You’re in the kitchen and the roast is ready to be pulled from the oven. Everything is perfect; place settings, fine china, the house is warm and inviting. Soon, guests will arrive.
But, as you’re basking in the glory of your accomplishments and daydreaming about the forthcoming reactions, the first visitor arrives and, somehow, you didn’t include this particular visitor in your vision: a wet and muddy dog.
The dog tracks blobs of dark, unidentifiable goo all over your perfectly manicured floor. Then, with a smile as big as a broiler pan, shakes-off the mud and your beautiful dining room is instantly transformed into a Jackson Pollack painting (not one of the good ones).
There’s mud everywhere, even on the ceiling.
The doorbell rings.
You are instantly and understandably mortified, but the thing that burns you the most?
It’s not even your dog.
Somehow, a random neighborhood dog with inferior decorating skills wandered into your house uninvited. Maybe you left the door cracked to vent some of the heat from the oven.
But, where we need to focus as online marketers is with the dog:
- Dogs love stinky mud and this dog wanted to share it with you out of the kindness of his heart.
- The dog KNOWS you’ll love his stink every bit as much as he does.
- He saw the open door and seized his opportunity.
- He made a grand entrance… there was no way anyone could ignore him.
- Now that you’ve seen it, he knows you’ll want to hire him to come shake mud all over your dining room again and again.
I see the online marketing equivalent of this on forums and social media all the time. You launch your new product then immediately start posting as many free links to it as possible in as many places as possible.
If this is how you’re planning to promote your products, don’t be surprised if you get ignored, flamed or unfriended.
You may have the greatest product in the world, but if you’re randomly plastering it all over the internet, you’re acting like this wet dog.
Don’t be a wet dog.
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