This article tells you how to make an informed decision about the growing number of fat-loss and muscle-building "e-courses" floating around the Web. The vast array of choices and widely varying quality can make such a decision confusing -- but if you read this piece, it doesn't have to be a crapshoot!
"Build Muscle Fast!!!" "Lose Weight Now!"
You've probably seen by now those advertisements for muscle-building routines or
weight-loss regimes that you can instantly download to your computer. It's like having a personal trainer in a box - minus the cardboard, of course. I offer a few of these courses through my own site, www.musclefoundry.com.
But if you're not an industry insider, you no doubt must be wondering, will this "e-course" really work for me, or is it just one more ingeniously devised way to separate me from my hard-earned cash?
Truth 101
Here's the truth, which probably won't endear me to large swaths of the fitness information marketing community, but my first commitment is to you, the online consumer:An online cottage industry has sprung up of "Unbiased Review" sites, in which a Web site owner writes a "review" of the product in question, then receives a financial kickback whenever a visitor buys said product. Umm, anybody detect the inherent conflict of interest there?
In its honest and unadulterated form, it's called affiliate marketing, and the general concept provides a fantastic way for ordinary people to generate and share their knowledge and perhaps become wealthy. Folks who help them spread the word about the product - "affiliates" in marketing-speak, get a cut of the profits. Nothing wrong with that, right?
Conflict of Interest?
But I guess the old business journalist in me dies hard, because I find it ethically suspect to mislead consumers into thinking a review is impartial and "unbiased" - and some sites use these very words - when it financially behooves them to sugarcoat a product evaluation.
That would be like, me, back in my newspaper reporter days, writing about the cable company and receiving 10 cents every time they installed a new customer line based on my reporting. If the cable company ever screwed up (I know, imagine that), how much incentive would I have to report the firm's misdeeds to the public? That would be like waving a stop sign at the money coursing into my bank account. "Please stop sending cash, I'm full already!" Yeah right.
Moral: Online "Review" sites - unless they explicitly disavow any type of financial relationship - are probably "on the take" to some extent or another. Dead giveaway: if there's a "buy this product" link right there on the page.
Review sites definitely serve a useful function in the e-commerce food chain and do provide helpful information. But, an educated consumer wants to know that "unbiased" means there was no palm-greasing, whatsoever.
I do realize that at many of the popular fitness, beauty and muscle mags, this concept of "editorial integrity" is regarded as a quaint notion from antiquity. In these places, the Dollar Almighty, not the consumer, reigns supreme. Hey, it is what it is.
How to Tell Quality from Crap
First let me say, I'm a proud affiliate of all the products for sale in my "store." I'm quite biased in favor of them and don't mind telling you so. I hope you buy them from me, so I can use the money to make this site and the quality of information on it better. (Some of the Google Adsense ads that appear elsewhere on the site do make me squirm uncomfortably from time to time, but those are served up by Google's sometimes goofy algorithm.)Anyhow, one way to tell an e-product's worthiness is by the quality of the testimonials. If respected, industry "experts" put their name to it, then chances are it's OK. That's not a guarantee, mind you, but it's generally a decent indicator.
What are the person's qualifications? Does he/she have vast experience, academic credentials, does he/she practice what they preach? (i.e., perhaps not wise to buy a 6-pack Abs e-course from a guy with a beer belly.) Have they contributed to the fitness community in the form of articles written, people helped, etc.?
Is there a money back guarantee? I know of a few programs that fail or refuse to offer a guarantee - they may fear their product is subpar or more likely, they know that leeches on the Internet will buy the product, use it (if it's all digital there's nothing to "return") and demand their money back. This is a real problem, but most "damn good" publishers know their quality customers will vastly outnumber the few morally bankrupt, thieving and conniving sleazeballs. And so they offer a limited money-back guarantee.
The last and perhaps most important thing to look for is value. Yes, that's quite a subjective term, but if you're getting a dozen "freebies" or other extras along with the main package, and the offering is something you need (who couldn't stand to gain a bit more muscle and perhaps shed some unwanted flab?), you'll recognize a great deal when you see it.
Marketing Secrets, Revealed!!!
There are many tricks marketers use to inflate value - and sometimes conflate it, that is, compare things that aren't really comparable. And of course the ultimate goal of any marketer is to tickle your emotion bone - whether that's through humor, your desire to attract a mate, tapping into your anger, fear or sense of purpose. A good advertiser's job is to figure out, "what is it that moves you?"Once you've whipped up the emotions, you can get people to take action. We would be referring to, the action of opening their wallets. And hopefully, the action(s) of following the instructions of that e-course they bought, so that they get the intended benefit.
You'll see a lot of "Such-and-such Secrets Exposed," and "Hidden This-and-That Revealed." Remember people, it's marketing. Marketing guru Seth Godin was exaggerating of course, in titling his book "All Marketers are Liars," but the point was to get your attention. (See? It worked!)
There's a fine line in this online marketing business between showmanship and outright trickery; our job as information providers is not to cross it, and to provide an overwhelming amount of value to customers -- that is, you, the exercising public. Yes, I say "our job" because what would life be without a special Musclefoundry e-course? Look for it soon :)
In the meantime, use your head when credit card is in hand. Buy with your head, not just your heart. And until next time: Be Strong, and Live Well.
If you enjoyed this article, please visit the musclefoundry.com store and consider purchasing any of the guaranteed, life-transforming products it offers!
