Ryan Deiss’ new product, “Perpetual Traffic Formula”: Is it anything new? (…and sly marketing tactics)
Right now, I just don’t know if Ryan Deiss’ “Perpetual Traffic Formula” is anything new.
Here’s what I’ve noticed so far…
Let’s look at the prelaunch content…
1) “The Perpetual Traffic Report”:
What seems new is that Ryan seems like he MIGHT have an effective opinion about “activity” on blogs. Autoblogging effectiveness is no secret… but I don’t know, he’s got interesting opinions about comments, RSS feeds, etc. Also, he mentioned getting traffic BEFORE getting links… that’s an interesting concept that I think VERY FEW people doing SEO follow.
I KNOW that he’s going to have a important things to learn about conversions on a blog. That might be worth admission right there… we’ll see.
Everything else is the same. His three part theory is “structure and content”, “links”, and “activity”. Like I said, not too much new stuff.
2) “Cherry Picker Software”
It’s OK, not bad, not great. He did identify the best part of Market Samurai, the one part that makes Market Sumurai really worth it. So for free, it’s pretty good. Not as robust or fast, but hey, it’s free.
However, I’ve been informed that Traffic Travis offers better for free, though I haven’t tried it myself yet.
Is it as easy as Ryan says it is to use? No. You need a lot more data. And I wouldn’t trust those link figures. Get SEO Spyglass if you really want to know before entering a market. Otherwise, just multiply all links you find in here by 5 and assume that’s what the real figures are.
3) “The Authority Codes”
What I don’t like is him touting an advanced course and then doing basic stuff. This report is really not cool. He called it one of the best reports he’s written… I sure hope not! It’s not better than “PTP”, that’s for sure.
Ryan, why are you telling me a manual way to find 10 blog comment backlinks? His method of teaching how to get backlinks seems archaic to me. I hope he’s got some outsourcing options inside the real deal.
For backlinks info, listen to my interview with Terry Kyle and Tom Goodwin, real backlinks masters. (it’s free)
So to be honest, I’m just not sure.
Let’s talk about the launch itself, though. As usual, this is well-executed and Ryan gets a lot of credit from me for being an amazing marketer. There is serious buzz and he got some of the biggest marketers on board to promote, such as Frank Kern, Eben Pagan, and Jeff Johnson. So kudos to him for that.
Here’s some things in particular that I noticed. Look at this sly marketing technique…
“In the summer of 2010, Google made what I believe will be it’s last major algorithm shift in a very, very long time…”
Do you see that? He doesn’t have a clue when the next algorithm shift is going to be. He can’t possibly. In fact, I’ve read that algorithm changes are made daily! But he doesn’t want to make it seem like his product could possibly become irrelevant any time soon. Very smart.
And I also noticed this in an email…
If you’ve been watching the Perpetual Traffic Formula
blog today, you’ve probably noticed A LOT of activity…
Over 1000 people have posted comments TODAY about
tomorrow’s launch!
On top of that, there have been over 6000 comments
total to the other pages and 105,000+ have downloaded
the reports and software.
Needless to say, there’s A LOT of interest in Perpetual
Traffic…
…which brings me to the “bad news”.
Based on the level of personal attention my staff and I
are promising to give to each PTF member (and you’ll see
why tomorrow)…
…I’m a little freaked out.
I never really thought it would get this big, and as it sits
there’s no way we will be able to serve all the folks that
want to sign up. OUCH!
So I have no choice but to set a hard limit….
…but because you are on my personal list (or a valued
client of mine)…
I have a special “cut in line” opportunity for you…
Not for a second do I think Ryan is prepared for sell any less than as many copies as possible. But I love this urgency ploy because it conveniently capitalizes on the positive buzz that’s been creative, points out the 1-on-1 attention you’re going to get, and makes it seem like it’s scarce. Very slick!
I find that great marketers typically have great sales tactics like this and if you just pay attention, you can really learn some valuable ones.
But whether or not I’ll buy something really comes from the sales letter and the offer, not the pre-launch content or the marketing tactis. In the sales letter, you can determine the value, the promises, and the guarantees. So that’s where the decision is made. Take a look at the sales letter by clicking here. Ultimately, if they’re making bold claims, and you’re curious to what’s inside, you can always take somebody up on a guarantee.
The sales letter spends A TON of time touting the virtues of organic search and explaining the trends away from paid traffic. It’s 51 minutes long! Maybe Ryan did some research that his 13-22 minute video sales letters should be longer if the product is priced much higher…
…because let’s face it, the price is STEEP. I just don’t know about this one. For Frank Kern’s List Control, I was excited. For Product Launch Formula, I was excited… For this… not so much…
That’s pretty much my opinion for now on the subject. Feel free to weigh in below!
p.s. I’m really skeptical that Ryan has even tested any of his new theories about the Caffeine update. It only rolled out full-scale a month or two ago. How long did it take him to put together this product? Certainly longer than that! And how was he able to do testing before a full-scale implementation of the new algorithm?
