When I got into internet marketing I was told that you should learn to “model” successful people if you want to achieve a similar type of success. Admittedly, that always bothered me a bit. I’ve never been a follower. Instead, I’ve always preferred to blaze new trails and to discover things on my own.
However, I knew there were a ton of things I didn’t know about internet marketing and business so I kept an open mind to modeling and learned a vast amount about it. After I consumed a ton of info on modeling, I still chose to do my own thing instead. It never really sat right with me. I’d guess that is because there is so much bogus info about modeling. Most of it seemed like sheepish behavior and the idea of aping another persons actions or beliefs just seemed incredibly unauthentic to me.
I grew up as a hip hop emcee. To bite another rappers rhymes is about the worst crime one could commit in that industry. It’s ridiculous and would never be tolerated. So when I wanted to learn copywriting I was told to “swipe” successful letters from others. I tried this a few times, but it never made me feel that great about myself. My best converting letters were always when I wrote from the heart and just laid every truth out on paper.
I’m not entirely against modeling a person’s behavior or business because I do see it as a valid stepping stone for many. What I am against is blatant copying and not injecting a bit of your own authentic being into your work. Too many people that attempt to model or swipe from others appear cheesy, desperate and unsure of what they are really talking about.
The reason I decided to write this blog post is because I’ve experienced a handful of people trying to model my business or style on the internet. They’ve blatantly told me they are trying to model what I do on the web.
If you are at all interested in making more money in your business, I want to strongly caution you to not model the majority of what I do. The truth is, you may be sabotaging your business if you do. Believe it or not, I’ve been sabotaging my business for over 7 months. I barely do shit. I fuck off all the time. And I purposely create wedges and divisions to annoy people I don’t like so they will get the hell away from me.
Basically, I don’t give a rats ass about maximizing profits. And if you’re in business online you probably should care about this kind of stuff. Me, I don’t really care. My main motivator for being online is not money. It’s about doing whatever I feel like doing and being happy. Money is not what makes me happy. I learned how to create happiness way before the money ever came.
There are many things I do in my business that plummet profits. I sometimes drink too much. And I constantly promote things that have no message to market match. For instance, I’ve lost thousands of dollars trying to promote David Wolfe and raw food type of stuff to my list. The people who signed up for money making info don’t give a flying fuck about raw food, and the stats back that up. However, I’m concerned about these people and their health so I continue to promote because I care. If just a handful of people make some healthy decisions to make their lives better, I’m excited about that. More excited in fact than making a handful of money.
A couple weeks ago I tried to promote some “Going Green” product that I thought would mean a lot to people regardless of their business, religious or political beliefs. Boy was I wrong. That tanked too. The point here is, don’t promote things that are not aligned with the exact reason why people signed up. I’ve never seen it work.
The truth is, I knew it wasn’t going to work. But I did it anyway. And if you were to model my business you might think that ping ponging across the map of promotions was a good thing to do. Not at all. Don’t do it if you care about money.
Since I’ve been in this marketing game I’ve watched people copy, ape, swipe, model or blatantly steal a ton of my stuff. Even some of the biggest guru’s in the industry take my stuff and then try to peddle it off as if they were the pioneer. One of the most prominent marketers and multi million dollar earners around tried to claim he was the first to broadcast a full 24 hour show on Ustream.tv only 3 weeks after I had done the same thing. And he knew it, yet still claimed to be the pioneer. Really? Fucking retarded. Funny, that is the same guy that never paid me any of my commissions despite sending him nearly 1000 leads and about a dozen sales which somehow just vanished from thin air.
Another dude took my Video HiJacker stuff verbatim a few months ago and made damn near a half a million dollars. I wouldn’t of minded so much if I was just given credit, but it was incredibly lame how the whole thing was put together.
The bottom line is this, I have very little respect for blatant theft and copying. And it’s because of this I started running my business in a way that is suicide for others to copy. Seriously. Be careful trying to model the stuff I do because much of it does not work very well in terms of bringing in profit.
The truth is I should be making millions and millions of dollars. Fact of the matter is, I don’t. I screw off way too much, promote things that are not aligned with the true desire of my subscribers and I break just about every rule taught in marketing 101.
