Here Come the Mobile Marketing Experts

Bymayor

People are so predictable.

A new trend surfaces and there are those that immediately begin to capitalize on it.

Being on the lookout for “the next big thing” is fine. But what do you do when you discover it?

For some people, they engross themselves in the new thing and learn the ins and outs so they can speak from experience.

For others, it’s all a matter of discovering how they can position themselves as “experts” so they can profit from it.

In the online world, I’ve seen it happen a number of times.

As soon as word got out that you could make money with AdSense, the opportunists who never made a dime with AdSense began writing books and creating training courses.

When Facebook and Twitter became buzzwords the web became inundated with so-called “social media experts”, many of whom had never truly discovered how to leverage social media for their business. Of course, they were all too happy to sell you their products or coaching to help you do what they were unable to do for themselves.

Brace yourself. It’s happening again.

This time, the trend is in the mobile marketing niche.

I’m already seeing a number of products and training courses coming to market in the mobile marketing space. So far, I am very unimpressed.

I’ve had associates write and ask me to promote their mobile marketing ebooks, reports and training courses.

I usually ask them a simple question. “How have you made money in mobile marketing?”

Their reply is silence. Nothing but crickets.

That’s because they AREN’T making money with mobile marketing. They are positioning themselves as “mobile marketing experts” by training others how to do what they haven’t done themselves!

Beware, my friends. There is enough hype out there to choke an entire army of elephants.

If I present you with a product on AdSense it’s because I have actually gone before and can demonstrate how to make money with AdSense. I’m STILL making money with AdSense five years after releasing my first book on the topic.

If I tell you that you can use Twitter to grow your business its because I have done it, and continue to do it. I’m engaged with social media and am continually looking for new ways to connect with those in my network.

And if I show you how to use iPhone applications or mobile messaging to make more money or enhance your brand, it’s because I have already been there, done that. I’ve developed a number of iPhone applications, including a #1 best-seller. I’ve spent the last three years developing a mobile marketing platform that will bring great value to businesses.

So look out.

The parade of “mobile marketing experts” is coming to your town. Armed with little more than statistics and an opportunistic mindset, they are coming for your wallet.

It wouldn’t surprise me if their business cards had “social media expert” scratched out and “mobile marketing expert” written in its place.

Be alert and watch for this to happen. Make sure and ask yourself if the person marketing to you has credibility in the space. Look for real proof.

If you don’t find evidence of anything more than opportunism, be very careful.

Have you encountered this in your experience? Please leave your thoughts and comments below.

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74 Comments

  1. I hear after mobile marketing that bathroom marketing is the next big thing. Then after that, swimming pool marketing. Get a message of your website to every person who uses a bathroom! Brilliant. Captivate them for their entire bathroom stay! Where else are they going?
    Good call Joel. The crappy part is, people will get sucked in.

  3. I can see mobil marketing becoming a tool in the internet marketers arsenal, much like email marketing is. It can strenghten your brand, but will provide more value if the mobil users you are marketing to can access the internet with their phones.
    Mobil to me stands for impatient and looking for quick entertainment, so, more so than ever will marketers have to market to ones impulses when creating apps and such to promote theironline business.
    It will be interesting to watch this field progress, especially with all the easy app builders coming out.

  5. Hey Joel,
    So right, I’m getting bombarded with emails. One guy is sending me 3-4 a day with a private “insider’s link”.
    I went to one of those mobile marketing webinars the other day. Thirty-eight minutes into it the guy is still pimping himself, talking more about me,myself, and I, and very little about mobile marketing.
    He’s going on and on and how he’s at the front of the pack with all the new marketing technologies and nobody else is doing what he is doing. Mean while I KNOW somebody else not only has a course, but has a real book published and listed on Amazon on the topic of mobile marketing.
    In a bad economy, desperation takes over reason, so remember to take everything with a teaspoon of salt. Otherwise you might buy a way over-priced “course”, that leaves you feeling angry that you were taken again.

