Do me a favor… look at your inbox. Does it look similar to this?
**ALERT** Only 18 Left, 50% discount, less than 24 hours
Internet Marketing Just Got Replaced… UH OH!
Watch This & You Can Literally Be Making Money This Afternoon!
Winter, 1,000 Backlinks A Month. Really
These are actual subjects pulled from my personal inbox. Chances are, yours looks about the same. What’s all the hype about? Just marketing, plain and simple. Internet Marketing seems to be a world filled with dirty, back alley tactics, but is it really that much different from real world applications? Hardly!
Take a look at infomercials… they are geared to target you when you’re sleepy, your defenses are low, and they all claim to have the secrets of xyz, the most amazing thing ever, a product you can’t do without! By taking advantage now, we’re not going to charge you $100, not even $80, not even $60… you get all this for the low low price of $19.99. AND if you act now, you get xyz (a $50 value)… free!!!!!!
Now how familiar does this sound? Almost every marketing email in my inbox follows the same exact pattern. It’s something that will blow my mind, I can’t live without it, I get it for the low price of not $239, not even $99, not even $49… you get all this for the low price of $27 (maybe even free). AND for acting now I get a bazillion ebooks (that I’ll probably never read) included free!!!!!
See the connection? Marketing is a dirty job. Marketing is full of liars, full of fluffed up figures and stats, full of amazingly convincing ad copy designed 100% to get you to pull out those wallets, dig deep, spend it even if you don’t have it. These products (for the most part) are NOT designed to help you succeed; they are designed to make the creators money… period.
Don’t get me wrong. There are some really wonderful ebooks, programs and websites out there. I’ve gotten tons of help from the right books! There are many helpful tools out there, it’s just sifting through the crap to find the treasures.
Does marketing really have to be this grimy? Do you really have to sink to this level to be a successful Internet Marketer? The answer is NO! You can be successful by recommending products, services, and websites that you actually use, and that are helpful to you, thus will be helpful for your list.
The focus should not be on just making you a little cash here and there, the primary focus should be helping your readers succeed! Helping someone that is newer to this game than you are succeed in their efforts here is the best success you could have as a marketer. You might not make a sale on day one, you might not make a sale from that person within a month. That’s ok… you have made a friend, you have made a connection with another human being that now trusts your judgement, trusts your recommendations, your knowledge. That’s priceless!
Now that you’ve gained their trust, you could in theory promote anything semi-relevant that will make you some money, but if at any point, you take advantage of that trust and promote something you know will not be helpful to them, you’ve broken that bond of trust… good luck getting it back!
Sometimes it’s hard to decide what will be really helpful to newbies. Now I use the word newbies with all the love and respect in the world. We were all newbies at some point, and we just wanted some help and guidance! I used to wrestle with figuring out what to promote and what to let slide (even if there was a good possibility I’d make some nice cash). Here is how I help myself determine if it’s worthy of my list.
If my mom was new to Internet Marketing, and she had no clue where to start, what tools would I recommend? What websites would I push for her to advertise in for the best results?
If my best friend of 10 years said “Winter, what you do is amazing! I want to work for myself online too. Please, tell me what to do!” Would I recommend the product, service, or website in question to them? If it was a must have tool, and it was worthy of her attention, would I tell her it’s extremely important to upgrade, or could she get the services she needs as a free member?
These few questions really helps me put into perspective whether or not I’d like to advertise a product or service to my list. Are they my mother, are they my best friends of 10+ years? Of course not, but anyone subscribed to my lists deserve the same respect and consideration. They did not sign up to be taken advantage of. They did not signup to be used and abused and suckered into every opportunity that looks promising. They signed up because they felt the information I provide will be helpful, useful, interesting.
Your list is valuable for many reasons. Yes you will make sales from your list, and that is A goal, but it’s not the only goal. You want to be of value, you want to be helpful, you want to be a source of information that they can trust… today, tomorrow, 2 years from now. You might have a subscriber to your list that buys a crap product right away. Then what? If they don’t get anything out of their purchase that helps them further their efforts, how many more times do you think they’re going to join a program or buy a product on your recommendation. Not many, maybe not ever again, maybe they’ll even unsubscribe!
Treat your list with respect, treat them with dignity, show them the same consideration you would a dear friend. Building that trusting relationship is far more rewarding than making that instant sale. Recommend products, services and websites that you use AND have been successful for you.
It’s all about the golden rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated.
Marketing is a dirty job, but you don’t have to get filthy to see results. You don’t have to resort to scheming, underhanded, scammy marketing tactics to make a sale. You just need to promote from a place of honesty and integrity. The end results are priceless!
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Well said. It gets to the point of who do you trust. You take someone up on a “totally free offer” and within the next hour your inbox gets spammed with a dozen more.
