Quote Master
POS:
None reallyNEG:
Very poorly doneToday Im taking a look at Quote Master by Leah Butler-Smith & Rob Maggs On of the coolest things about reviewing IM products is that I get to be one of the first ones to see some really great tools. Unfortunately Quote Master is not one of them. But before I get into the actual […]
Today Im taking a look at Quote Master by Leah Butler-Smith & Rob Maggs
On of the coolest things about reviewing IM products is that I get to be one of the first ones to see some really great tools. Unfortunately Quote Master is not one of them. But before I get into the actual product review let me explain what this is for.
The idea behind quote master is that you can quickly create ‘quote pictures’ and post them to multiple groups of fan pages at a single time. We have all seen these kinds of posts. They normally get a fairly high engagement and they look like this:
Now Im going to be honest. Im not totally sure how great these kinds of posts are from a marketing perspective. They dont brand you or your company. They dont advertise any kind of product. They dont have a call to action in them. Really they dont do much from a marketing perspective that I can see. But really that does not matter anyway because Quote Master is a software that takes ‘bad’ to a whole new level.
When I installed Quote Master the first thing I noticed is that this does not use the Facebook Graph API. You actually have to log into the software with your Facebook user name and password. Not using the Graph API may seem like a minor thing but its actually the cause of many of the problems with this software (though not all).
The first step after signing in with your Facebook account info is to add Groups or Pages to the system. This however is done via a horrible interface. First of all the software lacks the ability to actually list your groups or pages (a consequence of not using the API). In order to add them you first have to ‘search’ for them by keyword. I found this to be such a pain however after a bit of work I was finally able to add my selected groups and pages. Even after I figured it out though it still took a while. As I said this does not use the API and attempts to interface with the actual Facebook site (via a built in and out dated browser functionality). I say attempts to, because it often shows errors or returns broken pages. Horrible! In fact even the creator of this software says this ‘sucks totally’ and is ‘very frustrating’:
Another thing is the posting functionality. Lets say for example you have added 50 Facebook groups and 50 fan pages to this system so you can post to them. Well what if you only want to post to some of the groups / pages that you added? To bad you cant. This is an all or nothing system. You cant select to post to some. It will always post to all the groups / pages that are added to it. Also you cant create ‘sets’ either. So for example I could not create set A with my marketing groups and then set B with my developing groups and then select the set I want to post to. Basically there is no flexibility at posting what so ever. Your only option if you dont want to post to a specific group / page that has been added to the system is to remove it from the system. Yuck!
The interface to create your graphic to post is also very poorly done. While there are options such as font color, upload a background graphic etc, there is no real flexibility as to the layout. For example the ‘quote text’ can either be on the top of the image, or on the bottom, or both. You cant position it in any way. Because of this creating an quote image like the one above would be impossible. Also this software does not have a live preview that updates as you create your image. Further you cant even make the graphics click able when they are post to Facebook (though I do believe this functionality, or a different software that allows linking, is an up sell) Once again its showing us that its just not a product that was created to anything even close to a high standard.
The software does have a auto post / post scheduling feature. However you have to keep in mind that this is desktop software that requires you to log into your Facebook account to work. What this means is that in order for the scheduling feature to work you are going to have to leave the software running , your computer on, and stay logged into Facebook. This is just one of the many problems with a system like this being a desktop software. Another is that you cant easily get updates.
Besides all of this the software itself has a very low quality feel to it. It was developed using the VB.net RAD (rapid application development) programming language. This is a programming language that is intended for beginner or amateur software developers and is well suited since this software is by no means of professional quality.
My final word: This has questionable value as far as Facebook marketing goes. It is created to a very low standard. Has a poor interface and limited functionality. I personally would be embarrassed to have created a product like this (or put my name on it) and I cant see how anyone in their right mind could test this and then recommend people buy it.
A quick note about the reviews I do on this site. The product vendors give me access to their products for free in order for me to do my review. However I make no promises to them regarding the results of my tests or what I will write in my review. Should you click a link that takes you to a sales page for a paid product for sale this link will be an affiliate link and I will be paid a percentage of the sales price should you decide to invest in it.
