Can a guru's Earnings Report Total be trusted?

21 replies
Hi Warriors,

Many gurus while promoting their courses or ebooks like to show a screen shot of their earnings for example, Amazon Report Totals for June to convince potential customers that what they teach works.

I have 2 questions here.

First, can those Amazon Earnings Report Totals be trusted? Could they fake them if they wanted to?

Second, do sincere, honest gurus exist? Is it possible to have gurus who don't hold anything back and go all out unselfishly to teach all they know?
Reason why I ask this question is, if they are already earning so much money, why would they want to sell what they know for less than $100, why don't they just keep to themselves what they know and earn all the money they possibly could and enjoy their life to the fullest? Why do they want to teach?

Look forward to any feebacks from anyone because I don't want to be cheated.
#earnings #guru #report #total #trusted
  • Profile picture of the author xxxJamesxxx
    Anything can be faked and it only takes 2 minutes to do if you know what you're doing.

    Personally it takes alot for me to believe.

    James
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  • Profile picture of the author GopalG
    Most of the courses just aim to earn money for the person who creates the course.

    But there are few honest guys like Andrew Hansen. I really like his unstoppable affiliate course.

    Gopal
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    • Profile picture of the author dragoncpa
      Originally Posted by GopalG View Post

      Most of the courses just aim to earn money for the person who creates the course.

      But there are few honest guys like Andrew Hansen. I really like his unstoppable affiliate course.

      Gopal
      I am interesting in Andrew Hansen course.Can you give more details?
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    • Profile picture of the author Net Solutions
      Banned
      There are a lot of fakers out there..So much so that people do not believe the few genuine ones anymore..
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  • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
    a. I don't even look at earnings claims.
    b. Yes, they can be faked -- quite easily.
    c. Even if they were real, that's them, not you. Nothing again you, but we're all different. Your results will be different. They might still be good, but also, they may not.

    Earnings reports are there for one reason ... to sell you a dream.
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    • Profile picture of the author paul wolfe
      Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

      a. I don't even look at earnings claims.
      b. Yes, they can be faked -- quite easily.
      c. Even if they were real, that's them, not you. Nothing again you, but we're all different. Your results will be different. They might still be good, but also, they may not.

      Earnings reports are there for one reason ... to sell you a dream.
      What he said.
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  • Profile picture of the author RAMarketing
    The only earning report I care about is mine :-) . While you definitely need to learn from someone, try to learn WHY something works, then you can create your own system instead of having to follow blindly. It'll take some time, but well worth the extra effort.
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  • Profile picture of the author hashif16
    Yeah, they can be fake screen shots. Actually they themselves are trying to make money by showing this fake screen shots..In my opinion always trust on screen shots that are negotiable, do not trust any screen shot blindly..
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  • Profile picture of the author drmani
    Originally Posted by Netwarrior11 View Post

    Reason why I ask this question is, if they are already earning so much money, why would they want to sell what they know for less than $100, why don't they just keep to themselves what they know and earn all the money they possibly could and enjoy their life to the fullest? Why do they want to teach?

    Look forward to any feebacks from anyone because I don't want to be cheated.
    I'll flip the question around and ask:

    UNLESS they are making so much money from their system, why
    would they agree to share it with anyone?

    At a certain point, they can AFFORD to

    Also, some 'systems' are so generic and widely applicable,
    having a few hundred (or even thousand) others using it
    won't significantly impact the original user's income...
    especially if they are implemented in different niches.

    Finally, some people get a bigger rush and thrill from
    seeing others succeed using a method they taught (and/or
    basking in the name/fame/glory that follows) than just
    banking more and more cash (especially if the latter is
    still ongoing anyways!)

    With that said, you're right to be cautious (even cynical)
    at the claims spouted across the board. Most ARE fake.

    I deal with this using a simple question I ask myself:

    "WHY does this marketer share this piece of info with me?"

    If there's only a self-serving reason, I ignore it. Or
    else, I weigh it accordingly.

    All success
    Dr.Mani
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  • Profile picture of the author wrongnumber
    Originally Posted by Netwarrior11 View Post

    Hi Warriors,

    Many gurus while promoting their courses or ebooks like to show a screen shot of their earnings for example, Amazon Report Totals for June to convince potential customers that what they teach works.

    I have 2 questions here.

    First, can those Amazon Earnings Report Totals be trusted? Could they fake them if they wanted to?

    Second, do sincere, honest gurus exist? Is it possible to have gurus who don't hold anything back and go all out unselfishly to teach all they know?
    Reason why I ask this question is, if they are already earning so much money, why would they want to sell what they know for less than $100, why don't they just keep to themselves what they know and earn all the money they possibly could and enjoy their life to the fullest? Why do they want to teach?

    Look forward to any feebacks from anyone because I don't want to be cheated.
    - i think you should check out services at fiverr... they will create screen shots with whatever value you want...

