When searching for jobs in communications, I have come across multiple job descriptions posted by Wade Marketing. The posts are everywhere – especially on LinkedIn. I decided to do some research on the company to see if they were worth working with or if I needed to steer clear. 

What is Wade Marketing?

Zach Wade worked for digital marketing companies before and was frustrated by what he saw. Employees and freelancers were expected to do more and more work with no increase in pay. Zach wanted something better for digital marketers like himself, and started Wade Marketing in 2021.

Wade Marketing helps digital marketers, (who the company calls “partners”), market themselves and work less for more money. Partners are encouraged to work at least two full-time jobs at once while earning salaries for each job. This process is known as job stacking. More on job stacking can be found on Wade Marketing’s blog post, A Day in the Life of a Job Stacker.

I wanted to know more about Wade Marketing, so I applied for a position. 

Applying with Wade Marketing

If you see a position offered by Wade Marketing, They make it clear that it is not actually a job with the company. However, they still advertise their services on job boards. 

Here is a sample from LinkedIn:

Social Media Strategist

Wade Marketing is a digital advertising agency specializing in both B2B and B2C relations. We are in search of digital professionals who are interested in advancing their careers to the next level. Through our program offerings, we have helped hundreds achieve success in this ever-so-competitive digital landscape.

This is a fully remote opportunity open to digital professionals alike. Details of this opportunity will be outlined on the following page. Please go ahead and apply via the Apply now button which will take you to our website. All the necessary information regarding this fully remote opportunity will be provided.

I applied through one of these postings and was sent to their Independent Partnership page. I clicked the “Apply Now” button and was sent to an application. 

The questions in their application were mostly multiple choice. Here are two of the questions they asked:

Which statement below best describes your current situation? This question is required.*
(In relation to your career/work/income etc.)

A – I am content with my current situation, but wouldn’t mind some improvements here and there.
B – I am content with my current situation and don’t feel the need to make any major improvements.
C – I am somewhat content with my current situation, but actively working to improve and get better.
D – I am not content with my current situation and will take massive action to get where I want to be.

What is your current filing status? This question is required.* (Filing status determines the rate at which income is taxed)

A – Single
B – Married (joint or separate)
C – Head of Household
D – Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child

After filling out the application, I received a text message immediately from an employee about the Independent Partnership Program.. 

Here is a summary of the call:

• Wade Marketing will help me get a job that matches what I am looking for. 
• The company will help me with my resume and get me through the interview process for various jobs. 
• When I run out of time to do a job or if I don’t want to do the job, I can outsource work to Wade Marketing’s internal staff. 
• There is an upfront investment but the cost is offset by how much you make if you are successful. When I asked about the investment, he would not give me a number. He said that would be explained in the next meeting. 

I told him I was interested and he scheduled a Zoom meeting for me the next day to talk about the program. Meanwhile, I was encouraged to watch a video from Zach Wade. 

I received a text message from another employee, (let’s call him Bob), about the meeting. He had the wrong time and the wrong name in the text, but then corrected himself in another text. I also received several emails promoting the company..

I met with Bob via Zoom the next day. We started off with a little chit chat. Then he asked me to describe my situation. I told him I was laid off in March and about my work experience. I said it was hard to find work because the industry is saturated with people looking for work. He asked a few clarifying questions, including how much I wanted to make. I gave him a ballpark number. He said I could make a combined salary of $120,000-$160,000 a year by job stacking with Wade Marketing. 

Then he went over the four steps to working at Wade Marketing: 

Solve the stackable conundrum

He said it takes about 8-12 months to get a job as the industry is saturated, (remember, I used this term earlier in the interview). I will not need to work 40 hours a week on one project. I will get my first role in 45 days or less, making $60-$80k for that role. There are no non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with these jobs. The company works with job boards with whom Wade Marketing has partnerships, and these jobs are funneled directly to the company. These roles are not advertised on job boards. 

Job stacking 

You land a second full-salary role using the job stacking method. They teach you how to balance the roles while ensuring your work-life balance remains healthy. You get your second job roughly 30 days after the first one. You can keep adding jobs until you hit your bandwidth. 

Outsourcing

Usually when you are stacking three or more jobs, you will want to outsource to the internal Wade Marketing team. This is optional. You will be charged a percentage, (depending on the work). However, you still get paid your full-time salary, minus the percentage that goes to Wade Marketing.

Max stack

You can rely on outsourcing until you reach max stack. Your income scales to full potential, working 30-35 hours a week – sometimes just answering emails. This part wasn’t as clearly defined to me. 

I asked what were the next steps. 

