I wanted to get a quick post out to let everybody know about a fantastic opportunity to get a ton on Internet Marketing training at rock bottom "Fire Sale Pricing".
Tellman Knudson is an Internet Marketer from Vermont who I place among my top 10 most prolific and respected marketers. Although you may find him a bit eccentric, he produces fantastic results that have catapulted him to high rankings and made him millions of dollars in the space of just a few years.
Last September he set out on an ambitious project to raise $100,000,000 for homeless youth in America. He's in the midst of a barefoot marathon run across the United States. To help raise money for his project he's holding a Teleseminar in few days where he is going to release his secret techniques for using Teleseminars to sell products. Believe me, this is worth registering for because he currently holds a record for earning $1,000,000 in less than 90 minutes using these methods. I can also vouch for the fact that this really happened because I was on that call.
But there's even more to this story. Tellman is also practically giving away nearly every Internet Marketing product he 's ever created in a huge sale that started Monday. The prices are starting so low that I have to say I've never seen a better value in over 10 years of following Internet Marketing News.
There is one catch however. You have to hurry and register for the free seminar as soon as possible because the prices of the products are going up every 24 hours. You can't go wrong with this. The teleseminar is free and you can knock down some killer deals on your Internet Marketing training for the New Year AND help some homeless youth at the same time. Hows that for WIN, WIN, WIN!
Register for the call before it's full here.
Clickbank Falls In Line Behind The FTC
If you logged in to your Clickbank account in the last week or so you probably saw the dreaded "You must agree to the new Terms of Service" message. I might have just hit the "agree" button and forgotten about it except that I had just spent a few days analyzing the impact of new Federal Trade Commission guidelines on affiliate marketing. That caused me to actually read the new TOS in some detail.
It appears that aside from Clickbank adjusting its terms to accommodate the intricacies of selling physical products, the other major change was the clarification of Clickbank's position on the disclosure of compensatory relationships between it's affiliates and vendors. The terms essentially parroted the FTC guidelines that state that, unless it's obvious the affiliate is being paid for the link they place, they need to disclose the relationship in a way to make it obvious.
This is a clear departure from previous Clickbank positions which have traditionally treated the owners of the hop links as unseen middlemen in a "don't ask, don't tell" transaction. In fact, most of the Clickbank hop link technology was conceived to mask the presence of the affiliate link during the click through process. I will wager there are still people buying merchandise or services on the Internet today who have no idea when they are buying through a Clickbank hop link and paying a percentage of their purchase to an affiliate.
It was clear in the new FTC guidelines that the FTC frowns on nameless endorsement even if there is no change in position from that of the vendor. However, the real motivator for Clickbank was the clarification by the FTC that BOTH the vendor AND the affiliate are responsible for false or deceptive statements in an advertisement. Additionally, the vendor is responsible for adequately informing or training it's affiliates in an affiliate program on proper advertising practice. This leaves Clickbank, who functions primarily in the role of a contract affiliate program manager, in the sticky position of having to deal with controlling the behavior of millions of nameless affiliates.
Will we see the day when Clickbank will flash a disclosure screen when a hop link is clicked? It's a possibility. I've even considered doing that for my Twitter links and other affiliate links where it's difficult to work a clumsy disclosure statement into the ad copy. It simply might be easier to stop a client in midstream and make them sign off on a disclosure.
I have theorized this may be a better place to do a full disclosure in an affiliate transaction. Most Internet users are used to being presented with long legal agreements for software licensing etc. If a customer already has the momentum to click through the affiliate link, then I theorize that they will not be deterred by a mild affiliate disclosure. However, a disclosure placed in sales copy may be more repulsive because the emotional decision to act on a buy impulse has not fully developed until the link is clicked.
I hope to do some split tests on this idea soon. I have not seen anyone do this yet and I would be interested to hear from any affiliates who have tried it.
As I mentioned in my last post, I put together a video summarizing the new FTC guidelines. You can view it here.
It appears that aside from Clickbank adjusting its terms to accommodate the intricacies of selling physical products, the other major change was the clarification of Clickbank's position on the disclosure of compensatory relationships between it's affiliates and vendors. The terms essentially parroted the FTC guidelines that state that, unless it's obvious the affiliate is being paid for the link they place, they need to disclose the relationship in a way to make it obvious.
