The Greatest Internet Marketing Myths?

64 replies
Hi All

I was wondering what you thought was the greatest IM myth. There are plenty out there. No one knows how they start and there is no real evidence whatsoever that they are true....yet most people seem to believe them

What's your's?

I'll tell you mine - 'Google loves Wordpress'!

I see this old gem trotted out time and time again :rolleyes:

Regards to all,

Peter
#greatest #internet #marketing #myths
  • Profile picture of the author Rodger Hyatt
    why do you think that is a myth? google indeed loves wordpress!

    my fav: Forced (autoplay) video converts better
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
      Originally Posted by Rodger Hyatt View Post

      why do you think that is a myth? google indeed loves wordpress!
      Its false because search engine only see HTML, CSS and a little javascript. Wordpress is a php script that runs on your sever and outputs HTML. Google never sees Wordpress itself
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    • Profile picture of the author espe
      Originally Posted by Rodger Hyatt View Post

      why do you think that is a myth? google indeed loves wordpress!

      my fav: Forced (autoplay) video converts better
      I have to disagree with that statement, in my opinion Google likes HTML code and relevance;not only a specific platform...

      myth: It's easy to get your FB ads approved!!
      truth: NOT! :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author Hardik Jogi
    I think the biggest internet marketing myth is about "Article Marketing" and "Duplicate Content"


    Article Marketing

    Myth :Article Marketing is about spinning 400 words articles to make 300 copies and distributing it to 300 directories.

    Truth : It is more (or 100%) about writing high quality articles which can be syndicated.



    Duplicate Content

    Myth : Google hates same article on different article directories/websites.

    Truth : Google hates 2 same articles on same website. For example : mydomain.com/article1 and mydomain.com/duplicatearticle1 - both pages have same content. Even if you have this type of situation, you can easily avoid any duplicate content penalty from google using canonical tags.


    Best Regards
    Hardik Jogi
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    • Profile picture of the author richrowley
      Originally Posted by Hardik Jogi View Post

      I think the biggest internet marketing myth is about "Article Marketing" and "Duplicate Content"


      Article Marketing

      Myth :Article Marketing is about spinning 400 words articles to make 300 copies and distributing it to 300 directories.

      Truth : It is more (or 100%) about writing high quality articles which can be syndicated.



      Duplicate Content

      Myth : Google hates same article on different article directories/websites.

      Truth : Google hates 2 same articles on same website. For example : mydomain.com/article1 and mydomain.com/duplicatearticle1 - both pages have same content. Even if you have this type of situation, you can easily avoid any duplicate content penalty from google using canonical tags.


      Best Regards
      Hardik Jogi
      Well said and good explanation. You know your stuff! Listen to this guy!
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    • Profile picture of the author HairyPoppins
      Originally Posted by Brendan Vraibel View Post

      Simple - that its easy


      This.


      Too many people think you make 6 figures within the first 3 minutes of starting.
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  • Profile picture of the author drmani
    Originally Posted by BackLinkiT View Post

    I was wondering what you thought was the greatest IM myth.

    Peter
    Myth: Build it and they'll come

    Truth: It takes marketing

    All success
    Dr.Mani
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    • Profile picture of the author WilsonJ
      Myth: Duplicate content and Google will let you down
      Truth: Not until you report it to Google
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    • Profile picture of the author Ben Gordon
      Originally Posted by drmani View Post

      Myth: Build it and they'll come

      Truth: It takes marketing

      All success
      Dr.Mani
      I agree! Everyone knows 'internet' but the most important aspect is 'marketing' which makes an entrepreneur successful.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nikolas
    Ok I guess this will get a lot of negative comments, but whatever

    Myth: SEO is about pagerank
    Truth: Pagerank is good, but you will go high in SERPs only from contextual links from relevant pages. The authority of those sites linking to you is much more important than the pagerank of the page links to you.
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    • Profile picture of the author david carr
      The Greatest Internet Marketing Myth:

      Originally Posted by Nikolas View Post

      you will go high in SERPs only from contextual links from relevant pages.
      Regards
      Dave
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Wilson
    Myth: duplicated content won't rank you high.

    I always smile at this one.
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  • Profile picture of the author kurtbai
    the greatest myth is "make $x,xxx.xxx by the end of the week!" we see lots of that on sales pages...
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  • Profile picture of the author YellowGreenMedia
    One of the biggest myths is that if you have a website and you get a lot of backlinks from bad neighborhoods you will go into the sandbox.... the sandbox is also a myth...
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    • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
      Originally Posted by YellowGreenMedia View Post

      One of the biggest myths is that if you have a NEW website and you get a lot of backlinks from bad neighborhoods you will go into the sandbox....
      There. Corrected for you. But in the end, it's NOT a myth. It doesn't happen to everyone, but it definitely happens more then 50% of the time.



