The guy on my screen was making total sense.
Not only was he telling me exactly what I had to do, his enthusiasm for it was infectious – proving further that this had to be the thing I’d been looking for.
As he talked to me from his luxury villa in the Bahamas, I knew that one day that could be me. I was sold.
I thought, ‘damn, this is it. I’ll finally be able to make money.’
And not just normal money. Loads of money. Passively. All I had to do was buy his course and put a bit of effort in at the start, then within a few months I’d have £14,000 rolling in day after day.
I knew there was a way to make money online without much knowledge. Billions get spent every day – I just knew there was something I could do to be a part of it. I’d found the secret that had been kept from me for so long.
I understood perfectly well that this was a one-time offer and his course would be closing soon. I had to take advantage of it while I could.
He’d told it to me straight.
“We only want doers. We only want people who are ready to put the effort in. We only want people prepared to take action. That’s why we’re closing this course in 2 weeks’ time.”
I wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.
As I clicked through to the last page of his offer, I was presented with the course’s cost details. I looked at the different payment plans and began the maths of figuring out the best way to afford it.
I hadn’t entered my details yet, but I was still giddy with excitement.
‘This is too good to be true!’
Huh.
‘This is too good to be true…’
Hmm.
‘This IS too good to be true.’
I put down my debit card.
What a fucking idiot I had been.
How had I almost gone THAT far?
Yes, the whole process had seemed so professional, but that didn’t change the fact that after watching just 4 videos, I had almost been convinced to give away nearly all my savings to some stranger.
I sat there, looking at my debit card, resisting the urge to punch myself in the face.
I had been so utterly convinced by this guy.
Since seeing his YouTube ad a week before, I’d been completely enthralled – wrapped up in visions of ‘passive income’, continuously encouraged by this digital guru who promised me that it really was possible.
I couldn’t believe it.
I was just grateful I came to my senses before typing in my card details.
Usually, I was the person to call out bullshit. I was the one who warned others against scammers and false prophets.
How the hell had I nearly signed away the best part of a month’s salary to this guy?
I’ll tell you exactly how.
Because I was his target audience.
I was desperate to leave home and make something more of my life than simply wasting away at the local council.
For months I’d Googled things like:
How to make money online?
How to earn money quickly?
How do I get rich from home?
I’ve never been particularly greedy or believed in ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes. I knew how much crap there was out there, how many slimeballs hoping to prey on the poor and ignorant.
I knew I was going to encounter scammers with search queries like that. But I was certain I knew how to weed them out.
Truth was, I was frantically searching the internet because I was fed up. Fed up with being at home with my Mum. Fed up of not having money to spend on going abroad. Fed up of trying to make my few-and-far-between content writing gigs stick.
Most of all, I wanted to escape the 9-5.
He knew all this.
There are hundreds of thousands JUST like me. And millions more who are simply unhappy at work. His message was a simple one, but it stuck.
“I can help you earn money online and be your own boss.”
His strategy was different to the usual clickbait that I was wise to though.
There was no red text. No exclamation marks. No ‘WANT $$$ NOW???’.
Instead, he summarised all the pains I had. All the problems I was facing. He seemed to understand them perfectly.
He told me he’d been in my position and gained my trust by revealing his story.
Then, bit by bit, he convinced me that he was an authority on these matters. It sure seemed like he knew exactly how to make good money online. He made outlandish claims at times, but always backed them up with proof.
He told me he knew “how ridiculous this all sounds”, but assured me it was true.
Not only that, but he shared knowledge with me. For FREE.
A free eBook. A 4-part video course. He made easy-to-follow analogies about how this time in history is the right time to pursue passive income. About how the few who took him up on his offer would benefit.
He showed me videos of his former students endorsing him.
‘What a great guy’, I thought.
But we know how this ends.
After a full week of eagerly anticipating his emails and video links, of imagining what I’d buy first with my new riches, and of thinking how great it would feel to move out – I’d become one of his ideal prospects.
Even now, I’m not entirely sure what snapped me out of it.
