FTC, Affiliates, Product Claims, Article Marketing, Kimkins? Phew!

I have to begin today with the source of the sudden frenzy:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9a58f44c-1fae-11de-a1df-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

It appears the FTC has finally decided to start cracking down on products that are promoted via viral marketing and using false claims. This crack down can be extended to blogs as well who chose to publish those materials.

The main target of the new guidelines appears to be the widespread practice of viral marketing in which companies recruit non- employees to talk up products in exchange for samples or promotions.

So, where does this put things?

Well, product owners are now responsible for what other are saying about the product. In addition, as a blog owner – should you blog something about a product endorsing it, you could be in hot water if the findings you publish are not true.

I had to think about all the original articles that Kimkins had floating around. Those articles are still found on miscelaneous blogs, and many are so far from the truth as far as the information they deliver. The original source of many of those artilcles can be traced back to Kimkins.com. And what becomes of the article directories harboring those materials? The viral marketing that has been touched on refers more toware social sites like Twitter and Facebook – but should only one child be punished for being bad when all of them did it?

What is to be said about the Kimkins affiliate program? Affiliates who can not afford the plan are incentived with the option to promote the diet, sell a few, and get a membership. But, how do you promote something you know nothing about? You are reliant on sources found freely on the web.

An uneducated blogger may choose to find previously published articles as a means to promote. Hey, we’ve seen it happen folks. In turn, the blogger can be held responsible for publishing misleading information, as well as the main source of the product – in this particular case I’m referring to Kimkins.con.

I wish these matters had been brought up a few years ago.

And while some marketers are beginning to scream “Not fair!” It forces marketers to be a little more careful of what they are promoting.

I won’t lie to you. There is an easy formula to marketing and it is quite possible to follow that formula over and over – using it for a variety of products available online. It almost makes it too simple to sell something.

I for one have no issue with taking some time to decide if what I’m promoting is really all that it says it is. I hope this scare will encourage others to take a good look at what they are doing. It could really help clean up some of the crap out there.

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Don Fleece, Traffic Mysteries, Confessions and Reality

A couple of days ago I blogged about Don Fleece and Traffic Mysteries 2 – a new product and unheard of product creator in the IM world. Today is confession time. This was all part of a hoax.

It was an elaborate plan masterminded by Frank Kern to get the attention of John Reese who is the creator of Traffic Secrets. Seems Frank owed John some “payback” for a stunt back in 2006.

Don Fleece is an imaginary guru, the Traffic Mysteries product does not exist, but…

In the story I told about the marketer who did not realize the reality of Kimkins and the points made in checking out a new product and its creator – those are sincerely real and valid.

I have to confess, I was in on the traffic mysteries thing. I knew there was no product in the end or money to be taken from anyone and I have to admit – I was not going to originally add the product to this blog as I have no intentions of fooling the real readers but it tied in nicely with the real story of things that were happening. No one was going to get scammed out of their money.

I am elated that at least a couple of people did get something out of it all. One commenter on the post who I believe didn’t realize the hoax learned some additional techniques in investigating a product, and a fitness blogger was kind enough to blog on the danger to his readers of promoting 3rd party products as well as mentioning Kimkins which really is greatly appreciated.

John Reese has left a comment which I will address privately, as he seems to be a little upset but I will add a public apology here –> John I am sorry for any stress this has caused you and in reality we all love and admire you! –> and would like to assure Mr. Reese there are some really great things that have come out of this exercise.

This particular project was not only an opportunity for me to spread the word on my cause, but turned into one of the biggest networking frenzies I’ve ever seen. I was able to greatly expand my circle of contacts through this excursion and additionally I was able to release a lot of stress that had still been pent up over struggles of the past year.

Within days, a group of us had created an active looking pre-launch forum (I may have knitted quite a few socks), created a “buzz” and managed to get some people believing this was a real product. Some of the methods used to start the stir are available to every marketer out there. Hub, Squidoo, blogging, social bookmarking – all things available freely on the web.

