I really did catch a lot of grief from my blog post the other day at:
http://www.shmoozewithben.com/dreams/stop-chasing-the-dream
but I can handle that.
What did cause my blood to boil though was the negativity that I felt in the comments.
There was an overwhelming feeling that people have been screwed time and time again both emotionally and financially. That really upset me. You see, I don’t think that the people who made those comments are naive. What I think the problem is, is that everyone needs a direction to follow and it is difficult to know who to follow.
I have been in this business for quite a few years now, so have been able to sort out the chaff from the barley.
We are all in the business to make money, and I don’t see anything wrong with that, but what I also like to see are people with truth, honesty and integrity.
I thought that what I would do in this post is tell you about a few people in IM that I admire and why. There are many more, but let’s save those for another day.
(In no particular order)
1. John Delevera
John and I have been doing some stuff together for the last couple of years. Although I wouldn’t say that we are friends, he is someone that I have admired from a distance.
Firstly because of the integrity that he shows.
Secondly because he has developed a recognised brand.
Thirdly and perhaps most importantly because he has a large band of followers that devour everything that he puts out and the case-studies that he has created are remarkable.
The fact that he does have a large band of followers shows me that he is definitely worth following and is highly worth getting in with.
You can see his latest product at:
http://www.clarifywithben.com/recommends/santa
Not only do I advise that you buy it because it is an incredibly valuable product, but also so that you can enter his mindset and discover the Deleverian method of doing things.
2. Jason Fladien
You probably haven’t heard of him, but he is a newer internet marketer who is starting to produce some incredible products about mindset and productivity. A few posts back, I gave you a link to a free ebook which he published which is worth more in my opinion that many premium priced products.
You can download that ebook at:
http://www.shmoozewithben.com/downloads/trustfactor.zip
3. John Jonas
You may not have heard of John either, although he has certainly been around the block. In my opinion, he talks sense and has helped me in mindset and also practical ways.
You can read his blog at:
Well, there’s three and as three is extremely topical this week I’ll stop there.
However, what I am interested in, is who is your favorite internet marketer and why. Also interested in your least favorite, but some of those comments may have to be moderated 
Post your comments below:
Hi Ben,
I hope you get lots of comments on this!
I like Andrew Hansen, from Queensland, a lot. Absolutely down to earth and entirely practical, without being elementary.
I really dislike the big boys these days – it’s actually a turnoff when they talk about making 74k in 3 months or whatever. I just want to earn 4-6K a month, then I shall be really happy. Then it will be my choice whether I rinse and repeat, or move up to a bigger league.
I also dislike intensive use of videos. They take so much time to watch, and you can’t flick through them, or use them as a reference guide. Technicalities apart, they are clearly less challenging content-wise to produce. The written word is not so forgiving and light content is much more obvious.
Back to the topic in hand, I look for people who walk the walk, and can still remember what it was like to feel lost with all this stuff. It’s quite easy to pick them out from the tone of their emails after you’ve received several.
I understand why people are so negative. When you first get into researching this business you go into it being very naive and green and even though your brain tell you better you beleive evrything you read. Having said that I’ll start with my bad:
Least fanvorite – Won’t mention a name but I fell for the hype lets just leave it at that.
I did learn a lot from that experience though
The good: there are a number that I follow but if I had to pick one – Eric Holmlund ericstips.com
I love his down to earth approach and value his information – i would buy from him because he appears trustworth
in responace to your question:
Eric telhulm ?
shawn Casey
You mean Eric Holmlund?
Funnily enough he was one of the first guru-types that I got to know.
Cool! I haven’t even heard of those guys, but will check out their blogs.
I trust info from: John Reese, Terry Dean, Perry Marshall, Willie Crawford.
I won’t go into the hypesters whose lists I’m also on. I’ve learned to discount their claims by quite a bit.
Right now I’m really appreciating the thoroughness of the instruction from Alex Goad in Google Conquest.
I appreciate you sharing some names that may be less well known, but you can vouch for in integrity. It seems like these up and comers are better ones to learn from because the mega-gurus just have different alliances & agendas that cloud what they produce & recommend.
Best,
Becki
Hi Becki,
Yeah, I’m loving Alex Goad’s Google Conquest also. I’m almost feeling a bit guilty that I didn’t push it harder to my newsletter readers as I am already seeing so many success stories.
Hi Ben
I agree with your commentss about John Delavera.
John is without a doubt one of the best.
Not only do I follow John, I am privileged to call him “friend”.
I could write pages about John and his integrity, how much he has helped me, and what his friendship means to me.
But I won’t! And if John reads this, he knows what I think of him.
And I do not know the other 2 gentleman but I will be sure to check them out on your recommendation.
Donna Walsh (aka “Turbo Lady”, John’s nickname for me.
)
Ben,
Many thanks for the mention — I appreciate it very much! I also agree 100% with your blog post about chasing the dream… well said, and something that needed to be said. Keep up the good work!