About the Author
thanks for saving my wallet (again) brett, i got many “tempting” email about this.
Thanks for that
Brett… That video was so hard to watch. Kudos for the honest reviews. Love it.
Wow .. what a piece of crap, lmao!
Thanks for the review Brett.
Once again thanks for your honesty Brett! Loving your SqueezeMatic Software to build exquisite and responsive landing pages. 2 Thumbs up!
When someone say’s they review a product they use it to find out what the product does or not do.
So I ask this question and you being a person of honesty.
Did you use the product?
The answer I know will be NO you did not
Of course I used it. You can see me testing it and using it in the video. The only thing I did not show in the video is me doing an actual post. Though I did do posts (and deleted them because they where silly). Not sure where you got ‘the answer’ from, especially when you can see the screen cast video of me using it.
Now if you look on YouTube there are a lot of so called ‘reviews’ from other people. Notice that THEY dont show a screen cast video of them not using the software. This is because most of THEM did not use it. Had they actually tested it like I did, they would have known (like I know) how bad this is.
I was so confused watching the video! The process seems more complicated than it needs to be and now that you’ve reviewed my original ‘spidy senses’ were correct. Stay Away!
I really appreciate your drive to keep the net honest Brett!
I love the K.I.S.S. principle, Keep It Simple Stupid. I use Paint Shop Pro to make those in about 5 minutes. Then I post them anywhere I want. LOL
Thanks for the review!
Hi Gary
I’d like to know how you create memes in Paint Shop pro.
Do you have any instructions how to, please?
Kevin
Im sorry I cant give you instructions on how to use Paint Shop Pro. Im sure if you Google a little you will find some tutorials though.
Now what am I going to do with the money I just saved!? 😉
Now im getting emails from that unpleasant fat guy Andy Brocklehurst saying that actually this software is great and generally being unplesant as usual about other marketers.
Hey Sarah!
A slightly longer email, but I seriously encourage you to read it!
In the last few weeks as a bit of an experiment I’ve been trying out some old marketing ideas that the general IM community will quickly tell you are dead and don’t work anymore.
I guess it’s my naturally skeptical nature.
When I see a forum post where most of the guys are quickly leaping in telling the poster “don’t do that it won’t work” or “that used to work but it’s dead now”. I can’t help but want to try it for myself.
You know the kind of thing. Some newbie has read something in an ebook he found on a cheap IM site that was written in 2004 and he asks on a forum “does this still work?” and gets bombarded with supposedly experienced guys telling him “no that’s out dated”.
What they really mean is “the last time I tried it in 2007 it didn’t do well”.
In the past few weeks here are a few things I’ve done that go against the grain of “popular opinion”…
I bought some traffic from a service most IM’rs will tell you sucks and sent it to a squeeze page. The conversion rate was horrible, 50,000 hits got just 99 conversions (sign ups to a list). But that traffic only cost $20, so in actual fact each new subscriber cost 20cents. Considering the average solo ad conversion costs me 90cents means the idea still might have some merit (I am yet to see how well those leads do as they progress through a funnel).
I bought a WSO where the posts and comments were all on the negative side, but all from people saying how “I don’t see how this can work”. Instead of going with the crowd and just writing it off I actually tried it. And it worked! In fact it worked very well.
I’ve watched my Klout score go up and engagement of my posts on Facebook massively improve from doing one new thing that Brett “the self appointed IM Watchdog” Rutecky posted on his blog was trash (after a quick look at what it was, and NOT actually doing it). And you should see all the mindless followers of Bret who are commenting on the thread “thanks for saving me money – I won’t try this”.
They are idiots!
The product in question has a full money back guarantee, so the buyer risks nothing, but because “Jedi Bret” says he doesn’t like it they follow his lead.
Look, I am all for reviews to help you choose between solutions but when you won’t try an idea just because someone else didn’t like it you risk leaving a load of cash on the table,
If you want to know if a certain method works for you and your business you have to TEST it yourself, TRACK the results, and then TWEAK it and see if you can improve it.
