The Death Of… Everything?
November 13, 2006
First it was the Death of AdSense, which was shown to be bunk. Now it's the "Death of Internet Marketing". Only this time it's a very well known and well respected marketer saying so, Mike Filsaime.
If you're sweating and worrying, don't. Park the Hearse, and don't freak out. Mike's a good marketer, and he used a catchy headline that would get people to download his report, but the title is just a scare tactic. One that frankly I think should have been different, because it's seems to me to be very misleading.
Despite all of the "it's free" stuff going around, Mike's report is a product, just a different kind, which I'll talk about in a second.
What's In The Report Is Nothing New
Mike's report says simply this: there's a lot more people creating products for the Internet Marketing audience than there used to be, and so it's time to expand out into other arenas.
That's it. That's really the whole substance of the 59 pages of the report. If you're marketing any kind of product other than Internet Marketing products, the report doesn't apply to you at all.
To call that "the death of internet marketing" is like saying McDonalds should have closed their doors when Burger King and Sonic came along. And yet McDonalds is a multi-billion dollar business even now. (Maybe I should write a report called "the death of fast food"? I mean, look at all the competition–it must be doomed!)
That said, I do recommend that you download the report, as it has some good information in it about effective marketing versus efficient marketing. Just don't take the title seriously, and certainly don't stop working because of all of the nay-saying in the report. Just focus on the gems of information.
The Report Sounds a Little Whiney
To be completely honest, the report sounds a little whiney (sorry Mike). It basically reads like this:
"Oh, us poor gurus who used to make a million dollars with one product launch! Woe is us! Now we're only earning $100,000 per launch because there are other people in the market who know what they're doing too! And shucks, we actually have to do extra work to get that $100,000!"
It's Business As Usual
Just a few years ago there were only half a dozen big names in the Internet Marketing world, it's true. Those marketers did their job well and their products taught a lot of people how to do things right, and now there are dozens of well-known IM people creating great products for that Internet Marketing audience. So yes, competition is making it harder to be on top.
But that's just business, isn't it? Did McDonalds think they would be the only fast-food burger joint forever? Did Kleenex think they would be the only people who made tissue? Or Coca Cola the only soda?
When this inevitably happens (and it happens in every emerging successful market), what do you do?
You make your products better. You set yourself apart from the crowd. You advertise more. You study your conversion rates to see what's maximizing your sales (which Mike encourages you to do in the report, and gives some great ideas on how to do it). You do what any brick and mortar business has to do to survive in a competitive market: you work smarter.
Does that mean more work? Yes. Lower profit margins? Yes. Bankruptcy? Hardly.
(Oh, and another thing the report fails to mention is that along with the increase in gurus and products there has been a huge increase in the number of people looking to earn a living online! So the market is growing as well, even if if the guru-to-customer ratio is increasing.)
It's Been A Great Year
Despite all of the nay-saying that goes on in that report about how bad this year has been for product launches, 2006 has been my best year for my products! Why? Because I try to set my products apart. I try to make them better than the rest, easier to use, or stand out in some other way.
Also, and this is a big one I think, I actually send useful information to my list in between product recommendations! I've noticed that since I've been doing that some of the people I receive information from (who I happen to know are on my list) have begun to do the same.
I've always thought it was obvious that you shouldn't bombard people with product after product without giving good training and education in between. I guess not everybody realized that.
Why I Am Calling This Free Report A Product
So if the report is free, why do I say that it's still a product? Because it's clear to me that Mike is prepping the Internet Marketing audience for something to come.
Here's my theory:
[Start Theory]
Mike knew that if he, Mike Filsaime, marketer-extraordinaire, created a report with a scary title and offered $1 for every person who downloaded the report, that all of the names that mattered would immediately email their huge lists about it. In a week, 9 out of 10 people in the Internet Marketing world will have read the report.
So now 90% of people who matter have read about how they need to start switching gears and selling to other markets as well. And everyone who downloaded the report is now on a list where he will no doubt continue to emphasize that same point again and again.
In his report Mike mentions that he already has some new product ideas for 2007. I wonder if any of those products will help people who were working in the Internet Marketing sector to branch out… ?
[End Theory]
It was brilliant really. Mike has leveraged a huge audience into his list where I believe he will launch "the next big thing" at some point.
Knowing Mike, whatever that "thing" is it will be top quality stuff, but I know better than to think that a guru like Mike would do anything that didn't have dollars floating around behind it somewhere. And he surely wouldn't pay $1 per download of the report if he didn't plan on cashing in on it in the end.
