Unsubscribe From Whomever Emailed You Stompernet

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Great advice Rick. As a matter of fact, lately I've been doing exactly what you suggest and unsubscribing from newsletters (and I use that term lightly) that are "lite" on content. And on those occasions when I'm asked why I've unsubscribed I take great pleasure in telling them why.

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Lisa Prestons last blog post..Indiana Jones? Old News! Check Out “Havana Blake!”

He , I do agree with what you say.The ebook is real good and I am wading through it.Hope to finish it soon !

LOL, Rick, I was ready for the "anti-guru" message, that establishes you as "the real Guru", or the "Save Money get a Cheaper Product" pitch. Instead, I got an email with a really great point - something about building real relationships.

It's refreshing to have people step out of the hype of the carefully crafted salesletter and be real. Your point about relationships is great, and Michelle is another person who hasn't released a product before providing value to the SEO/SEM community.

In a word, "Thanks!".

David - About Results Marketings last blog post..The 12 Most Useful Social Bookmarking & Autoposting Tools for Your Blog

Hey Rick,

Kudos to you for having the courage to be first to say it out loud…

Cheers my friend and look forward to seeing you in Denver very soon!!!!

As I totally respect Rick Butts and his beliefs, I see I need to listen to Michelle and Alejandro ASAP…RB does not disappoint (online 4sure)

Kims last blog post..Foot Pain Relief For Children

Rick, I forgot to mention that I presented twice at an event in Seattle this past weekend and lots of folks in the audience approached me to say that they watched the videos and the content I delivered on stage and it knocked their socks off!

Hi Rick

A great bit of advice, I get that much junk mail that I hardly have time to view the ones that count, system overload.

Keep up the good work

Gordon

Thanks Rick,

You're right about Michelle and Scott. I've been following them lately and their info is really eye opening!

Sincerely,

Roger Auge
Canada

Great! A voice of reason in the madness of Mega Launches. This is exactly why I refuse to promote these products. I will not have my list subjected to the hype that surrounds them.

Kevin

[...] Read the rest of his post. [...]

Wow - I had these 10 comments in my approve/box - all 100% positive!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to post a comment here (and get that groovy kind of Comment Luv Links!)

The times they are a changing - as veteran Internet marketers can smell the burnt toast and newbies, interestingly enough - are catching on much quicker - because of people like you.

Off to bed - can't wait to see what the morning brings.

I hate to say it publicly… but I totally agree.

I love Brad and Andy, and I know they seriously deliver. But the entire Product Launch madness is just wrong. Stomper is probably one of the few "launches" that has a proven product with proof.

The entire "formula" approach is fundamentally flawed. It allows really terrible products to come to market and do well financially. The market does not have time to see the product and give an honest evaluation before the doors are closed. So the entire "launch" is sales to people who haven't seen the product… from affiliates that haven't used the product… to a marketplace that hasn't had a chance to give an opinion.

Recipe for disaster, IMHO.

I cannot argue, though, that the method WORKS. I just can't use it with a clear conscience.

I'll never "launch" SEO Club… for example. http://www.SEOClub.com.

-Nathan

Sooooo sick of the word "launch"

You've heard of Parrotheads …Jimmy Buffet fame. BTW, when I was in college we went to a Buffect concert…early 70's. About 300 people there and he was wasted. Ran into him latter that night passed out in a booth in a Samboo's Resturant….of course there are no more Samboo's resturants.

Anyway…maybe we should be Buttheads or should I say fans of Rick Butts could be Buttheads….or is that TM'd already

Rick, I posted on my blog about your post…where's your trackback link…I guessed at one. My post is at http://desktop-wealth.com/blog/internet-marketersthe-best/butts-making-sense/

Scott Parat

The era of email marketing is not longer the same. It is not about collecting email just to send some offers, asking people to take out their credit cards and buy, collecting a fat affiliate paycheck at the end of the month.

I receive at least 50 emails about Stompernet. This is common whenever there is a mega launch. But I don't unsubscribe them. I make them pay for polluting my inbox. I found a way which is faster and better than taking the trouble to unsubscribe.

Since I am using Gmail, I just type "Stompernet" and click on the Search Mail button, then click Unread and Delete button. It's gone within seconds.

I keep the subscription because I know for every email sent, they are losing money. It is costly to send an email these days.

It is not the size of your email database that matters, not the quality of the database either, it's about creating trust, the most valuable currency in the internet world.

Kim!

