Posts Tagged "Mark Wielgus"

Duped by Geeks

Posted on Apr 22, 2008 in Affiliate Marketing, Marketing |

Twitter vs twatter – it was a ruse! Jim Kukral returns to GeekCast & they all explain that it was just to spoof Loren Feldman’s puppet show against Shel Israel. They explain it in GeekCast today.

Mike from 1115 Media Called it first! Did anyone have a pool going?

Next we’ll hear that Mark Wielgus is in Joel Comm’s pocket and the scam alerts were all a ruse too!

Joel Comm – Scummy or Chummy?

Posted on Apr 21, 2008 in Marketing | 5 comments

A bit of a scandal broke out last week regarding AdSense guru Joel Comm’s latest eBook offering – AdSense Secrets 4. The landing page as you can see is one of your typical sales pages that usually screams of scam – at least that’s my usual impression of pages like this. Mark Wielgus from 45n5.com noticed many trusted bloggers and affiliate marketers blogging about this book and it’s greatness – people like super affiliate Zac Johnson and Affiliate Summit co-founder Shawn Collins. Mark was ready to go ahead and buy the book, until he noticed the fine print (figuratively…) on the page – when you buy the $9.95 eBook you were also automatically enrolled in a $29.95/mo. program to receive a newsletter with more tips & such from Joel.

To make a long story short since I linked to Mark’s post in last Friday’s Cribbed Content, he called Joel & this offer out as a scam and was none too happy about it. Joel swung by 45n5.com to explain himself – apparently there were glitches with the landing page and the shopping cart process that combined what was originally intended to be an opt-in offer (the $29.95 newsletter) with the main offer of the eBook. Some of the commentator’s over there are still not convinced that Joel’s being honest about the mix up considering his many years in the field – the “he should have known better” argument.

But the good news is that Joel, in either an effort to make good by a screwy landing page or an effort to save his ass from bad PR, has offered to make it up to people who feel like they were duped. Zac Johnson seems to have the scoop – he corrected the landing pages (well, no duh), added some “Fast Action Bonuses”, and for the next two weeks will be donating 100% of the profits to charity. Wade Tonkin over at Christian Affiliate Marketers just today posted a podcast chat he had with Joel about the offer & spam accusations. Again, whether this is an honest apology or an attempt to save face, it’s still a good gesture and good deal.

The moral of the story? Accusing an internet marketer of spam is akin to accusing a home run hero of corking his bat. Keep this tale in mind the next time you formulate a marketing campaign or launch a new product. Do what you can to make sure that there’s nothing shady, underhanded, or illegal about your offer – or anything that could remotely be considered as such. It’s a good thing to have the blogosphere talking about you, but not when they’re roasting you on a spit.

Cribbed Content for April 18th

Posted on Apr 18, 2008 in Rambles | 2 comments

Some good stuff going on this week… and I’m going to throw in something fun that has some social media implications…

• Scott Jangro jumped into the podcasting world with a good set of rambles. He gets fairly personal, talking about the inspiration his daughter has given him & some general rambles about what’s going on in his life.  I really like this type of podcasting.  Great first effort… PodPress FTW!  I hope more are coming.
• My new favorite term is Internet Rubbernecker. I may just changed this weekly post of mine from “Cribbed Content” to “Internet Rubbernecking”. The term was apparently coined by this article over at Wired.com (if it’s from somewhere else, my apologies – I’ve never heard it before). The article points out (yes, go READ it first) that this YouTube lash back video is probably not the best legal move the scorned wife could have made, but it makes me wonder how strong a factor the internet’s court of public opinion might now sway the case? Food for thought in this day & age of social media run rampant.
• Mark Wielgus from 45n5.com called out Joel Comm’s latest AdSense eBook marketing as shady and deceptive.  The background basically is that all the ads say just $9.95 for this eBook but once you buy it you’re automatically enrolled in some other program that charges you $29.95 per month.  NOT COOL and I have to agree with Mark’s assessment in his video.

I’m keeping it short & sweet this week and ended on what I hope is an uplifting note.  Everyday I go to work and I have to reconcile two facets of myself to get through the day – the part of me that went to college and got my degree in theatre so I could make a living on my own terms – writing and telling stories and entertaining people  – and the part of me that wants a better life than my parent’s had with more money and gadgets and opportunities and keeps me working in marketing- sitting at a desk all day working a set schedule on someone else’s terms.  I know I’m not the only one out there with this daily grapple.

Earlier this week Sam Harrelson recorded an Affiliate Fortune Cookies episode that I just got around to listening to last night.  In it, he describes his own college decisions, how high school superlatives have affected him, and how all that attempts to reconcile into who he is today.  It was a tough listen for me only because of the state I was in on Thursday – wondering if this blog is worth putting so much energy into and assessing why I do this.  This brought me to a good place and I’m okay with where I am… so if you’re finding yourself at a crisis of faith regarding your career, definitely give this a listen.  At least you’ll understand that it’s not just you.