Although, success so far eluded me, I kept on trying various things in almost every area that touches internet marketing - SEO, blogging, Social Media, Email marketing and other means.Over the years, after getting perpetually ripped off by tricky promises, the journey has made me wise too. Sometimes, the failures do teach you a lot of great lessons. Some good products I purchased (which are very few in number) did contain gems of useful knowledge.
Also, I learned to differentiate between real masters and the scammers in my own
inefficient ways, through trial and error. Here are my observations for those who are also silently and diligently treading the same path, like me. Also, I am trying to put together some signals that would let your mind raise a red flag while buying any internet marketing products online.
- The playing field in internet marketing is quite uneven, rugged and at the same time slippery too. It does not promise easy success. There are too many dynamics and dimensions to it and rules of the game are in perpetual transformation. Only smart players succeed here, although it is incorrect to say you cannot succeed. But one silver-lining around the clouds is that internet sales are growing at a neck-break speed. Since the size of the pie is growing, it makes sense to stick to it and develop ones skill. If you have the skills, strengths,the right strategy and dedication, success will come gradually , but not overnight. Here , like challenges, opportunities galore too.
- Now a days, videos have become an integral part of the sales page for various digital product. Many of them are quite professionally made with flashy designs and visuals.But when it talks excessively on 'guru bashing' or how people got ripped off by similar other products, that is the time you need to switch on your alert system. Also, your mind should start questioning when you hear words like 'instant promise to riches', 'push button' system. Though, there is a definite value in automating some repeated tasks in internet marketing, the 'push-button' system or 'a few clicks riches' softwares are mostly rip-off baits. Sometimes, the sales pages resort to 'rags -to -riches' story or sneaky loop-hole phenomenon. Oil up your mental alert system and think many times before pressing the buy button.
- There are some products which come with some specific value propositions. For example, some wordpress plug-ins promising some concrete tasks, or a software to submit videos to multiple sites. It is relatively easy to evaluate efficacy of these products, rather than those hyped ones which promise millions overnight. To examine the products, first ask what value the system in question is designed to provide, and just ignore how much money it promises you. Any promise to money means a bait.
- Another major bottleneck in evaluating the products, is the lack of honest reviews. When you combine the impulse of promoting a product with the objective of a product review, you see an imminent conflict in interest. One fails in the responsibility of reviewing a product , ethically and honestly, if his primary intent is to sell it in lure of high commission. Hence, there is a risk in relying on the reviews because in many cases they are deceptive and ploys to push the product.
- In this challenging environment, where business ethics run low, the internet marketing arena has become unethically competitive. Whatever you need to learn, you have to burn your fingers. I have a feeling that honest mentors are rare too.
In the context of above observations, over various pages of this blog post I will be reviewing some digital products I have purchased. I have not received any review copy from the vendor. Hence, my observations or recommendations are no way tainted by any preference or prejudices. You may consider them reliable enough, unless our mind-set and expectations are radically divergent.
