What Can Henry Ford Teach Us About Internet Marketing?

By Bill Hibbler

In his book, "The Law of Success", Napoleon Hill tells an interesting story that I'd like to share with you...

In the early 1900's, Henry Ford, at the time the richest and, arguably, one of the most powerful men in America filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune had made libellous statements about Ford labelling him an "ignoramus" and "ignorant pacifist" due to his stance on World War I.

When the libel suit came up for trial, the Tribune's attorneys tried to prove their statements to be true, that Ford was indeed ignorant. They cross-examined him using a series of questions to test his knowledge on a variety of subjects.

Ford's reply? "I do not know just how many, but I have heard that it was a lot more than ever went back."

As you can imagine, this prompted laughter from the entire courtroom including from the attorney that asked the question. Ford continued to patiently endure a number of questions designed to make him look foolish and ignorant.

Finally, Ford had enough. After one particulary obnoxious question, Ford supposedly replied, "If I should really wish to answer the foolish question you have just asked, or any of the others you have been asking, let me remind you that I have a row of electric push-buttons hanging over my desk and by placing my finger on the right button I could call in men who could give me the correct answer to all the questions you have asked and to many that you have not the intelligence either to ask or answer. "

"Now, will you kindly tell me why about filling my mind with a lot of useless details in order to answer every fool question that anyone may ask, when I have able men all about me who can supply me with all the facts I want when I call for them?"

You can imagine the reaction. The Tribune's attorney's jaw hit the floor and the courtroom was stunned into silence.

Ford's response contains a very important lesson for Internet marketers.

Let me ask you a question. Assuming you're an Internet marketer and not a graphic designer, are you building (or trying to build) your own websites? If so, why?

And what other time-consuming, non-marketing related tasks are you doing yourself? I'm talking about installing website scripts, creating ebook graphics, duplicating CD's and tapes, packing and shipping products, etc.

Big mistake.

Like old Henry Ford, you have a 'row of push-buttons' on your desktop that you can use to call in any number of technical experts. And you don't need to be as wealthy as Mr. Ford to afford their help.

In this case, those magic buttons involve visiting a couple of websites, namely rentacoder.com, scriptlance.com, elance.com and a few others. On any of these sites, especially the first two, you can find experts ready to design a professional looking website or write any kind of program you need for less than the cost of a pizza and a couple of video rentals.

A few years ago, I paid about $2,000 to have my first website built. I've since replaced it with a design that cost me $130. If I wanted to, I could probably replace it for under $50 today.

Using freelancer websites, I have had competent programmers create and install custom programs and scripts on a website for as little as $20. In some cases, these are programmers outside the U.S. that are fluent in English yet live in an area where $100 is the average monthly salary. I've also had work done from U.S. high school and college students that are programming wizards.

In most cases, I could have done the work myself. I'm a competent web designer and can do a little bit of programming work. But I'm no expert and, even if I was, this would not be the best use of my time.

How much sense does it make for me to spend 2-3 days designing a website when I can have someone else do it for $50 or less? It makes no more sense than it would have made for Henry Ford to go out in his factory and start mounting wheels on Model T's.

If you want to perfect a skill, work on your copywriting skills. Good copywriters earn $5,000 to $25,000 per sales letter. That's a skill worth developing but not designing websites or graphics. And not writing and installing scripts. Pour all your energy into creating products and marketing. Period. Outsource everything else. That's what all the top marketers do.

As anyone that's been reading this ezine for a while knows, I'm in a weekly mastermind group with Joe Vitale. Most people would agree Joe is one of the most successful Internet marketers around.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret about Joe. He couldn't write HTML code if you put a gun to his head. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know how to install an autoresponder, design ebook graphics or FTP files to his website either.

Surprised? You shouldn't be. Just like Henry Ford, Joe has a team of experts that take care of all these things for him. He knows his time is better spent doing marketing. So is yours.

You now have a team of experts at your fingers, too. So no more excuses for ugly, do-it-yourself websites. And no more cheap looking cookie-cutter template sites, either. Not when you can get a site designed for less than $100.

