Mad Guru Disease is spreading like wildfire... You see evidence across the board in symptoms like cross promotions, high ticket info products, back ends and front ends and side ends, big red fonts and no-reply@ email addresses.
There's nothing wrong with making money online. There's nothing wrong with buying products or guides to help you through the learning curve with an online business. And there's nothing wrong with using systems that work.
But there IS something wrong when an entire target market is getting hysterical and practically begging for a real solution...
Want to see an example? Click on over to Joel Comm's blog where he asks his readers: What is your biggest question about making money online? I like Joel Comm (in general) - so dont get me wrong. But he sure opened a can of worms with that question...
Scroll down and read the slew of comments that were left in response to Joel's question. This is where you'll find the evidence of Mad Guru Disease.
People who have read 14 ebooks and still have no clue where to begin. People who have followed every step and every tip for 6 straight months, and havent made two pennies they can rub together. People who are disgusted, pissed off and ready to give up...
People who are beginning to believe that the only ones making money online are the "Experts" that sell them this information.
It seems that some "Guru's" have lost sight of their purpose, and are losing touch with their target market. I'm referring specifically to the Internet Marketing industry, of course.
There is something wrong with your strategy when after months on end of reading and researching and studying... your target market is still collectively saying:
Uh, I dont get it... 😕
I know for a fact how difficult it can be to work in such a broad market. But if that's where you choose to be, then you have to go the distance to deliver what your readers expect.
Perry Marshall, for example, focuses on Google Adwords. This week he sent out some very useful tips via email on how to tweak your ads. He's not infected. Yaro Starak focuses on getting blog traffic. He sent out HTML code for better blog headings. He isnt infected either.
Another email came in yesterday... this one promising I could create my own product in under 60 minutes with no writing, no research, no outsourcing - and that it would make me money before I even officially released it. I will pull in thousands of subscribers and make 5-figures in a matter of days.
Infected. Mad Guru Disease - keep your distance!
It sure sounds good, but it's not going to happen. Not in this lifetime. Not on this internet. For starters, you cant create a product without researching the market - period. And it will take you more than "60 minutes" to hear the entire spiel on this "method".
What they are doing - and perhaps not even intentionally - is going over the heads of their target market, overwhelming them with information, and using lingo they dont yet understand. They forget the starting point altogether.
What they are offering isnt necessarily a scam (always), it can be high quality information that could truly make you a lot of money online. But the wording that they use is a gross misuse of true copywriting skill when it tells LIES or FOOLS the reader or MISrepresents the product or service.
Let's look at another good example, this time with the search engines instead of email. Let's imagine that we are fairly new to the internet and want to figure out how to make money online. We go to Google.com and type in "make money online".
The first result for that phrase that I see (today) is bidvertiser.com. I click through. It assumes I already have a business... and that I know what geographic targeting and pay per click are. [BACK]
The second result is John Chow's blog. Great blog - but way over my head and I dont see "here is how you make money online" anywhere after scrolling through the entire first page. Well I did see one thing that made me stop and read, but it made no sense at all to me as a newbie (uh, what's linkbait?):
What we end up with is a huge mass of people that come online for specific information and just get shuffled and squeezed and end up totally and completely frustrated. The entire Internet Marketing and Online Business niches are in sad, sad shape...
Is there no hope for the newbie?
It's been said that "a market will correct itself". You already see that the people are coming together and speaking out about high ticket items, exclusive events, crap products and lack of service and support.
Will the entire Info Product market crash and burn with the spread of this viral Mad Guru Disease, infecting even potential customers with symptoms like a bad taste in their mouth and permanent wariness of all online professionals?
Will they give up, give in and stop searching for real information that actually answers their questions?
Or perhaps instead of a crash & burn scenario, the market will correct itself. People will become smarter searchers. Google will update their algorithms to deliver content that is more relevant to the query than ever.
Readers will collectively de-vote (and unsubscribe) from Infected Guru's, disinfect themselves from drone patterns and begin to vote for and share better resources with each other.
