I’m not sure why I’m writing this blog entry because I know most people who read this will understand what I’m saying…and I’ll be preaching to the choir. But you know, something has been bothering me lately and I’d like to share it with you.
I’ve seen a lot of people on a number of different forums complaining that all they receive are sales pitches from various marketing
newsletters. Agreed – a weekly email that says, “Go buy this product” and that’s it - is not good information.
I guess I’m taking some of these criticisms to heart because I came under fire personally on a forum because a couple people said that I was guilty of this. This surprised me A LOT because as soon as each of my newsletters go out, I receive a flurry of email saying thank you for the information, for the freebies and encouragement to keep it up.
I guess that should make me happy, but see I’m a bit sensitive and it bothers me when I’m criticized. Call me human. ;-) But regardless of my sensitivity, that’s not really the reason I’m writing this blog entry. It’s not to have my ego stroked or to have you tell me not to listen to these naysayers.
Education is so important to me and I’ve been a teacher in some form or another for much of my life. Whether it was tutoring other kids at school, training employees at former workplaces or teaching English as a second language, I have always wanted people to have the best education possible.
However, some people have trouble seeing when they’re being given good information – instead, they just think they’re being sold products. This concerns me twofold:
- These people are missing out on their free education.
- The people are trying to learn
marketing, but fail to see the valuable lessons using information to market products.
You see, just because you receive a free preview of an
ebook or you have access to a free interview with a highly-skilled marketer, doesn’t mean you have to buy the product. Those resources are your no-strings opportunity to further your education, so use them to their fullest.
Like my friend
Lynn Terry recently said about the free webcast with Craig Perrine, creator of List Profit Secrets:
“Anyone who has done the research and taken the time to develop a thousand-dollar-course is worth listening to...especially when there's no cost involved!”Ahh, there’s a reason why I’ve always thought Lynn is a brilliant Internet marketer. :)
But further to that, if you take off your “I’m a marketer and I don’t like to be marketed to hat,” you can see how these people turn their free information into sales for their products. Whether you sell candles or copywriting services or photocopiers…it’s a valuable lesson in how to market your products to other people. See, those people who provide the best information for free, will always win the sales game.
So, if you don’t want to take out your wallet, please don’t. I just sincerely hope you’ll take advantage of the learning opportunities with which you’re presented and continue to grow your business.