Again, maybe he’s onto something… or maybe this is just beautiful marketing at work…
Hey David,
Nice post!
I think that Perpetual Traffic Formula is just a rehashed old stuff, with some useless basic software (which cost 100$ to develop, but they (marketers) always swear that they spent 100,000.00$ to develop them).
This is marketing, and good marketers can sell useless s&#t any day.
P.s, I liked his report, because is reminded me spammy adsense days
Ohh boy, that was a days… Create website with 10000s of spam pages on any subject with automated software, add adsense and make tons of money..
David,
A month or so ago I went through my email and unsubscribed from almost every Internet Marketer’s list with only a couple of exceptions. You were one of the exceptions, and this post is a really good example of why. Your recommendations are usually spot-on, and I respect your honesty.
Thanks!
Thanks for the compliments… glad you enjoyed the post.
@ Dmitri–did you by any chance happen to buy it? I keep wondering whether the 2k price tag is worth it. What on earth could the “google loophole” be? Whatever it is, I don’t think I’ll be shelling over 2k to find out. That’s just too big a risk. Wonder how many people will really take him up on the offer?
One thing to add, David…
Seems like Ryan doesn’t target this course towards expert SEOers like us… but rather newbies who wouldn’t yet know better. The things (both info and software) he offered in prelaunch are useful, but basic, indeed.
But the marketing side of things is really briliant!
Steve Lorenzo SEOVirtuoso
SEO Video Tips
I know, right? He really is one of the best marketers out there, outside of the content he produces.
Actually I think Fladlien does an even better job at selling with his own voice and excitement…
But on the marketing side of things, I collected all the emails, etc… and studied the jvblog, because indeed, this is a launch master-piece.
Steve Lorenzo SEOVirtuoso
SEO Video Tips
Really nothing new in his offer, if you ask me, and too expensive… But man, how good he is in building the buzz!
It’s a Product Launch Formula classic case study, and I felt I got more value studying Ryan’s marketing and sales tactics rather then from the reports he released…
Chad
He does an excellent job at building buzz. I think one main factor is his tone of pure excitement for his offers. He does a great job of selling through his voice I think.
Dave,
SEO Rochester said it all for me, so rather than repeat his words, all I can say is “Hear, Hear!”
Its refreshing to see an honest opinion about a new product launch. Like SEO Rochester above I recently purged my inbox of all the garbage emails I get daily. After unsubscribing from so many lists Dave was one of the few left standing, and the only one not cramming Perpetual Traffic down my throat. And the terry and tom interview is killer.
Thanks Matt! Glad you liked that interview… I really do think it’s the best SEO information out there… and I’m not saying that because I made it. Terry and Tom are just the best. I trust them MUCH MORE than I trust Ryan when it comes to SEO.
David … thanks for the breath of fresh air. I’ve really soured on all the launches and all the hyped-up copy the affiliates constantly feed us. They truly must feel we are idiots. I continue to read all of your emails because of review posts like this one. (I am presently deleting many of the emails from gurus I used to follow.) It is nice to be treated with honesty and intelligence. I’m sure this isn’t going unnoticed by your followers. Please keep this up – I feel sure we all appreciate it!
No problem! Thanks for the great feedback.
Yeah, when I saw the Cherry Picker my first thought was, Traffic Travis does that, better, and a whole lot more. I can see where it might be news to newbies, but I can’t believe how many emails I got from people who definitely know better, promoting it like it’s some breakthrough software. Anything to drop their affiliate cookie on my pc, I guess.
I don’t see myself scrambling to shell out 2 grand “before they’re all gone” for I don’t even know what. Ok, I know video sales letters are the thing now, but I don’t have an hour to burn on a sales pitch, I’m trying to build a business in between a career and a family. I miss the traditional sales letter where I could skip the pitch and get to, ok, what am I getting and how much does it cost?
I’d purchase the other big launch, Mark Ling’s AffiloJetPack if the timing was better, because at least he’s got a sales letter where I can see what I’d be getting (I’d get it just for the 5 email autoresponder series, I suck at email marketing), but I’m at the point where I just get what I need for what I’m doing at the moment (and the occasional WSO just ‘cuz it’s fun bargain hunting).
I did find value in Ryan’s suggestion that the “caffeine” update takes activity into account more – - that kind of makes sense, so I’ll make sure to add that to my strategy. Content, links and activity, got it.
Have to agree, I really enjoyed watching the performance of the launch, learned much more from that than from the reports.
