same way in many instances, especially when you get the sort of affiliate links or tweets that Mark is talking about that come from people who don't even use the product or would be qualified to make a recommendation, for example a twitter using spamming the advertisement "get 30,000 followers in 30 days" and when you look at their profile they have 500 followers and have been online for 6 months.

That kind of thing is what frustrates me more than anything, it's the same kind of thing that you see when you have the "property guru" who can show you how to be a multi millionaire in under a year but they themselves have not bought a property yet.

Dean is right though, this medium is the way of the future, I have a number of friends who are the real deal on the web and do make many millions of dollars a year from it but guess what..... they aren't the ones spamming everyone else. I wonder if that's the secret.

[Dean@Massiveaction]

Does a local retailer "disclose" what he pays the wholesaler??
Of course not. it's just a boomer mentality that will die out over the next decade or 2.

We are trying to apply property rules to standard retailing, I don't think they fit together.

Good point Terry, most PTers wouldn't know that many online links and ads are pay per click that the website owners get an income from.
And why shouldn't they!!

[tpr2]

I think the better analogy Dean would actually be the salesperson in the shop.

He tells us that the product is great but we don't ask him what his commission is and that's all affiliate marketing is really. the affiliate marketer sells someone elses product.

A good affiliate marketer however will use the products and promote them because they work and they are good not because they might make them some quick money.

I promote Mark Joyners products on many of my sites because Marks products are exceptional and I personally use them, it's easy to talk about them and easy to show people how they have helped me.

Most affiliate marketers don't do that though.

[Perry]

. . . they estimate that last year for the first time
over half of all retail sales were done on-line.

Wonder just who 'they' might be?

I also wonder if the retail sale was completed on the www?
Buying a stick of RAM on the web is one thing. Buying some
more complex product, where interaction with someone who
has product knowledge to share, is quite another.

I vaguely recall the NZ Herald surveys people on a semi-regular
basis, in which the questions include something like: have you
investigated a product on the www, but completed the sale
transaction by physically going to a shop?

I suspect many do that, myself included. Especially where a sig-
nificant product or sum is involved.

When was the last time any PT forumite bought an IP via the
web, without a site visit?

I doubt if due diligence and prudence will die out - ever.

[PeterEmpowerEd]

Again - the only people who make real money are the promoters. Now that maybe a good business model but I refuse to go to these sites and I am getting the feeling alot of people are now classing this crap as spam.

Top 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger

http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/2008/12/18/top-25-ways-to-tell-if-your-social-media-expert-is-a-carpetbagger/

I followed your link Marc and also watched the video blog. Worthwhile, and entertaining to boot.

My view: The world will never run out of smooth-talking self-proclaimed 'experts', preying on the naive.

It doesn't surprise me that some of the get-rich-quick-type 'vigorous salesmen' and boom boys would be moving elsewhere to 'strike it rich'... with characteristic hype and breathless, imprecise claims (as you point out, Perry).

Wonder just who 'they' might be?

Remember last year's promotion: "The grass is definitely greener across the ditch"?

As the slump bites harder, I wonder if we will see some defrocked 'property experts' chasing fresh pots of gold at the end of 'new' rainbows ... perhaps even looking for suckers to fund the trip?

carpetbagger
• historical (in the U.S.) a person from the northern states who went to the South after the Civil War to profit from the Reconstruction.
• a person perceived as an unscrupulous opportunist.

[Dean@Massiveaction]

Pete is a good example of the "old fashioned" boomer mentality.
If you don't understand it or agree with it then just bag it.

Gen X didn't shift buying culture but Gen Y definitely is.

Resistance is futile :-)

[muppet]

My view: The world will never run out of smooth-talking self-proclaimed 'experts', preying on the naive.

Boy were there alot of them at Mystery Creek in Hamilton at the Field Day to day.

I didn't spend a penny or is it a dollar apart from the entry fee.

However my brother spent about $200 on excellent but cheap clothing(on special), a fleeshing knife and some cutters.

However we both enjoyed the day.

[PeterEmpowerEd]

Speaking of good examples...

... that's a good one of how to dodge the point of the discussion, which in my view is authenticity.
(But then, as Phil Jones would say: 6300 posts can't be wrong.)

muppet: Thanks for sharing your day with us, Bob.