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What You Have in Common With Porn (and may not realize it)

by kindsvater
15 replies
This year has seen quite a few "ban" threads. In fact they are increasing:

Adwords bans
YouTube bans
PayPal bans
AWeber bans
Article directory bans

Many directed squarely at Internet marketing products.

Like porn, the IM industry is steadily being pushed into the backwaters of the Internet.

Pushed by major traffic tollbooths such as Google.

You can find it -- if you try.

But it's not like it used to be. And not nearly as financially profitable for so many.

It won't do you any good to say, I'll just use Facebook. They're next - just wait until after their IPO.

After the "early adopter" IMers use, test, and make a service financially viable for the owner, as more "mainstream" businesses move in the IMers are de-legitimized and kicked out.

Of course, the hordes of scammers, morons, and idiots who would sell their mom for a nickel don't help.


Like porn, the IM industry is slitting its own financial throat through free and bad products.

- There are mountains of crap.

- The barriers to entry are nonexistent.

- Many could care less about intellectual property if it means getting them a "link" or the opportunity to make that nickel.

- Globalization and different standards of living means the worthless nickel in the US may be quite valuable in another country - thus putting pressure on price.

- Many confusing free delivery as meaning the product should be free or almost free.


Like porn,

This is only going to get worse before it gets better. But I predict it will only get better for a select few.

.
#common #realize
  • Profile picture of the author RichardF
    This doesn't apply to just IM products, but also to affiliate marketing in general. A few bad apples ruins the game for the majority, and one traffic source after another decide that they want nothing to do with affiliates. It's also because more and more "real" businesses with deep pockets push into online advertising, so the traffic sources don't really need us affiliates as customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andy Fletcher
    Wise words.

    Ultimately the bizop/IM crowd is where so many big companies got their start in the world but once they hit the mainstream the bizop/IM guys are higher risk and just not as attractive as regular business.

    Right or wrong, I'm not the one to make a legal or moral call on such things, that's the way the world works and anyone playing in this niche needs to understand and plan for it.

    Cheers,

    Andy
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      Makes sense. Hugh Hefner and IMers are the only ones that go to work in their pajamas.
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  • Profile picture of the author BloggingPro
    And on the flip side of that coin, even though the PORN industry is limited in terms of where it can get traffic, its still GROWING (no pun intended) each and every year.

    Porn is the biggest niche on the internet, no doubt, and its larger than ever before. I'm sure 3D porn will be the next big push in the industry.

    What does that mean for marketers? It means that you can't rely on traffic sources that we've come to believe are "traditional" for the internet.

    Forums, guest posting... hell even doing media buys are additional ways to drive traffic. You don't have to rely on Google anymore. You shouldn't be relying on Facebook. Think outside of the box.

    I wouldn't go as far to say that the porn industry has been pushed into the backwaters of the internet. It's more prevalent than ever before and you can easily find anything you are looking for by doing a quick Google search.

    The same goes for Internet Marketing--a quick Google search will open up the door to a larger and more encompassing community.

    As a marketer you need to be looking at how you can brand yourself within that community instead of looking for ways to find more and more traffic. Think about that last statement for more than second...
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Originally Posted by kindsvater View Post

    Like porn, the IM industry is slitting its own financial throat through free and bad products.

    - There are mountains of crap.
    - The barriers to entry are nonexistent.
    - Many could care less about intellectual property if it means getting them a "link" or the opportunity to make that nickel.

    Like porn,

    This is only going to get worse before it gets better. But I predict it will only get better for a select few.
    Great comparison. You can see it in many threads here every day ... the hammer coming down on the IM industry. Looks like a major cleanup underway.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nick Lotter
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      Great comparison. You can see it in many threads here every day ... the hammer coming down on the IM industry. Looks like a major cleanup underway.
      Let's hope so. Come what may, those of us running legitimate businesses and building a brand while staying away from BH or spammy crap will surely survive.
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  • Profile picture of the author sscot
    Like porn, IM industry also will be exciting..........
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesGw
    People in IM use a lot of the same tactics that people in porn use to get links. That said, a lot of large companies do the same thing (See JC Penny.) I'm not sure why the "make money" thing is seen as so bad. I imagine its because a lot of people see it as scammy/spammy, which I guess it can be.
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    • Profile picture of the author BloggingPro
      Originally Posted by JamesGw View Post

