Bullshit Marketing

[sha]

I have no doubts about Jason Scully's skills as a black belt and a teacher. In fact I learned a few things from his videos. But am I the only one who gets pissed off by that kind of marketing tactics?

The Grapplers Guide: Grapplers Guide Sales Page

Why do we need never-ending pages, fake deadlines, bullshit comparison tables ("Books vs the Grappler's Guide"? really?) and big bold red text? You don't see sites like Draculino or MGInAction using those tactics, yet they seem successful anyway.
In my opinion, that kind of marketing cheapens the value of the site and only makes me want to spend my money elsewhere.

 

[akharon]

yet they seem successful anyway.

And this is why.

 

[lechien]

his mkt is fine by me. you do not like then do not read

 

[Sloth]

There was a good interview with Lloyd Irvin on the fightworks podcast a few months ago that mentioned his take on this kind of advertising. Made sense when he talked about it. There's a lot of other awesome info on that episode also.

 

[Mat Nemesis**]

it is part of that lloyd thing and I believe that scullis is an affiliate or something.

I listened to that podcast and half of it he sounds decent and half not.

but i don't like websites like that also.

 

[redaxe]

You starting a thread like this is part of their marketing concept and helps them get exposure. It's the "any publicity is good publicity" school of marketing, they just want to get people talking about it. You just gave both Grappler's Guide and Lloyd Irvin free advertising.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

box in upper right hand corner with an x inside it.

use at your discretion plz

 

[Kimuralex]

Jason gives away a lot of free videos, advice and etc. and he is legit, so why bash him based on his sales tactics? if it pays the bills and doesnt annoy you, WHILE you recieve FREE material, what is the problem?

 

[phd in mma]

that is a plug n play web page, ive seen it for many real estate scam websites and pyramid schemes...

 

[Kyuktooki]

I was thinking you were going to talk about all the lame adds on this site. I am seriously about to quite this place and go to the UG.

 

[redaxe]

I was thinking you were going to talk about all the lame adds on this site. I am seriously about to quite this place and go to the UG.

oh god the UG is SO much worse you have no idea

 

[Andrew Green]

People use marketing because it works. If a certain type of advertising is drawing in leads and clients, use it. Most places use a variety of different types of marketing to try and appeal to a wide range of people.

As long as the product behind the marketing is good and the marketing isn't intentionally misleading people, I'd say do whatever you can to get clients. I'd rather see the guys with a good product make a living then those with a poor product.

That style of marketing does get a bad rep, probably because it is often used to sell poor products. But if it can sell poor products, maybe when you put a good product behind it you can get even better results?

 

[sha]

Jason gives away a lot of free videos, advice and etc. and he is legit, so why bash him based on his sales tactics? if it pays the bills and doesnt annoy you, WHILE you recieve FREE material, what is the problem?

The reason I started this thread is that between him, Lloyd Irvin, and now even Stephen Kesting I'm afraid this will become a marketing trend for grappling-related sites. I don't want other people to think that they HAVE to use these tactics to sell to us.

So I'm hoping that by making this thread, I'm showing that there's at least one person who's turned off by this style of marketing, and that it's not always the best way to present your product.

My main criticism is that I think that although this sale strategy works, it works for the wrong reasons. It works by pushing on your psychological levers by creating fake constraints and incentives. You'll notice that there are no video previews or any useful information on that site, just the same marketing message repeated throughout the page. It's all style and no substance.

Note that I'm not attacking the actual product being sold here. I'm sure that the site is a valuable tool and a great community. I just don't like the way it's being sold.

 

[Kimuralex]

The reason I started this thread is that between him, Lloyd Irvin, and now even Stephen Kesting I'm afraid this will become a marketing trend for grappling-related sites. I don't want other people to think that they HAVE to use these tactics to sell to us.

So I'm hoping that by making this thread, I'm showing that there's at least one person who's turned off by this style of marketing, and that it's not always the best way to present your product.

My main criticism is that I think that although this sale strategy works, it works for the wrong reasons. It works by pushing on your psychological levers by creating fake constraints and incentives. You'll notice that there are no video previews or any useful information on that site, just the same marketing message repeated throughout the page. It's all style and no substance.

Note that I'm not attacking the actual product being sold here. I'm sure that the site is a valuable tool and a great community. I just don't like the way it's being sold.

I agree with many of your points, but i will play devils advocate and ask you this question. Will more people sign up to bjj if there are tactics used like this by these kinds of people? will more people be interested in bjj and watch more videos on it?

If you answer no, then its a whole other argument. If we are on the same page, then I will argue that since more people will sign up, more ppl will want to get better, the grappling community as a whole will get stronger since the more people training (especially with new tools such as videos and books and stuff) the better it is for the sport as a whole.

I dont work for jason, I ran into him a few times at tournaments and talk through the net and hes personally given me a lot of free stuff, so I support him

 

[curb1850]

I tend to just ignore it. I do enjoy the free material, so if he makes money this way and gives away cool free stuff I'm ok with it.