Empower Network Review
Product Name: Empower Network
Product Owner: David Wood & David Sharpe
Advertised Price: $25/month
Upsells: $19.99/month, $100/month, $500, $1,000, $3500
Rating: 0/100
Update 2019: Dave Sharp, one of the founders of Empower Network, is now running a new product called Legendary Marketer. From other reviews, it seems to be a more “legit” venture, with actual training, but the cost is pretty freakin’ sky high, and based on his previous affiliation with this garbage product Empower Network, it’s not something I recommend you invest your money in.
Are You Ready To Work Your Ass Off to Earn Your Lifestyle?
Are you tired of the daily grind? With a laptop and an internet connection I built a small website to generate income, and my life completely changed. Let me show you exactly how I’ve been doing it for more than 13 years.
Oh yeah, remember when Dave charged you ten grand then shut down the company? Yeah. That’s the same guy. Now you want to give him more money because he “went legit”? No way man.
Update 2017: Empower Network has shut down officially, and now the ex owner is asking people to join his new program. It took 4 years to come to fruition, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!
UPDATE 2015: Notice that all “Ex” Top 1% Empower Network have now jumped ship. This is very common in MLMs where people ride the wave of euphoria while everyone signs up, then exits the room before the thing collapses.
What is EN?
Make money by blogging on their network and referring other people to join Empower Network.
Short Review:
Blogging is just a facade for their MLM/network marketing/pyramid scheme, and this program should be avoided at all costs.
Before You Buy:
There is a lot of hype around Empower Network because they give “100% commissions”, and you “make money by blogging”. This is not the whole truth.
The truth is that you make 100% of only some of the commissions, and much of what you earn goes to your upline, ie the people that referred you. After joining, you are then strongly encouraged to ‘go all in’, and ‘upgrade’, which are buzzwords for ‘pay more money’. Remember, in order to make big commissions, you need to actually own the packages.
In typical MLM fashion you pay a minimum fee to enter, and they slowly reveal higher levels of membership that supposedly unlock bigger commissions.
Remember! that to make money with Empower Network, you must refer more people to Empower Network. You are essentially a door to door salesman selling an “amazing” product.
It is an unsustainable business model where eventually, there are more sellers than there are buyers.
Anything Positive?
I’m sure it’s great to be at the top of the pyramid. Too bad there are so many sitting at the bottom.
What You Need To Know:
Not only is MLM one of the worst types of programs to make money with because of the extremely low success rate, they are tarnishing the reputation of real internet marketers like myself. Many of their members spam forums and social media networks trying to refer more members to their downline, so I see this EN crap posted all over the place. EN does not provide sufficient training to actually teach you how to promote your blog, drive organic traffic to it via search engines, or sell real products and services.
The #1 Goal of Empower Network Is To Get More People Into Empower Network
Even though their product is a ‘blogging platform’, this is still a pyramid scheme at heart. Remember, you do not OWN the blog that you write for on Empower Network. EN owns it. They can block your access at any time, and have done it to many people (see video below). There are many free or cheap ways to start out online with a blog that you own 100% of.
The #1 thing you need to be looking for is training. Good training and a quality support community will help you get started online. The next thing you need to look at is sustainability. Will you still be doing this in 1 year? 5 years? 10 years?
One more thing you need to know is that if you do not buy their upgrades for hundreds & thousands of dollars, you will never get those commissions from your downline. If you stay with the $25 monthly fee (plus monthly ewallet fee), you can only make that amount from your referrals.
If someone in your downline pays $500 for the Costa Rica Intensive or $3500 for The Master’s Course, you make $0
Is This Program For You?
I get so many comments from people trying to “correct my mistakes” or “clear up confusion”. Whatever your opinion on MLM or EN is, you need to ask yourself, can I afford this? Remove yourself from all the amazing stories of rags to riches, and pictures of people holding big checks and bigger smiles.
Can you afford to risk $5000 or more on a business opportunity that’s receiving so much criticism from legitimate online business owners? Example 1 | Example 2 | Example 3 These are real people with real businesses, not just guys that blog about how cool EN is.
