The Marketing Myth That Is Killing Businesses

Claude,

I agree that much of what this guy says is valid, especially:

* The problem-first approach is much more powerful than the content-first approach.

* Advertising to people who have an urgent problem they strongly wish to solve now is more effective and lucrative than relationship building.

This advice is more applicable to folks who are in the beginning phases of building a business. If you already have a business, I am not sure it makes sense to switch to his approach, though. Some products and services do not address an urgent need, but rather a slow itch, and for the latter situation the approach described in this article would be wrong.

Marcia Yudkin

I quite enjoyed the article and agree with it. People have been selling directly to strangers for years... Focusing on a good page of ad copy until it converts is where its at if you really want to go straight for the sale, and it does work. Still.

I think relationship building is great too, because many people will buy from you down the road if they dont now, when you build that. It's just crazy not to at least develop and nurture an email list.

Still, a single great piece of copy and some targeted traffic is quick and painless, and can be very effective.

Russ Ruffino is a freaking prodigy. I've followed this guy ever since he first quit his job as a bartender a few years ago. He used to put out some pretty good products (WSOs and Clickbank?) back in the day until he moved beyond that and into coaching.

He put out free notes to a Warrior even a few years ago that were exceptional. Detailed notes on every speaker, best takeaways, etc - FREE!

This is a great share!

Problem first strategy is far more effective. That's how we do it in the offline world as well. In the first 1 minute, we find their true problem. Then we spend the rest of the time offering them a solution customized to them. Works like a charm.

Well, it used to be posted on his website, but it looks like he took it down. I believe there were two days. Here was the link to day one.

http://russruffino.com/warrior-event-2011-day-one

Still, it seems like a copied the stuff that I felt was relevant to me. I'll keep digging, but it may take a day or two.

Thanks, Claude.

I also talk about beginning with the pain points of your target market.

But many people have bought into the "build it and they will come" idea.

There is an advantage to having a lot of *focused* content out there, which I benefit from every month, as people looking for help out of those situations will find it and want to explore further.

If you make a bunch of disconnected content--this month I'm a VSL guy, next month I'm a programmer--then it's no surprise your content gets ignored.

I have some smart friends who get a lot of engagement, far more than I do...but when it comes time for their audience to buy, "Oh no, I wouldn't pay for that..."

So engagement and sharing are not critical measures for success.

Action taken from content views that lead to sales, such as signups for strategy calls, are far more telling. Where do you step into your prospective customer's thought process? That's a much better question than "What content should I create?"

yeah that's the "thing" for my business that's exactly how it works.

I am not saying the other approach is wrong but you have to adapt to your business.

For me tribe building is a fundamental part of the business. That said I think the vast majority misunderstand tribe building.

I'm not a 'money is in the list' person as I think it over simplifies a crucial element of building you business and encourages the worship of useless metrics. I talk with businesses owners and read on here people who are obsessed with the size of their list or the number of followers on a social media site.

To me its a cancer. Businesses think they are doing well when they are just building their foundations on sand.

I look to build two tribes for most of the campaigns we run:

Buyers.

Qualified leads outside buying window.

If you are not either of these then you are not apart of our tribe. If you are not either of these why would I waste my time welcoming you into my tribe.

Again it's another belief of mine, marketing should repel as well as attract.

This is a system that has evolved over time due to a need. I believe that successful marketing is based on four M's:

The right MESSAGE

To the right MARKET

Through the right MEDIUM

At the right MOMENT

For some of the campaigns customers have a specific renewal date so calling them for 11 months of the year is pointless.

At the start of the sales process we go in with the pain point proposition but if we have the wrong moment then its not a pain.

It's at this point that I think you need to move into tribe building.

I think like many things there are no absolutes and you need to be aware of your industry and market. I can think of multiple markets where I wouldn't want to build a tribe.

To add to the resources that will help and for people who like to study thought leaders in marketing here is some content that may get your mind thinking....

Resources - Ballistix

Always good reads on entrepreneur.com and inc.com.
Usually I quickly tire of buzz words, but I still like the term thought leader.

I was looking at Perry Marshall's website because he used to use the analogy of
selling a drill versus how a drill solves the problem of needing a hole. (I could
describe better, but I've only had one cup of coffee and not enough sleep. LOL)

His site is quite different now, but he does provide a very good example of getting
to the problem(s).

He has a pop up with "start here" button that says:

"Unsure Where to Start?
Take my ONE MINUTE QUIZ
and it will lead you right to the
best solution to your biggest problem!"

Click the button and it takes you here:
https://www.perrymarshall.com/60-second/
Autoplay video first words:
"Hi, This is Perry Marshall and I want to help you solve the
biggest problems you are facing right now (with emphasis on right now)..."

-------

Also, Todd Brown is selling an info product on how he builds sales funnels
and in the copy he says he has a process to build the exact sales funnel you
need for your business. I think worth a read of the copy to say the least.

Not an affiliate link:
https://mfaliveevent.com/preorder-training-bundle

Dan

Great find, Jason, and thanks to Claude for sharing.

Just like the copywriting formula: PROBLEM - AGITATE - SOLVE

^^^^^
SOrry. Could not resist:

Here are my thoughts on several of these Assumptions

Faulty Assumption #1: If you create content, people will consume it.
Only if its Quality Content and you position that content in front of your target market.

Faulty Assumption #2: If you build a tribe, they will buy from you when you release a product.
If you build a targeted tribe and offer a solution to your tribes problems....they will buy.....

Faulty Assumption #3: Startups should put energy into turning browsers into buyers.
I have worked with many start ups...Startups need to focus on finding their target audience and offer a solution to them....which will turn them into buyers

Faulty Assumption #4: People won't buy unless you've invested a great deal of time into the relationship.
Tough one....I have had people buy my course who first came into my sales funnel 2 years ago and then again, had people buy on the first touch. Relationship building is key....but I suggest to build your pipeline and keep a steady relationship with your leads. There are too many other people distracting them to sell them their product or service.

I will get off my soapbox now....LOL...

He's a good copywriter, and this is probably a good pre-sell for his webinar.

But...

If people are really doing content marketing the way he describes, no wonder it doesn't work. Good content marketing speaks directly to consumer/buyer questions and problems.

The first problem is investing in the wrong business. Just because someone made it does no mean that you will also make it in the same field. You should have enough reasons to start a business after Identifying a problem or a gap then invest in trying to solve the problems. Most business people will identify a solution then start trying to find a problem, this is not right. Ensure that you do good business promotion and surround yourself with the right staff and definitely the results will be astonishing. Thank you for that informative post.

People buy from whomever can deliver the perceived result to their problem or want, when they want it. Doesn't matter if they're in a tribe, herd or a lone wolf. If you're at the right place, at the right time, use the right language, possess the perceived result ready to put it in the buyers hand, they buy.

Success is in your system. You need a system that can deliver the perceived result.