Why is "dog training" always used as an example in internet marketing products?

25 replies
Hey guys, I've been in IM since 2003, and after 100s of hours of going through internet marketing products, and thousands of dollars spent I've noticed one thing.

Nearly all internet marketers use the dog training niche as an example when they are explaining something!

This is so pervasive that its starting to get on my nerves and becoming a stupid little pet peeve of mine.

The only reason I can think of its massive proliferation throughout the industry is because of Frank Kern and his dog training product.

I know he used to use it as an example when Ed Dale and him were doing the Underachiever seminars.

Anyone else have any theories as to why this is happening?

Another thing could be that people who create products tend to copy off other successful products, and since those products used dog training as an example they do as well.

You could theorize that this has been happening through all generations of product creators going all the way back to the very first info product sold online about internet marketing.

Discuss if you wish...

And product creators please use other examples from now on
#dog training #internet #marketing #products
  • Profile picture of the author JayVance
    I did it in one of my products, it was the first thing to come to my mind when I was doing the product creation. Now that you mention it though, I do see it a lot.

    Maybe that's why it was the first thing to come to mind. Guess I'll try to force myself to another niche for examples. I always felt this way though when people used the dating niche as an example.
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  • Profile picture of the author Trent Brownrigg
    Yeah it is used a LOT. I've seen it countless times over the years. I know I even used it myself a few times. I don't have any idea why it is always used though. Your guess is as good as mine.
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  • Profile picture of the author UMS
    I think one of the reasons dog training is used as an example is that it is a highly competitive niche, so it's unlikely you are already in that niche and therefore aren't giving away information on a good niche to get into.

    For example, say you used the example of "best cheap knitting machines" (made up example). You might get a whole bunch of people come along and think, hey, that's a good niche to get into and there's not much competition. Thanks for the idea.
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    • Profile picture of the author JayVance
      Originally Posted by UMS View Post

      I think one of the reasons dog training is used as an example is that it is a highly competitive niche, so it's unlikely you are already in that niche and therefore aren't giving away information on a good niche to get into.

      For example, say you used the example of "best cheap knitting machines" (made up example). You might get a whole bunch of people come along and think, hey, that's a good niche to get into and there's not much competition. Thanks for the idea.
      This is true, I rarely want to give out a profitable niche that I could use to make money with. Sometimes I do give out niche topics for the ones that I have no interest jumping into.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Banks
    It's a competitive niche so marketers do not mind using it as an example, they don't want to put you onto one of the niches they are competing in!

    Also the dog training is a popular niche so it may be the first one a lot of pros started off in so it comes to mind quickly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Wills
    I read somewhere, that one of the big marketers made loads of money, in the dog training niche. Then it seemed to catch on from there. Not sure how true this is though.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      I tend to use things like dog training, golf, and similar as examples because people are familiar with them. In my case, it's less about anything Kern might have made money at, and more about people focusing on the lesson rather than the niche.

      As for using another example, sorry. This one works, and I really don't care if it's become a "pet" peeve or not.
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      • Profile picture of the author marcuslim
        Dog training is an example of a niche which satisfies the 3 criteria that Frank Kern says every profitable niche should have - irrationally passionate buyers, large numbers of buyers, buyers who are reachable.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cool Hand Luke
    Two words: Frank Kern

    He made a bunch of money in the dog training niche, and his teachings started there.
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  • Profile picture of the author jrpt
    TrafficGuy-

    I have always thought the same thing...Dog Training? I mean, there are millions and I mean millions of niches out there and yet training Woofie and Fido seems to get people business.

    Maybe we should do a 'How to Untrain a Dog that has been trained via Mark Ling's website'. That might be a good one (and I like Mark's info so nothing against him).
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  • Profile picture of the author Giftys
    Aside from the aforementioned, it's important to remember that we're creatures of habit. Add to that the fact that many internet marketers are lazy and that explains a lot. There are several other examples that could be used but people don't want to take the time to think them up.
    Think of the "glass half full" reference. Why don't we use tank half full?
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  • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
    Banned
    Originally Posted by TrafficGuy Claude View Post

    Hey guys, I've been in IM since 2003, and after 100s of hours of going through internet marketing products, and thousands of dollars spent I've noticed one thing.

    Nearly all internet marketers use the dog training niche as an example when they are explaining something!

