Just once I would like to search for a product review and actually get a review. What a novel idea. As it is now if you do your little search for a Crapbank product you will get page after page of affiliate reviews. Those insidious webpages and blogs full of every reason in the world you should buy the damn product with nothing backing up their pathetic claims.
This is like the ultimate circle jerk. Internet marketers teach their minions to write a review about a Crapbank product. But dude don’t I have to buy the product? Why no Johnny. You just need to read the salespage and write down 10 benefits of the product. Write another article on 10 tips of using the product. They won’t really be reviews but we’ll title it as a review so Google and its searchers will be tricked into thinking that your site is an actual review. You’ll build a crappy little blog on Blogger and write an article for Ezine. Even better if you can be clever and write it like it’s a review but really not. Pretend you have bought the product. They’ll be clicking your affiliate link all day long.
I can’t imagine how many ebooks are out there that “teach” people to write so-called reviews on products and post them to the web via blogs and Adwords landing pages. It’s maddening. Actually it’s not because after a while you simply give up and realize that nothing is going to be truthful about IM products, particularly Crapbank stuff. Reviews will be crap. Testimonials will be crap. The product may or may not be worthwhile but you can bet there will be a ton of hucksters telling you how great the thing is. You cannot believe anything you read on salespages or review sites. It’s pathetic.
Just once I would like to read a testimonial that says “Dude, I made $75 after using your blueprint and getting my site put up. It took 3 weeks but it looks like the system has potential.”
But no we get some douche saying “Gladys, this product is going to be a hit. I can already think of a dozen ways this will help my business. You’ve done it again. Thanks!” Really? Nothing is said that indicates to me that the thing is worthwhile. I don’t need cheerleading. I want to see how someone else took the product and made cold hard cash using the freaking system. But no, you NEVER see that in testimonials. And if I do now I wouldn’t believe it. Yes, that’s cynicism that you smell.
I love the JV emails. I’ve been receiving those blood sucking eye sores for about 4 years now. Not once. Not once has anyone promoting some other guberus product explained to me how they were able to make thousands of dollars. Oh you can bet your sweet ass that they’ll tell you how YOU can make fat stacks. Just another disingenuous review of a product that no one seems to have actually used.
I just pulled out the latest spam email from my garbage bin. The product is for some Crapbank Adwords product. Dropped it into Google to see how many reviews were up for it. Yea the vultures have been busy:
You know maybe this product is the real deal. But you’d never know it with the bullshit above. Lots of killer SEO here. But mostly just bullshit reviews…of the salepage. I think I’d be annoyed if this was my product. Unless I didn’t care and knew it was crap and was simply trying to make a buck. Who the hell knows anymore?
So I know what you are thinking. I do the same thing when I knock some IM product. Yea but here’s the difference. I say straight up that I haven’t bought the thing. I tell you why I’m not buying the thing. And you don’t see many affiliate links leading to money making opportunities dripping off my post. If I’m positive about something it’s because I bought the damn thing. I’ll post a review of it with affiliate links because 1) I want to make a buck or two every once in a while and 2) I think it might be of value for someone else. As always there is the potential for mileage variability.
Looking though Crapbank and then doing a search for the product and review it’s pretty clear this is a money making tactic. If this is your schtick then that’s cool. Making money to purchase that third Ferrari is a fine thing. It’s just that it’s all a lie. It clogs up the web with more garbage. Immoral people making money on people that don’t know any better. It’s not for me and obviously I have an opinion about it but it seems to me if you are going to title your article “Product Review” then it should be a real hands on review.
If I had a product to sell I’d round up 5-10 of my best readers or friends. I’d give them the product and say that I thought this product would help doing whatever. Give it an honest try for 3 months or so. If you’ve made money or whatever then I want an honest testimonial of the results. With real data. Then I’d hit the market with it. As it is most of the people who get an advance copy of the products have absolutely no time to see if could work before the clown is trying to make a buck on it. What are they complimenting in their testimonials? Font type? Sentence structure? Entertainment value?
