Internet marketing gets a bad reputation; despite the fact that the term covers everything from blogging to search engine optimisation.
For many people, when they think about internet marketing, they think about forums such as Warrior Forum and crap eBooks that sell for ridiculous prices. They rarely think about reputable businesses and professional bloggers.
It is easy to understand why marketers get such a bad rep as they use many manipulative techniques in order to generate sales.
In this article, I would like to share with you five marketing techniques that these so-called “Internet Marketers” do that really drive me crazy!
They Use Long Sales Pages
Yes, I realise that there are have been case studies that show that long one-page sales pages convert better than regular websites. However, whenever I see someone selling a product or service using a long sales page, I immediately feel that I am being duped in some way.
These long sales pages sometimes contain thousands of words, dozens of images, and testimonials from so-called “Experts”. For many products, this is to distract you from the fact that the sales page does not give you any real information about what is being sold to you.
In order to view the “Secrets Inside”, you need to click the buy button. There is rarely a good demo or video tutorial that shows you what you are actually buying. An expiration date is sometimes displayed to give the impression that the product is only available for a limited time (despite the fact you are buying a digital product!).
I am aware that many useful legitimate products are sold through long sales pages. Despite this, I have never been a fan of them.
They Make Ridiculous Claims About Their Product or Service
Marketers do not sell good advice. They do not sell tips.
Marketers sell systems. Marketers sell formulas.
That’s where the real money can be found as everyone is looking for a shortcut to success. Their systems are usually backed up by ridiculous claims. The two most common claims I see are:
- How much money you can make
- The promise of a fullproof money back guarantee
The whole thing baffles me sometimes. It appears that the crazier the claim, the more people want to believe it.
Whether it is “$5,000 Per Month with Only 10 Hours Work” or “A Simple Trick to Make $127 in 15 Minutes”; marketers focus on the premise that people want to make a lot of money quickly with little to no work.
The money back guarantees displayed prominently at the bottom of long sales pages are just as insane. It is not uncommon to see ridiculous claims such as “If you fail to earn $1,000 within 2 weeks, I will give you your money back and an additional $500”.
It seems that the more expensive a product is, the more ludicrous the money back guarantee will be. I have seen people paying several hundred dollars for a series of crap eBooks and video tutorials.
Many info products are not good enough to justify their cost. Therefore, a large percentage of people want their money back. That is where the problems begin.
If you do a search online, you will find thousands of people complaining that a seller did not honour their money back guarantee.
A common complaint is that the seller did not respond to their email or responded with some excuse as to why they could not refund their money; such as not following their terms and conditions correctly or requesting the refund outside the refund period.
They Have a Unrealistic Valuation of Their Products
The value of every product is subjective.
I may be willing to pay to pay $100 for a product, while you may be willing to pay only $10. In reality, something is worth only what someone is willing to pay for it.
I sell my freelancing book at just a few dollars as my primary aim is exposure; however, I could easily sell the book at $29 or $49.
Many marketers frequently inflate the price of products so that it looks like they are offering value when they package it up with other products and then offer it at a “Discount”.
It is not uncommon to see marketers claim their main product is worth $297 and the crap eBook they are including with the sale is worth $97 (despite the fact the eBook is 10 pages long and contains grammatical errors throughout it). Yet they are offering it you for only $18.
I have also seen some marketers record 15 short video tutorials, call it a premium video course, and then claim the course is worth several hundred dollars. The whole concept is bizarre.
Do not be drawn into the illusion that small information products are worth hundreds of dollars. I have yet to read a book that shares any information that can justify that kind of cost. You can get the information you need freely on internet marketing forums and through affordable books on Amazon.
They Use Evil Javascript Browser Tricks
I detest Javascript code that tries to override my browser; whether it be a pop up message that I cannot close, or a website that opens all links using frames so that I return to their website again.
No marketer should use techniques that frustrate visitors in this way.
Many marketers add evil little Javascript snippets on their page, such as a little snippet to state that their page was updated that day. Those kind of tricks are always obvious and are also pretty harmless, however there is one technique that always drives me crazy: Stopping me closing a page!
I hate this Javascript technique so much, it could prevent me from buying a product I actually wanted to buy.
They Use Sneaky Click-Bait Techniques
Some marketers will do anything to force visitors to click on a link or banner advertisement; even if it means deceiving them.
One trick I have seen many marketers use is to display an image of a video player. This tricks the visitor into clicking on an affiliate link to another website.
It is purposely misleading. If you display a video player on your website, it better play bloody videos!
I hope you enjoyed this little rant about what things internet marketers do that annoy me. This was just a small look into the marketing techniques I hate on the internet.
I missed out a lot of annoying techniques, such as dime sales, artificial limitation of digital products to increase demand, and fake testimonials from people who have never even used the product.
What internet marketing techniques do you hate?
I would love to hear in the comment area below.
Thanks for reading.
Kevin