Before You Buy Any Online Marketing Products Ask These Questions

Anyone trying to learn online marketing to build and grow a business will have a hard time in the beginning. That’s just a fact. They don’t know what they don’t know, especially when it comes to online marketing products they need.

Unfortunately, the Internet is littered with crooks, scammers, and con men who just want to pick the pockets of the uninformed newbie. But don’t let that discourage you. The good news is, there are plenty of reputable marketers out there with excellent tools, training, and courses that will help you.

You just need to learn how to separate the wheat from the chaff when considering the purchase of any product claiming to help you build your online business, and from whom.

To that end, consider the 10 questions below before you purchase online marketing products.

Questions to Ask Before You Purchase Online Marketing Products

1. Do You Really Need the Product Right Now?

This is the most important question you need to ask yourself before you hit the buy button.

Before purchasing any online marketing product you need to decide if you really need it right now. If it’s not relevant to what you are doing, close the sales page and get back to work.

Beginners tend to lose focus and are easily tempted by get-rich-quick schemes. They are new to business building and online marketing and easily seduced by claims of push button fortunes that do not exist.

One of the many problems new online marketers face is they let their emotions get in the way. They buy any and every info-product or super-duper software that promises them overnight wealth.

This is widely known as “Shiny Object Syndrome” and you don’t want to succumb to this malady. For one thing, you’ll go broke before you make your first dollar. So be aware and be vigilant.

Yes, you should pursue your dream, but you also need to be level-headed in your approach to building an online business. Don’t let your emotions take over and influence your buying decisions.

2. Do You Know the Vendor Behind the Online Marketing Product?

Exercise due diligence and do your research on the product vendor.

Sadly, there are thousands of marketers who will lie just to make a quick buck. They have no qualms about exploiting your naiveté.

But you’re smarter than they think you are.

See if vendors practice what they preach before you hand over your money. For example, if they’re selling a course on Pinterest marketing, it’s easy to check the activity on their Pinterest boards. Are the pins being pinned? Do they have tons of followers? If not, then why should you trust them?

Many shady vendors just recycle info-products over and over again. In fact, in some cases these online marketing products are ones he or she “borrowed” from someone else!

Oftentimes they promote untested theories that just don’t work in the real world. But you won’t know that until you actually follow the latest and greatest proven system or online marketing strategy you purchased.

So how do you protect yourself from making poor choices?

Check the vendor’s reputation and what products they’ve released. You’ll soon learn if they’re on the up and up. If not, just close the sales page and get back to work.

3. Do the Claims Sound Too Good to Be True?

In almost all cases, online marketing products claim to drive millions of visitors to your websites or offers. Vendors of these info products will usually tell you  this will happen only if you follow the “100% proven system” exactly as described.

If you follow the instructions, you can “Make $9,442.98 in 30 minutes while sipping cocktails on the beach.” That bold claim is my personal favorite.

In cases of software products, you just need to click 3 buttons, enter some information, and voilà… you just sit back and the software will generate massive amounts of traffic to your sites.

It’s never that simple.

And let us not forget the countless special hacks and loopholes. Marketers assure you these “gold nuggets” will rocket your website to the top of the search engines in 10 seconds or less while you do nothing.

No doubt you’ve seen many such claims… bold and unrealistic claims designed to hook you into the sales page and then make the purchase.

But you’re smarter than that. When you read these outlandish claims, just close the page and get back to work.

4. Does the Vendor Recycle His Online Marketing Products and Call Them “New?”

If you do your research, you’ll discover that some vendors continuously release “new” products. What you might also discover is they are all similar to each other, if not exactly the same. This is especially true with online marketing software products. The only things that differ are the new sales pages and the new product names.

This has become standard practice in the “make money online” world. These vendors just put lipstick on a pig and call it new.

So why would a vendor release a new product one day, repackage the same product, then release it again a few weeks later?

The answer is simple. They make their money launching “new” products. And it doesn’t even matter if the product is complete rubbish. The clueless and unsuspecting among us, and oftentimes, the desperate newbies, just want to get started.

Sadly though, they fall for the hyped up training course or the 1-click button software that will make them millions. They don’t want to put in the work so they get suckered into making the purchase.

And the vendor is laughing all the way to the bank.

A legitimate vendor would support and improve his existing product(s), not try to trick you into buying the same product over and over again disguised as something new.

So, if you see a vendor pushing out similar products routinely, especially software, well, you know what to do.

Just close the page and get back to work.

5. Are the Stats for the Online Marketing Product Legit?

You routinely see screenshots of income stats on sales pages. The numbers look great and you have visions of making the amounts of money you see. And that’s the point of these screenshots.

The vendor shows you these numbers to whet your appetite for the product. You convince yourself you can easily generate this kind of income. After all, the vendor has proof, right?

What you need to know is most income stats are usually fake and should be taken with a grain of salt. No… make that a really big bucket of salt.

The product itself, be it a course, training program, or a software product, won’t make you rich. It’s how you put it to use. The methods you learn will either work, or not. The software will either produce what the vendor claims, or it won’t.

And keep in mind the only income stats that matter are your own! It’s what you earn that matters, not what someone else claims they earned.

6. Are the Testimonials for the Online Marketing Product Legit?

This one is a bit tricky so you need to be careful.

