Ebooks Wont Give you the SECRET - Keep your wallet in your pocket

[Linda Buquet]

Here's part of a long post I made in the general forum today.
Wanted to copy important points down here in the newbie section.

THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO SUCCESS - HARD WORK
Find out why you won't get the magic secrets from eBooks and courses.

Sometimes I mince words trying too hard to be nice. Especially with all the newbies at my forum - I try to tell them like it is, but cushion it enough that I don't just scare them out of the business before they even begin. One of my biggest industry pet peeves is all the Ebooks and supposed Gurus and self proclaimed "super affiliates" that capitalize on the dreams of n00bs that want to learn the "secret to success."

I hope Jon doesn't mind me quoting such a long excerpt of his blog, but he gives the advice Ive been wanting to give affiliates for a long time. I always tell them, there is no short cut to success but he hits it alot harder and minces NO words. Check this!

"You cannot LEARN how to be a super affiliate from an ebook or a forum or even a blog. It’s not something you can read in a book or learn from by watching TV or even attending an expensive seminar. It’s something that you can only become by doing a "boat"load of trial and error, over and over and over again. It’s like comparing this to being a hedge fund manager or some hot shot lawyer. Do you think they learned it from a few sources? Nope! They may have learned some stuff, but the reason they are at the level they are at right now is because it came from this one magical word, with no shortcuts or quick secret routes to, called…. EXPERIENCE. It’s not something you can learn in school, seminars, books, videos, or from friends. You can only gain it by actually trying it, and being successful, but also failing and learning from your mistakes! So why the heck are people still buying these **** artist ebooks?"

He then goes on to create what he says is the new definition of "super affiliate" and tells the faker wanna-be super affiliate guru ebook sellers to grow up, get busy and actually go to work making money instead of flashing big fake checks to try to sell ebooks. There's really a wealth of good info in his post and I wish I had the nerve to write they way he does.

Here's the full post - it's pretty RAW but straight to lots of good points!
Super Affiliate Marketing Blog » Why 1% Is Bigger Than 99% - A Message To Ad Networks & Self-Proclaiming Super Affiliates

So am I saying ALL EBOOKS and COURSES are BAD???
No there are a few good ones. What I am saying is that there are TONS that are so full of hype or even really good copy that will make you WANT to buy them whether they are any good or not.

IMPORTANT HINT - If you are looking for EASY money, a QUICK fix,
MAGIC shortcuts to success - affiliate marketing is NOT for you.
Quit now and RUN away!

The sales copy is DESIGNED to push newbie buttons and capitalize
on your strong desire to learn the secret to success online.
MOST promoise the world and deliver nothing.

So keep your wallet in your pocket when you are new.
Learn all you can here and at other WELL moderated forums that don't allow
ads and affiliate links in the learning part of the forum.

That way you can be more assured that the info you get is FREE
and TRUE because we aren't trying to sell you anything!

EDITED to add 1/29/08
Here is ONE ebook that is GREAT and is now FREE!
IMPORTANT FREE Quit your Day Job eBook

[Affearners]

Linda thats exactly right - if its working for them why would they tell the world? the best way to learn is to network with people who are doing the same as you and learn from the snippets they tell you.

[ritche]

You guys are all right and clearly understood. It is only thru the Ebooks where we can learn all the secrets of the trade of Affiliate Marketing.

[StephenR]

This topic has come up before and I've been following Jons crusade since he started it. I might not go about it the way Jon is but the intention is in the right place.

For the most part though HECK YEAH, almost all eBook info is freely available in forums and blogs such as this one. Just look around a bit. The only thing most eBooks do is put it all in one book for you....nothing magical there!

[AffiliateGuild]

Funny, I don't read a book or ebook thinking it holds all the answers to my
questions or is the magic goose from which I will get the golden egg. But, I
do think there are elements of truth in most of these materials, and like
Stephen said, I look for ebooks/book to pull together some of those bodies of
information.

I'm not sure about the witchhunt approach to cleaning up affiliate marketing
because it still boils down to one guy's opinion. So instead, I've taken a bunch
of those ebooks and put them up for free at the Affiliate Guild. You be the
judge ... not me. I think what works for one guy, might not work for another.

For that matter, it's very difficult for a way more experienced marketer to
subjectively judge materials for a newbie. I think it's really hard to go back to
where you once were. Probably would be more interesting to have the expert
evaluate to ebook and the newbie evaluate it ... I'll bet the differences in
opinion would be so vast that you'd have to view most of these ebooks
through new eyes.

Don't throw out the baby with the bath water. There are good elements in
many of these materials. There's also a lot of hype, but there are also many
members of this forum who use hype or promote hyped up materials as well.
Start banning books ... it goes against values and liberties most of us hold
dear. Maybe next it will be your website that gets blacklisted next?!

Hard work alone does not guarantee success, if it did there would be many
more successful people in this world. It has to be coupled with knowledge
and an ability to impliment that knowledge. These ebooks are part of the
equation, even if out dated ... institutional memory is important because
most things in life are cyclical.

[Oregon Coast Guy]

I love anything that Ken Evoy has put out. The guy is the master of the pre-sell and a great communicator.

[Teli]

I agree with both you, Linda, and Bobbie. People won't find the secret to anything, life or otherwise, from an ebook, but they can certainly learn something from them.

It seems a vast majority of the ebooks coming out right are fluff, but there are some good ones. They pull the information from a variety of resources and place them in an easy to reference manual. Some examples are books put out by Rosalind Gardner, Ken Evoy, and even Jeremy Palmer.

For someone just getting started, ebooks can be beneficial by saving time; cruising the myriad blogs and forums, then actually separating the wheat from the chaff, takes a tremendous amount of time, patience, and dedication.

Of course, if someone decides to purchase an ebook, it should only serve as the jumping off point -- a nudge, if you will, to start experimenting and discovering some techniques for herself.

~ Teli

[quantumtiger]

Hi,

The feeling of anticipation and the obsession of this one is "gunna" be the one.

Has drained my credit card many times over.

And all of the ebooks that I have printed out and read through at least twice.

I still haven't made a single dollar online.

It would be so easy to say it's all rubbish and quit

But I know I've learnt some thing from each one, and I know is just going into a bit melting pot inside me and one day it will come out as a very tasty "money-making web biz stew."

I've only been posting to forums for a week now,
I think know I can get answers and guidance instead of just theory.

[Linda Buquet]

"But I know I've learnt some thing from each one, and I know is just going into a bit melting pot inside me and one day it will come out as a very tasty "money-making web biz stew."

If I was doing a contest for the best one-liner of the week
that would be it!!!

Great attitude!
You hang in there and keep trying!

[Linda Buquet]

Oh and by the way... Just checked your sig.

The reason you are not making money is you are making the most common mistake newbies make. You are NOOB trying to sell Internet marketing stuff.
Worst place to start. I've written about it many times. YOu need to find a niche and quit trying to sell get righ quick and webmaster type stuff.

YOu are swimming with sharks before you even know how to swim. Get out of the water quick and find a niche! I've written lots about that too.
Stop posting and read up for a bit. Then let us help you get started in
the right direction for you.