Why Internet Marketers and Make Money Bloggers Fail

These are just my thoughts on Internet Marketing…take them for what they are worth to you…..

I have done it all…built lists that stroked my ego by the volume of numbers on my list…released products that were successful (to a varying degree…never hit a $100,000 month though)….preached to my readers about how much of an authority I was on {niche subject}…and yet I was left with a less than enthusiastic view of my business model.  

**Disclaimer- This applies only to IMers and bloggers that are into relationship marketing and not search engine marketers…I will explain the difference in a second….

Reasons why Internet Marketers and Make money bloggers fail….

Reason #1- The world needs less “gurus” and more “real people”

I have been around the ringer on this one (and this is primarily the reason why I even started this blog).  The pundits of gurudom will tell you that in order to succeed, you need to become an authority on whatever subject you are promoting.

What everyone is told to do (and what most people do do)

• Build a site.
• Provide useful information.
• Build a list.
• Promote products.

This kind of blanket blueprint across internet marketing land has left us with a plethra of know-it-all wanna be’s who are dying to prove to you that they are indeed the shining salvation (solution) to whatever problem you may have.

Too much of the same is boring, don’t you agree?  And in the case of make money blogs, the more you read, the more you get that “been there, done that” deja vu kind of feeling creeping up the back of your skull.

The reality is that not only does your blog/website look like so many other sites out there, that there is no defining difference between you and your competitors.  

• Every blog has top 10 lists.
• Every blog has “link bait” topics in the hopes of getting readers and links
• Every blog has the “I am better than you so therefore you should listen to me mentality.

So, what makes your blog or website different than the rest of the pack?  Can you name one thing that your business model sells that the rest of the make money world doesn’t?  Do you have a USP (unique selling point) that will move you ahead of your competition?

I think Frank Kern said it best as his one slam dunk strategy in selling things to the general public….to paraphrase him, he said that the best way to sell someone on something is to appear as real as possible…

In one of Frank’s earlier products, his ad copy went something like this…

I am just a regular no nothing Joe and take this with a grain of salt if you will….

I  accidentally discovered a way that made me $x,xxx amount of money.  At first, I thought that it was just dumb luck but I tried it again and it produced the same results again.  My brother kept asking me about it and I reluctantly showed him but was afraid that he would lose money.  He didn’t and showed a couple of friends as well.

Now I have been getting calls off the frame from his friends wanting to learn this method.  Now I am not really a guru, mind you….just a know nothing dude from middle america…but I will show you the plan here.  It has worked for me but I want to tell you that it may not work for you…I am not sure….

And it goes on and on…

Do you see what Frank has done here?  How can you guru wanna-be’s implement this into your make money strategy?  Do I really need to explain?

Frankly, the general public can tell a B.S. spill over something genuine.  By the way, this kind of marketing approach is called “the relunctant hero“…and it is a lesson that most make money bloggers and marketers on the whole could take a page from…

Reason #2 Make money bloggers and Internet Marketers don’t show their human side

This kind of ties into reason number one.  For years, as marketers, we have been modeling our business in the same way that every other big marketer has…..

We want to show (or in some cases give the impression) just how successful we are by displaying products of wealth such as sports cars, big mansions on the hill, ect.  

The idea is that if we show how much money we make, that other people will want to follow us.  And they do (just take a look at shoemoney and johnchow).  

The problem is that there are so many IMers out there doing this that it makes less of an impact.  To put it bluntly…I am less than impressed and I have a feeling like there are many out there that feel the same.

Make money bloggers and social internet marketers are so convinced that if they talk at their readers and show them what they have accomplished, that naturally they will be on the way to getting a nice readership.

What they fail to realize is that people don’t mind it when people make mistakes or admit they don’t know everything…it humanizes things…

Taking a page from the typical movie script, the “hero” (you, make money person) usually has a couple genuine faults.  Even in greek mythology, this is the case.  And normally, the hero will rise above his faults or quirks to overcome whatever problem he has to face.

Personally, I don’t see why this would be any different in a real life situation.  Your readers probably wouldn’t mind seeing that you don’t know everything….in fact, some of your faults could be genuinely endearing to them.

How is your part is your life movie unfolding?  

