What Is The WORST Marketing Advice You Have Ever Heard???

103 replies
Care to save novice marketers the embarassment of implementing bad advice? List some of the bad advice you've seen floating around and debunk it so that beginners won't have to learn the hard way.

I'll start with a couple...



Using Fake Testimonials: Testimonials are a means to build credibility through social proof. Faking and building credibility aren't compatible.

Using Fake Scarcity: Scarcity (limited time and/or quantity) is a means to get people to take action rather than "thinking it over". Again, faking and credibility aren't compatible. If you become known as someone who uses fake scarcity, your credibility is shot.



Anyone else have some misinformation that they would like to nuke?
#advice #heard #marketing #worst
  • Profile picture of the author John Atkins
    Bad Advice?

    Avoid PPC because you will lose money -> Very bad advice indeed.
    You will only lose money if you don't test and do a little research.

    E-Whore to make $100 every day -> This is hilarious!
    Let's say that you e-whore and promote adult friend finder
    (they pay about $1 per lead). Yeah right!
    You have to convince 100 people to join your link just
    to earn a $100? And once the dating site (AFF in this case) sees
    that all the leads that you're generating are useless, they will
    probably ban you. LOL.

    If I remember more I'll post them.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tom Brite
      Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

      "Write down a list of everyone you know"

      "Its easy. Just invite your family and friends"
      Ha ha that ones reminds me of all those MML sites!

      I actually went to a conference for the only one that im part of and they told us to do just that but then went on to say 'your friends and family probably wont signup'.

      Originally Posted by IM Headlines View Post

      Bad Advice?

      E-Whore to make $100 every day -> This is hilarious!
      Let's say that you e-whore and promote adult friend finder
      (they pay about $1 per lead). Yeah right!
      You have to convince 100 people to join your link just
      to earn a $100? And once the dating site (AFF in this case) sees
      that all the leads that you're generating are useless, they will
      probably ban you. LOL.

      If I remember more I'll post them.
      Urrrm although i probably shouldn't be saying this e-whoring is amazing money once you get the system right!

      Back in the day's i use to hire people to do this for me and have $300+ days of profit just from this method. The trick is not to use AFF. Those cam sites pay out alot better than that and often $30+ for free leads.

      But its not that reliable income and a headache getting those workers to chat room spam and forum spam and facebook spam to make cash... plus its not really rewarding at all!

      Tom Brite
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      • Profile picture of the author discrat
        " There is NO way you can make any money with Blogger Blog. Only real Bloggers who want to make Money use WP !! "



        I still get a chuckle out of this nonsense that is repeatedly spread on many make money Forums !!
        Signature

        Nothing to see here including a Sig so just move on :)

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      • Profile picture of the author realsbd
        Make 50000 USD in a week, this is very common in some website that l have seen for a long time now.
        some will even say how to put 6 digit money in your account in a week
        all this are very rampant, what l believe isif am visiting a website that is giving me figures beyond my expectation, i'll jjust stay out of the website
        Signature
        A successful man ia man that made a firm foundation with the bricks thrown at him.
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      • Profile picture of the author achivement84
        I think some of the worst marketing advices can be as follow:-

        1- Talking too much about the products , neglecting how the consumer will benefit from them.

        2-Being too cute towards your clients in a wrong way rather than being professional.

        3-To place your messages where customers don't expect to see them, that really may makes you lose potential customers.

        4-Not giving your customer a reason to take action.

        5-Not showing customer testimonials.

        6-You make no promises. Customers don't like risk, and they don't like new.

        Regards...
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      • Profile picture of the author Melodican
        " This really is complicated stuff this IM business... I definitely wouldn't enter this (currently high demand, low supply, lucrative, non competitive) niche that I'm in"

        Actually... in hindsight !!
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hersh
    If you'll build it, they will come

    Cheers,

    Mike G
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    • Profile picture of the author E. Fire
      Originally Posted by Mike Hersh View Post

      If you'll build it, they will come

      Cheers,

      Mike G
      Back in '01 and '02 when I was still taking on web design clients, my slogan was

      If you build it, will they come?
      Signature

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      • Profile picture of the author Mark-Dickenson
        I would have to say the WSO I purchased that said to pose as a female and go over to Craigslist and act like I wanted a date and post a link to my "profile" for CPA lead money

        Well, it looked good on paper, but in the real world, not so much

        I have gmail, and so when people would send me pics, they would end up in the body of the email as opposed to an attachment

        I am sure you can guess what kind of pics I received in my email that I was forced to look at since they were in the body of the email.

        Not sure where these fellas went to charm school lol
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  • About ten years ago, I had a double opt-in list of over 21,000. I stumbled onto it by dumb luck never expecting more than 1,000 subscribers.
    I was at an internet tech convention where I personally met an email marketing 'guru'. I told him my situation and asked how often I should be mailing my newsletter to this list.

