Dan Kennedy - Please Stop Writing

JEERS TO THE NEW PUBLISHED EFFORTS !!!

Usually, I like dear old DK, I've been with him for years. Even belonged to several of his groups and went to the big conventions from time to time. But this latest writing effort from the business gurus is .... just terrible.

I say that with great emphasis because who ever compiled this book, be it a ghost writer, intern or whatever has completely rehashed the previously released material and has simply thrown a new cover on it. The newest book in this series, "Wealth Attraction" is nothing more than a scrambled up version of the other New Economy books in this series.... and even those releases shed very little light on what to do in these troubled times.

I have heard all of Kennedys examples that he illustrates in this recent release and can recite most of them by heart. I am well versed in the tales of - Steak and Ale - (you can find it in his other writings)and other examples he gives. There is also some interesting verbal about what money is and what money isn't.... The only difference I can make out in this recent edition is that the cover seems to have gone purple and there is an unusually nice thing written about Paul Newman, (even though he is one of those -- dispicable Democrats - that Kennedy typically spews on and on about). Just because a guy is famous shouldn't make one bit of difference to persuade Dan Kennedys political views. If I hate someones political stance, I am verbal about it no matter how much clout or money the guy I am attacking has. Thats integrity -- I would appreciate it if DK would stick to his rock solid hatred stance AGAINST Democrats in this particular example but thats beside the point.

I feel ripped off -- I haven't been this upset since the $90 dollar "Phenomenon DVD" that I schecked out money for a few years back. Its pure bunk and drivel AND very little substance. Now I hear there is another book in this series for a seemingly low price of $16.95 but I suspect its simply the same book under a new packaging.

Low Points
* SUCCESS MAGAZINE -- He yammers on and on about his days with this speaking tour. Anybody even remember or care about Success Magazine? It was a lot like Entrepreneur Magazine but with less content. It came out in the late 80's. Don't bother looking for it at the newstand because its now defunct.

Kennedy was talking about how he took the stage with Colin Powell. There were many famous people who took part of this tour,(I believe and Christopher Reeve was on that tour.)

You may remember about 4 years ago there was this - "You Can DO IT" rah rah tour that some famous people had put together. You know the drill, they throw in an astronaut, Suzanne Sommers, Bruce Jenner, some hip hop guy, and Ed MacMahon or someone like him... and go on an epic 30 city tour trying to boost up the nations morale. I do not need to keep on hearing about this thing.... it happened, the countrys over it, Im over it, its time to move on. And its in previous editions of his many other written books if I ever need to refence it.

* Spiritual Metaphysical Money Manifestation - This seems to be a real stickler with DK these days. There is some truth to it all. People can imagine themselves being rich. I get that. Its annoying to Kennedy so he whines about it... just about in every single book he has released. But here Kennedy rambles on and on about it like a broken record. I know what he thinks about tithing and spiritually attracting money. I don't need negative reinforcement on this issue once again.

However, the concept of manifestation is very interesting -- there are many books on it. In fact, there are some interesting writings on this subject from one Robert Collier - the Secret of the Ages -- look it up. Collier was no doubt an inspiration to DK as a copywriter, (not a spiritual coach). Collier was active in the 1920's and had a very eclectic life. I may have been better off re-reading that one now that I think of it. There are some very powerful concepts in that book.

Look, if you got a Sunday afternoon off, (as I did) I would skip this book entirely. This guy wrecked my Holilday weekend. I ended up getting into an argument with my family over Dan Kennedy and this book ... was a serious waste of money and my time.

I wished this guy had writen something fresh about the new economy. By the way....

WHAT IS THE NEW ECONOMY?
DK was quick to point out that the state of the nation is not the fault of greedy Americans. It had nothing to do with inflated self worth or pumping up the value of real estate. It had nothing to do with pulling out the jobs in this country and then handing them off overseas. In fact, according to Kennedy nothing we have done as a country was responsible for the recent recession. I find this very odd.....

He complains about how Starbucks sells breakfast items, and how McDonalds sells gourmet coffee. He offers a few more illustrations along this vein. He claims that this is the REAL reason why things in America have fallen apart.

Because I totally 1000% disagree with this guy.

The main reason that things are in such a mess according to Kennedy is because we have too many buying choices in this country -- or something to that effect, which I find absurd. Then he quickly jumps into his days as a young sales guy and talks about the same stuff he always does -- himself and the growing affluent people he reads about in magazines like the Robb Report. After this grand salute to the rich he just drifts off into a dreamlike state --- and then there is some rambling about his horses....