      People in IM use a lot of the same tactics that people in porn use to get links. That said, a lot of large companies do the same thing (See JC Penny.) I'm not sure why the "make money" thing is seen as so bad. I imagine its because a lot of people see it as scammy/spammy, which I guess it can be.
      JCPenny got caught for spamming .edu blogs only because a major newspaper ran an article on it. Even then they got caught after their lucrative 4th quarter.

      Bottom line is that Google's algo didn't catch them, a manual reviewer did. If it gets by the algo does that mean its ethical?
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidTT
    well you know what, I guess the thing about IM is that you need to learn how to adapt. Things are always changing therefore, you need to adapt in order to survive.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tony Shepherd
    I for one LIKE the unregulated aspect of IM. I like the lack of barriers to entry (makes for a level playing field) and I'm only affected by the scam merchants in that it makes me continously work on building a relationship with my customers.

    I like that anyone can come into IM and with a shoestring budget have a crack at competing with the big guys.

    I'm not a fan of regulating bodies or organizations. All they seem to do is stifle creativity (or worse) under the guise of 'protecting you'

    Don't forget guys a few hundred years ago actors were considered no better than prostitutes. We're blazing a trail here.

    IM will become respectable at some stage. Then we'll be considered 'early pioneers' not scam merchants

    Tony
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    • Profile picture of the author Ralf Skirr
      And on the flip side of that coin, even though the PORN industry is limited in terms of where it can get traffic, its still GROWING (no pun intended) each and every year.
      And just like ours, it's an industry where the majority of web masters is NOT making money - despite the promises.

      Ralf
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      • Profile picture of the author High Horsepower
        Lol, Dan Kennedy stated almost the same sentiments posted here. Online is getting much tougher, that's why I'm Offline. Surprisingly Dan Kennedy has stated that information marketing, online marketing is no longer an ideal business. He now proclaims that owning your own business in certain niches is much more profitable and protected than the above. Dan talked about some guy who started a Rodeo circuit several years ago with almost no money, now it's worth tens of millions.

        I own two brick and mortar businesses myself (although very small) but they produce six figure incomes for me with very little effort. I took my Online skills and applied them to my offline business, it works. I hate CPA marketing and most of this other crap, so much is garbage and ripping off the public. I couldn't sleep at night marketing that junk.
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  • Profile picture of the author LB
    It won't do you any good to say, I'll just use Facebook. They're next - just wait until after their IPO.
    I've been saying this for a long time...look what happened to Google after their IPO.

    I fully expect that once they go public there will be further "risk assessment" where many businesses are banned from their advertising and fanpage platform. In addition, the days of .01 clicks will come to a close.

    It's not just "internet marketing" though. Any small business can fall into the crosshairs of entities like Google and be (often wrongly) blacklisted from ever using their services again.

    I say make an effort to support companies that treat you well. How many people here give Google all their customer data FREE by using Google analytics? Stop it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Unobtainium
    This thread resonates, no doubt.

    A new level of composure and blanket anti hype preselling can legitimize IM, but what do you do with the millions of daily customers, that beware, are now your new, worthless and woeful competitors, trying and trying...waffling and wailing as they try to follow your IM products recommendations.

    The mantra for warrior forum should be...DONT SELL OFF THE FARM! (at least not for pennies)

    Sell sizzle, sell juice.

    We sell people guns, we sell drug in IM....we sell adrenaline. We power the Napolean Hills of this world and they want and need it. But even Napolean didn.t tell you how...he just sold the adrenaline.

    Presell, lift spiriits, be professional, above all, dont step by step it

    ...like the great Zig Ziglar once said,

    "You can get anything in life u want if you can just help enough other people get what THEY want"

    what do they want? to be entertained and actualized for a couple of hours. They want to live their dreams for a day, then they want to go back to their life.

    What do we have in common with porn? Millions of competitors all trying to give it away for free.
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