If you’re just getting started, it’s probably because you’ve seen other internet marketing gurus make it all look so easy. And even their stories seem to make them seem like some sort of gods rather than just everyday people who have worked hard.
A few things to keep in mind: Not everyone does internet marketing the same way. While some people use a lot of hard work, others have gotten into the market at the right time and knew the right people. With the advice you’re learning in this book, you will have all of the advantages these gurus have had.
Don’t let them fool you either. Though Timothy Ferriss, for example, might only work a few hours a week these days, this doesn’t mean he’s always worked this little. To get to the lower hour workweek, he had to spend hundreds of hours figuring out how to do it.
In any case, these three cases are of three internet marketing gurus who have launched themselves as much as they have launched their products. They are household names in the internet marketing world and there is much they can teach you. SETH GODIN
If you head to Seth Godin’s website (sethgodin.com), the first thing you will notice is that it’s really simple for someone who’s been in the internet marketing business for a while now. In fact, many say that Seth was one of the first ones out of the gate when marketing online began to be discussed. Seth has inspired countless others to make money online and here’s what he can teach you too.
WHERE SETH STARTED
Like many other marketers, Seth got his start in business school – Stanford, actually. After getting his MBA, he worked in software and book packaging, eventually creating one of the first online marketing companies, called Yoyodyne.
During this time in this business, he began to realize that the market is not a place where one can simply hope for the best. A person needed to have something really special,something that set him or her apart from the rest of the crowd in a big way.
Seth also introduced the idea that many marketers had forgotten: customers matter and they deserve to be respected. When dealing with customers online, Seth pointed out that spamming and other forms of lies were just not the best practices. Customers were smarter online and they had more power than they do in the stores, as they had more options.
Thus a new book was born.
BIG LAUNCHES TO ADMIRE
“Purple Cow” could be considered the book that started it all for Seth Godin. This book discussed the idea that having a remarkable idea was the way for an internet marketing guru to prosper. Having something which stands out from the rest of the pack, while also being something amazing, will create the circumstances for permission marketing.
(Permission marketing: A business provides something which is relevant, personal, and anticipated.) Seth started out with only $20,000 for his first company, but then in 2003 came upon the launch that would allow him to attract nothing but fame and notoriety from that point on – “Purple Cow.” This book has been printed 23 times and has sold over 150,000 copies at this time.
Even before then, Seth did something special for his customers, but it’s really no surprise since he’s made it clear that he considers his customers to be friends, rather than just credit card numbers – he released an eBook for free.
Though of as one of the most popular eBooks to date, “Unleashing the Idea virus” continues to be used by internet marketing gurus, young and old. It’s now sold as a hardcover and a paperback, and it’s not free anymore, though it can be found online in segments.
TIPS TO STEAL FROM SETH
What can you learn from Seth’s experience?
1.Treat customers the way you would want to be treated: When you treat customers like people, they know that you care about them.
2.Offer free books to entice people to learn more, but only if the books are valuable: The idea of a freebie will draw attention to your ideas, but having the freebie be worth something to the reader is priceless marketing.
3.Ideas need to be exciting, relevant, and personal: You can’t be like everyone else and hope to make enormous profits.
4.Be prolific: Seth has released 14 books as of 2010. You need to be prolific as well in order to continue to be in the minds and the eyes of the people who buy what you sell.
5.Keep your website simple and direct and interactive:Flashy websites might be fun to look at, but they can be confusing and are unnecessary when your content is strong.
All of these tips might seem like common sense, even too simple to use, but as you can see, Seth has used them to create an empire of sorts.
GARY VAYNERCHUK
One might say that Gary is the epitome of the American dream, having been born in the former USSR. What’s interesting, however, is that many people don’t realize or remember that Gary is a wine guy, not a strict internet marketing guru. You’d never know it – and that might be one of his best qualities.
At only 34 years of age, Gary shows that follow your passion is just as important as the techniques you use to become an internet marketing guru. You have to love what you do in order to work as hard as possible to make it a success.
WHERE GARY STARTED
Gary started Wine Library TV in 2006 as a way to promote wines that he loved and to appreciate wine with the help of an audience.
Originally designed to review wines and to answer questions posed on his Facebook page, Gary’s audience began to grow. He now has around 90,000 viewers of his daily wine tastings.
Most of the time, he’s the only one in the chair, tasting the wines, but over time, he’s had some other folks help him out in his duties, including Timothy Ferriss. He’s now in a partnership with eatdrinkordie.com, which allows him to produce videos about wine which are then distributed to consumers.
At first glance, Gary’s story seems more like luck than anything else. After all, all he does is tape himself when he’s drinking wine.
But his passion allows him to be an authentic person with whom others can truly relate. He’s the big brother to the masses and an internet marketing guru as a result.
