We need to talk about Income Claim Marketing

You probably know the feeling. You’re stumbling across the Internet, maybe on the toilet or in a late night scroll hole, and a flashy 7-second video pops across your screen. Blue light fills your eyes as dollar signs and commas beg for your attention.

“How I made $7,345 today without leaving my bed”

“My client just had a $65,782 launch!”

“The morning routine of a 7-figure business owner”

“This, too, could be yours,” the captions often urge. “Learn how in my signature online course.”

These content assets reflect a strategy called income claim marketing, the practice of sharing earnings in an effort to build trust and affinity with an audience of potential buyers.

Like a lot of content marketing strategies, income claims are used to pull those who want to achieve a desired result into a sales funnel. That sales funnel will, eventually, sell them a product or service that promises to deliver upon the desired result — in this case, increased income.

The use of sales funnels is standard marketing practice, used across industries to attract an audience of leads and communicate the value of an offer. It’s specifically in that promise to “make more money” that the ethics of the strategy get a bit…sticky.

In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent notices to over a thousand businesses, including multi-level marketing companies (MLMs) and investment coaching companies warning them against continued use of income claim marketing.

The notice stated that when making earnings claims, they:

• can’t make false, misleading or deceptive claims about the earnings you can expect
• can’t misrepresent that you don’t need experience to earn income
• can’t misrepresent that you must act immediately to buy or be considered for a money-making opportunity, and
• can’t misrepresent that buying a money-making opportunity is risk-free or involves little risk.

In a related article from the FTC’s site, they encourage consumers to be mindful when investing into online business coaching, real estate seminars and pyramid schemes, citing claims such as “You can be making money now, guaranteed!” as “likely a scam.”

Running a business is challenging work. It requires a fair amount of financial risk and ongoing commitment from the entrepreneurs who take on the responsibility. It’s easy to see, then, why promises of instant revenue and guaranteed results would be so enticing to those who venture to assume that risk.

I have been freelancing since 2014, spending most of that time in the online business industry. I’ve worked with entrepreneurs, authors, lawyers, coaches and small business owners alike to develop digital marketing strategies that will get their work in front of more paying customers. In that time, I have made bad investments and, for a time, adopted what I now consider to be unethical practices myself.

In this article, my hope is to contextualize what is happening when income claim marketing is used in a content marketing strategy and offer examples of what to look out for. I want to be clear that this is not intended to be an admonishment or critique of any one person or business. As I’ve shared, I myself have published articles in the past about my launch successes and put those sexy little dollar signs in the headline.

My goal here is to invite more nuance into an ever-growing and increasingly visible industry, and to challenge the idea that a strategy that gets results is always the right one to use.

How Income Claims Make Us Feel

Recently, I ran a poll on my Instagram story inviting Pretty Decent’s followers to share their experiences being exposed to income claim marketing. One of the first questions I asked was “How does seeing these income claims make you feel?”

Of the 90 people who voted in the story poll, I was surprised to see that 0%—literally not a single person—said that income claims make them feel “excited / inspired.”

The majority of the poll, 44 people, said it makes them feel “comparison-y,” a made-up word for a clearly relatable feeling. 16% of voters said it makes them feel “like I need to buy something,” which is surely the point. 32% chose “Other/it depends,” which prompted me to follow up.

I invited more nuance with an open-ended question box, asking people to share more.

“It makes me feel more tired,” one participant wrote. “Like I’m too far behind, like I’m not hustling enough.”

Others said things like “It all depends on how it’s presented” and “It makes me want to know the rest of the story.”

It doesn’t take a social marketing genius to see that income claim marketing "works." If you scroll the explore page of a business owner for more than 30 seconds, a reasonable hypothesis can be drawn that by simply adding a dollar sign or “X-figure business” to the headline of a piece of content often increases the engagement of that post significantly.

It also stands that, of course, my audience size is relatively small — 90 votes on an Instagram story is not a scientific poll.

And still, these replies got me wondering: If so many folks are turned off by income claims, if so few people are feeling inspired or excited when we see them on our feeds, why are they so seemingly successful at converting viewers into paying clients and customers?

Marketing & Desire

Marketing and desire are practically inextricable from one another. When we design products or services for sale, we are often either responding to a perceived gap in the market or a problem that begs to be solved. The marketing of that product or service relies on our ability to create a demand, or desire, for it.

Take the example of the Beauty Blender, which was prototyped by founder Rea Ann Silva while working on the set of Girlfriends in the early 2000’s. Disappointed by the application of airbrushed foundations and in need of a way to apply camera-ready makeup without “caking it on,” Silva began experimenting with cutting sponges into the shape of an egg.

Silva didn’t anticipate at the time that her proprietary sponge shape and technique would turn into a multi-million dollar company, she was simply solving a problem she experienced on set. If anything, she thought she might be able to sell the sponges to other commercial makeup artists.

