Skeptical of IM Products? You should be…

If you have an online business, or you’re thinking about starting one, then you run across a lot of Internet Marketing products and services.

The problem most people have is: how to know what to buy, and when to buy it – or not.

There are some issues with low-quality products, or misrepresentation, but fortunately almost every Internet Marketing product comes with a quality guarantee and the option to get a refund if you’re not pleased with the product.

Plus, I’ll assume that you’re a smart cookie and a fairly good judge of character…

A healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing. It will make you do your research, Google the product name and the merchant, read the fine print, make note of those quality guarantees, and ask your peers for feedback. All of this should go into a smart buying decision.

The bigger issue is that most people buy products they don’t necessarily need, which is a different monkey altogether. In addition to being skeptical of the product or the merchant, we should also be ’skeptical’ of our reason for buying.

So how do you know what to buy, and when to buy it?

The Buying Filter

Once you’ve done all of the necessary research, and you feel this is a legitimate product at a fair price, you still have one more element of the buying decision to consider:

Is this product right for me?

My advice has always been to only buy a product that you need right now, to accomplish your current objective. The buying filter is simple:

Will this product take me closer to my goal, or distract me from it?

It’s easy to buy up products that we think we will use in the future, especially when we are taunted by a “limited time offer” or a “buy now or you’ll miss out and regret it forever”. But keep in mind that this is your business, and you are the only one that knows for sure if a product is a match for your goals.

There is a difference between investing in your business… and buying a product. And if you’re not investing in your business, all you’re doing is investing in the sellers business.

Always use the filter, and invest in your business growth wisely. Know what you need, why you need it, and WHEN you need it. Otherwise you’ll end up with a hard drive full of info-products that you never read or use, and a bad taste in your mouth that keeps you from buying the products you do need.

Best,

p.s. If you’re not sure what you need, or you need help making a buying decision, you are welcome to ask at my discussion forum. I check in there several times a day and would be happy to give you an objective opinion. You can also view a list of guides I personally use to run my own online business on this page.