Why Were So Many Rich IMers Penniless Bums?

I imagine the 3 who were destitute, probably also use the same copywriter.

Because if a bum can do it, you can too! LOL

That all depends on the person. It is amazing what you bring out of yourself when you get in hard times. There is no success without struggle! NOrmally anyway, could be internal, money, health, relationships..etc. But when you look at a majority of the very successful, everyone has something that was sacraficed to get where they were or a situation. Noone ever wants to hear about the stuggle... just the successes. But that's part of IM... and life.. For most

Offers? Where are you reading about marketers lives? Would be interested to read if its like a 'my story' type post.

If you are getting this information from sales pages from their 'make money' programs, I would take all that is said with a few grains of salt.

Because it sells apparantely. It doesn't make me buy though, so I don't know what the appeal is exactly.

Leslie

Oh.. also good point someone said above. Many people in the IM niche struggle, few succeed. If you know anything about copy it is about creating a story that is relateable. So if you are broke and struggling, and see Mr Guru is broke and struggling, you can relate... so you buy.. or not

I guess for the same reason the Penniless Bums' "grandmother" and "ten year old daughter" were able to use the same secret plan to make money.

as of what i have read till now on WF they seem to be scamsters who use the same method of trying to lure people to buy their products

While much of it's BS, some is real and done to create empathy. No different from "I was once a 400 pound couch potato, too!" to sell diet drugs. You want to learn from someone who understands your desperate situation. Someone who's been there, done that.

Probably for the same reason that so many IM'ers make money in their pajamas, drive red sports cars and live in mansions. They kid.

But if you want to read a great rags to riches story,
Prelude to a Rich Jerk… Who is Kelly Felix?

They want to connect with and convince you that they were once in your shoes and managed to overcome adversity and against all odds managed to succeed when they didn't have a chance and nobody believed in them. They did it and so can you!

Sound familiar? It's a very common Hollywood movie storyline, from rags to riches. It's a story that resonates with many, especially dreamers who want something better in life.

Or in other words, they are blowing smoke up your ass to get you to buy their product.

They put themselves in a life scenario that is worse than the majority of their customers as a device to show that if they could make it while jobless, with no money and living on a friends couch then you can too, all for only $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

Many people fall for it and whip out their credit cards.

It would be funny if someone put in their sales copy:

"I was super rich until I found this online method... NOW I am
a broke bum with nothing left!"

Would that entice you to buy?

Best,
Shane

it probably has been a catalyst for many people's success online and offline for many many years.

How about,

I spent a million dollars on WSO's and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.

Aren't most people broke at some time or another in their lives? I think yes. So I fail to see the point being made in the op.

How about this: "I was a homeless bum living under a bridge. Then one day it dawned on me. The perfect system: How to use PLR to sell PLR about using PLR to sell PLR."

Hey don't forget that their staple diet always seemed to be Ramen noodles.

I had never even heard of them till I started reading IM *sob* stories, I mean sales letters.

So, instead of buying that 2k product, get a box of Ramen noodles, it must be some serious brain food. It changes lives.

Because its all aload of bullcrap lol

yes... And now it seems that the IM clickbank products that were crap in the past...they are bashing them now just to get more sales to their offer... and their offer probably isn't any greater...lol (are you SERIOUS?)

it's just a copywriting technique, like the others are saying. i'm sure there were broke bums that went on to make it big, but for the most part i think the story is exaggerated in order to identify with the reader.

I always wanted to post this! You left out

"I was a high school dropout"

uneducated + poor = IM Millionaire

It's all a load of dog poo. I really don't have any pity for most people who are poor/uneducated. Over 90% of them are lazy and don't want to finish school...especially for those in the USA. The higher education here is top notch and many don't take advantage of it. My parents came here when they were around 40 and NOT knowing much English and owning NOTHING. If they can make it, NO ONE that was brought up in the USA has an excuse. Most people wouldn't be complaining about their DAY JOB if they had gotten a decent education. Of course, you will hate your day job if you decided High School wasn't that important and then are only qualified to work at Wal-Mart. Most people that talk about firing their bosses fit into this. I love my day job and do IM without ANY pressure.

A prerequisite, no, but it's a storyline that has worked for ages.

Desperation has been a catalyst to many great successes though, the "story" is often true. I wouldn't say I was desperate, but I went from being laid off by a large corporation to a successful business owner. It happens more often than you might think.

Because it is true?

Most entrepreneurs started out broke and if they didn't
they normally get broke somewhere in the process of
making it rich.

