Hey everyone, I’m reporting live from Rarotonga in the South Pacific. It’s a nice place! Details on Monday. But first, I have an important message from our sponsor.
(Yes, that would be me. There are no sponsors.)
The Important Message
The title of this post is deliberately provocative. First of all, I know that marketers are people too, and most people are marketers of one kind or another.
But when I talk about hating marketers, you probably know what kind of marketers I’m talking about. I’m talking about car salesmen marketers who play on our emotions to get our money.
Anyway, here’s the deal. I’m proud to say that 279 Days is still kicking ass. It’s going all over the world, literally – a Chinese and Spanish translation are both on the way from two volunteers. I’ve lost track of all the people who have told me about the new blogs they’ve started by following the model. I wish them a huge hard-working success, and I’m tremendously excited for everyone who has applied some of the lessons.
However, during the big launch week, I received an email that I found profoundly disturbing.
It’s not what you’re thinking – the message wasn’t from a vampire. The writer wasn’t criticizing me, at least not directly. He even said I was “awesome” – but instead of feeling happy, I felt sad in a way that I couldn’t precisely identify… at first.
Here it is:
Chris,
I don’t mean to sound silly, coy, or to pry, but why do you not have people opt-in to receive your manifesto?
You’d be building an email list of followers who’ll eventually turn into customers, clients, etc.
You are sitting on a goldmine here far beyond what’s being tapped now. Why not make this a monthly membership program with a call-to-action, $49 or $97 a month.
And your income will probably be 10x what you estimate for 2009 if you play your cards right…
You are doing awesomely great dude!
Where do you want to take this?
John
P.S. The value is in that list of followers. And not just on twitter but your email list which you have cleverly disguised as “small army”.
Make the email opt-in obvious. Put it in the upper right like everyone else. Even if you just use it to gift ideas… But eventually you can use it to sell your stuff and the stuff of others.
Because we are all so busy with information EVERY FREAKING DAY you need a strategy to stay in touch with folks if they don’t buy the first time…
I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t know – but do this stuff man – do it now.
OK, I’m out…
It took me a while to figure out why I was so disturbed by John’s message. As I said, it wasn’t a direct criticism, and if you’re not familiar with internet marketing, you might miss some of the nuance in what John is writing about. Later that night as I went for a run in the park before dinner, though, I realized why I was so troubled.
The way that John sees the world is all about manipulating people.
See, the approach outlined in John’s email is defined by scarcity. According to the scarcity perspective, you all are my prospects. I’m trying to convert you to customers. If I get your money, I win. If not, either I’m doing something wrong or you suck.
Well — that is precisely the OPPOSITE of what I believe.
As John alludes to in the end, I do know how internet marketing works. I know where you are supposed to put the email form; I know how to use scarcity to increase sales.
I just prefer to operate from a perspective of abundance. Freely give, freely receive. Why force people to join a list before reading my work? Some of them would resent that, and the commitment level of the others would be pretty weak. Why inspire people with something and then tell them that they need to pay me each month to “really” get what I have to say?
Yes, I call my network a small army – but this is not a “clever disguise.” It’s the real deal. I spend hours every day building relationships with people. Many of them are in India or Africa and will never give me a dime. That’s OK with me.
The Money-Making Side of Things
I’m sorry to pick on John – he is far from alone in thinking this way. The problem is that this attitude runs directly counter to what I believe and why I started this project to begin with.
Ironically (or not), I actually have a pretty high conversion rate when I sell products. With the Working for Yourself guide, it’s about 4-5%. If you’re in marketing, you know how high that is – if not, 1% is usually a base number.
But even with a high conversion rate, that still means 95% of people don’t buy. I don’t view this wide majority as “prospects” who have failed to convert into customers. They are doing cool stuff, probably don’t need anything I sell, and I am honored for the chance to connect with them.
That’s what disturbed me so much about the message – realizing that to many people like John, building a community is all about building a cash machine.
I’m not an evangelist, and I realize that I probably can’t change anyone’s mind about anything. Someone asked recently, “How can you convince someone that your opinion is right?” I’ll write more about this later, but there’s an easy answer: you don’t. If your business model relies on convincing, I think you have a uphill battle ahead of you. Instead of convincing people who are opposed to your message, spend your time finding people who are already predisposed to it.