    He said "Everyday." and he wanted to partner with me and give him my list.

    I was not that stupid, and skillfully avoided him for the remainder of the convention. Years later he got busted for a large spam operation and was actually not as rich and successful as he had led others (including various press) to believe.
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    • Profile picture of the author discrat
      Originally Posted by Sheldon Slononazinski View Post

      About ten years ago, I had a double opt-in list of over 21,000. I stumbled onto it by dumb luck never expecting more than 1,000 subscribers.
      I was at an internet tech convention where I personally met an email marketing 'guru'. I told him my situation and asked how often I should be mailing my newsletter to this list.

      He said "Everyday." and he wanted to partner with me and give him my list.

      I was not that stupid, and skillfully avoided him for the remainder of the convention. Years later he got busted for a large spam operation and was actually not as rich and successful as he had led others (including various press) to believe.

      Sheldon, take this as NO offense. Its actually a compliment. But boy you are one interesting fellow. Name, appearance, everything !!
      Signature

      Nothing to see here including a Sig so just move on :)

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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Mayhew
    Use an email harvester and bulk email offers
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    IMO Partnership. A National Insurance Marketing Alliance.
    http://www.imopartnership.com/

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  • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
    "Write down a list of everyone you know"

    "Its easy. Just invite your family and friends"
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author Richard Tunnah
      Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

      "Write down a list of everyone you know"

      "Its easy. Just invite your family and friends"
      The first one should be renamed - 'write down a list of people you did know!'

      Rich
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
    Avoid ppc

    don't worry about building a list yet

    you need a nice header graphic

    someone making money wouldn't ever reveal how they do it

    it takes a lot of hard work / long hours to get started
    Signature

    -Jason

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  • PPC is not good territory for a newb -- I don't care what anyone says, that is darn good advice.
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    • Profile picture of the author James Campbell
      Originally Posted by SurviveUnemployment View Post

      PPC is not good territory for a newb -- I don't care what anyone says, that is darn good advice.
      PPC is only dangerous for newbies if they don't properly educate themselves regarding how to run tight campaigns and to not set a daily budget of more than they can afford to lose.

      Track, keep the winners, delete the losers and you will make great progress in ppc.

      James
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  • Profile picture of the author Diana Lane
    Not so much marketing advice as website building advice...

    'Images for your site? No problem. Find a website in your niche that has an image you like, right-click 'Properties' on it to find the image URL and paste it into your image source tag'.

    It must be nearly two years since I encountered the WSO that cheerfully encouraged this image and bandwidth theft from it's buyers, but I still remember it with a shudder.
    Signature

    Plot short fiction, long fiction, even outline non-fiction * Edit the question prompts to suit your genre * Easily export text and image files for use with your word processor or Scrivener.
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  • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
    The money is in the list!



    think about it... the money is in the relationships...

    Peace

    Jay
    Signature

    Bare Murkage.........

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    • Profile picture of the author john2k
      Originally Posted by Sheldon Slononazinski View Post

      He said "Everyday." and he wanted to partner with me and give him my list.
      Good thing that you decided to steer clear of that guy...
      Signature

      ...john2k...

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    • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
      Originally Posted by SurviveUnemployment View Post

      PPC is not good territory for a newb -- I don't care what anyone says, that is darn good advice.
      not true. It's bad territory for people who don't manage it, or who jump in blindly.


      Originally Posted by JayXtreme View Post

      The money is in the list!



      think about it... the money is in the relationships...

      Peace

      Jay
      Jay, I always like your posts..

      but i have to point out something here.

      You can totaly abuse a list and still make money from it. granted, you will need to have a constant stream of new opt-ins, but you can still make money from it.

      example:

      Frank Kern

      From what I have gathered as a Mass Control student, he did not handle his dog business with kid gloves. As a matter of fact, besides what he talked about in his older newsletters (the ultra underacheiver ones I believe), I saw a screen shot of his aweber page for his dog business, and his unsubs were 50% and up. So he was pushing the envelope so to speak.

      And he made a LOT of money from that business.

      I am not saying it is the best model, and obviously Frank does nto subscribe to it in his IM-niche business. But is valid, and it will make money - even a lot of money.

      Taken to the extreme: these 'spam kings' getting arrested who rake in 7 figures a month - they have NO relationship with their lists
      Signature

      -Jason

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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by JayXtreme View Post

      The money is in the list!
      That was probably just a typo. The money is ON the list. If you're nice to it...
      Signature
      "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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    • Originally Posted by JayXtreme View Post

      The money is in the list!



      think about it... the money is in the relationships...

      Peace

      Jay
      This is so true.
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  • ... run tight campaigns and to not set a daily budget of more than they can afford to lose.
    You see, that's the kicker. With ppc, you can (and probably will at first) lose money every single day. I guess some people have money to burn up while they learn what works. Most do not.