    - second you should think it this way, you sell a product... you earn the money, you use those screen shots for your next product,... impress new people... make more money... use it in your next screen shot... just rinse and repeat!...

    Cheers!
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  • Profile picture of the author ghostrecon
    I think it's safe to say if somebody calls themselves a 'guru' they are most likely a fake or have an overly inflated ego.
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  • Profile picture of the author mikemcmillan
    Anything that CAN be abused WILL be abused. Screenshots are no different.

    But beyond the simple fudging of numbers is the misleading use of them. A product vendor with a big Clickbank launch may discuss his product and show you earnings of 1k or more a day in his account, but that's not what's interesting. He may well be earning that much every day.

    However, those earnings may in no way be related to his use of the product he is hyping in his ad. He may well have been earning the money he claims before he developed his product, and will be earning that much after his product is released--but that is no guarantee his earnings have anything to do with the product being discussed.

    It's interesting to see some of the guru-types using the same earnings screen shots as proof of earnings for multiple products they launch. The shots may not be fake, they just aren't at all related to the use of the products they are promoting.

    But people want to believe there are secrets, secrets held by rich and powerful gurus, secrets that will deliver the life of their dreams for a fee.

    In Frank Baum's, The Wizard of Oz; Dorothy, the tin man, the lion and the scarecrow stand in the chambers of the great and powerful Wizard. Smoke billows out from beside the image of the Wizard's huge image at the front of the room. Lights flash and the Wizard's voice booms out to fill the room.

    Toto, Dorothy's dog, runs to a curtain--tugging on it to reveal a man pulling levers, throwing switches and speaking into a microphone as his image was projected into the air before them. His voice booms...

    "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. I am the great and powerful Oz!"

    But, alas, the Wizard was no wizard at all. He was a man, just an ordinary man. The concept of the Wizard was a canard, an illusion--the Wizard existed because the people of Oz wanted to believe in him.

    The same is true with all of the gurus and hyped products in the IM niche. People want to believe there are secrets and IM wizards who will share those secrets. There are no wizards. There are no secrets. There are no push-a-button systems that spit out money on demand.

    Dorothy learned after exposing the faux wizard that she had to power to return to Kansas all along. The Wizard held no secrets!

    Maybe the same is true in Internet marketing. The gurus exist only because you want them to exist. Maybe you had the power to achieve what you wanted all along--you just needed to believe that you did and take action. Maybe you do! --Mike
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    • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
      Originally Posted by mikemcmillan View Post

      ...
      Maybe the same is true in Internet marketing. The gurus exist only because you want them to exist. Maybe you had the power to achieve what you wanted all along--you just needed to believe that you did and take action. Maybe you do! --Mike
      Brilliant! A nicely told story with a masterful conclusion. Bravo.
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      Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

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  • Profile picture of the author imdomination
    I trust videos more than I do screenshots, but I do understand they can be faked as well.

    As to why people sell their concepts? Well some things can be done in so many niches that there is so big a market that we don't have to worry about releasing the info. And in other cases, we're not using the system anymore for whatever reason and want other people to profit from it. Plenty of different things here.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joe R Piercey
    i do understand why you would sell a product instead of doing what it says because its an easy way to make some money and build a list. but im very leery about earnings reports
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  • Profile picture of the author Goldenboy
    As they say "Do not believe everything you see, hear and felt".

    Earning reports can be faked to present that he/she is earning that amount of money for about a week, a month or a year. With that presentation, newbies will be amazed of his feat and would ask for his/her help as a mentor or trainer, in which that guru can ask for a higher rate. What I'm trying to say here is, verify and do not just rely on screenshot or even a video that would present a person's feat about the IM world.

    Look for someone with feedback (positive ones) and try to verify his back ground. It may sound challenging, but it's one way to verify a person's credibility. Or the most reliable way is someone that you personally knew, would refer that guru to you. In some ways, you will surely be trained and mentored since he/she has been a proof from your friend's situation in the IM world.
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  • Profile picture of the author Karan Goel
    Frankly, I never even look at proof videos/screens. I prefer real testimonies from real, genuine, and trusted people. If it doesn't have solid social proof, I skip the product.
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    • Profile picture of the author premiumlinks99
      Those reports can be faked easily, so I don't recommend you to believe them.
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  • Profile picture of the author nicoledeal
    I have one rule. Never buy anything online without sleeping on it. Regrettably I do not always follow my own rule!
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  • Profile picture of the author Willie Crawford
    Practically anything can be faked, but since that's illegal
    many places the person faking screenshots has to be
    willing not only to be a fake, but also willing to risk legal
    punishment.


    Reasons someone making plenty of money would teach
    others....

    The market is big enough that they don't risk diluting
    it by teaching what they do. Local offline would be one
    such market.

    They may actually enjoy teaching and helping others.

    It's another logical revenue stream for some which
    doesn't prevent them from continuing to do what they
    teach.

    Teaching may just be more profitable than doing.

    Willie
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