Learning direct response marketing with AdWords isn’t unlike learning to play the piano.
(Glenn’s nephew, Benjamin Richman – 6 years old, playing “Ballade”)
You may sense the power of pay per click marketing, … you may have a sense of learning something grand, … you may realize that if you’ll only stick with it and continue practicing there will come a point where profits come more effortlessly, … indeed, where successful marketing copy flies from your fingers like music flows from Tchaikovsky, Miles Davis, or Geddy Lee.
Why is it we don’t give ourselves the lattitude and respect these greats gave themselves in years of practice to perfect their crafts?
Why is it we don’t forgive ourselves our early mistakes, and expect it will take the same level of dedication which we’ve seen time and again are required across every other arena of life to achieve something truly excellent?
Could it be because it’s so profitable for marketing educators to tell us how easy it is? To perpetuate the illusion you can extract value without giving value, that one can casually dip into the internet marketing pool and pull out an electronic fortune without ever talking to a customer?
Everything worthwhile takes practice.
Every journey worth taking has obstacles.
Every person worth knowing has struggled.
Every mountain worth climbing is an adventure frought with BOTH pain and excitement, sorrow and joy.
And every “next level” you strive for in your ppc marketing / internet marketing career … whether it’s your first dollar, your first million, or your first $10M will present the same.
Most of you know what I’ve been through to get where I am. (Lost $2M in a giant blunder, recovered from near bankruptcy, a very serious car accident, Lyme Disease, and chronic migraines for almost a decade before emerging victorious, 100% healthy, and debt free)
What you don’t know is what I go through to get where I’m going (building a fast growing full service online agency with 15 employees at last count, constantly adjusting and correcting course, managing over 15,000 past customers and even more people on my prospect lists, continually putting out content, dealing with all the interpersonal conflicts, time management, constant changes on the internet, technological challenges, joint ventures, conflicting financial interests, the continual necessity to take care of my own nutrition, sleep, and exercise, planning my marketing calendar, responding to unexpected opportunities, putting out fires, avoiding distraction, etc).
Why do I do it? I mean, I could easily get a cozy little job as a professor in some college town, work a few years for tenure (I’m good at publishing academic stuff), and live a relatively stress free life. I don’t have children, I don’t really spend much money to speak of on material things (have a modestly nice house and I drive a 3 year old Honda Oddysey which is totally dominated by my dogs and hiking clothes) … there aren’t any college bills to pay, and my wife loves generating her own income.
So I don’t HAVE TO do this.
But I love it. THIS is the mountain I want to climb. It’s MY mountain.
By and large I DO do exactly what I want to do, when I want to do it. No one tells me what to talk about, who to serve, or where to be. The money is good, but the life is better.
I’m completely in charge and surrounded by people I love.
Now, here’s something in your way which you probably don’t realize is in your way …
And his name is Sigmund Freud.
While Freud was definitely a man with something to say, entirely too much was made of the Oedipus conflict, and because he was influential in American and European culture, it distracted us from what’s really important in life, and made possible a kind of perverted notion which marketers profit off of called “the internet lifestyle”.
I’m not saying Freud was wrong …OK, there was this dude who wound up sleeping with his mother, killing his father, and he couldn’t live with himself. Incestual strivings create problems … I get it. (Before anyone accuses me of denial, let me just say my Mom is TOTALLY HOT ).
But there’s a MUCH BETTER STORY we can look to for a model of the good life … it’s the story of ODYSSEUS … dude lived a life full of adventure, and in his old age he was surrounded by friends and loved ones who could gather round and share common stories of vitality and purpose.
That’s where I’m going.
I hope you’ll join me.
Because the naked truth is, every step of the way there will definitely be new skills to learn, new challenges to overcome, and new pains to struggle with.
I’ll be brave enough to forgive myself for the inevitable mistakes I’ll make, and I’ll have the fortitude to keep practicing every step of the way.
Will you?
(Glenn’s nephew, Benjamin Richman – 6 years old, playing “Light and Blue”)
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
As both a composer and internet marketer, this post really hit home. Thanks for the extra motivation
You (&/ Sharon) might be amused by Margaret Atwood’s novel, ‘The Penelopiad’ – a reworking of the Odysseus story from the point of view of his wife.
By the way, I’m still wondering about something I commented on in an earlier post. If it’s crucial for getting more accurate survey responses to survey people while they’re searching (i.e. after clicking on a PPC ad), what do you do when you ask people on a customer/prospect list or from a forum to take a survey? They’re not mid-search. Hopefully they would be interested in what your selling (or even ‘hyper-responsive’) and thus give more informed answers than people just selected because they have similar demographics to your target market (like a typical focus group). But not being mid-search, their mental processing and the language they use to report that processing would still be inaccurate, perhaps crucially so. Any ways of improving that accuracy…? Luckily we don’t need to be accurate enough to shoot through 12 axe heads – don’t know how many sigmas that is!
Wonderful post!
I absolutely HATE the whole “Internet Lifestyle” movement in this industry.
The ones who imply it is easy to succeed, charge too much for their products, run their own cliques, tell you you must give to charity, say the quality of your products doesn’t matter, make you think if you’re not jumping out of airplanes or riding monster trucks that you’re boring.
And the list could go on and on.
It’s a business and it takes time to build it up, to improve it and grow it. It’s challenging and difficult. But the process, in and of itself, is worth it and I love it.
Some people want to do Internet Marketing as little as possible in order to enable other “adventures” etc. But I see Internet Marketing as an “adventure” in itself and find it perverse the way so much bad information is being taught in this Industry and all the Big Boys go around running stupid “launches” and slapping each other on the back.
I’d rather make money everyday like clockwork than have to round up “JV Partners” to do launches.
Guys like Glenn, Perry and a few others provide that rare glimmer of light that is becoming harder and harder to find in Internet Marketing.
Glenn,
It’s great to see someone talking about the ‘challenge’ of business and not about the ‘quick fix silver bullet’ that will magically deliver a 6 figure income to you in 2 months … without you even having to think!
As Henry Ford said -”Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it”
For me, it’s the challenge and the obstacles that make online business fun – it’s not the easy niches where you have few competitors that get me excited but the ones where it’s a challenge to be profitable.
And once you have enough money for necessities – business becomes (in my opinion) is the greatest game there is, with success being measure not only in money but in how many people you’re able to help or affect in a positive manner.
My thought for the day,
Suneel
Glenn -
Another great article. A great refocuser, if there is such a word. It reminded me of why I do what I’m doing and the long term view of enjoying every minute of it.
Thanks
Sorry, Glenn. I didn’t actually read a word of the post. I just watched Benjamin, open-mouthed at his poise and talent. Holy cow, that kid is going places! What a beautiful interpretation, and phenomenal technical skill!
Thanks for sharing!
Howie