This is just a warning. Not everything I do works very well online. Sure, I make a ton of money and I’m living my dream life, but my dreams and aspirations are not always aligned with profit. If your concern is maximizing your profits and bottom line, you’d be a nutcase to model 80% of the things I do online.
My advice is to be true to yourself. Learn from your own experiences. Travel more. Hang out with more people. Do things outside your comfort zone. Feel others pain and learn how to empathize with their feelings. This marketing game is mostly about knowing things. Knowing people and knowing their true desires. The only way you are going to really know this stuff is to get out into the world and experience it. Book knowledge is only going to get you so far. It’s the real world stuff that is going to mold you into a being that people will want to listen to, not copying what successful people do.
People want to follow leaders, not cheerleaders.
Now get out there and make a difference. Your own difference.
Peace
Jason
PS: If I were to recommend any resource on modeling it would have to be the material provided from my buddy David Gordon. It’s not the easiest stuff to read or comprehend, but it’s probably the most in depth material to truly understand how to really model someone successfully. You can check out David’s stuff at… http://www.expandyourworld.net/
However, I’d rather see you work on your authentic self and let others model you.
I’m gonna start drinking too much!
Jason, great post here. This is so true-to inject a sense of your own personality into copy swipes, or any modeling, is crucial. No one else can really be Kern, or you or me. It’s all about creating something that wasn’t there before, and letting others find you.
YOU-not a copy of someone else.
Good thoughts.
-Lawton
Right on!! Stick to your guns. People respect you more. Just focus and you can have anything you want from life.
Well said Jason.
I have noticed that you have been sending non-congruent offers to your list and wondered how that was working for you. It’s not something that I have ever considered doing because I know that it would be a hard road if your desire is to make a lot of money online.
Your style is original and works for you, so keep on doing what you’re doing my friend.
Jay
P.S. I did see those promotions that you were talking about and thought they were familiar…
Yeah bro, I have sales ADHD.
Right On Muthafucka!
I totally see your point.
I think if we are totally honest though, there is very little absolutely cutting edge stuff when it comes to selling. Everything is stolen, swiped, laterally applied or modeled from somewhere else.
The basic components of sales, marketing, psychology and persuasion are the same as they have been for hundreds of years.
some of the technology may have evolved to give us more touch points, but the basic elements of connecting peoples needs, emotions and wallets to our products are hard wired.
its probably lack of confidence or faith that makes so many of us think we need to be someone else to be better.
Maybe im getting off track here, but you got me thinking.
What if the thing that makes all the same is how we are trying to be unique?
I’m going to copy your letter verbatim to my list. And sign it.
I’m going to wear the same clothes as you and follow you around.
J-MO,
I was very inspired by the use of F-Bombs in this post and was wondering if it would be ok if I use them in my next blog post. LMFAO!!!
And I know who you’re talking about and it just cracks me up when I see stuff like that happen.
Anyways, take it easy playa and I’ll catch you soon 🙂
– Jay D
Some nice commentary on blazing your own trail and the current state of the business, Jason. You have certainly done that.
We’ve been told for years to ‘take something that works already, and do it better’. Find niches with similar products already selling, see what those products don’t offer, and make your own that answers those questions. Don’t mess with ‘The Formula’–!
While that seems to work well, NEW products and solutions have to come from somewhere, too. If you keep following the herd, you can end up as an also-ran if you’re not careful.
Find what works first, sure – but then, branch out and be creative from there. It’s possible to be unique, AND successful, too.
Cheers,
Perry
That’s the best blog post I have read in quite awhile, and the best in YEARS in the ‘IM’ industry. Kudos bro!
I am so friggin sick of the ‘me too’ emails I get from the gurus on a weekly basis touting the latest thing as the ‘best sliced bread you’ve ever had’. And to be bluntly honest Jason, I feel like maybe you’ve done it a few times…sort of. Your messages usually seem a bit different and you don’t tout anything as the best ever. Thank you for that.
Your best messages are stuff like this.
You just helped me make up my mind about something…so thanks bro!
Ken
True words amigo!
It’s like when you hear some new rock bands trying to sound (sometimes even look) like say, Guns n Roses…
You just know it’s FALSE!
I’ve never wanted to be like anyone else except myself and I think people who copy/model others are just small brained little sheep.
I’m off for a bottle of wine!
Cheers
Love your honesty…it’s refreshing.
