How to Win Friends and Influence People … NOT!
Posted on December 3rd, 2005 in Internet Marketing |
Normally, you get complaints from people about a product after they’ve paid their money and downloaded it … however in this case there’s trouble brewing before the product’s even been released …
Let me explain …
As you may or may not know, there’s been a lot mentioned in IM circles recently about Marc Quarles and Jason Potash’s upcoming software, Portal Feeder …
Now, Jason is a master marketer and has spent the last few weeks steadly building up expectation for Portal Feeder using some brilliant pre-launch techniques (which I would highly recommend studying in detail and applying to your own products and services) …
For instance, at the beginning he released a free 21-page Special Report jampacked with information detailing how Google is rapidly turning into the Internet’s “Big Brother” …
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If you don’t already have a copy of this report, you can get a
copy of it here:
http://www.nickthegeek.com/bigbrother.pdf
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His next marketing masterstroke was to give away a useful free software tool called Orwell, which became the inspiration for Portal Feeder …
In a nutshell, Orwell is a program to help you locate keyword rich articles from other people you can safely add to either your own website or to create high ranking “content portals” to get AdSense income …
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You’ll find the download link for Orwell in the PDF above
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As you can imagine people went “crazy” over this but now things have taken a little turn for the worst …
Yesterday, Jason and Marc announced the F-O-T-L Free Pass …
The idea of the Front of The Line Free Pass was to generate some product “buzz” by giving 275 people a 30 minute headstart in ordering Portal Feeder …
What should have been another marketing masterstroke has turned into a nightmare for Jason and Marc simply because they didn’t think through the concept enough …
Rather than go through it all here, go checkout the ruckus and Jason’s open apology to everyone at the Portal Feeder blog here …
What lesson you can learn from all of this …?
Be very, very careful of the marketing techniques you use …
Now, I don’t know if Jason and Marc did this deliberately to create “buzz” - if they did, they’re playing a very dangerous game alienating potential future customers, playing into the hands of their competitors …
If they didn’t, then they’re sure as hell paying for their mistake now, including receiving some very nasty hate mail …
Controversy is an excellent sales tool … when done correctly, like Jason did with the Big Brother PDF … but when done incorrectly, you’ve got an angry mob banging on your door for a “virtual lynching” …
Jason and Marc forgot this … make sure you learn from their mistake …
What are your thoughts on all of this …? Let me know …
Cheers
Nick 
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5 Responses
The mistake was not having Nick The Geek for consulting!
Nick, personally, I’m tired of this kind of marketing. I want people to want my products. Not becasue because theyve been twisted this way and that by ‘emotion’ and sales pitches, but because in the end they really feel they need the product.
I guess people have been buying stuff on premise since the days of the medicine show (”Buy Dr. Mikes Elixir of life and you will even grow your hair back”). Its more like “I dont want to be left out” than “I need that product”.
Yes, it works. So does the Nigerian scam (I actually know some folks who fell for a version of the Nigerian scam! I couldnt believe smart people would fall for it).
Well Nick, I just woke up so I’m probably pointlessly rambling…. ha ha ha Keep up the great blog!
–Kenn
For one I am completely amazed at the rukus this caused. I have been hearing about this non stop today and it started in the traffic equalizer forum.
All I can say is people get a life, if you cant get the software then too bad but if you get in then great. Why are people so emotional about this. I remember this exact same thing happening to John Reese and look at him now.
Also not to arque with you Kenn but you are not going to sell a lot of anything with out following the rule of AIDA. Attention (they got it) - Interest (lots of It) - Desire (that has become evident and Action (wow, they are going to make a fortune). It is called good marketing and anyone that sells alot can understand that.
Nick, you are right on the money with this, we all need to have a way to generate interest in our product, but yes, Jason and Marc just didn’t see this coming and now it’s biting them in the butt. I downloaded the PDF which got me all excited about the free Orwell software and they more than likely would of had me reaching for my wallet for the NEW software, then this twist, it just seemed like a scam! The Orwell software is very useful though. I’ll be reviewing it soon on my site!
- Craig Bak
Kenn: Can’t argue with you there …?
Personally, I don’t think Jason and Marc did this deliberately … they just didn’t think things through clearly …
After all, what’s the point of opening giving 275 people a headstart if you’re only going to sell 375 copies in total …?
Of course, not all of the 275 headstarters will buy, but why alienate future customers …?
I agree with what you’re saying Roger … at the end of the day they’re producing “buzz” for their upcoming product and that’s all fine and dandy …
And yes, the “first come first served” rule is also fair … but it’s just the way Jason and Marc approached it …
To his credit, Jason issued an immediate apology and rectified the situation … but hey … he made a mistake and I’m sure he’ll learn from it … as should we all …
I don’t know Jason personally, but we’ve communicated a bit in the past and for what my opinion’s worth I think he’s a decent bloke and deserves some slack …
He’s only human, after all …
Craig: You’re not wrong about Orwell … it’s a cracking little program … but as you say, a lot of people will have a bad taste in their mouth about PortalFeeder because of Jason’s mistake …
My advice would be - don’t take too much notice of the rukus … make sure you learn from his mistake and wait to see if PF is worth all the fuss …
From my point of view, I’m more interested in seeing how PF compares with Article Miner …
Thanks for your comments, guys … keep ‘em coming …
Great blog, Nick — I like how you take the time to look at and describe the BIG picture. This example shows how those who use the “magic bullet” approach to marketing can sometimes land themselves in hot water.
In today’s world, it’s far more important to take an holistic approach, particularly when it comes to Internet marketing campaigns. Offline, you offend one customer and news spreads quickly. Online, bad news spreads at lightning speed… and it can take a “whole lot longer” to repair credibility damage.
One can only guess how long it will take before the search engines DON’T pull up any bad comments when someone new to the Internet does their “due diligence” before purchasing from this group/source in future. This example could damage a lot more than their existing reputation. It could hang over them like a dark cloud for a long time…
p.s. No offence intended or implied, but AIDA is not the “magic bullet” formula used by most highly-paid copywriters. It just happens to be the most common used for fast copy …and perhaps the easiest to apply for inexperienced and/or untrained writers.