Who Believes This Stuff?  For the past week I’ve been keeping track of unbelievable
offers arriving in my mailbox. They’re
not rated as spam (YET!) by my reputable mail server, although it manages to
find fifty to sixty others a day that it automatically removes for me. No, these appear to be genuine offers from
talented and wise sources – until you read the small print.I received ten offers from printing companies , all of whom
seem to think I need business cards, brochures, posters, billboards,
newsletters, and postcards to advertise my latest book. OK, I’ve used some of
those products in the past, but when a company insists you buy at least 500 business
cards at a time, how many times do they expect you to have to re-order? I also received three offers to let me access new
collections of genealogical records – free all during the current holiday
weekend. Obviously they think their target audience includes lots of people
with no place to go and nothing to do while others are partying. Still, the offer sounds generous, doesn’t it?
This was one offer I actually checked out.
It promised to provide wills from millions of people in all 50 states.
Did it? Well, I found a couple of listings from my family tree, but that’s all
there was – just a listing. A will
exists for John Smith of Anytown. Can I see
it? Well, here’s a picture of the listing.
Now you have to travel to Anytown and have the County Clerk try to find
#584938720-138.  Another promises to help readers de-clutter and organize
their lives with worksheets. They’ll
even send you the first 17 worksheets for free.
They arrive, fresh and colorful, as downloads you can print off as
needed. For the most part, these
worksheets have an interesting title at the top --: “Things To Do,” “Chores,” “Box
Contents,” and “Closets” – followed by a page of blank lines. If you want more
information, you’ll have to pay to take the whole course. Others are “free” video courses. Turn up your sound and watch while we
tell you how to: ·
Market Your Book for Free  ·
Create Content Everyone Needs·
Create Your Own Webinar ·
Write a Blog by Filling in the Blanks ·
Automate Your Book to Audio Every one of then spends over an hour talking about other
people’s success stories. And at the end, you’re told to accomplish your goal
by ordering an expensive book, a course, or a private coaching session. Here’s the worst one I found this week. The seller is a
college drop-out who claims to have written several best-selling books before
he was old enough to drink. And he offers to teach you: ·
How to develop an idea for your book in thirty
minutes. ·
How to write that book in two hours. ·
Write, publish, and market your book in three
easy steps. ·
Go from “no idea” to published author in ninety
days. ·
How to write a best-seller, even if you are bad
at writing and can’t type. ·
Earn a six-figure income instantly  |