BIG LAUNCHES TO ADMIRE
While Wine Library TV is the biggest venture of Gary’s at this point, it’s launched other avenues for his life and business. As of March 2009, Gary signed a ten book contract deal with HarperStudio to produce books related to internet marketing and promotions. His first book, Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passionstarted out at #2 on the New York Times Bestseller list. And what’s even more intriguing about the book deal is that it had a low advance up front, but offers high royalties.
This is a unique deal,and it might become the way that book publishers do business in the future.
To promote his book and his Wine Library TV show, Gary is relentless in using his Facebook page, his Twitter account, and his website – garyvaynerchuk.com. He’s always posting something on these sites, helping to stay connected to his fans by answering questions.
He has been named a Market Watch Leader in 2003, the youngest ever, while also being someone who sits down and simply talks directly to his audience, informally.
He has one other book to date: “Gary Vaynerchuk’s 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World.”
TIPS TO STEAL FROM GARY
What does Gary know about being an internet marketing guru that you might want to copy liberally?
1.Be authentic: When you see Gary talking about wine on his TV show, you will see that he truly cares about wine and about doing justice to it with the reviews he gives. He knows you can’t taste it, so he tries to give you the experience you would have if you were in the room with him.
2.Promote what you love: Gary loves wine, plain and simple.This allows him to continue to enjoy what he does, even as he works long hours and interacts with all of his fans as much as possible.
Energy is fueled by passion.
3.Have faith in your community: Gary knows that people want to hear from him and he has faith that they will show him the same respect that he shows them. One video diary offered the idea that Gary was going to take some time away in order to get his edge back. The positive feedback he received was confirmation of his fan’s adoration, but also confirmation that honesty works.
4.Go where your fans are: By offering video shows online,Gary is able to be where the new modern fans are – online.This also allows Gary creative freedom to do the things he wants to do.
5.Interact often and in different formats: From the comments Gary requests to the live chats during his videos, he is never far from the conversation his fans are having.He responds to tweets, emails, and many comments as much as he can.
6.Be honest: At no time does Gary seem to be trying to be someone he’s now. When he has a question about a product,he asks his fans what they think. He admitted how hypocritical it is for him to assign points to his wine ratings when he’s said he doesn’t like the point system. He’s a genuine guy.
7.Passion, knowledge, and effort are what lead to success:Gary shows that his passion is the cause for his success more than any internet marketing ploy.
TIMOTHY FERRISS
When you see the title of Timothy’s book – “The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich”– it’s hard not to pay attention. With a title like that, you would be an instant internet marketing guru too.
But then you hear Timothy’s story and you begin to realize that this book came out of hard work, passion, and knowledge of how to use the internet effectively.
WHERE TIMOTHY STARTED
Surprisingly, Timothy holds not a business degree, but a double degree in Neuroscience and East Asian Studies from Princeton. He started out his online career by creating and marketing BrainQUICKEN, a program which was selling sport nutrition supplements.
This company did very well and was sold in 2009. Diverse in his background, it seems that Timothy is an example of the fact that you don’t need to settle on just one idea in order to be successful.
You can be successful in many ideas, so long as you know HOW to market yourself and to use your time most effectively.
Then you hear that he won Wired Magazine’s Greatest Self Promoter of All Time prize – and you realize that he’s someone to look at in terms of marketing online.
BIG LAUNCHES TO ADMIRE
“The 4-Hour Workweek” was launched in 2007 and was heavily marketed by Timothy through the help of some bloggers.These bloggers had a personal relationship with Timothy,and they reviewed his book highly before it was released,helping to increase his sales when the book was finally released to the public.
This book is filled with ideas which seem to fly in the face of all that people thought about being a business owner and being a successful one, at that. By advocating things like virtual assistants, mini-retirements, and lifestyle design, Ferriss promotes the idea of selective ignorance when it comes to running one’s life in relation to technology.
Strange though it might seem for a person who runs a successful blog (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/) and who is on online programs occasionally, Timothy actually doesn’t promote using digital technology to run your life or to make it more efficient. He feels that these devices serve to complicate one’s life, though the internet is just the tool which made him the superstar he is today.
TIPS TO STEAL FROM TIMOTHY
With all of that said, there are a number of things Timothy can teach you about being an internet guru:
1.Streamline your business: Timothy lives by the rule that you shouldn’t work more than you should. To help him work as little as possible, he hires assistants to handle tasks he doesn’t need to handle.
2.Eliminate distractions: Instead of looking at your email every day, have someone else sort through it and review it only as needed.
Train people to only email you with emergencies or complicated business deals.
3.Build relationships: The more you can build relationships online, the better it will be for your internet marketing plans. They will do the advertising work for you.
4.Use an idea which has worked for you: Timothy has lived the principles in his book and in his blog, helping him to be the best success story possible for the book he continues to sell. He even created an extended version for the Christmas season of 2009.
5.Spread the word on all media outlets: Timothy has gone on television shows, online videos, and seminars to promote his ideas and his book.
His book continues to sell well and Timothy continues to enjoy his mini-retirements, mastering new skills, and making money along the way.
To Your Success,
Jose Amoros
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