Something that should have been a dead giveaway was the picture used of Mr. Fleece with his anti drule invention. This was in reality a feminine product hanging out of his mouth and I am ROFLMBO as I type this.

Some additional personalities were created such as Fleece’s cousin Vern who was giving video testimonials and was not amused that Wurdmess had questioned the integrity of Traffic Mysteries and Fleece.

Today I am back to another project that is real work, but I would like to thank all the posters who came by, thank you to Frank Kern for the opportunity to participate in something that I have learned and gained much from, and a really big thank you as well to John Reese for stopping by.

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Kimkins – The Black Bart of the Internets Wild West Years

Papers have been filed for the Motion for Class Certification of the Kimkins case.

Mariasol has written an outstanding post on the subject.

One of the things that strikes me most was the use of some very black hat tactics including the use of tags for things that have nothing to do with a diet site.

For example, Heidi Diaz took a popular Internet topic such as the “Geico Caveman” which generated a lot of Internet activity at the time. Heidi Diaz placed the labels: “Caveman, Geico, Kimkins” together so that when “Geico” and “Caveman” would be searched, the Kimkins advertisement would appear. Heidi Diaz admitted that she prepared the graphic and text without the permission of the Geico Insurance Company. Heidi Diaz admitted that labels were also used as tags and that if a search were conducted with respect to the terms “Geico” or “Caveman,” the subject advertisement would show up in a ranking!’

Like Black Bart, Kimkins seems to have a similar MO. Black Bart was living in San Francisco under the name Charles E. Bolton when he was finally caught. Upon being booked he gave the name T. Z. Spalding – although his real name was Charles E. Boles. See any resemblances to Heidi Diaz?

The beginning legend of Black Bart tells a story of a stage coach driver who was approached by a man with a sack over his head holding a double barrel shotgun. Hiding behind the man appeared to be a back up possie revealing only their guns as they hid behind boulders. Bart told the posse “If he dares shoot give him a solid volley, boys.” Fearful for his life and the life of his 5 passengers, the driver delivered the goods on board and followed the direction of the hooded man, taking off when directed to do so. He rode off a ways, and then stopped the stage and looked back. He walked back to the scene of the incident and upon arrival realized the posse to be motionless. Upon further investigation it was revealed those guns were just some sticks pointed at him from behind the boulders.

While it appeared that Bart had supporters, they weren’t real. The same can be said for many of the exposed fake members of the Kimkins diet.

Bart never fired a real shot in his robberies. Although he never killed anyone, he did go to prison for his actions.

I hope our story about Kimkins taking place in the virtual wild west has a similar outcome.

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How Banner Ads Work

There are things I can provide that most may struggle with. One of these things is video evidence.

In todays video I’d like to share with you How Banner Ads Work.

With many affiliate programs, you may be provided with additional materials to promote your products. This is the case with Kimkins as well.

It is a simple case of copying the code from the Kimkins site which has the affiliate link attached to it, and pasting it on your site. Let’s take a look here at why there are still illegal ads running amuck on the web.

I bet someone wishes I was superbanned from Kimkins right about now;)

I need to add:

This is not the fault of just the affiliates. Chances are some of these people have not been informed or updated by the affiliate manager that those ads are not acceptable. The control of these ads stems from Kimkins. I do not fault the affiliates, but I do fault Kimkins.com for all of these banner ads still being available.

I will be sending a copy of this video to John Tiedt for evidence submission.

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A Message to Dakota

Can you count how many times I say “um?”

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Customer Review Videos – My Secret Revealed!

To view the reading of today blog on video please visit April Special . This is a long one, and video might just be easier on the eyes!

Otherwise, enjoy the reading.

Sincerely, Avenue Girl

Now is the time to sign up for Customer Review Videos. I have a secret to share with you, but it is only good for the next 2 weeks.

If you are one of the fortunate ones to glimpse at this blog post, today will surely be the day you will never forget. There is a special from today to the end of April. I’d like you to join me as a platinum member to CRV.

