Arbonne is a real company that sells Botanic health and beauty-related products founded in 1975 by Petter Mørck in Switzerland. They have over 1 million members and have been around for a few decades now.
Arbonne is not so much a work from home opportunity but a Network Marketing business. Arbonne make their money by recruiting new members to their business while selling through their downline. Their products include health and beauty products, weight loss, aromatherapy and make-up products.
Is Arbonne a Cult
Arbonne is sometimes accused of being a cult. Some Arbonne members are very enthusiastic and passionate about Arbonne, promoting it at every opportunity. These members will tend to be the most successful because they’re better at persuading others to join and they have themselves benefited greatly from Arbonne. Their claims that Arbonne has magically transformed their lives, complete with photos of a lavish lifestyle and trips to motivational sessions in Vegas make it appear cultish to some.
However, this is just motivational marketing and hype. I have seen no evidence that Arbonne is a cult.
Payments and Cost
Like many Network Marketing companies, they need to make a profit while providing commission to their resellers. This means their products are more expensive than if you just purchased them straight from a manufacturer.
The truth is that if you want health or beauty products you’re better off just purchasing them from eBay or Amazon then through a Network, as you can purchase Arbonne Products for a 20% discount.
The internet makes it more difficult nowadays for Network Marketing companites to sell their goods through a network, as you can usually find them cheaper online. Plus, there are some obstacles to overcome if you become a member/consultant of Arbonne.
• Registration Fee — To become a consultant of Arbonne you need to pay a registration fee of $79 and after 12 months you will have to pay a $30 annual renewal fee.
• Minimum Earnings — In order to earn commissions, consultants must earn a minimum of 150 PQV each month.
• Consultant Status — You must accumulate a minimum of 1200 PQV within a 12-month period to keep your status as a consultant.
The Positive Aspects of Arbonne
Extensive Range. There is a large range of products and they sell a lot of products that a large percentage of people use. These include:
• Nutrition products
• Perfume & Fragrance products
• Make-up products
• Skin care products
• Hair & body products
Commission — The commission is fairly good and is 35% commission for clients and 15% on preferred clients who have a 20% discount. Plus, you make commission on the people under you which can add up to a lot if you have a large downline.
Time — You can work your own hours and not someone else’s. However, this means you have to be disciplined as you’re working for yourself.
Return Policy — One of the good things about Arbonne is that they do have a good returns policy. If you don’t like the products you can return them within 45 days. If you’ve participated in the business opportunity you can return the products to Arbonne within a year. The problem is that the samples you’re using to bring people in and the products you’re testing just to find out if they work for you and so forth are non-returnable after the 45 days that they give you initially.
Product Purchases — You get a 35% discount on all product purchases if you’re a consultant and keep profits made on all retail sales.
The Negative Aspects of Arbonne
High Minimum Requirements
In order to earn commissions, consultants must earn a minimum of 150 PQV each month and you must accumulate a minimum of 1200 PQV within a 12-month period, to keep your status as a consultant. If you don’t earn a minimum amount through your downline you may have to end up paying for products in order to maintain your PQV.
Being a Salesperson
I don’t know about you but I hate becoming a salesperson to friends or family and putting pressure on them to buy products or join Arbonne. I just hate being that pushy person. It can be hard making money with Arbonne if you don’t have that outgoing extroverted personality that a salesperson requires.
When you run out of friends and family to prospect you may have to engage in cold sales, which effectively involves recruiting random people you don’t know and trying to convince them to join Arbonne. This can be more difficult as there’s no trust or relationship to begin with when trying to persuade someone you don’t know.
For people who are highly passionate and outgoing you can do well with Arbonne so long as you come across as sincere and advertise at the right time. There are techniques to marketing and it’s wise to learn what they are before you pitch to anyone.
Arbonne does have training available to members and a program called Arbonne University. It’s a website that provides extensive training for new members.
