Who’s Danny Iny and what’s the lie he tells?
Danny Iny is the co-founder of Firepole Marketing and the author of “Engagement from Scratch“. I respect his expertise, and he seems to be a very nice guy. But he does lie.
The lie he tells is that you will make more money with your business if you read Firepole Marketing blog, subscribe to their marketing course, and read his book. Is that a lie? Yes, of course it’s a lie. Studying marketing makes no difference to your business, no matter how much you read.
Unless you actually use the ideas you get from reading a blog or a marketing course, you’re stuck. The idea that reading his posts would do anything more than explain an idea, is a lie.
Does Danny Iny actually say it would do more than that? No, he doesn’t. But that’s the implication and the idea he sells. So, is he a liar? Yes, but not more than any other smart marketer.
Who am I and how do I lie?
My name is Peter Sandeen. I am also a liar.
Here’s the lie I tell. “Your company culture, which is the core source of business success, will improve by reading this blog. You’ll also get lots of referrals, enough to grow your business, with the ideas I share.”
There’s a true story behind my lie (as is behind Danny Iny’s lie). I share effective ways to improve company culture, motivation, and creativity at work. And you will learn how to craft focused marketing that will create sales and referrals for your business.
But again, if you don’t act on the ideas I share, your business will stay the same.
Is lying okay?
As Seth Godin explains in his book “All Marketers are Liars
It’s totally okay for a marketer to tell a story they believe. I believe your company culture will improve with my ideas. And I’m sure Danny Iny believes you will become a better marketer with his ideas. So, these “lies” are okay.
But you can’t market a product with a story you don’t believe yourself. That excludes factual errors and false promises. A straightforward lie isn’t okay, but a story that leads you to a conclusion, is the essence of marketing. And that conclusion is rarely the same as the facts, making it a lie that you tell yourself.
So, Danny Iny is a liar, but there’s no way he could realistically avoid it. He could say, “I write about my marketing ideas.” That would be factually most accurate, but that’s not a story worth telling.
How do you lie?
Lets say you sell cereals. Your product will compete with all other cereals, unless you tell a different story. You could use an exotic ingredient (soy, seaweed, etc.) to produce the cereals, and then tell a story about health, exotic flavors, individuality, and so on. As the customer you’d transform that story into a lie, “When I eat these cereals I will be healthy.” That’s a lie, the cereals won’t make you healthy. They’re just slightly less bad for your health than normal cereals.
Understanding the story you sell and how it transforms into a lie, is the most important key to effective marketing. The guide to Premeditated Marketing is based on that idea. If you don’t know exactly what your story is, how your prospects will interpret it, or how to frame it to be effective, check out the guide.
What’s your story? And what’s the lie your customers tell themselves? Please, share your story in the comments below.
PS. Danny Iny has a business partner, Peter Vogopoulos. They’ve founded Firepole Marketing together and they both write there. I only wrote about Danny Iny here because I’ve had more contact with him, and it would be awkward to always write “Danny Iny and Peter Vogopoulos”.
PPS. My first guest post at Firepole Marketing was published today.
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Peter Sandeen
Hey Peter, thanks for calling me out!
Seriously, I think you raised a great point here, and I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m also thrilled to have you as part of the contest – it’s a really great post, so anyone who hasn’t read it already should head on over.
Hi Danny,
Thanks for commenting.
All marketers (and especially marketing “specialists”) have their own favorite marketing ideas. Mine is the story aspect. I really think it’s the core of marketing and I wanted to demonstrate it so that people will stop to think.
I thought I’d just expose my lie, but it just didn’t feel right… Sorry, but you just happened to be an easy victim
Man, so much good content in this community.
Peter you’re on fire! Your guest post on referrals is awesome too!
I take it further, understanding that everything is a ‘lie’,….
Everything. We live in lies (stories).
…but I usually use the words ‘perception’, ‘illusion’, ‘dream’, ‘fantasy’, and ‘story’ because all of those have less stigma and connotations LIE. (Lie is GREAT for an attention grabbing headline though
)
For me, this comes from a deep understanding that the duality of truth/lie is a man-made concept, but I won’t get into that here.
