Read These 8 Tips Before You Enrol In Your Next ‘Internet Marketing’ Course
I ventured into internet marketing in the 1990s, a time when terms like ‘digital marketing’ or ‘e-commerce’ were not yet common in Singapore. Amidst numerous failures, where I had encountered and fallen victim to subpar internet marketing courses from certain trainers and coaches along the way, I’ve also found little pockets of success in e-commerce, print-on-demand and affiliate marketing through self-study, YouTube videos, networking with fellow internet marketers and lots of hard work.
Based on my experiences, I’ve since set personal guidelines for choosing courses. To help others avoid scams, I’m sharing them here, especially for those new to internet marketing. These principles are applicable beyond internet marketing courses (this term includes sub-niches of internet marketing such as SEO, social media and content marketing courses), and include courses related to anything you can think of under the sky, such as property, Forex, stocks, and shares.
(1) Research The Course that You Want to Take Online
Conduct an online search on Google, Yahoo or across all popular social media on the course instructor or company to uncover any negative reviews or feedback. Besides generic keywords related to the course or trainer, you can also use ‘negative’ search terms such as ‘xxx scam,’ ‘xxx internet scammer’ (e.g., Internet marketing coach+Iranveryfast xxx scam, Frederick Tan internet scammer, DominicCourses scam). These search term suggestions help Google surface all related content about that specific trainer or course.
If you cannot find any information about your prospective course or instructor online, this does not mean the absence of negative feedback. It could just indicate that they’ve paid customers to remove reviews or used legal threats to demand that the customers do so. I’ve read a few of such cases in a digital marketing forum and some friends had also fallen victim to such courses. I had also encountered it myself. A digital product that I purchased had 100% positive reviews, but when I posted a negative review after using it, the seller offered a refund in exchange for removing my feedback.
(2) Engage In Relevant Forums
Visit niche-specific forums and inquire about the course or instructor’s credibility. In today’s landscape, there are many self-proclaimed experts who have only attended a couple of digital marketing courses and are eager to start teaching. In Singapore, a helpful forum is Hardwarezone, where you can find individuals with similar experiences or seek valuable advice.
(3) Join Relevant Internet Marketing Facebook Groups
Join relevant Facebook groups for internet marketing and seek advice from fellow members. Chances are, someone can provide insights on the internet marketing course and instructor you’re interested in. Use the white search bar at the top of your Facebook page to find groups like ‘Internet Marketing Groups’ or ‘Digital Marketing Groups+Singapore’ for Singapore-based discussions.
(4) Check for Free or Low-Cost Courses On Other Platforms
Verify if the internet marketing course you’re considering is also offered for free or at a low cost online. It’s very likely that a similar one is also available on platforms like YouTube, Udemy, or Skillshare. Based on my experience, some free or low-cost courses can be just as good, if not better, than those costing USD$2,000 or more. I’ve found valuable courses on Udemy that outperformed higher-priced alternatives, and some even accept SkillsFuture credits.
(5) Check out Everything about the Course Instructor or Company
An essential step is to verify the credibility of the internet marketing coach or their team meticulously. You should also inquire about the actual person conducting the course; sometimes, it might be one of the trainer’s students or employees rather than the trainer themselves. The trainer may just made a brief appearance during the initial free seminar to encourage sign-ups for their courses.
(a) Begin by checking the number of courses offered by the instructor; a higher count suggests long-term commitment to the business.
(b) Evaluate the instructor’s tenure in the industry — the longer, the better.
(c) Examine the presence of an official, professionally designed website, ensuring it appears credible. Be cautious if it’s just a one-page sales pitch. If the blog or website hasn’t seen frequent updates and the last post is dated years ago, delve deeper and seek online opinions.
(d) Confirm the instructor’s activity on social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., checking for a genuine following and positive comments.
(e) Investigate whether the instructor holds a full-time job, as this may indicate part-time commitment and potential limitations in offering the desired engagement.
(f) Conduct a thorough check on the company behind the course. If you’re in Singapore, you can search on CASE’s website or Google for the company’s name to identify any alerts. Some smaller or newer companies may have notable individuals associated with them but could still be on alert lists.
(6) Drop the Course Instructor or Coordinator a Mail!
Locate the course contact or instructor’s email on their website, and send an inquiry about the course. Take note of how long it takes to receive a response. If it exceeds 5 days, chances are you may experience similar delayed support once enrolled in their marketing courses.
(7) Genuine or Fake Testimonials?
Look out for online testimonials for the course or instructor. Authentic testimonials have a distinct language, while scripted ones often feel generic, over-exaggerated, and enthusiastic in a similar way. Be cautious if the testimonials seem digitally manipulated, as it’s easy to create fake positive comments in tools like Photoshop, such as WatsApp screenshots. Also, watch out for courses repeatedly using the same dated testimonials — it could indicate a lack of effort to gather new feedback or difficulty in obtaining any at all.
Nowadays, you should also beware of companies using AI-generated, photorealistic images or videos of ‘customers’ providing testimonials. In this digital era, generating such ‘customers’ to fool prospective buyers has become an easy possibility.
(8) Actual Costs of Investments Not Revealed
Many courses and instructors showcase impressive screenshots of million-dollar sales revenue without disclosing the substantial investments made into the venture. According to one insider, who was the assistant of one well-known internet marketer course provider in Singapore, the course provider’s actual profit margin is only 10–20% because he had invested the other majority portion into Google and Facebook ads to achieve his results. His main income comes from his training and courses.
Another trainer in one of the Facebook groups that I am in told us that we need to factor in a minimum of USD100 a day to spend on digital ads to drive traffic to our venture. However, what he did not mentioned was that we also need to monitor the ads constantly, tweak them if they are not effective, and then invest some more money to test different products on different platforms.
As more and more of such ‘trainers’ come on board, more and more of their students will also start to use the same mode of operations, becoming ‘trainers’ themselves, and then selling expensive courses.
Hence, the most critical rule is to trust your instincts, avoid impulsive credit card decisions, and refrain from hastily clicking the ‘Add to Cart’ button. If you are attending a free Internet marketing seminar in a physical location, consider leaving your credit cards behind to give yourself more time to do research, ask for opinions and think about it rationally.
Before COVID19, I had attended a few of such seminars. Interestingly, one of them, held at a posh hotel in Singapore, even stationed their staff at the door to stop people from leaving. Just remember that you have every right to walk out of the room if you do not like the atmosphere there, or if you feel that something is wrong. Also, even if they put out a sales page with a countdown timer, or the course is ‘limited to the first 50 pax only’, or until a certain date, do not believe that at all. Even if it is true, there are definitely similar courses out there that will help you achieve the same objectives that you want.
Unveiling the Truth Behind Marketing Courses: Scam or Legit?
It’s important to note that the effectiveness of every course out there varies depending on the individual’s commitment to implementing the teachings. Even if a course is good, it will not be ‘effective’ to you if you didn’t bother to implement it. Contrary to the claim of certain internet marketing courses that proclaimed ‘even your 60-year-old mother can do it,’ mastering digital marketing requires time and effort, even for experienced marketers. Whether through a course or self-study, with diligence and determination, achieving a full-time career in internet marketing is possible.
While most high-cost courses do indeed cover the very basics of what is needed for you to achieve success, there are also numerous low-cost or no-cost alternatives that can help you achieve the same objectives. My advice is to stay away from these high-cost courses, especially when you are just a beginner.
Get in touch with me if you want some free resources that I’ve had from years of research and studying, especially in SEO and content marketing. And don’t worry, I’m not selling any high-cost courses. Make a friend here.
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