Trust and Money
By the way, you want to know something? I think I’ll do just fine without John’s tactics. Here’s another email I really enjoyed. This one came from Joel, in New Zealand by way of Canada. Joel had just bought something from me, and here’s what he had to say:
Thanks Chris!
This is the first information product I have ever purchased. It took a step of faith to make the purchase:
A) my grandmother wasted a fortune on mail-in sweepstakes, so I’ve been raised to be thrifty and suspicious of being suckered by strangers. (And your pitch is the opposite of smarmy. Here I am.)
B) I’ve already quit the job and flown from my home in Canada to stay with family in New Zealand. There ain’t no money coming in for the time being. So this expense is an investment in a new life.
I don’t need to tell you that the future looks bright. It’s nice to know it.
Best,
Joel
Check out Joel’s second paragraph:
“It took a step of faith…”
This was a highly emotional decision for Joel. To earn $39 is relatively easy. To earn someone’s trust, well, that takes some work.
“This is the first information product I have ever purchased…”
Obviously he had been pitched before. I’m not the only guy on the block. But when he read about this offer, something clicked.
Product Launch Update
Speaking of products and salesmanship in general, I’m coming out with two new products over the next month. I’m excited about them, and I know they will help many people. The first one is called the Unconventional Guide to Art and Money. After a few delays to make it better, the launch is coming up very soon. (Yikes – we have a lot to do to get ready! Time to wrap this up.)
But first, I had to talk about marketing and explain where I stand. My stance is, treat people with dignity and respect. Take the high road and give up money if necessary. In some circles, sorry to say, this is an unconventional perspective.
Then, of course, do the good kind of marketing that people don’t hate at all.
This kind of marketing provides clear solutions to stated needs. According to this perspective, if you have a need I can meet, I don’t need to force you to join my list (you’d join on your own); I don’t need to auto-bill you each month (you’d be happy to pay).
I don’t like to debate by email, and besides, I get a lot of mail. I wrote back to John, short and sweet:
Hi John,
Freely give, freely receive.
Best,
CG
John wrote me back with more things I was doing wrong. He told me to save his email address and write him in 10 years to let him know what happened. I guess the implication is that I’ll be sorry then, he’ll have been proved right, whatever. (Yeah, I know – at that point I just hit the archive button. Life’s too short.)
No thanks, man. Who knows what will be happening in 10 years, but I suspect in some form I’ll be busy keeping up with everyone else out there. Every day I hear from more great people all over the world, including plenty of places where PayPal is not accepted. Good things are on the way; the future is bright.
Most importantly, wherever you are, I’m honored that you care about what I have to say. No cash machine, auto-billing, or email opt-in required.
Thanks for reading.
###
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Used Car Salesman Image by TexasEagle
May 22, 2009
Brooke Thomas
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Thank you for writing this post. I teach wellness providers how to grow their practices, and I’m always fighting gravity with the dreaded “M” word (we need a new word!). Posts like these go a loooong way to dismantling some of the ‘used car salesman’ icky-ness that follows the word around.
I just discovered your site a month ago and I’ve been so joyful to find someone working with such integrity and transparency. Thank you.
Brooke
May 22, 2009
Beth
Your post obviously has stirred up an interesting number of viewpoints. “Different strokes for different folks” is my opinion of it. I have no problem at all with the way John chooses to do internet marketing, or the way you choose to do it either. (The Can-Spam Act is one reason people use John’s way.) Relationship marketing, building “small armies or tribes”, and soft-sell techniques all have their place, whereas shove it down their throats,pushy, unethical ones do not ever belong .
One of the things that I want to add to this conversation is that there is no shame in wanting to earn an honest living on the internet by building a list of loyal people who appreciate what you do. Many people who use John’s techniques offer a lot of valuable free content in addition to what they have available for purchase. “Free tastes” or samples have always been a great marketing technique. Following your passion to share your expertise with others is a wonderful thing, and should bring not only fulfillment, but monetary and other rewards and recognition as well. Wealthy people are most often the ones who can make the most difference in this world! They have the time to volunteer, are the most able to provide free services to help those less fortunate, employ people in our world’s struggling economy, can finance the “dreams of others”, improve the quality of life of so many others, donate money to causes and people, and so much more.
