Give Away: Cult Recruitment Tactics on the Web

Get your personal copy of “RUNNING HEAD: RECRUITMENT TECHNIQUES OF CULTS ON THE WEB, A Comparative Study of Persuasion and Recruitment Techniques Exhibited by Organized Groups on the Internet.” by Maria Kjaerland, M.Sc, Laurence Alison, PhD Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool & Samantha Lundrigan, P.hD Department of Criminology, Victoria University of Wellington.

This paper covers all of the mainstream methods of advertising that we see every day. For example, when it mentions happy, smiling faces as a tool for selling products, I think of drug commercials. Those happy, smiling faces are a tool for web types of cult recruitment as well – of which you are probably familiar. For example:

* Scientology
* Mormonism
* Heaven’s Gate (used the web quite heavily)

Now, this paper covers new religious movements (NRMs) on the web in general, but you will understand how the tactics are applied by just about everyone who wants to make money on the web – including me – using the basic methods of recruitement:

* Rule of Reciprocity: Incentives to buy, Subscription to Newsletter, Free Information, etc.
* Authority: For example, Where the authority claims some sort of special or superior knowledge.
* Liking: Example, Photographs of smiling people.
* Scarcity: For example, The offering of higher awareness and consciousness by the NRM, The offering of ways to improve relationships with other people, etc.

I got the examples above from a table of examples from this report on page 14.

This 10 page report with 5 pages of reference materials pretty much hits the nail on the head as far as mainstream advertising and recruitment methods. And You’re going to recognise a lot of names and organisations on this report.

What stands out in this report for me is the following passage which fingers the cult recruitment tactics of most of my affiliations including Burt Goldman, Jose Silva’s daughter, Gary Craig and his EFT movement, and a host of others, who are actually nice people, but their marketing teams use cult tactics:

“Information based recruitment techniques focus upon disseminating the ideology of the movement through writings from the “leader,” the purchase of books, and offering subscriptions to newsletters whilst the image based recruitment techniques offer promises of successful relationships, happiness, an association with attractive and famous people and even cosmic awareness. The latter portrays the NRM as friendly, approachable and desirable. With this comes the promise of empowering the new recruit with the capacity to change one’s life instantly – a significant incentive for the disaffected…”

I would like to make that kind of promise too. In fact, I will because I’m pretty sure I hit the nail on the head with this new product. As I understand from seasoned web gurus, If you try to sell to everyone, then you end up selling to noone.

Then I thought, “What if I try selling to just one person at a time – this idea of revealing their passion to uncover their hidden talents – while everyone else has to wait in line for theirs?” Now, that’s scarcity.

This report only points fingers; it doesn’t sink anyone’s battleship. I have no problem in sharing this report with you because it has everything to do with vibration.

You ever hear new age people use the word “vibration?” They say things like, “you’ll be in a higher vibration when you use this method of reiki, matrix energetics, etc…” In fact, they’re using the cult recruitment tactic of scarcity and these cult tactics appeal to lower vibrations that aspire to higher vibrations – like when we go to church every sunday.

On the other hand, I would prefer to raise your vibration, so you make objective, informed decisions. When you have a higher vibration, then you can understand things my point of view, so I don’t have to use any cult recruitment tactics on you.

Besides, I’m just not that good at cults. I would prefer to talk with you like a friend.

In reciprocity for Cult Recruitment Tactics on the Web, please subscribe to Way of the MindGate Newsletter. Then you will be redirected to the Refer a Friend page for the download link. It would be nice to have one more of your friends understand cultish behavior on the web – which is basically “mind control.” That’s what Way of the MindGate is all about – isn’t it?

Happy Holidays,

Randolph Fabian Directo
HealingMindN Medicine Man