Jim,

Excuse me for being candid….

What a crock of s**t this is. Sorry, but I couldn’t bear to watch the entire video. I watched half under duress and fast forwarded it to the end. After some of the more clever marketing exercises we have seen on the Internet recently….eg is Adsense Dead….one would expect more from the mighty M.S.

Sorry, but I thought this was absolute c**p…..well you did ask for opinions Jim.:-)

And no, I didnt bookmark the site, tell my friends, or ask for further info….so the movie didn’t work for me…

Peter

Peter,

EXCELLENT… that is a very strong opinion and I appreciate you sharing it - positive or negative…

But that also brings up a very important point… if the video doesn’t appeal to you (as a member of the target audience), then the rest of the process doesn’t matter!

(See the lesson here folks… watch what’s happening here in the process)

The process is:

1. make a cool video that appeals to members of your target audience

2. if they like it, they’ll want to share it (the degree to which they share it depends on how much they like it) - however, on the flip-side, if they HATE it enough they’ll share it also to tell people how much they hate it.

3. YOU as the video creator need to give people a way to easily share the video (the refer a friend script, etc)

So Peter, for you, Marlon didn’t make it past step 1 (a good video in the eyes of that particular "prospect")

If the video had appealed to you, then the rest of the process would have kicked in to some degree.

How much the process kicked in - signup, referrals, promotion, etc - would depend on how good the video is in your eyes and how much you wanted to share it.

Again, I appreciate you having the courage to share a "negative" opinion (though I take it as very positive feedback on the issue).

Jim

I have to agree with Peter. It was so embarrassing to watch, why oh why would I want to tell anyone about this. How Jim can say it is excellent is beyond me.

Hey, thanks for waisting my time Jim!

Jim I’m not sure you watched the same video as me!

Hi Jim,
I am not sure what the point of the video is.
Is Marlon going into the rag trade to sell red
shirts or the music business?

I like your videos much more as they make sense.

I agree with Peter I will not be sharing this with any one
as it makes no sense.

Sandra

LOL! What the hell is "Any" for a name?

I never said the video was "excellent"… I said it was "BRILLIANT".

And NO - I’m not going to open up a debate on the meaning of the word "brilliant"

I said it was "brilliant" because Marlon was outside the box on this one and had the courage to try something different.

I said it was "brilliant" because it would spread like widlfire - which it will because it evokes an EMOTIONAL response (love it / hate it) I said it was "brilliant" because of the system he has in place to promote it.

In the email I sent out I said it was, and I quote: "This video he just released is whacky… attention grabbing… and just plain nutty… and even a little shocking in one spot"

I never said the video was "excellent"

It’s "brilliant" because of what he did (thinking outside the box and trying something different)… the system he set up (tying it in with his affiliate program)… and creating a motivation for people to share it.

But… as I said in my last comment… if the video doesn’t cut it for you, then the system falls apart.

The moral of the story?

The process breaks down if they video itself doesn’t make people want to share it.

Jim

Best viewed with volume off (Marlon’s voice grates big time) and eyes closed. Seriously this sucks.

Jim,

I’m not sure what you were thinking when you decided to share this - it is awful. Though i guess this is valuable information on the process and your target market - I’m going to assume this as I don’t want to believe you actually enjoyed that video!

My serious comment is that I think you need to be careful on how you do your research - for me the video has made me never want to go to that website again (redfactor) and, you’re promoting it as something great, has dropped the trust factor i have in you.

Take care

Mike

I/we understand the viral marketing technique.

Viral marketing works great when there’s something to actually talk about. Viral marketing is even more effective when there’s something being given away that’s actually worthwhile.

This is not something that people will readily spread the word on. As you can see from the feedback it’s a complete waist of bandwidth.

Now I agree, the way he’s presenting this red thing is clear, concise and easy to share with others. And this would work if there’s a positive message, a cool product give-away, or just something plain old worthwhile.

Sorry, I don’t undnerstand how holding up a sign w/o web address generates interest.

Doesn’t answer basics - who, what, when, where, why, how.

For a viral video it’s way too long & sad to see attempted marketing to street musicians, babies, and a homeless guy.

[[SIGH]]

Jim

Jim, something withing “smaller than” and “greater than” brackets don’t show up in HTML.

Double sigh!!

Sorry for my lousy spelling and sentence structure.