Have I disappointed you "offline?" LOL

Thanks for the very kind words…

Your friend,
Rick

I thought my trackback link was visible - lemme go through this doggone Wordpress 2.5XX one more time because I sure WANT it to be visible.

Your site pinged mine Scott - and I approved the trackback so good job!

Rick

TRACKBACK LINK FIXED! Thanks to Scott Parat of http://Desktop-Wealth.com for alerting me!

Here it is in case you missed it - (I adore trackbacks!)

http://rickbutts.com/240/unsubscribe-stompernet/trackback/

There are some really good and nice guys at Stompernet. I haven't subscribed because of the price. To tell you the honest truth I have received much less emails for the Stomper "launch" than for some other really crappy product launches.

I agree totally. Give the bad guys the boot, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Frans

Thanks Nathan for your comments.

Nathan is a world class good guy, and not a troublemaker like me, I respect that he took the time to share such powerful words here.

His http://SEOClub.com is a very valuable resource, and if launches were done on merit - SEOClub would be right at the top.

Cheers Ric

Must agree completely.

Tony

Just to be crystal clear - I think Brad Fallon and Andy Jenkins are good people, and that their information has helped a lot of folks.

The "Projectile Launch" method and all of it's components got approximately 1800 people to pony up a commitment to pay $9,600 per year - then within 3 months nearly 1000 of them had quit or refunded.

This sort of thing just sucks the oxygen out of the market for good products and creates skepticism for us all.

In general - massive amounts of content only serve to overwhelm and confuse someone who is trying to figure out how to make money online.

There are many ways to sell a product but the Product Launch method - as it is performed by Internet marketers with huge lists - is a doggone shame.

…Back again. Just thought about it. This is a double edged sword, or what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Isn't shooting down products that you know nothing about just as bad as promoting products you know nothing about?

Sorry boys I'm deleting the lot of you!

Adhering to my own advice about throwing out the baby with the bath water I must, however, say that Rick's given some very good advice here. Rather follow one or two people thoroughly than ane hundred not at all.

Cheers

Frans

Thanks Frans,

Good point about being critical of a product one may know nothing about.

Still, I have to insist that it is the manner of promotion, combined with an evaluation of the quality of what a particular person is emailing you.

This can range from an offer-a-day with very little content, to all points in between.

And, more to the point, how does being on this list impact your success?

If it has you chasing opportunities, and opting into more lists that send you more offers, when you could be executing productive activities on your own core business, then you should evaluate this for yourself.

I'm trying to be helpful here - we all work alone - and it's very easy to confuse email marketing with "industry news."

That was a refreshing change Rick

I did actually have one email from someone who uses Stomper and is happy with the service.
He was the only one though - who gave figures and stats of how his traffic has increased.

And to be fair - it was a very non hypey and non pushy email.

As for the others … well everything has already been said here!

Now I'll have to consider looking at the 'cure' - just to satisfy my own curiosity (darn you for being straight….lol)

Best Regards
Randy
http://www.SalesLetterABC.com

Randy Smiths last blog post..Another 2 Free Gifts, & The Massive GiveAway is Doing Well!

FINALLY SOMEONE WHO SAYS WHAT I THINK. I just twittered about this very topic. If I see or hear "stompernet" one more time I might not survive!!

Thanks for writing what Ive been thinking!

ps, do YOU twitter?
http://twitter.com/SonjaHelga

Ruths last blog post..30-day Trial of the Rebuild Your Vision Program

So true. There's quite a lot of people thinking that a list is primarily a device to flog nonsense to unsuspecting subscribers. Those are the lists to dump very quickly. I, for one, don't subscribe to a list to be bombarded by bad sales pitches for worse products. I want good content. If I don't get it I'm out. I'm still on your list ain't I? It's for the content, and if you send me an offer once in a while, I won't leave because I know who it's coming from. Stirring up a debate also helps to get/keep us thinking.

Keep up the good work.

Frans

As a former Stompernet member, I can tell you first hand that there are a lot of talented folks working with Brad & Any, Like Jerry West, Leslie Rhode, and others.

The program can certainly help folks out, and I have seen some great successes (from others). However, the info overload is, or was for me, just too much to wade through. Good guys, good program, but you had better be prepared to hit the ground running fast to get your thousand/month membership money, and you had better have some skills to take advantage as well.