Maybe it was the mercenary in me, shouting down the hopeless romantic who just wanted a life of ease and opportunity.
Whatever it was, I’m glad I dodged the bullet.
I didn’t buy the course.
£997 remained in my bank.
Of course this guy was trying to swindle me. I’m sure his PDFs and videos would’ve been beautifully presented, but as with most promises on the internet, the content would have been nothing more than hot air.
And now I can tell you with confidence – yes it would have been.
As a general rule of thumb, if someone wants you to buy a course to learn their ‘miracle method’ of making money – chances are they don’t earn their money through that ‘miracle method’. They make their money by selling it to you.
Trust me, if they made as much money as they said they did though their method, they wouldn’t waste time setting up a course. They’d be expanding on what already – allegedly – works.
And if they “just want to help people out”, then they can do that by giving it away for free. Write a blog or something dickhead. Simple.
Now.
There ARE some great courses out there. But the great courses are run by people who admit that a lot of their income is from teaching said courses.
Or.
They’re run by people who are already giving away top-quality content for free.
Or.
They are undeniably, 100% proven masters in the field they are teaching in. Joanna Wiebe and the team at Copyhackers are a perfect example of this course sincerity.
If someone pops up on a YouTube advert claiming that they have a ‘miracle method’ for making passive income with a business that ‘practically runs itself’ – no matter how professional or sincere they seem – guess what?
THAT is how they make money. Not through the thing they want to teach you. But through selling their courses to you.
DO NOT TRUST THEM.
So, is there a deeper point to this story other than a pretty obvious piece of advice about not trusting strangers online?
Absolutely.
After I’d decided against ‘investing’ in the money-making system, I went to bed pretty pissed off.
I couldn’t believe I’d nearly been coerced out of a grand.
I was certain I was smarter than that.
But then…
Something clicked.
I shifted into full-thought mode.
‘Instead of scouring Google for another ‘easy’ way to make money online, why don’t I just learn the techniques HE used to net me?’
Beneath my rage, I was fascinated by how I’d been convinced by this guy. I wondered how many others he had persuaded to subscribe to his email list, and then how many he had managed to close.
I was intrigued.
My anger turned to curiosity.
I was already interested in “advertising” and I already knew how to write (or so I thought). I just didn’t know that advertising like THAT was an option.
‘I don’t want to be a sleaze. I don’t want to sell people false hope. But there must be some ethical money to be made in learning how to persuade people like that?’
I was hooked.
I wanted to learn everything about it. From the psychology to the technicalities – I wanted to know how to design a reader’s journey in such a way that they would become a customer.
I knew if this guy was doing it, there were others doing it too. And probably a whole lot of them would be people who genuinely wanted to help, or really did have something of value to sell.
If I could harness the power he had over my decisions as a consumer, I could actually use that for something right?
Yes. Yes!
I had it. The wheels started turning in my head. If I could learn all that, maybe I could make money in a non-shitty way.
At the time, I had no idea where to start of course. I was lost for a good while.
I mean, what even was it? Marketing? Advertising?
It seemed more specific than that.
After what seemed like an age, I’d finally narrowed it down.
Copywriting.
(and its friends direct-response and funnel building, but I didn’t figure that out for a while).
And the rest – as they say – is history.
In a weird sort of way, I owe absolutely everything to that guy.
His status as a digital guru is bollocks. But as an unintentional life coach, and career guide, none are his equal.
He’s the whole reason I’m telling you any of this right now.
His brilliant funnel for a not-so brilliant product reignited my passion for this industry.
So, here’s a digital toast to you my friend. Keep being shitty. You’re improving lives for all the wrong reasons.
And as for you reading this, take it as a warning.
Instead of getting sucked in by a sales funnel promising you a divine cure for all your ills, learn from it. Analyse the hell out of it. Opt-in to as many as you can.
Learn to do what they can do, but for something a little less morally-repugnant than trading piss-all value for a ton of cash.
If you can do that, you will have the skills you need to be the most valuable person you know.
Talk to you later.
Alex.