  7. Frankly, I think mobile marketing really works best with certain types of businesses (certainly not most internet-based businesses, in my opinion). Even though I have not made the opportunity for myself, yet, to use SMS marketing for my products, I can easily see the opportunity for other businesses to use it. In particular, I think local restaurants, bars, and clubs stand best to take advantage of mobile marketing, right now.
    Now, even though I haven’t used SMS marketing myself in my internet business (I question whether or not it would be appropriate), I believe that, through my email marketing and list-building experience, I would have the expertise required to consult with a restaurant or bar on how best to leverage this medium for their client base.
    Really, there is nothing ‘magic’ about mobile marketing. It’s just another medium to reach somebody. But, with the right offer for the right business, it could be huge. How great would it be for a restaurant to send an SMS out to its list (on a slow night) saying that if they come in for dinner they can get 20% off of their bill? It’s immediate and is much more likely to get a response than an email given that only about 20% of the people on an email list will read it within the first hour of dissemination.
    Am I selling an eBook on this? No, I’m not. Could I write an eBook on mobile marketing for bar and restaurant owners? Probably. Would I want to test my theories out with at least one client before I think of charging $50+ for the eBook? Definitely.
    Personally, I’m dying for the opportunity to work with a restaurant to build an SMS marketing strategy. It would be so much fun to see it work!

  8. Joel, I agree with your analysis of new things on the market and many jumping on the bandwagon to promote them before they themselves have even used them or become truly successful with them.
    I don’t even use my cell phone that much, but I do see mobil marketing as a viable way for companies to brand themselves and promote products and particularly notify customers of specials.
    So far as Jay’s comments about bathroom advertising, that has been happening for at least 2 or more years. I have been in bathroom stalls where there was a frame on the inside door with various size ads apparently paid for by the advertiser to the company who got approval (and probably funds) from the owner of the establishment to post their picture frame of advertisements inside the bathroom stalls. Needless to say, they do have a ‘captive’ audience, particularly of women !!

  9. Yes, I won’t mention his name, but he is out there again hyping the crap out of being his next “apprentice”. Buy his course for a couple grand and he makes you a mobile marketing genius. He did this all last year pushing his SEO apprentice stuff. Now, on his website promotion he touts mobile marketing, but has no mobile marketing testimonials, just the future “hype”. Beware, this guy is good at taking your hard earned money.

  11. Hey Joel,
    Thanks for the heads up!
    You make a great point.
    “If you can’t do it yourself, teach others how to do it” is a common thing in the Internet Marketing world.
    I wrote an article about getting the phone number from your new email subscribers back in 2008. I knew it was coming.
    I think location based SMS messaging will be huge, yet if it were email, it would be considered spam to get unsolicited messages. It will be spooky for some that are not into “big Brother” watching them and sending them an offer for the restaurant across the street from where they are walking.
    Also a current fad or trend is selling products to learn how to sell marketing services for small local business. I was on two webinars this week with people selling a product to help you get started. At least they are doing it them self or so they say. I am currently doing Search Engine Marketing for local business owners and enjoy it a lot. I plan to expand the business and then get back to building web sites for myself because that is my other favorite thing to do.
    Thanks for the heads up and warning.
    Clay

  13. This is a great post. I worked in a senior marketing position for a mobile marketing technology company last year, and it was clear that mobile advertising was in it’s bare infancy and wouldn’t make any real money for many years. There are many reasons for this, but the most important thing to understand that it’s all still a lot of hype and potential.
    I was recently on a video conference call with an “Internet Guru” who was pitching mobile marketing as the next big thing, and when he took questions, I asked him very direct questions about the reality. He became uncomfortable, and said that Google wouldn’t have bought AdMob for so much money if they weren’t convinced they would make money, and then became very vague about the facts.
    Mobile Marketing is growing and will continue to grow, but it will take time to make real money…and anyone who says that isn’t true is simply lying.

