I find it funny that as internet marketers and bloggers who are promoting other products that we ourselves are not purchasing products.
I am very much an advocate of ethical internet marketing and really try to research the products that I intend to promote – and usually the majority of the ones I do promote are products that I have purchased.
With the planning of my new list building course I have been debating this thought in my head for days.
You see the problem is, that lately I haven’t really been investing that much into my online education. Sure in the past I had made some investments in a few Clickbank products – but my last purchase was probably Market Samurai over 12 months ago.
By the way StandOutBlogger has a great post on how to get a Market Samurai Discount if you are interested.
If We Don’t Invest – Why Should Our List?
I am just being honest with you because my whole thinking has been the following:
If I am not purchasing product to improve my online education or tools to refine my art, then as a list builder – how can I expect my subscribers to purchase?
People will know when you are just promoting a product for the affiliate sale – those emails and posts are easy to pick (and really they carry no weight at all),but when you read a review by someone who as actually purchased the product for themselves are actually recommending the product because they use it and love it – wow, there is not really anything as powerful!
3 Reasons We Should Invest In Our Education
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Because We Need To Be Consistently Learning
The longer that I am in the internet marketing world the more that I realise I don’t really know that much! Sure I have knowledge (I’m not trying to say that I know nothing), but there are so many people who know a lot more than I do. And with the pace that the internet is developing, if we are not consistently learning then we are not just treading water – we are going backwards.
And I think that is why I have not made the progress that I had hoped in the last three years (which I talking about in my F.O.C.U.S. post) is because was one of those people losing ground – because I was not keeping myself educated. Purchasing product within our niche and products that will improve the methods that we have chosen to make money online will keep up focused and on track.
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To Set An Example
If we expect our blog readers or email list subscribers to purchase the products we recommend, then we need to be buying products ourselves! It all comes back to integrity, when your readers see that you consider education as an investment and are ready to spend money to increase your knowledge – they will also.
Two great examples I have seen recently of this is:
- Rob’s (From RobsWebTips.com) investment into TycoonCashflow
- Michael (From IncomeDiary.com) sharing the Twitter Tool He Personally Uses
Both of these great bloggers are investing in products because they see value in them for themselves. They eventually promote the product because of the value that product has been to them.
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To Support The Product Creator
I believe that we need to support our fellow bloggers and internet marketers, especially those within our own niche.
Other products in your niche should never be seen as competition! They are just addition tools that you can learn from (and promote to your readers). If you are purchasing and reviewing products of other bloggers in your niche imagine what will happen when you eventually launch your first product? You will already have an ‘in’ with a selection of bloggers who are now going to be a lot more likely to promote your product!
What Am I Currently Investing In?
I am not trying to tell you to do something that I am not ready to do myself. Recently I have made the decision to be a lot more proactive in my online education. This has started with my first purchase in a long time and a couple more that I hopefully will be making over the next couple of weeks!
Flipped
This ebook is written by Anthony of Feint.me (which has quickly become one of my favourite blogs to read)
Flipped is an ebook that I have been meaning to buy for quite a while now and I finally made the leap and got it yesterday.
It is a great guide on how to flip websites quickly and easily, and Anthony shares the tips and tricks that he personally has used in the over 250 blogs that he and his team have flipped!
Th 42 page ebook includes some fantastic bonuses (including a private consultation with Anthony) so I think it is definitely worth the $17 pricetag, but I have only quickly skimmed it so far – and will post a much more detailed review sometime next week!
Learn More About Flipped (And It’s Bonuses)
Are You Investing In Your Education?
I would love to know what you have recently purchased, and your thoughts on how it was? You don’t have to leave a massive review, but I’d love you to list the product and one or two things that you liked or disliked about it!
Also, what you do think about investing in your education? Do you think it is something that we should be doing on a regular basis, or do you disagree with my points?
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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I hate these emails: “I basically don’t know jack about product X, which is evident because any description I include was lifted directly from the sales-form page, but you should drop $50 buck on it so I can make a hefty commission.” I get them all the time, mostly in the IM (Internet Marketing) niche.
I’m on lots of lists. More than I probably should be. And I know exactly when a new product is coming out because I get 10,000 emails saying “You gotta check this out: (link x).” I’ve actually responded to mass emails (yes, I am ‘that guy’) and ask “For the the I’ll-Click-Through-Your-Cookie-Link award, why should I REALLY be interested in this product, besides to put $30 in your pocket?”
