BEST Tv Shows For Internet Marketers To Watch

by 43 replies
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Here are some tv shows I recommend:

The Profit

The Pitch

The Apprentice

Care to add anyone?
#main internet marketing discussion forum #internet #marketers #shows #watch
  • I really like the Shark Tank. You learn a lot about how VC funding works and negotiation.
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    • That's one of my favorite shows. Very entertaining.
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    • Probably not the answer you're looking for, unless your niche falls in the IM/MMO arena.

      Watch what your market watches. If you're in the cooking and recipes niche, watch Cooking Channel and Food Network, and food shows on other networks. Look for the trends, what's hot, what's so overworked that it has no meaning anymore.

      If you're in the golf niche, watch golf. Look at what's being advertised and how it's being positioned.

      Watch infomercials. What pain points do they hit? What big promises do they make? How do they do it?

      I like Shark Tank, and Dragon's Den when I can find it. By this point, Trump bores the snot out of me. If you want a graduate course in ass-kissing, watch "Celebrity" Apprentice.

      One thing to keep in mind about all these shows is that their primary reason for existence is entertaining the masses. What you see is a carefully edited version of what really happened. I believe that some of the people appearing on the show are chosen because they haven't a clue, allowing most of the audience to scoff at them for being so naive or ignorant.
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  • The Big Bang Theory - Even IMers need to take a break and have a laugh.

    For video marketers, I suggest looking at the structure and formula for infomercials. They pretty much all follow the same pattern and can be useful for creating "explainer" and "squeeze" types of videos.

    Shark Tank is also good and it shows that you don't use the typical "hypey-benefits-laden" sales pitch when trying to sell to CEOS and business owners.

    Instead, they simply want to know how much it will cost and how much they will make. You better have these numbers and they better make sense if you're selling to business owners.

    There's also a number of "rescue a business" shows for hotels, restaurants, bars, etc. While these shows have some good marketing and business info, I feel the drama is often made up and fake and gets in the way of the shows. It is amazing to me how many businesses are failing simply because the business owners are either ignorant and/or too emotional about their business.
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  • Hey John,

    About infomercials, it seems we were typing at the same time.
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  • Banned
    I like true crime TV. I prefer not to take IM marketing so seriously that I watch it on TV in my spare time.
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    • John hit the nail on the head. Infomercials. They are essentially the long form sales letters that we as IMers are so used to seeing and writing. You can learn a TON from them.

      And yes, watch whatever your niche is. If you don't know how the competition approaches your market how can you make an informed decision on how to approach it yourself?

      The ironic part of marketing is that it's all out there in the open if you'd just open your eyes and look. In order for a product creator to reach his market, he has to make his promotions public to that market. That means you have just as much access to them as anybody else. How granted, it's hard to tell what promotions are profitable and what are not, but if you do your research on the company, you can get a pretty good idea.

      Personally, I don't watch marketing shows or infomercials. I'd rather watch Big Bang Theory or the Mets try to win a ball game once in a while.
  • There are two versions of Dragons Den, one in Canada and one in England. You should be able to find both online.

    Agree on infomercials. And HSN or QVC can also be good.
  • Some of the tips above, are not going to help you make money. I mean really. Here is a good tip to help you make more money today.

    i like frank kerns tip. Watch shopping channel.

    not to buy chit!, like a board stay at home housewife. LOL. To watch their marketing, guarentees, time offers, expiries, social proof. its killer stuff, and it takes just 5 mins to watch. You will be surprised what they do, how they do it, and how much you learn about sellling.

    I know one guy here in OZ, that does about $100k a month on TV shopping channels with 2 products. Yes! ok, its not all profit for him, but he does well. And has some really good tips....just watch!
  • I also love True Crime television and the Big Bang Theory ! 2 of my favorites !

    Watch Mad Men to learn about advertising and copywriting while you enjoy the early 1960`s vibe of the show (the furniture, televisions, clothing, etc.)

    Don Draper's drunken Life Cereal pitch. - YouTube

    And learning from infomercials is an excellent way as well.

    Nobody beats the informercials done by Don Lapre (before his untimely demise) IMHO

    Don Lapre Sells Tiny Classified Ads - YouTube

    May he RIP
  • You can actually get some great current information from a show called "Biz Kids." A lot of it is about Internet start-ups by "under 20s." They recently had an interesting interview with Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos. I see it early Saturday mornings on the local Fox affiliate.
  • Kurt, could you name a few? I'd be interested in watching some. I only know of Bar Rescue.
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    • There's Hotel Impossible on the Travel Channel and Restaurant Impossible on the Food Channel.