I hate that I will never be able to discover that one product that would make me easy money. It’s probably out there. Some technique that makes all the lights go on without blinding me with boredom or disinterest. Maybe there is an Adwords system that is easy and that I wouldn’t lose my rapidly worthless dollar bills on. Maybe there really is some auto system to magically write a thousand well-written pages of niche crap while I sleep. I’ll never know because those that came before it burned my ass good. I’m done trying out the latest $197, $97, $77 masterpiece. At least until honest reviews detail the facts how it has the potential to be a success for me. I have yet to see anything of the sort in IM. Just more of the same empty promises.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I think that is why the FTC came out with new rules starting in December I think. You have to disclose whether you have bought the product and such. Of course all you have to do is lie and say you have.
The saddest part about a real review is that people , in your terms Splork, like the feel and sensation of the ultimate circle jerk .
When a real review is written they’re less inclined to buy the product because a real product owner/user will usually mention the word, work… (gasp)… in their real product review.
I’ve written only two Clickbank product reviews about real products that I’ve bought, used and profited from.
Unfortunately the affiliate sales were pathetic.
I truly believe it was because I did state that it took exactly 30 days before I made my first sale and not the 4 days that was featured on the clickbank testimonial sales page for those particular products.
In the words of Jack Nicholson, “people can’t handle the truth” that want lies and will pay quite handsomely for them.
Hey Jessi. It will help, but I think this is a bit different in I don’t think you have to disclose that you bought a product, only if you were given a complimentary copy and write a review to make affiliate type sales. These type of reviews for IM is a tad different in that they actually want the reader to think they bought the product and are a fan of it.
I know how you feel Splork. I started learning how to make money on the internet about 6 years ago and I’ll tell you it was a hell of a ride.
I found you could make money doing surveys. Yea it worked. Probably would work better if I didn’t know companies were making millions off of people willing to sell their opinions for less than minimum wage. I can’t for the life of me figure out why people are still willing to do the majority of surveys for free or spend thirty minutes of their life helping yet another fatcat corporation learn how to fleece the upcoming flock again and in exchange they get $1.
Getting those survey invites are an insult to the industry in my opinion and reflect bad on the survey company and the client as well.
The I discovered the Crapbank ‘stuff’ <—-replace previous word with whatever one you think fits. Honestly many of the tactics listed in those courses work(ed) at one point or another. Some are outright lies, and others are compiled information anyone could have found for themselves if they had only looked. Informational products I see as a time saver. If for instance someone is selling a booklet on all the ways you can make money, have sex, feed, care for, etc a green slimy widget and you need that information without spending the time gathering it then the product is useful to you. Funny thing though. The sales page writing is usually the best written part of the whole damn thing!
Then I discovered writing. I'm still making money off of writing to the point I am now taking college writing courses to improve the quality of my writing to a point I can call myself a professional.
You can make adsense sites and if you make enough of them you will make a little money, but the work involved would be better used learning a real skill you can use to make a real living.
reviews are the number 1 way to sell a product, honest or not it sells.
Its usually easy to tell real reviews from fake. It doesn’t really bug me that much, In fact I am planning on setting up review style sites soon, but with actual products.
Yep,but it’s still annoying. Being dishonest apparently is the #1 way to make money online with affiliate products. We should be so proud.
Its called marketing and it is no different to the techniques used on infomercials for the last couple of decades.
You really think that muscle bound guy got his abs by using the ab roller?
Nope, and it doesn’t make it any more right.
That is why all the testimonials are from people who really like my ebook. When someone sends me an e-mail telling me that they like the guide – I ask for a testimonial.
And it has to be in their own words. I don’t make any suggestions as to what they should write. I don’t promise riches, just supply sources.
You can’t get every product you want, i.e, Louis Vuitton wholesale, or latest generation of Xbox from the sources I list..
You can get some designer “merch” but it is only what the brand holder wants to let out into the wholesale and surplus market.
And it is not designer duds that you might see in the latest issue of Vogue. It last years fashion.