    Besides, you can do most of that tracking and testing (keyword research, split testing) for free. Why would you want to lose money every day when you can accomplish so much for free?

    PPC should be done after the testing, which should be done with organic SEO and other traffic-driving methods. You take the profits and sink it into PPC so that even if you do lose money, you're playing with the house's money at that point.
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    • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
      Originally Posted by SurviveUnemployment View Post

      You see, that's the kicker. With ppc, you can (and probably will at first) lose money every single day. I guess some people have money to burn up while they learn what works. Most do not.

      Besides, you can do most of that tracking and testing (keyword research, split testing) for free. Why would you want to lose money every day when you can accomplish so much for free?

      PPC should be done after the testing, which should be done with organic SEO and other traffic-driving methods. You take the profits and sink it into PPC so that even if you do lose money, you're playing with the house's money at that point.
      1) newbie does not equal broke and penniless. My brothers first IM product was Product Launch Formula.
      There's a misconception out there that everyone, or most everyone, who is new to IM is destitute. Frank Kern mentioned in one of the vidieos or interviews that come with MC that the typical IMer he always saw at places like the big seminar, etc, were your typical middle aged "working stiff" 9-5'er type guy.

      2) let's assume you are correct - that every ppc campaign starts off in the red (not always true). Guess what? that happens whether you are new or not.

      3)SEO: I always use ppc first, in order to find out immediately which keywords are even worth the large undertaking of seo'ing for.

      ppc also lets you test new markets immediately.. let's you test conversions immediately... the list goes on and on. You can find things out in a day, that would take weeks or even months to learn via seo or article's.

      It's not about being new - it's about having some money on hand to test.
      Signature

      -Jason

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  • Profile picture of the author Marhelper
    Use Craig's List! Do not get me wrong it is great for the purpose it was set up for but spamming is a losing game for losers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris_Willow
    Two words:
    The secret

    and additionally- making money online is easy as pie.

    It may be simple, but not easy. And sitting around imagining my new car won't help too.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      [Fill in the blank] ALWAYS works.

      and the corollary:

      It must work if [name of favorite guru] does it.

      The truth?

      The only thing that always works is testing what's effective for your unique combination of skills and opportunities.

      Look at my avatar. Do you really think I could pull off the Kern/Moffatt "surfer dude" act?
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      • Profile picture of the author Martin Luxton
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        [Fill in the blank] ALWAYS works.

        and the corollary:

        It must work if [name of favorite guru] does it.

        The truth?

        The only thing that always works is testing what's effective for your unique combination of skills and opportunities.

        Look at my avatar. Do you really think I could pull off the Kern/Moffatt "surfer dude" act?
        John,

        If you could get that fish to talk . . .

        In terms of legal ramifications, the worst marketing advice is anything that can get you shut down/fined/jailed by the authorities.

        Similar to what Diane Lane said earlier, people recommending you download somebody else's Youtube video and rebrand it with your website should be shot.

        Martin
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    • Profile picture of the author Intrepreneur
      Join one of those Internet Business MLM's that you see on youtube!
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  • Jason,

    I think you nailed it with, "It's about having some money to test." My perspective on IM is different -- I got into it because I was trying to survive unemployment. Personally, the couple of PPC campaigns I have run have been profitable (slightly), but I don't think they would have been profitable if I had done them straight out of the box.

    I also find that lower volume and higher margin is a better model -- less work. So a few articles make a few affiliate sales and make me a couple hundred bucks with no work beyond the article writing, no customer service, no nothin'. Or I could run a PPC campaign, make a lot of sales, work really hard to tweak the campaign to make more sales, biting my nails the whole time that the campaign will stay in the black.

    As far as learning to write copy that gets clicks and sells, keyword research and all that, I would advise any newbie -- with money in their pocket or not -- to cut their teeth with article marketing and blogging until they earn a little money to play the PPC game with the house's money.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterwrecker
    "There's too much competition on the internet"


    That isn't even bad advice it's just plain stupid.




    -John[
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  • Profile picture of the author freudianslip27
    lol on the fake testimonials. I remember when someone got busted on that, their thread was shut down pretty quickly.

    IM is a place where trust is becoming more important than ever, especially if you want to last long term!

    Matt
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    WarriorForum Rules!

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  • Profile picture of the author Online Bliss
    Buy this and never lift a finger again
    Automatic Cash Cow constant income 24/7 forever.
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    You've got it Made
    with the Guy in the Shades!
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  • Profile picture of the author TheRichJerksNet
    That google runs the internet and you should put all your eggs into just google and forget everything else....

    That is the worst advice I have heard in a long time...

    James
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  • "Create products about the things you're passionate about."