  14. Hey Joel,
    Great point! Th IM niche is full of con artists, and Wanna Be’s! I would bet the majority of them have honest intentions. They don’t realize that the PLR product they bought was written by someone with no experience, and hence the ball starts rolling downhill!
    Is tehre a lot fo money to be made in Mobile Marketing… I would bet – YES! But you need to learn from someone that has some skin in the game….
    As always the best rule to follow is “la caveat emptor” Let the buyer beware!
    Thank God that Surgeons and the like actually have to prove they know what they are doing before they get to cut…. imagine having your hip replaced by a guy whose friend told him how to do it, and his friend read an ebook that someone said he should buy online!
    It’s a jungle out there kiddies!
    John

  15. Excellent article Joel. Old adage Those who can do, those who can’t teach. I have bought both of your books. I have had lunch with you at the Big Seminar and watched you and bought products from you. I know that you have done what you say and I have profited from it also. It is easy to know,like and trust you because of your actions and deeds. Most of the new mobile marketers are not in the same camp. But long term success comes from making good product that you can stand behind. Short term infamy, which demeans their credibility is wrong and stupid. And unfortunately people get sucked in. When the light shines in the crap s exposed.

  17. We all appreciate your heads up, Joel, on this next wave. Seems ridiculous for the recent launch on mobile marketing by HS to cost $1997.
    Joel, what is the status of the mobile marketing platform you spoke of in your post?
    thanks for another solid post.

  18. I agree, it’s time for another 2,ooo plus course. I really hate it. You think cell customers will like being bombarded by text messages. I don’t. As you say way more sizzle than steak.

  19. They had better not start sending text message “offers” like they do in email. Some of these pathetic monkeys send “offers” 3 times a day or more. Then some of them get you on 2 to 4 lists so your inbox is constantly bombarded with useless trash.
    If they start sending text message “offers” to people’s cell phones so that you hear your cell phone buzzing and ringing all day long and all night with notifications it’s going to be over before it begins!
    NOBODY and I mean NOBODY is going to put up with that! The first of these clowns that starts doing that is going to be shut down as the complaints to the proper authorities will be endless. I guarantee you they’ll try it.

  20. Funny, I just watched a webinar replay earlier today about exactly this subject… and the statistics were impressive. Mobile marketing does look like a huge opportunity. But, I don’t really want to spend $2k for information that I can probably get someplace else for free. I want to learn about how to set up and optimize a mobile website, how to get opt-in’s for sms messages to mobile phones, and how to deliver them (does it work with Aweber? how do you set up an sms or text autoresponder to cell phones?) I would greatly appreciate it if you could direct me to where you think is the best place to learn more on the subject. Thank you.

  21. Joel, you do some really cool things and you’re an obvious leader in the IM niche, BUT I think this is a really cheap shot at someone who you have an obvious distaste for. Maybe you’re right, maybe you’re wrong.
    We all know that you have written books about every hot marketing item, and quite frankly not everything you write hits the mark either, but you do always lead the pack when it comes to writing about the latest, greatest super duper…I will say at least you price your knowledge for the average person to share. Even if it’s not all that…
    I’m just saying ~:-)

  22. no name no hate.. but someone goes hard as THE mobile marketing guru… at least I receive a webinar replay too the other day… it’s all bla bla and less solid fact you can apply… for $2k … you can use that money and test it yourself…
    after that people wil ask why the FTC is in …. it’s sad to make money like that… personnal opinion

  23. Now hang on just a second. I didn’t mention names. I am discussing a trend that I see. There are plenty of products out there related to mobile marketing. Don’t assume I am pointing the finger at any one person or business in particular. I’m saying that I have seen products out there from those who have no credibility. I’m NOT saying that everyone out there has no credibility. You must evaluate each person and product based on his/her and their own merits before coming to conclusions. Just be aware. And be prepared for a coming FLOOD of mobile marketing products.

  24. I sat in on two webinars this week, one with Mr. “hand over 2 grand and I’ll teach you the new thing cause internet marketing is dead” this is the same guy who said I would be a millionaire if I gave him 2 grand to teach me how a couple of months ago, (with Internet Marketing) another said if I give him $500 he’ll show me how to become a star with CPA and would also guarantee an account with EWA (cpa network) who I thought before was an
    honest broker oooooh well…..

