“How Far Will You Go?”

He asks this question in relation to how internet marketing seems to be so full of manipulation. Not overt, ‘I’m going to take you down’ type of manipulation, but the kind where you do what you have to do to get people to do something they weren’t really thinking about doing. (OK – that was a mouthful!)

Further, if you want to get any sort of traffic within 10 years you have to do some sort of Google manipulation – that is, building links.

So how does this make you feel? Is there an ethical dilemma here somewhere for you?

Here is where it is for me:

I have no problem working the Google manipulation. They set up the system that makes it virtually impossible to have any type of success without getting backlinks. If I’m writing about some obscure topic that has very few bloggers, there is no way of getting ‘natural’ links. So we manipulate Google … and feel good about it. They arbitrarily set up the system – we just work it.

I have no problem selling people something that they are looking for. Now, I don’t mean ripping them off with some IM junk … I mean really selling them a quality product. That could be a simple ebook or directing them to something on Amazon. That is the heart and soul of internet marketing … and I have no problem with it.

The problem, as I see it, is when we try to manipulate people into buying something they don’t need … or really want. Or worse yet, we sell them a dream instead of a real product. Oh, you might be hocking some great ‘this will change your life’ website building program. You might think that this is what people need and want. But it is not – it’s crap. You are selling them a dream – not a reality. The reality is, get a hosting account and install WordPress from your C-Panel and you’re done. The geewhiz ‘we do it all for you’ software is a scam.

NOOBS – beware the internet marketer that tells you that you NEED to buy his/her product. You probably don’t and your money is better off in your pocket than in theirs.

Anyway, internet marketing seems to be changing. There are more and more people out there like RT that are honest and just want to make a living helping people. The scammers are getting easier to spot – in fact, they all pretty much look the same.

Liz is known for her blogging product and ‘make money online’ site ‘reviews.’ Actually, she kinda regularly outs the a-listers and the crap they are foisting off on unsuspecting super noobs. (How much can a noob be milked for anyway? lol) Her lastest review is a quality read and she really shows exactly where the product fails in what it is advertised to do. Read her Scribe SEO Review here. Don’t forget to read the comments….

So lets say that you are convinced (sucked in) by some bright, glamorous sales page for some wonderful, take over the blogging world product that promises you the moon (and more if you work hard) for only $97 a month (the price is going up in 2 days, so you better act now.) Lets say that you follow all the advice from this god-like guru – your new hero.

However (dark clouds on the horizon) … lets, just for arguments sake, say that you don’t end up ruling the internets … and let’s just pretend for a second that your bank account is actually slowly emptying (by $97 per month) rather than filling ‘faster than you thought possible.’ Would you begin to ask yourself, ‘what is my god Guru really saying to me?’ or would you continue to feed his bank account? The funny thing is, most super noobs won’t stop flushing money down the drain until they actually have no money left. Further they will defend their god Guru as if he were the 2nd coming of The One! This blind allegiance is a peculiarity found in chronic gamblers and internet marketing Noobs. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Are you a internet marketing super noob? If so, read on….

You need a dose of reality …

Read Liz’s review of the Scribe SEO Scam product. See how she actually tests it to see how it works – how easy or hard it is to use – to see if it really works at all? She then posts the results of her tests, with screenshots to support what she has discovered. So the product sucks – that’s reality man! But then you come to the comments … and there you find the ‘head noob milker‘ (Brian Clark) trying to defend his crappy product. He does not practice good customer service by saying, ‘wow, thanks for pointing that out to me. Let me fix those problems and then ask you to test it again …. ‘ No, he (Brian Clark) jumps into the comments trying to throw his weight around spouting all kinds of crap … even threatening to sue Liz for posting her thoughts of the crappy product he produces. This is your Guru – naked and exposed before you.

Now that you see your emperor without his clothes – are you still going to keep feeding his bank account with your money? Are you going to continue feeding his massive ego with your fawning adoration? Break free! Throw away your super noob blankie. Read real reviews. Read the comments from real internet marketers – Allyn, Griz, Liz, etc. Learn and understand what your Guru is really up to.