Archive for the ‘Internet Marketing Teachers’ Category

Several weeks ago my friend, Jason Moffatt told me that he put together a report and hoped it was okay that he mentioned me in it. I took a look and was terribly flattered by what he had to say.

The report is called “The Truth Serum”

I hear the complaints all the time.

“Gurus don’t want you to succeed, so they can continue to sell you their rehashed crap.”

“Gurus are people who would never succeed in any type of business besides selling products to Internet marketers.”

Well, in some cases, it may be true. But you know, I prefer to live in a world where people are mostly good… and surround myself, where possible, with only good people. I simply choose to forget about the rest.

If a guru got you down, banish him from your inbox and your life. No need be dramatic about. Just click unsubscribe and move on with your business.

I’ve written about clearing your Inbox before here and here.

I’ve also written about finding your guru or teacher in the past (just can’t find the link right now).

But somehow, people get into the same traps of information overload and overwhelm. You sign up for a free offer here and buy a product there… and soon enough your inbox is crammed.

But let’s go back to the complaints and the subject of this blog post. If you gurus don’t want you to succeed or are duping you in some way, it’s time to take control of your success and your business.

Because after all – Who is responsible for your business?

Yep, that’s right. You. The CEO. The head cheese.

You call the shots and are responsible for the ramifications of your decisions. So don’t make decisions based solely on what someone else tells you.

No matter how good the guru or adviser, they don’t know your business like you do. So what may be a perfectly acceptable product that they are promoting, may not be the right thing for you.

Your business.
Your decision.
Your responsibility.

If there’s one thing to be said about the Internet it’s that you can (appear to) be anyone you want.

Like:

• 80- year old granny selling cookie mixes made lovingly in her kitchen.
• Hot supermodel (with a picture to prove it) looking to connect with men.
• Millionaire guru peddling his latest and greatest get-rich-quick product.
• Social media expert (with tens of thousands of Twitter followers to prove it)

Of course, our Internet Marketing Sweetie readers don’t put up fronts, but the fact of the matter is… many do and it’s important to be aware of the fact.

So while the sage advice of emulating the successful can be helpful, beware of whom you perceive to be successful. What you see is not always reality.

So, how do you find successful mentors?

Define success for yourself. Many people feel popularity and exposure are the definition of success. Others are more concerned about much money their businesses are putting in their bank account. And still, there are others who are less concerned about the dollar figures, and more interested in achieving their ideal lifestyle through their business.

Knowing what success means to you will help you find those successful people you are looking for.

Don’t take everything at face value. Look for consistency and potential clues from the messages people send. Whether it’s a blog post, email, or Tweet – people reveal a lot about themselves.

Of course circumstances change over time, but if you detect the person isn’t revealing a consistent message. For example, if rich guru suddenly runs a fire sale because the bank is going to foreclose on their house… be weary.

Just really pay attention. Make sure what they say matches the image they’re putting out.

Research them. Find out what other people say and scrutinize those reviews. If they’re just glowing affiliate promotions, you may need to dig deeper. But you can learn a lot seeking out the opinions of others.

I live in a world where people are basically good, but there are all kinds of people. Some people do deceive with bad intentions. Other times, it’s just good people getting caught up in a persona. And even other times, people may not even be trying to project a particular success image, but we look at them and make our own judgments. So with that said, use a little noggin with those judgments.

Believe it or not, yes, he is.

In fact, just this past weekend a guy dressed up like Elvis and put the golden rule of marketing into action – give your customers something of value, and they’ll gladly pay for it.

Now he could have followed the lead of everyone else and just picked a street corner to sit on with his tin cup, hoping someone would throw some spare change his way. Instead this guy chose to step out of the norm and do 3 things that guaranteed him money in his pocket at the end of the day.

Unique Offer ~ Invest ~ Give Value

Here’s what this Elvis impersonator did to earn about $1000 cash by the end of the day, while the other guy was lucky to bring in $20 bucks.

Unique Offer: Elvis decided that if he was going to make money, he had to do something different and unique in order to get people’s attention long enough for them to hand over their cash.

The reality is that 99% of people ignore those who are begging for money on the streets. Not because they don’t feel sadness for the less fortunate, but because money is hard to come by, and unless they’re getting something of value in return, they’re not going to part with it easily.

And that led to an ordinary guy dressing up as Elvis.

Invest: “It takes money to make money” still holds true today. If you’re not willing to invest in your venture, it makes it that much harder to get ahead of the all the guys with the tin cups.

So like all of us at one point, you have to do whatever it takes to come up with the money you need to invest in your business.

Side Note: Jimmy D. Brown and Nicole Dean’s Outsourcing Weekly Course has a great lesson about how you can come up with the cash you need for your business.

In this case, he invested in his venture by purchasing an Elvis costume, mask, and microphone – all in an attention grabbing, solid gold color.

Next, he packs up everything and takes it downtown to a prime location. Not on a street corner where people are busy rushing somewhere; instead, he chooses to set up in a place where tourists are getting coffee from Tim Hortons, lingering on benches with ice cream cones, and enjoying the view of the pretty little fountain and the giant sky wheel.