Money is just paper. It’s what it is used for which makes the difference. Lack of money causes so many problems in this world. All this response is coming from myself as someone who is in the process of radically changing their life from being overwhelmed by debt to making plans to create great wealth in both monetary and other ways. I am about to start an online and offline business in which I can help as many people as possible, create the lifestyle I choose, and earn as much as possible so I can donate my time,talents, and assets to others in numerous ways.
The internet is probably the greatest invention in my lifetime. What we do with it has the power to transcend lives. There is no “correct way” to market products and run a business on the internet- there is room for people with all styles, just as our planet is full of people of all races and personalities. I am so blessed and grateful by the diversity of it all, and thrilled to be alive at such an exciting time. Thank you for reading and pondering what I have written.
May 22, 2009
Kirsten
I was just reading about Value Pricing on Rise of the Innerpreneur, then I went to follow that author, Tara Joyce, on Twitter and I saw that she was recommending this article. So much to think about.
I struggle with selling and pricing – thinking about it is something I have to force myself to do. I am beginning to understand that these struggles are the product of scarcity thinking. The idea of abundance (in and of itself – not just around business) is a paradigm shift – and not just for me or the discussion here wouldn’t be nearly as much fun as it is.
Thanks for stirring things up! Swirling in a sea of business models, paradigms, and hard-wired mental/cultural programming.
May 22, 2009
Janet Goldstein
Lots of great food for thought, that inspires this long response:
1) We all need income and I’ve found that thinking about money and where it’s coming from can make our work, projects, and creative energies much clearer and more exciting. Am I really doing this for the creative passion… for getting the word out… for building a tribe/list… Is it what my people need and is it better than other offerings available? The more passionate I feel about a project or idea (or a friend’s project or idea) the more I want to shout about it, promote it, sell it. (And it’s OK to tell people how they can–easily–buy or engage with that thing, idea, or service!)
2. I think of marketing as planful, organized outreach, or amplified outreach. One approach is the closed-kimono, black-box direct selling (Sonia’s Two Tribes post on Copyblogger–and see her response above which I almost missed); another is orchestrated launching of ideas (that often starts with the seeding and soft pitch of an idea); another is a speaking tour; etc. etc. Email lists, like corporations, are neither good or bad, positive or negative. It’s all about the choices of human beings. (And for publishers it’s a shorthand they understand for a person’s following.)
3. FYI, As a book person, my biggest buggaboo, successful as it sometimes is, is the “Amazon book launch” model with tons and tons of free give-aways” if you order the book. I hate to think of books as medicine that people swallow in order to get all the other downloads and freebies.
Thanks, j
May 22, 2009
Annie Infinite
You could have spoken words directly out of my mouth and heart. I totally agree with you, marketing is not about grabbing onto people with a scarcity mindset. It is all about giving value, creating trust and relationships so that people will be your friends in business. This is our marketing model and boy is it working!
May 22, 2009
Eric S. Mueller
Chris, I finally got around to reading this post. I have to admit up front that before commenting, I don’t have time to read most of the 102 comments in front of mine so I’m sorry if I echo or repeat anything already said.
I stumbled across your blog by accident. I’ve been following for several weeks now. I can’t say you have any more money directly in your pocket because of me, but I also want to say that your blog and life are interesting and I eagerly follow your details and try to learn from the experiences that you share. I think that my mind is just a little bit richer because of your perspective and your free giving. I really do appreciate it.
I highly doubt I would follow if you started charging. There are tons of blogs that are interesting that run on memberships. I have no idea if any of them are worth it, but to me, $45 or more a month just isn’t worth it to follow a blog. I’m especially distrustful of those that give a “taste” for free of the paid content. I’ve paid for memberships before and found that I could have pieced together most of the paid content without a whole lot of work from what was freely available. Even those that don’t give free samples I still wonder if the value of the membership really is worth it to me.
