Copywriters may not agree - but they are not doing their clients any favours by producing lengthy sales letters full of hype. In fact they could be costing them money.

You know the ones I mean. They go on and on repeating themselves with testimonial after testimonial. The ones with hype typically show the front guy in swim wear relaxing in front of his Hawaiian beach property OR leaning on his fabulous car(s) in the driveway with the mansion in the background.

Surely I am not the only one who believes this? Is it just my age group - the oldie newbie?

Does online marketing or sales pitch have to be so different from offline marketing? Are these really written by professionals? Top copywriters! What do they charge - $100 plus per word?

I am just as bad. I am in 2 programs that are about a mile long. Frankly, I had made up my mind in the first couple of paragraphs. All I wanted after that was the detail and the cost. I didn't want to wade through another 1500 plus words of script, photographs and garish colors.

Both are excellent programs. The one that has the most hype does itself a real disservice. It's an excellent program, whose main target (in my opinion) is the older generation with a little extra cash. They should have researched that a little better. These are the people who turn away the most from hype.

Testimonials? Yes, I think they're great. But two will do. If you want to offer more then how about a "click here for more" button.

And forget the fancy cars, house and beach front property. These give the impression that there must be something a bit dodgy going on.

This stuff insults the intelligence. Has anyone thought that the people who are impressed by this stuff may not make the best business partners.

This is internet pollution or have I got it wrong? I find it hard to believe that people are convinced by this sort of ad?

You see, here's the thing. I work a lot with the older generation - the oldie newbie, the retiree. And many of them get really put off by this stuff.

And here's another thing. They also get put off by web site home pages that are full of flashing banners, information overload, garish colors and HUGE LETTERING. I'm told that's the equivalent of shouting

I get embarrassed sending my prospects to this type of home page or sales page. I've decided to simplify my own (when I learn how) because I feel uncomfortable with the way it is now. So if I am wrong tell me now.

I understand that, with 50 million plus websites and who knows how many sales pages, you have to do something to stand out from the crowd. But does all that BS help? There has to be place for facts - simply stated. Easy to read and navigate.

Take a look at Google's home page. Now's that simple! And it is the number 1 site in the world. They do OK keeping things simple.

Sometimes I have been overwhelmed by some sites that I've gone to. Got lost and couldn't even find my way back to the message that drew me there in the first place.

You may think that the internet is a young person's medium and that it doesn't matter what an oldie newbie thinks. Well listen carefully.

Baby boomers make up the largest consumer group in the world. Around the globe thousands of us are turning 60 every day. And we are the wealthiest consumer group in the world.