Where is the Integrity in Internet Marketing?

Byjoel

While I have been doing business online since 1995, I entered the Internet marketing arena in 2005. When I began selling an ebook detailing my strategies for making money with websites using Google AdSense, I found myself at the forefront of the marketplace.

In the years that followed, I was sucked into a swirling vortex of product launches, live events and teleseminars. I met many other Internet marketers and developed relationships with some.

Over the years, I have always sought to provide value through my products and services. I assumed every other marketer took the same view.

Call me naive. Call me blind. Whatever. I guess I like to think the best of people. But It wasn’t until a couple years ago that I began to see some very disturbing trends in the Internet marketing realm and began coming to terms with them.

1) There’s nothing wrong with making money. But sacrificing your integrity to do so is uncool. I have discovered from firsthand experience that there are many Internet marketers without integrity.

2) Not all products and services bring value to the customer. I get the opportunity to see many products before they launch. My team evaluates everything we would even remotely consider promoting. Ninety-five percent of the evaluations receive a thumbs-down from my team. That means we won’t touch them with a ten-foot pole.

3) The customer is getting the short-end of the stick. More often than not, people are persuaded to buy what they don’t need or know how to consume. Many times they aren’t even sure what they are buying. Hey, it’s a free country. People are free to spend their money however they want. Unfortunately, the majority of these people will never achieve the financial goals they desire from these products. The dirty secret amongst many marketers is this. They KNOW that most people won’t consume the product. This has always disturbed me. But I’ve witnessed many marketers laugh at this fact.

Now I need to be honest. A few years ago, I promoted some products and services that I later discovered were sub-par. At that time, I didn’t realize just how susceptible people were to the sales letters, countdown clocks and upsells. If I could take back promotion of those products, I would.

I have always tried to produce products and services that brought real value to the customer. I always provide top-notch technical support (even when our phone lines were overwhelmed with demands!) and I always have provided refunds to those who have tried a product and haven’t been able to make it work within a reasonable amount of time.

While I have continued to run several businesses, I’ve had a presence in the Internet marketing world. The sad fact is that I’ve seen and heard some awful things from respected names in the industry.

– There was the marketer whose event I spoke at. In the hallway, he talked about his customers as though they were dumb sheep that would buy anything. I was dumbfounded.

– Another marketer told me he directed his employees to mail his list EVERY DAY in order to make as much money selling whatever he could. There was absolutely no concern for the customer.

– I was invited to speak for a a big name promoter who barely said hello to me. His most pressing question was “What’s your price point?”

– Another big name who I used to respect and have spoken for a number of times has never once thanked me for the value I have brought to his audience. How unusual.

The list of experiences goes on and on. You wouldn’t believe how many product launch invites I get from marketers, many of whom I have never met. They usually go something like this…

“Hey man! How you doing? Dude! We are launching our product in a few weeks and you can make some serious MAD money promoting it! The conversions are off the charts and the upsells are going to kill it! Bob X, Sam Z and Tommy P (names changed to protect the guilty) are all on board to promote. Think you can sell more than they do so you can win the big prize? Woohoo!”

Okay, so it’s time for another confession.

A few years ago I did a couple product launches like this. But they were for low-dollar products, not the hyped-up $2000 launch that has become so common today. And this was a time when people who sold products actually had made money using their methods and had a right to sell this information to others.

My biggest launch involving the most affiliates was the 2006 launch of Instant AdSense Templates. The product cost was $197-$297 and provided real value for those wanting to get a website up and running quickly. Refund rate was low and customer satisfaction was high. At this time, having affiliates on board competing for the most sales was still a new thing.

In turn, I was invited to every product launch under the sun. Once you’ve got a list, everyone becomes your best friend. They all offer to promote your product to their list if you promote their product to your list. Something smelled funny to me.

Then I discovered that many marketers encouraged affiliates to offer a bonus item to customers who purchased through their link. I’ve spoken out against high-dollar bonuses for a couple years and will not participate in a launch if “bonus wars” are part of the launch. Why would I devalue my own product to sell someone else’s? And what does that say to my customer who paid full price for my product?

So I stopped participating in these product launches a long time ago. The longer time passed, the less value I saw in the products. It seemed that many marketers were creating new product just to have something new to sell and not because they had anything valuable to bring to the marketplace.

In ceasing these promotions, I have shot myself in the foot. Not only have I left a lot of money on the table that I could have made as an affiliate, but I also have shut myself off from marketers who would otherwise be promoting MY product. Posts like this don’t make me any friends, either. That’s alright with me. If I am going to lose a “friend” by being honest, I don’t think they were friends in the first place.

