Review: Under Oath, The Truth The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth About Internet Marketing
...And the Truth about Smart Pages
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I'll admit that I'm a little skeptical about marketing programs. I don't really get excited about "the latest trends" or "what's hot" in marketing. I've bought a lot of marketing programs over the years -- read a lot of junk and got some great pearls of wisdom. Mostly I've just spent a lot of money.
I did get caught up in this one, however.
The biggest reason I bought this program was because there was quite a buzz about "Smart Pages" that I just had to see what all the excitement was about. After all, if there was a way to drive targeted traffic to my sites without spending a lot of time or effort, then I want to see what it is. If someone has mastered this obstacle, maybe they had some other gems that they could teach me as well!
So I bought the program...
I have to say that the author of The Whole Truth, Stephen A. Pierce, is good at marketing. He had a great sales letter that sucked me into buying the program. The interface to download the product was great. He did an excellent job of following up with me as a customer through autoresponders and offers for other products. He can definitely market his products.
Unfortunately, there are two major flaws with the book.
- The first is that it really doesn't offer anything new.
- The second is that the book is partly based on techniques that could cause serious damage to an online business.
On first glance...
I opened up The Whole Truth and immediately printed it out so that I could read it away from the computer -- I usually do that with all the ebooks that I purchase. I sat down with the book and read the whole thing at one sitting.
To be perfectly honest, Stephen really didn't talk about anything new.
He fills the Foreword of the 206 page book with the same testimonials he has in his sales letter.
He dedicates 11 pages to his introduction -- which basically amounts to a repeat of his sales letter along with very large pictures of screen captures from ClickBank to prove he makes money with them, and screen captures of all the subscription sites that he has purchased. More than 6 pages of his introduction is screen captures.
I initially liked the first chapter of The Whole Truth. It talks about how to choose the right product to promote for your target audience, along with a long discourse on taking marketing advice with a grain of salt and avoiding mass psychology when it comes to promoting your business.
The first chapter basically condemns marketing gurus who talk the talk but don't walk the walk... Marketers who will sell you anything just to make a quick buck -- even if they know their product won't benefit you and may even hurt your business. We'll get back to this point in a minute.
After that, the author talks at great length about how to use ClickBank to sell other people's products, how to find ClickBank products, and so forth. In my opinion, there wasn't a lot of substance to this part of the book -- mostly common sense.
Another section of the book I liked included a lot of discussion about how to use a mailing list, build it, and respect your subscribers. I really liked the idea of that because it feeds into my own philosophy. It wasn't really new information, but I liked reading about using your mailing list to market while maintaining your integrity.
That's when 'The Whole Truth' starts to lose the bubble...
This great advice is followed up with 25 pages worth of a follow up email he uses, an email testimonial request, and the testimonials he received as a result. That brings up our total of filler pages up to about 40 out of 205... but we're only half way through the book.
The next part of the book talks about developing your own information product -- but there really isn't any specific information to help you get started. (It's possible that this section of the book may have been included to pave the way for a backend product.) He also spends a lot of time talking about other marketing programs with several affiliate links to those programs.
Now the part I really wanted to see...
The next 26 pages of the book were dedicated to the "Smart Pages" that I talked about earlier. This was the concept that really hooked me into purchasing The Whole Truth.
The Whole Truth goes on to discuss other ways to improve search engine ranking with link exchanges, pay per click search engines, etc. Again -- nothing new here.
The last substantive section of the book deals with prospecting for possible joint ventures. This section isn't bad. In fact, it's probably the most thought-provoking part of the book. I wish the author had put more information into this part of the book.
The balance of The Whole Truth is dedicated to a cheerleading section at the end so that you'll download a trial version of a "must-have software-based goal-setting system." (Another possible ploy to earn affiliate commissions.) The last 10 pages are bonus reports/articles which are really cleverly disguised sales letters and promotions for other products.
Now I've finished the book -- let me at those "Smart Pages"
I was anxious to start building my smart pages. I already had a great list of keyword from using Site Build It!'s SBI Manager. I started my first smart page and had just about finished it. It was a little time consuming, but that's okay if it brought me the kind of traffic that The Whole Truth claimed others had gotten.
For some reason, I decided to take a break and have a cup of coffee with my husband. I was sitting there talking to him about the "Smart Pages" and how excited I was about them. I told him that I planned to use them on one of my more obscure sites to really test them out before I used them one one of my better sites. Then it hit me...
I jumped on the computer and went to Google to search for the pages sited in the book. They weren't there! I checked about 10 of them and none of them were there. Then I searched for the domain -- it wasn't there either!
