Yesterday, my husband and I had a little chat about Internet marketing products - ebooks, programs, systems, courses, etc - aimed at teaching you how to perform some aspect of Internet marketing. This, in turn, led to a discussion about ‘the dirty little secret of Internet marketing products’…

Now, Simon is a rather skeptical guy. And he generally shies away from any kind of ‘how to make money online’ product. That said, he has certainly invested in a number of products over the years that, while not promising to turn you into a millionaire overnight, teach practical skills e.g. how to do Google Adwords, how to do search engine optimization, and so on.

So, I guess he’s that breed of Internet marketing customer that is turned OFF by cheesy headlines. I’m similar, but since I’m more familiar with who’s who in Internet marketing I’m probably not as skeptical as he is about certain things (although I’m probably more skeptical about others!).

When it comes to high profile Internet marketing products, Simon says that, by default, he doesn’t believe most of the claims made in sales letters and other promotional materials.

And that’s where we differ. Depending on the Internet marketing product in question - and, in particular, the Internet marketer behind the product - my default position is that I DO believe the claims made in the sales letter.

But here’s the thing: while I believe that so-and-so Internet marketing guru probably made the money they said they did by following the system or using the program they’re selling… I also think there’s a rather significant piece of information missing from the sales letter.

It’s the dirty little secret of all, if not most, Internet marketing products, and it’s simply this: for the system or program to work… YOU have to work.

YOU have to roll up your sleeves and put time, sweat, tears and perhaps even money into learning, understanding and applying the steps… YOU have to persist when the program or system doesn’t yield instant results… YOU have to innovate when, for whatever reason, the cookie cutter approach is no longer effective.

Search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, copywriting, affiliate marketing, article marketing… they all require work!

Now, admittedly, there IS an alternative to you doing work. It’s called: paying someone else to do the work.

But even that doesn’t let you off the hook. Having worked purely as a consultant to at least one large organization where just about every aspect of Internet marketing is outsourced to various different agencies, I can honestly say there is STILL a lot of work to be done.

Coming up with new ideas… strategic planning… managing all the agencies… evaluating their results… reporting to other parts of the business… troubleshooting… and that’s just SOME of what the Internet marketing people do. It doesn’t even approach what everyone else does in the business - producing the products, delivering customer support, building the business, and so on.

So if we need to do work - and often a lot of work - to achieve the results so-and-so Internet marketing guru has achieved… why don’t they tell us that in the sales letter?

Well, firstly, if you read through the sales letters put out by the most respected Internet marketers you’ll see that some DO actually mention that work is involved. They might say something along the lines of “Don’t read this unless you’re serious about making 7 figures this year and are prepared to do what it takes to make it…”

But that doesn’t sound too much like hard work does it? I mean it’s not as if the copy says “Don’t read this unless you’re serious about making 7 figures this year and are prepared to: stop watching TV, halve the time you normally spend with family and friends, work at least 60 hours per week, cold-call at least 10 people a day…”

(Am I exaggerating? Well, depending on the aim of the Internet marketing product in question, I’m just touching the surface…)

That said, there are two main reasons why Internet marketing product sales letters - and, indeed, sales letters for most other ‘how-to’ products - don’t and SHOULD NOT emphasize the work involved.

Firstly, as indicated above, you CAN indicate that work is involved without needing to spell it out. Anyone who’s hot for your product will still see what they want to see, and will likely skim over the ‘work’ bit and focus on the ‘end result’ bit.

Secondly, what IS selling if it’s not harnessing the prospect’s emotions - their hopes, desires, fears, etc - in order to persuade them to take a certain action step (e.g. buy your product). You’re not seriously going to do anything - like talk about how hard it is to make your system work - that sabotages your ability to sell, are you?

I mean, does anyone really expect ads for Coca-Cola to talk about how much sugar the drink contains, and how excess sugar intake is linked to tooth decay and obesity?

It just makes sense to emphasize the positives, and avoid or neutralize the negatives, in order to persuade someone to buy.

BUT… if you’re both an Internet marketer who sells stuff AND an entrepreneur who looks for tools and information to help build your business… it probably doesn’t hurt to occasionally repeat the dirty little secret of Internet marketing products!

Okay maybe “trash” is exaggerating (although see my example below!). Still, Internet marketing blogger Yaro Starak makes a good argument that you can (and probably should) write a product review that reveals the flaws of a product… and still expect to sell it through your affiliate link.

Yaro explains that while most Internet marketing product reviews are sales pitches - and that part of his motivation in writing product reviews is to sell products - by explaining the negatives as well as the positives, he ends up selling more.

