During the opening campaign for Membership Site Mastermind I actively observed the conversation occurring at other blogs about what I was doing.
One of the less-talked about benefits of conducting a major launch is the education you receive about your market. As Jeff Walker points out in his Product Launch Formula (PLF) program, each launch is an entirely different beast and once you begin the campaign you never truly know what will happen.
Eben Pagan, while presenting at one of Jeff’s PLF live workshops, stated something similar, explaining how each launch he has done has been different, teaching him new things as the campaign goes to unexpected places.
One of the great skills a marketer can develop is his or her ability to think on their feet and dynamically respond to what they see going on during their marketing campaign.
The very best marketers have an innate understanding of how they need to respond to what the market is telling them. For example, producing new content that is designed specifically to tackle an objection that they have observed coming from feedback during their campaign. As Jeff notes, he can “feel” how a launch is going, even before a product goes on sale.
Rich Schefren wrote an entire follow-up report to his first report (I believe it was the Missing Chapter follow-up to the Internet Business Manifesto) to specifically address a major sticking point he saw in his market. What was particularly amazing about this situation, was Rich was able to write the entire report DURING the launch campaign.
In my case, much of the content I published following up after the Masterplan report I released at the start of my campaign, contained elements designed to respond to specific rejections and talking points I saw in my market.
There were however, some things I couldn’t address during the campaign simply due to lack of resources (mostly time). There’s one thing that stuck in my mind since then that I wanted to write about here on my blog. This is a particularly important issue because I think it’s a mental hang-up you are likely feeling right now, which is significantly holding you back from success.
Your Peer Group Define Your Success
From a mindset standpoint you may have heard that in general people tend to perform to about the standards of their peer group. The people you associate with, how they live, what their attitude to life is like, how much money they make, etc, heavily influences your attitude and actions too.
This is why it’s critical that you surround yourself with people you regard and aspire to be like. If your peer group are negative, they don’t support you and don’t aspire to great things themselves, then they will hold you back. You may not notice it directly, but the impact they have on your mindset is dramatic. That’s why it’s so important to disassociate yourself from people who are not supporting your dreams.
If I look at my own success right now, it’s incredible who I have associated with lately. I recently attended a “faculty” mastermind session, made up of some of the most successful Internet marketing and information publishing entrepreneurs in Australia, many of whom are multi-millionaires.
Ten years ago I would have thought just meeting a millionaire was pretty cool. I don’t mean to sound blasé when I say this, but today hanging out with successful people is something that just naturally happens.
I’m still impressed by successful people and I admire them, but it’s not like deer in headlights type of impressed. Of course part of my attitude shift has occurred because my own financial wealth has increased too. I feel a part of the group of successful people because I am, but it is more than just that, my entire attitude to money has changed.
To put it simply, money is just not as big a deal as you think it is.
The only time when money feels like a big deal is when you don’t have it. This unfortunately is when emotions like jealousy, envy, bitterness and anger can surface, when you see that others have money.
It’s okay to experience these things, we all do at some point in our lives, but what’s important is you don’t let them control you. As an initial step, being aware why you are experiencing them in the first place is key. Having a peer group who are there to support you also helps, as they can “bring you down to earth” and keep you on track.
Role Models, Friends and Colleagues
It’s important to distinguish different groups of people around you. The multi-millionaires I know are not people I hang out with every day. They are mentors, colleagues, partners in business projects and friends, but the nature of where we are in life and often where we live too, means we don’t associate on a regular basis.
These people are important to me as benchmarks for success, who have done many things I aspire to do and thus make great role models, but they are not my day-to-day buddies.
My best friends, the people I see on a regular basis, who live in my city, perform the most important role of any of the people in my life (besides my family of course). These people are talented, motivated and share a passion for similar things to myself, both professionally and socially.
We’re all around the same level in terms of financial success as entrepreneurs and certainly this group of people are high-achievers compared to the general population. They are my peers, more so than mentors, but their role in my life is more important than any other group because we have so much fun together – I’d be living less of a life without them.