Oh, and when that next big thing comes out, who do you think will be buying it? You got it–internet marketers. You know, those people in that "dead market"?
Summing It All Up
Overall, it's worth reading the report. Just don't take the doom and gloom stuff too seriously.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, I get $1 if you download it from that link. Why not? If Mike's going to give me a buck for sending you to get a report I'd have sent you to anyway, I'll take him up on it. I run a business too, you know. 
Comments
21 Responses to “The Death Of… Everything?”
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Jonathan Leger has been earning his living online full-time since the fall of 2004. He regularly posts advice about search engine optimization (his current passion), AdSense and Internet Marketing. He is the creator of a suite of popular software tools, including: Jonathan L Leger 
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Brilliant article! That took "guts" to write but I applaud you for it and it raised my respect for you immensely.
We have had enough "doom and gloom" for awhile … especially when it is not merited. Thanks for calling "a spade a spade."
You have my vote next time you come out with a product. Would that more people had the character to be honest with the truth.
Thanks for the vote of confidence David. I'm rather tired of the doom and gloom myself, especially in a market that is ripe for profits!
Jonathan,
I appreciate this post. Mike had me thinking that all the time, money, and energy I put into my business was all going to waste.
Well said. Funny that I didn't even download the report and would have suspected all the way what you have concluded.
I get now weekly, if not daily joint ventures request with something "that changes the Internet forever".
DUH!
Scare tactics.
The mind of the LAW OF ATTRACTION states
that successful people stay in the realm of the creative and not the competitive.
Hi Jonathan, I enjoyed reading your post re Mikes doom and gloom, Mike is a past master at playing the Shepherd and follow the herd buzz, bet they all still fall for it though. regards Pete
Hey Jon,
It is Mo here. I don't know if you remember me…
In some ways I agree with your post. In essence, I don't care how successful you are in Internet Marketing, paying $1 per subscriber or up to $50,000 total, there has to be an alterior motive. Not many people are going to just lay that kind of cash out without the prospect of making more than that back!
I would have to agree with Mike's point on quality vs. quantity though. He has some very valid points. It was a very thought invoking report (product).
Mo:
I agree with you on Mike's points about quality versus quantity (which he calls effectiveness versus efficiency). That's why I made a comment about that in my article.
Thanks for the comment!
Jonathan,
I am happy to hear you be so straight forward about this article. That said let me tell you where I am coming from on the matter. I have totally lost respect for a lot of these "gurus" lately. I know that alot of wise people say if you find a succesful role model or successful campaign, follow it and you will be successful, but this is ridiculous. Death this and death that. Frankly so quickly after the whole "death of adsense" campaign I just find this "copycating". I am tired of being inandated with people pushing this at me. I spent a good deal of time last night removing my name from a lot of lists. I even got an email titled "the death of Mike Filsaime", I find that disgusting. They really need to find a better way of putting their so called "get em headlines". I wanted to state to all these pushers that I have had enough and I am sure I am not alone, they have stopped teaching as you do and they just push others product that is just copycat after copycat. They have lost my business, and yes I have spent several thousands of dollars over the past year, so I am a good customer. Sorry, but this needed to be said, and if I could find a good forum where I thought they would listen, I would be shouting it from the roof tops. Thank you for the opportunity to vent.
That Mike F. may be an Internet Master Mind, but not necessarily a Prophet!
My reaction to the message about his report was what I normally do with with most messages - delete.
Then my friends start sending me forwards like a virus - No thanks, I said.
But thank you for taking the time to read it. Now I have an idea of what's is is all about. Much-Ad-About Nothing! Except for what Mike has up his sleeves Next.
Hi Jonathan, thanks for a great article.
I mean, are the so called techniques than are lernt out by the "gurus" supposed to apply only to "the marketing of products of internet marketing"? What about the other 99,9% of internet business that is not about internet marketing? I´ve been subscribing to some mail lists from some "gurus" for a while, and you could see a long time ago that the market was going to be saturated. But they are talking about 0.1% (or much less) of the whole internet market turnover. I will definitely unsubscribe all lists but this one!
Excellent review. Very fair and balanced. The criticisms are justified, but you've also praised Mike where he deserves it. Nice job!
Thanks for clearing that up and being so real!
Its like every day I get some new internet marketing next big thing and its starting to get tired.
So thanks for saving me the trouble of reading the report. Unfortunately I had downloaded from one of the 100 internet marketers that email me. Otherwise I would've gladly downloaded it from you.
Keep up the good work.