    This is so pervasive that its starting to get on my nerves and becoming a stupid little pet peeve of mine.

    The only reason I can think of its massive proliferation throughout the industry is because of Frank Kern and his dog training product.

    I know he used to use it as an example when Ed Dale and him were doing the Underachiever seminars.

    Anyone else have any theories as to why this is happening?

    Another thing could be that people who create products tend to copy off other successful products, and since those products used dog training as an example they do as well.

    You could theorize that this has been happening through all generations of product creators going all the way back to the very first info product sold online about internet marketing.

    Discuss if you wish...

    And product creators please use other examples from now on
    They do it because they've never had success of their own in a niche outside IM, so they have to use someone elses example.
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    • Profile picture of the author Boston Joe
      Ha. It is always the same old examples huh? From my experience 9 times out of 10 they use it to explain a USP. "Don't just make a product about dog training, but dog training for Labradors...."
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  • Profile picture of the author Linda_C
    Originally Posted by TrafficGuy Claude View Post

    Nearly all internet marketers use the dog training niche as an example when they are explaining something!

    This is so pervasive that its starting to get on my nerves and becoming a stupid little pet peeve of mine.

    The only reason I can think of its massive proliferation throughout the industry is because of Frank Kern and his dog training product.
    That's really funny. When I see the "dog training" examples, I automatically think of Adam G. Katz. (pronounced "cats" -- heheh)

    Adam Katz was cleaning up in dog training in 1998 (dogproblems.com) A LOT of the Internet Marketers back in the early days (1998-2000) used Adam as an example of what you could achieve online. Adam was a "shining example" of Internet Marketing, downloads and continuity (membership) programs 8 years before Frank Kern's site would even be registered. Frank Kern's dog site went online in 2006, 8 years after Adam's.

    I guess it's a "how long you've been online" thing.

    Gah. I'm dating myself. lol
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  • Disclaimer: Humor, folks.

    Dog training is used so often because:

    Adam Short actually has 434 different aliases, and uses many of them to create niche sites.

    A lot of people have dogs that bite the mailman. After all, dogs are a pretty popular pet option.
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  • Profile picture of the author alcymart
    Would it be because we all have dogs and we would love them to be trained...lol

    Bernard St-Pierre
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanjm
    I broke the trend and used "Trolls" as my example. Trolls is the new dog training, hop on board and be one of the cool kids.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    I think it's a federal law. People are required to use that example or the FTC shuts them down... :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by TrafficGuy Claude View Post

    The only reason I can think of its massive proliferation throughout the industry is because of Frank Kern and his dog training product.
    It was already sort of a "thing" before Frank Kern did it, and in fact I'd speculate Frank entered the niche almost as an inside joke. Everyone talked about the dog training niche, but hardly anyone was actually in it, so he jumped into that niche to prove that his Underachiever Method really did work in any niche whatsoever.
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  • Profile picture of the author seankaye
    Actually, Kern had what you'd almost call a "bricks and mortar" dog business with a partner. So the story goes that he needed some spare change so he sat down in his home office in Macon, Georgia (their laundry room) and he typed out a dog training guide in Word and stuck it up online with an address for people to send him checks.

    The eBook business and affiliated products became so successfully and he disliked his partner so much he just gave him the offline business and moved into the digital world.

    That's how Frank relates the story if you ever get to hear him tell it in person.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Giftys View Post

      Think of the "glass half full" reference. Why don't we use tank half full?
      Pessimist > Tank is half empty.

      Optimist > Tank is half full.

      Engineer > Tank is 50% too large.

      :p
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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
    Dog training? I thought everyone and their mother sold Viagra, Extenz, and uhm, other kinds of pills......

    RoD
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    • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
      Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

      Dog training? I thought everyone and their mother sold Viagra, Extenz, and uhm, other kinds of pills......

      RoD
      Rod, the products you mentioned are for training dogs.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mr. E
        Originally Posted by travlinguy View Post

        Rod, the products you mentioned are for training dogs.
        No wonder my dog does not behave, I have never bought any of those products for him!

        As far as the op, the question has already been answered. You will see more examples of that in the future. Anytime someone makes some money online for any example, others will soon follow. It is a dog eat dog training world.
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  • Profile picture of the author DeadRooster
    They use dog training because cats are nearly impossible to train.
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