Most Internet Marketers Are Selling Sea Monkeys
June 22, 2009 by Vern
Filed under advertising BS, online marketing
A great article over at Copyblogger today talked about how when you were a kid you saw this ad in the comic books and bazooka bubblegum wrappers?
They were said to dance, learn cool stuff and they had images of these things like something from Dr. Suess’s mind bouncing around all happy and carefree. There were families of them – all naked. I remember wondering – what do these things look like naked?
Every one of us from my era has looked at those ads as a kid and wondered – is this TRUE? Even as kids many of us were already skeptical enough after having bought the handshake shocker that was nothing more than a cheap metal spring-loaded windup toy that vibrated when someone grabbed your hand hard enough – but usually didn’t work at all.
Most internet marketers and salespeople today are selling a false dream. Really. I’m disgusted with what I see.
Sea Monkey Salespersons sell:
- a dream that never materializes
- too good to be true products or services
- using lies, deceit, tricks
- knowing full-well there is no real benefit to the customer because the product or service is either worthless or is only part of the solution – not the whole solution
I really think we should start jailing internet marketers selling junk. It’s a crime – especially in these hard times where people are looking online for solutions to help them and their family get out of debt and move toward something that is going to HELP, not hurt them.
When did it become OK, even “Status Quo” for salespeople to lie to people they’re selling to?
It’s been going on blatantly for a very long time. I think Sea Monkeys were out since the mid 1970′s. Think this ad accurately depicts what you get for $13+ dollars?
When does it stop being OK to lie in advertising?
Online Lead Generation
May 1, 2009 by Vern
Filed under online marketing
Generating leads online is a science. There are many ways to accomplish lead generation online. Let’s take a brief look at a couple of them.
Email Signature Link
Some business owners put a link in their email signature that directs users to “Join our Business Newsletter”. This is an effective use of the signature space. Experimentation with the exact wording will show what copy is most effective.
Others put a link to a video or other multimedia presentation that contain links within them to join their newsletter mailing list. This second method is especially successful if you have a great presentation for your products or services and it entices people to want to hear more through your newsletters.
On-site Forms and Pop-ups
Popup was a dirty word for a while, but when they’re used for something that people actually want – they can be a great tool. Adding subscribers to your email list database can be accomplished through use of an online form that is always visible or a pop-up that comes in various configurations and forces your visitor to choose – either enter contact information or close the pop-up.
There are many ways to optimize your subscription rate using this method. We cover these in-depth in our Lead Generation 2.0 eLearning Course.
The Swap
Offer something for free on your site that visitors can receive if they sign up to your mailing list. This is very effective because it’s generally understood that one doesn’t receive something for nothing.
When visitors see the offer many will enter their email and name to be able to receive your “free” product. You might think that you’d have a high percentage of people immediately unsubscribe immediately after receiving their free product. Not so. Time after time I’ve implemented this method on all sorts of websites and found that only a small percentage of visitors unsubscribe immediately after receiving their freebie.
Again, I go through this method step-by-step in the Lead Generation 2.0 eLearning Course. There are more than 5 more methods covered in this course, all of which you’ll want to try just for their simplicity and pure effectiveness.
