What’s a “dirty marketing  trick”? 

A dirty marketing trick or tactic is a sly method used by people everyday to get a desired reaction out of another person.

The tactics I am about to discuss are NOT illegal. They are NOT unethical and they are NOT a rip-off. But they ARE a bit on the “crafty dirty marketing” side. Crafty or not, the point is THEY WORK. And if you’re not using them, then there is a good chance you’re not making money. These tricks are used by some of the biggest names on the Internet. Read carefully and see if you have come across any of these tactics.

CREATE CONTROVERSY

This has to be one of the BEST ways to generate sales. Controversy creates two types of interest. Negative and positive. And both forms of interest work together to make you profits. How exactly?

Every single day, millions of folks hop onto the Internet and have something to say. Most likely they’ll do this through writing. Whether it’s through an article, an email,  or a blog, the “trick” here is to make what you discuss controversial through your writings.

The essence of creating controversy is by using passion.

If you’ve had a bad experience with a product or person, tell people about it. If you really love a  particular product, or person, tell people about it.

But be sure that your writings convey the passion that you feel whether it’s negative or positive.

If you are effectively creating controversy through your writings, most people that read it will either love what you have to say or hate it. Either way, they’ll TALK ABOUT IT.

If you make people angry, GOOD! But don’t back down on your opinions though. That defeats the purpose of using this tactic completely. If some people don’t like what you’re saying, who cares?? At least you had the guts to stand up for what you believe and say it.

The whole idea of this tactic is to speak your mind, send off a spark, and watch it build into a roaring flame.

THE “SHOCK” TACTIC

 I’m sure you’ve heard the term “shock value” before. Well that’s what this tactic is all about. Shocking your readers or customers. Some folks will use foul language to shock their readers. Some will use incredible stories. And still others will tell them how they have made huge mistakes.

 How many times have you heard or seen these:

*WARNING*

*DON’T BE AN IDIOT LIKE ME*

*I WAS A LOSER UNTIL I. . .*

*YOUR METHODS OF MAKING MONEY SUCK!*

*IF YOU DON’T WANT TO DO X-Y-Z THEN LEAVE THIS PAGE NOW*

*STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE AND COMMAND MORE RESPECT*

*20 TIME MORON FINALLY GETS IT RIGHT*

*DUMB-ASS MAKES SIX FIGURES A YEAR*

 Or something similar. Those get your attention don’t they? Sure they do! And that’s why they get used. They suck you in and make you want to keep reading. Let’s be honest here. If you can’t do a simple thing like generate more interest in what you’re selling, then you won’t make any money. Simple as that.

THE “CCL” TACTIC

Mmm. . .Bet you’re wondering what this one is, huh? Well, CCL in this particular instance stands for Could Care Less. And this tactic is one heck of a doozie! 

Take The Rich Jerk for example. This is a classic case of CCL. On his sales page he tells you that he’s better than you are. He’s rich and you aren’t. Basically, he’s a winner and you are a loser. But, for a small fee, he’s willing to share his techniques with you so you can become a winner too.

Aww, how nice of him! Don’t you just feel better already?

He doesn’t stop there though, because after you buy his “better than thou” strategy guide, and if you have any questions, HE WON’T ANSWER YOU. Or worse, he’ll be a jerk. Hey. He gave you “fair warning” in advance though didn’t he? He told you he was a jerk! Ahh. Role playing at it’s finest. The world truly is but a stage.

The point here is that he’s made millions by not caring. He doesn’t care whether you buy his product  or not because he knows that someone else will step in to take your place. It worked. He still made the money, and he also created a HUGE buzz about his CCL tactic too. Heck, he’s even got his own “infomercial” now!

 This “jerky” tactic works so well in fact that there are dozens of “spin-off” products springing up every single day. You don’t have to be a total jerk, but acting like you don’t give a damn whether someone buys your product or not can pay off for you.

THE “TESTIMONIAL” TACTIC

Word of mouth is a very powerful thing. Thus we come to this dirty little trick. Using a positive reinforcer like a testimonial can make the difference between getting a sale or just getting a “tire-kicker”. After reading what a few other happy customers have to say, others will be more inclined to think more positively about your product. 

But, how do you get such testimonials? You ASK for them! A good way to get testimonials is to do a “pre release” of your product and offer a free copy of it for those that will give you a good testimonial in return. That’s how many salesman do it. However, this can also have a negative draw back, especially in certain Internet marketing circles.

THE “WIIFM” TACTIC

This is an interesting trick. Some internet marketers may not consider this a “trick” per say. First, let me tell you what WIIFM stands for. This stands for “What’s In It For Me”. And it is simply one thing your current sales page CANNOT afford to be without.

Anybody who buys anything always wants to know how this purchased product will benefit THEM. They don’t care about what it will do necessarily. Rather what it will do for THEM is the key point.

People are selfish by nature. Especially online. They don’t care about you, or what you’re trying to accomplish. They only care about themselves. It’s harsh, but it’s also true.

I can guarantee you this. . .No matter what internet marketing training course you take, article you read, ebook you buy, they will all tell you the same thing when it comes to making a great sales letter, telling your customers What’s In It For Them.

Don’t make your sales page about YOU. NO ONE CARES! Most of your visitors will skip that part anyway. They don’t want to hear about YOU. Even if it’s the most interesting story in the world. They didn’t come to your sales page to read about how interesting your life has been.

They came there to SPEND THEIR CASH. Don’t distract them by writing your life story. Save that for your personal page. Get to why they should buy your product because it will do x-y-z for them.

 Look at it like this, who freakin’ cares if your “widget” comes in 3 sizes and 5 fabulous colors? What you REALLY need to be telling them is how they can order a customized version of your product to fit their lifestyle. See the difference there?

You’ve told them the SAME thing, but in a way that will directly benefit THEM. Selling isn’t about YOU, it’s about THEM. You aren’t trying to sell something to yourself you know.

This dirty trick can, and should be, used on anything and everything you sell!

THE “COUNTDOWN” TACTIC

 The countdown tactic creates a sense of urgency for your customers. It makes them believe that they will be missing out on a great deal if they don’t take immediate action. This trick is used mostly for “special” sales. But can also be used on a normal sales page or article. Although, if not used properly can reduce your credibility with your customers, or visitors.

That means. . . . .

DON’T FREAKIN’ USE A COUNTDOWN IF THE OFFER DOESN’T EXPIRE! 

If you’re running a special 5 day only sale, by all means make it clear to your customers so they don’t miss out. Use the time constraint to your profiting advantage. 

Different methods are used to get this across to your customers. You can use the “highlighter” trick. It’s exactly like using a highlighter marker to highlight an important bit of text in your favorite book.   You’re just using it “virtually” instead. It’s simple to do. Here’s what you need to put in your HTML code to highlight your text:

<span style=”background-color:#FFFFCC;”>Offer Ends In The Next 72

Hours</span>

And this will create a yellow “highlighter” style background color on the text that is in between the two <span> tags. The two most popular colors for the text itself is either Red(#cc0000) or Black(#000000). And the text should be bold and a bit larger than the rest, just to be sure it really stands out  

Another way is to use an actual “countdown” javascript. This will show your customer exactly how much time they have left to get in on your special offer.

Any way you slice it, using the countdown tactic WORKS to provoke a quick call to action by your customers.

When people believe they will truly “miss the boat” on a great offer, they’ll pony up the dough. And FAST too! That’s what makes this dirty trick a serious profit puller.

 This dirty trick is recommended for use only when you are really running a time sensitive offer.

THE “REVIEW” TACTIC

Who doesn’t like reading product reviews BEFORE they spend their hard earned cash? The secret to the success of this dirty trick is to get your visitors, or customers, interested in the product that you’re reviewing so they will, at the very least, go to that product’s sales page to read more. Or hopefully, buy it. That’s your goal. To get them interested enough to get to the sales page and BUY.

 One thing you can NEVER do when writing a product review is LIE. If you don’t like a particular product, say so. If you love it, say so. But never try and be dishonest just to make a quick buck. It’s not worth it. Once you ruin your reputation, you can never get it back.

And, you should always inform your readers, visitors, or customers of where you think they should be plunking down their money. Using reviews is a super way to do this without sounding like a total ass-monkey. They’ll appreciate you for your honesty, and maybe potentially saving them unneeded hassle or wasted cash.

Only use this dirty trick if you have something HONEST to say about a particular product. Stand behind what you say and don’t go back on it. Unless the product owner/author totally flakes out. That’s the only acceptable time to do a review retraction.

THE “GET PERSONAL” TACTIC
 

And last, but certainly not least, we have the get personal tactic. Some marketers frown upon this, but personally I don’t. You should try to add a little of yourself in all your writings. It helps your readers, visitors, customers, understand that you are a REAL human being and not just some automated email system spitting out a bunch of pre-formatted text.

 Talk to your readers, visitors, customers. Let them know you are there for them. And above all, don’t be afraid to BE YOURSELF. There’s no reason to be anything else. You won’t be able to befriend every single person, so don’t try to!

 Some people will love you. Some people will hate you. It’s just the way life works.

 Wait. . .There’s More!

