Yes, it IS a turnkey business, where you don’t have to provide the product, so in most cases start a Web site, as you are furnished with one, as well as furnished with a great deal of marketing materials.

But MLM/Network Marketing, does entail running your business as a TRUE BUSINESS, which means having a business plan, having a marketing plan, establishing and following up on contacts religiously (not once a week, not once a month, but DAILY), and reading and researching into how to successfully start and maintain a business.

There should be ‘milestones’, just as with any other business.  You need to sit down and spell out for yourself, even if you’re working by yourself from home what the goals and focal points of the business are, and you should see a steady progression within the business towards the achievements of these business goals and focal points.

As with every other business, it WILL be slow going at first.  All business owners need patience, a LOT of it.  Many give up on MLM because it takes quite a while many times to see true success.  This is true of any business and those that are ‘quitters’ are much better off with a J. O. B. for the rest of their lives.

Remember, focus and patience are KEY to MLM success.  Lose those, or don’t have them when coming into a program, and you will not ever see the business success you’ve been dreaming of and that you’ve seen others achieve.

One thing that strikes us however, is that our MLM (otherwise known as Network Marketing) clients are NOT, and I repeat NOT, crying the blues about the economy, at least not the ones that are successful in MLM.

This led us to question ‘why’ this would be so.  It seems to be for a few reasons:

A.  MLM programs generally deliver products that are a necessary part of individuals’ lives, whether it’s nutritionals, motivational instruction, gas and grocery credits, or travel discounts.  These things are what others USE continually as they NEED to use these products anyways.

B.  MLM programs are businesses that allow others to increase their income by becoming more active, or decrease their income by becoming less active (and less active means less taxes to pay!)

C.  Successful MLMers are very much into the latest and greatest technologies, such as flash movies, podcasting, radio spots, etc., and use these to their advantage.  Many traditional businesses take years, if ever, to embrace the newest technologies, and marketing-wise, this can hold traditional businesses back significantly in competitive markets.

D.  And last but not least, MLMers, are the most hopeful and helpful of all people.  The successful MLMer ‘never says die’ and lives for each and every new day and each and every new encounter with others.  They are true ‘people persons’ and this optimism does leak out into their general overview of life, and their general overview of the economy.  They do believe things will right themselves in all areas of their lives, and positive thoughts LEAD to positive outcomes.

In a nutshell, MLM programs and Network Marketing programs if run correctly and worked feverishly, do enjoy some buffeting benefits from the ups and downs of the usual ‘work-a-day’ world in which others live.  Just have a conversation with an MLMer when you’re feeling down, and you’ll come away from the conversation feeling one thousand times better!

As of the past few years, everyone online saw a real deluge of content sites, filled with what is referred to as ‘content articles’ aimed at increasing rankings and therefore traffic. Some of this content was also in the form of snippets, brief content additions that were added just to enhance rankings. With that deluge of content sites, came writing that was aiming to sell to those that wanted to establish a lot of quickie Web sites, with no real regard for imparting of knowledge to visitors. These used somewhat lower quality writing, with a focus on insertion and placement of keywords, rather than the quality of the information.

Of course, this is a legitimate way to increase traffic and rankings, but honestly, it did little to increase positive visitor experiences while on a site, and the owners of such ‘content glutted’ sites, found themselves on a continual search for more and more ‘quickie content’ to keep new visitors coming back to their sites. After all, how many return visits could actually occur on sites that are devoted to making money through Adsense ads, or by reselling offerings done by others?

The writing market now seems to be glutted with writers of this quickie content, leaving owners of higher end Web sites scrabbling to find great content; content not just written for the Search Engines but for actual visitors. Large, well-established sites, owned by mid-sized and larger businesses, that are online for years, have found themselves adrift in a mass of writers that have adjusted their standards and are getting used to providing lower end writing.

This ‘merry-go-round of turn-around content’ has hurt not just the writing markets, but the markets that availed themselves of the writing markets; owners of sites that strive to deliver quality products and services themselves, as well as purveyors of quality information.

Ads online have started to appear asking for ‘real content writers’ and there are even some ads that are requiring ‘no keyword optimization writers’ putting writers that offer keyword optimization in a lower class themselves. In addition, ads are appearing that ask for ‘real writers only’, sending a subliminal message that ‘content ONLY keyword writers’ are being equated with the poor content many times seen on the ‘quickie sites.’

Time has proven that any quick approach to making money, online does come and go and only real ‘content’ with an eye towards a positive Web site visitor experience actually produces longevity of rankings, and of course, customers that keep coming back. Since a Web site is in essence an online store, return business is required for success. Real content also establishes a business owner as an expert and builds empathy, so higher end writing is necessary to do this.

This is simply a wake up call that quality never dies, either in writing or in any other medium or offering. It’s also a wake up call that in the online world, things can change in a split second and what was ‘hot’ today is NOT ‘hot’ tomorrow! Time-honored methods of writing and marketing sometimes take a backseat to the fads that pass through online, but as always the time-honored methods climb back into the driver’s seat eventually. How quickly the online marketing and writing worm turns!