How To Get Information Marketing RIGHT!

Marketing - With Ethics, Emotion & Empathy

Paul Myers of TalkBiz.com is my friend. He runs an amazing blog. It's here.

On it, he posted an interesting note - Alienwear, or the Big Bash?. It made me think. About many different things.

About Ethics

My first passing glimpse of the politics-ridden 'real' life Internet marketing legends live behind the scenes came almost 2 years ago. I posted a note about one of them on a forum run by another - and the owner wrote me an email 'englightening' me about the 'other side' of the one I had praised.

Paul might even recall this incident, as I asked him for his opinion on what I should do.

Anyway, it's there. Exists under the surface. Currents and alliances.

And I'm no longer surprised (though I was when I first heard about it)... because we're all humans. People with the same feelings of competitiveness and partnership, envy and idolization, jealousy and admiration.

When we get started, we're looking for 'heroes' and 'gurus' to look up to, follow, emulate. After a while, when we get better (or sometimes, bored or frustrated) we need a scapegoat to blame, hate and beat down. Oftentimes, it's the same ones we once put on a pedestal!

And it's there in EVERY field, branch or area of life. I'm a heart surgeon. In many ways, this is one of the most hyper-competitive branches of medicine. There are strong passions and emotions governing interactions between members of this close-knit and small community.

We're all professionals. Work for the good of our clients/patients. In some ways, the rivalry is helpful. In most ways, harmless. Notice, I say 'most' - because there are times when these strong feelings do affect 'professional' performance.

The difference is that, in most situations, the people in a field are exposed to this scenario over years. They are 'trained' for it, accustomed to it, thrive within that unique environment. There are rules, protocols and acceptable behavior patterns in each. Ethics, if you will.

And these 'ethics' are different for different professions, occupations, environments, even geographies and time periods.

Internet marketing is uniquely - even refreshingly - different in that it embraces a wide audience. Anyone can become an 'Internet marketer' (yes, even a heart surgeon!)

There isn't any formal training process. Networking is rare, informal, unstructured. Each formulates his or her own rules. And it reflects our personalities - since most of us gravitate to Internet marketing because we want to 'do our own thing' and not take orders from the boss.

In this kind of 'laissez faire' situation, the word 'ethics' itself has a very diverse meaning, a loose definition, and even looser interpretation. What is perfectly acceptable behavior to one may raise hackles of another and be condemnable to a third.

The case study Paul details in his post is representative - though certainly not the an isolated incident.

And when you pause to think about it, certainly not hard to understand - when you realize the 'players' in this drama are human. With feelings of envy/pride, insecurity/confidence, inferiority/superiority, success/failure, each constantly battling the other for pre-eminence.

When YOU become successful, you are going to be exposed to the same kind of 'pressure-cooker' climate - guaranteed.

When folks talk about you, be prepared to hear good things as well as bad. Expecting anything less is deluding yourself. The very same product that has some folks raving and praising will disappoint some people or worse. You, as an online marketing success, will touch lives - some favorably, some not.

And that's ok. The world is a mixed place with people having different opinions - about EVERYTHING. If all of us thought the same way, it would be BORING.

I'm reading Donald Trump's book, 'Think Like a Billionaire' - and love the way he looks at these things.

I just finished 'El Diego', a book about my favorite soccer star, Diego Armando Maradona. I stayed up at 3:30 a.m. to watch his 'goal of the century' in 1986 - pure magic. To some folks, he's God. To others, he's a drug addict.

I love John P.McEnroe Jr. - for many things, especially his magical tennis. He's an idol and hero to thousands of people. And many thousand others thought he's nothing more than a spoiled brat.

What I'm trying to say is that it's ok. You don't have to agree with my opinions, views or feelings. But the way you disagree says a lot about YOU. So make sure you work on the way you will disagree - and deal with others who disagree with you.

As I said in an earlier post - A Rant About Joint Ventures:

Remember This Is NOT The Entire World!

Yes, I understand you might be spending many hours of your life doing this Internet marketing thing. You may be feeling isolated and lonely working all alone in front of a computer screen in a dim lit room, shooting off emails and writing sales copy and running promotions - and closely tracking results.

It's easy to believe that EVERYTHING is about your website, your ebook, your latest sales numbers, your response rates, your list size, blah blah blah

But it is not.

There's more to life - and a lot of it is more important.

Stuff like the kind of person you are.

The kind of person your success makes you.

The things you do with your success and money.

