You can’t be involved in Internet marketing education for very long without becoming dismayed at the lack of ethics of some of the prominent players:
Bogus resumes and made-up biographies, out-of-control plagiarism, and rampant fraud against consumers. It’s become an epidemic and many of the “big” names are involved…
There’s even a school (several of them actually) where wanna-be “gurus” go to learn how to put on seminars that have no content so they can focus on the only thing that matters to them: pitching books and tapes and expensive “coaching” programs from the podium.
A student from System 2006 just sent me a book his wife wrote called “Trust and Honesty: America’s Business Culture at a Crossroad.”
The author, Tamar Frankel, is a law professor and was involved in playing the foundation for ICANN, the entity that regulates domain names world wide. Among other accomplishments, she’s been named a Faculty Fellow of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.
Frankel points out that there has been a overall decline in business ethics across the board in recent years.
Is dishonest business behavior new?
Of course not, Frankel states in her book, but what is new is both the scope and the mass acceptance of unethical behavior as “normal.”
Frankel quotes another attorney who specializes in fighting fraud in the health-care industry (a $100 billion a year problem.): “The real tragedy is not just the proliferation of fraud. The tragedy is that the public seems to have accepted fraud as another way of doing business.”
This is obviously not a good state of affairs. It not only injures consumers, it also drives good people out of the marketplace, or keeps them from entering it. The net result: a poisoned marketplace.
Is there a solution?
Frankel says there is.
The decline in business ethics is not set in stone. It’s the result of a culture change. And just as the culture has changed for the worse, it can also change for the better.
Where does it begin?
Right here. Right now.
It begins with recognizing that deception and fraud is not “normal” behavior. That falsifiying credentials and making up “success” stories is not OK. That presenting the work of others as your own without giving proper credit is not OK. That selling an expensive “empty box” to your customers is not something to brag about, but to be ashamed of.
If the consumers of Internet marketing education were to demand more from the industry, and be less accepting of the current climate of sleaze fostered by what amounts to a handful of devious high-profile individuals, we’d all be a lot better off.
It’s in our power. We do not have to – nor should we – accept the current state of affairs. Thanks to Tamara Frankel for writing this important and timely book.
– Ken McCarthy
P.S. For over 25 years I’ve been sharing the simple but powerful things that matter in business with my clients.
If you’d like direction for your business that will work today, tomorrow and twenty years from now, visit us at the System Club.
I have attended a few seminars in the past month. You can always get ideas from anything (even a guy reading a book to you) but I have a negative reaction to the pitch fests that occur. When someone speaks to me for an hour and a half and ends with a pitch I get turned off. Did this guy give me some steak or did I just get the sizzele? (One speaker even said that he tells people what to do but they have to pay him to learn how to do it.)
If I want someone’s service I will go up to talk to them. But I didn’t spend thousands of dollars plus travel and be away from my wife and kids to get sold all weekend.
And if the host of the seminar is getting a big cut of the action then what is the purpose of the seminar anyway?
Most know it’s not right and here is the test. Have them say that the weekend seminar will have all these great speakers BUT THEY WILL ALL BE SELLING THEIR SERVICES AT THE END OF THEIR TALK! Then people can choose to attend or not. The fact that this is not told tells me they know no one would come or the attendance would be low.
It borders on unethical in my opinion. Shame too becasue a lot of the speakers really know their stuff.
Ken,
Great article (post). What we need to do is “expose” these people by naming names. It’s unfair and arguably our OBLIGATION to do so. Of course, there has to be no room for doubt over their actions (libel and slander can get you in trouble).
However, many newbies and even experienced IM’s who are legit…and have a heart to truly help others…are falling for their schemes everyday.
I have first hand experience with a man who claims to have written copy for over 20 years. His pitch was for joining his monthly “coaching” club, trying it out for a $1 for 14 days.
Daily, I would get e-mails from him, reading each one with interest and paying attention to his style.
Then one day, I got an e-mail that looked very very familiar. Turns out, he stole the copy word for word from an e-mail that Michael Masterson had sent as part of the AWAI “Early to Rise” daily feed. (I am enrolled in their copywriting course and get the feed daily).
