Hello Blogosphere and Happy 2010 (It’s officially pronounced “twenty-ten” and not “two-thousand-(and) ten” in case you hadn’t heard). I’m off to work my way through day one of a trial membership at a local gym to try to get back to my fighting weight (one of several New Year’s resolutions that I have undertaken). I know that this is going to require jogging, which may be the cruelest self-inflicted punishment that is routinely undertaken, but alas, I fear I have no choice.

Once I get sick of the gym routine, I may have to reach for a cup of Yun Wu Tea to help me fight the battle of the bulge. After all, scores of affiliates can’t be wrong. Yun Wu is one of the last ancient tea formulas passed down from generation to generation. Only the finest blend of the purest tea is used for this premium blend of Yun Wu Tea. It’s got a $40.00 payout on a third page submit, and I’m guaranteed to see results in two weeks.

With Oprah Winfrey and celebrity surgeon, Dr. Mehmet Oz, filing lawsuits against makers and marketers of dietary supplement products recently, online marketing practices in regards to products like Acai and Resveratrol are currently under heavy fire. And with good reason. Dr. Oz praising the anti-aging properties of acai berries on the Oprah Winfrey show is being translated into ads by some internet marketers as these two celebrities endorsing the products when they have not.

What happens when people find out they have been misled? According to an article by the Chicago Tribune, Oprah’s web site has fielded more than 2,000 complaints related to acai-berry products. In addition to the complaints, I imagine this resulted in many charge backs for those marketers who chose the misleading route and a damaged reputation.

Rather than using celebrity names and gimmicks, makers and marketers need to go back to the basics of honest salesmanship – using scientific studies, statistics and testimonials from actual users as the driving force as to why a customer should be purchasing a product. Just as brick and mortar shops need to establish a name and reputation, marketers need to look at their online marketing practices the same way – perhaps even more so, as all you do have on the internet is your name and reputation.

Blue Phoenix Media