  25. The reason that this type of thing always happens is because most people only listen to people who have selling skills even though in reality the salesperson may know little about the product or service that they are promoting.
    Most people, and this includes you dear reader, often do not listen to the person who has the in-depth technical knowledge. This is because such information is rarely wrapped up in a pretty package and is often presented in ways that require effort to comprehend. Technical information often overwhelms non technical listeners, who then reject the new information because they don’t immediately understand it and they can’t be bothered to conduct their own research (don’t make me think).
    The capable sales person by comparison speaks to prospects using only words and phrases that the prospects can easily comprehend, and makes the information sound so simple, obvious and inviting. While the technically capable person often speaks in terms to which the majority of people can’t easily relate and so prospects often reject the new information out of hand.
    This is the human condition, it is the way that it has always been and it is the way that it will always be.
    We have a new application which we are releasing. However, I know that if I start to promote the application to prospective end users myself it will be an uphill battle because I am not a salesperson.
    So I get smart and develop a business plan that will appeal to capable marketers who want to make money (that is usually most capable marketers main motivation) and identify those marketers who are looking for products to promote.
    We provide the salespeople with information about the product and invite those who are interested in promoting the product to identify prospective clients to whom they can sell the product. We then provide the ongoing service to clients, and the marketer moves on to either find more new clients to who they can sell the product, or the marketer finds new products tthat they can promote to their existing client base.
    All that a salesperson is usually interested in is having a product that they can sell to prospects and make a good instant profit. Often they don’t care if the product even works because they are not looking to develop long term client relationships, and they only care that they can identify potential clients to who they can sell the product that they are currently promoting.
    Just as an entrepreneur would employ a capable visual designer to create a brand image for a new business and employ a capable programmer to create a database to help maintain client records, so the entrepreneur should also look to employ capable salespeople to market and sell the products that the business provides.

  26. 1. Well, here is my two cents number one I’m not giving out my cell phone number
    I don’t care how great the program is that is the only personal part I have.
    2. I have seen a company put out some cell phone marketing info on Friday
    5th March 2010 rank when I got the email was 5,740,229 on Saturday March the
    6th rank was 287,344 as of 7:40pm. so will it work yes look at what market was done with ringtones. Lots of money was made on ringtones.
    Now I’m not going to get another phone unless it is for marketing and I don’t have to answer it.
    Also who’s paying for the call? If you deduct from my phone bill twenty cents per ad I will look at and answer the
    phone. This cuts out the middle man in advertising or if a offer like pay per click pays 21.00 per click or sign up on the web pays 10.00 to Ad company and 10.00 for the person answering the ad. Mobile Market is going to work. Things will change just like Who Moved My Cheese Book get ready
    for change. Google did not create the Google Phone saying cell phone is
    dead it has plans and see a market.

  27. Hello,
    No truer words have ever been spoken. This is a continuing trend that brings out the opportunists like nothing I have ever seen. I have received no less than 8 different promotions from so called mobile marketing experts in the last few weeks. These guys find a buzz word and jump all over it even though many have never put any of this to work in real every day live.
    My opinion is that if you are really do this then why is there a need to sell the hottest greatest new hyped up mastery made simple solution.
    Hey in 2007 my partner’s ad I won an award for the best online marketing campaign in California. We never mentioned it to anyone or sold some great product new product we just keep on doing what we do below the radar. Why give away secrets or perceived secrets. It’s the bottom line theory that there will always be another fool ready to buy.
    Ron