When I questioned him about the “similarities” I was promptly removed from his e-mail list, never got another one from him again…what a great way to get off of someone’s list…no need to opt out, just expose them! You’ll never have to worry about spam from them again! 😉
At the recent System 2006, we discussed alot of this at the networking events and at the lunches. There is definitely value in knowing who’s real and who’s not. Please continue this track and let’s try to figure out a way to legitimately expose them.
Joe
Joe,
This naming names thing is interesting.
I attended a high level domain name conference last winter in Silicon Valley. They have the same problems we do. Fly-by-night fakers who appear out of nowhere slinging all sorts of BS and ripping people off left and right.
The host of the conference – a major heavyweight in the domain name world – said “it’s time to start naming names guys.”
There are legal issues of course.
One simple way to handle this might be to simply track the biographical claims of some of the worst offenders and post them to the net.
It’s amazing how many of them floated into the industry and built reputations on a sea of total BS.
Many of these guys have made outrageously fraudulent claims about their careers that can easily be confirmed – or proven false.
Some day… maybe soon.
Ken McCarthy
P.S. The copywriting world is full of this kind of chicanery.
I had so many bad experiences with some of the ‘new generation’ of copywriting gurus, I put on a special course to help my clients avoid being taken, recognize real copywriters, and write their own winning ad copy.
http://www.kenscopyclinic.com/order.html
Jerry,
There are degrees of this.
I don’t mind someone telling me a little about their services after hearing a great talk.
What I can’t stand and what I do think is unethical are people who design talks not to share info but only to sell.
Worse, if you have a question for them, the answer is “it’s in the package” or they just blow you off.
Jack Rutelle
I agree with Joe. There’s no need to talk about the problem in generalities. If it truly is a problem there needs to be specifics.
As far as “legal issues” go, if the person being exposed is truly an empty box they will not have a leg to stand on. The problem with fearing “legal issues” is that it is always the guy on the right side of the “legal issue” that is fearful.
In the end, if we allow the market to be FREE it will work itself out.
Speaking as a small business owner who is new to Internet marketing and copywriting, I have to say something: I got burned a number of times, and until I discovered The System Seminar I wondered whether anyone in this space could be trusted. Thank goodness for Ken McCarthy.
Ultimately, I think that the real key to changing the ethical landscape is oversite and education. What about establishing a consumer watchdog group that has no vested interests and can publish objective reports on the products and services available?
Ken,
I think that it’s easier psychologically to BS somebody online than in person.
Unfortunately, as society gets increasingly digitalized and depersonalized there is less social cost to BS. If you tried to BS someone in your neighborhood, chances are your reputation would get ruined very quickly via cocktail party chatter.
So, there’s more at stake with personal interactions.
Anyway, it’s good to know that there’s a collection of ethical marketers/publishers in the System Club.
One root of this issue is the gap between good copywriting and the quality of the product the copy describes. The marginally scrupulous can write copy that bears little resemblence to the quality and subtsance of the actual product, i.e. “hype.” This mismatch between copy and substance is particularly prevalent in the Internet Marketing genre because, by definition, they pass through the “ah ha” moment of understanding the power of effective copy.
As with all things in life, “power” is always associated with “responsibility.” Balancing the power of copy with the associated responsibility to use it ethically is the definition of integrity and maturity.
The appeal of the System Seminar is the role you play in assuring the faculty’s commitment to maintaining this balance.
Great article. Great to hear there are people still concerned about honesty in business.
Just as an example of what we’re talking about here, Joe above mentioned Michael Masterson. Be careful with this guy.
Here are 27 things you need to know about AWAI and Michael Masterson’s Accelerated Six Figure Copywriting Program. It’s hard to decide which word best describes this whole scheme. But words that come to mind are fraud, scam, rip off, con, fake or hoax. In fact sleeze might be a good one to throw in to.
1 For starters, AWAI is not a school. In fact, they recently got into some legal difficulties with the State of Florida for pretending to be a school. That’s why they had to change their name from “institute” to INC.
2 The program is nothing more than a cheap correspondence/home study course. There are no graduates, no diplomas. And after completion, you’ve gained no credentials or credibility.