I immediately sent an email to the author. Here's what I said:
Subject: Smart Pages -- Ha! The single biggest reason that I decided to purchase your book, The Whole Truth, is because I was curious about the Smart Pages. They appear to be a scam -- Your website: www.impulsiveprofits.com is not indexed in Google at all, so obviously your smart pages aren't indexed in the top 10 as you claim. Does this mean that Google has figured out your formula? I think so. It's only a matter of time until the other search engines do the same. What gets me is that you are still selling a book that has become obsolete... just like a lot of the hacks you talk against in the book. Shame on you. You will end up getting a lot of unsuspecting, newbies in trouble with search engines rather than helping them. I've been a Warrior since the beginning too. This certainly isn't in the Warrior spirit. Maybe I should thank you for reminding me of a lesson that I learned long ago online but had forgotten... work hard, do it right, and don't look for a quick way to make it. I respectfully request a full refund on your book. You will find my purchase information below. |
Can you tell I was mad? Here's the reply I received:
No Problem Joseph we can definitely refund your money – so you have your clickbank receipt? At lease a date of purchase so I can look in the clickbank system. …remember smartpages are only 20 out of 206 pages So no, this is not our only a small portion of a powerful book and bonus book and Yes Stephen’s pages were removed Want to know what happened to Stephen’s sites? This will totally shock you because a grown man is confessing to being a tattle tale: A Tattle Tale Confesses .... Part of Sean Burn’s newsletter: “All I can say is that I have reported two sites to Google in the last few months. One was a site using hidden text that I happened to stumble across. The other was a competitor that was using hundreds of doorway pages. Both sites are no longer listed in Google. Now, I have no idea if my reports were the reason for them being dumped but it does show that they most definitely do remove sites so the only thing that we can safely assume is that they do have the resources to check sites.” Unbelievable right? A true tattle tale! As the person who forwarded Sean’s newsletter to Stephen said… "Watch out for the Tanya Harding of Internet Marketing!" Here is an article Stephen wrote that will definitely change your perspective as well: Why Guru's Don't Tell All They Know By Stephen A. Pierce While there are many gurus in various fields that would love to pour their hearts out and reveal all they know, it is simply not going to happen. One main reason is because of the nasty stench of complete and utter disregard and disrespect for success. There are people, whose lives are so empty, so shallow, and so unfulfilled, their mission is to take aim, like a sniper at anyone who dares to achieve and accomplish what they themselves have failed. They have sold their soul to the devil and accepted the mission of crucifying anyone successful that acts as a reminder. A reminder of what they have failed to accomplish. They are filled with deceit in their hearts as they look to rally the ignorant into their cause so they can sabotage, foil, and otherwise trip up others. They are the dung of the internet. Their foul odor is why many guru's keep close to their vest the truest and purest of ideas, formulas, methods and little known strategies that could be successful if you used them. It's important that as you succeed, you know that... Your accomplishments will anger someone... Your profits will remind someone of their poverty... Your success will not sit well with someone... Your excellence will create enemies... Your popularity will draw enemy fire... There are those who are enemies of success. They don't know you and you don't know them. All you need to do is become successful and you can be quickly placed within their crosshairs. They allow envy and jealousy to eat them from the inside out. Their burning desire is not to make this world a better place, but to try and destroy anywhere a better place is being built. The Bible says, "A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself..." The Bible also says, "Don't cast your pearls before swine..." For these reasons, we have not been foolish enough to reveal all we know, all we have, and all we do with internet marketing, investing, and trading. These enemies of success don't recognize diamonds, they don't appreciate gold, and they can't afford the platinum. Their lives are empty and hollow, dark and deceptive. Many of these lifetime losers could actually make money if they wrote their own ebook of truth. Titles that come to mind that would fit them well are: "Conversations with the Devil" "The Unfulfilled Life" "Oh Thy Misery, Why Has Thou Chosen Me" With that said... these people know who they are. We don't wish them hell... we wish them well. We pray for them. You know, success is not about perfection, because nothing in life is perfect. Setbacks are inevitable. Even though setbacks are inevitable, they are also necessary. They sharpen your focus, quicken your spirit, and strengthen your resolve. With all things being said about setbacks, one of the most important things you should know is... they are meant only to be temporary. God Bless YOU and YOURS, Stephen A. Pierce "Maybe I should thank you for reminding me of a lesson that I learned long ago online but had forgotten... work hard, do it right, and don't look for a quick way to make it." The lesson should be – be careful in what you tell others .. because there is always someone working to bring you down. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Alicia |
And my reply:
I appreciate the fact that you responded with such passion, but my point remains the same. His sales page talks about smart pages and most of the "talk" about his book revolves around smart pages. I think a significant portion of his sales are to see the smart pages. Most of the rest of his book is nothing new -- believe me, I've read just about all the same internet marketing material he talks about. Although he may have only dedicated 20 pages in the book to the smart pages, he still makes them a big part of his pitch and I believe that is taking advantage. To add insult to injury, he then sends follow up email messages trying to sell you software to help you create your smart pages automatically. Any way you look at it, his actions are unscrupulous. The date of purchase from Click bank was: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 9:02 PM Thank your for your quick response |
To their credit, my money was quickly refunded.
