Time For Some Truth In Online Advertising

I’ve made my business online since 1999. My first efforts brought immediate success with affiliate programs. I published keyword-rich web pages with links to merchants who paid a commission for either a sale or a lead. After nearly two years of success doing this I started teaching what I knew.

Nowadays I earn my income from a mix of affiliate revenue and the marketing of affiliate marketing trainings.

In those early days we were in the infancy stage of an industry that has exploded. Today growth is everywhere. And even though the economy tumbled in 2008 the online world of ecommerce survived and has never been stronger.

Regrettably, now that the viability of the Internet has been established as a way to move products from the merchants to the consumers, we are starting to see flagrant violations of normal advertising standards, standards and a code of conduct set long ago for traditional media, such as print, radio and TV in order to protect the public from false and misleading advertising.

If It’s Misleading It’s A Lie

It bothers me that shady, unethical operators have entered the “info product” arena. Yes, that’s how they refer to what they do. We sell “info” products. Or we sell info products on how to sell info products.

And, oh by the way, our info product is so powerful that it will be taken off the market once we’ve sold 300. In fact, if you don’t buy now, you’ll miss out. Only 5 left.

Bull ****!

Now there’s nothing wrong with publishing trainings, ebooks and courses that promise to teach people how to succeed online. It’s what I’ve been doing since 2001.

However, I have never referred to my products as “info products” or what I do as anything mysterious.

I have simply gained critical knowledge in an emerging new field and publish trainings in a variety of formats including a long standing, first of its kind, affiliate marketing podcast.

I do not repackage old stuff and sell it like it’s something.

I do not use fake deadlines to entice people to buy now.

I do not pretend there is a limited stock of a product when the truth is I have an unlimited supply. (and so do they)

No need To Be Tricky And Deceptive To Sell

The crazy thing about the above deceptive practices is that not only are they illegal, but they only work if the vendor has gobs of email lists to pitch to. I guess if you’ve got a million emails you can make money finding 1/1000th of a percent who fall for it.

Common sense tell you that if you catch someone telling a little lie then the first conclusion a normal person reaches is: you guessed it, what else are you not telling the truth about?

Right?

I’ve been successfully selling my ebooks, affiliate marketing trainings and podcasts for many years. And I’ve never felt the need to pressure or hard sell people.

On my sales letters you won’t even see income claims yet I have personal knowledge of tremendous financial success for many students and associates in this exciting new industry.

Once a client buys, they receive an immediate thank you from my wife Arlene and I with important contact info or logistics. My clients are never bombarded with insulting up-sells after purchase.

I recently heard of one clown pitching eight additional products before being letting his client exit the shopping cart after purchasing a $37 ebook. Talk about a “sales funnel”, — sounds more like a sucking sound to me. The sort of sucking sound one might hear if a vacuum cleaner were applied to someones pockets!

If ever a client of mine requests a refund or membership cancellation Arlene and I comply right away, not because it would be illegal not to do so – but simply because it’s the right thing to do.

I’m glad the regulators are working on legislation. It’s good for consumers. And it’s good for online marketing.

About the Author

James Martell lives in White Rock, BC with his wife Arlene and their three children. James is a pioneer in the affiliate marketing industry and was successfully profiting with affiliate websites since 1999 and has been successfully teaching others to do the same since 2001. Visit his website for the very latest in news and tips on how to make money with affiliate programs.