Sadly, in the world of Internet marketing, there are a lot of unethical scam artists preying on those who don’t know the industry. As senior marketers, they know you’re new and that you won’t realize you’ve been suckered until it’s too late.
If you are a senior and have limited experience with computer technology and the internet, you may have a more difficult time finding someone you can trust.
So how can a newcomer to Internet marketing safeguard themselves from the greedy scammers?
Background Research
When you land on a page with a recommendation for a course or tool that you feel will help accelerate your Internet marketing earnings, WAIT. Don’t buy on impulse. You might regret it later and have to ask for a refund or suck up the cost if no guarantee is offered.
Use Google to find out more. Type that marketer’s name into the search engines and see if there are any scam details.
NOTE! One of the most common affiliate pre-pitches is to promote a product by using the scam approach initially and then building the product up with a detailed review. I don’t recommend this method but it is used.
You may see 3 or 4 pages worth of links if you type in [marketer’s name] and scam, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re real scammers. Always read the pages with care.
Beware of Disgruntled Customers
Practically every marketer has a disgruntled customer. Some people get angry if their download link doesn’t work and they don’t get a response within 30 minutes. Others intentionally try to sabotage the competition by posting poor reviews online.
Don’t let one bad review stop you. You should be able to find as much positive information (in the form of praise) as you do bad reviews.
If it is mostly negative, it might be best to steer clear of that marketer.
Get Recommendations
Never rely on their own claims (even screenshots of earnings can be manipulated). And if you find them in a forum, don’t think that just because they have the highest post count, it means they’re the best marketer.
Get personal recommendations from other marketers that you have had successful dealing with in the past. Reputable marketers will tell you if they know the person and have done business with them.
Another source of information about marketers is forums. For example, if you want to find out who has the best affiliate marketing guide, ask in a related forum and find out.