THE NEW ECONOMY
The NEW economy is this.... nobody works. Jobs are finito. Nobody gives a hoohah about their neighbor because everyone is trying to survive. Nobody is saving for a future because from the looks of things there isn't going to be much of one! Thats the NEW ECONOMY.

Your clients are sleeping with one eye open and are dreaming about taking away the food from your table and hiring a bunch of guys from India who will work gladly for 12 cents an hour. This guy has never hung out in Detroit obviously. Ever.

The NEW economy means you will buy your house. AND... AND you will PAY FOR IT.... in the Millions. Because for some reason, which I cant quite figure out -- A million dollars has become the basic increment of self worth in this economy. Its the new standard. This crap really started around 911 and I don't see many guys hitting this mark. But I hear about it incessantly in business clubs, meetings and yacking with the local yokels in coffee houses.

A million dollars, (who knows where this idea germenated from) is the new level of prestige that determines what you are worth. This is despite the fact that there are no jobs in Michigan, or elsewhere from what I've read..... (See Seth Godin)....

The NEW economy to me means that our media choices are limited... collapse of major newspapers, magazines and more emphasis on the web. Something DK has avoided in his writings because he detests it. To me. THE NEW ECONOMY means that basically everything you know about your parents and the world they came from is obsolete.

Then the book takes pot shots of Walmart, (and Cosco respectively) because of the price thing which I find humorous. Im glad for places like Walmart. Without them we would have a lot of hungry families in Michigan. And the fact that Kennedy hates Walmart makes me want to shop there all the more.

Even though I disagree with his recent writings I actually respect DK, and his sarcasm and I respect his stories. But when I see a new release out on the shelves by Kennedy I expect to read SOMETHING NEW. Yes I know he hates Michael Moore, (and his ilk).... I get that, but we need to move on now and get to some fresh soil.

This is the reason why I dropped out of his Inner Circle and countless other things I was tangled up in.

We need to get over ourselves here and move on with life.

As for the book I give it two thumbs down and a D-. I find the book terrible and boring to read. I find it depressing that I bought basically the same book I picked up 4 months ago. I invite Kennedy to rewrite this book with ALL NEW content. But that won't happen. Its already too late because its on the shelves.

Ted Cantu lives in Michigan - and writes, he has yet to regurgitate his thoughts into multiple books. As of this writing, every book he has released has been 100% new content. Cantu promotes art, music and culture on the web along with SEO. You can find him at http://www.tedcantu.com

Ted Cantu - Lessons From Dan Kennedy - Is Cantu Ex-Kennedy?

THE BIG QUESTION:
"DID KENNEDY MARKETING REALLY HELP YOU AESTHETICALLY?"

The answer to that is YES. Studying Kennedy over the past 6 years has radically transformed my thinking and how I approach direct marketing. Short to the point it showed me how to do sales in a new and unique way. It was a significant moment in my life. I learned everything from SALES COPY, DIRECT RESPONSE and SALES TACTICS.

"ARE YOU REALLY AN - EX - KENNEDY MEMBER?"

I have addressed this position in past posts regarding my status with Dan Kennedy. In recent months I have cut loose from ALL OF MY MENTORS..... so I could create freely without any interference on their aesthetics.

Here is a complete list of marketing coaches I have recently let go of.....

* Brett McFall
* Dan Kennedy
* Derek Ghel
* Joe Vitale

I took the recent months to create new works online that did not lean too strongly in any one of these masterminds. I wanted to create new online records that did not borrow too heavily from any one of these Gurus.

Now, Kennedy - is changing his direction with the help of Bill Glazer in the areas of Online Marketing. This has also been under the advisement of Yanik Silver. I have taken bare principals and have laid out a different sort of attack plan.

I outline this briefly in my chapter in the, "30 Day Total Business Makeover".

THE NINE FAMILIES OF SEARCH ENGINES
In this chapter I outline 9 families of search engines including PODCASTING SEARCH ENGINES, TRADITIONAL SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL BOOKMARKING SEARCH ENGINES, BLOG SEARCH ENGINES, ARTICLE SEARCH ENGINES, VIDEO SEARCH ENGINES and many more....

I created a special brand of "Buzz Marketing" using traditional Direct Response Marketing techniques learned by the masters and applied them in Web 2.0 environments.

CANTU IS EX-SEO
To a certain extent I am not a pure SEO marketer anymore either. I have expanded my view with search engine optimization and utilized emotional responses within my web pages, such as in the Description Tag.

I feel that the description tag is the highest selling point of a business online. This is the equivalent of a headline title. We want the online searcher to open the web page and read it just as they would direct mail.

CURRENT WHEREABOUTS
I am in a state of transition of creating new online environments. I have been on the road re-introducing this very special brand of Web 2.0, Direct Response, SEO - Buzz Marketing to the masses. This means I have been on the road.