    Unless you're passionate about stuff people want to buy, a sure way to disappointment and a slimmer wallet.


    DISCLAIMER: I stole that from Jeremy Kelsall. But boy is that right on!

    Mark
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    = = = = COMPLETE, CUSTOM ADSENSE SITE = = = =
    VERY Limited WSO. 100% Guaranteed.

    MY Expertise, YOUR Profit.
    Read the thread.
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    • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
      Creating a product first and THEN trying to sell it online is usually the most common mistake newbies make (and there a plenty of courses telling you you should create an ebook or report or info product etc.)


      Find a hungry market that you can get easy and economical access to FIRST THEN create a product that hungry market wants and will pay for.



      Outside of that I think the other mistake people make is being so heavily focused on what THEY want (to make a certain income for example) that they never realize the real money and satisfaction is to be made in being of genuine service to others.

      When you take the time to work out how to genuinely help and serve other people marketing gets a whole lot easier.

      Kindest regards,
      Andrew Cavanagh
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  • Profile picture of the author Rachel Rofe
    The worst advice I ever got was to buy Infusion Soft, probably.
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  • Profile picture of the author Emily Meeks
    "You need $10,000 to start a business"

    Maybe brick-and-mortar, but online? Give me a break!
    Signature

    In all that you do, know your True INTENT...

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  • Profile picture of the author itcoll
    "before starting to build a site ,look at the competition.if it is less than 40k then go ahead"

    this is BS.Instead people should use Market samurai and see how the first top 10 results have attained the rankings - if the links could be replicated then go ahead.this is the right way of selecting the niche.Do not just depend on the exact competition numbers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mukul Verma
    Worst advice

    "You cannot start a business unless you have money or born into money"

    "Buy a $7 on how to sell that same $7 product over and over to make money" - What are you buying again?

    "It is easy to make money online, you dont have to do any work"
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  • Profile picture of the author bobsilber
    Generally anything relating to legal advice. Much of it is outright wrong, laughable and would result in serious liability and consequences, if followed. Every case is different and fact dependent. The best answer to someone asking for legal advice on a marketing forum, and I've seen it given here, is "If you have a legal question, ask an attorney."

    Sort of like, if you have a medical question, ask a doctor.
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    • Profile picture of the author Richard Tunnah
      Originally Posted by bobsilber View Post

      Generally anything relating to legal advice. Much of it is outright wrong, laughable and would result in serious liability and consequences, if followed. Every case is different and fact dependent. The best answer to someone asking for legal advice on a marketing forum, and I've seen it given here, is "If you have a legal question, ask an attorney."

      Sort of like, if you have a medical question, ask a doctor.
      Good post Bob. Always amazes me people offer advice for legal issues that the poster could lose a small fortune. Mind you maybe such posters should think seriously before posting.

      Rich
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      • Profile picture of the author Floyd Fisher
        Originally Posted by Richard Tunnah View Post

        Good post Bob. Always amazes me people offer advice for legal issues that the poster could lose a small fortune. Mind you maybe such posters should think seriously before posting.

        Rich
        So, do you think my telling people to double-check with a lawyer on any legal advice I give is a bad idea?
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  • Profile picture of the author jeffherring
    Originally Posted by Lance K View Post

    Care to save novice marketers the embarassment of implementing bad advice? List some of the bad advice you've seen floating around and debunk it so that beginners won't have to learn the hard way.

    I'll start with a couple...



    Using Fake Testimonials: Testimonials are a means to build credibility through social proof. Faking and building credibility aren't compatible.

    Using Fake Scarcity: Scarcity (limited time and/or quantity) is a means to get people to take action rather than "thinking it over". Again, faking and credibility aren't compatible. If you become known as someone who uses fake scarcity, your credibility is shot.



    Anyone else have some misinformation that they would like to nuke?
    ...that Article Marketing is dead. Hear this once or twice a year...love it cuz then I get to show how it is not...
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  • Profile picture of the author HomeComputerGames
    Get #1 on Google with our system........

    Funny how they fail to mention that they got #1 for "targanubled" and their sites get 15 hits per year (mostly by accident).
    I have yet had 1 response from these guys for getting #1 in a week for any of my current keywords :confused:
    Signature

    yes, I am....

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    • Profile picture of the author Tor-Sigurd D.R
      Pitching friends and family

      oh and ...

      Coldcalling
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      • Profile picture of the author mobiusman
        Originally Posted by Tor-Sigurd D.R View Post

        Pitching friends and family

        oh and ...

        Coldcalling

        Tor-Sigurd D.R I can't agree with you more that that is the worst marketing advice.

        David
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        Mobiusman talks about the Head Brain/Gut Brain system. Did you know you have two different brains?
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    "If you can turn on a computer - you can do this"

    "Anybody can make money by writing articles"...Especially irritating here at the WF when the original poster has no grasp of spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation, standard conventions (such as spacing between paragraphs).

