Internet Marketing 'Guru' Or 'Rubber Chicken?'
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Bashing Internet Marketing Gurus has become sport in online business forums.
But is such bashing fair? And why has the word "Guru" fallen into disfavor among many Internet Marketers?
My belief is that it's because there are so many "pretend" gurus, those who mingle on the fringes of an actual guru's life and have divined guruhood for themselves.
"Look at me," they seem to say. "I'm standing next to a guru. This is proof positive that I, too, am a guru."
That's what people are sick of.
Guruhood is not something that gets passed down; it's not something that happens by osmosis. You can stand next to a guru and hope some of his or her guru wisdom will rub off.
Moreover, you can't steal a guru's "act" and expect people not to notice. Just because you curse in your emails or say outrageous things does not make you the Rich Jerk.
My guess is that the Rich Jerk would privately think you're a "loser" -- one of his favorite words -- for trying to hijack his famous marketing tactics.
Along those lines, it's my belief that most people won't care how well you know Mike Filsaime when he's doing a launch.
Man, Mike Filsaime's July 7 launch of "the7figurecode.com" brought out more pretend gurus than any launch in recent memory. Even some regulation gurus started to sound like pretend gurus, with all of the sucking up going on.
I'm surprised no one made the claim that they were, in fact, married to Mike Filsaime in a bid to pocket an affiliate commission.
Sorry. Guruhood is earned, not claimed. Trying to make your emails to your list sound as though they come from a guru and not from you is a compelling sign you still have a lot of work to do.
Any Internet Marketer who's spent any time at all in the industry can spot an imitation guru as quickly as a practiced domestic cat can spot a chipmunk hiding under the couch. It's not really a special talent; it's an instinct.
Some of the guru-talk in forums is heated. A friend of mine suggested that one way to deal with the guru issue is simply to start calling gurus "rubber chickens."
Over time, perhaps, the word guru then could regain its dignity. I don't know how long it would take for this to occur. My guess is that "rubber chicken" as code for "guru" wouldn't have a lengthy shelf life.
Even so, I'd like to incorporate my friend's idea at least for today, at least in my Blog.
So, here goes, Patrick Pretty's fantasy forum post . . .
I like posts by regulation rubber chickens; they're normally loaded with value and steeped with wisdom.
And I like posts by aspiring rubber chickens on their way to regulation rubber chicken-hood. In fact, I hope they achieve regulation rubber chicken-hood.
Regulation rubber chickens should be valued, even emulated.
No rubber chicken, however, should be exalted. Even regulation rubber chicken are fallible.
All regulation rubber chickens are human, after all. They're capable of making mistakes, bad calls, and exercising poor judgment.
They just do it fewer times than aspiring rubber chickens or those aspiring to be aspiring rubber chickens.
The types of form posts I don't like are these:
1.) Kneejerk defenses of regulation rubber chickens -- whether or not the poster himself or herself is a regulation rubber chicken or an aspiring rubber chicken. Might as well announce you don't value your own critical reasoning skills.
2.) Obsequious posts designed to curry favor with a regulation rubber chicken. Might as well announce you're prepared to suck and schmooze your way to the top.
3.) Posts that attack beginners and novices for not agreeing that your world view is the only valid one.
So, readers, "Guru" or "Rubber Chicken?"
posted by Patrick Pretty @ 3:02 PM,
