April 28, 2008
XXXXX Doesn’t Work, So Don’t Bother
If there’s one thing that Internet marketers are good at doing (even if it’s not always changing light bulbs 
), it’s shelling out advice and plenty of it.
Sometimes it’s good advice, sometimes it’s terrible advice and sometimes it’s purely fictional advice based on opinion. But most of the time, I’d venture to say it’s well-intentioned.
But even the most “well-intentioned, based on experience” advice you need to be careful with.
Some people will tell you that various marketing methods are “dead”. We’ve all heard that “Adsense is Dead”, “Article Marketing is Dead”, etc…etc…etc. Still, there are plenty of people making a killing using these tools.
You’ve probably been told by some people that trying to optimize your site for search engines is too difficult and the results don’t last, so it’s not worth it. Even so, many savvy website owners are raking in the cash and traffic with these methods.
People have probably warned you against safelists, traffic exchanges and other similar free types of exchanges. Heck, you’ve probably heard me say not to bother. Yet, others swear by the methods.
So, who’s right? I guess the answer is simple - nobody and everybody.
The answer to what is right for you, depends on:
How you use each method. When you hear people say a certain method doesn’t work, it’s often because they just haven’t applied to their businesses in ways that are effective.
Your market. Let’s face it, your home-baked dog biscuits probably aren’t going to fly on a safelist, while your twelve-tier affiliate program might have some appeal (sorry, I can’t help be a little bit cheeky).
Your own preferences. After all, just because something WORKS, doesn’t mean we have to do it if it doesn’t suit our business style or interests.
In the end, it’s you who needs to make the decisions on what is right for your online business. Look for people who have had success with certain methods and seek out information on HOW they used the methods and for which type of business. Just don’t take “XXXXX doesn’t work” as gospel from anyone.
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That’s so true! You can make any kind of marketing fail simply by having no idea what you’re doing, and doing a bad job of it.
Definitely, Stephanie.
The opposite is also true. Some will swear by something and say everyone should use it (think the latest social networking craze), but not everything works for every business for the very same reasons mentioned above.
It all stems back to “what works for one, may not work for another”.
All advice is just that, advice…an opinion if you will. take it and test, if it works pass it on.
Test test test for yourself.
Alice, how right you are.
There are so many ways to reach the same end. We should try those that appeal to us and make sure we do them right. Then whatever works (for us) we should keep doing. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try others. When we have one way working then maybe it is time to try another method while keeping the first going.
Thanks for your piece - thought provoking as usual.
Regards, Jean