Make Money Taking Surveys? – Wishful Thinking.
(But a wonderful study in suggestion and subliminal marketing, nonetheless)
Dear Friends:
Please take a look at the seemingly wonderful business opportunity presented in the ad above. I pulled it from my spam box just for you. The above ad “header” was culled from the website of the “sponsor” of this “make unlimited money from the comfort of your home” claptrap. The site (actually a slickly-prepared sales landing page), which exploits: 1) the ever-popular dream of making money from home (no selling!), 2) financial desperation in a difficult economy and 3) the gullibility of a great many persons can be found at http://www.pbsurveys.com/ . The pitch is very compelling.
The truth of the matter is that you are being asked to pay a fee for something which you could obtain for free (if it were worth obtaining), and which will prove hideously disappointing.
What actually happens is that you get a list of intermediary companies (not any of the famous ones appearing in the header above – those name brand companies don’t ever pay for you to take a survey) who are either looking to build their mailing lists, or to sell some promotional merchandise to you under the ruse of being willing to pay you for your expert opinion as a consumer.
You sign up to take a survey (sometimes you even pay to participate), which invariably ends up being a very time-consuming labyrinthine batch of inane questions, hyperlinks (deluxe with tracking cookies to adorn your hard drive), and screens, and repeated requirements that you continue to do ridiculous and irrelevant things, like “before you go further with this the survey [to get your pay either in cash or in the form of something exciting like a laptop computer, dining out coupons, a ‘free” service that you do not need and which will eventually default to a setting that actually bills you monthly] subscribe to one of the following ten magazines, or click on the following five websites, or give us some information about yourself, or just sign up for something on a ‘trial basis with no obligation,’ …” and all of the time requiring that you look at more and more irrelevant junk. Douglas Castle calls this the “bring me the witch’s broomstick” ploy. The more time that you invest in being lead about with a ring through your nostril, the more you are emotionally invested in getting to the end of the survey so that you may get your payment.
Few if any of these surveys are ever used for anything more than getting you to buy things, try things, give out information, or click on other websites…the name brand companies you see presented above generally have nothing to do with these “surveys” and never even get to see your responses.
In sum, it is a way to make you work very hard (I once did one of these surveys, and spent 45 minutes before I realized that it wasn’t worth the $10.00 that the sponsor promised), and subscribe to various other things under the guise of it being an opportunity for you to generate a wonderful income (“work as little or as much as you’d like”). Since I did not continue to do what I was being told to do, which involved viewing a never-ending series of screens with products to preview, lists to sign up for, and collection of data about myself), I was not eligible for the payment. That part hurt a bit, but the rules, as they say, are the rules (even if you have no idea of what they are at the beginning), and I resigned myself to other income-producing opportunities.
The bonus that I hadn’t expected was a thunderous, dam-breaking deluge of spam about virtually every kind of useless product or service ever created in Ron Popeil (bold inventor of Veg-O-Matic, Pocket Fisherman, and a Rustoleum-like compound that you spray on your head to give you “the look of a full-head of hair”) Laboratories… wonder mops, slap chops, CD sets, magazines…in fact, I had to actually cancel a number of free trail offers that I had been bamboozled into signing in order to keep my credit card from being charged.
Question: How are these slippery little companies able to convince so many people to participate in these time-consuming exercises in frustration?
Answer: Great selling techniques. To name a few:
1. The header above boasts name brands, nice-looking people, gold-colored lettering, currency in piles, and the notion of freedom. This is so obvious I won’t call it subliminal messaging.
2. The ad copy promises a believable amount of income in return for a seemingly necessary service to be performed at home, at your leisure. Plausibility (no special tools, weapons, talents, or far-fetched and physically-challenging actives are called for) and the chance to earn some money.
3. The notion of being your own boss and investing your time as you see fit. No special qualifications are required to perform this work, but you have a “guaranteed” payday – this appeals to the common folks who are neither corporate executives nor true entrepreneurs.
4. The notion that “thousands” of other people are already doing it and making a fortune within hours of their first mouse click.
5. Some testimonials from “regular” folks who are taking advantage of this wonderful new way to earn honest money.
6. A silken, syrupy voice (the “hostess” actually gives you her name) and video on the website to hypnotize you into a stupor of ambition and positive expectations, and some “real people” talking about how simple and profitable it is. What you do not consciously notice are all of the high-velocity audio and visual subliminal cues relating to wealth, independence, sex and other themes which are embedded into the video, and the site itself.
7. The cost of entry is affordable to most anyone, and it seems as if you are purchasing (at an incredibly low price!) a “license” to begin a little-known, legitimate, money-making career.
And Now, Folks…The purpose in my writing this article is not to debunk moneymaking schemes or to malign anyone at all. My intention is to increase your awareness of selling tools and approaches, subliminal and otherwise. If you are vigilant, you can avoid being ensnared. But better than this – if you have a good product or service and wish to market it, following the above example (with some exceptions, of course) can work to your benefit. In fact, it will work to the benefit of those people who eventually are fortunate enough to become your customers.
Can we learn about marketing from a cheap gimmick?
Yes. Absolutely.
Faithfully,
Douglas Castle
Douglas Castle
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1 comment:
There are reputable companies out there that will pay you, but don’t expect to find more than a few dollars per survey. For the more extensive surveys (for instance, if you are asked to try out a particular brand of laundry detergent and the test takes a few weeks), you will be paid more money. But even if you took surveys all day long, the odds of being able to pay the bills with survey money alone are very, very slim.
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