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 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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