Time and Effort
It takes time to build your downline, so don’t expect to earn much money in the first few months. Like many Network Marketing Businesses, the money comes as a result of a lot of hard work. You may need to put in a lot of time and effort in at the beginning to get the results at the end. Only then can you become less active in the business.
While you can become less active once you’ve built a downline, you will still need to have active consultants. This can involve a lot of work and follow up to make sure they remain active consultants, otherwise they can fall away leading to a shrinking downline and less revenue.
Average Revenue
The average revenue annually that their active independent consultants earn is relatively low. Only 13% of the US Arbonne consultants are bringing in regular checks and of that 13%, 90% are making $3,391 per year on average.
How Successful is Arbonne
Arbonne has been around for over 36 years so their longevity does indicate a successful company. However, the company did go bankrupt in 2009 but they seem to have improved their business practices since then.
Arbonne is one of many multi-level marketing companies that sell health and beauty products and like many beauty Network Marketing companies the average earnings are pretty low. Some network marketing businesses lack decent in-depth training on how to get new leads and sales. However, Arbonne does have a sales training program called Arbonne University. This is a website which provides training for new recruits.
Here are a few figures:
• Arbonne had an average of 182,500 independent consultants during 2015.
• Of the 182,500 consultants, only 23,800 (13%) received any earnings from the company during the year. These are considered active consultants.
• The remaining 158,700 did not earn a single dime.
• Most active consultants earn on average less than $300 per month.
Arbonne Payment Structure
There are four levels to Arbonne – District, Area, Region and Nation. Each provides a different percentage:
District – 8% Over Ride
Area – Additional 6% Over Ride
Region – Additional 3% Over Ride Plus Get the “White Mercedes Benz” or a $800 car allotment towards the WMB
Nation – Additional 1% Over Ride and $1000 allotment to WMB, No Salary Cap Ever
There are two major ways of earning money through Arbonne. One way is through commissions. These are direct sales you make to your customers. The second way of earning money is through Over Rides.
This is when you make an additional percentage from your personal purchase, or anyone that purchases products from you or anyone on your team. This can in turn vary depending on what level you are on – District, Area, Region or Nation.
Over Rides provide a significant amount of your income should you have a large downline. For a more detailed explanation of their pricing visit click here
Is Arbonne a Scam
I do not believe Arbonne is a scam but I do believe that unless you’re highly motivated, enthusiastic person with good marketing skills, you will find it hard to earn a decent income with Arbonne. Since most who join Arbonne make very little, most people will drop out of Arbonne.
While I do not believe Arbonne is a scam for a different perspective check out the following YouTube video by Ethan Vanderbuilt:
Things to Consider
Your Downline
Like any multi-level marketing business your earnings are largely dependent on your downline and growing your downline can be particularly difficult, particularly when you’re not given much in-depth training, and when products purchased via Arbonne are significantly more expensive than similar products you can buy elsewhere. In order to make money from your downline, you need your downline to be able to sell them in the first place.
Maintaining your Downline
In order to earn a sustainable income, it’s the bottom rank that really matters, as this line is the most vulnerable. This is because those who are earning the least are less likely to stay active in the program, which then effects the rank higher up. Getting some of your friends and family to join Arbonne is one thing. However, maintaining your downline may be more difficult if you do not know them.
Recruiting New People
Recruiting new people can be difficult, particularly when you’ve already exhausted your friends and family. You need to find regular leads and this can be difficult when there aren’t many positive reviews about Arbonne online and the company went bankrupt in 2009. Plus, your new recruits are themselves going to have to find people to recruit when they start or they will have to pay money to remain a consultant.
Conclusion
If you don’t mind putting the time and effort in at least at the beginning and you have good marketing skills you should consider giving Arbonne a go.
While I do not believe Arbonne is a scam, I do believe it takes high motivation, enthusiasm and good marketing skills to succeed with Arbonne. Since Arbonne have still not saturated the market as much as Avon and Arbonne is less well known outside of the US, you still have a chance to do well and earn a great income.
