jim,
i’m sure this one won’t get posted but i’d like to share with you the fact that you are obviously posting this particular article for money! i know it’s all a business but people will see exactly what you are doing. plus the guy at this usaonline site is obviously cashing in as an affiliate…
disappointed jim~

Hi ,
Jim Edwards here with a review you *definitely* want to
check out All I can say is “WOW!”
http://www.USTodayOnline.com/june/16/
To your success,
Jim Edwards

GUESS WHAT! It takes money to keep this train going!

It takes money to keep the free, good, AWESOME content that you so readily enjoy coming… do you think this is a charity?

Do you think I can do this out of simply the goodness of my heart?

Guess what “Honestly” (I sure hope that’s not your real name)… this website aint’ free… I pay bills each month.

This is a BUSINESS… an information publishing BUSINESS!

In order to make money and stay in BUSINESS, we have to sell information…

I give away MORE free stuff (GOOD STUFF) than any marketer I know… so yeah, I’m entitled to do something every once in a while to make MONEY… because if my business runs out of money, your free ride on all the goodies I so generously share is over.

So thanks for pointing out the obvious… these sites are about making money

PS - in response to the person (Above) who says “people will know exactly what you’re doing” - no kidding!

Grow up!

Here’s what I did for anyone who might feel like I was doing something out of the ordinary:

Step 1 - I wrote an email teaser to get people to click on a link (the primary purpose of an email teaser, by the way) so they could go read some content (written by someone else) in the hope that they would buy something (or enjoy the content in and of itself)

Step 2 - I used a URL to arouse interest and curiosity (a step MOST people neglect)

Step 3 - I referred them to a page with a product review.

Step 4 - some people read it… some people bought.

Gee, sounds like ecommerce 101

Yep, that’s what I did…. you caught me.

I think the USToday thing was a neat idea. It could have been misleading if someone didn’t read it all. Still pretty cool.
L8R
Haz

All that this whole thing proves is something that everyone knows (or should know):
There is no truth in advertising.

Get over it.

Not everyone that disagrees with your marketing ethics is a pinhead or self-righteous morons!
Yeah, that will make me buy your product. NOT!
Where did your professionalism go?
Get rid of the cry baby attitude

Hey Jim,

After reading all these “enlightened” posts everywhere…I figured I wanted to contribute to the fun.
For everyone out there jumping on Jim for calling the “criticizers” idiots…I don’t know…but I’m thinking you haven’t been on the receiving end of a massive mailing to your list that generated some negative emails. (To quote Dan Kennedy, if you haven’t offended someone by noon each day, you aren’t doing your job)

Usually when people write in, it’s for three reasons: 1) To give you a glowing thanks and say “hi”, 2) Ask for a refund/Get Support or 3) Send you some hate mail because email is “anonymous” and it makes them feel better.

I promise you, Jim doesn’t lash out in public very much…and when he does…it’s for good reason. I *guarantee* you he didn’t get emails that just said “you tricked me”….they probably told him how to live his life…how he was going to rot in the seventh ring of hell….etc. (Even if he is, that’s a future no one should share with him…lol)

And you know, who cares? It’s Jim’s freakin’ business. He can call everyone four letter words all day long and it shouldn’t matter…just click that little unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email he sends…and viola…your problem is solved.

Although, sending in a nasty email to him is probably more entertaining and the best way to be banned from subscribing to any future newsletters of his. So if you’re apt to test his mood…you keep sending those hate emails…and the rest of us will enjoy the resulting posts Jim will make on his blog
Sigh.

Chris Zavadowski
P.S. - Thanks for the clever marketing, good review and most importantly…great product.

Aloha Jim,

Pinheads?

You are too easy on them. Let the dog off the leash. It *is* Friday. They *do* need a smacking.

I thought it was pretty ingenius — and blogged about it. (Only I thought it was Mike’s domain.)

Aloha,

Jason

Jason,

Thanks … I just might
Have a great weekend

Jim

Sounds like Smacker’s gonna eat good!

But seriously, Jim. I thought the review was a great–balanced and fair. Sharing it is no different than using a testimonial to help sell products or services. That’s just good business. And buying your products is good business, too. My success has been greatly enhanced by your products and by your always being ten (or thirty) steps ahead of me in the internet world. The tests you run today help my business somewhere down the line. Rock on, my friend.

Caroline,

Thanks
Jim

Jim,

Reacting the way you do just encourages the idiots to keep after you. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them e-mailed USA Today to complain. A certain percentage of the people who read the stuff on your blog are washed up LOSERS who have long since given up on really making it online.

Losers: Instead of being all wound up about Jim’s business tactics, why not just focus on YOUR business and YOUR income?

Jim,

This one caught me off guard (mainly cause I come from Down Under and dont receive USA Today) at first thinking that you did get on US’A’ Today (My initial thought was fantastic, great effort..that’ll certainly get traffic for sure) but then as I looked at the main website..there was no website there..then I did what any tech-head would do and see who owns the domain, then I see you did..

So Brilliant effort mate..
Carl

Ok, it was marketing ploy. Big deal. I consider “smack down” Jim to be overall a Very Honest marketer and whose e-mail is a Must Read.

Jim gives away alot of FREE money making tips continually - and much more than most marketing “gurus” do. In fact, if he was just a money hungry marketer (like most of them) … Jim would be in my “unsubscribe from” pinhead file.

But, as stated earlier, I always check out what Jim has to say and offer.

So all you people freaking on Jim’s marketing gig…chill. If you evaluate Jim on whether he gives or takes more, Jim is one of the few marketers who actually is more of a giver.

Rock on, Jim.

Scotty

I agree with Scotty, Jim is definitely a giver.

I think that all of the complaints come from people who have the mentality, “Hey that guy is just trying to make money.” If they were honest that is most likely the reason that they signed up for your newsletter to begin with. (I know I’m just restating what Jim already said, but I think it bears repeating.)

I grew up hearing that mentality from my father, and it has made it very difficult for me to be successful in my own business ventures. So those people who complain about you wanting to make money, Jim, are only hurting themselves in the long run if they seriously try to have a profitable business, and possibly any aspirations their children may have toward entrepreneuralism.

I want to thank you Jim for teaching me a lesson that you talked about with the people trying to rip you off with your 3 payment plan. Here is another work of the same sort where you put the complainers in their place. Before this I don’t think I would have had the guts to do it if it happened to me, but now I think I would.

So as always thanks Jim for everything.

Chuck

My previous post was worded a little oddly. I didn’t mean to imply that Jim was complaining about himself wanting to make money.

The line “So those people who complain about you wanting to make money, Jim, are only…” Should have read “So those people who complain about you (Jim) wanting to make money are only…”

Sorry about that.

The funny thing is, if it were not for the way Jim markets, I would have never seen the increase in revenue I have seen in my business.

Everything I have ever bought from Jim has been top grade and well worth the money. First point is..you have to get people to click in order to buy. Sometimes you dont even know you need a product until you find out about it. Jim did that in an experimental way. Good on him.

The second point is..once someone was “tricked” into buying..what they got was a product that delivered what it promised and has the potential to ramp up your income so that instead of pointing the finger at the people that are making money…you could be spending time counting your own.