The Truth About Most Online Marketing Gurus?

They Aren’t Gurus!

But I am getting ahead of myself! Let me explain. And yes, I will get to the survey and who the top 10 Gurus are. At least the Top 10 Gurus as far as the residents of Lakewood, Ohio are concerned.

But again, I need to explain.

When I first started my Internet quest, my first fledgling steps towards making a living online, I read anything and everything I could get my hands on in order to get a good start. In fact, I told my wife I was going to pursue it as if I were pursuing a second doctorate, this one in Internet marketing. I had a lot of time on my hands and I was intrigued. And, I didn’t want to work for anyone else ever again…on that point I was dead certain.

So, the entrepreneur’s life was for me…once again!

It was very early in my quest for Internet marketing knowledge and I was wrestling with a ton of information from a myriad of sources. I was at the point we all get to early on…information overload coupled with the uncertainty that comes with it.

Who was I to listen to?

Who were the authorities?

That was the point at which I was exposed to the phrase:

“Internet Marketing Guru”

During my initial Internet marketing studies, while attempting to figure out this whole marketing money online thing, I was exposed to the very best and the absolute worst the Internet has to offer; and that included many so-called “gurus.”

While searching for information, the nuts and bolts I needed to make my Internet marketing quest a success, I took time to dig deep into the offerings of many of the best known Internet marketing “gurus.”

Significantly, I also spent time reviewing the thoughts and ideas of some of the leading MLM “gurus,” although I sincerely wanted no part of the whole “MLM thing,” it was interesting. I also looked at a lot of material being produced by some of the less-known “wannabe gurus,” some just then beginning to make their own way online.

Yet many of them were already calling themselves Internet marketing “gurus!”

The education was an interesting mix of concepts and ideas, an education to be sure. But it was not the education I had envisioned when I started off. It was more about the state of the Internet and the quality (or lack thereof) of the information itself.

The education was less about the practical, nuts and bolts, A through Z approach to making money online I had thought it would be, and more about hazy concepts, why I should buy more of so-and-so’s products, and a ton of outdated material!

I discovered one thing early on in my Internet quest:

The only reason many of the Internet marketing “gurus” were being called “gurus” was because they referred to themselves as such!

In other words, they were self-appointed, self-pronounced “gurus” and nothing more.

Sadly, this remains the case through this writing!

The fact is, many marketing “gurus,” and this holds true more for online than offline marketing, have little, if any, real world marketing experience.

Incredibly, a vast number of these Internet marketing “gurus” have absolutely no “real world,” meaning offline, business experience at all!

This has real implications for those individuals in the inbound marketing consulting field because an understanding of how traditional, brick and mortar business is crucial. Not only is some sort of real world, nuts and bolts experience necessary for practical purposes, it is crucial for both perception and empathy.

The Internet Marketing Quest Revealed!

So, I learned two things early on in my Internet marketing, online business education, my Internet Marketing Quest Revealed:

1. There are very few Internet marketing “gurus” worthy of the designation, and all that comes with it.
2. Most Internet marketing “gurus” are simply slick marketers, I will give them that, individuals who are salesmen and saleswomen pushing a particular business perspective…and the products along with it, usually their own.

I realize the definition, and indeed the meaning, of the term Guru has changed somewhat over the years.

However, as far as I am concerned, a Guru is someone who places the welfare of others above their own in order to add to the “greater good.” A Guru is one who seeks to educate and enlighten others, not for financial gain but to enhance the well-being of their followers, those receptive to and following their message.

Naive?

Perhaps!

Let’s look at the term Guru for a moment.

Wikipedia (who else) offers a definition from the more traditional, religious perspective…and then adds to it:

A guru…is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others (teacher)….As a principle for the development of consciousness it leads the creation [the individual] from…ignorance to the light of knowledge. In its purest form this principle manifests on earth as a divine incarnation (saint), a person with supreme knowledge about God and all creation.

Other forms of manifestation of this principle also include parents, school teachers, non-human objects, and even one’s own intellectual discipline.

….the word “guru” is widely used with the general meaning of “teacher“. In Western usage, the meaning of guru has been extended to cover anyone who acquires followers, though not necessarily in an established school of philosophy or religion. In a further Western extension, guru is used to refer to a person who has authority because of his or her perceived secular knowledge or skills, such as in business….A guru is a spiritual teacher, but is also used to refer to anyone knowledgeable in a particular area (e.g. a computer guru). [bold and italicized passages altered to provide emphasis]

Here’s a very general perspective, if not a cut and dry definition for the term Guru:

• In the East and in the West gurus are thought of as:
  • Experts, “knowledgeable in a particular field,” sharing their knowledge with others
  • Teachers (usually but not always)
  • Having followers in one way or another
  • Individuals offering guidance
  • Individuals providing influence
  • Selfless individuals contributing to the greater good

Interestingly, if you were to ask a number of people at random who or what is the first thing to pop into your head when you think of the term “guru”?

What answer or definition do you think they would respond with?

I have written about this several times because it continues to be an issue for me and for others, based on the email and comments I get.

And, because this whole Internet marketing guru thing is perplexing to me!

So, three weeks ago I initiated a survey.

The survey was centered on one question:

What do people think of when you mention the term Guru?

I thought my answers would be very different from the ones half a world away, say, in India.

Now? I am not so sure.

The methodology was simple (and yes, less than scientific):

Ask anyone and everyone I ran into one question and then shut up!

Over a period of two weeks, while walking my dog, TuffGuy, I stopped virtually anyone and everyone I could and asked them the same question:

“What is the first thing that pops into your head when I say the word ‘Guru’?”

The survey was not scientific, as stated above, at least not in the strictest sense. But the selection was random, as random as I could make it.

The people were all from the Midwest, a fairly safe assumption given the fact that they were walking on the sidewalk, in Lakewood, Ohio.