Arbonne Summary
Name: Arbonne
Website: www.arbonne.com
Price: $79 Registration Fee/ $30 Renewal Fee
Owners: Petter Mørck founder
Overall Rank: 7 out of 10
Is Postloop a Scam or Legit? – Postloop Review
In this article, I will provide an honest review of Postloop, provide the pros and cons of the service. Also tips that will help you earn more money. Plus I will provide some alternatives to Postloop.
What is Postloop?
Postloop is a service that pays people to post or comment on other people’s blogs or forums. The website owners benefit from having fresh content on their sites and more key phrases that could rank on Google. This brings them extra web traffic and SEO benefits. Also content that is more engaging will tend to attract more web visitors in the long run.
This is particularly important to people who own forums whereby receiving traffic to a forum can take some time and requires existing contributers.
The person who comments or posts is paid to type out these comments on subjects that interest them while improving their own writing skills. Also the website visitor benefits from interesting and engaging content about a topic they’re interested in.
Postloop is a service that provides a middle man between the website owner who needs more content and the content creator looking to make some extra money.
Postloop is for anyone looking to supplement their income and work from the comfort of their home. Working from home means no inconvenience or cost that comes with travelling to work. You can earn money from any country and there’s no age or location restriction. It is therefore great for adolescents or those who want to supplement their income and want to improve their writing skills while earning money in the process.
What can I Realistically Expect to Earn from Postloop
Realistically you can earn around $50.00 a day. However, you should be able to earn more than this if you have good writing skills, good spelling and grammar, and earn commission from the people that you recruit into the program.
How does Postloop Work
When you sign up with Postloop, you will be encouraged to fill out your profile with basic information about yourself and your interests and select the subjects that interest you the most.
You will then sign up with The Postloop Portal where you will go through a trial period and make 10 posts which the owner of Postloop is going to rate you on based on your writing skills and the quality of the content.
After you’ve been accepted you can login and subscribe to forums. This will link Postloop to the Site owners forum or blog. You can then start posting to the list straight away.
These will include anything from shopping and business, to sites related to animals, cars, cooking, gardening, video games, parenting and travel.
It’s a good idea to write comments on subjects you’re interested on. Not only is this easier because you know something about the subject beforehand but you’ll find it more rewarding.
Make sure you continue to provide correct spelling, capitalization and punctuation as this is often what gets people a lot of low ratings. Remember your earnings is partly dependent on your rating.
Tips on how to Pass Postloops Quality Assessment
You want to make sure you do really well for the first 10 posts so that you pass their quality assessment and can post to multiple sites. A few tips to consider when trying to qualify include:
• Good Grammar
• Good Spelling
• Proper Capitalization
• Proper Punctuation
• Create a comment/post with 4-5 sentences
• Create some new threads on forums rather than just reply to existing posts/comments
• Always proofread your post before you click Submit
Payment Structure
You earn $0.05 per point earned and it can take up to 24 hours before you get paid. Postloop claims that on average Content writers earn $0.07 per post/comment and higher for the best writers. 1 point Translates into $0.05 and points are determined by the number of comments and the quality of the writing:
| 1 Point | $0.05 |
| 10 Point | $0.50 |
| 100 Points | $5.00 |
| 1000 Points | $50.00 |
Before you can withdraw you’ll need a minimum of 200 points which equates to $5.00 and you’re rating must be higher than the average user rating to withdraw funds.
Rating System and Bonus Points
To view your rating go to your dashboard. You will be rated on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best and one the worst. The higher your rating the more you will get paid:
| Rating < 4: | No bonus points |
| Rating of 4.00 – 4.24: | 0.25 bonus points per post |
| Rating of 4.25 – 4.49: | 0.35 bonus points per post |
| Rating of 4.50 – 4.74: | 0.50 bonus points per post |
| Rating of 4.75 – 4.99: | 0.75 bonus points per post |
| Rating of 5: | 1.00 bonus point per post |
The Pros and Cons of Postloop for Site owners and Writers
The Pros of Postloop if you’re a Writer
• Low Withdrawal Limit – You only need to earn as little as $5.00 before you can withdraw your money.
