UPDATE: This review is now outdated, and I do NOT recommend this product any longer. Additionally, the feedback I received from my readers who purchased this product was generally negative. Apparently the sellers did not deliver what was promised. I initially supported this product after attending their live presentation in Vegas, which in my opinion was high quality. I even went so far as to defend it in some of my comments below. But these guys let me down, so I’m sorry I recommended it. I am leaving this review here for informational purposes only. I have removed links to their site from this review.
12/09/2008
While we’ve seen a handful of “big” product launches in the Internet Marketing arena in 2008, this one will probably be remembered as the biggest.
It’s got a bigger “hook” ($100k a day) and more gurus promoting it than anything I’ve ever seen.
So before I jump into the nitty gritty, let me make a few things clear…
1) I was at the Vegas “invite only” event, where they unveiled Arbitrage Conspiracy. No I didn’t pay $10k to be there, but I could see why they would have charged that much.
2) There is no way to review the product in its entirety, because it’s going to be a 12 week course. In other words, no one has actually “seen” the product. So I can only base this review upon the content that was presented in Vegas, combined with what they are saying the product is going to be.
3) Everyone at the Vegas event signed an NDA, so I can’t reveal many of the details. However, some of the details have now been made public by the makers of the product, so I can talk about those things. Also, I am certainly able to give you my opinions about the content I received in Vegas, without revealing specifics.
OK, so I’m actually going to start with the bottom line, and then I’m going to go into more depth to justify my opinion…
Bottom line: I am fully recommending the Arbitrage Conspiracy product/program for anyone who understands what it’s about and is interested in scaling their PPC campaigns to high levels.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let me tell you the good, the bad, and how I came to my conclusion.
In case you’re not yet familiar with the Arbitrage Conspiracy story, and the characters behind it, let me fill you in…
It’s about a guy named Aymen (last name withheld), who is reportedly making between $50k-$100k per day NET profit using PPC (pay per click). His main method is promoting offers from CPA (cost per action/acquisition) networks which pay per lead generated.
Aymen works with two other guys on this business, one of whom is a partner in the business. They have requested to remain anonymous, but I did meet one of them in Vegas. He was a very nice Christian guy… I wish I could tell you more about him, as he is proof positive that this business can be conducted with integrity.
The guy who is essentially “bringing” the Arbitrage Conspiracy to the world is Brad Fallon, a recognizable name in the Internet Marketing world. You may know him from such things as StomperNet, Free IQ, etc.
The first question a lot of people may have is… is this for real? After all, $100k per day is a lot, right?
And IF it’s real… then why would Aymen be revealing his methods to the world?
To answer the first question, I will say yes it’s real. I’ve seen their commission statements with my own eyes. But more than that, it’s really not as unbelievable as a lot of people may think. There are a lot of people making that much money; there are just not very many who are teaching how to do it.
A couple months ago, a product was launched by a guru who made $2 Million last year from PPC. It was touted as the greatest PPC revelation of all time. Now these guys come along who are making more than that every month. It’s only a matter of time before the next PPC guru comes along and says he’s making over $1M per day. The Internet IS that big, and it will happen.
To answer the second part of the question (why would he teach it?) is a little more complicated. The most frequent answer you’ll likely find is: because he wants to give back.
I’m sure that’s true, as Aymen and his associates are nice guys… but this obviously isn’t merely a philanthropic endeavor. After all, there are plenty of ways to give back to the world, other than revealing your trade secrets to your competitors.
The obvious ulterior motive is to make more money selling the program. And with a launch of this magnitude, plenty of money will be made.
The other ulterior motive (although publicly mentioned by Amen in an interview) may be less obvious: Aymen is starting a CPA network and wants to train an army of super affiliates to promote his offers.
So hopefully that satisfies everyone’s desire for a reason why.
Now, the most important part…
Can they really teach you how to replicate their success?
Yes, I believe they can. When I produced The Next Internet Millionaire, I learned from Kris Jones (founder of PepperJam), that a successful Internet business can be built in three steps:
1) Find something that works. (period)
2) Replicate it. (period)
3) Scale it. (period)
It’s an ancient formula, and it’s been applied by many people to PPC since its inception. For example, Kris made $1M in one year from PPC arbitrage before starting the Pepperjam Network to scale his business to the next level.
So the CONCEPT is not new. All Aymen has done is taken a successful PPC model (developed largely by his own trial and error), replicated it, and scaled it into a $100k/day business.
