What's with all the false scarcity on clickbank?

25 replies
Hi

I've noticed a lot of clickbank products are using scarcity tactics that are blatently false, just wondering how the vendors have been allowed to get away with it, and who's been teaching the copywriters to use it?

Examples:

Rob Benwell - Automatic Blog Thing
Andrew Fox - Nuclear Affiliate

Then almost every exit pop-up claims to have a limited number of discounted units.

Now I know that these sell, but it does kinda leave a sour taste in the mouth, unless you promote it and tell your customers to ignore the scarcity tactic, but then where's the advantage of scarcity tactics gone?
#clickbank #false #scarcity
  • Profile picture of the author Dietriffic
    My thoughts...

    I simply refuse to promote anything I know has a hint of lies in it, including false scarcity.

    It's not right, and never is.

    When you promote such products, your basically approving of their methods. You're showing that money matters more to you than principle.

    Don't be a part of it.
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    • Profile picture of the author mizesean
      I agree with Melanie, sure, you might be able to make a quick buck selling something to 100 people but telling them you are only selling it 20 times - but you lose credibility that way, and then your buyers don't buy again.

      You see, you can lie to get the first sale - but repeat and backend sales come from trust.

      And my experience is that only those who can get repeat and backend sales can make a full time income online.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Scott
    Andrew,

    Short answer... it sells.

    And some people don't care what they do for their money.

    BTW... it's rarely (if ever) the copywriter who puts those things in. I've been in this game for a while now and I've never done one.

    -Dan

    P.S. Someone actually made a product called "Automatic Blog Thing"? I think that's pretty funny...
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  • Profile picture of the author wcmylife
    Well you can do scarcity with Clickbank, you just need to give them a VALID reason for the scarcity. The problem with Clickbank products is that many times the product owners write the copy or give it to an copywriter with little experience in the field and they model one of the sales pages out there without understanding the scarcity concept.

    So yes it makes no sense to promote a clickbank product or to buy one when they are selling an ebook and saying only 100 copies left - unless they are clever enough to switch it and use a proper scarcity tactic on the e-book product.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dean Jackson
    I get extremely pissed off when people tell me that there are only "17, no wait 2" copies left of a product - especially when I get emails from people who obviously have lists of thousands of people.

    I instantly remove them from my subscriptions and they lose all credibility in my eyes.

    And as for websites I have even seen exit pops of up to 3 times where they give a $10 or so discount and state x amount of copies left.

    I don't like to have my intelligence insulted and I simply refuse to use these stupid tactics on my customers to make a quick buck.

    - Dean
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    • Profile picture of the author Reeveso
      It's because...

      A) The copywriter (or whoever wrote that part of the copy) sucks and is afraid the rest of the copy isn't going to pull well, so they revert to sneaky, unethical tactics

      And/Or

      B) The owner of the product is a lowlife, unethical "scum of the Earth" kind of person who doesn't really care if they're lying or not... as long as they get the sale
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      • Profile picture of the author Ross Bowring
        Originally Posted by Reeveso View Post

        It's because...

        A) The copywriter (or whoever wrote that part of the copy) sucks and is afraid the rest of the copy isn't going to pull well, so they revert to sneaky, unethical tactics

        And/Or

        B) The owner of the product is a lowlife, unethical "scum of the Earth" kind of person who doesn't really care if they're lying or not... as long as they get the sale
        Jeremy "take no prisoners" Reeves ladies and gents. Hope you and yours are well my friend.

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  • Profile picture of the author Hans Klein
    False scarcity works more often than not.

    However, a lot more powerful than false scarcity is real scarcity.

    You know, actual reasons why it's in the client's best interest to act now.

    At the bare minimum... I always give a non-specific reason why this is so.

    For instance, you may say, "You don't want live one more day with migraines. You no longer have to. There's another way. Take action now etc..."

    Essentially, you build on the prospects' pain and make the case that the sooner he or she takes action, the sooner it disappears.

    On top of this... you can also create real scarcity by explaining why quantity or time is indeed limited. If you're not willing to take your product or service off the market, then a great tactic is to offer a "early bird" or "fast action" bonus. You can always add a new one later if you choose to.

    A real and compelling "reason why" always beats a made-up one that's lacking in the believability department.

    Now, this does take some thought and work, but in my experience, it's a lot more powerful than what most marketers tend to do out of laziness.

    On top of this, when you are honest... you're setting-up your customers for a long-term relationship. They may fall for the false stuff once or twice, but sooner or later they're going to notice that you're not serious.
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  • Profile picture of the author scrofford
    The thing is, and correct me if I am wrong, scarcity can be real with digital products. The product owner can really and truly mean it when they say "only 5 copies left" of whatever the product is. Then they don't release anymore.

