Lee McIntyre went from overworked high school teacher to full time marketer in just 56 days. He is the founder of Aim Higher Marketing where he shows others how to use honest marketing to build profitable Internet businesses in record time.
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Why Faking it Until You Make It Makes Me Feel Sick
By Lee McIntyre | April 10, 2008
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One thing that always winds me up is people having really strong opinions on things that they know nothing about.
I’m pretty easy going generally, but when I hear people pretending they’re an expert on topics they have no personal experience of it just gives me a headache!
Do you want to know my views on Myspace marketing? Well I don’t have any!
Why? Because I’ve never used the damn thing for marketing that’s why.
It would be easy to sit back in my forum easy chair and try to pretend that I was an expert, but what good would that do me?
What good would that do anyone?
It seems to me that a whole science of ‘faking it until you make it’ has grown up around Internet Marketing, and it’s enough to give me the creeps.
Let me explain why this upsets me so much….
Every action has an equal reaction. Do the fakers who relentlessly bang on about all kinds of dribble live in a bubble?
Cripes no!
Every time they try and ‘brand’ themselves with their lies and innuendo they actually have a strong negative impact on anyone unfortunate enough to be caught upwind of them. And it stinks to be ‘upwind’ of some of these cry babies.
Fake it until you make it? I seriously feel sick just thinking about the entire concept.
Since when was it acceptable to lie, cheat, and mislead, in the name of business advancement?
And I already know what some people will say when they read this post. ‘It’s just good business’….’it’s only marketing’….’no one gets hurt’….etc etc etc.
Am I the only one who gets goosepumps just thinking about this?
Let me get this straight….
Marketer Y can go around telling lies in an effort to make people think he’s an online superstar. He can dance around giving bad advice and terrible opinions. He can directly and indirectly tell people to do things based on personal experiences that he has faked.
And he can do all of this and ‘no one gets hurt’?
Am I missing something here? I really don’t care how many JVs this costs me because sometimes these things need to be said.
Is it acceptable to ‘fake it until you make it’? Not by my moral compass it’s not.
Would you ask if it was acceptable to take money by deception? Of course not!
It doesn’t matter if it helps you make more money. It’s irrelvant if it helps you quit your day job.
I can think of many things that would help you quit your job but you don’t want to go sell drugs or hold up banks now do you?
To often in our online Internet marketing world people proudly exclaim that the means justify the ends. That only holds true if you’re devoid of any kind of sense of right or wrong.
What we do in our online business, like we do in life, should be judged by the actions we take, and not the just results they bring.
And if I hear one more person say that bending all sense of morality is fine because they got a big pay cheque then I just might scream!
What do you think? Am I being too harsh? Let me know in the comments below…
Popularity: 14% [?]
Topics: Ethics |
April 10th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Go on lad, Get it off your chest.
I’ve been stung by following some of these fakers.
Now what I’d like see is your “Top Tips on How to Spot these Dirty Chaps”.
“Name and Shame” is of course an obvious idea, but unfair as you could highlight some poor guy who’s only following the teaching of his “Faking it” Mentor.
April 10th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Nice to read someone with similar feelings!!! Unfortunately this industry is full of “fake it till you make it” marketers.
I don’t believe you’re being too harsh at all. People get blinded by $ very early in IM. I’ll admit, I was one of those guys at first, but quickly realized it was the wrong thing to do both ethically and financially.
Keep up the good work, Lee.
There are very few people in this business who share similar beliefs as me and you are one of them it seems.
April 10th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
You hit the nail on the head when you said moral compass. Online or offline, I’ve learned to try and see through all the smoke and mirrors if I can detect that marketer’s direction on his moral compass. After all, we all have one in everything we do in life. The question is,is it good or bad? There is no in between.
When it comes to Internet Marketing,after acouple of years I’ve realized that you need to find out who you want your mentors to be and learn from them.Their sincerity will show. After that put on the blinders to all the other B.S. that we’re surrounded with every time you open up your email box.
I can honestly say that was the reason I jumped on your first intern class when you offered it. I had just decided who I was going to exclusively pay attention to and you were at the top of my short list.There’s only (2) others. That was great timing on your part. I had to seize the opprotunity you offered.
I’m waiting for week 2 now. It took alittle longer to finish week 1 due to a family issue.
I can see the reasons for what you do unfold as I go through each task and can say it’s a great way that you teach it. Acouple of times it’s alittle tedeous, but when you start to realize the purpose of it is when I get excited about what I will accomplish with the end result.
So when all that being said, no you’re not being too harsh. These are questions we all need to ask ourselves. It’s good that you ask the questions so we can see all the contrast there is in the world.
