This is not what I said this week.  That is the sentiment of a respected online marketing publisher, Paul Myers, of  Talk Biz News (highly recommended).  But I will say that I have said this all along.

Here are a couple of key points he mentions in his recent newsletter:

“Do not believe anything you read in a testimonial unless you know the person giving it, or the person selling the product,  well enough that the testimonial doesn’t matter anyway.”

“When you see Joe, Bob and Jim promoting Jerry’s product one week, and then Jerry, Joe and Bob plugging Jim’s product the  next week… Well, there may be a little quid pro quo going on.”

“There’s a ton of promo trading going on that has nothing to do with product quality at all.”

“You might also be surprised to know how many of the  testimonials you see aren’t from paying customers at all. A lot of them are nice things people say about the product in return.”

“A whole other discussion is the question of proof of income.  Forget it. It means absolutely nothing. The screenshots you see  with Paypal and Clickbank sales numbers could be easily faked -  and many are  for getting a free copy.”

“Just choose your teachers wisely.  And, as I tell the guys when they come over to play cards, “Never bet what you can’t afford to lose.“”

Paul also states that most marketers are generally honest, but then caveats again and again to not believe most of what you hear and see.  Nobody can guarantee minimum – or God forbid – maximum results.  In other words, he’s conflicted due to long-standing relationships with many of these duplicitous gurus.

As I write this, I hear another mega-successful marketer saying in an audio that “I sometimes exchange promotions with other marketers.  If I promote it twice or if it has been stated I promote it to my inner circle members, get it without a blink.  Otherwise, be extremely careful about spending your money.”  Unfortunately, he doesn’t give this caveat to his casual subscribers.

Nobody wants to be negative or over-critical of marketers.  Marketing is an essential part of every business and an art.  Yet beware that most marketers try to get in your head, so they can get in your wallet.

That’s their job.  Yours is to buy with your intellect more than with your emotion.  The best way to do that is to know who you are and what you need to accomplish in your business and life.

Despite the subtle and blatant attempts by government and e-commerce giants such as Google to reign in the hype and false endorsements, the gurus and their gaggle continue to use dubious marketing messages to lure in the gullible.

Case in point:  M.F.’s crony sends an email with this header:  “[VIDEO] $78,239.83 A Month With No Google…‏”

Implying that YOU WILL -not can – do it too, if you buy Marketer X’s doodad.

Case in Point:  “Copy This $78K Insider Blueprint‏”

Implying that a $78K Cracker Jack Prize awaits You Inside the genie’s bottle.

Case in Point:   “Over the couple of years his blogs have generated a huge profit of $1, 107 ,693… And now he’s sharing his exact blueprint.”

Implying that his exact blueprint will put you in seven figures in no time, as well.

Find Your Perfect Business!

Maybe in Lalaland, with candy-cane houses and chocolate-covered nymphs, there is a one-size-fits-all money puzzle piece.   But on planet earth there is nothing but rainbow-chasing gimmicks designed to lure in losers with their skinny wallets and then spit them out like a chaw of tobacky.

Imagine former NBA star Michael Jordan as an Internet  marketer.  Using the headlines above for reference, maybe his advert would read:  “M.J. spills the beans…on his no-brain, slam-dunk method foro averaging 34 points per game in the Pros.”

Consider a NASA engineer as an online marketer:  “Rebel NASA rocket scientist shares secret, simple rocket-ship design that put his family on the moon in less than a season.”

These last two fictitious headlines are no less absurd and blatantly deceitful than the first two.  The trouble is that the first two draw unearned money to the  crafty marketers behind them by playing on  buyer’s greed and laziness.

They – the deceivers who make you take your eye off the ball with false implications — should be behind bars or at least sentenced to helping the poorest, rural villagers around the globe to set up non-profits using the conniving marketer’s knowledge and marketing savvy for the higher good.

We should stop buying shortcuts and quick-riches schemes and realize that each one of us has the God-given chance to excel without buying into someone else’s dreams and methodology.

Promoting another is really a matter of trust more than product.

Indian guru Sai Baba was quoted as saying, “The joy one gets while promoting another’s joy is incomparable.”  Undoubtedly, he was a man who could have been writing for the Internet Age of  affiliate programs, read email schemes and such.

There is a growing cluster of high-value entrepreneurs working online who value-add every day they live.  Their products are in demand and their character is anchored in integrity.  Who wouldn’t want to hang around with such divine people?

Yes, if we look into the checkered past of some of these esteemed individuals, we can find justification for hesitation in handing over greenbacks to them.  They charm, critics may say, because they relish lucrative and frequent paydays.

So when we get an affiliate link to some product that these people are flogging, we can trust that it is good, though we may not have the funds nor interest to first try it ourselves.

They – whoever they are –  always get rave attention and stellar results.  They have the Midas Touch, and we commoners can catch some loose change by promoting them.

Perry Marshall is a great example of  a stellar marketer with a down-to-earth attitude towards everyone he encounters.  His site content is rich in ideas on Adwords, Adsense and SEO-related materials.  His life philosophy is well-grounded.

Yet what sets him apart is that he really seems to care  about over-delivering to clients and prospects.  I have virtually no hesitation in promoting him as an affiliate.  He knows his stuff and his content stuff can make you a bundle of money, even if it bores you to death.