Great post! Every once in a while I do an unsubscribe purge and boot off every list that isn't providing some insight and value. After the trim down I'm always left with Dan Kennedy, John Reese and maybe 1 more will add on with each round. And obvisouly you're not on my boot-list or I wouldn't have read this. LOL

I recently trimmed out a number of side projects in favor of the stuff that really fit me. It's made me a little nervous but at the same time it's very liberating to trim the fat and focus on what matters…

There's a scene in Monty Pythons "Holy Grail" where the local townspeople discover a woman with a wart on her nose, proclaim her a witch and want to burn her. A venerable advisor calms the uneducated peasants and get them to realize that drowning her would be a much better test of her witchiness.

Rick…today you're the voice of reason. Let's not burn the members of the "syndicate" who clogged our in-boxes this week…let's just stop listening to them.

David Ledouxs last blog post..I Call Shenanigans!

Hi Rick:

I tried "Stomper" when it was brand new. My bottom line: TMI. (Too much information).

I like your stuff. Clean content, ACTIONABLE, bites small enough to digest at one sitting. You never give me heartburn!

And unlike many of the pseudo-gurus, your dispatches always give me genuine help, not just a thinly-veiled sales pitch.

Please keep up the good work and know that many of us think YOU are the "Uber-guru." I look forward to meeting you one day!

In Health,
Dr. Dana Myatt

Find me online (and with a better website than before thanks to Rick) at http://www.DoctorMyatt.com

Hi Rick!

Reminds me of the line from the movie "Network": "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!" And we DON'T
have to take it.

Let's all put a stop to this disturbing trend in the most effective way possible: Vote with your wallet or purse. Don't buy this over-hyped and over-priced stuff (while under the influence of the 'urgency' factor.)

Instead, let's watch for Dime Sales from the likes of Robert Plank and George Plus. Buy small, inexpensive products that we can actually use the same day. Buy it, use it, profit from it and then - and only then - offer it to people who listen to us (provided it's actually useful and profitable.)

Just so everyone knows, gmail has a nifty feature that seems to be under-used. Click the checkbox next to a message, then click the 'Report Spam' button. After that, all emails from that address go into the spam folder, where they will be deleted automatically after 30 days.

Alison (not using my real name becuase I have too many friends in the business…)

P.S. The URL I gave goes to a site offering a useful, free, no-strings-attached service. Enjoy.

Good questions to ask before you buy any continuing education programs, Rick. To me, you risk too much by recommending something you can't fully endorse from experience.
To follow the conversation about this on twitter, go to http://summize.com/search?q=stompernet.
Thought your readers might enjoy this resource: http://www.thetwitterguide.com
Barbara
@wiredprworks on twitter.com

Here's a little fun math exercise.

Go through a fairly large sample of the emails from any list you're on. Make two columns on a sheet of paper (physical or electronic; it doesn't matter) labeled "Signal" and "Noise".

Put a mark in the Signal column for each email with useful info and no sales links. Put a mark in the Noise column for each email selling something without providing any useful info. Emails with some of each? Put a mark in BOTH columns.

Add up the marks and divide the Signal total by the Noise total. Multiply by 100%. If you're getting more than 2 emails a week from the list, subtract another 10%. That's their Signal-to-Noise ratio, adjusted for information overload.

The lists with a low Signal-to-Noise ratio are more interested in selling you stuff than helping you succeed. The math proves it!

Adam - the math geek from High School

Hi Rick

This is just way too rad for poor little me to get my stroke damaged brain around. LOL

I do agree that those promo emails are mayby 1 percent something (if that) and 99 percent nothing! (kinda like what we bring home from the store, a little meat and a lot of packaging)

I will take a few minutes and unsubscribe from the ones that I just delete anyway. (You gotta take out the garbage before it starts smellin up the house, right…)

It's good to have a "take out the garbage" routine (maybe once a week)

Thanks for your words of wisdom and remember keep it simple (any more than one page is just a waste of time…yours and mine)

Smiles :o)

Gary

Gary Grays last blog post..garydotgray: Morning to all of my Twitter followers. Been up for three hours but I was working on another project before turning on the puter.

Right on man! Way to stick it to the clueless marketers.

I'm so sick of marketers that forgot why I subscribed in the first place. I was looking for some honest help, but all they offer is the same "buy the latest thing" crap.

I was fortunate to attend Michelle and Alejandro's webinar last night and it was a breath of fresh air in the smog of old-style direct marketing madness.

Off to unsubscribe from some lists…

You are right, almost. There is gray between your black and white.

I'm very careful about what is sent to my lists. I try to review any product I recommend. I will only recommend products I haven't used if I know the producer well enough to know they do good work. If there is a long enough guarantee that protects the buyer if it doesn't live up to their expectations and if there is a way for the customer to contact the product provider.