    Any one-size-fits-all "solution".

    "Promote this page and make money"

    "Cash gifting will make you rich, and you don't have to report gifts to the I R S. No really, it's the other people's fault if they lose money. It's only because they aren't following the right gifting program. I know a guy who made $100,000s in only 9 days - sure he was criminally prosecuted, but it was on a technicality. Besides, i saw a video on YouTube where this one lady was opening envelopes filled with cash!!! BUT, don't join any cash gifting program, join mine by clicking on this link. Sorry, you will have to remove the spaces because it won't let someone with only one post link to a working site...www . send-me-gifts-of-cash-so-you-can-get-rich/ref?j7cra40dpw9 . com"

    That's all that comes to mind.

    All the best,
    Michael
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    "Ich bin en fuego!"
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    My local area wasn't big enough to do local marketing
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  • Profile picture of the author E. Fire
    This:

    That google runs the internet and you should put all your eggs into just google and forget everything else....
    and

    The manager of a pair of performing artists I work with telling me to hold off promoting their November show until after their October show - at a venue 60 miles away - "so as not to impact turnout for the (October) show".
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  • Profile picture of the author SPress
    This may not be the worst advice ever...but it sure is repeated a lot and completely wrong:

    Some people hold steadfast to the belief that when doing keyword research you simply need to find keywords with xx number of searches and xx number of competing websites - competing websites being defined as the number that google shows when doing an 'all in quotes' search.

    The obvious problem is that you may find a keyword with only 10 competing sites! Woohoo! Party! You're gonna be rich!!!

    BUT...what if each of those 10 sites is PR5+, has 10,000 relevant high PR backlinks each, etc., etc.

    On the other hand, why not do a little competitive analysis and find keywords with a high search volume and top 10 competitors which you can beat with a reasonable amount of effort?

    I'm afraid that those folks who rely solely on the "competing sites" quantity waste a lot of time better spent doing quality research.

    Cheers!

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author CmdrStidd
    The absolute worst advice I ever heard came from a Warrior. His advice was given without testing, without any proof to back it up and without merit.

    "You cannot succeed without an advertising budget on this product. You would be better off getting a J-O-B until you had some money to spend on the advertising first"

    Now, I will grant you that the product in question has not gone to market because in getting some Warriors to test it for testimonials, we have discovered a bug in the software that keeps it from running right in Vista 64. It runs fine in Vista 32 and in XP but I cannot figure out why it will not run in Vista 64. For this reason I have taken the project back to the drawing board again. Otherwise, it will sell when it gets redone.

    However, never tell someone they cant do something unless you have undisputed proof that it can't be done.
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  • Profile picture of the author JMartin
    Worst advice I've heard:

    Do what you love to do (your passion) and you'll make money.

    Um no.

    If my passion is watching grasshoppers mate, I'm probably not going to be doing too well. Unless in giving an example I just stumbled upon some sick fetish.

    Better timeless advice: follow the money
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    • Profile picture of the author IMDetective
      Have you read my last post....... joking:p
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    • Profile picture of the author JAIDEEP2959
      To use xrumer spam tool for forum traffic.
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    • Profile picture of the author Zancudo
      Banned
      [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author ildarius
      Originally Posted by JMartin View Post

      Worst advice I've heard:

      Do what you love to do (your passion) and you'll make money.

      Um no.

      If my passion is watching grasshoppers mate, I'm probably not going to be doing too well. Unless in giving an example I just stumbled upon some sick fetish.

      Better timeless advice: follow the money
      Damn, you beat me to it. I think it's one of the stupidest things you can tell someone.
      It's especially sad because big names like SBI! give this sort of advice also.
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  • Profile picture of the author xiaophil
    Originally Posted by Lance K View Post

    Using Fake Scarcity: Scarcity (limited time and/or quantity) is a means to get people to take action rather than "thinking it over". Again, faking and credibility aren't compatible. If you become known as someone who uses fake scarcity, your credibility is shot.
    I would appreciate some clarification on this one.

    Information products are quite often delivered electronically. How could there possibly ever be 'real' scarcity beyond some arbitrary limit set by the vendor?

    Even physical products can be POD (print on demand) and so never actually 'run out'.

    The only example I can currently think of would be a service based on someones time - a resource that is naturally limited, or scarce.

    The vast majority of products I see available now (services aside) are either electronic or POD.

    For these kind of products, could someone please explain to me how scarcity could ever be real?
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    • Profile picture of the author Martin Luxton
      Originally Posted by xiaophil View Post

      For these kind of products, could someone please explain to me how scarcity could ever be real?
      You put a cap on the number you sell. If you really do this you create scarcity.