So he goes to the center of it all, sets up his little wooden stage, puts on his Elvis costume, arranges his accessories, and climbs up on stage, goes completely still, and looks exactly like a gold Elvis statue.

Now, the whole time this is going on people start gathering around with curiosity, wondering what the heck this guy is up to. So now that he has their attention, Elvis makes the move that will net him a nice day’s pay.

Give Value: Elvis knows that if he merely set out his tin cup on his makeshift stage, he would make a little money from the curious onlookers, but he’s looking for more than that. So he sets out a sign that says: Get your picture taken with Elvis – $2.

But he takes it one step further and gives them more value for their money – each customer gets a gold bead necklace to wear for their picture with him.

1) His customers are tourists on vacation. This is the exact kind of thing they take pictures of because it’s not something you see everyday.

2) He cashed in on their desire to take a picture by setting a price that was both affordable and profitable.

3) He increased the value of his offer by giving them a free souvenir to go along with their picture of him.

This Elvis impersonator knew his customers weren’t going to hand over their money for nothing in return. So he came up with a unique offer, invested in his venture, and gave people value for their money.

Are you a marketer like Elvis, or do you follow the crowd and confine yourself to doing what others are doing because it looks like it works?

You may remember that Kelly McCausey has a yearly “Hot Summer Seminar Series” that includes valuable advice from some pretty savvy marketers about your online business. This year, Kelly’s doing things a little differently and the focus is on “Work At Home Careers You Can Do 100% Online“.

The series kicked off last Wednesday, but you can still get your $10 Season’s Pass for the remaining sessions.

Kelly’s got some great ladies in the line up, including some that you may recognize:

You’ll learn about becoming an:

• eBay Seller
• Affiliate Manager
• Freelance Writer / Ghoswriter
• Virtual Assistant
• Information Marketer
• Coach / Consultant
• Content Marketer / Blogger / Podcaster
• WordPress Tech / Designer

Kelly’s got all the details on the Hot Summer Seminar Series website. Visit to get the full speaker line up, the call details and get your season’s pass for only $10.

I’ll see you there!

We’re cruising in Alaska right now, but wanted to get in touch with you about the cool freebie that gives you insight into the “secret lives” of some pretty cool Internet marketers.

Ahem…yeah, one of them is me.

This is actually an interview I completed a little while ago, but I don’t think I mentioned it. It also includes tidbits from:

Yanik Silver
Dr. Mani
Paul Myers

…and others. You get to find out:

- Mistakes we made and how you can avoid them
- Our most profitable marketing techniques
- Tool and software we can’t live without

…and other good stuff. Here’s the link to download it for free here.

You do have to opt-in to get it, but there is no first-born requirement or anything crazy like that. Hehehe.

The Marketer’s Mojo Virtual Conference started Monday, so we’d better get our winners their virtual tickets ASAP!

As mentioned, if you’re a winner, you must claim your prize by emailing news @ internetmarketingsweetie.com [subject line: "I'm Virtual Ticket Winner"] by this Saturday, Feb. 14 or we will have to choose a new winner.

Without further ado, here are the winners:

1. Erin Alli of Pennsylvania, USA
2. Denise Jeffrey of Alberta, Canada
3. Carrie Purgason of Indiana, USA

Congratulations to you! I know you’ll love the event and get so much out of it. Be sure to keep us up-to-date.

If You Didn’t Win…

Don’t feel bad. I never win anything either.

There’s still time to sign up for the conference. Click here for all the details and to register.

Technically-speaking, it’s Tuesday…so that means I can ask the “Tough Questions” today. Today’s question is:

Q: Why Did You Get into Business?

Simple question but sometimes we forget the answer. Many people want more time, more money and more freedom. Somewhere along the way we get caught up in the day to day, letting our business hold us prisoners at times and start to lose enjoyment for what we do.

Angela Wills, host of Marketer’s Mojo, is on a mission to help marketer’s LOVE their business. She’s enlisted the help of twenty-one experts who have built business that make them JUMP out of bed in the morning!

Over four days these will talk about everything from using your natural talents to get more sales, using social media the right way, gaining credibility, writing your book and so much more!

Learn About the Event

You can learn more about the event and the terrific speaker line up, by clicking here. The conference starts next Monday, February 16.

Enter to Win 1 of 3 Free Tickets

We’re giving away 3 free tickets to this AWESOME virtual event. Here’s how to enter:

Take a look at the report information pages at the links above. If you can use these for your business, move onto step #2.

Write a comment below with your full name, state/province and country stating that you’d like to enter. Please include one sentence (or more) on why you started your online business and would like to get your hands on this prize.

Deadline for entry is 10 AM PST Thursday (Feb 12, 2009 – Click here to see what time it is in PST).

By random draw, we’ll pick 3 winners and announce them later on Thuesday. You MUST claim your prize by Saturday, Feb 14 or we will draw another winner. The conference starts Monday, so we want to be sure that 3 winners get to attend.

All right, your turn…