Quality Content Writers Group
Subterfuge or fear of recognition?
by Arthur Webster Just plain honesty
Arthur Webster 
Just plain honesty
In another blog I took a person to task for advertising with incomplete information. Rather than defend the position he had taken, the blogger simply deleted my comments and, presumably, hoped nobody would notice.
It is becoming more popular (prevalent?) for advertisers to give an email address rather than a url to a web site that has full information on the product or programme they are trying to sell.
A particularly bad case entered my inbox on Monday.
A long email singing the praises of someone I had never heard of but who was going to make me rich if I subscribed to his "Online Business System". The person singing the praises is not exactly the best known of the internet marketing crowd but I thought it was worth sending him an email to find out how much he had made with this "Online Business System". The response, shall we say, prevaricated, so I started to smell a huge, dead and rapidly decomposing rat. So I made some enquiries.
It turns out that the person who was going to make me rich is quite well known and has made a lot of money from his business but, unless I bought a $9.95 "Home Business Kit" to learn more about the opportunity, there was no way I was going to find out what company or product or programme was going to deliver my riches.
I don't know about you, but spending $9,95 and STILL not knowing who I was working for does not sound like a good deal - so I Googled "Online Business System".
What I found was rather sad. The company in question is well known, well respected and has been around for 25 years and is a household name. I also discovered that the name of the company would not actually be disclosed (if I was daft enough to pay the $9.95) until I had paid a further $39.95 for a "starter kit". That's a total cost of $49.90 just to find out the WHO!
It seems to me that by using very emotive and highly evocative advertising, this person and his affiliates are looking to make themselves a minimum of $49.90 with one of the worst examples of smoke and mirrors I have ever seen.
Not only that, I discovered that the associates of the company are also guilty of what is known as "plastic spamming"- They post large, plastic notices all over towns offering the opportunity to make money but giving only a telephone number for details.
I have emailed both the promotor and the promoted person with a simple question about the product that was going to make me rich. The simple question was "Is this anything to do with health foods or suppliments?" (Just in case I had found the wrong "Online Business System"). Neither has answered though all the emails have been opened. (So I have to assume it was the right one.)
So, is it subterfuge that makes them so wary of letting you know who they are or does the fear of recognition prevent them proudly proclaiming who they are?
The name of the company?
Herbalife!
How sad is that?
May 30th 2008 01:58
Just plain honestyIn another blog I took a person to task for advertising with incomplete information. Rather than defend the position he had taken, the blogger simply deleted my comments and, presumably, hoped nobody would notice.
It is becoming more popular (prevalent?) for advertisers to give an email address rather than a url to a web site that has full information on the product or programme they are trying to sell.
A particularly bad case entered my inbox on Monday.
A long email singing the praises of someone I had never heard of but who was going to make me rich if I subscribed to his "Online Business System". The person singing the praises is not exactly the best known of the internet marketing crowd but I thought it was worth sending him an email to find out how much he had made with this "Online Business System". The response, shall we say, prevaricated, so I started to smell a huge, dead and rapidly decomposing rat. So I made some enquiries.
It turns out that the person who was going to make me rich is quite well known and has made a lot of money from his business but, unless I bought a $9.95 "Home Business Kit" to learn more about the opportunity, there was no way I was going to find out what company or product or programme was going to deliver my riches.
I don't know about you, but spending $9,95 and STILL not knowing who I was working for does not sound like a good deal - so I Googled "Online Business System".
What I found was rather sad. The company in question is well known, well respected and has been around for 25 years and is a household name. I also discovered that the name of the company would not actually be disclosed (if I was daft enough to pay the $9.95) until I had paid a further $39.95 for a "starter kit". That's a total cost of $49.90 just to find out the WHO!
It seems to me that by using very emotive and highly evocative advertising, this person and his affiliates are looking to make themselves a minimum of $49.90 with one of the worst examples of smoke and mirrors I have ever seen.
Not only that, I discovered that the associates of the company are also guilty of what is known as "plastic spamming"- They post large, plastic notices all over towns offering the opportunity to make money but giving only a telephone number for details.
I have emailed both the promotor and the promoted person with a simple question about the product that was going to make me rich. The simple question was "Is this anything to do with health foods or suppliments?" (Just in case I had found the wrong "Online Business System"). Neither has answered though all the emails have been opened. (So I have to assume it was the right one.)
So, is it subterfuge that makes them so wary of letting you know who they are or does the fear of recognition prevent them proudly proclaiming who they are?
The name of the company?
Herbalife!
How sad is that?
May 30th 2008 01:58
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Comments
Herbalife is a well known company and such deception is unnecessary for them.
May 30th 2008 07:46