The terminally-infected Guru's will die off, with shrinking lists and dried up streams of revenue. Those that are still treatable will make a choice to de-tox and make changes, or milk the revenue streams for their last drops of income before moving on to the next cash cow.
Will the cream rise to the top, or will it spoil?
Time will tell. But mark my words - this next decade in Internet Marketing will see some dramatic changes.
Best,
Technorati Tags: internet marketers, gurus, experts, online business, make money online, newbie, work at home, ebiz, scam, info products, ebooks
About Lynn Terry
I thought it was just me. I am sure getting tired of opening emails that start with "I just heard from my good friend. They are having a (fill in the blank)". It is so hard for many people including the seasoned veterans to edit all the offers and concentrate onjust a few strategies.
I've taken the biggest question surveys and never quite get the answer to my question. Now I make a point to read too many emails at least not until after I've taken care of business.
I couldn't agree more with what you are saying. I subscribe to a lot of the internet marketing guru's opt in lists just to see what they are promoting.
It has really gotten out of control with one big ticket item after the next, each guru trying to outdo the others by offering all kinds of crazy bonuses to get you to buy through their affiliate link. I don't buy any of them so I couldn't really tell you if these products are any good but I've made the mistake of information overload when I was an internet marketing newbie.
Now that I know what I'm doing and have had a lot of success, I stick to the one or two things that make me money and don't jump at the latest, greatest thing.
Dr. T
This is an outstanding post! I've been following your blog for a few months now and such quality info is what keeps me coming back.
The biggest problem I see out there is too much crap info and not enough that is useful to get the raw beginner pointed into the right direction.
I was sucked into the "chase the next big thing" trap in the beginning, probably like most newbies, but after quickly wising up, defining & becoming focused on my true goals, and taking action, my business started to take off.
Always chasing the next big thing is the worst thing one can do. Look for the people in the forums complaining that after months, they still make absolutely nothing, and you'll find that they have one thing in common everytime... too much opportunity chasing, lofty goals (such as "making money quickly somehow, preferably without effort ) & no action taken on those goals.
Thank you Jack 😀
You all three add excellent points, and have a common thread in your response: ignore distraction, define goals and maintain focus. That in itself is excellent advice for anyone building an online business.
The main problem that I am seeing is for the person that doesnt yet know what kind of online business to start, or how to even go about researching one or setting one up...
One of my techniques is to tell people to unsubscribe to all of the newsletters that are receiving related to Internet Marketing to get their time and Inboxes back. Then FOCUS on one program, system, or business before moving on.
You are right. Most things are over people's heads.
You are right. There are too many of them doing it.
Unfortunately, the marketing method actually works.
While we are all tired of it, remember that every day new people join the Internet and they are looking for the same thing we all are: to make money online. All of us were there once. We're managing to steer a route through it.
It's the unfortunate survival of the fittest. Of course I feel sorry for them - I even set up a website and gave people information and free programs and free training so they could make money online without spending a bean - and you know what??? nobody did. They preferred to be seduced by the squeeze pages. They are all looking for the £1000/day for sending out 1 email. Now, that IS achievable, if you put in a lot of work first, build your list, create your product, then hey presto send your email out to your list promoting your product ....
Mad Guru Disease is here to stay I'm afraid.
S
I hate to find pleasure in some one elses folley, but I can't help feel good about the demise of the so called guru, the "Rich Jerk"! Just as I suspected, it turns out that he's just a "JERK"! goodby and good riddence "jerkboy"...
Oh Lynne, you've hit the nail on the head. This is one of the best blog posts I've read in a long time.
Hi Lynn -
Excellent article! Certainly the "gurus" are using techniques focused on Mass Appeal which, by definition, will appeal directly to anyone looking to gain some "secret" knowledge or strategy which will give them a head start online or become a millionaire before the weekend. And this is where responsibilty and a healthy dose of skepticism are required.
