The Etymology Of Black Hat Marketing With Media Releases
Thank you to all of you who have responded to my latest post re: unethical media releases.
Please, for all those who have emailed me directly, please use the blog. I really appreciate it.
I don’t intend to be negative and I certainly don’t want to sling mud. There is too much to be positive about and it is something that I have always strived to be–positive in all that I do, including my outlook on life!
Several people have referred to this unethical practice using media releases as a black hat marketing strategy and that is exactly what this is.
Before I share with you what I plan on doing, I want you to understand the following five point that separate the black hat marketers with the white hat entrepreneurs…
That means that we must define our terms first. Definition of terms is always crucial. Just like when we advertise that no one else is teaching *how to* create customized education, we mean just that. This not to take away all those who sell free reports (hundreds of entrepreneurs), or from those who have used customized free reports (Denis Waitley, Brian Tracy, Eben Pagan and Alex Mandossian have used them—very few others), but no one today *teaches* how to create them, let alone has created software to do this for you.
(By the way, we have been teaching the science of using assessment instruments in order to customize your content for the past 6+ years, but I digress.)
That leaves us with two terms to define. A Black Hat Marketer is someone who manipulates marketing techniques and strategies to under mine some else’s promotion or leverage another’s success for their own success. I refer to this person as a marketer and not entrepreneur as I do NOT consider unethical practices to be a part of entrepreneurship.
A White Hat Entrepreneur is someone who puts value and one’s prospective clients first. This person combines one’s passion and expertise and creates incredible value from the person’s unique perspective (UPP) and one’s system for solving defined problems (USP).
A Black Hat Virus is the worst kind of virus. It combines elements of truth with elements of dishonesty. It does what Mark Joyner discusses in his book, Simpleology, which is to get the market place to agree upon some basic truths, and then take them down a path that simply cannot be verified. (Note: I am not saying that Mark’s book has anything to do with black hat marketing!)
Here is the etymology of this type of black hat virus:
1. The Black Hat Marketer makes a decision to focus on ‘you’ and not the value that you can put into the market place. This is always a recipe for disaster and what causes me to laugh every time I see another ‘business-in-a-box’ product being advertised. Now, I am not saying that every marketer that creates these kind of products is a black hat marketer, but they are preying on the ‘quick rich’ mentality that always leads to disappointment to those who buy these products.
2. The Black Hat Marketer creates the virus by piggy-backing on the success of the White Hat Entrepreneur instead of creating one’s own case studies. This is one of the reasons that every program we have has been case-study driven. In fact, in our latest book, Author and Grow Rich (http://AuthorAndGrowRich.com), each chapter ends with a case study.
3. The Black Hat Marketer advertises to the media that this person and the White Hat Entrepreneur have a great partnership.
In the Recommendation Age, you must have social proof or you are dead in the water. Every media release that we produce today is case-study driven.
Again, when you come from the place of that sweet spot which is the intersection of your passion/expertise, you come from a unique place that incorporates your UPP, which is one of the keys to carrying a virus into the market.
I have referred to Seth Godin’s book, All Marketers Are Liars, several times (by the way, the thesis of the book is not that legitimate companies do anything unethical, but that they are masters at telling a story of what they do—critical in the Recommendation Age.) and the need to craft your UPP.
However, what is even more powerful is your ability to have others take this to the market for you.
4. The Black Hat Marketer Uses half-truths—the ultimate black hat deceptive technique—to promote the relationship to the world in the best form of social proof today—the power of promoting thru the power of the media.
We have all been conditioned to believe the words of an expert. It’s the strength of Milgram’s Law and the fact that if you do not have a book in The Recommendation Age, you are a nobody.
In fact, I challenge you to consider that last interview you watched on Larry King Live, CNN, or FOX News. Did you once question the words of the expert being interviewed? And did you realize that the person being interviewed was an author? (In fact, the expert must be an author in order to gain the media coverage in the first place.)
This is what makes this deceptive practice by this marketer who used me in a media release all the more deplorable!
5. The Black Hat Marketer fails to let the White Hat Entrepreneur know that there was a ‘supposed Joint Venture’ created between the two!
This is the ultimate form of deceptive Black hat Joint Venture partnership.
These are the five keys to creating a black hat virus.
I had no intention of blogging about this, but since it happened to me, I thought it a perfect venue to inform you to be careful.
This is definitely not over with.
By the way, I am planning on phoning this person and will inform everyone of the outcome.
And to end on a positive note, The ‘Trump The Donald’ Contest has taken off with a bang!
One thing I have always stated: When you build momentum in the market place, there will be all kinds of situations that come about to try and derail your focus.
Stay tuned as I keep you informed about the outcome of this form of black hat marketing and how this situation is resolved…
To Your Legacy!
Glenn 
Tags: black hat marketers, black hat marketing, unethical media releases
February 25th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Very good points and all necessary to guard against falling victim to some of this prey. However, if someone used your name or announced a joint venture without your approval, I think you owe it to us to announce the name of that person. After all, we are on your list because of your integrity and this kind of issue needs to be fully exposed.
All the best,
Tom Justin
http://www.FirstStepInternetMarketing.com
February 25th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
[…] this is the very latest post from Glenn today. Read it here. Glenn teaches the 5 top strategies used by black hat marketers, including forging a […]
February 25th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
You are right - and very controlled - not to mention this person. As upset as I can see you still are, this must take much more self-control than sitting in front of your favorite food while saving it for a friend.