This is a clear departure from previous Clickbank positions which have traditionally treated the owners of the hop links as unseen middlemen in a "don't ask, don't tell" transaction. In fact, most of the Clickbank hop link technology was conceived to mask the presence of the affiliate link during the click through process. I will wager there are still people buying merchandise or services on the Internet today who have no idea when they are buying through a Clickbank hop link and paying a percentage of their purchase to an affiliate.
It was clear in the new FTC guidelines that the FTC frowns on nameless endorsement even if there is no change in position from that of the vendor. However, the real motivator for Clickbank was the clarification by the FTC that BOTH the vendor AND the affiliate are responsible for false or deceptive statements in an advertisement. Additionally, the vendor is responsible for adequately informing or training it's affiliates in an affiliate program on proper advertising practice. This leaves Clickbank, who functions primarily in the role of a contract affiliate program manager, in the sticky position of having to deal with controlling the behavior of millions of nameless affiliates.
Will we see the day when Clickbank will flash a disclosure screen when a hop link is clicked? It's a possibility. I've even considered doing that for my Twitter links and other affiliate links where it's difficult to work a clumsy disclosure statement into the ad copy. It simply might be easier to stop a client in midstream and make them sign off on a disclosure.
I have theorized this may be a better place to do a full disclosure in an affiliate transaction. Most Internet users are used to being presented with long legal agreements for software licensing etc. If a customer already has the momentum to click through the affiliate link, then I theorize that they will not be deterred by a mild affiliate disclosure. However, a disclosure placed in sales copy may be more repulsive because the emotional decision to act on a buy impulse has not fully developed until the link is clicked.
I hope to do some split tests on this idea soon. I have not seen anyone do this yet and I would be interested to hear from any affiliates who have tried it.
As I mentioned in my last post, I put together a video summarizing the new FTC guidelines. You can view it here.
Internet Marketing Braces For Implementation Of New FTC Guidelines
I suppose I heard something about the new FTC Guidelines for advertisers during the agencies public review process. Also, like most of us, in Internet Marketing I spend more time focusing on marketing than I do worrying about government regulation. After all, marketers market and regulators regulate.
It wasn't until I started to see some of the people I respect as my mentors begin to change their advertising copy in preparation for the implementation of the new FTC guidelines December 1 that I began realize that there may be more to this than a casual change. When I went through the guidelines it became clear the they could definitely impact the way most people advertise their products on the Internet.
One of the things that is most surprising to me is the FTC's decision to consider affiliate marketers to be in the same class as paid endorsers and its attempt to extend the regulation into social media. It now appears that the FTC considers it the responsibility of Blog owners to check the validity of any advertising claims placed on or linked to in their blogs or blog comments. Additionally, in order for those posts to be considered compliant they must be periodically checked to be sure that the claims made are still valid as time passes. This becomes even more bizarre when you consider the need to place prominent disclaimers on claims that are considered to be atypical.
I am still puzzling over how the FTC expects an affiliate marketer to place a disclaimer in a Twitter tweet or similar social media. As you can see, the implications are staggering. The FTC attempts to address some of these details in their guidance examples but a reading still leaves you feeling uncertain as to the best practice.
I can offer you some insight into the minds of regulators because I worked many years in the medical field having the responsibilities of an institutional compliance expert. While the regulating agencies are different their mindset is the same. Here is by best advice on this issue:
It wasn't until I started to see some of the people I respect as my mentors begin to change their advertising copy in preparation for the implementation of the new FTC guidelines December 1 that I began realize that there may be more to this than a casual change. When I went through the guidelines it became clear the they could definitely impact the way most people advertise their products on the Internet.
One of the things that is most surprising to me is the FTC's decision to consider affiliate marketers to be in the same class as paid endorsers and its attempt to extend the regulation into social media. It now appears that the FTC considers it the responsibility of Blog owners to check the validity of any advertising claims placed on or linked to in their blogs or blog comments. Additionally, in order for those posts to be considered compliant they must be periodically checked to be sure that the claims made are still valid as time passes. This becomes even more bizarre when you consider the need to place prominent disclaimers on claims that are considered to be atypical.
I am still puzzling over how the FTC expects an affiliate marketer to place a disclaimer in a Twitter tweet or similar social media. As you can see, the implications are staggering. The FTC attempts to address some of these details in their guidance examples but a reading still leaves you feeling uncertain as to the best practice.