So, take a long, hard look at your wallet and think – would you take this money to Vegas? Would you give it to a friend to invest for you or would you put all of it down in the stock market today? Can you afford to hand it over to “viral blogging system” even though you are not 100% clear how it works?
Update
Empower is still around, though it’s unclear in what form. They ran a few promos with company names in the sales front but eventually led you to EN in the back end, but I don’t see that so much any more. More recently, they launched their so-called “revolutionary” blogging platform Kalatu, but that hit the ground with a thud (as with their previous attempts outlined in that post).
So some folks are still promoting it, but the hype has clearly died off so I’ve renamed this post “Last Year’s Hottest Scam”. I would just like to indulge a bit and take a moment to say “I told you so” to all the commenters below who spent hours and hours hating my opinion which turned out to be right.
Final Review
It’s become very clear from the comments that this review makes a lot of folks mad. Let’s make a few things clear so I we can avoid some issues down the road.
- I don’t like MLM and you cannot convince me to like it
- I review lots of products, not just EN
- I promote other, legitimate services on this blog
- It is not a secret that Wealthy Affiliate is my #1 rated product
- If you are rude, I will not approve your comments
What is One More Cup of Coffee about? Surprisingly, my goal in life is NOT to talk argue about my Empower Network review! I create websites about various topics like software, homebrewing, health & fitness, and traveling. Then I find companies to partner with, and promote their products on my blog. It’s that simple. There is no secret system.
My online businesses are based on my own personal interests.
I do not have a degree in marketing or computer science. When I started, I couldn’t even build a website. I learned everything I know from an online business training center that specializes in teaching newbies how to start their own online business. I’m still a member today, and continue to generate income from many other websites not related to ‘make money online’, including websites about computer software, health & wellness, and others 🙂
Nathaniell
What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. My name is Nathaniell and I'm the owner of One More Cup of Coffee. I started my first online business in 2010 promoting computer software and now I help newbies start their own businesses. Sign up for my #1 recommended training course and learn how to start your business for FREE!
damon
Nathaniell,
First of all, I’d like to thank you for your honest opinion and time. I respect you for that.
I’m a veteran of the US Armed Forces for 20+ years, owned and operated 2 successful businesses (magazine-sold it, and newspaper-still own it), worked for 2 very reputable DOD Contract Companies and currently work for the Federal Government as an inspector and project manager.
I lead by example by working hard with integrity and truth. I expect nothing less from my troops or anyone that I employed in the past or will employ in the future.
Yes, I am an affiliate for Empower Network and proud to say it.
When approached, I asked a million questions, until it satisfied my need to make the right decision for my family and I.
I’ve been in EN for 2 months now and made a little under $500; however, I choose to embrace EN as an opportunity and will continue to press on.
When sharing the EN opportunity with others, I’m upfront and share everything I know of the company. I have nothing to hide and believe EN has nothing to hide as well.
I don’t know where EN will take me in the next 6 months or 3 years for that matter, all I do know is that we live in a land of opportunity, where our limits are only bound by our belief in ourselves.
Aloha,
Damon J. Duhaylonsod
damon
You are correct in saying, “But whether a product is a ‘scam’ or not is something different from whether it’s ‘legal’ or not.”
At least we agree on that train of thought.
Whether you decide to join or not join is each person’s choice. You cannot fully dive into the psyche of each person and understand their reasoning for their decision.
Just because they don’t make money, doesn’t qualify their results as labeling the company or owners of the company the title of Scam artists.
It now becomes an opinion. Again, there’s no legal proof of illegal actions; thus, reaction (feelings) to unhappy results.
Education towards a new business or product is key. You must do your homework, ask the right questions, satisfy your needs, then make a conscious decision.
Only then, will labeling stop.
If we can do that, we will ultimately be happy with our overall decision, whether it was a good or bad choice.