Sigh!! :o-)

hey jim,

i truly enjoyed the spirit of the red factor video–and the copy writing that goes with it adds to my level of curiosity. the copy writing has the conversational “bar-stool” tone, which makes the reader want to keep on reading!!!

i like the video, because it is fun!! however, many times, it’s too dark–needs better lighting!! i like the segments that include children and babies –sweet!!

marlon sanders seems pretty cool–

have a great weekend–

kate loving shenk
www.nursingcareertransformation.com
http://nursehealers.typepad.com

Jim,
I consider you a great internet marketer and wonder why you would consider it brilliant. I know this video is out of the box but it holds no value to the viewer and certainly didn’t grab my attention in the first three minutes. In fact, it was painful to watch it in its entirity. I hope you are just doing a test for something.
Sorry, but NO one I know would appreciate my sending them this video. Maybe my lists would not be a target group for this offer although I’m not sure who would.
You are proving a point that no ones something that wastes their time!!

If you’d like to know why I considered it brilliant, then read all the comments and read the post I made after this one.

It’s the “system” he’s using… if you think the video sucks, then GET PAST THAT… and SEE WHAT HE’S DONE MECHANICALLY!

Jim

Jim,

Peter here again….so far we all clearly appear to have different tastes to you….lololol….and VERY different tastes to Marlon, who should have known better to be honest!

The video is embarrassing to watch…hey it’s not even funny. It’s actually rather pathetic….so pathetic, I wouldn’t even recommend it to anyone even on that basis, especially to my friends, unless of course I wanted to waste their time. So Marlon has failed on all counts…to make me forward it because it is so bad, or because it is so good, which it isn’t.

If this was an “out of the box” attempt at viral marketing, if I were Marlon, I would put it back where it belongs…back in the box…with lots of sealant…never to see the light of day again…:-)

One point Jim..I wonder if MS actually tested this on a sample audience before he promoted it?

However…..we could all be missing the point here…..as the expression goes….”there is no such thing as bad PR”…..and Marlon has achieved one goal….people are talking about it, which is excellent in itself.

Peter

Peter,

GREAT QUESTION

I don’t know if he did or not… but let me ask you… everyone is saying it’s a pathetic attempt at "viral marketing"

But… show me where others are even doing it?

Viral Marketing gets a lot of lip service… but show me some examples of where ANYONE is doing it AT ALL.

People talk about it… people debate about it… people think they know about it… show me where someone is actually DOING IT on a consistent basis and making it idiot simple for people to spread the word?

I’m dead serious…. WHERE is "viral marketing" with video being implemented in an idiot-proof way like this that everyone can use?

Jim

I’m not saying it’s “a pathetic attempt at viral marketing”. The way it’s presented is excellent.

I’m just saying the video sucks. And if anyone wants to make a similar viral marketing attempt, then they should consider a positive message, a cool product give-away, or just something plain old worthwhile.

I get it!! I get it!!

Paul

I LOVE IT… NOW WE’VE GOT A DISCUSSION GOING!

Ok, the VIDEO SUCKS! (in some people’s opinions )

But the MARKETING METHOD is BRILLIANT and Marlon’s got that part nailed!

So I want every IGTU subscriber to go make a “buzz-worthy” video…. model the system… and kick some ass!

Jim

Hi, Jim. I agree it’s a wacky video. But what do I care? The most significant thing missing is a reason to sympathize with the main character. So he’s going to get red shirts and ask people to wear them and hold up silly signs. Why?

* He wants to see how many people he can convince to humilate themselves and how much he’ll have to pay them to do it?

* If the Red Factor doesn’t spread, he’ll lose everything he has to his creditors.

* The exercise has something itself to do with the Red Factor (whatever that is).

Basically, give me a reason to care and to care about him.

-TimK

Jim

Just want to add a little to my above comment.

Yes the system he is using and you are promoting is brilliant.

It is just a pity this point of focus has been diluted by the video which is awful.

You promoted the video with the following attributes:
- whacky…well if it is not in a good wy
- attention grabbing… lost me in the first 20 seconds (and only that long coz i was giving it a chance)
- and just plain nutty… yes … but not in a good way
- and even a little shocking in one spot” … I couldn’t find anything shocking in it

The video is just boring - i remember making videos like this when i was drunk in university- very funny amongst friends but outside that it is of no value. There was not one significant event in the video.