I can offer you some insight into the minds of regulators because I worked many years in the medical field having the responsibilities of an institutional compliance expert. While the regulating agencies are different their mindset is the same. Here is by best advice on this issue:
- Avoid over reacting and spending too much of your precious business resources on trying to perfect compliance. Changes in guidelines of this nature are almost always targeted at a specific problem the agency is addressing. If you are in the problem group, you probably already know it and have received information that the FTC is reviewing your methods.
- The fact that the problem is being addressed as a revised guideline as opposed to new law means that the guidelines will not likely be uniformly applied. That is to say that the FTC can and will look the other way in certain cases while vigorously pursuing other cases.
- Philosophies of regulators often change focus as they attempt to keep up with rapidly changing technology and society. However, because the regulatory process is lengthy, they often propose to enforce regulation that is either antiquated, impractical or unworkable. Your best position as a user of such technology is to provide sound ideas for a more workable solution to the regulators. Understanding the philosophy of, or the reason for the regulation can help you to provide an alternative workable solution. Understanding the philosophical position and developing action plans and business procedures in accord with the position is more important than strictly following regulation
- The idea of the FTC policing social media is almost as ludicrous as them being able to control SPAM email. The fact is the media companies could simply place their servers in countries such China or Russia where regulation and control are minimal. If the FTC then intends to track down any Twitter user that Tweets an affiliate link without admitting to it, they will certainly have a huge job on their hands with limited government resources.
- The positive (and likely intended) outcome of implementing these guidelines is that reputable advertisers will review their methods to be sure they avoid deceptive practices. And if the FTC can shut down a few disreputable spam blogs or CPA advertisers then none of us will be any worse off.
Brian Colbert Releases "My Own Affirmations"
I don't frequent the personal development circuit in Ireland so I wasn't familiar with Brian Colbert until my friend Glen from Mind Movies in Australia alerted me to Brian's new program launch. Brian Colbert released some very good self help videos and audios during the prelaunch of his Secrets to Life Worth Living site.
It seems that Brian has the ability to tune up your psyche with a little Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) along with some cool self hypnosis and subliminal audio tricks (all with a nice Irish accent). I was pleasantly surprised and have become a fan of his work.
Your My Own Affirmations "tune up kit" includes:
This is great gift for yourself or someone you care for. I can't think of a better way to finish this year and start anew.
Check it out here.
It seems that Brian has the ability to tune up your psyche with a little Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) along with some cool self hypnosis and subliminal audio tricks (all with a nice Irish accent). I was pleasantly surprised and have become a fan of his work.
Your My Own Affirmations "tune up kit" includes:
- Access to his 12 month video seminar series and audio tape library.
- A personalized affirmation tape.
- 16 hours of video coaching.
- Access to Jules Gregory's unique collection of 17 subliminal and binaural audios.
This is great gift for yourself or someone you care for. I can't think of a better way to finish this year and start anew.
Check it out here.
Russell Brunson Releases 12 Month Internet Milionaire 2.0
It's been a little over 24 hours since Russell Brunson opened the doors on 12 Month Internet Millionaire 2.0. Those of you who have been around the Internet Marketing arena for awhile will recognize both the title of the product and the style of the launch.
This is an upgrade and relaunch of one of Russell's most successful products. In fact, Russell himself attributes much of the success of his company to the secrets contained in this product. If what he says is true, this must contain some dynamite stuff because he now owns a company that pulls in around $10,000,000 a year. As with many of his previous launches, you can get the core of the product free of charge just for "opting-in". You pay a small shipping charge to receive an MP3 player that is loaded with a 6 hour audio interview with Vince James, sometimes referred to as the $100,000,000 man.
It's a no-brainer for anyone interested in this subject. Why wouldn't you opt-in and get the MP3 for around $9.97 in shipping? You can always delete the 6 hour interview and put your tunes on it right? I assume that's what Russell is hoping his customers will think. There will, of course, be those who are worried about some kind of sinister trick or scam. Russell's up front about the fact that this is the front end for a coaching program and he's way too personable a guy to rip you off or do dark marketing. It's a fact of life that most of the IM gurus are taking their own advice pushing value added continuity programs. I believe that most reputable marketers have solved the problems with timely subscription cancellations and / or credit card over charges. This subject is also addressed in the training.
