I received this comment from Chuck the other day about our article on Shoemoney’s free online marketing course that was far too long to reply to in the comments section, so I wanted to reply to it here in a post.
Shoemoney!? You gotta be kidding me right? This is the same guy who had no beef with what GoogleMoneyTree were doing! “no im not a hypocrite cause we had a lawsuit with the Google Money Tree. That was because they were using my image not because I had beef with what they were doing.” From: http://www.shoemoney.com/2009/03/26/bullshit-acai-berry-weightloss-blogs-under-fire-from-ftc/
So – he was pissed off that the stole his photo and used it without permission (fair enough), but he had no problem with the fact that GMT were scamming people? And that the affiliates promoting it used fake testimonials, fake photoshopped checks (hey as long as it was not the photo of his check, that’s okay), fake story, etc etc. And no problem with the fake Acai weightloss blogs even though everyhting on them is a lie too. Because everyone who falls for this is a “FRICKIN RETARD” (charming!) in his opinion.
He thinks the fake blogs promoting hidden rebill scams are no different than paying each “month for my gym membership and not going for 3 months…..” How does he come up with such warped BS!? “How is it different”!? Well..for starters you know in advance that there is a monthly fee for your gym membership and your gym doesn’t tell you a complete pack of lies to con you into signing up!
I mean the dude had ads plastered all over his blog for various CPA networks – the same CPA networks who promoted shady scammy rebills like the “Google Kit” offers, so he’s clearly a fan of CPA marketing. If I wanted to learn how to make money online I sure ain’t gonna take lessons from this shoemoney dude!”
Chuck, I think you’re mixing up your info here. Take a look at Shoe’s article here:
http://www.shoemoney.com/2008/12/26/google-money-tree-scam-hydra-affiliate-network/
He clearly calls out these types of sites as the biggest scams on the internet. He has plenty of articles stating how the negative option hidden rebill sites are scams.
Reread that article you mentioned, he didn’t say he approved of what they were doing, he just said that his disapproval was NOT why he sued them. His main complaint about the Acai berry blogs in that post is not that they’re ok or anything to do with any hidden rebills, but why is the FTC going after those blogs but not after the TV infomercials and the like. Well, then he rants about the intelligence of the average American, which isn’t right, I’ll give you that, but controversy is one very valid way to generate traffic on the internet.
For the CPA marketing ads, that’s the way the internet works in 2009. Advertisers of ALL kinds are moving away from CPC ads (cost per click) to CPA (cost per action). Take Amazon for example, the biggest CPA network on the planet. Is promoting Amazon items on your blog/site and making a commission on sales of them wrong because they are CPA? Painting all CPA ads and networks with the same brush because there are some bad apples on a few of them isn’t right either. Just because some networks have hidden rebill offers doesn’t mean they all do. Don’t worry, those networks will eventually be getting a call from the FTC.
For example, Azoogle Ads is a CPA network and is a big sponsor on Shoe’s blog. We use them here for the Experian ID Protection we recommend to people who have been taken by these scams. They also have some offers for negative rebill make money at home and weight loss sites, but every one is a page that clearly states the rebill terms right where the user enters their credit card, no hidden charges. Azoogle was sued by the FTC a few years ago for not doing this and are now VERY careful about it. Click here for a example colon cleansing offer that advertises through the Azoogle Ads network. Before you buy, it tells you exactly what you are signing up for in clear language. Does that make Azoogle bad because the offer isn’t really a good deal for consumers? Maybe, maybe not. Lots of people swear by their Shamwows and love their George Foreman grills, despite the price tag for what is essentially a $20 sponge and a $70 waffle iron tilted at an angle. Oh, don’t forget the $19.99 shipping and handling charges…
The key to making money online and being able to sleep at night in 2009 is what I like to call Ethical Affiliate marketing, which requires the same methods and techniques of site building and traffic building and promotion and PPC advertising that promoting shady offers does, just promoting honest offers and products. And for that, Shoes course has so far been extremely educational even to someone experienced and jaded like myself.
