Should You Do What You Teach ??

38 replies
Yesterday I opted in for a free report about list building. It said for beginners, and even though I'm not, the basic fundamentals of marketing are what works.. so I opted in because I was interested in seeing how that marketer was operating.

Surprisingly I learned an "old method" that I'd never heard of.

I did a some research and found my way across a warrior thread about that method and it was just a week or so old... To my surprise the same marketer who's teaching the method in his free report was in that thread too! (how fun)

And there he was talking about his experience with the method he just 'taught' me to use, because it's such a good list building method, as he explained it, how exciting.. and there he was stating he just tried it last month and it DIDN'T work for him.

Wait... what?

Why do marketers do crap like that?

Doesn't it make more sense to teach things that work instead of crap that damages your reputation? Is a perceived value to idiots who never take action more important than quality content that helps? Maybe I'm confused about how providing poor advice could help?
#marketers #should you #teach
  • Profile picture of the author HansDavid
    I always do what I tell my subscribers to do and I always use tools that I recommend them to use. It will be damn funny if you give your affiliate link to a paid autoresponder service but you are using a free one yourself. Don't just talk the talk but walk the walk. This is how you build trust & integrity.
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  • Profile picture of the author RichBeck
    Originally Posted by Victor Edson View Post

    Yesterday I opted in for a free report about list building. It said for beginners, and even though I'm not, the basic fundamental of marketing are what works.. so I opted in because I was interested in seeing how that marketer was operating.

    Surprisingly I learned an "old method" that I'd never heard of.

    I did a some research and found my way across a warrior thread about that method and it was just a week or so old... To my surprise the same marketer who's teaching the method in his free report was in that thread too! (how fun)

    And there he was talking about his experience with the method he just 'taught' me to use, because it's such a good list building method, as he explained it, how exciting.. and there he was stating he just tried it last month and it DIDN'T work for him.

    Wait... what?

    Why do marketers do crap like that?

    Doesn't it make more sense to teach things that work instead of crap that damages your reputation? Is a perceived value to idiots who never take action more important than quality content that helps? Maybe I'm confused about how providing poor advice could help?
    Victor,

    Unfortunately, the IM arena is littered with people who will do anything for an opt in or a sale....

    This includes knowingly providing "bad" information.... or as I saw yesterday a very "well known" Internet Marketer flat out lying about his "proof"....

    The troubling aspect is.... It soils all Internet Marketers... People encounter a few "scammers" and they assume all IMers are "scammers."

    That perception is something that is not easily changed... It is what it is...

    All The Best,

    Rich Beck BCIP, MCSD, MCIS
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  • Profile picture of the author Will Edwards
    If you want to be credible, yes, you need to DO it first and - more than that - master it (whatever it is) before you ever think about teaching.

    Will
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    • Profile picture of the author BamIPD
      Internet Marketing niche is the biggest bullshit in the world.

      It annoys me seeing "How I made $6000 in a month!" reading it then realizing the only way they made $6000 is they sold you a WSO on "how to make $6000 dollars".
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      • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
        Should You Do What You Teach ??

        Yes, of course, unless you'd rather develop a reputation as a money hungry lying hypocrite.

        Terra
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      • Profile picture of the author twister85
        Originally Posted by BamIPD View Post


        It annoys me seeing "How I made $6000 in a month!" reading it then realizing the only way they made $6000 is they sold you a WSO on "how to make $6000 dollars".
        That made my day!

        Getting to the topic, yes I do what I teach and it gets me new ideas indeed. But I've seen people outsource the work and then promote it saying they've used it.

        All I know about IM guys is that they can give away any crap just for an opt in and focus on making "good relations with them" . But hey have you ever wondered about your first impression?
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      • Profile picture of the author arkina
        Originally Posted by BamIPD View Post

        Internet Marketing niche is the biggest bullshit in the world.

        It annoys me seeing "How I made $6000 in a month!" reading it then realizing the only way they made $6000 is they sold you a WSO on "how to make $6000 dollars".
        That's exactly right! I wish more people could see this.
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    • Profile picture of the author sscot
      Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

      If you want to be credible, yes, you need to DO it first and - more than that - master it (whatever it is) before you ever think about teaching.

