FUD
What is FUD? Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. Wikipedia defines it thus;
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (or FUD) is the appeal to fear in sales or marketing; in which a company disseminates negative (and vague) information on a competitor's product.
I've been seeing this more and more in sales pitches;
- Buy ABC product or you won't earn as much Adsense Income.
- Buy XYZ or you won't earn a great Affiliate Income.
- Buy DEF product as it's much more advanced than GHI product
- etc etc
It's all BS. Sellers who spread FUD have to rely on this as a sales aid because their product or service does not match the hype with which it is marketed.
A great salesman once said;
If you cannot praise a competitor, don't knock him.
I'm getting tired of seeing rank and file bloggers and A-list marketers knock products that they have not tried. I'm getting tired of seeing sales pages tell half-lies which spread FUD. I'm getting tired of seeing the constant BS that we are all exposed to as Information Buyers and Sellers.
It only takes 1 step to stop all the BS - a seller to start telling it "how it is" rather than "how it is to get a sale". And buyers to realise that nothing and no-one can make you any moeny except for yourself. If you buy a product, ANY product - you still need to put in the hours to make yourself a success. There are NO shortcuts, whatever anyone says.
Don't let FUD dictate what you do or don't do. That's the way to bankrupt yourself, both financially and morally.
Comment by Chance — October 18, 2006 @ 2:25 pm
Bravo!
Comment by Oli Allen — October 18, 2006 @ 6:05 pm
However, it does seem to work
From a non IM POV, consider the Firefox project…
Comment by Chance — October 18, 2006 @ 9:28 pm
I suppose its the difference between highlighting what you do better and talking trash about what the other guys do poorly.
They both send the same message, but one doesn't make you an jerk
Comment by Ron Jones — October 19, 2006 @ 1:06 am
As long as human nature seeks the push-button, lazy-man's way to "wealth with a single-bullet" theory, there will always be FUD built into sales letters.
I believe that those who are prone to grasp at magic beans are not really interested in building wealth. They are mere opportunity seekers chasing the "next big thing."
The principles of building wealth on the Internet (or anywhere else for that matter) have not changed.
1) Make a high quality product
2) Offer it to the market of customers who want what your product provides
3) Provide excellent service after the sale.
4) Keep in touch with your customers and prospects. Find out what they want
5) Repeat
Comment by burt — October 20, 2006 @ 9:24 am
I believe that you are 100% correct. It's probably 80/20 rule again. 80% of those who buy a product or service will never use it. Even me - I've got eBooks on my Hard Drive that I have never read. Shame isn't it.