Should I join the PIPS Co-op? This is a question that I have been asked many times by members of my downline or fellow PIPS members.
As a staff member of the PPG one of my jobs is to review products and services on behalf of members so they can make an informed choice as to whether or not to purchase something. My first assignment was a review of the PIPS Co-op. An advertising co-op run by Dustin Cannon.
The primary purpose of a co-op like this is to provide a share of advertising and ultimately sales. Sales are not guaranteed in an advertising co-op, but they are the main measure of success and should determine whether or not you continue to invest in such a co-op.To ensure that my co-op test was fair I opened a brand new PIPS account, separate from my original one, used a reliable and independent tracking link, set up a new autoresponder and set up SFI keycode tracking.
Here are my findings:
I spent $99 for two months - a total of $198 on the co-op and in summary for this money I received the following TOTAL number of sales, subscribers and visitors:
Total Visitors - 63
Total Subscribers in GetResponse - 34 (NOTE - all India email addresses)
Total SFI Affiliates - 14
Total EAs from SFI Affiliates - 0
Total Sales - 0
Total revenue made as a direct result of spend in co-op - $0
So in summary, as a result of my investment of $198 in the co-op I made $0 revenue. The number of daily hits was poor and it was odd that all my new subscribers in GetResponse were from India since it does not say anywhere that the advertising for the co-op is not restricted to India.
There are also a number of bonuses available for co-op members. These include a video for your website, Success University sales page and system, Myspace template, monthly PLR articles, an article submission service, ghostwritten articles for $8 for a 400-500 word article and a toll free internet marketing hotline.
There are some good bonuses in there, but in my opinion not enough to make up for the zero sales for my $198 investment.
Customer service on signup and when I ordered some articles was very good, However, when I made a complaint about something, I found the customer service to be very poor. I sent three emails and 2 PMs over the course of one week and received a combination of unsatisfactory responses and no responses at all.
The cancellation policy is laid out on the co-op website and seems to be fair, but it omits one very important fact. Your account with the co-op will be cancelled as soon as you cancel your next payment.
I was caught out short when I decided to be organized and cancel my co-op payment a week in advance. Not only was my payment cancelled, but my link was removed from the co-op rotation and I was no longer able to login to the co-op back office. In short I did not receive the final week of a month that I had paid in full for!
Usually a memberships allow you to continue enjoying the membership benefits until the anniversary of your payment date after you have cancelled, but not the PIPS Co-op. I complained about this a total of 5 times over the course of a week and was either ignored or not given a satisfactory response.
UPDATE (27/4) - I have now received an email from a co-op staff member expaining that there has been a misunderstanding (on their part) about the cancellation policy and I should not have had my login disabled. Hopefully this should not happen again to other people, but it is good to be aware of this if you do cancel.
Overall Verdict - I was disappointed with the lack of targeted visitors and my problems with cancellation. Personally, I would not choose to invest in this co-op myself as I do not feel that the results justify the cost. However, I will let you form your own opinion based on my report.
Disclaimer - these figures are based on my own results using a second PIPS account and independent tracking link. Results may vary for different people and of course the quality of this co-op may improve or get worse in the future.
You can find the full review of the PIPS Co-op at the PIPS Power Group, where we test products and services so you don't have to take a chance with your money!
Friday, April 25, 2008
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24 Responses to "Review of PIPS Co-op - Plug-In Profit Site"Hi Suzanne,
Great report! Very in-depth and insightful. I certainly appreciate all the work you put into this to give us this detailed analysis.
Hopefully PIPS members will take this to heart and maybe then the co-op folks will make some much needed changes.
Thanks again,
Matt Helphrey
Internet Based Affiliate Marketing
Suzanne, I appreciate your review and am certainly working all the time to improve results for our members.
The advertising in the co-op is certainly not restricted to India. Our PPC traffic includes North America, UK, and Asia. From our tracking results, it is true the highest percentage of subscriber opts ins from PPC has historically been from Asia. If these are not converting to sales over time then we certainly need to re-evaluate allocating any budget for Asia.
Our full page ad in Small Business Opportunity magazine is one of the largest US based home business magazines. The other banner ads, etc. are on sites with large US traffic bases.
Our new surveyed redirected traffic leads will be 100% US and Canada based traffic. This starts in May. We will continually look for new sources of paid advertising that generates traffic and we are beefing up our own content based marketing for the rotation to generate natural search traffic for our members because there is no question that traffic from articles is very high quality.
We do include the value added services for 1 reason. They add considerable value to the co-op because content based marketing like article submission, social networking, and blogging have been proven to be the most effective strategy for building an online business. These are the things that Stone and every other successful marketer built their business on.
