Internet Marketing Guru or Wannabe? (4 Clues)
By Anna Johnson on April 8th, 2010If you’re having trouble sorting the Internet marketing gurus from the wannabes… the experts from the fakes… those who know and those who don’t… here are four (4) clues that someone is NOT an Internet marketing guru, but an Internet marketing wannabe instead:
1. They claim to have a $10 million business (or even a $1 million business) yet their website looks like something from 1997… or they’re still skimping on things (i.e. necessities, not luxuries) that anyone with a substantial business wouldn’t hesitate to invest in.
2. They post messages on Internet marketing forums asking about how to get traffic to their website (or some other basic question indicating they lack fundamental, let alone advanced, Internet marketing skills).
3. They speak at Internet marketing events and then ask fellow speakers about… how to get traffic to their website (thank you to James for that one!).
4. Their claim to fame is one successful promotion in the Internet marketing community… largely due to getting someone else (e.g. a JV partner with a big list) to mail for them. Sure, that’s something to be proud of… but a ‘one hit wonder’ is not the same thing as an Internet marketing guru.
April 8th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Good post, I am sure we could expand that list without too much brain twisting.
April 8th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Hi Anna,
Great post and thanks for the advice. I’m so tired of all the people who try and sell you a dream and claim to be the “guru” of everything. I’ve now learned to recognize these people from a mile away and your post has reinforced my views on these people. The sad thing is that so many people will get caught out by these scam artists and there is nothing that I loathe more.
Thanks,
Mark Lindsay
April 8th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Funny post! Made me realize I am no longer a wannabe! LOL
April 9th, 2010 at 12:18 am
These are fairly broad caricatures. Funny. But uncommon.
Most scammers, if that’s what you’re concerned about, operate very differently.
1. People who’ve been in the business for a long time, like Jay Abraham (who is not an IM guru but is pretty much the king of “make money” gurus) has a dated looking website. I wondered about this for awhile and then discovered that people like the familiarity. Other authors have chosen to stay with their older website layouts as well because subscribers and fans were just used to them.
A tame-looking website is no indicator of incompetence. (Jay’s chapter 1 giveaway of one of his print books had galley typos in it last time I looked).
2. Ummm. Well if you don’t know something it’s a good idea to ask somebody isn’t it? Just because a marketer is an expert at SEO doesn’t make him or her expert at PPC, or any of the dozens of relevant specialties with IM. I’ve never seen a well-known internet marketer asking really basic questions like “how can I get traffic?” but I have seen questions like, “what’s up with this script?” – and just because a person can pay somebody else to solve their technical problems doesn’t mean they always want to. Some people just prefer, when they’ve got the time, to dig in and learn new skills…. and they have beginner questions relevant to the skills they want to learn, just like you of I would.
3. You might have to be eavedropping to know that one. Look above. Just because a marketer understands some traffic methods doesn’t mean he or she isn’t interested in new ones.
4. You’ve got a point there. It’s possible to make a hit every now and then being in the right place and having the right leverage at the right time. I’ve done it, but it didn’t create a stable business for me. It was only with an intense amount of focus that I was able to make up my mind about which specific business model I wanted to pursue. Once you figure that out… really know where you want to go and have the map to get there, then the whole process becomes much more straightforward. Hard work, yes. Always. If somebody tells you it’s not hard work they’re pulling your leg.