A lot of people wonder how the “Guru’s” have such successful businesses. They wonder what these marketers do to produce so many high traffic sites and dynamite launches. They wonder what the “secret” is and think that if they only knew the secret, they could do it too. I know the secret, because I live it every day. Here are some of the things I never allow myself to do:

• Check analytics more than once a day
• Begin the day without a plan
• Refresh – refresh – refresh Twitter, Facebook, etc.
• Use social media to chat with people
• Keep instant messaging clients like Skype open
• Take personal calls or appointments during the work day
• Prioritize any activity over SHIPPING
• Spend more then 15 minutes in Google Reader in the morning
• Spend more then 15 minutes in Gmail in the morning
• Promote any product I haven’t personally vetted
• Make graphics
• Let my enthusiasm for an idea cloud my interpretation of the keyword research
• Use free tools when a paid one is faster and more powerful
• Install sites & configure settings / plugins
• Write content for niche sites
• Enter niches that are trendy within IM (forex, acia berry, etc.)
• Choose niches based on personal interest
• Complain about Google
• Get caught up in launch frenzy / fear of loss when considering a purchase
• Buy more tools when the current ones I have are being underused
• Buy any product that doesn’t fit my business model
• Spend any time in forums
• Think “tricks” or “secrets” will improve my business
• Accept any rank less than #1 for a site’s main keyword

I’m using the term “Guru’s” (above) loosely.

The term Guru is stupid. It assumes magical secrets. It assumes doe-eyed followers a la Jim Jones circa 1978. Not good.

I’m a Tiger Marketer. Tiger Marketers might or might not publish in the internet marketing niche, it’s personal perference. But they sure as hell have financial interests in other niches. And they work those sites, those niches, with the cold, calculated precision of a Tiger.

Most marketers are Terrier Marketers. They jump around, make a lot of noise, but ultimately after running around in circles all day they’ve accomplished nothing but annoying the people around them (even virtually).

Even when a Terrier Marketer *thinks* they’re “getting things done” they’ve not come close to the output of a Tiger Marketer. For example, a Terrier Marketer who considers themselves effective might spend an hour making comments on do-follow blogs for backlinks. A Tiger Marketer doesn’t give a damn whether a site is do-follow or nofollow (and certainly doesn’t waste the time filtering them out accordingly), and wouldn’t even be building blog comment links themselves, by hand, anyway.

Terrier Marketers debate, wonder why & complain about the unfairness of their competition who has 100 backlinks outranking them when they have 200 backlinks. Tiger Marketers just go get more links.

If my business model is SEO, I do nothing that doesn’t move my sites’ ranking upward. If my business model is PPC, I do nothing that doesn’t help me increase conversions & lower CPC.

If my business model is “build it and they will come” then God help me, because I’m a Terrier who’s deluded myself into thinking I’m a Tiger.

Which is your Battle Hymn?

(P.S. If you’ve read “Battle Hym of the Tiger Mother,” you’ll recognize this post as a tongue-in-cheek riff on the opening of the book. I hope it amuses you – and makes you think).