Nathaniell
I can’t really tell if you are defending Empower Network, or just playing the devil’s advocate here 🙂
Either way, because I’m not a laywer and not trained in US or international law, I cannot comment on the legality of EN. It’s my opinion that what they are doing is a very gray area of the law, but I’m sure someone could argue otherwise.
However, I am standing firm by my rating of this program as a “scam”, and wholeheartedly recommend that someone looking to make legitimate, sustainable income on the internet should stay away from hype and high dollar-cost of EN.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
damon
what proof do you have that it’s a scam?
Nathaniell
I cannot comment on the legality of the business, but operating out of Costa Rica is a red flag. It might mean nothing, but it’s still a red flag.
But whether a product is a ‘scam’ or not is something different from whether it’s ‘legal’ or not. It’s possible that SOME people are making money if they are far enough up on the pyramid. However, EN is not truthful in their advertisements, and they mislead lots of people into spending money on the program.
If this was any other business: a fast food restaurant, a sporting goods store, or an Ebay store, it would not last very long because no one would come back to buy the products. The problem is that there are so many people promoting EN as a ‘legit’ way to make money even though they haven’t made any money from it themselves, that new people get sucked into the hyped videos.
Tell me, why do they focus so much on HOW MUCH money you can make rather than telling people HOW TO make money?
And what do you get when you pay for an Empower Network membership? A free wordpress blog that you do not have full control over? Imagine someone was selling McDonald’s hamburgers for $50 and was telling people that they will make you ‘more full’ than regular hamburgers because there is a secret sauce on them.
Would you not think this was a scam?
Nathaniell
Perhaps the TONS of people that have complained about it. Perhaps the tons of spam that’s spread about the internet on forums, blogs, YouTube, and social networks. Maybe the pressure to ‘go all in’ and ‘don’t be a wussy’ which translates to people spending thousands of dollars that they’ll never get back. Maybe the empty promises of ‘easy money’.
I could go on and on: Paying for a blogging system that’s available for FREE anywhere else. Selling training videos that are not ‘training’ but instead intended to sell you more products. Not actually teaching people how to create or market a business online, but instead giving people a vague that they need to ‘grow their downline’.
Remember, if the money is made by selling the ‘business opportunity’ and not the ‘product’, it’s a pyramid scheme (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme). So, what exactly is Empower Network’s product? How do you make money with Empower Network? If you would like to explain how someone can make money with EN in a DIFFERENT method other than promoting EN, I’m all ears.
damon
Are they doing anything illegal? Again, where’s the proof of illegal activity? Are they operating a business illegally?
Complaints or unhappiness towards something are feelings of disappointment. And, that’s totally understandable…we’re all human.
I respect everyone’s opinion and it is their right.
There are countless audio/video books, cd’s, tapes, etc. on business opportunities…are they also scams?
Drummer Boy
Illegal? no. Unethical. Yes. I joined because my mother-in-law asked me to help her with it. I joined up and every single payment I made ended with an opportunity to spend MORE money.
I’m sorry to say, if you believe in their system you are either blind or just plain stupid. They are selling NOTHING but the opportunity to sell nothing to other people.
Oh and their “viral blogging system” is WORDPRESS (which for your internet unsavy is open source and free on it’s own)! Holy crap are you kidding me? And the templates are just their own templates with EN banners.
These guys are equivalent to the Bakers of 80’s televangelism fame. Only instead of taking it from granny, these jackasses are taking money from the already poor and hopeful.
What pathetic losers!
Nathaniell
On their own blog, they even have a table that clearly states less than 1% of people that join EN make more than $500. Yet everyone seems to believe that they can belong to the .1 percent that make 10k per month or whatever other riches are promised. And it’s unfortunate that they rope in people that don’t really understand what they are getting into, and keep hoping that the next thing they buy will be the last.
