The Profit Systems Report
Internet Profit Systems

Seven Embarrassing Secrets The "Internet Gurus" Don't Want You To Know!

In This Issue:

* Misconceptions That Are Hurting Some People, Annoying Others, And Making Online Business More Confusing

From Timothy A. Gross, President - Internet Profit Systems

Dear Friends;

The majority of Internet Marketing information publishers seem to take great satisfaction in mimicking and mirroring everyone ELSE'S opinions and ideas. I don't know if it's concern about "rocking the boat", or simply because it's safer and easier to re-state universal opinions rather than to offer new ones, but my personal philosophy is this:

* In business, when it seems like almost everyone is giving the same advice, it's a good bet that it's "old hat".

(or: "When everybody seems to agree on something, it's time to disagree")

I'm a marketer, but I'm also a consumer - as we all are. And I'm here to tell you that online consumers (including consumers of "Internet Marketing" information) are getting more and more jaded by "promise- the-moon" claims, "no-risk" guarantees, and their own failed expectations.

They've already learned that it's easy to "talk the talk", and are increasingly skeptical of what YOU have to say as a marketer trying to SELL them something. Now more than ever it's increasingly necessary to *prove your value* up front and establish yourself as someone to be trusted by your actions (not just your words and self- claims), before you can expect someone to favor you with a sale.

I Don't Believe In Mincing Words, So I'm Just Going To Get Straight To The Point:

Here Are The Real Facts On Issues That Are Misleading Many People And Making Online Business More Confusing

* Copying exactly what "everyone else" is doing online will probably get you nowhere. There are thousands of competent-looking websites that aren't doing any significant business...

The advice many marketers give of "Why invent the wheel... Just copy your competition!" has been either misunderstood or improperly applied by many people, and has caused:

a) Blatant plagiarism and copyright violation b) Failure of some start-up businesses because of blindly following another company's example without using their own proper judgment, research, creativity, or master-strokes to create something BETTER and more UNIQUE. Instead, they just create a pale imitation of something else, which performs... palely. You must find your own voice to really make your mark.

You need to find a way to add new twists, new approaches, and new concepts to really achieve a large measure of success. Don't be misled by anyone that a "paint by numbers" approach will guarantee your success.

* "Permission Marketing" is an empty and meaningless phrase.

It's a buzzword that supposedly describes a "kinder, gentler" marketing community... If you're not familiar with the term, it has been pitched as an alternative to aggressive advertising (You ask PERMISSION to send people your ads.)

But here's the chicken-and-the-egg Catch 22... Either you already have an opt-in list you've built up with permission to send email to, or you have to obtrusively advertise and promote to ASK permission to contact people. Soft verbiage aside, there's no difference.

* Personalizing email messages with the recipients' names has lost much of its effectiveness, in my opinion. I myself prefer being called "Dear friend;" or "Dear valued affiliate" instead of receiving email that I KNOW is mass-mailed... It de-values the concept of personal communication, and has introduced a new problem:

How do you email someone directly (one-on-one) and actually have them believe that it's YOU emailing them instead of just a personalized mass mailing?? In other words: I've actually deleted email sent by people specifically to me alone, because the tone of the email seemed generic, and I thought it was spam! These days, if you are trying to contact someone by email, make SURE that you are extremely specific and intimate in the beginning of the email to avoid this from happening.

Am I saying that you shouldn't send out personalized email to your subscriber lists? -Not at all. However, when personalized mass mailings were still a novelty, they increased response and sales significantly when used. My gut feeling is that it no longer gives you that same edge - It's something you should be aware of.

* The blindly accepted claim, "Experts have shown that it often takes 7 or more ad exposures before prospective customers actually make a purchase"... has been taken out of context. It has encouraged people who don't have anything to say to relentlessly hammer people who were foolish enough to enter their email address for more information.

The result: Consumers are increasingly hesitant to give out their email address to anyone - even to subscribe to legitimate ezines, because doing so has resulted in so much junk mail in the past.

* There is not necessarily much correlation between the success that self-appointed "marketing experts" have in selling their how-to information to their customers online, and the success that their customers will have in using that same information to sell THEIR products and services. (Unless their product is another "how to make money on the Internet" product.)

Internet Profit Systems does not measure their success by how much profit we can make selling to our clients and customers, we measure our success by how much more we help our clients earn. Any other measure is self-serving and potentially misleading.

* Beware the "chain letter" type of selling strategy some How-To information sellers use. The chain letter pitch is the "it worked for me, so it has to work for you too", even though your circumstances may be totally different.

Example:
There are some "how to make money" information sellers on the net that purposefully have an almost incompetent-looking one page site and say, "I'll show YOU how to make money with a simple, amateurish looking website just like this one!" The problem: Unless you're selling similar "how to" information, you're probably trying to attract a completely different clientele who will be turned off if your website looks unprofessional. Be careful who you role model!

* "One size fits-all" marketing advice rarely fits anyone well. I've been on tele-conference calls with some of the most successful and influential marketers around. And when the question is posed, "What ONE piece of advice would you give to ALL business owners listening that is the most important thing you can tell them?"... one thing's certain: Their answers aren't going to help you all that much.

Why? Because by definition, the answer is going to be broad and vague - Otherwise it won't apply to everyone. If I told you, "Always focus on your customers and treat them as well as you possibly can", or "Spend the extra time to train and motivate your staff properly, they're your #1 resource"...

Those things may be true, but are they revelations to you? -I hardly think so. Instead, if you were given numerous examples for your specific industry of how to IMPLEMENT those ideas and achieve measurable results through specific actions, then you're on to something.

Online Consumers Are Blocking Out Advertising Messages More And More

* The Internet is not television, and online advertising is simply not in the same arena as commercial television advertising. We (the public) understand that television, radio, and other forms of broadcast media rely on sponsorship ads and commercials... That's what makes the shows free to consumers. Websites are a whole different ballgame.

Yes, the Internet continues to become more commercial, and online advertising continues to become more accepted and expected by consumers. But if you've hired a traditional media advertising group to "brand" your products on the Internet the way you would on television, you're in for a world of hurt (and it's your wallet that will hurt the most).

* Pop-up banners on websites suck - case closed. It's one thing for a website to have its own pop-up banner encouraging visitors to subscribe or offering a free gift, etc., it's another thing not to be able to do a search engine query without having multiple pop-unders clog up our monitors with unwanted, irrelevant, untargeted JUNK.

The potential for expanded abuse of these ever-increasing annoyances is endless, and as they increase, popups - like everything else - become less effective.

CONCLUSION

OKAY - Let's take a personal inventory and see where we're at... This is the crux of what I've been saying:

1) Much Of What Is Being Taught About Marketing Online Grows Less Effective Daily

2) Following Others' Marketing Advice Blindly May Be A Recipe For Disaster

3) Online Consumers Are Less And Less Responsive To Marketing Techniques That Used To Be "Golden"

Luckily, there's a solution, and it boils down to this:

1) Be different (Don't copy "everyone else", use your own approach)

2) Be personal - Converse with your potential customers as one friend to another, and open up a dialogue. Let them TELL you what they want (they will if you listen), then give it to them.

3) Establish your value - Give enough upfront to show that you CAN provide the solutions they need. Don't ask them to just take your word for it - because they probably won't.

Advertising is all about relationships. Would your best friend be more likely to do something you suggested than a complete stranger? If so, then how can you turn strangers (your potential customers) into friends?

To your success,
Tim Gross - President, Internet Profit Systems