Empower Network – A Scam for the Ages?
Name: Empower Network
Website: www.empowernetwork.com
Price: $25/mth basic, $100/mth inner circle, $19 payment, $500 Costa Rica Intensive, $1,000 15K Formula, $3,500 Master’s Retreat
Owners: David Wood & David Sharpe
Overall Rank: 30 out of 100 points
**UPDATE: Empower Network Collapsed. The Company and Domain No Longer Exist.
The Product
Empower Network (EN) has been often times confused as being a REAL opportunity because of the relentless marketing taking place by the people pushing the product. However, there are many folks with real experience with Empower Network that are not happy and I am going to uncover some of the reasons why within. In this review I am going to be walking you through what EN is and help you decide whether or not it might be your path to Internet success.
Before I get started though I just want to clarify one thing. Empower Network is one of the lowest ranked products that I have ever reviewed and you are going to get a good idea why. If you are reading this, chances are you have been subject to someone “shamelessly” promoting EN to you and that is a normalcy. They can be very slimy, they promote slimy promotions, and if you become a member you are going to unfortunately be required to pass on the “slimy” tradition.
To put things into perspective, take a look at how Empower Network compares (or doesn’t) to other programs in the industry, you can get free websites (the foundation of your business) online. This can be accomplished through platforms like wordpress.com as well as many other hosts. There is a low price point to get started and a low price point to keep going, you won’t be subject to high ticket purchases in the same way that you are going to be within Empower Network. Plain and simple, you do not have to spend $1,000’s + monthly fees to create and grow a business online.
Pros vs. Cons
There are few pros and a lot of cons with Empower Network. The problem is that there is no real product behind the program, rather YOU are the product. The goal of the program is getting you to promote the very same scheme to other people and building a downline. Unlike other MLM products where there is actually a product that you are selling to customers (ex. Avon, Melaluca, etc), Empower completely lacks this element.
Here is a breakdown of the Pros & Cons of the Empower Network program:
Pros:
- Get your own empowernetwork.com blog
Cons:
- Has all of the common attributes of a PYRAMID Scheme
- No clear description of what the business is about, what you will be doing or what kind of interests you need for success.
- If you join, you have to become a ruthless sales person promoting Empower Network to others
- Riddled with “upsells”
- If you want to succeed, you are going to want to invest minimum $140/mth
- You have to PAY $20 per month just so you can get paid
- Widespread COMPLAINTS online about Empower Network
- No free trial
Who is Empower Network Intended for?
They claim everyone is going to earn money, with little money, with little work, on autopilot! Sounds like the DREAM we are all envisioning doesn’t it. However, that is not the reality of this program. Although anyone can join this product, it is intended for people that are willing to work very hard to build a downline and in many cases, do so in an unethical way because you are not actually “selling” anything to people, you are selling the fact that they will be able to sell what you are selling.
Here is a breakdown of how the compensation model works:
Confused? Well, that is because the more you dig into this apparent product, the more confusing it becomes as to what it actually is. It is reminiscent of “pen mail” where you send 5 people, they send another 5 people…and then so on and so forth. The person at the top of the pyramid (or triangle) gets paid the most, just like any other ponzi-like scheme the Empower has unlimited levels and payouts are always going to be “passed up” to the people at the top.
Guess who is not at the top. YOU. Guess who is at the top? The owners and the first few folks that got in at the starting point.
If you are not good at aggressive recruitment and hard selling people on the idea of a scheme like the one above, Empower Network is not going to be for you.
Tired of Ruthless Schemes Like Empower? Get REAL Help.
Empower Network Tools & Training
There are several different layers to the training offered at Empower, each have an additional price point. The training provided is really dependent on “whom” you sign-up through in this scheme. Some “upline” affiliates will offer you wonderful support and help (in attempt to build more success by having a successful downline). The actual materials within Empower very weak in nature because they are centered entirely around “how to promote empower network to others”.
There is also A LOT of emphasis on upgrading once you get into the system. This is called going “All In” and your sponsors will likely encourage you to go all in by calling you a “wussy” and other derogatory terms. Why? Because if you don’t buy all the training modules within Empower, then you are not going to be making others money.
That is what it is all about. You buy all the stuff (over $5,000 in total, which I will get to) and this money is going directly to your uplines and their uplines. If you don’t buy, then nobody is going to make money off of you and you can expect to be shunned by those “above” you.
If you are looking to earn money online and do it in a way that is ethical and can be applied to any niche, Empower will not be the community for you. Their primary focus is going to be training you how to promote Empower to other people. You have to look no further than the top affiliates, they are showcased within the program…but they are promoting the program itself versus earning money through other affiliate programs/niches.
Does Empower Network Offer ANY Support?
If you want a personal support system, EN is not going to be your program. There is no training or support offered without an extra cost (Inner Circle which is $100 per month for videos), and even at that, it is not personal training it a series of audios and videos. I never recommend any program that does not offer personal support and in which you do not have direct access or help from the owners. You will likely never have any meaningful contact with the owners directly. The owners are active in the promotion of their product and motivating the “crowd” to promote EN, but you will not see them selflessly helping folks within the bottom tiers.
Also, many folks complain that they are belittled within Empower Network by their so called “team leaders” if they don’t go all in. Going all in means that you buy all of their low grade products (which make your team leaders money) and if you don’t buy into the up to $5,000+ in products over the course of a year, be prepared to be called some really vulgar names (Read REAL customer comments below this review if you don’t believe me).
**In comparison, you can get started and get full support for completely FREE from experts…this includes FULL 1-on-1 mentoring and support and the owners are actively involved.
There are weekly calls from the David’s which is more of a “rah rah” session than anything else, aiming to recruit more people into their scheme.
How Much Does it Cost to Join Empower Network?
The pricing of Empower is complex and much more than it initially appears.
Blog Beast – Blogging System ($25 per month) / ENV2 – The fee just to take part of empower and to get your own blog (that every other member gets). There is nothing unique about this blog and you are tied to the EmpowerNetwork.com domain which is starting to get caught as SPAM by many search engines (not good!). And you can get much better blogs, in fact, your own FREE WordPress blogs where you are not tied into promote EN (you can promote your own niche).
You also do not own the content you create on your blog. I have received many complaints from folks that have quit Empower and have not been able to delete their websites because when you join, you sign a disclaimer stating that you don’t own any of the content you create. In essence, you basically get nothing for this $25 per month fee other than fact that you are creating content for someone else on a blog that looks the same as everyone else.
Important Update: These “paid” blogs have recently lost a lot of their “mojo” within the search engines (late May, 2013). In fact, EN no longer holds the #1 ranking under their own keywords (you can check for yourself if you like). This is because Google has deemed a good portion of the website as SPAM within their latest Penguin update. You can get much superior blogs for free elsewhere, so if you are buying into this program just for the blog, then I would suggest you save your money.
Also, if want to get the full scoop on Empower Network 2.0 (ENV2), you can get that here.
See a full comparison of Empower Networks PAID blogs vs. free websites here.
e-wallet ($19.99 per month) – In order to get paid, you need to pay for their payment processor. This is unheard of and the only reason that Empower Network has to do this is because they are working on the fringes of what is legal. There is absolutely no way a company like this would ever get approved by a reputable credit card processing company. Paypal or a normal Merchant account (Mastercard, Visa, Amex) would never allow payments to a company like Empower because they deem it as ILLEGAL or too high risk!
Inner Circle ($100 per month ) – This is hardly an inner circle. Other than giving you access to a some inner circle audios, becoming part of this program allows you to get paid even higher commissions ($100 residuals). So again, you are not paying for an actual product, you are paying to further promote the product that doesn’t really exist. It is like having a bag of air that you are selling for $25 and then paying $100 more to be able to sell you bag of air for more. But the EN pricing structure gets even more ridiculous than this!
Costa Rica Intensive ($500 one time payment) – This is a video sequence that focuses on building a business for the longer term…a business that again revolves around promoting Empower Network to others. I think you are probably getting the hint by now that the EN product is promoting the same product to others
The $15K Formula ($1,000 one time payment) – This is another video series that includes 9 videos in total, each video being a couple of hours in length. This covers a variety of topics outlining how to promote Empower network online. An example of this is using Youtube or Facebook…HOWEVER, Empower Network can no longer be promoted via these channels. This should throw up the red flags for you, the fact that Empower has been completely banned from Facebook and Youtube!!! This is the first product or service I have ever heard of that has been banned.
The Masters Retreat ($3,500 one time payment) – This is a series of 41 videos (mostly motivation) that were recorded at the Empower Network masters retreat. To me, spending $3,500 on motivational videos seems absolutely outrageous considering that most of this information has little to do with creating your own business and more to do with motivation (plus you could get a 10 YEAR membership at an all inclusive online business platform for the same price as well as get access to any of my other recommended top services (see The Good within the top menu)!). This is a high ticket product and the only reason you will see others attempting to get you to buy this product within the EN system is because they earn commissions off of you when they do.
So in totality, you are looking at $5,000+ $140 per month if you want the full suite of products offered within Empower Network. That is a far cry from the $25 price point that everyone seems to be promoting out there. Be forewarned, Empower Network is expensive, is overpriced, and you are looking at $1,000’s if you want all of their included training (going all in).
