Gurus and Their Marketing Wisdom

What is a guru?  Internet marketing circles are full of them, all mostly self-proclaimed experts that are ready to sell anyone anything.

I want to talk about these gurus and their marketing cliches.

For those of you that slept through freshman English class . . .

Or were more focused on the gross pizza splatter on the teacher’s blue perma-pressed shirt . . .

A cliche is a trite stereotyped expression or very common thought that has lost all its originality and impact after long overuse.

In simpler terms, its a device used to simplify communication.

Cliches are rampant in the online world, moreso than any other venue I’ve visited.

So what? Why does it matter, you say?

Cliches, while often true, are rarely helpful unless they spur one to appropriate action.

IM (short for Internet marketing, if you’re new) cliches simplify communication, but are nearly always useless because they don’t lay out the details. Cliches should never be considered ample substitutes for solid detailed real world money making advice.

Here’s a popular IM cliche: “the money is in the list.” We’ve all given that advice at times, but is it really useful to someone who has no experience in actual list building?

What I believe most IM gurus and money making mentors need are more detailed personal experienced-based instructions and fewer marketing cliches as in down to earth, rubber meets the road, I did it my way instruction (how was that for 3 cliches in a row?)

Here’s another IM cliche: “set it and forget it passive income.” Most onliners understand the principle, right? But how does that advice hold any usefulness for a newbie that has no online business experience? It’s meaningless because it carries no details, it’s lacking the guts of how to actually set things up.

“If you can believe it, you can achieve it.” Great advice right? Let me ask you this – How does believing you are Taylor Swift, or LeBron James, or Smokey the Bear make it so? How does believing you are a millionaire cause money to appear in your bank account? If you think I’m saying mindset is not important . . . you’re missing the point. Of course it’s important, but merely giving that advice to a novice doesn’t help much when they have no clue what goes into the right business mindset and approach.

I hope this bit of a rant (?) makes some sense . . . especially to those with no online business experience.

When you are looking for help and guidance with your Internet marketing, realize that gurus, product sellers, and online business mentors who merely throw out marketing cliche after marketing cliche are not really helpful to anyone . . . especially those, like most newbies, that have no marketing knowledge or understanding just yet.

Of course, I use the term “newbie” not in any condescending way as I have a soft spot in my heart for all newbies.  My career in the off-line business world was largely helping newbies get businesses off the ground.  We all have to get our start somewhere, right?

It’s a crazy Internet marketing world out there . . . pay attention to whom you listen!

To your online business success,

Steve Browne

www.stevebrownedirect.com