iStockphoto / bigtunaonline
Today we are going to change gears and talk about a popular Fitness scam that seems to have gained some traction on Facebook. I honestly would not be saying anything unless I had not known people personally who have bought stuff from this website.
Today we are going to walk through a highly manipulative sales funnel so you can be aware of what’s going on. Names have been blurred, but the name does not matter as long as you know what is going on.
Here’s what to watch out for:
1. Too Good to Be True Promises:
Seems simple enough: “15 Pounds of Lean Muscle in 30 Days” obviously should stand out to you.
However, the most effective lies contain bits of the truth.
And this ad can be a bit confusing with the amount of likes and traffic it is receiving. Honestly, seems like a pretty compelling ad and since I received it personally, they are paying for legitimate traffic.
There are some questions you should ask yourself about this ad though:
1. Can one actually gain 15 pounds of muscle in 30 days?
2. Do 37,000 people really like this product?
3. Is The Rock really a supporter?
My answers:
1. Not naturally. It’s more like 1-3 pounds, if you’re lucky.
2. It’s unlikely, but possible. I can’t hate on them and deny that with a massive ad budget it can be done legitimately.
3. Extremely doubtful. Just because a celebrity is used in an ad does not mean they support a particular product. Don’t ever make that assumption.
The point is that the ad falls under the “too good to be true category.” Which should raise some immediate red flags in your mind.
My issue is not with the ad in particular, but with the website and products that follow:
2. Mimic Websites Designed to Look Like Legitimate Ones.
Mimic websites happen.
This particular website structure is made to look like Men’s Health Magazine. They even have a fake magazine cover featuring Gronk on the sidebar.
Someone has taken careful time and detail into making this, but with a trained eye you will notice some problems.
Here’s how you can tell it’s a not the real thing:
1. All clickable links go to either a sales page or link back to Men’s Health (The real magazine). Click around first before buying something.
2. Comment window at the bottom is not usable. Always try those things out to see if the testimonials are legit or not.
3. Social media buttons are not clickable (Massive Red Flag).
4. Use Google to research if it’s a real magazine/website or not.
The titles they use in the fake website are slightly different from the real magazine. These people are banking on you not paying any attention to detail.
3. Watch out for straight Proprietary Blends
A proprietary blend, in plain English means: “We don’t want to tell you how much of each product is in this thing.”
Now, not all people that use proprietary blends are evil. In fact, many supplement companies use this when there are too many products to list out on the label or want to keep a formula secret.
I have no issues with that.
The problem arises when the entire supplement is a proprietary blend.
There could be 1600mg of rice flower in there with 100mg of the actual listed ingredients.
There could be 1650mg of caffeine.
There could be 700mg of Unobtainium and gold dust.
You just don’t know. That’s an important part of being an informed consumer- knowing what you’re buying.
Again, proprietary blends are not inherently evil, just keep an eye out for this stuff.
4. The Most Important Lesson: ASK A TRUSTED EXPERT
I wish this was as easy as telling you to do your own independent research.
If you know what to Google, you can easily find reviews of this product telling you the real story about the customer experience:
- How they were promised a free trial and charged $87 after only 14 days of use.
- How they automatically got placed on a reoccurring monthly cycle of charges without their knowledge.
- How they can get in touch with anyone to return their products
- How they saw no results
Another problem is that a well-funded products like this have already made SEO optimized feeder pages that give fake reviews and throw you back into the website.
It’s an endless cycle of BS.
HOWEVER, THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
There are people who want to help.
People who care.
I’d consider following these 3 fitness experts on Twitter:
1. Steve Kamb – For the Nerds
2. Bret Contreras – Strength Coach
3. Andy Morgan – Intermittent Fasting Expert and Online Coach
These people are the true warriors in the realm of fitness and if you had a question about a product, I’m sure they’d be happy to assist you.
Spend that $87 elsewhere bros.