My Final Word on Empower Network (EN)
The product is YOU promoting the product to others. There surely are different things you can purchase within Empower after you buy into the initial blog, but that is there to drive the compensation model. You are shamed into buying it because your “sponsors” will not give you any additional help if you are not active within Empower and if you ever say anything negative about this network, be prepared to be jumped on.
The product is based around YOU promoting the Empower Network system to other folks (ahem…can you say pyramid scheme?). Need I say more? There are VERY few folks that are part of this program that have their own website, understand the proper way of creating a business online, or that are promoting different products other than EN itself.
You will see a lot of people “excitedly” promoting Empower Network to you and that is ONLY because they are going to earn money if you sign-up through them, not because they believe in the product itself (although they think they do).
I would stay as far away as you can from Empower Network and don’t look back if you are looking to create a real niche, business. One that you are passionate about and one that doesn’t require you to sell the very same system to others to recoup your costs. It may be convincing and people may be “begging” you to join underneath them, but it is not a real opportunity and the promotional module naturally encourages you to promote the very sam program to others. The system is centered around you selling it to others and around you going be forcefully pushed towards going “all in”…which means spending well over $5,000 and going into debt in many cases. Not exactly a $25 product after all.
Again, MY Overview…
Name: Empower Network
Website: www.empowernetwork.com
Price: $25/mth basic, $100/mth inner circle, $19.99/mth e-wallet, $500 Costa Rica Intensive, $1,000 $15K formula
Owners: David Wood & David Sharpe
Overall Rank: 30 out of 100 points (YES, 30…read the comments below to see real user feedback)
Just a Few (of the many) Empower Network Complaints Found Online…
Empower Network Complaint #1: Empower Network – A Not So Favorable Review
Empower Network Warning #2: Empower Network Review…Scratch That…WARNING!
Empower Network Bullying Complaint #3: Empower Network Bullies!
VERDICT: Pyramid-style scheme, VERY expensive, no support if you aren’t willing to SPEND
** Get the TRUTH About Building a Business Online! **
Do you have a personal review or complaint that you would like to share about Empower Network? If you do, I would appreciate it if you could leave your comments/experiences below! Thanks!
Kyle
Owner, WaysToAvoidScamsOnline.com
Best “review” of Empowernetwork. I joined for maybe two weeks. Alarm bells did cross my mind when I received an email to join for free, but then a sales page to join for a monthly price to BE AN AFFILIATE, I was like….PAY TO PROMOTE PRODUCTS…..that doesn’t make any sense, but I ignored the warning for the prospect of the opportunity of making money. Then I got more ANNOYED a the UPSELLS, I think there were like 4 UPSELLS, amounting to over $5,000 JUST TO start making money ONLINE!!!!!! And all you get is a BLOG, some info products THAT YOU HAVE TO PROMOTE YOURSELF!!!!! this is crazy. If you have that money to spend I would pay to be coached 1&1 PERSONAL COACHING, there are well known internet marketers who will actually give you their personal time to aid you set up a reputable, legit business online.
I left EPN when I started reading the first pdf and it said “YOU MAY START MAKING MONEY IN MONTH 6” emmmmm!!!! All the sales pages, the CEO’s video that draws you in with his story of living in his car with his laptop to make money (yea right……like he was successful over night) gives the impression you can make QUICK MONEY!!!!! Although many IM sales pages ALWAYS GIVE THIS IDEA, its just not the case….there is no such thing as quick money for $27-$97…it takes hard work, commitment and a clear strategy and focus.
Their approach is not cool at all, its very belittling and it boarders bullying you into making a decision. A good opportunity doesn’t need such tactics.
I’m annoyed that it seems many are making big bucks in EPN and yet its a massive scam. Making money with a scam, doesn’t make it a legit opportunity, many make hundreds of thousands in selling illegal drugs, doesn’t make it a GOOD OPPORTUNITY (“,) I hope it ALL CRUMBLES!!!! because many are being fooled!!!
What’s with the wearing of sandals and shorts all the time on stage or no foot wear at all in any of his presentations…..he is making millions, but this seems so not professional, a personal negative for me.
Thanks for the article, hope MANY MANY MANY MORE read and NEVER join Empower Network. A complete and utter scam!
That is where a lot of people really lose their shirts Michael. They are told on the outside that it is only going to be $25 per month to start their business online, then as soon as they get in the door they are thrown into the “spin cycle” of upsells…
First the $19.95 per month for the affiliate program access…
Then the $100 extra per month for the inner circle audios…
Then the over $5,000 in one time payment courses…
And worst of all, they are shamed and in many cases, belittled if they don’t go “all in” (which means buying all of this stuff). That is complete smoke and mirrors and in my opinion and the millions of others that operate ethical businesses, this shows a complete disdain for ethics.
Sorry but this is total rubbish. I have not been pressured in any way to buy the higher level products. In fact my sponsor told me that rather than spending money on those products straight away I should use my money for lead generation. I have been reading through what you say and it is very hate filled. Yes there are some bad people out there that don’t look after their people. Most of us aren’t like that. I help out everyone that I sign up. All you are doing is bashing EN in order to get people to buy your own product/service. It is a really low level of marketing and smacks of desperation. I wouldn’t join a scheme and work with someone who would stoop so low
Actually Paul, the reason you wouldn’t work with us is because you are into schemes, not a real business. You DO NOT own a business at Empower, you are pushing the very same scheme you are involved with upon unsuspecting folks. You should take a real look into what you are actually part of (without all the brainwashing that has been done to you) and realize what you are actually promoting.
You are promoting the ability to promote the same thing you are promoting.
You are not a niche specialist…you have a website (I see), but it appears that you don’t have adequate training off the ground.
Before you call someone out that is truly trying to help others, you need to look at what you are doing and seriously think about whether or not it is you that is the scam. Here are some things that you are doing within Empower:
-Promoting blogs that don’t ranked and touting alexa as being a ranking indicator (which has nothing to do with rank)
-Trying to get people to go “all in”, which we all know means you taking that money and putting it directly in your pocket
-Getting other people to do this exact same thing to others. If it wasn’t unethical the first time around, it definitely is the 2nd..
I do wish you all the best, but I do think you have lost your way “thinking” that your involvement is a business, it is not. It’s a scheme.
I guess I will continue “stooping” low and offering people help to create a real business online at a much more affordable cost than you are selling a dream to people for. In fact, what I have recommended people try for free they would be paying $1,000’s from you for. Now who is the one that is really stooping low?
I totally agree with you that EN is a scam. But it’s a red flag for me to bash another company in order to promote your own stuff. Think about that. I personally wouldn’t join the program that you’re promoting.
Think of this.
If you had a nice brand new pair of high performance runners that you were offering people for free and your neighbour was trying to sell dirty, old runners for $5,000…would you not tell people about what you had to offer them to save them a lot of time and money? That is the position I am in here.
I am sure you would do the same if you were in my position, it would be unethical not to.
Its not a red flag if the opportunity you present is GENUINE. People do this all the time. Your own parents will “advise” against something they know will only bring harm and then say “why don’t you do this instead”. I can understand your point if your saying this because maybe the owner of this blog will get paid down the line with people joining them, but that doesn’t make it “wrong”. If I had a GENUINE OPPORTUNITY to make people money with good training, I WOULD CERTAINLY PIGGY BACK OFF ALL THE SCAMS, and expose them and then present my opportunity, because the traffic that comes here IS LOOKING FOR A GENUINE OPPORTUNITY. An article like this would generate questions like “Where can I got to learn or start a genuine online business?”. This would pose the author of this blog two options, 1. Promote someone’s else’s info product (coaching etc) or his own, providing NO SOLUTION after you’ve torn down another, makes less sense, and that would be “wrong”, it would only label you as negative and one who complains. Better you expose false information and then present an alternative for those looking for make money online, as its not nice spending so much money, that most of us here have done. Most of us didn’t have that money to spend initially.
More needs to be written like this. 🙂
In fact I have an idea to write a report and do a video series of how NOT TO GET SCAMMED with Internet Marketing, because like any business there are people there to SCAM PEOPLE, and this article shows me, that MANY NEED TO KNOW, AND WANT TO KNOW THE GENUINE FROM THE FALSE. Michael Dantzie, a.k.a “The Home Business Dad”
I agree with you Michael. It is doing the public a service when you offer something that is FREE that is superior to something that they are about to pay $150 per month for + $5,000 in additional upsells. The only people that would complain about this are the people within Empower that knowingly are frustrated because they are essentially taking money directly from unsuspecting folks and putting it directly into their pockets.
I agree that Empower Network as it is now is a scam. $25 for a Free Word Press Blog is a scam, no doubt. But in one month, they will be unveiling their new ENV 2.0. It will blow the world away. People will sign up just to be customers. The Dave’s are geniuses. Empower Network will be here forever. No one can shut them down after ENV 2.0. No one!
ENV2 will not blow the world away. It sounds like they have put the smoke and mirrors out to anyone that is part of their “following”, however there are much better blogging platforms out there that are yes, free (that are still far superior to ENV2)….companies that have invested BILLIONS into their platform.
Good God…
Almost joined… Something just didn’t feel quite right about this whole thing, and the person that told me about it just made it sound too good too be true.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge with us.
Always trust your gut feeling
Thank you, Kimberley
First off I’d just like to point out your clever email capture technique you use to gather contacts and market your own stuff. I’ll have to use that one some time.
Oh yea and piggy backing traffic from the “empower network” keyword…
Very savvy indeed.
So let’s just dive in the products that EN does have.
Let’s start with the blog. First off let me say that yes, you CAN in fact get a free wordpress blog. That’s a fact. but for $25 dollars, you are allowed in a network that
1. Has an alexa ranking of 412 overall, 112 in the US as of this comment.
This means that when you post on this network, search engines take that into account as they rank your content.
2. It comes fully optimized for you to promote the empower network BUT there are options in the wordpress dashboard for you to put up your own customized banner, and advertising widgets for you to place on the side of your blog. So you can totally take down all things “empower” off your blog (not advised).
AND…
3. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN AFFILIATE FOR EMPOWER NETWORK!!!!!
So if you choose to be just a customer, you don’t have those to worry about pesky merchant fees so you can forget about paying $20.
You know…
The merchant fee you inevitably have to acquire if you decide to sell things online.
You do have the option to just be a customer of the blog and use the power of the 112 alexa rank to rank for whatever keywords you want. I’d say that’s worth a little more than $25 dollars.
Example Time:
So let’s your just a customer of EN and you own a dog treat business. Your trying to rank for the keyword phrase “organic dog treat recipes”. You use your brand new EN blog to post an article and it feels good.
When your blog is indexed and has been crawled, the search engines will take into account the 112 ranking you hold and proceed to rank your website accordingly
So if for instants me and our internet hero Kyle decided to write a post that was exactly the same, had the same keywords, and we used the same seo tactics.
Kyle’s overall site rank is 66,629 and 13,012 in the US.
My site rank is 412 overall, 112 in the US.
Who would win?
Kyle?
Would you like to answer that?
I’ll wait before moving on to the other products 😉
I have no problem responding to you and it is really unfortunate that you are so misinformed, obviously they are still teaching you false information for their own benefit over there.
First, you said…
Actually, this is 100% incorrect. Search engines do not use Alexa rank and Alexa does not even have accurate traffic data. Your are being totally mislead by whoever is teaching you this absolutely FALSE information. Perhaps if you are relying on a teacher for this information, you may want to seek out a new teacher. I have written an explanation how Alexa works if you want to comprehend how they get your data.
I hope you are not selling people on the idea that Empower blogs rank because of their Alexa rank, that is very misleading and dishonest.
You cannot effectively promote a dieting product on a website that is targeted to promote “Empower Network”. This simply does not work and if you knew the most appropriate way to market through “relevance”, you would know that the idea of doing this would be totally ridiculous. You said it yourself, it is “not advised” to promote anything other than empower on your blog and this shows the true colors of what the program is. It is a scheme to promote others into the very same scheme. You can get much better, more powerful, and more customizable blogs elsewhere for free.
Actually, it is common knowledge that Google has determined EN blogs and the EN.com domain to be spam and they have actually de-ranked many of the PAID blogs as a result. In fact, free blogs are much more likely to rank better than the $25 per month EN blogs and you have much more creative control and you could promote whatever you want. Again, an Alexa of 112 is completely meaningless to Google and they don’t use a bit of Alexa data to rank websites…because Google has REAL data.
And this is exactly my point, I outrank you because I understand and teach others PROPER business online and you are being taught by folks that are blowing smoke (and misinformation up your rear. But in the end if this is about how is part of the biggest scheme, I suppose you WIN.
I wish you all the best and hope for your sake that you will come to your senses one day.
Well… Guess what? ‘websites’ are not ranked in Google – Pages are.
But if you still cant see that have a look where blogger is ranked on Alexa as of the date of this posting.
#12… Why would someone pay $25 for a blog with EN when you could ‘get a higher Alexa ranked site for free’?
Absolutely Nial and WordPress.com is #20 in Alexa, also free and you are right, pages are what rank in Google. Again though, Alexa has nothing to do with rank and you can get much superior websites than you can within EN for free.
thank you Kyle for saving my butt from a heap of trouble. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
God Bless you!
and if i havent mentioned it yet, THANK YOU!!!
when i send this article to one of the EN guys who was very aggressively trying to get me to sign up and said i’m just doing my due diligence and research he said that my due diligence is ineffective and superficial…
and that i’m very inexperienced and stubborn.. and i don’t listen.
not someone i want to learn from.
THANK YOU again Kyle!
he demonstrated the exact point you were making in this article.
Of course, they don’t want you to do your due diligence because you will quickly realize what they are trying to sell you is inferior to what is available to you for absolutely free. Unfortunately, the only way they can make money is by sucking you into the program and fortunately for you, you didn’t fall for it Anna.
Kyle, does your system offer a free blog with all the bells and whistles the empower scam has with wordpress, ie ability for adding plugins? Is there ever a cost?
As for the empower scam, it cracks me up how they claim someone homeless got rich using their bs. Who ya crappin?
They don’t bother to tell ya you need to pump in ridiculous amounts of money. EN sucks and needs to be shut down!
Yes, our system offers TWO free blogs with all the bells and whistles of WordPress (and the ability to promote whatever you like). You can read the comparison here. There are also many other free website builders out there that you can utilize to launch your business.
And yes, any program that needs to sell people on a “story” rather than the actual quality and benefits of the program should set off immediate red flags.
Hey Kyle,
Thanks for the honest review. I chatted a few hours ago with a 6-figure-income Empower Networker.. And he ridiculed me when I said it was way too expensive for me by posting our FB conversation on his wall. I’m glad i found this review 🙂
Im also interested in Internet Marketing,but im very new and have little knowledge on IM.
Thank you.
Hi Kyle, I just joined Empower Network 8/19/2013 and paid the $25 and $19 Plus $1,500 for a Mentor to help me start making money faster. Then I came across this site. I now would like to Quit EM Is there any way I can get my Money back?
You will have to contact their support and your sponsor if you want a refund for you purchase. I believe in a the worst case scenario (if you don’t get one), you could contact your credit card company.
You know what I think is shameless? Bashing another company in order to promote your own, like what you are doing here. Therefore, I can’t give any credibility to this report.
When you have two products and one is FREE and offers WAY more than the other, how is that consider bashing. I also recommend many other products and services on my website as well. Have a look around.
Kyle, before I spent my money I actually did research on Empower Network. 1. It is a Delaware based LLC not in Costa Rica. 2. They have customers who just use the blog and are not all affiliates. 3. They have a three day money back guarantee (I know I tested it and got my money back). 4. They are launching their own proprietary blog and getting rid of wordpress!). 5. Merchant Accounts – as with all Network Marketing companies they started with a wallet deal but now get their merchant accounts processed by Woodforest Bank, the same bank Walmart has in their stores!
I went to their event in Denver and these guys concentrate more on personal self development and less on buying stuff. They didn’t shamelessly hock stuff as I have seen with Tony Robbins or other network marketing companies.
While they are not perfect they talk alot about personal breakthroughs and stories. I think that the company is pretty good for being just over a year old and joined again after finding out more info.
Thanks for the vine, Kyle.
Yes, I do realize they are not based in Costa Rica. One of the founders, David Wood resides there (or did at some point during is tenure at Empower). There is actually many financial benefits to becoming a non-resident of a country like the US and moving a component of the taxable entity to a tax haven such as Costa Rica.
I have to have someone come to me that uses their blog for anything other than promoting Empower to other people. I have yet to hear about anyone making money promoting anything other than Empower either. Perhaps you could enlighten me with some examples of people that are in the scheme yet are not promoting the scheme.
The blogs are definitely geared towards promoting Empower Network and it would be quite a poor example of website development and marketing if you tried to promote anything else on it (it would be a highly ineffective attempt to say the least).
So you did get you money back. Sounds like you made the right decision. A 3 day money back guarantee…that is ridiculous.
The poor people that are going to have to use this proprietary blogging software.
That is flat out foolery. Walmart has merchant accounts with credit card companies and so does every other affiliate network/program I have ever been involved with. This is not an affiliate program, it is a scheme. Affiliate programs DO NOT charge their affiliates $19.95 per month just so they can get paid.
The reason they don’t use a company like Paypal or have direct accounts with merchants like MasterCard or Visa is because there is no way a legit merchant would touch company architecture that is set up like EN is.
Calling people wussies if they are not “all in” is not a shameless promotion? Using the stories of the 0.275% of people that make over $1,000 on stage to get the other folks within the audience excited about the massive “potential” is ethical? If this is the case, then this is the program for you. It sounds like you will fit right in over there and it sounds like you are going to be just like the “rest” of the crowd, your way of making money is sucking other people in the EN scheme…because that is well, the only way people are representing you can make money with it.
I do wish you all the best in whatever endeavours you are part of in the future.
