The Salty Droid dropped a bombshell this week by publishing select portions of a private phone call between Andy Jenkins and Jeff Walker in which they say some things that are not especially flattering for their public image.
I guess it could be argued that “all PR is good PR,” but in this case I have my doubts. Here’s the recording, in case you’d like to hear it.
Andy Jenkins and Jeff Walker Riff About the
Video Boss Launch, Salty Droid and Ken McCarthy
In case you don’t have 7 minutes right now, or you’d rather not be exposed to the swearing, here are a few of the highlights:
Audio Highlight #1
- “The fact is, [Video Boss] is not a magic bullet, even though we’re going to position some of it that way.” -Andy Jenkins
My comment: Not a good idea to intentionally overhype your product or consciously deceive your customers. Even worse to admit to it on a recorded call.
Audio Highlight #2
- “I’m going to be relying on Syndicate to hit this thing really, really hard.” -Andy Jenkins
My comment: This call is from circa January 2010, so The Syndicate has been around at least since then.
Audio Highlight #3
- “The Droid I’m sure will go ballistic, but he’ll go ballistic no matter what you do. [...] He is like a little pimple on our butt. He has no reach, never will have any reach, will blow himself up. He’s non-existent. He’s less a threat to us than Mike Long was. Far less a threat to us than Ken McCarthy.” -Jeff Walker
My comment: Salty Droid has no reach? That was wishful thinking even in January 2010. (His current Alexa ranking is 18,303.) And is Ken McCarthy more dangerous than the Droid? Possibly. More on that in a minute.
Audio Highlight #4
- “Just think about this, like, with the Droid. He’s saying we’re evil because we’re charging a lot of money for our product. And that’s why we’re evil. Which is like the most ridiculous thing because it’s not like we’re like holding someone at gunpoint and saying ‘give us your money.’” -Jeff Walker
My comment: I don’t think Salty Droid’s crusade is based on charging high prices (although that may be part of it). I think it has far more to do with the anticompetitive behavior of The Syndicate, which is essentially an Internet marketing cartel — a “good ol’ boys club.”
Is Ken McCarthy More of a Threat Than Salty Droid?
During the call, Andy and Jeff mention Ken as an even greater threat than Salty Droid. This has prompted a lot of people to ask, “Who is Ken McCarthy? And what is his part in all this?”
In case you’ve never heard of Ken McCarthy before, he has been teaching Internet marketing since 1994, longer than just about anybody else online. He is also the creator of the System Seminar, an annual Internet marketing training event.
Many of today’s gurus got their first chance to speak on stage at the System Seminar. As Ken points out, “Some did good things with the opportunity. Some leveraged the exposure into criminal enterprises which I’ve had nothing to do with.”
It’s not always easy to judge a person’s character when you first meet them. Sometimes you may know a person for a few years and still not really know them. So as soon as Ken realized some of the shady things going on, he warned his subscribers. Here’s what Ken says in his own words:
1. I was one of the very first people to teach Internet marketing and thousands of people learned from me…
2. Including many of the people who became members of the Syndicate.
3. When I realized what they were up to I very publicly warned my students and customers to avoid them, thus earning the Syndicate’s undying enmity.
So why is Ken considered a threat? Probably because of his credibility and his reach. If he really wanted to, he could make life miserable for the Syndicate.
Even if he could, it’s probably not necessary. After all, for nearly two years now, the Salty Droid has been wearing the mantle of “Chief Internet Marketing Muckraker.” And since his most recent post…
The Gurus Are Now Distancing Themselves from… Themselves!
Regardless of whether or not Ken McCarthy is the bigger threat, Salty Droid’s most recent sleuthing seems to have caused the usual suspects quite a bit of consternation. In fact, at least two of them have now written blog posts trying to recast themselves as paragons of virtue.
- Mike Filsaime has published a post outlining his “best practices” that will now govern who he will (and will not) promote. (I find this post a little bit suspect since it seems to me that Mike has in the past repeatedly violated his own best practices.)
- Frank Kern has published a post challenging his subscribers to not buy any advice for a month. (According to one source, Frank then emailed his list to promote the Kajabi launch a few days later.)
Even Rich Schefren, who hasn’t promoted major launches the last couple years, felt compelled to send out an email to his list explaining why he no longer associates with the Syndicate.
