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What happened to the purple cows?

by Luke McCormack
12 replies
Dear Warriors

I have seen numerous posts recently regarding the copying a pasting of swipe emails for JV launches by many a renowned "guru". Quite frankly I am now disillusioned by people who have given value in their emails until the last 6 months.

I have added up the amount of duplicate emails received from "famous" gurus in the last week and it totals 200! Come on! what has happened to the purple cow?

Seth Godin in 1997 defined the purple cow as an innovator amongst other brown cows. The brown cow follows the herd which is exactly what has happened recently.

I just feel that innovation has gone out of IM and has been replaced by "send an email to your list and profit"! In a way this is a plea to go back to how it was, good quality advice and product recommendations based on the list owners personal experience and endorsement of the product being promoted.

Feel free to comment on the above.

Best regards

Nigel
#cows #happened #purple
  • Profile picture of the author Richnana
    Welcome to IM in 2010. I have actually unsubscribed to so many list in the last few months exactly for the reasons you stated.

    In fact I am sick of serial copycat testimonials for products rehashed crap that was crap the first time it was released.

    I actually witnessed the transition of a rising Internet Superstar sink into the dismal abyss of being one of those serial recommenders of "the hottest program" online.

    Gone are the days when you get sincere recommendations about proven products. All the email lists owner are sending "BUY IT NOW! to their subscribers without providing any value.

    Lucky for us we have the Warrior forum so you can get an unbiased view of most of the products that are being promoted by the list owners only so they can get their instant commission.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
    Nigel, what you're seeing is a microcosm of society at large. There aren't many leaders, most people are followers. Monkey see, monkey do.

    By showing you they are followers, they may be doing you a favor. I'll let you and others figure out why for yourselves.
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    Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

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  • Profile picture of the author Luke McCormack
    Dennis

    Thank you for your penetrating insight which is thought provoking. May I ask a question? Would you prefer to put your own personal slant on a JV promotion or simply cut and paste a pre-written swipe file.

    My point is that so many IMers in my mind have built their careers around having their brand and reputation in everything they do.

    Are we to be lead to believe that the profit lies in getting a person onto our list and immediately bombarding them with the lastest JV offer out there with no thought or testing of the product in question?

    Sorry if I have misunderstood your insight.

    Regards

    Nigel
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    • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
      Hi Nigel,

      You asked...
      Would you prefer to put your own personal slant on a JV promotion or simply cut and paste a pre-written swipe file.
      I never send cut and paste promotional material to any list of mine. People who do that often do so because they have no experience with the product. I won't recommend anything I haven't used or at least reviewed personally. That's not my style. If I do recommend something, I write from my experience with it.


      Are we to be lead to believe that the profit lies in getting a person onto our list and immediately bombarding them with the lastest JV offer out there with no thought or testing of the product in question? Sorry if I have misunderstood your insight.
      I may not be a typical marketer, but that's not the way I operate. On some of my lists I never send out solo emails, or promotional-only emails. I send content. I mostly market my own products. If someone asks me to endorse their product, I require a review copy, or courtesy membership, or whatever it is they want me to promote. I like earning money as much as the next guy, but I won't endorse anything I don't believe in, and if I haven't tried a product I have no basis in which to believe in it.

      You may have misunderstood this comment, "By showing you they are followers, they may be doing you a favor. I'll let you and others figure out why for yourselves."

      I didn't mean they are showing you how to market, but rather, that they are showing you they are copycats. And in doing that, showing you that you can probably do without them. After all, how many copycats does one need to follow? Of course, if someone wants to be a copycat, that's another matter. It is an option, just not a choice I'd make for myself.
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      Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

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  • Profile picture of the author Luke McCormack
    Dennis

    I could not agree more and thank you for clarifying your response. We are on the same wavelength in that I will never promote anything that I do not believe in and have not used myself. Secondly would never be a copycat. I aspire to being a Seth Godwin "Purple Cow" in everything I do.

    It may not make me rich quick but more satisfying to have a list that trusts me to provide quality.

    Thanks again for your input into the thread.

    Regards

    Nigel
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Nigel, I'm in the same ball park with you and Dennis.

      Quick note, though. The man's name is Seth Godin - no 'w'...

      I'm taking a wait and see on a couple of these folks - I'm waiting to see if this is a change in attitude or just paying off a stack of IOUs that have accumulated. Others I've written off completely.

      I'd unsubscribe from more, but gmail has such an unearthly high storage limit I just let them stack up as a kind of swipe file. When I'm looking for a jump start, I just search my old email for a phrase or a benefit and do a little browsing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Luke McCormack
    John

    Many thanks for your input, you are indeed right about Seth's surname. Sorry for the typo its 4am where I am and just needed to express a thought that had been bugging me all week. Duly corrected now.

    Regards

    Nigel
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  • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
    Why Innovation Is Overrated - Scott Berkun - Harvard Business Review

    Instead of asking "How can we be innovative?", a toothless and vague question with mostly useless answers, we should be asking "How can we make great things?"
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    So many posers... so little time. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Original!

    Thats one thing I appreciate about Allen, he requires your productsto be original... No posers Allowed.
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  • Profile picture of the author sidpoudyal
    Nigel,

    I definitely agree that we need more innovators but the main reason that people just copy and paste the swipe emails is because IT WORKS! Its just that simple. Rather than having to write up your own copy you can just copy and paste and get commissions. Yeah, the average Warrior will not be fooled but I guess some marketers think that it is simply more efficient to just copy and paste.

    Again, I agree with you in the sense that we need more innovators but I understand why people are doing this.

    Kind Regards,
    Sid Poudyal
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    • Profile picture of the author jeffhard
      Originally Posted by sidpoudyal View Post

      Nigel,

      I definitely agree that we need more innovators but the main reason that people just copy and paste the swipe emails is because IT WORKS! Its just that simple. Rather than having to write up your own copy you can just copy and paste and get commissions. Yeah, the average Warrior will not be fooled but I guess some marketers think that it is simply more efficient to just copy and paste.

      Again, I agree with you in the sense that we need more innovators but I understand why people are doing this.

      Kind Regards,
      Sid Poudyal

      Yes you are right .. We need innovators.. Now adays.. the anybody discover something in any method and become the IM guru..
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary King
    The purple cows jumped over the moon... everyone knows that.


    Listen, there are two types of people in the world.

    Those that show you what to do.

    Those that show you what NOT to do.

    It's up to each of us to figure out which is which.


    FWIW, It's made me click the link at the bottom of more than one message, even though I usually keep 'em all to study.
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