Absolutely Darrell! I don’t mind that websites and programs have an upsell on the backend… I mean it’s a part of making money from what you produced. What bothers me is when I’m spammed a million times over, and it’s obvious that their upsell isn’t going to help me one iota. It really takes a while, but you start learning when something is going to be useful, and when someone is just trying to milk you for every penny you have to spare.
Thanks for sharing!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Stephen Whittle, Jared Silver. Jared Silver said: RT @winterperkins Internet Marketing From The Heart | http://bit.ly/cJyudj #list #honest #marketing #internet | I couldnt agree more. [...]
Great post. I don’t know if I believe in karma but it seems that what goes around comes around in this business. When you actually start “helping” people instead of “selling” to people it really does make a big difference in the long run.
For sure Jerry. I do believe in karma, and what you put out is definitely what you get back, good or bad. Selling sucks, it makes you feel bad. Helping makes you feel great, and I personally think what you get back is amazing.
Thanks for stopping by!
I thought this post was terrific! Thanks so much, Winter.
I’ve been on the fence regarding some marketing programs lately and now I know what to do – Ask my Mom if she would do it.
I had this same problem for so so long Donald! But even being careful, I ended up promoting some things that just turned out to be junk. It does happen, and even the best of recommendations might not turn out exactly how you intend.
I’m glad this method of reasoning will help you. It’s helped me a lot!
Thanks for taking the time to share your opinions Donald
Winter, these are exactly my sentiments! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard — It’s all in the list! Your list will be your goldmine!!! You can SELL repeatedly to your list!!! While it IS true that your list is a valuable asset, people deserve and need to be treated with honesty and integrity. It’s virtually impossible to recover broken trust ….
There is also great emphasis on selling to emotion … write great ad copy that will make the person feel that they just can’t do without this product / ebook, they MUST have it … why, if they don’t buy it right NOW, all is lost, and they will never, never, EVER!!! have a chance like this again! Why, they OWE it to themselves to buy this product / ebook, why, if they don’t buy this right NOW, they’re absolute fools!
And, to be honest, these tactics have been used to build fortunes — “I Make 6 Figures A Month From Home, And YOU Can Too!”. BUT it doesn’t build trust, just a jaded mistrust of Internet Marketing. It is good to know that there are people out there who are honest, have integrity and really do care that the products they sell or recommend will have a real benefit to people.
Thanks for a great article!
I’m so glad to see you here Rhoda! Our email conversations were actually one of my inspirations for this post.
It made me really think back to how I felt when I first got into trying to earn a living online. It’s really frustrating! You’re bombarded by all these promotions that are directly targeting you as a newbie. They all sound amazing, like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! “If I buy this product or ebook, I’m sure to succeed!”
So you spend some money, read an ebook, join some programs… and you get nothing of value in return. It definitely breeds a jaded mentality. It definitely breeds a general distaste for online marketing. It’s really sad, but some people give up before they even find a tool or site that really IS useful.
As newbies, we learn by our mistakes, our misplaced trust. We feel like an idiot for falling for the hype, so the next time we see one of those ads, we approach it with a little more caution, and a little more, and a little more. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but at least by learning it the hard way, it really sticks with you. Give yourself a year or two and see how few investments you make!
Your list will mostly be newbies, which is great! You have the opportunity to inspire them, help them, and make their journey to success a little less stressful. Why take advantage of their ignorance? It just boggles my mind that you would want to treat people this way, and then expect to build a long lasting, trusting relationship… not going to happen!
I appreciate your comments so much, and the inspiration for this post!
Winter
another top article. These are the sentiments I have expressed to my list on a number of occasions.
I made the mistake early on in my internet marketing career of marketing a product that I didn’t use and didn’t really understand. I decided to sign up for it and learn about it so i could talk with more authority about it in my marketing and I was shocked to find out that it just didn’t deliver on some of the key promises made in the affiliate marketing material.
Frankly I was embarrased by this and stopped promoting it immediately.
It was an important lesson. Promote products that you know work and you would use yourself. Work with your list to understand their needs and don’t just push products.
Regards
Geoff
Great article. Given we spent a good deal of time on this subject, I think you know how I feel. Honesty must be the foundation of every business.
Shalom [+]
Bret Cain–thebananarepublican
Our conversation yesterday was indeed another inspiration for this article. Honest marketing… I couldn’t let those thoughts go to waste! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment Bret
I think we’ve all made that mistake Geoff. When you finally start building your list, all you have to go on is what you’ve seen, what’s worked on you in the past, and you think… “That’s exactly how I need to make my money!”
It is embarrassing when you promote something to your list that turns out to be horrible, and it happens. It’s part of the learning process. But I think eventually some of us realize this isn’t the ONLY way to make money online. You can promote solid programs, services and websites, help your list to succeed with these tools, AND you can sleep well at night!