I’ve had similar push back from promoting super foods…good to know it’s not just me.
Now, I’m just left wondering who screwed you over on your commissions!? Hope it’s not who I think it is.
Great stuff.
Nice post.
I’ll try some honesty – I’ve been into bodybuilding (nothing huge, I’m 88kg) for a few years and spent lots of money on food, reading lots of scientific articles about ideal nutrition, so I kinda hate the whole health industry.
You simply can’t make much money out of “People, eat six small meals with fucking veggies, long carbs and some protein and stop eating crap”, so a lot of people fall into the moneytrap selling supplements and lots of other stuff that has never been proven to work, including “big guys” like Tony Robbins with his incredibly stupid “Energy frequency” that was debunked like 100 times.
Honestly, I hope that the stuff you promoted really does work and is not just a placebo. From what I’ve read about the whole raw food stuff, I didn’t believe in it, that’s why I opted out.
Opted back in a few months later because I think you’re a real guy and one of the few guys on my pretty short “People I’d like to hang out with for fun on a marketing event”-list.
Cheers,
Henry
Another great post Jason.
I’ve always appreciated your honesty and no BS style. When I met you at List Control, it was refreshing because you were exactly as you come across online…very chill and down to earth.
To many create this internet persona which doesn’t remotely align with who they actually are.
Those that stay true and are out to help, even if it may cost them some sales or fans, are the one’s I appreciate.
Hope your trip is going well.
Jason- I have read a few of your posts, and watched your Drunk/Vicoden latent Videos the last few days… I even read a post about George Bush/AIDS/Dating… I completely disagree with ALOT of the stuff you say, BUT I want to meet you…. WHY? You have PASSION for life and I completely appreciate someone who embraces every single moment! Keep staying true to your self and let your LIGHT shine on! Best, Brian-
Jason,Im still pissing my pants from the whiskey,vicoden, ,Fuck,you never lured a word,Ive seen you alot more cooked!!!!!!,But that works for you,and if you didnt have the money and brains to do the shit you do,you would not be able to, ! so Money does come into play,, sure you could quadruple easyiesly,just a guess,but,then you might not be you!!!!!!,, Keep up the jason we Know!!!!!!! Jack
SLURED!!!!!!!!!!A WORD, fuck i cant even type it.
Jack – you slur even when sober. =)
Hey man that was a sick post, I give u props from from up here in Canada Mr. Moffatt!
Rod
Jason, you gave me some advice about Frank Kern List Control which I took…
And it paid off – Thank You!
After seeing you on stage chugging brewski’s… WOW! You are the real deal.
My kind of guy. I learned more from watching you, then from the many thousands of dollars I wasted buying “money making” bulls**t programs.
Now I know exactly what to do.
Thank You.
Carl Willoughby
I don’t want to fake you out
Take or shake or forsake you out
I ain’t lookin’ for you to feel like me
See like me or be like me
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you
It’s really funny you mention this because my first online mentor, who I paid over $2k, told me I should rip off successful people online because that’s what worked for him. I thought that was the STUPIDEST thing anyone could do!
Sure you could get some ideas and learn how things work, but blatantly ripping people off is just pure laziness and won’t produce anything good… probably just a bunch of bad juju.
Thanks for writing about this, man. There are a lot of marketers who love to take the easy route to “success”.
Joe
Jason, Awesome post bro. I even think I know the actual Gooroo you were referring to if his first name rhymes with Bitch. Yeah man, I fail for the modeling crap in the beginning and it set me back several years making money online.
Now, I am taking my own bits and pieces of stuff that worked for me and mind mapping my own system.
I so agree, I am often baffled at the folks that do not even take time to change he to she (when they are clearly a chick and not a dude) or even leave in the experience piece with some dumb thing like I just started yesterday and the content is stolen and says “with my 4 years of experience” …
I always say – damn at least have some integrity in your lie! lol
t
Know yourself first and then be true to yourself.
Excellent post Jason.
Thank you.
Steve
P.S. And how bout this amazing weather in San Diego today? You’ve been gone but today is the first real summer weather we’ve had!
One of the best posts I have read since I joined your list Jason. Nicely done 😉 By the way, I recently met the guy who ripped your Video Hijacker and he is a complete ass, but I have a feeling you already know that. Keep on keeping on!
