FREE should mean FREE, right?

I’ve been noticing a disturbing trend in internet marketing lately that is going to make the already unfortunate hated email marketer even more hated! This new marketing method has made me angry over and over again every time I fall for it. The last one I will share with you, prepare to be blown away!

• The bait and switch of the FREE product: I recently came across a video from a highly regarded internet marketer. It caught my eye and I watched it for 17 minutes (about 16 minutes longer than I normally watch on a video), and it made me interested in seeking more advice from him. This video had a link to a FREE PDF that promised to provide valuable marketing insights and the chance to have a one-on-one phone conversation with him, which after watching the video, I was very excited about. I quickly signed up for this list of marketers and frantically read the PDF! What I read was horrible! This person offered NO real value in the report and kept going on about what an amazing opportunity he would offer in the FREE phone consultation. As I read later, there were THREE conditions that had to be met before you could talk to him! Requirement 1) You ALREADY had to be making $100,000 or MORE a year in internet marketing, Condition 2) You had to have your own product and Condition 3) You had to provide a $700 deposit for the FREE phone call…

This is the bait and switch part! This FREE phone call is reserved for people who A) DO NOT need your help, because they are already successful. (Hard to come off as a fraud if you only let successful people into your pool, right?) If you can figure out how to make $100k a year, you can single-handedly raise it. and B) That you can afford to throw away $700 for a FREE phone call and then the best part is that their services cost 3860 per month, again, if you’re new, or still struggling not worthy!

This kind of marketing pisses me off! I understand the concept of offering a valuable free product to build a list and then marketing that list. This is NOT what it is. This type of bait and switch marketing is becoming more and more common in the internet marketing world and is something that you as a new internet marketer should be aware of.

If you are a new marketer just getting started with internet marketing, I want to discourage this type of marketing. Instead, focus on developing or finding really valuable products to offer your subscribers. Also be aware of people who won’t offer you any value until you pull out your credit card. I encourage you to learn, read and figure out the game before putting your piece on the board. To quote a well-known salesperson that I deeply respect. “Leaders are readers.”

Take care, and if you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends!