Never Trust Any Internet Marketer Until You Know...
In light of all the Google whackiness of late, I've been busy reading all I can, pouring over case studies, and watching webinars by just about anyone who offers info on the topic.
Even if I get one little blip of information, it is good enough to drop in my Knowledge Bucket, which, in turn, makes me better able to help others (and help myself).
But something funny has been happening - let me share one example with you.
I was watching this webinar by someone who had done a very good blog post on her feelings and finding regarding the Google Penguin update. I was thinking her webinar would be really good since I thought she brought a new point of view to this situation with Google...and I like hearing different views (whether I agree or not).
Turns out, the webinar started moving towards a direction of trying to prove that links from DE-INDEXED sites were still very valuable and good for ranking.
Ok, fair enough - I can put that on my "To Be Tested" list that is ever-growing.
I figured we'd then move on to something else...
But nope, turned out the "get links from deindexed sites" was pretty much the message of the webinar.
Here's another situation -
Read a pretty good blog post along with a video that also had to do with Google Penguin. This info also was good - not a repeat of what everyone else was saying.
This person claimed that off-page links (ie, links coming TO your site) were NOT to blame for Penguin pecking your site and dropping it's ranking in the search results.
He claimed it was all ON-PAGE issues that caused this.
Again, ok... something else to put on my "To Be Tested" list.
Keep those two situations in mind.... I'll come back to them in a moment.
House of Lies
There's a series on ShowTime called House of Lies. (warning: it's VERY adult - don't go watching this with your kids around or if you are sensitive to bad language and other adult stuff).
Season 1 of this series wrapped up not too long ago and the new 2nd season starts up in September. Because ShowTime wants to keep viewers engaged, they have been having marathons of the entire first season showing each episode back-to-back.
Personally, I like watching like that.. I'm not patient enough to wait for a week to go by for the next show (or I forget about it...lol).
So, I spent an afternoon watching the first season of House of Lies.
Main concept behind the show surrounds a business consultant, Marty Kann (played by Don Cheadle), and his team and their adventures each week as they consult some new big name company. In essense, Kaan and his team are hired to help companies figure out how to make more money, decide if they should move forward with a new product/expansion, or how to stop from losing their company.
Each episode also shows how the team figures out what the business needs (or wants to hear) and THEN how to manipulate the company to keeping Kaan and his team on payroll for on-going consultation.
Anyway, that's the gist of it.
In one particular episode, Marty Kaan and his team are gathered at the mansion of their CEO as are new business school graduates who are trying to get onboard with Marty Kaan's company.
One young recent graduate is very impressed to be talking with THE Marty Kaan and hangs on every word that Marty says.
Long story short, Marty pretty much feeds this kid a bunch of calculated BS knowing full-well what the kid will do with said information. (Yes, Marty is playing the kid because he doesn't want the kid hired - he's too good and would be a threat to Marty's job).
Inevitably, the kid DOES do exactly what Marty predicted and ruined his chance of ever working for that company.
When the kid realized what Marty did, he was outraged...and well, hurt. He tells Marty, "I trusted you".
To this, Marty replies.
"Never EVER trust anyone until you know their angle...."
That simple statement hit me like a ton of bricks.
No, not about business consultants, but about what is happening online...and has always been happening.
Remember my two example situations I told you about earlier in this post?
The webinar that pushed the importance and power of links from de-indexed sites?
The blog post and video that claimed it was on-page issues that caused Penguin issues?
What's scary is how many people took those two pieces of advice as TRUTH just because they trusted the one speaking or presenting the info?
I'm not saying if the info is good or bad (definitely worth testing), but how many bought into it just because of WHO was saying it?
What About Their "Angle"?
So, were these two people simply sharing information out of the kindness of their heart?
Were they doing it purely to help YOU?
Or, maybe...just maybe, they had an angle.
The one that pushed backlinks from deindexed domains?
Well guess what? She owns a blog network that got HAMMERED by Google and she is now sitting on tons of de-indexed domains.
The one that claimed backlinks were NOT the cause of Penguin, but instead, it was YOUR on-page that caused Penguin to hurt your sites?