For me the video didn’t live up to any of those and that is why i am questioning your use of it to promote the marketing system which IS brilliant.

Take care

Mike

Mike and ALL, Ok - debate over your intepretation of my email is now over… obviously I didn’t express my intention as well as I could have.

Let’s move on to something MORE productive. 

Now that you’ve seen a video you DON’T LIKE….

Describe to me what DOES make a GOOD video?

What makes a video WORTH watching?

What should Marlon have done instead of this?

Jim

Jim,

Yes you are right….few people are using video for viral marketing, but so what? The problem is that most of us aren’t stand up comedians who could make a video, which is remotely funny. For something to succeed virally, there must be curiosity value or some other value to the individual. Whether that value is information or a good belly laugh depends.

I believe that one of the most effective viral campaigns recently was “is adsense dead?” The author built up a huge mailing list for little cost….sent out his solution to the problem via ebook and back ended with selling a very expensive monthly membership. Job done. Result: One very rich internet marketer.

For me the Godfather of Viral marketing campaigns was the recent StomperNet campaign. This was one Mother of a viral marketing campaign. It succeeded on all counts. Their FREE videos provided very valuable information and they built up the hype gradually…hey even the RJ got involved and insulted Granny, one of their clients and Granny fought back! Good stuff!

Then they delayed the launch by a week and by the time it took place, the close of the launch day had made two guys very rich indeed…at $895 per member per month for 12 months…you do the maths….hmmmm, not bad huh?

Now that was viral marketing using video at its best…..and no red shirts, red flags, red caps or any other rubbish to be seen….just rock solid information you could use…AND proudly tell your friends about!

Now thats my idea of a cool viral marketing campaign using video!

Peter

Peter,

Excellent!

Anyone else care to comment or cite an example that "worked" for you?

Jim

Jim,

Good point - thank you for steering us on to productive thought!

For me a good viral marketing video has to have one or more of the following:
- Valuable content
- Something unusual, funny, entertaining
- A lead to your product / website etc…

The bottom line is that It needs to be entertaining enough to motivate people to forward it.

In the end I don’t think the principles of viral marketing are really any different to any other advertising form TV, print or radio except for the process you put around it - make it easy to forward to others and make it easy for people to then get to your webiste or collect their details etc….

Being and Australian here is my favourite viral add so far:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYf2z0exgmU&mode=related&search=

It is for an Aussie beer, it was big budget, but only released on to the interenet. And it was as great spoof on beer and advertising. People were not just forwarding it but they were getting on their phones and telling people about it.

Cheers

Mike

ps. Jim, In case you think otherwiase … “love ya work”

Mike,

Excellent!!

As you wrote, that’s a video I would send to my friends! I thought it was taking the p**s out of British Airways!! They love doing ads like that with lots of people in exotic locations……

Peter

Mike,

Very helpful comments on what makes a good viral video.

Anyone else?

Jim

Jim

Viral only works when there is quality. If there isn’t quality or benefit no one will pass it on. So It will die before it begins.

Deb

Hey Jim,

For me, there are two things that make a video viral - when it’s funny and/or informative.

I don’t think video is much different than the written word or any other form of communication - people will continue to “forward” jokes and funnies as they have for years now; and people will continue to “forward” something that teaches them something they didn’t know (even if they are just urban legends).

That’s a thought. . .how about acting out an urban legend on video!

I may be in the minority, but I loved Marlon’s video. But I also ‘get’ Marlon’s sense of humor.

Thanks Jimbo!
Stephanie

Stephanie,

that’s actually a very good idea about the urban legend thing… that has real potential.

Jim

Hey Jim,

I’m a bit behind these days and just saw your cousin Jim and cousin Mike video. It took me three times of watching it before I could see the whole thing because I was laughing so hard. I just hope I didn’t wake up the kids.

I respect Marlon’s brilliant past work but I just don’t see it here. I’m sure he’s got something up his sleeve and we’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime he may not have created the informative buzz that StomperNet did but he sure has people talking about that video - and isn’t that, in part, what viral is all about?

The trick will be if he turns this controversy over the video into sales in the end. It will be something to watch and learn from no matter which direction it takes.

Tell your cousin Jim thanks! I haven’t laughed that hard in weeks!