I will say you just ripped him apart.I used to be apart of empower network and I taught myself everything in the 15K formula from searching online for SEO and Backlinking tactics.Even learning PPC for free.I didn’t even use their blogging platform I made my own website with hosting.Who runs a business online with someone else name on it.Needless to say i’ve been able to rank for first place in google for 1,000 and 2,000 monthly search keywords.The only benefits to the empower network is if you can rope people into the process so you can make residual income.To make your own money with an online business get people to subscribe to your products for a monthly membership and keep updating it.
You nailed it when you said “the only benefits to the empower network is if you can rope people into the process”. That is the business and that is what you are naturally forced into doing when you join Empower. The way to make money on EN is the promote EN to others. Outside of that, there is very little you can do (although they will try to tell you otherwise, yet they all promote the same thing to you, Empower!).
Thank you for this review, I’ve been looking at it to promote my product but all I see is people recruiting to recruit to en. I want to recruit to my business that had an actual product.
Well there are many ways you can do this and you should definitely consider affiliate marketing, which is taught in great detail within Wealthy Affiliate (within any niche). Within there I will be able to help you with the promotion of your product or service and you will be able to connect with me directly.
I know many folks who are in empower and tried to recruit me *no thanks* I heard, after it’s all said and done, you’ll shell out over $5000 total for their products. I started out with MCA, now I’m in WakeUpNow or WUN. It’s funny now that a lot of people with EN are moving away from it already searching for other opportunities. It could be because the fact that over 99% of people within EN make less than $1,000 (with most of them spending much more than this on the products within the program). To me, this should set of the sensors.
Yeah, people tend to float from one scheme like this to the next. It sounds like you are doing the same thing unfortunately and I do hope that you do find a legitimate program you stick with. I truly believe that regardless of the path that you take, you need to give any REAL opportunity adequate time to achieve success.
Too many of us are sold on the idea of INSTANT success. Not true, not a reality and I have yet to met someone that has created success in an instant. It will take hard work and effort and if you apply yourself, learn the right way to earn money online, and take consistent action, you can achieve success.
I have people pushing this on facebook so i googled “empower network”
How funny that this page comes up before the actual “empower network” site. Their page rank must be great….NOT
They sell their initial viral blogging system on the fact that they have a high Alexa ranking. The entire community there has been fooled into thinking Alexa has something to do with the SEO success or viability of a website and then try to sell others on their low grade blogging platform (basically a skin over a much superior WordPress blogging system).
I think you conclusively have been able to determine the quality of the product by a simple “search” Mark.
I’m thinking of buying it to see what they actually teach, so I can make a review as well. From what I’ve read, from people not promoting the product itself, they all say the same thing: the empower network sells products on how to promote its products! ha! What a product! But being that I always want to join or buy a product before I comment on it, I’ll pay the $25 starter fee.
I was thinking that the empower network may be like amway in some sense. For example, one can make a business in amway in 3 different ways: selling amway products, selling your own products on how to sell amway products (something unethical)or recruiting others to sell amway products to others (which almost never happens because the end result is that they will instead recruit others who in turn will do the same without any products actually being sold). The last two options, as can be seen, are either unethical or just plain bad business structure. The first one is actually very good because you are actually selling products, and good quality products (well, not all but a good portion of them are good products). I was thinking that maybe the empower network may be the same way: instead of taking the information to promote EN, one will be able to use the information to promote their own blogs.
That is exactly what is happening. The initial “blog” they give you for $25 per month is geared around promoting EN. It has Empower branding all over it and you would look like an absolutely schemer if you tried to promote anything ethical on these blogs. But in order to make money from that blog, you have to spend another $19.95 per month to even get paid. So there is some real foolery right from the get go.
No, unlike Amway Empower Network does not have a product other than their “scheme”. As in, you cannot go out there and sell training to others without them being part of the scheme themselves. The products are overpriced, and frankly, if they tried to sell the products to people that were not in the scheme they would not be selling them at nearly as high of a rate. $3,500 for a video course? Not a chance someone outside of the PRESSURE COOKER scheme would buy into that.
—–
If you do head in there I don’t think you are going to like what you see if you have been part of other legitimate MLM companies before with tangible products that you are selling to customers (to earn profit), not just recruiting others into the program.
You have lead people astray! Empower Network is a great company to be a part of and in fact is a great way to get started making money online for a beginner. It is always good to know the “upsells” that are going to be presented to you when you join something but I tell all my team that before they even join! The educational products are great and are all taught by people that have done very well online. I appreciate your article but it’s a bummer you lead people off the path of Empowering themselves. How do you know they wouldn’t have done great with Empower? A company that has paid out over $65 million in commissions in less than 2 years! It’s direct marketing combined with commissions from your downline worked in.
Quite the contrary Stephen, I am leading people in the path in which they can Empower themselves which happens to be following a path of ethics when creating a business and doing so in a way that makes the most “logical” and financial sense. . Just because people are earning money doing something does not make it (a) an ethical opportunity (b) something to be proud of. Look at ZeekRewards, it was paying much more than Empower Network was until the SEC shut them down for being a fraud company. Zeek also had a MUCH higher Alexa rank (I know this is the metric that you guys use over there).
The thing is that from the very start you are selling people into a system that takes a smoke and mirrors approach.
$25 per month for a blog, that is it? Seriously? Can you say that with a straight face?
Didn’t think so. That is just the start of the foolery and that is the starting point of your pressure pitch for people to go “all in”, become a “badass” and not be a “wussy”…until they part with over $6,000 in products and are sending another $140 per month out the door. There are definitely ethical opportunities online, unfortunately this is not one of them.
I absolutely do respect you if you are promoting something within EN that is not the product itself. If you are promoting the Empower scheme to everybody else you are no different than the rest of the brainwashed circle of lemmings.
For beginners like me who are aspiring to be a part of this so-called online business or Internet Industry, what is really out there for us to expect?
A “quicksand”? Once you’re in there, it keeps pulling you
in. I really wonder whom to trust in this system nowadays
particularly when money is already involved.
I actually sign up with EN; paid the $25 and $19.95. If these prices worth their honor and dignity by employing
unfair tactics to gain advantage, I will let them to keep
it. How I really hope to hear their side of the issue.
Would it really make a difference for “those” who offers
you their services and buy their products and/or
guranteeing you to extend their support and guide you
through BUT after taking your money, they do not do their
part of the deal?
They will tell you that it is completely ethical. Things like “all companies are pyramids”, “you have to pay for education if you want to earn money”, or “you can promote anything you want on your EN blog”. These are all things that are leading prospective customers and people within the actual system in a dishonest direction.
I am SO glad I read this, Kyle! Actually, from the get go, the 2 Davids, especially the one w/the pony tail, kind of turned me off. What did turn me on was the possibility of making LOTS of money, and I’m sure that’s what turns many on! The word WUSSY used over and over at EN is, quite frankly, offensive. I had already signed up for this and today, after reading your post last night, CANCELLED MY MEMBERSHIP and YES!! I AM GETTING MY MONEY BACK! It is true as others say that initially all you hear, and all I was told by the ladies that got me to sign up, was that the fee is $25/mo — completely failing to mention that it is an additional $19.95 a month for ewallet — just to get paid! (This is silly, especially considering that there is a PER transaction fee on top of all this!) I thought $19.95 was for that! And, I was encouraged to sign up for the “Inner Circle” which was $100 — and I was under the impression that it was a ONE TIME fee — but then after I signed up, I saw that it was a RECURRING fee! So, all these people are doing is RECYCLING money from one person to the next! And for me personally, that is NOT ethical! (Let it be know that NONE of the people that I spoke to about EN ever pushed me into buying anything!)
You are right Kyle, they are NOT selling you anything except SMOKE and MIRRORS! On the other hand Kyle, I have also been involved with companies that do sell you something — supplements — only to find out that those are OVERpriced — well of course, in order to maintain the business and pay out commissions, the MUST be!
So, I ask you, WHAT is the solution? I DO believe in MLM and leverage to make lots of money, but once again this is not a good company to be associated with — at least not for me!
Many years ago, I got involved with Beyond Freedom — I don’t know if they’re still around, but I remember I went $7,000 into debt and had to plead and beg for my money back — and only got $5000 back b/c the lady was honest. The other $2,000 is GONE!!! And, it was VERY similar to this company — they had NO product and ONLY sold calls, and the life of luxury and some cheap financial advice.
So, what do you suggest for a business that is viable, and that I could leverage?
Thanks!
Well said Susana, it is the recycling of money. A new person comes into the system, that money is going to their “uppers” within the system and in a lot of cases, the person at the top of the scheme. This is pure displacement of money from one person to the next and the reason people are “hustling” so hard to get others into this program is because they are literally taking money out of YOUR bank account and putting THEIRS (if you sign-up under them)>
I can not believe I almost bought into this. Even more disappointing, another Beachbody Coach was actually the one promoting EN. I participated in her live google hookup for over an hour under the impression she was sharing her tactics for blogging. I definitely see her tactics now. I began my network marketing business with Beachbody because I believe in their product and their continuing effort to improve the lives of others. This Coach apparently forgot what our mission at TBB was. Network Marketing can be a profitable business but you have to believe in what your product and services and despite the message all these networking schemes try to convey, you have to work hard. It does take time. Anything or anyone saying you can make money by doing nothing, something is wrong and unethical with it. I think I will stick to improving my marketing skills through continuing self-education, practice, trial and error, and good old-fashion hard work and dedication.