And generally speaking, the business model is not new either. In fact, PPC arbitrage has been one of the most taught methods in this niche for the past several years. There are countless ebooks on ClickBank teaching it (I was initiated into it by Chris Carpenter’s Google Cash ebook years ago).
So what’s different about this?
It really comes down to the specific combination of tools and techniques that they are using to thrive in today’s market. Research is fundamental to their success.
Aymen and his team are truly on the bleeding edge of technology as it applies to their business. They have formulated a systematic approach to research, PPC implementation, landing pages, conversion, and every other element.
They’ve been able to leverage their system to the point that they only work part time (a few hours a day) in order to achieve the results they are getting. In my opinion, that’s impressive!
Their system is so good that it caused virtually everyone in attendance (including myself) to drop their jaws in awe of what they had presented to us.
OK so now it’s time for me to tell you what I DON’T like…
This is somewhat difficult to say, because I don’t want to tick off my friends who are launching this product. However, if I didn’t say it, this wouldn’t be Eric’s Tips. 🙂 If all I said were the same things as all the other “gurus” then you might was well unsubscribe from my newsletter right now, because you obviously don’t need more of the same hype.
I have a problem with the way they are positioning the course for newbies. For example, these are the top 3 bullet points on their current landing page:
“How he got started with a mere $50!”
“How to get completely set up and open for business in 24 hours!”
“How To Make Massive profits with No Website, No Product and No List”
I understand that a newbie can follow this system, but I do not believe those points are representative of the course as a whole. Although the business is fairly simplistic in nature (buy clicks to earn profits), I think their systems are more complex than they may realize.
Yes, Aymen got started with $50, but he also spent millions of dollars testing and developing his methods. There are also a handful of software and memberships that you will need to buy to implement all the methods.
Yes, you could get a PPC campaign up and running in 24 hours (or 24 minutes for that matter), but that barely scratches the surface of the Arbitrage Conspiracy methods. I consider myself to be an EXPERT, and it would take me a matter of weeks to implement all their techniques.
Yes you could make profits with no website, no product, and no list… but that’s not the emphasis of the program. A lot of their methods use landing pages, and landing pages are part of a website.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that if THOSE are the things that you want to do (start a business with no more than $50 investment, set it up in 24 hours, and make money with no website), then Arbitrage Conspiracy is NOT for you!
You don’t need to invest in a 12-week content-packed course to learn how to do that. You could go buy a $47 ebook on ClickBank and learn the basics of PPC.
So who is this for?
In my opinion, Arbitrage Conspiracy is for anyone who wants to go BEYOND the level I just described above.
It’s for marketers who understand that they have to spend more money on PPC in order to make more profits.
It’s for marketers who are not afraid of embracing new technology and methods.
It’s for marketers who can imagine themselves making $100k a day.
And it’s especially for marketers who already know how to create a profitable PPC campaign. If you fit that description, Arbitrage Conspiracy is a good choice for you, because it will show you how to take those same campaigns and crank them up to the next level, and then to the next level, etc.
Without a doubt, I would say this is the highest level of PPC education ever offered.
Whether you’re an intermediate PPC user, looking to ramp up to the next level, or a Fortune 500 CEO looking to figure out how these Internet geeks are making more money than your entire company… I recommend this course for you.
As always, you are welcome to leave your comments here on the blog.
Have a great day!
My only comments on your reply
Quote “I’m not so sure that the market will become saturated with super affiliates. We have worried about that for many years, with each successive product launch (Starting with Google cash, then through the dozens of others like Day Job Killer, which sold many thousands of copies). And yet in spite of the mass of PPC related product launches, the business is alive and well.”
Is that those products sold thousands but how many people actually acted on the information or more to the point were able to act on that info. Perhaps that is why the market has not become saturated with super affiliates!
I bought Alex Goads Affiliate Payload which was a about using cpa offers. Apart from the fact that the ebook was full of grammatical and spelling errors, most of the things they were proposing went way above what I believe I could do or afford to do at that time (and still). So I for one haven’t used the info I purchased. Still I got my money refunded.
Now, I have a BSc in Computer studies and have worked for a blue chip company in their IT dept for 30 years so I am not new to computers and the internet (but I am a recent player in Internet Marketing (3years)). How many other people felt the same as I did, not just on that product but all the others, how much money have people wasted on not being able to use the info presented to them in these products.
As per your review and the 3 sentences you don’t agree with ($50 dollars, setup in 24hours, no list or site etc). This all sounds like something I should be able to do. And no doubt many will be persuaded by those perceived benefits (or the psychological triggers they use). Only to find out, as you say, they will need to purchase software and memberships and it will take 12 weeks to get the complete course. It almost amounts to fraud (perhaps that’s too strong a word). But they are definitely not giving the whole truth by giving the perception to possible buyers that this is do-able in those monetary and time frames. And that is where I say; and what other ‘not the whole truth’s’ are they saying?
