Mike Gandia, who also goes by the name of Mike Xave, is the creator of an entirely new affiliate marketing program called Influencer Income (or INF Method). Here, Mike teaches you how to partner with a micro-influencer who will promote a product that you don’t need to own or produce and passively earn money through affiliate links.
What's with Mike's two names? Identity = Marketing tactic?
If you haven’t heard of Mike Gandia, or Mike Xave, before then his system is working because he happily claims that his anonymity is “by design”.
Like any good marketer, he promises that you can earn money by doing the bare minimum and simply buying his course.
The INF Method official website is a sales page with just a video that you need to watch to register for the program. And even then, his video is full of promises and offers nothing of substance other than that you need to buy this course.
Mike teases you with the simplicity of his strategies and how “so many” people are earning money by doing what he teaches - but how can he already have success stories if he literally just created this program? There are no reviews on the course on any popular website, but maybe he has secret student reviews that are also part of his “design”.
This INF Method review will focus more on who Mike Gandia/Mike Xave is and what you could possibly be learning in this enigmatic course. If, however, you want something more proven and less like a treasure map to discover, then you can try learning about local lead generation, my business model of choice.
Pros
There is income potential
Reaches wider target audience
Influncers boost engagement
Relatively inexpensive course
Cons
Very vague curriculum
No student reviews
Unknown if this specific system works or is proven
Unknown if Mike Gandia/Mike Xave is an expert in this field
Questionable refund policy
Price:
$147
Refund Policy:
30-day refund policy, subject to certain terms and conditions
Origin:
2022
Reputation:
None
Who is Mike Gandia/Mike Xave?
Mike Gandia’s claim to fame is that he earned $18,000 in just 13 days using AirBnB marketing without owning a single property. By the time he was 25, he had quit his high-paying engineering job to live out the life of his dreams thanks to the techniques he figured out on his own. The concept was simple: He would rent out a property, list it on AirBnB at a profit, and receive passive income.
His success was so remarkable that he decided to create a course called BnB Breakthrough or BnB Empire or AirBnB Empire (all three DON’T have official websites but are sold as courses on other websites. However, they all seem to be talking about the same thing) that teaches you how to create an automated “plug-and-play” system that allows you to earn passive income by renting out properties that you don’t own.
Mikes tries a new marketing tactic
For some unknown reason, Mike decided to change his last name from Gandia to Xave and even created a different Facebook profile with his new name. He then began his own digital marketing company called CMF Marketing, which again doesn’t have its own website, but supposedly specializes in marketing analytics, customer purchase behavior, and sales psychology.
Mike tries his hand on other businesses
Mike Xave also started a professional property management company called King Street Stays that claims to help you double or quadruple your monthly rental profit by handling front-to-end processes, from booking to checking out.
At the same time, Mike “Gandia” also collaborated with Joeel and Natalie Rivera, the founders of Transformation Academy to talk about creating email marketing campaigns. Gandia also created a now-defunct free marketing course on AirBnB on Lurn and even appeared on The Fighting Entrepreneur by Anik Singal podcast.
Mike reappears with a new course on influencer marketing
Mike Xave went quiet from 2019 to 2022, but re-emerged as Mike Gandia once again to create INF method, which seems to take what he learned as an AirBnB marketer into the newer but popular business model of affiliate marketing.
KEEP IN MIND:
Mike uses the name “Gandia” in his follow-up e-mails to you from INF Method, but he introduces himself as Mike Xave in his video.
In his official biography on Lurn, Mike says he has a background in robotics and aerospace engineering from Carleston, SC, and was a finalist in the NASA NewSpace Business Plan competition. He spent years studying sales pitching and angel investing.
Mike explained in his podcast interview with Anik Singal that he uses a “treasure map strategy” with his AirBnB marketing. It looks something like this:
- 1Learn the local regulations regarding subletting. (You need to know whether you can operate an AirBnB business in your area).
- 2Find the profit centers. (Mike recommends AirDNA.com, which is a free resource to see how much rentals cost per area).
- 3Find the golden rentals. (Find profitable rental properties).
The process itself is so simple that anyone who can manage a basic Google search can do it - so why choose Mike as your mentor? Because he gives you tips on how to market yourself.
Remember that you don’t own the properties you’re renting out, so you need to speak to the property manager or landlord to sell the idea of subletting their property as an AirBnB. According to Mike, property managers are more willing to accept your business proposal since AirBnBs are typically better-taken care of and have less risk of late rental payments.
Mike helps you talk to potential landlords or property managers.
It’s a win-win situation for both parties: The property manager receives timely payments and gets an investment edge on their property (since it is regularly cleaned and kept attractive) and you receive a profit each month.
Mike offers free training on his Mike Xave’s Facebook page. In the video, he claims that his students can earn around $200 to $300 per night. This is in line with the average AirBnB prices, according to AlltheRooms.com for 2020-2021.
KEEP IN MIND:
Mike’s success stories were based on processes taught in 2017.
How does this connect to INF Method?
Mike alludes to using the same “treasure map strategy” from his AirBnb marketing to get a micro-influencer to market a product for you. In INF Method, you first need to connect with an influencer, ask them to market a product you don’t own, and connect the two to create an automated sales machine .
If we take his AirBnB course as an indication of what we could possibly learn in INF Method, we will probably not learn anything that we can’t Google on our own. However, Mike will teach us how to market ourselves correctly so that a micro-influencer would be willing to work with us to market a product we don’t actually own.
What’s included in INF Method?
Watching the sales video on the official website gives you nothing of value. But, enter your email to register (but not pay), and you’ll receive regular content on what you’re missing out on.
For the incredibly low price of $147, Mike says he will show you:
And so much more!
What is the refund policy of INF Method?
INF Method offers a 30-day money-back policy that is subject to certain terms or conditions. All refunds are discretionary.
Is INF Method a scam?
It’s hard to say. The course is very new and there are no reviews on the actual curriculum. That being said, simply finding information about its course creator was a treasure hunt in itself, but maybe this is Mike’s way of showing us, through first-hand experience, how to apply his “treasure map strategy”.
Mike also vacillates between his last names and it’s unclear how this is a good marketing idea, but again this may be a secret branding strategy that none of us are aware of.
CONCLUSION: Is INF Method worth it?
I would hold off until there is more information about what you will learn. And even then, Mike’s initial model seems to rely heavily on how well you can market yourself continously. This means that even if influencer marketing is somewhat of a passive business, you still need to actively talk to leads constantly.
This is different from local lead generation, which allows you to earn consistent and reliable passive income, without a high capital, and only needing to sell your leads once. With this model, leads are already generated and sell themselves - in fact, you can send a few sample leads to a business that proves that you are a viable option. Once your site ranks and your leads are going to a small business, you can pretty much let the business run itself automatically.
