X-Ray Domination Review
My thoughts on Affiliate X-Ray.
I feel totally unbiased in giving my view about the Rich Jerk’s latest product. Mainly because I am not promoting it and therefore have no personal benefit if you purchase it or not.
You will undoubtably receive many emails both today and tomorrow about it. Once again, I have not seen the actual product so can not give you full details about it. I have however spoken with a number of people who have seen the product and were able to give full details.
If you have seen any of his recent videos, you will know that the central part of his product is his X-Ray software. There seem to be a number of misunderstandings about what this software is, so I will try and explain to you what I understand it to be. Please note however that this is my personal understanding so you should do your own research if you do want to be 100% sure.
When you set up an affiliate link with Clickbank, Commission Junction (CJ) or Linkshare you have the option of creating a tracking id on your link. This means that to an extent, you can track which of your links caused someone to make a purchase through your link.
For example, you may be sending traffic to a certain product by different methods.
eg. PPC, article marketing and banner ads
You could give a different tracking id to each of your methods so that you can see which one is more effective and therefore what you should be doing more of.
However, there is a problem when it comes to Google Adwords when you are promoting affiliate products which doesn’t come into play when you are promoting your own products.
When you are promoting your own products, you can put some code on your thank you page. When you make a sale Adwords will tell you what keyword someone searched for which led to the purchase. This is not so for affiliate sales as you are unable to put your code on the product-owners page. And therefore you will not know what keyword led to that sale.
This is the problem which Affiliate X-Ray is said to solve. This is where my understanding of the product is slightly hazy but I will tell you how I understand it.
When you set up your Google Adwords campaign to promote an affiliate product you also set up a page on your server where you direct your Adwords traffic. When it arrives there, Affiliate X-Ray will find the keywords which have been used to show your Adwords ads and will give the visitor your affiliate id together with a tracking code which is unique to that keyword phrase. If that visitor then goes on to purchase, that tracking id will then show up in your stats (using Clickbank as an example) and you will be able to compare one to the other. In this way you will know which of your Adwords keywords caused a sale.
The vidoes that I saw were slightly misleading as it gave me the impression that I could find out for any CB,CJ or LS product which the converting keywords are. In fact the only way which you will find out converting keywords is if you run the campaign yourself. And even there, I don’t really hold by the theory.
Here is why:
Obviously some keywords will convert better than others. For example, if you are promoting a car-related website, then this will convert better for car keywords than computer keywords. However, within using car-related keywords, I am not convinced that you will be able to ‘discover’ the profitable keywords to a statistically valid result without spending many thousands of dollars. For example, let’s say that you use the keyword phrase “cheap cars southern texas”. You find that someone does use that phrase and does purchase, but you only have one person that clicked on that phrase. Does that mean that 100% of the people that will click on that phrase will purchase? Probably not. On the opposite end, you may have a loose keyword that does convert, but only 1 in a 1000 times. However, you only pay 1 cent for this keyword but make $20 in commission. Should you continue advertising on this keyword? Probably yes, if it continues to generate over a long period of time.
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising can be extremely lucrative for selling affiliate products. However, before even needing software like this, you should be adept at using PPC to sell your own products profitably. In general, that is far easier than selling other’s products as the profit-margin is higher.
What the software will add to your PPC Affiliate marketing is having the advantage of knowing which keywords convert (in theory) which usually you would only have when you are able to have access to the thank you page with your own product.
From what I understand, this product is due to sell at $997. Do realize however, that the software is not the only part, but that there are other pieces to it also. However, as much of the hype caused by the Rich Jerk has been caused by his “X-Ray” it is impossible not to make that the focus of this review.
On a sidenote, whispers are that software has and is being developed which will sell for under $100. I am not involved in developing or promoting this software but I have seen a preview version which seems quite impressive and easy to use. If you are only interested in the software itself, then I would wait a couple of weeks to see if there are cheaper clones.
So what else is included in this package?
From what I understand (having not seen the salesletter) for your $997 you also get a course for two months on how to use his system in order to become a successful affiliate. And then at the end of the course, he will mail all of the recordings and the videos to you.
In conclusion, if you are already successful in Affiliate Marketing and/or have already been through several cheaper courses in affiliate marketing using CB and PPC then this course may be for you. I have no link to give you for it if you want to find out more, but undoubtably you will probably receive many emails promoting it. Perhaps try emailing them back and asking them what the software does and if they have successfully used it yet!
I hope that this review has been useful to you. I would really appreciate it if you could leave a comment below letting me know:
1. Are reviews like this useful?
2. Do you intend to purchase this latest product?
3. What is the highest ticket item that you have purchased and did it live up to your expectations?
4. What is the main thing holding you back from making serious money online?
March 20th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Ben,
It is very refreshing to find someone else who does not promote everything that comes down the road! Your review was very helpful and delivered an alternative for someone looking for what it had to offer. This is why I stay on your list.
I was on a list of someone who was bad mouthing the gurus and making himself look like the honest, helpful marketer, only to turn around and try to sell worthless junk that you could get at any free membership site!
In my opinion most of what you need to make money on line can be found for free. Seems like a lot of people waste a lot of time chasing the next product launch and looking for the instant 6 figure income. It does not exist. The way to make money on line is to find your niche and work on it relentlessly. Keep the focus and do the hard work and you will make money.
