Over the years I’ve ended up following a lot of different internet marketing “experts”. In many cases I’ve learned a lot just by watching the way they launch their products. In a few cases I have gone so far as to purchase some of their products.
Overall my success and platform for growth have improved. However, how much of that growth and poise can be attributed to the so called “gurus” of the internet marketing world is a bit of a question mark. They were helpful in some ways, but much too narrow in other ways.
The Value of Great Books
Let me give you a real life example. Many years ago I heard one guru mention the book My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising, by Claude Hopkins. You can pick that up for $2.59 plus shipping.
I was shocked as I read that book that most of the novel ideas circulating through the internet marketing space were just a refresh of that content. It’s almost 100 years old and it’s still considered the bible of modern advertising. That could have replaced $2000 of product that I had purchased up to that point.
For under $100 you could have an impressive collection of peer reviewed, high quality marketing books that would give you enough actionable material to stay busy for years.
Should I buy High Priced IM Products?
I was reading through James Schramko’s blog today and totally agree with something he said about the value of books juxtaposed with the value of the high priced internet marketing products.
Let’s face it you can do a lot more benefit to your library by spending $2,000 on Amazon with Kindles. That should get you about a hundred amazing business books and I think that would probably be a better use of your time. If you pull up an office and sit there and read a hundred kindles, you’re going to get an education no matter what.
I couldn’t agree more. If I were starting out again today, I would spend more money and time on books and less on products describing how someone else implemented what is contained in those books.
I’ll put together a collection of books that have been influential for me. While I work on that, leave a comment telling me what books have been most influential for your business.
The Rockefeller Habits has been real big for me.
How to Become a Rainmaker, by Jeffrey J. Fox, tells in short chapters how to get and keep clients.
I bought into quite a few high-priced (or medium-priced) internet marketing training products and not once have I gotten value. I think people are getting wise and this type of “product launch” (overpriced products that 90% of people won’t ever use, sold on the basis of scarcity and greed) is failing now, thank God. Buying a book however, as you say, is often a no-brainer — I like brendon burchard’s “Millionaire messengers” best. But for my humorous opinion as to why people should avoid his $8k live program see here:
http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2011/12/video-response-to-brendon-burchards-invitation-to/
(despite this i have to say that I would favor a live program, all other factors being equal, but one has to use common sense)
Great video response at that link!
Daniel –
My favorite business book isn’t necessarily a “business” book, but it helped me get a ton more work out of my day. It’s 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam, and I even interviewed the author on my website.
I agree about most internet marketing courses: a lot of hype, very little new, and the fees they charge are outrageous. The Internet Marketing world is very small and they make a lot of money promoting each other’s stuff, but like you said, people are catching on.
Which is why I price my social media classes affordably: $97 b- $497, with practical advice you can’t get anywhere else. Books on these topics are outdated before they even go to press, even the Kindle ones.
When you spend e.g. $2000 on an infoproduct and it tells you that you must send three email and sell a pack with all of our products with a big discount, but you do already know how to do that, you have nothing else but do it
because you have spend so much money on it! How not to try using it? Azamat Ushanov told about that one day.
Spent money is just an additional motivation.
But in fact, I think, we have to find other motivations to go ahead, not money, because money isn’t the most important thing in our lives. And then more we spend money then more we can’t go without it… What d’you think?
We do need to have better motivations than money and I think good books can fuel that
1. Any book by Dan Kennedy, especially any of the “Ultimate” series.
2. Anything (well, almost) by Gary Halbert.
3. Any of the “Guerilla” series by Jay Conrad Levinson.
4. “Tested Advertising Methods” by John Caples.
5. “Billion Dollar Marketing” by Maxwell Sackheim.
6. “The First Hundred Million” by E. Haldeman-Julius.
BTW: #6 should be required reading for anyone thinking
about publishing books for Kindle or Nook!
I’m a big fan of reading business, marketing and self-help books. It’s hard for me to narrow them down but some of my favorite books have been.
The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything
By Steven M.R. Covey
Leadership Wisdom from the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
by Robin Sharma
Be Great: The Five Foundations of an Extraordinary Life in Business
by Peter H. Thomas
Work The Pond
by Darcy Rezac, Judy Thomson, and Gayle Hallgren-Rezac