-Ray Edwards

mainly because they are selling you a lie , they are targeting people who are in financial trouble looking for a way out so they write according to their audience.

Makes for a better success story, I suppose.

Because it makes a great story. Everyone loves a rags to riches tale (when it's true).

Most of us at one time or another have been in a tough situation due to medical issues or a job loss. Sometimes the problems are of our own making and sometimes they're not. It is up to us to decide what we do about our circumstances. That's why reading about someone else who was in a bad situation and through sheer grit and determination pulled out of it and became successful is inspiring.

Does this make all the stories true? Heck no. Most people would rather copy someone elses story then create their own. It's so much easier than living through it yourself!

It doesn't make the true stories less powerful, though.

As with anything else on the internet...be careful who you believe.

Rose
Slowing but surely writing my own story.

Lazy + Hectic mind + Drugs = Millionaire (Look at Frank Kern)

With me, I can accept a bit of creative writing in a sales page, including a little rags to riches story ... IF

The product delivers and I learn something valuable from it.

Well I know for me, If I was having a hard time paying my bills, had a job, but it did not pay enough, so I found something better which was internet marketing and with ALOT of effort it turned into a full time income.

You hear it because it makes a great story, but also, just like you, they wanted to succeed and ran into roadblocks. Depends on the person too

YEA i understand what some of you are saying... i try to look at everything from a different point of view... Me myself i lost most job back in the summer of 2010 thats when i decided to get back into IM(2nd time around)... so i think we as people become MUCH BETTER when we are on the edge. Bcuz we are forced to do everything we can think of...some snap like a tooth pick under pressure but...

I always have the mentality like "SOMETHINGS GOTTA GIVE" because giving up only makes it worse...


Nic O.

if you ask me, I think some of them are good fisherman who makes a killing off fishing.

Penniless bums may not always be penniless, but there is a good chance that they may always be bums.

for me I actually was homeless from the time I was 16-18 then when I started im I lived in a hotel with 3 kids at the time I was only 22.

I have spent plenty of time in food lines, missions, shelters and trust me

when you are in that situation you work your ass off to make it work. you have more drive than someone who is 35 and still lives with their parents for example.

internet marketing well affiliate marketing at the time was the only business I could afford to start and really had no other way out.

some b.s minimum wage job wasn't going to cut it. so having no other choice I made it work, no plan b.

Now 4 almost 5 years later it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I certainly can see that there are rags to riches stories in all fields. I know from personal experience that I've produced my best and most creative efforts at times when I've been pretty desperate, simply because i had too.

However there do seem to be more of these stories in sales letters recently. I'm wondering if it's tapping into a greater fear that exists in the current economic climate.

There are a lot of people who can see their livelihoods and what they thought was their security going down the drain and can therefore more easily imagine themselves in a really bad place financially in a way that they maybe couldn't before.

Or is this just one of the oldest plays in the book?

I lost my job in 2008... after that I jumped around job to job but unfortunately in my area jobs were at an all time low.

I wasn't "educated", but I wasn't stupid either.

For me, I just didn't want to get on the hamster wheel...

I utterly despised the idea of having to show up at the same place, at the same time, every single day.

And then have only a few hours left to myself to work on something that would be able to grow exponentially (unlike an hourly income or salary which is just incremental).

I wasn't exactly a bum to billionaire overnight, but I make enough from my online efforts to live comfortable. The difference is that I have the power to GROW in so many ways that it still boggles my mind... once you get a handle on how the internet marketing world operates, it's smooth sailing from there. Although, it does take some time for it to all "click" together.

I think that many people don't have the time or drive to make this thing work - Paulie made a good point. When you're backed up against a wall, you HAVE to figure it out or starve. Survival is a primal instinct and yes, as others mentioned it truly is amazing what you can do when you don't have any other choice.

Dean

These kinds of stories are incidental to IM. It is a form of archtypical storytelling know as "The Quest." In it, a hero goes on a journey, has adventures and misadventures, and ultimately reaches his goal.

There are 7 basic plot lines, and the "The Quest" is one. These plot lines go back to the time when cavemen told stories around a fire. All stories, books and movies follow one of these plot lines. "The Quest" format is ideal for "rags to riches" type stories.

I suspect the use of this literary motif is unconscious with these people. There is another psychological dynamic in play. Often people will only act if they hit bottom. They could have reached the same level of success if they would have money in the bank, but it took poverty to motivate them.

I think it's a sales tactic more than anything. That said, maybe they just didn't like working normal jobs.

Good observation. Unfortunately, I wonder if these are exaggerated claims like some of the earnings levels we're starting to see all too often.

Doc Reed