The participants were from all walks of life, men and women, young and old, in every sort of dress imaginable, at various times of day and well into the evening, and so forth.

In total, there were 228 people and they took anywhere from 2 to 15 seconds to answer.

Interestingly, they all seemed to “shoot from the hip,” so to speak. Meaning, they all appeared to give it their best shot.

Yes, I had a couple of Ronald Mc Donalds, one Bugs Bunny, and one White Rabbit. The latter obviously a Lewis Carroll fan. Perhaps, more likely, a Johnny Depp fan? But many of the walks were late at night and the individuals who came up with these “off-remarks” seemed quite “happy,” if you know what I mean.

Their responses were thrown out, of course.

These are the top 10* responses (out of a total of 27 total responses):

1. Dalai Lama
2. Saint
3. Computer wiz
4. Bill Gates
5. The Pope
6. Teacher/Professor
7. Minister-Reverend-Priest
8. Billy Graham
9. Monk
10. Donald Trump-Steve Jobs

*I told all of the individuals who participated in this survey to give me the very first thing to pop into their heads, that they were not to consider it but to “go with your gut!”

Interestingly, 62% of the answers had a religious connotation and 23% had computer or computer business implications. The remainder of the responses were from the business world and included Warren Buffet, Richard Branson, and Stephen R. Covey; the field of sports and included Michael Jordan and Pat Riley; and, others included President Obama, Seth Godin, and Tony Robbins. Interestingly, while I failed to mention living gurus or gurus from the past, an oversight on my part, I still had 3 people mention Napoleon Hill and 1 mention Vince Lombardi.

The only mention of a marketing guru, in any way, shape, or form was Seth Godin!

The actual numbers are available upon written request and will be included in The Ultimate Internet Image’s new ebook, Inbound Marketing A through Z to be released on September 7, 2010 to subscribers of The Ultimate Internet Image.

Gurus?

Ultimately, we all assign meaning to labels in different ways. The problem I have with the phrase Internet marketing guru is that it rarely meets any sort of minimum standard, or rather the “Internet marketing gurus” do.

Or, more precisely, what my perception of what a Guru ought to be…is thought to be!

When all is said an done, one thing is clear:

There is a huge perception between the label and the reality.

The Label: Saint and Teacher, Selfless and Knowledgeable

The Reality: Salesman and Marketer, Slick and often Self-Serving

Interestingly, I started out to write a very different piece, my thoughts about one of the first products I purchased from a well-known, often well-thought of Internet marketing guru. The product was a very high-end product, a recycled seminar on DVD hungry students paid thousands of dollars to attend. The product is so full of information and so utterly and completely boring I have yet to get through it.

It is a narcissistic display in once sense and devoid of personality in another. Imagine conflating those two images…I know but it was the best I could do. It’s that bad. Honestly, it is truly awful.

And, it was created by an Internet marketing guru who is next to impossible to reach, completely unaccessible to all but a very small group in the Internet marketing guru clique, say that 5 times real fast.

And yet, he is very successful.

Go figure!

So, he is a slick marketer, a great salesman, and the antithesis of what a guru is all about.

At least to the way of thinking of 228 people from mainsteam America in the summer of 2010.

You see, while they have no idea who he is or what he is about, they do seem to have an idea who or what I Guru is…capital “G!”

The Dalai Lama on the other hand?

A man from a country halfway around the world, following a religion foreign to everyone I talked to, all agree in one thing…he is the embodiment of the term Guru…saint…teacher!

I guess the ultimate questions and the ultimate analysis comes down to this:

Do you want to be viewed and remembered as a slick salesman or do you want to make a lasting impression? Does anyone care what kind of car you drive or what kind of a house you live in or how much money you made on your last product launch? Or can you help push others up, better their stations in life, and help them achieve their dreams…in turn bettering your life and well-being through service to others?

Or you can just brag about how much money you made in how many minutes on your last product launch?

Guru or “guru”? It’s that cut and dried!

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts, I hope they gave you food for thought. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think or share your story! I would love to hear it and it will add so much!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
The Internet Marketing Training and Services Company
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004

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• 

How to Succeed in an Online Business

Going from Newbie to Profitability in a few Short Months…Instead of Years!

The journey from what they call a “newbie” to profitability has been an interesting one, one that has taken many hours, days, weeks, and months. Making money with an online business has taken quite a bit more time and effort than most would have you believe while they attempt to rope you into the latest “get rick quick” scheme.

The road to Internet marketing profitability has been full of ups and downs, with quite a few moments when I simply wanted to throw my computer right out the window…and then track down each and every person who had introduced me to the computer age…to “thank” them, of course!

Sound a bit harsh? Not if you have been in the Internet marketing world for any length of time, either attempting to make money in an online business or with an Internet presence for a traditional brick and mortar business!

Before we get into the highs and lows, the strategies that work and the schemes to avoid, let’s define a few terms:

Newbie: The word newbie is a slang term for a person new to some form of online activity. For our purposes, the definition we will use applies to an individual engaged in Internet marketing and online business for the first time…with little or no experience. While in some corners it has derogatory connotations, for our purposes and in the manner most people online use the term, it is for descriptive purposes only. Of course that is not to say there aren’t those out there who won’t use it in a derogatory fashion; this is, after all, the real world and there are people like that in every walk of life. But for our purposes, it simply means an individual just starting down the road to an Internet marketing education, usually to build and online business of some kind.

Guru: The word guru, and I am using it with a small “g” on purpose, has entered the online lexicon, conferring the status of “more-than-expert” on an individual. While the original usage of the word had religious connotations and was bestowed on an individual with great authority through wisdom and knowledge, particularly in India with Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism. In much of the Western world, the term or designation of guru generally applies to anyone who amasses a number of followers, not always in the religious or philosophical sense…but in business and academia, as well. In it’s latest incarnation, the Internet Marketing and online business usage, the term guru is used to denote authority due to a particular set of skills…in this case building online businesses and marketing on the Internet.