The final group I want to talk about are a bit different, and this group ties us back into the discussion I began at the start of this article. This group I will call your “online” peers, and it’s this group you really need to develop as an Internet entrepreneur.
Everywhere At Once
Every launch campaign I do I inevitably receive some kind of negative feedback, almost always coming from comments left on other blogs in my industry. This is okay, as I wrote about in my last article, if I wasn’t upsetting some people I’m not doing a good job as a marketer.
The nature of a large product launch campaign – and this is one of the true strengths of this marketing strategy – is that you get a lot of people talking about you at once.
This is incredibly powerful social proof, because it shows how many people support you and acknowledge you as an expert, even if they are doing it partially for a potential affiliate commission they might earn.
Every launch I’ve done has been extensively supported by a very important group of people: my fellow bloggers.
Right back to the very first time I launched a product online and including my recent Membership Site Mastermind launch, I’ve had significant support from other bloggers in my industry, for which I am truly grateful.
The reason why a big launch can trigger negative feedback is that some people get sick of seeing every blog they read all talking about the same thing at once. They get suspicious of the motives behind the actions, they become jealous and feel they can’t become successful because other people won’t support them by promoting their products.
From the marketer’s point of view, seeing this response (in a minority of people), is a very good sign. It shows that you are dominating the conversation in an entire niche, at least for a few days, when you launch your product.
Although a small group complain, they don’t represent the feelings of the majority. Most people are paying attention and enjoying what you do because you’re delivering value, usually in the form of giving away powerful free resources that your partners help distribute all over the web.
Generating significant buzz during your launch leads to engagement, excitement and mass exposure, which leads to sales. This is why the launch process is powerful.
One of the obvious questions thus to ask is -
How do you get all these people to talk about you at once?
There’s no short answer to this question, but what I can do for you is explain the key element, what you can begin working on today.
It’s Who You Know
Through the various launches I’ve done you’ve likely seen leading bloggers in my industry, including Darren Rowse at Problogger.net, Brian Clark at Copyblogger.com, John Chow at JohnChow.com, Daniel Scocco at DailyBlogTips.com and Jeremy Schoemaker at Shoemoney.com, all write about my programs and free resources.
Collectively these guys can reach hundreds of thousands of people, simply by writing a blog post. You can imagine the exposure having all of these people talking about your product at the same time can have.
In the Internet marketing “guru” circle you may have also seen a similar trend. Guys like Rich Schefren, Mike Filsaime, Frank Kern, Eben Pagan, Jeff Walker, John Reese, Andy Jenkins and Brad Fallon, all throw their maximum support behind each other.
These guys are all good friends, they hang out together, they mastermind and JV together, and whenever any of them do a major launch, they mail for each other multiple times, throw in significant bonuses and essentially help each other all make more money.
You might view this situation as some kind of mutual back-scratching between power-players, and it is to some degree, but there are criteria that must be met for this to work, namely -
- The product being sold must be quality
- Your customer service must be solid
- The marketing process being used must be sound
- The relationships must be mutually beneficial
It’s difficult to break into these inner circles because of the criteria required to get there: You need to be somewhat successful already. Sure you can go up to any of these people and propose a JV, but most likely you will be rejected (see this article for more advice about proposing JVs to top partners).
The law of reciprocity is an important element and in order to reciprocate you yourself need to be in a position of influence.
I’ve had Rich Schefren, Mike Filsaime and Jeff Walker all promote my launches. The only reason these guys even know I exist is because of my blog and the influence I have over the Internet marketing industry because of it (try doing a google search for any of these guy’s names and products and see where this blog shows up).
I’ve also been a top affiliate for these guys, selling thousands of dollars worth of their stuff when they do their launches. If I make them money, then they obviously feel indebted to do the same for me. If you want to guarantee someone will promote your launch, sell a bunch of their stuff first.
I expect right now you’re thinking you have no means to become a power affiliate and you’re blog is not influential in your market (yet), thus you can’t convince anyone to promote your launch. It feels like a catch-22, in order to become successful you have to be successful.
That’s just a reality you have to face when you begin, and even though it seems unfair, realize that every power broker in any market got there off the back of hard work. They enjoy success because they’ve built up connections and relationships over time, just like bloggers build an audience over time.
However, and here finally is the most important part of this article, there is something you can do right now to place yourself in a position to become a power-player in your market in the future…
Rise The Ladder Together
When I first started blogging over four years ago, I stumbled across a blog called Problogger.net, run by this guy from Melbourne named Darren. At the time his RSS feed counter had about 3,000 people on it, and boy was I impressed.
I started blogging and built my audience up slowly over time. Shortly after I started a guy named Brian began a blog called Copyblogger and it too started to gain traction. A year or so later Shoemoney came to my attention, though he started blogging much earlier, and John Chow rose to prominence around this time too.
Many other blogs that focused on related topics to my industry were created around the same time. Some never really gained traction so the authors gave up, others just didn’t have the “magic” to result in big success or the blogger behind the blog never committed enough energy to the project for long enough to make it work.
The leaders started to pull away from the pack and the best blogs became more popular. These bloggers did what others were not prepared to do: they continued to publish valuable content day in and day out. They were rewarded with huge audiences, significant influence and of course, big profits too.
Throughout this time, though we didn’t meet face to face more than once or twice or not at all, the top bloggers in my industry started connecting in some shape or form. Whether it was from simply sharing resources, to focused JVs, or just an email or Skype conversation here and there, relationships formed.
The thing about being a leader in your market, you inevitably become exposed to other leaders. There’s an obvious synergy and leverage to be gained by partnering with other successful people – it’s what successful people do. I would be half the success I am today if it wasn’t for the support of the top bloggers in my industry, and of course I feel indebted to them and will support them whenever they ask me to.
So how does this relate to you?
You need to do two things:
- Become a leader in your industry by being better, more prolific and more helpful than everyone else in your industry (this will take time).
- Find people who are equally motivated, talented and committed as you – your current online peers – and form relationships with them now.
They key here is to spot talent in others early, and then support them. Find people who are like you and are in a similar place on the business development curve, who are ready to storm to the top of the industry with you. These are not the leaders today, these are the leaders of tomorrow. They will rise with you and when you are standing at the top of the mountain, they will be there with you.
It’s not always obvious who these people are, but it will become clearer over time. Most of your effort will be devoted to building your empire, but whenever you can, help build the empire of other talented and committed people and they will return the favor in time.
If you play this right and understand the importance of your online peer group, one day you will do a product launch and have all the leaders in your industry backing you, resulting in massive exposure and sales.
You Are As Good As The People Around You
I’ve defined different groups of people in this article, all who play an important role in your success as an entrepreneur and a human being.
Understand that relationships by their nature are extremely dynamic and take time.
You cannot manifest the ideal support group, key mentors and a solid online peer group in a matter of days. You need to put the work in to become successful because of your hard work, and leverage the support of the different people around you for exponential success.
My mentors, my friends and my online peers all influence me. Some are joint venture partners, some I hang out with for fun on a near daily basis, some I only see a few times a year and some I’ve never met in person.
What’s important is that you are actively looking for good people to associate yourself with. You won’t know immediately what role they will perform in your life, but in time relationships will happen if they are meant to and you want them to.
Don’t ever look at other successful people and become jealous because you think they are only successful because they have the backing of other successful people, and that will never happen to you.
It’s your job to demonstrate your worthiness over and over again and build your own successful peer group. Rise together and dominate your market by being leaders, innovators and mavens.
Good luck and I’ll see you at the top.