The Vince James interview is not without controversy though. Vince is a convicted felon and got into trouble for making false claims about his products in spite of his marketing success. Russell's also up front about this fact and you have to make your own decision on whether or not you can accept advice from such an individual.
All in all this is good product and I personally have found Russell's style to be motivating and inspiring. I recommend it to those who are willing to recognize the marketing genius it contains.
You can get your MP3 here.
This is an upgrade and relaunch of one of Russell's most successful products. In fact, Russell himself attributes much of the success of his company to the secrets contained in this product. If what he says is true, this must contain some dynamite stuff because he now owns a company that pulls in around $10,000,000 a year. As with many of his previous launches, you can get the core of the product free of charge just for "opting-in". You pay a small shipping charge to receive an MP3 player that is loaded with a 6 hour audio interview with Vince James, sometimes referred to as the $100,000,000 man.
It's a no-brainer for anyone interested in this subject. Why wouldn't you opt-in and get the MP3 for around $9.97 in shipping? You can always delete the 6 hour interview and put your tunes on it right? I assume that's what Russell is hoping his customers will think. There will, of course, be those who are worried about some kind of sinister trick or scam. Russell's up front about the fact that this is the front end for a coaching program and he's way too personable a guy to rip you off or do dark marketing. It's a fact of life that most of the IM gurus are taking their own advice pushing value added continuity programs. I believe that most reputable marketers have solved the problems with timely subscription cancellations and / or credit card over charges. This subject is also addressed in the training.
The Vince James interview is not without controversy though. Vince is a convicted felon and got into trouble for making false claims about his products in spite of his marketing success. Russell's also up front about this fact and you have to make your own decision on whether or not you can accept advice from such an individual.
All in all this is good product and I personally have found Russell's style to be motivating and inspiring. I recommend it to those who are willing to recognize the marketing genius it contains.
You can get your MP3 here.
New Wealth Experience - Update
All I can say is WOW!
The New Wealth Experience is over delivering on their promise to provide life changing content. I've listened both Ariane De Bonvoisin and Chris Attwood so far. They both got me really fired up. You know "that feeling" when a speaker reaches you in such a way that you're sure they KNOW exactly what you've been through?
The best part is each speaker is not just saying they can solve problems. They're all giving concrete workable solutions that they have used in their lives. You can't help but get drawn into the mood.
I highly recommend you take the time to listen to them and the remaining webcasts. There's a webcast every day until Nov 21st and some spin offs are developing. This is a real experience that can definitely help you in all aspects of your life from personal to business. It's a great way to finish the year.
This is dynamite information that is absolutely FREE. Sign up here.
The New Wealth Experience is over delivering on their promise to provide life changing content. I've listened both Ariane De Bonvoisin and Chris Attwood so far. They both got me really fired up. You know "that feeling" when a speaker reaches you in such a way that you're sure they KNOW exactly what you've been through?
The best part is each speaker is not just saying they can solve problems. They're all giving concrete workable solutions that they have used in their lives. You can't help but get drawn into the mood.
I highly recommend you take the time to listen to them and the remaining webcasts. There's a webcast every day until Nov 21st and some spin offs are developing. This is a real experience that can definitely help you in all aspects of your life from personal to business. It's a great way to finish the year.
This is dynamite information that is absolutely FREE. Sign up here.
'League of Extraordinary Minds' Debut
Jay Abraham and Rich Schefren aired their first installment of 'The League of Extraordinary Minds' teleconference series. As Jay Abraham is famous for, they really over delivered. If anything, it was a bit too long spanning nearly 3 hrs. The panel discussion featured:
- Jack Trout, author of "Marketing Warfare" and "Positioning Your Mind" and many others.
- Joseph Jaffe, CEO of his company Crayon, and author of "Joining the Conversation."
- Kevin Hogan, author of 19 different books on persuasion, including the runaway hit "Psychology of Persuasion."
- Michael Bosworth, author of "Customer-Centric Selling."
- Russell Granger, author of his newest book "7 Triggers to YES."
- Bert Decker, author of the landmark book, "You've Got To Be Believed To Be Heard."
- Stephen M.R. Covey, author of "The Speed of Trust."
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