Internet Newbie Diary

I started off calling this post ‘Great Minds Think Alike’, but since Internet Marketing newbies have great minds it still applies.

In a previous post (or was that a rant?), I was talking about how the dream sellers pull the emotional heart strings of business opportunity seekers.

I did have a point. Aside from just getting it off my chest and asking you to consider how you might be sucked in by these types of pitches.

My point was also that you should pay attention when you are being sold something. Pay attention to the language, the graphics, the entire sales process. Where the links take you, what the thank you page and the download page and all of it look like.

From there, you can start to model your own.

I’m not advising you to copy. What I’m saying is that we can learn from both good and bad examples. If you see something that punches all your buttons, and you have a strong emotional reaction (good or bad), then you can either adopt that method or make sure you never use it.

Thinking about your reaction will tell you a lot about the customer that type of promotion will attract.

Now ask yourself what type of customer you want. Hint: It isn’t just one who sends you money.

Back to great minds think alike. As an Internet marketing newbie, you have an opportunity to build a customer base with people who are like-minded. Who respond to the same things you do. Do that.

The alternative is to sell in a way that doesn’t feel ‘right’ for you, and end up with customers you wouldn’t want to share a table with at the company picnic.

Learn from both sides of the fence. The good and the bad. Every example has a lesson in it.

Since I was talking about horses and the carrot approach that snags so many opportunity seekers, it shouldn’t surprise you that now I want to talk about the flipside.

The carrot is the enticement, dangling in front of your nose, offering you something you want, desire, and (if the sales copy is good)… something you’ll be convinced that you need.

The stick

There’s a stick? Somebody is going to beat you with a stick when you land on their website? In a manner of speaking, yes.

Let’s look at ways the stick is used.

Limited time

Is the clocking ticking? Do you have to make up your mind in 17 minutes or the reduced price disappears?

One Time Offers (OTO)

OTO is really the same idea as above. The clock is not ticking, but once you leave this page….

Limited quantity

Only 17 copies left!

… and then they’re gone forever

… and then the prices goes up

Offensive copy

We’ve all seen this kind of copy:

• you’d be an idiot to pass this up
• only a moron would not see the value of this offer
• I’m richer, smarter, have bigger cars than you do
• you will feel terrible if you don’t grab this right now
• obviously you don’t care about your success if you’re not willing to spend a measly $ x dollars
• there are winners and losers.

It’s offensive. And it’s a little like watching a train wreck. Do you click away, or keep reading? If you were at a party, a lunch, or hanging around your office how would you respond to somebody talking to you this way?

Don’t be a horse.

Remove the blinders. Watch for the carrot and the stick approach. Take time to assess how you are being sold. What you respond to. It isn’t only a way to protect yourself from the dream sellers. You can also learn a lot about emotional triggers and the right (and wrong) ways to communicate with your own customers and visitors.

Look in the mirror.

Do you look like a horse? Do I? Don’t answer that question (!)

I was talking about opportunity seekers and how we’re prime targets for the dreams sellers. And as promised, I’m going to expand on some of the ways we’re drawn in to spend our money.

There are no secrets here. None of these ideas are new, or only used on the Internet, or only used for opportunity seekers. But, it’s important to put them in perspective because once you do that, you can take a step back and clearly assess an opportunity on merit instead of hype.

The carrot

Horses love carrots. Dangle one in front of their noses and they’ll keep moving forward hoping to get a bite.

How many websites do you visit where they are screaming about having a six-figure income?

Or displaying pictures of themselves with a flashy new sports car?

Let me ask you this. If you were starving, would you want someone to sit down in front of you and eat a big juicy steak?

Would that steak motivate you or just make you more hungry?

Motivation is good. I want to make six-figures a year. In fact, you can sign me up for the six-figures a month plan.

But right now, that steak just makes me more hungry. And that’s exactly where the dream sellers want you. Hungry. Starving in fact.

The hungrier you are, the more willing you’ll be to try the next ‘big’ thing.

To gamble on the best tool, secret method, never-before-revealed, underground, insiders-only, just-released, incredible, amazing, gotta have, you-won’t-believe it, backroom opportunity.

Now I could tell you I make six-figures a year. Throw up a photograph of a Ferrari. A big house with a fabulous pool. Throw in a beach vista with a few palm trees and a couple strolling along the beach. And how would you know if it was real or not?

The next time you’re considering a purchase, ask yourself what the carrot is.

Will the carrot nourish you or just keep you moving forward hoping to get a bite.

Are you motivated or are you starving?

And keep in mind that asses love carrots too.