If you have EVER, and I do mean EVER been surfing through the television channels after midnight any day of the week, you’ve seen this sneaky little bugger hard at work inside all those crappy infomercials.

These guys, or gals, really want you to buy a copy of their product. So they’ll sweeten the offer up for you to drive that fact home and straight to your credit card or bank account. After all, they are in the business to MAKE MONEY, right?

And, if they’ve already piqued your curiosity, see Dirty Tricks Volume I, then they know that you’re interested in what they’re attempting to sell you. So they try and make the deal better on your end.

That’s when they really kick their selling into high gear by offering you some out-of-this-world bonuses worth -insert any dollar amount here- absolutely FREE! Cue flashing text. . . .

Now I know you’re probably thinking, “Shucks, I’d never fall for that kind of garbage!”. Hmm, how many products HAVE you bought from television adds? If you say none, well then congratulations! You are immune to this dirty trick. Way to go! And if you aren’t immune, don’t worry about it. I would bet that almost 98% of people aren’t either.

The really cool thing about this dirty little monster is that it MAKES you want to buy their original product, even if you don’t want or need it, just to get your hands on all those choice freebie gifts they’ll give you. And all for the cost of the original product price. 

What a deal!

Yep. That’s what they want you to be thinking. Sure, you may not like or need the product they’re trying to sell you, but all those things you’re getting for free pretty much makes it worth spending 30 bucks. 

Plus, even if you only wanted the bonus items, they still sucked you in to buying the original product to get your hands on them. 

An Offer You CAN’T Refuse

Yeah, this is an old “gangster” style trick. Although you might not think so once I reveal the one word that describes it. What’s the word? Guarantee. But, why did I say it was an old “gangster” style trick? Firstly, did you even bother reading the title? Second, let’s look at it logically here.

I’d wager you’ve seen at least ONE gangster type movie(I’m a movie fanatic, so just stick with me here, it will make perfect sense once I’m finished explaining.) once in your life. These tough guys are running things for a reason. They don’t take NO for an answer. It’s their way or you’re “swimmin’ with the fishes” my friend.

Now, obviously offering a guarantee isn’t the same as whacking someone, but it will most definitely make your offer much harder to refuse. Your customer will feel more secure in the fact that you are shouldering most, if not all, of the risk by letting them get their money back if they are unsatisfied with your product.

This little dirty trick not only helps you convert more sales, but it also builds credibility in the eyes of your potential customers because you believe in what you are trying to sell them by taking a loss if they don’t.

I also highly recommend this dirty little trick to anyone and everyone who is selling anything online.

THE “HYPE”

This is a super dirty trick. And admitted “hypers” or not, I can almost guarantee you’ll find this type of language slipped in to most sales pages. Now, some Internet Marketers may try and mask this trick by putting a different name on it, but it’s the same thing.

Now, some marketers will simply say that they have unbreakable confidence in their products, and there’s no “hype” in that. Really? I beg to differ. Not that there’s anything at all wrong with having that type of confidence in your product, but let’s call a duck a duck and not a chicken, shall we?

Some more common “hyper” words you may have seen, or be using yourself are:

Incredible

Amazing

Unbeatable

Unbelievable

Controversial

Secret

Hidden

Easy

Fast

And there are plenty of others lying in wait to pounce on you. But these are more of the commonly used hype words. So, why do this dirty trick work so well? 

Because these words spark emotion within your potential customers. And dragging out that emotional connection to your product can more often than not close the sale.

A word of caution here though. Don’t try and over-hype your product. That could end in you boiling in a pot of hot water in the form of a law suit. And I’m sure you don’t want to get scarred up with burns now do you?

Use this dirty trick wisely and cautiously. Don’t over do it and try your best to stay true to the reality of what your product can, and can’t do when describing it with “hyped” up words.

TALKING “TRASH”

Have you ever watched a television talk show or  professional wrestling? Then you have seen this dirty trick already!

But, here’s how to apply it to your product or business to gain more “buzz”. Find a product that is similar to yours and do some comparison on theirs to yours. Find out what makes yours the better decision for your visitors and exploit the hell out of it!

Another boss way to use this dirty little stinker is to raise your own stink about an experience in where one of your competitors has burned you with one of their products that you personally bought. Work in the angle that this painful event is the reason that made you decide to create your own version of this specific product, but you made it better than this other author’s version. 

Don’t be afraid to talk some trash about a person or product to highlight the benefits of your own to get the sale. Do be careful of “slander” issues though. You can hide the details of the specific author or product by calling them Mr. X, or Product Z. You don’t necessarily have to bash your competition to smithereens to get your point across.

These ‘dirty’ marketing tricks work well online and off. Do you know of any crafty or dirty marketing tricks? Please leave them in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!