• Flexibility – You can choose what subjects and sites to post to thereby enabling you to write about only subjects you’re interested in. There’s a lot of different topics to choose from.
• No Time Frame – You can work at your own pace and are not required to submit a specific number of comments within any time frame.
• Convenience – Content writers only need to pass the initial quality process to start posting and earning so you don’t need to go through this process multiple times for different sites.
• Withdraw when you want – there are no monthly payments and you can withdraw the next day you sign up if you meet the payment threshold of $5.00
• Paypal – You’re paid with PayPal which makes payment quick, reliable and easy.
• No Restrictions – There’s no restrictions based on age or location. So long as you have decent writing skills you can start earning.
• Bonus Points – You can earn extra money from Bonus Points for a high user rating.
• Residual Income – if you refer new people to Postloop you will earn 20% of all points your referrals make. This can significant boost your income if you can refer enough people. Residual income is when you continue to get paid after the work is done.
The Cons of Postloop if you’re a Writer
• User Average: User average must be higher than the average user to withdraw.
• Lot of Work: Can seem like a lot of work for little pay at first until you get faster, more proficient and start earning residual income from anyone your recruit into Postloop.
• Forum limit: There’s a limit on the number of times per day you can post to certain sites. This is usually around 5 for each site.
• Higher Rating: Some sites require a higher rating to post and usually won’t allow anyone with a rating below 4 to post.
The Pros of Postloop if you’re a Web Owner
• Quality – They do a good job at weeding out the low-quality writers unlike many other similar sites.
• Low Cost – Provides a cheap and easy way of receiving content to your blog or forum.
• SEO Benefits – Builds traffic to your forum or blog as there’s more key phrases to rank for.
• Free Membership – The membership is free and you’re only required to pay based on the number of comments and their quality.
The Cons of Postloop if you’re a Web Owner
• Setup: You have to go through the process of linking your site to Postloop.
• Time: Some time and effort is required to monitor the quality of the posts or comments
PostLoop Tips
Here’s some tips for after you’ve been approved that will ensure you maintain a high rating and earn to your potential.
• See things from the website owner’s perspective. They’re looking to increase traffic to their site through interaction with visitors combined with keyword rich quality content.
• Keep your posts authentic: This is why it’s best to write about subject’s you either know something about or are interested in. Knowledge and interest in a topic go a long way in appearing like a helpful and authentic resource for information.
• Start a Conversation: Don’t just post a reply to an existing conversation but sometimes create a new thread to start a conversation. This will help generate interest and bring fresh visitors to the site.
• Withdraw as soon as possible: Withdraw your money often in case your rating drops below the average. If your rating drops below the average you will not be able to withdraw until you increase it again.
• If you Cannot Withdraw: If your rating does fall below the average and you cannot withdraw don’t panic or despair. Just take more time to write higher quality posts in future until you’ve increased your rating above the threshold.
• Keep on topic: Don’t talk about something unrelated to what the thread is about. Staying on topic will ensure visitors stay longer and find the answer to their question.
• Fill in your profile: Taking the time to fill out your profile and add an avatar image – preferably a photo of yourself. This will help you look more authentic and professional.
• Keep to the Rules: Make sure you read through the requirements before you start posting. These include things like not posting referral links, not spamming or mentioning Postloop in your comments.
PostLoop Alternatives
Some alternatives to Postloop Include:
The Forum Wheel – This site is similar to Postloop but it is more geared toward forums. Just like postloop you are paid $0.05 per point.
ContentGather – This site is geared toward content for all types of sites and unlike the Forum Wheel and Postloop charge per number of words. It’s a content writing service offering a platform to connect writers with website owners who need content whether it be blog posts, articles, product descriptions, press releases, product reviews, tutorials, how-tos, tutorials, and more).
iWriter – Paid by word length, the complexity of the articles and the quality of the writers with a star rating of 5 being the highest.
