Hey... I'm ? Blogging. What are you doing?

7:48 AM
Wednesday

Hey,

If you're reading this, most likely you're a fan of mine or
I'm a fan of yours, or hey, you're just surfing and you
happened to run across me.

Whatever works.

LMAO.

Okay, here we go.

I haven't walked for the day yet, so I'm going to be all
over the place. I'll explain that later.

Much of the information out there, particularly business related
information, is biased.

As a result, a lot of people have either bought something they don’t need or they are paying for a service they get little if any real value from.

They bought into a sales message, often because they didn’t consider the source or realize how biased it was. I know you may not understand this, but everyone is selling something, even if they're only selling themselves to their potential mate.

People don't think they're salesmen, but they are.

Everyone is.

I was reading a special newsletter from a guy I respect very much and he was talking about stories and selling. He tells a story throughout his newsletter but what you find yourself doing is being engrossed in what he's telling you.

It's simple and easy to read, and it keeps your attention.

His latest newsletter is only 28 pages long and I read all 11 pages yesterday at lunch with my brother, and if I didn't have an appointment I would have read the entire thing. It's that good and he's what I would call my mentor.

so, with that said, it’s not a case of people deliberately misleading us, pretending their products or services are just what we need when they are not.

In many cases, probably most cases, people genuinely believe that what they are recommending to us is the answer to our problems. (In their opinion.) The thing is, they are often wrong and if we act on their recommendations without considering the source, we pay the price.

Consider the source: The problem with hammers

Abraham Maslow said:

If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.

Maslow’s point, was that people who are incomplete in their knowledge of solutions, propose the same type of answer to every problem they encounter. So, if they are a keen user of a marketing tool which works for them, they will often believe that it is an essential investment for everyone in business.

An extremely common example of this kind of hammer and nail thinking is the way email marketing software is marketed. Yes, email marketing software, such as auto-responders, do have their place and for some people, they can be great; but unless you consider the source, you’d think you needed them, when you might be far better off using something more akin to your needs and not someone elses.

For instance, one of my mentors doesn’t use email marketing software or email auto-responder services and he doesn't write an email newsletter to his clients – Yet he has a rapidly growing email subscriber list of thousands.

Hmmm

Let me think about what I just wrote. You should think about it as well.

Marketing genius Seth Godin, NO longer offers an email newsletter either!

Why?

Because he doesn’t need to.

He blogs regularly and get emails in front of prospective clients all the time, because (in his case) over 65% of his readers receive his blog via email.

If he has something he wants to promote, he doesn't need to send anyone marketing emails. He simply shares it on the blog and it will arrive, at a set time, in thousands of in boxes. It works REALLY well and helped him sell over $100,000 in services and products last year.

I recommend email marketing to many of my clients and my point here is certainly not to bash it. As you may know, I once wrote a very popular marketing newsletter, which was extremely successful.

I’m simply using the way email marketing software and services are marketed as an example. The exact same point could have been made using; networking groups, newspaper and magazine advertising, mailing lists, blogging, pay-per-click and just about every other form of marketing.

So, before you decide to part with your hard earned money, or act on some free advice, always consider the source.

Is the person being paid to promote a certain marketing tool?

Are they knowledgeable enough about marketing, to be able to give you the right advice?

The bottom line: When you consider the source, you get a fer better insight as to the quality and accuracy of the information. My JV friend and I have purchased a number of software programs in the past, and just yesterday I invested in a six part webinar for $297 dollars. I couldn't pay for it because his PayPal wasn't working. I sent him an email and he wrote back: "Hey doc, here's the information to get on the call. I know you're good for it." So I got on, listened and paid him immediately following the call.

Wow, that was a great move on his part. I was kind of sitting on the fence, but when he told me I was good for it, he had me because I wanted to be on the call about story telling but he got me off the fence by giving it to me.

The worst thing that could have happened is this. I didn't pay him. But he would have not wasted a single penny giving me what he gave me. He was going to give it to everyone anyway. He just included me and he wouldn't have lost anything... in reality.

So watch what you're doing. Be careful out there and marketing your butt off.

Talk in a few.

Dr. Carney