But Here’s the Strangest Part…
Probably one of the weirdest parts of all this is that Mike Filsaime publicly said he would “address” Salty Droid and essentially set things straight. He stated this on his “best practices” post linked above. But then, for some strange reason, he had second thoughts and deleted all references to Salty Droid/Jason Jones.
For the record, here are two of the things Mike said publicly on his blog:
Jason Jones is a sad human being and I pitty him. And you for following him. I will deal with him soon. Jason Jones will finally hear from me. Now go run to his hate blog and warn him about me. I will expose him for the low life he his. Go now minion, go run to your powerful OZ. Jason Jones, you reading this. Get your costume on and make your post. It’s my turn. A sad human being will now be seen for what he is.
And in a separate place:
Minions of Jason Jones. I have spent the better part of the day talking to the 5% of you that are coming from his blog to try to spin this and trash me as you stated you would on his blog. We had good comments coming from people. All of a sudden a minion posted my blog on his blog and you are all coming here now to trash talk the same things you are saying there. As I said, this week I will address Jason and his hate confused followers.
Then, on the night of October 5, 2010, Mike revised his blog post and all mentions of Jason Jones mysteriously vanished into cyberspace. Even Google cache can’t find them (although they are still reproduced in the comments on Salty’s blog). Here’s what SD wrote:
The Gnome just deleted all his references to “Jason Jones” and turned off commenting. [...] I’ll still be expecting that big expose Gnome :: I wouldn’t want you to disappoint all your fans :: you rockstar you.
So is Mike’s rebuttal still on its way? Who knows. At the very least, it appears it will be delayed. [UPDATE: I stand corrected. Mike has responded, just not on his own blog. He has responded on Mike Young's blog (post now deleted, but found on a different blog): 8 Things You Should Know About Mike Filsaime]
Anyway… What do you think? Is the Salty Droid a real threat to The Syndicate? Or, as Walker puts it, is the Droid simply a “little pimple on [their] butt”? Leave a comment to add your two cents.
-Ryan M. Healy
About Ryan M. Healy
Ryan Healy is a direct response copywriter. Since 2002, he has worked with scores of clients, including BoostCTR, Alex Mandossian, Terry Dean, and Pulte Homes. He writes a popular blog about copywriting, advertising, and business growth, has been featured in publications like Feed Front magazine, and is a regular contributor to WordStream.com, BoostCTR.com, and MarketingForSuccess.com.
I've tried a number of link cloaking solutions through the years. None of them provided me with what I wanted. But thanks to Michel Fortin, I discovered a new link cloaking and link tracking service that I’ve fallen in love with! Read My Review Here » |
{ 83 comments }
You’re doing wonders for the IM community Ryan, we need more people like you!
Can I ask why Mike Long is a threat to them?
Is it because with the rich jerk he nearly messed up the IM “name” so to speak? Like salty is ruining the image of the IM space.
Thank you. :-)
I’m not sure about Mike Long. At one time, Frank Kern positioned him as the real genius behind a handful of early product launches. But there must have been some kind of falling out at some point. Not sure why.
This is really sad. And I am thankful for people of integrity like Ken McCarthy . . . and you.
This is really sad. And I am thankful for people of integrity like Ken McCarthy . . . and you.
It is sad, actually. I’ve looked up to a lot of these guys for years.
Holy cow man. I’ve thought this sort of stuff was going on for years. Salty is pretty brutal but just to wade to the middle of all the hype and pure lies requires a pretty big hammer.
Thank you for publishing this Ryan.
Holy cow man. I’ve thought this sort of stuff was going on for years. Salty is pretty brutal but just to wade to the middle of all the hype and pure lies requires a pretty big hammer.
Thank you for publishing this Ryan.
I try to be more like a reporter — avoid the ad hominem attacks — and just let the facts speak for themselves.
Rick, didn’t you sell Mike Filsaime your business at one time?
This is exactly why I won’t touch anything Andy Jenkins puts out. He lost me with stompernet magazine.
It’s all coming back around…IM marketing culture has spiraled out of control and since the internet as a medium is still young and there’s a lot of evolution ahead (Google TV) the completed cycles so far are small.