… I don’t get answers very often…
The only time I even consider clicking the link is when the list guy writes something clever to catch my attention. Travis (the bum marketing guy) is great at that. He really appeals to my demographic and I often find myself more interested in what he says than most other people. He says “Dude” “Whoa” and swears… what’s not to love about that
.-= Lee@Search Engine Viking´s last blog ..Alexa 3,598,486 And Counting =-.
I totally agree with you Tom! We always need to investing our education or we become stagnant! I try to read 2-3 books a month related to my field and I attend 1-2 conferences a year.
.-= Kevin M.´s last blog ..Fantastic freehand drawings =-.
College education – $20k minimum (not sure how much it is in US/UK/Aus, but I’d wager more expensive).
When you take into account the potential benefits you can get of buying a $50 product, as long as you don’t buy too many of them it’s good to do so as you’re always learning, always getting better at stuff.
.-= Jason @ Make Money At Home´s last blog ..A Preview Of The New Design And Site Updates =-.
Sometimes all it takes is one great Ebook from a reputable source like ProBlogger, etc. What’s really important to not flood yourself and be a victim of paralysis by analysis. Stick with one course, strategy, etc until you’ve become successful in it. Then you move on to the next…
.-= Jack@Online Marketing Blog´s last blog ..Affiliate Marketing + Article Directory = Rejection? =-.
But that is exactly it Lee, they are not adding value to the product or giving you a personal reason why you should even look at it. I think if you personally purchased the product and have spent some time going through the product for your own benefit, you could think of ten reasons right off the bat why everyone on your list needs to head over and check it out.
As a email marketer, I love the idea of when I send out an email, I do not direct them straight to the sales letter, but instead say, ‘ check out my review on ‘insert product name here’, check out what I thought, and the reasons why I think you should consider it’ – and direct them to a review post on your blog. This builds credibility and would more than likely improve your click through rate.
I haven’t heard too much of Travis, but seems like he has a good way of differentiating himself from the internet marketers.
I think that is, we need to be constantly educating ourselves but also still stay focused on one area.
University is about $3-5,000 a year in Australia and personally I have learn’t more from some $50 products. I am not discounting the education system, but for what I am doing and for my situation personally I have found that to be my experience.
But you do make a good point, it is important not to overboard with buying information because then you become like the majority of most teachers – an expert in their field, but with no practical experience.
I am still yet to buy Darren’s ebook that may well be one of my next purchases), but you are exactly right when you say not to buy too many!
I did made some investment but haven reaped the result yet. Thanks for reminding. I will have to go back and reap results from my old investments.
.-= Agent Deepak@Blogging, Marketing & Success´s last blog ..Readers Are Your Very First Priorities =-.
The things I promote on my personal blog, are the things I tested out myself. In my normal nicheblogs that isn’t always the case, I mean, if I start a blog on learning how to play the guitar and I never played guitar myself, I wouldn’t buy the product.
But like I said, for my personal blog, the one that talks about my journey towards IM success, that’s the place where I only promote products I use myself and have brought me success one way of the other. I feel comfortable promoting them to my public and I will always be ready to reply on questions they might have. I think that’s one of the best ways to build a long and stable relationship with your readers.
And about investing in new products myself, well, I guess I’m the one person that will invest every month in something new. I’ve found a few gems that way, and believe me, I love them all
.-= Leslie´s last blog ..New Idea For Making Money With Cpalead =-.
Tom,
I’m with you all the way on this; investing in our future, a must do for everyone. It’s the second time I’ve read something ike this today and something I’ve written about numerous time.
How are we to manage in the ever changing world, if we don’t continue to learn? It’s not really about where you learn, formal or informal; it’s about learning and learning and more. Most of all enjoy it and have fun. Thanks for sharing this.
Regards
Paul
.-= Paul´s last blog ..It’s only skin deep =-.
Tim,
This is something I’ve been t hinking about for a while. Last book I read was 4HWW and Cloud Living (ebook) (well about making money online, anyway).
I haven’t looked at a programming book in so long… good God, I really need to review some concepts, principals, etc.
There is a little bit of that “guilty” feeling or that dirty one that comes with selling someone something, probably because I keep thinking I might earn revenue for it. The only thing you can do is be honest about it.
I might be looking into purchasing a product or two next month. Good reminder!
