Greetings from Mexico…

 

Today’s message is a very, very important one. It’s something that most full-time marketers who make a great living intrinsically understand, while the scores of misguided beginners just don’t seem to “get”.

 

And I would like for the playing field to be at least somewhat leveled for those who read this blog post.

 

So let’s start off by identifying the dangers of mistaking hype for reality so as to prevent a chain reaction of both destruction and limitation that will plague your business right from the start – and all due to perceived, imaginary threats…

Dangerous Assumption #1: “Popular Beliefs Are Usually Right”

 

Millions of people have died senselessly – in this century alone - because enough people were led to believe a complete MYTH. Examples include the atrocities committed by the Nazi’s in WWII (believing that certain races were inferior), the widespread plague of AIDS victims in Africa (due to certain beliefs about how to rid one’s self of the disease), and so on.

 

The same ridiculous patterns of senseless, mass hysteria are clearly evident every day – all you have to do is turn on the news for a few minutes to have your fill of grossly-exaggerated (or outright “invented”) potential security threats, the “recession”, pending disasters, etc.

 

It’s endless, by necessity – because the underlying TRUTH is that “doom and gloom” is the media-at-large’s central offer.

It’s what they sell.

A Close Encounter With Mass Hysteria…

 

The latest media phenomenon was the “Swine Flu” epidemic. Or should I say Whine Flu. This is one example of how unbelievably irrational people can be – on a global scale – and it struck pretty close to home for Sarah and I as well…

 

We’d planned a trip to Mexico with some very good friends of ours, and we’d been looking forward to it for months. A friend of theirs has a really nice beach house near Guayabitos (north of Puerto Vallarta) that we’d be staying at, close to the surf, yet tucked away in a nice, friendly little Mexican village.

 

Sure enough, about a week before our departure from Canada, the “swine flu” outbreak occurred – becoming the next media darling in one fell swoop. And in a way, it was kind of nice, since the media finally shut up about the “recession” (maybe it died of swine flu as well?) 

 

Nevertheless, since it seemed every government was literally tripping over themselves to “react” to the coming pandemic, we kept a close eye on airline companies, quarantine procedures and travel restrictions that might affect our trip.

 

So we watched the news every day, scoured internet headlines and checked the WHO (World Health Organization) site daily, just to keep tabs on what was going on.

 

And it was a sickening experience (pun) – and a sobering lesson in just how damaging hype can truly become. Here are some highlights…

 

* The flu bug was (mistakenly) called “swine flu”, which instantly led numerous countries to literally BAN pork importation from all of North America, crippling an entire industry on a whim. And the geniuses over in Egypt’s government decided that they should slaughter 300,000 of their pigs because they might be bad. Even though EVERY credible source on the flu said that there was zero scientific connection between the influenza strain and pork.

 

* Several countries and HUNDREDS of airlines (Air Canada included) just outright stopped flying into Mexico. Anywhere in Mexico – not just Mex City. This was directly against the advice of the World Health Organization, which clearly stated and is still stating that travel restrictions are pointless and ineffective against the spread of the flu virus, which had already spread to other countries anyway.

 

* In Canada, the news hype was literally over-the-top to the point of comedy. In one case, the Vancouver news station was declaring that the swine flu cases had “doubled” in the last week, urging the TV audience to stay tuned for the full story. So we did, only to find out that it had “doubled” from 3 people, to 6. Even the “expert” doctor they’d interviewed was coyly addressing the situation with obvious contempt, saying that 6 people out of the 8,000,000 or so that live in BC – “doubled” or not – is about as worrisome as UFO abduction.

 

* Schools all across North America closed. People stopped going to their jobs. Stopped going OUTSIDE. Mask sales must’ve been off the charts…

 

* Amazingly, there were glaring discrepancies between the “victim” figures reported by the media, and the actual figures as recorded and confirmed by the World Health Organization. While talking heads were spouting lies about “hundreds being dead from swine flu…”, the WHO was reporting less than 20 deaths, worldwide – all but one occuring in Mexico City (and in one of the most impoverished districts, no less).

 

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

 

But what’s truly sad is that – just like the “recession” – once again….

The Compunding Effects of Media Hype Far Outweigh The Actual Damage From the “Disaster” Itself

 

As the picture shows above, what we’ve seen since we’ve arrived in Puerto Vallarta has been astonishing. With the thousands of cancelled/restricted flights, literally zero Cruise Ship landings and other travel hassles, since we’ve arrived and spent time in Puerto Vallarta, several popular surfing beach spots and other attractions, we’ve seen less than 50 other tourists (and we’ve been here for 2 weeks now).

 

Every restaurant is barren. Every tour operator is lucky to see one tour a week.

 

Almost every store we visit where Sarah or Kim (my friend’s wife) buy something, the vendor usually admits that it was the first sale that day. Or week. It’s crazy.

 

There’s businesses closing down, jobs being cut in droves and livelihoods drying up.

 

And of course, inevitably, now the media is saying that the swine flu is no different than the regular flu, etc.

 

But it’s too late. The damage is already done.

 

This is the power – the destructive power – of widespread hype. Of going with the crowd, and assuming that what’s popular is true.

It’s the Same in Internet Marketing…

 

This industry is particularly susceptible to hype, and mass “belief”, simply because much of the market is inexperienced, or at the beginning of the learning phase. It’s easy to get sucked into thinking that only ONE method works. Or that old methods are somehow less effective than “new” ones.