Back when the dot-com boom hit the stock market, Warren Buffett sat the fad out. Some referred to Buffett as “washed-up” and incapable of embracing “the next big thing.”
Today, Buffett remains one of the wealthiest men on the planet and those naysayers lost their shirts.
Salty isn’t Warren Buffett, but if he maintains his position, the internet footprint his work will leave will certainly drag the Syndicate’s margins down drastically over time.
The footprint will last a long time. He already ranks well for a lot of names. People who do their research will probably eventually find Salty Droid.
I unsubscribed from all the syndicate lists a couple of months ago, and now my email is actually usable and mostly pitch free!
Usable email is nice, eh? :-)
Does this mean they don’t beat their wives or they can stop now?
Proof you don’t have to be very bright to make it online.
Great post. Wonderful video editing on the droid’s part. What can you say when you hear things like this? I unsubscribed from all those guys a long time ago — just had a “bad” feeling. They do have some good ideas/talent/genius. Really sad if they just got greedy. I know how hard it is to run an honest business — and how tempting it can be to do start doing “little manipulations” which would inevitably lead to more.
You wrote: “They do have some good ideas/talent/genius.”
I agree. For instance, Kajabi is a fantastic idea. Really brilliant. I just don’t trust Andy based on what I’ve observed.
When you hear them talk on this phone call, it’s like they feel way too much power.
But what gives them this power, the buyer, can also take that power away.
Is this some messed-up PR stunt? Did they (Andy and Jeff) eat one too many feel good mushrooms? I dunno…but as Grandpa always used to say…
“What goes around, comes around.” :)
Great “expose” Ryan “The IM Insider” Healy
Thanks for the comment, Joe. Good point about feeling too much power.
For the record, what I’ve reported here (and in other posts) is only what’s already been reported elsewhere. Things that have been revealed privately stay private.
So even though I do have some “insider” info, I prefer to think of myself as an aggregator. :-)
Ryan
Point taken… good aggregating then :)
Filsaime’s response is posted at http://mikeyounglaw.com/internet-lawyer/mike-filsaime-interview/
Mike – Just updated my blog post with a link to your blog. Sent you a trackback.
Hello Ryan,
Thanks for the “fun mushrooms” after a long AM grind. :-)
Great syndication of “syndicate” content from one damn fine editor, Salt.
Thank you, Lawrence. :-)
You are amazing.
You are amazing.
You are amazing.
I actually didn’t even know about these laws until a couple months ago. Makes me very cautious about trying to create and sell any kind of “biz opp” product.
I’m going to do something completely shocking and agree with Markus Allen. That mention of McCarthy doesn’t have anything to do with integrity … and I fear that it’s just going to be another instance of Ryan being disappointed.
I could be wrong — just haven’t seen anything compelling to make me change my mind on Ken. Has he made errors in judgment? Certainly. But so have I.
I know absolutely ZERO about Ken so I can’t comment on him overall…but that post referenced above is 4 years old. I certainly thought “the Syndicate” were still good guys back then as well…we all make mistakes.
I know absolutely ZERO about Ken so I can’t comment on him overall…but that post referenced above is 4 years old. I certainly thought “the Syndicate” were still good guys back then as well…we all make mistakes.
Guess AJ is relying upon The Syndicate to hit that Kajabi thing really, really hard…
I agree, Kajabi looks like a brilliant tool, but who would trust their CMS and business data to these guys?
Ryan Healy :: PG version of Salty Droid ::
AJ probably has a list now since the Video Boss launch. But I’m sure the success of Kajabi hinges largely on affiliate promotions.
You wrote: “Frank Kern has published a post challenging his subscribers to not buy any advice for a month. (According to one source, Frank then emailed his list to promote the Kajabi launch a few days later.)”
His post is merely a mental set-up for Kajabi – which is a service. His rant about taking action and using what you already have fits in neatly with the marketing message for Kajabi.
It looks as if they might be moving away from straight biz ops and transitioning into biz op tools and services. But that remains to be seen.
Re: Ken McCarthy – I don’t know the guy but recently I had a friend lend me his Copywriting Course on CD’s which I listened to. It was the worst copywriting course I have ever listened to. I would have been seriously pissed if I paid for it.