Good advice, I bought a surfboard and stepped up my drinking, but you are right my sales letter isn’t converting any better. I am not sure what the problem is, I am thinking about split testing some vicodin in the mix next week but we will see.
Just kidding of course, we love you man.
Stupendous Jason – loved the videos and this post is even better
Don’t think a lot of your list give a fuck about product congruency because they understand where you are coming from 😉
Peace & Love
P.S. David Wolfe is pretty damn awesome too
Thanks Man!
this was just the post I was looking for Don’t mind me taking it and stripping all credits and links do you? Don’t worry I will take full credit for it.
This is way too common and totally pisses me off also dude.
Always my best
thanks J-Mo. i appreciate your candidness and just you being you… and being real. if there is anything that i model from you, it is just that… being real. so thanks. keep it up.
take care.
addison
Great content as usual
Luckily I have a knack for spotting fuckwits and stay well clear. So mate, you can have a great day safe in the knowledge that you are NOT a fuckwit !!!
What is the one piece of advice you would give to any aspiring marketers who are in the process of trying to create their own products?
Hey JMO,
I dont even know what to write, there was so much I got out of your post. So much empathy that you have given me and several experiences which I have shared, even living on the other side of the globe (Australia) there is still people who do the things that have been done to you.
Its great that you promote things you believe in, even when you list doesnt want it. It shows that you truly do care.
At present I communicate with my lists with a Pen name and I am planning to share with them the true story of me and who I really am this week, while in San Diego. Reading your post gave me the push that I needed.
Cheers,
Mitch
What??? You mean I shouldn’t get an RV, a hot blonde, get some couch surfer to watch my dog, and go visit my buds all over the country? Oh wait… I already travel more than you do… I just don’t have my own dog! Yours is rad thought. Heck, taking him with me! To Seattle 🙂
I dig this post… Very Groucho Marx ” I don’t care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members ”
Reading this explains why so many more marketers are becoming alcoholics :p — the dudes that stole your shit…. Karma’s a bitch….. you can never escape it. Their business may fail, their balls may rot off…. or, most likely, someone they trust dearly will steal everything from them.
Which reminds me… you won’t believe the call I got today! But that’s a different topic for a different place.
Very polite to warn people though….
Well said Jason.
I watched parts of your 24 hours show. Yes, I was on of the 80 in the chat room who watched you sleep 😉 (I have no fucking life)
I also watched part of the other 24 hours show you speak of and sat in amazement as the sap made his claim of being the first. Should have called the bastard out.
I totally get your ideas about modeling. Always seems to be a struggle for me with modeling versus being authentic. I can’t live your truth, I can only try to live mine. That’s hard enough without the added pressure of trying to measure up to someone else.
In the long run, karma can be a bitch if we are not careful to hold forth in honesty, integrity and truth.
Cheers bud. All the best to you and yours.
Frank
Oh My God! I cant believe it! People swipe and steal your stuff on the Internet. I’m sure that’s not what Al Gore had in mind when he invented the damn thing.
He was concerned about saving the tree’s by using less paper, therefore cleaning up the air. Which would cool the earth and stop the melting of the polar ice caps.
So excuse me while I copy this blog post, make a screen shot, drink a little too much and read it out loud for a mp3 and head over to Clickbank. Before next weeks big thing comes along.
Gary
Jason,
Thanks for the insight on promoting the David Wolfe Raw Foods Product and how it wasn’t about the money for you. I was so inspired by the way you prepared for that event when you talked about cleaning up your diet, abstaining from the booze, etc. and how great you felt when you were able to live more healthy and enjoy a taste of the good life.
I remember thinking at the time – “I wonder how many marketers actually know what it is like to feel that good?”
You may not be able to track immediate profit to that campaign, but to your adoring fans, we love you and admire and respect you even more when you utilize your talents and experience as a marketer to promote excellent programs such as David Wolfe’s just because it is the right thing to do, regardless of the money.
Networking with those who truly understand how to prevent, reverse, and overcome almost any chronic degenerative disease will bring you rewards throughout your life that you may not fully appreciate at this stage when you are still young and healthy.
Those who are successful and make millions may not fully appreciate this insight either: “when you have your health you have everything and when you lose it your life is not worth living, regardless of how much money you have”.