Gail

Hi Gail,

Thanks - you nailed it

Jim

Jim, I really believe video and audio on the internet is valuable in marketing. However, some of the technology has a way to go. I refuse to use MS Internet Explorer (MSIE) for the virus factor unless absolutely necessary. Mozilla Fozfire is my choice. I had to use MSIE for the MiniSite Creator Series to get the video to show. This Marlon video does not show on Foxfire. The “plug-in” does not work on Foxfire. There are “Flash” plug-ins that do work on Foxfire. I do not know what is the difference.
You are headed in the right direction with this concept. Thank you for being the “point man”. I trust your honesty and integrety. Go for it all!!

Dear Jim:

How many plays? How did it convert?

New and quirky idea but interesting enough to share? I don’t think so.

I watched it through only because of your endorsement. I didn’t sign up as an affiliate. You did and sent it to a zillion people.

I’ll bet everybody who commented negatively will check out the Red Factor when it hits.

Who’s going to hold it against Marlon? Disappointed at this episode? Yes, but Marlon usually brings good stuff.

Love to all.

Steve

Hi Steve,

No clue how many plays it got because the system doesn’t tell me that… and no, I didn’t send it to a “zillion” people… and there was no conversion because he’s not selling anything yet.

I only sent it out to the “I Gotta Tell You” newsletter subscribers because I hoped we could all have a nice discussion about the system Marlon used.

I did find it interesting, however, that despite the negative backlash over the video by some, I only had 2 unsubscribes yesterday from my newsletter list.

Not sure why you’d be disappointed by this episode. Frankly, this is one of the most educational espisodes we’ve ever done on many levels (IMHO).

Jim

This Guy is A F***king Parasite,

ive been sharked by this guy, absolute bulls**t artist, all hype and crap

dont spend your money on a pile of crap by this guy.

hes trying a poor imitation of the recent stompernet launch.

this guy cant hold a candle to any real money earners, all his testimonials are solicited with bribes.

absolute shister

keep you money

john ano

The only emotional response this video invoked in me was the uncontrollable urge to yawn. The only reason that I watched to the end was because you’d recommended it and I thought something interesting or shocking might happen, but it didn’t.

It certainly didn’t elicit anything as interesting as hate, and anyway, I tend not to pass along things that I hate. I have my reputation to think of and there’s no way I would even embarrass myself by passing this along to my cat!

The production values of a really cheap porn film and a dialogue that’s even more pointless!

I didn’t like Marlon Sanders in the first place, and this only goes to confirm my suspicion that he’s a talentless bore.

Creating something truly viral seems to require an incredible amount of inspiration and even more luck. In fact, I have the feeling that you can’t will it into existence - it’s just something that happens and happens to either be on trend or be a trend setter - viz the recent “Free Hugs” video on YouTube. Now that was worth passing along - very emotional and great music.

How many truly successful viral campaigns have there ever been?

Jane

Jane,

tha’s an interesting observation about “you can’t will it into existence” - I think you’re right.

You can set up all the “parts” to help it along… but ultimately a truly viral video will take on a life of its own (kind of like these posts and the reaction to them).

Thanks for sharing your thoughts

Jim

WOW I’ve just learned a massive lesson in getting people fired up and commenting on a blog.

I think Big Jimbo is going to do better out of this than Marlon!!

Marlon knows his stuff so I will be watching very, very closely…

Cheers Ian

Hey Jim,

As has been said I only watched this nothing of a video because you suggested It would be educational. And I guess it was.

I learned (reafirmed) that there needs to be some sense of direction for a video, audio, text, or book to hold attention.

Marlon did none of this.

His Idea of the red hat and shirt could be an attention getter. If the people would have worn the red hat and shirt, held up the sign and made their statement The shots cliped short and cut from clip to clip with out all of the adlibbed garbage left out completly, could develope curosity. Also to start with a teaser like “The Red is Comming and again at the end “More red will be in your future” or some such nonsense and the next time they saw a red hat and shirt it would attract their attention. A few of this type of videos sent at intervials leading up to the event that ties into the “Red” promotion would have the attention of most of the people that viewed the videos.

So I guess that I have been made aware of something “new” but With the awful production nothing of value can be gain by passing it on.

Jerald H

Further to what Jerald says:

If Marlon had edited the video that way then he MIGHT have caught our attention and stimulated our curiosity. But he would still have failed to produce something worth passing on.

