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What constitutes a WSO?

by JimMichael
15 replies
I know this could be classed as a dumb question, but I am curious.

I see lots of people selling 'business in a box' style ebooks or systems along the lines of 'follow this and retire in two days with billions of dollars and women throwing themsleves at you like darts to a dartboard'

I find most of these hard to believe. Also, from the ones I have purchased, I've mostly been left unimpressed.

Also, there are lots of softwares available as WSO's - I've bought some good ones actually, but also bought some bad ones.

Here are my two questions:

1. What do you look for in a WSO?
2. Can greatly-packaged services be offered?

I would never claim to be able to show someone how to make lots of money quickly - and I am no software developer. However, I do offer very useful services to businesses that get them real results, but don't want to writing an eBook that will blend in with the hundreds of others out there.

I'd like to offer an actual service, but at a great price.

Just wondering how it could be packaged up.
#constitutes #wso
  • Profile picture of the author Dan Allard
    There are services offered there, I usually see backlinking and ghostwriting services being offered. But any service you provide could work as long as it's geared toward online/offline marketers. Just make sure you do your research and figure out if there's enough demand.

    When looking through the WSO section I watch out for 'theory' based methods. You can usually tell when someone is talking about theory or if they actually do what they claim. I also look for a step-by-step action plan because those are easy to follow and contain less 'fluff'.
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  • Profile picture of the author Claude5670
    You can offer a service as a WSO that has been article writing services and link building services offered

    The two main rules are that the WSO must be a product or service of your own created by yourself (can’t be PLR or an affiliate link) and must be offered at a special discounted price (if it’s also being sold elsewhere).
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  • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
    Remember, there is also a "Warrior for Hire" section, which is different from the WSO section, where you can post your services.....
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  • Profile picture of the author RobKonrad
    1. value
    2. sure... as long as they are YOUR products. can't sell repacked 3rd-party PLR as a WSO, for example....

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    • Profile picture of the author nellterry
      Yea, I'd agree that the WFH section might be better for your services. If you wanted to make it a WSO you could do a WFH ad, then do a WSO at a reduced rate (pointing to your WFH ad for your regular rates to prove it's a deal), some limited time special with a buy now button, maybe..
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Best for you to read the rules for clarification:
    http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...29-2011-a.html

    2. All WSO's Must Be Something You Created. A Product Of Your Own. (A package of ebooks someone threw together is not considered a product and will be deleted) This is completely self explanatory and not up for debate. If you yourself did not create the product do not post it here.

    3. A Warrior Special Offer Means The Price You Give Must Be Better Than The Price The Public At Large Can Get. (This is not a "buy my product" forum, it is a "Special Offer" forum)
    Remember, the WSO forum is just a marketplace and none of the products are actually endorsed by the Warrior Forum. The quality of the products is up to the product vendor and for that reason you as the consumer must do your own research before purchasing.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by JimMichael View Post

    I see lots of people selling crap
    Fixed that for you.

    You aren't "lots of people," and you don't have to be.

    1. What do you look for in a WSO?
    Is it something I am already doing or planning to do, does it teach something I want or need to know, and is it from someone I trust to do a good job.

    Earlier today Chris Ramsey released a WSO about list building. I do that. He specifically covered making your list happy. I need to know that. And since I know Chris Ramsey has a big list and keeps them happy, I trust him to do a good job.

    Meanwhile, John Schwartz has an AdSense coaching class. I trust him to do a good job, and I want to know that stuff, but I don't really do AdSense anymore and I'm not planning to return to it either.

    Similarly, Robert Plank sometimes comes in here to offer training on how to make products faster. I do indeed make products, but I don't want or need to learn how to do it faster, even though I certainly trust Robert to do a good job of it.

    And then you have the ongoing stream of newbies who post a WSO their first day on the forum, and I don't care what they're trying to sell me because I don't trust them.

    There is another reason I buy WSOs: when I have one much like it in development, and I want to shuffle my content into a good fit with it. Like I've got a product in development about list building myself, so I definitely want to check out Chris Ramsey's product - my customers are frequently his customers - and make sure someone who buys both products is still going to get his money's worth.

    Plus, I want to know where he's setting the bar, so I can make sure my price is justified. It's like the opposite of competitive research... I don't want to compete with Chris, but to coexist with him. We'll both make a lot more money walking side by side along the yellow brick road, instead of trying to shove one another off the side and race ahead. We can both have high-quality products that stand alone and are good value, but that continue to offer high quality and good value to owners of the other product.

    2. Can greatly-packaged services be offered?
    Yes. WSOs are basically products or services offered by Warriors at a lower price than the general public can get them elsewhere. The rest of the rules are basically "don't sell unethical crap."
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  • Profile picture of the author TBInternetMarketing
    A WSO is just a special offer to folk here on the forum. It can be anything, in any niche (not only IM but I would always stick to IM).

