Sat 24
Feb 2007
The Future of Thin Electrons
Posted under Thin Electrons, Marketing Strategies
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Ever since he wrote “Thanks for all the crap”, internet marketer and copywriter Bill Hibbler has been on my radar. It was actually quite funny. I got triggered by that headline which was sent out on Thanksgiving and decided to give it a read.
There were 2 propositions Bill made in his post which really appealed to me:
- Let’s incorporate an ‘attitude of gratitude’ all year long instead of on Thanksgiving only…
- In addition let’s also be grateful for all the bad things which happen in our lives…
“Wait a minute!”, I thought after being 2 paragraphs into the post. “You’re entering my niche here…”
In case you’re wondering what my niche is, let me tell you right away that it’s NOT internet marketing. And because it’s not, I’m currently facing a big dilemma. Which may actually be an opportunity to you!
But before I go down that road, I want to alert you to the newsletter I received from Bill Hibbler today…
Bill has been reviewing the latest trent in IM with the guru’s sending out ‘death’ reports and manifesto’s. Some of them are really quite good and at the very least present you with a trigger to think about what you’re doing again online. Such as the question by Rich Schefren asking you if you are an entrepreneur or an opportunity seeker.
These are very valid wake-up calls. Or they have been to me…
Bill notices that these reports are often used in the true IM fasion for growing a list and making a back-end sale. (Again nothing wrong with that. After all everyone has to make a living and if you want to do it online, you need some extra force to grab attention.) And he continues to zoom into the last in Schefren’s Manifesto series…
Shefren teamed with publishing powerhouse Agora and wrote another manifesto about meeting in European castles with powerful people with plans to take over the Internet marketing world as we know it.
Gimme a break. If you ask me, these guys read “Winning Through Intimidation” a few too many times. Or watched too many old James Bond movies.
Agora does have some brilliant marketers, copywriters and product creation people. But Shefren implies that they’ll eat anyone that crosses their path. And as they enter new niches, the little guy will be crushed UNLESS you sign up for Rich’s next program. Personality-driven marketing is dead because you can’t possibly compete with Agora’s marketing muscle.
Personality-driven marketing is dead? I guess that might come as a surprise to someone like Oprah Winfrey.
The reality is…
I don’t know if you read the Manifesto’s. I did and whereas I greatly appreciated most of the content, this particular bit got me very, very concerned about my future online. I mentioned before that I have been reviewing my activities over the winter, and the Agora giant had managed to become a frightening character in my worst-case-scenario nightmares.
Hold on! What is happening here?
I was buying into the doom-and-gloom future-of-the-internet predictions and actually already planning a strategy based on fear…
Here’s the irony of it…
Do you know what my real niche is?
HAPPINESS
My real passion is the ‘how to be happy’ niche and it was where I started online and it’s where I want to focus on again. I have neglected my happiness websites, newsletters and books in such a way, that I’m actually almost too embarrassed to pick it up again.
I know about fear - the sort which is legit (5%) and the sort which is a fiction of your imagination (95%) - and how it affects your mental and physical health. Fear distorts perspective and can cause long-term stress. It’s generally not the emotion that gives you the best kind of advice on how to act and what to do with your life.
I know about gratitude and how it’s like the super-highway to feeling more content and happy with yourself and your circumstances. (Hence my remark about Bill the marketer entering my niche. Shoo! 
)
Yet here I was - ‘happiness expert’ - planning new internet strategies or even leaving the internet all together because I got visited at night by the Agora monsters…
Back to Bill Hibbler:
Unless we’re talking about a manufactured item like a car or a camera, people prefer dealing with people they trust over big corporations. And even that’s questionable when you consider the stress most people fell when buying a new car.
So I say forget the Agoras of the world. Don’t let yourself be manipulated by that kind of fear-based marketing.
Finding a market niche you’re truly passionate about and finding and creating products for that niche is a model that’s been around long before the Internet and it’s just as viable today.
You can read the whole newsletter at:
http://www.ecommerceconfidential.com/Blog/?p=80
So what happens to Thin Electrons?
Yes, good question…
I basically have a couple of options:
-
Power to the People - I reformat the website into a true web 2.0 construction where you, the members, determine the content. You would get to offer your IM related products and others can review them. You could also write reviews about newly launched products and services by other marketers. Basically turning the site into a towerhouse of knowledge together where the consumers determine what’s good as opposed to the gurus.