1. First, I will connect with the partner success team. They will assign me a partner success manager. I can be onboarded with them as soon as today, followed by weekly meetings for the next 12 weeks. A one-on-one talent development specialist will work on my resume, cover letter, portfolio, and optimize my LinkedIn profile. I will receive coaching and mock interview sessions with constructive feedback. 
2. The operations manager will give me access to the resource guide (the Wade Marketing “Bible”). 
3. The success team will send about 50 applications a week on my behalf. The marketing team will either help me with writing samples for interviews or write them for me. 
4. Finally, I will be connected to the job stackers community. 

I then asked what I needed to do next. I had to ask a couple of times. To get to the point, I asked if there was a cost. Bob asked, “Did you think it would be free?” He then said, if I qualified with the financing company they work with, it could be as little as $320 a month until the total $10,000 is paid. Of course, I could just pay the $10,000 at once. 

He asked on a scale from 1-10 how did I feel about this. I said seven. He pressured me to answer why not an eight or nine. I just answered that it was not in my nature to give high scores. 

There was a big push to get me to sign up immediately. I said I needed to think about it and talk it over with my spouse. Then he asked to schedule a meeting for tomorrow. I said I would let him know.

Later that day, I sent an email saying I was passing on the opportunity. Bob asked why, and I said because I could not afford this now. He responded again asking if he had mentioned the payment plan and that I didn’t have to pay until the second month. I said he had and I wasn’t interested. He asked if I would be interested in paying the monthly fee directly to the company. I said “No payments at all. I am not interested.” This was followed by “So I can get some clarity for my self [sic], you don’t see the value in paying?” I ignored the email. 

My red flags

Several things between their website, application, and interview made me suspicious. 

Filing status 

I will get into more about this with another red flag, but they have no reason to ask about my filing status in the application. Some companies will ask to ensure the applicant is not lying about past income. However, I was not asked about my past income. 

Outsourcing

If you don’t have the time or don’t want to do a particular job, you can outsource it. The person I would work for hired me based on my skills. They want my work, not a contractor. You are selling work that isn’t yours. 

Writing samples

If you are applying for a job with a writing sample, you can have Wade Marketing’s internal team write the sample for you. In school, that would be considered cheating. In college, you would be slapped with an honor code violation, placed on academic suspension, or kicked out. Totally unethical.

Employer deception 

Under “Tips to manage your workload” in their blog post, Day in the Life of a Job Stacker, they advise, “Never share a screen. You run the risk of your jobs seeing notifications from other employers. Instead, always share a window or a tab so they can only see what you want them to.” This insinuates each employer thinks you are only working for them. That means you are lying to your employer. This is also unethical. 

The cost

You pay to work. They do consult and recruit for you. However, I refuse to pay to get a job. It’s not cool asking those who are not working to pay to find a job. Also see red flag #1. Other people who have been given an amount to pay to Wade Marketing have been quoted from $3000 – $10,000. I wonder if this amount varies based on how you answered the income question. 

The pressure

The whole application process happens quickly. There is pressure to make decisions right away. Scam artists pull something similar (e.g.“This offer is only good now’). Wade Marketing doesn’t do that, but they do push for quick answers. They sent me a lot of emails and texts after the initial call.  

Conclusion

Is Wade Marketing a scam? No. 

Is it a multilevel marketing scheme (MLM)? Also no. You don’t make money by getting others to join as in an MLM. 

Is it legitimate? For the partners? Yes. For those who hire writers? See my red flags.

College students in Communication Studies used to interview me for one of their classes. They would always ask “What advice would you give?” I always said, “Do not give up your ethics for a job.” Unless your ethics include making as much money as possible, even if that includes lying to employers, avoid Wade Marketing. 

You can read more about Wade Marketing in the resources below. 

Additional resources

Reddit

Wade Marketing : r/freelanceWriters

Linkedin Wade Marketing Scam

Is this a new kind of LinkedIn/job scam? : r/LinkedInLunatics   

Tik Tok

@planewrangler

if you’re in the market for a remote social media or marketing position, avoid Wade Marketing #buyerbeware #scam #grift #jobmarket

♬ original sound – Jayjjetplane

Press releases

Wade Marketing Unveils The Company is Working with Remote Employees to Acquire The Best Talent Globally – AP News

Wade Marketing Assists Digital Marketers & Business Owners in Growing and Succeeding – Digital Journal 

Wade Marketing’s Digital Marketing Mentorship Program Helps Marketers Stand Out From the Crowd – Digital Journal

Marketing Agency Wade Marketing Surpasses 200th Independent Partnership Program Milestone Mark – Bloomberg

Wade Marketing’s Independent Partnership Program Reveals the Identity of the NEW AGE Employee | Business Wire

Wade Marketing’s Independent Partnership Program Continues to Revolutionize the Digital Marketing Industry | Markets Insider