Thank you for your work to validate such businesses and services.
I would agree, anyone saying that you can earn money online without investing some time and energy is simply leading you astray. It will take work, but there truly is a lot of opportunity out there.
The problem with EN and the folks that are promoting it is that they know one thing, they NEED to promote EN to others to make money. In order to earn an income they need to get people into the viral blogging system which is the $25 per month entrance point to many more products…this is followed by forceful upsells and being ridiculed into go “all in” which means buying over $6,000 worth of products and spending $140 per month on the programs. Not exactly what is sold to you on entry.
There is a BIG difference between buying an education and buying into a scheme.
Thanks for posting this review about Empower Network.
I am glad someone is seeing past the smoke and mirrors 🙂
I almost signed up but stumbled upon this review, which I might add is ranked higher than Empower Network itself.
Also, thanks for clearing up the “Alexa Rank”. I’ve seen a lot of affiliates promoting a picture of Empower Network Ranking high on Alexa.
Yeah, the Alexa rank continues to be flaunted as if it is some sort of “search engine” metric. The data within Alexa is meaningless and has not relation to search engine rankings and they do not even have a good grasp on traffic. Why? Because Alexa does not have this sort of data. It is one big hoax to sell the potential success of a website based on it’s Alexa ranking.
Kyle this was a great article and what frustrates me the most is that people who have no internet experience or technical skills are the ones who are being brainwashed into Empower Network’s system. The people who promote Empower Network take advantage of those who have not ever made money online and have little to no experience which in my honest opinion is very unethical. Therefore, the inexperienced people end up losing their money when they don’t see any results. Furthermore, Empower Network claims 100% commissions yet you have to pay a hefty merchant fee and most of your money is held to a later date. AND you get a shitty blog that has a lot of bugs and a shit design, how COULD anyone possible be proud of blogging on that piece of s***? Furthermore, you DON’T even own the blog, Empower Network does. Why write unique articles for a company that charges you $50 and upwards to resell products that you can find the free equivalent elsewhere online!? Ignorance is bliss and only ignorant people will join Empower Network. If you are reading this and in Empower Network, you have been scammed and you should quit now. Just my two cents. How do you plan to be successful promoting an over saturated product that got shitted upon during the Google Penguin 2.0 update and by Facebook? If you are too stupid to realize that you are being scammed then you honestly don’t deserve to work online.
I’m basically sick after reading all the negative comments about EN… I got suckered for the $19.95 then then $25 per month.. I also paid another company $495 who is tied in with EN for them to build me a super duper traffic pulling Blog… What the heck was I thinking..I usually know better..just the past few days they called me again to upgrade to ultra super duper traffic getting blog..now they want me to pay another $2500 for that.. Dam what a sucker..
Thank you for your excellent and thorough review. I briefly joined EN because I love to write and was looking for an independent business opportunity that did not involve direct sales (frankly, I suck at recruitment). Well, you know what I learned, of course! The only way you can make money is to relentlessly recruit.
The hype that you can make money with the $25 blogging product is completely false. You are constantly encouraged to “not be a wussy” and “go all in”, i.e. buy all the much higher priced products that are your “training”. I signed up to take a blogging class with a reputable content marketer and would not give out my EN link because it felt sleazy and spammy.
Nonetheless, I actually considered that maybe I was just not doing something right and if I gave EN more focused effort then I could make it work for me just as others claim it has worked for them. Your review convinced me to walk away and not look back and that is exactly what I plan to do. By the way, I had an easy time canceling the blog product but have to contact support by online chat to cancel the ewallet payment collection system. Naturally support is never available when I am.
Also, there is a whopping near $60 “reconnection” fee if I had changed my mind.
For what exactly? And yes, it is locked down WordPress with ugly, tacky themes. For example, one theme features one of the Daves with his wife in a leather halter and a spiked dog collar. This is not exactly the image that I wanted on my blog since I am not covering adult or bondage themes. Your review and the comments have been very insightful and helpful to me. Thanks again.
I am glad you figured out what is actually going on. The $25 is just the start of it and although it is marketed as a product that you can make money with, you can’t. In order to get the REAL training and to have the ability to get paid (the e-wallet debacle you have gone through), you have to pay more and more money. Thankfully you came to your senses Jeannine before you invested the over $6,000 in upsells. Folks are literally missing their rent payments, losing jobs and getting pay day loans so they can lose money (sorry, buy into the opportunity) to EN.
Thanks for your insights and feedback into your experience.
Viral Blogging System! I’m still waiting for it…….. oh wait my free software……Oh Wait my Ebook…… EN is scam of scams.
I purchased for research. Spent $144.95 for junk. I have been in the business for a long long time and own some one of the most popular PTC sites on the net. It is junk. Maybe you should look into paypal booster instead! Just kidding. Mike.
There’s one thing that really puts me off when I attend webinars and it is something that almost ALL Empower Network guys do. They LOVE to talk about themselves and how they made thousands of dollars in a month. They’ll talk for hours while at the same time repeatedly mentioning that well known over used internet marketing phrase, “I’m not saying this to impress you, but rather impress UPON you”
I just made this up for everyone on EN, you should sing this song.
Baa baa black sheep
Have you any Bullshit?
Yes sir, yes sir
three bags full,
one for my downline,
one for myself
and one for the little newbie who aint got a clue
i signed up for the $25 blogg how do stop the monthy payment because visa debt wont let me stop it. if i email
E N AND PHONE WILL THEY STOP TAKING THE @25 A MONTH
Kyle,
Thanks for the “heads up”, it isn’t easy to sift thru all the B.S., so your efforts here are much appreciated!
-John
Thanks for the post. I already joined EN, but listening to you gave me a change of heart. I’ve been looking for a legitimate company to make money online with for years and I thought that this was one of them, but I guess I was wrong. If I wasn’t so determine I would have given up a long time ago. It seems that you can’t trust anyone now-a-days. Thanks again!
It is difficult to trust anyone. I think as you dig into the program you are going to find that the “meat” of the scheme is that YOU are going to have to promote this to other folks in order to make any money. All of the training is centered around this and you are going to encounter many people pushing you to go “all in” and invest $1,000’s in other products within EN. Why? Because they earn money from you when you do.
There are ethical opportunities and real ways to create a full time income online. If you ever need a hand I would be more than willing to help get moving in the right direction and if you personal business help, I would be happy to give you some direction.
All i have to say is that people are idiots if they gonna listen to a fool who saids he knows what hes talking about without even being involve in the empower network system, all of you cant see that hes trying to bash another system to promote hes system. thats what wussies do to get attention, 164,000 people who already join empower network cant be wrong and you who talks a mean game gonna find yourself one of this days promoting the same system you started to bash upon. you are a loser just like every other pathetic person that is not part of my scheme yet.
Perhaps you can tell us how the program works George. Perhaps you can tell me how 164,000 people falling for a scheme like this somehow makes it a sound choice for someone looking to create a REAL business online. You like others within this program, are saying how great it is but the only reason you say this is because you are trying to suck others into joining the program.
What are you trying to get people to buy?
(1) A $25 per month blogging system that not only people don’t own, they don’t rank in search engines and force people to promote EN.
(2) Another $19 per month to be part of an affiliate program, the Empower one to be precise. There is not another affiliate program in the industry that does this. Completely unethical and the reason this has to be done is because no ethical merchant (like Paypal) would ever touch a program like EN with a 10 foot pole.
(3) $100 per month for inner circle audios. Overpriced motivational audios.
(4) Over $6,000 in other “one time” purchases for training that people apparently need.
So you are selling people on the idea of $25 per month, when in reality they are PRESSURED into spending $6,000+ plus an additional $145 per month. If that is what you call an honest program, then you should continue doing what you are doing because you are in the right place.
However, for those looking for an ethical opportunity I have created this site to help them out. I have helped 10,000s’ of people over the past 8 years within the online marketing/affiliate marketing world and I will continue to do so. People want real help and want to create a real business, something that you should not say you are offering them…because well, you are not.
You’ll notice he said part of his scheme.” How true..
WOW, I was seriously one min away from hitting the button for EN to join at $25…plus the $19.95 and so forth…I saw after looking into this for the past few days that this was most likely a pyramid, was not 100% sure, but I needed work/$$ and wanted an online/work at home job and thought, well, I guess this is how to earn money online, and was about to join till my gut told me to Google EN and found this, thank you Kyle. I am a very honest person, and even if I did make more money than I put into EN, I do not believe in taking advantage of other people, dishonesty and so forth. I will have to get back out there and look for a real good honest job..I just wish I knew of an honest, good online/work at home job that wont take what little money I have left so that I could work from home and still be here for my kids. Any advise or help would be greatly appreciated!! 🙂
Thanks again for this info and saving me time and money on ripping off good people.
Tammy
Tammy, the thing about this is that you did not just save yourself $25 per month, you saved yourself from the MANY upsells that you would have been forcefully promoted within EN. $25 is just the start of it, there are over $6,000 that you would have been belittled into paying, so you have saved much more money than you can imagine.