Thanks so much for your input!
Urgh AMEN to that Winter. I used to be that pitch guy….Buy this, buy that. Then I read Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk and well…I changed big time.
This should be about PEOPLE not pitches. And when we get that back into the forefront, internet marketing will be such a better place.
Only promote the stuff you USE and stand behind!
We’re all pitch people when we start out, because it’s what we’re taught to do. Learn by example right?
I think those of us that finally reach a point of being disgusted with those methods really have a shot of doing it the right way.
Thank god for second chances and lessons learned!
Wow! Fantastic article, Winter, and gave me a delightful perspective shift that finally made me feel less “ewww” about being a marketer.
I tweeted, Digg-ed (Dugg?) this and bookmarked it so I can read it when I need realignment and inspiration.
Thanks for all you do.
Ooooh cool thanks so much Lynne!
Being a marketer can definitely feel ewww lol that’s a wonderful way to put it. I reached a point of being tired of feeling ewww.
I feel a lot better promoting only what I use, and only what has helped me. It’s more like an aaaaah feeling now
[...] post yesterday on the Dirty Tactics of Internet Marketing and How To Avoid Them really sparked a huge conversation. Tons of comments, lots of emails, even skype messages thanking [...]
I’m sorry I missed this post when it came out. Brilliantly done this should be compulsory reading for anybody new to this business.
There are two little words that most Internet Marketers have never learned.
Dignity and Respect
Treat people with those two elements and they respond.
Force feed outrageous hype down their throats and guess what?
That unsubscribe button is only a click away. the trouble is that a lot of these people don’t or won’t include an unsubscribe button.
I could go on about this forever, but you’ve done a marvelous job as it is
Thank you so much Mark, glad you enjoyed it!
We learn by example, and unfortunately, the example in Internet Marketing is less than stellar. We do what marketers do to us, and we really don’t have to.
We can break the cycle and finally introduce some integrity and honesty into the IM world.
I spent my week unsubscribing from quite a few lists this week. It feels good, liberating!
Hi Winter, Great article… I also believe that you have to treat your lists like good friends. And some are! If I wouldn’t use it, I don’t recommend it. Trust and Integrity should guide what you do…Remember that is what you want in return.
Agreed Marcy. Some of my list do indeed become my friends. You develop a bond and really want to see them succeed. You’re upset with them when they fail, and thrilled with them when they find some success.
Thanks so much for commenting
Hi Winter, glad you see you are still powering on! I try to promote only things which I think are truly useful, and yet I was sobered by an email from a member who said that the product I had promoted to him was not as good as my own, and he’d gone and spent $67 on it, and was just feeling confused… so that has slowed down my marketing a fair but. I wrote a blog post in reaction to that, “Keeping a Clear Head in the Chaos” because that’s what this is. A lot of influences to make feel less trust in yourself, so that you will hand over your money (and your power) to someone who promises to do it for you…
Hi Winter,
Whoa! You nailed it big time! I am pretty gullible and have fallen for SO much b.s. in the past. Finally realized what dirty rotten scoundrels some marketers are and have wised up.
Your analogy of would you offer it to your Mom or your best friend is really a good benchmark to use.
It’s our industry, we need to police ourselves to become better and to help call out the low-lifes. And you’ve done a FINE job. Keep it up!
Nina Nestoroff
Amen Nina! If I could have back all the money I spent, all the hours I promoted random sites or products, sheesh I’d be rich and well rested! I think we all have a period of being the new sucker on the block.
You hear all the time “Newbies are goldmines! Newbies are goldmines!” And they are, we are… because we don’t know any better. There are two ways you can make money from newbies:
1) Lie, cheat and take advantage of their lack of knowledge. (Most commonly practiced.)
2) Befriend them, help them, show them what you use to succeed, not just for the money.
Money is necessary, we all have to pay bills. But do we really have to take advantage of people to achieve it? I for one am tired of someone buying a product, finding it absolutely worthless, then promoting it anyway to others hoping to make my money back. Not worth it. I think I’d rather spend my time telling newbies what to avoid instead! I sleep a lot better
We’re not all crooks! I think it’s high time newbies know that some of us really DO care to help them succeed!
Thanks so much for sharing Carol. That’s the thing… sometimes it’s hard to determine if it really IS useful. You can think it’s useful and someone else might not get a thing from it. Everyone has different opinions on products, different experiences with websites, so it’s hard to recommend something that will be well received across the board.
I think you do an excellent job of staying out of the chaos. I’ve never seen an advertising letter from you that makes me go… “Really Carol?” lol so you’re good!
That’s such a good point. You have to trust yourself and your abilities to succeed. Not just online, but in life. Once that self doubt creeps in, you become that much easier of a target.