I for one will not be purchasing this product as I feel that I need to grow my business (as much as I would like a magic button or silver bullet). I do not have the finances to risk, especially after being bitten (more than once [pay per click ads for free] another case in point).
This might seem a jaded view but I think that all the newcomers to Internet Marketing should be made aware of the pitfalls, most of the Guru’s just want to make money from you any way they can, even if its selling you a product that they know you can’t or won’t use.
If a product is suitable only for people like yourself then it should be clearly labelled that is the case (But that won’t happen because then the only people that might buy it are the ones that are promoting it)! The same goes for intermediate and Newbie products.
How many people on your list consider themselves newbies (ie used you great course to get a website built) yet will buy into something that is too advanced (at the moment) for them?
Thanks for the honest review
Pete
Michaela, you say
“I stopped doing PPC in 2006, and I am dedicated now to the web 2.0 traffic, which is a lot of work but is free.”
A big key in your statement is “A LOT OF WORK”.
People need to realize that free traffic is usually MORE work than paid traffic.
PPC is still one of the best, fastest, and easiest ways for anyone (newbies included) to get targeted traffic.
Eric,
I happen to like your haircut. When I first saw your gravatar photo with the shorter hair, I didn’t think it was you. I had to pull up a photo with the longer hair and do a side-by-side comparison. I think it makes you look younger and more innocent. 🙂 I also prefer the cleaner, closely trimmed facial hair. Anyway, it’s your choice, but I think your sister-in-law did a fine job.
Deborah
Eric, I must complement you on approving all replies to this post (Many of them quite negative against you.) This again shows how much of an honest person you are and you have my complete respect for allowing this.
I’ve been marketing on-line for about 6 years now. Doing PPC marketing for about 3. I’ve located 2 reliable campaigns that help me pay the bills every month, which allows me to take risk on other on-line opportunities. No landing page. No list. Just found some related keywords, Direct Linked to the merchants offer, and am using Xtreme Conversions to weed out the non-profitable keywords, and nothing more.
Why do PPC gurus try to make things so darn complicated? It doesn’t have to be.
I’ve invested money in every sort of Google… PPC course that’s hit the market for the past couple of years. Learn some good stuff from many and really nothing of substance from most.
To me testing as many CPA offers as you can afford, in hopes of finding that winner and ramping up your PPC promotions for it is more feasible. You must use a keyword tracking tool like Extreme Conversions to make it all work.
What will this Arbitrage Conspiracy reveal that could enhance my current PPC efforts, not force me to start from scratch?
I’m sick of sitting in front of my monitor, watching someone who doesn’t speak English well try to explain to me how to do things. Too many marketers rely solely on video to teach. That’s got to stop. If you’re going to release a product of this magnitude, please put your teachings down in written word.
Once again Eric I thank you for allowing Freedom of Speech to permeate all throughout this thread.
-Kenny
Andrew… I’m providing information for free that I could easily be selling (and I probably will sell it some day). When people buy a course, they will generally find that it too contains plenty of affiliate links and backend monetization, even though they PAID for the product. So essentially I’m giving away the front end for free, and monetizing the back end.
Also, this is NOT by any means the most profibale use of my time. While it is clearly not a purely philanthropic endeavor, I AM doing it because I want to help people.
I never said I was making nothing from the lessons, or attempted to imply that it was solely philanthropic. I’ve made some backend income from them, and I will repackage and monetize them in other ways in the future.
But…
Through my experience, I’ve learned that I make a lot LESS money by giving away so much free content and catering to newbies who don’t want to spend any money.
Don’t get me wrong, giving away free content IS a good business model. But whether you believe it or not, I am intentionally sacrificing profits by catering to those who don’t want to spend money.
So when I say “mostly for free”, I guess its a matter of my own perspective. I feel like I’m doing it for free, because I don’t get paid directly for it, and there are ways I could be using my time to make more money.
And the reason I mentioned it was to help explain why someone like Aymen might do something that was not the most profitable use of his time.
thanks Ken
“What will this Arbitrage Conspiracy reveal that could enhance my current PPC efforts, not force me to start from scratch?”
I’m not telling you to buy the course, but if you have 2 PPC campaigns that help pay the bills… those are exactly the type of campaigns that can be replicated and scaled larger in some cases. I’m sure there are ways you could further exploit those gems you’ve found. I could mention some specifics based solely on what you wrote above, but I can’t give it away.