Newgrange1
What proof do you have that it is not a scam? EN is a company that offers no tangible product at all, and the only service they provide is to empower you into selling their product (again, totally intangible). As a businessman, I must provide some sort of product or service to my customers, and in return I get payment. The only real service that EN offers you is the use of their blogging system, which essentially costs them nothing. Other sites offer much more robust blogging systems for no monthly charge. From what I can gather, their up-sell lessons are geared towards selling their product to others. Again, what is their product? There is no product. I’ve read through many of the blog posts by EN users, and although I understand the rooted passion and desire for success in most of the messages, nearly all of them were tainted with blatant plugs to join Empower. Anyone who is interested in online marketing can find resources and motivation to learn and grow their business for free all over the internet. I find it hard to understand why anyone would pay for such a tainted service, when so many honest inspirational and inexpensive resources can be found elsewhere.
Nathaniell
Totally agree with you. In fact. All of their lessons are about promoting EN. That much I know.
Mark
Nathaniell,
I am trying to look at this from your perspective and from an outsiders point of view rather than from my own (as an EN affiliate) however it is difficult when a lot of the information you are giving is simply not true.
Firstly when you have 150,000+ members you’re going to get bad reviews and hype. You’ll get people who spam their links because they don’t know how to promote etc. Even your no.1 recommendation I’m sure will have bad reviews from the idiots who don’t take action, they just sit back and hope to get rich for doing nothing.
You mention the money is made by selling the business opportunity. This is technically not correct. The money is made by selling products. You make money on the products you personally own as you gain the right to resell them when you buy them.
You also mention being in the top 1% of people. Well guess what, I am in the top 1% of Empower Network. I make a solid income from it. Why can’t anyone else be in the top 1%?
Looking at your blog I bet you are in the top 1% of bloggers on the internet who make money. There are far more bloggers on the internet than there are EN members. Yet you’ve managed to probably be in the top 1% of people who get traffic and make money, so why can’t others?
I know personally it’s not easy, it took me near on 6 years to make any decent money online, and I bet you’ve had your problems too, but those who actually work can be in the top 1%.
EN have updated their basic product the blogging system and I must say it’s a lot better than it was. It’s far more structured to using the blog and getting traffic, whereas before it was very much just talk and upsell chat.
Success in EN depends on a few things. First it’s the individual, secondly it’s the team. If you join a good team with good support you’re chance of success will be much higher. In my team (Prosperity) we have our own members area packed full of our own training that our team members have put together teaching people all aspects of internet marketing, so that they can have better success with EN. We hold daily taining classes, webinars and hangouts on Google. Would you really call this a scam?
I think you are letting your own opinion get in the way of the facts. You are entitled to your opinion, but don’t confuse it with the facts because a lot of what you say is not true. And that is not my opinion speaking… it’s fact 😉
PS – I’d be careful outright calling EN a scam when you haven’t actually been a member yourself. I’m sure EN have the resources and legal support to sue you if they wanted. Just sayin’.. Yeah it’s probably unlikely to happen, but it could.
Nathaniell
The issue with ENs products is that if you are not selling EN, their products simply aren’t attractive. They would not survive on the open market. People talk about the blog and the training and bla bla bla, but there are much better products, for a much cheaper price out there than allow you to build a brand outside the scope of EN. This is the problem with most MLM products. They are designed for people in the system, and pretty much useless without the system.
Find ONE person for me that has an EN blog that doesn’t promote EN. Find ONE business that says, “Yeah, sure, I’ll build my brand side by side with a controversial company”. In fact, find one EN blog than ranks for a halfway decent keyword. And why is it that the Empower Network domain doesn’t even rank for it’s own keyword?
As far as “scam” goes, what one defines as a scam depends on how you view the word. Are we talking Bernie Madoff type scam? No. But do they pressure people to spend money they don’t have and feed them false dreams? Yes. In my mind, that’s a scam, and I don’t believe that the semantics of the word scam is going to hold water in court. So no, I’m not worried about that.
