As always if you just want to get to the posts in November just skip to the bottom.
Well already through November. I did some fun stuff. Got married (again) to my wife in Vegas. Was a total surprise. Really nice and well done by my wife. It’s not easy to surprise me. Normally I smell a rat a while away but I was completely surprised. I also went and drove Ferrari’s and saw a bunch of shows.
My wife and friends left and I stuck around to speak at the Ungagged conference. It was their first show and it was really awesome. Reminded me of the first Pubcon’s and SES shows. Both attendees and speakers really knew there shit and I made a lot of great new friends and contacts. Good stuff. Looking forward to their next show in Europe this spring/summer.
Can you handle the truth?
Last Friday a company called Boost Software got hammered by the FTC. They seized all assets and stuff. Neverblue affiliate network is also involved but because they are in Canada not sure if they will be named or not.
I don’t even want to link to the case or talk much about it because its taking away a bit from the point I wanted to make in this post. I will be doing a writeup on it just was waiting to hear back from a few sources that know the inside scoop.
Today everyone is making products and selling them. Marketing them in various ways. Some might be misleading…. Seth Godin wrote a book called All Marketers Are Liars. Awesome book and the truth. It had a lot of controversy though in the title and he eventually changed it to All Marketers Are Story tellers. He talks about it when he was a guest on my radio show many years ago.
Basically its the truth. I am a hardcore realist. Marketing is basically getting people to take action on something they wouldn’t normally do. So as marketers we create visions of what this product can do for the customer.
Now, as I have written numerous times, I know the fact is that probably 2% of people that pay buy my ShoeMoney training products will actually take action and do anything with it.
I reluctantly accept that..
But lets look at companies who’s business model is praying on man kinds weaknesses. The best example I can use is a gym membership.
I was talking to the owner of a local gym and he was telling me typically they oversell subscriptions to about 2000%. That means that if a small percentage of people paying a monthly fee for their gym membership actually used it, they could not fulfill what people were paying for.
Is having a business model that prays on people’s weaknesses bad?
Ok let me bring up something else that most people just accept but don’t ever think about.
Lets say I had a company that you could pay me monthly and on average lost 90% of your monthly money.
NO IM SERIOUS follow a long.
AND lets say that if you did one month get your money back then I am going to ensure that you loose more in the future.
AND AND lets say that I get the government to force you to participate in my gambling (essentially) program and fine you if you don’t participate.
That is auto insurance.
Thats just 2 basic examples that most consumers never think about. I could go on forever about existing accepted business models and other things that are obviously not good for the consumer.
Here is the point I am trying to make. You have seen and will continue to see FTC investigations into online marketing companies for a variety of reasons. The ground work is being laid down now. Eventually some of whats considered “deceptive” practices will be accepted in the future and what is considered not good for the consumer will be a common practice that people just accept.
Anyway have a great December and a safe holiday. Dont drink and drive!
Nov-03 09:09:50 – Join us tomorrow with “I’m John Chow Bitch” @JohnChow (7 comments) John Chow. A blogger who went from doing it for free to turning his website into a multi-million dollar business. John Chow dot com is one of the biggest blogs on the internet and has 250,000 active…[more]
Nov-05 08:43:09 – Life After Affiliate Marketing – ShoeMoney October Recap (12 comments) This is the October ShoeMoney Recap. Â As always if you want to skip my normal F.R.A.T (f#ck reading all that) then just scroll to the bottom to see the posts from October. If you have been following along you know that I have had a lot of cha…[more]
Nov-07 00:02:20 – @BuySellAds…buys and sells ads! ShoeMoney FSF (6 comments) Free Shirt Friday! This week’s shirt is from BuySellAds. You guessed it! They buy and sell ads! For online companies. Check them out here. …[more]
Nov-10 08:55:10 – Affiliate marketing and more with Zac Johnson on the ShoeMoney show (9 comments) Zac Johnson has a blog where he talks in pieces about how he?s made millions from affiliate marketing. But you can tune in to the ShoeMoney Show and hear his story all at once, in an interactive way TOMORROW, November 11th at 2p…[more]
Nov-11 09:54:18 – Reminder – Tune in TODAY! (6 comments) Reminder for you not to forget to tune in to the ShoeMoney Show for special guest, Zac Johnson TODAY at 2pm PST / 5pm EST. Zac is a pioneer in the internet marketing world. He?s been an online entrepreneur for 18 yea…[more]