      It happens all the time in the "real" world. For example, De Beers could easily extract more diamonds but they want to keep the supply limited, prices higher and maintain the perception of diamonds as exclusive products.

      Martin
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      • Profile picture of the author xiaophil
        Originally Posted by Martin Luxton View Post

        You put a cap on the number you sell. If you really do this you create scarcity.
        Sure Martin, I understand how one could create scarcity with a digital product.

        What, then, is the distinction between 'real' and 'fake' scarcity with relation to digital products?
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        • Profile picture of the author Lance K
          Originally Posted by xiaophil View Post

          Sure Martin, I understand how one could create scarcity with a digital product.

          What, then, is the distinction between 'real' and 'fake' scarcity with relation to digital products?

          Real scarcity is using a script that automatically raises the price, disables the order link, removes bonuses, etc. based on a set amount of time or quantity of units sold.

          Fake scarcity is using a script that says, "This offer is only good until midnight {today's date}", etc.
          Signature
          "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
          ~ Zig Ziglar
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  • Profile picture of the author James Pateman
    Hi Lance,
    Here's some bad advice:
    "Pay the outsourcer in advance, before they've done the job. "
    Another one is:
    "Hit your email list thick and fast with as many offers as you can, as much as you can, until they unsubscribe."
    Regards,
    James Pateman
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  • Profile picture of the author jschop
    "Clickbank is dead."

    "You can get RICH, RICH, RICH with adsense."

    "All ebooks are scams."
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
    Would you like fries with that hamburger? aka the upsale. Point is "Don't ask, rather, pay it forward with an undisclosed "quality bonus" AND then ask.. "Would you like X with that X?"

    Jeffery 100% :-)
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    In the minute it took me to write this post.. someone died of Covid 19. RIP.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
    Write an ebook and sell it. Wrong!
    Write an ebook, split it into two volumes, giveaway volume I (excerpts), and upsale Volume II. Right!

    Jeffery 100% :-)
    Signature
    In the minute it took me to write this post.. someone died of Covid 19. RIP.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
    Your logo is your brand. Wrong!

    Your brand is how the world perceives your logo (product). Right!

    Jeffery 100% :-)
    Signature
    In the minute it took me to write this post.. someone died of Covid 19. RIP.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
    Build it and they will come. Wrong!
    Build it, promote it professionally, and they will come. Right!

    Internet Marketers are blind to advertisements. Yeah, some are!
    Internet Marketers that are blind to advertisements will eventually be dominated by their competition. Right!

    Jeffery 100% :-)
    Signature
    In the minute it took me to write this post.. someone died of Covid 19. RIP.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
    Internet University.. "My dog ate it!"

    I'm done

    Jeffery 100% :-)
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    In the minute it took me to write this post.. someone died of Covid 19. RIP.
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  • Profile picture of the author don21stc
    "You don't even need a website to make money" and "You don't need any money to get started"
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    • Profile picture of the author Talinn
      Originally Posted by don21stc View Post

      "You don't need any money to get started"
      You don't.
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  • Profile picture of the author SMP
    "It doesn't matter how old your co-reg leads are, just load them up and bulk mail them".

    Easy way to get your IP banned for spamming.

    SP
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  • "You must take action."

    That's actually good advice after good instruction to a newbie.

    But it's the worst possible advice you can give to a newbie after horrible advice (like how to game Adsense, etc.).

    I wish the standard phrase were, "You must take intelligent action."

    Michael
    Signature
    Know thyself...
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  • Profile picture of the author lakshaybehl
    Make it perfect.

    I learned a minute ago that Perfection is the killer of all excellence.
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  • Profile picture of the author JesseT
    it takes a lot of hard work / long hours to get started -> This is not bad advice. You will have to put effort in. 80/20 style ya know? I have put a lot of effort into SEO and SEM and it has paid off (Just not in IM yet !)
    Signature

    Short Sale Extraordinaire!

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  • Profile picture of the author krishnaGopal
    the worst advice I heard was "to quit" !! some erm not so good advice there!!
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  • Profile picture of the author euan.agnew
    the worst advice i ever heard was to a friend who was told to use
    DIRECT MAIL for a "get fit" DVD so he spent £3000.00 sending it out
    and made 1 sale for £50.00!!!

    I know its not I.M but was pretty bad advice....
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  • Profile picture of the author newBum76
    This wasn't said to me, but today I saw a newbie post about how they were having a hard time and asking for help, then somebody else told them "maybe internet marketing isn't for you". Terrible advice for a newbie! I really hope they didn't listen to it.

    On the other hand, if somebody actually said that to me it could be great advice......because when somebody tells me that I can't do something, it just pisses me off and makes me want to work that much harder to prove them wrong lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author linkedinlincoln
    Yeah, this has been mentioned here a few times, but I've heard it given as actual advice dozens of times:

    Do what you love/ Pick something you enjoy to promote/ Follow your passion/heart...etc

    This is the absolute worst advice ever. EVER.