Just so there’s no confusion… Aymen and his associates do speak English well. I listened to him for an entire day with no problem. But I do not yet know if there will be a written component of the course. I would imagine there will be at least a written outline, similar to the powerpoint presentation I received.
Hi Eric,
First of all, hats of to you for enduring this type of criticism. I know if this is what it takes to pull in hundreds of thousands then count me out. I am fairly new (just started posting ads but have read Beating Adwords about 5 times) to internet marketing and have recently lost money on a campaign, I know this isn’t new. I know that I’m not a candidate for what you are promoting, however, I want to know IN ALL HONESTLY, is it really possible to earn a living online meaning $4000 a month working about 3-4 hours a day. After my loss, I am really not sure. If it is, can you point me into the right direction. I saw you mention google cash but isn’t taht a little outdated. Have you heard of Wealthy Affilaite, and if you have, would you recommend it for what I want to achieve.
Thanks much,
Cherie
Is it normal to lose money on a PPC campaign before turning it profitable? Yes.
Is it “possible” for you to make $4k/month working 3-4 hours a day? Yes.
Will it happen? I don’t know.
Yes Google Cash is a bit dated, but far from obsolete. I don’t know about Wealthy Affiliate.
As far as pointing you in the right direction, I’d say go back and start at lesson #2 of my lessons. First you need to decide if this business is really for you, and then you need to decide which profit model you want to pursue first. In general, I recommend that people have their own product.
Wow, Eric, you are one of the first teachers I started following two years ago – through the Internet Millionaire and many webinars. I have spent my share of money on programs that haven’t proven to be prosperous, but I keep looking and applying the steps I learn. This sounded very promising, but I have to admit I don’t have any PPC experience – I use article marketing and other methods. So, because of your honest and insightful review here, I will not buy this course but will learn more about the process first. Thanks for all you do and give!
Trying to set website for dish network
I’m not buying.
I made a living from PPC for over a year and belonged to a group that was right on the cutting edge.
These 3 guys have been known (not by name) for the last couple of years. The experts in the group I was in tried in vane to figure out how they were getting their impressive results.
The key to the big numbers is getting virtually unlimited traffic inexpensively.
I’ll bet you a dollar to a donut that they course they are selling tells you everything you need to know about CPC except how to get unlimited traffic.
So, my hats are off to them for the smarts and their investment in figuring this out. They deserve everything they are making.
So they will make a little money selling the course, but their income will remain unaffected because they will not give away their most important secret.
The real winners are all the gurus who promote this to their list for the affiliate commission. In fact, I think the promotion was put together by the gurus from the get go.
I don’t have a problem with this either. Pretty smart and good marketing.
However, the losers are the inexperienced that think this will be their panecea. And that’t too bad.
(Grounded in the real world)Bob
Thanks for your honest review Eric and for you who commented with your experience in CPA!
Can someone tell me WHY these so called ‘gurus’ seem to ignore Carlos and Lupe Garcia who’ve been doing this for yrs ? Anyway, if it’s the money that attracts then Forex is on a par re actually understanding the operation but has greater reach and possibilities
Eric,
After reading the Arbitrage Conspiracy PDF it is clear that this product is simply a knock off of Gauher Chaudhry’s Pay Per Click Formula.
It’s not a secret that Aymen is/was using Gauher’s methods. Aymen is repurposing Gauher’s system.
I have not seen a copy of Arbitrage Conspiracy but I’m sure they will say that to be truly successful they way we are you are going to have to buy additional products that we recommend, and BTW make a hefty commission on.
Two products off the top of my head are Speed PPC and LpGen. Both of which are excellent.
Save your money and get a copy of Pay Per Click Formula.
Hi Mike,
Congrats on winning right out of the gate! That is not typically what happens.
I’ve been knocked down a time or two but, that doesn’t really matter – it’s getting up again that counts. Fact is, I’ve learned from every mistake I’ve made both online and off. Back in 1981 I had a successful mail order business that I sold in 1996. Talk about expenses … phone bill $2500 a month, printing costs, $3000 a month, shipping and postage easily $5000 a month – still I made a good profit every month. The expenses to run an online business pale in comparison. I think a lot of people want it easy instead of difficult. If you want something in life … know that it is within your power to get it … work hard everyday to get it. That’s as simple as it is.
