BlackHat Advertising at It's Best

Alright, I just read a cool thread a minute ago that prompted me to share a technique that I've been using for years now. I figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a thread of it's own. So, here it is (this is a pretty blackhat technique, but seriously, super effective):

First, think about what you're selling/marketing...then make up a false term, false problem, false <<insert something scary>>

It should have a catchy phrase and it should be a very unique term, anything that you wouldn't immediately forget. For the sake of example, lets say you're selling an Xbox on ebay. You might say something like this (now, keep in mind, what is typed out below IS NOT TO BE SAID ON THE LISTING ITSELF!!! More info on what you do with the info that is in quotes and bolded below is beneath it)

"So many people with Xbox's older than 4 months are continuing to have a problem with the video card. After the Xbox has been used multiple times (causing the video card to repeatedly get hot and cool down), it eventually starts creating fuzzy images, blank pictures, all sorts of problems. While Microsoft hasn't reported anything about the problem directly, the term "Video Card Frame Freezage" has been coined by many people experiencing the problem. Apparently, although Microsoft never admitted anything directly they did in fact fix the problem as the newer Xbox's don't have this issue. You can tell if your Xbox has the new fix by checking the serial number. If it starts with ABQ then your Xbox is newer than 4 months old and you should be fine."

Now, what was that problem called again...oh yes, "Video Card Frame Freezage"

Now, when you list the Xbox on eBay you would list it as normal, all the details, what you're selling it with, how great it is BUT!! You add in the listing somewhere that (and this is all you say!!)

"Unlike many of the Xbox's being sold on eBay right now, this Xbox's serial number begins with ABQ, which means it is less than 4 months old. So you will not experience "Video Card Frame Freezage"...

then you leave it at that and continue your listing as normal. Do not link to anything, don't DO ANYTHING other than mention that little sentence.

In this day and age, anybody that read that listing will immediately go to Google, and search for:

"Video Card Frame Freezage"
"Xbox Serial Number ABQ"
"Xbox Video Card Frame Freezage Fix"
"How to Find an Xbox Starting with Serial Number ABQ" .......... so on and so forth.

BUT WAIT! They aren't going to find anything related to that, so whats the point?

The point is that you cleverly went ahead 2,3,4 weeks before and submitted that "blurb" (the one written above that is bolded) about video card frame freezage, and multiple versions of it, and multiple articles about it to 20,30,40 article directories, wrote a squidoo lens about it, put up ads on classified ads sites, submitted press releases...so on and so forth.

Then when they search for it, they come across your content and only your content (because the term you came up with should be unique, allowing you to easily cover the entire first 3 pages of google with it) Also, keep in mind, all those articles, press releases, all that stuff SHOULDN'T link back to what you're selling (it ruins the credibility of it) The buyer has completed the following steps in roughly a total of 10 minutes (max!) anyway:

Visited your sales ad, landing page, ebay listing...whatever
Saw the false problem listed on your ad, left your ad to do research
Googles false problem
Reads one, two, three things about the false problem

Will immediately (and of his own accord) find and go back to your sales page because all of the above happened so quickly. He hasn't forgotten your site because all of the steps he does after he leaves it are prompted because of what he read on your site. So if he is following those steps, he obviously remembers your ad.

You'll see conversions go through the roof...give it a shot sometime.

Let me know if you liked this post, I've got a lot more where this came from. If you ever use it or appreciate this kind of info, feel free to hit the thanks button or give some rep.

Oh, and the thread that prompted me to share this technique is located here: http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackh...43514-perfect-example-viral-marketing-tv.html

Be sure to twist this and personalize it to what you're marketing. Also, be cognizant of what ancillary searches your articles about "problem x" are going to prompt and make sales pages with those keywords.

For instance, in the above example, lets say they don't want to buy from ebay, but they want to buy from a website. They are still scared about "Video Card Frame Freezage" and since all the information they have about it was provided by you, they only have the terms you've provided them with to search with on Google to help themselves find an Xbox without that made up problem.

So they're going to be searching for not only "Video Card Frame Freezage" (which should turn up "informative" articles that just outline the problem and how to get around it) but they are also going to Google what I call "Ancillary Thoughts"...thoughts brought on by reading your made up article.

They are going to search for:

"how do I find an xbox newer than 4 months old" <--might turn up some results that you've fed into google that DO link to your sales page...a sales page that sells a 5 page eBook on "how to get the newest Xbox possible"

They're going to search for:

"what serial numbers on an xbox means it is new or old" <--- might turn up some results that you've fed to google that DO link to your sales page...a sales page for a 5 page eBook about "Understanding Xbox - Do the Serial Numbers Mean Anything"

Use your imagination...this is a SUPER powerful technique.