.-= Moon Hussain´s last blog ..My Three Pronged Approach To Creating My First Niche Website =-.
Tom, I’m right there with you. The crappy thing is… Most people don’t understand the value of continuing education… A lot of sites are kind of like that guy who dressed cool in 1998 because it worked for him, but never updated his wardrobe. People get stuck on what worked for them in the past and are scared to change…
I’m going to respectfully disagree with both Jack and Jason and you to an extent in the comments… I agree that once you get something you should try to master the concepts in it, but I don’t agree with throwing all of your eggs into one basket. I’m more along the lines of take what works for you from each course/ book/ blog and so on then combine the best of all worlds together…
I have no problem spending money on investing in multiple courses, ebooks, community forums and anything else I think may bring me value… But I’m very selective with who I spend my money with, because for every 1 Darren out there, there’s 1,000 people like Lee described above…
For me it’s about sifting through the sh*t to find the gold… Then taking action with the gold rather than looking at it and admiring how pretty and shiny it is. I’d rather have too much information than not enough, I don’t believe in information overload… I totally agree a lot of people get “paralysis by analysis.” But I think those people would be paralyzed regardless if it was a 10 page pamphlet or 10 ebooks…
That’s just my take on it… (Respectfully, I might be misreading your guy’s comments.)
.-= BrianJ | Online Business Blogger´s last blog ..Everything in Life is a Sell =-.
I totally agree, Tom. Most of these IM list folks don’t build any value at all. They’re banking on the sheer numbers. Even a .5% conversion rate adds up quick if you’ve got a list of 10,000 people and push $30+ commission products every week. I’m not judging them, if it works it works.
But by building a relationship with your list, you can get a much higher conversion rate and ultimately make the same amount of money – or more! – with a much smaller list. The same goes for value-added reviews and such.
.-= Lee@Search Engine Viking´s last blog ..The Boise Website Series: Intro =-.
I appreciate your honesty and I like how you address the fact that your not just going around promoting stuff. Right now I have not been investing in any books for education, but I have been learning from all of these blogs I have discovered and some interesting things in school. This was a good read Tom.
.-= Alex´s last blog ..Shane DeRolf Interview, Exhilaration & Guidance At Its Finest =-.
I believe that investing in your education is important. And I think it’s important to be honest about it too. I am actually always investing in all sorts of stuff but mostly books at the moment.
Books have helped me to gain so much knowledge it’s been really incredible. I’ve also bought some ebooks and other stuff but still books are the best investments I believe.
The book you are promoting seems interesting especially with flipping blogs and so forth. But I don’t actually want to sell my blog and I don’t actually want to buy new blogs and sell them again.
Have you flipped some web sites or blogs Tom?
.-= Julius Kuhn-Regnier´s last blog ..The 3 Unwritten Rules of Blogging =-.
As the late great Jim Rohn said, If you want to be valuable to the market place then you need to increase your value through developing yourself
.-= Ben´s last blog ..How to deal with Chronic Back Pain and how to stop having a bad back before it starts. =-.
That is true Leslie, and I do the same myself. On my little niche blogs I do promote products that just seem good and I think will be profitable, but with this blog I make a special effort to take a much higher road because I value my readers and subscribers.
Your make a good point! Most people who get information overload get it whether they are reading one book or many. I try to get a good overview of different niches and the easiest way for me to do that is to start reading blogs in that niche and buying products related.
You can definitely get a great education from other blogs! That is exactly what I have been doing for myself over the last year or two, but I find that you put so much value on something that you are paying for. The information may not even be as good as a blog post, but if you are shelling out cash for it, then you are more likely to take action.
I have flipped a couple of websites in the past but not recently. After reading the ebook it is definitely something that I want to do in the future so maybe we will have a case study…
That is a great quote Ben! (and so true
)
Tom, I second you on this, but my problem is I get tons of bogus emails like this on a daily basis, and I have totally ignored them in the past. I am really struck now and I dont know from where to begin. I want to shape my learning curve and online is so easy for that, because of the tight schedule.
.-= Melvin@Rental Properties Auckland´s last blog ..Otahuhu, Auckland City =-.
learning is very important.that is why we need to read other blogs and books.it is the only way we can get better every day.about promoting products we don’t buy ..i think it about being ethical ..if you recommend stuff and someone get bad value for money..you loose trust and future sales