By Joseph Ratliff
This post is going to hit you straight in the gut. It isn’t going to feel good either, so if you can’t stand the truth…stop reading…but then call me when the money runs out for your internet business.
Just keep in mind as your reading this post, that you are not the only one guilty of searching for a “magic pill” to explode your online business (I used to as well in the beginning).
Nope, as a matter of fact, 90% of us (at least) are guilty of at least one if not all of these things (and if you think you are in the 10% club, do a hard check to be sure).
Take these to heart, make some mental changes, and your success online will soon find you.
There are 5 primary reasons why we get caught up investing in e-book after e-book, trying to search for some magical device that will skyrocket our online businesses with little effort. You can also apply these 5 reasons to any information device attached to some sort of promise (remember the sales letter).
I will tell you that no such device exists, and while there are tools that accelerate your business’ growth, most of us don’t make full enough use of those tools anyhow.
NOTE: Coaching, mentoring, and business growth groups are not included in this, because of a distinct difference, those types of guidance usually come with a sort of accountability factor and other variables that an e-book or study course does not.
This brings me to our first reason…
Reason #1 - Pieces of information
Have you ever purchased an e-book that made a promise to you? Most do…from this one…
“Using this system to generate an income of over $10k a month in less than 30 days!”
to this one…
“I have found the secret to easy cash on the internet!”.
There are a ton of different promises that are made, but the reason that you will most likely never make that kind of money online with this one e-book, is that it is only a piece of information.
The last time I checked, an e-book cannot “coach you” on the rest of the answer necessary to make the system in the e-book work. Nor would it be expected to do that. An e-book provides a part of the answer, but the writer of the e-book used a complete business system based on sound business growth principles in combination with the “solution” presented in the e-book to generate the results obtained and mentioned in the sales letter.
Quite frankly, the information in most e-books is actually good and works. But the odds of you having all of the rest of the pieces in place to use that information to 100% of its potential are astronomical. Sorry for the dose of reality there.
In conclusion, if you had all the pieces you needed to run a successful online business, you would already be running one. Buying e-book after e-book is not the answer, unless you have grown businesses online before, and are damn sure you only need that one piece to make your system work.
On to reason number 2…
Reason #2 - The Consumer Mentality
Let’s face it, we all like to go shopping once in awhile.
Guys, I don’t want to hear the “I never go shopping, I always know what I want to get from the store” line…because I know that it’s total B.S. (Craftsman Tool Section in Sears anyone?
).
Since we like to go shopping as human beings, and just “look for things to buy” once in awhile, we have developed what is called the “Consumer Driven Mindset”. It’s inside all of us to some degree.
The sad part is, that applies to e-books as well.
And the website with the section that drives home my point here is The Warrior Forum by Allen Says.
I have been a member of that forum for about 3 years now…and there is one section that takes full advantage of the “consumer driven mindset” in all of us…the WSO, or Warrior Special Offer section. This section of the forum is specially created for Warriors to sell and market their products to other Warriors.
Now think about that for a second…
The Warrior Forum in and of itself has enough information and such to build an online business in just about any niche you can think of. Some of that information comes from six and seven-figure earners online as well.
But yet, there is a section on that forum where Warriors are selling to other Warriors, and thousands of dollars change hands every single day. From one Internet Marketer, to another.
Interesting huh? The forum has more than enough information to totally build an online business, yet the same people who are members, and internet business owners themselves, are also shoppers buying even more information.
Which perfectly leads us to reason 3.
Reason #3 - The Human Condition…Laziness/Denial
Here is where I will lose the majority of you reading this post (which I appreciate by the way
).
You, by human nature, have an element of laziness and denial within you. You cannot deny it.
We all seek the shortest, or most efficient way of doing something…including building online businesses or making money online. For those of you that are successful already, congratulations, but you are part of this group as well. Successful individuals might have to look a little deeper within for those “moments” of time when laziness creeps in, but it is there every time. We are not robots.
You could tell me that you work hard, are very successful, have “dialed in” marketing processes etc…but you cannot tell me that you are not human.
What does that have to do with buying e-books?