There are several legitimate opportunities online and within my side menu (to the right) you will see some of my top ranked ones that you should consider. Also, if you ever have any questions or need any personal help with your business, you can find me within WA.
I want to thank you for letting me know what the product really is I was looking for a way to make more money and I kept trying to find out what the products were and really like you said there is no real product just learning skills on how to sucker people into the program.
To be totally honest I cant believe they get away with this scam this reminds me of the chain letters and the people that started them made the big money, a person once told me if it sounds to good to true it probably is, also they have a new site called BIM big idea mastermind and they are partners with empower network BEWARE OF BOTH OF THESE SITES THANK YOU KYLE.
This Empower Network will turn into a major nightmare for many people. One major point that people need to realize is that a lot of people have to lose money for others to make money. It’s sort of common sense to realize in this scheme people HAVE to lose their hard earn money for the few to make money.
So yes Dave and Dave need you for their paychecks. Let’s look at their awesome products that they have to offer. Did you know that the Word Press plat form that they use is unfortunately FREE and you can go to WordPress.com to down load your own.
Now if you wanted to make an outstanding Word Press website you can purchase a domain name from Blue host, Go Daddy and others and make your own customized website with endless themes and plug-ins. As for their so called products on teaching the aspects of blogging you can find endless good information and hundreds of You Tube videos on the art of blogging and again it’s all free. Again if you love to blog there’s sites like Tumblr, Hub Pages and Squidoo that are totally free and are very highly ranked on Google. In fact if you feel energetic both Squidoo with their Lenses and Hub Pages with their Hubs you can promote products from both E-Bay and Amazon and receive commissions for real products. Again both sites help you out with free videos.
Another point that people need to know about the Empower Network is that this network was deemed a scam by the National Fraud Center out of Washington DC. It is illegal to take part in this activity in the United States. So if you are making money from the Empower Network and you live in the states you can be fined and be jailed for fraud. You scam over a $1000.00 than you can get grand theft charges. I know this as I was contacted by an agent from the National Fraud Department. I don’t know how they found me but somehow they claimed some of my credit card transactions were fraudulent and would help me recover my E.N. money. I however recovered all my funds paid to the E.N weeks before by the E.N. so the National Fraud Department took me off their list. They however said that I could be contacted later.
One reason I got a total 100% refund from the Empower Network was that my Sponsor or group leader was Robert Probst and he tried to scam me for thousands of dollars through his own eCommerce programs. He tried to sell me his own WordPress, Capture page, software that copies and rearranges existing blogs on the internet and a tool that sends phony traffic to your website. I know this because I caught him and his phony traffic sender on my Google Analytics. All his traffic came from 4 advertise agents for 1 page view each, 0 minutes spent and 100 percent bounce rate for all 240 visits! I called Robert up and immediately cancelled as he was destroying my website that I worked so hard on. One more point that Robert told me is that I needed to blog for the Empower Network at least 5 days a week to even everyday.
Upon visiting my mentor’s website the last time he put out a blog was back in December of 2011. When you visit my Empower Networks sponsors website (robertprobst.com) he claims 7 years of internet marketing. I found that after I went to Google and down loaded the Page ranking and Alexa tool bar that my guru internet marketer had no Google page rank and a very low Alexa ranking and a very high 80% bounce rate. For somebody in this field of internet marketing this is very poor. Also all his internet marketing tools that are on his website are ones that Google is hitting hard on with all these new Google Penguin and Panda updates. Before I left the Empower Network I completely deleted all my blogs as I didn’t want their back links hurting my website.
Good luck to all those trying to recoup money and for those few who are making money I think Costa Rico or a jail cell in the US is waiting for you.
I had no idea about the National Fraud Center catching on to the scheme at Empower Network Dave, but it does make sense. I personally have worked with many people that have been in the exact situation as you (feeling ripped off) by EN and they are coming en mass looking for either a refund for their purchase or a way to report this program to a higher authority.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story, I think many folks that read this will benefit from it when making a decisions as to EN is a program that is right for them or not.
WOW… This page sounds like a womens club of america luncheon. Bucket of Crabs. Nice work!
I have met a nice guy name Aric Jackson, who is part of Empower Network. He is convincing and very nice, and I have been wanting to join, however this review does raise great doubt.
Of course he wants you to join under him Stephen, he gets paid directly from your investment. Once you are inside, he is going to encourage you to buy more and more of the programs as well, to the tune of $6,000 + $145 per month. Why? Because he will get paid when you spend more.
And then how are you going to earn money? By doing the EXACT same thing to others. Convincing them to join the EN program and forcing them to buy the overpriced upgrades which allow you to get paid.
I worked for empower network. Not only is it a scam you have horrible employees and lies from day one. They pay decent for this reason alone. If you can handle unethical business Jerome Ballard might be a good boss. David sharpe pops in with his flip flops maybe 3 times a month he’s a part owner with David wood. They run money out of costs rica to save taxes hire incompetent employees that won’t question anything and me working there for a month they terminated me for asking to many questions. They deserve to be shut down. Oh all you people that need/want refund good luck the whole scheme is set up if you pay you are in essence screwed. They sell false hope and the only way you can be at the top is literally blog yourself as much as you can. It’s all a joke I wouldn’t be surprised if someone got indicted
Joe, Thanks for sharing with us. I have heard many other stories about people who “question” what is actually taking place within Empower getting shunned or ridiculed (or in your case, terminated). The world needs more people like you that don’t follow the herd and you question everything that is put in front of you, including the ethics of a company that yes, is make money, but how?
That is the questions I have asked many of the EN folks within this thread and I tend to get comments like “all companies are pyramids” or “all education costs money, youn need to spend money to make money”…or the worst, “are you calling mcdonalds a scam then because it sells products”. You don’t a McDonalds Franchise so you can sell that same Franchise to others. They just don’t get it because they are so brainwashed into the hype of the program. If any sane individual involved in this program sat back (outside of the bubble) and really looked at what they were doing I think they would but upset with themselves.
Hi Kyle
I came close to falling into this one, but since I’ve been sucked in before I thought I’d Google it and thank goodness I did, your site came up and after reading the first part of the article I quickly came to realise that I had a lucky escape.
thank you very much, great service.
I signed up for Empower Network as a mystery shopper because my book “The Little Website That Could” was coming out in a 2013 revision, much of the book discusses online offers.
What I found was a nightmare of FTC violations. First, though I was not in but just about 4 days, I was so appalled by this company, I asked for a refund. (I normally never ask for refunds from products I review). These guys were so slimy, I had to. They will never give you a refund of any of your money. NOT EVER. So, imagine yourself out 5 grand!!! I only lost $145.00, but I’m going to get it back. I’ll explain why in a minute.
Their blog system is basically just a locked down version of WordPress, which you can get FREE. The bad thing is you cannot make hardly any changes toit or even add a firewall plugin to protect it!
Dave the hippie: He always acts likes he’s drunk or stoned in the so-called training videos, and he’s lousy at videos. For that kind of money, he could have hired a professional. He draws here really lousy flow charts On a whiteboard. he truly is the worst speaker I’ve ever seen on video. he talks in circles and seems to have no outline.
I watched one webinar that had the two Daves plus other top earners. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard Dave the hippie say “I’m so excited, I’ve got a boner right now.” Ewwwwww…every other word being a cuss word. It was like he was trying so hard to impress everyone.
Every picture of Dave the hippie and his wife kind of grossed me out, too. It’s lik she was sticking her chest out so far, that it took up most of the picture. The not so subtle message being: “if you join us and get rich, you can have this!” (Someone like her) Hippie Dave also made some pretty sexist comments to shame people into joining he talked about how the man better get rich so the wife can go on shopping sprees, as if women have nothing better to do.
They are braking a very important FTC ruling that says they can only show “typical” results.
So, they’ve been reported to both the FTC, and their state’s Attorney General.
That’s just what I found in 4 days.
PS. Oh one more thing: they are basically banned from Facebook. You cannot even mention them in a comment or post. Some EN members found ways to run a Facebook page without saying who they are with, but that is deception. As a business owner who advertises on Facebook almost constantly, this didn’t sit well.
I think you are confused as to the core requirements for something to qualify as a pyramid. EN does not meet them. Please dig deeper and research the legal def. Also you said it yourself it takes a lot of work ok show me a way to make a lot of $ that doesn’t. As far as investment in a business of 140/mth. You think this is a lot to invest. Its a system that has been proven to work no not for everyone but no business is. I think that if you were a bit more involved you might understand. Not everyone has to love something to make it right. As soon as someone is not prepared to dedicate themselves to stick to something and work hard its a scam and everyone else is to blame. EN is not a scam nor a pyramid. I give your review a 0 out of 100 because you didn’t do your research, your just expressing an opinion that is ill-informed.
Joe, here is the definition of a Ponzi scheme:
Let’s break this thing down one piece at a time.
When you sell EN to other folks, does the money go to the prior investors. Do you get paid directly from the people you recruit and every 5th sale goes to your upline. If so, then your investment is reliant on others coming into the program in order to be paid.
The organization is not paying you and people “external” of the scheme are not paying. In order for you to get paid, you relentless recruit the program to others. You rely on earning back your investment (and likely more) on newcomers coming into the program. There is no way that everyone can earn money in this sort of operation, it will always rely on “new blood” coming in, in order to pay the higher ups within the scheme.