My model has shifted dramatically over the past two years. iPhone applications, mobile marketing, software solutions, agency offerings, wordpress themes and physical books have become staples of my business.

I’m not saying that I haven’t made mistakes. I have. In fact, in 2008 the continuity attached to the launch of AdSense Secrets 4.0 caused a stir. When it was pointed out to me, I issued an apology and immediately made changes.

We also had a $1 trial offer debacle in 2008 which caused our call center to overflow. Don’t get me started on what I learned from that! But the point is to learn, make adjustments, and hopefully do better in the future.

I’m not perfect. Far from it. But I’m a work in process and hope that as I grow the value I bring to the marketplace grows as well.

Today even our flagship Internet marketing products are sold at very reasonable prices. I believe we overdeliver in every case and don’t hesitate to provide refunds when requests are made.

Now I’m not saying that there aren’t good Internet marketing products available. Occasionally I run across something worth sharing with my customers.

But the majority of what is available is just a huge waste of time and money. They are either repackaged information from years gone by, gimmicks that take advantage of loopholes in the search engines, tricks to use social media in ways it was never intended to be used or outright snake oil sold using a product launch plan turned bad.

Many times people sell products about making money online when they have never actually made money online through any means other than by selling books about how to make money online!

Just when I thought marketers were starting to get it, I was pointed to a new product that is selling like crazy. I had to take a look and had my team evaluate the sales process and the product. It didn’t take them long to tell me that I couldn’t run from it fast enough!

This product is from a big name marketer. The sales letter is packed with hype. The false scarcity oozes off the page. The endless upsells bombard the buyer to make them feel that they need more, More, MORE in order to make them feel good about their initial purchase. To top it off, the product brings no new value. It’s just more of the same. Very disappointing, indeed.

Enough is enough! You would think that a sense of decency would cause people to rethink how they market to people. And if that wasn’t enough, you would hope the newer FTC regulations would be enough to give people pause about how they market online.

It appears that greed is still in fashion.

But I believe there are many ETHICAL Internet marketers out there. I want to recognize them and applaud them for doing right by their customers.

I am in the process of putting together a list of best practices for ethical Internet marketing. My list is pretty long already, but I would be interested in receiving your input.

What disturbs you the most about the current state of the Internet marketing world? Post your feedback or other comments below and let me know what you think. I am planning on posting my thoughts soon.

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229 Comments

  1. I’ve learned a lot from observing the ‘gurus’, but can’t help be disappointed at the way they pool together to promoted each others products, it’s often relentless!
    How ironic that they promote customer service, a need to be genuine and the value of personal recommendation, when a large majority are simply in it for the money – shame on those that do.
    And a huge thank you to those that have integrity!

  2. What has always amazed me is that many marketers have truly great sales pages. They are articulate, well-organized, and exciting.
    After all the hype of the sales letter, the ensuing product looks cheap, reads terribly, and offers very little insight. Often the “system” requires additional purchases not disclosed in the sales letter. If someone was smart enough to write a good sales letter, why do they not apply their skills to providing a decent product?
    Joel, thanks for your work over the years. I appreciate your call for integrity!

  3. Hello guys, little off topic.
    Can you please give me URL to Joel’s WordPress University? I accidentally deleted the email and I cannot find it thru any search engine.
    Thanks
    Peter

  6. Hi Joel,
    Thanks for confirming (again) what a lot of us customers and internet marketers have had suspicions about for a long time.
    It really comes down to the customer. It’s as simple as that. Treat them the way you would want to be treated. Always strive to deliver value in any product or service and offer ways to help them to make their job, life, and experience easier.
    Doing so will be win-win for you and the customer and they’ll let you know of your good intentions. And THAT, is the most gratifying.
    Jim
    HotSauceAddicts.com

  7. Joel,
    You’re standing up for what you believe in and that is great! What’s not so great is grouping a large portion of this industry into your definition of immoral.
    That said, after just finishing with Affiliate Summit West, I’ve seen some dirt bags, some followers that appear to be dirt bags and don’t know better and some people that genuinely are serious about their business. It was very enlightening.
    The biggest issue I have with what you’re article talks about is that you think its bad to sell a product to someone knowing that the odds are there never going to use it.
    The reality is that those people (including me) are going to buy someones product.
    The sellers responsibility is to accurately represent the product or service and then its up to the purchasing customer to decide if he/she wants to use the product.
    I applaud you for calling people out, but after seeing many evolving industries, I believe we have to be careful with what “we” think is ethical and moral versus how others see it.
    It may come down to others having information that we don’t, no matter how experienced and informed we are in a particular industry.
    Thanks for allowing me to share and I appreciate your passion.

