I’ve been looking for a new web host for a while and heard several good things about Hostgator along with some firm recommendations so I thought I’d give them a try.

Thing is though, the guys who’d recommended them can’t have had the utterly disgusting treatment meted out to them that I received from the ’support’ desk there. Let me explain…

After checking out the services offered I decided the business plan would suit me best and opted to pay monthly. I’ve never been a fan of paying for a year or more upfront because I like to experience the service offered for a month or so first.

I signed up, paid by Paypal, set up a monthly debit and was forwarded to a page informing me how to access my account – smooth sailing so far but that’s when things started to get a little rough…

I tried to log in several times but access was refused so I contacted the live ‘help person’ to find out what was cooking. After a little while of puzzlement on her behalf she stated that an email had been sent to me giving reasons why.

Strange…

Then I noticed an email from Paypal stating my payment had been refunded – “What? Why?”

The live help was no use — just repeating that an email had been sent. So I waited for the email from ’support’ to arrive and after about 10 mins there it was. When I opened it this is what greeted me:

Thank you for your order with HostGator.com!

howtowritekickbuttcopy.com

Your account has been marked for a security verification. Because of this, in order for us to host your domain, we will require payment via bank transfer or Western Union.

This was followed by a set of instructions on how to pay by those means and a severe warning to follow these instructions to the letter otherwise payment will not be accepted. Also there was a minimum payment required of $100.

“WHAT… What’s going on? Security violation? What have I done wrong?” I felt like a criminal through no fault of my own and there was no explanation in the letter. I also noticed that if you want to cancel the account later ( assuming I got one set up in the first place) Hostgator DO NOT give cash refunds if payment has been made via Western Union or Bank transfer — they will only give a credit toward their services.

That’s nice! You want to cancel your account but can only get a ‘refund’ in the way of a credit against the continued use of their services… Sounds a bit shady to me what do you think?

As you can imagine I was a little upset at the email and the instructions minus explanation so replied stating that they had made me feel like a criminal and asking what was cooking.

Their terse reply was:

Due to the number of fraudulent signups, PayPal reversals, and charge backs from accounts signed up from China, all account sign ups from China must be paid through either a bank wire or Western Union. This has nothing to do with you specifically, but it is company policy. Please let us know if you have any further questions.

So that’s it — I live in china so I must be treated like a suspicious character… AND you’ll notice the tone of the reply? nothing else in the email, no apology or anything… Oh they did address me as ‘Hi’ so I have to give them 0.5 out of 10 for trying!

By now their tone and attitude was a little upsetting and I wrote back asking whether the wanted to in fact do business with me… They still had a little chance if they humbled themselves and apologised like they should have done in the first place. If they’d addressed the first letter with a:

“Dear Stuart, Thank you for your interest in opening a host account with Hostgator. Unfortunately due to the high number of problems encountered when accepting payments from mainland China we have to ask for payment via bank transfer or Western Union rather than credit card or Paypal…” or words to that effect things would have been smoother.

I mean that’s how any sensible company that values it’s name and clients would respond isn’t it?

Sadly though not Hostgator…

In fact the next reply I received was MUCH WORSE!

But let me ask a couple of questions before I get to that.

If they know there are problems receiving payment from mainland China why do they allow the user to select Paypal and Credit card from there in the first place???? And why do they not inform buyers from China of the alternative payment options when they try to place an order? Are the deliberately trying to mislead people?

And of course where are their customer relation skills? Many people comment on how good their support is — well all I can say is they should be thankful they didn’t speak to the rocket scientist I did…

I COULDN’T BELIEVE THEIR REPLY!

Forgive the capital letters but this really takes the cake…

This is how they replied:

Hello,

This doesn’t mean that we do not want your business. What is does mean is that we are following company policy, which you agreed to when you signed up, and can not make an exception to our policy for you.

At no point have we stated that you are a criminal. However, as any investigator can tell you, when some one claims that they are not a criminal without being accused of being a criminal, that person is either a criminal or planning on doing something that they know to be questionable in nature.

I mean really!! “we never said you were a criminal but you must be if you think like that…”

Who are these guys? Which PR school did they go to?? And are they interested in business???

I’m still waiting for the reply to the email I sent in return but doubt they’ll even bother. But I can tell you this I’ll NEVER< NEVER use Hostgators services and will go out of my way to tell all of my friends and clients about their atrocious attitude…

But you know what?

I think they did me a favour… heaven knows what kind of shoddy treatment they’d have meted out in the future IF I signed up!

I hope you don’t have the same kind of treatment from your webhost. I tell you what why not reply and let me know your horror stories and if you have one a good story — eems good webhosts are few and far between these days..

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.

PS
Need a sales letter written or critiqued? Drop me a line to: copy [at] kungfucopywriter.com – I’d love to hear from you.