That is how EN works and if you can refute this I would love to hear your explanation….
Hahaha this blog makes me laugh. I’m making well over 5k per month in Empower Network and here you guys are calling it a scam! If Empower Network is a scam, then my God there is no hope in the network marketing industry. LOL
Just because you are making money does that mean what you are doing is OK. This site is not about making money, it is about outlining the legitimacy of products.
If you are earning money by promoting Empower to others, then you are no better than the next person. You are in essence taking money directly out of someone’s pocket and putting it into yours. It is a strategic way of robbing people out of their hard earned money.
But your argument would probably be that you are offering them a product.
I would say, does this product ALLOW them to create any type of business online or are they going to be naturally pushed into promote EN to others and building a downline (that you will in turn earn from as well).
These blogs are available for FREE everywhere in the world, in fact, they are much more limited than most FREE WordPress platforms. But YOU are selling these to people for $25 per month. Then they are going to be required to spend another $19.95 per month in order to be part of the affiliate program, this is the only paid affiliate program I have ever heard of.
But that is just the start of it right? You really want them to buy MORE…because when they do, you will get paid more. You are likely going to tell them they need to go “all in”, spend another $100 per month on the inner circle and spend $5,500 on the one time programs. So much for the $25 per month initial offer, now you have trapped people into spending their rent money, their kids education, their groceries to join this scheme…so they can do what with it? Do the exact same thing to others.
If I am off base here, let me know. But when broken down, I hope you realize how unethical what you are doing to other people is.
I’m making well over 5k per month in Empower Network and here you guys are calling it a scam!
Bernie Madoff made millions, so I guess he wasn’t scamming people. Zeek Rewards wasn’t a scam either since a lot of people were making money.
Yeah Bernie Madoff was a scam. That is why he is in jail. Zeek Rewards made loads of money, but SEC shut them down. You will see the EN folks gloating about their product being legit because they are making money with it. Somehow that legitimizes the product.
The reality of it is…
Those that make money online are not always ethical. People robbing banks are not ethical, but yes, they make money. Those that steal old ladies purses make money, does that make them ethical? Nope. So it is the actual activities that you are doing to generate the money that defines whether that money was earned ethically and unfortunately joining a program so you can recruit others into a program, regardless of what it is called can be included in this crowd.
Selling a dream is disrespectful, they sell it like your gonna be rich but these programs are not setup to make everyone rich, only those at the top. Selling a blog which you can get for free is the catalyst they use to bait people besides saying they have the best training. All anyone needs is ahrefs and opensiteexplorer, I’m sure that where the owners get their info.
It truly is a bait and switch situation in my opinion as well. They are selling you on the initial $25 viral blogging system giving you the assumption that you can create a business for $25 per month. Come to find out that your blog is not going to rank and that you are “forced” to promote EN to earn any money with these blogs as they are geared to promote Empower.
Then if you want to actually get paid, you need your own merchant account. Another $19.95 per month. Then in order to get an ounce of help from your sponsor or within the system, you need to spend another $100 per month for the inner circle..and then you will be called a wussy until you spend $5,000 and go “all in”.
That $25 per month is just the start…
Hey Kyle,
I just recently stumbled upon your blog and I am glad I did. I too have been apart of Empower Network but I never really did anything because I could not afford to go “all in” ( not trying to make excuses but I am a broke college kid who does not have $5,000 to invest) and the more I thought about it, I am not sure I feel comfortable generating an income with something I completely don’t believe in. It honestly just seems to spammy, but I am not giving up on my dream of generating a honest income that I can feel good about on the internet. I am getting ready to graduate school here soon and I am really not sure I want the 9 to 5 job.
The problem is all I have been exposed to on the Internet is network marketing ( not that there is anything wrong with network marketing) but I would like personally rather make an full time income online by not hounding my family and posting messages on facebook every hour on “join this certain business”. My dream is to generate a full time income with a golf (my passion) website.
I am just lost on how to actually make a full time income with a golf website. I do now it is certainly possible as many have done it before me. I am eager to actually learn how to operate a sustainable- long term internet business because i do not want to end up in the 9-5 rat race that awaits me in December. Hope to hear your advice soon Kyle, and I really enjoyed reading your blog!
Casey, there are definitely ways you can earn money online without feeling like your need to sell your soul or shameless promote “schemes” to your family members. The term network marketing has become more and more a facade for “pyramid” style, hot air programs. Programs that have little substance, are expensive and require you to promote the very same program to others to earn money.
I can tell you that there is a REAL way to earn money and you can do so with your golf website. It all starts with an understand of how to properly build a website out in a way that will get ranked in Google, get relevant traffic..and then how to monetize that traffic. That is something that I can help you out with and something that I have been teaching others for years. I would be more than happy to help you out with your campaigns and help you get out of the race.
If you are willing to work hard and take action on the training, I can definitely help get your business turned around in the right direction (and I promise, you will never have to hound your parents and family members to join another scheme again).
Kyle I have been looking to understand how to do this for years! I have been apart of a few pyramids and I have learned my lesson. I didn’t go for this scheme listed. But I have been caught into, Manatech, Primerica and another one that sells energy drinks. I am an artist and graphic designer. I want to market myself but I also want to make money from my marketing with a website! Please help! It would be greatly appreciated!
Well you are heading in the wrong direction if you are looking for “network marketing” programs versus getting an education on how to create a real business online. One which doesn’t rely on you recruiting new people into a program and them recruiting others into it. If you want to get a handle on how YOU can earn money online, I suggest you understand the process.
You are going to continue bouncing from program to program if you seek out a pyramid style business structure. It involves a lot of hustle and frankly, some tasteless promotional strategies to make money.
Thanks very much. I was very close to paying the initial $25 before I googled to check if it was a scam. Love that you’ve given so much information-you’ve obviously spent a bit of time looking into how they work. I’m from Australia and I haven’t heard of it before- it came up as a ‘suggested page’ on my facebook newsfeed. Just spent an hour watching their video- the blog they were selling sounded great for selling my products but glad I haven’t wasted further time.
Unfortunately Tanya, the blog that you would be getting is to sell “their” products, in other words, to sell other people into the exact same scheme. If you are looking to build a website and promote products within a specific niche, then I would suggest you check out the process to build a website (and I cover how to do so for free).
This way you are getting a blog that you can actually get rankings with (the EN blogs also don’t rank, making them even less useful)…and to get rolling for not cost within any niche.
I don’t know about Empower Network, but what I do know, is that you people call everything a scam. What is not a scam? What is not a pyramid scheme? Working a 9 to 5? The hell with that? I’m in MCA. That’s a pyramid scheme to right? A company selling roadside assistance and dental benefits etc. huh? You people blame the world for everything. I been in MCA 1 year. The first half of the year I made $101,000. Scam huh? Pyramid scheme right? LOL. Thank God I wasn’t raised to bitch about everything.
I guess the best way to determine whether you are doing something legitimate is to determine whether the money you earn is from selling insurance or it is from generating an income from selling other people on the idea of selling insurance. If you are doing the later, then you are scheming your way to success. If you are selling insurance to other folks, then that is completely ethical and I have no issue with that.
I haven’t said anything negative about MCA as it has not been reviewed, but it does sound like you have experience some negativity. I have absolutely seen the same sort of pressure sales tactics and “spamming” for this program all over the Internet though.
Good Article Kyle.. I never had any experience with EN. But I have some experience with MLSP, which has taught me some things about internet and attraction marketing. I’m totally new to the field, so I’ll believe just about anything at this point 🙂 Would love to hear your thoughts on MLSP. Thanks.
You are still not going to get an “education” within MLSP, you are part of a greater scheme. This is not building a business, it is being “involved” within a program. I have a review coming on MLSP that I think is going to put a good deal of what is actually going on over there in perspective.
I’ll give you my perspective, which doesn’t hold much weight because I’ve only been there a little over a month. The monthly “Mastery” membership is $149/mos. $100 of that goes to your upline/sponsor every month. In exchange, you get an hour of “coaching” every month from your sponsor. This is assuming your Sponsor knows what they are doing and has had actual success in MLSP The Mastery membership gives you the “rights” to earn 100% commission on the various marketing system products. Those products focus on everything from marketing via blogs, FaceBook, YouTube, Twitter to other forms of attraction marketing. The whole point is to get leads and convert these leads into joining you primary network marketing business. On the surface, you do actually get leads if you put the work into it. There seems to be heavy emphasis in trying to get those leads to purchase the MLSP membership or one of the other product offerings which were created by some of the Mastery members themselves. So why would these members give up 100% commission on their own products? Because, your paying them $100 per month anyway for the rights, whether you sell any of those products or not.
My gut feeling tells me that your sucked into a whirlwind of activity which “promotes the promotion” without a tangible product to sell in the end. Like you said Kyle, its being “involved” but there is no real business. You’re selling informational products when in fact, you’re the one that should be selling and teaching the info. That’s what you should be paid for.
