4. In other words, an appeal to what excites the consumer is
much more effective than the properties of the product.
This is not necessarily deceptive. In many cases, products
can be so similar that the only real difference among them
is in their perception, ie- 'sizzle,' by the public.
5. If ever anyone in cyberspace has excelled with this
principle, it's The Rich Jerk.
6. If you've done any significant cybercruising, you've surely
encountered his promotional campaign. His spiel is
impressively creative. He claims that he's rich, not
necessarily because he works harder than you, but
because he's better than you. As a result, he doesn't really
care what you think about him or whether you're
interested in buying his product. However, he makes it
very clear that it's due to his product that he can claim his
arrogant superiority over you and everyone else.
7. The Rich Jerk could be the Don Rickles of the 21st century.
He revels in spewing insults at his audience, and the more
he wallows in rudeness, the more effective his message
becomes. Some readers may not be amused by his angle,
but most recognize that he goes so over the top with his
approach that his point is made. He purports to be so
financially free that it doesn't matter what others think of
him, and therein lies the sizzle.
8. The Rich Jerk's product is a mere staple of cyberspace: he's
selling a work-at-home internet business concept. There's
nothing earth-shaking in his content. It's basically the
same as what everyone else in the genre is selling:
13. The Rich Jerk has some leads that may expedite the
process, but none of those are anything exceptional,
either. Results will vary. Few will join him in richness.
14. Still, that's not the Rich Jerk's issue. His job is selling his
product. He's doing it legally and effectively. As far as I'm
concerned, he's merely selling the cyber-equivalent of
bottled water; he's taking something you can get for free,
putting an aura around it and getting you to pay for it.
Willingly.
15. Another principle taught in marketing is that of cognitive
dissonance. Basically, this term infers that consumers have
a tendency to justify their purchase of a product by noting
its advantages to them and downplaying any
disadvantages. For example, in this case, they'd say
they've bought a step-by-step tutorial for getting into a
work-at-home business and have saved time over anyone
trying to gather all that information by themselves, even
though the task can be done for free with a bit of search-
engineering. Almost every positive comment I've seen
about The Rich Jerk's product confirms this tendency.
16. Thus, the Rich Jerk has his bases covered. His sizzle is
alluring, his product may be obvious, but it's legitimate
and his aftermarket has afterglow.
17. Not only has the Rich Jerk seemingly done well for himself,
he's spawned a cottage industry for others. Copycats are
abounding. So far, I've already seen ads for the Money
King and The Rich Pig; more are probably on the way.
They're poor imitations, but in cyberspace, duplication is a
successful form of flattery. They might actually profit from
their near-plagiarism.
18. There is one facet of Jerkdom that is worth calling to your
attention, though, which involves the third sales principle
I'd like to mention: incentive marketing. This involves
giving a consumer something for nothing, in some manner,
in order to realize a profit.
19. Enter The Free Jerk. He's offering to give you the Rich Jerk
product, legally, in return for your simply reading his
critique of it. That's his product.
20. The Free Jerk profits because you're going to first pay for
the Rich Jerk's product, after which The Free Jerk gives you
a 100% rebate. In effect, he's 'sharing' the affiliate's
commission he receives from The Rich Jerk for your
purchase. He makes up the financial difference --- and
then some --- by directing your details, for another
commission, to major cyberspace advertisers who see you
as an 'active' cyber-consumer. Thus, he realizes a net profit
and you get what becomes a 'free' copy of the Rich Jerk's
product. You also get directed to additional advertising,
but The Free Jerk tells you in advance that it's coming your
way, so you do have a choice.
21. Thus, the Jerk industry is a niche of ironies. Sizzle is on
sale, and if you're so inclined, you can accept someone
else's sizzle in exchange for being exposed to further sizzle
in order to acquire the original sizzle for nothing more
than a bit of after-sizzle.
22. And while all this is in process, someone's making money
and everyone has the possibility of being satisfied with
their end of the deal.
23. As the consumer who catalyzes this Jerk-a-thon, perhaps
that makes you the Niche Jerk.