      Will
      Master it???? Will I Will never sell it.
      Signature



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      • Profile picture of the author Will Edwards
        Originally Posted by sscot View Post

        Master it???? Will I Will never sell it.
        Ah Sscot san, you may need to work on developing the abundance mentality.
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      • Profile picture of the author James Clark
        Some marketers regurgitate information. What I mean by that statement is this. They learn some information and spread it around. (or they copy it)

        In my opinion, they shouldn't be teaching. I don't know what niche you are in but this is common in the make money niche.

        When you Opt-in to a squeeze page and you download a free report the next few emails that the marketer sends out should be credibility emails. Those emails will elevate the marketers to the expert level. The next few emails should be content email, before you try to monetize.

        When you experienced it you'll know! Everyone claims to be an expert but that is not true they are simply copying someone else.







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  • Profile picture of the author Thriftypreneur
    Originally Posted by Victor Edson View Post

    Yesterday I opted in for a free report about list building. It said for beginners, and even though I'm not, the basic fundamentals of marketing are what works.. so I opted in because I was interested in seeing how that marketer was operating.

    Surprisingly I learned an "old method" that I'd never heard of.

    I did a some research and found my way across a warrior thread about that method and it was just a week or so old... To my surprise the same marketer who's teaching the method in his free report was in that thread too! (how fun)

    And there he was talking about his experience with the method he just 'taught' me to use, because it's such a good list building method, as he explained it, how exciting.. and there he was stating he just tried it last month and it DIDN'T work for him.

    Wait... what?

    Why do marketers do crap like that?

    Doesn't it make more sense to teach things that work instead of crap that damages your reputation? Is a perceived value to idiots who never take action more important than quality content that helps? Maybe I'm confused about how providing poor advice could help?
    Because it takes less energy to regurgitate crap than it does to execute, test and validate a working technique?

    Many info products (ebooks, newsletters, whatever) aren't based on personal experience, but rather on what they've "heard." This is true in all niches.

    Originally Posted by BamIPD View Post

    Internet Marketing niche is the biggest bullshit in the world.

    It annoys me seeing "How I made $6000 in a month!" reading it then realizing the only way they made $6000 is they sold you a WSO on "how to make $6000 dollars".
    Good topic OP, but now that WSOs have been mentioned in a "negative" thread, expect this to get locked up pretty fast.
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  • Profile picture of the author ronrule
    It reminds me of the classic MLMer mentality. They meet a seemingly successful recruiter, who goes on and on about how successful all of these people are who are doing his MLM, and invites them to join. So they fork over the cash, give it a good run, and aren't successful with the product. At this point, they either feel duped or feel like a failure, and they just want to get out and get their money back, so they pretend to be successful in order to recruit others, and the cycle continues on to the next victim. IN reality, there are a tiny handful of people that are really successful with MLM, and an ass load phony's who are either just barely making enough to scrape by or failed completely that pretend to be really successful.

    Same goes for Internet Marketing. There are those of us who take the time to write quality content and instructions, based on our own successes and failures. And then there are those of us who take those, modify them with a bunch of theoretical BS they've never tested, and present them as a new, winning strategy - often citing the success of the original work and attributing it to their version.

    Personally I look at the credibility of the writer more than the words on the squeeze page. People who are good at what they do in our world are usually known for it outside of their own websites. If some unknown is selling an adaptation of someone known, it's a good bet they have no idea what they're talking about.
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    http://ronrule.com

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  • Profile picture of the author Romeo90
    I have 2 info products that are centred around eBay. I compiled an eBook and Video Course because I had done what I was teaching (and still do it) and found success with it.

    Would I be in the best position to offer an eBook and Video course on eBay if I wasn't successful? One side, yes. I could offer how to set up an eBay shop (with research), offer meaningless links to wholesalers, and scrape some content off the net. Would I feel OK, morally, about offering such shit? No.

    The other side, no. How could I offer advice to new businesses who wanted to set up a business if I hadn't had the experience of actually doing it myself? How could I offer sourcing techniques that work, if I hadn't tested them myself?

    Would a married man, and a father of 4, take relationship advice off an 18 year old who had never even experienced love?

    No. Why? Because he hasn't had the same experiences, and hasn't experienced all the little bits and pieces that can only be experienced through having a relationship.

    Now, I have a blog. One of the things I talk about is how I created my eBook and course, and how i made money from them. I am honest and open about my earnings from these products - they are not life changing, but I bet thousands of Warriors would gladly swap places with me.
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  • Profile picture of the author arkina
    That's unbelievable. I don't understand it either. Maybe it was something he wrote log ago but decided to republish recently? Or did he just not want to give his "good" info out for free (even though he was doing so on the forum)?