Why? Because there’s no story or reason to the video. What’s it about? Nothing! Does it touch your heart or soul? No. Does it inspire you? No. Does it make you laugh, in and of itself? No. Has it introduced you to a radical new concept or product, or presented something in an entirely fresh way? No. Does it show a specific target market how to solve their pressing problem? No.

Let’s have some ideas/debate about what is “pass-on-able”. I rarely pass stuff on as I hate to receive emails about viral stuff, so it has to be REALLY funny, touching, profound, useful, relevant or just plain silly to get me to pass it on.

Examples are: the Bush/Blair Gay Bar video - totally off-the-wall, outrageous and making a very strong political statement that 95% of people in this country (UK) agree with. The Free Hugs video - very touching and excellent production values - has spawned a host of copycats, even Welsh school children! The Interview with God flash presentation - profound thoughts to meditate on - of interest to anyone of a christian or spiritual bent. Scott Stratten’s Time video - poignant and profound both from a business and personal point of view.

So, for me at least, the question becomes, what are the qualities of a viral video, and who do we want it to be passed on to?

For example, I help consultants, coaches and professional services firms solve their marketing problems and to easily attract new clients. If I created a viral video to promote my business, I wouldn’t want it passed on to everyone and their aunty. Because everyone and their aunty is not my target market, and I don’t want everyone’s aunty maxxing out my bandwidth, thank you very much. I would only want my video passed on to other professionals and consultants. How might I achieve this? I reckon giving some solid tips on how to easily get new clients might work - whadd’ya reckon? Better still - promise 5 tips, give 3, keep back the most juicy ones, and ask them to come to my website to get the other 2. Nothing sophisticated and no affiliate programs involved.

If people like my tips and if they have friends who also need that kind of help, then can we say “ergo, they’re bound to pass it on”?

I saw Mike Stewart last week presenting near Windsor, and he showed us the pseudo-rap video he did with Jim. Now, that is very silly and worth passing on - ROFLMFAO - perhaps I should video my arse/ass rolling around the floor in a disembodied way and use that as a viral video! Arse-gate! Arsegeddon! Now that the Cold War is over, it’s no longer the Arms race, but the Arse Race. Arse Wars - who’s got the biggest arses - the UK or the US? Just Arse-k me if you wanna know the answer!

Anyway, enough silliness! Ars gotta git on wid some serious work!

Jane

Hello all…

Out of interest, I visited Marlon’s blog to see what comments were coming in there. And it truly is a mixed bag. Some of the criticism is scathing and of course there are supporters as well.

Predictably other I.M. “gurus” are piling in with their support and we all know why that is - because they all need each other to hype each other’s offerings and sell those offerings/products to their lists for big commissions!!!

That’s why I rarely if ever trust a “guru”’s endorsement of anything!! In fairness to Mighty Marlon, he is welcoming all comers:

“Either way. Bricks or bouquets are welcome. Onions or orchids.”

And for all of us who wanted to know what the Red Factor is…here is what I found written by Marlon….at least he was honest about one thing……..

“1. Opporrtunity (sic)sellers have a vested interest in lying or exagerrating the results of whatever “opportunity-in-a-box” they’ve assembled for you”…….

…..let’s all remember that the next time we are buying our next big box of “crap”, as one “guru” so succintly put it at his own seminar 2 years ago……when describing what goes into his big boxes costing $997!!

Marlon Sanders writes:

The gist of “The Red Factor” is this:

You either BUY OPPORTUNITIES from other people who know who to find, create, package and sell them or you learn how to CREATE YOUR OWN on demand — anytime, anyplace, in any market.

The problems with buying opportunities vs. creating your own are as follows:

1. Opporrtunity sellers have a vested interest in lying or exagerrating the results of whatever “opportunity-in-a-box” they’ve assembled for you.

2. By the time they sell it to a zillion people, whatever it is likely doesn’t work nearly as well as it did in the lead success story.

3. It’s all about the law of supply and demand.

4. Once you know how, it is NOT hard to find your OWN opportunities. I can teach you one or two methods in like 5 minutes and you WILL come up with some great opportunities after just that little bit of education.

5. Even if you wanna buy opportunities from others, they aren’t cheap. And if you can quicker, faster, easier do it on your own…then why not?

