A few weeks ago I saw a rather amusing meme that explains the utter futility of arguing on social media (back when I bothered), or with trolls on my list, or anywhere else.<\/p>\n
Especially about showing them any stats, numbers, analytics, etc.<\/p>\n
The meme went like this:<\/p>\n
Study 3 years for degree.<\/strong>
\nStudy 3 more for PhD.<\/strong>
\nJoin lab, start working.<\/strong>
\nSpend years studying problem.<\/strong>
\nForm hypothesis, gather evidence.<\/strong>
\nTest hypothesis, form conclusions.<\/strong>
\nReport findings, clear peer review.<\/strong>
\nFindings published, reported in press.<\/strong><\/p>\nGuy on internet: \u201cBullshit.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Some more thoughts:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the exact same with people up in the marketing world who have spent many years figuring out, testing, experimenting, and honing a way of doing things, only to teach it and then get naysayed by a bunch of newbies and goo-roo fanboys who aren’t even qualified to pour water out of a boot, much less comment on such matters. In fact, I remember many years ago Sean D\u2019Souza giving a talk at one of Ken McCarthy\u2019s System Seminars about his sequential selling and consumption model of marketing \u2014 which is almost the exact opposite of a lot of what people were doing, teaching, and selling at that time especially.<\/p>\n
Still is in many ways.<\/p>\n
And yet, the naysayers just couldn\u2019t help themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s your stats & numbers proving this works!\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Sean\u2019s answer:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t use analytics or any of that and I don\u2019t have any data \u2014 I started out as a cartoonist and I moved to marketing and this has allowed us to take 3 vacations per year, buy houses, travel, do all the things we really wanted to do. We earn more money than we need.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
My experience:<\/p>\n
When people clamor for stats & analytics, tests, etc they aren\u2019t looking for truth.<\/p>\n
If they were, they\u2019d simply test out whatever they are asking about.<\/p>\n
Which is always ironic.<\/p>\n
Because for people \u2014 i.e., so-called internet marketers \u2014 whose only answer to every question is \u201ctest!\u201d they don\u2019t seem want to test much.<\/p>\n
More:<\/p>\n
I got a question from a newbie lately that was similar.<\/p>\n
He asked:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems you avoid talking what what your profit per month per lead is, whys that? I know its because you will be inaccuratley jugged but im still quite curious. Its like the guy who teaches game but doesn’t show his girls.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I literally have no idea what my profit per month per lead is.<\/p>\n
Nor do I care.<\/p>\n
If I was paying for traffic I probably would, but I don’t.<\/p>\n
So I look at my sales and see how they trend over time.<\/p>\n
And I also find talking about numbers turns on the derelicts on my list who I like to avoid.<\/p>\n
(The low information types who get excited over fake photoshopped bank statements, etc)<\/p>\n
But, sometimes I break that rule of not showing my numbers.<\/p>\n
Like I did last Summer during our BerserkerMail launch:<\/p>\n
To show the pointlessness of constantly obsessing over \u201copen rates\u201d I posted a screenshot in my SocialLair of my open rates during an 8 week time frame along with another screenshot of my shoppingcart with my sales over that time \u2014 showing my exact gross sales broken down by product.<\/p>\n
The results were something like $217k in sales with lowly 13% open rates.<\/p>\n
You could buy a decent house in some neighborhoods with that.<\/p>\n
Maybe not guru numbers claiming to be $900 million copywriters or whatever.<\/p>\n
But my business gets by…<\/p>\n
Plus, I am not even counting the sales from my software companies & coaching program (Learnistic, BerserkerMail, SocialLair, and Profit Pirates – which ain’t exactly chicken feed), sales from one of my licensed offers, Kindle book sales, affiliate campaigns, etc. And yet I still had some people since then clamoring for more test results, tracking, etc.<\/p>\n
And that was a reminder of this truism:<\/p>\n
Not only can you not fix stupid, but stupid people are never convinced anyway.<\/p>\n
So why bother?<\/p>\n
As for the newbie’s PUA analogy:<\/p>\n
I post testimonials all the time.<\/p>\n
Every month.<\/p>\n
Probably more often than I need to.<\/p>\n
And unless they ask me not to name them, you can look them up.<\/p>\n
Even ask them yourself to verify.<\/p>\n
Thus, his game analogy was as silly as saying Fonzy surrounded by multiple girls while walking out of Al\u2019s on a Friday night sucks at picking up chicks because he doesn\u2019t give field reports in a Yahoo group talking about his exact ratio of picks ups vs rejections, money spent, and how many dates until he gets the average woman he pursues in bed, etc.<\/p>\n
Anyway, lots in this email for the discerning marketer to pick out.<\/p>\n
But probably not so much for the goo-roo fanboy reading this.<\/p>\n
Although, as I say a lot, I don\u2019t know why those mopes are on my list at all.<\/p>\n
Nothing I can say or do will help them.<\/p>\n
As for the the grownups?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what my Email Players newsletter is for.<\/p>\n
Something you can read more about here:<\/p>\n