Perry just announced that he’s hosting a free teletraining on

- Bionic ad technique for breaking out of an ad writing rut that gets your ads to stand out from the crowd (and get higher click through rates)

- Facebook PPC bidding tactic from a mysterious Mr. R

- Shelley Ellis’ top tool for zeroing in on placements

What Perry’s going to share is a really powerful tactic that can be used right away. So I suspect the response to this is going to be very very positive.

If you are into those nerdy activities on PPC, Adwords, PPA, yada yada…then Perry is going to open up new vistas for your online business in this webinar…guaranteed!

Register to be there at http://tinyurl.com/ykpzmnc

It didn’t take long for me to learn the artful and designing marketing schemes of  legitimate and illegitimate marketers online.  They play on our basal instincts, the seven deadly sins:

1) haughty eyes, 2) a lying tongue, 3) hands that shed innocent blood, 4) a heart that devises wicked schemes, 5) feet that are quick to rush into evil, 6) a false witness who pours out lies, and 7) a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

Almost every trick used by the sham masters of the 19th Century, galloping into a town a night by horse and buggy to sell pidgeon feathers or snake oil as a panacea for every ailment in God’s arsenal, have now been incorporated into the seamless, online marketing world.

Moreover,  we now hear those seedy methods of yore with cyber sugar-coating being praised  as “stealthy marketing principles.”

Continuity programs, affiliate programs and any other programs that sells information and promise are facing the scrutiny of ecommerce giants such as Google and Mastercard.  Many more are putting new-age medicine men on notice.

This new scrutiny does not make me happy, nor do I gloat.  For years I have been writing about the deceptive marketers selling us sexy lifestyles and instant success on a stick.  They are not held accountable – at least until the present crackdown – for the efficacy of what they sell or the gimmicks to get you to buy at “No Risk.”

Enter, front and center, continuity meisters with their sugar-coated, giving-away-the-farm designs with a $50,100,200 membership waiting for you thirty days down the line.  They tell you that you can cancel at any time during those thirty days, but my own experience with such matters tells me that people forget, have the first membership fee taken from their credit card, inform the seller they do not want (nor did they want) to pay anything.

Here’s the kicker.  Many people blame themselves and so they won’t ask for the first payment back.  They will just cancel.

Let’s run the numbers with  Guru X.  He has a mailing list of 300,000.  Half of his membership takes him up on the  giving-away-the-farm continuity plan (150,000 subscribers).   Of those 150,000, let’s say 20% (30,000) forget to cancel the thirty-day trial and get billed.  Generously speaking, let’s say 80% (24,000) demand their money back.  The remaining group (6000) cancel but don’t ask a refund because they were negligent by not paying attention to the deadline.  Each of them payed, for example, $50, for the monthly membership.  That’s $300,000 in booty.  Yes, the marketer must pay his JV partners for leads or however he commissions them, but that was calculated into the legitimate buyers’ commission scheme.

Does this sound at all suspicious or even unlawful?  Methinks it does.  Get this straight, however – a majority of mega-marketers are good or even altruistic guys and gals who would defend continuity to the death.  They have been brainwashed and anesthetized by the allure of riches and fame.  They like hobnobbing at exclusive country clubs or Branson events to put another feather in their marketing caps.  It can happen to the best of us.  We err because we are human.

Noam Chomsky pointed out:  “The point of public relations slogans like “Support our troops” is that they don’t mean anything… That’s the whole point of good propaganda. You want to create a slogan that nobody’s going to be against, and everybody’s going to be for. Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn’t mean anything. Its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a question that does mean something: Do you support our policy? That’s the one you’re not allowed to talk about.”

While I’m talking about it.  And so is the man in the following YouTube video, Ryan Lee…

Here’s what the big boys  say:

“If you don’t have a Unique Selling Proposition on the Internet, you’re roadkill sooner or later. It’s just a question of when.” ~Perry Marshall~

“The days of “thin affiliates” brokering clicks on the Big G are over.”~Amit Mehta~

“An affiliate promotion is not a career. It’s a test.”~Jonathon Mizel~

It’s astounding how often Internet gurus speak out of both sides of their mouth  while still chewing.  They are eternal optimists defying the law of gravity.  Adwords works, and then it doesn’t.  Then a new angle…and that window of opportunity closes.  The circle never closes.

Here’s the point.  Do you want to run your life and business like an ambulance-chasing lawyer?  The big boys want you to act impulsively and buy whatever gimmick they are selling.

Honestly, most want you to succeed with their strategies and gizmos, and then have your testimonial in order to sell even more of the same.  Yet most people who buy or simply download for nada a report or widget will never use it or profit from it.

Find Your Perfect Business!

All things in this universe are built from the inside (the mind and heart) and then manifested in a product or service.  These gurus  want you to believe that you can skip over the inside part and just roll in money.

But you and I know that a fool and his/her money are soon parted.  No widgety-fidgety tool or report or continuity program will ever work until you believe in yourself.

And belief in yourself starts  with small projects and accomplishments, not in making a killing in FOREX, PPC, Adwords, Google Mail, Video Marketing, or any other gimmick.  They can all work, but only if you are clear about what you want in your life.

So what do you want in your life?  Start to follow your God-given talents, rather than following  all the smooth-talking marketing experts.