During your planning, learning and research phase, you will have been exposed to large numbers of internet marketers, all peddling their own particular ‘secret’, ‘wonder method’ via emails, webinars, and coaching courses. Pretty soon you will be able to recognize and categorize the different personal styles and marketing strategies.
One common marketing strategy is where several high profile marketing, so-called Gurus, create networks (exclusive clubs) of people (usually men) who are all affiliate linking with each other, promoting each other, and their products. ALL of them, are trying to get you to part with a percentage of your hard earned cash for a course, or a set of DVDs, or an e-book. They tend to hunt in packs.
Not everyone does this, but it’s very common. These networks tend to include similar types of people, with similar personal styles. Some people, and marketing styles, you will be able to tolerate (just), a few you will value and respect, and others you will hate – believe me.
Here are some of my specific pet hates:
Hate No 1. Viral Marketing
Viral Marketing, or PLR, is a particularly noxious type of Marketing – that’s just my opinion from what I have seen of it. PLR stands for Private Label Rights: you buy some product or content, such as an ebook, for a small price, and you can then legally resell it as if it is your own product.
The result is, that the same product is then circulated, recycled and recirculated by anyone and everyone who has ever ‘bought’ it, in order to on-sell it. That doesn’t sound so bad….but wait…it’s what happens next that will drive you crazy.
If you have given your email address to someone who is using Viral Marketing as their marketing model, you will suddenly find, you are getting inundated with dozens of emails a day, from many different people that you’ve never heard of, but all sending you to the same video link, or webinar, or special ‘Get It While It’s Hot’, ebook.
By all means, check out this sort of marketing to see how it works, but be prepared. Recognize it for what it is, and pull the plug by unsubscribing from all of their lists, once you understand how it’s supposed to work.
I haven’t tried doing this type of marketing myself, but I reckon that if you are the person selling the product TO all these on-selling people, you are likely to be making more money than the recyclers ever will.
Personally, if someone is promising to change my life for $7, I don’t believe them. And if they are making squillions of dollars a month, why are they wasting their time, trying to flog me a course or DVD’s for peanuts? Basically, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t get bamboozled by all the fuss and fizz of Viral Marketing. My advice is to use some other marketing technique for your internet empire business model, and give Viral Marketing a miss.
Hate No 2. The Aggressive Personal Style
Some people (I have no idea why) like marketing coaches to be high powered, aggressive, and loud. These salesmen (always men) 
behave as if they have overdosed on steroids, plus enough stimulants to power a truck.
I suppose they are kidding themselves that you will think they are virile, successful, go-getters. They must be believing that you will envy and/or admire them so much, that you will hand over your money for whatever it is, they are promoting (selling). Well, sorry, guys – that doesn’t work for me!
You know the ones: the video kicks in and your ears are assaulted by very loud dramatic music, quickly followed by someone who behaves as if he (it’s always a he) has been prodded with an electrified cattle prod (a favorite Aussie toy 
), and they suddenly leap into hyperactive action and start yelling at you. I can’t stand that style myself.
Hate No 3. The Overly Empathic Personal Style
Another style I don’t like is the very ‘understanding’ style of coach who is always telling you how she (usually) knows how you feel, how you lack confidence, and knowledge, and feel inadequate, …”but, not to worry…. that’s perfectly ok, it’s understandable to feel like that, etc, etc”. Blah, Blah, Blah!
No! You don’t know how I feel, or you wouldn’t be feeding me this drivel! Just get on with it – please! I haven’t got all day!
Hate No 4. The People Who Want to Tell You Their Life Story
You know the ones! They promise to tell you their amazing, unique way of making millions if you follow their ‘secret’ system (for $7). So you follow their link to their video to check them out, and they say, ‘First, I’d like to tell you a little bit about myself’. Really? Do they think I care?
Do they think that their homey, guy or gal-next-door, friendly approach, will impress me? No! I’m not impressed! I don’t want to know about their rags to riches fairy tale. There’s a time and a place, but this definitely isn’t it.
What I do want to know is, what they are offering, and how much it costs. I want to decide if I will like them enough to follow their advice, or even part with some cash – based on the product they are promoting, and how they ‘come across’ as a person. That is what matters to me.
Marketing Styles I Do Like
I personally like the no-nonsense, straight to the point, no gimmicks, style of coach, mastermind, or guru. People who give you good information, no fuss, no bells and whistles. Who are they? Well, I don’t think they would thank me for adding their names to the end of a post with the title Marketing Styles That I Hate.
Besides, it would be a good marketing plan to first try to organize some sort of ‘arrangement’ with them, if I’m going to tell my dear readers who I think are the best guys around….and not all guys either…..3 guys, and one gal. One is from Australia, one from South Africa, one from Jamaica, and one from the States (the gal). Can you guess?
Hey, these are just my pet hates – everyone’s different!
How about you?
Do you like any of these styles? Send me a comment if you agree or disagree, or if you have your own pet hates. This is your license to Spit The Dummy (ancient Aussie saying) and tell the world
I love the straight forward no B.S method too.
Hi Dan, I couldn’t have put it better myself!
The thing I find disappointing, is that the B.S. method seems to fool/impress so many people.
And the really, really disappointing thing, is that it seems to sell tons of stuff as well, no matter what the real value of the product is.
This is fun to read Carol, though these kind of marketers are not really giving us fun. For me, marketing should be attractive to people, not disruptive. I like what you did here. It’s honest and direct to the point.
Hi Victorino, glad this was fun to read – it is fun to rant about it but at the time you experience these people it is not!
I once gave a huge blast in the Comment section of a well-known guy under the most amazingly awful, ego driven video he published, and several people chimed in with me – nothing worse than rebellion in your Comment’s Section – we had lots of fun amongst ourselves but some of us were zapped by the admin, never to be seen again! We got lots of Likes etc too.
I don’t normally recommend rebellious outbursts in general but this guy was a Big Cheese marketer, and I thought he could (should) be able to take it. Although his ego was so huge, he probably didn’t notice or care.