The above terms are used in various ways by the Internet marketing crowd. Suffice it to say, they are not universally recognized or applied, often meaning different things to different people. The term “guru” being particularly problematic, as the designation of one with great authority and wisdom has carried over from the original usage and meaning; and, this use of the word has been encouraged by many Internet marketers today, for obvious reasons!

Significantly, as a beginner or newbie online, and one not completely understanding the nuances of the jargon and the history behind the evolution of the usage of the words above, this often leads people to chose to follow someone who has not earned the designation conferred or bestowed upon them…a designation either bestowed by others or, just as often, by the person himself or herself!

So Newbie Beware!

Things are not always as they appear online…but this is true in the offline world, as well. The problem online is many of the Internet marketing “gurus” are often quite adept at pushing all the right buttons in just the right way, creating a sense of desire and urgency, a powerful combination and an often irresistible force! Some of them are true gurus, at least in the sense that they are excellent marketers, fully capable and willing to part a budding newbie from his or her hard earned, and often limited resources!

So, how do you succeed at Internet marketing? In fact, who do you believe and who do you learn from if you don’t know who is a legitimate Guru and not simply a self-appointed, or self-anointed “guru”?

The best advice I can give you is to talk to other newbies. Most newbies will tell you if they have had a bad experience with a certain Internet marketer (see The Law of 250 below) and will usually be forthcoming about what works, and what doesn’t, as well.

Also, follow the conversations on social media, many of the conversations, and I am not referring to the recent unending linkfest over at Twitter, what a spamfest that has become, I am talking about reading the articles posted on LinkedIn and Mashable, just to name two excellent resources for newbies. Another wonderful resource is the free material provided by some of the more established Internet marketing firms, including TrafficGeyser, StomperNet, and HubSpot. (see the links below)

Opt-in to the email lists of the recommended programs (below), read their free material and follow the advice. When ready, they are some of the best programs on Internet marketing and they will teach you everything you need to know once you join…and they will help with implementation too, a rare combination.

The first steps to take in building your online business:

1) Decide on a niche. There are literally thousands of niches, so pick one you can get excited about. But also make sure it will pay!

2) Do the necessary keyword research and competitive analysis before jumping into an unprofitable niche. (I use Market Samurai, Google, and Wordtracker)

3) Only after the first 2 steps are completed should you purchase your own domain name. (I use GoDaddy)

4) Make sure you have a hosting company, a good one, one with 24/7 support. I use HostGator and SEOHosting (Both owned by the same company and they offer Fantastico…a must)

5) Get an email account set up, for your email marketing and your autoresponder. (I use a branch of AWeber)

6) Set up your profile for your social media image and make sure it is appropriate to and for your business model.

7) Set up an account at EzineArticles and a couple of others and begin to write a few articles. (We will get into this in an upcoming article)

Set up your YouTube, Break, and Viddler Channels for video. When ready, go to TrafficGeyser-link below-don’t try to “go it on the cheap” with the
freebie services, they all have major drawbacks and hooks! You get what you pay for, especially with implementation!

9) Find a great SEO course and apply yourself immediately. Get the SEO right from the beginning because it is huge and once everything is set up correctly, it will be your biggest asset! Get it wrong and you will pay for it in a myriad of ways and over the life of your business.

10) Find a mentor! I cannot overstate this point!!! Even Michael Jordan, Kareem, Tiger Woods, Babe Ruth, and Hank Aaron had/have their coaches and mentors. The major Internet marketing Gurus have coaches and mentors. They may not always talk about them but they all have them! Once you have a mentor? Follow their advice! If you play for Don Shula or Pat Riley or Joe Paterno and you don’t follow their advice…you are off the team! The same holds true for following a mentor! If you don’t think enough of the mentor or coach you have to follow their advice…find another one, because you obviously don’t need the one you have, or you would apply what they teach you. Lombardi, Hayes, Jackson, Paterno, Riley, Rupp, whomever…if you don’t play by their rules, you don’t play on their team. So, once you are fortunate to find a quality coach or mentor, one willing to spend their precious time on you, apply what they teach you because good coaches are hard to come by! Every Tom, Dick, and Mary is calling themselves a coach, mentor or “life coach” nowadays…make sure you have a good one, and then hold on for dear life!

11) Keep learning! Internet marketing and online business building is as fluid as any marketing and business endeavor I have ever been involved in. If you do not continue your education, and I am talking about daily, you will be left in the dust. Internet marketing is active, vibrant, and engaging. If you do not stay current, you will not prosper.

OK!

That’s a lot to cover and we have quite a way to go, yet! However, if you lay the proper foundation, if you get the bare bones stuff right, you will be on your way to profitability! Get it wrong and you will be struggling a year from now…if you last that long.

This is not rocket science! All you have to do is listen to some of the people who have made it, and made it big, to know that you can do it. It simply takes a concerted effort, application on a daily basis, constant education, and what Tony Robbins calls CANI!

Constant and neverending improvement!

If you build each day upon the one before, you will prosper. It will take time but if you apply yourself and understand that there is a learning curve and that The Law of 250 is a make or break proposition, you will do well. In fact, there may come a day when someone refers to you as an Internet marketing Guru…capital G!

One last thing…and this is the biggest of all!

Stop listening to the siren’s song and the promises of “Instant Wealth” every Tom, Dick, and “guru” that comes along is making! Get with a mentor or a quality program, learn it, stick with it, and build it! The tools are available, you simply have to educate yourself and then apply the knowledge to your Internet marketing endeavor. If you do? Your online business will be amazing, and so will your profitability!