Last week I went to the local computer city looking for a new 24 inch monitor.

In case you’ve never visited China the computer city is a big department store inside of which is a warren of corridors. Each corridor is packed with scores of small shops, many no bigger than your average bedroom.

Here you can buy anything from computers to software to cellphones and walkie-talkies. Many of the shops sell the same things but they all seem to be busy.

Which is strange…

Because they all have something in common — poor to non-existent customer relations!

Almost every shop Susan and I went into to enquire about the choice of monitors showed a “I’m not interested – don’t bother me attitude” A couple of times you can brush it off but when it becomes the norm it really gets to you.

Take the shop I finally bought the monitor from for instance. When I told him what i wanted he picked up the phone and asked someone to send one down then CONTINUED to talk to his friends. He didn’t even have the manners or good grace to ask me to wait a moment while someone brings it down!

Now you may ask me why I bought the monitor there, certainly I was close to losing it and just walking out.

But the problem is this seems to be the norm in this part of China. I’d already spent an hour or so comparing different monitors and knew I’d waste more time if I left and came back later. Also I’d set the time to buy the monitor that day.

This ‘couldn’t care less” attitude is not reserved for the computer city either. There are many shops and restaurants I’ve walked out of in disgust at the attitude shown by the owners as well as staff. It seems the people are just downright rude.

One shop I went into the staff and owner were playing Mahjong and told me to wait a moment. But after about a minute when they didn’t show any signs of leaving their precious game to help a customer I lost it.

On the way out I told them in no uncertain words they should learn some manners and customer relations if they wanted to do any business. The reaction I got back?

Stunned incredulity. They probably thought “What’s wrong with this crazy foreigner?”

Many times I’ve said to Susan I want to move back to Nanning where the people are more friendly and care about their customers.

Interestingly the people here seem to treat everybody this way.

Last year there was the yearly ‘beautiful city’ competition in China and local government spent thousands tarting up the streets etc. Pity they didn’t have the foresight to ‘tart-up’ the shopkeepers minds though.

When the judges arrived unannounced they went to a shop near the hotel they were staying at to buy something and get the ‘feel’ of the city.

And did they certainly get it…

They were totally ignored in the shop for more than five minutes even though there were no other customers there!

Eventually they managed to attract the attention of the owner and explained who they were and what they felt about the reception they’d got. The owners answer was “So what?”

Needless to say this city didn’t fare very well in the competition, they ended up somewhere very close to the bottom.

The thing is are you giving the visitors to your website or store a similar experience? Do they get a good feeling or become confused or disgruntled?

I’m not sure about you but I’ve visited many websites and wanted to order something but couldn’t even find an order button!

I’d suggest you take a look at the whole customer experience any visitor may have. Look with fresh eyes, get a friend to ‘critique’ it for you.
Experience what a customer may — you never know there may be something that’s very off-putting but simple to fix. And when you do it could make a big difference to your bottom line.

Speak to you soon,

Stuart

PS
I’ve got a couple of slots left in my schedule for the next month. Drop me a line to “copy [at] kungfucopywriter.com” if you want me to review a website, help you with a marketing problem or write some sales copy for you. I’d be glad to help.

And let me know if you get a bad experience when you visit my sites – I love the feedback.

A little while ago certain well-known marketers were ‘tricking’ subscribers into signing up for paid subscriptions to their newsletters.

Now that the dust of that settles it seems that at least one of these well-known ‘gurus’ is selling subscribers contact details!

This is soooo wrong in my view, take a look at this article for more information… And be sure to read the privacy policy BEFORE you give out your contact details to anyone. Must admit here I never bother, just assume that they will treat me with respect, but now…

Article reprinted by kind permission of Amber Jalink www.dime-co.com

WARNING: Your Privacy is being breached!

No pitch-Your privacy is being breached. Read now for proof.

Today is a holiday in Canada, but I came online to get things ready for our launches.

I opened my emailbox to find a message from Matt Bacak, a well known “guru”… recommending a product from another “guru”, Justin Blake.

(It’s basically a self-hypnotizing thing for success… supposedly).

I read through the sales letter.

I had something niggling in the back of my mind, so I decided to check out the privacy policy.

~gasp~ !

If you have bought from him OR were thinking about it:

Fair warning: He will sell your information to anyone
who wants it! (Except financial – at least he admits that).

He also states you have no recourse and cannot accuse them of spam. Eesh!

(Proof: http://www.manifestationmeditation.com/privacy.html)

Whether the product is good or not, the fact is “gurus” should be protecting your private information, not sharing it.

Also – another tidbit: The copyright on the privacy policy states “Mining Gold Corporation”. Is that him, or did he “copy” the privacy policy?

Kinda scarey. His main page says, “JB Virtual Enterprises, Inc.
PO Box 6543; Traverse City, MI. 49696 231-930-4043″

Not – mining gold corporation.