Nov-17 09:35:50 – Learn how to be a Founder, President, CEO and much more @isaldana (11 comments) Our next ShoeMoney Show is streaming live tomorrow, November 18 at 2p.m PST/ Â 5p.m EST. via Web Master Radio. Tune in because our guest this week has a lot under his belt, especially for as…[more]
Nov-21 09:00:56 – Free Books and More does just that! ShoeMoney SFS @FreeBooksAndMor (6 comments) This week’s Free Shirt Friday comes at you from Free Books and More. They give out free books…and more. They offer books are bargain prices and sometimes for free for promotional reasons (more readers equals more reviews …[more]
Nov-26 12:00:37 – To sell or NOT to sell??? (2 comments) Black Friday has been creeping into Thursday, Thanksgiving day, for a few years now. Each year, business owners must make this moral decision: Keep closed on Thursday and preserve the stay-at-home, forget-about-work traditions of the American holiday O…[more]
Nov-27 11:59:48 – No better time than to give thanks! (4 comments) I love the simple tradition of Thanksgiving — giving thanks. We can give thanks any day of the year, but as crazy as life is, it?s good that we have the one day a year to actively think about what we are lucky to have. First off, I?m thankful to l…[more]
Nov-28 13:59:26 – @affiliatesummit has a cool t-shirt – ShoeMoney FSF (2 comments) Affiliate Summit is the giant of all marketing conferences, so it makes sense that their t-shirt is sweet. It’s free for you today on Free Shirt Friday. …[more]
“….operate a multi-million dollar scheme to sell tech support services to consumers nationwide. Beginning with tricky online advertisements and culminating in deceptive telephone calls, Defendants convince consumers to run, or permit Defendants to run, scans on their computers to detect problems. The system scans invariably detect hundreds of errors or problems purportedly in need of repair. Through these scans, Defendants dupe consumers into believing that their computers are riddled with problems and that Defendants’ product or services can fix the problems.
4. The Defendants recommend and charge for software or repairs even when computers are in good working order and have no performance problems. Consumers pay as much as $500 for these so-called “repairs,†in addition to other charges for software. ”
http://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/141119vastboostcmpt.pdf
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Sounds fishy to me, Shoe.
Oh for sure. But anything can be alleged. The FTC will win no matter what though. Its not like these guys have the money to defend themselves in court when your up against the government. They will settle like any other company. Thats the thing thats annoying. Everyone settles for a million dollars. Look it up. Its always like 1 million dollars.
Hah, I read the news article on that too, Gus. I know someone who recieved those phonecalls. They told her to log onto her computer (she’s gullible so she did). She entered in some commands with their guidance and she saw them take control of her computer (where OBTW, she has her banking stuff). She immediately shut it off and unplugged it. Grrrrr! But, the deceptive businesses have a target rich environment these days. I hope what you’re saying does not happen, that this will all just become the accepted status quo. Good article. 🙂
Sandy at WorkadoApp
Thanks for the great post and for the book recommendation.
Unfortunately it is how it is. Google is now going hardcore on trick to click advertising methods but if we dont scare people simply wont install the free apps like speed booster or battery saver.
if we dont trick they wont install skout chat app.
Sure a small % will but all networks want volume.
Great post! We are pleased the court has taken steps to temporarily shut down these scams while our lawsuit proceeds.
Found your post through CharlesNgo.com and love how you see the harsh reality instead of beating around the bush!
I’m just reading through “Money” by Tony Robbins. I didn’t invest in mutual funds yet (luckily) and I can’t see myself doing that in the future, knowing how they work now.
We have to know our tricks in the game to really be successful.
Best,
Jan
Auto insurance example was hilarious
True about your gym club example. If all people with a membership would actually come to work out, the gym would be too small for all these people. Gym’s are major oversellers just like most hosting companies are these days!
Today most of us who work online and make money at home face many peculiar problems which are specific to those who work from home on internet. These drawbacks I think will take a large shape in next few years when most people in society will start working at home online.
Nice Post…Thank you for sharing….
first congrats on remarrying your wife! and thanks for getting down to business with this post. Businesses are solely focused on making money and not “looking” like they could care less about the public. That is all. In the case of gym memberships banking on members paying and not showing up regularly, they don’t get any flack since it’s essentially the customers fault so i’m sure they will all continue.
Business are only as ethical as the public demands they be in my opinion.