I quite like this idea actually…
-
Find a team to manage the site - not meaning forum moderators but a marketer, a copywriter, a webmaster etc who run the site together with me and we share the profits. So that’s something different from me performing all the tasks and being coached. I already have my coach… It’s about sharing the to-do list cause frankly I’m drowning in it.
-
Sell the website to a passionate marketer - also very appealing option to me since it would really give me the opportunity to return full-time to my happiness business. I’m also aware this idea can be discomforting to loyal subscribers and members. But in the long run you would benefit from the site being managed by somebody who’s passionate about IM and stays up-to-date with what’s happening in the frontier. I’ve run out of time to check everything out as I used to do…
But before reaching a decision, I would really like to give you the opportunity to let your voice be heard and tell me what you would prefer me to do. So if you care to comment on these options, please do so! It’s very much appreciated by me.
Thanks already and have a great weekend!
Patricia
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February 24th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Hey Patricia
Very thoughtful insight. Good to hear a balancing point of view.
Seems to me option 1 is a great idea. However, it is probably the most resource intensive, keeping you away from your niche for longer. From another perspective though, it may be a great test ground to apply to for your primary niche.
What is interesting is that Rich Schefren does not work as closely with Agora as he originally planned anymore either. Not because they are a “big bad wolf”
, but because he came to the same decision point you are at now. It was also a prompted by a mentor who challenged his direction that caused him to rethink where he was going. What was his passion? He realized that his passion was to help business owners become successful.
It appears to me the whole IM industry is evolving. As one of my mentors wrote: “The death of Crap”. And he was simply referring to the death of lousy quality websites and content which has been so prevalent in previous years. It’s about time.
Good luck with your decision. I think what will ultimately drive your decision will be income vs costs.
Regards
Paul
February 24th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Interesting news about Rich here, Paul. I didn’t know that!
Maybe you could already tell but option 1 has by far my personal preference. To make it work however would really depend on whether a strong community can support it.
If nobody posts content, the site would basically be dead. Some of the IM forums work really well so it shouldn’t compete with that format. With a web 2.0 structure members would have a lot more options however.
I’m currently in the process of finishing 2 web 2.0 sites (one in English for an open source project and one in Dutch for a magazine) and it’s been a really valuable learning experience. I have good hope that changing the format of this website would take me a lot less time…
That would be a major contribution on my behalf. Yet once it’s up and running, it’s up to the members to make it work. So it really depends on how much basic support there would be for this idea…
Best,
Patricia
February 24th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Patricia,
I think option 1 is the way to.
Since social interactive sites are where it’s at right now, I htink you can make/have the best of both worlds.
You have stated that your passion is the “happiness” niche. Social sites have become a place for people all across the board to interact with others of like mind. Possibly seeking some “happiness” they are miising in their life.
Why not base it on your niche? Lrod knows, there are many out there that could use a touch of “happiness” in their life.
Just my thoughts,
John
February 24th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Hi John,
Do you mean combining happiness with internet marketing and creating a social site for this?
Interesting thought that would be…
What would make people into IM happy?
- respect from peers and customers
- effortless riches and success
- product praise
- stress free webmastering
- easy accounting
- making a real difference…
What else?
Who knows, maybe it could work. Will take your suggestion into serious consideration! If you have anything to add, please do.
:-)
February 24th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Hi Patricia:
It’s funny that you created this post, because #1 is an idea that I have already been working on for a few months. My background is in association, publishing and special event marketing which is what makes me so excited about the Internet today. The Internet has finally lived up to the promises made by so many “dot coms” seven to nine years ago. The wide spread adoption of broadband and the introduction of social media have created the right environment for content, community and the emotional connection inbetween.
The two groups that Internet marketers need to watch and be more concerned about are the MySpacers and corporate America.
The MySpacers, of course, because social media is the communication vehicle of their generation but also because they are not afraid to try anything and do anything. Their insatiable and at times, reckless, enthusiasm is what wil get them through the learning curve much quicker than any of today’s traditional Internet marketers.
The second group is corporate America. Since 2007 has been touted as the year that companies will direct more of their advertising dollars to the Internet instead of print and TV, their resources (and their ability to purchase the resources of today’s succesful Internet marketers) will undoubtedly change the marketplace forever. Look at MySpace. They just purchased one of the top Internet advertising monetization firms because they know that they need someone with expertise to do things better than they can do it right now.
