What’s Wrong With Internet Marketing?
Just like most people these days we all have an opinion. Opinions are are agreed on, and at other times they are de-bunked as a load of hogwash.
Irrespective of whether you agree or don’t it’s irrelevant, because opinions are based on knowledge (or lack thereof).
I’ve been watching the Internet marketing circles for some time now. Watching people like:
Mike Filsaime
Rich Schefren
Eric Houmlund
Derek Gehl
Keith Wellman
Michael Rassmussen
Dave Guindon
Tim Brocklehurt
Craig Haywood
Joe Vitale
Tim Brocklehurst
Jeremy Gislason
Jim Cockrum
and a plethora of other marketers sending email after email touting their latest launch of products, systems, software, e-books (you name it).
Just yesterday I received 15 emails from various marketers. Some advising their newsletters are ready to read. Some talking about “old pizzas”(?), updating their affiliates, and others launching new products.
The truth is internet marketing relies on people like you and me to BUY. After all that’s what internet marketing is all about. Using strategies like good sales copy, good products that solve problems, video “how to’s”, revealing “secrets”, and all the while shelling out our money to support the “gurus” raking in the money.
What few tell you is it has taken years of increasing their knowledge, getting the right people to mentor them and researching their respective niche to get where they are.
I watched a video today from a guy called Joshua Shafran telling me how he will spend around $100K this year on his education alone (just to keep an edge on the market).
Sheesh! I don’t know about you, but spending $100K when you are paying the mortgage and feeding yourself or your kids just isn’t in the same ball park as what most of us have to spend. I would be more inclined to BUY a successful website with that sort of money!
The success of Internet marketing relies squarely on the shoulders of other internet marketers feeding the cash cow (aka you and me).
No doubt all of us are guilty of buying ebooks, software, systems, and signing up as affiliates to earn some extra cash, but.. have you noticed how you ended up with LESS money than you started with? (just look at your credit card statement if you think not).
And no doubt there ARE Internet marketers who have made their fortunes. People like Mike Filsaime who came out with Butterfly Marketing (yep I brought that one). Stompernet SMARTS (Dan Crowther), Affiliate Project X by Chris X (Yep brought that one too).
I could go on and on about how many product launches there has been, and how many gazillions each of these marketers has made. But I won’t. You already know they are successful. You helped them.
But who’s helping you?
If you have lots of money to splash around, sure you can buy the latest, greatest product to hit your inbox. Problem is there are new products coming out every other day, and they all scream “my product’s the best.. forget the rest”. Their sales copy will be so convincing, you start to get agitated thinking about the potential of the offer, and the difference the extra money will make.
So what do you do?
Well.. here’s my opinion from having been knee deep in internet marketing long enough to know what works and what doesn’t.
Read on and I’ll tell you my humble opinion…
- Don’t keep buying e-books, software, joining membership sites (ad nauseum).
- Pick ONE subject you want to explore and become an authority on.
- Make sure your subject is in a niche.
- Look for a problem which needs solving within the niche and brainstorm a way to fix the it. It might be an e-book with info, software, a series of videos (though some of the videos I have seen are like MGM productions and must have cost a bomb to put together).
- Find mentors (people you can bounce ideas off, play devil’s advocate, encourage you.
- Write out what your plan is for your niche and stick it on your monitor where you can be reminded of it every day.
- Don’t so much as look at anything which is not related to your niche (trust me.. you wil be tempted to click a link, be taken off track and curse yourself when hours have passed and you haven’t done a thing that day to move you towards your goals).
- Keep focused on your niche.. keep looking for a problem to solve.
- Rinse and repeat with a different niche (but only if you can be as enthusiastic about the niche as you were the first time around).
Along the way you are going to have to learn a lot. A hell of a lot. It’s not a simple as executing the the steps above and money will roll on in. They are just guidelines to success.
You will need to learn how to put up a mini site. You will need to learn how to write good sales copy. You will need to know about social bookmarking, web 2, SEO, Keywords… the list just goes on and on.
What’s wrong withInternet marketing?
Well nothing really. It’s working very well (testimony to the millions that exchange hands each year).
The problem is the with the people feeding the cash cow. They are the ones who need to change their focus from “I’ll try anything”, to “I am going to focus all of my energies on XYZ and become an authority (aka Maven). I’m going to stick with it, forsake all the other tempting offers which come my way and remain focused”.
Making a success of your online business is about doing something better than anyone else. You cannot be all things to all people. Find your niche. Let it consume you until you are such an authority that you become known for your expertise.
Then you will have a real business. Not just a mini site flogging an e-book.
The choice is yours.
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