| ♦ REFRESH to rotate MAAMAW'S CLICKY NOTES thru this space..... Timely Tips, Best of the Boards & More ♦ |
| PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMS! Research all business opportunities thoroughly, and never blow off other people's bad experiences. Ask around (and listen!). The Scams101 Message Board is a good place to start. What's that? You've found a Biz Op and you're wondering if it's endorsed by FIB?... Not unless it's listed in MaaMaw's Magnificent Toolbox. |
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FIB - Scams 101
21 Things U Need To Know About AWAI Michael Masterson
Posted By: Jim Wilcox In Response To: SCAMS Outright lies,... NOw on Mp3 (Virginia R.Sanders)
Date: Thursday, April 19, 2007, at 11:47 a.m.(pst)
It's hard to decide which word best describes this whole AWAI Michael Masterson scheme but words that come to mind are fraud, scam, ripoff, con, fake or hoax. Here are 21 things you need to know about AWAI and Michael Masterson's Accelerated Six Figure Copywriting Program.
1 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.
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 professional copywriters. They pay these wannabes $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 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 filled with careful omissions, half-truths, lies, distortions, deceptions, selective memories, phony testimonials, exaggerated claims, over-simplifications, forced conclusions, unsubstantiated “facts” and good old fashioned trickery. It really is a remarkably involved and finely crafted charade that convinces people they can truly earn $100,000+ a year after taking some poorly written, lame correspondence course or attending a silly 3-day rah-rah “bootcamp”… 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.
8 At AWAI "bootcamps, the so-called job fair is nothing more than a bunch of Michael Masterson's cronies pretending to be interested in AWAI students.
9 The program is so lame that they have to throw in a bunch of "valuable" booklets 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 introduction to copywriting. The main part of the program is nothing more than a cheap 500 page spiral bound book with a lot of blank pages for you to do your "exercises".
10 In many ways, the course itself is a continuation of the promotions used to sell it. It is designed to set the stage for additional purchases.
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.
12 There is little evidence that Michael Masterson can actually write decent copy. Like most of these self-appointed copywriting gurus, he never seems to actually be practicing his profession. You would think there would be a lot more money in selling billions in products and services than in selling silly get rich quick copywriting courses. And for some strange reason, you never see any copy that was ever written by the guy.
13 If AWAI was really cranking out the next generation of superstar copywriters, wouldn't they have trouble retaining their own employees? Wouldn't their employees be constantly leaving to greener, more profitable copywriting pastures? Or maybe their employees know it's all baloney.
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, creative, talented, educated, experienced 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 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, etc. They even call it retirement. None of this is true.
16 But the scam is so good that some people 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. Actually, some "students" never figure it and go around proudly calling themselves AWAI members or graduates.
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 and offers a steady stream of worthless "get rich quick" schemes.
20 If you've already purchased the program, don't feel bad. You're no alone. Like I said, it's an effective scam.
21 The guy's real name is Mark Ford. There is no such person as Michael Masterson. Now why do you suppose he'd use a phony name? Hmmm?
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| PLEASE READ THIS LEGAL NOTICE CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU FILE A LAWSUIT OR EVEN WASTE TIME THINKING ABOUT IT. It has been done before, but never successfully. In fact, the last dodobird who tried it ended up being ordered to pay more than $77,000 in attorney fees ($65,000+ to my attorneys and $12,000+ to my co-defendant's legal advisor).
If your attorney is worth his salt, he's going to tell you that the expense of filing a lawsuit you can't win is a whole lot worse than any "damages" resulting from messages posted on this insignificant little chunk of cyberspace. NEWS FLASH: I didn't just climb down off that ol' turnip truck yesterday. I'm well aware that expressing a negative opinion, relating one's personal experience, and restating provable facts are all legal in this country and do not constitute libel, slander, or defamation -- so you don't want to play games with me, and you sure don't want to start something you aren't prepared to finish. I don't take threats lightly, and I don't accept bribes (or did you call it a "mutually-beneficial arrangement"?). I'll turn you in faster than you can yell, "ARREST ME, I'M SCUM!!" Do yourself a favor and turn your legal team loose in greener pastures. Although we may, from time to time, monitor or review discussions, postings and the like on the Friends In Business (Scams 101) Message Board, we are under no obligation to do so. We are not responsible or liable for any claim arising from the content of any such discussions or postings or for any error, defamation, libel, slander, omission, falsehood, obscenity, pornography, profanity, danger, or inaccuracy contained in any information contained within such locations on the Site. You are prohibited from posting or transmitting any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, or profane materials or any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law. You are likewise prohibited from posting any false claims against any company or individual. We will fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity of anyone posting any such information or materials. By posting messages and/or content on the Friends In Business (Scams 101) Message Board, you give permission for Lesley Fountain/Friends In Business/Shoestring Success Publications to display, distribute and use the posting and content for publication, advertising, promotion, excerption or example. You grant Lesley Fountain/Friends In Business/Shoestring Success Publications complete, perpetual, but non-exclusive rights to use, archive, reproduce, adapt, modify, distribute, sub-license, repurpose, rework, compile, or offer for sale or resale the messages, postings or content appearing on this site in whole or in part, throughout the world and universe, on a royalty-free basis without remuneration. If you cannot accept or agree with the terms of service for this website and discussion board, you are advised not to post on this board. In closing, I would like to remind you once again that it is still legal, in this great country of ours, to express a PERSONAL OPINION, as long as it is presented as opinion and not as fact. And finally, all you scammers out there will do well to remember that TRUTH IS AN ABSOLUTE DEFENSE against charges of libel, defamation, and slander... so if you're operating just a hop, skip, and jump ahead of the law, you might want to think twice before doing anything stupid... (AND SHAME ON YOU!!). |