The eBook went out a little late as I had problems with the email script, but it has gone out. Let me know if you guys liked it etc. 
One of the hottest topics in modern times… is information products, especially information products in the internet marketing industry.
Often dubbed ‘get rich quick schemes’, eBooks and the like promising to help people develop income away from the internet have picked up a lot of flak in recent times, with eBook marketers even being dubbed – scammers, fraudsters and cheats amongst various other things.
As an eBook marketer myself, I thought I’d blog about this – and ask for you guys’ opinions, as it is an interesting, and possibly controversial topic – the type of topic I’ve mentioned in the past that I love. 
First off – what is YOUR opinion on internet marketing eBooks?
For me – I honestly do not get the level of hate. People bitch about internet marketers lying, stealing, ripping off newbies… but the thing is, especially with places like Clickbank – you can always get a refund if you don’t like the product.
For example, I’ve heard that the latest product to come out from the guy that created Day Job Killer (it’s called Google Nemesis) is rubbish – people requested refunds in waves, and they got them due to Clickbank’s policy.
First off, let me say that – if you do not have the money, do not buy products. There is enough free information out there to get someone started out making money online – you don’t need the latest eBook, the latest software, the latest script – you can do without it.
If you do have the cash spare though… it’s far better spending it on something like say a $7 eBook that could teach you things than a meal at McDonalds (as is the common selling point used). My first information product cost me $3, off a webmaster forum – I took the ideas in that report, developed them using my own knowledge and this now brings in a four figure income stream that takes me around thirty minutes a month to keep up. Without that $3 product, I never would have gotten started.
I’ve personally had good experiences with information products, with most of the ones I’ve bought teaching me things I didn’t know before and the ones that don’t; teaching me what NOT to do.
If you were a writer selling books, you’d expect to get paid for your work – so why shouldn’t eBook writers, even those in the internet marketing niche? People tend to have an opinion that everything online should be free… even with hours of work being put into products by their creators, people still feel that they’re almost entitled to get things without paying for them.
I haven’t sold anything to you guys on this blog in ages because well – people are tired of being sold to, and I thought I’d try and make this one place you guys could go for honest (even if at times brutally so) content. Personally, I have no problems with eBooks, only at times with the people that sell them; however I’d love to know what you guys think, and if you’ve bought one in the past – what was your experience.
I’ll put up that post about growing BP tomorrow, and there’s a HUGE contest kicking off on here on the 15th, so stay tuned for it!
July 13th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Great Post TUK. I read your ebook and I find it interesting especially for newbies that need to start somewhere. Even if an ebook is rubish it deserves a decent price , anywhere from 3 to 20 is ok as long as it is not 100% rubish and it has some point. I say this because I wrote an ebook for someone and I know how complex the process is, let’s be fair hard work has to pay of its price. But I will get to the point. I bought myself a few ebooks , the most I paid for was 25$ witch has taught some basic things, witch I developed for optimum results.
From a total of 9 ebooks that i have paid for none of them have actually taught me any reasonable method to earn a monthly four figure income tough. We all know that no one will ever tell his or her secrets of earning money, they basically give ideas that we got to develop, and I realized that whatever we learn and put in practice by ourselves brings the most income.
Now I think it would be a great idea to share with us exactly what ebook has helped you bring your monthly income to a 4 figure income with so little work. Don’t keep it a secret
exgrafix’s last blog post..Build Up Relationships To Be Successful Online
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July 13th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I have almost same views as yours. I also do not get the level of hate as many other does.
It is the fault of people to fall for information products in the internet marketing industry. They first need to do some research and then buy any products. You just search for the product terms and you will find many reviews. As you mentioned some information are available for free on internet. I have seen bloggers who tell their readers about these hidden information.
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July 13th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
The ebook was a good read and helpful those who are just starting up with blogging.
But ebooks don’t have enough craze now, as most of the ebooks that are sol now are not written upto reader’s expectations.. so they can not be marketed in the present day world.
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July 13th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Hmm – I guess I was to late to sign up for the eBook. Well – hopefully there will be more chances later on.
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July 13th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
My opinion on internet marketing ebooks is: They all say the same thing. The only difference is how it is explained and expressed. The better they explain it, the more easier the reader will learn.
By the way, great job on the eBook man. It sounded like it came from a guy who wanted to slap common sense at the faces of people
– that’s a good thing, by the way xD
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July 13th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I have no problem with an ebook that actually teaches something. I have a problem with the ebooks that teach you how to sell that same ebook lol, I hate that!
Info products are cool, just like any other book, if you learn something that you didn’t know…then it was worth it.
Haven’t had a chance to read your ebook yet, but you usually come through with some great info in all the other stuff I’ve gotten from you
JK Swopes’s last blog post..Secret Marketing Strategy 20 Exposed
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July 13th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
The ebook was very helpful Jason, even to me and I have been blogging for about a year. I think you should try to sell it, but people may not want it if they knew you could get it for subscribing.