-Jason
Nice one Jason. Thanks for stopping by.
Ben Shaffer
Well Ben, for the past six months I’m still struggling to earn a dime from the Internet.
Worst in the beginning I lose my focus. Everything came pouring to my mail box and even now for the matter all sort of things still pouring in.
I still do not have any favorite so call guru’s yet.
However, of late I just want to concentrate on blogging. Probably I just would like to do some affiliations and get adSense for my blog.
Hiya,
One of the most important things in any business in knowing the direction that you want to go in. If you have decided on blogging, then please do stick with it. Especially after having lacked focus before and now realizing it, it looks like you could do really great.
Not having a favorite ‘guru’ is not a problem, although I would advise at some point to appoint someone as your mentor so that they can give you direction.
Ben Shaffer
PS. Don’t you just hate the word ‘guru’?
Ben,
Myself I have a serious case of “Information Overload” and I’m finding that I’ve got no other choice than to start to weed out all the crap out there and attempt to find and focus on the honest IM professionals out there like yourself.
I’m still just starting out even though I bought my first info product a couple years ago from Shawn Casey.
I’ve been involved off and on in some type of money making venture since I was in my twenties way back in the early eighties. I started with Amway back when it was just soap. I’ve sold water filters, vacuums, candy and christmas cards. I’ve been in money clubs like “LeClub Prive” and “The Magic Money Game”. I was involved with “Starmax”, “Pre-Paid Legal”, and “Coastal Vacations”.
There have been dozens and I know that a large part was my lack of follow through after the initial buzz and hype. And really how many telemarketing call regections can one person take anyway.
I apologize for rambling on about all this, but it gets to me how so many people and ventures promise you the moon and fail to follow up and motivate you to success.
Back to the subject at hand: “Who is your favorite internet
marketer and why”.
Yours are the priority emails and blog posts that I always read and get so much from. Yanik Silver and the The Maverick Business Insider is a another must read for me. “Tellman Knudson” is a maniac and I like listening to him but I can’t yet afford to stay in any of his programs yet. Alex Goad also sounds like someone that is genuinely trying to help people. My latest membership is with Yaro Starak and Gideon Shalwick and their http://www.becomeablogger.com (good tips and training video’s).
I also have to thank you for the tip about John Jonas’ blog as well as your genuine interest in helping people and this post.
Hey Ben,
I am sorry that you are getting grief. You have always been a straight shooter and I will continue to open your emails when they appear in my inbox.
As far as some really good marketers that i like to follow I have two that I would like to mention. both have shown a real interest in helping others and they give of their time and their knowledge. I would think that more people would learn a great deal if they listen to these two.
The two I have in mind are Doug Champigny and Liz Tomey. ihave been following them for a while now and though they may not be as big as the “Guru’s” they still have a name. And they really try to take people up to that next level. At least they show you how it can be done.
I know there are a lot of others and i still listen to them as well but these are the two that I will recommend.
As far as my least favorite i can not think of anyone right off hand. I know there are probably a few but i guess I have been lucky and have not run into them as yet. but my guard is up
Thanks
Hi Andre,
Haven’t heard from you for a while.
I don’t know Doug so well, but Liz and I have a special connection (her words). She is one of the best teachers on the ‘net in my opinion. I did think about including her in this post, but decided to leave her for another.
Ben Shaffer
Hi Ben, I really don’t really have a favorite internet marketer, or a least favorite, allthow I do think Calvin from imbuzz, is pretty
cool, and edwen chia. But I don’t really trust any internet marketer, because they all seem to try and sell you something for nothing, I’m a newbie, and for some reason they all seem to know that, and try to take advantage of tha fact that I don’t know that much yet! Anyway’,or at least that think I don’t. I’m trying to love everyone, because we are all Gods children. I try not to let the negative many upset me.
Good luck, and God bless,
Luis
Hope you ‘ll add more you “trust” list. I feel the same too. Should I call those (untrusted, unreliable) are just selling Internet Dreams. What do you think ?
You probably should read my previous post again about internet dreaming.
I will add more to my trust list. This was in no way conclusive, just a few people that I did want to bring attention to.
Ben
Hi Ben, thanks for the three wise men worth checking out, just wanted to say that Fladien book impressed me with his precise analysis of the marketing strategies and phases our society has gone through. Really cool book, kind of a mind opener. Will pay attention to Fladien stuff in the future.
Ben: I have lots of favorites and a few that I’ve stopped listening to. Not that they’re bad, I just get tired of being “sold” to all the time. I tend to deal with marketing people that intermix content in with their sales letters. I understand that these people are trying to make a living, but give me a reason to read your stuff. I cancelled from Doug Champigny because all I ever got from him were sales letters. The same is true of Andrew Fox. I won’t buy anything from either of them. But Eric Holmlund, on the other hand gives out great information (like his “Tips”) and Liz Toomey is good about that, too. These are people I would buy from and read regularly because they don’t just take. They give back. I like that. Hope this answers your question.
Jim Hoag