Fake Guru's Earning Screenshot????

Funny you should bring this up because I was just talking to someone last night to someone who pointed out 2 recent launches which appeared to have fake proof of income.

In one case, the image was changed mid-launch...and when I say these were BIG launches - they were BIG.

I'm not sure why people feel the need to do this, but getting called out for it will surely ruin any reputation you have.

LOL! Once I saw a sales page with 'ClickBank Screenshots' claiming something like $800 per day with his unique system and a dynamic optin popup appeared when I moused out of the frame, I opted in for the free report and was on his list for a couple months until I recieved a broadcast email from him pissing and moaning about him giving us all types of free stuff and none of his subscribers respecting him or buying from him. I remembered it because he even used a few curse words in the email body.

That email probably murdered his entire list =-P but was still kinda amusing!

Yeah, I'd be surprised if 10% of the Clickbank earnings screenshots I've seen were real. Most are fake.

I have a feeling this is the kind of stuff the FTC is really most interested in...

I wouldn't be surprised at all.

TL

If they are true gurus, They are most likely indeed using real screenshots for gurus have huge followings and with a huge following you get some crazies, and and when you have crazies following you you are most likely make sure you're doing everything by the book.

Your problem is filtering out the real from the fake. Develop the filtering system, and you'll do good.

Just my opinions, although they are the best , because I am a guru just look at my screen shots for proof



Clint S.

There are some 'for real ' screen shots and all the more important to check out the testimonials - seeing others making money (now albeit with FTC changes come December that will be different)...but I always check the testimonials to see if it is real.

"keep it real" is done more by the testimonials for sure and it is easy to google the person who is doing the testimonial... (now if they are fake and yes - I've seen ads at getafreelancer where someone is asking for freelancers to do video testimonials!)

Even if real I suspect you now have to go through the whole "results not typical, the typical user can expect... " routine.

I suppose you can make up what the typical user can expect

I agree, an image can be easily photoshop'd

Id go down the route of video proof

Disclaimer:

The above Testimonials are not typical. The typical buyer of this product will not make any money at all. In fact he will lose money because he is out the cost of this product and his internet connection and hosting and the cost of his state of the art PC. So.....

DON'T be typical, Get off your couch do some work and do as well as you have the guts and drive to do. DON'T BE TYPICAL! BE UNIQUE, BE MOTIVATED. Work as hard on this as you do for your slave driving boss on your minimum wage job. And, DON'T BE TYPICAL. Results may vary.

is this ok?

George Wright

It's all fake. We're all plugged into a huge power generating system run by machines. We're human batteries. We survive on the liquified bodies of our own dead.

TAKE THE BLUE PILL!!!

::: There is no Clickbank :::

Many IMers use fake testimonials and fake proof of income. Many gurus will use fake or deceptive claims of what the product will/can do for you. They can show you real proof of income but bear in mind that they probably have a million affiliates also promoting their stuff. Who knows how much this will change with the new FTC guides, but newbies are the target market for most of this stuff, since they buy just about anything and continue to buy ... fascinated with all the outrageous claims of income being made, they are duped into believing that if only they buy this ebook or this system ... they too will make this kind of money.

Then there's IMers who sell great products at not too much money and you may gain some valuable information. Be careful how you spend your money and don't buy one new launch after another looking for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Also research forums and Google for free information. There's plenty of it around.

I for one don't give a crap about other people's screenshots. It's a waste of energy to even surmise or guess. I only care about what I make.......yes, I'm a selfish *******.

I don't think this is the best question to ask.

When I see these claims and assuming they are true, I want to know how consistent is the success and will it translate into my niche. In my opinion, too many people have one hit wonders and then turn around and pitch it as the end all.

A real breath of fresh air would be copy that talked about the process, including the failures it took to get there. That would have real credibility for me.

These days I'm oblivious to the clickbank screenshots because the numbers don't mean anything really. Internet marketering gurus usually get away with displaying fake clickbank screenshots and earnings because they know 95% of their buyers will never follow the program to a tee. So basically you will never be able to question the validity of their earnings because after a month most people usually end up jumping to the newest get rich internet marketing program on the market.

VIDEOS CAN BE FAKED AS WELL!!!!
I have been for 2 years in TV business and trust me, there are many ways to fake your videos as well. What do i try to tell you, that don't believe to all videos as well.

I would say 50% out there are fake JMO

How do they create fake CB sales Screen shots?? I've heard of ppl using fake screen shots but how are they made??? :confused:

As with anything, I think the 80/20 rule applies with only about 20% of these things being legit. The gurus who are successful are often showing their earning from affiliate launches they've done in the past, not the their fantastic PPC earnings or what have you. So I think in those cases the info is accurate, just misrepresented.

In my opinion, the guru that DOESN"T say how much he made an a product
but rather focuses on benefits that explain how you CANNOT NOT make good money with the product, is probably the guru that makes $10,000,000 a year. (And I do know a couple that do, although they never say how much they make and never show screen shots of anything.)

that is entirely possible. I saw a guy on youtube show how some individuals alter their clickbank earnings. But keep in mind not everyone is like that. There are good internet marketers out there. You just have to do your due diligence to find ones that can provide adequate training.

My answer is a repeat of what I said in another thread - you should evaluate the product in the context of your own abilities and resources to implement it.

Even if the screenshots are legitimate, you should NEVER assume that you will automatically achieve similar results. Chances are there is a significant disparity between your own abilities and those of the seller.

The simple fact is that while you quite possibly could realize similar results at some point, unless your abilities and resources are on par with the seller, it ain't gonna happen quickly.

Instead of asking for screenshots as proof of earnings, you should be asking for proof of how many times the system has been replicated by typical buyers and whether or not they achieved similar results. That should include the timeframe/costs to achieve those results too.

It's easy to write up or hype of the benefits of practically anything, but if you do not know how to leverage those benefits for your own business activities, then you're wasting your time/money buying it.

This is a pretty interesting video. It received 136,160 views on YouTube:


Then if you click on the link in the description box and watch the video: Making Money With Google Adsense | Internet Marketing and SEO he shows the whole thing was faked.

These two tools can fake things too!

Log into your ClickBank account and place this code

javascript:document.body.contentEditable='true'; document.designMode='on'; void 0

in your browsers url, then type in your amounts in your account, you may have to try it a few times before it will work.

and this..

Make Money With Google AdSense

It is a shame that some people do fake their earnings. I have seen it several times where you can actually measure the lines on Clickbank earnings and you can clearly see that they are faked (and its so obvious sometimes).

If you make the claims you better back them up with verifiable proof. The problem is, who can actually verify the proof without giving them direct access to your account?

The long and short of it is that people are going to fake earnings to try and drag you in. Use your common sense and look into the vendors reputation and reviews of other products they may have released in the past.

As some others have said here, it's all in the implementation of the strategies. If you feel you have what it takes to apply the knowledge conveyed and the drive to see it through then you are infinitely more likely to succeed than leaving it gathering virtual dust on your hard drive while you go searching for the next "Big Product".

Just my 2c on the topic...

Sean

My screen shots are legit but then I am no guru

I'm going to go against the grain here, and while there may be some fake testimonials out there, I think the vast majority of the screen shots are not doctored--at least not by the big guys. What's the point for them? Do you think they'd risk having CB or another platform pulling down their product and risk a low, to mid, to high six figure launch due to a faked screen shot? No, that would be stupid and these guys are not stupid.

On the other hand, many of the testimonials are quite misleading. A lot of these come from JV partners who have a vested interest in creating a buzz for the product. Another group of testimonials come from the "professional" testimonial givers who give testimonials for dozens of products in order to get their URL showing up on major sales pages. Many of these clowns have never even seen the product.

And the screen shots mean nothing anyway. So a JV partner says that they made 5,000 bucks the week after they got this product. Big whackin' deal. They've probably got their own list of a couple hundred thousand names, so if they can't make 5k a week with their list... well, you get the point.

Of course there is the matter of a new product vendor claiming to make a thousand dollars a day or whatever. Again, big deal. It doesn't mean they made that money from using the product they are selling. I mean, if you want to set me up with an AdWords account linked to your charge card and give me a $5,000 a day limit--hell, I could make a couple thousand dollars a day as well. Of course it wouldn't be profit, but so what--I could take a screen shot of my Clickbank account showing me with 3k a week earnings.

Those screen shots are earnings--not profits. There is a huge, huge difference.

Do I think the big guys doctor their screen shots of earnings? Don't think many do. However, I do think that what those screen shots represent can be a very, very fuzzy thing indeed.

I've once heard a well known marketer say you can actually call Clickbank and ask whether a particular product has earned the money they claim (if you provide a reason for asking it, like, you want to buy the site etc.).

Can somebody call Clickbank and ask about a particular product?

It's really interesting where in this forum, we all have been fretting and fumming and worrying about the FTC rules and we see big numbers and claims still being used in all product launches. Yesterday I watched Jeff Walker's video and he threw in very big numbers. Now, I am not implying anything (and I do trust and respect Jeff) but even with these "new rules" the hype and hoopla in IM has hardly taken a nose dive.

I guess people lie because they want some prove to help them sell it. They want you to buy it but there is so much being copied its hard to tell. Unless they throw in that big number like the one above.

People love candy and hype.

They want an instant magic solution.

They want to get rich.

Big fancy screenshots give them all of that perception and it backs up the vendors 'story'.

There was a guy a couple of years ago trying to establish himself as an article traffic guru trying to flog his program here and he pretty much got booed off the stage.

No one knew who he was, just showed up in a gust of wind and was gone again just as quickly.

One very clever and perceptive person noticed that his Clickbank screenshot was slightly out of alignment, needless to say he got called out on it and got the hell outta dodge in a hurry.

Never seen him since, mind you, probably lurking in the shadows as someone else.