    If you are going to create scarcity with digital products though, you need to stick to it and not allow anymore of the product to be released after the set amount you said was left.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hans Klein
      Originally Posted by scrofford View Post

      The thing is, and correct me if I am wrong, scarcity can be real with digital products. The product owner can really and truly mean it when they say "only 5 copies left" of whatever the product is. Then they don't release anymore.

      If you are going to create scarcity with digital products though, you need to stick to it and not allow anymore of the product to be released after the set amount you said was left.
      You're right. But, just to add... there are ways to create real scarcity with digital products.

      For instance, you may be limiting the number being released because when the information is in too many hands, then it is no longer as effective. Products that fit this bill might be PLR products (this is a lot more valuable if you're only competition against 5 others rather than 50 others with distribution rights).... or a marketing technique that only works when it goes unnoticed by the "powers to be" such as Google.

      Another possible reason for limiting your product may simply be that you don't have the time to manage a service component of it. So, it can only be on the market for a limited amount of time. An example might be a digital study course with a "homework" component to it where a real person gives feedback on your results. The deadline for ordering may then be when "classes start."

      Put simply, there's a million ways to create real scarcity. Though, it may require adding a new component to your digital product.
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  • Profile picture of the author Warren.Richards
    Yes I completely agree with Scrofford. If a product owner states that a certain amount of copies are left for a digital product then he should stick to the statement made.

    Otherwise it is his loss in a long run. He will eventually loose credibility which is very essential in IM.

    Building trust and maintaining that trust is very important. It is very easy to loose trust in this virtual world and so we need to maintain a good relationship with our customer and that can obviously not happen with making false claims and false scarcity.

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  • Profile picture of the author TracyNeedham
    Scrofford's point is a big one with me...if you're going to create scarcity--of any sort--stick with it. When I go to a sales page 6 months later and it's the same BS, it totally shoots their credibility to hell with me.

    Hans had a good point too. Yes, you can create real scarcity with digital products. The trick is to give a credible reason WHY. Why are you limiting the number of copies or giving this discount for a limited time only?

    And if it's a discount, just say you're having a sale. People are used to seeing sales in retail stores so there's no reason you can't do the same. No "this product is going to explode if we sell more than x number of copies" explanations needed.

    I mean, it's good if you do have a reason for the sale. But if you don't, you don't. People will accept that and won't go away feeling slimed.

    One scarcity tactic I've seen a fair amount on here that I like is when the price goes up as more copies get sold.

    For example, the first 10 copies are $x, after that it's $y until 20 copies are sold, then it goes up to full price at $z. A similar tactic you see a lot are bonuses that expire as a certain number of copies are sold.

    These two tactics are simple, they're real and neither one needs a long-winded explanation--it's clear you're rewarding the early movers.
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  • Profile picture of the author scrofford
    Originally Posted by AndrewStark View Post

    Hi

    I've noticed a lot of clickbank products are using scarcity tactics that are blatently false, just wondering how the vendors have been allowed to get away with it, and who's been teaching the copywriters to use it?

    Examples:

    Rob Benwell - Automatic Blog Thing
    Andrew Fox - Nuclear Affiliate

    Then almost every exit pop-up claims to have a limited number of discounted units.

    Now I know that these sell, but it does kinda leave a sour taste in the mouth, unless you promote it and tell your customers to ignore the scarcity tactic, but then where's the advantage of scarcity tactics gone?
    My other question is how do we know for example that the "Nuclear Affiliate" sales page isn't being truthful? I saw there were 300 copies left. I don't know, it's probably a lie, but if they pull the page so to speak after the 300 copies being sold, then it wasn't bs. I haven't been an affiliate for a while and am not promoting CB products, so I don't know. I guess the only one who would know is the vendor.

    Maybe as an affiliate of products like these people should factor in the reputation of the vendor as whether to promote a product.

    And again, if someone is going to promote a product and say there is only a certain amount available, then they should stick with it because it will destroy their reputation. It's the difference between making a quick buck and building a business.
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  • Profile picture of the author orioles86
    Yeah, whenever I see an e-product with "only a certain number left" its like uhhmm.. is this guy stupid? You do know that a pdf file doesn't "run out" right? Obviously its a cheap hard sell tactic. They keep using it though because there's a sucker born every minute!
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  • Profile picture of the author AndrewStark
    thanks for all the great comments, good to see I'm not the only person annoyed by it.

    I was looking at a product today that had 3 exit pop-ups

    #1 $10 discount 7 copies left
    #2 $10 discount 2 copies left
    #3 redirect to the orderform at the discounted price.

    To me this totally devalues the original offer, and with the person who mailed out for this regulary doing well in product launches making thousands in dollars of sales I know the scarcity is BS.