REMEMBER: DO NOT LISTEN TO THE SIREN’S CALL!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
866-835-2913 (toll free)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com

PS, Here are the resources I promised. Quality Internet marketing and online business programs:

1) Video Marketing: There is only one for video marketing, the rest all feed off of this one in one way or another! Or they just don’t measure up!

2) Article Marketing: There is only one number one!

3) SEO or search engine optimization: Again, there are a lot of wannabes…but only one quality program and it addresses it all and offers an amazing Internet marketing and SEO education! I didn’t realize how much I had yet to learn until I joined this program!

4) Domain Manager: GoDaddy (see icon on side panel and type in “diggnation” at checkout for the best deal) If you are purchasing more than one domain name? Check only the .com and .info boxes (how can you not buy .info for less than a buck?). Then at checkout you will be offered the remainder of the .org .net and .us or whatever at 50% to 75% savings! Do NOT check them ahead of time…only as part of the upsell process after you proceed to checkout. Then, add “diggnation” into the promo code box for additional savings.

5) Hosting: If you are building one website and/or blog, stay with HostGator (on the sidepanel again). Purchase the “Business” account, not the cheapy ones! You will get a dedicated IP address and an 800 number free. These two add-ons are well worth the extra 4-5 bucks! The psychological impact of being able to offer an 800 number, even if you rarely use it, is huge! The little cues make or break a business early! Take advantage of this cue and apply it!

6) Social Media Marketing: HubSpot is super for social media education…they have it down to a science! Do you need their service? No, at least not at first. But you do need their education. They also have a couple of cool tools for grading your efficacy online…so use them!

PPS, There are a lot more tips and I will pass them along in the weeks to come. January 2010 watch for a new online business building tool for any niche in Internet marketing….it will be comprehensive and it will be all you need!

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• 

How to Succeed at Internet Marketing: The Learning Curve!

“If it sounds too good to be true…”

Spend any amount of time looking for ways to make money on the Internet, and you will come across many people happy to help you out – out of your money, that is!

Maybe you weren’t even actively looking for an online business opportunity…but a savvy Internet marketing guru with a clever email subject line popped into your inbox!

So, you decided, “What the heck, I’ll check it out!”

Usually it begins with a promise. Yes, in just a few short hours per week you are going to make loads of money, millions even! And they have already done most of the work for you!

While they worked on rebuilding, and selling, the Brooklyn Bridge!

Easy, right?

Plugin and play! Set it and forget it!

Just like those chicken roasters they sell on TV infomercials! [Now, just off to the side let's have an idiot card telling everyone to say "Ooooh-aaaah!" and then clap!]

Yup! They know precisely what buttons to push and when; and, it’s all scripted to one end, to gain access to your wallet.

They are very good at it, too!

Hopefully, somewhere in the back of your mind, you hear your parent’s or grandparent’s voice echoing off in the distance:

“If it sounds too good to be true…it probably is.”

Folks, I don’t mean to sound cynical, mocking or facetious here. Well, maybe a little!?

The fact of the matter is…there are no “get rich quick” formulas in Internet marketing!

The whole notion of getting rich in a matter of days, weeks, or even months in Internet marketing is one of the late great snake oil sales campaigns!

BTW, I also have swamp land on the North Face of the South Slope of the Grand Canyon…and you too can own this beach front property just a few paces from the Caribbean…or was it the Pacific! Yeah, that’s the ticket! Next to the British Army gun emplacements next to the Belize National Airport!

Sure, there are instances in which a person has accomplished a great deal and done quite well in a matter of a few months. That individual usually has a history in sales, marketing, management, and/or entrepreneurial endeavors…but it certainly did not happen overnight!

In fact, most overnight success, and Hollywood and the music industries are great for building up this mythology, takes years. Years to gain overnight stardom, overnight riches, overnight success.

Years!

I have been a student of marketing for over 30 years. A student! I have built businesses and worked in sales, marketing, and management for some amazing companies, including my own, and for some amazingly successful entrepreneurs.

I have been blessed to see some of the best sales, marketing (in Internet marketing and also traditional brick and mortar marketers), self-improvement, and personal development gurus in the world speak, in person.

While we hear of the tremendous financial success many of these “gurus” have now, each and every one of them went through a learning curve…and it was hard work.

Eben Pagan of Altitude speaks of living in a tiny trailer, writing his first ebook in his “next-to-nothings.” Close your eyes you can see him sitting in front of his computer monitor in his skivvies writing all night.

Eben picturing what he was going to become.

Frank Kern of Mass Control 2.0 speaks of going to door to door in a black suit, in the middle of a Macon, Georgia summer, selling credit card vending machines…and that’s after burying a dog collar containment business he ran out of the back of a used car office!

Yet, Frank had this belief he could be something more, he knew it!

Tellman Knudson of The List Building Club, a man currently running across the country barefoot for homeless children, had already overcome significant medical issues as a child, tried a few other business ventures, including hypnosis, and failed. Tellman found himself at the end of his rope without enough money to buy lunch one day. Humiliated, he wrote an IOU to the diner for the cost of his lunch while the eyes of the people he saw every day were upon him. The dreaded double beep, he called it…rejection and humiliation!

In spite of the terrible humiliation…or because of it…he made it! Tellman envisioned something better, something great!

Jeff Herring, The Article Guy, was once homeless on Christmas Eve. Living in a hotel lobby, Jeff had nowhere to go and, seemingly, nowhere to turn.

Even while homeless, Jeff had a belief he could and would be something more, something greater!

Mike Geary, of The Truth About Abs, was “not in a good place financially,” working a regular 9-5 job as a scientist in the environmental field, trained people every evening and then went home to work on the computer until 4 in the morning…day after day, month after month, for several years before he made it…”overnight!”

True to his nature as an athlete, and as a scientist, Mike Geary knew he could achieve something great, he had the formula, it just took a concerted effort and belief!