So there you have it – it could in fact, be both companies selling your info!

I did more research while writing this…

Shawn Casey’s “Mining Gold” (All his products actually), but I researched the “Mining Gold Corporation” Privacy policy. It states:

“we supply our member’s contact information, to our business partners…”

“We may also supply other companies with contact information, for mail offers we believe would be of interest to our members, with or without comepnsation from those companies.”

“If you order services or products directly from our company, we use the personal information you provide to process that order. We do share this information with outside parties that we do business with.”

!!!

Justin Blake’s has been formatted and claims permission to use the privacy policy from Mining Gold. They’ve revised theirs to say:

—
“HOW INFORMATION MAY BE USED

The use of information as described below may or may not be how information that is collected is customarily used by this site. While actual use of any information collected may be used quite conservatively, you must assume that it is not. You must assume that information collected is shared with other persons or entities for commercial purposes. While this is uncommon in practice, you must assume that it is as you make your decision whether or not to view or interact with this website. This type of shared information may include your name, address, phone number, email address and buying habits, as well as other information. This information may be used for general commercial solicitation by this website or other persons it is sold to, rented to, or shared with.

SPAM

By providing to this website information that forms the basis of communication with you, such as an email address, you waive all rights to file complaints concerning unsolicited email or spam from this website since, by providing such information, you agree to receive communication from us or other marketing organizations. However, all email communication with you shall contain an ‘unsubscribe’ link where you may notify the website that you no longer wish to receive solicitations or information from the website and your name will be removed from the general solicitation database.”

—

The fact is: they’re admitting to SELLING and SHARING your private information.

Do you Really want that?

Be very careful about the privacy policies of companies.

Every company should have one – and if there isn’t one that clearly states they protect your private information, you might want to avoid joining (Unless you don’t care about spam or phone calls!)

We maintain our own newsletters, but we never rent, share, sell or trade our lists or customers in any way. Why would we? (That is a link to OUR privacy policy by the way).

It’s pretty sad that these guys complain about spam…
but are a major part of the problem. Of course, it allows them to then create “anti-spam” software.

Okay, safelists – we expect to get spam because the email
addresses are open for everyone to see (usually). And spammers have access to scripts that will actually create possible email addresses, even if you thought you kept it private.

But a purchase from a ‘guru’ product? You shouldn’t have to worry about that.

Sorry, I shouldn’t rant. We all have our good points and bad points, no one is perfect.

But selling someone’s private information is one of the worst things a marketer could do, and it shouldn’t be done.

Protect your privacy. Be wise to it.

(c) 2008, Amber Jalink. Amber Jalink is the Founder and Creator of many websites, including the popular article site, www.dime-co.com. This article may be reproduced in its entirety as long as this resource box is included.

Kind of leaves a nasty taste in your mouth doesn’t it?

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.

My last post certainly caused a storm. A big thanks to all of you who have taken the time to comment or email me – your feedback is much appreciated.

You’ve probably noticed all the ruckus that has been traveling around the Internet with regard to the tactics I spoke about. The subject in question is called ‘Hidden Forced Continuity’ and there’s nothing new about it.

In fact if used correctly it’s a legitimate marketing tactic that relies upon a clients inertia to generate sales. As an example:

Joe Bloggs has a really great newsletter that he wants people to sign up for, but he feels that a free trial for 30 days would give his prospects a chance to experience it and see how good it is. So he writes an ‘ad’ that states you can have free access for thirty days and if you feel it’s not worth the money then you can cancel without paying a cent.

What he states very clearly, however, on the sign up form is that you must enter your credit card details but won’t be billed for thirt days. If you don’t cancel before then you will be billed monthly until you cancel.

From a marketing point of view this is a good tactic because more people will be inclined to sign up for the free trial than if they had to pay up front. And a lot of those people will stay on as members, also a few will simply forget to cancel – I’ve been there and kept a membership running when I didn’t bother canceling in time. That was my fault though because I knew what I was letting myself in for at the outset.

I think this is a legitimate and ethical tactic don’t you?

However, what I have a problem with is when this is forced upon one without ones knowledge; either by simply omitting to tell you or by hiding the wording in the copy, and this is what has caused the ruckus.

This is what has been brought to light recently…

Matt Backack initially didn’t mention that subscribers were being put on auto-bill until after they had already signed up for his offer. As mentioned in my last post he has now changed it but when I complained to him about this ploy there wasn’t an apology, only a curt email stating that the membership had been canceled.

Now another well-known marketer has been accused of employing a similar tactic. This time however the wording was stated on the sales page but was ‘hidden’ in the copy so most people didn’t know about it. The offer was for Joel Comm’s new adsense book, it caused quite a storm and many people had a lot to say about this tactic.

