Is the internet marketing information products bubble bursting?

David Walker recently published a post “Love or Money” on his blog which raises the question of ethics in Internet Marketing. Now before you consign that thought to the trash bin along with the perennial “Ethics of a Used Car Salesman”, his post is worth reading. There are a number of comments on this post and the debate continues on the following post. “Why ethical marketers stay broke.”

He asks  how do we as Internet Marketers, earn money from sales  (we have to feed our families) but refrain from using many of the tactics used by less ethical marketers or promoting mediocre products with an over abundance of hype.

It is a problem that all responsible marketers must address, it seems to be a deepening dilemma for many internet marketers.

The number of Internet Marketers promoting each others products and filling up our email in boxes with repeated variations of the same sales messages  gets ridiculous at times.

Can ethical and responsible Internet Marketers compete with the hyped up promoters who promise instant riches with every new product launch or campaign?

The big niche that many newbie Internet Marketers are told to enter is Information Products,  more specifically Information on making money on the Internet.

So here are a few reasons why that niche may be nearing saturation:

• The number of previous customers who have bought the hype and been disappointed.
• Some marketers over-use of the upsell,  creating the feeling in customers minds that they have been deceived into paying out ever increasing amounts to get the promised solutions.
• More non-English speaking new Internet users.
• An over abundance of marketers and products, many of which are variations on the same theme and some of little value.
• Increased communication on, and fascination with, Social Media.

So if this is an emerging trend, is there still a future for Internet Marketers?

Absolutely, Amazon and Ebay are just two examples of highly successful businesses based on Internet Marketing, but not restricted to teaching peole how to make money on the Internet.

Network marketers are another group that are successfully merging the advantages of Internet marketing with their core activity to increase their sales.

I am not for a moment suggesting that information marketing is dead,  just that as customers become more wary, the hyped-up-get-rich-quick type products and marketers might start getting weeded out.

But for the long term good of Internet Marketing, serious Internet Marketers need to try and behave ethically by promoting products that do provide value by.

Wishing you success in all your endeavours.