Who Am I and Why Should You Listen to ME?

I’m going to give you the condensed version of this blog and what I’ve been doing. This blog’s address is affiliatescams. It was started months ago for a way to share what I have learned about online scams, in particular the Kimkins diet. I was an affiliate for this diet. I made money selling this diet. At one point I made over a thousand dollars a day promoting this diet. I even lost weight. So why would I give all that up? Because it was a SCAM. Yes, I was lied to, and given false information. It is not what I am about – no matter how much money I made. What’s even worse, people suffered some serious side effects following this diet. The guilt of what I had a hand in was overwhelming. I have now spent months doing everything I can to help expose this scam, and save others from falling into the trap that I did.

In my journey during the past months, I have come across SECRETS. Real secrets of what makes an online business work. I have been in the trenches of the internet. I have been to places no one wants to go. But I had to go. I had to find the TRUTH. And in finding the truth, I found so much more.

For a while I was depressed. I questioned my pursuit in a career as an affiliate marketer. My only desire was to help people and share “good” things. It seemed like everything I was looking into was associated with a scam. I made a promise to myself. I was going to seriously investigate any program I was considering promoting, I wasn’t going to suggest a product I wouldn’t try myself, and I was going to do regular research on who ever I was working for/with to make sure their service was all that it said it was.

Now I was sitting here with all this experience and the only way to really help people would be sharing what I have learned on the web.

Affiliate marketing can be an extremely rewarding experience. Sometimes the best opportunity happens when you aren’t even looking for it.

One of the reasons I did so well with Kimkins was the fact that I took action. Another reason was the fact that the product was virtually unheard of. I promoted this product based on my experience with it – but again I was lied to about the long term effects of the plan. I would have never recommended it knowing what I know today. I was even told the product was under “New Ownership” and again I was lied to. I know what it is like to be lied to.

I am now a giant blabbermouth. If something starts looking amiss, I will be the first to tell you. Just last night I received a comment on a post about Slash My Search. I have been using it but have not yet reached my first payment. Here is the comment left, and here was my response:

1. truckingal Says:
April 13, 2008 at 11:30 pm e

I’d be interested in knowing if you’ve actually gotten paid by Slash My Search: I joined in January, waited the required two months for payment. Requested payment of $105 on the first day the ‘request payment’ section said I was eligible. It shows they paid me-I have seen nothing in my verified Paypal account. It is now over three months since I joined and I am due almost $200-and have been paid nothing. I’ve emailed several times-no answer. Even found the owner’s email addy and emailed him directly-no answer.

Now, my concern is, are they going to claim the non-existant payment as a payout and give me an IRS problem? Something is very wrong here. Also, search doesnt work worth a darn for me-it ends up sending me to Google if I use the tool bar and gives me almost no results-just advertisers-if I use the homepage searchbox.

If anybody actually gets paid by them, I’d like to see it-I sure havent!
2. avenuegirl Says:
April 14, 2008 at 1:00 am e

Hi truckingal!

I have reached the twenty dollar minimum but I am not eligible yet for the pay out. I will tell you this much though – if for some reason I am not paid it will be well known on the web.

It looks like this company was going – had to fix some stuff – and resumed.

If they say they will pay then they should obviously. I would be willing to help you in any way I can to resolve the situation.

Is this where you sent your email? help@slashmysearch.com

You will not have an IRS problem. Paypal shows all payments made to you over the course of the year and I personally print up mine at tax time. If it did not go into your paypal then you should not have any problems.

I have personally had some interesting results when using their search engine, but I do not rely on it for all my searches. My home page is set to it though, and that is what fires up when I start my computer.

I have done searches from the home page and my results in tafiti carry no ads – so I’m unsure what you are referring to here.

Unfortunately I can not condemn the program until it is time for my payment. I will promise you though – if they don’t pay there will be some serious spear chucking going on.