That is what sets the successful marketers apart. The sheep like herd only do what others tell them without even knowing why. The leaders and successful marketers try things for themselves and see if they can tweak even a mediocre idea into something worthwhile.
They don’t have magic powers. They just TEST and TRACK results. They take small risks in testing and scale up the things that work and ditch the things that don’t.
It’s OK that some tests fail. That is part of the process. Fail fast and move fast on the successes.
Start doing that for yourself and you will see your online income increase.
Reading reports and case studies will give you the insight into what has worked for others. But only trying it and tweaking it to suit you will put money in your bank!
Best wishes,
Andy Brocklehurst
P.S. The things I mention above… One has been discussed a little on my blog in the comments, you can go read that for free at your leisure, the Klout score thing that Bret Rutecky hated but has worked for me is Robb Maggs excellent “Quote Master” that came out yesterday (I have been a beta tester of it for weeks):
Wow look at that guy. He can think whatever he wants of me. I review the software, and the software is garbage. I mean even the guy who wrote it describes the way some things work in it as ‘frustrating’ and ‘sucks totally’.
Its also obvious that I have used it, lol, there is a video of me using it right up top. I think its likely that HE did not use it. Honestly I dont see how anyone with any morals could test this thing and then tell people they should buy it.
I did find it interesting that he calls all of you people ‘idiots’ and ‘mindless’ though. I guess that says a LOT about what he really thinks about people eh.
Something to keep in mind: I have NO financial incentive so say this is a bad software. I get nothing by telling people not to buy it. This guy goes on calling people ‘idiots’, trying to discredit me, then says my review of a this is wrong and that I never used it (even though there is a video of me using it), then of course has his JVZoo affiliate link to buy it. Its a real shame that people would tell people to buy something so poorly written as this just to make a lousy $13.50 (the sales commission paid to affiliates on this). He can say what ever he likes about me. Thats his right and I can take it. However what I cant take is someone who would willingly cheat people just to make a couple of $. Its a shame and it really bothers me.
Thanks for posting the email for us all to see.
I just said that people not testing stuff for themselves is short sighted.
I also don’t see how in 14 minutes anyone can establish that something is no good. Sure it has flaws, you can’t resize a window and that kind of thing. I don’t really care, that is cosmetic. What I am interested in is does it work… and you cannot see the results of improved engagement and Klout score in 14 minutes. I’ve used it a couple of months and I have the stats to prove the difference it made I have shared them on Facebook.
I don’t mail out to make a ton of money. I recommend products I made nothing on, but if I believe in something I send a mail and if it pays a commission then yes I will use an affiliate link.
Brett is fully entitled to his opinion, but I stand by the fact that if someone writes this off because of what someone says, and doesn’t try it, they stand to lose out.
I am not cheating anyone out of anything. It has a money back guarantee and I know Rob is a stand-up guy who will honor it. What risk is anyone taking other than a little of their time?
And if Sarah doesn’t want emails from old Fat boy here (ohh good one, see what you did there) then she can click the unsubscribe link. Assuming she can find it without Bretts help 😉
Andy
Yes Andy your totally correct. Because the video is only 14 minutes long that means I must have only tested it for 14 minutes. I mean its not at all possible that I tested it for a couple hours (and interviewed the creator) and then just made a 14 minute video showing what I found. Thats impossible right? Come on bro, you cant be that obtuse can you?
My review is of the software NOT of the potential benefit of posting quote graphics. (though I do doubt its benefit, you act like Klout score is the all important measures of IM success, lol, its not my friend, sorry) The software, as I said, is very bad. Further your whole ‘people should try it anyway’ .. its a ‘money back guarantee’ .. etc makes no sense. By that same logic if I read an article that car XXX has breaks that are poorly designed and fail I should buy it and ‘try it anyway’ .. after all the car does have a warranty. Faulty logic. If something is junk they should probably not buy it.
