UPDATE: This review is now outdated, and I do not make any current claims regarding this product. To get the most up-to-date information and recommendations please join my free newsletter.
6/2/2010
I’ll be writing a followup to my previous blog post very soon (I’m still gathering evidence, working on a solution, etc.).
In the mean time, I want to give you a quick review of a product I just bought.
Today I saw an ad for a product called Confidential Conversions, which was just launched in the past couple days.
The sales letter features a young marketer named Philip Mansour, who reports that he is making $173,165 per month by buying “hidden wholesale traffic for pennies on the dollar.”
The sales letter goes on to explain that he is using little-known PPC networks that contain “almost untapped pools of hyper-responsive traffic”.
As a marketer who has been successfully using PPC advertising since 2004, I was keenly interested in what these untapped sources might be.
So I went ahead and bought the product. Here’s what I found…
I’ll start with the bad news…
There are no “untapped”, “hidden”, or “underground” traffic sources revealed in this product.
Instead, what I found was a course teaching about some PPC networks that marketers have long considered to be “2nd tier” PPC networks. (Note: 2nd tier does not mean 2nd rate. It just means they are smaller than the big search engines)
These PPC networks are not hidden. In fact they’ve been around for years, and if you’ve studied much about PPC marketing, you’ve probably heard of them.
The good news is…
The course itself is pretty good.
The videos are nicely organized into step-by-step modules, and Philip gives a very good demonstration of setting up a campaign on each of the PPC networks.
And while the PPC networks aren’t really “untapped”, they DO have less competition than the top tier search engines. Again, you may have heard of these networks, but you’re probably not using them. In other words, they may indeed be untapped for YOUR business.
There are also modules covering mobile marketing, and CPV marketing. He covers the basics, and then gets into some real-life examples and practical methods of applying those techniques. It’s not a “masters” course, but definitely provides a potentially profitable education for those unfamiliar with mobile marketing or CPV.
The only other negative thing that I will mention is Philip’s voice. My wife was in my office for part of the time I was watching the videos, and she agreed that he sounded like a teenager.
Obviously that doesn’t affect the content, but I know it may be a hangup for some people.
Conclusion:
I think the sales letter may paint a misleading picture of something truly new or “underground”. But for those willing to overlook the hype, the product itself is pretty good.
If you’re not doing any PPC outside of Google/Yahoo/Bing, but want to, this course can help you tap into some good traffic sources. Although I’ve been familiar with these 2nd tier networks for years, I’ve never exploited them the way that Philip is doing. Gaining insight into those methods was well worth the cost for me.
If you’re already successfully utilizing the 2nd tier PPC networks in your marketing efforts, or if you have no desire to do so, then you can skip this product.
Click here to go to Confidential Conversions (My affiliate link)
As always, you are welcome to leave your comments below.
Have a great day!
Hi Eric,
I really look forward to getting your take on products before I take the plunge. I know we all have been burned so many times and it is really nice to get your expert take on things.
Thanks so much,
Glen Wayne
I bought this product earlier. After 3 upsells I was taken to a member’s page that required a username and password but none were provided me. Several e-mails have gone unanswered. This guy’s support sucks. I still do not have access to the product. Too many of these guys sell products but you can’t get any support from them. It’s frustrating to say the least
Hey Eric,
I appreciate your honesty. I have to agree with your wife, he does need to work on and polish his delivery. Phil has made tons of videos and I would have thought he’d already got past the ‘kid thing’.
Although, I have to say the dude is defintely killing it in the marketplace. Kudos to Phil. I believe he provides great info for newbies.
Hi Eric,
Thanks for this in depth review. I was seriously wondering if this product was any good. Thanks for giving me your personal opinion. It makes deciding a lot more easier. 🙂
I haven’t had the occasion to use his support yet, so I’ll take your word for it. I’m not sure when you bought it, but I would say it’s reasonable to expect 1-2 full business days for a reply during an initial product launch such as this one.
FYI- the login email was sent automatically to the email address I used during payment. If you paid via paypal, then it should have been sent to your main Paypal email address. So you can use that email address to retrieve your password.
My pleasure 🙂
Haha, exactly. After commenting on his voice, I told my wife that the guy was making millions. We were both kind of like… “can’t argue with that.”
Eric, your reviews are always fair and honest. Thanks for being one of the true troopers out there.
Thanks for the objective, comprehensive, and fair revue. Ray Phillips
Still trying to figure out what a “punk teenager” sounds like? Glad that you guys don’t judge anyone.
Haha I was hoping someone would ask that.
I should mention that it wasn’t just the inflection of his voice… it was also what he was saying and the way he was saying it.
For example when he said “I’m sure EVERYONE on this video right now knows that the google keyword tool is free, not only that but has actually used the google keyword tool before.”