Did I put this in the wrong area of the forum?

Not sure about the section. But definitely nice post. Will try to follow it someday......

userlogsin said:

Not sure about the section. But definitely nice post. Will try to follow it someday......

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Glad you liked it...I've kept that under my hat for quite some time now, but I figured it was time to share.

I've got lots more to come in the future...

theartfuldodger said:

now, dude, ..., tell me why you WOULDN'T be sued BY EVERY X-BOX RETAIL SELLER ON THE PLANET???

I sure as hell would sue if your KNOWINGLY false claim on your website rendered nearly all of my stock worthless in the eyes of consumers.

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You don't have to do this with Xbox, and besides, if somebody came to you, you didn't knowingly make a false claim. You could just say that you read articles on the web about it, you know that your Xbox is less than 4 months old and you just figured that you were making sure potential customers knew that.

Who said you wrote those articles? They don't link to your sales page and your sales page doesn't link to the articles remember. So, if you submit those articles via a proxy, they don't link to your sales page and you don't get a commission for somebody reading an article, how do they say it was you who wrote it...they can't!

There is no money trail, no proxy trail, no nothing. All you did was "read an article" on the web about this problem and figured you'd make sure that potential consumers knew that your Xbox wasn't susceptible to the problems you read about on the internet.

That's the beauty of this method (well, part of it as there is a lot). All the work is done by the consumer...the finding of the articles, reading them and then finding your sales page again because they're too scared to buy from anybody else.

All the work is done of their own accord. You don't force feed them anything...sales are ALWAYS higher when a customer feels as though they made the buying decision and they weren't talked into it...trust me.

Also, I highly doubt your made up problem will bottom out any stock...remember the "Red Ring of Death" for the Xbox? Think Microsoft coined that term? Did it bottom out their stock?

If anybody ever goes to implement this and they'd like some tips or info, let me know and I'll be glad to help.

Bro this is good stuff. All the registry cleaners use this tactic. (scareware)

thesilent said:

All the registry cleaners use this tactic. (scareware)

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Damn, and I thought I was introducing something new to the forum (I was even egotistical enough to think I came up with the idea...dammit).

Well, maybe I still did introduce something new to some here because some may not have ever thought of something like this or knew how to implement it with their own products that AREN'T scareware.

Even so, I appreciate the comment below, thanks!

thesilent said:

Bro this is good stuff.

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crazyflx said:

Damn, and I thought I was introducing something new to the forum (I was even egotistical enough to think I came up with the idea...dammit).

Well, maybe I still did introduce something new to some here because some may not have ever thought of something like this or knew how to implement it with their own products that AREN'T scareware.

Even so, I appreciate the comment below, thanks!

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As they say there is nothing new under the sun. You made a good twist.

this seems like a very slick idea. So you whatever you decide to promote you just make up bs problems about it? How do you choose the terms and keywords for the problems? Basically if they are searching for xboxes how do they run across the freezes and etc..

gragster said:

Basically if they are searching for xboxes how do they run across the freezes and etc..

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Well, they won't (because they won't have heard of your made up problem yet). You must somehow already have visitors to your product/sales/landing page.

It is THERE that they read a small sentence that acts like a time bomb in their minds. That sentence is (for this example) "This Xbox's serial number begins with ABQ, so that means it is less than 4 months old so you won't experience the dreaded video card frame freezage"

Then you continue with your listing AS NORMAL. You don't describe what the problem is, any details about it, nothing. You simply say that this one won't experience that problem and why. That sentence acts like a time bomb.

NOW that they've read the problem, NOW they can search for it...and the only results on google for said problem are articles about the problem that you've written.

The articles explain how bad it is, what it is, how to fix it, get around it, whatever.

Why this works is this...let's take the Xbox's REAL problem "The Red Ring of Death" as a comparison. You go to a site that says they are selling Xbox's and you like their price. They don't mention anything about the Red Ring of Death...but you want to look around a bit more.

Then that same visitor hits another site that is exactly the same that DOES mention that this Xbox won't experience the Red Ring of Death because Microsoft fixed the problem in the newer Xbox's so they don't overheat and cause the problem (this is a real story by the way). Now, your price is higher but they are guaranteed to not have a problem with it... Where do they buy now? Your site of course!

That is, unless they google "Red Ring of Death Workaround" or something like that (something I refer to as an Ancillary Search...a thought they came up with on their own and decided to search) and they come across an eBook that says how they can buy older Xbox's and still not have that problem.