I can not know for sure whether they are withholding any of their tactics, but based on what was presented to me in Vegas it seems like they truly are handing over the keys to the kingdom. They did show how they get virtually unlimited traffic. And because of what’s involved in getting virtually unlimited traffic, I think most newbies will fail to reach that level. But for someone like you… I’d be surprised if you weren’t able to profit from their techniques.
Here are some other reasons why I personally don’t beleive that they are withholding the real secret…
1) If they don’t sell the REAL secret, someone else will eventually. It always works that way, so they might as well be the ones to profit from it.
2) Even if they give away the REAL secret to 500+ people, less then 10% of those people will probably stick to the program and implement the secret. So it will not negatively impact their income… And as I’ve mentioned previously, I do beleive the PPC/CPA opportunity is MUCH bigger than most people realize. The internet is not going to run out of traffic any time soon.
I appreciate your perspective
Eric, you are one of the first teachers I’ve been following for two years. I have built many sites, none are converting well, so I continue to listen and learn and hope that I too will experience success. This arbitrage system is fascinating, I almost went for it, but after reviewing your comments and others, think I had better investigate on my own before I pour time and money into one more program. Thanks for all you do and give!
Hi Eric
Thanks for the great review.
A question:
According to the example in the e-book, The CPA pays out $1.50. If you run a PPC campaign, you might pay $0.50 a click. That means that you will have to have a conversion rate of more than 33%!
Am I missing something?
Best regards
Francois
I am sure there is a lot of priceless information in the product, so I doubt that anyone will lose completely unless they buy and don’t apply. Most of the products I’ve purchased didn’t prove profitable right away but I always take something away from each failure that helps me in my business somewhere along the line.
While I’m sure there are some similarities, I’m pretty sure its not a knock off. If he had merely repurposed a system, he wouldn’t have spent millions of dollars testing new tools and techniques.
Yes you will need to buy some additional things to fully implement the system. But as you know, such tools can be a very worthwhile investment if you know what you’re doing with them.
Eric,
In the PDF there are more than “some” similarities, it’s almost verbatim of Gauher’s methods.
I’d be interested to know if Gauher is one of the guru’s promoting this offer or not.
Eric-
It has been mentioned here and during the call that other software/scripts beyond the cost of the course would be needed to make this system of Ayman’s work. Do you have any idea what the cost of this software might be? I know it was stated that some of these tools are free, but some of them are not.
Thanks.
That’s correct. That’s a realistic conversion rate for a well executed campaign. Keep in mind that some CPA offers pay just for the visitor submitting their ZIP CODE. The more info required, the higher the payout (and thus the lower the conversion). But basic ZIP or email submits can have very high conversion.
Now suppose you were only paying 35-40 cents/click, and converting 50%… you’d be doubling your money.
Hi Eric
I rarely reply to posts on your blog but felt the need to at this point. I must agree with you on this.
You provide information (for free) that requires a product or service. Everyone knows that they will need to purchase the service in order to conduct business on the internet. Web hosting is a good example. I have tried several web hosting services and am happiest with your host gator recommendation.
If you have an affiliate link it would be foolish NOT to include it since it then saves newbies from searching through the search results to find a host. they are, of course, free to do so if they choose to spend the time.
Your sentiment goes well with the title of your site:
Make money not excuses!
🙂
Good question. I have not added them together, or even checked the price of every tool. But my rough estimate based on the number of tools and what they do would be around the $1k range.
Eric,
I can’t believe the flack people are giving you!! You have absolutely shown you are a man of integrity and a giving person with all you have given away FOR FREE!! The only reason I checked out the Arbitrage Conspiricy was because I trusted you.
Listen folks, there are plenty of “Gurus” and the like to rightfully critisize, but Eric is not one of them! Go post on their blogs!
Thanks Eric for all you do, it is much appreciated.
Joanne
It should be noted that PPC Formula 2.0 will be launched 1/27/09. I’m assuming this is in response to the launch of AC.
hi again eric. as mentioned, your willingness to leave the criticism up on your blog is a strong point. I plan to do the same. At this point i feel that a blog providing good content is a very good way to drive traffic to your products. it is from reading eric’s tips that i have gotten many ideas for how to model my own business which i am building through your videos. i know many will wonder what makes me qualified but i have been struggling to do it right for four years and made many mistakes and as you said yourself. listen to the guy that has failed not the one that turned everything to gold from day one.
i think what most are complaining about the gurus is that they seem unreachable for newbies. i see that as any business that as you grow you need to reassess your time alotement. we are after all trying to build successful businessess. as the gurus move up that makes room for someone to step in where they were. i plan to step in. as you said there are plenty of people wanting to rum im with integrity. watch and learn it will happen. 2009 is just around the corner.
to your success and mine it is possible. i myself will not jump on ac for my own reasons but that is from erics tips teaching me to use my head when making decisions.
