Empower Network
Overall Score: 1/10
Founders: David Wood & David Sharpe
Price: $20 (at first), up to $5000(!)
Website: empowernetwork.com
Hey there readers! It’s time for another review of, you guessed it, another “get-rich-quick” scam! Let’s see how this service cheats people!
What is Empower Network?
Did you ever hear about MLM marketing? It’s when you buy a product, then are taught how to make (mostly given) a website to promote that product to visitors of said website. Then that poor sap does the same.
And that’s basically Empower Network (EN). It’s made by David Wood and David Sharpe, who are known affiliate marketing “gurus” In other words, EN is another upsell-laden scam that treats customers as income streams rather than people.
You thought Affilorama’s upsells were bad? Well, they are indeed so. Great job.
Anyway, this scheme is almost unreal, even in this industry. You literally go from 25 greenbacks a month to a massive $3500 upsell! With many steps along the way, of course.
But don’t take my word for it. Let’s take a closer look, first at the good news. This shouldn’t take too long!
What’s the Good News, Bub?
The good news, huh? The good news is, well…er, the good news is…
All right, there is no good news, as we’ll see below. Empower Network only benefits it’s owners, not the paying customer.
Hold on, there is one benefit. EN does let you join a community of other successful bloggers. That’s always valuable. But that simply doesn’t justify the avalanche of costs that community incurs.
Some people have mentioned that EN is at least a good source of information on affiliate marketing, but I’m not buyin’ it. No matter how good the information is, you could get it elsewhere for a far lower price (or even for free).
That was short and sweet. Make that “bitter.” Time for the bad news!
The Bad News
Where do I start? There’s so many things wrong with Empower Network.
How about the fact that it’ll cost you $5,000 in one-time fees and $150 in monthly payments to get the full service? These guys charge a fortune for the full experience, which isn’t even guaranteed to work.
Then there’s the nature of the program. MLM is not a customer-friendly business model. At all. You are income first and foremost, and nearly all MLM programs have low-quality support, meaning you’re unlikely to have a question answered fully.
The websites you make in EN are not fully yours, either. You own the content you create, but EN uses it freely. They literally co-own it. Anyone with any knowledge of online business, or common sense, would walk away at this point.
Why, their affiliate program is a paid service! I couldn’t believe it myself!
This is just the major stuff. I’ll walk you through EN and reveal the numerous flies in the ointment.
Empower Network at a Glance
The first thing you see when you visit the main page of EN is a another false promise and an unpauseable video.
Unpausable videos are used on many scammy websites. It’s a trick to get you to listen.
Anyway, mediocre first impressions aside, the main EN product is the Kalatu Blogging System, for $25/month:
This is apparently their ‘flagship.’ It’s a blog that’s done for you, which is a big red flag. It even says people spend thousands of dollars to design blogs, and while this is indeed possible, it’s nowhere near as common as EN would have you believe.
Here’s the list of features they advertise:
A trained eye will spot a plethora of potential problems pertaining to this pitch.
Are you done applauding that amazing alliteration? The first thing you’ll notice is, of course, “done for you.” Having content done for you is a bad thing. Google hates that.
It says you can re-blog other people’s content onto yours. Can it get more blatant than that? Content is supposed to be original.
Then there’s that last one. What a joke it is. WordPress gives everyone, even free users, thousands of themes! Why is ‘multiple themes’ such a big deal? And given that it is your blog, it’s a right to be able to blog about whatever you want, not a ‘bonus.’
The ‘Money Getting’ Formula isn’t even worth a mention. Other programs (like my #1 recommendation) can give you much more training for free.
Inner Circle, $100/month
Inner Circle calls itself ‘mindset training,’ whatever that is. It’s supposed to “put positivity into your life.”
These are basically pep talks designed to get you all pumped to spend more money, or worse, refer people you know to EN. Here’s the features list:
In the end, it’s nothing too special. There are hundreds of speakers and podcasts on the subject that you can listen to for free.
Listening can be a powerful factor in influencing you to change your opinion. Inner Circle encourages you to be okay with EN by validating the service repeatedly, right into your head.
Besides, can you really, and I mean really, justify $100 hard-earned bucks on this? I recently listened to an audiobook (Rich Dad Poor Dad) by Robert Kiyosaki, a way more reputable and honest source, that cost a quarter as much. And it was a one-time fee!
Top Producer Formula, $500
This is actually a one-time fee. It’s an eBook that shows you a step-by-step process to gain “3 new customers a day”.
The book is by David Wood, who promises to tell you how to be a million dollar success. If you’re at all familiar with guru behavior, you’ll know it’s not that simple. You’d have to be an established pro to make use of what he’s teaching.
You can also tell it’s not the full story because there’s another upsell!
Team Building Formula, $1000
We started from $25, now we’re here. 1000 smackers gives you the Team Building Formula. This basically… ugh, do you even care anymore? At this point, it’s just too hollow a sell.
Maybe I’m being too dismissive. There’s almost certainly something in this thing that’s useful. I’d bet my bottom dollar on that, if EN didn’t upsell me right after I lost said bet.