Thank you Jason, for helping those of us who are in the Alternative Health Niche. You are a warrior with a great big heart and you are loved and appreciated because of it!
I admire your goal of blogging each day also, because I love hearing from you. Journaling is a form of healing and sharing it with others is such a generous gift. I get about 150 e-mails a day, but I always open yours and read every word. What is that worth?
Jazmin
P. S.
Jason, I have been wondering for a long time…. How is your Dad doing?
Thanks, Jazmin
Hey Mo,I guess we shouldn’t worry about making money online,and just create
value for our readers.So most of us don’t make squat online,and make 30 or forty G’s a year in a job.Not Hundreds of thousands a year.
I hope I don’t copy you or Frank.I hope musicians think I’m real and not
a copier.
Big deal.
Geeze. Didn’t think that particular guy would be someone who would steal commissions from one of their affiliates (guy who did the 24 hour show after you).
And I saw that video hijacker promo a few weeks ago. Thought it was someone promoting you as an affiliate. What a joke.
Keep going man.
-Simon
Hey J MO
I think the pic of “Twitter for the Shitter” have done a great work to create wedges and divisions to annoy people that you don’t like!
Good work.
Thanks for the post, the headline got my attention!
Hey Jason,
I got on your list back in 2008, brought Mass Control off you the day I heard about it (the first product like that I ever brought), and thought I was getting personal help from you.
Despite being disappointed about that, stayed on the list-you’re honest, and have some interesting things at times. I’ve opted out of hundreds of email lists, usually only staying on if I buy something from them. I did buy your video product a couple years ago.
Anyways, I liked the David Wolfe seminar DVDS-I’m planning on getting them later on. Timing just isn’t right at this time. I almost always take a look at what you’re talking about, mostly because I’m interested in almost everything. This was as good as the rant about facebook a loooong time ago!
Hey Devin,
If you bought Mass Control and paid in full, then you had the option of me helping you out. All you had to do is ask. Maybe I missed your email. Not sure what happened, but I’m usually pretty darn good at responding to all requests.
Hey Jason,
Glad to see you having fun and enjoying life.
I wake up happy. I quite drinking about 8 years ago. I still have a little wine or a beer on special occasions, yet the 6 pack of imported beer a day is history. I feel a lot better for it. Like you said to me in San Diego, “you are getting old dude” or something like that. This way the old liver will last longer 🙂
So what about copy a short email subject line?
I did it twice this month and had mixed feelings about it.
It was pretty generic but had the curiosity and bold statement that got the clicks. (probably not cool eh?)
I know what you mean about not getting paid by someone that had a 24 hour marathon. I am so happy to hear it was not just me.
I need my own products. I am fighting over “system problems” casuing lost payments to me for every affiliate payment due to me right now even from the most honest peeps.
Hope I get to see you FTF again someday. I really appreciate your “from the heart” advice and friendliness. BTW I remembered a name last night using your tips from the Hard Rock Cafe bar in SD 🙂
Thanks for the email about this post. Guess I need to go back and read up on some healthy tips you sent me, I am interested in that stuff…
@ClayFranklin
Very well said Jason!
I was always kinda confused when people would say, model after someone else’s business, but then they want you to join their business and it’s really just building their brand and not yours.
There’s nothing wrong with modeling after someone to start to get the gist of how things work, but then you have to put your own unique personality into your work. You can only pretend to be someone else for so long and then the authentic you emerges.
I think it’s disrespectful to just totally plagiarise someone else’s work. I appreciate what you’re doing and being you, being real. Oh yeah, that twitter for the shitter is hilarious! When is it coming out, I’ll definitely buy it!
Sylvia
I see it’s already out! Awesome
Jason that is a good example of how to lead a reader to the target. The old read and follow to the link truly applied. When it comes to internet marketing your insights are king.
Are you really wasting your talent as you enjoy the fruits of your past labors. You have a following I wish I had. Your humor is second to none. The views you share lead readers keep reading.
As to the internet marketing to your users you know to segment them and market the right product to the correct groups.
Jason as a friend, I am telling you that you could make Frank look like a
“——–” if you wanted to.
I see a star that is burning out for some reason or another.
You admit you are your worst enemy because you are sabotaging your business.