      Bar Rescue has some good stuff, but just too dramatic for me. Someone needs to kick Taffer's butt. There's no need to treat people the way he does, even if it's made up just for TV. What a drama queen.
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  • +1 for Shark Tank and The Profit, they are two very good shows that inspire me and my business.
  • The 'Dragons Den' for sure.
  • Silicon Valley - Silicon Valley (TV Series 2014
  • Banned
    A couple of shows that have not been mentioned yet...

    Joe Bastianich and Tim Love have a new show on CNBC called Restaurant Startup. As of today the series is two episodes into it's first season.

    For Hotel Impossible and Kitchen Nightmares fans I believe Gordon Ramsey's Hotel Hell will be coming back to TV in late July of this year.

    Cheers

    -don
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    • The great British series "Hustle" comes to mind. OK. It's about a bunch of crooks, but you watch them make clear plans and execute them effectively. They research their target market in great detail and appeal to the the market's desires. In watching this show I'm always noticing parallels to Internet marketing. The similarity ends for me at the illegal and unethical stuff, of course. Still, it's kind of inspiring because it always has a happy ending.
  • i do not watch those.
    i watched couple of documentaries on business and entrepreneurship.
    Thank you for your recommendations.
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  • Shark Tank, watch the crap out of that show and you'll pick up what investors really look for.
  • I guess Adventure Time should be on your list. Just sayin'.
  • I'll add a book: Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
  • I don't really know if many shows will actually give value, but either way I find these appealing and somewhat related to business:
    the profit
    shark tank
    dragons den
  • NONE!

    You should be busy on your business/es making money and serving your clients.
  • Dunno if it's still on since I'm in the UK now, but 60 minuets on fox? I think its on fox but they sometimes have a few little gems.
  • Here's my top 2:

    1) QVC

    2) HSN (home shopping network)

    You can learn alot from the seller's and promoters on here. Plus it gives you an insight of what a talking sales letter would sound like.
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    • That's easy,

      You shouldn't be watching the idiot box.

      That thing will turn your brain to jello.

      Patrick
  • This is my Biz tv show watch list that I haven't gotten around to checking out (save for my favorites in here marked with *):
    The Profit *
    Save Our Business
    The Pitch *
    The Apprentice
    Shark Tank *
    Bar Rescue *
    Dragons' Den *
    Start-Ups: Silicon Valley
    Homemade Millionaire
    American Inventor
    100 Days of Summer
    Restaurant Stakeout
    Restaurant: Impossible
    Tabatha Takes Over
    Shear Genius
    Flipping Out
    Top Design
    Hungry Investors
    Hotel Hell
    Rewrapped
    Kitchen Nightmares
    Silicon Valley

    I think this is what you were looking for in terms of entertainment and a weird way of educating us IM'ers right OP?
  • Whoa, really? No one mentioned Seinfeld?

    If you're into email marketing then this is one of THE BEST shows to study for writing ideas...

    Seinfeld was the king of making a show basically about "nothing" into something entertaining that people loved and adored.

    And if you're in the business (or want to be) of creating daily emails then this skill is a must.
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    • He,He. Your statement itself is kinda funny. Or a serious indictment on the quality of your emails.
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  • Shark Tank is my first choice. I love the way they evaluate products getting laser focused on market value, planning, and ROI. Things we should all consider.

    The Blacklist - Great escape, plus some good guidance on living ruthlessly...not that I advocate that.

    House Hunter (And similar) - Great shows to get inside the heads of buyers thinking processes. (Or lack thereof...)
  • Shark Tank I love because it puts you in the business mindset but it's also fun to watch. I've tried the whole listen to podcasts every chance I get to always be thinking business, but most are so boring and dry that I just quit listening to them altogether. So Shark Tank is great for me because it's entertaining. And maybe most people don't get anything out of it, but if you pay attention with a biz mindset, it's great stuff.
  • Some great suggestions.

    I'll offer up motivational suggestions:

    The Osbournes
    Duck Dynasty
    The Girls of the Playboy Mansion

    You'll learn very little about business with the above shows (although, surprisingly, the odd nugget of information can be found); instead, these shows, and the lifestyles they portray, can be quite motivational.
  • How about just watching top rated shows and see what is advertising on them.You will get some insight on what is working and relevant to the consumers. I like to think that advertisers are spending quite a bit for time and good campaigns are reoccurring.
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    • This is very clever. Totally agree.
  • Only shows I watch in UK are dragons den and The Apprentice, both have some limited value if you are looking for great ideas. Indeed The Apprentice is really just reality TV with the odd marketing tip but very annoying people mostly.

    Much prefer watching shark tank on youtube as the panel are more aggressive and have more ideas to offer when judging a business .

    Dragons Den in the UK needs a makeover as the panel are pretty bland.
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