I like info products, they are very useful. They should not all be free either, just as books aren’t free. I am attempting to write a book, along with a few ebooks.
Also Jason, one of my ebooks is going to be one o the “having a better life ones,” do you mind?(I am not sure if you get worked up over someone selling a product similar to yours, they are coming out very different than your ” things” however0
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July 14th, 2008 at 2:50 am
I think more then ebooks people want videos these days
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July 14th, 2008 at 3:11 am
Here is my point of view:
If I can find the information for free and use it, then I don’t see the need for buying an eBook. But if I can’t find the info for free, I’ll buy the book since it’ll probably be worth it.
Rajaie AlKorani’s last blog post..What I Think Of Blogging Idol And Its Contestants
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July 14th, 2008 at 10:22 am
good views on that… but i would say that spending money on quality offerings are good stuff…. but spending money and more importantly time on products which are not made with good quality is a pain….
by the way, which book you started with…???/
regards
thinkjayant @ Smartblogtips
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July 14th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Hi Jason,
I didn’t get your book. Mind to shoot me a copy over to my mail?
Well, I look at it this way, which is the same as your views when looking from the writer’s side.
The simple rule of marketing is do not sell to people who are skeptic about your product. If there are skeptic voice or negative views about your products, stop marketing to these people and start to find a new market (which is normally the newbie market). If you want to keep the market, start working on a new product to rebuild your reputation after paying the refund gracefully.
Well, on the Google Nemesis case, the DJK guy got a great credibility off DJK and he got himself a market, a market full of moderately experienced marketer. His name and products is already been branded as a “moderately experienced marketer” guru.
Google Nemesis came out as a product which I think is sub-par compared to DJK. This is why it causes an uproar. The second glass to the thirsty market has gone wrong.
I do not call ebook writer scammers for most reasons. They are just like normal book authors. They write and they sell. However, the one point that I have in mind regarding why ebooks are being called as scams is because of the claims and the promises.
Look at MMO ebooks or Internet marketing ones. Their marketing message is “buy my book and start making MILLIONS!”. Very often, people will fail to make the money even though the book is genuine or teaches workable MMO tricks because the buyer failed to take action or just because of luck or he did something wrong somewhere.
Look at e-books that teaches you a particular skill or e-books that sell people tricks which the marketing message is not “Buy this and start making millions”. For instance, basics of MySpace Marketing, Squidoo and Hubpages Guide, Mass Control, Product Launch Formula. Yes, they do show proof they they make the money using the skills but the main message being put forward is the skills that you will learn. They overwhelmed readers with the words or resources in there and most importantly, they satisfy a need. When you want to use Hubpages but do not know how, you will have no complaints paying for a $7 complete Hubpages guide even though for some, it is really basic stuffs.
Newbies are like students who are trying to do a project research. I have seen students who went to the library and borrow every book that covers broadly a project they are going to work on. Most will be useless, right?
I still have more to write but those above are some scattered ideas of mine. I hope someone will get it.
Sorry for some grammatical errors here and there, hope Jason won’t mind.
BTW, I restarted my blog. Going to write things just like you Jason.
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July 14th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
ebooks? never waste time…
but yes, if the author is a well-known, popular personality on internet, then I will for sure e.g. joel comm, seobook, problogger book etc
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July 14th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I heard about the Google Nemesis too.I don’t know why people that haven’t buy the product yet screaming “It is scam” like crazy.I personaly have read several ebook.Some are with quality but some are totally rubbish.It is important to do some research before buying the product.
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July 14th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Honestly, I was going to write a eBook a while back but as I started, I kept reading how much it was a turn off for people.
Now, don’t get me wrong, since I started my road to $3,000/month, there were a few people who mentioned they’d be willing to buy an eBook if it included details on what I did to accomplish my goal.
So, we’ll see what happens.
Jay
Jay’s last blog post..I Am Willing to Help But Please Do Not Push Me
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July 15th, 2008 at 6:37 am
When I first started getting interested in IM/MMO I bought quite a few ebooks, mostly off of forums. Some of them were good, but most of them were subpar IMO. Only paying $2-$10 for a lower quality ebook doesn’t cause much uproar as long as something can be taken from it, and I agree that writers should be paid for their efforts. But buying (10) $10 ebooks just to find one good one really makes people stop buying ebooks real fast, as that cost adds up quick. But there are always newbie buying them so there will always be a market for writing them!
A couple of ebooks that I bought early on were from Jason on DP. I don’t even remember their subjects, but just the fact that they led me to TUK made them priceless!
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July 16th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
For some reason, $7 online to buy an ebook seems like more money than $7 when you are in a McDonalds line waiting to buying your double cheeseburger meal. This is a great post and has inspired me to buy an ebook. Any you would recommend?
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July 20th, 2008 at 10:53 am
I think I didn’t get it. Let me double check feed e-mails.
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