Fake traffic and the scam that is social media

Did you know that half of all internet traffic is fake?

True story:

fake traffic2 - Fake traffic and the scam that is social media

According to research conducted and compiled by HostingFacts, 51.8% of all internet traffic comes from bots.

In other words, every other person who visits your blog, lead magnet, or sales page is very likely a bot (and totally fake).

Have you ever wondered why you get such dismal results from activities like posting on social media? 

Because fake people don't buy things.

So here's a better strategy:

Target REAL PEOPLE who have actually BOUGHT REAL THINGS before, and then get your offer (book, product, course, software, whatever) in front of them.

I'll show you how in this mind-melting new training video:

(p.s. subscribe to my youtube channel here)

What we cover in this video:

  • fake traffic (even faker than fake news)
  • pay to play and the social media period scheme
  • tech oligarchs and their monopoly on almost every marketing channel online (except for one...)
  • why the future for indie creators is direct-to-consumer
  • how to reach readers with the "slide in" technique (90% of the time, it works every time)
  • and more

Things I mention in the video:

Notes

This is part 2 of my series on the long tail. Click here to watch part 1:

"The Long Tail: the secret to making a profit from digital products over the next decade"

Leave a Comment

What’s your topic / niche / subject? Where can you "slide in"?

Share below!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

8 comments on “Fake traffic and the scam that is social media”

  1. Thank you so much for sharing this post actually I recently started my blog and getting very good comments like you mentioned in your post,

    And I felt as there are some peoples who reading my post and appreciate me but now I realize the reality was totally different as I think.

    1. If you're getting real comments, then you're doing something right. People only leave good comments when they care and are paying attention. What reality are you talking about?

  2. So it sounds like you kinda disagree (which I hope you are) with Gary Vaynerchuk who consistently touts paying for Facebook ads? The issue with Gary Vee (from my perspective) is that he likens one's social media footprint as a piece of real estate and that by paying for ads, you are increasing your footprint. What your saying makes sense... Fbook is acting like a toolbooth. They actually own my page and to make it grow, I would have to pay them.

    1. First, I'm not entirely sure what Gary V's stance is on this. But presumably he's paying for ads for an agency, and encourages other agencies to do the same. He makes money from closing new clients, even if he cant track the source of the lead 99% of the time b/c hes taking a spray approach to social media marketing. He can afford to do this because the profit margin on his offers are significant (probably netting 30 - 50% would be my guess on high 5 to 6 figure+ contracts). So in that case, spend as much money as you want if you aren't concerned with tracking precisely your ROI. The biggest names and brands do that. If you're not the biggest name or brand, though, you'll never outspend these guys, and that seems like fighting a pitch battle against an entrenched enemy (aka a losing battle). Conversely, you could find people who have already bought products just like yours, and get your book or product or offer referred to that person BY someone they already respect in the space. Takes more time than clicking 'go' on paid ads, but everything about the sales process is better (conversion rates are way higher, marketing and selling is simplified because it's coming from a referral, you can lead with value, whereas with ads you're playing the interruption-marketing game, etc.).

      Hope that answers your question. Feel free to follow up and let me know - I'd be happy to explore this topic in more detail if there's enough interest!

  3. Thanks for this video, it's super useful. I'm ethically against social media, so a year ago I decided to close all my accounts and take the share buttons off my website. I'm proud of my choice and sure it's the right one... but traffic has plummeted and I'm only getting one, maybe two new subscribers a day. This, combined with the fact that my online entrepreneur friends are using Facebook ads for EVERYTHING and saying "f*ck quality content, let's do this instead" is frustrating me very much.

    Your strategy makes a lot of sense. I'm a psychologist and I've been thinking about the complimentary niche idea for a while already, since working with other psychologists doesn't interest me that much (we sometimes have opposite views of how to help people, and it makes it difficult to collaborate).

    I've written about a bunch of stuff, but right now I'm focusing on how to take action and actually DO stuff, instead of talking/reading/fantasizing about it. I think it could work with people who are trying to educate their clients into changing their behaviors (physical exercise, for example, or even side hustling and starting an online project). I have a few clients who have bought online courses about those topics from other people, but they are not DOING the work, and that's why they come to me.

    I've recently written a book about taking action (it's being beta-read right now), and I wonder whether that might be a good product to cross-promote with other platforms. I was thinking about publishing it on Amazon as a way to be discovered by more people, but after watching your video (and also knowing that Amazon is entering the pay-to-play game too, WTF!) I think it might be a good idea to directly reach people who have authority on those niches and sell the book to their audiences.

    Question: what do you think is the best way to actually promote the material? Guest posting? Interviews? Offering to give a free master class for a course they already have?

    1. Approach it in 'marketing sprints' - 2 to 4 weeks. Do a 2 - 4 week interview sprint; line up as many interviews on relevant podcasts as you can. Over the next 2 - 4 weeks, pitch and land as many guest posts as you possibly can. What will click for you / your book / your platform won't be the same as everyone else. So your best bet is to test the waters of this sort of long tail referral marketing in short sprints, so you get the work done, and you'll be able to get a better sense of how much work something takes if you spend 2 to 4 weeks on it (and the results that follow, to determine if the juice is worth the squeeze).

  4. Classy piece of work. Timely, relevant, intelligently argued and very helpful. May the coffee power you onwards. (My baby website is all for the love of coffee - not ready yet, but look it up in a month or so... quietcuppa.com)

cross