I love the Internet because of its transparency. I wanted to address a post made in the GBN group on Facebook that I believe is self promotional but others may or already have disagreed.
The posts format goes a little bit like this.
“Hi travel bloggers we’re new here please check out our new travel websites. Here’s one that’s a travel website and here’s another that offers advice on how to travel blog.”
Innocent enough, right? Well not if you know what you’re looking for. It’s my belief that the first website is being used as a thinly veiled attempt to detract attention from the second. After all the first one proves they are big travel fans so they probably just want to be part of the community for the right reasons?
The main purpose of the post is to build a sales/marketing funnel. To push all those people who gave their email through the funnel as many times as possible to sell something (probably their ebook), potentially an ebook or an affiliate product.
To do this you have to get people to your website, then once they are there you need to really impress them with some great engaging content (not much about travel blogging but more about marketing). Once you’ve read that great content, you’ll want some more right? Or at least want to know how to get your traffic to sky rocket out if this stratosphere? So just enter you email address, it’s free!
You won’t just receive spammy emails from signing up, “Internet marketers” don’t want to scare you away… They need to build trust. Don’t believe me? Then read this article on it from the man himself, A Wildly Profitable Timing Template for Email Marketing It’s a well trodden marketing path that’s been practiced for a long time.
So, after receiving numerous helpful emails you’ll receive another helpful one with a pitch to their email or affiliate products. In order for the travel blogger to be hooked into the claims and pitches don’t be surprised by claims of greatness including massive traffic.
Signing up for emails, work shops or training courses aren’t always a bad idea, but make sure you do so with people who have been there and done it not just some marketers wanting to make a living from travel bloggers.
Such people include:
Dave from gobackpacking.com with Travel Blog Success
Art of Travel Blogging
If you’re looking for help with WordPress then try Chris at RTW Labs
As for GBN, where is the moderation?