Tony Robbins was a 20 year old kid with a beat up car, some stories have him living in it for a time, barely a penny to his name, going from appointment to appointment, speaking to business people with more experience and more money.

Yet instead of saying I can’t, it’s too hard or I don’t have the experience, Tony Robbins made it work!

I can go on…but you get the idea…I hope!

Every one of the above mentioned individuals had one quality. Every one of them believed above all else in their ability and that all things are indeed possible to those who believe!

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve!” Napoleon Hill

The greatest service I can do for you is dispel the myth of overnight riches! The 4-Hour Workweek is probably the most misunderstood and misinterpreted work of the past few decades. Misunderstood, because the title has morphed into the entire message! The 80/20 Principle has also caused the same sort of issues, being widely misquoted and misunderstood!

Significantly, both of these books are one writer’s OPINION!

Interestingly, people often read a work and, because it is in print, has been published, and has achieved a certain amount of notoriety, it is considered fact. It has always amazed me how the written word can on one hand be relegated to the back burner by an entire generation, the video generation, and yet still hold immense power and authority.

Truly a paradox…a conundrum!

To have true and lasting success as an internet marketer, you have to become a student of the craft. To succeed online you must become comfortable with the sales process, marketing (both offline and Internet marketing), and with business building. After all, that’s what we are doing…right? We are building a business as entrepreneurs…as Internet marketing entrepreneurs.

Who do you believe and believe in? Are there reputable programs available for someone interested in making money online?

Yes, there are reputable programs out there, a few by the individuals noted above. Interestingly, the better programs available aren’t going to do all the work for you. And, the best Internet marketing programs aren’t going to do much of anything at all for you!

Why?

Well, there’s something to be said and much to be gained by taking the time to do it yourself! If you are serious about making money online, whether in the Internet marketing niche itself or in any one of the myriad of other niche marketing possibilities available to you, willing to take all the necessary steps, and don’t try to take shortcuts around the learning curve…you will prosper!

Take time to learn the real behind the scenes stories of how some of the successful internet marketers got to where they are today. They will inspire you!

Then, once you understand some of what it takes, it is time for implementation!

We will cover implementation in the next article! It is in combining education and implemetation that will lead you to prosperity in Internet marketing!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
866-835-2913 (toll free)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com

PS, For more on the subject of success online and in life, just click this link and go to The John Zajaros Blog!

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• 

Frank Kern Says A Lot of Smart Things!

I was walking late last night with TuffGuy, actually it was early this morning…about 4am, as a matter of fact! I was in one of those philosophical moods I get in every once and a while but this time I happened to look up.

There was a gorgeous full moon encircled by a ring of cirrus clouds. Just gorgeous and full, or as close to full as you can get without it being completely, just a sliver beyond but still amazing.

Frank Kern’s conversation with Tony Robbins during an interview for The New Money Masters came back in a flash!

You see, Frank was talking about his success in the Internet marketing world and his sense of positive expectancy. The sense of all things possible is something he, I, and probably many of you reading this got from Tony’s Personal Power II program…if you were fortunate enough to buy a copy and put it into action.

During the conversation Frank said something that has been playing over and over in my mind for the last 2 months:

“Anything is possible! If that hasn’t been proven repeatedly throughout history then you are not paying attention. We’ve got people going to the moon, for gosh sakes, so surely I could make a couple more ebooks!”

Or as close to that as I can remember off the top of my head.

It’s brilliant!

On so many levels, this seemingly simplistic observations hits the nail on the head. He are not only capable of great things, history bears it out. And the fact that we are only constrained by our imaginations means our future is infinite, limitless in its possibilities!

Certainly we can create a few more ebooks turned into an awesome business for Frank Kern and his model for doing business has been copied successfully by hundreds, probably thousands of marketers inspired by the laid back but thoroughly competent entrepreneur and marketing genius behind the Surfer Dud persona.

Ebooks and certainly more! But it doesn’t stop there…we are capable of great things!

That was the crux of the message, all wrapped up in a very clear and concise interview of one of The New Money Masters, Frank Kern.

On to business!

Frank is opening up his Mass Control for a limited time and he has shared the early bird link with me via email. I am NOT an affiliate, I just think Frank Kern is one of the people online you need to pay attention to…one of The New Money Masters! So, I am posting the link here for anyone who wishes to learn from one of the best. It is my understanding that their are only 140 Mass Control courses available, so don’t wait because Frank really does shut his down once he has sold out.

Frank Kern’s Mass Control 2.0

Enjoy it and let me know what you think as you write your ebook…and plan your very own trip to the moon!

John

216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ythequestrevealed.com

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Dan Hollings was brilliant tonight, talking about the Twitter marketing portion of StomperNet’s new Internet marketing platform.

As has been the case with every member of the StomperNet faculty over the past month, Dan was fantastic! The ladies and gentlemen of the StomperNet faculty have defined Internet marketing and online business success; and, they have also demonstrated the professional way to launch an Internet marketing product, with first-class information and a quality platform!

If you follow me anywhere on social media, you know that I am a big advocate of implementation. In other words, taking action using the proper tools, and to do so in the most efficient and effective way possible. I am talking about an Internet marketing business system, combining the necessary tools to make money online, along with those necessary to run a business effectively, not just in the sort run…but for years to come, should that be your desire.

I am always skeptical when I read some of the sales letters written by people calling themselves “gurus.” In some instances, these tomes are written by people barely able to keep their businesses afloat, offering this program or that, many of the words bandied about are:

Guru, and you may already know how I feel about that term as a descriptive adjective for most marketers!

Mentor, always at a prices that would make a Vegas Madam blush!

Coach, I wonder what John Wooden or Joe Paterno would say?

“Life” Coach, as opposed to what?

And many more!

