MLM: Scam or Opportunity?

When it comes to work at home job opportunities, MLM's are some of the most prominent offers out there. Name a product, any product, and type it into your favorite search engine with the word "affiliate" next to it, and you'll get results. (I tried that exercise myself and was surprised at how many affiliate marketing opportunities there are). While not all of these are multi-level-marketing, many of the more publicized versions are, including Mary Kay, SFI, and others. If you get paid to refer others and then get paid again based on their own earnings, it's MLM. So... is that a bad thing?

There are definitely things to be worried about when dealing with multi-level-marketing schemes. Almost no one who gets involved actually makes money, and in fact many people lose money from buying the very products they need. So there is a big difference between MLM and "easy money." Another thing that marketers need to be aware of before joining is the emphasis of the program itself. Are you joining Avon because you love their products or because you're desperate? If it's the latter, don't bother--you'll only lose money in the long run and there are many other ways to make money online or at home that won't hurt you like that. However, if makeup is your forte and you really love telling your friends about an amazing new product you like, then sure--this is an opportunity just for people like you.

Some MLM's have what I call "squint" products: if you squint hard enough, you can see the product, but it's not really there. One popular such program is the Feeder Matrix, a forced matrix pyramid scheme that technically sells marketing and publicity e-books... but most affiliates probably don't even know about them. The Feeder Matrix is about building down your pyramid as quickly as possible, and I will admit that it does a good job at it.

So all things considered, are MLM's a bad thing? One of my frustrations joining SFI was its dependency on an active downline. While you can earn quite a bit by selling things on TripleClicks, your earnings will never really take off unless you have at least one or two active affiliates in your own downline so that you can earn from them. It's something I really don't like about SFI, but still a lot of people do make money from it and it has a good reputation among Internet marketers. It wasn't until I found some products on TripleClicks that I actually wanted and liked that I decided to work at it--and that's what makes the difference.

Products might not be as big as active downlines in MLM's, but you won't get that downline or the necessary enthusiasm unless you're genuinely excited about what it has to offer. I bought a set of Russian flutes from Triple Clicks last month. I love them. They're beautiful and fun to play, and I have no trouble talking to others about where I ordered them. It just works.

My conclusion about MLM is this: if you like the product, go for it. If not, then don't. It's great to get paid for telling people about stuff you genuinely like and use, but it's a chore to advertise something that you're not even sure about yourself. If you've tried MLM and haven't had any success, you might want to rethink. Find something you're passionate about and go with that instead. You'll love the difference!