{"id":85431,"date":"2024-09-19T15:26:21","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T19:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diymarketers.com\/?p=85431"},"modified":"2024-09-19T15:26:24","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T19:26:24","slug":"how-to-avoid-marketing-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diymarketers.com\/how-to-avoid-marketing-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"A 3-Step Guide on How to Avoid Marketing Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before you can avoid marketing scams, you need to recognize that not every flashy tool or pitch with bold promises is worth your time\u2014or your money.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever hired a marketing agency, expert, coach or consultant, or purchased some kind of marketing software that left you feeling like you\u2019d been had? \u00a0I\u2019m thinking you have. I know I have.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every small business owner I\u2019ve talked to has had a bad experience with digital marketing people who have sold them \u201ca bill of goods\u201d and left them thousands of dollars poorer with nothing to show for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I call that falling prey to slot machine marketing.  Throwing your hard earned money at some expert who promises the moon and gives you nothing.  So you go from one expert to another and one potential silver bullet to another.  It seems like they understand, but they really don\u2019t and you\u2019re left holding the bag \u2013 well, an empty bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, every well meaning marketing person who comes after that, has to deal with the rubble they left behind and lack of trust.  Not only that, but they have to tell you that it\u2019s just not as easy, effortless or \u201cpassive\u201d as some folks make it out to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a small business owner who has to get the best bang for your buck and who has to find experts to help you along the way, it can be scary when you aren\u2019t an expert yourself.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, I want to help you navigate the often confusing and overwhelming world of marketing products and services and how to evaluate them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two kinds of marketers \u2013 which one are you dealing with?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"two<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are two types of marketing experts; those who sell and those who serve.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing experts who have done the actual work and are experts in that work, are there to serve.   And there are marketing experts who are experts at selling you stuff. Their expertise is in selling and not serving. They are selling the promise of a result, they are selling a process, they are selling some transformational outcome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to emphasize that neither is good or bad \u2013 at all.  This is an important distinction that you need to uncover as you\u2019re looking to invest your hard earned money into a software or consultant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you are looking at promotional ads, webinars, or workshops that are selling something, focus on the person who is talking and pitching the offer and ask yourself: <\/p>\n\n\n\n