But there are 3 good reasons why that potential info isn’t worth it, and they coincidentally look like the last 3 digits of the pricetag.
Mass Influence Formula, $3,500
Hey headline, what does the scouter say about Mass Influence’s pricetag?!
It’s Over 3,000!!!
By now, this is a joke. This is a one of those ‘interaction’ books that teach you to socialize better, make friends, and influence people.
Sounds good, right? Too bad you can get a new copy of “How to Make Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie for $15 on Amazon. That will get you farther than the Mass Influence for only 0.4% of the price!
Carnegie’s book is only the most famous example. There are countless other books on the topic. If you bought as much as you could, you’d buy about 200 of them for $3500.
And that’s about it. We got up to $5,000 up-front. Add in the combined $150/month, and we’re looking at an atrocious $6,800 in your first year.
Oh yeah, and the affiliate program is $20/month. Wha..? Affiliate programs are supposed to be FREE.
Sad to say, that investment will probably lead to zilch. Want proof? Here the kicker!
The Kicker
Ironically, I’m kicking myself right now, because this chart says more about EN than I ever could. Just look at this chart, courtesy of Empower Network itself.
Yes, I found the link to this in the footer menu. It’s the income disclosure.
I was kinda wrong. People are making with EN. Look at those numbers! $681, 864… $456, 826… <1%…
Wait, what? <1%?!
Yeah, even EN admits that less than 1 percent of it’s users actually get rich. Maybe 2% altogether make more than $80,000 a year. Even if we stretch our metrics, only about 5% are actually making a living in the first place.
On the flip side, 92% of all affiliates make about $50 a year! As if I needed more reason not to buy into this.
Of course, EN doesn’t reference this when promoting the service. You can probably see why.
Money-Sucking Misery!! The Empower Network Verdict!!!
I know it sounds like I’m dissing the Empower Network. But trust me, I am.
While people are earning money with this, the vast majority (nearly all) don’t earn nearly enough to cover the cost of the investment.
I’m certain that those high earners are affiliate marketing professionals anyway. Nothing wrong with that, but it defeats the notion of EN being for newbies. The cold, hard truth is that the top earners are profiting from the bottom 92%.
I’m a young guy. I don’t have a mortgage to pay or a family to support or any of that. But a lot of people buying into EN do, and it’s disgusting that such a lame program is milking said people for all they’re worth.
Stay away from Empower Network. It’s not worth the trouble.
Are you interested in a program that actually will make you money? One that gives you way more for much less? Or even better, one that gives you a free trial and let’s you decide it’s worth a subscription?
I used to be vulnerable to these kinds of ‘too good to be true,’ thousand dollar cheats. But that all changed when I joined Wealthy Affiliate, my #1 recommendation. Read my review here!
What do you think of Empower Network? Got any questions? Am I justified in my hating? How high do you think the next upsell will be? Leave a comment below!
Your righthand in reviews,
-Makki
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Thanks for your very honest look at Empower. To be honest, it doesn’t seem to have a lot going for it. Wealthy Affiliate seems to offer many more benefits. Great article Makki
Glad you agree Andrew! Thanks for commenting!
Thanks for bringing quality information to the public, it honestly sickens me the way some people are in this world are promoting and selling scams. Its so hard to find something that’s legit online. Sorting through all the garbage is near impossible and all the disinformation and scam artists acting like they’re trust worthy it’s ridiculous. Thanks for the great breakdown!
I feel your pain mate. I almost got tired of looking and was about to quit till I found Wealthy Affiliate. The fact that these scammers know how to prey on desperate people disturbs me. You can hardly trust anyone. Thanks for your feedback Mikey!
Really, really great review! I hadn’t heard about this particular network, but the red flags you point out are ones that I have seen on many different sites. I definitely appreciate that you gave an honest review of the service. I certainly could not justify any kind of price tag near 5k, and I think the way you break everything down is a great way to prove your point. Thanks for the great post!
I’m glad you liked it Pete! Many scams share the same selling techniques. It’s important to keep your eyes peeled.
Wow, another one of the blatant scams that makes my skin crawl! I am glad you pointed out how worthless this program is. I hope people read reviews before they make decisions to spend money on these types of programs. I surely will point them to this review to warn them about EN. Thanks!
The best defense against these kind of scams is reading reviews. A non-biased one. Preferably mine, haha! Thanks for spreading the word Claudia. I really appreciate it!
Wow! Talk about up-sales. That is unreal. Were you a member of this program? It sounds like you know first hand what they are like. I hope you did not loose to much money. Very good review. Thank you.
I haven’t been a member of EN. All the information in the review is gathered from EN’s website, and I assure you it’s factual. I luckily didn’t lose money on this particular program, though I have lost a fair amount on other scams. Thanks for the insight Larry!
Unfortunately there are so many scams like this out there. These scams ruin the name of internet marketing for other people. Now, I feel people associate internet marketing with scam. People need to be more informed and learn that it is still possible to make legit income online. This has been done before – many times over too.
Hey there Matt! Yes, it’s indeed a tragedy that scams like EN have tarnished the reputation of the internet marketing industry. Some people actually think online income is fake. Searching for reviews is the best way to arm yourself with knowledge. Thanks for commenting!
