Whether you are new to Internet marketing or not, there are certain marketing techniques that you definitely need to avoid. Use these techniques, and I can guarantee that they may work for a while, but eventually the search engines, especially Google, will catch on. If Google can ban Mercedes Benz of Germany, they certainly won't think twice about banning you.
Be careful of trends. The "gurus" are infamous for creating trends so that they can sell more product. A perfect example of this occurred last year with article writing. Articles have always been an effective way to not only market your business and build your expertise, but it's also a great way to build a content rich website.
Below are five techniques that many Internet marketing "gurus" use, or have used in the past, that you should NEVER use to promote your business:
1. Unsolicited Commercial Email
Although most of the Internet marketing gurus don't use this technique anymore because it's illegal, at one time they sent email to anybody and everybody they could to sell their products. This included using robots to find and spider email addresses from the Internet and sending emails to these addresses.
As I said before, this technique is now against the law. It's also a great way to offend people, so much so that it's a waste of time because hardly anyone responds to these emails anymore.
2. "Rich Jerk" Tactics
Not too long ago, some unknown "guru" revealed his secrets for marketing on the Internet. All of the money this person made from the Internet came from porn and gambling. Basically, his tactic was to insult those who read his sales letter, and then insult them into buying his ebook. Once he had sold several thousand copies at $97, then he offered the same ebook for only $49.95. A lot of people were burned by this scam.
Never offer your product at a higher price and then lower it. It's one thing to say that you are raising the price. This is expected. However, I can promise you that no one will buy from you again if you resort to this tactic.
Also, be careful what you say to others in your sales letter. Hype is one thing. Insulting others is another and when you compound that with misrepresentation of your product the way this guy did, you have a recipe for disaster.
Don't hide your identity. Credibility, good reputation, and honesty are everything. If you're hiding your identity, it lowers your credibility, which you can't afford to do.
3. Splogs
Splogs are spam blogs. They are blogs that have been set up simply to generate Adsense, or some other type of income. They offer no real value to the visitor except to take his/her money.
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Article comments
1 - simon hb
quote:
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Never offer your product at a higher price and then lower it. It's one thing to say that you are raising the price. This is expected. However, I can promise you that no one will buy from you again if you resort to this tactic.
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That'll be why Amazon went out of business shortly after holding its first summer sale, of course.
Oh... hang about...
2 - Christopher Rose
simon hb: I think you'll find there is a difference between a genuine sale and the tactic of milking a market at a certain price point and when that is tapped out moving downmarket to catch even smaller
marksfry.3 - Jinger Jarrett
Thank you Christopher. You understood what I was trying to say.
I wasn't the only buyer that was angered about this. I'm also not the only buyer who asked for a refund of the difference.
All of our emails were ignored.
Also, the affiliate I bought the ebook through was less than honest about the content of the book, so not only will I steer clear of this marketer in the future, I will also steer clear of that the affiliate marketer I bought the ebook from.
The bottom line is about being honest with your customers and potential buyers. This is one thing I would never do and that's lie to my customers for the sake of making a dollar.
I'd rather have my customers' trust than the money I would have made from promoting bad products. It's why I rejected this one.
You can always make more money. Once you lose your reputation online, it's gone forever.
Don't believe me? Look at what Mike Filsaime did to Joe Kumar when Kumar ripped him off.
Thank you for posting.
4 - Christopher Rose
I've signed up for a couple of newsletters from people like Mike Filsaime and Joe Kumar but most of them start bombarding you with extra unwanted sales messages. I had to cancel Mike Filsaime earlier this year when it all became too much!
5 - Ryan
Guys & Girls,
Rich Jerk isn't some retail outlet where he has a identity to protect and a name to associate to his product. Its more like a person from the underground that is offering you information about making money on the internet that few people know. Naturally you won't expect him to act like a retail store where he would honour everything asked by his 1000 clients. I find it good enough that he updates his book on a timely basis that us "members" can download!
Anyway, if you're looking for a guru to teach you some of these tactics you can also look at Holly Mann, who definately doesn't hide behind a "alter ego".
6 - Jinger
I have never received any updates on my copy, and I paid the full $97 on mine.
It doesn't matter if you operate an online business or an offline business, it's always bad business to mistreat your customers and lie to them.
I would never sell gambling, and I would never engage in Black Hat SEO.
That's the problem with a lot of these people online. It's all about making money. Although that's the basic premise behind business, if you don't help you customers, they won't buy from you again.
You wouldn't treat your customer that way offline, why would you do it online?
I'm not a novice marketer. Far from it. I just don't believe in doing things that dishonest or unethical.
Since when are honesty, honor, and integrity in business outdated ideas?
I know Holly. She's a fellow Army vet. Nice lady. Wish I had found her book instead of his.
I won't make the same mistake again, but neither will I recommend something just for a buck the way you are.
Let's be clear here. You posted your comment here so you could get others to buy the Rich Jerk from you.
Save your money people. Read Holly. I can also recommend a few other marketers that are a whole lot better and don't have to cheat to make money.
Regards,
Jinger Jarrett
7 - Ryan
It is my opinion that Rich Jerk provides a valuable service. He opens up the internet marketing scene to many people and helps people off the ground when they have decided to take the next step.
8 - Tim Swiggett
Just stumbled on this site. Ok. So what DID Mike Filsaime do to Joe Kumar? I've been researching Mike Filsaime just this morning.