I'll read Scott's book, but I also noticed that his affiliate program pays $.50 for each confirmed subscriber we send to him. He doesn't say if he pays affiliate commissions for other sales that our lists make once they do subscribe.

This has been a change in the industry over the past couple of years. There are clever promotions that might pay even 100% of a product promoted but the affiliate sees not a dime of future sales from their referrals.

When we added new products at First Step Internet Marketing, if we pay a commission on one, all affiliates who referred the customer, whether now or earlier also get paid on that sale. Most of these promotions are one time hits, then that customer and all future sales belong to them. Is that right? I don't know. But that book better be damn compelling before I promote my list for $.50 cents.

Regards,

Tom Justin

Hi (again) Rick

Just took a quick look at the ebook and webinar links that you recomended.

Sorry to say I was NOT impressed on first look (just another list building flypaper page)

So I passed on BOTH offers.

Maybe later but NOT after just reading your post on this same stuff…

I think I would like to follow for a bit till I get to know more about your friends before signing up to another MAILING LIST…

If they really had the (uknows) Why not share without the squeeze and rather an invite to follow and or contact with some feedback.

I know that is a novel idea but what the hay. Isn't trust and relationship marketing what this new Web 2.0, Web 3.0 stuff all about?

Food for thought.

Smiles :o)

Gary

Gary Grays last blog post..garydotgray: Morning to all of my Twitter followers. Been up for three hours but I was working on another project before turning on the puter.

My name is Justin and I'm an email addict.

But today I took Rick's advice and unsubscribed from a well-known marketer's list. I also deleted over 500 emails from that list. Take that, you money-hungry pig!

Thanks for putting me on the road to recovery, Rick!

I'm totally cool with a name squeeze page. Especially when you are offering an ebook that you spent a lot of time writing - and this one is well done.

It's funny and has some excellent answers for the chief destroyer of our success as pointed out by Rich Schefren - "Opportunity Chasing."

Yes, Scott pays a 50cent commission for each referral who opts in and downloads the ebook. It's part of how he gets such a viral campaign so wide - this book is spreading like a wildfire and good for him.

I notice Michelle MacPhearson Tweeted about it cause it's really good. (and why I put it in this post - because it is dead on topic.)

Yes, I'm sure Scott has a program he will offer to this list - but you can bet you won't get "launched" on. LOL

Rick

Could someone please Stumble this post?

Also, any help you can give me by Twittering it - or hitting me on Digg, Delicious, Facebook or any of the social sites you use.

I'd be very grateful!

Rick

does this mean I should unsubscribe from myself? And if I do, will that lead to a state of zen-like tranquility? Sounds awesome!

Frank! That is hilarious!

I should have said that faculty are not included in my "usual suspects" round up.

This is all one man's opinion (and a few seem to agree) but mailing for your OWN stuff is expected.

Everyone knows what I'm talking about here and I don't put you in this group.

You do 2 things that really set you apart from the herd - you are very transparent - and you ALWAYS bring lots of content along with your hammer head, high thud-factor-priced excellent content.

I have a lot of respect for you Frank. Showing up here with a sense of humor is totally in alignment with who you are.

Rick

Hey Rick,

I love this blog post!

I was just about to twitter how glad I am that I'm not
involved in this whole Stomper Net Launch!

I only promote products or services that I actively
use or am personally involved in.

Yes, I get tired of product launches because they
happen so often, that I get worn out by them.

Yes, the product launch formula does work, but
in the internet marketing space it's overdone.

I love your email reply to send back to the person.

And yes, I never like the 'do-not-reply@domain.com'
does not build a relationship.

Cheers,
Christina
"The Shopping Cart Queen"

Gee I missed all that stuff in my inbox. I unsubscribed from all these guys over a year ago. Switched to RSS Feeds.

I took the same approach I do about the news… I don't watch it. If it's that important, I'll eventually hear about it. Same thing with this product promotions. If the product is that great, I'll hear about after all the hype.

Yes, I formed a core group of mentor peeps that I follow. Saves me countless hours of email junk.

Good Post Rick

Ann Rusnak
"The Time Diva"

Ann Rusnak ~The Time Divas last blog post..7 Tips for Managing Your Business Time

Frank! ROTFL! That was brilliant! And, no…I'm not going to unsubscribe. The last time I bought something from you, it gave the postman a hernia…and it was worth every penny I invested.

