“There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!”

When “Outrageous” is Truly Outrageous!

 

 

January 29, 2010

 

Economics 101: Nothing is free.

 

I came across a deal that sounded too good to be true by Early to Rise of Delray Beach, Florida – so I naturally had to check it out.

 

The meat of the offer was this – in their own words from the email I received:

“Marketing strategist Bill Glazer has arranged for you to receive a FREE copy of his #1 Best-Selling book, OUTRAGEOUS Advertising that's OUTRAGEOUSLY Successful.”

Free hard covered book – just pay $4.95 S&H and it’s mine. Hard to resist – so resistance was indeed futile.

 

Clicked on the link – and low and behold, not only did the landing page promise me the Free Book – but half of the S&H would go to one of two charities that I could choose from. Great!

 

But wait – there was more…

 

A free CD with actual examples of Outrageous advertising that worked. PLUS! Another 2 super bonuses – all for the same paltry $4.95.

 

I Was Hooked!

 

Typed in my name, email address & charity preference to get to the order page.

 

Yep – everything looked on the up and up… until… THE GOTTCHA!

 

The book and premiums were indeed going to be $4.95.

 

But… before I could grab these goodies, I had to agree to being a part of a Gold Membership club for… drum roll please… $59.97 a month, starting 30 days from the time of my order.

 

Mandatory Insiders Membership Required

 

Ah… the old “trial membership” ploy… bane of many a person who has accepted fantastic sounding offers on the web, then lived to regret it later. (This ploy is what's known in the industry as "forced continuity.")

 

Now, to be fair… you could opt out before the 30 days were over. By calling a special number or filling out a special form.

 

Yeah – ever try calling those opt-out numbers? You invariably get a song and dance about how valuable your membership is, and do you really, really want to cancel.

 

Even if you persist, they still come back to you with more chin music and very often – discounts over the membership you “agreed” to. The online cancellation forms are at best an irritation, at worst a huge hassle. (I did try to see the actual form – but I needed a membership number to access it, so I can’t really say how onerous this one was going to be.)

 

When FREE Means GOTTCHA!

 

So the email ETR sent me was – in my humble opinion – a load of hooey. (My readers know I don’t like using the stronger, more base and mundane descriptions of bull droppings.)

 

No, Virginia… the book was not ABSOLUTELY free. There was a catch involved. A big, fat catch with a rather expensive hook.

 

I don’t know about you, but I hate catches. They’re creepy, disquieting & misleading methods of advertising and making money. They say one thing – then cough slightly – say ahem… and come out with the true purpose of the offer:

 

To sell you something you don’t want – or wasn’t made aware of BEFORE getting to the order page.

 

Legal? Strictly speaking - Yes.

 

Ethical? In my opinion - Hardly.

 

No – I didn’t order the book. If I want it, I’ll go to Amazon and pay the going rate. But since the site left such a bad taste in my mouth, that won’t be very likely.

 

Addendum:

 

Here’s the full text of the email I received. Strain your eyes as you might, you’re not going to find one whiff of the membership catch described above.

Dear ETR Reader -

For any business owner, capturing the attention of our customers and prospects is a constant concern. And it's not always easy to do.

But today I have GREAT NEWS that could change how you attract customers forever...

Marketing strategist Bill Glazer has arranged for you to receive a FREE copy of his #1 Best-Selling book, OUTRAGEOUS Advertising that's OUTRAGEOUSLY Successful.

This book contains the perfect solution to coming up with OUTRAGEOUS marketing ideas that demand attention. Bill is also giving away three bonuses including an instant download of his most OUTRAGEOUS award-winning sales letter. Bill tells me this one letter has been used successfully in 57 business categories and counting. (I bet you could use it in your business too!)

That's right, you read it correctly.

Bill is offering Early to Rise readers a copy of his #1 Best-Selling book... and - aside from a nominal $4.95 shipping fee - it's absolutely FREE.  

Now, you can buy his book on Amazon if you like. But when you grab it on Bill's website, he is going to donate $2.00 for every book to the charity of your choice. And all you pay is the small shipping charge!

I've known of Bill's success as a marketer for a long time. He is highly-regarded in our industry for creating so many OUTRAGEOUS (and outrageously successful) advertising campaigns for his own businesses and for others. I even subscribe to Bill's Glazer-Kennedy Insider's Circle newsletter because it's jam-packed with useful marketing ideas.

In Bill's new book, he has done something that's NEVER been done before... He has created a book for the 99% of business owners who are dissatisfied with the results they get from their current advertising.

In this book Bill shows you:

·         How to Apply OUTRAGEOUS Advertising to ANY Business

·         How OUTRAGEOUS Works Online & Offline

·         The Most POWERFUL Marketing Tool (and How to Use It)

·         How to Harness the POWER of Testimonials

·         How to Use PREMIUMS to Skyrocket Response

·         How to Use Holidays in Your Advertising

·         Dozens of Really OUTRAGEOUS Real-Life Examples (That You Can Use Right Away)

If you have ever suffered from a lack of successful advertising ideas... or if your current advertising methods aren't as outrageously successful as you'd like them to be... You should grab a copy of Bill's book NOW. After all, you can't beat the price...

I strongly recommend that you don't waste time "thinking about it." Bill has only agreed to give away a LIMITED number of copies of his book... and there are literally thousands of smart business owners and entrepreneurs reading this e-mail right now who are likely to INSTANTLY pounce on this special offer.

Hesitate, and you could miss out on this golden opportunity.

To Your Success,

Jessica Kurrle
Associate Publisher
Early to Rise

P.S. For a LIMITED TIME, Bill Glazer is giving away his #1 Best-Selling book titled: OUTRAGEOUS Advertising that's OUTRAGEOUSLY Successful. All you pay is $4.95 for shipping! I suggest you grab your copy before he removes this offer.

 

 

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