There is a comments section open on hub pages, http://hubpages.com/hub/Why_use_Slash_My_Search?comments

If I were in your shoes, this is what I would do. I would go ask that guy if he has been paid, I would check out squidoo as I know there is at least one page up there about it – and you will be able to comment there, I would visit youtube and see who has videos up for it there, and really check around.

Here is a blog, and this gal had some kind of issue, maybe you can comment for her and see if she will reveal anything else.

http://junesrecipe.blogspot.com/2007/03/slash-my-search-inoperable.html

Miss June may have some more info for you.

And here is another guy you can contact who looks like he may have some more information for you:

http://cwilson26.blogspot.com/2007/03/google-adsense-and-slash-my-search.html

I hope this is just a “technical administrative error.”

I want to thank you for stopping by and voicing your concerns.

I have personally emailed truckingal, as I care about what is going on. The search engine works, but if it is not paying then that will obviously need to be addressed. She is working on the issue. I have given her some leads to follow as well. That is who I am.

I am not going to get rich off SMS, but there are people who do rely on programs like these for their income. In the same regard, I will not condemn the program until I get my own results. And rest assured, you will hear from me when judgement day comes.

Another program I was researching out of curiosity was 1on40. This was an easy choice to avoid. The online antics of the companies owner mimicked those of Heidi Diaz, the owner of the Kimkins diet. More and more reports are in daily of 1on40 and their inability to perform as promised. I follow the story, and present my finding here on affiliate scams for people to find answers. That is the importance of this blog.

Why am I so confident about promoting CRV?

I can honestly say Customer Review Videos is that new hot product. I can recognize those things. There is a free version – so anyone can do this. It encompasses video – which is where the web is going.

I have had personal access to Scott Britner. Before I even contacted Scott, I went in on the free version and checked it out. I was blown away over the possibilities of this concept. I wanted to do a review of the product. After an upgrade to the platinum version, I was able to start exploring more. A simple example is the video squeeze page, which you may be viewing this blog on now. This is just one of the benefits of this powerful tool. I am using the product. If you are looking at the video you have proof that I am using the product.

This company has found an effective way to maximize the power of video. Any product you choose to promote – you can use other peoples videos. You don’t have to even know how to make a video and you can still use the service.

CRV doesn’t make money on the stuff you are selling. You get all the credit. It is an absolutely brilliant idea, and as far as I can see it’s execution is outstanding.

There is no hype here. I have been racking my brain to figure out why any of this would be a bad thing. I can find nothing. Months of analyzing programs and looking for scammy things, and CRV has me completely stumped. There is absolutely no reason for anyone not to try this. And now like I said, this is the time to get in on this opportunity. You will be beating yourself over the head by December if you don’t do this now. You don’t need to be a technical genius.

Back to where I began. There is a special for the next 2 weeks. The Platinum version of Customer Review Videos is a paid monthly membership. If you join for the full version now, you can save $20.00 a month off the monthly membership fee. Use the coupon code “april2008″ and not only save on the current low rate but continue to save when the price jumps (and I believe it will). As this company grows there will be only more and more value added. You will be able to lock in your membership. You can quickly assemble video niche sites and pay no hosting fees. Using videos you didn’t even have to make – no bandwidth fees. Make all the video squeeze pages you want. Heck, I might not be exciting, but the fact that you are possibly watching this right now and that I didn’t spend hours building this page just blows me away!

I want you to go to the site now, and I want you to play around with it. I want you to see for yourself. And then I want to hear what you think. Am I out of my gourd? That’s a different question. Is CRV not one of the coolest things to ever hit affiliate marketing and video at the same time?

So here is a link to sign up for free, and I am there on the page to show you where to go: Customer Review Videos

Or you can get a closer look at the plan, and there are some examples of all the features and you can try out the platinum version and have a video niche site up as soon as tomorrow. I kid you not. It’s that freaking easy. Here is the full version explained.

