On Wednesday, April 16th at 12 noon EST, Joel Comm made the long-awaited 4th edition of Google AdSense Secrets available for download.
Read by more people than any other AdSense book on the planet, it is widely considered ‘the bible’ of all things Adsense. Covering everything from AdSense optimization and case studies to ad tracking and other ways to monetize your site, this ebook has it ALL.
Now more than ever, AdSense Secrets is the definitive guide to generating passive income with Google’s AdSense program, and every website publisher is going to want to read it.
The third edition sold thousands of copies at $97, yet Joel is offering the latest massive 222-page edition of Google Adsense Secrets for FREE. Moreover, there are 4 fast-action bonuses and a 100% money-back guarantee… ergo, you risk nothing by picking this one up and potentially a whole lot to gain when you put Joel’s Adsense strategies and techniques into action!
Followup: Please read the caveat supplied by our good NPT Reader Jamie T. below, along with the other comments… good discussion!
About Rosalind Gardner
Just a heads up if you don’t read the sales page properly. This purchase subscribes you to a monthly membership subscription @ $30. It advises you of this in the sales page but not the order page. The first month is free but make sure you unsubscribe before the following month if you don’t want the subscription content otherwise you’ll be paying out $30 per month. Some people have called this tactic sneaky. I am not a big fan of this approach either but it seems to be becoming more common nowadays.
I’m sure the book is a good deal (every one is raving about it) but I just thought I’d share the caveat – if you’re willing to be subjected to such tactics and happy to unsubscribe in time then alls well I guess.
Cheers,
Jamie.
Hi Rosalind,
I was the first guy to ever interview Joel – we did his first teleseminar on his original Google Adsense book – before he published The AdSense Code.
At the time “Blog and Ping” was still working as was page generationa and junk page creation software.
Since Google allowed advertisers to run different bids for Search ads – and syndicated ads – they revenues have dropped to neary zero for making money with AdSense.
I have to ask, are YOU making any money with Google AdSense?
If so, I wonder how?
Thanks!
Rick
Hey Rick,
To answer your question “are YOU making any money with Google AdSense?”, you can bet your sweet bippy I make money with Google Adsense. Maybe not as much as I did before, but then again, I make it a point to concentrate on product sales & percentage programs, not percentage of click programs.
My bottom line on Adsense is that folks have to leave a site at some point, so if they’re not going to buy something, they might as well leave through a link that pays… so Adsense doesn’t hurt.
Cheers,
Ros
Bet my sweet bippy? LOL
I just heard Rowan and Martin in the background!
Thanks for the reply Rosalind – and sorry if I came across too fussy.
I don’t make Adsense focused sites but maybe I should try it on some other things that I am putting good content on. On my home site – I’ve stopped all advertising in order to focus on selling my own stuff.
Probaby could turn on ads after a post is a month old.
Thanks again and have a terrific, I mean GROOVY weekend!
rick
Hey Rick,
Figured you might pick up on the ‘bippy’ part of that comment. LOL… just what sprang to mind at that moment, and maybe not a bad phrase to resurrect?
Cheers,
Ros
Maybe you can get away with it – because you are cute (the sweet bippy part.)
But, I have to tell you – I’ve always been slightly uncomfortable with that phrase?
I’ve never been sure what my “bippy” is – and if I bet it – and lost – what would that be like?
And if I won yours… what would THAT be like?
hmmmm LOL!
rick
You wanted to know what a ‘bippy’ was… I found the answer!
BIPPY – A jocular euphemism for ass, as in “bet your (sweet) bippy) by Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, an NBC-TV comedy series. It was discussed, this reference tells us, in “Comments on Ety.”, in Jan. 1982, but none of the discussion is included. From “Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Volume 1, A-G” by J.E. Lighter, Random House, New York, 1994.
But maybe you didn’t REALLY wanna know?
I think Jamie was much to easy on Joel for the under handed tactics about the membership cost. That was not done by accident and it absolutely SUX.
The membership thing is completely out of hand PERIOD and now he throws in the “I won’t tell them when it really counts” tactic.
When you read a 1 mile sales letter it’s very easy to miss the part about it costing you $30.00 per month after you receive the kind and generous almost give away offer of $9.95 for the latest and greatest almost free money and how easy it is.
Yes, I know that you can cancel the membership. However, probably not before it has cost you 30 to $60.00. Plus the other $9.95
And yes, that goes right into Mr. Comm’s pocket.