This is without question and doing these things can be expensive for new people. For years I have had customers paying $79.99 per month at JustArticlesSubmission.com solely for article submission and this is included in the co-op and articles submitted today will continue to be sending traffic long after someone is no longer a co-op member thereby increasing the return on their investment with each new visit.
Everyone does stay in the rotation through the anniversary of their payment. They receive access and traffic for the period they have paid for. Sometimes, when someone is cancelled in recurring billing the system communicates with the membership management script blocking access to the member’s area. This is a system error we are working on. When this happens it is fixed but it has no impact on their traffic which is handled through a completely separate system.
Thank you for your review and I always welcome any recommendations for improvement.
Dustin Cannon
Plug-In Profit Site Advertising Co-op
A great review, Suzanne. I was a member of the co-op for about three months and experienced practically the same results. I am glad you got the word out.
Carl Hoffman
Hi Dustin,
I am sure Suzanne will respond but let me give a quick point of view. We certainly think some of the extras and bonuses are very nice but the main purpose of the co-op and people's "expectations" for joining are PIPS Sales. Period!
Anything extra that adds value is fantastic but we cant forget the important point of a co-op and what people expect when the sign up are "PIPS Sales" and during her test she didnt get any. Other members results possibly could be better but she and the rest of the PPG felt 2 months was sufficient to test this co-op.
At this time the co-op doesnt deliver the sales that as a new PIPS member they will expect and be disappointed if they dont get. We are not saying it wont deliver any but after 2 months and $198 spent Suzanne and the rest of the PPG were disappointed that she didnt have better results.
Take care
Jeff Casmer
Work at Home
Hi Dustin,
Thanks for leaving a comment. From what I have experienced, I believe the expectations of PIPS members who join this co-op are to receive sales, as this is promoted to people primarily as an Advertising Co-op, rather than a tools co-op.
I think that some of your bonuses and tools are great, and if this was being promoted as a "Marketing Tools Co-op" at a cheaper price then I think my review would have been much more positive overall.
Personally, based on my results and the results that other members have shared with me, I think the advertising aspect of the co-op has to be improved, both in terms of the number of visitors that people receive and the conversions. An average of 1 visitor a day doesn't represent good value to me for $99 a month, unless these are extremely highly targeted visitors that convert to sales.
Perhaps some people would be interested in these tools and bonuses that you are provding, without the advertising, but at a cheaper monthly cost. Or perhaps some would be interested in the advertising itself, without the tools.
Cheers,
Suzanne
I have been an annual member of the co-op since 9/07 and haven't made one sale from the co-op. That is disappointing, especially after reading this review. However, I have found the videos, monthly articles, and article submission service to be valuable and hopefully, a good longterm investment. The helpline isn't that great about getting back to you, but Dustin makes himself quite available personally. I'm not sure if I'll renew, but I would have to say overall, the co-op has been a somewhat valuable tool in my early months as an Internet marketer.
Hi all,
I have been subscribing to the PIPS co-op since January 2008. I joined because I followed Stone's daily marketing plan.
Its end of April and I have not received a click from the co-op. I'm using Adminder to track the clicks and sales.
I think after 4 months of trial, with zero referral, I going to stop the subscription before the next payment.
However, to be fair, I did get a few hundred clicks from Dustin's other Success Uni Co-op. But interestingly, all the SU Co-op who opted in are from India or Pakistan and about 10% uses fake email address. So every week I have to clean out my SU potentials. But so far, yet to make a sale from these guys.
Anyway, the monthly free articles is great so will keep SU co-op for the free articles.
Was disappointed as well that traffic and conversion was not like what was promised in Stone's daily marketing plan.
Hi Suzanne,
I will give you my experience with the PIPS co-op, I will only give facts and let everyone make there own judgement.
On 2-25-08 I ordered 10 articles for $169.60
On 3-13-08 I sent email asking why I hadn't received order. No response.
On 3-22-08 I sent another email complaining about not receiving order.
On 3-26-08 I received email asking if I had received articles.
On 3-26-08 I replied that I had not.
On 3-27-08 I received reply saying he would refund money or put rush on order.
On 3-27-08 I replied yes I wanted articles.
On 3-30-08 Got email asking for a list of my keywords and that he would get them done and throw in another 5 articles.
On 3-31-08 I emailed list of keywords.
On 4-01-08 Got email saying he was on it and sorry for problem.
On 4-10-08 I emailed saying this had gone on too long and I wanted a refund and to cancel my co-op membership.
On 4-11-08 He emailed saying he refunded my money for articles and also this months co-op membership money.
