I admit, I decided to write this blog post from a bit of an emotional impetus. I suppose at the current moment, I am slightly disappointed. Recent events over at my beloved Warrior Forum have made me less than pleased and as a result, I’ve taken some action and I’ve reflected a bit… and I’d like to share these thoughts with you because I think you may get value from them.
*If for some reason you do not know what the Warrior Forum is, it is the biggest internet marketing forum on the web. It has been and still is enormously influential in the IM world. Onward…
The first and probably biggest migration away from WF happened when the powers that be decided to ban all backlink providers on the basis of them violated the TOS of other sites. I’m not going to go into the whole thing, but this was just ridiculous on a number of levels, including that many of these providers had private networks or weren’t even providing links, just link advice. I wish I could find Terry Kyle’s blog post on the hypocrisy and lunacy of the event (sorry guys, you’ll have to search it out yourself).
Another recent migration amongst my group of friends has occurred due to a number of factors… WSO bumping raising in price, moderators not upholding WSO rules, forum respect seeming to go down the drain… I honestly turned my cheek on these issues (and the SEO issue above) because the WF has been so good to me. I once wrote a post about how it changed everything for me (because it did, in a way). I didn’t really see any of this stuff worth me abandoning the forum or moving in another direction.
But this recent event has rubbed me the wrong way. It’s not THAT big of a deal, but I think it’s indicative of the lack of reciprocal support between the moderators and the members…
For months, I have been posting my (high-value) freebies in the “Make Money Online” section and garnering hundreds of opt-ins and dozens of positive reviews and “thank yous.” This section of the forum was relatively quiet and where as in the WSO section, threads move from page to page within hours, threads on the MMO section move from page to page within WEEKS. According to forum moderator, Sean A McAlister, the section had gotten “out of hand” and thus posting freebies and asking for an email address in return is no longer allowed. You can read the sticky here: http://www.warriorforum.com/make-money-online/273708-warning-please-read-remove-your-squeeze-pages-your-thread-will-removed.html
This is not even where my problem is… (even though yea, I’m annoyed I won’t be getting those good, free opt-ins anymore)
The only reason I noticed this change is when I visited the forum and my “thank yous” went from about 120 to 94. The only way that can happen is if threads are deleted. When I figured out that they were all from the MMO section and that Sean had removed all my threads there, I offered a dissenting voice to the decision on the sticky, in a respectful manner. I explained that posting there is now no longer a profitable activity for other marketers and I and as such, the forum can only expect for the quality of the postings to go down. There was more to it as well and I’m pretty sure I made a strong point (since I got thanked for it by other members)…
But unfortunately, all the comments (6 or so, mostly saying how they liked the rule, a standard response to a rule-change sticky) were deleted and the thread was closed.
Why Sean? Can’t my respectful, constructive criticism be tactfully responded to? Why must it be expunged from the record?
I feel like we’re in a George Orwell novel. And this isn’t the first time, by any means. I’ve seen dissenting voices on many threads started by moderators get banned, deleted, silenced, etc.
So listen, I don’t want to harp on this. In many ways, all this stuff is no big deal and we all need to learn to roll with the punches. Am I a little peeved that Sean dismissed my comment and rendered my time completely invaluable by simply deleting it from the record? Yea. But also, after all these events, I may just need to take it as a sign to concentrate my efforts elsewhere. The Warrior Forum is not the first and will not be the last company to get high on their success and we need to understand that. After all, we saw what Google did last year and what Yahoo did years before them. And they are by no means, the first or last website to change their policies to the chagrin of a large number of members in what they think is in the best interest of their own business. All we can do as members is learn from it and act accordingly.
I am taking SOME action, but nothing drastic. It was time for me to end some of my WSOs anyway, so that’s what I’m doing. The 2 of note are closing on Sunday, October 24th:
Email Marketing Revolution WSO: http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-special-offers-forum/238956-give-me-your-teeny-tiny-list-ill-show-you-how-turn-into-6-figures-real.html
Dual Action Affiliate Profits: http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-special-offers-forum/256131-learn-how-i-banked-6500-snagged-600-buyer-leads-72-hours-see-insane-price-rave-reviews.html
But more importantly, it will be a change of focus. It’s clearer now more than ever of the Warrior Forum’s most useful purposes:
1) Getting started in IM. It’s a fantastic place to release your first couple of products, get some notoriety, some testimonials, develop some relationships, and yes, make some money. Since I’m slightly beyond this phase in my career, it may be time for me to focus elsewhere.
2) Discuss product releases. This has been beneficial to me on dozens of occasions.
3) Get answers to questions that can benefit from multiple opinions.
4) Find partners.
5) Grab an occasional WSO
For the most part, this is what I use it for. Yes, there are other uses and ways to leverage it for greater success.
However, it is now, more than ever, extremely important to NOT become dependent on the Warrior Forum or any other site. That is the exact reason why I preach list building so much. In the event of server meltdowns, drastic rule changes, or any other website-specific catastrophes, your list is the one that stays standing. I like to say, your list is so secure that not even the IRS can take it from you because all it is, in essence, is permission from thousands of people to send them emails. It isn’t the property of your auto-responder and isn’t subject to the TOS of Google or WF. It gives you the true independence you need.
So this is the conclusion I have come to. These events are not getting me huffy and puffy. I am not turning my back on the WF. I am still a member and will refer to it when I need it. Will I post another WSO? I do not know. Time will tell. But for now, I’m going to just sit and meditate on the fact that if I want freedom in my life, I’ve got to take the path to it. And it won’t come from traffic generated from somebody else’s website. If your business is currently relying on one source, I encourage you to look deeply into the issue and make sure you aren’t exposing yourself too drastically.
Until we stop reading email (anybody see that coming?), email traffic is KING. In my business, all other traffic methods are for the purposes of building email traffic. Period.
Email Marketing Revolution is now $27 as a WSO. On Monday, it will be available for $67. Is this a product you think you should have? Go here now before it’s closed: http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-special-offers-forum/238956-give-me-your-teeny-tiny-list-ill-show-you-how-turn-into-6-figures-real.html
