Internet Marketing: Analysis/insight/opinions/comments/views

Its possible that they converge on similar things because they work. Not that every rube in the forums has done this, but they may ape the techniques of the top people, who certainly could have actually tested this stuff. My friend used to work at a record label that had a TV-based direct marketing arm, and they would A/B test every little variation of the commercials. You know the kind of commercials: they show a scrolling list of songs over some crappy old video, every fourth or fifth song is yellow and you hear a snippet of that one. The thing that sticks with me is at the very end of the commercial, when the screen turns blue and they have the phone number on there, they tested all sorts of different final phrases like "Operators are standing by!" or "Order today!". They also tested them with different voice actors. The big winner was an authoritative male voice going "DO IT NOW!" I never saw any of those commercials but its hilarious to imagine. Someone all bleery-eyed at 3am when the crappy direct spots come on. Its a :30 for "The Bakersfield Sound: Essential Collection". 'Hmmm, I do like Merle Haggard but sixty bucks?' "DO IT NOW!" In a trancelike state, our hero lifts the receiver and begins dialing...and its Miller time for the 'DO IT NOW' guy. Ha ha ha, He thinks. Still got it.

Try searching hacker news: http://news.ycombinator.com/ Try http://searchyc.com/internet+marketing, it's folks that are very smart/technical but focused on web startups. The various marketing techniques or scams have been discussed at times in detail, the forum is managed closely so the discussions stay focused and on topic. I'm sure a focused query after you've filtered through previous discussions would be taken seriously, but it's a very informed crowd so read up substantially first.

[few links in the original post removed - post needs to pass the smell test and not look like internet marketing itself, feel free to put those links in your profile, thanks]

I'm a marketer. I also work in information product publishing as a side business. These people use strategies and techniques that work for *their* target markets. That being said, most of this stuff is old school, repackaged for a new market. This stuff was going on in the late 1800s. As for calling this "Internet Marketing", I personally think it's a name they've hijacked. Most marketers would not call what they do "Internet marketing". I think they might call it information product sales of prepackaged sales and marketing pipeline templates!

You asked for views, so I'm going to give them. Internet Marketing (no quotes needed) is internet cancer. Email marketing is spam. Affiliate marketing is ponzi schemes. All that these things do is take your money and provide no value in return. Even if you think you'll end up on the side of taking people's money rather than being taken, you're still creating nothing of value. Your only friends will be other people who run similar scams, because everyone else will have lost respect for you. Don't be fooled by the way they dress this stuff up in language. Writing a blog post about something you are in a position to know about is creating something of value. Cooking a good meal or fixing someone's car is doing something of value. Buying and selling email lists and leads and engaging in affiliate schemes is not creating anything of value. It's siphoning off resources that would otherwise be used to create something of value. It consumes resources and gives nothing back in return. It's a cancer.

Here's the thing about any kind of legitimate marketing on the Internet (a subject I'm going to call Real Internet Marketing). First, Real Internet Marketing is hard but it looks easy. Everyone thinks they already know how to do it - it's just like the stuff they do on Facebook anyway. It's not. It takes time, energy, and a lot of thought to get right. Second, tactics alone are useless. All those things you list above (affiliate marketing, list building, and eBooks) are tactics. They are fine tactics in the broader context of a Real Internet Marketing strategy, but alone they amount to nothing. The people in those links look like they are trying to combine the "it's so simple" aspect of Internet marketing with old-fashioned "make money fast" schemes. You need to separate those two elements, but once you do the truth becomes clear: teach down on their luck people how to make money fast using this easy approach to something that's really complicated.

Any more views on this? I'd like to hear as many different opinions from as many different people as possible (including those inside, and outside the sector) for my research. Some excellent responses so far.

Worked for an online affiliate marketing company for a bit. The opt-in bit is a joke, and everyone working in the industry knows it. I don't really know where the data (that's what we called lists) came from, but we hit them early and often, then just removed them once they got tired. As far as I could figure, the key was volume, low complaint rates (ie people clicking "this is spam"), and rigorous A/B testing of the actual messages. Basically, it's a numbers game. If you like, you can meMail me with any specific questions.

I'd like as many views as possible, but also analysis and insight is much appreciated. Thank you for your contributions. I'd like to know more about the methods commonly used in "Internet Marketing" (What about PPC, Drop Shipping,Social Media Marketing) so I can build a definitive list and also I'd like to know who the true leaders in the field are again so I can build a definitive list. As http://www.metafilter.com/user/83864 mentioned above, it is hard to distinguish between those who are completely fake, and those who are being more realistic and have identifiable, legitimate companies. It would also be interesting to learn more about the darker side of Internet Marketing - the black hat techniques. Than you, once again.