Yaro Starak
Connecting Maven
I have seen this work before in my own life. I was drug addicted, homeless, & unemployed. At one point I decided that was not where I wanted to be, I wanted to have a wife, family, and home of my own. I chose to change my habits, one of which was to stop spending my time with those who did not have what I wanted in favor of those who did. Now I am a husband, father and grandfather. and a home owner. As you point out, this took time, over 15 years to be exact. It does work … when one works it.
I appreciate you,
Bill Tessore
I’ve been in a mastermind group for 8 months now and the results have been great. One thing I’ve noticed though is that if you check out the Mastermind chapter in Think and Grow Rich, a mastermind is different than a brain-storming group.
With the internet and all the tools that we have to connect with people there, we have the opportunity to become an expert in our area and share what we know that can help others. I think it is awesome how we can also choose our mentors and communicate with experts in any area including highly successful mentors that can give us invaluable information and inspiration. We can engage to whatever extent we choose.
Great Post Yaro,
It makes alot of difference who you hang around with. If you look at the income of your 5 closests friends, you will find yourself earning that. So associate with People who have what you are after and you will see a major change in your income. Great article.
Judith
Hi Yaro,
Excellent thoughts. I especially liked your insights on the value of relationships. Indeed, taking the time to develop strong bonds of trust often makes the difference between success and failure.
Interesting that even in the midst of a massive product launch, strong individual relationships play such an important role.
I also appreciated your thinking on emotions such as jealousy, envy, etc. I feel strongly that it’s important to recognize that negativity when it crops up and move on to more positive thoughts.
Thanks for the great post.
Steve DeVane
I’ve always known you are known by the company you keep. It is very true that to be positive, you should hang out with positive people. To learn your craft, you must hang with those who know what they are doing.
Wow this is food for thought in so many levels for so many people. I participate in group calls and stay close to these people because we are all after the same basic principle, which the people in my neighbor hood know nothing about, they are not looking to move forward with their lives. They sorta sit an wait to hit the lottery, LOL….Even if they did they wouldn’t know how to handle that type of money….Anyhow, awesome article!
It’s very true! The people around you can certainly have an effect on you. If this is the case then, you must try to surround yourself with successful people. People who share your interests and goals in life can make a difference in achieving success. Of course, you still need to communicate well and be a good follower and a leader too! It may sound complicated but believe me, these tips really work!
if you want to be successful in life be with winners because they make you feel about your inner ability while losers will always discourage you, so to be a winner be with winners.
Inspirational and Sensational.
‘Inspisational.’
Fantastic post Yaro…
I’ve always been a huge believer in the “it’s not what you know but who you know” rule and it’s helped me get to where I am today. You sum it up nicely in the post, great work.
Just goes to show how easy it can be for you to get to the top just by meeting the right people, no matter if they are at the CEO level or the cleaner.
Yaro – another considered, insightful post about a topic that affects us all.
The fact that we have several layers or levels of spheres of influence is important as they each need different consideration.
Of course it is impossible for each to only mix with people ‘above’ them … so we must be sure to also be a mentor and a friend to those who aspire to be like us. Give them a helping hand too.
Keep ‘em coming…
John Gordon
The Infotainer
Excellent post Yaro, it’s so true the people you surround yourself with is vital to your success. You can’t afford to be around negative people, as the old saying goes “If you find someone is negative and dragging you down, don’t walk away – run!”
I totally agree. We have to choose our friends wisely because they will also reflect our character.
Hi Yaro! This is such a great reminder to us all that everything we do has a direct effect on everyone else, whether it be in business or any other facet of life. Everything you said is right on the money ~ thanks so much for sharing, and I look forward to delving further into your brain! klk
Nice post Yaro. I would say former US president Nixon would be a good example of this article. He was by no means a great president, but he surrounded himself with very good advisors. He should have had one to advise him to burn the tapes.
Hi Yaro,
I enjoyed your blog post. I think even when networking in groups, you’ll find that some groups have high achievers, and some have low achievers. I always find it interesting that the low achievers like to hang out with each other all the time. That doesn’t leave a lot of opportunity to expand.