ForumCoin – Earn money at the forumcoin classified and exchanges by taking mini jobs offered by other members. Some tasks include simple jobs like subscribing to a YouTube channel for ten coins. You can also offer jobs.
Chatabout – On Chatabout you can chat about things you’re interested in across thousands of different topics and each time you interact with the ChatAbout community, you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for cash, gift cards, and other products.
BlogMutt – BlogMutt is blog centered with you getting $8 for every 250 to 350 words post that is actually purchased by a client. The more content of yours that gets purchased the more points you will receive. You can then move up the rankings towards $19 for 600+ words, $40 for 900+ words, and $72 for 1200+ words.
Is PostLoop a Scam?
No, Postloop is not a scam and you can earn money from writing comments on blogs or forums, however you have to create a lot of comments to earn a decent amount of money or earn residual income by referring others to the Postloop.
Conclusion
I would certainly recommend Postloop to people looking to earn a supplementary income, young people who want to earn some money while practicing their writing skills or those who’s cost of living is low.
I would not recommend Postloop to someone with poor English skills or someone who’s native language is not English – unless they’re very fluent in English.
Residual income is when you continue to get paid after the work is done. If you refer new people to Postloop you will earn 20% of all points your referrals make. This can significantly boost your income.
If your rating falls below the average then you cannot withdraw your money. Therefore, I recommend withdrawing often or when you’re rating is falling. You can always increase your rating again by spending more time on each comment or post until your rating has passed the threshold.
Postloop Summary
Name: Postloop
Website: http://www.postloop.com/
Price: Free to join.
Owners: Royal Media, LLC, Ryan Royal
Overall Rank: 7 out of 10
Is Indiegogo a Scam or Legit? – Indiegogo Review
Yes you can be scammed due to the lax rules, on the other hand you could fund a very legitimate and worthwhile cause or project. In return you may receive a discount if it’s a product, public acknowledgement or credit for your donation.
For non-profit organizations the rules are a little more strict. However for individuals wanting donations the site works partly on faith that the other person is honest and that they are who they say they are.
However in this article I will provide a review based on my own and others experience and show you how not to get scammed. I also explain.
- What is Indiegogo and how does indiegogo work
- The Pros and Cons of Indiegogo
- How to tell if someone is legit
- Tips & Tricks to Increase funding if you’re crowdfunding yourself
- Some Indiegogo scams
- Indiegogo Alternatives
How does indiegogo work?
Indiegogo is a crowdfunding site and is designed to be a launchpad for entrepreneurial ideas. It allows you to fund a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people who each contribute a relatively small amount.
Because there are millions of visitors to their site every month there’s a lot of potential visitors who could donate to your campaign.
Indiegogo was founded in 2008 in San Francisco and was one of the first companies to offer crowd funding. It’s designed to provide a quick and easy method to give people the resources and power to bring their ideas to life.
It can be a great platform for entrepreneurs, inventors, activists, artists and those who need charitable help. And yes, sometimes you also get the less worthy personal causes and the occasional scam. However there are ways to reduce the likelihood that you’ll become a victim.
Indiegogo doesn’t just offer crowdfunding, but also help with marketing and promotion. This helps you build a fanbase, collect feedback and promote your story.
It also offers fulfilment and manufacturing support — including partnerships with Amazon and Brookstone. You can also track your campaign performance in real time and communicate with contributors via the Indiegogo mobile app.
While they don’t provide as many safeguards against fraud as some crowdfunding sites, they do claim to provide fraud-detecting algorithms and community reporting tools.
Generosity
Generosity.com is also owned by Indiegogo and is targeted towards individuals and non-profit organizations, for charity, medical treatments and expenses, through fundraising.
However they don’t have any platform fees which means a larger percentage of your money goes to the cause. It’s been used from everything from helping cancer patients to pay bills to helping students with tuition.
However there’s also going to be a higher number of less worthwhile causes and scams.
