Arbitrage Conspiracy Review: Do I Recommend It?
Arbitrage Conspiracy Unleashed has launched and I’ve been fielding a lot of questions about it because I represent the business as legal counsel. Rather than answering a ton of e-mails on the subject, here are my thoughts. Please note that these are my personal views on the issue based on years of representing Internet marketers and as one who also sells products and services online.
The first issue is whether Aymen is the real deal. I’ve met with Aymen and know that he’s playing (some would call it work) at a different level. It isn’t a fake-it-until-you-make-it disguise. He’s there and yet still wanting to do more.
What about Arbitrage Conspiracy?
In my view, Arbitrage is for those who are experienced Internet business owners who want to take their ventures to the next level of success. In fact, I’m applying parts of it in my businesses.
What about newbie marketers? I’m sure there are some, particularly the technically savvy, who could benefit from Arbitrage. However, my take is that Arbitrage best benefits those who are already making money online as a business (not a hobby) and are committed to doing what’s necessary to succeed. In other words, this is for intermediate or advanced marketers who take action rather than buy products that collect dust bunnies on the bookshelf. Arbitrage isn’t a product for the suddenly unemployed to max out a credit card on in the unrealistic expectation of starting a new online venture to immediately replace the missing steady paycheck.
My wife and I will be walking our 13-year-old son through the Arbitrage Conspiracy course but we’re doing that as experienced marketers and he’s been online for years. It is like herding cats for parents to teach a teenager anything but we’re committed to it.
What about Arbitrage customer service? I know the key players at Arbitrage and they’re committed to doing what’s right. If you read the guarantee, you’ll understand.
To learn more, you’ll want to click this non-affiliate Arbitrage Conspiracy link right now. This means I won’t make a dime if you decide to invest in the course. I’m recommending this for the reasons stated above…and I don’t recommend every product that clients launch.
What if you’re a newbie or part-time intermediate Internet marketer? Find an ethical online marketing program like Michel and Sylvie Fortin’s Success Chef (also not an affiliate link) and actually do something with it.
Testimonials, Federal Trade Commission, and Your Website
Two key website testimonial issues that the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines discuss are compensation and context. Let’s look at both issues and how to deal with them.
1. Compensation. Material connections are a big part of this issue. If the testimonial provider is receiving something of value from you (such as free products, free services, or cash), the conservative approach would be to disclose this relationship to your website readers.
Example: You solicit and receive a testimonial from someone you have given a copy of your $997 info product and free tickets to attend one of your $5K seminars. Do you think these types of freebies might influence what the testimonial provider is going to say about you, your business, and the quality of your products and services? Would the same type of testimonial be typical from those who did not receive the gifts from you?
There’s also a gray area where the testimonial provider has a relationship with you that could affect the content of the testimonial provided. Although the types of relationships will vary, here are a few examples.
Example: You’re paying for Internet coaching from a guru. One of the benefits of being coached is that the guru will promote your online business to his lists and provide you with testimonials that create third party credibility. This relationship is relevant to the testimonial’s content and even the fact the testimonial was given in the first place. Would the average reader want to know that the testimonial was potentially biased because you’re paying the provider for coaching?
Example: You and your friends have formed a mastermind group that promotes each others’ product launches. When one of your group has a launch, all the rest promote as affiliates and provide testimonials for that launch. Each individual member profits both as a product creator who has affiliates promoting his launch but also as an affiliate (or even super affiliate) on the launches done by other members. Would this type of relationship affect the content of the testimonials provided for your launch? Should a prospect know about this mastermind relationship because of its affect on both who provides testimonials and what is said in those testimonials?
2. Context. If your testimonial provider makes claims about results achieved with your products and services, what the testimonial doesn’t say could be considered a deceptive trade practice by the FTC because important facts were omitted from the testimonial. These are facts that are material because they were essential to the results achieved by the testimonial giver.
Example: Ima Guru provides you with a testimonial that she made $33,476 in just two days using your e-mail marketing course. However, the testimonial doesn’t disclose that Ima Guru and her two employees work around the clock for 48 hours to generate that income. The testimonial doesn’t say that Ms. Guru’s net income for those two days was just $11,948 after deducting labor, affiliate commissions, and other marketing costs. She also didn’t mention that the income was only possible because she had a pre-existing e-mail list of 40,000 subscribers to market to using your methods.
Example: You receive a testimonial from John Slim who claims that he lost 78 pounds over six months while drinking a weight loss shake that you sell. You receive before-and-after photos to use with the testimonial. However, the testimonial omits important facts. Mr. Slim’s diet the whole six months consisted of your shakes, Acai berries, and beef jerky. He also exercised a minimum of 3 hours daily with the assistance of a personal trainer. Would your prospective purchaser reading Mr. Slim’s testimonial want to know these missing facts before relying upon the testimonial as part of the buying process?
In each of the above examples, your typical purchaser will not be able to achieve similar results. The purchaser’s expectations are based on false assumptions because of material omissions. That’s the type of testimonial that can land you in trouble with the FTC.
Does this mean the death of results-based testimonials? Of course not. But how you provide them should change.
In Give Your Testimonials a Reality Check, copywriter Michel Fortin describes a great solution to this problem. Provide readers with context by converting your testimonials into case studies. With case studies, you’ll be able to disclose the material facts so that the reader can make an informed decision whether or not to purchase from you. Using the above examples, with the context provided in case studies, you can:
- disclose what has been been given of value to your testimonial provider
- tell the reader about the nature of your relationship with the testimonial giver
- reveal the resources needed to achieve the earnings your testimonial provider made
- inform your prospective purchasers what it really took to lose X pounds with your diet shakes
To learn more about this issue, you’ll want to get your complimentary copy of the new special report How to Comply with the New FTC Compensation Disclosure Guidelines (PDF file) right now.