    Originally Posted by Victor Edson View Post

    Yesterday I opted in for a free report about list building. It said for beginners, and even though I'm not, the basic fundamentals of marketing are what works.. so I opted in because I was interested in seeing how that marketer was operating.

    Surprisingly I learned an "old method" that I'd never heard of.

    I did a some research and found my way across a warrior thread about that method and it was just a week or so old... To my surprise the same marketer who's teaching the method in his free report was in that thread too! (how fun)

    And there he was talking about his experience with the method he just 'taught' me to use, because it's such a good list building method, as he explained it, how exciting.. and there he was stating he just tried it last month and it DIDN'T work for him.

    Wait... what?

    Why do marketers do crap like that?

    Doesn't it make more sense to teach things that work instead of crap that damages your reputation? Is a perceived value to idiots who never take action more important than quality content that helps? Maybe I'm confused about how providing poor advice could help?
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  • Profile picture of the author Victor Edson
    Marketers are a strange bunch.

    I almost get the idea you'd call my history teacher a fake because he never 'experienced' the history he teaches. He's just regurgitating what he thinks to be correct, is he not?
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    • Profile picture of the author James Clark
      Originally Posted by Victor Edson View Post

      Marketers are a strange bunch.

      I almost get the idea you'd call my history teacher a fake because he never 'experienced' the history he teaches. He's just regurgitating what he thinks to be correct, is he not?
      No, that is not correct because I had ambitions of being a history professor myself but they don't get paid well and are not appreciated. Some marketers are just out to make a few dollars. So, they will say or do anything to make money.

      Do you want to copy them? I'm talking to you as if you want to build a business. There are hundreds of models out there you can copy and I'm not going to name any.

      A teacher can instruct a 1000 students how to do something. But in this business I believe you need some help on how to build a business. (that is, a mentor or a coach)

      It sounds like you don't understand how powerful it is while going through this process to have someone that you can talk to, and ask questions.

      Trust me its very powerful! I'm just telling you what work for me. Some of us tell the truth.
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Harris
      Originally Posted by Victor Edson View Post

      Marketers are a strange bunch.

      I almost get the idea you'd call my history teacher a fake because he never 'experienced' the history he teaches. He's just regurgitating what he thinks to be correct, is he not?
      This reminds me of the saying,

      "Those that can - do,
      Those that can't - teach"
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      • Profile picture of the author Victor Edson
        I thought that same thing reading this.

        And just because someone else has done, doesn't mean they can teach how to.

        I got started online by a personal friend who tried his best to help me get started online, and even though we were 1 on 1 and he knew about all the technical things I didn't.. he still wasn't a great marketer or teacher at all. But he's been a six figure marketer for 10+ years. In the IM niche!

        idk how that works, lol.

        Originally Posted by quantumtiger View Post

        This reminds me of the saying,

        "Those that can - do,
        Those that can't - teach"
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    • Profile picture of the author Thriftypreneur
      Originally Posted by Victor Edson View Post

      Marketers are a strange bunch.

      I almost get the idea you'd call my history teacher a fake because he never 'experienced' the history he teaches. He's just regurgitating what he thinks to be correct, is he not?
      I'm starting to think you're just trolling with this post.

      Your OP talked about how-to type stuff, specifically list building and business building.

      Relaying/teaching past events to a group of people is completely different than taking list building instruction from someone whose subscriber peak has never been above 100.
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      • Profile picture of the author Victor Edson
        My OP talked about the irony of how one marketer was giving out content and recommending marketing methods, while publically mentioning how they weren't working for him.

        But the average IMer's mentality showed up and pointed out that you've GOT to be an expert to teach anything, which is just silly nonsense.

        My ancestors were trolls

        Originally Posted by Thriftypreneur View Post

        I'm starting to think you're just trolling with this post.

        Your OP talked about how-to type stuff, specifically list building and business building.

        Relaying/teaching past events to a group of people is completely different than taking list building advice from someone who subscriber peak has never been above 100.
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      • Profile picture of the author James Clark
        Originally Posted by Thriftypreneur View Post

        I'm starting to think you're just trolling with this post.

        Your OP talked about how-to type stuff, specifically list building and business building.

