NetWeb Marketing Exposed – Mike Filsaime’s Latest Launch Is A Slippery Slope

NetWeb Marketing Exposed – Mike Filsaime’s Latest Launch Is A Slippery Slope

Say what you will about “big name” launches and how they’re all about trying to get you to buy something. Mike Filsaime and Ellie Drake have coined a new phrase that’s already turning heads in the network marketing arena: NetWeb Marketing. What’s exciting isn’t the product itself. It’s the process they’ve used to bring this so-called product market, and the product hasn’t even launched yet. Walk with me through this amazing journey and see just how you can capitalize on the cleverness of this multi-faceted product launch.

Mike and Ellie exposed a concept called “Network Marketing 2.0” in their first phase of this pre-launch. With a website that touted “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 make your MLM business grow.

Welcome to the game, guys! For early adopters, and people who have been studying this market for a while, you’ll know that this concept isn’t new at all. Mike Dillard’s been preaching about attraction marketing for half a decade. Mike learned about funded proposals from another marketer, and took it mainstream to his downline many years ago. He’s even passed it on to other marketers like Ann Sieg.

The idea itself, is as old as the hills: 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 “cull the wheat from the chaff” as it were. People who are serious about building their business will not balk at dropping a couple of bucks for some valuable information. When they do, then they’re approaching you and seeking you out as the expert.

These concepts are actually age-old sales concepts that are just now being mainstreamed into network marketing and direct sales channels. Dillard’s Magnetic Sponsoring site has gone through a makeover to demonstrate that, in reality we’re no longer in “Network Marketing 2.0”, but those on the cutting edge have actually evolved to “3.0”.

But I digress. Mike Filsaime and Ellie Drake are catering to the middle of the pack. Taking the “tried and true” methods that others have tested, and bringing them in some form of undisclosed “solution” to the masses. But as I said, it’s not the product (that we haven’t even seen yet) that’s so incredible. It’s the pre-launch.

Once Filsaime and Drake established the death of network marketing with a free report, they actually created an affiliate program to pay people for driving traffic to the free report. Affiliates could earn a quarter for each referral. Not bad for a free product. The free report promised that nothing was for sale, that there was no “OTO” (one time offer) on the other side of the signup page (a common Internet Marketing tactic), and that it was just pure gold information.

This is step one on the slippery slope. They pay a handful of people to drive massive traffic to their site. Step two 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 dubbed “NetWeb Marketing”. Obviously another step in the cycle, this phase involved yet another free report and a signup page where you got pelted with a ton of free bonus material (purportedly worth between $1500 and $3000). But here’s the clever part. You only get half the material up front. THEN you have to refer 4 friends to gain access to the second half of the material. The content was very high quality, and value packed. Again, there was a promise that nothing was for sale, and that you could secure over $3000 in valuable information just by referring 4 friends.

Look at this step very closely. This time they’re not paying you in cash. Filsaime and Drake are passing on “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 just dusting off old products and re-packaging them for giveaway. They’re not really losing a dime for this kind of a giveaway, they’re just re-purposing their old content (which is something ANYONE can do!)

Step three is ingenious. They’ve created all this hype and driven demand for the as yet unreleased product, and now they follow up to all of the people in their pipeline with a mention about an “urgent, one time only” conference call to explain how their NetWeb Marketing product works. One time only, eh? I thought there were no OTO’s attached? See what they’ve just done here? They’ve done exactly what they said they wouldn’t do. And people are loving it!

And here’s where the funded proposal begins. The conference call is limited in size and in order to “sort out the serious and strategic entrepreneurs from the curious ones” 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 on the call, you can get a recording for that same $20.

So really, the call’s not limited, and anyone who wants to hear it can shell out $20. At MOST Drake and Filsaime paid out fifty cents for each lead in their affiliate pipeline and if they sign up for the recorded call, they just made $19.50 gross profit before the product is even launched.

Did you pick up on what they just did? They just charged you $20 so they can spend 90 minutes pitching their new product to you, and they haven’t even sold you a product yet!

The slope is likely to get even more slippery as we go through to launch. The most important thing here is not the product itself. It’s the way it’s being launched. EVERYONE should be taking notes. Wouldn’t you like to get paid before you even offer the product for sale? That’s how a funded proposal works. Filsaime and Drake have done a bang-up job, and I would expect nothing less from the Internet Marketing mogul.

But see this launch 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 – perhaps even pay people to give it away for you. Step two, create even more value by re-purposing your old content (with a bit of something new) and give it away to everyone that’s been added to your pipeline at no 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 part two for that step.