So I was only thinking yesterday about the sort of script-based solutions that are marketed to people when, lo and behold, a perfect example of what I had in mind drops straight into my Inbox…

Now I am not going to name names, I am not even going to identify the script concerned – that’s not important to me, but the underlying problem IS. You see, this Autoresponder script is presented as a way of cutting costs; instead of paying GetResponse or AWeber a monthly fee, just pay 20 bucks once and manage your email campaigns for no cost, forever.

At first I thought I was going to find a “one off lifetime” subscription to an email marketing service – there was an impressive list of features, and it really did tick all the boxes. So when I got to the “call to action” I was a) surprised to find the prices was $19.95 and b) slightly bemused to discover that this is a PHP script.

Now let me ask you this – how many of you can do one or more of the following?

• Install a PHP script on a web hosting account
• Create scheduled CRON jobs on a web hosting account
• Debug and tweak PHP code when issues arise
• Negotiate white-listing agreements with service providers to ensure deliverability
• Above all else – who has got the ability to run this on a server with no hosting fees?

 You see, you may not pay the autoresponder people every month, but you DO need high quality, reliable servers, you need the ability to jump in and fix code if something goes wrong (and it will), and you need to ensure that your emails will not get blocked en route.

Fair enough, these guys were offering script installations for $7 – but what of ongoing support and maintenance? Either they are going to make money from you this way, or else they don’t care, and just want to make the one-off sale, get your contact details, and then spam you.

Nice huh?

This is why I use a monthly subscription service – I know that the people I use are experienced, they SPECIALISE in email marketing and the delivery of the emails. I pay them for peace of mind, so I don’t have to worry about code maintenance, and I certainly don’t have to worry about whether my emails get through or not!

In fact, when I first put Express Marketer online, I was sending emails from my own server, using very simple server-side code. Within a few hours I had people complaining that they weren’t getting their introduction/welcome mails, and it didn’t take long before I switched over to using a paid AR service.

Since that day there has been not one failure to my knowledge.

So what is my point here? Yet again, there are what I consider to be “shoddy” tactics being employed. People want to save money, and this is touted as a way of doing that, but it’s really a bit of exploitation, and frankly distasteful.

It all comes back to that ultimate gauge by which you can measure yourself and your business – how much value are you offering? At $19.95 (plus $7 installation), this script has the appearance of being very good value indeed, but the mess it will leave most people in, and the real costs (when you consider hosting fees etc.) make this a very VERY poor deal indeed.

So will you ever see me selling scripts? To be honest, I don’t think so. But let’s imagine for a moment that I did, that script would be backed up with a full explanation of what it can and cannot do, what it does and does not include, and the offer of ongoing assistance if you felt the need for such a script.

Look, overall, scripts are not inherently bad, but you really need to be aware of what is involved, and whether you want to get your hands quite that dirty; ultimately do you desire to be a techie, or a marketer?

Most people I deal with would burst into tears if you suggested that they need to become part time geeks! I suspect you may have similar misgivings.

Until next time…
Gaz

I got into a conversation on Facebook about exploitation of ignorance, and it was put to me that ALL capitalism relies on that very thing. I actually disagree, and tend to agree much more with the view “offer enough value and success and money will follow”.

Now a lot depends here on how you interpret the word “exploitation”. On the one hand it is simply using a situation to advantage, for example if someone needs their lawn mowing, and can’t or won’t do it, then someone else can “exploit” the situation by offering to do the job in exchange for money.

That’s what we all do, to a certain degree, every day, and with this usage of the word, yes I agree that capitalism relies on it.

However, let’s revisit the lawn situation and imagine that the owner of the lawn is approached by someone who tells them they can do the work, but mowing a lawn is incredibly difficult, hardly anyone else does it, and the job will cost $5000. Furthermore, let’s also imagine that this person also now exaggerates the issue, creating a sense of urgency, resulting in the owner handing over far too much cash for a simple job, but feeling relieved that all these major issues are going to be resolved for them, without having to do any work themselves.

That to me is unfair exploitation – it is one thing to present facts, and to live or die by the value you represent. But when you stray wildly from this, and basically con people, that is totally unacceptable.

THIS is my big problem with Internet Marketing at the moment. There are far too many people offering systems that “do it all for you” and worse still, when you get into these systems they don’t really help you do anything except further promote that self-same system! Worse still, people’s ignorance of the technical stuff, people’s fears (fed by the media hyping up the global financial whatsit), and their basic lack of self-belief are combined, built on, twisted, and used to amplify pain people are feeling.

Most people are expected to buy things and then fail – in fact the industry uses “5% end up with the money” as a mantra, and as an unbreakable truth that cannot be altered. Maybe that statistic IS true and maybe it is NOT possible to change, but the way it is used is pretty cynical.

The thing is, most people are being taught to go about this stuff the WRONG way, which is why you see so many spammers on the various social sites. Many aren’t taught at all, and they end up copying the spammers because that’s what they see, and they assume that’s how it is done.

After a while they will either give up on IM or they will have been exposed to just enough information to “hook” them, and also having been exposed to a handful of names time and time again.

So they are hooked, they realise that what they have done so far does not work, and they feel sure there must be something that’s not being revealed to them, something more, some other techniques they need to hear about… that’s when they remember hearing about the comprehensive systems offered by people whose names they keep reading about, they remember the emails in their box about how the launch of a system was swamped by unprecedented sign-ups, that actually led to a whole server crumbling under the load!

That’s powerful stuff, and it’s powerful stuff that has been drip-fed to them over an extended period of time. They know there is something to this, they may even have experience a small amount of success in what they are doing – that’s when they decide it IS worth handing thousands of dollars to one of the big-wigs after all….

The thing is, they probably then go on to achieve a lot of success – justifying (to them) the level of investment they had to make.

But what of those who simply cannot afford to spend 1000s of dollars on these things? What of the people who consider putting their families at risk? These people mostly give up the game, with a renewed belief that “money comes to money” and “you have to have money to make money”.

It’s all BULL, it’s a horrid form of exploitation, and yes, you guessed it, I have much better solutions!

Are these solutions going to cost money? Most of them, yes.

Will these solutions make ME money? Yes, I make money by referring you or selling, that’s the business I am in

Will these solutions cost you an arm and a leg? NO WAY – a buck or 2 per day is hardly extortionate

Will you get sub-standard solutions and information? NO WAY – in fact, much of the information you will receive may well surpass that provided by some of the expensive systems.

So how is it possible to provide this type of information cheaply, when others are charging so much. The answer is the degree of exploitation being employed. In my case, I believe in offering good, solid tools and information for a fair price that puts it in the reach of the majority. Others take a different view – using tactics to push certain individuals towards the higher-priced systems and solutions. A major driver in this is the exploitation of ignorance.

So to recap… what it boils down to is this – do I want to make out that cutting lawns is a massively complex operation, milking incredible amounts of cash from people until such time that I am found out, and I then have to move on to another con trick, or do I want to inform people of how simple it all is, inform them that it will take a bit of effort etc. and even offer to mow the lawn for them for a fair price?

The latter is what will allow me to sleep at night – how about you?

Gaz