And anyone like McCarthy that is constantly trying to say or imply he’s morally superior than his competitors is playing (marketing) to people that resonate with that BS. He’s a wolf trying to “baaaaaa” in my opinion and having known my fair share of wolves – my opinion has a good chance of being fact.
Great observations about Frank’s set up for pushing Kajabi. Makes total sense.
Was just reviewing some old posts… When I asked for nominations of trustworthy Internet marketers last January, the two most-mentioned names were Ken McCarthy and Terry Dean. Here’s the link to that post:
http://www.ryanhealy.com/nominate-internet-marketer/
What’s interesting to read is WHY people nominated certain individuals.
I never did write the post I intended to, but I might still write it at some point.
Ryan,
First, thanks for your take on this. I had seen Salty’s original post and it just reaffirmed what’s actually going on.
I for one was struck by the sheer arrogance of it all. Instead of creating a product that meets a need and solves a problem, the approach is this:
let’s start with our price points and funnel and fill things in as we go along.
Ughhhhh….
As far as Ken McCarthy goes, I know Ken and I’ve spoken at a few System events over the years. I haven’t had any contact with him lately. I do know there are certain “firsts” that he likes to hang his hat on, and even if true, they sometimes rub people the wrong way.
Hey Marc,
I didn’t know you were still around. Just looked at your site and was quite interesting – especially the Google News info.
Paul,
Still around, but doing more in corporate marketers than IM. I like to support my fellow colleagues like Ryan that are willing to take a stand. That inspired me to do the same which you referenced in your comment. Thanks for the kind words.
You’re welcome, Marc. Thanks for reading and commenting here. :-)
I’ve been reading all your Google Red Carpet posts… still thinking how I can promote those posts.
Really enjoying the new soap, “Days of Our Internet Marketing Lives”.
Brilliant. Pass the popcorn.
I’m with you Kyle.
Definitely enjoying the drama. Is that bad?
Heck, it beats watching Twilight with my girlfriend again and again.
(Don’t tell her I said that.)
But reminds me a little of Star Wars.
Might be Salty Droid’s fault! Cute little droid. lol.
The problem with Star Wars was that the bad guys were soooo damn cool.
Am I the only one that wanted Luke to join the dark side?
I mean, I’m all for the gray side!
But as a comic genius once said “Ain’t no ***bleepin gray side Luke!”
When Luke asks muppet Yoda which side is more powerful…
And he goes silent…
You kinda get the feeling that Salty Droid and Ryan are outgunned!
They are, as Jeff and Andy might now say, “Rebel Scum!”
Okay, that was my nerdfest for the day.
Maybe Ben Settle will stop by and get a kick out of it.
But this video is definitely food for though. (Thank you Ryan!)
What I will say is that Jeff, Andy, and Kern put out solid products.
I worry that hunting them down like vampires and staking them in the heart will lead to more rules and regulations that will do nothing but hurt the little guy.
(Soon we won’t even be able to sell without a lawyer if this keeps up!)
I see no need to protect people from spending their money.
But keeping them informed is probably a good thing!
Courney said: “I worry that hunting them down like vampires and staking them in the heart will lead to more rules and regulations that will do nothing but hurt the little guy.”
The exact opposite is true, Courtney. The scorched earth from the magnitude of all this will make it IMPOSSIBLE for the government to ignore. That is exactly what brought about the most recent FTC crackdown.
Additionally, there is the massively growing number of wounded consumers who will now doubt YOU and balk at paying anything significant for what you offer…all because of your “predecessors.”
This is EVERYBODY’S problem. It can’t…and shouldn’t…be ignored.
Fantastic insight, Don. Your comment is one of the most lucid remarks I’ve seen in a long time.
The gurus who are abusing the system make it harder for smaller companies and individuals who are offering true value to their customers for a fair price, and without making over the top and unattainable promises that will never come true, to stay in business.
People only need to get burned a few times until they come to the point where they say, “No more! I’m not buying anymore! They are ALL the same! They only care about taking my money, and not helping me! I’ll be damned if they get another cent out of me!”
The reason the FTC cracked down on fake blogs and over the top testimonials was because the testimonials were being used to manipulate people into buying decisions they never would have made without the misrepresentations. The gurus are still doing just that in order to fleece as many people as will listen using whatever means necessary.