Are you playing the part of a fake? (fake it until you make it?)  Or are you being for real with your readers?

Reason #3 Your make money blog has no personality

Unlike search engine marketing, where typically the reader is simply searching for a solution to a problem (in which case, you really don’t need a personality), in social media, the cream of the crop typically rises to the top.  

One thing that most successful websites have when it comes to social media platforms, is that they all have a unique personlity in which they talk.  Take a look at the typical blog and you will find in most cases, a very dry and boring personality.  They have information…sure.  Then again, so do most blogs.  What they are lacking is a personality to go with that site.

Internet Marketers “one up” make money bloggers as well.  They spend all this time building a list only to send their list offer after offer after offer.  No personality to the internet marketer makes you not only not stand out but will give you a very dismal open rate.  And if no one is opening their mail, what is the point, right?

From a social media perspective, no personality is the equivilant of spinning your wheels.  You aren’t going anywhere if you aren’t making a connection with your reader.

Marketers and make money folks take the social media platforms and just deface what they were intended for in the first place….to be social…and if you don’t show your personality, faults and everything, then you won’t get “fans”.

Reason #4 You are in it for YOU…and your readers know it….

I have been thinking about this for a while now.  The mantra to marketing and ad copy is that you need to show the reader what is in it for THEM.  If that is the case, then why are so many marketers so blatently marketing in ways that countradict this rule?

Here’s what I mean….

I will use twitter as an example….twitter is supposed to be a fun place where you can connect to like minded folks and talk about whatever.  However, most IMers use Twitter as just another promotional tool and spam their audience with offer after offer.

Ironically, most IMer’s and make money bloggers are all following each other…the result…it is like everyone trying to make conversation at the same time in a small room….it is just a bunch of noise.  Offer after offer, in the hopes that someone…anyone…will purchase whatever it is they are selling.

I kind of liken it to a bunch of people in the middle of a town square all on their stump shouting at each other…pretty annoying if you ask me.

And twitter isn’t the only place this happens….facebook….myspace…if there is some way that an internet marekter can ruin an otherwise good thing, they do….and they do so en masse.

If you are a list builder or belong to a list, you will see the exact same thing….

And while most marketers will look at this like “but I am showing them why they should purchase. {name of product}” in reality, it comes across, as nothing more than a pitch.

Throw enough of your pitches and it becomes blatently obvious who you, as a marketer, are there for.

So what is the solution to this?  After all, if you have been doing marketing for any amount of years, you would practically have to throw out your entire bag of tricks…after all, everything that is taught teaches the direct opposite, right?

I can honestly say that I don’t know the solution….but I do know this….

Creating a connection with your readers should be number one on your list and should precede any thought of selling to them…if you are going the social route.

People like to feel like they know someone.  They like to be entertained.  They like to be spoken to, as an individual…they don’t like to talked at.

A buddy of mine who owns a restaurant in town has done offline what most online marketers do…he has created a list of roughly 30,000 people in Memphis.

His open rates for his emails are at an amazing 80%.  Why?

Because he entertains them with stories and he gives coupons and what not.  But more than that, his list…the people that he markets to, actually feel like they know himself and his staff.

And other than the amazing open rate, he also has the potential to sell to them other things other than restaurant stuff.

Case in point…I received an email from him (I subscribe to his list) that asked if anyone knew any good sprinkler systems.  As a result, he got several emails that told him that they didn’t know of one but were looking for one as well.

Given this, what do you think his chances are that he could actually work out a little JV deal on the side with a local sprinkler company and make a little on the side?

I am kind of ranting here but the lesson in this is obvious…..if you can connect with your readers, then you will make more headway with your business than if you did what every other make money blogger and internet marketer did.

So what is the point of this winding post?

The point is that most internet marketers fail because they fail to see the value in creating a connection.  They fail to understand that marketing is one part selling and two parts connection.  Creat the connection and you can rest assured that everything else will fall into place.   They think that if they promote, promote, promote that eventually that will be the bridge for them to eventually get what they want.  And this is probably one of the best internet marketing tips that I can give.

I am not an expert here but I think that the usual way of building a marketing plan for your blog or website in the social sense is flawed and it is primarily the reason why most make money bloggers and internet marketers are struggling to gain ground.  Just my opinion though.

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