I've been in internet marketing a long time, or at least a long time for the internet. I've seen some crazy things.
Although some people are too ignorant, too greedy, or sometimes just too lazy to do what needs to be done, if you're involved in internet marketing, you may want to reconsider what you're doing. If what you're doing isn't working, or you don't have the requisite skills to to get the job done, maybe you need to either learn the skills or simply get out of internet marketing.
Here are some of the things I've seen that are just plain abusive. If you're doing any of these things, you're sabotaging your efforts at success.
If you're a site owner who's dealing with this kind of abuse, I've provided some tips to help you cope more effectively.
1. The customer orders a product, but doesn't read the instructions, and then claims the product doesn't work.
Often, when this happens, the person who purchased the product doesn't have the requisite skills to use the product. This is pretty common with installing scripts.
If you're having trouble, learn the terminology first. If you don't know what something means, don't remain ignorant. Go over to Wikipedia and look it up.
If you're a site owner, make sure the product is a finished product before sending it to market. Include step by step instructions for installation and make sure the instructions work.
2. The customer orders the product and then doesn't receive the confirmation email immediately. The customer then proceeds to call the owner of the product at home after business hours and then wonders why the product owner is upset.
For customers, prior to contacting the business by phone, try email. A professional business will have contact procedures in place, as well as some type of support desk. Use respect with site owners.
Tolerance is about showing respect for others. It isn't about agreement, and no one has the right to abuse someone else's time or life.
When and how you choose to work is your business, but don't impose on others because you want to be catered to.
3. The freebie seeker/tire kicker demands that a marketer teach his/her secrets for free, usually through a phone consultation or having the marketer do the work for the customer for free.
Recently I had two requests just like this one. The way to handle it is to state your rates for consulting, as well as doing the work up front. People like this will go away and stop wasting your time.
4. The visitor subscribes to a list where the owner has made it abundantly clear he/she will receive follow up emails. Instead of simply scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking the unsubscribe link, the visitor writes the site owner and asks to be unsubscribed.
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