A good product will have testimonials from real customers. They applied the information or training and saw real results. A truly satisfied customer will happily talk about the merits of the product.

These can be seen as Facebook comments, video testimonials, photo proof, and so on. While all of these can be faked or bought, you can sense if the testimonials are trustworthy. Again, you need to be vigilant.

Additionally, are sales pages with testimonials from other marketers. These are often affiliates for the product themselves and/or friends with the vendor.

They provide “testimonials” under the presumption that if they scratch the vendor’s back now, the vendor will, in turn, scratch their back down the road.

They have each other’s back, so to speak, and not a single thought is given to the unsuspecting buyer who just adds to their income stats.

So, if you suspect the vendor is trying to put one over on you with false claims and false testimonials, you know what to do. Just close the page and get back to work.

7. Does the Product Come With a Money-Back Guarantee?

Make sure the product comes with a money-back guarantee.

Sometimes the product is described in vague terms and what you get is not what you expected or what you actually need. In such cases a guarantee will keep you risk-free… usually. You see, there are disreputable, dishonest vendors who don’t honor their explicitly stated money-back guarantee.

You need to be very cautious when you do purchase any digital product that doesn’t go through PayPal or ClickBank or the major affiliate platforms. For one thing, if a vendor has no connection to PayPal, he/she has mostly likely been banned from the platform for whatever the reason.

For the most part, know that when you make a purchase through PayPal, ClickBank, JVZoo, Warrior Plus, etc., you can rest easy. You’ll be able to get your refund relatively quickly. Of course, there are exceptions, so choose products wisely.

Just make sure you don’t buy product after product knowing you’re going to request a refund. That’s not good, either.

8. Did You Look for Product Reviews?

Always look for reviews of the product.

If you search “product name + reviews” you’ll generally find videos with people going on and on about the merits of the course, training, or software product. And they all insist they’re providing an honest review.

Well… maybe. Remember that bucket of salt we talked about earlier?

In many cases, the reviews come from affiliates trying to make a sale.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to watch a few of these videos to understand more about the product. Some reviews may be unbiased and will mention the downsides to these products.

In some instances, you’ll find written reviews/videos made by people who totally dislike the product or the vendor.

These reviewers usually feel it’s their moral obligation to educate others to make better buying decisions. And they sometimes feel a need to stymie the flood of disingenuous products flooding the market.

Then again, the reviewer and the vendor could be fierce competitors and the reviewer wants to depress sales.

Either way, it’s a losing battle, but reviews can be an eye-opening experience for you and aid in your buying decision.

9. Is the Vendor of the Online Marketing Product Just Looking Out for Himself?

All day long you’ll see and hear marketers claiming to want to help people by providing value; but what they say and do are worlds apart.

The truth of the matter is that far too many marketers have questionable ethics, and the only people they want to help is themselves. As for the value they provide… let’s just say it only benefits their bank balance.

This is why the market is littered with online marketing courses and products that are abysmal, misleading, and disappointing.

Again, do your research.  Check to see how many up-sells, down-sells, upside down sells, and cartwheels the vendor is offering after the main product.

All you need to do is enter “product name + affiliate” into any search engine. The search results will return affiliate recruitment pages where you can see the product’s entire funnel.

If there are 10 or more products in a funnel, you can be sure the vendor doesn’t give two hoots about your buying experience.

As a marketing tactic, offering additional related products after the initial purchase is a good business practice. Offering 2 or even 3 is fine; 5 to 10 is absurd. It’s not only annoying, it’s insulting, as well. So much for providing value.

Pay attention to the vendor’s approach to business and ethics. You should consider how they make their money… it’s far more important than how much they make.

10. Do I Really Want to Spend the Money on This?

Last but not least, do not spend money on any product based on promises of quick and easy riches; especially if you’re desperate to make money quickly.

Now listen carefully… it’s never quick and it’s never easy.

I’ll say it again… it’s never quick and it’s never easy.

Thousands of new online business owners rack up debt buying into the hype of overnight wealth only to struggle with the bills later and not make a cent in return.

Be conservative in your spending when you’re trying to build your online business. You can bootstrap your way to a thriving business. It is possible.

And always keep in mind that almost all buying decisions are emotional. This explains why people can spend thousands on products that do not deliver.

If you’ve ever wondered why you see countdown timers on sales pages, well now you know. The vendor doesn’t want you to think about making the purchase; he/she wants you to make the purchase. They play to your fear of “missing out” and they usually win.

This is a consequence and not a coincidence.

Don’t let slick sales copy coerce you into buying a product you don’t really want or need. Close the sales page and get back to work.

Conclusion

Is it possible to earn huge sums of money online? Yes, it is. But it will take time and effort; you need to study and test until you develop the right marketing strategy. This is not an easy process, but it is achievable.

But first you need to stop purchasing every product that hits your inbox and start asking the questions listed above. Soon logic will take over and put you in the driver’s seat. The persuasive and hypnotic sales copy will no longer lead you by the nose.

Now you are in control.

Yes, the online marketing scene is replete with scams and shady shenanigans. The good news is there are several top-notch online marketing training programs, courses, and software on the market which can help you build your online business.

Be wise… be vigilant… you can definitely find the gems.

Use these questions to guide you and help you. I’ve no doubt you’ll find the online marketing products you need to build a solid foundation for the business empire you dream of.