      My Myth: Google is not evil.
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    • Profile picture of the author philhunter
      Originally Posted by YellowGreenMedia View Post

      One of the biggest myths is that if you have a website and you get a lot of backlinks from bad neighborhoods you will go into the sandbox.... the sandbox is also a myth...
      Pretty sure the sandbox is not a myth but I guess it depends how you define it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kauzmo
    Myths:
    • IM is easy, as in low to no effort (read work)
    • With only 3 mouse clicks....$10,000
    These are two of my favorites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    Myth: All of us know what we are talking about.

    Bonus Myth: Everything is dying; and when the doom of the internet comes this will be your one stop shop for legal advice.
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidTT
    One button push start 100k effortless business.

    loll
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  • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
    Myth - Links from .edu domains are especially useful.

    Truth - they are no more or less useful than any other links. The fact that you can post comments on many .edu sites means that these are targeted for abuse and therefore are especially highlighted as places where spam links come from and therefore do not get any special treatment despite what people might tell you when trying to sell you them.
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    nothing to see here.

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  • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
    A sexy girl in the video always sells more products and gets more views...
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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by Michael Milken View Post

      We know this to be true.
      You won't sell many NSA gay hookups with pictures of a sexy girl. Lesbians don't want NSA hookups. Gay men don't want a sexy girl.

      My favourite myth: "This worked for me once, so it will work for everybody every time."

      It's especially funny when the people don't even seem to grasp what worked for them in the first place.

      I have a product which is all about how to make cool header and footer graphics for your sales page, because the author decided to hire a copywriter and make some graphics instead of using a bland PLR template.

      Now, maybe I'm biased, but I'm pretty sure it was the "hire a copywriter" part that made this sales page work so well... not the crappy graphics he made in GIMP. But he doesn't say who wrote the sales page or show the copy, so I can't say for sure. He just said "my success must be from the part I did myself!" and wrote a report about it.
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      "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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      • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
        Originally Posted by Michael Milken View Post

        Nice way to cut off ky explanation for why that statement is true.
        Well the statement was:

        "A sexy girl in the video always sells more products and gets more views..."

        I have just illustrated one scenario in which a sexy girl in the video DOES NOT sell more products and get more views. Therefore, the word "always" is incorrect and the statement is not true.

        So your explanation is wrong, and cutting it off is perfectly appropriate. There is a link in my quote to the original post where you said it (the little grey arrow next to your name in the quote), and anyone who cares to click that link can read your stupid wrong explanation for themselves.

        And on top of that, you create some scenario entirely different from what I was explaining.
        Well, yes, because you were explaining a limited scenario in which the statement was true.

        Since the statement is not true, an entirely different scenario demonstrating this is the appropriate response.

        What part of this do you not understand?
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        "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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  • Profile picture of the author MaxBounty
    Add me to the list of people voting for "it's easy".

    Also, the myth that there is ONE great way to make money online and that this ONE miracle method fits everybody, regardless of their individual skills.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      "#1 in Google" = "key to the mint"

      Even if those outdated studies of traffic vs. search position were accurate, you still have to get a human being to take an action favorable to you.

      And there are tons of threads right here in this forum with subject lines like "#1 in Google, but still no sales - now what?"
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      • Profile picture of the author myob
        If you spin more crap than your competition, you can rise to #1 crapper on Google.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    MYTH: Spamming, Scraping, Spinning and Lying Is A Good Business Model
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Miranda
    Copy & paste cash.
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    • Profile picture of the author BackLinkiT
      There are some popular myths here and we have all seen (and will continue to see) plenty of people on this forum who preach them as if they are gospel

      I'm glad I'm not the only who believes that Google loves Wordpress is a myth (please tell me you were joking, Rodger!).

      Great thoughts on article marketing and duplicate content too. But the biggest myth seems to be that IM is easy money. People will always be taken in by that one too, of course!

      Regards to all,

      Peter
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  • Profile picture of the author niffybranco
    Myth : Pick a keyword with low competition with less than xxxxx they usually use an arbitrary number like 100,000

    Truth: to properly determine competition you need to look at the 10 results on the first page and analyse their on page seo and their backlinks and see if you can do better within resonable time and cost.
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  • Profile picture of the author vivi62
    worse myth is you can earn $20000 this month without any experience just follow the instructions.
    Regards
    vivi62
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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
    Myth: That Google hates sydnicated content.

    Truth: Google's own engineers have explicited stated that they realize there is a "need" for syndicated content. They frown upon "duplicate content" that tries to game their system. For some reason people keep referring to the duplicate content page on Google's own website that states to "syndicate carefully" and they somehow decipher that to mean Google hates syndicated content when nothing could be further from the truth.

