I don’t think there is a single person on Earth who can resist the temptation of cracking open a fortune cookie once it’s brought along with the bill. Yes, fortune cookies give me that tantalizing feeling, too.
There are many words that can be used to describe fortune cookies: ‘insightful’, ‘funny’, ‘useless’, ‘inspiring’, etc. But what I’d like to share with you is my opinion on how the get-rich-quick recipes for online success generously shared by many Internet marketing ‘gurus’ are just like fortune cookies – enticing, yet pretty much useless.
They are one-size-fits-all
‘A man with brown eyes has a surprise for you’ – a fortune cookie message
In most cases those valuable ‘tips’ are made shallow on purpose, in order to cover a wider scope of audiences. So, what’s telling in this case? If you feel that the advice provided is too general and you can’t see how it can be applied to your particular situation, this means you probably should be out of the blog post (or the blog altogether).
They are something you could have figured out by yourself
‘You are not illiterate’ – a fortune cookie message
Sometimes the tips are so well-said and so nicely wrapped up that you think, ‘wow, this is so true’. However, after you give them a little thought, you realize they are nothing new at all, and you could have figured that out yourself.
They can be dangerous if you take them too seriously
‘The end is near… And it is all your fault’ – a fortune cookie message
The problem with those pieces of advice coming from the industry’s ‘experts’ is that sometimes they can be plain harmful. Perhaps, the ‘expert’ is just trying to impose his/her point of view to sell stuff.
Here is an interesting case of an ‘expert’ being exposed at warriorforum.com.
They just waste your time
‘The fortune you seek is in another cookie’ – a fortune cookie message
Another peril associated with reading those bogus gems of marketing advice is that, sometimes, you spend too much time reading a post, and, at the end you realize it was all useless. In which case, why not stop half-way? As a rule, the goodies would at least be mentioned upfront.
They are just fake advertising
‘A thrilling time is in your immediate future’ – a fortune cookie message
I’m always skeptical about such exaggerations as something happening ‘in no time’ or somebody making ‘a fortune’ overnight. I think a mature, educated person should understand that this is just a marketing move, and realize that no recipe will make you really wealthy really quick.
Sometimes they make no sense at all
‘Alas, the onion you are eating, is someone else’s waterlily’ – a fortune cookie message
Hah, this is my favorite. Some digital marketing ‘gurus’ are trying to camouflage their shallowness with long-windedness. Like, you start reading somebody’s advanced pieces of advice, and, if you want to make head or tail out of it, you really have to read each line twice. If that’s the case, most likely you don’t need the info. See, the point of each educational post or e-book is to make things simple, not complicated.
To sum it up, just use your common sense to tell a cheap, unrealistic recipe for success from really useful tips. Don’t go for get-rich-fast schemes and don’t get lured by ‘magic’ formulas.
