Is this type of marketing over?

by garyb1966

Posted: 16 years ago 18 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

I want to get everyone's opinion on a couple of things. After purchasing a few ebooks on this subject (Rich Jerk, Day Job Killer, Affiliate Project X, and Honest Riches), I am about to get started with affiliate marketing. Here are my questions:

1. Has this opportunity been hopelessly saturated? You know the old saying - "If it were that easy, everyone would be doing it." Well, apparently everyone IS doing it! Do a Google search on just about any Clickbank product, and you will get dozens of Adword ads that use the standard "Is xxxx a scam?" format that all of the gurus recommend. It just seems overdone to me. Then again, I have to think that all of these people wouldn't be placing those ads if they weren't making money.

2. Do you think the average consumer has become "immune" to this type of marketing? It just seems like people would start catching on to the standard "honest review" type of pre-sell that all of the gurus are recommending. In looking at what other people are doing, I have seen countless "From the desk of..." type of pre-sell articles. And they all look alike. Are buyers becoming wise to this ploy?

What does everyone think?

Thanks,
Gary

#marketing #type

stressfree 16 years ago

yes...you have to be unique
- Thanks
- 1 reply
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62414].message }}
- Michael Gentry 16 years ago
  
  By no means is any type of internet marketing over. The internet is still basically in its infancy.
  
  Thanks
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62425].message }}
Dan Grossman 16 years ago

There's always room for more, but tons of competition means it's harder and the profit margins for you will be lower.

Find your own way to reach potential buyers. Get to a group nobody else is reaching and you can of course do well. Finding that group and a means to reach them nobody else is using can be hard.

Or apply everything you've learned about affiliate marketing to selling your own products instead
- Thanks
- 1 reply
Signature
Improvely: Built to track, test and optimize your marketing.
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62415].message }}
- Asher 16 years ago
  
  Hi Gary,
  
  You're asking if buyers are becoming wise to this ploy?
  I doubt it.
  For one thing, you've bought a few products yourself and the products you stated used those very same strategies. The strategies work and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies. There'll always be people joining the internet marketing industry. Only that these products are often targetted at the newbies because newbies just snatch them right up!
  
  Asher
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
  Signature
  Asher Aw
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62427].message }}
  
  Michael Forey 16 years ago
  
  Yes it still works but stay out of the "how to make money on the internet" niche. It is not the place to start.
  
  Michael Forey
  
  Thanks
  
  2 replies
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62453].message }}
  
  timesaver22 16 years ago
  
  Thousands of new marketers come on line everyday wanting to learn, to them it's all new stuff they don't know what was big a year ago or that some of the stuff looks very dated to other marketers.
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62548].message }}
  
  Amy Bass 16 years ago
  
  This is one of the reasons I never use Adwords. I like to do things differently and thinking outside the box really pays off.
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62596].message }}
  
  Corwinnx 16 years ago
  
  I know that everyone says that affiliate marketing is the way to get started in this industry, but IMHO, I see affiliate marketing as an 'additional stream of income" and not a stable business model at all. Better off having your own products and placing affiliate links within them for extra sources of income.
  
  Just my $.02
  
  -Marcus
  
  Thanks
  
  Signature
  
  *NEW* Is A Business Near You In Need Of Your Local Internet Marketing Services? FIND OUT ON THE CITYBIZIM FORUMS!
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62623].message }}
  
  BIG Mike Banned 16 years ago
  
  [DELETED]
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[63590].message }}
  
  NickArnold 16 years ago
  
  When i first started using the Internet seriously back in 96-97 when I was totally naive to anything IM related I wouldn't look twice at long sales pages. I always thought they were a scam so I never even got as far as the copy.
  
  Now i'm into IM myself I never look at sales page as scams but I wonder if some people still do?
  
  Although I will be honest the whole 'dear friend' thing holds no value for me what so ever.
  
  In short I would say that if you were writing to the IM niche using the tried and tested methods are still fine and will be for the near future at least. However in other niches you should consider trying to make your sales pages a bit more professional, rather than the whole 'dear friend' thing. Sometimes i'm pretty convinced that a lot of the Gurus havn't delt outside of the IM niche.
  
  If you are selling software for example, you should try and make your site look like an organisation rather than an individual. Just look at what the big companies do and model yourself on them, that is the way forward.
  
  Thanks
  
  Signature
  
  Nick Arnold Blog | Web Design Birmingham | Nick Arnold Twitter
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[63631].message }}
  
  hanleo46 16 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by edogz
  
  Yes it still works but stay out of the "how to make money on the internet" niche. It is not the place to start.
  
  Michael Forey
  
  Hey Michael
  
  Are you suggesting the "gurus" are making their $$$ elsewhere in other niches..
  
  That must be the part they never tell about......
  
  Anyhow...How do you manage to focus on multiple niches....do you have a hub site or blog, that feeds multiple niche mini sites....
  
  Just wondering aloud, or is that onscreen
  
  Seems odd to me that nobody ever talks about "profits"..........hmmmmmmmmm
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[63752].message }}
  
  lakshaybehl 16 years ago
  
  Don't follow trens. Create them. And affiliate marketing is more IN now than it was ever in the history of IM.
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
  Signature
  WARNING EXPLICIT: This is ugly... and this is the distilled truth
  
  ~~Website || Book || Facebook~~
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[63765].message }}
  
  Bruce NewMedia 16 years ago
  
  Since you said you are just getting started with affiliate marketing, I think its a good place to start. You can learn what works and what doesn't work. Which traffic sources convert well and which don;t convert well. You'll find out if Review Sites are effective by building one in your way and measuring the results.
  