Fantastic read Makki. We run across these MLM schemes all the time. Not gonna lie, I come check what you have to say about them before I do anything!
These schemes are by far the worst, and most successful. Thanks a million Ryan! I really appreciate that!
It looks like the only people being empowered here are the owners who rake in all the money. Five thousand dollars plus $150 a month for a program to make money? No way! If I want to make money online, I’m not spending so much before I know how it works and how I will earn! I just yesterday saw an ad for the Empower Network, so it’s good timing that I came across your post.
Talk about a coincidence! Yes, paying that much up-front is highway robbery. That’s why a free trial is so important. Still, I can’t believe a scheme that actually shows it’s inefficiency on it’s own website somehow manages to get customers. Thanks for the insight Ben!
Wow……I can’t believe people actually buy into that! That’s outrageous! It’s way better to have a system like wealthy affiliates where they actually help you. I just am dumbfounded at how expensive that is. I feel bad for anyone who fell into that! I was fortunate to land on wealthy affiliate relative early in the game. Poor people! figuratively and literally lol
I feel bad for those people too. The people falling for these scams are the ones who need that $5K the most. Sadly, they’re also the ones with the least knowledge of the shady part of the internet. You’re lucky you found WA early on, Sam. It’s by far the best choice for anyone looking to make money online. Thanks for commenting!
As I read through this, it became harder and harder to believe that something like this was real. Sadly it is, though. How do they expect anybody to even want to pay $3500 for something that usually only costs $15 from anybody who actually wanted to give you something worth your time? This right here is just another scam out there trying to suck you dry from your hard earned cash, and should be avoided. Thanks for reviewing it. I hope this review helps people before they go ahead and get scammed by Empower Network.
That $3500 eBook floored me. It should be a crime to sell something so worthless for 3 grand. I can’t believe it’s a thing. The Carnegie book is worth 100 times more, and costs pocket change in comparison to the Mass Influence trash. Thanks for reading Carson!
I’m sure there are some good Multi-Level Marketing organizations out there, but the industry, with already a reputation that brings out the skeptic is almost all of us, really doesn’t need some scam artist to take it to the web.
Your article was discouraging but also encouraging in that it’s good to know there are people out there throwing up red flags. Good job.
Thanks for the words of encouragement Roger. I can agree there are maybe some MLM plans that aren’t total ripoffs, but their reputation has been destroyed by scams like Empower Network. Thanks for commenting!
I’ve actually been part of Empowerment Network! .. It looked great, so much training offered! After I signed up, I was made aware of the subscriptions I needed to have in order to make money. I REALLY THINK THE PRODUCTS ARE GREAT! But in order for you to make money you need to BUY them.. and like you said, one product costs $3500. If you sign someone up under you and they purchase a product you don’t own, your upline gets the profit of your hard work! In the end, I was able to get fully refund as I had joined in pre-launch but it took only a week to realise the only winners are the top one percent, who sit back knowing that people can’t afford to buy ALL-IN so the money makes it way up to them! I have been with Wealthy Affiliate for a month now! I know how to build websites, how to get them ranked in Google. I write blogs and am learning how I can use affiliates to earn money. Join WA even if its just to check it out.. IT’S FREE TO TRY!!
It’s great to hear a testimonial form a former member! Your experience sounds about right, except that you were lucky to notice that no one really makes the kind of money they’re looking for in EN. Others aren’t so observant.
Thankfully you joined a real internet marketing program. A month of WA is more useful than a lifetime with EN, and your experience so far proves it! Thanks for sharing Jewell!
Great review!!! It is disgusting how some people use their power to make even more money misleading others. It is far from empowering what they claimed in the name! Unfortunately I also fell for similar scam in a past and got burnt. Thanks for exposing another scam!
You and me both Elektra. I didn’t waste $5K, but it was a hefty sum. Thanks for commenting, and you’re welcome!
Wow! From your review a Empower Network member would not have time to earn money because of the time needed to understand the massive amounts of up sells. Thanks for the heads up on Empower Network.
And after the time is wasted, they’d have to make the thousands of dollars back! Preferably with the service they invested in, but we know that doesn’t happen. No problem Tony, and thanks for your insight!
This one reminds me quite a bit of the Six Figure Mentors, have you ever tried them out Makki? You should do a review, huge MLM and very cleverly disguised as well.
Hmm… I never heard of Six Figure Mentors, but I’ll give it a shot. If it’s anything like Empower Network, I’ll be sure to write up a post. Thanks for the suggestion Ryan!
Some of these price tags are absolutely ridiculous!! I have never heard anyone say anything positive about the empower network!
Honestly I feel for people who fall for this blatent scam – they max out their credit cards on a $2995 course, realise what a scam it is, can’t get a refund and then desperately try to find other potential victims in order to try and recoup some of their costs. Horrific! Is this atually even legal?
Hey Simon. It is actually legal, because EN is technically an MLM. Even though its products are awful, they do make it so that it isn’t a pyramid scheme, which is illegal. EN is pretty much legit, it’s just disgustingly overpriced.