Beware of Outdated, Biased, and Just Plain Wrong Advice
- Deah Curry PhD
- May 27, 2014
- 2 min read
I’ve been spending some time recently scanning the blogs of internet marketing coaches looking for new tips to try, and have become increasingly concerned about what I’m seeing.
Under the guise of reviews and comparisons, some blogs are thinly veiled velvet scare tactics. Worse, their claims are based on out of date information that the bloggers haven’t bothered to update. In many cases, the advice is so wrong, it risks getting you penalized by Google, and wasting hundreds if not thousands of your hard earned dollars.
There is so much of this going on that I can’t go through point by point to correct all the misinformation out there, but I do have some tips for those who want to be smart consumers.
Look for Publication Dates
Internet technologies change so quickly that any blog post that is more than 4-6 months old is likely unreliable. If you can’t find a date on an entry, don’t even waste your time reading it.
Dates should be prominently displayed at the top of the blog post. In some cases, they might be at the bottom. Hunt for it.
If there are links in the body of the blog post you are interested in, check out hold old those resources are. A blog written last month based on a reference from 2011 should tell you that the writer wasn’t using the most current information. If it’s not current, it’s more often than not, no longer accurate.
Get Real Users Feedback and Form Your Own Opinions
Don’t be fooled by pseudo-comparison articles that serve to direct the reader to conclude that the writer’s opinions are correct. Do your own homework. Facebook makes that easy.
For example, if you are checking out email programs like Aweber, MailChimp, iContact, and ConstantContact, go to their Facebook pages and ask hard questions. Know what you really want such a service to do for you. Try their trials. Form your own opinions.
Educate Yourself
Yes, a lot of techie stuff is overwhelming – at first. A lot of it at one time can give anyone a headache. But make it part of your marketing plan and dedicated marketing time to educate yourself on what you need to know to get the most accurate information on current best practices for internet marketing will pay off for you in the long run.
A coach I’ve worked with, and had training from is Ronnie Noize. She’s a no-nonsense coach who specializes in micro-business marketing for do it yourselfers. Find her here.
It would be smart to get Ronnie and me in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for us at:

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