  You get to see "behind the scenes" as it were and understand the whole process. Payments, refunds etc. Usually you'll also get the benefit of the product developers resources to help you sell.
  
  Then with some experience if you choose to make your own products you should be able to avoid a lot of beginner mistakes.
  
  To me, affiliate marketing is like 'training wheels' for marketers.
  
  _________
  Bruce
  
  Thanks
  
  Signature
  Get Offline Clients With NO Resistance!-CLICK HERE
  POWER LETTERS Get Offline Appointments
  These Email Templates Land You Great Clients!
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[65142].message }}

Midas3 Consulting

16 years ago

Originally Posted by garyb1966

2. Do you think the average consumer has become "immune" to this type of marketing?
What does everyone think?

Thanks,
Gary

Hi Gary,

Nope, I don't believe so. I think you've sort of hit the nail on the head with the term " average consumer".

When they see a "review" site , as long as the review site has been reasonably well done, they just see a helpful "review" that for the most part they trust. It doesn't even occurr to them that somebody is making a buck from the review site and in most cases have never even seen the products they are rating.

Your average consumer doesn't have any idea of what Clickbank is, what a review / squeeze page is, what a PPC advert is.

Hell I can spend 15 minutes trying to explain what i do for a living to somebody and they look at me like I've just explained an alternative reality. They wouldn't give a second thought to a few adverts that looked similar. It goes entirely over their heads.

What seems done to death to you, is entirely new to some punter looking for a review on the best diet pill or golf club.

Yes that whole technique is getting a little saturated, but the potential marketplace is so huge with so many different products you can promote using that method, that it's really not an issue, not yet anyway.

Thanks
2 replies

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62626].message }}

redline_nz

16 years ago

I agree. People who have been involved with learning internet marketing for a while will see the formula for what it is and recognize it.

Your average person who is seeking a solution for a genuine problem won't and will in most cases, I believe, find a review page or autoresponder email sequence beneficial to their needs.

As long as it provides value, it will work, that's my opinion.

On a side note, why not test the PPC strategies on less congested search engines like Yahoo, MSN or Miva? It will be cheaper than Google to test out.

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

Claim Your FREE Book: - Value $19.95
Learn The 7 Critical Steps to Make Real Money On The Internet by Stephen Pierce

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62656].message }}

David Raybould

16 years ago

hey guys,

Yes I think the guys above are right - once you know a little about affiliate marketing, the tactics really do stick out like a sore thumb, but the average joe has no idea about them.

It's pretty common to see adwords ads for just about every clickbank product, but that's a good thing. It's when all the ads disappear you need to worry, because that means there's no more profit to be made....

Hope that's useful

David

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

Killer Emails. Cash-spewing VSLs. Turbocharged Landing Pages.

Whatever you need, my high converting copy puts more money in your pocket. PM for details. 10 years experience and 9 figure revenues.

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62674].message }}

ExRat

16 years ago

Hi,

Has this opportunity been hopelessly saturated? You know the old saying - "If it were that easy, everyone would be doing it." Well, apparently everyone IS doing it! Do a Google search on just about any Clickbank product, and you will get dozens of Adword ads that use the standard "Is xxxx a scam?" format that all of the gurus recommend. It just seems overdone to me. Then again, I have to think that all of these people wouldn't be placing those ads if they weren't making money.

You could do affiliate marketing and not promote clickbank products and not use 'scam' headlines...

What you refer to is overdone, therefore...

Thanks

Signature

Roger Davis

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62710].message }}

garyb1966

16 years ago

Originally Posted by SimonHarrison

Hi Gary,

When they see a "review" site , as long as the review site has been reasonably well done, they just see a helpful "review" that for the most part they trust. It doesn't even occurr to them that somebody is making a buck from the review site and in most cases have never even seen the products they are rating.

Your average consumer doesn't have any idea of what Clickbank is, what a review / squeeze page is, what a PPC advert is.

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Yeah, I think you're right when you say that most average consumers are blissfully unaware of these concepts. In fact, I remember a few months ago at my day job (yes, I still have a day job), one of my friends had a customer ask if we offered an affiliate program. He had no idea what they were talking about. When I explained it to him, he almost seemed like he didn't believe me.

I think a good analogy would be magic. A few years ago, I decided to dabble in magic as a hobby. I got fairly good at it. Definitely no Lance Burton, but I could do some pretty good illusions. My biggest fear in performing for people was that they would discover how I did a trick. It never happened. They were usually amazed. I, on the other hand was amazed that they couldn't see the secret. When I performed a trick, it just seemed so obvious to me - like the secret was screaming at the audience (hint for non-magicians -- if you knew how simple most illusions really are, you would be really disappointed). Those who had no knowledge of how the illusion was accomplished were amazed. Those of us with knowledge of the secret were not.

Gary

Thanks

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62817].message }}

Eric Lorence 16 years ago

You could start a "scam" review site or blog, those seem to be pretty popular.
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[62704].message }}

Is this type of marketing over?

Trending Topics

Newbie

How did you turn it all around?

Any thoughts on golf's latest phenom...Scottie Scheffler??

A healthy fascination for Hollywood...

What's the Best IM-Related Skill to Learn Today That Can Help in the Future?