    And even despite that truth, there are still plenty of marketers making an absolute killing with duplicate content. Clearly, Google hasn't stopped that stuff yet. There's a right way to do it and there's the spammy, wrong way to do it. I don't do it, but I see that there are plenty that do.
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    • Profile picture of the author lerxtjr
      Myth: Logic sells best.
      Reality: Sometimes the most illogical offer, approach, copy, price, timing, incentive, is what gets the highest conversion rates.

      Crazy business. But reinforces why you could have the perfect product and the perfect sales letter and when nobody buys you just wind up shaking your head thinking no one wants what you're selling. But then you turn around and try something goofy and for whatever stupid reason, people buy.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kurt
      Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

      Myth: That Google hates sydnicated content.

      Truth: Google's own engineers have explicited stated that they realize there is a "need" for syndicated content. They frown upon "duplicate content" that tries to game their system. For some reason people keep referring to the duplicate content page on Google's own website that states to "syndicate carefully" and they somehow decipher that to mean Google hates syndicated content when nothing could be further from the truth.

      And even despite that truth, there are still plenty of marketers making an absolute killing with duplicate content. Clearly, Google hasn't stopped that stuff yet. There's a right way to do it and there's the spammy, wrong way to do it. I don't do it, but I see that there are plenty that do.

      Hey Rod,

      What did the engineers say about scraping?

      Let me give you an example. I write a "good" article and post it to EZA. One webmaster likes it and hand-publishes (syndicates) it on his site.

      Another webmaster uses some auto-blog software that scrapes the very same article and posts it on his auto-blog. No human approval at all.

      Is one version of my article "sydication" and the other version "spam", even if the content of the article is identical?

      Also, if the engineers at Google approve of duplicate/syndicate content, why doesn't Google allow Adsense on non-original content? And why does Google they suggest using the noindex tag on syndicated content?

      And doesn't "realizing a need for syndicated content" take a stretch of logic to think they "like" syndicated content or treat it the same as unique and original content? Sure, they never said they "hate" sydicated content, but I don't see how anything you posted said they like it, either.

      Isn't it possible that syndicated content is dealt with by the engineers through the Google News system, which contains only news sites that have been approved by hand and whitelisted by Google? After all, Google News is a seperate database that returns (mostly) different SERPs than the "regular" Google search for the very same keywords?

      Why did both EZA and Hubpages take a big hit after the Farmer/Pande updates, but EZA's traffic is still declining, while Hubpages has been on the upswing?

      Did anyone bother asking the engineers these questions?
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      • Profile picture of the author nm5419
        Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

        Hey Rod,

        What did the engineers say about scraping?

        Let me give you an example. I write a "good" article and post it to EZA. One webmaster likes it and hand-publishes (syndicates) it on his site.

        Another webmaster uses some auto-blog software that scrapes the very same article and posts it on his auto-blog. No human approval at all.

        Is one version of my article "sydication" and the other version "spam", even if the content of the article is identical?

        Also, if the engineers at Google approve of duplicate/syndicate content, why doesn't Google allow Adsense on non-original content? And why does Google they suggest using the noindex tag on syndicated content?

        And doesn't "realizing a need for syndicated content" take a stretch of logic to think they "like" syndicated content or treat it the same as unique and original content? Sure, they never said they "hate" sydicated content, but I don't see how anything you posted said they like it, either.

        Isn't it possible that syndicated content is dealt with by the engineers through the Google News system, which contains only news sites that have been approved by hand and whitelisted by Google? After all, Google News is a seperate database that returns (mostly) different SERPs than the "regular" Google search for the very same keywords?

        Why did both EZA and Hubpages take a big hit after the Farmer/Pande updates, but EZA's traffic is still declining, while Hubpages has been on the upswing?

        Did anyone bother asking the engineers these questions?
        Kurt, now you know you won't get a sensible answer in this thread!
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    • Profile picture of the author VegasVince
      Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

      Myth: That Google hates sydnicated content.

      Truth: Google's own engineers have explicited stated that they realize there is a "need" for syndicated content. They frown upon "duplicate content" that tries to game their system. For some reason people keep referring to the duplicate content page on Google's own website that states to "syndicate carefully" and they somehow decipher that to mean Google hates syndicated content when nothing could be further from the truth.

      And even despite that truth, there are still plenty of marketers making an absolute killing with duplicate content. Clearly, Google hasn't stopped that stuff yet. There's a right way to do it and there's the spammy, wrong way to do it. I don't do it, but I see that there are plenty that do.