Well, quite a bit happens in our businesses doesn’t it? So, when you see an offer to make any part of that business easier, or a “magic marketing shortcut” that points the way to double sales within 30 days or less…you start to think…
“Could this include me and my business too?”
That thought leads to another one…
“Could I be missing a piece of the puzzle?”
And then denial sets in…
“In buying this e-book with a magical solution, I wouldn’t be like other people who are falling for the marketing behind the solution, I am just taking advantage of this opportunity!”
And you buy the e-book or study course looking for that answer. The really interesting point is…if a solid marketer developed that product…they are preying on that very emotion and a series of others; our laziness, denial, greed, ego, etc…
One other emotion is a reason for buying e-books in and of itself though…
Reason #4 - Misplaced Hope
I hate to bring this up…because it is so common.
Many of my coaching students, clients, and many other business owners at one point have “hoped” that their marketing or other business processes would work, and that some big windfall was heading their way.
Do you know who this type of Hope is? She is a tired old girl getting ready to retire…she cannot carry businesses!
It is this misplaced “hope” in your business processes that can kill it…and if an e-book promises to bring you a ton of “hope” in a 50 plus page package…we fall for it all the time and buy that e-book. It is pretty easy for any marketer worth their salt to tap into this emotion at their will.
Quit hoping, and start testing, and taking a more scientific approach to your internet business. If developed properly, this scientific approach can put you in a position where instead of hoping you will get results…
You will know what results you are going to get!
On to reason 5…the final reason for this article (there are actually a ton more).
Reason #5 The Feeling We Are Being “Lied To”
Have you ever bought an e-book with some promise of a complete system, or other remedy to a business problem you have (the secret to marketing by the way)…
Only to have that solution seemingly fail to work (remember Reason #1)?
Then…
While surfing the net, you come across a similar solution, perhaps packaged in a different way (the way you package information is another marketing secret). This solution seems to include another piece of the puzzle in your internet business life.
How does that make you feel?
Most would feel this (I cannot speak for everyone) :
“Dagnabbit, why didn’t that other e-book give me the entire answer, like this one does!”
Guess what, this e-book won’t give you the entire answer either. But I will bet you feel “lied to.” Some people even take this feeling another step and get a refund on the other e-book…and read this one with a “complete” answer (it isn’t).
In conclusion, there are a few points that are the bottom line here:
* With the knowledge that we don’t want to make just one sale to our customers, and we want to strike as broad a part of our niche that we can with multiple products…why on earth would any marketer worth their salt at all give you a complete answer in just one e-book? We don’t. Instead, we work to build your trust enough to buy another piece of the solution from us…and will structure offers with that in mind (retaining you as a customer). This is why my business model is to only offer complete solutions to my clients (i.e. coaching, copywriting and consulting, etc…). While more of an investment, I know that I could never provide a complete solution in one e-book.
* You are lazy by nature. You need to try and stifle that part of your nature, knowing that there is no magic pill to grow businesses, period.
* The time you are wasting buying e-book after e-book would be better invested in testing another piece of marketing, and finding a scientific process of your own that will work with your business alone (then you can sell an e-book to others on this process
).
* If you are about to use the excuse “Joe, I believe in self-education and these e-books are only purchased to satisfy that end of my business.” I will probably point you to your main computer’s hard drive and ask you to do a deep gut check on two things… 1) How many e-books you have on that hard drive. Now, I would have you compare that with 2) How many e-books on that hard drive have you actually read fully and implemented. You see, self-education is part of my business too…but I can tell you that any e-book or educational material that I have now, has been read and implemented. Not to say that I am perfect by any means, I was where you are now about 4 years ago, and have since deleted all of the e-books on my hard drive.
I have found that in the end, in most cases, we already have the ability to build businesses. We have to develop with our businesses online, make the mistakes, pay the dues, and grow a successful one to really know how to do it again. That type of process will not take as long if you quit buying e-books and looking for the magic pill. It doesn’t exist.
Once you know how to build a very successful business, you can simply duplicate and eliminate mistakes…and e-books won’t be necessary.
Feel free to comment below.
