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The Right Tools & Mindset For Success

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Don't Be Fooled By The Internet Marketing Tease

This might piss some people off, but it has to be said.

The old ways of internet marketing still work, and that’s sad.

Since I’m teaching a free class twice on Wednesday on the one tool that’s essential for building an online course, I thought it was a good time to address this.

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The Two Reasons People Teach Online Classes

Reason #1

To tease you. This is the worst. They give enough information to entice you into buying something, but not enough to help you if you don’t buy something. They string out the process and play to your emotions. They automate webinars in ways that deceive, instead of automating in a way that gives you flexibility and choice.

Teasing is the worst because you get no value for the time you’ve spent watching. You only get a sales pitch.

It’s like a fake worm on a hook. You take a bite, and you get hooked, but don’t even get a snack out of the deal.

Reason #2

To be generous. This is the best. Blog posts and podcast episodes are helpful, but there’s nothing as powerful as learning live, and being able to interact with other students and the teacher. Generous marketers let their teaching speak for itself.

They don’t sell hard. They don’t create false scarcity. They don’t create fake countdown timers that reset every time you reload the page. They don’t manipulate or pressure people.

Generous marketers teach great information that adds value.

After they add value they confidently ask for the sale. If customers don’t buy then the marketers sleep well, knowing that they helped people. They create no regret for their customers, just good will.

There isn’t much middle ground. You either help people, or you tease them.

As a customer, you should run from the tease offer and consider the generous one.

Join Me For The Good Kind of Free Class

Click below to register to attend the free class I’m teaching on Wednesday at 9 AM or 3 PM CT on the only tool you need to create an online course. No teasing, I promise.

Click here to register for the free class

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How To Learn What Your Audience Wants To Buy

This isn’t the first step. First, you need an audience.

After you’ve got an audience, you should ask them what they want, and then make it.

Why Make Things?

Make it because it will help them.
Make it because making is difficult.
Make it because creating is better than consuming.
Make it because every time you do, you’ll get better at creating.

How To Poll Your Audience For Free

Here’s a simple 10-minute video on how to poll your audience, so you know what they want.

Bonus: Add Them To Your Email List

You can add people who complete your questionnaire to your email list with their permission. This can be done through the method I show in the video or by using a service called Zapier which connects services like a Google Form and your email service through their “zaps.”

Click here to watch the video

How To Learn What Your Audience Wants To Buy

Featured Resource:

Learn exactly what your audience wants with this step-by-step guide.

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Why Internet Marketers Are Losing Trust

Gary Vaynerchuk’s book title Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook – was a summary of how you should connect with a potential customer multiple times before you ask something of them. Gary strikes me as one of the good guys based on how generous he is with his content.

Unfortunately, the principle of generosity is dying among many internet marketers. (Highlight to Tweet) Like a car stuck in one gear, they are stuck in selling mode, and it’s bad for the whole industry.

I recently spoke with one of the biggest names in internet marketing, and they said they had no interest in teaching their audience with no sales pitch included because they didn’t need to teach anymore. They just sell now. All. The. Time.

It’s true. I get their emails. I see their Facebook ads. They just keep selling.

Permissible? Yes. Beneficial? No.

Are they allowed to do this? Absolutely. They’ve built up their email list and social media following, and now they’re cashing in. But, not everything that is permissible is beneficial.

Customers and fans feel tricked when someone is generous with them and then sells, and then just keeps selling. (Highlight to Share) It’s not the selling that’s unhealthy; it’s the obsession with selling.

There is generosity in selling something helpful to other people but if all you do is sell, I think you’ve lost your way.

Many have lost their way.

You can trade your lists with your friends and sell, sell, sell, but it’s going to have diminishing returns. (Highlight to share)

Why People Are Tired

People are growing tired of the launches, the promises, the complexity, the price tags on every solution. They want a human connection. They want empathy. They want a guide. They want a sojourner.

Maybe people just want a quick fix, and they’re willing to pay for it, but I’ve never bought a product that provided a quick fix for me other than a fast food meal and a band-aid. Quick fixes, it turns out, are like putting duct tape to slow a leaking tire. It might hold the air in for a bit, but it’s not a long-term solution.

These people will just keep selling, and many will keep buying. I’m unsubscribing. I’m letting Facebook know I don’t like that ad. This isn’t a whine fest; it’s a reminder to all of us in the content marketing space to keep adding value no matter how large your list grows.

Trust can be earned, and trust can be lost. It’s up to you. (Highlight to share)

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The Internet Is Not Reality

The internet is not reality. There is only one reality and that’s the one we live in physical places. The internet is not a physical space, it’s a filtered reality.

This truth is best illustrated by my favorite quote from our 5th President, Abraham Lincoln.
“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”

Lincoln’s words remind us that the internet is full of bull, some subtle and some not subtle.

I’m grateful for the connections the internet affords us but as of late it has created more distance between myself and others. It has created more distance than closeness because the internet is not real, it’s a filtered reality of highlights and omissions.

[Tweet “The internet is not real, it’s a filtered reality of highlights and omissions. “]

How to feel like a failure

If you want to feel like a failure it’s very easy, download Instagram. It’s the easiest place to literally see a filtered reality. I don’t fault those who post to Instagram for distorting reality because Instagram is not where we should look for reality.
Reality happens in person and when we’re honest on-line.

How can we be honest on-line?

Tell the truth of your struggles, your wisdom and your unmet dreams.

[Tweet “Tell the truth of your struggles, your wisdom and your unmet dreams. “]

Live streaming your next argument with your spouse on Periscope isn’t a good idea. That’s not the reality you should be sharing. That’s sacred space. Using Periscope to teach others about how to find middle ground when you do have an argument with your spouse though, that’s a beautiful example of using the internet to bring reality into focus.

Writing a blog post about how you’ve found an answer to a common problem, that’s using the internet for sharing reality.

Maybe you’re inspired by perfection. We sell aspiration. We sell unmet expectations. We sell potential. If the goal is to connect though, stop selling all the time. Use the internet to encourage, connect and inspire.

If you want to encourage, connect and inspire then do it using honesty. No filters necessary.

[Tweet “If you want to encourage, connect and inspire then do it using honesty. No filters necessary. “]

 

 

 

 

 

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Don't get caught looking

In basketball when you are watching your competition instead of defending them and they run past you to score a basket they say, “You got caught looking.”

Basket by S8 - http://www.sxc.hu/profile/S8

How many blogs do you subscribe to?
How many books do you read?
How many podcasts do you consume?
How many newsletters are you subscribed to?

That’s a lot of great information and on the surface it’s good to be a learner. I pride myself on being one. Believe it or not you’re competing against all of those people because each of us is competing for attention. If you and I are so busy taking in information and never get around to creating our own art then guess what…we got caught looking.