My husband is a pretty good golfer. He’s on a golf league, and is one of the best players. He decided this year to play on a different league, which happens to have a lot of scratch golfers on it. He’s already finding an improvement in his game as a result.
Your article covers a number of points. A couple of the most important ones is that you can judge your success by the success of the people with whom you associate. You really do have to be careful with whom you share your ideas, dreams, and goals. Negative feedback can sabotage your mindset and, ergo, what you desire to accomplish.
Also, we learn through Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” That we need to keep away the negative emotions, such as fear, jealousy, anger, focus on lack, and keep at the forefront the positive emotions such as love, desire, faith, enthusiasm, prosperity.
And you are right – no one is better than I am. He or she is just better at what I want to do – for the moment. I can improve myself, which is the only way to succeed. Of course, being with a great mastermind group is the catalyst that helps most of us better ourselves.
Thanks for the article.
Once again Yaro, a very excellent post. I don’t really think it can be stated often enough that we are a product of our environment. If our environment is one that surround us by successful people, who we find inspiration and credibility in, it will only serve to make us want to succeed towards our own business and personal goals.
I really like your take on how some people may give negative feed back each time a launch comes up. Your right, it’s incredible social proof! No matter what, none of us will ever please “all of the people, all of the time”..but no matter what, even “negative” feedback does draw attention. And that can usually only be good.
Once again…great post. Enjoyed it!
Davin
there is an old saying “birds of a feather flock together” its so true. its all part of the conversation that is going on in our minds. what we read and hear affects what we think about.
I have been reading Yaro stuff for some time now and its has been of great benefit for me. its help me lift myself out of negative life style and made me a much happier person.
Ian Harper
Well put, Ian! The first thing that sprung to mind was this classic old saying, and let’s face it, our social circles determine our limits and boundaries. If you want to run with the big dogs, you can not pee like a puppy is another analogy that springs to mind!
Thanks for your insights in building relationships with mentors, peers, and friends. And the work it takes to build a successful blog. I will be more alert to peers reaching out to me and spend time building those relationships.
Sylvia
I know exactly what you mean by this post because of my own experience not just in business but in life. As a nurse, an internet network marketer and as a Christian, who I’m around matters! And as others get to know me, I hope I make a difference, inspiring people to always be empowered as a force for good.
Proverbs 27:17
“Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other.”
King Solomon
Great post Yaro! I certainly believe that we must surround ourselves with successful people. Their success can rub off to us as well.
We can learn a lot from them and I’m sure they will be more than willing to teach us various lessons on how they achieved their success.
Yes, I’ve got to agree. Success is in a large part down to your attitude – if you see and mix with successful people then you pick up that attitude and it feeds into your work too.
This is so true. I’ve been part of a mastermind group of like minded people for a few years now. It’s always easier when you have people who lift you up and mastermind with you.
Hey Yaro, you’re my BFF
Anyone who has been really following you will recognize this as a great example of a pillar article.
It really goes for more then just people, think about feng shui, taking your surroundings into account. If you live or work in an uncomfortable or chaotic environment, it’s like being surrounded by negative people.
Seriously great post. Success through osmosis.
That being aware of their shyness helps you to feel more comfortable in your own insecurities, it makes you feel like you are on a more level playing field…
Great post! In my opinion you get a lot of habits of your closest friends…
This is so true. I always did better in school in the advanced classes because of the other good students and struggled in the basics because of all the slacker’s bad influences.
It’s truthtastic, and mental blocks are really the number one cause of business failure.
Interesting article Yaro. I totally agree with you. You need to associate people with similar goals to better succeed. It reminds me of a good friend of mine who also markets websites. We often e-mail each other back and forth to see how the other is doing. This connection helps both of us in so many ways. We motivate each other and we can give each other advice and feedback. Now I am developing a lot more contacts such as freelance workers, other seo’s, bloggers, etc. As I connect with more like minded people, everything just gets easier.
