The Artificial Boost To No. 1: Not Again.

Good lord. It’s hitting the WWW again.

The current, ongoing Amazon promotion with a zillion bonuses that supposedly is worth a stunning $8000 is the Power of an Hour. But here’s the latest break - Succeed on Your Own Terms is coming up next, with bonuses worth $13,827.

What is going on?

Authors of books are now boosting their book sales by offering self-proclaimed exorbitantly-valued bonuses if you would order their book on Amazon.com (or other major online bookstores) and submit a receipt claim.

This has proven to be a very successful marketing strategy to bring their books up - to the number 1 bestseller on Amazon. And author after author who can do this, is doing this. The bonuses keep coming - will it ever end?

Who has done it?

Here’s a list. If you remembered others, please feel free to add a comment.

The book covers and prices at Amazon.com:

It’s great for the sellers

They get their book on the number 1 bestsellers. That means they can boast about being a bestseller, which will in turn boost their future sales. But of course, they didn’t make it to the bestsellers list the old-fashioned way.

They get their Amazon commissions because people buy from their link. In addition to the cut they receive as an author, they also get commissions for recommending you the book. They thought it all out, didn’t they.

They give you the “bonuses” that proved more helpful for them than you. They get to keep your email address and send you more stuff to sell you their other products. It’s really good if their products are great or helpful. But when it all boils down to just-making-money, consumers suffer spam and false refund promises.

Why you shouldn’t be doing this

If you haven’t participated in one of these bonus extravaganzas, then let me give you a break down.

First, you go make a purchase at Amazon.com or wherever they ask you to go. If you don’t have an account yet, you’ll need to make one - 5min.

Then, you will need to bring up that website to make your receipt claim. Most likely, you will need to check your email because it is a double opt-in - 5min.

You will then receive an email with a lot, a lot of links to get your bonuses. Viewing the full list alone - 10min. Downloading your bonuses - from 2min to 15min *each*, depending on the type of bonus offered.

You have already bought a book - and it has to be really good and pretty much enough to keep you occupied for a while or to fully absorb the contents. Do you really need so many, many, many bonuses, of which some are 90% fluff, those that are “no fluff” are absolut BS? (there’s an example in the next section)

Time. Time. Time. You’re wasting it. You’re wasting time downloading things that you won’t be needing or won’t even be reading. With all that time spent grabbing that many bonuses, will you have time to even get to them? Even if you found time for them, will you ever finish reading each of them? They are mostly scattered pieces of information, a little here, a little there. You need to evaluate the costs involved in getting them in the first place. They are not well-organized like the books you buy. After all the mundane tasks downloading bonuses, do you still have the zest to read the book you bought?

Types of bonuses offered

1) From the author himself/herself - usually these are direct downloads and will be very easy to access. The download time will depend on the file size and your internet connection speed. If the author is not evil, usually 1 or 2 bonuses that are truly worthy of being bonuses (not just for namesake or looking pretty on the webpage). So there you have, the promised bonus that comes with the book

2) Free items offered by other people - these may be

(i) direct downloads, which will take slightly more time because you will be redirected to that person’s website and then you need to start looking for the link. Troublesome but pretty quick.

(ii) downloads with strings attached, which you will need to share your name and email address before you’re given your “free” bonus. Obviously, these take a lot of time. You will need to type in your name and email, go to your inbox, wait for the confirmation letter, do the double opt-in drill, wait again, then get the promised stuff. Sometimes they make it easy for you by giving you a direct download. Other times, they will redirect you to their download page where you will need to click a few times to get it. These bonuses take the most time, but if you’re well-trained, 15 minutes is just enough time.

Usually, these two types of bonuses are free regardless whether you bought the book through the Amazon link, just that they are not so apparent on the net, or they are not listed in the search engines when you search, or they are listed so far back you will notice them only on the 43rd page. It is very rare that a bonus provided with strings attached is good, and even rarer if the bonus is a no-frills download. So, these bonuses are really not bonuses - are they even truly worth something to be added to the “total value of bonuses” you’re getting?

Some bonuses that I discovered in the second category: very important-looking titles like “43 Metrics You Must Test In Your Business” turn out to be a 3-page document: 1 cover page, 2 pages of content in fairly large font and ample margin spacing, with 43 questions you should be asking yourself regarding the metrics of your business. That was worth $197, according to the webpage. Tell me that is not BS.