I’m reminded of a product review I wrote on another blog a year or so ago. I called the product lame… and I still got an affiliate commission out of it! I’m not sure whether someone forgot to clear their cookies… or really did want to buy a lame product… or dismissed my product review… but it just goes to prove anything’s possible!

In any case, Yaro indicates that it IS possible to write genuine product reviews AND sell products if you follow these four guidelines:

1. Pick products you’re interested in that are relevant to your audience.

2. Write a thorough review after studying the product.

3. Build up credibility as a trusted source in the industry.

4. Build a large audience so that when you say something, enough people listen.

This is pretty much the approach we take at Kikabink News. I will say, however, that apart from the strange example above, we won’t write promotional product reviews UNLESS we genuinely endorse the product.

(No, I DON’T believe you can trash a product and sell it!)

Bottom line: if you plan to run a review site, be sure to discuss the cons as well as the pros of a product you review. Chances are you’ll build up more credibility and, in the long run, more affiliate sales.

Source: Yaro Starak, “Why Writing a Bad Review is Sometimes a Good Idea”, Entrepreneurs Journey, November 11, 2008

Yesterday, well known Internet marketer John Reese launched his much anticipated Traffic Secrets 2.0 internet marketing course.

I was impressed with the original Traffic Secrets course (bought a few years ago) and have since respected John Reese for both the way he thinks and the way he run his business. Although I have not seen the new version, I have every reason to believe that it will be a high quality course.

But who else would like to see a genuine, objective review of this (and other courses put out by Internet marketers) to help inform their buying decision?

No, not a “review” by an affiliate or a friend… an objective review by someone who is (a) qualified to comment, and (b) doesn’t have anything to lose or gain by giving us their honest opinion.

Do high profile Internet marketers actually make their products available to respected, independent people to review? My guess is no - mainly because they probably have little to gain, and possibly a great deal to lose, by providing their products for review.

Perhaps Internet marketers are smarter than those in the software and entertainment industries where product reviews are prevalent. Perhaps they know that there’s more to gain by turning reviewers into affiliates and affiliates into reviewers. And perhaps would-be reviewers also like the idea of providing a review that ends with an affiliate link.

But I still see the potential for this to change. Product reviews - both by experts and peers - are being used by an estimated 83 percent of online consumers. And with the growing popularity of Internet marketing product review forums such as the Warrior Forum’s Internet Marketing Product Reviews & Ratings sub-forum, we may see more info-product consumers demanding objective guidance before they hand over their hard earned cash for something.

If this happens, expect to see more product launches involving a pre-release to non-affiliate, independent, reviewers, as occurs in the publishing, music and movie industries.

In the meantime, I WAS impressed by the audio review of Traffic Secrets 2 given by Andy Jenkins, co-founder of StomperNet. StomperNet IS an affiliate for Traffic Secrets but the review was very thorough and convincing. You can listen to it here: http://www.stompernet.net/TSReview/ (and no, this is NOT an affiliate link!)

Source: Anna Johnson, “83 Percent of Consumers Use Online Product Reviews”, Kikabink News, July 10, 2008

A survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation indicates that 83 percent of consumers use online product reviews to make purchases.

In fact, 61 percent used online reviews, blogs and other sources of online customer feedback before purchasing a new product or service. They mainly used search engines to conduct their research.

In addition, 38 percent of the survey respondents first consulted online product or service reviews when they began their shopping research, while 27 percent used the Internet when deciding between two or three products or services.

Another 21 percent used online reviews to confirm their decision to buy a particular product or service.

The most researched product and service categories were as follows:

1. Travel/Recreation/Leisure: 84 percent
2. Electronic goods: 80 percent
3. Household products/services 66 percent
4. Clothing: 55 percent
5. Automotive: 55 percent
6. Personal care: 40 percent
7. Food: 24 percent

I can see at least two big “take outs” out of this research for Internet marketers:

Firstly, review sites are popular! Of course, before you rush out to create yet another of those affiliate websites barely disguised as product review sites… the research did NOT specify which review sites were popular. Presumably, if you offer consumers true value - objective, informative product reviews and perhaps the ability for them to add their own feedback - you’ll be on the right track.

Secondly, if you sell products and services, expect online reviews and discussions to increasingly influence your target market when it comes to buying - or not buying - from you. Although the popular categories are listed above, expect to see more forums, blogs and interactive areas where people can review, discuss and give feedback on all kinds of products, including information products. Witness, for example, the Internet Marketing Product Reviews & Ratings forum within the Warrior Forum, where Internet marketers Internet marketing information products. Bottom line: put out quality products that give people something good to say about your offerings!

Source: Opinion Research Corporation, “Online Consumer Reviews Significantly Impact Consumer Purchasing Decisions”, Press Release, June 23, 2008