Here is a quote from an email that Joel received:

… Did you seriously believe people would read every word at the top of your shopping cart page? It’s invisible real estate. It passes for a logo or a header, especially the way you have it set up. If you were being as transparent as you claim, the reader’s eye would not travel from “Yes Joel” (in bold red) to “I am ready to take action” (in yellow highlight) and skipping down to the next yellow highlighted phrase in bold and larger type (after the paragraph about the newsletter) : “I am ready to get started,” completely bypassing the information about your continuity program…

Later in the email she writes:

… Nice try. This is about FORCING us to have to cancel to get out of something we didn’t ask for to begin with and might not be able to afford…

As you can see the writer is, quite rightly, vociferous in her objection to the tactics used, it’s a big email and Joel has published it on his website – more about that in a moment…

This was obviously not the only complaint he received and, to his credit, Joel decided to make a ‘public apology’ and offer to give the profits from two weeks sales to charity.

Now, I’ve nothing against someone apologising for a mistake, in fact that is the only thing you can do. But, I have a sneaking suspicion that this was not a genuine mistake – this is only my opinion as I’ve no way of proving otherwise.

Why do I feel that way?

Well there are several reasons:

• Joel Comm is a seasoned marketer with several years successful experience under his belt
• The copy on his website is professionally written
• The ‘public apology’ has been turned into a sales letter for the product
• There is an image on the ‘apology sales letter’ that I’m dubious about the use of. Tell you about that in a minute…

Understand the Psychology of Selling

To be successful in business you need to have an understanding of the psychology of selling… that means you need to know what motivates people to buy. This is quite a complex subject and warrants an article of it’s own but suffice it to say someone who is successful like Joel surely understands this subject.

He also has a good understanding of sales letters and how people read/react to them. (The majority of people do not read a sales letter in it’s entirety a fact that John Carlton proved when his mailers inadvertently mailed a sales letter of his with nearly half the pages missing. He was not happy when he found out but astounded when the conversion rate didn’t change on a subsequent mailing of the COMPLETE sales letter.)

So I suspect that Joel either knew or had a strong feeling that many people wouldn’t notice the fact that they were being signed-up for a newsletter subscription when they bought his book.

When the complaints started coming in thick and fast he writes an apology but turns it into a high-powered sales letter and cleverly publishes one of the most damming testimonials in it. Then, to gain even more social proof and credibility for himself, he gets that testimonial giver to review his new sales letter and give a favourable report about him and his new sales letter!

Outcome

The result is that Joel has turned a lot of negative criticism into credibility by stating that he’s human and makes mistakes. He’s turned a big critic into a fan and will probably get great mileage from it.

My question to you is…

… “Do you think this was a genuine mistake or a clever marketing tactic?”

Take a look at Joel’s apology website, he’s even included a link on it for you to see his original letter, and see for yourself. http://www.adsense-secrets.com/apology.html

I’d love to hear your feedback on this one – post a comment below.

Worried…

What worries me now is that we’ll see a whole string of less ethical marketers trying to use these or similar tactics and that will cause havoc for the rest of people online; especially newer marketers who may not be as aware of the underhand tricks some people stoop to in order to steal their hard earned cash.

Dubious Image…

When you look at Joel’s ‘apology’ website (I’m not advocating you buy his product, I haven’t so can’t comment on it’s quality.) see if you can spot the image I mentioned earlier on. I’m busy researching this topic now and will talk about that on my next post. Add yourself to my feed or email list to make sure you get notification about it.

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.

You’ve probably seen the emails flying around the Internet stating “There Will Be Blood” haven’t you? And when you read through them you see that there’s this big, well respected marketer who’s so pissed by a student of his who has supposedly ripped off a course of his and is now selling it that he’s going to let you have the same course for only one dollar.

And he implies: “to make me an even better person than this low down skunk who’s ripped off my course I’ll donate that one dollar to charity.”

Now I don’t doubt the dollar has gone to charity but what he doesn’t tell you is that when you donate that dollar and enter your credit card information he is actually capturing you on an autobill for his newsletter!

And in my eyes this sneaky, lowdown trick is just as bad as the guy ’stealing the course’ – if that ever happened.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think a $5000 course for only $1 is good value (that’s what was offered) and I did sign up. I’ve no problem with him trying to upsell a physical copy of the product either but when I received notification that I’d been added to an autobill sequence (by email, AFTER entering my credit card details) I cancelled my subscritpion.

I haven’t even been to the members area and won’t either, the marketer in question has lost all respect from me and many others by the look at it – take a look here for instance.

Apparently he has now modified his page so there is a note on it stating that entering your credit card details will add you to an autobill sequence for his newsletter; but this only after some people pointed out to him that his money grabbing tactic – for that is surely what it was – is against the law in the States.

Yet another big name bites the dust in my eyes – anything seems fair game to ’steal’ the poor punters money these days!

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.