On 4-11-08 He called me on the phone and apologized and took full blame and didn't try to make excusses.
Thanks,
Robert Morris
Hi Suzanne,
I loved your report...in depth and in honesty. That is what each and everyone is entitled to and I commend you.
I am not in your downline, but did however, join your mailing list simply because I value your ideas in your marketing. Again, I commend you.
On one other note, I noticed another thread stating the same problem (co-op leads all coming from India or surrounding Asian countries) for the SU co-op. This is also happening with SFI's "Eye Earn" co-op, so I just yesterday dropped it for the that reason. So what is it with all the Asian leads? I am NOT looking for an answer. I just simply wanted to make a point. After all, don't we ALL think there has to be leads coming from around the world?!
Great job Suzanne.
Danny Lolley
Affiliate Success Spotlight
Hi Danny,
Perhaps it is just because the Asian markets and internet use in Asia currently have a much faster growth rate than in the West?
I think the majority of people in the Western world have internet access, but there are many countries which are still developing fast in this area and more and more people are logging on for the first time every day.
Cheers
Suzanne
Good job Suzanne! I had about the same experience when I was a member of the co-op when it first launched. I thought maybe it was because it was new. I intended to give it a few months and try it again. From your report and the comments of others I think I will just pass on it.
Hi Suzanne,
Thank you for an excellent report. I have found much the same results over a longer period and your honest appraisal has confirmed my own findings.
I hope that your honest report helps to raise an awareness of the coop shortcomings and the members start to see much needed results for their investment.
regards,
Mal Tindle
http://www.networldgateway.com
Great information, Suzanne. I wish I had read this before I joined the co-op. My husband and I misunderstood the terms (totally our fault!) and we bought the $299 package thinking we were getting more shares AND more time.
I literally cried when our credit card was charged again after one month. I canceled the account a little more than a week before my subscription was up, because I was so afraid that we would be charged again if I waited till the last minute.
I saw an immediate drastic drop in traffic in the stats, even though I was reassured that my subscription benefits were honored until the end of the period that I had paid for. I will never believe that they were.
Either way, I have chalked it up to a very expensive but valuable lesson. My money is much better spent to belong to PIPS Power Group where I am learning to increase the traffic to my site using tried and true search engine optimization techniques.
I find your advice especially helpful. Thanks so much.
Hi Suzanne,
I think your evaluation of the PIPS
Co-Op (based on my own experiences) are 100% correct.The only value in the Co-Op is some of the bonuses. (the PLR articles, etc.) I have a few hundred of them posted on my blog.(http://www.TokiesNetEnterprises.com/blog).
However, the whole purpose of a Co-Op is to make sales/ money,not have tools and bonuses for nearly a hundred bucks a month.
For me it was only 58.33/month as I jumped in with both feet and joined for a full year, thinking it would be a better deal but now I'm out the full 699.99 as there are no partial refunds.
Hopefully people who haven't made this mistake will read these blog posts as well as the comments on the PPG Forum ( if they are PPG members )and won't make the same costly mistake that I and many other pipsters have made.
I know that I NEVER would have joined it had I read all this negative comments beforehand.
Thanks for saving all those that didn't read this too late.
Sincerely,
Eddie Gillespie
I got charged 99.99 today for my 2nd mos.This Cannon person does not respond to emails & has no reguard
for his members ,only His income.He gives PIP a sour taste.As I, like you all have not recieved any sales,so I'LL be calling to cancel.Your review was right on,and were substantiated by
fellow Bloggers. Stay True,
Robert
Hi Suzanne,
I wish I had known about this before I signed up for the co-op. I'm having the same experience but fortunately I signed up for the monthly plan and I will probably cancel my subscription in the next few days. I'm new in this business and I think that this co-op is one of the reason that make many people give up their dream of having their own online business thinking that it really doesn't work at all.
I am glad I came across the PPG on time or it would take me too long to find about this.
Thank you again!
Anderson Goncalves
www.moneycomeseasily.com
Thanks Suzanne for the review of the PIPS Co-op. I am grateful for the honest report of this hi-dollar service. Most people would not be so quick to point out the negative side of a business they are a part of, but your doing so has helped me to carefully consider where to invest my advertisement money. I appreciate the information that you provide here in your blog.
Thank you!
Kenneth Brown
KMJMarketingGroup.com
Hi Suzanne,
Thats was incredibble report,but i allready join this co-op,but still can get benefits from it such as website launching letter and monthly articles,FYI,i'm just join PIPS..allmost 2 months allready..still learning cause i'm not from IT base knowledge and hope u and all your members can share hidden success secret with me.