To make things very clear, I have been marketing online since early 1994, spent tens of thousands of dollars, tested and reviewed hundreds of products, have had several "head to head" disagreements with some of the top names online and if I could share just one piece of knowledge I have gleaned from all this, it would be there is NO quick fix. Being successful online - as in any other area of life - requires time and effort.
My advice to anyone new to this game would be to immediately unsubscribe from every single newsletter that you do not USE regularly. Stop listening to others. Sit down with paper and pencil and write down PRECISELY what YOU want to do. Then, and only then, seek out the people in each area you need to develop (as you mentioned Perry Marshall - AdWords, Yaro Starak - blog traffic, etc.) who are genuinely trying to help people become successful.
The more time you focus on what's NOT working, the less time available for building your business. As for what the "others" are doing - who cares? Be creative. Do your OWN thing. You are a unique child of the universe and have something to give which NO-ONE else can (think about that for a moment!). If you spend your time following another's path - who will be walking yours?
I can feel a ramble coming on, so I'll cut this short ...
1. Stop reading (and buying!) rubbish.
2. Define your goal.
3. Research ONLY what you need.
4. Develop your skills.
5. Market your product.
Well, there goes that coffee break! I hope someone finds this useful.
May your quest be fruitful,
Chris
Excellent advice, Chris! I agree with you on those points, and think that one of the keys to regaining our sanity in the IM market is to put ourselves back in the power position when it comes to information.
I am looking forward to your next release in July and enjoyed your recent video & report!
~ Lynn
Lynn,
I must have missed this post somewhere along the line, but I'm so glad that I found it.
I've been doing this in one fashion or another for over ten years and you managed to summarize some of my own frustrations with the industry in a way I never could.
This is one of the best posts on the "pulse" of the community that I've read. I think your predictions are right on.
Thank you Jennifer. As you can tell from the comments here, we are not alone in our feelings on the current state of the industry...
What we have here is a classic example of finding a niche and filling it.
Only in this case, the niche is people with "shiny object syndrome".
The solution? Mad guru disease.
(I really like that term, so I may blog it myself!)
People that already have difficulty focusing in our ADHD world are innundated with the "latest, hottest, last chance" offer on a daily basis.
And as long as the gurus are raking in the cashs, they'll keep serving the market.
It's painful and shameful to admit, but I'm a recovering "shine-ob-ite" myself.
I think I was subscribed to something like 40 different mailing lists - probably more, but I lost count.
When I went away for 4 days and came home to over 1400 unread messages in my inbox, it hit me.
I got VERY selective. My time is more valuable to me now.
But more importantly, it taught me a lesson.
As I was culling my inbox I counted MAYBE 20 value added messages that weren't blatant affiliate/jv promotions.
And NOW, with the BIG gurus doing these ultra pricey events, there's even more of a push because HALF (or more) of the ticket price is being paid out in commissions to affiliates!
Ghastly, to say the least.
So I've actually pulled my subscriptions from just about every single internet marketing guru (somewhere along the line, because of a product purchase, I was subscribed to 5 different lists for one guy - and yeah, I got 5 emails almost every day!).
Call me nuts, but I'd feel guilty sending out that much email to my list.
Now, my list isn't huge, only about 17oo people, but I've personally communicated to nearly every one of them. I've built relationships with my readers and am proud of the speed at which my list has grown in only 4 months.
The secret is no secret. Build relationships, be friendly, and stop selling everything that isn't nailed down to your list.
One heavy hitter guru was complaining that conversions are down even though his list is massive - gee I can't imagine, why!?!
Jeffrey Gitomer says that you need to be friendly in sales (and all of life is sales, folks). People want to do business with their friends.
But you're NOT my friend just because (insert big name guru here) gave you a hot tip about his latest product launch and you're going to get me a discount on it (and you'll collect a tidy little sum to boot).
Ugh. Focus. Mark Joyner talks about that. See your target. Stay focused on your target without distraction, and hit it until you hit it.
If only those shiny little gurus would stop moving into my field of view....
I like what you have to say