I thought you might like to see some of the email followup messages regarding the "Smart Pages." After I complained and got my money back, they quit sending me "Smart Page" email, but they still send other marketing messages. In my opinion, there's a big credibility problem at this point.
Followup Email Messages (These were all sent to my husband because I used his credit card to make the purchase.)
Subject: Joseph, how you can get higher search engine rankings Hi Joseph, I wanted to ask you a quick question... What is the highest you have ever been ranked in the search engines? The reason I ask is this... You can start to get LASER TARGETED, and pre-qualified visitors to your site if you have a good enough, and high enough search engine ranking. Armand Morin got a #2 ranking in Google in only 2 days and that one listing will produce thousands of totally targeted and 100% interested visitors to his site. http://www.the-whole-truth.com/smartpages.html *AOL* users ~click~ here Well, the funny thing is this. It's not hard to get the same type of listings in search engines like Google, Yahoo and other big engines. As a matter of fact. Armand Morin and Raymond McNally have put together a piece of software that does it all for you. * Instantly generates these explosive search engine boosting pages ...know as SmartPages, SmartFlash and SmartFrames! * Generates these 3 different types of SmartPages (10 pages each) in under 3 mintues flat ...but you can create an unlimited number of Pages. * Provides totally targeted and pre-qualified visitors to your site or affiliate link ...for bank busting profits! I know how hard it can be to get visitors to your site and getting targeted visitors, well that can be even harder. It's a needed and important part of successfully selling online though. You need to generate an ample amount of visitors that are already interested in what you have to offer in order to pull in sales online. This *new* technological breakthrough, lets YOU take control over your search engine rankings for the first time ever and will drive massive targeted~traffic to your websites! Go ahead and ~click~ the link below to find out how you to can get higher search engine rankings and more targeted visitors. http://www.the-whole-truth.com/smartpages.html *AOL* users ~click~ here May the Truth Set You Fr~ee! God Bless YOU and YOURS, Stephen A. Pierce |
Subject: Joseph, ...Breaking News on SmartPages... Hi Joseph... We have some breaking news for you on a SmartPage test we did in Inktomi for quick results in MSN. The test is for SmartPages for a weight lifting ebook being sold from: http://www.weight-lifting-routine.com The domain being used to bring in the targeted traffic with SmartPages is at: http://www.weight--lifting.com The results of our test in www.msn.com are as follows: SmartPage is using SmartFlash and is located at: www.weight--lifting.com/weight__lifting.html #3 for weight lifting diet #4 for weight lifting plan #5 for weight lifting routine #5 for weight lifting technique #6 for weight lifting guide #7 for weight lifting tip #10 for weight lifting workouts #21 for weight lifting exercise We will now look to test these Pages in Google, Ask Jeeves and Alltheweb. That's it for now Joseph. May the Truth Set You Fr~ee! God Bless YOU and YOURS, Stephen A. Pierce P.S. Get you copy of Armand's SmartPage Software NOW! Get it at: http://www.the-whole-truth.com/smartpages.html *AOL* users ~click~ here P.S.S. Get our personal hands on assistance with your SmartPages, Joint Ventures and many other smart marketing methods with the SmartMarketing Coaching Club. Details at: http://www.cyberwave.com/smart/ *AOL* users ~click~ here |
Subject: Joseph - Do Smart Pages work with Ask Jeeves? Joseph, Ask Jeeves is considered the 2nd most popular Search Engine behind Google, so getting your Smart Pages listed there is something you may want to look at. The only drawback to submitting pages to Ask Jeeves, is that they work with a paid inclusion. Depending on how many Smart Pages you are working with, this could amount to a large chuck of change. The question however is a simple one... Do Smart Pages worth with Ask Jeeves? To answer that question let's look at a live test we have done. We took a totally seperate domain we have and created a Smart Page to specifically draw in traffic to an affiliate program we are part of. Again, we created a Smart Page to specifically target an affiliate prigram that we are part of that has day trading software. You will soon see this program by clicking on the link below. What we did was create a Smart Page for the term: day trading software So, after creating this Smart Page, we paid to have it included in Ask Jeeves. The page is now ranked #2 in Ask Jeeves for the phrase day trading software The listing reads like this: ------------------------------------------------------------- day trading software Offers day trading software for online stock trading day trader. From: http://www.moneymakingdaytrading.com/ day-trading-software.html ------------------------------------------------------------- Now, do you HAVE to pay to get into Ask Jeeves? For the fastest listings, yes. However, we have found several of our Smart Pages listed in Ask Jeeves that we never paid to have listed. So the answer is clear to us that Smart Pages do work with Ask Jeeves and as your second, but high priority objective, you should consider paying to have 5-10 of your Smart Pages listed in Ask Jeeves. As it stands right now with the day trading software program, we do ZERO advertsing to our list about the software and we are rated as the #3 affiliate in this program, all from search engine traffic. That's it for now Joseph. May The Truth Set You Fr~ee! God Bless YOU and YOURS, Stephen Pierce |