@ Alison Wonderland,

Tagging these emails as SPAM is very irresponsible! You opted in to everyone of these marketers list and agreed to receive their messages. Just because you don't like the messages does not classify them as spam.

Unsubscribe if you no longer want to receive them.

It is clueless people indiscriminately tagging everything as spam that has helped to create the ever-increasing problems with email deliverability rates.

If you opted in it is NOT spam! Take some responsibility (unsubscribe) and quit contributing to the problem.

Russells last blog post..Reciprocal Linking How To Go About It

Hey Russell

I don't even think about tagging an email I subscribed to as spam - and I hope no one got this impression.

I know that a huge percentage of AOL users use the spam button as an unsubscribe tool - which is totally wrong.

I don't know anyone in the business who sends without an unsubscribe link at the bottom - although I still get people emailing me to do it for them, too!

Rick,

You are SO on the mark! I did just that yesterday when I started getting bombarded with Stompernet hype. Those that asked why, I replied that I was obviously not in their target market - even if I were making 10,000 per month, I am not so brain-dead as to pay nearly a thou a month for ANYTHING!

I've been watching the SN videos since they began promoting them a couple of weeks ago and have tremendous respect for Brad and Andy for the quality of their work, but most of the 'gurus' (and I use that term with tongue in cheek) just came across as greedy (Probably looking for a hefty monthly residual.)

A couple of promoters were actually honest in their sales letters announcing in the very beginning that it probably wasn't something most of their readers needed or could afford - those I remained with. But the others are now gone from my inbox.

I'm happy to see that I wasn't alone in reacting the way I did.

Thanks for a great post!

Tom

If the Stompernet boys are so good why not do away with all the greedy blood sucking affiliates and their commissions. Instead offer the product at a more realistic price and let word of mouth advertising sell it virally. That way you get real recommendations by satisfied customers.Maybe offer those that promote successfully a discounted subscription or a really exclusive bonus that is not available elsewhere.
I have losta lot of respect for many so called gurus who offer several programmes per week to their list. Lets really change the face of email marketing by spreading the word that it is unacceptable and get some sanity back. How abouta name and shame website, when they get hit by massive unsubscribes only then will they see the error of their ways.

Hey Rick - Regarding my "reporting as spam" post: I definitely didn't mean to imply you did that. My post clearly was directed at an earlier poster's comments and "advice" to use this as a solution.

I wouldn't normally butt in but it was just such misguided advice. And if others don't know NEVER to do this then they need to be told.

On another note - My impossible wish would be for a small group of us to compile a master list of those markters lists which are 1) Can't miss/must subscribe, and 2) Junk - unsubscribe as fast as possible.

Opinions would vary so widely as to make it nearly impossible for any real consesus…but it sure would be fun to look at such a list!

Russells last blog post..Combat Stress Safely Through Herbal Treatment

Russell,

Of course not! If there's an unsubscribe link (that actually works), I use it. But you'd be amazed at how often this vital link is missing or broken.

My suggestion about the Report Spam button has more to do with real spam than with responsible mailing lists. I've been online for over 15 years and spambots have found virtually every email address I have. So I get 200-500 spams a day, despite multiple filtering systems.

I forward everything to a gmail account so I don't have to spend all day checking multiple mailboxes. I still know which email addy any given message came from…

Alison

Hi Russell,

Thanks for adding the "do not mark as spam" - it was very helpfu and much appreciated.

A "clean list" of who's good and who's not is a utopian visionary idea - I WISH it were possible but in my "small government - free market" world view, the moment you start something like this, new problems are created.

Who runs the list? Criteria.

In this case - the market gets to decide and vote with their mouse.

As Paul Simon wrote:

"One man's ceiling is another man's floor"
Apartment House Blues

Rick finally managed to get over here and check you out, have had a few projects of my own going on and have just not had time to do much of checking out new blogs.

Anyway I do agree that the Stomper Net launch process is way overboard. I have been getting bombarded from the team at Stomper as well as some of their contacts in the industry to try this program out. Well one I can't afford the program and two after being told not to resubmit my site for their Stomper Site Seer report on the page that you sign up on I finally received an e mail telling me to re submit my site after initially submitting it. When I got my e mail telling me my report was ready the link took me to a page on the Stomper Site that said sorry invalid request.

So I am wondering who else out there has had this problem. To me this is just bad business to offer this for free and then not test your delivery method to make sure everyone can get the free product your offering.

It has certainly de railed me from ever getting in on this program.

