NetWeb Marketing Exposed: Mike Filsaime’s Latest Release Is A Slippery Slope
Say what you want about “big name” releases and how they try to get you to buy something. Mike Filsaime and Ellie Drake have coined a new phrase that is already gaining attention in the field of network marketing: NetWeb Marketing. The exciting thing is not the product itself. It’s the process they’ve used to bring this so-called product market, and the product hasn’t launched yet. Come with me through this incredible journey and see how you can capitalize on the intelligence of this multifaceted product launch.
Mike and Ellie expounded a concept called “Network Marketing 2.0” in its first phase of this pre-launch. With a website promoting “the death of network marketing”, they launched the idea that network marketing as we know it is dead, and it’s time to use the power of the internet to grow your MLM business.
Welcome to the game, guys! For early adopters and people who have been studying this market for a while, you will know that this concept is not new at all. Mike Dillard has been preaching attraction marketing for half a decade. Mike found out about funded proposals from another marketer and took them to his downline many years ago. He has even passed it on to other marketers like Ann Sieg.
The idea itself is as old as the hills: to create a niche where you can position yourself as an expert. Then funnel people to you (and your opportunity) by using a series of funded proposals and back-end products to “get the wheat out of the chaff,” so to speak. People who are serious about building their business won’t hesitate to spend a couple of bucks for valuable information. When they do, they approach you and look for you as an expert.
These concepts are actually old sales concepts that are now being incorporated into network marketing and direct sales channels. Dillard’s Magnetic Sponsoring site has gone through a makeover to show that we are not really in “Network Marketing 2.0” anymore, but rather those at the forefront have evolved to “3.0”.
But I digress. Mike Filsaime and Ellie Drake are tending to half the pack. Taking the “tried and true” methods that others have tried, and turning them into some form of unrevealed “solution” to the masses. But like I said, it’s not the product (which we haven’t seen yet) that’s so amazing. It’s the prelaunch.
Once Filsaime and Drake established the death of network marketing with a free report, they actually created an affiliate program to pay people to drive traffic to the free report. Affiliates can earn a quarter for each referral. Not bad for a free product. The free report promised that there was nothing for sale, there was no “OTO” (one time offer) on the other side of the signup page (a common Internet marketing tactic), and it was just pure gold information.
This is the first step on the slippery slope. They pay a handful of people to drive massive traffic to their site. The second step is even more slippery. Mike and Ellie then sent out a broadcast message telling people that “after death comes life”, welcoming people to the Birth of Network Marketing 2.0, now called “NetWeb Marketing”. Obviously another step in the cycle, this phase involved another free report and a signup page where you received a ton of free bonus material (supposedly worth between $1500 and $3000). But here’s the smart part. You only receive half of the material in advance. THEN you have to refer 4 friends to get access to the second half of the material. The content was of very high quality and full of value. Again, there was a promise that there was nothing for sale and that you could get over $3000 worth of valuable information just by referring 4 friends.
Watch this step very closely. This time they don’t pay you in cash. Filsaime and Drake are giving out “huge bonuses” for you to refer more traffic to their site. Bluntly, while the information is valuable, they’ve already made their money on these bonuses, because each set of recorded calls was part of a previous training program that someone else paid to attend. So Filsaime and Drake are simply dusting off old products and repackaging them to give as gifts. They’re not really losing a dime for this kind of giveaway, they’re just repurposing their old content (which is something ANYONE can do!)
Step three is clever. They’ve created all this hype and driven demand for the as-yet-unlaunched product, and now they’re following up on everyone in their pipeline with a mention of an “urgent, one-time” conference call to explain how their NetWeb Marketing product works. One time, huh? I thought there were no OTO attachments? See what they just did here? They have done exactly what they said they would not do. And people love it!
And this is where the funded proposal begins. The conference call is limited in size and to “distinguish the serious and strategic entrepreneurs from the curious,” Filsaime and Drake are charging a $20 fee to reserve your spot on a call they value at just under $200. But even if there’s no room for the call, you can get a recording for the same $20.
Actually, the call is not limited, and anyone who wants to listen can shell out $20. At MOST, Drake and Filsaime paid fifty cents for every lead in their affiliate pipeline, and if they sign up for the recorded call, they grossed $19.50 before the product was even launched.
Did you realize what they just did? They just charged you $20 so they can spend 90 minutes introducing you to their new product, and they haven’t even sold you a product yet!
The slope is likely to get even more slippery as we head towards launch. The most important thing here is not the product itself. It’s the way it’s being released. EVERYONE should be taking notes. Wouldn’t you like to get paid before you even offer the product for sale? This is how a funded proposal works. Filsaime and Drake have done a great job, and I would expect no less from the internet marketing mogul.
But see this release for what it really is, and how you can duplicate this process and put it to use in your business. Step one, create value and give it away; maybe even pay people to give it away for you. Step two, create even more value by reusing your old content (with something new) and give it to everyone who has added to your funnel free of charge. Step Three, Present the Funded Proposal: A low-cost, entry-level product to separate the buyers from the tire kickers. Step four… well, you’ll have to wait until the second part for that step.