Once she formed her company and began distributing the sponges, however, the job of her and her marketing team was to build a persuasive case for why the Beauty Blender was valuable for everyday people. They had to create a desire, and they were certainly helped in this goal by the ubiquitousness of the pink Beauty Blender in makeup videos of the early 2010’s—a leveraging of social proof. With makeup, you don’t have to tell people they’ll get rich after purchasing. The promise of beauty products is, well, beauty. (That’s an article for another day.)

But that exchange between business and customer—the fostering of desire and promising of a desired result—forms the foundation of most successful marketing strategies.

You show me a product, I’ll show you a promise. That’s just how it works.

Unlike the promise of gut health or high speed Internet or the perfect engagement ring, however, the marketing of business-related products and services fosters another kind of desire: The want of more money.

Businesses need to earn money. People have bills to pay. And whether the entrepreneur running the business has the growth intentions of making millions or simply affording themselves an autonomous creative life, investing in strategies in the hopes of increasing revenue or decreasing expenses are a part of the practice of running a profitable company.

Whether it’s hiring an accountant, investing in a better website or, yes, buying an online course, there is nothing inherently unethical about selling products and services to other businesses in exchange for an increase in revenue. This is, of course, the foundation of the business-to-business (B2B) industry. Small business banks do it, social media consultants do it, advertising agencies do it—it’s par for the course.

The issue, I believe, comes from two things:

1) The use of income claim marketing as a way of capitalizing on the desire for economic safety, and

2) The lack of context and transparency about what those income claims actually mean.

Who Is This Income Claim For?

My problem with a lot of the online business industry can be summed up in one sentence: It’s often not clear enough who anyone is talking to.

Everywhere you look, there is another best-kept secret or game-changing strategy promising to skyrocket your business’ growth. Where one person tells you to post several times a day, the next offers you a case study on how they built their (wait for it) 7-figure business without using social media at all.

This would be all be fine, of course, if we were all talking to exactly the same person. Several things can be true at once, and we often need different perspectives and examples in order to make an informed decision.

But the marketing messages designed for a single mom scrolling on Instagram trying to figure out how she’s going to make rent next month are different than those designed for an already established business owner looking to increase their profit margins. And while an actual marketing strategy will do a good job of speaking to a specific segment of the population, income claim marketing often blurs the line.

After all, who doesn’t want more money?

And so whether it’s a 20-something guy in a basketball jersey sharing flashy numbers or an inspirational self-help quote overlaid on an aesthetic morning routine, these marketing messages are often oversimplified into searchable keywords like “digital products” or “coaching” or, the hot new kid on the block, “UGC.” These posts are designed for virality, which relies on reaching a whole lot of people at once.

This creates a critical issue. Too often the people buying these products and services in the hopes of making more money are far too early in the entrepreneurial process to see any of the promised results in the timeline they’ve been sold. In the pressure to make money fast, often to make back a sizable investment, they’re neglecting to answer questions like “What do I really want to do?” and “How might I create real value in other people’s lives?” and "What problem is my business actually solving?"

All too often, then, this creates what many call the “coaching coaching coaches” problem. If the only way being offered to achieve a desired result is to copy-and-paste the strategy your teacher used, it’s no wonder so many online courses look like carbon copies of one another—only now with one more person in the social media ecosystem marketing their monthly sales numbers as instantly replicable results.

You would think this would create too much competition, until you consider that there will always be another person who has the desire to make more money, especially as we enter into an increasingly unstable economy.

Which brings me to my second issue with this marketing practice:

The Missing Context Of Income Claim Marketing

As I’ve mentioned several times here, income claims go viral. A lot.

Each of the business owners making these grand testimonials bring with them their own unique set of circumstances—they have businesses operating in different industries, with unique audiences and a range of access to capital, which inevitably influences their revenue.

Even if we just zero in on the online business / coaching industry, the difference between a viral video and 150 views on a video can be dissected into any number of variables, plenty of which are out of the content creator’s control: The time of posting, how “good” the lighting is, the appearance and desirably of the person on screen, what text is used or even how it's formatted can have an enormous impact on how many people see (let alone engage) with that content.

In business, attention is currency. The evidence suggests that putting a dollar sign in the headline of the post or the subject line of the email is a surefire way of drawing more attention. Which is why it’s so problematic that the “transparency” and “willingness to talk about money” often ends there.

These days, when I see an income claim about the impressive results of a launch, my first question is “What was your ad budget?” followed almost immediately by “What was your net profit?” and then “When is the next time you can expect to see that kind of revenue?”

Unfortunately, these contextualizing variables are rarely addressed—even in the lengthy caption accompanying the post. This sucks, because the people that are being sold to deserve to know the answers to these questions if they’re being marketed to with income claims.

Obviously every person and privately owned business has the right to privacy, but if the headline is “I made $800 selling eBooks today!” and the truth is $650 of that went to ad sales, that’s something the consumer deserves to know. If the viral video says “I’m a 7-figure business owner!” and that’s either a) spread across several years or b) not actually true based on your profit margins, that’s a critical distinction that needs to be made.