See how this all works with your made up problem? You made the problem up! So the only results on google are YOUR results, YOUR articles, YOUR eBooks that show "workarounds", etc, etc, etc.

This ONLY works if they hit your sales page first and read your "Time Bomb Sentence"

You DON'T EVER link to the articles, and the articles DON'T EVER link to your sales page. Not because of legalities (which it does help) but because that ruins the credibility of it.

gragster said:

How do you choose the terms and keywords for the problems?

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There are no keywords for the problem. Keywords don't matter. You just need to make a problem up that returns hardly any results on google and that sounds catchy. For instance, the term I made up "Xbox Video Card Frame Freezage" returns 3 results on google...and they are all from this forum.

Very, VERY nice post.

Ok you have to do ALOT work, and invest some money, but sounds nice!

Thanks given (doesnt happends often!) so thumbs up buddy!!!


Will try it soon

you think we should own some domains related to our theme too?

btw how much you made with this method so far?

....are you tired of being tricked and outdone at every turn because you lack common sense...Now you can change your life with knowledge of...Inter-Galactic Truth...

crazyflx said:

Damn, and I thought I was introducing something new to the forum (I was even egotistical enough to think I came up with the idea...dammit).

Well, maybe I still did introduce something new to some here because some may not have ever thought of something like this or knew how to implement it with their own products that AREN'T scareware.

Even so, I appreciate the comment below, thanks!

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^5 Crazy...

I've twisted your premise with one of my products...re-branded it...and currently sell it at a premium. People will except you as an expert and as such your sales material as being from someone with expert knowledge of the subject...can you say...guru...sic...

I've had a write uP in the online media from someone that has no knowledge of my brand other then what's online...and pretty much everything that's online...I put there...so I know your technique is tight...simply...conceive...believe...achieve...rinse and repeat...

~Feetz

Yes i agree this is crazy good method and there can be soo many different ways to twist this for your market

Social engineering ..I love it This can make your sales skyrocket. Not only registry cleaners use this method, anti aging creams use it too. Penis enlargement pills use scarware too. They use it because it works!

Kingfresh said:

Very, VERY nice post.

Ok you have to do ALOT work, and invest some money, but sounds nice!

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Yes, you're absolutely right...but nothing makes people not want to buy from your competitors and buy from you like the buyer convincing themselves that they shouldn't (out of fear and uncertainty that the cheaper one isn't safe against your false problem)...NOTHING is as effective.

Kingfresh said:

Thanks given (doesnt happends often!) so thumbs up buddy!!!

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Much appreciated, glad to hear you enjoyed it.

[

Kingfresh said:

Will try it soon

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No time like the present! One of the great things about this, is that it is very unlikely that it will ever be saturated...because there are always real problems with products.

Kingfresh said:

you think we should own some domains related to our theme too?

btw how much you made with this method so far?

Click to expand...

If you mean related to your theme as in terms of what you're selling, yes. If you mean in terms of the made up problem, depends on what you're selling.

In this example, if you're selling an Xbox at www.buyxboxes.com, you simply have your "Time Bomb Sentence" on there. So, that domain doesn't have to be.

But, if you're counting on the to go to google and search an Ancillary Search based on your scary sentence, and the articles that you've submitted to google about that problem then sure, couldn't hurt.

What I mean is, you can corner the whole real (xbox market) and fake (made up problem market). You see, they're going to search for "buy xboxes without "problem X". So, you can have a whole bunch of crap on google for this.....

eBooks on how to find that (this domain could be related to the problem...could be www.safexboxbuyingguide.com or www.vcffsafexboxguide.com)

So on and so forth. It is really up to you how you want to go about it, but when you create your false problem, you open up a lot more doors than just creating more buyer desire for your "safe" xbox sales page.

As for how much I've made...well, last year I made almost 100K. 65K from clickbank (using this method and lots of other things, so obviously all 65k of that didn't come from this method).

I don't spend a dime on advertising...ever. I tried adwords and almost lost my shirt (I lost about 2k in a month trying to figure that out).

Give me a minute and I'll upload a video for you (just shows how much I made, so you guys don't think you're reading something from a 15 year old in his basement).

I'm actually recording me typing this.

I just got it uploaded to YouTube...as soon as it is finished "processing" on their end, I'll post it here.

Alright, here is the video. It is better to watch it in full screen. Watch until the end to see everything. Remember, this is one of 4 clickbank accounts that I have, and the only reason I'm showing you this one is because I no longer use it and I don't care if you see my affiliate username.

I had to transition everything from this account to another affiliate program, so you'll see as I get more and more into the year 2009 the checks get smaller and smaller...but, enjoy! (maybe it will be good motivation for some)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B5MQKJF-oY