For non-profit organizations they at least require legitimate information such as the non-profit’s official business name, Tax ID, Social Security Number.
All this information must be consistent and match and cannot be changed after donations begin. This at least makes it a little harder for fraudsters to scam you than individuals posing as people who need help.
The Pros
Flexible Funding
Unlike some crowdfunding sites that allow all-or-nothing, indiegogo offers two funding types: Flexible Funding (keep what you raise) and Fixed Funding (all-or-nothing). I recommend Flexible funding as you get to keep whatever you earn even if you don’t reach your goal. You can always create another goal or milestone later.
PayPal Security
While you don’t have to use PayPal funding, a project funded via PayPal is usually less risky as they’re more likely to offer refunds than other payment methods. This can give you peace of mind if you’re worried about funding a project that isn’t legit or wasn’t worth it. PayPal tends to side with payers rather than receivers of money. This means less risk for you.
Less Rules
If you’re the one receiving funds rather than providing them there’s fewer rules you need to follow compared to some other crowdfunding sites. This can make crowdfunding quick, easy and more streamlined. However it can also make it more open to fraud.
The Cons
Scams and Frivolous Causes
The Indiegogo site itself is not a scam, just some of the people who use the site. Some of the campaigns created will be for frivolous causes and illegitimate. You need to do a little research before funding a project.
Paypal Fees
If you do fund a project via PayPal you will be hit with the PayPal 3% to 5% fee which adds extra costs. However this is offset by the benefits mentioned above.
Indiegogo Fees
Indiegogo takes a 5% cut from contributors donations whether the project or venture is legitimate or not. However generosity.com which is also owned by Indiegogo does not have any platform fees.
How to not get Scammed
Strong social media presence
Indiegogo provide social media integrations and onsite messaging. If the person asking for funds has a strong social media presence and plenty of friends, plus they’re the same people depicted on their social media page, this is a good sign they’re the people they say they are. You could befriend them on Facebook or message them. Ask them about the project or venture.
This still doesn’t mean their cause or project is legit or will work out, but at least you have a better idea of who they are.
Their Story
Indiegogo allows people to tell their story and explain why they need funding – the problem and the solution. This is where you have to use some common sense and determine for yourself whether their story is credible. Someone who’s genuine will usually take the time to fill out this part explaining the why, how, where, who and when. They will provide details about themselves, their team and important events or people that shaped their project.
If they provide enough details, this can be used by yourself to do some extra research and discover whether it’s truly genuine or not.
Always try to find out who is running the project, campaign or business idea, because at least then it’s easier to hold them to account.
I will give you some specialized knowledge on how to do some quick research on a project or person before funding them. It’s a technique I used to find out whether someone was using stolen images from an unrelated source.
Google Reverse Image Search
Do they have a profile pic of themselves or the product? If so there can be a quick and easy method of discovering whether they are using a fake profile pic or product image they’ve copied from another site.
If they are legit then chances are the same profile pic on Indiegogo appears elsewhere on the web and reconfirms who they are.
How to do a Quick Google Reverse Image Search
Copy one or more of the images that appear on their profile page:
Go to images.google.com
Copy or upload the url of the image by clicking on the following icon:
Google will scan the entire web and find other sites that use exactly that same image. It’s a great tool.
Do they include a video and a prototype
If they have a video of the persons involved and they’re the same people depicted on their social media pages then this is a positive sign they’re genuine. Also does the video provide a prototype of the product explaining and detailing how exactly it will work.
How to Receive more Funding through Indiegogo
Make yourself Trustworthy
Indiegogo provide social media integrations. Add your social media account, even if it isn’t a business account related to the project or venture. Adding links to your social media account from your indiegogo profile page makes you appear more legitimate.
If you use Facebook don’t turn on all the privacy settings and let people know that you can message them via facebook. If you own a Facebook account that mentions the project or venture and you have plenty of friends or supporters this makes you appear more legit.
- Campaigns shared on Facebook raise 200% more than other campaigns.