When I say I am offering something for free I don't result to black hat tactics that make my free products look shifty. I really get irritated with sales letters that mask the word free like f.r.e.e or f ree to me that doesn't make the company pushing the product look like anything but a bunch of second rate hacks that have an 8th grade education.

While I am not a Guru per se in the industry my site does well enough in it's own right and I am happy with the direction it is going.

Joe Cherays last blog post..How to Market Yourself for Free via The Net

BTW I gave you a THUMBS UP on Stumble for this article. I also delicious'd you.

Joe Cherays last blog post..How to Market Yourself for Free via The Net

LIVE at 2pm EST I will be streaming on your computer on UStream.tv TODAY (that's in less than an hour) - just go to http://rickbutts.com/241/rick-butts-ustreamtv-may23/ and be sure to login to join the chat.

There will be plenty of fun - free drinks - and snacks and laughter!

Rick

Great post, I have been thinking the same thing. I was embarrassed to see how many "guru" lists I'm on when they all converged at once in the last 48 hours for StomperNet. At least some of them were offering a few decent bonuses of their own with their affiliate link. I don't blame them for pushing it, I'm sure the commission is HUGE.

My takeaway from your post — clean up the mailbox. It's not about StomperNet, it's about list abuse. It won't be tough to clean out at least half of my guru's today!

Rick,

Gave you a Digg to spread this valuable conversation.

Hey, I'm all for marketing. I love marketing.

Butt…

I hate when people abuse and waste my time.

Then, they get ousted from my "Circle of Trust"

"You tried to milk him, didn't you you sick son of a bitch?" Jack Byrnes

Stompernet Sale Pitches, Frank Eckdall concurs with Rick Butts…

Five Star Award and Congratulations to Rick Butts for the courage to tell the truth about Stompernet.
It is to much information to fast and a formula for failure for anyone new to internet marketing.
Internet marketing has become complex and more soph…

This is the first eBook I've downloaded and couldn't stop reading till the end! Although, I did stop long enough to run to my inbox and start deleting subscriptions. :]

Thanks for the heads up and for posting stuff like this, it helps a lot and in this case really opens the eyes!

RIght on. I'm ever the Anti-Guru. The Anti-Hype. I can write my fair share of "clear and present danger" writing … but there's got to be a boundary where that stuff actually fits. This Stompernet … which looks mighty valuable on it's own merits … it's just been force fed by crazed promotions.

I've got my two or three mentors. I keep the rest of the newsletters for trend following. Since reducing my devotion to two or three successful people, I've seen my progress grow by leaps and bounds.

It's because I'm not trying to be like everyone else. I'm trying to adopt the mind of a successful person. Two or three will give you the conglomerate attitude you need to beget thoughts and plans to carry out what we're all after in life.

It doesn't mean, like most people think, that I'm missing out on other people's expertise.

I read Rick Butts all the time!

Christopher Floress last blog post..How To Build Your Life And Business Like A 92,000 Ton War Machine!

Listening to too many people and getting distracted by the launch of the minute is something to indeed give up.

Sifting thru the hype and getting to substantial info can be a big time waster.

Quite some time back I unsubscribed to 95% of the lists I was on and just stuck with the non-hypers. Like Sir Butts here…

Lorraine Grulas last blog post..Video Production Tips special offer

Hey Rick,

This ebook was a great read. I unsubscribed from emails back in January when my inbox got bombarded with the huge promotion then. What set me off was people were just sending out the same affiliate email. Not changing a word of it…. so, I kept seeing the same email over and over again. Most didn't even change the headline.

It's not that difficult to customize an email. They showed how much they cared about their list…

Keith Goodrums last blog post..“Gurus” vs. “DoRus” How To Get The Cure…

Hello Rick,

Great post! I get tired of the guru promo train. Too much posing in many cases. I am not opposed to launches, hell, I enjoy seeing the process (anyone seeing Indiana Jones this weekend? Now that's a product launch!) but there does seem to be an undertone of sliminess to they way they all seem to jump in bed with each other on everything.

I was brought in as an "advisor" to Stompernet for a brief period over a year ago. They have great talent inside, but what I found was, instead of serving up made-to-order sushi grade slices of wisdom, they continually smacked your face with a whole bluefin until you unsubscribed

It was info overload x100. I advised them to do three things…

I suggested that Stompernet model a real university. To set up an interview process with an administrator and series of tests, to determine what level of courses ie: PPC 101, SEO 301, Copywriting 402, etc, that each new customer should start at.