Mr. Comm, do you really need the money that much? If so, leave it as it is. If not, Do the right thing!
James Greene
Oh my, I really ought to frequent Rosalind’s blog comments more often!
Hmmm… I’m curious as to what you’ve found interesting… the discussion about forced continuity or bippies?
Methinks the FTC and other regulators need to crack down on a lot of internet marketers. No wonder folks don’t trust the honest ones. And from my observing their sales pitches over the last several years, there are more dishonest ones than honest ones hitting the net. Sad!
My take-away from a discussion with an FTC representative about slimy advertising tactics is that FTC doesn’t really give a damn… or that ultimately they’re on the side of big business.
Basically, she couldn’t shoo me away fast enough, saying only that the ‘FTC is aware of the problem’, yet they’ve stil done nothing about it… and I was refering to the really downright fraudulent advertising that occurs daily on Google Adwords, etc.
So, bottom line is as always.. Buyer Beware.
Ros,
Congratulations for maintaining your integrity by posting the “Warning”
I also think that Jamie ws a little easy on Joel Comm”s hidden charge rip off. Unfortunately he (Comm) is not the only one using this underhanded tactic. What is surprising to me is the big name “Gurus” who jump on these promotions and blast their lists with this type of scam. Just in the past few weeks many of the top IM players have promoted similar offers to me.
Ros, you are one of three respected IM’s who have sent a warning regarding Comm and one other recent really bad example of this rip off. I’ve even forgotten the other rip off artist…It was something like “B_______RETIRES!” it was worse than Comm’s.
I’d like to think the IM’s I used to have respect for are ot aware of the details of the offers they are promoting but sadly I have come to the conclusion they just can’t resist a piece of that hidden charge.
Regards,
JIm H
I fully agree with Jamie, buy Joel’s book etc but make a note to unsubscibe. Membership sites can be good but I object to the sneaky way tactics some are using to get subscribers.
Many are now using “get a free CD tactic. ” I paid postage for one then a month later get a credit card charge notice of 29.95 for CD #2.There was no mention of future charges on the website, I had double checked for this. I promptly cancelled and requested a refund.
If you are outside USA check on postage cost for a free CD, this one cost me USD6.95 yet another by a well known marketer was USD14.95 postage. Free CD? Dont think so.
Cheers Bruce
Speaking my mind on a couple of things:
From a consumer point of view, reading the ” fine print” as always been an important part of being informed. However, when there is a lack of transparency to that fine print, oh, yeah the lines of ethics get blurred in so many ways.
I agree with what Jim said above that you just cannot log all of the information you really need to be informed about a purchase in long sales letters. So, most certainly full disclosure should be made in the payment process as well.
I do have to wonder how often sales on a simple product are lost when the forced continuity method is applied. That is, obviously, an effort to upsell and/or backend sell, but it’s also sort of a short-cut in the sense of not working a little harder to have customers in the sales funnel who actually trust the value of your products in their own time frame. So do I mean I think it is ” kind of lazy”, yes, I do. Just a personal opinion there.
It’s not a new marketing method, but certainly has seen renewed life again lately.
It’s been ” in the news” with 2 major marketers giving examples of how it happened to one of them and how another marketer pointed out that it was very vague to customers to another marketer. Those were all powerful examples of word of mouth, by the way.
I don’t agree with Dave thoughts entirely, though. There are programs and associations to join that help give customers assurance that a business is on the level. But the easiest route is always the most tempting.
And for fun- I always thought ” bippy ” to be a polite slang term for backside, eh?
With regard to the Bippy and ‘Rowan and Martin’, I’m willing to wager that not 30 percent of the folks who partake of the pearls of wisdom on this page have ever even HEARD of a Bippy, much less Dan and Dick.
I had a Bippy once, but like everything else, it withered up from under-utilization and/or age and decrepitude and ultimately went into the archives with all the other stuff of that era; i.e. (Bell Bottoms, Love Beads, Strange Herbs, questionable habits ad infinitum, ad nauseum).
I was gonna comment on Joel’s clandestine subscription tactic, but someone else has already, and a recent email from HIMSELF expressed dismay and chagrin and all that other appropriate angst and he kinda-sorta intimated that he wouldn’t do that anymore.
Also got a nice email from Dan Nickerson regarding my irate flame to InfoMediaInc. as soon as I realized that I’d swallowed the proverbial lure, feathers and all.
I feel much better about the situation now that it has been successfully and satisfactorily resolved.
All the very 60′s best to y’all
Fred Holmes
Ya know, I think this is the first time I’ve seen Joel without his goate.
I remember when he first started appearing in photos dressed without his signature suit – like wearing jeans or something. Now he’s dropping the facial hair.
What next?
Thanks for the heads up on the subscription. I have bought the book but did not read the whole sales page thus had no idea about the subscription.
Why put all that effort into selling your credentials only to be a sneak and put your reputation on the line.
I have decided not to purchase this item because of this undeclared add on.
Hi Chuck,
To clarify, the subscription information was included on the sales page.
Joel has since made changes and given folks the option to buy just the book… or the full meal deal.
Cheers,
Ros
I guess I’ve removed myself from enough lists to not get pummeled about this new version of Adsense Secrets – yours was the only email I got mentioning the new version.
I see that Joel Comm has posted a mea culpa and is now making two distinct offers – one with the continuity and one without. I have to wonder if he’s sincere about it or if he just figured he’d better do something since it kind of blew up in his face.
I removed myself from his list a long time ago because of the incessant promotion and lack of any real value. It seems I probably made the right choice!
Rosalind,
Why didn’t you mention the forced continuity when you wrote the blog post?
You would have known what was going on when you signed up as an affiliate.
Why wait until someone commented on it?
Paul,
The problem doesn’t arise from the forced continuity, it arises from the fact that Joel didn’t specify the terms on the order page which he did do on the sales page.
I didn’t mention the forced continuity because I trust that my readers to make their own decisions based on facts. I DID mention Jamie’s comment in the newsletter because I wasn’t previously aware that the terms weren’t specified on the order page — an omission that I consider a very poor marketing tactic. Once I found out, I DID do an update to the post.
Cheers,
Ros
You are right, the problem doesn’t arise from the forced continuity. The problem arises from you (and others) recommending this product without mentioning it.
The whole thrust of this promotion was the $9.95 price point, yet NOBODY thought to say “oh, by the way you will also automatically be slugged $30 a month” for one of the bonus items.
Lynn Terry claims she didn’t notice it, while you infer that you did, but must have decided it wasn’t worth noting in your blog post.
So while Joel deserves all he got for trying it on in the first place, I’m inclined to think there is also some guilt by association for his affiliates.
If an affiliate misses a point or neglects to mention a point… they’re guilty by association because a potential purchaser doesn’t read the entire sales page?
Come on, be reasonable.
Consider this… whose fault is it if someone washes an item that is marked as dry clean only? The sales person who neglected to mention that requirement or the buyer who didn’t bother to read the care instructions?
It’s a consumer’s responsibility to read the terms of agreement in a sales contract – not an affiliate’s.
I thought I’d jump back in for a minute. But, I am not sure if anyone will keep reading this thread.
I wish to say that as Jamie said in the first place about Joel Comm’s offer:
” Just a heads up if you don’t read the sales page properly.”; that Joel’s page made it apparent that it was an offer with an offer. I found the attached continuity program there clearly enough to make it the second time that I would pass on that product offer.
That hasn’t been true of some other offers lately though, which is where I am concerned about this type of marketing ploy. Plus I am actually kind of tired of seeing it so often, as a customer.
I would also like to say, that I personally have received excellent customer service when dealing with InfoMedia, Inc. One time I didn’t receive both parts of an order, and in the end I got not one but two copies of the missing item. And I asked to cancel a subscription and it was done with one email.
So, Joel and his company do deserve the reliability seal that is displayed on their sites. At least in my eyes.
I am pretty sure that some very well know and respected business authority, for online and offline business, spoke to people ( somewhere ) and gave great advice on how to expand your business and add to the sales funnel, and so on. Because I have seen that advice for myself. However, the marketers who know better may have forgotten how to think like a customer maybe just a little too much. And the wide variety of other types of people who heard that advice may have included a few too many with ” hyper-active greed glands “, just maybe. Just a way I see the possibilities and juman nature in action.
One thing is certain though, it takes time and effort as well as accumulating some skills, knowledge and experience to build a good, strong valuable business. I don’t see how that will ever really change.
Let’s take your analogy a bit further……..