This environment demands that Internet marketers get together and form “real” communities that focus on helping each other develop the best products for the marketplace instead of helping each other build lists. Because if you don’t, the companies and the MySpacers will. The affiliate and network-marketing philosophy of “I found them first” is dead, in my opinion. The people that can successfully brand themselves as the one “people remember the most” are the ones that will gain the most ground in today’s world.
Now I know it’s incredibly hard work and from what I understand, people have tried to start affiliate marketing trade associations have failed. Creating Standards of Practice and a universally accepted Code of Ethics is no fun task because I’ve had to be part of that long and tedious process. But I don’t think that going to that extreme is necessary. The idea that we’re both working on can satisfy the current needs of today’s marketplace. Plus, if affiliate and Internet marketing really get out of hand, we can always convince that U.S. government that the industry needs to be regulated
Did you know that in December 2006, the U.S. Federal Trade Communication issued a report/inquiry questioning the practices of word-of-mouth marketing?
February 24th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Hi Patricia,
New to the IM-world, but learning fast, not so new to offline formerly “normal” marketing and/or doing business…my gut feeling is, at least for myself…perhaps also for you and others…stick to your OWN gut feeling and principles, i.e. if you had in mind to have a business all about HAPPINESS, do not stop, do continue.
With all due respect, when I checked out what exactly is “thin electrons”, I had my reservations, again - for myself.
W.r.t. Agora et al, I got an email yesterday from someone, a ceo of… promoting a very exclusive Mr.xx, “only” $ 10.000 to attend. I SMILED.
Another really nice chap is selling great information for $ 7 as a download. That one is the FUTURE, one decent guy, not of course perse selling $7 reports.
IM is on a fast track,, in the fast lane and you are right, exhausting to keep up with, but interesting to learn from, although DOING BUSINESS, earning money needs a lot more in skills and techniques than is currently being offered online.
And when it comes to IM-er Rich S. in that manifesto: he insulted my intelligence at least with some rather flippant remarks; about to have a burn-out if he goes on as he is doing, watching him on video last week during a seminar.
If I were you, and I had a buyer for the site and the price agreed with me, I would sell and with a deep sigh of contentment I would lean back and start concentrating on what I love doing best!
Btw, your site, content and appearence is tops, so I think that whatever you shall decide upon, you shall be known for quality, sincerity and decency, which go a long way.
Warm and best wishes,
Willy (Dutch living in Turkey)
such gatherings are in my opinion history
February 24th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Sorry for the great number of typos in my previous post, but I hope you understand what I’m saying.
February 24th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
@Carlos
Quote: “This environment demands that Internet marketers get together and form ‘real’ communities that focus on helping each other develop the best products for the marketplace instead of helping each other build lists.”
I don’t think I’ve mentioned this particularly on this website, but I totally love the better evolved open source communities in how they operate and support each other. The only problem is the financing in these arena’s. Marketing examples which are successful are rare and often have a fully matured business behind them (eg Sun, IBM etc).
Open source has been focussing on software mainly till now. It would be an interesting experiment to see what happens if some IM material would be turned into open source (which is NOT the same as Public Domain btw!).
Well, couldn’t resist throwing that thought in…
How far are you with putting your ideas into practise at this point? Is this something we could team up on?
@Willy
Welkom Willy - twee Nederlanders in het buitenland lijkt het wel, hoewel mijn buitenlandse adres het internet is. Ons huis staat in Holland…
I’ll continue in English not to insult my other readers.
I admit that ‘leaning back with a deep sigh of contentment’ sounds extremely appealing to me right now. But add a grain of salt as I’m currently somewhat sleep deprived and fed up with winter. So a good vacation may also do the trick!
In any case I would like to have an outlet for something else but happiness as well at times. I enjoy writing about more subject and my interests do include IM.
Thanks very much for the comliments as well.
To both of you: I added some white space in your comments to improve readability which I hope you don’t mind…
February 26th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Hi Patricia,
I think option #1 would be great for you as you have enough members (new and more advanced) that read your posts to start helping you develop your “lens”.
This should give you more time for your real passion while it still “self develops” so to speak
I say go with your “gut-feeling” on this girl and go with your first choice!
I’m currently looking at this option myself with all my software I’d like to share with people. A bit time consuming at first, but I think in the long run, definately worth it.