If I’m 31 and it came across as a cocky thing to say, I can only imagine that some of my readers (who according to my stats skew well over the age of 45!) might feel the same way. So I thought it was worth mentioning.
I’m certainly open to suggestion of a less judgmental way of getting my point across 😉
I am on Philip’s list after buying Banner Ad Blueprint which I liked. I viewed the hour and 40 minute video that Philip prepared as a demonstration for the Look Smart search engine. It was a great video but I was under the impression that there was going to be a follow up after one week of the campaign. I would have to buy the course, I guess, to see that next video. That was what discouraged me from buying.
I do agree that using the second tier search engines could be a cheaper way to get targeted traffic.
Bill
He says we don’t need a landing page. Isn’t that against the rules of search engines? Just making sure before I buy.
Some of the search engines he uses do not require landing pages. They allow direct linking.
PS- After thinking about it, I went ahead and removed the word “punk” from my review. I think the point comes across just by saying he sounds like a teenager. Thanks!
I’m not sure if you are in the US but i wanted to get your opinion on this: http://myharvestamerica.com/JohnWilliams please…
Are you planning on reviewing Eben Pagan’s Guru Blueprint course? I’d be interested to know what you think of his ideas and if you think the course is worth the price of $1997.
I’m not planning on reviewing it, mainly because the 100 lessons on my own site are exactly that: an information marketing “guru blueprint”.
I’ve not reviewed the product, but based on the quality of material that Eben is known for, I would guess that yes it is worth $1997.
I would be very much interested in your opinion about Eric Louvieres “Spin Click” course/ mentoring. It is a one year engagement. It sure would help having some points of view.
Thanks
I liked the video presentation of Eben Pagan’s Guru Blueprint I agree with him on the thrends and the man knows his stuff. I would buy it if I had those 2 grands to play with them. Besides, that is an investment on your biz. Better than going to Las Vegas for a weekend.
Thanks Eric for this honest review. And coming from an expert, it really helps a lot. If only we can get an expert, honest review everytime a hot product is introduced to the market…
Phil is from maryland and everyone has that type of slang in certain areas of that state.
It’s only fair to report that they finally came through with my login details. I get impatient…
Thanks for the heads up about Confidential Conversions. I have not done much in the way of PPC but its good to have this info in my resource file when or if I do.
Rick Hager
Do you need any more accolades? 😉 Thanks for all you are doing to help. I took your lesson 3 seriously. I enjoyed Eben’s freebies and it would be great for Eben’s coaching ( if only I could afford it) But we have Eric’s Tips, for which I am very grateful. Thanx again.
Exactly! As I was listening to Eben’s video, I immediately concluded that I don’t need it based on all I had been learning and will still learn form Eric.
In my opinion, Eric’s tips already contains all to be learned in the “Eben’s Guru Blueprint”
Hi Eric,
I’d be interested in knowing, if you were starting out tomorrow to try to make online income, would you BEGIN with something like Mansour’s PPC course – or not? The idea of going back to direct linking does seem attractively simple.
Otherwise, for example, a newbie could start with your 100 free lessons or an expensive version of something similar – but that sounds rather daunting compared to the apparent ease of a direct-linking PPC system. (According to the sales page!)
So would you rate Mansour’s package as an effective stand-alone strategy for someone starting out, or is it more a useful extra to a different core strategy?
Honestly I would recommend focusing your efforts on building your own business with your own product instead. Your link is obviously yet another MLM program. Some people make a lot of money from them, but most participants do not. I’m not bashing, just saying I think you have better chance of long term success with something else.
I’m really not familiar with it. But maybe someone else can comment on it.
That’s a very good question.
The first thing that you need to know is that running a successful business using PPC direct linking as your primary strategy is not as simple as it sounds.
It takes a lot of research, creativity, ad writing ability, tons of tracking, trial and error… oh yeah, and money.
That said, it is simpler than some other business models. It’s very systematic.
On the other hand, there is another factor that makes it more complex than some other business models. And that factor is its rapid evolution.
The PPC business is constantly changing and rewriting its own rules.
While it may be an “easy” business to initially learn, it will take continual effort to stay ahead of the curve and to keep your business running for the long term.
In contrast, the information marketing business is evolving much more slowly. Information products have been around since the invention of the book.
A direct-linking PPC business could disappear overnight. If you’re only direct linking, then you’re not building a list. But if you’ve built an information marketing business with list-building integrated into it, IMO your business is more likely to stand the test of time on the Internet.
So would I start with direct linking if I was starting over?
Maybe. If I was in a fairly comfortable cash position and had a few grand to risk, I’d definitely consider it. If you succeed at it, you can quickly ramp up a full time income.
