The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP) has reviewed
claims made in lead generation advertising for SuccessEtc.com, LLC’s “DotComSecrets,”
a program that provides coaching and webinars on subjects ranging from affiliate
marketing to search engine optimization.
ERSP noted in its decision that the marketer has volunteered
to make significant revisions to its websites in an effort to communicate
truthful and accurate claims, and has voluntarily discontinued all of the
claims that were the subject of the ERSP inquiry.
ERSP is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s
system of self-regulation and is administered by the Council of Better Business
Bureaus. The marketer’s advertising
came to the attention of ERSP pursuant to its ongoing monitoring program.
ERSP reviewed online advertising for
DotComSecrets and identified several claims for review, including:
- “$88,672.01 first year underachiever!”
- “Free Video Reveals How These 5 Seemingly Normal “Underachievers” Make Up To $5,933.03 PER WEEK With Their Tiny Underachiever Websites!”
- “Free Video Reveals How I Make Up To $23,393.56 Per Week Online”
- “How To Get Paid Between $300 - $8,000 Per Month To Just ‘Tip Off’ Struggling Businesses In Your City About Where They Can Find REAL Help With Their Internet Marketing That Actually Gets Results...”
- “How to setup systems that pay out $2k - $5k per month without providing a single product or service”
- “Thousands have used this simple system to make money online often within just a few days!”
- “They’ve been able to see these massive results working less than 30 minutes a day.”
- “Just Give me 30 Days And I’ll Mold You Into Our Next Success Story!”
At the outset of the inquiry, SuccessEtc.com, LLC informed ERSP that it
was in the process of revising its current advertising.
Specifically, the marketer removed all of the claims that were the
subject of the ERSP inquiry and also removed outdated websites. ERSP noted in
its decision that should marketer make any claims regarding the amount of
income that could be earned from using the program that would be considered
“atypical,” it is not adequate to simply indicate that the claimed earnings are
“not typical.” As noted in the FTC Guides, the marketer must also clearly and
conspicuously disclose the typical or average amount of income that consumers
using the program have earned based upon the depicted scenario.
The company, in its marketer’s statement, said “DotcomSecrets
has taken voluntary actions to meet the standards that ERSP has suggested … We
have discontinued using earning claims, and corrected any testimonials on our
sites that may cause confusion for the consumer. SuccessEtc.com, LLC accepts
ERSP’s recommendations, and looks forward to an even brighter future.”