    My main issue is that is everyone starts using it then CB will loose credability, so does it have a complaints department for misleading salescopy?
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  • Profile picture of the author davemiz
    you guys may not like it... and i tend to agree with you guys 100% on this... BUT... if these things didnt work, no one would use them.

    unfortunately, in IM you're dealing with a LOT of shall we say... desperate buyers?

    The IM niche has way more of these ppl than in many niche markets.... people in IM buy almost anything, at any price.

    The product owners probably dont care because lets face it, most IM sellers are just launching a product, getting money, the site dies out and they launch another.... and another... and another....

    its not like niche marketing where you want to sell that product for years.

    there's no shelf-life for many of these IM products... just look at the launch calendars... there's like 100+ launches going on at any time... so thats why the super crazy scarcity, i think.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by davemiz View Post

      BUT... if these things didnt work, no one would use them.
      I don't believe that, Dave.

      I believe that they don't work and people still use them because everyone assumes that they work ... "because if these things didn't work, no one would use them".

      That's true of quite a lot of stuff in internet marketing.

      The few people who actually test them properly tend to abandon them.
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      • Profile picture of the author LeeSteese
        There is a lot of that for sure online, people just assuming that because everyone else is doing it then it must be the best. They then get lazy and don't do their own testing. One great example is the price point of $7 vs $9. I've found, by testing, that when I sell a product for $97 vs $99 all I'm doing is giving up $2 per sale. Most people go with $97 and don't event think about it though because its what everyone else does.

        The scarcity thing though, both false and real, does work, and works well in my experience.


        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        I don't believe that, Dave.

        I believe that they don't work and people still use them because everyone assumes that they work ... "because if these things didn't work, no one would use them".

        That's true of quite a lot of stuff in internet marketing.

        The few people who actually test them properly tend to abandon them.
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  • Profile picture of the author davemiz
    hey Alexa, you dont have to believe it.... and i'm not asking you to, but like it or not, its the truth.

    You're speaking from your opinion, which (along with mine and everyone elses on the planet not named dan Kennedy, gary Halbert etc.) unfortunately doesn't mean anything in direct response marketing.... we make decisions based on data. (at least we're supposed to.

    I know for a FACT they work based on data.

    I don't use em' because i've been selling my stuff for years and want to continue to do so... in the IM stuff you see them on, you'll notice the shelf life is rather short.

    if they didnt work no one would use them.... and those exit chat services which work off a % per sale would be out of business.

    Last time i checked... marketers are still using them and the companies are still going strong.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by davemiz View Post

      You're speaking from your opinion, which (along with mine and everyone elses on the planet not named dan Kennedy, gary Halbert etc.) unfortunately doesn't mean anything in direct response marketing.... we make decisions based on data.
      That's what informs my opinion, yes - my clients' testing (when I can get them to do it properly).

      Originally Posted by davemiz View Post

      Last time i checked... marketers are still using them and the companies are still going strong.
      Does it occur to you that there's the possibility they might be going a bit stronger without them? Or is that idea categorically out of the question simply because, by definition, "if these things didn't work, no one would use them"?
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  • Profile picture of the author davemiz
    i know the guys using this.... all the guys in question... i talk to them regularly and know the numbers.

    it works.

    but its not my style of marketing.... and i'm not selling to IM'ers.
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    • Profile picture of the author karamarie
      we must remember that the internet is the
      largest non-regulated industry on the planet.

      hence - "the wild, wild west" of "business."

      scarcity as a "volume or number of units available"
      is the easiest, laziest and lamest. (is that a word? lol)

      anyway... peepe are waking up. And at the same time,
      droves of newbies are turning to internet marketing
      as the offline "job" world is crumbling.

      just as some are waking up to the tom-foolery going
      on, and they don't buy - many in equal or greater number
      are new to the scene and do buy... until they figure out
      "the game" for themselves.

      This false scarcity....
      so primitive. so sad. so unevolved.

      so over it,
      kara
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  • Profile picture of the author seoweb2000
    It works and it sells, plus all of the big product launch gurus are advising people to use it. The only difference is that the big guys actually will limit their product to x number of people, but may open again or resell in the future. It does not hurt that they charge $xxxx , it is joke when CB products are on sale for $77 or less and have a limit of less than 200. The numbers just do make any sense and I would stay away because it is probably a rehash system that has been taught 101 times.
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  • Profile picture of the author davemiz
    like i said... i dont use them, i dont agree with it for building a long term asset.... but they work like crazy... i know many of the marketers using it and they're making money with it.

    the guys using it are selling their product for a few weeks/months and then it dies out and they move on.

    so i'm sure shelf life has something to do with it.
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