Subject: Joseph, a quick note for you... Joseph, It seems like the obsession with The Whole Truth and SmartPages continues. The Whole Truth contains 206 pages of which less than 20 are about SmartPages. Marketing on the internet is NOT all about search engines and those making real money online know this. However, the pressing continues about SmartPages. Because of the popularity of SmartPages, many think that's all we know how to do when it comes to search engines... WRONG! We do SmartPages... we do regular pages... we do it all! And guess what... we are NOT the-know-it-all SEO's, who have so much to say. So let's have a look! Visit Google.com and do the searches for yourself and BE SURE to compare the competitive search numbers of our keywords against those SEO's boasting of theirs as 'proof'. These rankings are for the main domains of three of our websites. These are not our explosive, proven-effective, SmartPages. Take note that we are talking about more than one website, more than one keyword phrase and all the phrases are top competitive keywords phrases in their markets. Keyword: future chart Ranking: #1 Our website: www.future-charts.com Keyword: commodity future chart Ranking: #1 Our website: www.future-charts.com Keyword: commodity trading advisor Ranking: #1 Our website: www.impulsiveprofits.com Keyword: commodity trading system Ranking: #2 Our website: www.impulsiveprofits.com Keyword: commodity future trading Ranking: #4 Our website: www.impulsiveprofits.com Keyword: commodity trading Ranking: #5 Our website: www.impulsiveprofits.com Keyword: elliott wave Ranking: #7 Our website: www.elliott-wave-theory.com And again... we are NOT SEO's! So, whenever an SEO decides they want to bash SmartPages or The Whole Truth, give them the test... Ask for proof of THEIR top rankings! Ask for top rankings of multiple domains! Ask for top rankings of multiple keywords! Ask for top rankings of competitive keywords! ...then ask for proof that they actually make money from marketing online. And here's the big one: Ask for proof that they successfully market products other than internet marketing products. If they can talk it, but can't prove it, then they are part of the 'garbage club'. We continue to find the whole SEO outrage about SmartPages to be hilarious, and the jealousy laughable. They don't respect success, that's one reason why they will never experience it. They repell success in their business because they are not able to celebrate it in others. Their jealousy and envy of the success of others is a cause of success escaping them. This is unfortunate for them, but it doesn't have to be unfortunate for you. Watch your associations. Guard your heart and mind and don't allow yourself to be poisoned by others. I'm not trying to be your life coach here. But just remember, the poison you allow yourself to be associated with, is the poison that can kill your dreams. Those who will talk bad about others to you, are capable of talking bad about you to others. Be smart with your marketing; be wise with your associations. God Bless YOU and YOURS, Stephen Pierce P.S. In all seriousness, success always breeds envy, strife, and jealousy in someone. So focus on what's real. Not speculation. Not the hypothetical. Focus on what the real deal is in marketing and have fun making money online. |
Final Comments...
You can probably tell from my description of the ebook along with the email messages above that I think 'The Whole Truth' is a complete waste of money. Let me outline a few points for you:
- The book contains very little, if any, new information.
- The book appears to have been hastely written -- it is full of typos.
- Large sections of the book are dedicated to filler -- testimonials, sales letter information, pictures, and screen captures.
- "Smart Pages" are really dangerous and will probably kill your search engine traffic.
- Actions speak louder than words when it comes to trusting the words of marketers.
To the author's credit, the majority of the "Smart Page" information and reference have been removed from the website sales letter as of the writing of this article. I don't know if it has been removed from the ebook or not. However, 'The Whole Truth' never really came clean about the "Smart Pages," and the product is still on the market.
I do not recommend 'The Whole Truth.' There are plenty of marketing geniuses out there who have written substantial manuals, ebooks, software, etc. about how to use their methods... methods that will work for long term success. My advice is to find one of them.
NOTE: This original review was written in late 2003. It continues to find a place on this site because the ebook is still on the market. I can't say if it has been revised since then.
NOTE: This page is not designed to slam or slander any business, person, or product. The information here is provided as my own opinion. You should view the evidence and supporting facts for yourself and form your own opinion.