After you get the opportunity, you have to pack it up as an advantage. Having the advantage means you do NOT have to be afraid or scared of competitors in niches or avoid the BIG niches that make the money money.

The people I personally know making the most money are also in highly competitive niches. But you do NOT have to be scared of that if you have “The Red Factor” in your possession.

Well I for one can’t wait….:-) I definitely want to have the “Red Factor” in my possession! (as long as it doesn’t cost $997 and come in a big box!)

Peter

Peter,

I find your post fascinating.

Particularly your comment…

“Predictably other I.M. “gurus” are piling in with their support and we all know why that is - because they all need each other to hype each other’s offerings and sell those offerings/products to their lists for big commissions!!!”

Is that really the perception in the marketplace? Is there really that much distrust of the “gurus”?

I try to be VERY selective of what I endorse and I rarely ever jump on the “band wagon” for new products… and my decision to get people to take a look at Marlon’s video delivery system was not motivated by product sales (hell, I don’t even know what the product is).

But is there really that much distrust in the marketplace?

Jim

Dear Jim:

When I receive the same sales letter from 2-10 gurus over the course of 2 days, I tend to mistrust their sincerity. If it’s a really good letter, it goes to the swipe file, but I’ll pass on the opportunity of a lifetime.

We all figure out who to trust eventually. The rest become noise.

Obviously we small brave band are all reading your words of wisdom.

Regards.

Steve

PS Peter Drucker once said that people use the word guru because nobody can spell charlatan.

Hi Jim,

It’s certainly my perception…..I have never seen one guru say/write anything negative about another’s product for the reasons I have stated in my post - you guys all need each other to launch each other’s product, because you all have big lists.

However, I have to say (write) that you are one of the exceptions - as far as endorsing all and sundry’s products are concerned. I would love to name my “favourites” who seem to be involved in every product launch no matter what it is and usually give away $100’s if not $1000’s of worthless products as a bonus in the bargain!

One in particular who lives in a picturesque part of Arizona is always involved in everything. He is supposed to be a world renowned copywriter, but you’ll never get any tips from him….all you get are offers, offers, offers…with huge worthless bonuses.

Does anyone remember the Butterfly Marketing launch? My mailbox was full of emails from every guru under the planet and yet you knew very well that most of them had not been through the course before they endorsed it. And if they hadn’t done so, what right did they have to endorse it?

So I mostly disregard any Guru’s endorsement because I know it’s probably been induced by fat commissions and nothing else.

One other person who I have enormous respect for (apart from Jim that is)…is Michael Campbell. Not only is his newletter packed full of info you can use, but you know darn well that whatever he endorses/recommends, he has used.

I think part of my contempt for most Gurus recommendations is that for many of them that is all they do….recommend products…they don’t give anything to their lists, which is why distrust sets in. This is particularly prevalent on a big ticket product launch, where commissions are huge.

From some of them, you will get three emails a day (with a stupid apology for emailing you three times in a day), in the lead up to launch day and on launch day itself, expect more emails as you get a blow by blow account of how little time you have left to line your favourite Gurus’s pockets and buy his recommended product!!

You just feel as though you are being used to line their pockets. The other thing that irritates me is all these gurus competing on how many bonuses they can offer to secure your sale, to line their pockets even more? When will people realise that these bonuses don’t cost these guys anything and are probably not worth much to the buyer anyway.

I have to say Jim, I have become sick and tired of being bombarded with one offer after another. The arrival of name sqeeze pages has also irritated me because it compels me to give away my email address to many more people than I would like to, resulting in being bombarded with more offers! Well now I have started to label most guru email as junk and when I get around to it, will start to unsubscribe to all but a few.

Anyway….I digress….let’s see if the the Red Factor has the X Factor! Time will tell….

Peter

Steve,

I just read your post………..roflmao…..

“PS Peter Drucker once said that people use the word guru because nobody can spell charlatan.”

Jim, I guess we shoukd cease calling you a Guru then? :-)))

Peter

Like this video or not I think Marlon Sanders definately accomplished what he set out to do. The forums are going crazy and the buz is huge. I kind of wonder if the buzz would be so huge if the video had been great? Don’t know.

Deb

Peter,

Thank you… seriously.

This has been very enlightening… confirmed a lot of things I suspected as far as what people think.