Many of the people using these appellations have never built a lasting business of their own, in good times or bad, and fewer still have any real idea what it takes to be successful in the long-term. Yet we are bombarded daily with parroted advice from those among us…

“Faking it, until making it!”

Don’t get me wrong!

I am 100% behind people making a go of it online, in Internet marketing proper or in affiliate or niche marketing, because it’s all really the same thing (or is it?), they have my respect and admiration!

The problem I have is with people attempting to run before they have a good understanding of what it takes to walk…and attempting to lead others over the same cliff you may be heading for. The drop is steep and unforgiving.

So, my question is this:

If you aren’t sure of what you are doing, how in the world are you going to teach others?

The answer:

You can’t, at least not without pulling the both of you down together!

You see, sales and marketing is a lot more complex than most people maintain in their books with the catchy phrases. While many throw around names like Hill, Nightingale, Ziglar, Hopkins, Girard, and now Robbins and Tracy, they have little understanding of what drives people to act on a consistent and continuous basis, on both sides of the equation; sales/marketing; and, the purchasing-target audience/market.

Unfortunately, certain Internet marketing “gurus” have created an air of positive expectancy that doesn’t always match up with reality.

Some marketing “gurus” claim the “chosen few” will make from $10,000 to $100,000 per month in a matter of a few weeks, implying that all you have to do is:

1) Spend $X dollars for an application fee…that one kills me!

2) Spend $Y dollars an ebook…usually written in vague generalities in order to sell more, you guessed it, stuff!

AND

3) Spend $Z dollars for a monthly membership…and we get what for that? More stuff!

FINALLY

4) The heavens will open and all will be made clear from one high!

After all, their sales letter maintains…just look what Gee Willacres did in just 6 months after:

1) Having a leg removed…the wrong one!

2) Being trampled by a horse…a pony from the traveling carnival really!

AND

3) Having open-heart surgery…when he was supposed to have a kidney transplant!

If Gee can do it…well, gosh…so can you!

Pile on top of this line of whooey, whooey being a technical term I learned at the George Carlin School of Internet Marketing and Online Shenanigans Annual Conference, in suburban Tehran, the idea that a web presence (nice word for mass produced website) set up as some sort of a cookie-cutter, big scheme Internet marketing (Read: MLM) template is going to do draw the thousands to tens of thousands of victims, I mean visitors, per month necessary, based on even the best conversion numbers online, to generate that sort of income is flat out tom-foolery!

Another Carlin school term! Being a graduate, I am allowed to thrown them around!

And I am being very kind with the descriptive adjectives…sans the four letter ones!

Reality?

The reality of an individual with no clear idea of what to do and how to do it, just laid off from his or her job at Bob’s Burger Palace and Horseshoeing Emporium, a gig they’ve had for the last 20 years, and turning to the Internet in desperation is very different from the reality of an individual who has a marketing background, a stable home life, time to build a proper foundation before going full time, which includes the time educate one’s self, the moxie to network properly, and plenty of resources to spend on education and to fall back on if he or she takes a header off of one of those Internet marketing, online business cliffs!

Yet Internet marketing “gurus” seem to focus on the target market en mass…without realizing that Joe Palooka’s Internet marketing needs are very different from Betsey Homecki’s online business aspirations! Very few people (read: gurus with a small “g”) actually take the time to build any version of “Bob” (watch The New Money Masters with Frank Kern and Tony Robbins, brilliant!), and if they are, they must be way off the mark, because most of the people I talk to are frustrated, angry, disenchanted, and even bitter…tracking back to their experiences with the “gurus!” They want to make it, many want it with a white hot desire! The problem is with the delivery of information at a reasonable cost and in a way that is truly user friendly.

I don’t believe many of the “gurus” have a clue how people learn, much less what it takes to teach them! The end result is a support nightmare, a lot of people referring to “gurus” as scam artists, and a stadium full of people (Read: Joe Girard) screaming don’t buy from so-and-so! More to come on this topic!

So, getting back to Internet marketing, online business success, coaching, mentoring, and implementation!

The problem most people have starting out is not a lack of information, there is plenty of good information available if you know how to research and know what you are looking for; it’s not that there isn’t a proven template for success, there are several successful online business models available; and, it’s not that there is a lack of quality software to implement even the most ambitious strategies, there are some great Internet marketing implementation platforms available. The challenge is in knowing who to listen to, understanding what they are saying, which means cutting through all the hype; and finally, which program to invest in…in order to pull it all together…or at least start on the right path.

Who: Who to listen to and, more importantly, who to believe!

What: Understanding what they are saying. This means understanding the basics of marketing in general and Internet marketing specifically!

Which: Which way to go! There is no shortage of voices in the wilderness, some as soothing and convincing as any Siren’s call! Knowing which program to invest in has with it its own set of qualifiers and traps to avoid!

Beware!

Or better yet: Buyer Beware!

The reality…ah, back to reality…is that you can go any which way and get to where you are going. Or, as the old one-liner goes:

“You can’t get there from here!”

Ultimately, you have to put your faith, if trust is too big a word right now, in someone and something…both of them!

You must deal with the 3 Ws:

Who
What
Which

Back to Stompernet!

I have recommended a handful of programs over the last year, the ones I have wholeheartedly endorsed, and still use, I can count on one hand!

Enter StomperNet!

At $10,000 per year, it was just not in my make-up to invest that kind of money, even at $800 per month, in a marketing program, particularly at the stage of development I was in when StomperNet appeared on my radar. I have followed Brad Fallon, and he back, almost from day one of my involvement on Twitter, so I knew of Brad and StomperNet…and had heard nothing but good about both the man and the Internet marketing opportunity, because StomperNet is much more than a program, it is a complete system!

Ah, finally! The final piece of the puzzle:

System!

Like TrafficGeyser, a much more specialized system, one I endorse wholeheartedly, StomperNet is not only an Internet marketing system, it is a community, a university of sorts…in a very real way, a bit of academia on the Internet.