  8. Thanks for an honest look at what many are doing. Those that think of their clients as ‘sheep’ and try and foist off any product, no matter how inferior are doing continuing harm to the industry.

  9. Joel,
    Thank you for your article, the industry needs people like you to speak out. I’m looking forward to seeing your ideas on best practice and discussion it will bring.
    Best, Craig

  10. A while ago, it’s been a couple of years now, I caught on to this “car salesman” phenomena and I stopped listening and reading the materials “gurus” were sending to “pump” me up to buy another crappy product.
    What happened was amazing. I actually took responsibility for the information I was putting out on the web and started representing myself, not the mostly inferior and regurgitated products I was buying. Like all newbies, I was scared at the beginning, but over time I bought enough material to figure this whole Internet Marketing thing out, and ultimately I had to do the work and stop listening to the hype.
    Nowadays I’m buying mostly tools to automate my workflow. Although once in a while I do need some up to date materials to grow to the next stage.
    The one good thing about purchasing all those products early on, is that I now know who I want to go to when I need help, and who to avoid at all costs.
    Joel, I find that this kind of thing happens in every business, not just Internet Marketing. One just has to be strong enough and recognize when they’ve learned enough to start making money on their own and navigate the Internet Marketing waters with confidence. When I started seeing the pattern in all the products that I was purchasing, I realized that I had to follow the framework, not the hype.
    Lesson learned.

  11. Hi Joel,
    I’m a complete newbie to this IM world and my only introduction so far has been your KaChing book. It is so shocking to see that what most marketers are promising anything under the sun that has absolutely no use or value to my future goals.
    It makes me wonder if the only way these people are really making money online is through such bogus schemes. Would really appreciate if you would consider recommending good coaches who can walk the newbies through this confusing industry.
    Thanks again for your integrity in pointing such practices out.

  12. Hey Joel,
    It was your presentation at a Peak Potentials seminar 2 years ago in LA that got me into the online business game. I’ve really taken it seriously in the last few months and as soon as I got back into website work, I started getting “the emails.” Emails every day about “new” products written with garbage, barely English content clogs my inboxes (I have a few just to get away but they always find me…they always find me!).
    I just wanted to say that I started out in this field because you said it was a way to take your personal passion, write about it, be creative with it, and make money with it. With all the hyped-up product launches that I see, I try to remember why I’m doing what I’m doing. I’m a creative writer and history scholar who can bring value to the internet. I test out products and if they bring value to my work, I’m happy to promote them. But shameless promotions for “traffic pumps” make me think of other “pumps” that are shamelessly promoted through spam emailing.
    So thanks Joel for being there at the start even if you don’t know it. Here’s to internet marketing with integrity.

  13. Joel ::
    A few points :: with numbers …
    1. “Internet Marketing” as an easy business idea is a lie. It doesn’t :: didn’t :: and won’t ever work like that.
    The Internet is a seriously terrible place to try and make money unless you have mad Internet skills.
    Mad Internet Skillz cannot be sold in a box.
    2. You’ve named MANY names of dubious marketers in the past … for profit … have you not?
    So I think you should feel quite comfortable :: and maybe even obligated :: to point out names of specific people from whom you now retract your blessings.
    Of course :: then they might do the same for you … and it would be almost like competition.
    Fake Regards

  16. Hi Joel,
    Thanks for the excellent post. I know there are still few marketers out there that have ethics, those are the ones I still subcibe to their newsletters and what not.
    Besides the obvious B.S. and hype, the thing that bugs me the most is the one time offers after you purchased the product. “One Time Offer” is OK but some of them page after page after page before you can get to your product download page, you forget what you bought. Ones I find it disturbing is after you click No Thanks link, another page opens up and says $97 is too much for you? How about a one time special discount of $47? I feel sorry for people who bought it for $97. So, the product was only really worth $47 and it was a marketing test to see how many pay $97? The original product is so lacking that you need to buy all these add ons just to make it work? Well, enough of two cents from me.
    Take care everybody.

  17. Hmmm..there are some good points here but also some misguided points.
    The internet is changing fast and at rapid speed. New technologies are being implemented and launched.
    Some are even cool new wordpress themes…lol.
    The fact is, product launches will never go away. The offline world has the same thing (Apple, Autos, etc).
    Yes, there are scam product launches, and bad marketers, but I feel it is my duty as a online marketing specialist to have new and innovative ways to do online marketing better, easier, and more fruitful for my customers.