Interestingly enough I have been introducing it to companies who have been hit hardest with PPC, (pay per click) campaigns during the turbulent years of the POST COM WORLD.

I have also made a conscious effort to ignore many of my contemporaries so I would be influenced by them directly. I did not want my marketing to be a clone of someone else's. I have added a significant amount of articles, PR and Hubs to my marketing with the help of RSS feeds. This has definately gotten my name out there in front of a lot of new prospects and has resulted in business.

I have plans to return to my mentors at some point and reintroduce myself. This has been a creative hiatus and a time of personal growth.

I am also in the finalizing stages of a new book that will be released in the fall months of 2009.

Posted by Ted Cantu, aug. 21, 2009

Rebel Marketing Revisited

THE REBEL MARKETING EDGE - REVISITED

It is possible to be great and have total control over your business. It is also possible to create positive media for yourself that goes outside the boundaries of radio, television and print. Web 2.0 enables you to do just that.

That is total freedom.

DISTURBING NEWS
I got this email last week and it informed me that I need to embrace my fellow business associates now more than ever. This was important I was told because of the state of the economy. This made no sense to me. The people that this gurus wanted me to embrace were absolutely clueless when it came to business.

In times of great economic crisis you're role is not to embrace weak people. Your goal should be to getand retain customers! That should be your focus. That should be your ONLY focus.

Save yourself.

REVIEWING THE PUNK AESTHETIC
In 1976, punk rock exploded in the UK and in NYC. This phenomenon later took off in LA. It changed music forever. It set a clear message to the music industry that anybody could be in a band. It took a lot of power away from this industry and really changed the face of pop culture and how we saw ourselves. It created generation gaps.

That same type of mentality exists today with digital video. Now you don't have to get permission to create media and content to build up your business. You can do this yourself. You can create your own brand and cultivate your own interest groups.

HD Cameras are the new weapons of social change. They are the new moltov cocktails. They are the brassy new electric guitars that will literally pulverize the social climate. This is a time when real revolutions are made let alone fortunes.

It is also a time when great enemies are made.

It's a time of political unrest.

Reviewing Dan Kennedy and the Hype of Ali Brown
Over the recent months I have had a love/hate experience with the Dan Kennedy Group. I was loved and embraced by my local chapters and instantly hated and discredited the day I decided to split and stop forking over money, (I was actually handing well over $400 a month).

I wouldn't say that the Dan Kennedy GKIC group was a cult - that would be giving them too much credit for their status. But I will say that Scientologists also discredit departed members the second they turn their backs on them. You know well that a lot of polygymists do this to their members too. I don't have to spell out what this all means but you get a rough sketch of what I am saying.

Now, I am a hated public figure because I show individuals how to stand up and protect their businesses. I show people how to snub their noses up at paying for full page ads, how to ignore Yellow Pages and as a result have had cuss out phone calls from local Detroit radio stations, (they targeted my 800 numbers in 2007).

Yet, even though I have many enemies - I have cultivated 12,000 links on Google.
That is amazing.

When you compare me to Kennedy GKIC servant, Ali Brown there is no comparison. Brown only has two links according to Alexa. And her programs are far more expensive than mine. Her highest coaching program is 100k a year which I find very hard to fathom.

I'm the real deal. I am about as real as it gets.

In comparison, there is no comparison.

LANDMARK EDUCATION
An associate of mine met up with me recently in Chicago at a Landmark Education event. I happened to be in Chicago but had no interest in partaking in Landmark because I was there for my own personal reasons. A simple search on Google led to the search phrase -- CULT.

I interviewed my associate on what he was covering during this weekend and I got a robotic answer. It sounded canned. That wasn't good enough for me. I had to drag it out of him. Basically, he told me that what he was learning at this event was basic human communication skills. It was expensive.

At no time did this group ever cover how to build a decent online campaign. I can't say for sure what Ali Brown teaches. But from what I could gather I know that she was relying heavily on business building skills. It wasn't technical in nature. As for Dan Kennedy, (the Millionaire Maker) he is somewhat of a technophobe. He really despises online marketing.

Online Marketing Is Not Only Rebellious - It Is Necessary
When you get slammed by competitors or by traditional media it is important to stand up for yourself. Would you let someone spray paint ethnic slurs and rants all over your place of business or on your home? I don't know about you but I have a serious personality disorder when it comes to that sort of communication. I shove back.

I've always shoved back. I've taken on guys three times my size and gotten my ass beat but I always push back when you look at my long history.

Sometimes, I win - even if the guy is three times my size.