I appreciate you having the balls to write it out in succinct detail.

YOU are THE MAN

Jim

Deb,

WOW - now that is an interesting thought - for real… would it?

I guess we’ll never know.

But if the mission was buzz… mission accomplished!

Jim

Steve,

I LOVE that quote

Jim

Wow

What Peter said was huge and I do thank him for having the balls to say that!

I am so sick of all the noise. The next greatest thing has set me back to the tune of about 14K and I still don’t get it. I think I am a prime target. I must have ADD?

One day I have an answer, the next day I am not so sure. My current venture is SBI now I am not so sure.

Somebody help me
Deb

I love the Peter Drucker quote!

And the comments re: “gurus”. More like cronies! Whenever I see testimonials from internet celebrities, I instantly discount them. I would far rather see testimonials from real people. And, after a while, you get to read between the lines of the testimonials and can tell that the testimonial giver HASN’T actually worked with the person or used their product.

Deb - I could give you a totally customised coaching/consulting solution for a lot less than 14k!

Jane

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your generous compliment and thanks Deb for your kind words.

I am delighted to participate in this and sorry for going “off message” with the guru diatribe, but I am glad I got the opportunity to write this to a guy like you, who has so much respect in the IM community…and moreso you will actually listen.

I think it’s about time that customers bite back. I am fed up to the teeth reading stories about million dollar days and seeing the league tables of which charlatan can outsell the other one as an affiliate. These days if the product doesnt do what I think it does or what was promised on the sales letter, then it goes right back……and no I am not a refund tart either.

If someone has provided me with a product which works, does what it says on the label and isn’t outdated, I’ll buy it and be happy with it. A good example of a program worth every cent is Keyword Elite or XSitePro.

However, if things aren’t what they are supposed to be when I get the product, then a file for a refund immediately…..and if a product has come to me through Clickbank, I never go to the vendor, who makes you jump through hoops to get a refund…..I go direct to Clickbank….AND I make crystal clear to Clickbank WHY I am asking for a refund and I ask them to revisit the product which is being sold.

I know we should all admire good marketing, but I can see what’s happening. People are getting swamped with offers from endless charlatans who think they’ve found the key to the vault. Frequently, by the time they’ve sold their secrets, the horse has bolted and the Google guys have shut down that particular vault and thrown away the key!! A recent example of that would be blogging to the ****, promoted by an English guy.

I often think that charlatans live in a different world….which of course they do….they realise that we are all miners struggling to make it on the Internet and they throw every tool at us to help us mine. Unfortunately it’s the fastest way to get poor. I am as guilty as anyone else. I used to buy loads of stuff. Now I go to a sales letter/offer, read it and then cool off hours/days depending on how much time I have and then make an informed decision. It’s the only way for me.

And Deb….if you do want some help, I’d be delighted to help you. I can certainly tell you which tools will be useful to you, depending on what you IM goals are…..

There is one glaring fact though…..and Jim can correct me if I wrong, very few people have ever made it big on the internet without help from someone who was already making it big on line. So my suggestion….find a charlatan you can trust and learn all you can from him/her….:-)))

Peter

Hey Jim…

Just viewed…Jim Edwards here with another video update for “I Gotta
Tell You” Subscribers

Cute baby!

Two questions! Where’s Marlon and why isn’t the bay dressed in red T shirt and cap?

:-)))

Peter

Jim,

Yeah, the video was junk. Seriously, I feel more stupid for having watched it. I felt betrayed, violated; like the joke was on me!

I agree with Peter, there are a lot of Guru’s pushing other guru crap just because they are in the inner-circle. It seems they will come up with new product just to test a marketing idea, then sell the marketing idea using a new marketing idea, then sell the marketing idea using a new marketing idea…

Anyway, I’ve purchased products from you in the past that I wasn’t highly interested and never used just as my way of saying thanks for all the great info you give out for free. You are one of a few out there that has given out free information of value. I only have a handful of gurus I trust now to let them email me:

1. You (Jim Edwards)
2. Scott Boulch (due to the high level of useful info he gave in he recent eBooks)
3. John Jonas (his what’s crap what’s not newsletter sums up my thoughts on most products)
4. Perry Marshall (due to a few free conference calls which he has given great info )

That’s about it.

Peter —

I really liked a lot of what you said. It’s stuff that I’ve thought too.