3 The critiques they offer to do on your assignments are done by copywriter wannabes, not real, talented, professional, accomplished copywriters. They pay these wannabes a lousy $10 for each critique.
4 The company operates out of a dingy little building on a dumpy side street in Delray Beach, Florida. If you ever visited the place, you wouldn’t buy anything from them.
5 Most (if not all) of the so-called copywriting experts who answer student’s questions are not even copywriters.
6 The promotions they use to sell the course is absolutely bloated with careful omissions, half-truths, lies, distortions, deceptions, selective memories, phony testimonials, exaggerated claims, over-simplifications, forced conclusions, unsubstantiated “factsâ€, hype, fluff and good old fashioned trickery. It really is a remarkably involved and finely crafted charade that convinces people they can truly earn over $100,000 a year after taking some poorly written, lame correspondence course or attending a silly 3-day rah-rah “bootcampâ€â€¦ for a hefty price.
7 The testimonials they use a worthless, many written by people who are paid to speak at AWAI seminars and who have other business dealings with the company. Michael Masterson often uses testimonials from family members (his brother’s name recently changed from Justin to Jason, a most curious thing). Many are written by copywriter wannabes who are trying to boost their careers. These are people who have failed as copywriters but are trying to project the image of a winners in the hopes of gaining some recognition. Their claims are completely unsubstantiated and fall in the category of wishful thinking.
8 At AWAI “bootcamps”, the so-called job fair is nothing more than a bunch of Michael Masterson’s cronies setting up booths and pretending to be interested in AWAI students.
9 The program is so lame that they have to throw in a bunch of “valuable” booklets with revealing “secrets” in an effort to entice you to buy. None of this extra stuff is any better than the course itself which is a poorly written, rudimentary and dumbed-down. The main part of the program is nothing more than a cheap 500 page loose-leaf notebook with a lot of blank parts for you to do your “exercises”. The first 150 pages or so include very little learning and a lot of hype about what you’re “going to learn.” And they use a large font with really wide margins to fill up the pages. It’s looks like something a third grader would use.
10 In many ways, the course itself is a continuation of the promotions used to sell it. It is designed to get you all worked up for additional purchases. You think you are getting an all inclusive course, but then they say you need to know more… at a price.
11 After you buy, AWAI will badger you to death trying to get you to spend more money on their “master’s” program, bootcamps, CD’s, DVD’s, teleconferences, etc. They are quite aggressive about it because they have to squeeze you for all it’s worth early, before you figure them out.
12 There is little evidence that the supposedly gifted Michael Masterson can actually write decent copy. Like many of these self-appointed copywriting gurus, he seldom (if ever) seems to actually be practicing his so-called profession. You would think there would be a lot more money in selling “billions” in products and services than in suckering people into a silly, get rich quick copywriting course. And for some strange reason, you never actually get to see any copy that was written by the guy.
13 If AWAI was really cranking out the next generation of big money-making copywriters, and if the program really worked, wouldn’t they have trouble retaining their own employees? Wouldn’t their employees use the course and be constantly leaving for greener, more profitable six-figure copywriting pastures? Either the AWAI staff is made up of stupid or lazy fools, or they don’t believe the pile of baloney they are selling.
14 When trying to secure a job as a copywriter, saying you completed the Michael Masterson’s Accelerated Six Figure Copywriting Program will only get you laughed at. The real world is looking for real, professional, creative, talented, educated, experienced, proven copywriters who know how to drive sales, not correspondence course graduates.
15 The truth is, AWAI is simply telling you what you want to hear. They say it’s fast, it’s fun, it’s easy, anybody can do it, there’s big money in it, you’ll get famous, people will envy your new life, you can live and work anywhere, you don’t need writing skills, etc. They even call it retirement. None of this is true. They would probably tell you it cures cancer if they thought they could get away with it.
16 But the scam is so good that some poor souls are into the course for a few years before they realize they’ve been constantly shelling out money and their careers are still stuck at the starting gate.
17 When negative comments start popping up on the Internet, AWAI has employees, friends and family start posting phony testimonials to offset the bad press.