This is such an important point in success. As a hypnotherapist, I know that you are always resonating at a subconscious level with those around you. Even if you are thinking positive and working hard, your efforts could be sabotaged by your peers’ thoughts. I heard that if you think about the five people closest to you and estimate how much they make, then divide their income by five, your income will be within 10% of that number. So, the message is to hang out with more successful people and influencers if you want to move beyond your current income as well as feel more positive automatically.
Hi Yaro,
I read every word of your article and am impressed with the thoroughness of your writing and your concise wording. You helped me understand my current position as a blogger and an internet marketer. I’m involved in a strange and relatively small field: bipolar treatment with alternative meds and techniques.
You suggest to me that I look for up and coming leaders in my arena and affiliate myself with them.
You say, “If I make them money, then they obviously feel indebted to do the same for me…. Understand that relationships by their nature are extremely dynamic and take time…..It’s your job to demonstrate your worthiness over and over again and build your own successful peer group. Rise together and dominate your market by being leaders, innovators and mavens.”
So, with your encouragements in mind, I’ll continue patiently building and building, growing and growing.
I appreciate your input for those of us who are establishing our presence as entrepreneurs online.
Great post and very informative! I guess what you’re saying is that in this business it’s who you know AND what you know. You really have to have both in order to succeed in this market place.
I loved that you brought up the fact of how we are only as good as our peer group. Many of us don’t realize it or don’t want to admit it, but our friends aren’t inspiring us to do better but dragging us down – so true.
Keep up the great work!
The Law of ‘You Get What You Focus Upon’ (part of The Secret, The Aladdin Principle etc) is also stri#ongly at work here.
I know many who say “It’s OK …. sure they think I’m crazy, but I can handle them” or “I just ignore their comments and jibes” or “I can win an argument with them any day!”.
But all this is sapping your energy and getting your attention. It’s like a payload in your mind … it’s like spam in your mental mailbox.
And if you spen time on this AT ALL …. then that’s what you’ll get.
We DO have to say “Thanks and Goodbye” to these people. ‘Putting up with them’ isn’t an option for success.
Laser Focus for Success
John Gordon
The Infotainer
Its always been said that those who you hang out with are reflections of you, and if they are negative you should drop them. Sometimes its hard for people to see that they are being negative and even harder to drop them because you also have to think about: do you have a backup group you can cling to after them? Like many things, Its easier said then done.
-Randy
I’ve been hearing a lot about Rich Schefren lately and just took out the time to check out his website. I’m impressed so far, and might check out more stuff by him. Is he having a membership website or something similar?
I agree. The good times are over and they’re not coming back. 2010 and 2011 will see the total destruction of our economy and defeat of our military forces on a global scale. People will be praying in the streets, even atheists, but it will be too late. It’s all said and done.
Thanks for the post. What a great read. I actually emailed it to myself for a later read. I am a firm believer in that you become who you hang around. Everything in your post I knew but somehow forgot. Life gets in the way, you forgot what got you to the top. The comment that kept on coming back to me in your post was…..
“The only time when money feels like a big deal is when you don’t have it. This unfortunately is when emotions like jealousy, envy, bitterness and anger can surface, when you see that others have money.”
Just these lines have made me change the way I rethink about money. Thanks, Mike
How true, how true. I found my way here through a mastermind group of peers I belong to. Its so important to associate with people that have dreams and are like minded. The support you receive in a group like this will stay with you to success and beyond. Relationships like these benefit all concerned.
Great stuff Yaro.
To be frank, when I began I always viewed A-list bloggers like John Chow and Shoemoney as big things. But after a while I realised that there is no such thing as a problogger. You write good content and attract readers and you’re better than the rest.
Hello, it is not to say easy……
I agree your peers matters. Measures your success in many ways.
It can be true what they say, you become who you hang around with. Success breeds success. but sometimes you can get lucky!! excellent post matey!!