Prepare yourself for a bit of a rant.

I am so tired of those sponsored Facebook ads from ‘public figures’ I’ve never heard of before, hosting a *free* webinar where they give away all their secrets on how they built a six-figure business.

Please.

I’m a curious person, so I made the fatal mistake of clicking on one of these sponsored ads, and guess what happened next?

I was fed a zillion others, exactly the same. Creepily so. Until it hit me, this is the ‘new’ pyramid scheme. Or it’s the rise of the zombies. It’s certainly one of the two.

Let me unpack how this business scheme works…

Step 1: First comes the *free* supposedly high-value content; a webinar, eBook, ‘bestselling’ title - take your pick. Throughout this free content they spend the bulk of their time explaining why they’re an authority despite having zero qualifications to speak of, lots of hard knocks, tons of Instagram followers, years in business…

Step 2: They set about selling the lifestyle that you too, will be able to achieve if you only follow their *secret* recipe. How much “you time” you will have, how much money you will earn, how happy and fulfilled you will be.

They post up images of themselves leaning against ostentatious cars wearing gem encrusted watches, looking like absolute blowhards.

Step 3: They frame the opportunity; “Cracking the Code to Facebook ads that Convert”, “How to Grow your Email List to 10,000 people”, “Join the 8-figure Sales Society.”

Next, they show you their *unique* framework which almost always appears as a pretty little graph with some motherhood statements and buzzwords strategically pinpointed on it.  

Step 4: And here it comes, the sell. 

Spoiler alert: You aren’t going to receive any valuable information, and this webinar/eBook/free video has all been a big, fat tease. Just before you shut it down, they announce that there is ONE THING STOPPING YOU FROM ACHIEVING SUCCESS. This is IT, the answer to everything that’s ever held you back, the single obstacle that can be overcome with an easy and achievable solution.

You just have to pay for it. 

Don’t worry, it is great value. It’s usually $3,499 but today it’s 40% off, with three bonus modules and whoop-dee-do, another free webinar (because reliving the previous one is high up on your list).

Just have a listen to what real people say about it, people like you who have purchased this package. They used to be like you and struggled, like you’re struggling now! But they are no longer struggling. They are living their dream life. They are where you want to be. All because of [insert name here] academy.

Seen one, seen them all and this is no better than click-bait

In my opinion, this copy and paste business model can be traced back to Russell Brunson; founder of ClickFunnels, sales funnel software. He trained thousands on his model; many of whom then trained others, or launched their own lookalike models, until the pyramid scheme ‘made up of zombies’ analogy doesn’t sound all that far-fetched anymore. 

And - the plot thickens - a new generation of clones has sprung up. They use Click Funnel or similar software to build what’s called an SMMA (a social media marketing agency). This name absolutely grinds my gears because all they do is run Facebook ads for local businesses, but just like all other multi-level marketing schemes, the SMMA agency owners higher up the ladder make most of their money coaching the lower rungs to start their own agencies, not from running successful social media campaigns for local businesses.

Take this kid, Iman Gadzi, who dropped out of high school to start his SMMA and now tells other teenagers they too can drop out of school and become millionaires like he did.

But Iman is not your average teenager. He is talented, charismatic, attractive, a natural born leader. I bet he would have succeeded in whatever he chose to do with his life. Not all teenagers have what Iman has, and so dropping out of school and sinking all their money into starting an agency is perilous advice.

Lead magnets

Opt ins and sales funnels are a great strategy for lead attraction and nurturing. We use them here at Idiello, but there is one deciding difference, we give genuine value instead of spinning tall tales.

I’m tired of small business owners being sold templated solutions under the guise of free, helpful advice. This practice is seriously undermining genuine marketing and business experts who are also running online businesses.

Getting wise to the tricks

1. STEER CLEAR OF HYPERBOLE

If it sounds too good to be true, it often is. Any mention of the “six-figure business”, “cracking the code", “building million-dollar coaching businesses” and I would be running for the hills. For what it’s worth, $100,000 is six figures, just saying.

2. YOU DO NOT NEED EXPENSIVE FUNNEL SOFTWARE MARKETED AS MAGIC SOLUTIONS

Instead, focus on creating an irresistible offer, and build funnels with cost-effective tools. We use Kajabi as our website, CRM, funnel software and email marketing platform all in one.  

3. PAY FOR REAL VALUE, NOT PERCEIVED VALUE

Before you part with your hard-earned pesos, make sure the free content on offer is of genuine value. Did you find it useful? Did you learn something? Did it inspire action? If you want to see how this is done, here’s a blog I wrote about purpose-driven socials, and from there you can download a content planner.

This is genuine high-value giveaway. Not a sleazy pitch masquerading as a lead magnet.

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