Hi Forum! I have been in the website marketing business for a year now, and I still don't know to tell what works best. If you have a nice product, that has good value for others. I mean, a product that people can earn money with it. How would you prefer to market it? There is the practical way which I prefer, and there is that way that you put a lot of testimonials, promise things, using money-related graphics and more bunch of things that keeps off certain potential customers but maybe attract more customers in total. Bottom line Being honest or a jerk ? Thanks, Richard.
I think honesty will work in the long run. Creating a name and a brand for yourself that will allow you to offer various products and services over long periods of time. The Rich Jerk was a one off, and although he did very well - I'm not sure if he tried again under the same name it would go so smoothly. The difference he had was standing out, and making an impression. As long as you do that, it doesn't matter if you're nice or nasty.
I'm agreeing with WillB, there is a level of 'respect' that must be used to attract your big name customers. Assuming that your visitors are simply turned on by flashy graphics is an insult and will probably warrant a short lived success, if any.
I'm not entirely sure those are the only two choices. I think it's more a question of which marketing approach you wish to adopt, and much of that will be dictated by the demographics of your target market. If someone who uses guerilla marketing techniques and has a "hard sell" one page site that sells a marketing tips ebook, that will very likely be the right format, since that seems to be what attracts buyers for that product. The site can be chockful of testimonials, money back guarantees, charts and graphs, and that's OK, provided they are all legitimate and truthful. Having an aggressive sales pitch doesn't mean it's not honest - it's just a different marketing approach. The likes of Corey Rundl and others have proven many times that this type of micro site can be very effective. On the other hand, if your target market is high end corporate purchasing agents, then clearly your site should look different, feel different, more professional layout/design, etc. IMO, the key is to identify your target market, then build your site to cater to them. Vito
Guerrilla marketing doesn't have to be "hard sell." It just means doing something different, and for little to no money. I wouldn't even consider a sales page from a general standpoint to be guerrilla marketing... although some of the specific contents you mentioned would be. I think the real question is more "ethical vs unethical" rather than "honest vs being a jerk." For me, it's ethical all the way. I'm a bit obsessive about it. I turn down clients all the time if they want me to do something marketing-wise that would risk hurting my reputation either among colleagues or other clients. I've actually gotten more clients b/c of my blunt honesty when talking about issues than possibly any other reason. And it means I can sleep at night w/o thinking that I'm screwing someone over. A lot of people operate the same way. Others will take on any project and use any kind of marketing technique if it'll make them a quick buck. More power to them, but that's generally bad business in the long run. If you make enough people feel conned, or even just one person who takes the initiative to do something about it, not only do you risk not being able to grow your business, but you can lose what you already have. Big corporations get away with a lot, b/c they have a lot of money and can afford to have a team of lawyers waiting to go at the first sign of trouble. Most entrepreneurs don't. And negative feelings about your business spread via word of mouth much quicker than positive ones. I think most people fall somewhere in between... they try different things to see what will make them more money more quickly, but they do have some kind of ethical line that they try to avoid crossing.
Sorry, didn't mean to suggest that I was equating guerilla marketing with hard sell, although they are not mutually exclusive. But I agree with the rest of your post. Basically, it comes down to being forthright in your offering and not misrepresenting yourself or your product. Vito
Honesty is the only real way for me to go. Since I am offering a service my reputation is worth more to me than a quick buck.
The Rich Jerk wasn't a on-off, he continues to push products and build his list using the same style that he had originally. He just doesn't make the same big splash nowadays because people are used to him.
i will simply Choose 3-4 feilds where users have potential to buy my products . Then i will contact webmasters who have required target base and offer them commission to sell my products ..
Ok, I tought that you will act in this way For me, it is actually insulting in some way that someone addresses you with a never-ending sale letter, packed with testimonials, graphs and stuff like that. I don't really know if they sell at all... But there are too many like these so it must be working for some people, I guess that you don't have to be a jerk to do that but this method is just less respective for the customers, for the intelligent ones at least. Now, I'm not a guru of honesty or something, If it makes 10 times more money, I'll choose this way to market my website because I'm sure of the quality of my product. Does someone research these methods and can give a comparison between them, what works the best?
You've just asked an impossible question. There's no such thing as "what works the best." While nobody likes to hear it, you do have to do the research, planning, and testing to find the best marketing method in your own case. It depends on such a broad range of factors that nothing works exactly the same in two situations. It depends on your product or service, your own education, experience, and reputation, whether you can get referrals from recognized individuals, who your target market is, general market trends not only in your industry but also in others affecting the same market you're targeting, etc. There really isn't a one-size-fits all. Unfortunately sales letters do work for some people, so as obnoxious as they are, I doubt they'll go away anytime soon. Personally, I despise them, won't use them for myself and won't write them for clients, and if I see one, I leave the site immediately. Other people don't mind them so much. If you're targeting a relatively informed group of customers, you can lose a lot of that hype (because they'll less than appreciate it), and just give them the facts that they want. The key really is just knowing who it is that you're talking to, and perhaps more importantly, knowing how to evaluate your, or your client's, needs to tailor a plan that's exclusive to them, rather than falling back on one "best" technique.
be honest is the best way, because lie always will be opened but sometimes you can use some sly (or resourceful) methods to get the aim. For example, there is one client who want to buy real shit, but don't want to buy your good product, because of some options - then you need to user all allowed and disallowed methods to prove client's head not to buy bad product. As the result you have lucky client who is satisfied with you product and recommends it to other people
For short term : jerk mode enabled For long term : honest mode enabled For middle term : something between it
honesty rules... there are so many scams already in the net.. its like stealing ppl's money. and yet those "marketers" dont realize it or nor they care.
this good "marketers" break also reputation of outsourcing and freelancing But to the wall and shot them
If I had a product, I would definately be honest. I hate those people who are like "Do you want to work in your pajamas, get up at 12:00 noon..." so stupid.
David Koresh was a jerk but he had devout followers who would hand their money over to him and their children knowing full well they would be sexually abused. I think there's a point here I'm trying to make, I just can't pull it out of my arse at this time of the night. Pete