I tend to stay away from the high ticket items, because I have been burnt in the past. I have yet to see a high ticket item come out and then see people raving about it a year later. Mostly they just fade away.
I did find a low ticket item that I found refreshing and you can find my review f the product at: http://bobwilloughby.com/frustrated-trying-to-find-a-hot-niche/
Keep up the good work and keep those helpful reviews coming! I think that the world of internet marketing is changing. People are tired of everyone selling out their reputation for a dollar. The ones who send out emails two or three times a week with ten sales links in them are going to fade away. Who wants to sign up to a list only to get spammed. I get plenty of spam everyday! Internet marketers like yourself will be the ones to stay around.
Bob
March 20th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
yes, these reviews are very useful.
No, I shall not buy this.
Highest ticket was $500 & it was worth it.
I get confused with all of the info,
and need to be more focused,
John Duffy from London,
keep up the good work Ben!
March 20th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Thank you Ben,
Such reviews are extremely useful. As I had a vague idea of the so called x-ray but now I could get a clear picture of it.
Now having understood the core activity of this product wich is irrelevant in realtion to conversion % I do not intend to burn the hard earned money.
I always use to be cautious to make my purchase.
Definitely the lack of or insufficient traffic is holding me back in making money from th Internet.
I hav got a website and if you are interested we can enter into a joint venture. Pl. write to me.
King
March 20th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
It’s was interested, I like it. Thank you.
March 20th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I like it’s. Thank you
March 20th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Hi Ben,
I like your review here, at least you do not put a link to it as some other people did, they try their level best to write a fair review and then ask viewer to click their link to purchase. Worse, some even offer big bonuses for their subscribers.
At time, I wonder whether all the comment given in a sales letter and review is genuinely helping the writer on what they claimed had helped them; as many look so familiar.
My question is when to draw a line here when purchasing tools, strategy etc that help to increase our income. Almost every week there is a new launch, where the same Gurus are recommending each other products to increase their own income, and our inbox is flooded with the similar type of email, the only differnet now is which Guru offer better bonuses if their subscribers buy from their link.
What is your opinion on this?
SK
March 20th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Thank you for your honest opinion. From reading Rich Jerk’s promotions the first thing I thought was “Who is he kidding?” This software is a joke! You can do the same thing with an Excel spreadsheet that takes me a few minutes to set up. Yes having software to do it is easier but $997? No way! Just to let everybody know the original Rich Jerk ebook has one of the highest return refund rates in all of Clickbank. So his stuff is obviously not for everybody.
March 20th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Ben
Thanks for providing that review. I wish more people would do that. There is so much garbage out there at over inflated prices. I don’t know how some of these people sleep at night.
Very interesting comment from Jonathan - Rick Jerk ebook has one of the highest return rates in Clickbank? I never bought it. Who wants to be disrespected like that?
There are too many people out there who have been suckered into this garbage and all they are trying to do is make an honest living with their online businesses.
Who protects them from the vultures?
Well Ben, you have started on the right track with your review. I wish more people would do that.
How about those canned emails from all the marketers? You know they haven’t a clue about the product they are promoting.
We don’t recommend any product or service to our members at The Marketing Educator unless we have tried it and are using it ourselves.
That was one of the reasons why we created the site in the first place — To sort through all the crap out there.
Keep up the good work
Debbie
March 20th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
A very good and honest review. Tools within the hands of a qualified mechanic, carpenter or professional will further his/her career. Unfortunately, those of us who are not mechanically inclined may impulsively purchase the same tools and not achieve fruition.
Don’t base the quality or performance of a product simply because it is aparently expensive. Ask yourself, exactly how beneficial the product will be in your pursuit and how will it be used.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:34 am
Well done Ben.
It was a slick marketing campaign and no doubt will sell out in days.
i think the price is actually $1497!
they must think we are made of money.
Gary
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Hi Ben,
Good review. I have known about tracking keywords for quite sometime. My friend Jeremy Palmer who makes $1 Million + per year with CJ does this successfullt by appending a code to his Affiliate links in specific campaigns to track keywords.
Thanks for the insignts!
Your Friend,
Steve Renner
March 23rd, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Dear Ben,
It’s an unconditional YES, your review is very helpful.
I have purchased the Rich Jerk E-Book because I was interested in the RJ character. I was surprised to find that the content was down to earth in a “nice guy modeâ€. There are so many gurus who are real jerks but play-it “nice guy”. I wanted to see what this one was up to. It turns out that the provocative Jerk part is just a dare-devil tactic that will probably appeal to some. “Observe the masses and do the opposite†is one of the useful rules of marketing. I personally have gone through all the mistakes one can make when trying to make a living on the Internet. I have tried many different programs since 2002 and I have accumulated credit card debt instead of income. I developed a total phobia for the words “secrets†and “richâ€. I am now driving a truck for Fedex at night to pay my bills. For some reasons, I still believe I will make money, some day, so I polish my Internet Marketing education with a very low budget. This is where an unbiased, quality review like yours, is very valuable for me and probably a lot of others.
Thank you!
John, CA