I’d be afraid that a phone call would end up as a he-said/he-said on the other party’s website. Of course, being driven to these tactics to attach himself to you, he’d be pretty stupid to bad-mouth you. But then, he wasn’t very bright in the attachment in the first place, was he?
I’m assuming this Black Hat is a he. That’s probably because no women “gurus” spring to mind.
I agree with the poster to your last blog that you consult with your intellectual property attorney. If the Black Hat doesn’t cease, desist, retract, and apologize; you may need him or her. (I do know some attorneys who are women. LOL!)
Thanks to you, Glenn, I’ve chosen my market, started working on my book, and am researching web hosting and other venues. All of this from your free advice! I’ll be invincible in my niche when there’s money to buy your shared wisdom. (Since I mentioned food already, maybe I should mention my book will be a cookbook - or two or three or many.)
February 25th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Good luck Glenn. You can take the high road AND expose this person at the same time. Although you are the victim, you will be helping victimize unsuspecting others if you do not bring this fraudulent claim to light. Maybe you could just give people enough info to find out themselves like the date of the PR and the PR site it was released to. Then your supporters would get the word out for you!
Keep on the sunny side,
Electra
http://www.electrasmonograms.com/
February 25th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I am still curious as to who this evil person is that would piggyback on the coattails of Glenn Dietzel! While Glenn is one of those guys whom I have always looked up to because he embodies the virtues that I wish I myself possessed, I still cannot see how someone would be ignorant enough to blackhat Glenn’s name.
I really need to know who did this…
Gotta find out.
Have an amazing day!
Micheal
February 26th, 2008 at 8:18 am
It is quite obvious to me who the black hat marketer is, because in some of his materials he uses your stuff almost word for word.
You are to be complimented on the way you are handling this!
This was a great blog post!!
February 26th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Hi Glenn,
Sorry, I must take issue with your comment about others who have “used” customized reports. In the build up to the launch of his Altitude Program last year, Eben Pagan taught people about using customized reports and even gave away the software to create them for free.
You must know this, becasue you’ve also borrowed his “moving the free line” term.
February 26th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Thanks, Dino.
I invested hugely to attend Eben’s event with another person on my team last fall to ensure we scale our company properly. I am very much aware of Eben’s programs.
The first time I heard of the exact words ‘move the free line’ were from my good friend Brad Fallon in his explanation of how he was so successful with StomperNet. This took place a year ago in April, when Brad invited me to his ‘Launch Formula’ event in Atlanta.
Our eBarq and EARP are all assessment instruments that have been in circulation for at least three years.
I stand by the fact that no one teaches the *pedagogy* of how to put together a sound assessment instrument from a teaching/learning perspective to create customized reports in the new era in which we live, The Recommendation Age. (This the power of the new social media sites like Digg, Del.icio.us etc.)
I have some strong disagreements with Eben’s rating scale system from a pedagogical perspective.
Type in the words in google– “customized education” + Recommendation Age and see what you get. The term customized education in the area of business development is a very new concept. In fact, other than us, most of what comes up is related directly to education.
As for the science of assessment creation, our company has years of training in this area as we are educators who have spent out lives using this science and teaching this. In fact, Paul Jackson and I were using this system six years ago when were teaching the power of eBook authoring and publishing to educators across Ontario.
At that time we were preaching and anticipated the danger of the Information Age. In fact, we ran some articles that came from our courses on how to increase the pedagogy of a hyperlink and hotspot within one’s eBook.
Thanks for the challenge.
To Your Legacy!
Glenn
February 27th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Is this a major or minor issue?
If it’s just a term used as a borrowed expression,
what’s the fuss about?
It’s not as though Glenn has stolen Eben’s
“copyrighted phrase” - if there’s such a thing.
If Eben is not minding, why should Dino?
That’s a bit far-fetched.
Unless Dino has some misperceived injustice
and wants to settle the score. Well, Dino
could be the blackhat marketer in disguise!
I have no foundation in asserting that. So,
I am just guessing.
February 27th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Hi Glenn,
Thanks for the clarification.
My point is that you have been clearly upset (rightly so) by some “guru”
claiming a make-believe relationship with you.
The flip side of that is not revealing when a relationship exists, taking other peoples ideas, modifying them and presenting them as your own, and not affording your orginal source a mention.
I’ve studied your stuff, I like it, and the way you present, and I know that you teach about making up your own language (Curriculum Continuity, Pedagogy etc.) but I could make up some fancy, unique name for something and then claim that no one else is teaching it.
It’s good to be humble now and again and give credit to others where it is due.
I’ve made my point, you are most welcome to have the last word on this.
My very best,
Dino.
February 27th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Hey Glenn,
It blows my mind that someone would “invent” a relationship with you in order to somehow gain an advantage in the marketplace. I know personally that you and your company adhere to high standards of integrity and certainly don’t deserve to be used as a pawn. Whomever is the culprit here needs to be upfont and issue some level of apology. We all make mistakes at some level but, the real credibility comes with admitting the mistakes, sincerely apologizing, and moving forward.
Glenn, thanks for bringing this out in such a professional and tactful way. I wouldn’t expect anything less from you and the Awaken team.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
[…] his recent post The Etymology Of Black Hat Marketing With Media Releases, Glenn defines some important terms for us to remember when a) buying anything on the internet and […]