Jason Moffatt ( Uncle Mofo) recently posted on his blog how a lot of so called successful internet marketers are faking it, just to appear successful. We’ve all seen it in the industry, the photoshoped commission cheques, the inflated blog posts about monthly earnings etc.

It does raise a good question though, what do you do when your starting out and nobody knows you? Most people get involved in affiliate marketing because they think it’s an easy way to make a quick buck. They want overnight success. If it means lying to some people about how successful I am to generate sales, why not?

Well I’m going to tell you, your shooting yourself in the foot!. The key to all the succesful internet marketers out there is longevity and trust. Lets say we did bullshit in the beginning  to make sales. Starting off it goes well, it does work and the sales start coming in. Brilliant, I’ve made 2k in commissions this week, then all of a sudden, the cats out of the bag and its all over the internet, Im a fraud, I bullshitted everybody. Will I make 2k the next week? Hell no, I’ve just pissed off all my existing customers and my potential customers for decieving them. I’ve seen this happen in both the online and offline world.

In the online world a perfect example is Paul Borque from UberAffiliate.com . Paul brags how he makes thousands of dollars online but then exposes himself when he revealed he was almost turned down for credit for a 30 grand car. If he was such a successful marketer why would he need a loan for a 30k car or why would his credit be so bad. There’s a great post on nickycakes.com which exposes Paul Borque for what he is, a snake oil salesman. Do you think anybody buys his products any more? Doesn’t seem so his blog appears to be abandoned.

A great example in the offline world is Anglo Irish Bank. For years they deceived their shareholders with fantastic balance sheets. When it finally emerged that their chairman had been inflating their balance sheets with temporary loans from other banks to boost their deposit ratios and that their chairman had been hiding his own personal loans of 120 million, the public lost all cofidence in the bank and pulled their deposits. It caused the bank to be nationalised to save it from collapsing. Another clear example of what happens when you decieve your customers.

I’ve given you two examples there of why not to lie, so what do you do when your starting out? The answer is simple emulate!

Emulating is the best way to achieve your goals. Look at what other successful marketers are doing and try do it yourself. If they got their blog design from unique blog designs, you get your design from unique blog design. If they are using a lightbox opt in form, you use a lightbox opt in form. By doing this your not lying but your building your credibility as you appear to be like other successful marketers.

This is just my two cents, if you agree or disagree with me leave a comment below!

Popularity: 6% [?]