ThinkBigDreamBig
macdean09
Hello Suzanne,
That report about the PIPS Co.Op is very accurate and that is the reason why i never opted for it in the first place.Besides i love to write my own articles.
Jitendra
Hi all,
Well i am from India and so i can throw in my 2 cents[or should i say paise]worth of opinion.
As Suzanne mentioned that Asia is still in its infancy as far as the internet is concerned.But think about the market potential.Believe me it will grow and grow very rapidly.
I too have experienced the same problem.I get a lot of signups from India and other Asian countries but very little by way of actual sales.So what---i will just keep trying.
I am trying out different strategies so that i get more signups from USA and Canada.Most have credit cards {if they are not maxed out already}.Asia,to a very large extent, is still not on the credit card system.
jitendra
Hi Suzanne
Great review.
It is 3 months that I have my PIPS site with all the free stuffs in it. Jitendra is right. Asia may have fastest internet growth rate but most countries do not have credit card support. It is the main reason for poor convertion rate. I, my self is suffering with same problem. Host4profit allowed me to pay with pay pal. However, I am determined to go on with PIPS and managed a debit master card from a USA bank that took 2 months time. I am not your downline (How unfortunate for me) but I am subscribing both of your SEO and PIPS Email training, more over I visit your site very often. Thank to you and keep helping newcomers with more of your valuable trainings, views and reviews.
Khondoker Aminul Islam
Earn Residual Income
Hi Suzanne,
Thank you for posting a very accurate and informative review of the PIPS Co-op.
I sincerly hope all new PIPS site owners get to read this before they make the mistake I did!
When I first got my new PIPS site, (about 8 months ago) I started working through Stone's training guide and brought everything along the way, including a full year’s subscription to the PIPS Co-op. I have not made a single sale as a result of joining the Co-op!
Well as you might have guessed, I feel a bit stupid now after reading this review and realizing that after spending about $700 on a program that is supposed to be an advertising Co-op, I was obviously scammed as it is nothing of the sort. I so wish I had done some research before buying.
I think Stone Evans has a lot to answer for! Shame on him, for promoting such an expensive and useless product to new PIPS site owners that are excited about getting their new business off the ground.
Anyhoo, on the positive side I have learnt a valuable lesson from this experience, and I am defiantly a lot more cautious now before pulling out the credit card!
Thank You Suzanne for providing such informative information, I have only recently signed up for your PIPS training and I'm very impressed so far. Keep up the great work.
Kind Regards,
Craig Peters
Full Time Home Biz.com
Online Business Ideas
Hi Suzanne,
After reading your post and the following comments, it makes me so sad to think good people with not a big marketing budget get treated this way. It's wrong, and let me tell you why
Co-op advertising "Rotators" do not work period!!
The main reason is they outgrow the power of the advertising. The more people you have on the rotator the more unique advertisements you need to compensate the new growth.
A rotator will only grow equal to its advertising power, and from that point on all it does is renew its outer limits. It cannot get any bigger unless new unique advertisements are added, but no matter how much advertising you throw at it, it always reaches a limit.
PIPS Co-op is a bit different to most rotators, as everyone is affected by growth, the more subscribers the less opt-ins you will receive. So for the co-op to be effective it needs less subscribers and the only way to do that is to make it more exclusive, which in turn defeats the purpose of having one in the first place.
~Steve
Hi All,
I took my time to go thru the review and all the comments. I just got my PIPS website last week and I am on Day 11 of the 30 days training. As a matter of fact, I have already budgeted to join the PIPS CO-OP early Feb. I tried to research the service thru Google without much success. I was therefore overjoyed to come across this post. Every body made wonderful contribution including Mr. Dustin Cannon himself who portrayed himself as a man with listening ears and the capacity to improve as he accepts constructive criticism without engaging in a war of words.
But most especially I agree with Craig Peters who wrote "Stone Evans has a lot to answer for! Shame on him, for promoting such an expensive and useless product to new PIPS site owners that are excited about getting their new business off the ground." This put a lie to all his claims about caring for our well being and success. It took me nearly three years to decide to take up PIPS. Does he think that it easy to dish out nearly a hundred buck a month for a totally failed project? We are not all swimming in dollars like him! What surprises me is that he is still aggressively promoting this product to new sign-ups. This experience will put paid to the aspirations of many to venture into online business.
My stand here is that we should all prevail on Stone to STOP PROMOTING PIPS Co-op and excise it from the 30 days to success.
Thank you all, especially Suzzy for her sacrifice and candid review.
P.S. I am new and all and any help are welcomed.
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