Overview:
Phil
Wiley calls himself the un-guru. I'm not exactly sure what
he means by that, but the implication is that he doesn't care
to spend a great deal of time working the business. When he
introduces the term "un-guru it is in this context, "Letter
from Phil is supposed to get to you every weekend, but I've
just realized why it hardly ever gets written on time. It's
not me being lazy. I'm just being an un-guru..."
His
spin is a simple one. Have many tiny niche sites that sell
a lot of affiliate products. That's it. That's his whole shtick.
As
far as I can tell he has only one product of his own geared
toward teaching Internet marketing. The rest of his products
aren't clear from his site, as he does exactly what he teaches
- has many products in other markets on small sites all over
the Internet.
It
is obvious from several references in Wiley's newsletter archives,
book and Web site that he is an avid student of Ken
Evoy. (top)
Positive:
Wiley is compelling.
His basic premise of many mini-sites has a great deal of merit.
Obviously it takes advantage of the common advice given by
nearly all marketing advisors, to diversify. The more common
buzzword for diversification is "Multiple streams of
income."
It
is sound advice and Phil Wiley should be credited for specializing
in it.
I've
also found that Phil Wiley is generally well respected by
other marketing teachers. This speaks well for him.
One
thing I really appreciate about Phil Wiley is his straightforward
get-to-it writing style. No fluff built into it. I hate when
some of these guys write 20 pages of fluff before they get
to the solid information. Wiley doesn't do that. His material
is packed solid.
Wiley
makes a big, and important point about sticking to one goal
at a time, not jumping around from one idea to another. This
scores points with me. The biggest problem facing you today
is information overload. Wiley knows this and encourages you
to put a stop to it by sticking to your single goal no matter
what.
For
those who have tried making money at a one-stream level and
found that you are somewhat successful, but only get a trickle
of what you were hoping for, I recommend you seriously give
Phil Wiley a good listen. He may hold the key for you if you're
in that boat.
(top)
Negative:
What
Phil Wiley leaves out is just as important as what he teaches.
What is left out is that when you diversify you also spread
yourself thin and cannot support your audience the way I believe
you should. For example, notice that Mr. Wiley has not updated
his newsletter archives since December 2003. That tells his
audience clearly that he's stretched too thin.
I
also have a little trouble with the tone of Mr. Wiley's Web
site. He spends a great deal of trouble telling you how high
on the hog he lives - atop his Australian mountain. The clear
implication is that Internet marketing is easy money and the
easy road to a life of luxury. The truth is that there is
money to be made, but you have to work hard for it.
I've
had some trouble navigating Wiley's site. For example, once
signed up for his affiliate program I wanted to sign in to
the membership page to get the link information. It took quite
a while to find a link to a place to sign in. I clicked it
- only to find that it lead back the the sign-up form. I never
did find it.
I'm
not saying there is nothing to learn from Phil Wiley. Re-read
my positive comments above. His teachings are fine. But please
realize it is a business and you have to work it. (top)
Affiliate
Program
Phil Wiley has an affiliate
program for his book Minisite Profits. Unfortunately his site
is not clear on how it works. There is a suggestion that you
can profit by getting people to sign up for his weekly newsletter.
You're told to sign up for clickbank since his book is sold
through it. Then you're given a form on his site to register
as an affiliate. But once you've done that there is no place
I've found on his site to find the hoplink info for his book,
and no administration page for your affiliate membership.
There is no explanation I can find on how to use his newsletter
to make a profit.
I'm
very confused. I tried to write to him to get clarification,
but haven't received a response.(top)
Site
Popups
I
have not gotten any pop-ups from Phil Wiley's Website. I respect
that and applaud him for that. (top)
Valuable
Free Content
There
is an abundance of free stuff on Wiley's site. Particularly
in the area of affiliate programs. Lots of articles and links
to follow.
Specifically
visit the Tools and Resources page for a long list of excellent
Internet marketing related links.
Then
visit the Affiliate Program Success link for a great big list
of good affiliate programs.
(top)
Newsletter
Phil
Wiley has a newsletter called "Letter from Phil"
I signed up about three months ago but have yet to receive
any issues.
Of
course, as I mentioned above, he admits there is no regular
schedule for his newsletter. The newsletter archives on his
site have not been updated since December 2003. I don't know
if that means he hasn't been publishing them, of if he just
hasn't updated the archives.
Judging
from the content in the archives, the newsletter are not just
ads. They are filled with content and have affiliate links
sprinkled in here and there - which is good sound practice.
The content is plenty rich enough to justify wanting to receive
it. (top)
Money-Back
Guarantee
Since his only product is sold through
Clickbank, it automatically has the Clickbank guarantee. Clickbank
will accept any return up to 45 days and also has an anti-fraud
system to keep people from buying and returning product-after-product.
(top)
Support
Unfortunately, one of
the reasons I've taken so long to get this review up for Phil
Wiley is that I
haven't been able to get any support response from him. There
is a support address on his Web site, but he doesn't seem
to respond to it. Hey, maybe he's not lazy, he's just being
an "un-guru." (top)
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