The Price of a Sucker

Well, I read the one but latest e-mail with it's link to the instruction.  I dutifully followed the link after gagging at the obviously fake apology that the website was swamped but is fixed now.

I read all about the old way of failing to make money on the web using the old fashioned methods, particularly pay-per-click traffic.  Then it dawned on me.  I had signed up for one web site and then received a fantastic offer that was far more alluring than the original sign-up.  I was pay-per-click traffic.

I read about the 'sneaky, 100% successful mind-control techniques', that I would be taught - noticing the timer, half-outside the field of my browser - warning me I was running out of time to claim my 7-day trial.

I read about the auto-content and automatic sales letter generators.  I wonder to myself if perhaps I am reading automated content that I have come by clicking on a '100% involvement-free' sales letter.

I've been sold as a part of a list.  I'm awfully glad I created an imaginary persona to sign-up with.

The original sign-up send me an email telling me about various techniques, like the limited time device used to gently push the conversion.

Now remember, it's only $1 - and even that's refundable.  For that dollar I'm going to get so much '100% FREE Profit Producing Search Engine Traffic'.

At the top big numbers - ten of thousands of dollars are bandied around.  So, I think, if everyone can be earning nearly $100k - why would anyone do anything else?  

Who is buying all of these e-books?  Mind you as far as I can gather, some people still pay for pornography (I looked into that too).

In between, I get another email, telling me not to sign up yet because I can get a whole load of e-books (most valued at $97) just by sending off my membership fee receipt.  But hold on...

Don't you guys tell all of your members to offer e-books that they can get created for a fraction of the cost of anyone else?  You do? Yes, thought so.  Reading further down, as a full member you even create one or two a month just for me!

Now I really wanted this to be my gateway to financial security - times are tough.  I'm not too proud to admit that.  So I carried on reading, the little voice inside me screaming SCAM!

My first inducement to join is at the end of the pre-amble and prime sales pitch and followed by the testimonials.  Just like Fox Mulder, I want to believe.

The testimonials (another email I have received tells me how reasonable it is to get testimonials from your satisfied customers).  Certain lines of each testimonial are kindly highlighted, presumably to save me having to read all of them.  When I do I discover that the terminology and language is remarkably similar to that of the content above. Hmm...?

'...best investment I ever made...' - that would be the single dollar, yes? '...earning $10 a day selling e-books...' Ahh, those e-books.

One testimonial, "I Am Now Making $4,000 A Month" goes on to tell us how he is '...receiving around 5 orders of my product everyday.'  Firstly, he was so excited he made up a new use for the word everyday.  Secondly, to make $4K  a month from 5 orders per day, he would have to be selling $27 e-books.  Every day?

Then I took on a new tack - one of the testimonials had an unusual name combination - so I googled it.  They were real and seem to exist and are doing what their testimonial said they planned to do.  Not much of a smoking gun there.

The next was a bit strange though.  It starts off addressing the authors, after telling them how successful he has been using their method he tells them 'Seriously, you can do it too.'  Erm, chap, they already know.  They're making $97,064 a year using this simple plan.  He then urges them 'GO sign up, and take a look around.'  A little odd, as they own the content!

Moving on, the next talks about the training community (raises eye-brow), asking 'What would I miss if I didn't subscribe?'  Ahh, I see subscribe.  So, that's what you want after you get my refundable dollar is it?  Then goes on to evangelise the product to the evangelists.

Next '$5K in the first week'; followed by '...first sale after two weeks.'  No consistency is there?  This is proven by another £1,000 a day part-timer. 

Next a long testimonial (glowing naturally) telling me 'After signing up for 2 months, I have 3 websites and I am making progress with traffic.'  Sorry?  What?  What kind of loafer is this man?  Three websites after two months? 21-day traffic plan?  But it says further down you get an expert business every two weeks.  Not as smooth as it sounds now.

Elsewhere, in another testimonial, ' ...well worth $150/month...'  That's interesting.  It doesn't say definitively that is the cost, merely a comparative value, but an indication of a cost for the subscription.  $1 indeed.

I click to see more testimonials, interestingly they all have the membership numbers 381 or 383.

A lot of secret work has been going on.  If you work on something and you don't publish it on the internet, guess what?  That's not secret, it unpublicized not secret.

Then an admittedly impressive array of training materials.  Free web-hosting - which I imagine is covered by your subscription. 

Next (what is to me) a mind-boggling offer of marketable content every two weeks.  How many members times this content every two weeks?  So, how many subjects can you turn out original content on to the entire membership 26 times a year?

None of my googling of the names on the testimonials pointed me to any multi-millionaire sites.  E-zine articles, yes, but I doubt anyone will make a $100K  a year from Dwarf Hamsters.

Do you know the absolute worse part of this?  I still have the urge to sign up.  Even knowing that membership costs $67 a month I still feel like I want the trial.

Numerous inaccuracies, a thinly-veiled hidden cost, suspicion of a scam and I still want to sign up.

That is some powerful dark magic and very sneaky psychology.

Welcome to the disappointment.