Every internet marketer is peeing all over themselves trying to get you to download Rich Schefren’s Attention Age Doctrine 2.
Don’t bother. At least, don’t bother until you’ve educated yourself a little more. For free.
Does he understand his own message?
As it turns out, Rich doesn’t seem to understand his own message. This book is only a slightly less bloated sales letter compared to the first one. It looks to me like he’s just getting ready to launch a membership/interactive learning environment site, which anyone can learn how to do if they sign up for Teaching Sells (my affiliate link — I’m a member and I believe in Teaching Sells). The first one had nothing new for me, but I’ve been living with these ideas for a long time.
Sales letter, part 2
Like I said, the first one was just a big hyped up sales letter. The second book isn’t much better. However, it is full of fascinating information and paints an accurate picture of what’s happening online, right now. If you like statistics, go for it.
Get on board the Cluetrain
At this point, you might be wondering why I’m ripping on Rich Schefren. Well, I’m not ripping on him. I’m saying that his book probably isn’t for you. I have nothing against Rich personally. He really is the guru’s guru. I read his blog myself, and benefit from his knowledge. I like Rich.
But I think you’d be better off reading the book that really started it all: The Cluetrain Manifesto. The entire book is online, for free. You can certainly buy a hardcover version of it, but the whole thing’s online.
This book changed my life. It was almost like a religious experience. I saw everything differently, after reading it. And you know what? I still see the world in this new way. What Schefren’s trying to say in the Attention Age Doctrine is what Cluetrain said years ago: markets are conversations. Nearly everything you can see happening in the new world of business right now can be summed up by that phrase. Why do you think Web 2.0 has often been referred to as the social web? We haven’t even begun to see the real power of this, yet. Cluetrain made another very powerful statement that has borne out to be true: hyperlinks subvert hierarchies. Tagging, anyone? Wikis?
Get infected
Another book that forever changed my thinking was Seth Godin’s Unleashing the IdeaVirus. Nearly everything we know about viral content comes from this book. And it doesn’t have over ten pages rehashing Seth’s life story about how he got where he is today.
From Cluetrain to Hughtrain
Hugh McLeod is one of my favorite dudes of all time. He runs a blog called Gaping Void. He draws cartoons on the backs of business cards. Amazing things have happened because of that. With a nod and a wink to Cluetrain, Hugh has collected some of his best thinking into the Hughtrain. The main phrase from this one: the market for something to believe in is infinite. What does it cost? Nothing but your time… your attention. Ahem.
No, really, go ahead
Go ahead and download Rich Schefren’s Attention Age Doctrine 2 if you want (that link is not an affiliate link — I make no money or get no credit from it). If you move around in internet marketing circles, you’ll see it everywhere. Like I said, I have nothing against Rich. I just don’t think that his book is worth your precious attention. And I think the three I’ve mentioned above are. I’ve read every one of them myself and each one has changed my life and how I do business for the better.
Books like Rich’s seem to offer the possibility of riches and opportunities that are just around the corner. All you have to do is sign up and pay for a program, a seminar, and you will get THE ANSWER. There is no system. There is no software. There is no answer, other than the hard work and imagination we put into our entrepreneurial endeavors.
What do I get for recommending these other three books to you? Maybe some trust. And if there’s one thing that ensures you will have people’s attention, it’s already having their trust. You see, because I have already read these other books and have incorporated their ideas into my thinking and how I do business online, maybe I understand the Attention Age doctrine better than its own author.
There’s just one more thing. You can still learn a lot from Rich. I’m using something I learned from him in this post. Want to know what it is? I downloaded a list of phrases that keep your readers’ attention. I’ve been using them throughout this post.
13 Comments
Hi Michael
That’s a hard line you are taking.
I downloaded the report and enjoyed reading it last night.
It certainly made me think hard about the issues that web 2.0 are throwing up.
But thanks for these other resources. I will take a look at them with great interest.
@Paul, thanks for your comment. Yes, it is a bit of a hard line, but not so hard in the end.
Having already read the books which I recommend, nearly everything in AA1 and AA2 is stuff I already know about, and I didn’t have to put up with a bunch grandiose sales talk.
I actually downloaded the report through someone else’s site last night. I’m a few pages into it… it may be too early to judge, but I’m wondering if it could have been written more succinctly.
Michael, thanks for the links to the other resources, I may check those out.
I figured I’d give the report a try before I saw your post. I saw Chris G’s warning that the report wouldn’t open on his Mac, but I figured I’d spend 30 seconds giving it a try on mine.
It didn’t open and that was all the attention I was willing to devote to the report.
@Aaron: thanks for commenting! That’s too bad. Aren’t PDFs supposed to work on any system? Just think of all the hype and over-optimized jpegs you’re missing!
Interesting post Michael. I am a big fan of Hugh and Gaping Void, love Seth Godin, and have been through the Clue Train a few times (choo-choo). I just signed up for the report from Rich. Guess I can delete that now.
Thanks for looking out for us all!
Good column, Michael. Definitely an interesting read. I didn’t think much of AA1, so I’m not sure about AA2. I downloaded it, and I’ll probably end up reading it over the weekend, but I’ll keep your words in mind as I do.
Thanks Micheal - I hadn’t heard of Rich Schefren or the Clue Train Manifesto. I’ll check into that for sure. It’s funny … your passion about NOT reading Attention Age has sparked my curiosity to the point where I want to go read it now!
@Christine: yes, there really is no such thing as bad publicity, is there? At least read Cluetrain first, OK?
It is seriously a must-read for any blogger or entrepreneur today.
It is interesting isn’t it?!? I promise that I will read Cluetrain first
Hear, hear!
I like Rich Schefren, too. But this over-blown Super Sales Letter was told more eloquently in April, 2007, when Tom Asacker (acleareye.com) spent three hours with the Broadcasting Professionals of Virginia, discussing branding.
I had a blast and learned a whole lot more.
Although Schefren did wake me up with the Internet Business Manifesto, I agree that his book may not be for everyone, because he is basing our potential success on one critical factor: that we bring a killer product or service to the marketplace.
Affiliate marketers, drop-shippers, life coaches, pill pushers and MLMer’s need not apply.
However, all of us can use the art of conversation to build our businesses.
We really don’t need “Unique, proprietary tools” - yet another magic bullet - to accelerate anything.
The sad thing is, thousands will order BAP, and still not take action.
Score one for hypnotic marketing.
Cheers,
Mitch
Good observations on your post.
I appreciated Rich’s observations about the current state of marketing, but many of us bloggers who are trying to provide meaningful information and market in an ethical manner already knew what Rich was talking about.
I think Rich’s report presupposes that everyone marketing online wants to be a driven, focused, multi-millionaire.
Michael, Thanks for telling it how you see it. So many would have just praised it and given an affiliate link.
One Trackback
[...] is no reason to subscribe to such a blog. What at first appears to be genuine content is really just another sales pitch designed to string you along to the next sales pitch, and so [...]