I’ll be happy to see you keep doing what you’re doing. I’m a firm believer in abundance mentality as well. Life is not a zero sum pie, where if you get a bigger slice there’s less for me. Giving creates giving and everybody is better off for it. Thanks for what you’ve done. You have no idea what seeds you could be planting now that will sprout later.
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May 22, 2009
Mayapearl
I love what you have to say about marketing, I am very new at all this and it is refreshing to see that someone is not just in to make us all into suckers. I subscribe to a few newsletters and my inbox is flooded with offers to “buy now”, “exclusive deals” and various pricey and not always very helpful ways to learn about marketing.
One marketeer, in frustration at not selling even posted a twitter comment calling all of us non buyers “time wasters”, needless to say I unsubscribed! It is just like going to the shops and browsing, eventually you find what you want but you are more likely to buy from a friendly face.
Thank you
Maya
May 22, 2009
Kelly
I just subscribed to your updates and this was the 2nd that arrived in my email, but the 1st I actually read!
It couldn’t have come at a better time. My sister and I have been attending personal and business development courses over the past year and although we agree with their principles and their strategies we found it hard to maintain our integrity when looking to put some affiliate links on our blog.
I understand their point of view from a business perspective and a money making perspective, but where’s the love and abundance in that. Yes, by having more money you can help more people, but at what cost to your integrity, sanity, health, lifestyle?
I’m a pretty big believer in the idea of ‘BEING’ rather than ‘DOING’. ‘Be’ who you are 100% and take appropriate steps towards continual growth and the rest will fall in place. Success is only what you percieve it to be individually…not what the mainstream has indicated for us.
Thank you for sharing your conversations.
Much love,
Kelly
May 22, 2009
Lisa Sellman
Again, I find such enlightenment from your writings. I have found with my own two businesses that I run, when I focus too much energy on only making money, it is almost as if I am not serving the energy of the Universe and what happens to me is a struggle putting the correct words together, or plan in action, or both. When I focus on the enlightenment and the gifts of service I can give other people, the abundance the universe sends back to me is immeasurable. Yes we need an income to live but that income varies for every human. I have found in life, we adjust to whatever income we receive to where often we think, I need to make more money. Remember the first job you had? You thought it was so much money, you could not believe how rich you were. It was an amazing feeling. My first job was in 1985 at a grocery store in Dell Rapids, South Dakota. I was 14 at the time and was working as a cashier on Saturday afternoons when I did not have volleyball tournaments. I made $3.50/hour. I was wealthier than the Queen of England, Oprah, and everyone on the Forbes List of the Richest People in the World. I have had many jobs since then. I am now 37 and have earned up to $80 in certain career positions in an hour but it no longer matters to me that number which is a logical, human, left brain concept. The feeling of gratitude, abundance, love and greatfulness is the only identity I now have. When I meet a new person in my life, I do not ask how can I make money off this person. I have to admit, I have thought that way at certain low points of my life. Now, any person that comes into my life, I open my heart with heart cohesiveness, smile of their essense, send out my love to them, give them eternal blessings, and with all the intention of my soul pass to them my essense of being. I say to myself, and only to myself the words that they will never hear, but only feel from me in every sense of my being, “I love you. You are a perfect being. Every moment I have been in this form has lead me up to the greatest experience the universe has prepared me for which is to meet you. I honor you with your wisdom. How may I serve you?”
I thank you, Chris, for bringing so many people together via your writings. You are creating a phenomenon that is unstoppable! To the history books and beyond – Excelsior!
May 23, 2009
Christine McDougall
Hi Chris,
I love your thinking and I am right with you. I spent 6 months trolling the internet finding so many snake oil salesmen it made my stomach turn. Seduction of the most covert kind.
I love your site because of the honesty and refusal to play the small and scarce game. I have always believed it is the only way to live life..hold firm to giving, abundance, integrity.
Go non conformists and positive deviants…yeh!!
thanks for creating such a magnificent example,
warmly,
Christine
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May 23, 2009
Steve
Chris,
I truly, truly appreciate your view on this.
Not all riches are gold. I guess that’s a lesson some learn, and some don’t.
God bless. Keep it up.