I also love how you gave Peter Vogopoulous props — in most ventures there are behind the scenes people who are equally important as the public face of project — and it’s funny, because if you talk to the frontman, they will almost always passionately give respect to the behind-the-scenes-team, because they KNOW and UNDERSTAND all great things in life are a TEAM effort.
Hi Jason,
It’s nice to see you here and thanks for sharing your thoughts.
You’re right. We do live in lies that we tell ourselves. Some of these lies are indifferent, but sometimes the lie can be remarkable.
One that I feel strongly about (but you have never heard of) is the war Finland is currently in (in Afghanistan). The Finnish government doesn’t admit it. They say, “It’s a peacekeeping operation.” But by definition we are at war. A couple of university professors wrote about this is the largest Finnish newspaper. The Minister for Foreign Affairs responded, “Oh, come on. That’s just stupid.” And people believed him, because of the lie we tell ourselves, “Finland is an independent country without enemies.”
Back to point… There are too many facts to understand them all, so we create easily understandable lies to cope. That’s why you market a story (that becomes the lie), instead of facts.
And you’re right about the headline too. I did use that word in part because of that
My pleasure, and clearly a passionate subject
The Finland issue is interesting, and what I really take from it is more about my personal perception of what’s going on.
For example, a story (lie) I tell myself is that “these two countries are rapidly becoming clear on what works win-win for them.”
Another one I’ve told myself so often, lived in so deeply, and believed so passionately is that “Everything always works out for me.”
I’ve said this through so much of my life, other people promote my story as well
Back to the point…
The point I am making is that there’s no such thing as facts, truth, or lies — just one, giant, mass of individual perceptions — but again… that’s a deep discussion for those who are ready for it
Yes, all there is, are individual perceptions of things. Understanding and shaping those perceptions is called effective marketing
If you’re interested to know what I think about these perceptions, check out my Premeditated Marketing guide (sorry for the self-promotion, but really if, and only if, you’re interested then check it out).
Hahah… I am a bit different from most people in that:
1. I see people’s creations as very, very valuable.
2. If they want to self-promote, I whole-heartedly encourage it.
2b. Especially if it’s done so respectfully (as you did.)
Rock on man, I’ll consider taking a look — at the same time, I have a f*@#ing fantastically powerful FREE offering on my site: Ryze’s Success E-Course, so… you know…
http://ryzeonline.com/courses
Hilarious… for two seconds. The thing this reminds me most of is how we can take other people’s words in our conversations and words and convert them into what we wanted to hear in the first place…it’s the only way my wife actually ever agrees with me…
Hi Charles,
I’m sorry to hear you think that. I can sincerely tell you I didn’t intend to do that at all. And judging by what Danny commented here, he doesn’t think so either. But I also greatly appreciate your honesty, really
Man, so much good content in this cummonity.Peter you’re on fire! Your guest post on referrals is awesome too!I take it further, understanding that everything is a lie’, .Everything. We live in lies (stories). but I usually use the words perception’, illusion’, dream’, fantasy’, and story’ because all of those have less stigma and connotations LIE. (Lie is GREAT for an attention grabbing headline though )For me, this comes from a deep understanding that the duality of truth/lie is a man-made concept, but I won’t get into that here.I also love how you gave Peter Vogopoulous props in most ventures there are behind the scenes people who are equally important as the public face of project and it’s funny, because if you talk to the frontman, they will almost always passionately give respect to the behind-the-scenes-team, because they KNOW and UNDERSTAND all great things in life are a TEAM effort.
Interesting post, but while it’s true that you have to sell fewer products at a hihegr price point in order to achieve your target income, that’s not the only factor that’s at play.Suppose you dedicate hundreds of hours to putting together an extensive training program that you’ll sell for $497 (versus a smaller version that could have sold for $47, but put together in a few hours). But what if your larger program is a flop (maybe readers aren’t willing to pay that much, maybe it’s on the wrong subject, whatever )? You’ve invested tons of time to make no sales, when running a smaller program would have allowed you to quickly figure out what works and what doesn’t before launching your next, more successful product.Personally, I believe larger, more expensive products are something you should work up to as your audience and your understanding of their specific needs, interests and desires grows. Instead of blowing everything on a big product that might not pan out, use smaller products to test ideas that can grow into something larger, even if they aren’t as profitable at first.
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