StomperNet is perhaps the only true Internet marketing university!

For that reason, and because I am so impressed with the StomperNet system and it’s community, including its amazing faculty, I am going to make the following offer:

If you purchase StomperNet using my affiliate link, you may contact me at any time, day or night 24/7 for the next 365 days, no kidding, for the next year, and we will work through the implementation together! I will always get back to you in short order, always!

PLEASE!

Do not take this as some sort of a “I am the greatest, I will lead you” ego trip!

I will be starting with StomperNet just like you, from the beginning! However, I do have experience with some of the components as individual products, so we will not be flying blind. What I am offering is a mastermind of at least two, open almost at your beck and call, and all you have to do is make your purchase through my link.

We will do the rest together.

In fact , I will make this even better:

For the next 90 days, we will meet online, via Skype, 3 evenings a week…for at least an hour a session…perhaps longer!

After the first 90 days we will see how things go. You never know, we may find we enjoy the mastermind sessions and simply expand upon it.

That’s my offer! I am so impressed with StomperNet, I think this is something that can serve to push a bunch of new “stompers” up all at once!

Once you get your email confirmation, and I get mine, we will set up our first session!

I am looking forward to having you as a fellow Stomper, as a colleague, and as a member of a mastermind focused solely on our collective success in Internet marekting!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., PhD
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com
excellencepaidforward@gmail.com (my very personal email address)

PS, In case you missed it, the links toward the top of the article above are for the webinar series, the ones down the page are going straight to the StomperNet main page! Either way, see you soon!

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• 

Tony Robbins has launched another masterpiece! The New Money Masters

Suffice it to say, I don’t think there is anyone who has not heard of the guru, author, Presidential confidant, and transformational speaker Anthony “Tony” Robbins.

If you have not yet read one of his many books, you most likely have seen one of his 30 minute infomercials encouraging you to use his program to unleash the power for success and happiness we all have within….The Power Within! As alluded to above, Tony has been endorsed by Presidents, actors, athletes and business people the world over.

On September 1, 2009, Tony Robbins released The New Money Masters, a monthly interview series with 12 of the most successful internet marketers on this planet. First in the series is Frank Kern, an amazing and interesting marketer/surfer dude who went from being a failed dog containment salesperson and a salesperson of credit card verification systems, to now earning a 6-7 figure income monthly, his programs responsible for generating 18 million dollars in one 24 hour period..and all as an Internet marketer.

Each month, subscribers will receive Tony’s interview with another one of these successful marketers on DVD and CD, complete with a step-by-step workbook of that marketers system; and, Tony’s very special brand of analysis, taking the opportunity to a whole new level.

This is truly another masterful piece of work by Tony Robbins, and one I highly recommend to anyone serious about harnessing the power of the Internet, as well as the power in each and every one of us! The system is the compilation of the best of the best, brought to you and synthesized as only Tony Robbins can…it is not to be missed!

As an aside, Tony Robbins is one of many authors/speakers whose works have enlightened me over the years. I can rattle off a hundred names, quite literally, and perhaps more, yet it is Tony’s work I look to when I need to reach deep within myself and “Unleash the Power Within!”

Finally, while Tony speaks of modeling others, the student has become the true master of his craft, emerging as a cross-generational Napoleon Hill, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, and Earl Nightingale in one. Routinely sought out out by the cream of society, as well as those individuals simply looking for the best strategy to conquer their fears, to remove the stumbling blocks holding them back and keeping them from achieving excellence, that is Tony’s gift to the rest of us, one that simply cannot be overstated.

It was a real pleasure to purchase this work and review it here, I have gained so much already, and this is just month number one! I can’t imagine it being any better, yet I am certain it will be. I’m looking forward to an amazing ride, ands profiting form it to boot!

Other books I recommend:

Dr. Stephen R. Covey: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People! This has been in publication almost as long as Tony’s book Unlimited Power : The New Science Of Personal Achievement, another masterpiece, lists Habit #7 as “Sharpen the Saw….carefully select your recreational activities such as what you put into your mind.” Education is clearly an integral aspect of #7, and Tony’s The New Money Masters encourages the purchaser/participant wise enough to listen and apply, in other words, take action, to prosper.

Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D., Harry Paul, and John Christensen (with Foreward by Ken Blanchard, MD): Fish! – The FISH! Philosophy is a must if you are dealing with individuals, teams, and marketing. This entire book series is worth your time. The others in the Fish! series: Fish Tales! & Fish Sticks! Really great stuff for anyone interested in taking customer service up to a new level.

Last but certainly not least:

Marc Warnke: ONO – Options not Obligations – Family First Entrepreneurship. This is a template for how to live life to its fullest! Marc is not only one of my favorite authors, he is one of my favorite people! This is absolutely a must read for anyone involved in Internet marketing. In fact, this is a must read for every parent period, regardless of area of entreprenerial interest…this is just a great book!

I am including this video, with the hopes that those of you not into reading will get the message via a different formt. The important thing here is to get the information, listen to it, and apply it! Model it and take action!

TODAY!

Best wishes for your continued success!

BTW! Don’t miss Tony’s latest event in Chicago! See you there in October!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., “The Bad Back Guy”
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed

http://twitter.com/JohnZajaros

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• 

First, and let’s cover this right up front, I really don’t think most “gurus” care whether they impress me or not!

So, once again, let’s get that out of the way right up front. I harbor absolutely no illusions, or delusions, concerning that point…this point…whatever! Not only that, they don’t know who the heck John Zajaros is! Nor do most of them care to…they are all about the bucks!

Don’t believe me?

Try to get one on the phone some time!

I have actually had a conversation with exactly one Guru in the past year, one!

I will explain the difference between “gurus” and a Guru below.