18 You can buy a $20 book at your local bookstore and get better copywriting instruction than AWAI’s $500 program.
19 Michael Masterson uses the same approach with his ezine Early To Rise (ETR). He is constantly selling himself as an expert on everything in an effort to set his readers up for all sorts of “get rich quick”, “pie in the sky” products.
20 And AWAI likes to scam you into working for free. They will entice you to write a promotion “on spec” with the promise that if they like it, you’ll be rewarded in some fashion. Don’t fall for it. It’s just designed to keep you on the hook for as long as possible. Working for free is not the same thing as a six-figure income.
21 If you’ve already purchased the copywriting program, don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. Like I said, it’s an effective scam.
22 The guy’s real name is Mark Ford. There is no such person as Michael Masterson. And his brother Justin Ford, who is used for testimonials regularly, seems to have an identity crisis. Recently his name has begun appearing as Jason Ford. A sister, Denise Ford, is also a player in all this (I guess it’s a family scam), as is a John Forde who is supposedly no relations.
23 Michael Masterson uses ghost writers to write his books. He assigns different writers to different topics or chapters. More smoke and mirrors.
24 And of course I could go on and on. I could tell you of the tremendous effort put forth by AWAI to try to create the illusion that it’s all legitimate, to perpetuate the myth. The endless, ongoing work designed to make the whole sham appear honest, honorable and trustworthy.
25 I could tell you how the people who fall for this scam are generally unsavvy individuals when it comes to sales and marketing, hence their vulnerability.
26 I could mention a little matter of mail fraud, complete with arrest and mug shots. But I think you probably get the idea by now.
27 And of course AWAI’s other courses are just as hyped, whether it’s their resume writing course, their travel writing course or their graphic design course. All too good to be true.
Here’s a little follow up to the above – a string of newspaper articles chronicling the Feds taking down self proclaimed copywriting guru Michael Masterson (his real name is Mark Ford) and his history of mail fraud and money laundering?
Go to Goggle News Archives, type in “Mark Ford” fraud. The articles are not current so make sure you go into the archives.
“Ford violated civil mail fraud and money laundering laws” (Miami Herald)
“The government seized $6.6 million from 52 bank accounts in New York and South Florida” controlled by Mark Ford and his associate says the Miami Herald. U.S. Magistrate Ann Vitumec authorized the seizure based in part on an affidavit filed by a U.S. Postal Inspector.
The Palm Beach Post called it a “nationwide fraud”.
The Herald also noted “Thousands of complaints from consumers and regulators around the country”. The government tried to work out a plan to repay the thousands of people who were scammed.
All of which explains why he changed his name to Michael Masterson? I’m sure it’s something Mr. Ford would have like kept buried… but that’s kinda the way it goes.
And this is the same guy who occasionally writes about the evils of fraud and scams in his ezine Early To Rise (ETR). Earlier this year have gave a talk about how to make money on the Inertnet and still sleep at night (or words to that effect). Incredible shamelessness.
For the record, Justin Ford is actually John Ford. Justin is his middle name, and apparently he is trying pass it off as his first name. He is a sleazy character, just like his brother. I met Mark Ford once, he made my skin crawl.
A word (or two) about AWAI …
Boy, looks like someone really has it out for us. (I’m Katie Yeakle, Exec. Dir. of AWAI) And that’s okay. AWAI makes some aggressive claims, so scrutiny is to be expected.
I will say this though. We have hundreds of letters from people who love our material.
Many… those who really want it and really apply themselves have gone on to successful copywriting careers. I’ll stand by the information we deliver. I believe it’s the best you can get, short of working side by side, day in day out with an experienced copywriter.
But here’s the real secret of associating yourself with AWAI — something even the best of all the very good books out there on copywriting can’t offer.
And I’ll premise it with something we say in our promotions…something that is very much a fact: our industry is screaming for good, competent copywriters. So here’s the secret: if you’re eager…and you’re smart…AWAI offers insight and access to the industry.
If you learn to write copy — and you’re aggressive and you’re smart, and you take the initiative — you’ll learn who the marketers are and find a way to get your samples on their desks.