    Find out what makes money and do that.

    The other one : Look at what everyone is doing, and do the opposite.. HaHaHa

    Correction: "Look at what everyone else is doing and do it better." That's real advice.

    -Kathy
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Stigson
    What I just read here is SO THE TRUTH I CAN ONLY CONFIRM IT... I've seen people pay $10,000 for "basic information", who took it, made millions... And on the other side of the coin, I've seen people "search for information" FOREVER, and still not have a website...

    The WORST advice I've seen however is, "99% Automated Business"... Nothing in this business is that automated, or automated and "sustainable" for an exteneded period of time....

    Build your business on solid foundations, even though they are simple in theory!

    - Chris

    Originally Posted by Marc Rodill View Post

    Here's the ABSOLUTE worst advice I see perpetuated by newcomers (who don't really GET it) ALL THE TIME...

    In fact, I'll just quote a reply I saw the other day. It was in response to someone considering buying one of the big "guru" marketing packages:

    "I wouldn't do it. it's pretty much stuff that's already available just repackaged and obviously marketed very well."

    I thought that was hilarious.

    I think the number one thing people need to know when they get into this game... is that this is EXACTLY what you are trying to do.

    Market your products EFFECTIVELY. Bottom-line.

    And how charge a higher price so you don't have to work as "hard!"

    This is the "game" we are in. We are marketers.

    Yes, obviously your product must be VALUABLE. That goes without question.

    But the idea that you wouldn't buy someone's product because they "marketed it too well" seems very ironic to me...

    ...because isn't that the point? To learn how to market YOUR OWN products VERY well?

    Too many people want to take the "free route" which is FINE...

    But if you can take YEARS off of your learning curve by getting everything laid out for you in a clear and concise fashion...

    ...well, let's just say you're going to make incredible gains. By leaps and bounds.


    ...


    Listen, a popular topic we've been discussing in this forum lately is about how EVERYONE seems to want a mentor, right?

    They're willing to get the training for FREE... go figure.

    But to PAY for it? Nah, that would be absurd.

    It's insanity.

    Everyone wants something for nothing these days.

    (Correction: I guess it's always been that way, and what separates the "wheat from the chaff.")


    ...


    I think the number one thing that holds aspiring "marketers" back is their general close-minded attitude when they first get into the game.

    They want the easy way out.

    They don't want to work too hard.

    They just want to sit back and collect checks.

    But they don't want to pay for information.

    They don't want to learn REAL marketing.

    Again, they just want the push-button solution.

    It doesn't work that way, folks.

    Having the general attitude of "don't market to me. Don't up sell me. Don't charge expensive fees for your products. Don't make me opt-in to your squeeze page," etc, is only going to prevent you from getting what you want.

    Anyway, that's just my opinion.

    Take it or leave it.


    Marc Rodill

    P.S. But you can't just go around following everyone, which is the opposite side of the spectrum. You can't spend your money frivolously. You have to find one marketer who you respect and trust, and follow their advice to the "T".

    While there are people who won't fork out a single dollar for valuable advice, there are just as many people who overspend and then end up with TOO much information and bog themselves down. You need to find a happy medium. Stick with one thing. Focus. FOCUS. Follow one course until successful. That's my advice.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randy Bheites
    Worst advice:

    "You need XYZ course/system/gimmick/software/method to make money online."

    What you need online is exactly what you need in the "real" world: targeted traffic going to a targeted offer that generates conversions that produce profit.

    The path that the traffic takes to the offer is irrelevant, as long as the nature of the two (buyer and product) line up and produce revenue greater than costs.
    Signature
    have a great day

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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    Everybody that walks on to this used car lot is a customer. If you cain't sell 'em that's cuz you're a loser. "DON'T TELL EM, SELL EM" H--hahaha.
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil Kieren
    Lol. Some advices are just too much that I consider them as laugh lines
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  • Profile picture of the author derekwong28
    "If you have site making $1 a day, why not create 1000 similar site, then you will make $1000 a day!"

    NO, NO, NO, things just don't happen like this.
    Signature

    Do not get between a wombat and a chocolate biscuit; you will regret it dearly!

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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Park
    For me, it's "FOLLOW YOUR PASSION!"

    I mean, it kind of feels right to hear the phrase
    to follow your passion to succeed online. But
    it may not be where the money is, right?

    I've followed my passion on Jazz Piano and
    I've built a blog with a good affiliate program
    with lots of content and worked on it for years
    but it's really a minimal return I got.

    Perhaps it could be due to my marketing endeavor
    or what I didn't do but from my experience, it's
    so much better to follow the niche where the money
    is and make the same effort to make a lot more
    money than what I spent on my blog where I had
    my passion.

