Spend $2000 on Kindle Books

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.