I told them to set up coaching with an assigned mentor or teaching assistant. People don't want to be pushed information that they don't need, or that doesn't apply to their business model. They need personal time on the phone with a coach.

Finally I suggested something like a "call in radio show" over the internet, where customers could have access to a panel of gurus on a daily, or at least weekly basis. People need just-in-time answers, immediate solutions to problems they may be experiencing today.

Stompernet… it's been over a year, so here's my last piece of advice. Stop the launches before you irreparably damage your reputation. Just open the doors already.

If you were to focus your energy on setting up a proper curriculum, you would retain your membership through sequential selling, instead of having this continual "grand reopening" binge and purge of your membership. You can only hit the "panic button" or the adrenalin gland so many times before it stops working.

I hope that you eventually realize, that by opening the doors and leaving them open - like a real university - and offering a sequential program, you wouldn't have to lose credibility with these undignified launches.

You could continually replace the membership you lose through attrition, with a standard affiliate program and a constant stream of advertising from your affiliates, who believe in the faculty, the staff, the training, the institution and its history of success, instead of…

All units must be sold! Panic button + direct response + scarcity + urgency + all 2008 models must go + we'll throw in bonus tires + hot dogs AND rides for the kids! Just look for the giant pink inflatable gorilla on the roof…

My friends - inside Stompernet - each and every one of you, are way, way, better than this, you know you are! I know you. I coached many of you in your early years and launched several of your careers. You are very smart individuals, but your marketing model stinks and it's undignified. (In my humble opinion.)

Trust me Stompernet, the time to manage your reputation is now. Just open the doors already and model a real university… because if people start doing what I've already done - unsubscribe from all the direct marketers - who will hear the noise?

[...] Here's a link to that post: http://rickbutts.com/240/unsubscribe-stompernet/ [...]

[...] post about un-subscribing from the email lists of people who sent you Stompernet offers over the last 2 days, took aim at the damage coordinated [...]

At the risk of facing pitchforks and torches, I'll disagree with you, Rick.

The latest Indiana Jones movie just opened and there was only one advertisement for it.

Oh, wait, there were a BILLION ads for it. Billboards, commercials, newspaper ads, etc. All from people who (probably) hadn't seen the movie.

Are you going to stop watching TV, or reading the paper, or looking at billboards? Probably not.

Promoting something you haven't used is EXACTLY the same. I think in general you can get a better response and gain more credibility if you can give a review rather than just a promo, but promos in and of themselves are not evil.

Besides, someone who is very good at a specific task can usually look at something and determine, based on their experience, whether the given method can give the desired results. I don't have to try every step of a Learn to Juggle course to be able to legitimately recommend it — and I'm sure it's the same with some people and marketing subjects.

A promo is an ad, that's all. When new things come out, whether online or in the real world, there's a big advertising blitz.

Jay Jennings

Jay Jenningss last blog post..What’s Your SPH? (Spam Per Hour)

[...] launches take place but not getting much quality content. He went so far as to say you should unsubscribe from all the lists that sent you messages with Stomper Net this [...]

Hi Rick

Interesting opinion, I generally ignore all of the high ticket items unless it's something that has excited / interested me during the pre-launch stage.

If I was to buy something everytime I got an email I would have gone bust long ago, and I've already got hundreds of DVD's that I need to work my way through.

Andrew

This is a necessary thing to talk about but one most people shy away from.

Thanks to Rick for bringing it up. I agree with him. Lots of marketers write their sales letters in an disingenuous way which makes it sound like they know for sure the product they are endorsing indeed works. How would they know if they haven't used it? They don't. But that doesn't stop them from assuring their trusty list that it's worth the $$$$.

Michael Campbell wrote a spot-on analysis said and agree with him 100%. Personal one-on-one is the most helpful thing. For which, I hired none other than Rick Butts!

I was a member of Stompernet for a while but could not justify the $800/month. I don't care how good the information is, that's not affordable to anyone unless they're making a bundle.

To Jay Jennings post above, I would say that an endorsement is different from a promo. An endorsement implies personal knowledge and belief in a product. That is much different from a promo or ad that is inherently positive and obviously produced by the people who want you to try their product. An endorsement has an element of trust to it not found with an advertisement.

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Rick, I'm not sure why you decided to single out one organization, but you have your own reasons or agenda I'm sure.

Better advice would be to unsubscribe from people who never send you anything but swipe files. Because that's what you *really* mean, right?

I had to laugh a little about "affiliates who mail without knowing the product." While that's true of any affiliate program, it was especially amusing given what followed.

