Has Information Marketing Become A Shady Business?

These next 750 words are a rant as much as they are an article. There’s something I’ve been stewing about lately and it’s time for me to get it off my chest. So, bare with me, here goes…

The internet has enabled information marketing to grow to a multi, multi-million dollar business at an alarming rate. The speed at which information can be located, the speed at which information can be delivered and the speed at which venture partnering deals can be struck between those with information to offer are just a few of the reasons for this amazing growth. People are hungry for information and there is no shortage of information marketers out there ready, willing and able to feed that hunger.

Now, is it just me or is there anyone else reading this who is somewhat insulted by the means employed by many of those who sell information? The standard sales methodology is so prolific; it becomes virtually impossible to distinguish one offer from the next. What do I mean by this? Let’s take a closer look and dissect the process.

It all starts with a personalized, boiler plate email encouraging you to hurry up and visit a web site where you’ll discover the definitive key to unlocking unlimited internet riches. The email is sent as an affiliate promotion by someone whose email list you’d previously opted into at one point. Out of curiosity, you’ll click the link in the email and be taken to a landing page where you’ll find a very carefully laid out sales letter.

The sales letter has an attention grabbing headline, usually in a red font face, which makes some kind of a quantifiable claim such as “Make $76,329.75 in the next 45 days doing absolutely nothing from the comfort of your own home”. So, you dedicate the next 3 hours of your time reading this 2 million word sales letter chock full of bolded sentences, bullet points, testimonials, pictures of mansions, exotic sports cars and clickbank statements showing the bushels of money that had been raked in on a daily basis.

And of course – the part which I personally love most of all – there are the free bonuses. It’s imperative for information marketers to make you feel that you’re receiving a much greater value than the money you’re spending. So, for buying “this package” for only $47 you’ll also be receiving all of these 150 additional bonuses valued at $7895. How are all of these great, free bonuses valued anyway? Is that e-book being thrown in as one of the free bonuses really worth $595 alone?

And then there’s scarcity. Ah yes, scarcity will make the prospect act and act now. The message is loud and clear – buy this item right now because it will not be available after tomorrow at 12. Or – we’re only selling 1000 of these great packages and then we’re pulling the offer off of our web site for good. The shrewd info marketer knows that he’s got to put a little fire under your butt to get you to whip out the ol’ credit card and place that order immediately. Without the fear of scarcity, you may just drag your feet and spend that $47 maybe next week sometime instead of today.

And, if you’re like me and have purchased information from various sources, you may’ve noticed that a lot of it is essentially the same exact thing just repackaged and sold by a different peddler. I hope you aren’t reading this thinking that I’m overly cynical towards the info marketing industry. I have certainly purchased my fair share of information over the internet and most of it has been terrific. As a matter of fact, I have so many great e-books at this point – hundreds of them really – that I’m giving them all away for free on my web site. Every last e-book I now own includes re-sale or give away rights so that’s what I’ll be doing – giving them all away for free.

So, stop on by my web site, browse my list of books and download any and all of them completely free of charge.

Please stay tuned for my next article where I’ll tell you about a few of the shadiest info marketers I’ve found. I’ll also tell you about some of the best I’ve come across. I’ll also clue you in on how I’ve been able to purchase a $49 info package for only $7. It’s a great story – you won’t want to miss it.