Comments on: How Much Transparency Is Too Much?

By: ducttape

ducttape — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 19:56:00 +0000

In reply to Pat Flynn. Thanks Pat - I certainly tried to make this point in the post but you've certainly added a great deal of color to the mix.

By: Pat Flynn

Pat Flynn — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 19:04:00 +0000

In reply to Stacey Herbert.

Stacey, the results, the wins and failures, ups and down and the ins and outs of what one is talking about is the most important part of this transparency equation. So many people go straight to the numbers, and I keep them there because of that and because I’ve been doing it for so long, but if you don’t have the case studies and share things that show how you got there, it definitely works against you.

Some people come to my site and see the numbers and don’t believe it, or they even call me fake, which I’m not surprised by. Typically after they see the reports that go along with those numbers, or they get with my on Skype (which I’ve done a number of times), they realize it’s not fake.

So why do I do it – why do I share the numbers? Well of course people talk about it, and I’m a marketer and know it’s something people are interested in, but even more than that, I’d rather be the one to capture people’s attention with the numbers and then be upfront with them and tell them like it is (it takes a frikin’ load of hard work and time), than to have someone else take advantage of them by show numbers and selling them something based on hype instead of something real, if that makes sense.

I’m going to be on a flight and out of the country soon so I won’t be able to reply right away, but I’ll check back later in case there’s a more in depth discussion happening that I can add to. Thanks for sharing this John! It’s definitely an important topic of discussion!

By: Sahail Ashraf

Sahail Ashraf — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 08:30:00 +0000

I agree with Stacey on the problem. It’s hard to trust even Pat with his figures because a hundred other people are doing it on a fake level. I know Pat is real and transparent, but would the average guy who doesn’t know what he does feel the same way.

Case studies are the very best kind of transparency as part of marketing. Showing, rather than telling, what you do and how it has provided value is about as transparent as you can get?

By: Stacey Herbert

Stacey Herbert — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 09:30:00 +0000

I think the whole “numbers transparency” approach was great when bloggers like Pat started doing it. Not to mention the fact that he has been consistent with it, so essential this transparency has become part of his brand. But so many people are doing poor imitations of it, and at times it can look desperate and copy-caty, rather than inspiring and valuable knowledge.

I’d like to see more transparency where marketers talk about the sort of results they get (the wins and the fails), what tools they actually use and not just promote, and how exactly these tools/strategies help make their business more profitable and efficient.