Hi Eric,
I always like to read your reviews and I regularly visit your blog, but this is actually the first time I’m making a post as well.
While usually I totally agreed on your reviews, I do not so this time.
Instead I very much agree with the anonymous poster from the UK.
You need to have lots of “play money” – in the thousands actually – and you need to be able to put them at risk without ruining your financial situation.
In addition to the costly course you’ll probably need lots of tools where most of them are subscription based and definitely not going to be cheap.
So in my opinion this is not only NOT for newbies but this also is NOT for you, if you cannot afford to invest at least $5k to $10k.
Of course if someone purchases such a course for $1.7k to $2k you probably think he can afford to do so. But I’ve seen it so often that people are giving their last pennies into something like this in the hope of finally living their dreams. Please don’t do it!
No matter what they are going to teach you, there is an extremely high risk of burning a lot of money.
Thanks
Joerg
Good point Chris – “When was the last time that gang got together because they wanted to help us out? Please.”
Their selling you all their secrets because they want to give back, to help others out. I’m sorry but I don’t buy it. I have become very skeptical of the big time internet marketers over the last few years and have removed myself from most of their lists.
I still follow Eric because he is honest and a good guy, and provides quality content instead of sales pitch, after sales pitch.
Anyone working with PP better be prepared to either spend a lot of money, or spend a lot if time testing ads, landing pages, products etc.
I’m not saying this product is not good and won’t work for some, but for the price and the cost you will need to pay for PPC, you better be willing to risk a lot of money.
I always pass on these high cost, hyped up product launches – the gurus have been made me too skeptical to buy most of their products.
Thanks for your honest review…
It seems that a majority of people that are choosing to begin a business online bring in too many misconceptions on how it should come together…
Although it is not a brick and mortar it does require continuous work and persistance…
Let us thank our awesome God for the success that is ours to take…
Great post Pete.
—
How he got started with a mere $50!”
“How to get completely set up and open for business in 24 hours!”
“How To Make Massive profits with No Website, No Product and No List”
—
It’s obvious that the promoters are liars.
There are very few internet marketers with integrity.
Hey Eric and Readers …
I echo others … I respect you for your openness here. Very cool. There’s not one of us here that wouldn’t have arrows in our back either, being in your position.
I agree … this is definitely not for newbies, especially those who haven’t implemented something, anything before. You need to Take Action first … on something. Buy a $47 ebook and implement it … that’ll get you success.
But don’t jump on this IF you’re a newbie who just keeps buying stuff. It really gets to me when I see people buying and buying.
Lastly, if you’re wondering whether to buy the product … just buy it … review it … try it and be sure to get your refund if you don’t want it.
They’re going to honor it … this is too big for them not to.
Again … Eric, very cool environment here … I’m a fan.
Mark
Hello Eric,
I wouldn’t call this part of the crowd haters. Realists. Experienced. But not haters.
Bleeding edge of the profit model? No, we’ve moved on to other things which are just as profitable as arbitrage used to be.
Arbitrage is just another buzz word on what is flavour of the month.
Make money online per se is fundamentally a foolish notion. Build a business. The same basic rules apply online or offline. Create value, enhance your customers’ lives.
The only area where the rules don’t seem to apply is in the internet marketing field, where the naive are herded from one opportunity to another as their pockets are picked every step of the way.
And then they line up all over again. Kind of sad.
At best, it’s MLM. At worst, it’s straight theft.
You are somewhere in the middle of the pyramid with your own very good upline. At least your site is a good deal more entertaining than those of most of these haypenny gurus. And at worst your intentions are confusing.
I don’t know what I’d do if I were in your position. Would I cede to temptation? Perhaps.
If you read through all my replies above, I think you will find that I consistently agree with you that this is not for everyone. On the one hand, I would not go so far as to say you need lots of play money. It’s a calculated risk, and you can use your business capital. While risky, PPC is one of the best places I can think of for an Internet marketer to invest in traffic, because the traffic is basically guaranteed. On the other hand, I will actually take one of your statements a step further…
“there is an extremely high risk of burning a lot of money”
Actually, it’s more than a risk… it’s a known factor that you will burn money when you play the PPC game. The question is whether you will have the knowledge and tools necessary to kill the campaigns that will never make money, and to take the bleeding campaigns that have potential and make them profitable.
So it’s inivitable that you will burn money in PPC. The nice thing about this course is it shows you how to get past the burn stage and into the profit stage, and then how to ramp up the profit stage into higher profits.