Stopping the manipulation and preventing it in the future will go a long way toward making a more level playing field. After all, when there is a level playing field if all you have is hype and inflated promises, people will pick up on that pretty quickly and you’ll be out of business before you realize it.
One of the most telling things about the gurus is that in many cases they don’t even use what they are selling. That is one of the clearest examples of the disregard most (if not all) of the gurus have for their customers.
Thanks for the insightful posts, Don.
Good post, Ryan.
I really haven’t followed IM that much in the last 3 years or so, except when someone decides to go into the self-help game and teach a bunch of get-rich-quick crap.
As for Salty, I wish Salty Droid’s blog had been around earlier. When I was trying to learn copywriting, it was almost impossible to find any information on the particular gurus. Kilstein was out there. I tried finding info. on the guy, but all you could find was guru after guru endorsing the guy. But after a teleseminar (you know the one) when he was pitching his mentoring program, I started feeling totally ripped off, especially after asking for an endorsement after his decent first call. Maybe, people liked his mentoring program, but I felt like he wasted almost 2 hours of my time pitching me something. That feeling persisted and I discovered Salty’s blog when STILL looking for info on the guy a couple of years later! Sometimes, I just can’t shake a feeling.
Luckily, I stumbled into Fortin’s stuff, which I still regard well, mostly because it was actually teaching about writing copy and not a Biz OP disguised as a copywriting course. Don’t you find it odd that most IM courses don’t teach you much about how to market? I don’t want “systems†I want skills. But if you’re actually taught skills, you may not buy another “courseâ€.
I don’t know about “The Syndicate”. I got the feeling that there were probably lots of mini-syndicates running around and Salty doesn’t have the time to bust them all. What really got me to stop following IM was when you could see guys one week asking how to write headlines and then the next week promoting their new copywriting course–endorsed by one of those gurus!
I got the idea that that was the norm, not the exception.
Thanks for the comment, Carlon.
That’s a great point about the difference between systems and skills. Would probably be a great blog post.
For me, systems rarely work because there’s always at least one part of the system that clashes with my personality or how I like to do things. Systems don’t take into account individual preferences, variances, etc.
But skills… that’s another story.
I used to respect you, but not any longer. Salty Droid is ilndeed determined to brilng everyone down to his level. I read his “material,” and your comments on Andy and Jeff. I don’t know your beef with them, but it’s pretty obvious. Anyone can distort normal conversations to appear to be criminal actions.
I got Frank’s e-mail and agree with the comments he made. Kajabi is not a “training system” as I see it. Yes, it could be used as one, but it isn’t. I do agree that there appears to be a “I want mine, and everyone else take the hindmost” attitude developing. Primarily appearing as “tear others down, so I look good.” It makes it easy for me to drop off of lists.
No problem — you’re entitled to call things as you see them. Although your opinion would be more credible if you used a name other than “Fbngraph.”
As “obvious” as it may be to you, I actually don’t have any “beef” with Andy, Jeff, Frank or Mike. I’ve actually spent thousands of dollars with Jeff, Frank and Mike (that’s thousands each, not combined) — and in some cases I’ve gotten good value.
I read Frank’s post and thought it was exceptionally well written. But I usually like what he writes anyway.
“Fbngraph” is from the land of “cover up.” You could always try earning an honest living, “Fbngraph,” then you wouldn’t have to worry about word getting around. The evidence speaks for itself, even if you would prefer that it didn’t exist.
I have 891,229 reasons to have a beef with Brad Fallon and Andy Jenkins…
… That’s how much they owed affiliates (according to the last year’s internal spreadsheet allegedly provided to the court in Atlanta, Georgia):
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ao_FNCMyLsNXdE8xTkN5czJFUXhXcTdXRVctUmZVNUE&hl=en&pli=1#gid=0
Let me repeat this for the blind or hard of thinking… “the most successful IM launch in history” failed to pay their affiliates to the tune of a whopping $891,228.67.
Guess who did get paid? Frank Kern (look at cell H:86 in the spreadsheet above). I understand just 4 others got paid, too… but every other affiliate got the shaft.
