Internet Marketing is not my cup of tea. Not the kind that is pervasive on the Internet today. Hell No!
I am a marketing graduate and it may come as a surprise that I never tried any of the coaching stuff on others. Coaching and mentoring should be all about imparting education and knowledge not only for today but for the future.
Internet marketing today is mostly about entrapment. It is mostly all about how one can trap the most customers into paying their hard earned dollars. A good percentage of affiliate marketing is just the same. It is to a great degree, about pushing shady products, which has no real value other than selling more of the same in a different package.
The fact that someone makes a substantial amount of money online should not be the lone barometer to their so called guru status. Case in point, I saw a not so famous marketer teach his audience about how to make money by way of Google adsense arbitrage? Well, if you don’t know what an adsense arbitrage is, (I didn’t know it until a few months ago as well,) it is a method of stealing money from advertisers.
They put some phony adsense pages and buy Google adword clicks for the lowest price possible. They get ad clicks on Google’s main search pages for a specific keyword. Those clicks are then redirected to a phony set of adsense pages. The only difference is that those visitors, when they click on those ads on those phony adsense pages are making the scam artist a higher percentage of returns than the original price paid for clicks on Google search pages.
Google makes money on both clicks. The scam artist makes money as well. The advertiser loses most of the time. Do you think Google would stop this practice? Please! So much for “Do no evil.” Google can implement a simple no arbitrage policy and enforce it. I may be out of the loop. If this is being enforced, then it is for all factual purposes a sham. The bottom line is of essence.
So, there is this huge adsense ecosystem, where scavengers, thieves and outright financial murderers are thriving. And they have the audacity to call themselves “gurus.” Even criminals make money unethically. That does not give them the right to start a coaching business.
This culture of following the person making the most money, no matter what basic standards of ethics one adheres to is appalling. The last time I even brought anything from the so called guru was back in the 90’s.
Yes, the Internet is constantly changing. But the speed at which it is changing is misrepresented by these lying marketers. It is progressive, not instant. Someones desperation to make money should not be the primary reason why they should choose to be in business. No matter what kind of business it is.
If, Internet marketers had any sense of honesty or credibility, they would have created an official online marketing university with real credits with credible and legitimate endorsement from educational faculties. This way, anyone can pay fees and learn real marketing skills and graduate, while earning money in an ethical manner.
But no! This is not how these Internet marketers would like it. They’d love to sell you and 50 million others the same product. The more the merrier! They, then lie to them that they have equal chance to succeed. Just like they did. When in fact, these stupid herd will all run amok trying now to sell the same garbage, competing for scarce dollars. All this while making the Internet marketer a gazillionaire.
Marketing on the Internet is the lifeblood of any online business. I am not discouraging anyone from using clever marketing ideas. But, clever and effective does not mean it has to be shady and downright unethical.
Money can be made by robbing a bank as well. That does not mean the robber should now write an ebook on how it should be done. Find something to sell, which can return the user real benefit for an extended period of time. If you are selling a product or a service with the idea of helping your customer become a better marketer, then do not create competition for your clients by setting the herd free to battle among themselves.
And those of you who are depending on writing for their blogs to make a living online or even thinking of retiring based on Google clicks, ad placement or sponsorships, you are in for some rude awakening in the months to come. Keep listening to the so called guru, the media and put all your energies in what is hot today. Enter a field with every one running for the same race on the same track. Yes, a few will come out ahead. A good majority will fall behind.
If you want to be successful online in the long run, where you can earn a living with a secure future, stop listening to the so called gurus by paying them big bucks. A few will make it out as winners. Most will fail. And they will fail even if they do everything by the book. This, because the marketplace will not sustain an idea which is used by the majority in a place where 90% of them are trying to sell to the 10% in order to make a living. This is a bad business model. Try getting venture capital for this business plan.
The so called guru has done his job. He sold to the 90% and has the herd trying to fight it out among themselves for the 10%.
If you disagree, I care less. I found a way to make $100k without following any of these so called gurus. I do it ethically and honestly. No one gets hurt. No one loses money. No one is burned.
I love what I do. I am profitable and I have no guilt. Just like those so called gurus.
I come from a land where the “GURU” was invented so to speak. I need not be told what being a ‘guru’ means and who deserves to be called one as such.
Internet Guru - How I loathe thee?