So when traditional media, competitors, and jealous - hate filled hacks slam you online you owe it to yourself to protect whats rightfully yours. You fight back online with sheer firepower.

It is no secret, I can absolutely criple someone online. I do not stand up for bullying, personal slander and slurs. And when thats not enough - I haul out my lawyers.

As this country slowly unravels you are going to see the real personalities of people come out. I predict that things will get ugly in the days to come.

And you have to be ready.

If you want to fight back and get media on the web with Web.2.0, press releases or web video contact the author, Ted Cantu in his Farmington Hills, Michigan studio to schedule some serious strategy time. Posted on July 12, 2009, at 9:38 PM

Copywriting Secrets With Ted Cantu - PART II

Ted Cantu and Joseph Dadich - Hard Hitting Copywriting

Here is Cantu and Dadich once again talking about "No Nonsense" Copywriting. Get ready to HOT WIRE your sales process. Here is how to write gripping sales copy that doesn't mess about. This is the stuff you need to lubricate your sales wheels in your own money machine.

Delivered in the traditional and "A-Traditional" methods inspired by Dan Kennedy, Orange Beetle and many others...

Posted by Cantu on Sept. 14, 2007 at 1:59 PM

NEWSFLASH - LIVING IN "REACTION" MAKES BIG BUCKS

"The Only Thing Worse Than
Bad Marketing - Is A Total Lack Of Guts"

I walked out of the two star weekend hit, "Superbad" this weekend. It was a packed house and I was only into the first quarter of the film when it hit me.

The premise centered around two clueless doofuses, ( doofi ) who were constantly living in "reaction". They bounced around from one ridiculous situation to another like destinys football. There were plenty of Home Alone, reaction shots... AHHHHHHHHHHH etc. that plague so many genres of films today... no matter if its comedy, romance, drama and others.

How much of this can you take?

But that is not why I walked out.

There is a reward system in Hollywood thats for sure. Every film that was previewed had a similar reaction shot like this. The plots looked paper thin and my patience was nearly exhausted. It occured to me that American culture has not only supported this lame behavior but it can also sell out a packed movie house. Audiences were cheering, laughing and nearly fainting at these predictable jokes and reactions.

Finally, I blew up and stormed out......

I walked out because this type of behavior has seeped into a lot of business in America. There seems to even be a reward system in place for clueless behavior and people who live in constant reaction........ for example.

"You'll never guess what this guy did to me....."
"... it isn't my fault, because she was like WHATEVER, and I was like WHATEVER...."
".... i COULD get that promotion if only .... ( so and so ) would get off my back...."


PASS THE BLAME BECOMES A BUSINESS SURVIVAL TACTIC
This type of wimp behavior may prove to be profitable in a cube situation. You can always find a shoulder to cry on when things get to be too unbareable. There are HR offices waiting to listen to the daily soap box drama.

But this proves to be deadly behavior for entrepreneurs.

You are totally responsible for the good things that happen to you as well as the bad. You need to understand that in order to totally take advantage of the great opportunities in life you MUST STOP LIVING IN REACTION.

YOU MUST BE THE AGGRESSOR.

WEALTH CONSCIOUSNESS: LIVING IN DESTINY
SO many times I talk to people who are not living with any type of wealth consciousness whatsoever. They more unconscious than anything else. The problem with relying on other people to fulfil the missing components in your business life is that you could be waiting... and WAITING for things to happen. You must be the total reason of the CAUSE AND EFFECT in your life.

This also spills over into many other parts of your life. This can happen in relationships and matters of spirituality. Simply said... theres danger in not growing in any of these directions.

Master marketer JEFF PAUL, top student of Dan Kennedy, said it best.....

"There are people who are good at making excuses and there are those who are good at making money..... but you cannot be both"

I am sometimes amazed at how this type of lackluster behavior..... LACK CONSCIOUSNESS and living in REACTION tends to get rewarded. Films are made about these type of people. Office culture breeds this sort of whininess and anti hero aesthetic. And self depreciating speak is encouraged in dating circles.

Sadly, all of this tends to make big bucks and get human sympathy but for an entrepreneur this behavior should not be pursued. The ability to give your aggressors the upper hand is the kiss of death to money making conscious people. It does not fit into the wealth mode.

This type of behavior can come in the form of:

* Lame sales people
* Sloppy uplines
* Bad management
* Pit bosses gone haywire
* Control-a-maniacs
* The office Spaz

You want the five second?

When you get into a sticky situation don't lose your cool. Think aloud.. WHAT WOULD TRUMP DO? WHAT WOULD ANTHONY ROBBINS DO?

Seriously.

Cantu posted this on Aug. 18, 2007 at 10:10 PM