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May 23, 2009
Uriah Guilford
Hey Chris,
Just wanted to shoot you a comment and say that I am a new reader enjoying what you have to say. You have opened me up to some other interesting people as well and for that I wanted to thank you. You are inspiring in a refreshing sort of way. Keep it up.
Uriah Guilford
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May 23, 2009
Kerry Z
Right ON!
My business partner and I are just getting started and are very sympatico with your writings and values. Keep it up. I look forward to getting your newsletter and updates. I usually end up unsubscribing to most newsletters, but yours, never.
Kerry
May 23, 2009
Brook
Chris, interesting take on things. I just quit my job to travel around and get into amazing adventures, and have been following your posts. I am also trying to earn enough to support a perpetual journey, but have no desire to harass readers with marketing tactics. I’ll be trying out some different means that leave my subscribers alone!
Brook
May 23, 2009
Ken
“Instead of convincing people who are opposed to your message, spend your time finding people who are already predisposed to it.”
Amen. Some people keep telling me that they don’t think I’ll be able to convince anyone with my new business. And I tell them that there are enough people that see my point and like the concept of what I’m doing that all I need to do is cast my net wide…
May 23, 2009
Nathan Hangen
Wow, what a great post…even the comments are awesome. Quite a few noticeable personalities hanging around these parts!
I don’t really know how I feel about the actual content of the post, as finding a middle road is something I’ve been struggling with over the past several months.
There are good things to be said for what Sonia and Naomi are doing and I really admire the “free” approach, but I’m still testing the water on both ends.
One of the reasons I stopped hanging out in the IM communities is that I continually took a beating for taking this exact stance. I don’t see what the rush to make gobs and gobs of money is really…sure, I like money just as much as the next person, but I’m trying to carefully wade my way to the perfect life, and I can’t get there if I lose sight of what is really important to me.
Sure, I offer my free eBooks with an email address in exchange, but that is only because I want to try and keep people around. I don’t think collecting email addresses necessarily means you are going to pitch the hell out of them, but I know it happens far too often.
Information wants to be free, as we all know, so soon this forced opt-in model will lose the effectiveness it has now, if it hasn’t started to already. Luckily, people recognize rock stars when they see them, which is why people keep returning here.
In this age of relationship marketing, people are looking for people that they can trust time and time again, not just until they hand over their cash. I’m looking forward to being part of this army and someday becoming general of my own.
Great work Chris.
May 23, 2009
Chris
Hey, it’s me again! Thank you all so much for the feedback; there is so much value in your response. I probably have 50+ additional comments and trackbacks that we haven’t yet gone through.
@Sonia (WAY up there),
Thank you for sharing that. I don’t think our views are that far apart – in this post I was far more concerned with the attitude behind the email than the specific tactics he mentioned.
As others have pointed out, I am a marketer too and have no objection to email lists per se; instead, I object to the concept that a community exists primarily to provide income for its leader.
Thanks, @Nathan, for providing a good synthesis of the issue thus far.
And now, I need to write the update for tomorrow. Happy weekend, everyone…
May 23, 2009
chris marx
You’re unique. Stay that way!
People who are different are going to be challenged and tell you you’re wrong.
Personally, you’re one of my favorite bloggers to read. I’m learning a lot from the way you do business.
Thank you!
Chris
May 23, 2009
Sonia Simone
Yah, I agree, I think we’re probably pretty similar in how we see things!
May 24, 2009
Carlos Rodriguez
Hey Chris, you have heard it many times already, but that was awesome. We need more people like you out there. By the way, your blog is the only one I have delivered to my mail.
Keep it up my friend!
May 24, 2009
Deb
Thank you Chris – for sharing that with us. There should be more people out there sharing those stories with the world! Although I am sure you are dragging them out from the wood work. “Success” is NOT measured by how much money you have. I wonder when people “truly” will get this!
thanks again
Deb
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May 24, 2009
Benjamin Jenks
Chris,
I really enjoyed the article. Everytime I read your posts I feel centered again and rejuvenated to continue my mission. Thanks!
Ben.
May 24, 2009
Michael
Two words. Paradigm Shift.
Chris, I am not sure if you are inventing something here, or simply in touch, deeply in touch with a a new unfoldment of how us humans connect and create.