BTW everyone, this is not an advertisement for Lee. It’s just my honest opinion and I can say from the bottom of my heart that he’s my top mentor in what I want to accomplish.If you get the chance to get into his intern program,jump on the opprotunity.
Rick Wiley aka SouthPadreTrader
April 10th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I agree. I blog about my eBay experiences and do what most professional bloggers say not to - I tell people I am not an expert. I do share what I am experimenting with. I do share ideas and give credit where credit is due.
Having been a powerseller and three years of eBay experience still does not make me an expert. I just like talking about it.
I do however share my Christian thoughts and advice because I am a minister. Here’s where my “expertise” (if you can call it that) falls into place. I can advise people on running a Christian business or about Christian life choices.
I have seen a lot of marketers who spend their time trying to be what they are not, and they are usually copying someone else (I know because I get about two dozen newsletters that I glaze through).
Good post,
David
PS - I can be guilty of being opinionated though. Usually I try to err on the positive side of situations in hopes of giving others hope.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Way to go , Lee! No you are not being too harsh.
One of the things I love about your blog/newsletter is the fact that it’s honest. You exhibit a passion for what you believe in and that is a very attractive characteristic.
When will people realise that honesty is always the best policy? It’s just so much easier to remember the truth!!
April 11th, 2008 at 4:02 am
Hi Lee,
Couldn’t agree with you more. What people need to know is that they do not need to be an expert to earn money online.
We can be a friend sharing what we learn as we proceed. Just like when I started, I do not know what is an autoresponder but as I move on, I learn more and more and now I can share with people what is an autoresponder.
Just share with sincerity and I am sure people will trust you and buy from you. Be real.
Do not compromise integrity in exchange for money is what I want to bring across.
Hope this help.
John Tan
April 11th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Great stuff mate! The problem with a lot of these “experts” is that far too many of the general public BELIEVE that they are doing/saying the right thing, and get led up the proverbial garden path.
But that is the nature of the ‘net… People are basically looking for quick fixes, and when they find someone who says what they think they want to hear… well, you know the rest!
People who want to get into marketing online should understand the correct sequences and step-by-step processes and research that you MUST go through FIRST long before you go grab a domain name, whack up a web site, and attract lots of traffic!
Otherwise you are totally wasting your energy, time and money, as you head off down the garden path to online failure!
Stephen Spry
April 12th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Hello!
1) Lee you aren’t to harsh. You are right to the point. But you have to admit that the habit to show off is so deep implanted in Internet Marketing at all levels, it is not going away easily.
2) If you are a beginner those days it is very hard to get in. If you right your first eBook, how you will publish this? You don’t have 20 pages of testimonials of big name, because nobody knows you and trust you yet. Other example. In 2007, I had a list which was small. I had an eBook to offer for free and I was waiting an event to jump in. I got an offer coming from a guru to participate to his giveaway, after I read the requirements and I had a headache. The “guru” was so arrogant and the conditions were so harsh, it was impossible to participate. You had to lie or gave up. I gave up and my list is still short. And so and so.
3) Also there are a category of people who read a lot and know a lot, they have tons of materials to talk about, but this didn’t mean that they are experts and make a lot of money. If they tell you what they know, without lying about how much they make, I think it is OK.
I don’t make any excuses now for anybody; I just lay down some facts.
One reason I had to sign up to your intern program was to find ways to solve this problem, to get in without lying, this is a legitimate crisis on Internet Marketing now and I cannot see the solution. The big gurus a too arrogant, they are the first to lie a lot because they tell you how much money they make without to tell you there expenses and subtract them, this is just a small example.
Regards
Michaela
April 12th, 2008 at 3:28 am
Lee,
You are filled with such youthful exuberance and positive energy - and possessed with such passion & skill in the art of teaching.
Please don’t let these charlatans rent any more space in your head for free…theirs is a lonely existence.
With deepest gratitude & sincere respect,
Deb Corning
“Commit2It”
April 12th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Why to go, Lee. I wish there were more honest folks like you out in the internet world. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge, you are a wonderful teacher!
April 13th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Lee,
You are so right about the amount of rubbish that gets passed off as “expert advice”.
The problem of course isn’t limited to online business though.
I have been in sales for many years and have been appalled at the lack of integrity that pervades the whole business world.
The call centre staff given scripts that they believe are the truth, yet which are blatant lies.
The home improvement reps given samples that are nothing like the product actually being fitted.
I could go on and on…..
How refreshing it is to come across someone like yourself that actually cares about helping others.
Your Intern program is a stroke of genius. You get a team of highly motivated people promoting your business for nothing, and we get to see the nitty gritty of how it is all done.
Truly a win win situation. Thank you
Nick
PS I have always heard it said If you can, do it, if you can’t, teach! Guess you are the exception!