The Average Person Can Only Sign Up...

Did you know the average person signs up only 2 people under them?

When you consider that "heavy hitters" can sign up thousands, that's a whole lot of people with zero referrals under them to drag the average down to two.

Keep that in mind the next time you get an email or see a website telling you that with only 9 -- or even 5 -- referrals you can make thousands of dollars, especially if that depends on each person under you also signing up 9 people. They won't be able to do it.

Many times these sites offer a calculator you can figure out how many people you can refer and how many people each of your referrals can refer and see how much money you'll make. I saw one such this past weekend. At the recommended base setting the monthly income was tens of thousands of dollars a month. After I punched in the average performance of 2 for me and 2 for you, the income dropped to $62 per month. Once you remove the monthly fees for belonging to the program, the income is virtually nonexistent. And that's with a full matrix of people performing the average. Don't hold your breath for it.

Punch in 2 and 2 next time you come across one of these calculators and see what the numbers really add up to.

If you can't make a decent return from your efforts and your efforts alone, don't even bother.

Just bookmark this and keep it in mind for the next time one of these "offers" passes before your face. Then let it keep on passing.

Yours,
Gene Nash

Coming Soon To A 404 Page Near You...

Yeah, I haven't been updating this much lately, even though I have material for it.

I'm planning on moving it soon. Then I'll really promote it and build the readership. It seems kind of a waste to continue to build it up here when it will soon fly away and be redirected.

Not that it matters. My stats show virtually no-one is reading it anyway. So, no real loss.

About the only time I get readers here is when I post the link as part of my sig on a forum. Even more rarely I'll get a hit from a Technorati search.

But, alas, they don't think enough of it to pay return visits.

I hope they didn't bookmark it....

Yours,
Gene Nash

A Disturbing Trend in Online Marketing?

I've noticed what some might consider a disturbing trend in on-line marketing. I'll let you decide (and see how guilty I am).

Lately whenever a new product comes out, many people (including me), immediately jump out to decry the hype. We point out how overpriced it is, how it's not worth the money, et cetera.

But recently I've noticed many taking it even further. Lately, people are telling you how to either get the thing for free, or how to find similar products for free or cheaper. (The "super site" trend, where a marketer gathers all "resell rights" products under one roof, might be a subset of this. Maybe Frank Kern's recent warning about pyramid schemes was the universe giving us a last chance to clean our own house before someone else comes in and does it for us.)

It seems to indicate a brewing backlash against the Guru mentality of overprice, overhype, slash-and-burn marketing that has come to dominate. This may be the first tremors of an impending industry shake-out.

My questions are: How are any of us supposed to make money while we are cutting each other's throats and pocketbooks?

How can we make money off a resell rights product when anyone can go to Google and find the thing for free?

Some of us, myself included, attempt to build credibility by being "super honest," which means cutting through the hype. Doesn't this have a negative effect on the industry as a whole?

Did the Gurus finally sour the land like the robber barons and carpetbaggers of old, or are we who react against the Guru excesses the problem?

Granted many of these products are way overpriced (all things "business" are in my opinion -- write-offs being only one of the reasons). Granted, there really are free/low cost solutions that are just as good or better -- this entire blog is about that! But at what point are we peeing in our drinking well and poisoning our own farmland?

I'm getting uncomfortable enough to think it's a point we've already passed.

Yours,
Gene Nash

Is The Mike Chen/Mark Joyner Promo a Bust?

One of the promotional pieces Mike Chen sent out for his big launch this week said, "You're probably wading through a mountain of email today about Mike Chen's Secret Weapon just launched."

All I can say is, "Where's the mountain?"

Seems like hardly anybody's talking about:


* Confidential Intelligence Manuscript Volume II
 http://genenash.com/r/joyner

* Mike Chen's Secret Weapon
 http://genenash.com/r/secretweapon


You may recall my reaction not long ago to the Frank Kern over-hype was "Stop The Madness!" You couldn't open an email without it being about Frank Kern.

That was nothing compared to the ridiculous onslaught that came from Mike Filsaime's "Fire Sale."