  28. What if social media “experts” had a governing body that required CEU’s (continuing education units) and a state mandated board exam to prove minimum competence?
    My experience comes from health care, where the average practitioner spends four years in school to earn a degree, several months to study for the exam, and then thousands of dollars on CEU’s to keep up their expert edge. If anything near that were required of social media “experts”, more than half the people would drop out just from the cost of the process to obtain credentials, and of the remaining people, we would probably make decisions about their expertise based on their track record (how many people you’ve helped, what kinds of things have you written, what kinds of projects you’ve been able to launch, etc).
    An example: did you know that you can put the word “coach” on your website with no credentials whatsoever? But you cannot use the words “certified coach” unless you have engaged in a formal coaching program, such as “Coach U” and passed their minimum requirements and hours of supervised but unpaid work. Yet, I noticed lots of people using the words “coach” or “consultant”. That doesn’t seem to mean anything anymore. You can be a consultant of face cream too.
    Maybe if people took a little time to research credentials or track record, the “experts” would thin out. As long as people are gullible or lazy, these so-called experts will stay in business.
    I am very new to Social Media. I am so new, in fact, that I started blogging about my “Year in the n00b” the day after I launched an idea and came up with a Twitter handle. i would rather people know that I’m a n00b in the best of senses, than to be mistaken for a person who truly misleads people into thinking they know and achieve more success than they really do.

  29. Yes, there are definitely going to be a lot of mobile marketing products coming out. Last year my wife saw this coming so I bought up a bunch of domains mobilemarketing.org, mobilemarketing.net, etc. but if I do anything with them it won’t be until after I have run successful campaigns for my clients, and it will probably just be free information or services rather then a course, although I can’t rule that out yet.
    It’s definitely going to be a big topic this year in the IM world, but right now it’s mostly useful for local businesses.

  31. Of course this is mostly hype. I don’t ever enter my phone number on websites anymore because I’m being inundated with unsolicited phone calls. And that’s mostly on my landline. I try to set my cell phone ringtones to fit my friends and groups, just so I know if the person calling actually knows me or not. I agree that some types of business could benefit from mobile marketing, but I would go insane if everyone who sends me email suddenly sent me texts or made calls. There are a lot of them who make mistakes with emails, including having autoresponders that send several of the same messages every day. Besides, it’s hard to believe that Everyone who is marketing this right now has made a fortune already.

  33. It’s a shame that all you get from that HS $1997.00 junk is a pitch-fest
    webinar. Outrageous claims on all his stuff. NO CONTENT,Training or real useful skill sets just time wasting jaw-jacking.What a waste……..

  34. Thanks for the heads up, Joel. We are very much aware that there are people who do these kinds of things. The fact is my husband has already gotten an email about this very thing. Then people wonder why some people are afraid to do any business on the web. Those of us who are trying to make an honest living and offer great customer service have to work even harder to do the right things for the customer so they know they can trust us and will want to be our customer over and over again. Thank you.

  35. People like to make changes every here and there for any new things that surfaces on the internet. When video recording came on , it was every where and selling them as if that will be the last NICHE online.
    And these people never in their lives made any dim from these niche they are selling to other people. There is a saying that you have to Learn any model first, then Do it very well and before you Sell it to the public.
    Infomarketing is the lazy man way of online earning……..

  36. Let me reiterate, since names are being named. I was NOT specifically referring to Howie. I have not seen his product, but from what I understand is less to do with mobile and more to do with local. I don’t know what it in the training and won’t comment any further.
    The point of this entry was to say that you are going to see a LOT of people call themselves mobile marketing experts. That’s all.
    If I feel it is necessary to point to specific people or products, I will. I didn’t see a need for the purpose of this entry.

  37. Joel
    As usual you are the voice of reason and always “walk the walk and talk the talk”. It is very easy to get swept up on the wave of “lets get in first” before the hordes.
    The old adage of scarcity always rears its head and we blindly grab at what ever comes out so as not to miss the latest opportunity. And then there are those who milk it for all its worth with a monthly fee probably adding as they “learn” it, themselves.
    I look forward to your contribution as I know we will have an expert opinion on this new side of internet marketing.
    Regards
    Bonnie

  38. Lots of complaining, not a whole lot productive ideas here. Does anyone think that mobile marketing isn’t going to get bigger? It is a really cool way to reach people. People will make money with it and there are probably some good courses and some bad courses. I sure would like to see someone recommend what IS working, because complaining about what isn’t working or shooting down the authors of some of these courses (because of lack of experience actually earning profits) isn’t going to help anyone move forward with something productive.
    So, a challenge to all, who has a good course on this topic? Where can we learn more from someone who knows what they are talking about?
    Justin

  39. @ IMIE
    A degree is thirty or forty years of someone elses ” real life hands on” experience crammed into a three or four year course of “non hands on” formal study. We do not have the advantage of that here because of such a new industry. This will be one where the we will mostly find out the hard way who really knows what thay are talking about. These are pioneering days.