      The legendary Rod Cortez is spot on. Take a look at the top, most valuable websites in the world...and you'll find most all of them are "curated". GOOGLE LOVES MASHABLE.COM, THE HUFFINGTON POST, DRUDGE, AND THESE ARE THE SITES THAT ARE SYNDICATED/CURATED.

      peace, Vince

      p.s. Toss in Perez Hilton too...and Ariana Huffington sold her curated site for around $400 million I believe? Not bad. The others I mention are valued in the tens of millions.....and the pattern is clear.
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  • Profile picture of the author hotboy18
    Myth: Push button software to generate targeted traffic overnight.

    Truth: It takes hard work and real internet marketing skills to achieve any success.
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    I use to hear that listbuilding was a scam and useless.

    Oh what a fool I was.

    When i started listbuilding and learning how powerful it actually was, and did it properly. My whole life and business changed within a matter of weeks. Seriously. Powerful stuff.

    When my clients ask me when the best time to build a LIST! I tell them. YESTERDAY!
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim Baxa
    Anything regarding becoming rich over night.
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  • Profile picture of the author pheonixrises
    The myth that things need to be complicated to work.
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    • Profile picture of the author abdulquddus
      Myth: You can earn easy money on internet.

      Truth: Unless you put in some hard work
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      • Profile picture of the author BackLinkiT
        It certainly isn't easy, but it is fun, which helps!
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        • Profile picture of the author VegasVince
          Internet Marketing is a business.

          Wrong.

          It's a MEDIUM......

          This single fallacy combined with ass-backwards marketing that focuses on bells and whistles and everything but a COMPELLING OFFER IS THE PARAMOUNT REASON SO MANY FAIL.

          PEACE, XXX

          Vegas Vince
          Kicking Cancer in the ASS, BABY!
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          • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
            Originally Posted by VegasVince View Post

            Internet Marketing is a business.

            Wrong.

            It's a MEDIUM......
            No...

            Internet MARKETING - Is an activity.

            The INTERNET is a medium.
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            nothing to see here.

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            • Profile picture of the author VegasVince
              Originally Posted by Andyhenry View Post

              No...

              Internet MARKETING - Is an activity.

              The INTERNET is a medium.

              Thanks Andy for clarifying. U knew what I was saying.......but technicaly you're right.....so peace, VV

              p.s. score 2 points from just ahead of the three point line.....and yea IM is an activity and for a WASTED one for the simple fact the offer is seldom paramount. Hope I got that right.
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              • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
                Originally Posted by VegasVince View Post

                Thanks Andy for clarifying. U knew what I was saying.......but technicaly you're right.....so peace, VV
                The OP could've said the same to you

                I wouldn't even have picked you up on it if you hadn't posted it as a correction picking up someone else

                Peace...
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                nothing to see here.

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            • Profile picture of the author pheonixrises
              Originally Posted by Andyhenry View Post

              No...

              Internet MARKETING - Is an activity.

              The INTERNET is a medium.
              Realizing this is what turned things around for me when I really began to understand it, as simple as it seems.
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            • Profile picture of the author aireland
              Now this is a thread!!
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          • Profile picture of the author callseller
            Originally Posted by VegasVince View Post

            Internet Marketing is a business.

            Wrong.

            It's a MEDIUM......

            This single fallacy combined with ass-backwards marketing that focuses on bells and whistles and everything but a COMPELLING OFFER IS THE PARAMOUNT REASON SO MANY FAIL.

            PEACE, XXX

            Vegas Vince
            Kicking Cancer in the ASS, BABY!

            You need to make a poster and sell copies of this. Everyone should buy a copy and post it in front of there computer to see it everyday. GREAT comment.
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  • Profile picture of the author Shawn Lee
    Myth: Buy my product, follow these simple steps, and watch the cash roll in...

    Fact: Buy my product, follow these simple steps, and watch cash roll into the product creator's pockets
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  • Profile picture of the author Martin Gram
    Myth: That internet marketing is a short cut to a six figure early income that can be done with 3 clicks.

    Truth: That you need to nurse and build your internet marketing business just like any other business you start.:-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Awesomo
    one click solution software...
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  • Profile picture of the author Mr. Ken Russell
    This thread is great
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  • Profile picture of the author David Maschke
    Can't say that I came up with this myself, I read it from one of Willie Crawford's books back in '06...

    Myth: People are out there looking for the truth.
    Reality: There are more than enough people out there who will feed you the lies that you want to hear.
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    I

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  • Profile picture of the author PhilippaWrites
    Myth: If it's irritating, it must be bad for business (e.g. obnoxious pop-ups, mega-long sales pages)

    Truth: Everyone says they actually work the best.
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  • Profile picture of the author timb98133
    Anything that alludes to getting rich quickly. Building a solid business takes time & dedication! J
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