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Kickstart Today
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Friday April 18th, 2008: Issue #911
Kickstart Today is published three times each week for opted-in
subscribers only. Publisher: Martin Avis. Your comments are
always welcome – to respond to anything you read here, please
click ‘Reply’
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Greetings!
We have guests arriving shortly to stay over for the weekend and
I have a doctor’s appointment in an hour to talk about the eye
strain/migraine problem I’ve had all week, so I’m afraid I don’t
have time to write a full Kickstart for you today. But I do want
to issue one specific and one general warning.
Over the past few days a lot of people have been promoting a new
book on AdSense. It looks like a real bargain – it has sold in
the past for $97, but is now on offer for the knockdown price of
just $9.95.
I admit I was tempted and clicked on a link sent to me by a good
friend to go and buy it.
The sales page is slick. There is a very professional video
designed to get you to click the buy button before you even read
the sales page. As the price makes the sale virtually a
no-brainer, I’m sure most people just click right on through to
the order form. I know I did.
It was only when I scrolled down the order form, looking for a
way to pay by PayPal that a nagging doubt started to creep in.
They only take credit cards – there is no PayPal option.
Being both curious and suspicious I went back to the sale page to
read it more thoroughly.
What I found was alarming.
It is a long sales page, but buried in the text of ‘Bonus #3′,
way down the page, was a single line that mentioned the fact that
as a ‘bonus’ you will get a subscription to a monthly newsletter
that will cost you $29.95 per month. They will bill your credit
card automatically and the onus is on you to contact them by
phone to cancel.
That is called ‘forced continuity’ and is a sneaky sales method
that is becoming more and more popular amongst many of the big
name Internet marketers.
I don’t like it at all.
If this person’s monthly newsletter is as good as he seems to
think it is, then why not sell it openly and honestly?
Instead you are tricked.
I have no doubt that the AdSense book is worth reading. It is
probably an excellent product. But do you really want to buy from
someone who would sneakily put his hand in your pocket in this
way?
As far as I can tell, the letter of the law is being observed.
There IS a notification of the forced continuity on both the
sales page and the order form. But they have been designed to be
less than obvious – and to most people they would be all but
invisible.
A lot of people will have bought that $9.95 book in the last few
days – maybe you are one of them. I wonder how many are aware
that a $29.95 charge is going to hit their credit card at some
time in the future – and every month after that until they reach
someone by phone to ask for it to be cancelled?
I won’t promote the book. I am sure that most of the marketers
who have promoted it have no idea about the sneaky forced
continuity – but I do hope that those who have recommended it to
their lists (or plan to do so) will issue a warning to their
readers.
That is my specific warning.
The more general one is this: buying online is almost always very
safe and very secure. It is only the actions of a few greedy
people that give Internet marketing a bad reputation. But as the
buyer, you have to accept some responsibility to make sure you
know what you are buying into.
* If an offer looks too good to be true, don’t be fooled by
slick videos proclaiming that the seller just wants ‘to give
something back’. He might be perfectly altruistic, but the
saying that if it looks too good to be true, it usually is
too good to be true is right on the money.
* Make sure you read the sales letter fully.
* Make sure you read the order form fully.
* If the payment method is credit card only, ask yourself the
question why. (With PayPal, you can cancel recurring
payments very easily, with a credit card it is a whole lot
more difficult.)
* Check the bonuses. I know most people don’t even bother to
read the often interminable list of unwanted bonuses, but
that is often where the sneaky forced continuity message is
buried.
* And if you do find you have bought something that has signed
you up for a recurring payment – get on the phone to them
right away. Don’t wait, because many of them insist you give
notice of cancellation.
#~#~#
Did you get hold of Harvey Segal’s ‘Ultimate Supertip’ book yet?
It is an AMAzing book that is, on the one hand, absolutely free
to download, but on the other has the potential to make you an
ongoing stream of income.
You’ll see why and how when you read the book.
There is nothing sneaky about Harvey – no forced continuity and
no shady practices. Just good, sold information, a great offer
and a real opportunity for you to profit.
http://www.supertips.com/ultimate/x/?id=759
#~#~#
I’ve been going through the suggestions people have made for
future articles in the Foolproof, No-Nonsense, Kickstart Guide to
Making Money Online and have added a few of my own.
Here is the list:
* How to build a web page – basic HTML
* What is a landing page, and how to build one
* What is a squeeze page, and how to build one
* What is a thank you page, and how to build one
* Affiliate marketing for beginners
* How to open a PayPal account
* How to work with ClickBank
* How to work with PayDotCom
* All about autoresponders
* Networking, schmoozing and JVs
* A beginners’ guide to using images
* Why CSS is your friend – basic tutorial
* How to create your own readers’ poll
* Testing and tracking – the hidden profit multiplier
* An A-Z of Internet marketing jargon
* Passive income – the key to everything
* Pay Per Click – a beginners’ primer
* Maximising profits from your customers
* About privacy policies and legal notices
* So you want to be an ezine publisher?
* Preparing and submitting an article to EzineArticles
I’d love to know what you think – or would add to the list, so
please email me with your thoughts and suggestions.
Meanwhile the entire course so far can be read at
http://imkickstart.com
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Kickstart Products for you to enjoy AND make money with!
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* ‘Unlock the Secrets of Private Label eBooks’ (Ideal for
anyone who is a member of the excellent PLRproEbooks site):
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* ‘You CAN Write Articles’ – Anyone can write articles to make
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* ‘14 Days to Total Time Control’ – The book that will help
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* ‘Keyword LSI Spy’ My new script that lets you find the exact
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and in your articles – and a whole lot more!
http://www.keywordlsispy.com
Each of the four products listed have affiliate programs that you
can make money from. Please visit http://www.urlnex.us/affiliates
for more details.
#~#~#
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