Selfish Greedy Bastards who Would Sell Their Own Grandmothers...
that I've seen in my 16 years in the internet marketing space
is the "us against them" mentality that is so pervasive.
Here, it's the newbie or little guy against the guru.
It's not new, it's a game masterfully played for centuries.
Nowhere is it better played than in politics and religion.
Elections are won not on the issues but by focusing people
on what the other party is doing wrong... and pointing out
that you are the lesser of two evils :-)
It's a classic copywriting ploy that works all too well even
today. The implication that the gurus are hiding something
from you, think of you as just part of a herd to be manipulated,
and would sell you anything, is EVERYWHERE.
The sad thing is that it works amazingly well.
Admittedly, I use it... perhaps too well. After 16 years of
honing my copywriting skills... it's just a habit :-)
An example is an email that I sent out on Memorial Day that,
in retrospect was loaded with implications.
The fact that it worked massively, is proven by that fact that
I got several HUNDRED replies, many of them thanking me from
being "different."
I had to ask myself if that was my desired result. Did I
actually imply that most gurus don't live up to the same
standards?
Did I imply that most would sell their own grandmothers for a
quick buck?
Being a masterful copywriter, who writes emails capable of
getting hundreds of responses, without very much effort, I do
have to ask what my hidden agenda was.
I do think that the us against them is largely "silly" and
that over time each person who becomes successful often
discovers that they have be shifted into the other camp by
their readers.
Just this week, I promoted a product that I really like, and
had gone completely through before recommending it.
The criticism that I got for promoting the product was NOT
that it didn't work, or wasn't worth the price. Instead, I
was asked by numerous people if I knew WHO was behind the
product.
I'm sure that anyone who has been around for more than a few
months certainly see what I'm talking about, and even probably
agree that it's counter-productive, except that it puts them
in their subscribers' camp.
I think that's what I was trying to do with an email that I
sent out on Memorial Day that did accomplish that masterfully.
I'd like to share that here, so that you can see how I did that...
at the risk of being catogorized as in their camp.
My Subject:
What The Heck Does Memorial Day Have To Do With Internet Marketing!
Email Body:
Memorial Day is being celebrated in the United States today,
and that means a lot of different things to different people.
Wikipedia starts out by explaining:
"Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed annually in the United
States on the last Monday of May.[1] Memorial Day is a day of
remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United
States Armed Forces.[2] Formerly known as Decoration Day, it
originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen
Union soldiers of the Civil War. By the 20th century Memorial Day
had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all wars.
As a marker it typically marks the start of the summer vacation
season, while Labor Day marks its end."
As someone who spent 20 years in the U.S. military, during a time
when we were active in numerous wars, and smaller contingencies,
and came out largely unscathed, it creates a lot of mixed feelings
in me.
For many businesses, it is just an excuse for holding yet another
"sale" and sending out more advertising. Since, I am in business
myself, that causes me to reflect some too.
You see, my training as a soldier "indoctrinated" me to be
prepared to give my life for "a greater cause," if necessary. I
spent 20 years, fully-prepared to do just that.
Our survival instinct is naturally one of our strongest, so it
DOES take a lot for a person to be prepared to consciously
sacrifice their life if necessary. I guess in the back of our
minds, we always tell ourselves that statistically it's
unlikely to happen to us. Yet, this day honors the millions to
whom it did happen.
How does this relate to my current role as an "internet marketer?"
Well, soldiers are held to a higher standard than society in
general. The public has to be able to trust us with incredibly
powerful weapons and know that there is someone who honestly
will put others' interests first.
As I look at my online business, and realize that I'm now selling
to the same people that I once felt a fiduciary commitment to
protect from "bad things" in this world, I still feel an
obligation to continue that role.
There would be a huge psychological disconnect if I'm protecting
you one day, and fleecing you the next. The disconnect would
undoubtedly cause me to burn out fairly quickly... as I have
witnessed happen with many people over the year.
A fiduciary duty is an obligation to act in the best interest of
another party. In my current business, a lot of people actually
TRUST me to do that for them.
I sense this everyday in the emails, phone calls, and other
messages that I get from my subscribers. They email me pointing
out things that they disagree with that they see other marketers
doing... indicating that they TRUST that I won't/don't behave the
same way.
To me, that's how Memorial Day relates to internet marketing.
Millions of my fellow soldiers have died over the years, protecting
the public, and I would be dishonoring that sacrifice if I did
anything that I didn't feel still puts YOUR best interest first.
Business owners face a lot of internal conflicts, as they have to
ask themselves if a given decision is "good business." I take
comfort in dealing with soldiers who are also business owners,
because I understand that they have been indoctrinated to at-least
consider putting "the customer's" best interest first.
It takes a very special person to put others' best interest first,
and yet throughout history, soldiers have done this, and continue
to do this.
So to me Memorial Day is a reminder that there are some of us who
MUST feel an obligation to protect and defend those less able to
defend themselves... even as we transition to other roles.
I guess that sums it up nicely :-)
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Pitch for a networking gathering removed.
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Your thoughts?
Willie
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