Further as for any guarantee, you called buyers ‘idiots’ in your email. Sorry but I dont put much faith in any character endorsement from you. Also though I dont review the people I review the product I will say that the fact that Rob would describe his own product as ‘sucks totally’ .. and ‘frustrating’ .. but he sold it anyway .. does not really make me believe hes a ‘stand up guy’. If he was he would not release a product that he himself thought was bad.
Finally Sarah probably should not have called you ‘old Fat boy’ but honestly you did not make yourself look any better just now by degrading her. ‘Assuming she can find it without Bretts help’. I approved your comment because you have a right to respond, you could have responded as a professional, but you didnt. And you want people to believe you when you say someone else is trustworthy? Come on bro.
Anyway the comment section here is NOT for arguments. I have given my review, you have given your opinion (and in the same time managed to degrade and insult buyers for no reason), so now we are all good. I would prefer not to have an argument. Thanks for responding though.
“It has a money back guarantee and I know Rob is a stand-up guy who will honor it.”
False Mr. Andy. Why I’m saying this? Because for more than 3 weeks I’m trying to get my money back with no results. Wanna know what they told me when I did ask for a refund ? ” WE don’t offer a ‘buy and try’ refund policy”
Well Mr. Andy…….I didn’t buy it to ask for a refund……I did buy it to use it. As a newbie this software is not for me. For marketers with experience is hard to handle……..(see the keyword search for example)……so imagine for me how it is.
Regarding the policy………first, should be to make their customers happy and come out with a good or very good product. The way how they acting………….make me to think that my $100 is very important to them to grow their business.
Regards,
Remus
Thank you Brett. I rely 100% on this site for HONEST review. It’s funny, I got an email today stating this BS was JVZoo Product Of The Day smh…
Maybe Mr. Andy will help me with my case and get my money back……what you think Mr. Andy ?
If i don’t get my money back….what should I do ? Open a dispute with Paypal ?
TWO THUMBS UP FOR BRETT
Thank you
Unfortunately you wont win a PayPal dispute Im sorry to say. Just keep this experience in mind next time you consider buying from these vendors. Also make sure you always check my blog to see if I did a review before you buy.
Thanks Brett.
Hey this review is spot on! I purchased this and had nothing but problems with the software outdated browser was reported to rob maggs I believe thats his name he said it would be updated! well 28 days later still the same so I requested a refund! after getting a mail saying they only support the software and if they cant get it working correctly then they would refund. I paid with a credit card so I threatend to let the paypal and the card company deal with the refund and hey presto refund was very quickly delivered. the software itself is absolutely a waste of money.get a refund if you can!
Thats why I do these reviews John, as a software developer myself, and a successful internet marketer Im an a unique position to test software products. Before you buy, check and see if I did a review! It might save you from having an bad experience in the future.
I’m now checking your reviews before buying any software in the future. Its great to find a site that post’s accurate trustworthy reviews, Thank you for taking the time to do this I have already opted not to buy based on your reviews but by the same token I have also purchased software that I probably wouldn’t have purchased had I not read your review. If I were a developer I would send the software for review to get an honest unbiased opinion that would point out good and bad points this would ultimately allow developers to release good software as it seems all too often they get it working to a point of limited use then sell sell sell then end up with hundreds of help desk submissions and refund requests.
A tip for all you developers!
Get your products Reviewed before release and fix any issues before release, Ultimately you will release better software. which will be talked about therefore resulting in more sales and certainly more subscribers!
I have just this week unsubscribed from several lists based on products I have purchased that have not been up to scratch.
I must add at the moment Peter Garety is my favorite developer having purchased a few of his products, P1 traffic machine and his latest p1 video magnet suite both great products and great support.
Have you reviewed “Back link beast” I was thinking of purchasing some link building software. What would you recommend Brett
John, thats actually starting to happen. Being that vendors know that I have a development background and that Im so detail oriented, (and brutally honest) some of them are actually asking me if I could beta test and give them feedback on how their products can be better. I almost always agree.
Update: March 2015. No surprise, but this software no longer works and the developers are no longer answering support tickets. I will never trust Leah Butler-Smith or Rob Maggs again.