One of the things I have loved, loved, loved is in your “marketing” materials you always write the reasons NOT to buy your product. It adds so much credibility to your offering. In fact, it is so powerful that this morning as I sit beside the Li River in Yangshuo, China drinking coffee and working on the website for the new clinic that will open next month in St Louis (got to love that location independent perspective on life!) I am going to add a section on “reasons you should seek out me out for acupuncture.”
This is going to be fun!
Michael
May 25, 2009
Venus
I am abundantly grateful to you.
I just started my business (Family Healing Institute) last year. Studied w/all the internet marketing gurus. Then chose to de-program myself and find marketing strategies that reflected my belief in abundance and generosity.
Between your site, Zen Habits, and Barbara Winter, I finally feel like I’ve found my true marketing gurus. You remind me that I’m okay – that I’m right to base my business on giving more than on getting.
Thank you a thousand times!
Venus
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May 25, 2009
Genesis
Excellent post! I like earning money, but not at other people`s expense, so I would never make a good marketer in the traditional sense. My idea has always been to help people and if they like what I offer, they`ll be interested in buying my products. Glad to see I`m not the only one.
May 25, 2009
miguel_k
I hope to have your work ethics, specially since I’m working with people who just don’t get it. The truth, is so easy to go over to the dark side…
What’s really ironic it’s that your approach makes more sense. It’s what separates good products form remarkable ones…over and over again.
By the way, I’m in the 95% that’s not ready to purchase one of your products (yet), so I truly appreciate what you just give away.
May 25, 2009
Luis Jasso
All I have to say is that you rock! and YES the future is bright.
May 26, 2009
Genevieve
Awesome post Chris thanks so much for putting it out there.
Doing the right thing in regards to people has so many rewards I often wonder why so few people do it! Glad to hear there’s a few who have moved to that way of thinking. Very thought provoking.
May 26, 2009
Neil Matthews
131 comments at this point in time, you really struck a chord, but frankly I am a bit upset there is no yellow highlighted YOU MUST BUY BEFORE 10 PM OR I WON’T sell copy on your site –
I found when I cut the cr@p from my services page to, here is what I do and it costs X, sales went up, people don’t need the high pressure, nonsense expoused by internet marketers be a real person behind your website, don’t try to manipulate and provide and excellent service or product and the right people will buy from you.
May 26, 2009
John Chang
There’s a certain irony that the other guy is named “John” because in some ways I’ve bought into some of the same typical Internet Marketing pitch.. about building lists.. sales funnel.. etc., so that you can get them to buy stuff from you.
My struggle has been that..
..on the one hand, like @Sonia Simone points out, there’s some truth to what these guru’s say – i.e. yes, building systems does help you to head in the direction of the Four Hour Work Week (FHWW) – (which to me is about cutting out B.S. and getting down to the essentials of a non-deferred life plan..)
On the other hand, I totally agree with you that it does come down to 2 basic mindsets – scarcity vs. abundance.
I seem to be trapped in one of scarcity. Even though I’ve done affirmations & meditations and so on.. in the end our bank account reflects the bottom line of our thoughts, habits, actions.
Well, I’ve shared a bit about my family background with Chris – how in a lot of ways I’m still a fish out of water and struggling to overcome my environment.
Meanwhile, it’s been great to connect with Chris and other folks like Nora Dunn, just like my military experiences, reaching out and sharing the journey together helps us to realize that we’re not so alone.
One of the main ideas that I’ve been reflecting on is how when we try to do things against our nature we stumble again & again..
The other is “what is my unique offering?” What value do I alone bring to the table? ..or in marketing terms “what is my USP?”
Recently, I came across Sir Ken Robinson’s The Element. What struck me is how we need to “fail forward fast” – that I’m a product of our education system, which teaches that failure is a fate worse than death.
When in reality, just like a child has to stumble before it can walk.. the dancer must trip before they fly.. life, too, is “a dance we learn as we go.”
So, while I don’t subscribe to John’s preachings, I do know where it comes from. Likewise I was told by my last firm that either it was either her way (cold calling) or the highway – and I just couldn’t subject others to treatment that I didn’t like myself. So I left.