Mark
“If you are not selling EN their products aren’t attractive.” Personally I agree with you here to some extent, HOWEVER that is because of the way they are presented and sold. You could easily repackaged say the Masters Program outside of EN and sell it for a high price. I’m inside my members area now and there are over 40 lessons each about 1-hour in length teaching basically everything there is to building an online business. They reference EN in the training but the training is general that you could apply to any business. It’s not just do this and this to sell EN. I’m currently watching a 1hr training from Daegan Smith. I assume you’ve heard of him? There is simply no denying that this is good content. And it could easily stand on it’s own as a product outside of EN with the right website / promotion / affiliates etc.
I’ve actually got a guy in my team who is promoting a few things via his blog, so there is one person. But yeah the majority are promoting EN I agree.
EN doesn’t rank for its own keyword because of the competition. There is major competition to rank for Empower Network related keywords. They do rank no.1 with their facebook page.
What you say about the word “scam” explains a lot of your comments and your review in general. The way I see the word “scam” is different. To me a scam is something that doesn’t deliver on it’s product. For example: these sh#tty product launches on ClickSure that tell people they can make 80k in 1 day clicking a push button software. And often the software doesn’t even work, let alone make them anything. In my book that’s a scam.
I don’t disagree with everything you say, seriously I think some stuff you mention is true, but I just think you need to be more real with your review and actually tell facts, don’t just make assumptions about products.
Nathaniell
Well, I guess we can agree to disagree at this point. Sure, I don’t think EN will “steal” your money, and I do know that some people make money from it. The main point of my review is to speak to MY audience. Unfortunately, I’ve ranked for the keyword. I just want to inform folks that are looking to start an online business that they really need to think twice about joining EN. There are some real risks, and some very misleading ads out there. For example, people rave about their Alexa rank and how it will skyrocket help your blog. But their Alexa rank and super high traffic has got them on Page 2 for their own business name, while simple wordpress sites like my own, that were started less than 12 months ago have outranked them.
Anyway, let’s leave it at that. I feel I’ve approved comments from both sides, and anyone who is doing research into them will be smart enough to make their own decisions on what’s legit info and what isn’t.
Mark
Your comment on wordpress blogs outranking them. The main reason I came across your site was because I was thinking of getting ranked for the term myself, and seeing what other people were doing to get ranked.
After looking at the sites ranking there are some pretty hardcore seo strategies that people are using to rank for empower network related keywords so it’s no real surprise the official EN site is getting outranked. It happens all the time with other businesses.
But that aside I’m happy to agree to disagree and leave things at that 🙂
Marin
Hi Nathaniell
I have joined EN few day ago and ask for refund same day.
They promissed to refund $25 in next 10 days but $19.95/mon for E-Wallet i can forget.
So to join EN it is not only $25/mon but additional $19.95/mon if you want to get paid for your prospects.
And you find out that info only when you join.
Thanks for your help
Nathaniell
It’s a ridiculous concept that you have to ‘pay to get paid’. Any legit internet company would have a legit payment service like Paypal, Payza, or even some of the non-US/non-Canada ones could work if you don’t like US companies handling payments. All of them are FREE. Even e-wallets for bitcoins are free! Happy to hear you decided to get out with only $20 lost. That’s a great price for a learning experience!
David Sharpe Scam
I’m confused… You say EN is a scam and that you like nothing about the program, yet you were never a part of Empower Network. Even though I promote EN I know that it isn’t for everybody. Especially for people who don’t know the business. I just find it funny that you know so much about it, yet never tried it. Reviews like this should be taken very lightly.
Nathaniell
It’s possible to do a review of a companies policies to have an opinion on it. I don’t have to join the network and watch hours of videos telling me to ‘be a badass’ and ‘don’t be a wussy’ to figure out that they bully and trick people into paying for things.
I heard a lot about it and was able to find out a lot about the details of membership by talking to former members and reading blog. Also, it’s easy to identify a pyramid scheme. Most of the ‘training’ in EN focuses on recruiting members, not on teaching people SEO or internet marketing. Even the people that ignore the hyped BS and turn to YouTube to learn this stuff will find that the EN blogs are heavily restricted with regards to personalization.
Empower Network banners are the main focus of their $25 per month blog system.