Do you make any money online? (Not asking for exact number, but like, do you actually make anything online that justifies whatever you -have- bought from the “gurus” etc?) I dunno about you, but I’m still in the hole.

Gideon

Hi Gideon,

Thanks for your generous comments. Yes I do make money on line…more than enough to make a good living, but I am nowhere near able to retire yet!! I would be delighted to let you know what software and ebooks have worked for me and what has not. It really depends on your goals and what you want to achieve from the internet. This will govern what software and ebooks you need to be acqainted with. There is a lot of good stuff out there, but there is a lot of crap too.:-)

Hope that helps. Let me know..

Good luck and best wishes

Peter

The video itself isn’t that good, but the marketing is. Giving away things in public sounds like a great way to advertise to me. I didn’t see any message on the shirts though–that would have been the thing to do. People will always take a free shirt, most won’t care if it advertises something, as long as it is free. So while the video didn’t work for me, I would’ve grabbed a free shirt!

Hi Jim,Like most of the people in this discussion i have enormous respect for you ,and thats why i have not written beforeSome make like the video some may not-its only an opinion personally i think its one af the most nasueating loads of codswallop i have ever had the misfortune to witness-That tha polite version .If i wasnt worriedabout offending Dinky i might paraphrase Shavespeare and say “may i compare it to a pile of dogs droppings”?But to be serious you are starting to talk about the mechanics of the thing and here i start to get really worried.I agree totally with what Peter has said about the”gurus”.I seem to see a very disturbing trend-You can lie,cheat mislead, twlist the truth,shaft the opposition. play around with peoples psychologies fof your own personal gain and thats all ok in fact its to be admired if you make a lot of money out of doing it, every thing gets reduced. to that formula. I remebber seeing an arms dealer interviewed -somebody askea him the obvious question -how do you live with your conscience ?His reply -i dont have to- the goverment descides for me.if t hey tellm.e i cant sell weapons to a certain country i dont. If they say i can i do. that way i know i am doing the right thing and i can sleep at night- other words he lets somebody do his thinking for him, and you cant be free if ynu do that.So simlarly ii f. a guru says its okay to do “x”because it makes money many of us are starting to think that thats ok.This worries me because its saying that in internet marketing values are unimportant as long as we make a profit,and in the long run if surfers start to suspect that the sincerity of the guru marketer is an act solely designed to make more money we are all in trouble because that will be the way in which we are all perceived.What Marlon Saunders seems to be trying to do looks like pavlolian conditioning He has a product he wishes to sell-he tries to associate it with something he hopes will excite his targets interest-the colour red he then attempts to exploit peoples interest, not about the product(about which he says nothing) but about the colour red. So many products are sold not because people want the product but because the product is assosciated with something like sex-eg why else are eg car ad s full of sexy looking half naked women-the buyer buys the implied sex not the car.-but thats ok its just good marketing isnt it?So Saunders in the first video has nothing to sell except hype-and i am worried because i would hate to see viral marketing dragged down to this level in which it just generates buzz for thesake of buzz ie -contentless hype-which is what this vide was -i m sorry if i dont think that that is biilliant.Another word for hype is hot air and that after all is the main ingredient of a f–t.I worry that we can find that brilliant.But you know what worries me most of all?Most of us hate the video but we are all talking about it.and hate is very close to love.

I gather that the theme of this video is ‘RED’. The video has entirely missed it’s mark with me, not that I’m all that great a video critic; I’m reminded of the words of Chief Justice Burger (I think) who said “I don’t know the definition of pornography, but I know it when I see it.”

Well I think I know a good marketing tool when I see it, and folks, this aint one of ‘em.

Marlon Sanders has indeed ‘Lost It’.

Hi Jim,

If you can’t capture my interest in the first 30 seconds with quality content, you can forget it. No one in their right mind is going to buy into it no matter what the incentive is especially if there is no value to be had by viewing this video.

Two things people dislike are people wasting their time and no value.

Maybe Marlon would be better off using this as a educational tool to teach people what not to do.

Eleanor

Hey Jim,

Whats up with Marlon? What happened to his Red Factor Day? Isn’t there a product coming after that lousy video and all the hype?:-))

I’ve just visited his blog and apparently launch failed because the servers went down! Maybe the servers objected to the video content, like most of us did…lolol

Peter