Can I be blunt Reader?

There's a terrible, HORRIBLE myth in the world of marketing.

You've heard these words before. I KNOW you have, because it's such a pervasive lie.

"If I can do it, you can too!"

I know you've heard it. Hell, I said it myself in my younger days.

I have learned a LOT since then, though. There should be SO many asterisks around that statement, because it's rarely true.

The reason it's so effective, though, is because we WANT it to be true.

It's a different brand of "The Emperor's New Clothes".

We think that we see ourselves in the story of the person selling you this lie.

We THINK that we are "just like them" in some way.

The reason this is SUCH an awful lie is that you probably ARE just like them in some way - but not the ways that count!

Here's an example...

A marketer (we'll call them "Phil") says that he's going to show you how he turned his life around and made six figures on his last launch using social media ads. He's going to give you the EXACT, STEP-BY-STEP process that he used to do it. All you gotta do is follow his "idiot-proof" plan.

He tells you stories that feel relatable and you can SO identify with who Phil was in his "before" scenario...

Hard working.

Smart.

All the character traits that you believe you have. Heck, he may even like the same kind of pets as you!

You are vibing and connected to Phil. You see so much of yourself in Phil's story.

Then, those magic words: "If I can do it, you can, too."

Ahem.

As Eminem once said, "Snap back to reality, OOPS! There goes gravity!"

Because what Phil's NOT telling you is that he's got a credit card with a $10,000 limit and he maxed it on Social media ads. He also had a cousin that worked inside an ads agency and helped him cut his learning curve on building ads that convert. He can't tell you WHY what he's offering works, because he's just sharing with you what his cousin shared with him. So when those ads stop converting, you've got to come back for another training to find out "what's working now" - instead of really understanding what makes for an effective ad.

He's selling a remedy for a symptom, not really solving your problem.

So what he's really saying is this:
​"If I (a person with financial resources and hands-on help) can do it ("it" being spend a ton of money, time, and resources on figuring out social media ads) you can, too!"

Now I hear you, "But Lisa! Phil's giving me templates! They're going to save me so much time! They're cutting my learning curve! I just have to do what they tell me to do and I'll be all set!"

I mean, maybe... that's why there's an asterisk. Some people WILL be successful. And that's what Phil's banking on.

Because then, he's got receipts... proof that his way works

... and I'll say the unspoken part out loud here... that if Phil's offer doesn't work for you, your brain will very likely say that must mean there's something wrong (with you). You didn't want it bad enough, try hard enough, or ____enough to get the results.

But, hey, Phil's probably got some next-level offer to get (you) better results.

I'm calling BS.

Just because it works for some people doesn't mean it will work for you.

I'm not trying to take a dump on Phil, because Phil may very well be doing a lot to serve his audience. Phil might actually be a really great person doing really great work in the world. Hell, Phil may not even realize that what he thought was a harmless marketing phrase is actually an incredibly dangerous lie! It's been tossed around for so many years by so many big name companies, I wouldn't be surprised if he was just using a template he learned from someone else!

And... you my very well see success with Phil's offer. In fact, I really hope you do.

But YOU need to go into Phil's offer with clarity about how it will or won't work for you. Don't be wooed by the biggest lie in marketing.

Until next time,

- Lisa

P.S. There's still time to test drive my new visibility tool. If you want in, let me know!