From there, the copy does the talking. Let’s face it. You can be a great artist, but if no one sees your work, you’ll toil in obscurity. You need your “big breakâ€. And AWAI can offer you that, like it’s done for others who’ve figured it out.
But the fact is, the nature of this or any other “self improvement†product is that 99% of the people do nothing with it. And only a fraction of the remaining 1% want it bad enough to make it happen. (Which is why we offer a refund to anyone — even after the publicized trial period).
It’s very easy to be suspicious and skeptical. (Though, granted, it’s slightly more of an effort to come up with 27 reasons why our course is a scam!)
As Paul Hollingshead explained recently; “I could argue that the $350 golf lesson I took at the Leadbetter Academy was a rip-off because I’m not on a scratch golfer as a result of it.
But I can’t say that because I learned something from it. And if I really wanted to be a scratch golfer, I could have hunkered down and spent six hours a day for the next month mastering the one thing I learned. And then gone on to take two, four, 10 or 20 more $350 lessons. As an avid golfer, I can say with a great deal of confidence that becoming a six figure copywriter is a heck of a lot easier than becoming a scratch golfer.”
But, Paul also points out, that’s only if you really want it, and you’re eager to master the skills our programs teach — and have the “creativity†to look beyond words on a piece of paper…and see the value of associating yourself with an organization with so many ties to the business we write about.
That’s my take on it, though I doubt it will satisfy anyone who might have some personal vendetta against AWAI or Michael Masterson.
Expecially Jim above … who through simple internet research, we were able to identify as Charlie Crowell.
We believe that Charlie is behind many of these inflammatory posts about Michael Masterson, American Writers & Artists Inc. and Early to Rise. He and his wife, Maggie, are former employees of either AWAI or ETR. They both profited from their association with us and benefited from Michael’s tutelage. However, they are both now disgruntled because they are no longer employed by us … a direct result of inadequate job performance.
They have turned to this forum to post their highly inaccurate and malicious rants … under cover of false names … which, ironically, is something they condemn.
To learn the truth, I encourage you visit AWAI’s and ETR’s websites … where you will find real reviews from real customers.
I’m glad Katie chimed in. I’m a student of AWAI and have found their material to be excellent. I am using it to build a business in copywriting, and am already making money with it. Tim’s comments were lifted straight from another web site listing the same rants, so Tim’s credibility is down the toilet.
I never thought AWAI was a school that hands out diplomas. They never claimed to be, and you’d have to be pretty stupid to think they were trying to position themselves as a school. They offer courses for a fee. Anyone can see that. But that doesn’t make it a scam. Yes, I wish their prices were lower, but I still got some good material from them. And there are enough real, successful copywriters out there making great incomes who endorse AWAI’s methods.
Sorry, but this isn’t a scam. Sometimes overpriced, yes (like so many products). But I’ve gotten a ton of great material, even for free, from their Member’s area on their site.
Tim is right – Michael Masterson, Mark Ford, AWAI, Early to Rise, MaryEllen Tribby, these folks are all scam artists. Just dig into what they do – create newsletters full of hopeful language, with no concrete promises or clear deliverables, and scam the innocent (or ignorant) out of their money. It’s all about foreplay. There is no there there.
Why is changing your name an indicator of unethical behavior? I’m sure Reginald Dwight and Richard Starkey would disagree…you probably know them as Elton John and Ringo Starr.
Secondly, have you ever read a college course catalog? Or a class syllabus? No concrete promises or clear deliverables there. I know people with Master’s degrees who can’t find a job. Does that mean university degrees are a scam?
A scam is when people take your money after promising something that’s fake. They usually don’t give it back. From what’s been said on other sites, AWAI has a more than generous refund policy and they bend over backwards to satisfy any complaints.
I’ve bought AWAI products and I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. Then again, I graduated as an English major and I’ve written for small newspapers. There probably wasn’t much I didn’t know about writing. But the AWAI course gave me some good tips to get me started and told me some things I didn’t know.
Sounds like a lot of sour grapes. I’d be willing to show you a real scam…for the price of $95.99, and I’ll even add a second scam for free.