My 1,000th post (feedback wanted): Teach a Marketer to Fish and...

One of the really common metaphors in marketing compares marketing to fishing. 'Use the right lure', 'you have to fish where the fish are' and 'you can't catch a fish if your line isn't in the water' come to mind. So I thought, for my 1,000th post, that I would look at the differences between a novice angler and a professional fishing guide, then translate that into the differences between a struggling newbie and a successful professional marketer...

Novice Angler: Always looking for the 'holy grail', that magic hot spot where he can always catch fish, no matter what.
Professional Guide: Knows that the fish have certain needs and preferences, and looks for spots that provide those needs.

Novice Angler: Roars into a spot with the big motor gunning.
Professional Guide: Moves with stealth, using a quiet electric motor, a push pole, even the wind and current to position himself without scaring the fish.

Novice Angler: Uses the same lures and methods that worked for him one time, no matter what the conditions.
Professional Guide: Matches tackle, methods and lures to the prevailing conditions, based on his understanding of the fish.

Novice Angler: His tackle box is bigger than his suitcase because he's always buying the latest, greatest magic lure.
Professional Guide: He uses and relies on a handful of tested, proven tackle he knows will work.

Novice Angler: Because the waters are incredibly rich, even our novice angler catches a fish occasionally, in spite of himself.
Professional Guide: Because the waters are incredibly rich, and our guide understands them, he can almost guarantee catching fish.

Now let's relate that to finding customers for our business...

Struggling Newbie: Always looking for the 'holy grail', that magic program or course that will give him huge returns for little or no effort.
Successful Marketer: Knows that customers have certain wants and preferences and looks for ways to meet those wants.

Struggling Newbie: Makes a lot of noise with a mountain of loud, spammy hype.
Successful Marketer: Moves with stealth, using a variety of tactics to position himself without scaring prospects.

Struggling Newbie: Hops from one method or tactic to the next, without giving any of them a real chance to work.
Successful Marketer: Matches his message and methods to the prevailing market, based on his understanding of what his prospects want.

Struggling Newbie: His hard drive is clogged with courses and digital books, audios and videos, because he's convinced that the next one he buys will be 'the one'.
Successful Marketer: Mainly uses and relies on a handful of tested, proven strategies he knows will work, while continuing to test new things that promise to make him even more effective. If it works, he keeps it. If not, out it goes.

Struggling Newbie: Because so many online markets are so rich, even our struggling newbie makes a sale occasionally if he keeps at it, in spite of himself.
Successful Marketer: Because so many online markets are so incredibly rich, and our successful marketer understands them, he can alomost guarantee making sales.

There you have it, my 1,000th post. I hope it added some value to your day...

Notes:

1. Any resemblance to specific individuals is purely coincidental.
2. I was born with a Y chromosome, so that's the way I write. Ladies, if any of these resemble you, feel free to mentally change any gender-specific pronoun you please.