  18. This is such a a great post. I have only been into the internet marketing field for the past year, and it is like the wild west out here, launch after launch, and rarely are the products really working, or they are so technical that a newbie cannot process all of the information, so they quit! I try to purchase everything that I promote, and if I don’t i try to get some feedback from someone who has.
    Again thanks for sharing Joel.

  19. Joel. Good post. In my 7 years in the home-based business industry I have fallen fowl of some of these products myself. While I do believe that marketers should charge as they have a field of expertese, I do hhate the way a marketing page sells you one thing then tries to sell you something more and more expensive. i actually wouldn’t mind this so much but I want support. If i can’t find anywhere to contact the person behind the merchandise I won’t buy it. Simple as that. This is why I think a lot of people end up losing out so much. I myself prefer to learn from people and don’t mind buying courses to improve myself but the support is what is vital. Most people out there are simply concerned with shifting product, virtual or otherwise and don’t give a monkeys about the support after. I can always be contacted via the internet or telephone, whichever is the customers’ preference. I believe in transparency and wouldn’t dream of selling something to someone else that hasn’t massively impacted me.

  20. Dear Joel
    I think your attitude and integrity is outstanding and expressing it so impressively, is certainly a great asset to everyone on the internet. You certainly have chosen the hard way, while 80% choose the easy way, to make money regardless of the lies they tell us. It is often written off as a white lie, until we read just how true your article is, and realise how trustful we all are. Thank you for you integrity and God Bless you always

  22. I’m with Snake Oil.
    Let’s name some names.
    More people than ever are flocking to the online snake oil pitches and buying it hook line and sinker.
    If you Joel…an expert, someone with knowledge, experience and serious credibility in the make money market…if you and people like you don’t expose some of these snake oil merchants…who will? Surely not the FTC.
    And let’s face it. Snake oil merchants have been around for at least two centuries. No list of standards and ethics is going to have any impact.. The problem is the soapbox is now too efficient and pervasive.
    In these hard economic times, when people are desperate and vulnerable…I think it behooves you…as an ethical leader…to name names.
    But I gather you prefer to avoid the confrontations.
    Fair enough. It is a bit scary to speak your mind these days. You can get sued for telling the truth but if you pockets are deep…you’

  23. I’m with you Joel!
    I’ve been in the game for years, but mostly on the sidelines as I find my “voice” to go forward with. I’ve spent many thousands of dollars on “education” products and tools in the effort of making this work the “right” way. It’s really hard some days though … like you mentioned in this article… even some big names — well respected industry leaders — can be douchebags at times. Filtering through that mess can be quite difficult … I’ve abandoned more then one email account from the relentless #### spew researching can provide.
    …for the readers out there…
    …NEVER give up your integrity for a sale. maybe you’ll lose a sale today because of good morals, but tomorrow you will have a brand that people respect that demands the value you put in to it in the beginning!

  25. joel thanks for the info. unfortunate im not yet a maketer on the internet.The reason .Not every body can put up an running concern.Some info to put up a system leave a you half way.I am 65 years of age and like to start a internet business but where can i get the true answer and help.I need an extra income .Please help.if any body can help ill be glad thanks nico

  26. This post is really interesting and refreshing for me. I’ve been saying for the past two years that what’s missing in the online marketing industry is actually people that REALLY care about the customer.
    Hype is a big part of the product launch phase that most of the big marketer promote and most of the time you end up being unsatisfied with the result, simply to much HYPE. I know I brought some really expensive program because the pitch and the idea was really good but end up asking for a refund because it was crappy in reality.
    Post like this make me believe that I’m heading in the right direction, because of people like you I decide to go full throttle and start a website to spread my experience (in the shadow for the past 2 years) doing marketing online.
    Transparency and never promote a product that I don’t use or believe it not up to my visitor standard.
    Thanks Joel!

  27. Awesome post Joel… I’m glad that you did not name and shame as it does nothing for the soul. More importantly, they may have a wake up call and change, it happens.
    It’s great post and cermented some of the thought I had been having lately.
    I’m blessed with a large circle of aussie internet marketing “guru” friends. Watching them, and what the market is doing is interesting.
    You learn quickly, what works and what doesn’t. What is the right attitude and what is not.
    The internet marketing system works and is unethical… it is the person operating the system that can make all the difference.

  29. Thanks for your honesty. I literally was online searching to see if other marketers have seen what I have seen. I’m bowing out of internet marketing after almost a year of seeing how this industry is viewed. I can’t even get my foot in the door, and I would venture to say that since this is nine months after your article was written – it’s much worse now. I refuse to sell my soul to rank someone in Google.

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