Let’s say I go to a big, well known shop to buy this item and the salesperson says “Here it is, the price is $9.95 – I think you should buy it”.
Then I go to another, less well known shop, and the sales person says “Here it is, the price is $9.95. And by the way, make sure that you only dry clean it, as washing may ruin the beautiful fabric and you wouldn’t want that would you?”
Who do you think I would be more likely to buy from?
My point is that as an affiliate your job is to do more than just present offers as-is to your list. If that is all you do then why should I buy through you rather than one of the other 5 affiliates who, in the case of AS4, did exactly the same thing?
Paul,
You’re absolutely correct.. the more information the salesperson provides, the better.
I think you miss my point however… placing blame (‘guilt by association’ were your words) on an affiliate who provides basic information and trusts that their readers are mature, intelligent and responsible consumers – is in my opinion just another example of how so few are willing to assume responsibility for their actions anymore.
“Ooooo…. you didn’t tell me the coffee was HOT! Then I was stupid enough to drive with the coffee cup in my lap and burned myself when it spilled all over me… So, I’m gonna sue YOU!
Sheesh.
I think you miss my point. Anyway, here’s my last word and I will get off your back.
In actual fact I have two words: DUE DILIGENCE
You didn’t do it, Lynn Terry didn’t do it and Michael Fortin didn’t do it.
It begs the question why you all made the same mistake.
Paul,
I acknowledged your point. As to DUE DILIGENCE… that’s my point exactly! Consumers are responsible for doing their due diligence and reading the fine print.
Ros
Rosalind,
Even that coffee you speak of had and still has a big warning on the cup about being hot. Some just don’t look, or they are *looking for something for nothing*!
As for Joel Comm and Matt Bacak they knew and still know exactly what they were doing. It was no accident or slip up. It’s called *looking for something for nothing*
All of this chatter about them both will only serve to eventually help them. They are getting more press than Hillary… Well, maybe not.
I watched Derek Gehl’s video last night where he is spending 4 days building a profitable website from the ground up. He has advertised this for a few weeks now and explaining that anyone could do it if they were willing to work. ***What he doesn’t say until after the video is that you will need his super dooper whis-bang new software in order to do it the way that he is doing it*** Where does it end?
I know that you and Anik are giving away a lot of good information about blogs now. I know that this is leading to a launch of a product. This has been spelled out. Although not what it is or what it will cost.
I find this marketing to be aboveboard and will probably buy the product when it is released due to your proffesionalism.
I don’t know if this would qualify as a rant or not. Just felt the need to say it….
Jim
Hey Jim,
When I wrote about the coffee, I had actually included a reference to the cautionary warnings now printed on the cups.
However, I digressed into a very big rant about how such mollycoddling is making total morons out of such a huge segment of the population that I’m concerned about our future as a species.
Actually, I have no doubt that will be our undoing… we’ve actually legislated stupidity. And to anyone who wants to blame ‘the government’ for that problem… well, I need say no more.
See… I digress. I really need to start a different blog for these rants.
As for the BlogClassroom course… we’re making video tutorials on everything blogging and we honestly still haven’t decided on a price. Anik and I tend to tussle back and forth on such issues until we arrive at a happy middle ground. So, let’s just say that the price won’t be as high as Anik wants it to be.
Speaking of which, I must get back to work.
Best,
Ros
Hey Ros and gang!
I appreciate the comments.
Just a note. The offer was CLEARLY spelled out on the sales page AND the order page. There was no small print. It was all quite obvious for anyone to read.
Dialogue is a good thing. I think we’ve all learned something from this and rest assured that I will be ultra-clear in all my future efforts!
Joel
Holy Cow Jim!
If it is worth it to work for $9.95 an hour – and work 40 hours a week gnawing on the way Ros or 5 other affiliates posted about Joel’s book – then you are demonstrating a solid success model with your comments here.
On the other hand, sometimes as Freud said “a cigar is just a cigar.”
Commenting on blogs is a neat way to interact – and stay connected – and of course to let others follow your link if they find what you are saying valuable.
Based on your gnat-picking here – I can’t imagine what kind of minutae your blog might contain?
IMHBAO
“In my humble – but accurate opinion”
Rick Butts
Hey Rick,
I’m stealing IMHBAO from you — LUVVVVVV it!
Ros
This horse is way dead. Let’s don’t flog is anymore.