I don’t make a lot of money from the site, but I don’t have many refund requests either..
I guess the point is that I just don’t know people hawk some of the stuff that seems to find it’s way to my inbox.
As a sidenote, it seems that every Guberu that pushs a product is “their good friend”. Don’t know why, but I find that particular claim to be especially annoying – in addition to the product itself.
Some very good people – who’s newsletters and advice I respect are starting to jump into the “money is in the list game” and bothering me with their “good friends” awesome new wiz bang program which will make me big bucks..
I actually got something about PPC (I think) that said that this “super amazing” marketing guy made 100,000 a day!
Wow, if I was making that kind of money – the first thing I would do is write an ebook about it for 67.00 and tell the whole world about it!
I mean, I just cant’ do it. I can’t be that bold or lie that well. I have trouble sleeping as it is..
Nuff said..
Robert – The Wholesale Buy
Hi Splork
Just found your site when i did a search for commission blueprint reviews – glad i did.
You said above
‘Just once I would like to read a testimonial that says “Dude, I made $75 after using your blueprint and getting my site put up. It took 3 weeks but it looks like the system has potential.”
That’s what I’m trying to do at the moment – that is following a set of ‘proven steps’ to get better income from domain parking.
I’m totally new to this so I thought I keep alog and see how long it takes and how much I make.
Then I may be able to say – hey! this works.
Or not!
What sucks even more now about the whole testimonial thing is the FTC ruling….
Now the vendors will either HAVE to use generic testimonials, or PROVE that anyone who makes actual amounts from the product, is replicable for others…
Translation: There are going to be a TON of products from Dec. 1 – onwards that are going to have nothing but generic testimonials.
Even if someone DOES make money from the ebook or whatever, the company probably won’t go through the trouble of proving that it is possible for everyone.
PS. @ sunshinegirl: True story. If you write REAL reviews (because some guberus will hand out preview copies every blue moon or so) and tell people what exactly it does, and whats good or bad, people actually respond less!
It’s amazing. But if you write a “salesy” review that is benefit-based and relies heavily on the user’s experience as well as imagery…
Well it actually works better (in most cases).
Hate to admit it, but I have tested this and it’s real.
Welcome to the real world of cheaters and suckers. Personally i have never or will ever buy any IM product. I don’t believe them all. I always thought if a product is so fantastic, any guy will keep it for himself or herself and enjoy the ride….
This is one of your best posts, Splork.
Come to think of it, this is why I am not retired on one of the Cayman Islands today…..I never could spawn a gazillion “fakey” sites.
Sometimes….all you need is to reign in a couple of human traits that if the world was practicing more of….it would be a better place – Greed and Dishonesty.
The internet is awash with it, and because of anonymity, so many people keep busting the LINES.
But wait, aren’t many people rich today because of greed and dishonesty?
I think you are gonna get marked by some “guurs” for making this post. …LOL.
But frankly, they should just all pack their bags and retire while they can; they made their loot. Oh wait, they can’t….there’s the new Lambo and mansion and jet installments to pay.
It’s sad that so many searches now lead to page after page of affiliate wank. At least now I’ve been semi-involved in the industry I can immediately spot, and ignore, an affiliate site, but it’s frustrating that it gets harder and harder to find any real information on the net.
The first place I go to if I’m curious about info products is the forums. Of course some posts are lies by people pushing the product (or at least their ‘review’ of the product, complete with affiliate link) but you can usually get a decent idea of whether it works or not.
And of course if you check certain forums you can just download the product there and then. People writing quality stuff deserve to get paid for it – I’ve bought a few of Chris Rempel’s ebooks, for instance – but most of the rehashed trash that comes out isn’t worth the pixels it’s printed on, and the ‘try before you buy’ approach saves the hassle of getting crapbank to refund you.
It also saves giving your email address to wankers who discover amazing new MMO courses every couple of days and tell you in great detail all about how much they can help you.
Apologies for ranting at length on such an old post…