Great Marketing: Embellishment or Manipulation?

[longjca]

I apologize if there is a similar discussion to this and will link if I find anything.
This might be taboo or even shooting myself in the foot for bringing this up or just straight being ignorant.

I've had a struggle with digital marketing and more specifically copy-writing in certain ways.

When does it become an embellishment of results or just straight sales copy manipulation? If and where do you draw the lines?
(And am I ridiculous to think that I can be successful without some form of manipulation? Because I am not playing by the "Whatever It Takes" mantra and will definitely fail if I don't play along).

I can't help but think that a lot of "gurus" are borderline sociopaths charging ridiculous money.

I also don't know what to expect from the responses to this because you might not want to put yourself out there to admitting it (which I accept. All types of people in the world. you be you, I get it, that's your game. No judgment).
I'm just wondering if this is common practice, acceptable, or even expected.
Thanks!

 

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[Lex DeVille]

I apologize if there is a similar discussion to this and will link if I find anything.
This might be taboo or even shooting myself in the foot for bringing this up or just straight being ignorant.

I've had a struggle with digital marketing and more specifically copy-writing in certain ways.

When does it become an embellishment of results or just straight sales copy manipulation? If and where do you draw the lines?
(And am I ridiculous to think that I can be successful without some form of manipulation? Because I am not playing by the "Whatever It Takes" mantra and will definitely fail if I don't play along).

I can't help but think that a lot of "gurus" are borderline sociopaths charging ridiculous money.

I also don't know what to expect from the responses to this because you might not want to put yourself out there to admitting it (which I accept. All types of people in the world. you be you, I get it, that's your game. No judgment).
I'm just wondering if this is common practice, acceptable, or even expected.
Thanks!

Marketing crosses the line into unethical territory when something is offered that isn't delivered. Beyond that, it's largely open to interpretation based on your moral compass and the law.

Many gurus are sociopaths. That doesn't make charging a lot for their products wrong. What is ridiculous to you may not be ridiculous to them. That's a matter of personal beliefs about money.

What do you really want to know? What is it you're hinting at asking?

• Should you lie in your marketing copy?
• Should you charge high-prices?
• Should you manipulate people into buying?

When you cross the line into unethical territory, you will know because people will become vocal about your scam tactics.

 

[Digamma]

When does it become an embellishment of results or just straight sales copy manipulation? If and where do you draw the lines?

All communication is manipulation.

All communication is manipulation.

What you really mean is when it becomes lies. And the answer is that the lawyers draw the line, we merely paint at the edge of it.

(And am I ridiculous to think that I can be successful without some form of manipulation? Because I am not playing by the "Whatever It Takes" mantra and will definitely fail if I don't play along).

It depends. What do you mean by successful? What do you mean by manipulation?

Is Apple's messaging manipulative? They're not selling phones, you know. They sell identity. And they don't actually deliver on what they really promise. You're going to be the same loser once you buy an iPhone.

Is an angle like "scientists find a dairy product that makes people poop out excess fat" a lie, to sell a probiotic? It's a stretch to the truth. Lawyers OK'd it. And it sold a huge quantity of product.

Is $10k in profit a month success?
$100k?
$20 million a year?

Look.

The more the competition, the more you need to do to survive.

The more the scale, the more you need to do to survive.

Generally speaking, though, if you swim with sharks you better be ready to do what sharks do. Whoever says the opposite has simply never written a control in a competitive niche.

I've had a struggle with digital marketing and more specifically copy-writing in certain ways.

...

I can't help but think that a lot of "gurus" are borderline sociopaths charging ridiculous money.

How much would it be worth to you to — quickly and easily — get rid of all that struggle and know exactly what to do?

To never again need to post an apologetic message on a forum, but instead know all the answers yourself?

Maybe the price would not so ridiculous then?

I also don't know what to expect from the responses to this because you might not want to put yourself out there to admitting it (which I accept. All types of people in the world. you be you, I get it, that's your game. No judgment).

Hold on there. Your entire post is full of judgment. That's what you're struggling with: your own beliefs.

And that's fine, judge all you want. It's your life.

But it's holding you back.