Concerning working for others…
A BetterTextAds.com member recently cancelled his membership. This in and of itself is not a big deal. As anyone who manages a membership site or maintains a list can tell you, members unsubscribe all the time for a variety of reasons. Some discover that the service or list was not what they expected. Some are trying to simplify their lives by limiting the number of opportunities they participate in. And, on rare occassions, a person may be unsatisfied with the service he or she receives.
But on this particular occassion, the member left a comment explaining his decision to leave. It was a one line comment and it said, simply:
“I dont(sic) work for others. I work for myself.”
I found this to be a rather odd statement. And it’s probably indicative if this person’s level of understanding of sales, service, marketing and economy in general.
No one works for himself. The owners and CEO’s of the biggest and most successful companies don’t work for themselves. They work for their customers and shareholders.
So, too, the lone Internet marketer. His job-his responsibility-is to find or create products and information FOR his customers that fill some need they have. If he can’t do that, if he can’t provide value for his customers-actual or perceived-then he is not going to be successful.
Now, let’s talk about you and your membership in BetterTextAds.com. As a member, you definitely have a job to do. You have to bring at least 3 unique visitors to your website each and every day and show them each an ad block on behalf of those who brought you into their Affiliate Marketing Team (AMT). And you know what? This is the same job that the members of YOUR team have to do for you.
We are all working FOR each other, folks, and FOR our website visitors. And because we are working in teams rather than on our own, we are multiplying the effects of our efforts so that we can all benefit.
John Donne put it best when he wrote, “No man is an island…” He was absolutely right. None of us can make it in online marketing, or in anything else worth doing, entirely by ourselves. We need teachers and mentors…we need writers and programmers…we need friends, advocates and partners…and of course, we we need our customers.
Before I close, I’ll leave you with another famous quote, this one by Bob Dylan:
You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearlsBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
Until next time, take care of each other…
- Dan
This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 19th, 2006 at 10:27 PM and filed under Commentary. Follow comments here with the RSS 2.0 feed. Post a comment or leave a trackback.
I would love to join your group and make some money in my free time.
William Lobo.
Posted on 20-Apr-06 at 6:09 pm | Permalink“He who would be greatest must be servant of all.”
If you are doing business with the attitude of “How much can I make” you will fail, while if you do business with “How can I help that person succeed” and you will have success.
Posted on 20-Apr-06 at 6:34 pm | PermalinkJust stopped by to say that Dan is one of the most helpful, responsive and genuine people I have had the pleasure to work with online. He is in fact working for me when he creates a new product that I can use.
When the need arises he creates a new product just the way I would if I had his expertise.
In closing: Life is what happens while you are making other plans…
Happy Trails, Don
Posted on 20-Apr-06 at 8:56 pm | PermalinkWoW that guy sure has a problem….I’ve always thought that the easiest way to success is to help someone else succeed…..Great Program Dan
Posted on 25-Apr-06 at 3:22 pm | Permalink