Interestingly, I have spent hundreds, perhaps thousands, with “gurus” on their various programs, yet I have had actual contact with one! The amazing thing about that? The one GURU who did respond? I am not even a client of his!

He’s just a great guy, and a Guru! His name? James Schramko, a very cool Aussie and a genuine Guru!

If an individual is a modern-day “guru,” it won’t matter one way or the other what I think. You see, most are all about the money! A true Guru might be a bit more introspective, look within himself (I will use him generically without intending to show gender bias one way or the other) in an attempt to discover the source of the negativity, but ultimately they would probably attribute my mindset to the human condition and attempt to win me over…or at least understand me!

In the end, the former could care less, unless it adversely affects their business and then you will see a definite reaction, not based on love or understanding but purely on selfish, self-interest! The latter, while caring, understands the human condition and seeks to grow from the knowledge and the experience, perhaps even reaching out to guide, mentor, and advise (see definitions).

However, the fact is most “gurus” aren’t really “gurus” at all…they are simply savvy marketers who have adopted a particular label in order to promote themselves, their “brand,” and enhance their status…both as individuals and as marketers! The issue of whether or not someone is a legitimate Guru shouldn’t be left to the individual but should be a designation bestowed upon him by the people he touches, the lives he affects on a daily basis. The people he instructs, mentors, guides, and advises!

Here’s a question for you:

Do you think the Dalai Lama has ever referred to himself as a Guru?

Here’s another one:

Do you think Gandhi ever called himself a Guru?

In both instances, I believe we can answer with an emphatic:

“No!”
Interestingly, in the Internet marketing world the appellation of “guru” is conferred upon many whose sole claim to fame is the ability to make money! If that’s the case, I know of a few Columbians who are great at making money…they must be “gurus!”

Anyway, I thought I would examine the word itself and see where it takes us. Let’s look at Wikipedia:

“A guru…is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others (teacher). As a principle for the development of consciousness it leads the creation from unreality to reality, from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge. In its purest form this principle manifests on earth as a divine incarnation (saint), a person with supreme knowledge about God and all creation.” [italics added]

Is that even close?

So, let’s look at another “authority” site, Dictionary.com:

• A preceptor giving personal religious instruction.
• An intellectual or spiritual guide or leader.

Now here’s the western influence in the Dictionary.com definition:

• Any person who counsels or advises; mentor: The elder senator was her political guru.
• A leader in a particular field: the city’s cultural gurus.

Close, and number four gets right up against it…but still no cigar!

“A leader in a particular field.”

Yet this is a relatively new addition to the definition and is explained, at least in part, at Answers.com:

“An advisor or teacher. The term, which comes from Hinduism, refers to a spiritual teacher. “Gu” means darkness, and “ru” means light; thus a guru turns ignorance into enlightenment.”

Now here is where the corruption of the term comes in…to suit a very different end:

“In the west, the term has been interpreted quite often as simply an expert in a field whether that person helps you learn or understand anything or not.” [italics added]

Aha!

There it is! The modernization of the word, the corruption to be more accurate, in order to use the appellation for one’s own benefit, a marketing ploy in this instance, used to confer status as an expert in the field, any field. Again, and with emphasis added:

“In the west, the term has been interpreted quite often as simply an expert in a field whether that person helps you learn or understand anything or not.”

OK!

If we apply the original definition, the original designation and all the status that comes with it, is there a marketing expert out there who fills the bill, the original designation of a Guru (capital “G”), a true mentor, teacher, guide, trusted counselor and adviser?

I wonder? Overall, I would have to say no! Perhaps one!

Think about this!

I recently heard an individual give a seminar on marketing and he spoke of paying another “guru” $25,000 for a day’s advice! He also confided recently that he pays another “guru” $20,000 for advice 3 times a year! That’s $45,000 for 4 days worth of advice!

That has nothing to do with mentoring…that’s BUSINESS!

How in the world does that come anywhere even close to the original definition of what a Guru is? What a mentor is? What a trusted counselor and adviser is? That is simply a business arrangement between a client and the purveyor of information!

So, if being proficient at making money makes one a “guru,” so be it! However, it doesn’t make one a Guru! And to my way of thinking, there is a huge difference between “guru,” small “g,” and Guru…no quotes and a big “G!” Just as there is a HUGE difference between thinking small and thinking BIG, between seeing a picture and seeing the BIG picture!

So what’s the point? Other than a Dennis Miller-esque rant?

Well, I guess it’s that you get what you pay for!

In this case, if the driving force in your life is money, you will have few friends and fewer people who look to you as a valued resource, a mentor and advisor.

Meaning?

Well, if every time I help someone I have my cash registering ringing, if every time I coach someone I expect to be paid, people will value me and our relationship accordingly. Meaning? It will be nothing more than a financial transaction between a marketer and his client!

However, if I put forth real effort for others with little or no expectation of immediate reward, the efforts put forth will multiply ten-fold, at least, and I will establish myself as a Guru, a valued coach and adviser, a friend! Not by MY definition but by the definition of others, the people I help as I progress through life.

Life is a process, a progression, a journey, and along the way we touch many people, we plant seeds as we grow, learn, and prosper. But prosperity is not only about financial riches, it’s about the intangibles: the hugs, the kisses, the handshakes, and the gratitude we receive for all the good we do.

If it is all about money?

Sam Walton’s last words say it better than I ever could:

“I blew it!”

One of the richest men in the country, perhaps on the planet, and he “blew it!” You have a choice, you can assign the appellation little “g” or you can earn the designation big G! How will you view the journey that is your life as it comes to a close? How many people will be sorry to see you leave this life? How many people will say they will miss you, that you touched their lives? How many people will be grateful for the help you gave them,
knowing it was about more than a $997 upsell! I wonder!

John Zajaros
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
JohnZ@TheQuestRevealed.com
excellencepaidforward@gmail.com (personal email)

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