Ali Magazine: Inconsistent Messaging

I've been an Ali Brown afficionado for a few years. Her rise to nearly celebrity status as the darling of Internet Marketing, more commonly known as "the Ezine Queen", has been almost metoric in nature. In fact, during a teleclass this summer, she credited the law of attraction and the power of manifestation for her quantum leaps in business over the past few years.

So when I heard tell of a new magazine that was on the way, I was very nearly salivating. My mind traversed the possibilities: powerful interviews and articles on business building and attraction principles. Profiles on Ali disciples that had made good and gone "big time" with their business. Even the possibility of some lifestyle and travel tips. The horoscopes...

... Wait? huh? HOROSCOPES?

You heard me.

In my perfectly blunt style, I wrote my letter of disbelief to Ali. She of course did not reply (she's far too busy for that these days) but one of her assistants did.

"Thanks Lisa - We appreciate your feedback. The reason why we included a horoscope section is because horoscopes are FUN! People like them, Ali likes them. It's good to have fun with your business and enjoy it. :)"

Well, I don't dispute that FUN should be a part of your business. Countless pages in Ali's new magazine outlined style, fashion and travel ideas. And I even appreciated the tip sheet articles and guest spot on Heidi Klum. heck, I'll even give her props for the layout of "behnd the scenes" pictures from her cover shoot. That's fun stuff!

But Horoscopes, to me, seem to go completely against everything Ali spoke about during the summer teleclass on Manifestation with David Neagle. In a class all about setting your sights on a goal, learning the right way to goal set, and how to attain those goals through attraction, putting your "faith in the stars" just seems incongruent at best and insulting at worst.

To say "people like them, Ali likes them" is a means of justification without addressing the issue of congruence.

It draws to mind those old Venn diagrams from logic class.

If people like horoscopes, and Ali likes horoscopes, then Ali is people, too.

...Talk about lowest common denominator.

Don't get me wrong. I still like Ali's work, and she has some valuable content that has taken my business in a new direction, but to lower the qualty of the content to appeal to "the masses" is a bit heartbreaking.

A good magazine - a FUN magazine - doesn't need tawdry little, mind numbing horoscopes.