Kindest regards
Mada
February 26th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
@Mada
I haven’t forgotten about you either, it’s just mad these days…
Thanks for your continuous support - you’re a great friend!
Hey, as for your software…
I know you don’t have exclusively ISB stuff, but anything you have which you did make with ISB you can post at the new website. You got the email about it this week?
Members can also post commercial software in their own portfolio which can be browsed by visitors from the main index page. So until you have your own sharing system up and running, this could be a good way to get some extra exposure.
The site will launch officially in hopefully not more than 2 weeks from now. Better have your links in there beforehand…
February 27th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Hi Patricia,
De enige echte Hollandse Internet Marketeer wil de handoek in de ring gooien?
I will follow up in Englisch (with my typo’s)
Translation of the Dutch phrase above:
The only real Dutch IM wants to stop?
I’ve read your mail and waited to go to your blog, because I was not sure what your problem is (of course you are the only one to know that), it (I) felt a little “victim” feelings at your side. About time, passion etc.
I will keep my advice short:
Keep at your passion and put all your options into action, select people to help you (so you can do what your passion is and they can do what they like).
This problem is not about problem solving, its about taking responsibility for what you want and change your organisation (outsource with friends) so you can do what you want and have the free time you want.
Investigate how it is possible that you created this situation. I know many man and woman I helped getting the time they wanted, to see them creating the same problem again.
Hope you keep goiing!
And if I can help, I will be delighted.
Warm regards,
Ron
February 27th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
@Ron
Nah, I’m not the only Dutch IM’er - maybe one of the few who’s got English sites though… And I’m not about to quit IM either.
But IM is not only about IM itself. This website is about a certain aspect of IM - how to make money selling digital products.
I have a whole bunch of websites all targetting a different audience. The TE site is the only one who’s about IM itself. Others are about creating software, learning mindmapping, spreading messages of peace, education for the 21st century and of course how to be happy.
So that probably gives you instant insight in what my problem is: I have too many interests!
The other problem is my teaching background. Whenever I’m learning something new which I really like, I get very enthusiastic about what I’m learning and want to share it with others. Being so internet oriented, this results in putting my info online.
Combine this with a tendency to perfectionism and you’ll understand why it’s become all-consuming to keep up with myself as well. I’ve seen such an amount of crap being sold at ridiculous prices. It’s annoying to say the least. And the last thing I want is for anything I publish to be put in that category by my readers.
So I’ve been creating too many websites and products (not even half of them ever released…) over the past years and that’s why I need to let go of a couple of them. Keep my focus on my real passion and not engage in everything which I happen to like as well.
Also, please understand that I don’t feel a victim but I do make mistakes. You won’t hear me say that it’s Rich Schefren fault that I was feeling worried about Agora. That was my decision - be it conscious or not.
I’m very grateful for wake-up calls as they empower you to take appropriate action about your situation. Responsibility includes solving the problems you created yourself and in some situations this requires a thorough clearing of your mess before you can continue with changing the organisation. That’s the phase I’m currently in…
February 28th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Hi Patricia,
Welcome in the club of perfectionists, you are in very good company!
The most successful people were perfectionists, but they were also living in a cage of pure gold and most of them were a victim of their perfectionism. It’s not bad to be a victim, everybody is more or less a victim of his or her core qualities.
I think your problem is not what you must do, your problem could be that your perfectionism stops your decisions and than asking others what to do, will cost you more of your valuable time and will complicates the solution. Probably at last, you take the decision you wanted to take before you asked (where the feeling of your passion is), what a waist of time.
I would say:
-Decide from your feeling of passion what you want to sell, what you want to delegate (is difficult for perfectionists), How much free time you want and what you want to do yourself (what you love to do).
-Tell your members your decision and ask for help by filling in a questionnaire about how to work it out.
-Feel how that feels and let your gratitude out (the universe will help you).
9 years ago I solved my perfectionism by following an enlightenment course. After that course I decided to focus my perfectionism on who I want to be and to stop using it for what I want to have and do. The next year I stopped working (I was 54) because the work didn’t align with my passion. Up to now I’m a Time-Millionair, I enjoy live, my wife, children and grandchildren, 4 times a year I give an enlightenment course, because I like to see my students break out their patterns and reach whatever they want from live. I like to do somethings on Internet and beware to keep enough time for living from my passion.
Maybe I help you with this long story.
Warmth,
Ron
September 23rd, 2007 at 12:02 pm
good!