Well guess what? That person works for a company that sells a software that automatically makes LOTS and LOTS of back links to your site.
Is it possible those two sources of information were slanted in a way to be self-serving?
Marketing messages are always slanted. We KNOW sales pages have an "angle" - but do we keep that in mind when listening to info and 'how to's" and "what works" type posts, videos, and webinars?
If someone says to you, "Hey, backlinks from de-indexed sites are AWESOME!! They'll get you to #1 in no time!!"
Do you automatically believe it and jump on that bandwagon?
Or, do you keep it in the back of your mind, perhaps test it, and do more research about it?
My hope is that you will ALWAYS test things for yourself. Don't take anyone's word for something without using your own brain and your own efforts.
Yes, that includes ME.
I'm out there in the trenches right along with the rest of y'all, but even if *I* say, "hey, this is working awesome for me" remember the part of that statement that figures prominently...
For ME.
My angle by stating things like that? I want YOU to test and try things for YOURSELF.
(and yes, of course, I'd like a few people to buy it if there's something for sale... I'm not in this business as a hobby...lol. But I only want people to buy if it;s something they WILL use or will at least test out to determine their own success with it)
Never trust any internet marketer until you know their angle.
Having an angle is not a bad thing... it's only bad if you listen and trust blindly. Once you understand their angle, all else they say or do will be heard with that knowledge in the back of your mind.
And THAT is a good thing. It makes you smarter and capable of digesting information presented in a balanced way... AND it makes you more resistant to all the tempting "shiny things" out there.
What do you think?
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I read offers and listen to some webinars, hoping to learn something, even if it is one little nugget of useful info I can carrry away with me. The webinars are always intended to sell something, so you go through all this hype and pitch before getting to any freebie advice. It's boring. Still, I don't hold that against the marketer because he's selling his product, but it has conditioned me to trust that ultimately the webinar is a sales pitch. There are very few marketers I trust for many reasons. I've purchased programs just out of curiosity, and get stressed out by the upsells. Why buy an upsell before you know if the program is good? The program should work without any upsell, but often times, without the upsell, it's just incomplete.
As for marketing pundit information, I totally agree. Look for the motive before believing anything. Testing, as you say Jennifer, is important, or just turning up the volume on your common sense will save time and sanity.
Kuddos to WA for its high standard of integrity!
You then have to wonder if the advice you are taking is correct. The problem with a lot of the training webinars with the intention to sell the product, although appearing legit, are promoting techniques that either don't work or that are completely outdated. I would suggest that a lot of these so called "nuggets" may in fact be misrepresentation.
In any other profession, you can go to a seminar or listen to an interview, and come away with some form of enlightenment that can be applied to what you are doing. In IM, there's always that good chance that what you're listening to is bogus.
As for software, you don't know for sure unless you test. Testing takes time. By the time you discover fake or outdated info, you've invested your valuable time just listening to it, far less testing. I try to stay open to new ideas, new ways of doing things, but get very frustrated with all the fakes. Some of the software is potentially valuable to save you time doing the mechanical stuff, but only if for real and not black hat that can get you into trouble.
Careful what you believe.
At this point online, I feel like you can really find any advice you want.
You can find people who tell you buying links doesn't work. You can find people who show you sites where it does and is making them money!
You can read an article on how the web is shrinking and mobile apps are the only way to go to make money, and then find a web-only marketer pulling in thousands (probably like yourself!).
You could probably find people with mass curated content making money, while reading an article about how it will only lead to your site to Google de-indexing.
And the reality is, any and/or all of these situations *may* be correct, for a time, for a certain person, for a certain market. And the fact is, the conditions that either allow or deny success with any specific given technique are constantly shifting as well. What works great today may get you banned by Google Furby tomorrow.
I think the only real constant online is finding ways to better serve people, help them find, help them learn, help them discover, help them purchase.
For all other tactics or techniques, I take the approach of validating anything for myself before I believe it or fashion any sort of strategy based on it. Not because it might not work, or because it might not be in my best interest, but because it just may not work for me, in my market, on my site, with the way I 'm doing it, at this point in time.
