Insomnia seems to be creeping back…
ByNot sure why, but I couldn’t sleep last night.
Alright, it was only until 1am, but have found that since I have kids that wake me up around 6am I am so exhausted most of the time that as soon as I hit the pillow, I fall to sleep.
Takeaway Number 1:
If you have problems with insomnia, have kids 
A lot is troubling me in this industry at the moment and I am pretty sure that in the next few weeks or months I will be writing a report about it, but for now let me tell you what is currently on my mind.
Every single day, there are multiple launches and when I take a look at these products, a lot of them are just pure crap. Sorry for the strong word, but there really isn’t any easy way to describe them.
I can’t see why someone would put out a product which would in no way help anybody. Well, there is the potential profits ofcourse from selling them (!), but that is a very short-termed view to take and if they were to put in a little bit more effort, then they would be able to create a GREAT product which would benefit a lot of people.
I read an interview recently with an internet marketer where he estimated that only 5% of people who buy his products actually use them.
If that were me, I would quit and do something else.
Even if I am slightly naive, I like to think that 100% of people who purchase my products go on to use them and benefit from them.
From an altruistic and karma point of view it really makes sense. But even if you look at it from a business point of view, that is really want you want to happen.
But let’s take a look from a business point of view:
Scenario A:
1. You create and launch a product
2. You make a sale
3. The customer looks at it for a few minutes and never
comes back for a second look
Scenario B:
1. You create and launch a product
2. You make a sale
3. The customer looks at it, is impressed with what he
sees and uses it
4. The customer is impressed with it and trusts you and
wants to learn from you
5. You create and launch another product
6. You make another sale to the same customer
etc.
There was a phase last year where virtually every other week a new product was coming out with ‘Google’ in the name. I don’t want to mention any specifically, but most of them had a second word which meant killer…I think you have probably seen some of them.
So, I bought a few of them and found that not only were most of them similar, but also that they were totally useless and would not help anyone.
Before this turns into a full scale rant, let me try and summarise and give a few more takeaways!
a. If you create a product, then create it the best that you can and in a way where it will be genuinely useful to people
b. Don’t buy a product unless you think that it will be useful to you.
c. If you do buy a product, put it into use so that it was not a complete waste of time
Would love to hear your views on what I have said.
Please leave a comment below.
Keeping it real in an unreal world,
Ben Shaffer
Forgot to mention, that Jeff D has just launched a product which definitely goes into my category of that which you should download and definitely use.
It is a free offer (pay shipping) with some continuity. However, if you don’t want the continuity, then there is a very clear box not to be ticked when you check out.
If you purchase through the link below, then paste your receipt at http://www.replytoben.com and I will refund you shipping – no catch.
Once again, I strongly advise that you do take a look at this:
http://www.sendbuttonprofits.com/?np&id=3139
Jeff Dedrick rocks!
Ben
It’s hard not to plug the programs you believe in, isn’t it? Create a content-rich site, hope it becomes a portal to many, but they discover affiliate links everywhere, and go away sad.
Any idea how to fix that?
My advice is to be true to what you do and people will see that and you will be successful. Try not to think about the money but about what value you can offer people.
Ben,
You have just hit the nail on the head for sure. Most so called IM products
are just the same junk that really didn’t work 1 year ago and has no way
of working now.
Most of them are put out to line the pockets of the person doing the launch.
Lets face if most people don’t need another PDF download on there harddrive.
Its just a matter of doing it and seeing what works and what flops.
Thanks
Charles Kirkland
Hi Charles,
Thanks for stopping by
I agree with what you say apart from the last sentence. My attitude towards launches is changing and I am much more prone to sell my own products and promote other people’s products not during a launch so that people are buying for the quality of the product itself and not just because of the hype surrounding it.
B
Hi Ben
I have just written a post on my own blog, which also almost turned into a rant. On exactly the same subject no less. Well more about the outragous hype that surrounds these launchs really.
I have purchased from you before Ben and definately used your product.
Andy Beveridge
Absolutely correct! There are few things as annoying as getting multiple emails with: “Go Go Go” in the subject, which herald yet another Google “Killer”, “Murderer”, “Hot-Foot”….etc, etc… launch. I know people are buying hope, but there comes a point when you simply have to unsubscribe from all the lists and just go out and do it…
Cheers,
Greg
Ben,
Thanks for creating and sending out this post. I certainly agree with you. I’m about to release a new product of my own and the first thing that I have every new member watch is a video that talks about what there going to learn in the program and then I have them watch a video that talks about mindset and what they need to do to see success with the program. I think it’s very important for people to understand how they should go about working with a program and what they need to do so that they can see results from spending money on it.