And, only recently stumbled across your newsletter, but will be sticking with it.
Mostly I unsub pretty quickly, but for the first person I’ve seen speaking the truth about this weeks big launch I’ll make an exception
I think the consensus is that Ryan’s launch is actually more intriguing than the offer… Glad to have you on board, Jill.
Very good analysis David. Like others my compliments on your style. Nothing new in Ryan’s offering as far as I am concerned. If his objective is to rip off the beginners then maybe he will be successful – in the short term.
I for one do not admire over-hyped material no matter who its from. That it is also hyped up by the usual suspects says a lot about where their values are too.
Thanks again.
Bill
Wooooohh! there tiger,
$2k. Well I know that I could not afford that ticket price. If many people have been online for some time and are making some considerable coin, then they may invest. But then if they are making some good coin why would they need this product?????
For some newbies they may get sucked in to the sales video and jump at the chance as they don’t have the knowledge yet but then will be 2$k in debt!!! But from your review David there would be no way that I could chuck $2k at this product.
So thanks for the review.
Craig
Craig, just to be clear, I did not review the product, since I haven’t bought it and I don’t know what’s inside. I’m more talking about the launch.
Having said that, 2K is a lot, especially when we haven’t seen anything that special yet.
[...] you haven’t seen it already it, here’s my post about PTF that I made on launch day: http://david-eisner.com/ryan-deiss-new-product-perpetual-traffic-formula-is-it-anything-new-and-sly-... Posted in [...]
David, You may already have seen these revealing articles, but if not, worth reading:
http://www.seobook.com/ryan-deiss-perpetual-traffic-formula-review
http://saltydroid.info/ryan-deiss-perpetual-traffic-accident/
http://saltydroid.info/ryan-deiss-scam-ryan-diess-scams-ryan-deiss-scammer-seo/
Ryan Deiss has lost ALL credibility with me. He says one thing, yet does another. It’s all about getting your money.
The fact that he was paying all those affiliates $1000 for each sale, as well as giving out huge prizes including a car, tells me all I need to know about the motivations of those affiliates. I’ve since unsubscribed from every person who promoted Deiss.
Thanks for being a person of integrity and showing some backbone and talking about this whole fiasco. Very few have!
I can see that you are an expert at your field! I am launching a website soon, and your information will be very useful for me.. Thanks for all your help and wishing you all the success in your business.
Hi there may I use some of the information here in this post if I provide a link back to your site?
Yes
How did you make this template? I got a blog as well and my template looks kinda bad so people don’t stay on my blog very long :/.
Ryan Deiss sent out an email just before his “Perpetual Launch Formula” enrollment deadline, in which he said, quote:
“Class starts on Monday and out of fairness I can’t
let anyone come in late and disturb the flow.
So this weekend will be your last chance.”
Ryan’s stated deadline was a week ago, but he is STILL selling it on this other web page as of today, one week later:
http://www.perpetualtrafficformula.com/friend/
It would be really hard to spin that into anything other than what it was, which was a bold face lie. I’m sure some WF members/groupies will “overlook” that, and try to justify it as being acceptable because he’s “said some other things they like” in the past, and “they still get value” even if Deiss is “part” liar. A sad commentary on our society, for sure.
Btw, the generic, non topic-specific comments above from “Legalsounds” andd “Burton Haynes” sure look like comment spam.
Didn’t know about that… thanks for the info. Yes, I will probably still look into his future offerings because he has had some amazing products. However, I didn’t see Jeff Walker of Frank Kern pull that stunt. Know what I’m saying?
Um, Burton’s looks legitimate. Legalsoundz… yes, probably comment spam, but certainly not blatant. You should see some of the crap I spam out. I can’t believe people spend their time and money on trying to sell affiliate products through comment spam. I wonder if that works… but I won’t even try because it’s obnoxious.
Actually, now that I am a blog owner I wholeheartedly am starting to agree with Terry Kyle. Blog commenting backlinks work, they do – but they are obnoxious! I’m going to write a blog post on this! However, Terry turns off comments altogether. I want commenting on my blog! What to do what to do…
If Deiss is to be believed comment spam implies activity which is a good thing. Personally I either delete the spam or I have an outsourcer go through and make the comments more useful and leave them in in the hope of encouraging others to comment. Interestingly however the site that this comment is linked to gets virtually no comment spam.
For what it is worth I thought Deiss’ free report was interesting. I was unaware of the importance of activity on websites and if I was a much bigger operation would like to test it thoroughly. Am sure there are some clever ways of building activity to a site before it gets highly ranked. I recommended the free report to my smallish list but didnt recommend anything else. If I hadn’t been travelling I would and indeed should have sent out another email suggesting traffic travis as a better version of the cherry picker software but there we go!
Great article. Waiting for more.