I state my claim that everything is sales, because unless you're falling behind, everything a business should do is for the purpose of generating a sale, which manifests in so many different ways.
This has implications for the average user of the internet, and we are all tired of just seeing constant advertisements, to the point where we pay for our own sanity.
Companies get smart, business owners get smarter, and consumers, to their own detriment, must simply accept this.
After I had my stint in e-commerce, I learned just how much content that I consumed was simply organic marketing; every short I watched with ANY sort of product, or even any “link in bio” post, was simply marketing. For the more keen, this was already noticed; for me, this was more than surprising.
Everything is sales; the majority of content that is being published this very day is to get you to spend your money. It is not necessary to offer a purchase to nudge you towards a sale. What about a blog post? Most of these, outside of genuine publications, are companies looking to increase their online presence (For the purpose of generating a sale). If you're an observant person, you’ve already seen what comes up when you look up an issue you have, and there it is, a targeted blog post outlining the pros & cons of a product, written by the manufacturer themselves? This is sales. This is meant to inform you of the benefits of purchasing from the author.
Video content is where I feel this gets atrocious. This is a playground for the direct response marketer, if they are selling you a course, yes, their free content is meant to generate a sale, by building trust, of course. Hormozi said it best: always be giving value, give the info, and sell the implementation.
I am a businessman, of course, I do this.
What do you think you're reading?
Well, I also do genuinely believe in the goal of this newsletter; however, this is again, for the intent of generating a sale through spreading awareness of my thoughts.
Open up TikTok, you scroll and find a video about this lady who cleared up their skin through a secret Hollywood method, and don’t forget to click the affiliate link in the description.
The influencer economy brings interesting times & ad strategy. We now live in a time that allows you to purchase anything from your loved idols. You can now purchase the McDonald’s meal of Kai Cenat or the Travvy patty. Is it not nice to consume? Companies have been using public names forever, but now public names are becoming their own companies. Logan Paul & PRIME, Mr. Beast & Feastables, on top of all of the recurring revenue they receive from monetization, their videos have become sales material for their products. They are not all explicitly ads, but now ad placements can be fed through someone’s personal brand in social media, which I feel is unprecedented. A kid watching these creators is going to be nudged towards a sale with clever product placements. In ethical terms, I don’t believe there is anything wrong with this; I believe it simply speaks to the effectiveness & utility of a personal brand.
In my own example, this newsletter is a part of my personal brand, and I am the chief business development officer of Techandbusiness.org; this title has meaning, but there is nothing that separates me from someone who decides to call themselves CEO of whatever. The lens of professionalism that is derived from these titles is again, selling. This is marketing myself as an expert in what I do. I am an expert, but it’s self-proclaimed, and there’s nothing wrong with it.
Self-proclaimed gurus will sell you courses on your pain, whether it be failure or looking to grow in any area of your life. It is very common to see free seminars or an option to sign up for more free info; it’s again just an ever-rotating hamster wheel of content meant to make you reach into your wallet and pay this wizard to fix all your problems. In an optimized business, every line of copy is meant to inch you closer to reaching into your pockets, every bit of brand awareness, again, informs you to get you closer to their goal of making you purchase.
I will admit, every line I’ve written is meant to further your trust. I like to appear as honest & transparent but this is for the purpose of making you buy from me, but of course, this is for your own benefit.
-Leo.