To go along with what I’ve been consistently saying… I think most newbies lack what it takes to stay the course. Maybe they lack the finances or determination… or perhaps they will get too fearful during the “burn” stage of a campaign and not get past it. That’s also why I think marketers who DO know how to create a profitable PPC campaign (even if it’s small) will be at a severe advantage when it comes to implementing the methods taught in the course.
It seems to me like the governemt should be exploiting the internet through the means that this program boasts for underfunded projects. Or maybe Mr. Obama could sign up…his chances of truly aiding the ailing economy are greater with this program than with his policies.
I’m sorry for the newbies and strugglers who are easily deceived by slick rip-off sales copy.
Hello Eric,
I agree in principle with what David had to say, and I think it’s important to point out that all the services and products that are offered publicly will cost the buyer the same amount of money, whether a commission goes to you, Eric, or to John Paul Jones, or to me, or to the original vendor/manufacturer. The sales price is (generally) fixed. Why worry about who gets a cut? That’s looking at the wrong end of the pipe. Do you complain that your local independent Xerox dealer gets a percentage from each industrial-strength copier he sells, and go to somebody else because of it. Of course not. Maybe to a different manufacturer, but not a different vendor. The principle is the same.
Hi!
Thanks Eric for responding, YES, Web 2.0 free Traffic is a lot of work but it is just up to me to do it.
If after a lot of people invest in this course, and 50% of them start to make millions per day, can we be sure that Google will stop changing the SEO algorithms? No! Then the other 50% lost money, and the first 50% will stop making money.
By the way, Aymen (we don’t have the other name or the names of his associate) said to look over at 11:45 AM, it is 1:10 PM and I didn’t get any email from him yet.
This is adding up to:
1) The secrecy I don’t like it
2) 24 hours and you start… when you need one week at list to be approved by CPAs,
3) all the money you have to spend up front, (I don’t believe in $50 start)
4) The vague answers of Aymen and no guaranties
All the fuzz about a big launch, make me think that the price will be very high, which in our economy is… all we need now. But I am curious, I still wait his email with more details, price etc.
I didn’t come to this discussion unprepared:
1) I read the free PDF about arbitrage (some substance, and a lot of hype)
2) I read Eric Louviere’s PDF is called “Six-figure Apprentice Program” it has the same promises, and the PDF cost $20.00, and the upgrade is only $197 One Time Tuition
3) I start last week, apply for 6 CPAs, 3 approved me, 3 reject me, but took one week to find out, not 24 hours
4) I already tried one PPC, didn’t work, just to try a lot off PPC until you get one which is working is more then $50.00.
To tell you the truth between your lessons and Arbitrage I prefer your lessons, they are a better foundation for success, and I think all these big launches are destruction from our work with less chance to succeed.
Thank for all the time you put in this, and I really wait your next lesson.
Regards
Michaela
I can see where Rodney brings some experience to the table, although he did post with no link which makes his credibility questionable. But Jaisne? That’s a pure hater if I ever saw one.
Just because people like you and Rodney have made good money with PPC in the past and seen your profits disappear, that doesn’t negate the validity of what Aymen is doing. You can’t make that claim unless you know EXACTLY what he’s doing.
I’m in the same boat. I made a lot of money from PPC arbitrage back in 2005-2006 using the google cash method. I saw most of my profits disappear because of the google slap. But there are new tools, new techniques, and new horizons on PPC networks other than Google.
Sure arbitrage is a buzz word. And Arbitrage Conspiracy is a retarded name for a high end course. But i’m not judging it on it’s name.
I’ve always taught that the same fundamentals of offline business building apply to online business building. But I also teach and recommend money-making tactics that are not in it of themselves business models. Rather they are tactics to use within your business.
It is 1:30 Eastern Time now and the Arbitrage Conspiracy site isn’t up an running yet. Anyone heard what is going on?
well said Michaela, I agree. Frankly, I’d like to know who I’m doing business with – I don’t know his last name or seen his face – this could be a concocted scheme by all the gurus for all I know
Apparently it is being launched at noon PST rather than EST. I have an email from them saying it was going to be EST… but now they’re saying it’s PST. Maybe it was an honest mistake and they meant PST originally… or maybe they changed it on the fly due to problems. I have no idea.
Eric,
I was also in Vegas at the event. I think your review is very honest about who this offer will benefit.
A few questions some of your readers have brought up, that I think you have tried to clarify, but don’t seem to be sinking in:
Aymen’s motive – obviously setting up his own CPA network and having an army of super affiliates is a huge motive for training people in the right way to do this.