Even tonight I received no less than a dozen mails in a row about some free resell rights giveaway going on. (Unlike the Free Ad Giveway, I wasn't invited to participate as a provider in this one. I'm miffed. Grrrr.)

And the Chen/Joyner promo? Yawn. A handful of letters, spread out over a few days, most of them having the promotion buried amongst a bunch of other offers or coming through "safelists."

Wow.

The "mountain of email" was definitely wishful thinking -- at least from the perspective of my inbox.

Now they've rushed out a new desperate promotion to try and up the hype. They're trying to create an "event" with a call featuring four top marketers, followed by a week long competition where you can "watch" four people test different versions of campaigns using the "secret weapon" to see who can get the most subscribers. (Full details abvailable here: http://genenash.com/r/chenchallenge)

They say, "The information learned here will be 100 times more useful than any marketing course you could ever buy." They claim it's "Phase II;" I think it's desperation.

I haven't received a single email about it.

They went back to the drawing board, but someone forgot to bring a pencil.

Yours,
Gene Nash


* The Secret Weapon Challenge featuring Mark Joyner, Gary Halbert, Joe Vitale, and David Garfinkel
 http://genenash.com/r/chenchallenge

* Confidential Intelligence Manuscript Volume II
 http://genenash.com/r/joyner

* Mike Chen's Secret Weapon
 http://genenash.com/r/secretweapon

Is this honest?

Is this honest?

My answer is no.

This is the promotional email Mike Chen sent me to promote his new "secret weapon" which goes on sale for just two weeks starting today. Read it and I'll tell you why it is dishonest on the other side.

------------------

From: YOURFIRST YOURLAST
Subject: Secret About the Secret Weapon ...

Hi FIRST,

You're probably wading through a mountain of email today about
Mike Chen's Secret Weapon just launched:

http://genenash.com/r/secretweapon

Let me let you in on a little secret. I was one of the beta
testers for this - sworn to secrecy, so I know what I'm talking
about: you would be absolutely crazy not to go grab a copy
of this thing this very instant.

I can't think of a more important investment you can make on your
business this year, or the next three years.

It is *that* important.

YOURFIRST

YOURFIRST YOURLAST

------------------

Here's why it (and all the promo material) is dishonest: I, and probably every other person sending you this, have never seen the product. They've made a special point of not releasing any information about it.

Yet they've sent this to all the affiliates and encouraged them to mail it out.

I'd be willing to bet 99% of the people encouraged to mail this were not beta testers and have no idea what the product is. So the "secret" about the secret weapon is a flat out lie.

Then there's this, from another promo-mail:

"It took me about just a few quick minutes to decide to grab a
copy. I think it's safe to say it's an investment that could
pay for itself many times over in no time."

Again, how can we make such a snap decision over something we've been kept in the dark about? The judgement of any GURU who would make such a snap decision has to be seriously questioned.

Lastly there's this little bit that I've seen used a lot:

"I've been looking for a tool like this for *years*."

Same criticism, go around number three.

Look, this may well be the greatest invention since sliced bread. This may well be the marketing atom bomb. This may well the product that will catapault your web business to the next level.

But you'll have to decide that for yourself. I can't tell you that because I haven't seen anything more than the same hype you have. And neither have most of the people sending out these dishonest claims. Keep that in mind when you're deciding whose links to buy through.

Yours,
Gene Nash

STEAL: $997 Money Making Script FREE Till Friday!

http://genenash.com/r/chentest

Mike Chen is giving away a product he created and was going to sell for $997 if you just take a quick Marketing IQ Test. (Don't worry, you can take the test as often as you need to grab the free gift.) The product is a paypal/clickbank script you can integrate into your site for all kinds of automated payment fun. If you want to make money with your site you should go grab this.

http://genenash.com/r/chentest

Whether or not you plan to buy their "Secret Weapon" when it launches Friday, you should definitely go get this free product. As I understand it, it's only going to be up for a few days, so you better hurry. (Which makes sense when you consider it is there to promote a product that drops Friday!)

The test is fun, too! (And actually very easy if you know anything about marketing testing.)

