Lies, Damn Lies & Information

Having just finished the first draft of a new eBook, the above phrase popped into my head.

I'm sure you'll get the reference, but while accurate statistics can be made to lie by disingenuous use, 'information' can be just plain wrong.

An eBook is an 'information product', of course, and most of the ones I've read have been packed with useful and, as far as I can tell, accurate information. I hope my latest one is, too.

But there is a school of thought that says almost any old junk can be sold as an 'information product', provided you get the sales copy right. In other words, a good sales letter will sell just about anything.

(The converse of that, of course, is that a bad sales letter won't sell even the best product in the world.)

But it's the rubbish masquerading as valuable information, and priced as such that we have to watch for. Information marketing is unregulated, and long may it remain so. Thankfully, most of the most successful marketers know junk when they see it and won't promote it - their reputations are too precious and their consciences too strong.

Still, there are a few who seem willing to promote almost anything - even things that don't fit with their business (and so, presumably, their list) - provided there's a healthy commission in it.

Now there are exceptions, and some marketers, especially writers, seem able to create a new product every few days, but if you're on the list of someone who seems to promote a new amazing, ground-breaking instant money machine every day, to the point where you never buy because you've lost faith in them (or run out of money!) just follow your gut and unsubscribe.

You will have one less irritation and a few hundred fewer temptations every year from then on.

One good way to get wealthier is to stop throwing money away!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results