- Sharing on Facebook is the most important thing you can do.
- Friends and family will not only donate, but will likely help spread the word further
- If your friend were raising funds for a project, wouldn’t you want to know?
- Reach more people, faster
- Your friends care
Write a Story
Indiegogo allows people to tell their story and explain why they need funding. This is the heart of your message and is where you explain exactly what the cause is for, presenting the problem and proposing the solution. It should be factual and come across as meaningful and authentic explaining right at the beginning who’s involved, what it entails and why you should support it.
Try and share a personal story that they can relate to. Make it compelling, engaging and explain the benefits of the business, invention, activity, event or cause. It’s also where you explain any perks or benefits to those who donate. For example a freebie, a discount when the product is released, or just credit.
At the end ask them to share your campaign with others using the social media icons at the bottom of the story and thank them for helping out.
• Put the most important information first.
• Tell a compelling story, and keep it short.
• Explain exactly why you are raising money.
• Share details about yourself, your team, and important events or people that shaped your project.
• Build trust with a specific budget breakdown.
• Spelling and grammar are important, so be sure to proofread.
• Break long text into sections with headings.
• Include pictures of your perks in the pitch text. They add personality and help break up lots of copy.
I recommend you get a friend or relative to read through your pitch and tell you honestly how it comes across.
Include Images and/and or a Video
Images paint a thousand words and can help quickly build a story and present a compelling reason to donate. It also ads authenticity. If you create a video consider including the people involved and make it compelling and entertaining. You could always pay a professional to help make it with you.
- Be about 1 to 3 minutes long that gets to the point and expresses your goals and intentions.
- Make the first ten seconds of your video count as first impressions are important.
- Star in the video yourself to make it appear more genuine and personal.
- Give contributors a sneak peek of the project, product or film.
- Use a good voiceover and some music to set the tone for the video.
- Invite your audience to join in your journey and make them feel a part of it.
- End with a call to action as this increases conversions
Heres a good example:
Perks & Perk Strategy
• Make perk names and descriptions clear.
• Ensure you can fulfil perks and still complete your project.
• Call out the urgency of perk availability related to the length of your campaign. Use words like “limited edition,” “exclusive,” and “early-bird.”
• Consider your perk pricing strategy — offer a $25 perk and a $100 perk to incentivize funders with varying disposable incomes.
• Be reasonable with your perk prices. Offering a magnet and mug for $500 or a t-shirt for $1,000 wont encourage contributions.
• If you are running a Flexible Funding campaign, keep in mind perk fulfilment in the event you don’t hit your goal.
• Will you be able to fulfil backers even if you don’t meet your goal? If not, you should switch to Fix Funding
• Make sure to set clear Shipping Costs, by country and region, when creating your perks.
Update your Story if your Reach your Goal
If you reach your funding goal consider updating your story thanking those who have donated and post an update to reflect a new goal or objective and what the extra money will pay for
The Initial Funding is the most Important
The initial funding is most important because it gives you legitimacy. If new visitors can see that others have trusted you with their money they will be more willing to trust you with their money and donate themselves.
The initial funding gives your fundraiser campaign momentum and can be used for marketing and press releases.
Therefore you should try and raise funds from your existing community, friends and family first and you will then find it easier to build momentum and raise more money afterwards.
Break the project into smaller parts
If you have a large project or venture that requires a lot of funding consider breaking it down to more than one fundraising campaign. Proving your success with one will help build credibility for the next one.
Indiegogo Scams
Most of the scams you here about on Indiegogo didn’t set out to scam from the beginning but just didn’t succeed or were set back with so many delays the product never came to fruition.
Here are some of the most notorious and convincing scams to appear on Indiegogo.
Skarp Laser Razor
Originally started on Kickstarter it raised more than $1 million from thousands of backers, before moving to Indiegogo. It was supposedly going to revolutionize shaving by using a laser to remove hair rather than a razor.
