We’ve all bought products online that didn’t turn out to be as great as promised, right? Find out how you can avoid that mistake in the future.
In a previous article we talked about why you have to be careful with the information you find online.
It was all about how you have to be careful because much of the information you find could be outdated.
Some of the rest of the information could be written by someone who really doesn’t know what they are talking about.
The third reason is that many products and services are being marketed by affiliate marketers (who are paid if they can get you to buy from them). These are frequently disguised as product reviews, but they are usually just marketing ploys.
When I talk about all the problems with the information online, it sounds very negative. It seems like I’m saying that you shouldn’t believe anything you read and that none of the products and services you see really work. To clear up any confusion you may have, let me be clear. I am NOT saying that you should be afraid to invest in a product or service online. In fact, the truth is just the opposite.
Should you believe anything you see online? The short answer to that question is Yes. Quite simply the quality information available online is just too good to ignore, you just have to find it.
Now we’re going to talk about how you can figure out whether to trust the information that you’re reading online as it relates to shopping for a specific product or service.
1Product and Tool Reviews
There is one thing to know when you’re reading about a product or service. It’s almost all marketing material. There are typically three sources of information:
- Marketing material from the owner
- Content provided by affiliates designed to convince you to buy the product from them
- Content produced with the intent to tell the truth about the product
2Marketing Material From the Owner
If the material you are reading is on a site for the product owner you are likely to get a great listing of the features of the product. You’re also likely to learn a little about how it works. The content has to meet the balance between convincing you to buy the product and preserving their reputation by not making false claims.
This information can be valuable, but you have to find out what they’re NOT telling you. They won’t tell you about the parts of the product that are difficult or the services people don’t like.
3Content From Affiliates
This is where you should be the most skeptical. Affiliates typically aren’t as concerned about their reputation. They just want to make a sale. Most of these sites will give you a very brief rundown of why the product is so fabulous and that’s all you get.
4Truth
One of the best ways to identify the “truth” sites is that they tell you the bad stuff. Sites like these are developed by someone who has a true interest in telling people about products and services that truly work. Their goal is to be trustworthy enough so that you will bookmark their site and come back time and again to hear their opinion.
These sites will usually give you a general overview of how the product works and what you can use it for. They will then talk about the features and which ones work the best for them. The difference, is that these sites will also tell you about the bugs with the product. When you know both the good and the bad features of a product, it will be easier for you to make an informed decision.
When you find sites like these – bookmark them!
5Money Back Guarantee
Does the company offer a money back guarantee for their service? If it’s a legitimate offer and company, they should stand behind their products and services.
But you have to be careful here.
I’ve seen some companies that do offer money back guarantees but there are too many caveats. For example, “money back guarantee if you can prove that you tried the product every day for a month, etc. It will likely be too difficult to complete their list of requirements and you won’t get your money back.
6What Should You Do?
- Find the product or service you are interested in
- Read their marketing material
- Find out all the features they have
- Then do your own research to find out what they didn’t tell you (we will focus on this in an upcoming article)
- Look for the “truth” sites/info
- Research until you find out the things people complain about. Everything has problems, don’t buy anything until you know what they are.
- Make sure there is a money back guarantee
These are some of the things you should understand before you make a decision on what kind of product or service to get. However, there are other factors that you should also consider, and they are true regardless of the information you are trying to find.
