How Do You Know Who to Trust?

by Tiffany Dow

In the world of Internet marketing, there are a lot of unethical money-hungry scam artists preying on those who are ignorant about the industry. They know you’re new, and they know you won’t realize you’ve been suckered until it’s too late.

So how does a newcomer to Internet marketing safeguard his or her pockets from the greedy, self-indulgent scams of an unscrupulous marketer? First, you want to do a bit of background research.

If you land on a page where someone has recommended a course or tool that you feel will help accelerate your Internet marketing earnings, don’t buy on impulse. You might regret it later and have to ask for a refund, or suck up the cost if no guarantee is offered.

Google can be your friend here. Type that marketer’s name into the search engines and see if there are any scam details. But beware! One of the most common affiliate pre-pitches is to promote a product by using the scam approach initially and then building the product up with the detailed review.

You may see about 5 page’s worth of links if you type in [marketer’s name] and scam, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re real scam accounts. Always read the pages with care.

You also need to know that practically every marketer has a disgruntled customer. Some people get angry if their download link doesn’t work and they don’t get a response within 30 minutes. Others intentionally try to sabotage the competition by posting poor reviews online.

You should be able to find as much positive information (in the form of praise) as you do bad reviews. If not, it might be best to steer clear of that marketer since no one credible can endorse him (or her).

Never rely on their own claims (even screenshots of earnings can be manipulated). And if you find them in a forum, don’t think that just because they have the highest post count, it means they’re the best marketer.

Get personal recommendations from other marketers. If you want to find out who has the best affiliate marketing guide, ask in a forum and find out. Or, take the recommendation of a marketer you already trust, because if they provide you with a poor product recommendation, it tarnishes their own reputation, too.