This was until the company claimed that they didn’t have a working prototype and it appears that the project was based on pseudo-science and didn’t even have a working prototype.
Tip: Best not to fund a project if there is no working prototype
iBackPack
IBackPack seemed legit and maybe it was a real concept in the beginning. It was designed to charge, store and help provide hotspots for iPhones on the go and provide plenty of storage space.
They provided plenty of information, charts and diagrams and even plenty of videos. As a result it was very successful, raising more than $720,000 from Indieogogo alone, only for it to vanish, including their Videos.
Their excuse was that they ran into problems such as finding safe charger batteries but others claimed this was a lie.
FDN Films
FND films was a popular comedy group from Chicago who raised more than $75,000 from hundreds of investors. No Film was produced except ironically a movie called “It’s All Good” about Indie filmmakers who scammed money through crowdsourcing and blew it on partying.
Triton Gills
Triton Gills is another product funded through Indiegogo that was supposed to allow users to breathe underwater, by extracting breathable air from water. However this sounds too good to be true and it was. The creators admitted to misleading their backers after Digital trends exposed the pseudoscience behind the product
The good news is that Triton have re-funded around $900,000 to Indiegogo backers and admitted that they mislead their backers. However they still claim that they will eventually deliver on their promise.
Indiegogo has a 3 star rating from consumeraffairs
This isn’t bad considering that it tends to be those that are scammed who are most likely to write a review in the first place. If you still don’t trust indiegogo here are a few Indiegogo Alternatives.
Indiegogo Alternatives
GoFundMe
CrowdRise
Kiva
Kickstarter
Peerbackers
RocketHub
Giveforward
YouCaring.com
DonorsChoose.org
Please provide your own experiences below and any alternatives you recommend.
Indiegogo Summary
Name: Indiegogo
Website: https://www.indiegogo.com
Price: Free to sign up and create a campaign
Owners: Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, Eric Schell
Overall Rank: 7 out of 10
Western Union Money Flip Scam Advertised on Instagram
No, this is a scam that’s going around on Instagram and other social media sites. It’s hard to believe people fall for this obvious scam but people do. It’s sometimes called the Money Pak Scam.
You will find a variety of pictures on Instagram that claim you can turn a small investment of $100, $200, $300, $400 or more into sums of $1,000 $2,000, $3,000 and so on using a simple hack or by exploiting a quirk in the monetary system .
They may even provide so called “text proof” that the Money Flip Works. It’s not exclusive to Instagram and has seen on Facebook. The scam goes a bit like this.
The scammers claim that they use special software to hack into the servers of Western Union, Green Dot, or MoneyGram and then they manipulate the amount of money in their computer system. They will then ask for a few minutes to “hack into the system” and flip the money you invested.
One such message read:
I am Debby from Abuja Nigeria. I work at Western Union and money gram flip cash Investment tip (Flip cash) is the process whereby the amount you flip is multiplied by 3 through the process of crypto currency. If you invest with us 30% we be yours while 30% we be mine and the 40% we be for the investment company.
For example if you flip(10k) it will be multiplied to 100k, 30k will be yours and 30k will be mine and 40k will be for the investment company….. for more information contact the management on this No +2347057440973or message me on whatsapp.
Thanks for your cooperation
Best regards…
What they ask you to do is send money through Western Union, Green Dot, or MoneyGram. Right there you need to stop. You cannot just manufacture money out of nothing.
If you send money throough any of these money transfer companies and don’t notify them before they pick up your money, you’re out of luck. They will then take your money and claim they will flip it and make more, then they will just block you and delete all of your comments trying to warn people about this scam.
As one commenter put it below “Wire transfer companies don’t manufacture money out of thin air. Even if it were possible to modify the amount of the transfer (it isn’t, there are too many safeguards), it would be a crime!. People who fall for this and then call the transfer company asking for help are basically saying, ‘Hello, I tried to defraud you and it didn’t work, will you give me back my money?’
If you were scammed or came close to being scammed by money flipping please comment below: