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Thursday, January 8, 2009

Direct marketing is a scam. Don't buy into it!

They are advertised all over TV, especially at the beginning of the new year. They are gimmicks that say they will help a person get rid of fat, lose weight, gain a six pack, obtain trimmer hips and so forth.

My mom bought a few of these gimmicks in her day, and I doubt she used them for a month and they are probably still somewhere collecting dust in her basement. My wife bought a weight loss kit once, and was fortunate enough to sell it on ebay at a profit. She never used it.

The point here is that direct marketers know that the #1 new years resolution is to lose weight, and they target these people big time. They know that 99% of the people who buy their products won't be using them a month from now. That way, next year they can target a new product to the same person.

Ah, so they say that it's guaranteed. They say if you do not lose 10 pounds in a week they will give you your money back. They know you won't make the effort to do so. They aren't stupid. If that were the case they'd go broke.

I know this because I have an advertising major. I know that the best way to direct market a product is to offer something "free" with it, like a pedometer or something like that that really costs 50 cents but they say it's a $5.00 deal you get "absolutely free." And they also have to put in some kind of guarantee.

Look, folks, these are all gimmicks to get you to buy their product, no matter what it is. My advice to you is to not buy anything from a direct marketing campaign. If you are truly committed to losing weight, buy some credible workout equipment, a treadmill perhaps, and make the commitment.

That's my advice for the month.

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