 

One month there will be a bunch of hype about CPA, and that it’s the future of IM.

 

Next month, there will be a bunch of hype about how important it is to build a list, and that everything else is just gravy.

 

And of course, the month after that, the emphasis will be on affiliate marketing. Or whatever.

 

And on and on it goes.

 

What you have to realize is that – just like media – everyone has an agenda. Their own.

 

Even me.

 

Even you.

Everyone.

 

But that’s not necessarily bad. That’s the way life is, anyway, whether we admit it or not. Everybody has an agenda – a plan. A way that they think works “best”. And reality is always a different picture, especially from the viewpoint of someone else.

 

So that brings me to the second point of this blog post…

Dangerous Assumption #2: “Other People’s Results Indicate Conclusive Truth”

 

This is something that a lot of people don’t want to hear, or consider – or want me to convey. But it’s true.

 

And it applies to both positive AND negative results.

 

In other words, just because someone succeeded with something – it doesn’t mean that you’ll succeed with that method. Often times, the success of a given strategy is actually reliant on a specific industry – or an authoritative writing style – that a total newbie won’t be able to emulate just by “doing the same thing”.

 

AND:

Just because someone FAILED with something – it doesn’t mean that you’ll fail with that, either.

 

That’s very important. Keep that in mind as you paruse the various marketing forums and become witness to one gripe story after the next about how some method doesn’t work, etc.

 

Something I’ve learned over the years is that when it comes to simple marketing strategies (SEO, PPC, Product Creation, Affiliate Marketing, Email Marketing, Sales Copy writing, etc.), there are usually three types of characters you’ll encounter who have something to say about them:

 

1. Someone who raves about them – because they have an agenda

 

2. Someone who complains that “it’s all a scam” – because they’re beginners and they didn’t have traffic, conversion or both

 

3. Someone who does these things, recognizes that they obviously work – and keeps on doing them. They’ll occasionally make comments on blogs, forums or directly to people in the industry.

 

The first 2 are very vocal – especially the beginners who (mistakenly) think that they’ve “tried” something, failed, and that their “results” should be taken as gospel truth. In reality, their results should be taken with a 900 lb grain of salt.

 

The 3rd type of marketer, above, is usually not very vocal simply because they don’t care, and because they’re too busy actually doing stuff to participate in forums, discussions, etc. It’s sort of like how fat people love talking about diets and obscure weight-loss methods, etc.

When in reality it’s the person who simply eats less and has an active lifestyle that stays in shape. No mystery there.

 

Guess what?

 

It’s the same with internet marketing.

 

The truth is that marketers who get results are the ones driving traffic to offers, building lists and building up their online assets. It’s pretty straight-forward, and it’s all in front of you. Just look at your competitors. The top-dogs in your markets of interest. Not too difficult to see what works.

 

And, obviously, the marketers who DON’T get results simply aren’t doing those things. They’re the type that are continually looking for “fast money”, shortcuts and the easiest way possible to make money.

 

It will come with time, but to accurately determine TRUTH in this industry, you’ve got to do two things:

1. Ignore information from marketers that are in line with an agenda (ie. pre-launch “content”)

2. Ignore the “Can’t-Do-Its”, naysayers and whiners in general, because 99% of the time their results are anything but accurate or conclusive.

 

As you spend time in this industry, you’ll begin to see this.

 

And you’ll also, eventually, begin to meet people who genuinely make a fortune on the net – people who do simple things, over and over again.

 

People who actually produce – rather than consume and complain.

 

So don’t be a sucker for hype, and don’t assume that popular notions, “beliefs” or the alleged results of vested or inexperienced marketers are a basis for truth.

 

Instead - LEAVE the forums. Close your emails. Ignore other marketers for a few minutes – and just go to Google and actually start researching your markets yourself.

 

Check out product networks like Clickbank, CJ, LinkShare and others – see what’s hot. See how other affiliates are promoting them.

 

It’s not hard.

 

And THAT is conclusive.

 

THAT is what is working.

 

Don’t fall victim to invented threats, or perceived “warnings” about a certain strategy or method. Chances are – it’s hype.

 

Similarly, don’t get suckered into believing that ONLY _______ actually works. Once again, it’s hype.

A lot of people silently and unknowingly sabotage their business, their own livelihood, because they take everything they see in the marketing industry as gospel truth.

 

Instead, go with what you can actually see yourself. Do your research, watch your competitors and see what the ACTIVE marketers are actually doing.

 

Let me assure you – the view from “Mexico” (proverbial and literal) is a lot different than how the media paints it…

 

Buenos Tardes

 

-Chris

P.S. Here’s some pics from Mexico, as well as some pictures from Las Vegas that you might enjoy. See the previous blog post if the Ferrari pictures seem out of context…

P.P.S Yes, the masks are a joke…

My wife Sarah sun-tanning on the beach, safely

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Me and my friend Cam (left) on our beach house patio

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Me and our rented Ferrari F430. In red rock canyon, just outside of Vegas

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Cruising around… is a lot more fun OUT of town than in it…

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Two beauties in one picture…

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Bravo Chris. Couldn’t agree with you more. Thanks for this post.

 

Again, if you’re not on Chris’ list, and you’ve never been to his blog, make sure you go check it out: The Lazy Marketer

 

Later