Quit fucking off and let me help you. I can care less about what you have or who you know or why you may or may not bla, bla, bla.
I live, eat and breathe computers and understand programming.
That fishing invitation is still open.
You are a good story teller. Let’s write some new chapters together.
Why is it you seem to have fun no matter what the circumstances are that surround you?
Jason,
I’ve been following you for a while. I haven’t bought your stuff. So I ask myself, why haven’t I unsubscribed from your list like I have so many other self-proclaimed internet marketing gurus?
I stay because you entertain me. You speak the truth or at least you seem to. You let it all hang out.
I like that. I like what you stand for. Hell, sometimes you are my hero.
It takes guts to be real and vulnerable in the face of thousands and millions of people who might lie, cheat, steal your stuff and rail against what you do.
The more visibility I get in my industry, the more real that fear becomes for me. And I am afraid of the criticism I know is coming.
You give me courage. If you can do it, I can do it.
As cheesy as it sounds, that’s why you’re my hero for writing this blog post.
Staying focused only on business makes for a boring life. Staying true to your beliefs builds stronger bonds. Your list weeds itself out and the remaining are bonded closer to you.
My family is on the path to healthier lifestyles, so your raw food recommendations are welcomed. (i had a dream about you the other day. i ran into you at a hole in the wall restaurant and you ordered soy ribs… soy is bad dont eat it .. had to share)
Jason,
I emailed you some months ago telling you that I have stayed on your list as you don’t jump on the ‘promote everything in sight’ bandwagon. When you do promote something, I go and look and if I like, I buy. If I don’t like, I don’t buy. Simple. I know I’m not going to get a dozen emails from you about the latest ‘launch’ with a list of ‘digital bonuses’ that once created and return on cost is made, don’t cost anything to ‘give away’.
You truly are a breath of fresh air in this increasingly stale internet marketing air.
Whatever makes you happy is what you need to do. I’m loving what I do, I just need to earn a little more! 🙂
Peace
Kathy
Yeah man, I have a Masiff/ Sharpei mix and wish he had the love for water like Webber does!
You may not care, but you should. You are not just “sabotaging you business,” but also your life. You have talent, and should use it. I don’t know why you want to sabotage your life, but I also have a reason to do so.
Mt Mother died of Cancer, when I was 16, after a 5 year battle. I’ve been fired from jobs for doing what was right, too many times. Since 1972, I’ve had 4 serious knee injuries (any one of which could have left me completely unable to walk). I was rear ended by a PU truck 12/4/2000, and didn’t get a proper diagnosis, until 2005, due to an incompetent neurologist. I lost the accident case, and couldn’t sue him, because he’s employed by the city. Now, I struggle to walk more than 50 feet, in 10 foot increments. Why? My back from T11 to L5 is slowly collapsing (lower third). I take 15 Mg of slow release morphine daily, to control pain, and more muscle relaxers than I can remember. My income, until I get my business going, is $933/month, from SSDI. I have no bladder or bowel control, from the back injury, but I haven’t given up.
I’m not trying to play. “I have more ‘pain’ than you.” I am saying whatever your reasons for self destruction, *they are not good enough.*If I, at age 60, can keep fighting, so can you. Otherwise, you would be a coward, and I don’t think you are one.
Hey bro, that sounds atrocious. Sorry to hear. Don’t worry about me though. I’m not in some downward spiral throwing away my life. In fact, I’m right where I want to be and focusing my time and energy on what’s important to me. I think you took the word sabotage a bit too literally. I just didn’t feel like working much so I let the biz fizzle out.
Right on Jason. Good stuff.
As a copywriter, it always used to drive me nuts when people plain resisted learning anything about marketing and copy by straight copy & pasting entire sales letters, ad campaigns, even business models. Instead of actually diving in and figuring out what makes successful marketing work and apply that to their own thing.
As the Indian tradition says, “not living your dharma (the work you’re most suited to do) is dangerous, but living the dharma of another is even more dangerous”.
Right up there with this misconception is that thing about “getting your piece of the pie”. There IS no pie and there IS no cut you’re entitled to. You make your own pie. Everybody does. And THEN you get to have your cake and eat it.
Heh, seems like I commented on a rant with a rant of my own… but there you go. 🙂
it was very interesting to read.
I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
And you et an account on Twitter?