I was only just now looking on Facebook, and I saw this:-

I was a bit shocked to see this on such a popular site to be honest (I was surprised that Facebook ran it.); although it does, in a way, back up my earlier article The Accidental Experiment – Prejudice Towards Bloggers? – But there is a difference; a difference in many respects, a number of differences. – You see not all internet marketers are gurus: I’m not really a guru yet. Maybe one day I’ll become one; maybe not? – And then there are 2 types of guru: Those who sell and scarper, and those who guide and nurture. – before we go into that though; let’s just take another look at the ad.

‘First thing you see is “IM Gurus Exposed!”. If people don’t already have a personalised stereotypical view of internet marketers then this will help the average non-business-orientated internet-user to develop one. Under the picture we read the text: “The Gurus have been robbing you blind for years…” : Stereotypical distrust now attained in those ignorant of internet marketing. Thanks very much. – Now any and every internet marketer is liable to be viewed by the more-gullible and less-educated sections of society as some kind of shifty character, spiv, con-artist, as a “Jack-the-lad” type, out to make themselves a fast buck and run off with the loot. – Great: Thanks for the image boost!

“For the first time ever I am going to expose and reveal all the guru’s marketing lies” – Yeah why not rub salt into the wound after heaping burning coals on it? As I said earlier; there are 2 types of guru: Those who sell and scarper, and those who guide and nurture. Those who sell and scarper are the ones with the iffy product: Some totally-unknown marketer advertises on a minor website, plastered with ads: “Try out this new “whatever” course for only $17.99 investment and discover the secrets of how YOU can make a fortune…blah.”

- Secrets? – There are no secrets! – Making money involves only common-sense, determination, acumen, and knowledge. Once the customer has paid their $17.99, as have hundreds of other customers lured into this trap for the unwary, the sell and scarper guru sends them Part 1 of the course and is never heard of again; having vanished with thousands of dollars of other people’s money.

Then there are the guide and nurture gurus: these are gurus who have genuinely achieved guru status; who have made it by learning the hard way, possibly spending many dollars and many hours doing so. Having done so they have learned, invested time and effort, and generated their investment back with interest. – These self-made success-stories want to share their success with you, and they will literally guide and nurture you to success following their example…

Back to the Facebook ad I saw; which appears to set out to destroy all credibility of even the most honest and ethical marketing gurus. – I clicked on the ad. I was taken to a rather badly-written squeeze-page which enticed me into a sales-funnel: The person who wrote this negative ad with its destructively-inductive message is… An internet marketer! – And from the way this campaign is executed you might get the drift that the person in question is a sell-and-scarper guru? Oh the irony!

In conclusion, all I can say is beware of negative ad campaigns such as this one; especially if they appear on Facebook or similar sites: You might just find that the marketer/guru behind the campaign suddenly vanishes with your first payment and is never heard of again. -?