About
Rumor has it there are some people in this world who aren’t even tempted by those long, hype-filled sales letters floating around the Internet. These people claim to find them annoying and skip right on past them.
Not me. I am a sad, afflicted soul that is captured by the power of ideas and delightful testimonials. Every time I read one of these letters that promise the moon, I’m ready to lay down my credit card. I am a sucker.
I have one saving grace, and it’s an odd one: I have no free time. I’m an entrepreneur with a successful business that I haven’t yet transitioned to the “runs on its own” stage, so realistically, even if the e-books and training programs do everything they say, I know I don’t have time to read and apply them.
My self-imposed rule is that I can only buy something if I know I’ll take the time to give it a fair shake. As a result, I have an astonishing number of bookmarked products to try “when I have time.”
So why this site? Well, I’m trying to combine my entrepreneurial instincts with my gimmick-loving compulsions. I’m setting this site up in order to try and review these enticing products and services. I see it as a win-win situation:
- I get the accountability (and consequently, motivation) to rigorously and logically evaluate the offers
- You get good, hype-free, unbiased information from someone who’s in the same boat as you
- I’ll make a little money from advertising and affiliate links (but only when you trust me, so I’ll be working hard to earn that trust). This means I can afford to take the time to try new things.
A word about semantics
Some people might object to my use of the words “gimmick” and “sucker”. Let me state for the record that I am using them playfully, as a way of describing the hopeless optimism that keeps some of us continually trying to figure out “the secret.” I clearly qualify as a “sucker” in that sense, and I have a very positive self-image.
What makes something a “gimmick” in my mind? There are a few factors, most (but not all) of which are present in the products and services I call “gimmicks”:
- Long sales letter
- Hype-filled testimonial
- Money-back guarantee
- “Limited time offer” (that usually isn’t)
On a personal note
I like to know about the people behind the sites I read, so here’s a little about me.
I’m Sarah Lewis, a twenty-something Christian woman living in Idaho. I run a couple of web development businesses, the main one focusing on blogging. I love to read and learn all the time, and I’m a kind of wannabe cyclist (spurred on my by my avid-cyclist husband).
My long-term plan is to establish “multiple streams of passive income” (I told you that I fall for this stuff!) and spend my time working on open-source software for churches and other charities that focus on social justice, education, and ending poverty.
Have something to say? I’d love to hear from you.
