As the co-owner of an Internet marketing services firm, you might think my answer would be “yes, you can and should outsource your marketing”. But I couldn’t disagree more: no entrepreneur should “outsource” their marketing. At least not the understanding or thinking behind it.

My definition of marketing is generating, converting, satisfying and re-selling customers. Which is really what any business, by definition, should do. On that basis, outsourcing your marketing would be like outsourcing your business.

Perfectly fine to do, but it would make you an investor, not an entrepreneur.

That does NOT mean you can’t or shouldn’t outsource a range of marketing activities to people or companies that specialize in those activities. But the thinking behind those activities should come from YOU.

YOU should ideally know the most about your target market, what they want, the best way to deliver it to them, and the marketing strategies and tactics to optimally generate, convert, satisfy and re-sell them. By all means engage coaches, consultants and other service providers to help you gain clarity over these issues.

But remember - advisers are there to advise, not to MAKE the decision. The decision making rests with you. And for very good reason… since the buck rests with you too!

Of course, I’m preaching to the converted: you wouldn’t be reading this newsletter unless you took an active interest in marketing. But let this serve as further reassurance that the time you spend learning about marketing is time very well spent.

As a lawyer and a marketer, I’m acutely aware of how regulated many marketing activities are. In certain industries it’s not uncommon to see advertisements where the disclaimer is longer than the copy! So why is marketing so regulated?

Well, it’s the same reason for all our laws:

1. A few people (or possibly a lot of people) do the wrong thing - they lie, cheat or steal;
2. Customers complain; and
3. The regulators end up imposing laws to prohibit, punish and deter further wrongdoing.

The problem is, of course, that this often adds to the costs of marketing. For one thing, suddenly you need those pesky lawyers reviewing your ads before they go to air! This, in turn, is fed into the prices of goods and services. And everyone - except perhaps the lawyers - ends up paying for a few people’s misdeeds.

Now, some industries are more regulated than others. And although the general laws may apply to all, some industries are also more scrutinized than others. All it takes is a few people doing the wrong thing, a significant number of people complaining, and suddenly the various government watchdogs start paying way more attention to that particular arena.

That’s why it worries me when I see some of the practices used by Internet marketers, including some of the big name “gurus”. For example, one very well known Internet marketer sent an email that said the following:

“I just wanted to shoot you a quick email to let you know I got you
a 97% discount on [name of product].

He sells it for $176 on his site, but you can get it for just $4.95
today.”

When you go to the site, you discover that it’s only $4.95 in the first month. After that, the price goes back up, and you pay this on a monthly basis.

Guess what folks? That email is, in my opinion (and this is NOT legal advice) an example of misleading and deceptive conduct under Australian law. And since it came into my inbox, here in Australia, that marketer is also subject to Australian law (a lot of people don’t realize that when they market to people in other countries they are actually subject to the laws of those other countries).

Now, I have no reason to complain about that particular incident. Frankly, I couldn’t be bothered. But it’s a clear indication of the ignorance of people who should know better. And unless gurus and others alike start abiding by the law like other businesses are supposed to, it may be just a matter of time before the regulators in the U.S., Australia and other countries start taking much more notice of what Internet marketers do.

Of course cleaning up the various dubious practices may be a good thing… but we are all likely to pay the price of greater government regulation and/or scrutiny in some way. And with the tendency of some regulators to be overzealous at times, some “innocent” people are likely to be pinged.

So let’s all try to stay within the law. It’s better for our customers - I’ve always found that honesty works quite well in business - and it’s better for us.