This means that EN blogs are not designed to promote your business. They are designed to promote EN. A company where the main profits are made by recruiting members is a pyramid scheme.
…. sorry to get so passionate 🙂
One last thing is that I wanted to thank you for being very respectful with your comment, which is very unusual for EN members. I constantly get comments here (that I don’t publish) of people calling me names and saying horrible things.
If you do have a growing business, I would really consider transferring your content from the EN blog to your own. Right now, empower network OWNS everything on your website. You can buy and host your own domain, using the same WordPress structure EN gave you (with no EN ads) for a $10 domain and $5 per month hosting. By doing this YOU own everything on your website, and have FULL control over everything on your website.
Let me know if you need instructions for how to do this. There are vids on YouTube and I can help you along the way.
David Sharpe Scam
Oh everyone is entitled to their own views. I wouldn’t get mad if you didn’t agree with my opinions. No thanks… I understand that… I have my own blog and facebook page which i just created. I don’t just promote EN.
Joshua Gill
Hey Nate!
I disagree with your comments mentioning the programs don’t cover the SEO and only blogging secrets that can be covered on YouTube. Quite frankly, you seem like a successful blogger, meaning, you get a lot of traffic. That took a skill that I am sure that one couldn’t get from YouTube. Their training within the 15K formula actually covers SEO options and within the Prosperity Team (an affiliate group within the EN) covers SEO techniques that I’m sure you have mastered. There are three videos that you get on SEO that are available when you buy the $25 blogging platform. My point is, the people that devised the products in there are from Internet marketer that have a proven history of really profitable techniques that even the most mediocre blogger or marketer dont know. Moreover, they discuss how to create valuable and strategic content as well (i.e. use of white space, pics, keyword search etc.) That’s something you would know if you actually bought the product. The main thing about this is you dont even have the technical knowledge of SEO in order to get ranked because the mother company, Empower Network, that you are already blogging under is already listed in major search engines and ranked in the top 400 sites in the world according to Alexa.com.
My second point I want to make that you aren’t pointing out is you make a ton of money through this blog that you have. The traffic that you are generating through just this one post is getting eyes to your site so that they can see the advertisement that you have on the sides, right? OK, how much are you paying to maintain your blogging site? I know it is more than EN $25 a month.
The third point I want to make is you do NOT have to sign up people in order to make money. If you currently own a business, you can just buy the $25/month blogging platform, blog about your business services or product and increase sales that way as well. This can be done by customizing ads on your blog (much like how you are doing with the banner up top and on the sides), specials, or online sales that lead to a capture page with a shopping cart. This then would be smart because you dont have to pay for hosting, domain fees, etc. and be ranked well within the search engines because Empower Network is already ranked highly. This is something else they teach you when you buy the blogging platform.
I just wanted to clear that up. It seems the only people that agree with you either, never joined, been in it longer than 6 months, and/or haven’t paid attention to the the training provided by the $25 platform. This, of course, includes you as well.
What are your thoughts about these items Nathaniell?
Nathaniell
Thank you for writing up your opinion and commenting. Unfortunately, I receive these types of lengthy comments almost daily, so sorry if I am brief with my response.
1) When you put your website on Empower Networks domain, they are in control. You own nothing. They control the ads, they moderate the content, and they can kick you out at any moment. Anyone who wants to build an online business should NOT put their money in the hands of Empower Network
2) Any business that wants to build a website has absolutely NO benefit from putting their site on EN’s domain. It is 100% impossible to brand yourself on EN’s domain because it is branded as Empower Network. Look at the header of every EN blog. Associating your domain with EN implies working together, and unless you are in the MLM niche, it does not make sense to associate your brand with EN.
3) For a basic hosting with Hostgator you pay less than $4 per month. For a domain it costs $10 per year. That is $60 per year. Pay $25 per month at EN and you pay $300 per year. The type of site you can create on Hostgator with the most basic hosting is far more advanced, brandable, and customizable that anything you can create with EN’s setup.