Can you trust the product recommendations on this site and its related blogs and newsletters to be unbiased? Ultimately, that’s your decision.
In the interest of helping you make an informed decision, I want you to know the following:
My personal guidelines for suggesting products
Most of the products I suggest are products I use personally. They are products I have found useful in building a business. In some cases, I suggest products I haven’t tested personally, but that colleagues whom I trust have used and recommend.
I include them to fill in gaps. I have certain strategies that I rely on heavily and others that I don’t use much.
So with strategies I don’t use much, I rely on the opinions of trusted colleagues. That way, you can get the benefit of a broader range of experience than I can provide alone.
In addition, I sometimes suggest an additional product as an alternative to the one that I regularly use. I do this only when I see a worthwhile feature that I feel might fit your situation better than the product I use.
For example, I may suggest a product that has a lower entry cost than the one I use. Or I may point out that a certain product works better for a certain business model than does the product that I use.
My connection to suggested products
That said, some of the products I suggest have affiliate programs from which I receive commissions when someone buys through my links.
I don’t attempt to hide that fact. Nor do I hesitate to accept commissions for helping people like you get tools that can make them far more money than what they paid for them.
I don’t recommend junk. I recommend only what I know can help. More about that later, though.
The commissions are essentially my paycheck for the time I put into sharing all the free tips I give you on my website and in my various newsletters. My job, so to speak, is to provide free information to you to help you start your business. Those commissions make it possible for me to devote that time to you.
The reality about recommended products on the web
I’m not alone in getting commissions on products. I estimate that about 80-90% of the reviews and recommendations you see online contain affiliate links or some other type of connection between the writer and the company.
It’s a fact of life online. The only difference between me and many of those other reviewers is that I let you know. Many others don’t.
I reject all product promotion offers that I receive
As I said before, I don’t recommend anything I don’t believe in personally. People notice my recommendations, though. That means that I regularly receive emails from product sellers, asking me to mention their products to my readers.
People offer me money to write sight-unseen recommendations of their product. I NEVER accept these offers. I recommend only those products I know and trust.
I reject all special deals that product sellers offer me
Similarly, product sellers often offer me a free copy of their product so I can review it without having to pay for it myself. I turn these offers down, too.
I obtain the products I review under the same terms and costs that my readers pay. That way I judge those products against the same costs that you face.
When a recommended product falls short, I withdraw my recommendation
I also pay attention the products I recommend after I’ve recommended them. I have downgraded my opinion of them, or stopped suggesting them entirely when I learn that the product no longer lives up to the high standards it had shown previously.
I want you to succeed with the tips and tools I share with you. If that means pulling a recommendation for a product that isn’t worth it to you, I pull the recommendation—no matter how profitable recommending that product is to me.
It is in my best interest for you to succeed
Ultimately, I want you to succeed at your business. Ultimately, it is in MY best interest to help YOU succeed.
Which way do I make more money—by suckering you into buying one thing that wasn’t worth what you paid for it? Or by proving myself to be a reliable source of information to whom you come back for recommendations again and again?
Any way you look at it, recommending junk just to make a quick buck hurts both you and me. That’s why I won’t do it.
Whether you choose to trust my opinion is up to you. At least now you have more information on which you can base your decision.
I warrant your results from any information on this site only as far as you are willing to put effort into it
Finally, I want you to know one more thing. Whatever tools you buy and whoever’s recommendation you buy them through, your results with them will be a direct result of the effort you put into using them.
Most new business owners invest in tools to start their business. Then they never take them any farther than that. They act as if just being in possession of some tool or training will magically bring lots of money into their bank account.
Understand this: tools are merely tools. You have to use them to get any good out of them. Just having a saw doesn’t cause your house to build itself. Just having business-building tools won’t cause a business to build itself, either.
Building a business is work. Don’t listen to the hype from ANY product seller that says that their tool or training will make you rich with little to no effort on your part.
Use whatever tools you have to build your business. Don’t just them just to collect static on your hard drive.
Make use of the free info I provide. Consider the recommendations I make from my experience earning a full-time living on the Internet since 2002.
And, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’m here to try to make the start of your business easier and more profitable for you.