Eddy
You are so right Jonathan, I make more money by concentrating and staying focussed on building my 5-10 sites a day.
There is so much money in this business that is laying on the table, because everybody is getting side tracked by all those launches that only put money in the smart marketers pockets
Everybody seems to forget that Mike Filsaime started all this marketing hype with his OTO script!
So stay focussed, unsubscribe from 90% of the mailing list, search keywords, build sites, add content and ads, give good products and support, drive traffic and the $$$ will come!
Cheers,
Bert
Nice post Jonathan. I guess your comments would apply to "The Death of Adsense" as well, as I figure Mike's efforts are basically modelled after that…
Although many of the top gurus claim that there's no future in internet marketing niche, it's only partly true. If you have a general product on internet marketing, it's ddefinately going to be tough.
But there are many smaller "micro-niche" markets as well in the intenret marketing niche, and there's a lot of money to be made here. I'm sure you understand what I mean, as most of your products are micro-targetted as well…
Hi Jonathan
Thank you for reviewing that report and giving your honest opinion. You know, I have to admit that between all of the people the I would rather get emails from, it would be you and John Jonas because you guys are not scared to come out with the truth. I am so sick and tired of all the hype that eventually needs to nothing in any case.
Lots of people (I am one of them!) suffer from information overload - there are just too many products out there (of which most of them are on my computer!) that I just don't have the vaguest idea what to do with - I wouldn't know where to start because I have too many!
I am also sick and tired of being bombarded by emails for the sole purpose of being introduced to a new product. Where are the days where people tried to make friends with you first
Now it's jump in and right off the bat try to sell me something.
I know it's not New Year yet but I have made a resolution that I am going to start sticking to today - unsubscribe from all the people who are just wanting to know me for my credit card. And I am going to start figuring out what to do with all the products on my computer before I download another free one - unless it's exceptionally good
Thank you for your honest comments, and also thank you for your amazing products. I bought the Article Wizard from you and though I had problems trying to run it, you worked almost night and day to solve the problem for me and THAT is the kind of guy I would rather give my money too
Keep it up!
Blessings
Joan
Nice article Jonathan. I agree Mike's probably prepping the market for new products in 2007. But also, he included a link to butterfly marketing at the end of the report. I guess it's possible that with the 'butterfly' effect taken in to account, new leads are worth more than $1 to him? In which case, that's very good going! If not, that link will certainly take the edge of the cost of distributing the report.
By the way, I agree with the sentiment about product launch overload. I own Jeff Walker's Product Launch Formula and it's amazing, no question, and I'll be putting it to use in other markets…
But I've had to unsubsribe from so many lists recently, it's been all 'launch' and no content. Great work on keeping the content coming in between promotions. Everyone else seems to be burning their lists…
Yes, IM is dead. If we are speaking about IM niche.
And many of marketing techniques as well. Let us see.
1. Email marketing is dead. You subscribe to 100s newsletters. And what you see? Tuesday comes, and you receive 100s of letters. All of them are screaming: Buy, Buy, Buy!.. Buy product X, Buy product X, Buy product X! Yes, it is their work. But it is not easier for me. And I want to unsubscribe all those so called newsletters. And many people like me.
2. All these ebooks. There are too many of them. You prepare an ebook with your affiliate links. And how many people click your links? Zilch, zero, nada! Because you ebooks are collecting e-dust and never be opened. People have no time and energy to read them. I know that, and you know. So ebooks are dead.
3. If there launched some product, how many IMarketers gives you an adequate info about it? All of them are crying: Buy, Buy, and Buy! Because all of them expected some affiliate cash from it. So endorsements are dead!
4. How many IMarketers give you a real info about IM? Their purpose is not your knowledge growing. They want you know exactly so much about it in order to buy much more. And it’s all. They are teaching you pure crap in order you become a lifetime cash cow. Maybe you’ll bankrupt. Never mind, newbies will coming. So coaching is also dead.
And you can continue my list. Yes, IM is really dead. All of you know that. But some of us are lying. Why? You know!
Alexander:
1. Email marketing has been working great for me. Every time I send an email out to my list about a product I recommend, I make money.
It's all in how you do it.
2. Ebooks are still selling like hot-cakes. As long as there is good information to be had, people will buy it.
There are literally millions of books in print, and yet people still buy millions of copies of them every year. The same continues to be true with ebooks.
3. Endorsements are not dead. As I stated in point #1, my endorsements earn me money every time.
What's dead are endorsements without facts to back them up, and email lists that are nothing but sales pitches.