    Just my 2 cents...
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  • Profile picture of the author DAS_Matt
    The more beautiful the design the better the sales.

    Simple and/or "ugly" can often get you a heck of a lot of sales.
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  • Profile picture of the author jacksonlin
    The reason why people tell you to check "competition" in quotes and if it's below XYZ number is because it's a quick way to determine if there's high competition for that keyword, because chances are if there are not many sites optimized for that keyword it should be theoretically easier to check.

    I mean not everyone has access to keyword tools that let you check out who the top 10 are for the keyword and how many backlinks they have.

    So I think that's a good general rule and should not be totally disregarded.

    It's a quick way of knowing what you should go for before going through your keyword list in detail.

    J
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  • Profile picture of the author nicholasb
    by far the worst advice I have ever heard was fake it till you make it.

    this is the worst advice ever given on the face of the planet.

    you can claim to be making millions but when the irs comes for an audit your screwed because the first people they are gonna call it the ftc then your really screwed
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  • Profile picture of the author Justin Michie
    Stop thinking so big!
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  • Profile picture of the author xlfutur1
    I will second Josh Anderson's: just make a list of friends and family. worst advice ever.
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  • Profile picture of the author ausmarketer
    Worst marketing advice I've ever heard? Probably this...

    "Don't go into the Internet Marketing niche cause it's saturated. Too much competition."

    Riiiiight. Glad I didn't listen to that!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason_V
    To use Google's Sidewiki
    Signature
    "When you do something exactly wrong, you always turn up something."
    -Andy Warhol
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  • Profile picture of the author winsh
    Buy Google Cash and direct link to affiliate products. For easy money

    Result: Google slap was already in force
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  • Profile picture of the author jacksonlin
    Set up adwords and direct link to the affiliate site!

    I lost hundreds not knowing anything about what a "Google Quality Score" was at the time.

    But don't worry, you don't need to know anything about quality scores, you'll get enough sales!

    -_-
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  • Profile picture of the author zapseo
    "Internet Marketing is changing. You HAVE to get on board NOW or be left behind."
    If you don't get in now, you will be priced out -- just like you used to be able to do infomercials cheap in the early years.

    (I think Armand was responsible, at a BigSeminar. About 4 years ago.)

    I'm grateful he was wrong.

    But I really, really, really wished I'd finished nursing school instead of swallowing that.

    Not that I don't want to do the things in IM that I do -- I do -- I LOVE them. Positively, absolutely.

    But an RN would have added a bit of authority and credibility and, most likely, an easily tappable supply of jobs when the need came up to make some reliable money (or get health insurance.)

    I still keep hoping...some day. (Just for those of you who might be curious. I COULD actually finish thru an online RN school at Regents, in New York. Except that 49 states recognize the RN coming from Regents. I live in the one (California) that does not. GRRRRRRRR. So dumb. I have nothing against Filipino RNs, but, couldn't we take US citizen Regents' trained RNs before them.)

    ANOTHER ONE: You must buy this now before the price goes up.

    (actually, a variant on the one above, just substitute opportunity for price.)

    Sorry, dude. Most of what price urgency has done for me is get me to buy products at a cheaper price that ended up being more expensive because I didn't have time to use them -- and/or by the time I was ready to use them, the information was obsolete, and there were, of course, newer, fresher products on the market.

    The biggeset unspoken myth is: You don't need discipline to succeed in this endeavor.

    If that were the case, how come so many cases of IM ADHD. People whose bank accounts have been drained (see "Friends in Business") by products promising the world.

    Another Myth that I absolutely hate: If they can't succeed in IM, then they are lazy.
    (Or, if they can't make money using my system, they are lazy. That is sooooo much BS. I've argued with some successful marketers on this point. I think that's simply arrogant, and certainly unsympathetic to the vagaries that assault us as human beings. There may be some. OTOH, there are also a lot of snake oil salesfolk feeding the one-push-button dream to the dreamers in all of us.)

    OH yes, and another one of my favorites, that I argued about with one of my copywriting mentors. "The money isn't in software, it's in copy." Okay, would someone please tell me where the copywriters show up on the Forbes 400 ???
    Last I checked some of the top 2-3 places were taken up by software guys.

    (don't get me wrong. I love copy. I love software. I love writing. And, yes, and medicine/healthcare. You've now got most of my main passions....)

    Okay...

    /rant off

    Live JoyFully!

    Judy, Copywriter, Marketer, Webmaster-kinda person
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  • Profile picture of the author megalinktraffic
    Get 1 million visitors to your website within a day
    by posting your website or affiliate url and make money online
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  • Profile picture of the author rmolina88
    Keep spinning and submitting articles EVERYWHERE EVERY DAY.
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