Anyway, I thought you'd appreciate this. You'd be crazy not to go grab it immediately.

http://genenash.com/r/chentest

Yours,
Gene Nash

P.S. For the sake of full disclosure, half this letter was written by them and half by me. ;)

STEAL: Launching NOW - I'll Build Your List for Free

You know I'm not one to send out prefabricated affiliate-type sales letters as if they were my own, but this is a rare case where the text is accurate even though I didn't write it. For once, I can say a program lives up to the hype.

I really did hear about this from someone trusted, really did sign up immediately, and really have gotten many leads in a matter of hours.

This just launched literally moments ago. As usual, the sooner you get in the better.

Stop reading. Go sign up.

---

In a hurry? No problem, go straight here:
http://genenash.com/r/list

Hi there,

I just got an e-mail from a friend of mine giving
me the heads up about a great site that will be
making a HUGE IMPACT on the internet marketing
industry.

Honestly, I get a ton of email, and I might not
have even read the email if it hadn't of come
from him, but I trust his recommendation, so I
checked out the site for myself at:

http://genenash.com/r/list

As soon as I landed on the page I could instantly
feel a strong vibe coming off the screen. I thought
to myself, "This site is going to be huge, and I
want a piece of the action!"

Then I hesitated, just for a second, and began
to wonder how much it was going to cost me to
get in on this Viral marketing system. So, I
read through the page and couldn't believe when
I read that it was FREE!

Basically, the marketers who designed The List
Machine (Gary Ambrose, Jen Ambrose and Donald
Rowell), have set-up a complete system to build
a 100% opt-in list for each and every one of us
and we don't need to pay them a single penny to
do it!

Imagine having 1000, 5000, or 50,000 opt-in
prospects to mail to once, twice, even three
times a week!

These people are ready to hear your offer today.
In fact, they have asked to hear it!

Honestly, it took me about 90 seconds to sign-up
and I'm already getting leads in my matrix. The
system is so simple to use, and it's free. Need
I say more?

http://genenash.com/r/list


See you inside The List Machine,
Gene Nash

P.S. How many times have you wished for a list
of your own? Well, here it is!

P.P.S. Once you sign-up for free, keep your eyes open
for the "One Time Only Offer." It is absolutely
incredible, but it only appears on your screen once and
there isn't a way to get back to it....

Gene Nash Isn't Expanding His Business!

ATTENTION!

Comedic genius Gene Nash (http://genenash.com/) is not, repeat NOT expanding his business!

Surf there right this second, because the first 50 visitors will not get anything more than the next 1000 visitors!

How can you not take advantage of this and go right this second?

STEAL: "Gorilla Web Site Marketing" ebook

Q: What can an 800 lb. gorilla do?
A: Anything it wants!



Glenn Canady's "Gorilla Web Site Marketing" ebook makes YOU an 800 lb. internet marketing gorilla.

This guy is currently selling the book for $97 -- ( http://www.ecomsecrets.com/recommends/gorilla.htm ). YIKES!

But just because I like you -- I'm going to tell you how to get it free.

Just zip on over to TrafficSwarm, sign-up, and click on the link in the member's area. *BOOM* you've just scored a book selling elsewhere right this minute for nearly $100.

Look -- even if you don't intend to use the TrafficSwarm system to send a ton of TARGETED traffic to your website, it's free and you get the book!

Do it just for the book!

Yours,
Gene Nash

P.S. --
I don't know how long Glen will let them give the book away for free so you better go grab it right now while you're thinking about it.

Just click here now to get your free copy of "Gorilla Web Site Marketing"

P.P.S --
Did I mention this one's a twofer? You also get the "TrafficSwarm Ad Writing" manual free. For only 7 pages it packs quite a wallop. Reader's Digest can't pack this much great info into so small a space. Get it and apply it to all your classified and ad writing now.

http://genenash.com/r/swarm

Blog Policy Change

From now on the titles of freebies will start with "Steal:" and the titles of articles containing special offers will contain "Deal:". That should make it easier on everyone. ;)

Have a good weekend.

Yours,
Gene Nash