A good outline and I agree with all of your sentiments. You are “promoting the promotion” which is very indicative of this program and EN. You join the program, so you can promote the program that will promote the program to others. Whew…
And then the education and the sponsors that you get involved with are in the business of getting you to build up THEIR downline, but more products and essentially do everything you can to earn THEM more money. It doesn’t sound all that ethical (or in many cases legaL) and that is because it is sitting in one big ethical “gray” area.
Sounds a lot like Amway but at least Amway has an actual product. I am not sure how it can be called an business when you are required to “lure” other folks into EN in order to generate any income. There is no way to promote an actual product from Empower to the outside world without them having to become part of the scheme. That sets some big time red flags for me. That is far too ponzi-like for me to invest in.
I agree John, and then once you are inside the blog that you pay for and can apparently promote anything you want on actually FORCES (in a subtle and not so subtle way) you to promote EN. They say you can promote other stuff, but it is riddled with Empower branding. It would be like owning a hot dog stand and trying to sell furniture from it. It just doesn’t make sense nor will it work.
Hey easy on Amyway 🙂
Amway is definitely one of the more credible network marketing companies, but it definitely has not been excluded from the controversies over the years.
Hi Kyle, I wrote a similar post about Empower. I actually earn from the program before realizing that it is one big scam based on a product (blog) that we can get for free. It is selling a dream and one day it will all come crumbling down.
to promote it, you have to be ruthless and unethical, which is why I have stopped promoting it. The only mention i make of Empower is this negative post that I wrote on my blog. I appreciate for your honesty.
Hey Brian,
Thanks for stopping by and thank you for dedicating your time and energy (via your blog) to helping others. I am glad you came to your senses even though you were earning money within the program and realized that money is not money. There are ways you can earn it by helping people, and there are ways you can earn it by selling people on “hope” and taking advantage of their situations. That is why I am against these practices and types of companies and why so many others that have been burned by this program are.
I know many people that were earning money within Empower (which is done by TAKING money from others, not other way to put it) that have followed the same path as you. They didn’t feel it was right and moved on.
Again, I do wish you all the best and if you ever need help with your online business, I would be more than happy to help you out!
Thanks Kyle. I have signed up to Wealthy Affiliate as I like your honesty. Tonight I intend to go through the tutorials to see if it suits me. God Bless.
Wonderful Brian, I look forward to connecting with you within WA and I really do think you are going to enjoy the community.
Hello, Kyle and thanks for saving me from a terrible mistake.
After reading your comments and those of other “victims”, I am no longer interested in affiliating with EN. I was in the initial stages and did sign up for e-wallet, and paid the $19.95 to Empower but for some reason, my payment to the “sponsor” did not go through because he is in England and my bank declined the payment. Lucky for me, I get to save $25.
I read all of the promo material and kept trying to figure out what products I would be promoting but never could discover anything other than the “program”. My mindset was to stay focused, work, and work hard to make the promises a reality. I’ve been in commission sales for the bulk of my life and will be 71 years old soon. I was looking for something to supplement my husband’s and my retirement income and thought I had found it.
I am so glad to be spared the harsh reality of having spent additional time,effort, and money on this scheme to take me nowhere but to more money worries.
I’m going to go now. Off to investigate your site and see about building a legitimate business. Thanks again.
Serendipity perhaps Barbara. I can tell you that there are some real, tangible opportunities online but I would definitely suggest you avoid anything that is “scheme” based and that requires you to recruit others into the program in order to make any money. That is not an education in business, that is a pure scheme.
If you ever need a hand, you can find me within WA. I would be more than happy to help you get your business up and running online and help your husband supplement his retirement income.
OMG, the same thing happened to me. I’m ashamed I bought into the hype. I went to pay my $25, and they were having technical difficulties and were unable to process my card. Maybe it was my visa that has blocked EN. After reading this blog I feel so relieved. I,m retired Army veteran with lots of time on my hands. Do i need to be a pro with the internet or have something to sell to have a business on line?
The Empower Network is a clear product based pyramid scheme. I put together some information and a video about this on my blog as well. I think as time goes forward more and more folks are going to come “clean” about the scam that this program really is.
Ethan, I agree. You like many others are coming clean on what EN really is and how their system really works. Unfortunately for many folks, they are still getting sucked into sales videos that sell people on “dreams” (big houses, cars, and wads of cash), but hot air is about all they are getting when they buy into the hype.
Additional:
In order to succeed online you don’t need to be a slimy rat forcefully convincing an old couple or single mother that their dreams can become a reality just by the simple application of intimidation and blatant robbery.
I have done many programs in the past and still do some of them but nothing has really made me want to make a stand against their practices.
Well not until i found EN.
If you can sleep at night knowing you probably bankrupt an old man or a mother who can feed her kids or keep her electricity on then by all means join the Empower Network however if you have morals and ethics and want to make an honest living online then take a closer look at Kyles offering 🙂
I will. Thanks.
Very interesting points Kyle although you fail to mention the technique they use is something that was outlawed about 2 decades ago.
The bait and switch scheme. They offer you something which at first looks like a mere $25 a month but one you are hooked in the price rockets.
Case-in-point a similar business in the UK (Carpet Cleaners lol) that offered a full carpet clean for £35 then when they actually come round to clean the carpets you learn that a quick clean will actually make a carpet look worse because all the dirt is brought to the top.
When you learn this, the carpet cleaner/salesman upsells you another package to remove infestation and clean the carpet properly for nearly 20 times the amount you were originally expecting to pay.
The special £35 offer is the bait to get them in the door then the switch is the much higher price and the sales technique.
This type of selling makes me sick and being in marketing for over 7 years it still amazes me how many people still buy into the Empower bait and switch scam.
This is one of the reasons i will not allow members of my site to build a downline in EN because to me the whole idea is massively unethical.
I really hope that sometime in the near future Dave and Dave and Empower get whats coming to them.
Face it Empower is the online equivalent of Bait and Switch and whats even worse is the way it is sold.
Really people haven’t we gotten past the schoolday bullying methods?
Very true Jay, I have however reference what a ponzi is (within the Wikipedia definition) and there are some really bold and striking similarities. Perhaps this is the reason that people have to take money directly from others using hodge podge merchant accounts (instead of reputable ones like Paypal, Beanstream, Stripe, and merchant bank accounts).
You are not alone, this makes many people sick and for those reading this with the “hype” blinders on, wake up!
On a different blog promoting Empower, I just read a comment with a person claiming they’ve been with EN for about 2 months, have 66 blog posts through the EN blogging portal with SEO scores of 88.89 to 93.33 and they are not able to get any prospects to sign up through their lead capture page.
This is concerning to me because the EN blog is the main product being pushed. Shouldn’t that person have at least one opt-in through their capture page in 2 months of blogging?
I can see now why some EN promoters are advising prospects to start up a blog under their own domain and hosting apart from the EN blogging portal.
The EN blog portal doesn’t seem to be living up to the hype.
That is because their blogs don’t rank in search engines, in fact, they people that are paying $25 per month for the blog don’t even own the content. This sort of service can and is being offered for free elsewhere and the “viral blogging system” is really a facade for the MASSIVE upsells that they are going to try to suck you in behind the scenes. Get ready to be pressured into buying into the $100 per month inner circle program and the $5,000 in other products.
They also tout ALEXA as being some sort of metric determining how a site ranks. It shows how much the folks within EN are really learning, they are just regurgitation when their masters tell them.
Great post kyle, just one thing to add.
Based on statistics directly from their website, only 675 people in Empower Network are earning over $1,000 per month. That should be pretty telling considering there are over 130,000 (or have been) paying members. You have a 99.325% chance of failing within Empower, in fact, if you buy into their forced upsells you have a good chance of losing $6,000+ of your own hard earned money. Brutallllll!
The low man on the totem pople is paying for these 675 people earning money, really there are only 8-10 people earning lots of money and they started the company with the Davids and had huge mailing lists to begin with. You are ridiculous if you think you are going to join this program and earn money, the odds are already against you to the tune of 99.325% chance.
I will stick with roulette thanks.
Yeah, these numbers should definitely put some perspective on the “dream” they are selling.
Statistically proven, only 0.6% of EN earn money. The rest are still look for other folks to join in their downline so they can earn money off of others, but it hasn’t quite happened yet.
Here are some Empower Network Stats as of April, 2013 that I think folks will be very interested in.
Of the 130,000 members that have joined and PAID EN, only 675 of these people are earning over $1,000 per month. Yes, that number is correct and I think many will find it very conclusive that the ONLY people making real money from this program are not the 1,000’s of folks attending events, it is the people that are “on stage” encouraging others that they can do it too, knowing full well that they can’t. In fact, 99.325% of people within Empower fail.
So if you like these odds, then I would suggest that you may want to join this program. I can tell you though, that your odds of winning at a blackjack table are MUCH higher than taking a chance with EN.
Yeah, that odds are not in your favour. Like any pyramid style set-up, the early adopters are the ones that reap all the rewards. There has been a lot of mention about when EN launched, they sat their (now most successful affiliates in a room) and said they wanted to make them the most successful group within this program. 18 months forward, those same people are the most successful feasting on the monies generated from the newcomers…or as you said, the other 99.325 of folks.
This is unfortunate and I think these numbers are going to really put the “opportunity” into perspective for a lot of folks.