Michael Campbell mailed his list with his Stompernet affiliate link less than 2 weeks ago, but his comments on your other post clearly indicate that he's not aware of what we do…

While his 'suggestions' are interesting, we're already doing almost all of that. We have personal coaching for all members, we have 4 'faculty office hour' calls each week (holidays like Memorial Day reduce this to 3), and the recent SMARTS course was very much like (more than) what he suggests for organizing the curriculum.

Dan Thies, Stompernet faculty

Dan Thiess last blog post..Want To Work 1 on 1 With Me? Stompernet coaching opens today!

Hey Rick,

Thanks for confirming it isn't just me having these kinds of thoughts about product launch tactics. Every time I get another email that says…"oops, our server crashed" I always think, if you're so darned good at this how come you didn't plan for the obvious. Who in their right mind would want to "study" or "purchase" from someone who claims to be an expert worth hundreds of thousands of dollars an hour to consult with yet doesn't manage to get the basics done right. Just my two cents from the outside!

Linda

To Dan Theiss:

"Rick, I'm not sure why you decided to single out one organization, but you have your own reasons or agenda I'm sure."

Hey Dan - I love your work and have a tremendous amount of respect for you - along with the entire Stompernet faculty!

Two reasons (no agenda)

1. I'm commenting on the most recent thing to happen in my own email Inbox - it could have gone down on any of a number of weeks for any number of launch blasts. Internet marketing is a moving parade and Stompernet just happened to be the float in front of my view this week.

2. The launch thing has just gotten worse over the last year - and it seems beneath Stompernet's values and ethics to choose to squeeze the market this way - for a high-value BRAND that has been in the marketplace for a year and a half?

I'm all for an Indiana Jones campaign, as one commenter tried to make a comparison for, but StomperU is not a 120 minute "event" - it is a 365 Days a Year business.

While working with Brian Tracy several years ago - I remember he once said that a blindspot companies make is believing that "a group of smart people can't make a bad decision."

Regardless of the revenue spike, this was, in my humble but accurate opinion IMHBAO, a bad decision.

Perhaps it's time to stop defending and start listening?

Once again - these comments are in no way meant to defame an excellent product or the people who create it!

Respectfully, Rick Butts

Thanks, Rick.

My comments on why we chose to do a launch process this time, instead of just opening the doors and leaving them open, are awaiting moderation over @ Nate's blog (http://nathananderson.us/ar/45).

But there are good reasons why we did it, including the ability to show people "results in advance" by giving away good instruction.

It's unlikely that Stompernet's 'full membership' coaching program will see another 'product launch.' Most of our courses will still need to be sold all at once, for the same reason that colleges don't want people to register for a class in the middle of a semester.

We're not just selling a 'box of DVDs' here. There is a lot of value in bringing a group of people in together, and working with them as they go through a training program.

If you just throw the doors open, you can't have a free seminar at the end of the course, you can't have a weekly lecture/webinar, you can't hand out assignments and get the peer review & support unless the students are all on the same week of the program.

But you were really talking about the noise in the market, from our affiliates, right?

Maybe you have a different perspective than I do, because outside of people who actually contribute to Stompernet, I've only seen two marketers mail affiliate links in the past month - Michael Campbell and David Bass. (Yes, Michael's excellent newsletter is on your unsubscribe list!)

Now, I know that we have a lot of affiliates, so someone who subscribes to everything is probably being whipped to death by affiliate promotions, not just ours. It's just that, when you are as good at this as we are, everyone seems to want a piece.

We don't have final results yet, but it looks 9 out of the top 10 affiliates will turn out to be people who play a large role in our community - as faculty, members, etc.

Not doing launches won't stop the people who will mail anything that can make them a buck. The only way to do that is to have an invitation-only affiliate program, a subject that's sure to come up internally after this launch.

For anyone here who thinks that our launch was an exercise in 'false scarcity,' I don't know what to say.

If you've never tried to actually *do* personal coaching, 1:1 support from instructors, and all that stuff at this at scale, it's probably hard to understand that there are real limits on the number of people we can support.

I'd like to think that we did this launch the "right way" from our side - lots of meaty free content, a free tool that everyone can use, case studies, and a lot of detail on what we do.

But maybe you're right, Rick - maybe it doesn't matter how well we do it, if too many people are talking about it from the biased perspective of an affiliate.

Worth talking and thinking about.
Dan Thiess last blog post..Want To Work 1 on 1 With Me? Stompernet coaching opens today!