4. I give real information to my list, which is why your points #1, #2 and #3 are all incorrect if you try to apply them to me.
IM is not dead. It's a live and well.
I'd love to see some actual facts and statistics that back up what you're saying? Because my own experience (and that of many others) is proving all 4 of your points wrong.
Thank you for your response, Jonathan.
What I’ve said not referenced you personally. But I was speaking about IM niche in a whole.
And in a whole what I’ve said is true. You want facts? The facts are here. Now I’m unsubscribing from 50% of “newsletters” that I receiving. And this process will be continued. I have very many megs of ebooks on my hard drive. There are many really good among them. But I still have no time to read them. Not only free, but some I’ve bought. And I know, you also.
There are plenty of articles in the internet which are nothing but pure junk. Blinds are trying to lead blinds. I do not mention you, but you know the situation. All these e-courses which are nothing but time wasting.
Maybe your endorsements are honest. But how many shameless endorsements are there in the internet? Who knows?
And many people are realizing the situation. But I have one question more. Why some “gurus” don’t like the statement that “IM is dead”? I think they like the recent state of affairs and they want to milk IM newbies from now on and forever. Filsaime is clever marketer and he realizes that now the whole situation becomes wrong. Personally I have seen this before his report. But he corroborated my suppositions.
Alexander:
All of the bogus information going around is typical in any market. There will always be junk, and it has to be filtered through.
That's where I think people can really do well in IM–show the facts, teach from your own experience, and share that information (good and bad). That's been working very well for me.
I don't like the statement "IM is dead" for the same reason I don't like the statement "the sky is green"–it's simply not true. IM is far from dead.
Perhaps you've gotten overwhelmed with the amount of information out there, but that doesn't mean that all of it is bogus and none of it works.
hi,
Thanks for the comments on the report they are much appreciated. It s good to hear an honest revue of a product.
I agree with you I don't think IM is dead, for a start there will always be newbies trying to set set themselves up as a business on the internet. And therefor looking for help and advice. And those not so new who are still yet to make a reasonable buck online.
I also understand where Alexander is coming from in his posts. I too have various courses ebooks and tools sitting on my hard drive. That I do not have time to read or or when I go to use the tools I don't appreciate how I should be using them, because I downloade it a while ago and cannot remember the context for using the tool.
Quote
"Perhaps you've gotten overwhelmed with the amount of information out there, but that doesn't mean that all of it is bogus and none of it works."
I agree that there are good ebooks out there, but how do I and others know which ones are quality and value? With out having to read all the dross. Using the 80%/20% rule 80% of ebooks are either poor quality, out of date or just product advertisements. Whilst the other 20% that may be of some use are mixed in with the 80% of the crap.
I too am taking my name off lots of lists because of sell, sell, sell mentality of an awful lot of marketers, who claim they were going to help me.
What particularly gets my goat is when I receive 6-8 emails some slightly altered but most just taken as is (i.e. the same email and content) to try and sell me the same product.
The death of IM is a case in point.
I also tend to click the back button whenever I see a web site with all the usual suspects (guru's) lining up to say how great this product or that product is (sometimes even before it's launched) ready to line their pockets.
If these products are so good and are going to make me a five or six figure income. Why do I have to pay up front? you don't go into a restaurant and pay for your meal until after you have eaten it and are happy with the quality and taste.
Like a restaurant when you buy from the internet you do not know what you are chewing off until you have tasted it, which in most cases by then is too late they have already had your money (remember these things stack up on your hard drive because you do not have time to read them straight away! why because we are too busy looking at the next product that is promised to make money or help me). Unlike a book shop where you can browse a book you may be interested in before buying. Or you buy a book because of a recommendation from some one you trust. However, on the internet, you are just a name on an automated list, admittedly made to look personal, but the whole object of the list is to sell any old thing that comes along to anyone on that list, that will buy.
Sorry if I have gone on a bit but I am suffering from information overload. I am easily distracted with all the various stuff on the internet. Even writing this now, I was originally going to build a web page but I thought I'll just read my email, followed an interesting link and lo and behold an hour later here I am writing this and not done anything towards creating a web page that might earn me some money. And that was just one email!!!
I think I need to stop looking at my email first, cut out the subscriptions that do not give me any content to help me. Flick through my ebooks and courses that I already have and just pick one that looks as if it will offer me some quality advice focus on it and then take some action on the content.
Its the only way I can see myself moving forward, but then the worry is will I miss out on the next strategy to help build my current nearly none existent business? I think that we should forget keeping up and just get started building a small business and then grow it step by step.