At that point you can quit your day job and shift some of your efforts over to long term strategies (ie. list building) while maintaining the cash flow.
But if I had to choose only one business model from the start, and if I only had one shot at success, I’d choose information marketing… which is why I chose to focus on teaching that business model in my lessons.
The other thing to keep in mind is that Mansour’s methods are effective for more than just direct linking. We’re talking about web traffic here, and that’s an important ingredient for virtually all types of internet businesses.
PS- I just checked out your site. You’re a brilliant artist! I wish people like you didn’t have to worry about making money 🙂
Update- Chuck received his login details.
Sooo Eric, you still in the business of recommending products?
It looks like it. Personally I am trying to get to grips with the three big ones. Should one become involved here b4 you have done so?
The same with me: I bought the product and got the same result as Chuck (= nothing)
My paypal account has been charged and I got the receipt of clickbank!
Here is their support email:
***************************
Thank you for signup! Unfortunately, you have not finished
payment yet. If you have any troubles with payment,
don’t hesitate to contact us using the following
email address: xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com.
Despite the fact that your payment is not completed,
a customer record has been created for you.
Thanks, Eric, for the very comprehensive answer, and thanks, too, for the free website plug and endorsement! Cheers, Paul
Paul…I suppose a little off topic, but I too find your paintings wonderful. great work, good eye…
Looks like an interesting strategy. I think I’ll stick to trying out info marketing for the moment and selling t-shirts!
hey eric plz let me know-if i work for online marketing how do i earn money online from non-us country…?
and more over how do i get started….?
Hi Eric
Thanks for a very objective review. I am not ready for this just yet but I will bear it in mind. BTW, this sort of honest content will keep me coming back to your site and will encourage me to part with my hard earned when I see something appropriate. 🙂 p.s. Looking forward to the next instalment of your course.
I appreciate you honest review. I purchased this product from the 2nd exit pop up for a $20 discount. When I went to the website, as the person above, I could not get in without a password. I sent a copy of my receipt to the support email and got an email saying that I have not finished paying for it, and to go to the website and pull up the subscription and pay for it. (@ $77) I sent 2 follow-up emails with a screen shot of the discount page and a copy of my receipt and still have heard nothing. I am going to get a refund, remove myself from his email list and ignore his future offers.
Thank you so much for your honest, and indept review of Confidential Conversions. I think I will go for this product as Google banned my account with them without telling me what I did wrong. I read their policy over and over again, but I can’t see what I did wrong, and they won’t tell me.
Since you have assured me that I could get good result from the 2tier search engines, I want to go for it and forget Google.
Thanks again, I always appreciate your broadcast.
Thanks Eric for the review. Honestly, I didn’t realize that using other search engines than Google, and Yahoo could be profitable. With Philip making that much from the 2tier search engines, I think it’s what I would like to try out.
thanks for the overview Eric….money will be spent wisely over something else.
Yes I am, as it seems like a lot of people find the reviews to be helpful.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat. The big SE’s have the lion’s share of the traffic, but also more competition. IMO, it currently takes more work to get good at marketing via AdWords (for example) than it does on a 2nd tier PPC network, but the payoff can be worth it because Google is a virtually unlimited supply of traffic.
So I think you could go either way. The key is to choose one strategy to start with, and then figure out how to make it PROFITABLE for yourself.
That’s an automatically generated email from his Amember software. It looks like the PayPal IPN failed to get back to the script. It’s a fairly normal issue, so I’d get in touch with Phil and give him at least a day or two to get your account set up.
Whoever is handling Phil’s support was obviously looking at his Amember admin panel, and not actually verifying whether you had made the payment via Clickbank. I agree that the first response was disappointing, but as someone who uses the Amember script, I do understand why the mistake was made. I would give him 1 or 2 business days to respond to your followup email. During a big launch like this, he is most likely inundated with literally hundreds of support requests, so I do not think it is reasonable to expect an instant response unless he advertised it on his sales page.
BTW, this is a good lesson, which I will be talking about when we get to the “product launch” lessons in my series. During a product launch, you must be FANATICAL about customer support starting from the very first sale. It is especially important during the first few days of the launch, because that’s when most reviews are written. In this case, not only is Philip’s slow service costing him your business, it is likely costing him other sales due to people reading your review.
You can do business online from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. I recommend going through my lessons starting with lesson #1: http://www.ericstips.com/tips/lesson1/
Exactly! Why not just say that he sounds a lot younger than you would expect for someone with that much knowledge and experience. It’s a little harsh to call a guy a “punk” who you never met before.
I guess I’m not that quick to call anyone a “punk” without getting to know them first. Wouldn’t be my choice of words, but everyone is different.
To each is own I guess.
I agree. I came off sounding like I was calling him a punk, which was not my intention. I stand corrected.