But get this… when Brad Fallon reappeared as CEO of Stompernet, he wrote the oddest affiliate pitch I’ve ever seen… basically saying if you didn’t promote the new and improved Stompernet, you weren’t going to get paid back commissions. What a charming fellow he is.
This is one of many beefs I have with these piece-of-filth criminals. It sickens me to no end when I see these failures flaunting their new-found wealth with commissions owed to us.
They tell us to “just do it”… I guess that’s code for “just rip people off and get away with it.” Swell.
Sorry… I ain’t buying this “think positive” crap… these colossal failures owe millions and millions of dollars to both affiliates and vendors — and get away with it because shouting from the mountaintops is “being negative”. Hey Oprah and Deepak Chopra… bite me with your new age nonsense.
Good point about all those unpaid affiliate commissions.
Although since I wasn’t ripped off personally, I can’t say I have a beef with them. Although I bet a lot of people do.
I used to think Ryan Healy was a good Christian. But now that I see he supports hate blogs, I have changed my mind.
The whole SD blog leverages the same tools as the National Enquirer and mob mentality.
I thought you were better than that Ryan. May God forgive you.
“Now?” You’re really late to the game. I linked to Salty Droid more than a year ago.
But a link doesn’t constitute total support or explicit endorsement either. I linked to Frank and Mike’s blog above. Does that mean I support them?
If you thought I was a “good Christian,” you probably don’t know much about Christianity. I’ve been kicked out of church and some Christians have gotten seriously angry at me for spreading the word that the Bible teaches the ultimate salvation of ALL people. You can read my letter at:
http://www.SecretEvangel.com
Nice attempt though at trying to discredit me.
I find that people trying to use your religion to discredit you is despicable.
Indeed.
At best, it’s an Ad Hominem Tu Quoque fallacy. At worst, it’s just childish name-calling.
Either way, these attacks on Ryan’s faith are completely un-Biblical (see Matthew 18:15).
I’ll also add distasteful, ugly and pathetic to the mix.
If Ryan H. is incorrect in his allegations, show us the facts and do so in a rational manner. Doing otherwise is destroying YOUR credibility.
Dear Friend:
“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.” Matthew 18:15 (NIV)
By the way, one nice thing about Disqus is that you can click on a person’s profile to see what comments they’ve left in the past… and where.
For instance, go click on “Joe’s” profile above, the guy who criticizes me for “supporting a hate blog.”
You’ll find gems like these:
“cleanse america of mexicans”
Source: http://motherjones.com/media/2010/01/9500-liberty-immigration
“Sorry, I was checking out the Asian girl boobs. Don’t care about the site. Just boobs.”
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/23/nyc-startup-catchafire-org-launches-site-to-match-skilled-volunteers-and-charities/#comment-80403810
Anyway… his comment on this blog appears increasingly suspect.
Awesome tip, Ryan. I didn’t realize that.
You’re welcome. :-)
Ever since I started using Disqus, it’s cut down on all the anonymous garbage comments you find on a lot of blogs.
It looks like “Joe” is actually Joe Pederson. He left a comment over on Mike Young’s blog that’s almost identical to the comment he left here. Link:
http://mikeyounglaw.com/internet-lawyer/mike-filsaime-interview/comment-page-1/#comment-12871
Ryan, once again, I am appreciating your fine work. And on today’s post on the ‘droid, you are called by name for making these guys unhappy. Keep on, brother. For every one of these people saying “Oh, I used to like you Ryan” I am sure you’re picking up many more folks from the other side of this argument.
Thanks for the encouragement. :-)
Looks like they are talking about you in the latest droid video Ryan!
Yes – I hear they gave me a good compliment, too! ;-)
Oh I love it …. Ha Ha! People say I have a bully attitude because I expose these losers and posers on forums. I think they attack me because they know I am right about these losers… lol
It looks like the latest syndicate video was linked on SEOBook.com today; that’s a top 1,000 Alexa-rated site (Top 500) within the USA.
This is truly becoming epic.
It’s a good post. I tweeted it just a little while ago. Here’s the link for anybody else who would like to read it.
“Inside Voices, Please”
http://www.seobook.com/inside-voices-please/
I feel like I’m in high school again :)
The “cool kids” are hated, the nerds are brushed off, and the stoners are…still smoking.