There's a saying that I learned from Anthony Robbins several years ago... "Success leaves clues". Henry Ford, perhaps the most successful man of his generation left some very important clues. Don't overlook them.

Resources:
Freelance Help:
RentaCoder.com
Scriptlance.com
Elance.com

Copywriting Instruction:
Joe Vitale's Complete Hypnotic Copywriting Library

New Audios Based on Napoleon Hill's Work:
Listen & Grow Rich

In this issue's review, I take a look at a new ebook that's shows you how to protect your computer from hackers and viruses using free software. Be sure and check it out below.

That's all for this week, see you next Friday.

Have a great weekend!

Bill Hibbler
http://www.EcommerceConfidential.com
http://www.Create-Ultimate-Ebooks.com
http://www.RudlReport.com

 "How to Secure Your Computer Using Free Tools and Smart Strategies"

By Doug Partridge & Kevin Ryan
$29.95

Have you ever had a computer virus? Have you ever had your desktop taken over by pop-up ads? Have you noticed your computer slowing down quite a bit?

If so, then you know how frustrating these things can be. A computer virus can cost hours or even days to eliminate from your computer. If you've never been hit with one, consider yourself lucky.

A few months ago, someone broke into my wireless home network. I thought I was protected but I was wrong. Fortunately, whoever got in didn't do much damage. They planted a fairly simple virus on my system that was easily eliminated.

Still, when I discovered the 'break-in', I had to thoroughly check my system and spend a full day making sure everything is OK. I wish I'd had this book before that day.

I take security fairly seriously and run Norton Internet Security on my system. But after reading this book, I realize my system is still vulnerable.

It's an easy-read and everything is explained in plain English. For about the same price I paid for the Norton product, Doug and Kevin show me how to scan my system for security holes and plug them using free software.

And the free software they recommend is actually better than what the software I paid for.

Doug and Kevin explain exactly how hackers get into your system and what you need to prevent it. If you're not really interested in the technical aspects of it, you can simply skip the first chapter and take action.

Using the steps they recommend you can protect yourself from hackers in a matter of minutes.

Next up is an explanation of how viruses work and how to protect yourself from them. I was amazed by the quality of software they've found that's truly free with no strings attached.

While there are more full-featured versions of the programs available, the free versions are fully functional and include regular updates. For most users, the free version will be all you need.

So right there, the authors have saved you from having to buy firewall and anti-virus software. You could easily spend $60 to $70 or more on a commercial solution.

They also show you exactly how to install the software, too. Since the instructions included in these programs are often filled with technical jargon, I found this info to be quite helpful.

Beyond security holes and viruses, the authors discuss adware and other types of nasty things hackers plant on your computer. Did you know that there's a virus that will take over your dial-up modem and make international calls or call adult chat-lines? I had no idea such a thing existed. Your anti-virus software won't catch these, either.

Again, the book explains how to check to see if you're already infected with any of these programs and how to get rid of them using free software.

 Bonuses

In addition to the main book, there are three bonus ebooks. And, by the way, all of the books are in the Adobe Acrobat format so they're easy to read and print out.

Bonus #1 is a 22-page report on how to defend yourself against online identity theft. As with the main ebook, you get a 'how it works' section followed by recommendations on how to prevent it from happening to you.

Bonus #2 is about how to keep your email secure. Viruses often travel as email attachments and they are often hidden from view. You don't know their on your computer until it's too late. In addition to techniques for protecting yourself, they also cover how to secure your emails from prying eyes.

Finally, Bonus #3 is on strategies for reducing spam. They begin by explaining how spammers get your email address. Then they give you some strategies to reduce the garbage in your inbox. Once again, the authors come up with some cool free solutions.

Bottom Line: Unless you're a tech whiz and are already well-protected, you need this book. For about what you'd pay for Norton or McAffee Anti-Virus software, you can be protected from far more types of threats than those two protect against plus have a better understanding of how hackers get into your system to begin with. Click here to order.

I would love to hear what you think of this issue of Ecommerce Confidential. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you'd like to share with me, please send those, too!
Just e-mail me at: bhibbler@ecommerceconfidential.com

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