        Relaying/teaching past events to a group of people is completely different than taking list building instruction from someone whose subscriber peak has never been above 100.
        Excuse me, are you suggesting I don't know what I'm talking about? I'm way above that now, like thousands, but that is the way I started.
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        • Profile picture of the author Thriftypreneur
          Originally Posted by James Clark View Post

          Excuse me, are you suggesting I don't know what I'm talking about? I'm way about that now, like thousands, but that is the way I started.
          What are you talking about? I quoted Victor, not you.
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          • Profile picture of the author James Clark
            Originally Posted by Thriftypreneur View Post

            What are you talking about? I quoted Victor, not you.
            I'm sorry! Please except my apologies. Are we cool?
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            • Profile picture of the author Thriftypreneur
              Originally Posted by James Clark View Post

              I'm sorry! Please except my apologies. Are we cool?
              It's fine with me, I was just confused.
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          • Profile picture of the author Victor Edson
            Oh, so you saying I don't have any more than 100 people on my lists, lol.

            That's cute.

            If you don't know something, feel free to just make it up.

            That's what the marketer in my original post did too, you two could be BFFs!

            And just so you know, he's a fairly popular marketer who's done well for himself, and so am I.

            Nice to meet you.
            Originally Posted by Thriftypreneur View Post

            What are you talking about? I quoted Victor, not you.
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    • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
      Originally Posted by Victor Edson View Post

      Marketers are a strange bunch.
      I'd be careful not to equate every marketer/marketing professional with the low-life MMO (make money online) scums

      I guess you were thinking of the latter category...
      Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
    That's why I never focus on targeting MMO or IM niches - instead I focus on other niches and THEN, when I find something that works I target that information at real business people who want to learn about expanding their online marketing and/or distribution.

    IMHO the best mentors I have had have been great business people who learn to use the internet to expand their business rather than all of the IM guys who look for the next gimmick, biz opp or MMO opp

    Jeff
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    • Profile picture of the author Victor Edson
      I couldn't agree more. I started my first business at 18, I sold it at 19 & I haven't looked back since. I've been a marketer at heart my whole life, and I consider business to be a passion of mine.

      An entrepreneur mindset really isn't as noticeable in this niche as I assumed it to be though. Kinda odd aint it?


      Originally Posted by jbsmith View Post

      IMHO the best mentors I have had have been great business people who learn to use the internet to expand their business rather than all of the IM guys who look for the next gimmick, biz opp or MMO opp

      Jeff
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  • I think so. If you don't then you are not very credible.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by quantumtiger View Post

      This reminds me of the saying,

      "Those that can - do,
      Those that can't - teach"
      My late grandfather, a professional chef for most of his career, like to add, "those who can't teach, become critics."
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  • Profile picture of the author Susan Richards
    Originally Posted by Victor Edson View Post

    Yesterday I opted in for a free report about list building. It said for beginners, and even though I'm not, the basic fundamentals of marketing are what works.. so I opted in because I was interested in seeing how that marketer was operating.

    Surprisingly I learned an "old method" that I'd never heard of.

    I did a some research and found my way across a warrior thread about that method and it was just a week or so old... To my surprise the same marketer who's teaching the method in his free report was in that thread too! (how fun)

    And there he was talking about his experience with the method he just 'taught' me to use, because it's such a good list building method, as he explained it, how exciting.. and there he was stating he just tried it last month and it DIDN'T work for him.

    Wait... what?

    Why do marketers do crap like that?

    Doesn't it make more sense to teach things that work instead of crap that damages your reputation? Is a perceived value to idiots who never take action more important than quality content that helps? Maybe I'm confused about how providing poor advice could help?
    I am new in forums but not in online marketing, remember that there are always people who will do things good or bad, honest or not as long as they get attention. I know that what I post on sites that I've worked on is experience related. The good thing about you though is that you are not just contented with what you learned because you still do research about specific topics to further improve your knowledge about it and that is a very good thing...
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  • Profile picture of the author Victor Edson
    And personally, the idea of someone needing to be an expert to give you good advice is just garbage, but with so many people in this niche teaching what they know is uneffective.. it's no wonder you're all so afraid to believe someone.

    No biggie.

    It's just a lot different than real world marketing and business people who understand marketing and business versus those looking to do Internet Marketing.

    I'm new to the IM niche, not at all to internet marketing.