  40. Good point Justin! mobile marketing is still very much in the infant stage as far as I am concerned. I have been in the mobile space since about 1998 and I can remember when we were talking about getting ready for 3G. With every new thing there are those that want to take advantage of it just to make money. And there are those that want to take advantage of it to help others and companies succeed at mobile marketing. We want to help other companies succeed at mobile marketing. Are we experts? We I do not and won’t claim to know everything at mobile marketing. But I can say this.
    We have finally found and partnered with a company that had the same idea as we did – combining social networking and mobile proximity marketing. I say all this to say, I plan on learning and helping as much as I can about mobile marketing and helping others along the way.
    And if our company makes a decent return also then great. Joel’s article is RIGHT ON POINT! and I prefer to focus on solutions and techniques that will make a strong and profitable mobile marketing strategy for our customers. I think mobile marketing has some huge returns if done correctly and methodically. Just my opinion, I’m interested in hearing about good courses also. Our company is thinking about putting together a FREE seminar for business interested in persuing mobile marketing. has anyone attended any good courses??? Again thanks Joel for the article!

  41. Great post Joel! It is so refreshing to hear the truth! I have fallen for so many “snake oil” sales pitches over the last 4-5 years and it’s cost me a lot of money. Some of them were from so called “reputable” on line marketers. The price of ignorance is expensive, believe me. And I now understand why the FTC moved in to halt some of the robberies.
    At times it seems there is only one niche on how to make money on the internet. And that is “How to make money on the internet”.
    Keep telling it like it is, Joel! And Thank You!
    Don

  42. I too have noticed a huge trend in so called “marketing experts” and “coaches” on twitter. Seems there are many people out there following me that want to be my coach.
    I see a few good ideas here and there, but mostly hype.

  43. Hi Joel,
    I spent a lot of time a few years ago trying to educate myself about real estate. Even in a small country like New Zealand, the number of shysters was astonishing. But with a journalist’s built-in BS detector, I found a guru and still follow him. While I’m new to this patch, I already rate Joel Comm and am reading your ebooks and Twitter book. There’s clear separation between you and the ‘spruikers’. Appreciate your integrity and wisdom. Yep, do good stuff.
    Bill

  44. @Bonnie Ginger Beer Recipes
    Thanks for your response. Yes, of course SM is very new. I wanted to throw it out there that because of its newness, there are few ways for the unknowing consumer to gauge the validity of one person’s content from the next without recognizable credentials.
    Unfortunately, not all people value the concept that if you’re going to put yourself out there and make claims, that same person should have the skills and experience to back it up. I’m very glad that someone like Joel is sharing his wisdom and experience without the need to attack, yet being quite clear about where he’s coming from. Not everyone does that.
    Still, I wistfully wish that there was some way to regulate this for consumers, but with the word “regulate” comes a whole bunch of other problems most of us don’t want to deal with. Until that day, SM will look like vitamins and supplements: necessary and really helpful, yet unregulated and thus subject to placebos and snake oil.

  46. I am kind of conflicted on this topic. Part of me says “watch out for people out in front of these opportunities” and the other half of me says “if you are going to find new markets then you are probably going to have to trust someones research and put up with their false income claims”. When a new opportunity is truely new, prbably not a lot of money has been made in the market yet their forward thinking might be worth concidering.
    My two cents worth.
    All the best,
    Gregg Zban
    The Guru Hub

  48. Im not so sure mobile marketing will be the next big thing. Personally I would not be comfortable giving my credit card details over the wireless network but thats just me, and I’ve had bad experiences with services that charge my phone bill so I’ll be sticking to the old way for a while longer. Still that won’t stop these marketers from having a go. Thanks for the warning.

  50. So true, but it is in the human nature … Freud said ;”Give human being option to choose between two things and usually will choose wrong one ! ”

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