And if you are on the video of this blog, you will see a little sign up list below. I want this to work for everyone. I want to share everything I can with you to get every last ounce out of this program. That sign-up is for a monthly newsletter I’m putting together that will have video tips in it. If anyone gives me any good video tips, I will be putting you in the newsletter with a link to your site. You will get free tips about once a month, and show me something good and you will get some traffic too.

I have a lot of faith in this company, and I think after you visit you will see just why.

I hope you’ll join me.

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Customer Review Videos – Video Arrives 2.0 Style

I can’t begin to tell you how super duper excited I am today. I have been playing with something for the last week, and my head is exploding with the possibilities. It’s called Customer Review Videos.

A cool thing happens while looking into scams. You are forced to go all over the web checking this link and that one. I found this little site on one of my searches to get to the root of some 1on40 things. Affiliates were actually promoting 1on40 still (which scares me and I’ll have another update on that soon).

Back to my find. Customer Review Videos is a site that lets you find a review video to promote something and add YOUR links to it. If I didn’t have a clue about how to make a video I could still use video marketing for all my campaigns.

You are able to monetize on OPE (other peoples efforts). This is serious lazy video marketing on steroids. Formating for members is a WYSIWYG – so anyone can do this.

The site is a baby at only 3 months old. It is still being tweeked a bit, but is completely functional. I have written a complete review with video examples on hub pages.

I had the good fortune to speak with (in emails) Scott Britner. Scott is one of the owners of the program, and has been working day and night (you wouldn’t believe the times I got emails). He is a family man as well and was gracious enough to spend a little time replying to my questions about the program. He is all about adding as much value to the end user as possible. This is the type of thing that is the foundation of a great business.

What Makes This Video 2.0 Style?

Videos assembled on the CRV site include easy to find social bookmarking tools. Links and coding are provided to share your video creation easily, and carry along your affiliate links to where ever the video may go. The Platinum membership lets you create video squeeze pages and review video niche sites in a matter of minutes. Make a review on any product you wish – and review things from all over your house. Then share those reviews with your friends and family. If they decide to “Buy It,” you can get paid just for recommending it.

I love video, I love sharing good bargains, I love promoting things that I think are useful products. I’ve been stuck in the boonies now for a few months now, and this is a new way to share with the world my real thoughts and feelings about things. I personally feel video is the best way to connect with an audience. People get to see the real you – not just some words on paper of all hype.

Not just for around the house stuff either. I think video ebook reviews from clickbank and paydotcom are going to be a new thing. The possibilities are endless. I’m technically challenged when it comes to building real web pages (part of why avenuegirl.com is taking so long).

My current feelings with Customer Review Videos? Two giant thumbs up;) But don’t take my word for it – try it out yourself with the free silver membership. Or for more information and examples please visit my hub pages review.

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Trapped on the Internet

Affiliate marketing is a really basic concept. Find the starving crowd, and give them what they want.

Bouncing around some blogs today, I was reminded of something very important. Not everyone knows the truth yet.

The Kimkins crowd is starving no doubt. But it is more than just your normal food hunger. They are starving for the truth.

How do you feed the hungry? How do you get the truth to them? And even if you do get to them, how do you feed them something they didn’t really know they needed?

There is an imaginary wall around camp Kimkins. Like any cult compound, they are all drinking the koolaid – and in a daze. How do we get to them?

We have all these blogs, but who is going to look when some have been so brainwashed they don’t think anything else exists?

As an internet marketer, how do I feed this hungry crowd?

I can’t just barge in and walk around with picket signs. No, that attempt has been done by many, only to receive the the ceremonial ban button.

I will have to come up with another way.

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How Heidi Does Kimkins?

I just couldn’t resist. CAUTION! Heiney here:

Now, obviously this is not how Heidi does Kimkins.  One has only to find the pictures and video that are everywhere on the web to find your answers.

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Waiting for the day

I’ve been recovering from a really nasty bug here in the North East. Never before has anything knocked me into bed for 3 days, and lingered Read more

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