    The more value you give people, the better it will sell. Just remember that. If you're pricing it at $9, make it worth $30.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jager
    Most WSOs consist of:

    1 - Paid testimonials approving the product
    2 - Fake Paypal pictures of making thousands or millions of dollars
    3 - Deceitful copyright telling you about a secret or getting rich in a couple days

    If you don't like the above, then just let the product sell itself. Create a great product that over-delivers, and others will market for you.
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    • Profile picture of the author HairyPoppins
      Originally Posted by Jager View Post

      Most WSOs consist of:

      1 - Paid testimonials approving the product
      2 - Fake Paypal pictures of making thousands or millions of dollars
      3 - Deceitful copyright telling you about a secret or getting rich in a couple days

      If you don't like the above, then just let the product sell itself. Create a great product that over-delivers, and others will market for you.


      It's sad cause it's too true. That pretty much sums over half of them up. But, hey the good stuff usually rises to the top.
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      Originally Posted by Jager View Post

      Most WSOs consist of:

      1 - Paid testimonials approving the product
      2 - Fake Paypal pictures of making thousands or millions of dollars
      3 - Deceitful copyright telling you about a secret or getting rich in a couple days
      "Most?" How many have you actually looked at, as a percentage of the available offers?

      Now, to the specifics...

      If you see a paid-for testimonial, report the offer, with the specific evidence you have that it's been paid for (or otherwise compensated without disclosure.) We nuke offers - and accounts - for that.

      It was getting bad for a while, with people paying twits from Fiverr to create video testimonials. The members spotted that and we put in a rule forbidding it. (That should have been plain common sense, but it seems some people don't have much of that these days.) We also nuked a bunch of WSOs that used them.

      I've shut down more WSOs for violating the "No bonuses for posting testimonials" rule than probably any other reason.

      Same with fake screenshots. See 'em? Report 'em.

      Deceptive copy? Report it. With specifics.

      To report a post, just click on the little red triangle to the lower left of the post. Give a description of how you think the post breaks the rules. Once you submit that, it goes to the moderators for checking.

      This stuff isn't instant, but we do look into those, and we do act on them when we see real evidence of problems.

      If you're not just parroting someone else's complaints, and you really do see specific instances of any of this stuff, the way to fix it is to make sure we know about it.


      Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author sal64
      Actually, I find these broad, unquantified comments just as annoying at some WSO products sold.

      To tar everyone with the same brush is a poor effort.

      Where's that brush image, Bill?

      Originally Posted by Jager View Post

      Most WSOs consist of:

      1 - Paid testimonials approving the product
      2 - Fake Paypal pictures of making thousands or millions of dollars
      3 - Deceitful copyright telling you about a secret or getting rich in a couple days

      If you don't like the above, then just let the product sell itself. Create a great product that over-delivers, and others will market for you.
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      You Won't See The Light Until You Open Your Eyes.
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    • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Jager View Post

      Most WSOs consist of:

      1 - Paid testimonials approving the product
      2 - Fake Paypal pictures of making thousands or millions of dollars
      3 - Deceitful copyright telling you about a secret or getting rich in a couple days

      If you don't like the above, then just let the product sell itself. Create a great product that over-delivers, and others will market for you.
      Yes...and No.
      Yes there's an awful lot of rubbishy WSOs. Seems to be getting worse. Probably the fault of a some BH sites recommending "Grab some PLR and whack it up as a WSO and make $500 this weekend". And yes - I'm not making that up - I've seen it.

      There's also a lot of rubbishy "testimonials" - basically gleaned through "review" copies. Do your "due diligence" and read between the lines.

      Fake Paypal and Clickbank shots? Yep - they're still around. I flag them whenever I see them and if I had my way they'd earn a permanent ban.

      "Deceitful copyright"? You mean "deceitful copy" I presume. Well yes, you get that too. And as a copywriter I can tell you point blank that a lot of product makers will alter our copy - hype it up - with BS claims like "I made $88,807.21 last month and you can too". And guess who falls for it? Yep the chumps that trawl the WSO section looking to pay 7 clams for something that will make them thousands of dollars. Overnight. With absolutely no work. You don't even need a website. Or a brain. You too can be driving a Ferrari by the weekend. Just send money.
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    • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
      Originally Posted by Jager View Post

      Most WSOs consist of:

      1 - Paid testimonials approving the product
      2 - Fake Paypal pictures of making thousands or millions of dollars
      3 - Deceitful copyright telling you about a secret or getting rich in a couple days

      If you don't like the above, then just let the product sell itself. Create a great product that over-delivers, and others will market for you.
      I'd love to see some solid evidence for these stupid claims.
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    • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
      Originally Posted by Jager View Post

      Most WSOs consist of:

      1 - Paid testimonials approving the product
      2 - Fake Paypal pictures of making thousands or millions of dollars
      3 - Deceitful copyright telling you about a secret or getting rich in a couple days
      That's a really harsh thing to say.

      I don't know why if that's what you believe that you're not reporting them and getting them closed.

      Not only is it blatently against the WSO rules but illegal.

      People go to jail for less than what you've just off-handedly accused a huge group of people of.

      Maybe I'm naive and you're right but negative and offensive generalisations about 'most' WSOs is not helpful and there's a mechanism for reporting them if you have proof that you're right.

      You're not helping anyone by just letting them stay up and not reporting them.
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      nothing to see here.

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