The Internet Marketing Lemming Effect

It may be harsh to refer to some IMers as “lemmings“, but I think as a group, and I’m really no exception, that we are extremely prone to lemming-like behavior. Now I’ve never actually seen a lemming and probably couldn’t pick one out of a line up, but the mental image is pretty compelling:

Allegedly, the entire lemming herd will stampede, following the lemmings at the front of pack even sometimes right off the edge of cliff into the ocean. And that is what consists of my entire knowledge of lemmings, most of which was entirely gleaned from Saturday morning cartoons.

You have to admit though, that the analogy to humans chasing after the herd in quest of the latest and greatest fad or hyped up product is pretty much right on target.

Maybe because I’m spending more time on more forums, I’m seeing people chasing after the product launch du jour.

Others will post asking if “XYZ” product from “Big Name” guru is any good. The sad and funny part is that even after being warned that the product isn’t very good, they’ll still go off and purchase it.

I won’t drone on here since this topic has been written about extensively along with suggestions on how to cope with it. What it really comes down to is for us to stop being “Opportunity Seekers” and start working consistently on a focused plan of action. Yeah, there’s that dreaded ‘F’ word again!

I know when I first started out trying to make money online, that I bought a lot of eBooks, but I was fortunate enough to buy some very good ones early on that actually got me started in the right direction. The other key point is that I took the time to read all of the ebooks all the way through.

I really can’t stress this enough – when you’re first starting out, you need to give the methods a fair chance to work for you. 

And the first step in making this happen is to read the eBook or watch the videos that came with the product you shelled your hard-earned money for!

I was also fortunate that the methods I studied and then applied, actually started earning me money a few months later. Yes, it does take some time for things to fall into place.

You need to wait for your Web pages to start ranking, you need to wait for your articles to start getting views in the article directories, you need to wait for your link exchanges to start sending traffic, and you need to wait for you email list to warm up to you.

No it’s not instant.

Too many people in this business want instant. And the definition of “instant” seems to vary wildly. Some people expect the profits to come rolling in right after slapping up their first Website. Then when it turns out not be be instant enough for them they start looking for the next opportunity they can jump on. This cycle repeats itself until they either give up or wise up.

My best advice for people just getting started as well as to those who have been at it for a while, including myself is:

1. Never lose sight of the fundamentals
2. Writing will always serve you well
3. Always deliver value
4. Have faith that your system will work
5. Have the patience to let your system work

To sum up, sometimes it’s necessary to put the blinders on and stop being an opportunity seeker. At some point, you need to realize that if you can’t make money with the tons of info products already sitting on your hard drive, then there’s zero chance that the next great thing is going to be the magic lottery ticket to a Rich Jerk lifestyle.