Zig Ziglar says this: "Life is like a grindstone. Whether it wears you down or polishes you up depends upon what YOU are made of"

In a spat like the one exemplified in Paul's post, it's the way the protagonists behave that defines the 'public' opinion about them, just as much as their individual positions or stance on the issue.

About Specificity:

More specifically (!!!), being specific with accusations.

Paul wrote:

"I don't recall any of those people taking public shots at Ken."

Well, I recall one. The incident sticks in my memory - because I got 'involved' in a rather unusual (and funny) way.

When Hurricane Katrina hit, I sent a note to my list about raising funds. I ran a 'fire sale' - and managed to multiply my original donation 20 times, contributing $1,000 to a relief effort managed by 2 amazing members of the Warrior Forum.

Now, just around that time, Ken McCarthy posted a link to a set of relief organizations and emailed his list to say the link was up - with an opt-in box on the landing page.

A day or two later, I got an email from Armand Morin's list (I'm on his list too) lashing out at 'unethical' marketers who tried to 'profit' from the disaster by sending out email invitations that help building their lists - and running special sales.

I don't even consider myself noticeable enough to be on Armand's radar, having only met him once at Stephen Pierce's seminar. Yet, I received MANY emails from my list members, suggesting one of the promotions being 'condemned' in Armand's post was mine!

That made me smile - and I replied to my subscribers to say it was VERY unlikely... but even if it was, I didn't care because it helped me up my contribution to the victims of that terrible natural disaster by TWENTY times more than I could have afforded to give.

(And of course, I was donating 100% of the profits - and in principle, agreed with Armand's point about mis-using a disaster to promote sales that resulted in a bottom-line profit to a business... but hey, again, that's MY personal opinion)

The point here is, if Armand's 'attack' was 'specific' and mentioned names, it would have helped avoid any mis-understandings or incorrect interpretations. I see this on many forums too, where a disgruntled member posts a message with broad, sweeping accusations that could apply to a wide group of people - including many innocents!

Trouble is, the message is so vague and NON-specific, it's like firing a shotgun into a crowded auditorium - and hoping to hit only your chosen target!

Don't do it.

Be specific. Or keep silent. Or deal with the concerned people, one on one.

Again, that's just my opinion.

If you're on the 'receiving end', be extremely cautious about such sweeping attacks. Like Paul says,

"Be aware of the politics of any vague and damning sounding posts or emails that you read. Or at least be aware that there is very likely some form of politics behind them. Vague comments usually suggest that the speaker doesn't want to reveal their real meaning."

Not everyone likes calling a spade a spade. I do. Paul does. Others don't. And that's ok. Just be aware of this reality, and you'll be fine :)

About Common Sense:

It's amazing just how true is the aphorism -

"Common sense ain't all that common"

Time and again, you'll find people getting all indignant and upset that they took a certain action, purchased a certain product, followed a certain person's advice - and it didn't work out.

And 99 times out of 100, you'll find the thing didn't make sense in the first place. Away from the hype and hoopla, by employing an ounce of common sense, you could be sure it won't work. Yet, people do get carried away.

One of my snippets of advice that gets the most feedback is something I put into one of my special reports. It goes like this:

"If you like something you read about, want to buy it badly, but can't afford the price today... make a note about it - and do NOT buy.

Wait until you can afford it. Make a plan to raise the money. Work for it - in any way you know to. And when you can afford it, go back and buy it. 90% of the time, the deal will still be around, maybe even cost you less. Rarely, you'll miss out - and that's ok. Better than getting into a growing debt trap to get instant gratification.

And this advice is truer than ever about the 'get rich quick' niche of Internet marketing and 'Make Money Online' where there's just as much hype as real good stuff.

I can't express it better than Paul did, so I'll 'swipe' his words...

"When someone starts talking about your honor and your virtue and your ethics in a commercial exchange, without being very specific about why those terms are relevant - put your hand on your wallet and don't let go until they explain."

Write that down, or print it out - and paste it over your computer where you can see it the next time you want to order something online.

Oh, and I almost forgot - I've got a special device that'll pop up and cover that note when you're on my websites looking to order something from me!

This 'one of its kind' device regularly costs $97 - but I'll let you join the small club of 'premium' owners who'll get it for just $49.95 - if you order RIGHT NOW. Click here - don't waste another minute!

Dr.Mani

P.S. - If you clicked on that link above, SHAME on you! Go back up and read this post again! :)

Posted by blogger at October 29, 2005 07:00 PM | TrackBack