Jesse Willms Ethics: False Claims, False Friends

Lose 30 Pounds In 30 Days! She’ll Love You More When You Use Herbal Viagra! Start Making Six Figures A Month From Your Home Today!

Do those statements sound familiar? I bet they do. I just found each one of them in less than 10 seconds simply by looking in my spam box. Cruise around the Internet for any length of time and you’ll quickly find similar statements.

What do they have in common? They are all false. While I guess technically you could lose 30 pounds in 30 days, but likely no product alone could make that happen. And herbal Viagra may do what it’s supposed to do, physiologically speaking, but the description could be much clearer. And that last one is disingenuous for a variety of reasons.

False advertising claims give a bad name to Internet marketing. They are unethical, and really, they are unnecessary.

If you have a decent product or service, it will sell – but only if you’re believable to begin with, only if you’re able to establish trust with the prospective customer. Let’s look at the three examples from the top of this blog post.

Imagine that you’ve created a great weight loss product, a natural form of Viagra or a sure-fire way to make money from affiliate marketing.

Why not create ads with these headlines instead?

“We Can Help You Lose Weight!” – This gives the customer a lifeline for their diet woes, but implies that they have to meet you half way – a fair deal.

“Feel More Confident With Our Viagra Alternative!” – This is really what the ED issue is all about, and if anything cuts to the heart of the matter more than any claims of women fawning at their feet, as the majority of men who seek out ED solutions are married or in long-term relationships.

“Discover How You Could Make Money With Affiliate Marketing!” – Again, like the diet aid, you’re implying that there is going to be some work on their part, which is much more accurate. But, you’re also getting your point across, which is that they could make money, which is all that’s really interesting the customer.

These headlines are still selling the same products – and touching the same “hot button” issues you need to sell them – but they’re more ethical as they’re not making false claims.

I know it’s tempting to make false or borderline claims. We get excited about products and services and want to yell from the rooftops about how great they are. But, you need to keep it realistic.

Beyond that, repeat business – not new business – is the bread and butter of the Internet marketing industry. You may be able to get the same percentage of people to buy your product using either type of headline. But which customer do you think will come back for more, and which customer will you lose forever? Ethically speaking, the more accurate headline is simply better for your long-term business plan.

So, be an Internet good guy and don’t make any false claims. Just tell it like is – and you’ll profit from the experience.

Thanks,
Jesse Willms