Let’s face it, there is despicable behavior and characters in any business. Some IMers (all?) prey on potential customers’ emotions. I guess it’s when the top dogs start acting like assholes that it really gets ugly.
I personally have pledged to unsubscribe from all IM marketing lists. I don’t need the constant distractions. If I want to read something from one of them, I go to their sites.
And that Google Red Carpet guy…and all those promoting it…wow.
Speaking of that “Google Red Carpet” vapor, Ryan’s earlier post here addresses that sort of thing perfectly:
http://www.ryanhealy.com/short-term-marketing-tactics/
Ryan: You continue to impress.
Thank you, Don. And thanks for your comments, too.
Agreed! I subscribe to no guru list, I buy none of their junk products (unless I want to test and post the truth on my forum so newbies can see the light), I follow none of them, I really do not care what new shiny object they come out with. If they relied upon me to make their living they would be broker than they are now.
I find ignoring them (but still exposing the truth) and working on my business is better for me, my business, and my members…
James
Excellent work Ryan. This type of expose has been a long time coming and I’m glad these sneaky guru types have been caught on tape and “outed” so publicly.
At least now people get a chance to hear/see what really goes on behind the scenes.
Hopefully none of these guys ever gets to launch anything profitable ever again.
Thank you. It’s not too hard to put together an expose when there’s so much information that’s becoming publicly available. :-)
Congrats Ryan, you got a mention right alongside the Droid.
You’re quite dishonest Markus and not that bright.
Ken’s post was in 2006. That was four years ago. StomperNet is five years old, so how is a 2006 endorsement “years after” he swore them off.
You had dinner with Ken and he “stole hours of your time.” Really?
He told you he put Netscape on the map. Really?
He did that dozens of times over the course of two dinners. Really?
That’s quite a unique experience you had with him.
This reply sounds a LOT like Ken McCarthy himself.
It’s a shame you have to use a fake name to reply to me if you are indeed Ken.
John Lennon would have been 70 years old today.
He didn’t know the Syndicate, but in this song “Freeda People” you’d think he knew them:
“We understand your paranoia
But we don’t want to play your game
You think you’re cool and know what you are doing
666 is your name
So while you’re jerking off each other
You better bear this thought in mind
Your time is up you better know it
But maybe you don’t read the signs”
- John Lennon
Great video, Ryan. Thanks for digging that one up.
Watch this speech: Leo Burnett – “When to take my name off the door”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WUxb8YB88o&feature=player_embedded
Compare & contrast with the Syndicate,
Great post. I`ve been following SD for quite some time now.
What a shit show!
With that being said, I too have purchased and spent thousands
with Jeff , Eben and Frank.
Some of their stuff is actually really good.
But its always once you start looking under the surface of the tiles,
that you see all the mold.
On the unpaid affiliates note, watch out for peeps who sell stuff using infusionsoft.
Why?
Because infusionsoft only gives these merchants a spreadsheet
of who they SHOULD pay.
They don’t do the actual paying themselves, they leave that up
to the merchants.
Now, on that note I feel a need to bring up;
Amish Shah and his Magic Bullet Launch.
Which, Frank Kern did the launch actually,
but anyways…
On with unpaid affiliate commissions…
Check this out:
http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/4061/screenhunter06oct121620.gif
Now, granted I was paid about 400 bucks, like 6 months ago.
The refund period is well over.
And I have yet to see the rest of what is owed to me.
I know 400 bucks is a drop in the hat compared to the
800 thousand something that Andy Jenkins is reported not to have paid.
But come on!
400 dollars is rent to a lot of people.
And really, it just exposes the integrity and moral standing of these people.
Both frank kern and jeff walker were students of Ken McCarthy. Ken also did a product on selling with physical products with andy jenkins and brad fallon. Their must have been a fall out at some point. Ken is a great teacher and when I attended his system seminar in 2009 it was a breath of fresh air. The quality of information was really high as was the networking opportunities. Perry Marshall and Glen Livingston were in attendence as well.
Character — a well-positioned character — is critical. I think that’s true even of companies like Bottom Line that use a spokesperson. (Bottom Line uses Martin Edelsten, the founder and publisher.)
I used to get TJ’s direct mail back when I was on all the biz-opp lists. Never bought from him, although I was sorely tempted at the time.
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