Yet, while I’ve gotten quite a bit of business, things still aren’t flowing. Sure, I could blame the economy like so many people, but then that doesn’t address the real cause of the symptom.. finding my niche – what is the deep need that I am best qualified to fulfill?
Just thought I’d offer some of my own contributions to this conversation..
The “Other” John
May 27, 2009
Andrew
Thank you.
May 27, 2009
Sinead
Hey Chris
Have to say that this is the first blog post I have ever left a comment for, but something in your post just moved me and made me run for the comment box … I am building a membership site at the moment and have made Module 1 (out of 6) free so that people can text the material and see if they trust me. Was going to use the standard – opt in – method before people can access the material and then you post made me re-think.
I am in the business of the arts (the course is about theatre) and the industry is all about reputation and trust – if people like what they see they should come back for more .. food for thought indeed.
Keep up the fantastic work Chris – never have I enjoyed a site more than yours – you are an inspiration to me and many others.
Sinead
x
May 29, 2009
Catherine
Chris,
One definition google gives the word market is: the customers for a particular product or service. I feel you understand your target market very well (I include myself in it) and is the reason I continue freely receiving what you freely give. I really respect and agree with what you are doing, so, for that reason, I will be more inclined to remember and purchase your products in the future when the need arises.
Keep it up and thanks for sharing,
Catherine
p.s. What was that guy trying to sell you?
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May 31, 2009
Lisa Call
Thanks for the post.
I’ve been told without the big flashy newletter signup page with a freebie on my artist website I’m not converting enough prospects, etc etc.
Your writing helped clarify my discomfort with that mindset and as I redesign my website I’m going to keep on doing things my way. Much more low key than the stuff that turns me off I see all over the place out there on the web.
Personally I think I do just fine being authentic and sell a lot of my art via my website/twitter – so pretty sure I don’t need to change that.
Just bought your art and money info product and it looks great. I’m putting together a community for artists that think big and this will be an excellent resource for them. It’ll be a while before I launch and am excited to already have the first resource to point them to.
Thanks again,
Lisa
June 27, 2009
emily-sarah
The thing that’s so disturbing about so many companies is that it’s all about (building) a fake “relationship.” It really isn’t this way with every company (although it seems to affect a lot of the bigger ones), but aggressive/bad/inauthentic marketing practices are a little like the old-fashioned false prophets — you’ve really gotta keep your guard up because if you listen too long, they can charm you … or scare you to death (and then you’ll convert!). Thanks for all you share with us!
July 1, 2009
ace
“I just prefer to operate from a perspective of abundance. Freely give, freely receive.”
I like that and I wish that more marketers would operate like that.
July 16, 2009
e
Yes! *This* is abundance thinking and it will make you just as rich or more so than the gold-diggers. At least, that is my modus operandus: not only to provide well for myself and others, but to live my belief that there are two ways to heavenly abundance and well-being: through the commercial hell of hardcore gorilla marketing or by adjusting my perspective to basically, as you’ve put it so succinctly: “give freely *and* receive freely”, with gratitude for the opportunity I have to experience BOTH.
Thanks ( lol, this is funny): for being available to receive my money in exchange for sharing your knowledge base with me from a pure place in the heart. Whew…(huge sigh of relief)! I feel like some sort of evolutionary benchmark has been acheived for mankind.
May money and love flow into your life from this place of abundance and truth. And thank you.
July 20, 2009
Nicolas
Values are changing, the new world is at the door. Thanks for sharing Chris!
Nicolas
July 21, 2009
Dolores
Chris keep rocking the world!!You really inspire us, help us understand that giving with generosity is the path to receive what you need and even more than you expected. Sharing our thoughts and knowledge we CAN ROCK THE WORLD, build a better one. Step by step.
September 3, 2009
Peter
Great worldview, great path you’ve set your life on… don’t change a thing! I hope we cross paths when I set sail a year from now…
Peter
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September 7, 2009
patrick christensen
Chris keep on thinking clearly. I am a net marketer, good or bad, but my thinking is closely followed by my mentor. No pressure, nothing to sell unless you ask. We put the “pressure” on those who come to us to “think for yourself”. That kind of thinking is what I see here. Dude, it will change the world. Having people take one small step in the right direction is thinking BIG.