Stop Lying to Me

6 Comments

I’ve never met Ted, but I’m sure he’s a good guy. That being said, I wish he’d stop lying to me.

If you had visited Ted’s website for woodworking plans as I did on January 17, 2013, you would have seen this special, limited time offer.

January offer

Makes you feel special, right? I mean, Ted could be selling this for $497, but since he likes you and just launched this product, it’s only $67, but just for a limited time.

The funny thing is you can see in the archives that Ted has had this same offer for almost two years now. This screen shot is from May, 2011.

May, 2011 offer

Yup, good old Ted hasn’t updated this page in a long time but makes you feel like you have to act now. Maybe it’s the yellow highlight.

Scarcity and deadlines are marketing tactics that make you want to buy. But highlighting throughout your mile long page is an old school ploy used to push something that’s generally not remarkable enough to stand on its own.

Take a lesson from Ted: tell the truth. The pricing was never $497. It won’t end tomorrow.

Make your customers feel good about your product and themselves after the purchase. Old school marketing isn’t a great way to dress up something boring.

Posted on March 8, 2013

  • http://www.jmlalonde.com Joe Lalonde

    It’s so hard not to laugh at something like this. But maybe he meant three years. If you look at the archived version, it states that the offer will be closed anytime after February 2013… Hmmmm

  • http://bluecapra.com/about-me Alan Reeves

    Creating scarcity is a good idea but honesty is really the best policy.  It is hard to believe that people still do things like this but then again, it would be interesting to know how many people have fallen for it. If it works, it works but the hit on your reputation when it doesn’t is not worth it. 

    Why is it so hard for some people to tell the truth?  Just doesn’t make sense…

  • http://twitter.com/jcraiggraves Craig Graves

    Justin, that’s funny stuff!!!!  Thanks for calling it out.  I’ve bought marketing courses in the past and that’s what some teach.  And I’ve seen the same type of marketing and gone back months or years later and the same offer was still there.  I agree, just be honest!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1364766771 Jody Berkey

    I was just thing about this same topic the other day. I signed up for a free ebook on motivation for athletes and shared it with our half marathon training group as a good resource. The coach who wrote it and posted it listed the “investment price” at $99, but free with a sign up. What the heck! $99 for a fifty page ebook. It made me immediately question his credibility and honesty as a coach.

  • http://coachradio.tv/ Justin Lukasavige

    It’s a credibility killer here too, Jody. I’ve NOT bought a product I liked simply because of untruthful marketing.

  • http://www.laurenphelpscoaching.com/ Lauren Phelps

    Good catch! It reminds me of the classic As Seen on TV ads… JUST WAIT – Act Now.. How do they track the 5 minute timer for all time zones?? lol I agree with Jody. Credibility destroyed.