Why DO You Really Listen to Marketers in The Same Niche with You?

by King Shiloh Banned
14 replies
Are you really sure they are not deceiving you? After all, will they want you to beat them?

I don't seem to understand this whole thing because I have learned that IM is all about competition and beating competition.

Why listen to your fellow competitors?
#listen #marketers #niche
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    • Profile picture of the author King Shiloh
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      Alexa,

      Did you consider that most, if not all, of us are "fighting" to appear on the first page of Google results?:confused:

      Can't you see what I'm seeing?


      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      Pretty sure, yes - but I tend to assume people's motivations are good unless there are specific reasons for thinking otherwise.

      I don't think other affiliate marketers are trying to deceive me, but I think they're quite often misinforming me by presenting opinion as fact, and sharing what they mistakenly believe to be true, so I've learned to take most things with a pinch of salt until either I see two or three people I know and trust explaining something with reasons I understand, or (even better, but sometimes impracticable) I verify the "information" independently.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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        • Profile picture of the author VeitSchenk
          whenever I need a fix, I'll just check up on Alexa's latest posts... a true wordsmith, lovely stuff!

          Veit

          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          No, I'm looking a broader picture from a wider angle, Your Majesty. To appear on the first page of Google is very easy indeed. To appear there for context-relevant keywords that appreciable numbers of people are regularly seaching for is, of course, a rather different proposition.
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  • Profile picture of the author LMC
    Were not all fighting for the #1 spot on Google. We all work in different niches.

    Have you even thought about working in a niche of brokering government military contracts?

    Have you thought about selling tactics to retail phone suppliers?

    There is just so much out there, it really makes this post non-significant.

    ============================

    Most affiliates are spreading knowledge for one pure reason, and that is, more money. Not purposely trying to deceive you, They've reached plateaus where frankly, digging the gold doesn't do it for them anymore, and they rather sell shovels.
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  • Profile picture of the author MJ Sterling
    I think successful marketers realise that it's about abundance, there's enough money, customers, work etc to go round several times over.

    Working with the "competition" is a lot more powerful and productive than trying to damage them. There's a small section of people who so try to damage others, but they don't get anywhere for very long.
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    • Profile picture of the author mattrix329
      Originally Posted by MJ Sterling View Post

      I think successful marketers realise that it's about abundance, there's enough money, customers, work etc to go round several times over.

      Working with the "competition" is a lot more powerful and productive than trying to damage them. There's a small section of people who so try to damage others, but they don't get anywhere for very long.
      Only quoting this because Sterling makes a very good point. It is much more powerful and productive to work with your competition then against them. Instead of a win-lose situation (where you make money and they lose money, or vice versa), the situation becomes win-win increasing the earning potential for both parties.

      Personally, as long as my "competition" isn't targeting the same primary keyword i'm targeting, I have no problem helping them out. While i agree with the OP that some people will deceive you, not ALL of them will. I notice that when i approach a competitor, if i show that i am willing to share content, ideas, lists, etc. then they're usually more receptive and both of us can grow our businesses at the same time.

      I know this'll make me sound like a major dork (which i am ), but even Sun Tzu said that the best victory is one where your enemy becomes your friend. Something to think about
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  • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
    What LMC said...

    Plenty of marketers are in niches most of us have never even thought of, so if they share tips on list building or SEO, it isn't going to take away from their income. As such, they really have no reason to deceive anyone (unless they're trolls, which get ferreted out pretty fast).

    On the flip side, you have those selling IM info (the shovels, as LMC said). These folks generally won't deceive you, because its in their best interest to give the best advice possible. The better their advice, the more repeat business they get.

    Becky

    p.s. There would need to be a massive conspiracy to have a lot of crappy or deceptive info get through here on the forum. That's because there are lots of honest folks always willing to speak up if someone is dishing out bad advice.
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  • Profile picture of the author JonMills
    I dont look at trying to beat people, unless of course they have stole my twinkie

    I just be myself and bring what I have to the table
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    http://www.thecopywriterwhisperer.com/ Persuasion at it's best!
    http://www.affiliateorganizer.com/ Organize your entire online business - Super affiliates give it the thumbs up!
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    • Profile picture of the author drew3806
      There are many situations where direct competitors can mutually benefit from working together. I have a Jay Abraham Nightingale Conant course laying around somewhere called Your Hidden Wealth where he talks about setting up joint ventures between direct competitors for dead leads.

