False Profits – Why you should NEVER trust online income earning claims

Hi Barbara – At first I was confused as to the one number being higher than the other, and honestly, I would have skimmed right over the Z’s,too. What you rightly point out is our “wanting to believe” there is truth in the claim and that we can duplicate it. I’m old enough to know that you have to invest time, sometimes years, before things come to fruition. I was glad this was pointed out in Outliers and other references, too. Thank you.
Betsy Wuebker´s last blog ..A MEAL COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Glad you enjoyed it! It’s so easy to get caught up in the hype and froth….

Very nice post! And it’s exactly stuff like that (false income claims) that makes me hate those “sales pitch” pages that all the ebooks etc. are getting that will teach you tons of stuff. You get this huuuuuge sales pitch with tons of testimonials, income claims etc.

But the worst part is – they convert the best, I assume, since they keep using it. I’ve purchased a few product too, through those sales pitch pages that I hate, and I really liked the products and learned a lot from them. I didn’t buy solely based on the sales pitch though, but also upon recommendation from others.
Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..Interview With World Famous Problogger Darren Rowse (video)

Yes indeed…they convert like wildfire. Don’t understand why, either. Makes it difficult sometimes to feel confident about marketing online…but never stray to the dark side.

Barbara,

As a fellow internet marketer, I want to thank you for posting this page. It is so amazing that people do this up until to this day too just to sell their product, get the money and then run away.

There are a lot of websites that include BOGUS testimonials too which also gets the potential customer to really want to buy.

It is a shame.

Tal

Barbara… that was a very enjoyable read. I figure there are people out there that lie about their income with Photoshop’d images, but I have never seen (or at least noticed) one so blatantly made up. I am going to start looking for those from now on. Thanks for the great post!
Doug Dillard´s last blog ..I Used to Be a Dotcom Millionaire, Well at Least On Paper!

Love the errors you caught, as I always have a great time pointing out the errors in spam email to confused friends and family members. (“No – this isn’t your actual credit card company emailing you!”)

I always warn new bloggers, hoping to become the next big online hit, that there is no quick route to fame and fortune. Blogging, even for fun, is work. As with all things, expect to work and be suspicious of anyone telling you differently.
RC – Rambling Along…´s last blog ..What I have learned…

It’s definitely hard work. Rewarding, however.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Glad you liked it! I agree with you regarding the bogus testimonials as well….sigh.

Hi Barbara that’s a cool discovery. I don’t understand how people fall for this scam artists.

Barbara, that’s a really good point – what I can do with the product and what someone else can is completely different.

I don’t believe in get rich quick kind of products in the market, but realized that whenever I do read that kind of post, I don’t even stop to observe the image completely. I just give a glance at numbers. I guess lot of people must be doing that and yet believe in what they read – leading to them getting conned.
Avani Mehta´s last blog ..Enrich Your Life – Part 2

They buy the dream, alas.

Yep. It’s the educated consumer who can resist actually buying.

I’ve never actually been swayed by those sorts of images and to this day I remain dubious as to some of the earnings I see people post on their site. This is especially true when you can see their sole intention is to sell you something, whether it’s an actual product or just their prowess at being an affiliate marketer.
Sire´s last blog ..What Bloggers Do

But you’re looking at things logically…which, alas, is something lots of folks forget.

Barbara, the only time logic doesn’t work is when dealing with the wife

PS, I was going to say women in general, but I thought that would get me into trouble……damn, when will I learn to keep my mouth shut
Sire´s last blog ..Cash Burners And Their Electronic Super Cigarette

Hi Barbara,

Good eye. When I first started blogging I saw sites/reports like this. My first response was “WOW”, but the more I learned about all of the scams out there, the more I doubt most reports of this nature.

Not too long ago I landed on a site where the “kid” said he was from “my home town” and making tons of money with a blog (all you had to do was buy his book, or something). I looked in the phone book for his name, didn’t find it, so retyped in the URL. You guessed it, it was the same site but this time he was from another town. Imagine that?
Barbara Swafford´s last blog ..Bloggers – Defining What We Are

Wives are replete with logic. It’s just the men need a logic filter to understand us.

Yep…those are geotargeting ads – they grab your IP number, do a lookup, and then insert the closest town.

All of the Dazzlewhite or Google Cash or whatever scams (you know, the ones that look like newspaper sites) generally use this. It fools lots of people.

Really? Now you tell me! Is there an affiliate for that product, I reckon I could make a fortune?
Sire´s last blog ..WassupBlog’s Ultimate Blogging Contest