Online Marketing Proformas - successful or not?

I have been watching online marketers for many years now. You know, the ones that work with a one page proforma where they make you an offer, tease you with a free product, in the hopes of securing your email address or even better, you buying into the product. Then they bombard you with testimonials about how great their product is, kind of like the midday and middle of the night commercials you see on television. My question is, do these really work?

For me, I look, see that they are the same old standard approach and immediately they have lost me. Is this how others feel?

As someone who is involved in packaging and marketing, I'd really appreciate the feedback of my online friends as I am going to be advising my clients in relation to these processes. What are the outcomes for this type of marketing? Is anyone doing it and having huge success?

I know this probably sounds just a little cynical, but I've seen a lot of people selling business and marketing systems and having a bit of success with selling the systems, but how many who buy these systems are also experiencing success? There is lots of talk of growing rich online, but I'd like to see the evidence of it. Anyone who has an opinion is welcome to post a response. I am truly interested in what you think.