So here we are in the small lull after the storm. What storm? Let me explain…

As outlined in the previous posts, I, like probably 100 others, signed up to Keith Welllman’s AutoPilotFX. As usual it was a launch promoted by affiliates, with Frank Kern being my introduction to it.

I guess what is valuable here is why I signed up to start with.

The “sales pitch” was a simple, and long, video. that was it. Even the price was held over right to the end, and included the comical market stall banter “not for $10,000″, “no not even $5,000″,”it cold be $2500 but it isn’t”, “not even $1000″, “yes I’m cutting my own arm off $497″. Even the $3 buck off and ending in 7, classic IM stuff.

You could even hear Keith cracking up himself slightly as he got nearer the end of the drama.

The launch video was a classic Mass Control story of “bad boy makes good” and Keith’s rags to riches story was certainly moving and empathetic. The guarantee make $3000 per month in 90 days or all your money back” was also unbelievably confident and Mass Control style “risk reversal”.

All the other classic IM Guru techniques were in there too, “step by step blueprint” so yo don’t just get crumbs you don’t know how to implement, but an actual “proven” formula in fill step by step detail.

The promise of mentoring (although 30 minutes across the entire course seemed way under requirements), was another great clincher. Not just manual, but more like a 1:1 coaching.

Then there was a differentiator, which turned out to be “Zezweb”. A system allegedly costing thousands of dollars, that could let any one be an IM publisher with minimal technical knowledge or HTML skill. A real paint by number system to create OTO (One Time Offers), Squeeze Pages, Sales Letters, Cross Sells, Up Sells.

Plus it turned out to have (basic) traffic tracking, sales tracking and supposedly IPN product delivery.

Another sweetener was that some products, complete with sales letters were included. Proven products and proven sales letters. I guess we should have twigged that meant “old” (aka market niche already pretty flooded) but with half a million dollars to play with, I guess we were expecting some sort of “edge”

More on this “edge” (or lack of it) later.