Although I have been very strict with only buying programs that I know I am going to use, I understand that there are plenty of people who have bought programs that are not what they say they are and offer no real value. As an Internet Marketer and teacher, Integrity is extremely important to me and it’s something that I plan to keep as long as I am in business.
Thanks again!
Mike Deiure
Hi, Ben,
I feel overwhelmed sometimes by all the promotions and as a newbie have fallen for the hype. I am now grateful that I found some people I believe in. Sometimes it is up to us to put on the brakes, but it would be nice to think everyone in the business was really trying to help people learn and be successful. How long would a college stay open if they “courses” they offered didn’t really prepare the student to go out and do the job? Or you bought a great “sounding” car that had no wheels?
I personally have asked you for advice when I bought another of your products and you actually were honest enough to tell me to stick with the first product, learn it, then add later, and refunded me the product cost. Which I will buy later when I am ready to move on. Your integrity will keep me listening to you. Thank you.
Greetings & Good Cheer,
It is said, “If you want to keep a secret, put it in writing.” … Only TEN-PERCENT (10%) of the billions of dollars that are spent on books every year are read!
All I (and I believe, ‘we’) can do is, to genuinely provide quality materials to assist folks in their quest for their interpretation of PERSONAL FREEDOM. … The rest is up to them.
I know two things for certain:
1) You can’t want something for someone more than they want it for themselves.
2) Truth is truth and everything else is cheap whiskey.
Ben, you said, “If that were me, I’d quit and do something else.” … Based on what I said above, does it make sense to deprive the 10% that want to learn, grow, & earn?
Rhetorical question: Why do only a very minute percentage of people in Network Marketing succeed? … And an overwhelming majority ‘fail’?
Is it the MLM company? The product? The training? The system?
From what I gather from your post, because such a small number succeed, the MLM company should shut their doors, and ‘do something else.’
Ridiculous isn’t it? Of course it is. All the MLM company can do is ‘put it out there’, and let the people assume responsibility for their own success or failure.
And to answer the rhetorical question, the minute number that succeed do so because, they READ, VIEWED, HEARD, and APPLIED … unlike the massess who say it does not work and put it on a shelf collecting dust and move onto the next ‘magic pill’. … the next book … he next Internet Marketing system … the next, WHATEVER!
Kindest regards,
Tony
PS – Eat 3-times a day and you’ll be fed. Read 3-times a day and you’ll be wise.
Ben, going back to your last course. How did the sale of the site go.
It seems to be sitting in a corner with your name still on it. I think if I had paid that much I would at least have got it up.
Just wondering as my site sleeps silently on the net, ignored by Google and all others and I am about to start on No 2.
Di – still got your cold
Just to clarify what Di is saying. I recently ran a very successful course ( http://www.autocashmethod.com ) and part of the course was selling a site.
The sale went very smooth. I have noticed also that the site is just ‘sitting there’, which is kind of a shame and also a bit strange after they paid quite a bit for it. It is slightly frustrating for me also, as I put all of my love into that site and am very enthusiastic to see it continuing to be successful as it was for me.
Hey Ben,
I took the ACM course with you and although I have not been able to implement
everything you taught (yet) but have already gained valuable insight into this industry.
Thanks for your integrity and keep doing what you are doing ~ only wish there were
more like you!!
A. Scarlott
I couldn’t agree more. There is nothing quite like the feeling you get when someone buys from you and then comes back for more. That, in itself, is a compliment.
Just last week, someone emailed me to let me know that they loved a report that they purchased from me and to “make sure” that I let them know when I come out with anything else.
Happy Days
Hi Tim,
Didn’t realize that you were on my list
To put this into context, Tim is a very talented writer who has been the writer for many of the largest online marketers.
B
If any, or all of the products launched every single week did what they said “on the tin” why would you need another product, and yet another product, to do what the first one said it would do. At what point would you NOT need another product to finally do whatever it is you want IT to do?
Probably never if the so called gang of inner circle gurus have anything to do with it. What a lovely little honeypot they have cooked up between them to keep the dollars flowing in ever increasing circles in the direction of their pockets, promoting each others for mutual benefit to their LIST of starry eyed disciples. The gravy train just chugs along, seemingly faster and faster, dispensing the wisdom which makes no one rich and never delivers the final solution…bu as Ben stated earlier this on is the one ” which definitely goes into my category of that which you should download and definitely use” AGAIN until the next one!
Hi Ben,
It’s good to see you in your blog. I’ve enjoyed knowing you through your class and and so, it’s very nice to see you again.
With regards to the post, I completely agree with what you say. The problem is that this also undermines people’s faith. There are just so many crappy, overhyped, products that you can’t believe anything anymore. I bought a new product last week (I’m very selective with regards to what I buy) and told my wife what it aspires to accomplish, and she said “I’ve heard that before”. And that’s the problem. Most products simply don’t deliver – or simply regurgitate existing materials.
I’ve bought quite a few products, and there’s only one I don’t use. But in my defense, I’ll say that I bought it during my first week as an affiliate. I think it’s a low quality product (I’ve bought products that do the same thing later on), yet I’ve recently received emails from many people praising it (won’t elaborate why – you can guess) as a masterpiece.
Good to see you again, I’ll be following your blog.
Udi
Ben
I have put up a site like you did in the ACM. I have to admit that you taught me things that I have tried to learn from several courses and yours was the best from that standpoint.
I now have another course that is on its second release and between the two I am very happy.
I WISH I HAD SPENT MY MONEY ONLY ON THEM.
I receive emails daily for this course and that course and I have to admit that most of it looks like it has just been repackaged and reshipped and yet they were sales pitched effectively enough to get my money.
It really appears that they are only a few IM marketers that really provide quality.
Hi
The thing that annoys me about all the launches are the presell, they go on for weeks and weeks and dont tell you the most important thing, HOW MUCH IS THIS GOING TO COST!! I know that this is probably another tactic but it really annoys me nearly as much as the ‘it wont cost $5997 it wont cost $4997′ etc… and then they talk about something else for 1/2 hour then they start again and still dont reveal the price!
Julie
My kids wear me out ot the point that I’m too tired to sleep.
Ben,
Totally agree about the amount of “crap” I get daily in my inbox. I have bought many “courses” that never lived up the hype and I have been extremely disappointned with the quality of those courses. Yours are one of the few e-mails I bother looking at and read through. If you recommend it at this point, I take a harder look at it because having purchased your ACM I know the value you offer. You are the real deal. Thanks for everything.
Ben,
How right you are. As a newbie, it’s very disheartening.
I found your ACM course to be the most refreshing and usable product I’ve
ever invested in. It was refreshing because you came across as extremely
interested in sharing what you know and caring that we “got it.” So, when
you send an email, I open it. Can’t say that for those “launchmasters”
Oh my Inbox is tired out of all the new latest get BIG $s NOW. I have bought a few recently and they were mostly rehashed. There is a new trend emerging in releases that you can’t download the instruction videos, you can only view them online. You can’t own what you bought. Also the download pages are full of JV or affilate offerings as bonuses, and some of the bonuses are redirects to some else’s product. The big money makers aor so they say they are hitting me with offers again and again, so I wonder why they need so much money. If they are living the life they say and have the $s to do live why do they need so much more? Derek Gayle has gone, but he offered really cheap or free methods, try them out and then upgrade. He’s moved on to some thing bigger and better no doubt. Howie Shwartz brings out 2 new products every day that you have no time to try the last one out.
Well, I find I can get what I want for almost free, or cheap, and they seem to be the ones that work. I just sort through the rehash and find gems. Like Ben’s offerings. All the glitters is not gold. Then just know what is true or not and Opt Out. That’s the way to keep the inbox fresh.
Hi Ben,
I must say I agree with you…while I also agree in principle with Tony’s comment to the effect that ‘you can’t help people who don’t want to help themselves’ – I don’t, think this is the case with most newbies or most new MLM’rs.
The majority are seriously looking to augment their current income, replace an income from a job loss and/or make a go of working for themselves rather than continuing to rely on a JOB that offers little to no security in the long-term…
Whatever the case – few that jump in and try to figure this IM thing out have deep enough pockets to get sucked into every great salescopy that promises the earth yet delivers little of practical use.
For anyone who’s really up against it – they need simple, straight-forward, short term methods that will bring in enough cash to keep them afloat. Anyone who’s been in that situation knows how horrible that feeling of utter desperation truly is!
I don’t think there’s any question that a lot of the Gurus have a very slick system that convinces people that their products are must haves ‘in order to succeed online’.
This is neither true nor ethical in my opinion. Sadly, I don’t think the majority of well known marketers are staying up nights worrying about the success or failure of their customers…
I always remember Jay Abraham speaking about his Strategy of Pre-eminence. In his view he felt buyers should be considered ‘clients’ not ‘customers’ as clients by definition implies a deeper caring and concern. That shift would make a world of difference in the IM arena.
Nowadays – BEFORE – I BUY anything I make sure I a) really need it and b) even when I’m fairly certain that I do I visit the Warrior Forum and do a bit of research in the Reviews and Ratings section…you can guarantee that if a product or service is rubbish the warriors are all over it…definitely saves me a few dollars…
Anyway – just my .02 cents (as we say in Canada
Really enjoyed the ACM – learned more from you than I have in the last year from other products and services who’s creators shall remain nameless
Thanks Ben – refreshing to get a method to add to my arsenal that is clearly defined, usable and actually works!
Sorry – didn’t mean to ramble on but this particular topic is top of my list of rants. Seen, talked to and helped far too many hard-working, struggling, would be internet marketers to resist venting…don’t get me started on the continuity thing!!
Hi Ben –
I totally agree with your comments that there are a lot of products, new launches and rehashes of stuff which didn’t work properly the first time through. And I DON’T believe that things don’t work because people don’t try them As a newbie, I tried to follow about three different so-called “step by step” systems, which weren’t. They assumed too much or missed out what turned out to be a crucial bit of info. This meant I believed the system would work if I just learnt a bit more. Nowadays I think mentoring is the only way to go.
My advice is don’t lose sleep over something you can’t control. Even people who say they care about their clients, often only pay lip service to it. If other people do it differently and worse than you do it just sets you out as different and better. Which you are. I thoroughly enjoyed the ACM. (I don’t believe it can be done in about four hours though… setting up the bookmarking alone took almost 3…).
Cheers.
Yes.
(keeping it simple in a determined to be complicated so as not to see world…!!)
Always a pleasure to read you.
Sid
It should always be about building relationships. Trust and honesty should be at the base of any decisions. I would rather build a business slowly and only offer something which I feel I could really use myself. This way people come back to you.
Do you know what, its a lot more fun to actually help someone, rather than sell some rehashed PLR product that offered no value first time round.
Andy Beveridge
This is indeed a complicated scenario, with a whole mix of emotions from both sides. I agree that the product owner should not be content with putting out rubbish and just being happy with making a buck. There is a whole ocean of real people out there each with unique personalities, families and their own set of problems and hang ups.
The picture is certainly not as simple as your scenario A and scenario B analogy just as there not just 2 camps of marketers good and bad. There are people who mean well but have totally been misguided or just not experienced enough. There are very good marketers with very good products but still fail their customers with poor support etc.
What about scenario C.
1. You create and launch a product
2. You make a sale
3. The customer looks at it, is impressed with what he
sees and uses it but hits a barrier because of a gap in his knowledge or abilities.
4. The customer asks for support and either gets none or gets an answer that doesn’t really bridge the problem.
5. He asks for support again and gets a similar answer or a different one but still hasn’t cracked his issue.
6. Now we have a problem because a lot of people get to this situation and assume its just them but in reality there are many people in the same boat. If they ask again the guru says “I’ve already answered that or even worse starts to ignore that customer.
7. The customer is frustrated and tries to get around the problem on their own but gets distracted away by another marketers new shiny thing which again promises to be easy.
Customer may still be impressed with the original marketer because at least he got him further than before so maybe if I buy the Guru’s newer bigger product I’ll finally make it.
Or he may just give up and ask for a refund. I have been in a similar position and know of many others too. Some people just buy and buy but are too timid or stubborn to ask for help.
Some people expect so much support that if you went round their house and did it all for them they would still want more.
Who is wrong here? Its difficult for either camp but there are millions of people out there buying multiple products over and over but still getting nowhere.
What an incredible waste on resources. Its difficult to sympathise with the successful guru making millions from thousands of people and charging towards the next milion without hesitation. But I know at least a few who really do care and want their clients to succeed.
Its easy to tag the 90+% as wasters who don’t take action, but is that really true?
Hello Ben,
Those marketers who just put out rubbish are destroying their own credibility, they will have to find new people faster than they lose the old ones. Which seems counter productive to me.
Yes.
(keeping it simple in a determined to be complicated so as not to see world…!!)
Always a pleasure to read you.
Sid