JonathanLIVE

Who Else Wants Internet Marketers To Stop Lying?

Posted on February 10th, 2007 by JonathanLIVE.
Categories: Business News.

I have been told that I am myself and Internet Marketer, though I have never really identified myself as such. Regardless, I do have to do my fair share of marketing being in business. It seems to be something I am good at, and many regard me as a kind of guru in the field, so that’s fine. I have, like many others, look at the proclaimed ‘gurus’ of Internet Marketing and have purchased some of their materials. While some of what they teach follows the same typical principles that I am familiar with, some of it goes a step further and just teaches others how to lie. Reminds me of the bad salesman in the bad suit like the character you see here.

I don’t know ‘all’ the gurus, but I get the emails like everyone else, and look them over from time to time to see if they have changed their ways at all. The HYPE that goes into their emails I get really give me a sense of desperation often times. Like they really desperately need me to checkout what it is they are peddling. Could it be that after years of lying to everyone over and over again with made up stories of “I was just talking to my friend such and such…” has finally taken its toll, and the gravy-train is ending for them?

I am not going to name names in this write-up, but I will share my experience with one particular marketer who actually built a website application that has default settings with a full write-up email that gets sent out to visitors with a lie. It will email those that did not take your one time offer and claim that there was a system glitch, and so you are emailing them because of this glitch that was ‘discovered’ that day. While I understand that yes, this sounds believable, and yes, it will get the people accepting of the story and so will likely take action, I don’t agree with the outright false claim. I use this program, but I have to go through it and change these defaults to read something that is true, and will not lie to my customers who come to my sites.

Some of the techniques that are taught by gurus are really fantastic, and I incorporate many of them into my own marketing efforts, often time without even knowing that they are teaching the same things. My clients sometimes point out things I am doing are taught by someone else I never even heard of. The big difference though is if you are going to tell a story, at least make it honest and true. Don’t outright fabricate something that you know is a lie. I know you need to captivate your audience. I know you need to engage and produce an emotional response. But, what do you think the emotional response will be when they later realize that you just make these stories up and they have no way of knowing when you are telling the truth, or spinning another marketing story? The response will be what you deserve, which is lower and lower conversions from your mailing lists.

I know that when it comes to Internet Marketing you have to pull out all the stops sometimes to finally get the sale/conversion, however, you can do it without treating your visitors like idiots and thinking you can hide beyond the thin veil of the keyboard and screen. When it comes to what I do in my marketing I will go to the edge at times and emphasize certain things within my adcopy while not giving as much to others so that I can get my message across with the same effectiveness (my average is around a 50% conversion on my adcopy/promotions), but I do it without the unnecessary hype that gives a simple product more value than it has. Be honest with your visitors and give them the answers they are seeking and you will get the results you want without having to taint your name.

I believe the Internet Marketer in the coming years is going to have to start understanding the value of their names in a new light if they are to survive. I think too many of them have gotten to used to making the quick buck with the made up stories and trickery tactics. Thinking that if they continue to duplicate these types of methods, they will keep doing well. A few years back they could pull this off, but not anymore. Not with the networks of blogs and more and more social networks enabling people to find more information about the status and value of these marketers names. I guess the only saying goes:

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

Maybe we will see a shake down in the industry and we will find the cream will rise to the top, and will stay there, while the rest of them who have no trouble pulling fast ones on people will just keep seeing their efforts to market get harder and harder without realizing that it is because they have gone against the universal laws of success. Don’t let the temporary success of someone fool you, or allow you to compromise on your own integrity thinking that is what you have to do to be successful. The real successes in the long run are the ones that keep stay in line with the laws of success consistently. The universe will reward you, so long as you stay on course, and serve others with honest, integrity and character. These are things that make you a great person, a great Internet Marketer, and a great success. Given the climate of today’s Internet Marketing industry, I would say that these are the things that are in highest demand today from consumers. There is a Chinese Proverb I once heard some years ago that I keep at the forefront of my mind when ever I think about what I am doing in my business dealings:

If you have lost money, you have lost nothing.

If you have lost a friend, you have lost something.

If you have lost family, you have lost a lot.

If you have lost your name, you have lost everything.

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