I want to be clear: I say all of this not because I don’t believe it’s possible or because I have a "money wound," which is the common response from business owners who are challenged on this issue.

I’ve seen firsthand how profitable bringing a valuable product or service to market can be. I know plenty of business owners who make very good money doing what they love. I believe, deeply, that artists and creative people are worthy and capable of designing a business that goes above and beyond their wildest revenue dreams.

And.

I’ve also seen lots of people, including myself, fall prey to exploitative sales tactics build upon a foundation of enticing promises to “make more money.” I’ve seen and been taught to employ behavioral psychology at the expense of the consumer, using tactics like scarcity and urgency and authority to override decision-making facilities for profit.

Which of course, brings me to an explanation of what’s often happening AFTER the income claim is made.

Income Claims As A “Top Of Funnel” Strategy (And What Happens Next)

As I mentioned in the introduction, income claims are typically a “top of funnel” marketing strategy. We see them on our social media feeds as flashy, attention-grabbing headlines, which prompts us to engage with the content creator. They are, for some, an instant trust-builder — for others, particularly those more well-versed in the online marketing industry, they sometimes have the opposite effect.

Either way, there tends to be a call to action somewhere in the post inviting the viewer into a sales funnel. Maybe it is through a free resource or a relatively low-cost download. Again, this is standard marketing practice — it’s not unique or inherently unethical in nature.

Where the water becomes muddied is in the execution of that sales system. In my experience going down hundreds of sales funnels over the last decade, I’ve noticed that a business that relies on income claims as authority-builders tends to also use a great deal of other questionable sales tactics.

After that initial engagement, you’ll likely notice that the testimonials (aka social proof) begin arriving in your inbox. Suddenly, it’s not just the original creator that’s claiming to be making a killing — lots of other people are, too.

These case studies are often incentivized and cherry-picked to highlight the most impressive results. Whereas on an eCommerce site you might be able to read through all of the reviews and see a true breadth of experiences with a product or service, very few online businesses showcase anything less than 100% glowing reviews.

That social proof is often paired with a soon-arriving deadline, which increases the urgency and scarcity and overrides the consumer’s decision-making process. It stands to reason that if “Buying NOW!” is the only chance you have to make the kind of money being promised, you’re sure to make a quicker decision than you might if that countdown weren’t coming to a close.

And again, closing the doors isn’t the problem. If your offer genuinely benefits from an open/close model, if your capacity is actually limited, if there is actually a limited stock, communicating that to potential buyers is a necessary part of marketing the product or service.

But many businesses that employ income claim marketing also deliberately manufacture this urgency and scarcity — using tools and widgets that create the illusion of “doors closing” when, in fact, they are not.

Let's look back at that FTC notice.

Regardless of whether a business has received this warning, it is clear that regulatory institutions are drawing a line in the sand: You are not allowed to mislead people about the earnings they can expect, or pretend that they don't need any experience in order to make money online. You are not allowed to misrepresent the need to "buy now" in order to take advantage of this opportunity. And you are not allowed to pretend that starting a business is low risk.

To circumvent this, many businesses that use income claim marketing will use something called an "Earnings Disclaimer," either in the terms of service or tucked away at the bottom of the sales page for an offer. There, in the fine print, you will see the truth: An increase in income is never guaranteed.

This is the heart of the matter. While businesses are well within their right to sell strategies and tools that will help increase the profitability of your business, one person's results or even a full page of testimonials does not guarantee that you'll have the same outcome.

All of this to say: Keep your antennas up. If something feels off, it likely is. 

My Experience And Ethics

I want to be clear: I sell products and services to creative business owners, and I will continue to for as long as I genuinely feel I can offer something of value. What I will not do is promise that everyone who works with me is guaranteed to experience the same financial outcome.

The promise of The Study, the educational program I run for creative business people, is to help you “make a living doing what you love.” This wording is intentional — it means different things to different people. Still, I recognize that it is, like anything else, marketing the fulfillment of a desire. 

Earlier in my career I used income claims and launch reports from clients to persuade others to trust in my ability to launch their products and services. These days, I am reluctant to share the numbers my clients share with me or the earnings I myself experience. I am much more interested in building trust through education and research than I am through individual testimonials or results.

The fact is, not every client's business makes the same amount of money. We all bring our own sets of circumstances to the table, and it would be misleading to pretend that I have some foolproof secret system that can guarantee everyone has the same results.

What I offer is much more nuanced. I teach people how to design products and services. I help them market their businesses online and get their ideas in front of more people. I create spaces where entrepreneurs can sit together and think deeply about their work, helping each other solve problems and make decisions. 

And despite the fact that I know sharing those private Slack messages and DMs celebrating revenue milestones might be persuasive, I choose not to share them without context. 

That's my decision.

What's yours?