    I created this post to better understand the mentality of people in the niche, and see what you really think about learning marketing. Is someone with vast knowledge more important than someone with a paypal screen shot?
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Victor Edson View Post

      I created this post to better understand the mentality of people in the niche, and see what you really think about learning marketing. Is someone with vast knowledge more important than someone with a paypal screen shot?
      The problem in this market is that both can be, and have been, faked.

      Just about anyone with half a brain can acquire the broad strokes of a marketable topic. What seperates the real experts from the posers is an easy command of the small details.

      Here's an example.

      I recently made some inquiries about reef fishing off Florida, something I'm not yet an expert at but with which I'm passing familiar. One "expert" advised me to stock up on stainless steel J-hooks in various sizes. The problem is, that style of hook is against the law for bottom fishing reef fish with bait.

      Another so-called boating expert didn't know the difference between a V-hull and a jon boat (which has a flat bottom). He also misused several common boating terms. To someone who didn't know any better, he probably sounded pretty good. But he was doing anyone who took him seriously a serious disservice.

      Give me the vast knowledge any day.
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  • Profile picture of the author clever7
    I was a victim of many liars when I was a newbie. Internet marketing is not my field, but since I’m working online for years, I know many things.

    I even sold a few articles about internet marketing two years ago for a while because I saw that it was very easy to make money writing about how to make money online. In the beginning I liked it because I wanted to learn more about how to make money online, so I made a research and I learned many interesting things I ignored.

    I’m a good writer, and I easily sold all my articles, which seemed to be written by an expert, while I was basically learning what I was teaching my readers.

    Theoretically, anyone can give internet marketing lessons, and the theory can be right. However, between the theory and the practice there is an ocean – this is an Italian proverb.

    The ocean is huge.

    I stopped writing these articles when I saw that I was wasting time with them because I had to make a research, since I was not an expert in this area. I continued writing only articles about my field, which I know very well.

    I started hating internet marketing because this topic is not so interesting for me. This is why everyone advises you to follow your passion online. It’s hard to keep writing about the same things for years.

    I didn't feel comfortable writing about something I didn't really know, even though my readers seemed to believe that I was an expert in this area. I could see the emptiness behind my interesting words about internet marketing. I feel better writing about what I really know.

    You can recognize a real expert in any field if you will learn something special that will help you in some way. A real expert can write a simple article and explain a lot more than an excellent writer can explain in a long ebook.

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  • Profile picture of the author HumbleGuy
    Now here we're talking about credibility. Trust is a feeling, so the more we adhere to caring about the people who're in the list, the better. Because at the end of the day, it's the "relationship" you create. Again, trust is a feeling you translate within your list. That's the only reason, your list follows you as a tribe and acts upon your recommendation.
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  • Profile picture of the author ReferralCandy
    It's relatively hard to tell when someone's advice or tips are really going to work. Maybe he/she's just spouting nonsense, and maybe it does work, but just not in your particular situation.

    While it is hard to really tell if what someone says is effective, the only thing we can 'sort of' rely on for some form of assurance in that is whether that person giving the advice has actually used it to succeed. That may be a fairly reliable method of ascertaining that he/she is legit, but it might not always work out. Some people just have very good theories that happen to work, just that they haven't tried it themselves, or it didn't work in their particular situation. The best way is then to try everything out, but we clearly won't have the time, effort and resources to do that.

    There are of course the people who go around giving out advice that they clearly haven't tried, or they know doesn't work, precisely because we have no way of checking if it really works. By the time we do know, we might have wasted time and resources, and he/she would've gone on and sold the same thing to others. they clearly do not care about trust, credibility, and are out to make a fast buck.

    So I guess we can only trust out instincts, and to see if they're sensible or logical, before we carry them out. Not putting all your eggs into one basket is another way of reducing heartbreak when the method doesn't work.

    All the best.
    -Hum
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  • Profile picture of the author rickdangelo
    Sadly, it's the IM sickness of today. Some "marketers" listen to too much "fake it till you make it" lectures from fellows without realizing that maybe, just maybe, those "teachers" are also faking it till they make it. It's the same with a lot of MLM guys, too.

    A lot of marketers don't realize too that they don't need to be an expert or a master just to be able to teach something and make money from teaching it. If you know a particular step in the online sales process, that means you're already a step ahead of somebody else. If you know Step 1, then teach people about it. Chances are there are a lot of people wanting to make money online who are totally clueless about it. If you know Step 3, teach people whose knowledge only extends up to Step 2... so on.

    I don't know why some are trying too hard with this.
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