Comments by Charles Heflin and others who have tried CPA and failed or not been able to get into the networks – there is a whole other language in CPA and if you do not know it and how to communicate correctly, you will get nowhere with CPA – this course will teach you all of that!
Another important point is that this is a 12 week course for a reason – learning to do this the correct way takes time! You have to test thoroughly with PPC before you even think about going to CPA. The way Aymen teaches this is a very clear step-by-step process.
Too much competition – there are soooo many CPA networks and so many ways to utilize them. A lot of the Gurus will not even be using a lot of what is taught in this course regarding affiliate programs, but doing as Eric said and applying these methods to their own products.
So, Eric, I don’t have an IM list. My main project is http://eBiz4Youth.org – a non-profit program for At-Risk Youth. I have not focused much on being an affilate for this program – only using a bonus strategy. I have a lot of other projects that are a higher priority to me right now.
Hopefullly my comments will help some of your readers decide if this is right for them. Sorry I missed meeting you in Vegas – there were so many people there!
As always, I appreciate your honesty in your reviews of affiliate products. A lot of Gurus are not that genuine!
Thanks!
Juliet Easton
Thanks Juliet 🙂 Too bad we missed each other in Vegas!
I know that there are some unscrupulous promoters out there, because I have been a victim of a few scams myself. However, what catches my attention is the sheer negativity of some posters. With a negative attitude like that you cannot expect much success. You can jump from one opportunity to another and never succeed at any. The main criteria is to focus on what you’re doing, stick with it, work it and chances are good you will do well. By just giving up and complaining and playing the victim card, success will continue to elude you. No one says you have to do the arbitage course and I think, to his credit,Eric did a very good review of it. Obviously,it’s probably not right for many of us. The main thing is as Eric said, “Stop buying stuff.” Work on what you are doing presently and grow it. Sometimes we don’t see the potential success under our very noses and keep looking out there for that elusive silver bullet that’s going to make us rich.
Merry Christmas to everyone and I wish you all much success and abundance in the New Year.
Eric,
New standards need to be set in terms of the way “Guru” sales letters are written.
For example, all sales letters should have something like the following:
Tools and skills required
=========================
(e.g., graphic skills using Fireworks, intermediate level HTML skills, either hand-coding or using Dreamweaver)
Ideal Level of Experience
=========================
Intermediate to advanced level of computer usage and browsing the internet. The ability to use FTP and install cgi and php scripts on a unix server.
These are just thoughts on protecting hard-working people from “guru abuse”.
This abuse is happening too often with these product launches and subscribers need to begin taking a collective stand against “guru elitism” and lies.
Another thing that genuine purchasers need to do is to make sure that they get a refund if they are unhappy with a product, otherwise the “gurus” might think their product is impressive when it’s nothing of the sort.
Enough is enough: The “gurus” have reached the point wherein it’s obvious that they think of their subscribers as mere ATMs.
Maybe subscribers need to start banding together and letting the “gurus” know how they really feel.
Maybe subscribers should develop a site that rates the “gurus” by a “Guru Spam Index” or “Guru Help Index” to weed out the rogues?
Hei Eric,
I really appreciate your honest review for the Arbitrage Conspiracy.I am a newbie and the salesletter for this program makes it very tempting to grab the creditcard.I have seen it before, it looks to easy, and I really can’t understand why there is not more of you “gurus” who feel the same responsibility for your customer like you do. I assume in the long terms we are more important to you than all the gurus in the world.
Thanks again
kindest regards
Arne
I AGREE that marketers should be honest.
But you know as well as I do that such an approach will never be adopted across the board.
Therefore it is equally up to consumers to educate themselves. Just because hype is used on a sales page, that doesn’t mean anyone is forced to buy the product.
We vote with our dollars. The winning sales tactics will continue to be used.
Sure it’s a great idea for people to band together. There are forums where people do, such as the warrior forum. But if they truly band together, someone will inevitable come along and start leading that group of people… and the guru cycle will start all over again.
On the same hand, remember that guru is another name for “teacher” and outside of our industry it’s not so much of a derogatory term. and if you ignore all the guru’s you will be missing out on a wealth on knowledge.
That’s why I taught in LESSON #11 that one of the most important skills for a new internet marketer to develop is the ability to perceive and seperate the good information from the bad information. You simply can’t ignore ALL the information just because some of it is bad, and because some people want to rip you off.
But you don’t have to remain a subscriber of someone who constantly treats you as their personal ATM. You can also vote with the unsubscribe button.