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.