      No matter what you do, you cannot generate business from ALL your leads. He had these companies swap expired leads and took a cut of any new business they created. A fresh start with a new business created sales out of both sets of leads. This was new revenue from a dead asset neither company was getting use from.

      By teaching someone HOW to generate 1st page Google rankings for their sites, you are in no real danger of getting undercut in your niche. Even if they knew exactly what you were doing, the head start you would have via backlinks, domain name selection, product knowledge, etc. would make it an uphill climb for them.

      There is so much untouched business out there that it would be truly foolish to blatantly copy an existing campaign. You are always going to play second fiddle to the person you are copying.

      By finding uncharted territory no internet marketer has gone into, you can carve out small little money making opportunities other marketers are unlikely to know, or care about. I find more little projects than I can possibly use just playing around with Micro Niche Finder to uncover small untapped markets.

      Like MJ Sterling said, it is about having a belief in abundance. People who think there is not enough to go around generally have less than those who believe there is more than enough for everybody. What people believe in their heads is what becomes their reality in the real world.

      And if you are getting competition, it means you are making good market decisions. The free market can not exist and thrive without competition. You always have to stay one step ahead.
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  • Profile picture of the author VeitSchenk
    there's a whole different angle to this as well:

    in my work as a business consultant with small businesses owners I constantly see this pattern:

    they look at what others in their niche are doing and then pretty much copy it 1-1.

    very rarely do they look outside their industry and see what's working there, and try to adapt it to their own niche.

    and I think a very similar thing is going on in IM too:

    all too often you hear: all you need to do is take what the other guy is doing and do it just a little better (get one extra link to rank better, add one bonus to your copy-cat offer, etc)

    the real gold is in looking in other industries, transfer what's working there and take your market a giant step forward, not just an incremental inch or two.

    Cheers

    Veit
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    If I share something with the forum it is meant to help the forum. IM is only a small fraction of what I do online . Still the basics are the same .

    If something works for me in one of my obscure niches ... why would I care if you take the information and do well with it in your niches ? I don't ... that is exactly what I hope you can do.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mr. Enthusiastic
    In the same niche, there is room for more than one profitable business if they each choose their own unique strategy.

    You can see this on the small scale. There are many different fast-food chains that sell tacos and hamburgers. Each has their own unique menu, taste, decor, attitude, and locations. If enough people are hungry for lunch, they can all do well.

    And it goes all the way up to the largest scale. Boeing and Airbus both want to sell very large airplanes. Boeing's 787 uses new types of engines, plastics in the body, engineering techniques, electronics, windows, etc. But it's about the same size as some of their older products. They've received over 800 firm orders for this $150 to $200 million airplane.

    Airbus's A380, by contrast, is larger by far than any commercial plane either Airbus or Boeing has ever offered before. It's so big that even airports like LAX had to be remodeled to handle it. Except that it's so damn big, most of the technology (other than the wings) doesn't use dramatic innovations. They have over 350 firm orders for this $320 million airplane.

    The two companies compete very fiercely in the marketplace. Each claims that the other is successful due to government meddling, and that the other's product is inferior because of bad design decisions. Yet when the 787 had its long overdue first flight, they got this nice note: "Airbus salutes the people of Boeing on this important day in their history. The first flight of the 787 is a real achievement and it underscores the continual advancements in commercial aircraft that come about because of healthy competition. In that spirit of innovation-driving competition, we look forward to a continued robust rivalry with our own A350. But today is Boeing's day, and -- to the Boeing team -- we say: 'congratulations!'"

    (They didn't hide a sniper to shoot down the plane!)

    Whatever you sell, there is something unique about what you can offer. Maybe a lower price, a better warranty, friendlier service, easier installation, modular options, etc. etc. Find that difference, and it doesn't matter if your competition uses the same technique to tell their own story to customers.

    If I got coupons in the mailbox from both McDonald's and Taco Bell, I might actually use both of them!

    If I ran an airline, I'd certainly want to have a conversation with sales reps from both airplane companies, even though I'd probably only buy from one of them. If Boeing wrote a book about "How to train a sales force for billion dollar sales," they needn't have any fear about Airbus getting a copy. If Airbus offered a seminar about "how to use air shows to get orders for commercial jets," they wouldn't have to turn away Boeing reps. (Boeing already uses 3D design software that was originally made for Airbus.)

    Chris
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