Internet Marketer Speaks Out: SEO Linkvine Sucks…
May 15, 2010 by Big Internet Marketing
Filed under Product Reviews
I am becoming very upset with the hype and dress-up in the internet marketing world… especially when marketers I respect, such as Brad Callen, come out with turkeys such as SEOLinkVine.
Brad has had some great stuff over the years, such as Keyword Elite and KE2.0, Seo Elite, and a few more. Naturally, I expect this to be a good product as well.
Sadly, despite all my experience as a marketer, who can see through the hype of a sales page (because I am trained to create buzz and hype myself – but ALWAYS ethically in something I believe in), I really fell for this piece of junk. I mean, I took the bait… hook, line and sinker.
After making an effort with SEO LinkVine for a week or so, I requested a refund. And in the comments page, here’s how I motivated my refund request.
“Very SLOW. The application often hangs when switching between article viewing and article editing.
Also, too reliant on external input for success (i.e., your content must be “approved” manually by other webmasters). A week into the service I still had 28 pending requests for publishing. Sorry, but that’s just not my way of working. Software and services are supposed to speed things up… not slow them down.
I had exceptional quality content I had HAND written, and HAND coded the respin parameters to ensure readability, as well as uniqueness, yet still had articles turned down. The ToS states no reason has to be given, and you don’t know where your content goes (to protect privacy… which is BS, because one need only take a unique, unspun sequence from the article, and search for it in “” to see where it’s posted).
The spinner itself is abysmal. I have never worked with such an awful spinner. It finds very little to spin, and then suggests words that are for the most part entirely irrelevant. I have personally spent HOURS HAND CODING all my spinning, to ensure a good article… evidence the fact that that I have article uniqueness ranging from 64% to 72% – ALL preserving exceptional readability and flow.
Very disappointing. Slow, clunky, too reliant on outsiders, and the spinner is god awful. A real turkey.”
Now, I wonder what Brad would say about it. Actually, come to think of it… personally, I really don’t care. I don’t need SEOLinkVine. It’d have been handy, sure, if it lived up to the hype promised on the sales page. But I do just fine without.
So after a disappointing (and seriously overpriced) run with IMEye, from two otherwise brilliant marketers, now it’s the turn of Brad Callen and SEO LinkVine.
And I just don’t get it. As more and more people turn to the Internet to make money online, you’d figure “gurus” would make the effort to step up their game, creating
better and better products.
Alas, it seems they want to take the easy way out, create a turkey, and say, “Happy Thanksgiving” to newbies who don’t know any better. Kinda proves how much more polluted the (online marketing) world is becoming, with every passing day.
My advice? Don’t believe the hype. Always exercise due diligence. Look past the big numbers. Think how this can benefit you in YOUR context and in YOUR application of the product.
Lastly, don’t forget… it’s YOUR money, and who has the money makes the rules. Get that refund, if the product stinks.
-Josh Harris
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Howies Apprentice 6
May 13, 2010 by Big Internet Marketing
Filed under General
Have you ever seen the smash hit TV-series “The Apprentice”?
In the U.S., its star lead is none other than Donald Trump, while the U.K. version of “The Apprentice” is conducted by Sir Alan Sugar. Both of these men are billionaires, with a list of entrepreneurial successes that if you piled them up one on top of the other, they would go to the moon and back 16.82 times.
In “The Apprentice”, Trump and Sugar take on 12 highly ambitious, high-performance individuals who have something to prove. And that something is, “I am the best. I am so good that I CAN work for the Donald himself. All I need is a chance to show him.”
And do they ever need to pull out the very best they have in the deepest part of their resolve to impress Trump. They work long, they work hard, they are put on the spot with the unexpected, and EXPECTED to deal with it flawlessly… in a matter of moments. It comes down to split-second decisions, taking the lead (and sometimes being GIVEN the lead), closing the deals, and managing extremely pressured, on-the-spot situations.
Oh, and did I say you MUST produce the results? In a cost-effective way, too. No gray areas here. You have to win, and win BIG.
Getting any of these things wrong at any time can cost you “The Apprentice” position in the blink of an eye. And don’t forget, you’re also competing against another 11 hungry individuals who are just as motivated to take you out, even if they’re “on your team”. You want victory. And so do they. It’s brutal, at its best. But winning this is an achievement lasting a life-time. The online world is also very fortunate to have its own “The Apprentice” program. And thankfully, it’s nowhere near as mentally devastating as the TV version. Online, it’s with Howie Schwartz, and the program is Howie’s Apprentice 6.
Howie’s Apprentice 6 takes some of the most ambitious people on the ‘Net, who are monstrously hungry to create their own online marketing empire, and puts them through a grueling training program aimed at weeding out the men from the boys. The program is conducted by Howie Schwartz, of course, with the help of his personal project managers. These guys are the equivalent of the winners of Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” program. They’re the cream of the crop. And they are Howie-certified. They’re his OWN team.
And just like in the TV series, in Howie’s Apprentice 6 you are held fully accountable for the work that is given to you to do. If you don’t do anything, don’t expect anything to come out of it. Here, you have no choice. You DO it. You are pushed to work with your teams, to create the success you are seeking.
By using an online project management solution called “Basecamp”, the project managers in Howie’s Apprentice 6 track your work, provide feedback, help you along the way, and monitor your progress. This alone is enough to cure the biggest affliction that is plaguing would-be online marketing entrepreneurs: lack of taking action. Some people don’t take action because they have no clear idea of what to do. They would love nothing more than to have a plan to follow, a proven system, and then use it to pave their way to success. Howie’s Apprentice 6 boasts 5 past editions of highly successful online entrepreneurs who have built their own profitable operations, as a result of the training and knowledge they acquired in Howie’s Apprentice.
The material is there, the method is there. It works. The proof isn’t so much in the pudding, as much as it is in the bank. It’s as simple as that.
Then we have the people who don’t take action because they are not accountable to anyone. They’re fine with buying a $97 ebook, or spending money on a very good, proven $1,497 course that has made money for everyone who’s used it properly… and then do nothing with it. We can’t understand it, really.
So, we have good news for these people. Howie’s Apprentice 6 will get you off your duff, and get you cracking… because now, you ARE answering to someone. Don’t think you can show up without the work being done. If you want results, then you better get moving. Howie and his project managers will see to that.
Lastly, there is one major benefit that makes the difference between “The Apprentice” and Howie’s Apprentice 6. If you win “The Apprentice”, you’re working for the Donald. Awesome! But… you’re still working for someone, even if it IS Trump. Who needs the pressure, the corporate stress, the 18 hour days? No way dude, we got into online marketing to make money and have FREEDOM!
After Howies Apprentice 6, this is more than ever a reality. The knowledge acquired, the performance mentality taken on, and the exclusive tools you will continue to have access to will serve you many times, over and over again, as you make that apprenticeship the most valuable experience you ever had.
In many ways, Howie’s Apprentice 6 is more than just training. It’s more like on the job training. It’s truly an apprenticeship, and after having already seen 5 Howie’s Apprentices dish out winners, there really isn’t a more appropriate name for the program.
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