In practicing the above, not only do I save myself false hope or disappointment by investing too heavily the 'next latest thing', but I believe that I actually stand a much greater chance of actually finding my own new 'next amazing marketing method' by having learned and tested so many different approaches on my own.
Ultimately, I believe if you are successful only because you are doing what someone else told you to, rather than what you have discovered on your own, your success will be short lived indeed.
Real success in anything, especially business, starts from helping people and acting in people's best interest. Really, what is business all about? How can you sustain a brand and build something unless you have people's best interest at sake? Well...the answer is that you can't. Being "truthful" in this business is what every marketer tries to illude that they are...they they go on to promote something that completely contradicts that. Every one who is in the online business needs to trust their gut feeling because many people in the industry are very clever at hiding their "hidden agenda's". If you have trouble seeing through the cloud of clever words and "shiny" offers, just use history to your advantage. Has this person promoted product after product to me? Have I purchased one of those products? Was I happy with the recommendation?
Personally, I've always followed my gut feeling and kept true to treating others in a way I would like to be treated. That includes acting in other people's best interest. In the Internet marketing industry you have to be careful who you trust and question if there is a hidden agenda...following the wrong advice can single handedly kill your business very quickly.
Kyle and I are looking out for everyone here at WA and we will continue to teach people the RIGHT way to do things - no hidden agenda here. -Carson
Our culture really doesn't encourage us to look very deep. It's easier to just listen to the expert and follow along. That's the problem we have with politics too, so this is timely advice for more than just IM! Look at angles, look at the real complexity, look for the shades of gray and not the black and white... Thanks, Jennifer!
I really do appreciate that the WAbbys are here. Lucky me I've been around since the beginning of them and even was present when the term WAbinar was coined. ( I think it was Joan that came up with that one). That being said it is refreshing to have a place where we can get good information and not have to worry about the hype.
I have attended other webinars and even sat through the inevitable sales pitch at the end.Having purchased a few (only a couple mind you) I have learned that K&C are in it for us and not for the up-sell.
Being wary of the angle is always the key. Take the information and use it to the best of your ability but be aware (or beware) of the underpinnings of the pitch.( There always seems to be one)
Thanks for elucidating this for us Jennifer.
WAbinar wasn't my invention Craig. I forget who came up with it, but it happened during one of Jay's webinars. I think it's so clever and wish it were myself who coined it.
I think that people need to let their own work speak for itself and let others "speculation" just be that. There are too many people out there touting stuff in attempt to "sell their junk"...and too many others that are assuming "their word' is a truthful one. The circle grows, a large number of people are misinformed, and then it happens all over again.
Internet Marketing has a bad stigma associated with it because of people like the ones you mentioned above. You have to be careful as to what you read and what you believe...let people build your trust before assuming automatic trust.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. Although deep in our consciousness we know this... we all need to be reminded... If it has a white background with black and red type, plus yellow highlights and "it's a today only deal"... Don't do it! They'll be back tomorrow "just for you" They will hold it over... tomorrow, the next day and the next week. And if you didn't buy that widget... they'll re-package be be back in your mailbox before you know it.
I agree whole heatedly, and being new I am so glad you wrote this. I could very well have until now taken it for face value.
This is pretty much the reason I have stopped going to webinars...or if I do, I stay for the first half and drop when the inevitable sales pitch starts.
(WA brown-nosing ahead...) That is also why I like the WAbinars Jay does every week. Since he's not 'selling' anything, I can let me guard down a little and listen more.
True, the part about 'this is what works FOR THAT PERSON' still applies, but I feel there is less incentive to feed the listeners BS if there's nothing monetary in it for the speaker.
Jon
The WAbinars here in WA are really nice, aren't they? It's so refreshing to just watch info being shared WITHOUT having your guard up!
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Well.. There goes my plan to sell steak knives at the end of the next WAbinar I do... ;)
Well said Jennifer!
Ooh, do you have those cool little grapefruit ones?