Power Bite # 41 - Why We Are Not MLM Or An Affiliate Program
Hello MPM Member,
When we first conceived and designed My Power Mall, this is one of the first questions we received… Our answer follows.
Q: I am really concerned that this is MLM! If it looks like a rose, smells like a rose and has thorns like a rose, it’s a rose! Anything that requires someone to get levels to make any money is MLM.
A. We have done quite a bit of research into just what MLM and Affiliate Marketing is - how they differ and how they are similar. Here is what we've discovered:
MLM vs Affiliate Marketing (AM) - what's the difference?
Affiliate Marketing
- AM is always FREE to join
- AM is typically one tier but can be 2 tiers
- Training and support, if any come directly from the company (not a sponsor or upline)
- AM is selling products or free offers or generating leads
- You get paid commission for the sale or offer or lead
You don't get paid for recruiting others into a business - you get paid for selling the end product to end users.
Sometimes you get paid a percentage of commission earned by webmasters you refer - but only one level deep. However, it's always for selling the product or service and not for bringing them into a business.
It's MLM or Network Marketing if...
- You have to buy a starter kit or pay to join
- If you have to buy products
- If you have to qualify for income
- If it's more than 2 levels of pay (you and the person you refer)
- There are buzzwords like upline, downline, sponsor, matrix, spillover
- If you can't understand the "comp plan"
- If it takes 8 pages to explain the comp plan
- If you have to recruit, sponsor and/or train others
- If the only ones that get rich are at the top
-------------------------------
Our CEO & Founder, Ginny Dye writes:
As I did all the research and pondered what I was learning, I realized what I am proposing is neither MLM nor an Affiliate Program. I've been clear about the pitfalls I see in MLM. While Affiliate Marketing doesn't have those same pitfalls, it has plenty of its own. The only people who make real money with Affiliate Marketing are those people who are pros in E-Commerce, website development, Search Engine optimization, and other things that the average person simply won't be able to succeed at. Again, if the merchant has enough people out there selling just 1 or 2 things it all adds up to great money for them - but it doesn't make much for the Affiliate.
As I pondered this during the early hours this morning I realized what I am proposing simply doesn't have a label. It doesn't fit under anyone's definitions. I personally love that! Wouldn't it be incredible if we have a system that can be used in a way that has never been used before - creating a program that actually works for people! Something that works... now that's an exciting concept!
I think we can choose to be thrown by the idea that it even smells like MLM, or we can consider the possibility that we are blending the good things from both MLM and Affiliate programs - creating SOMETHING THAT WORKS!
____________________________
One of our own MPM members had another take on this that we absolutely loved:
It seems to me that a good description of this business
wouldn't as I agree be MLM or AM or the like but maybe –
WM - (Wealth Marketing).
By this I don't mean Wealth just as in a financial sense
because as we know, there is much more to it here at MPM.
Yes I was attracted by a much better chance of success
for the 97% of current internet failures out there.
Yes I was attracted because there is no financial risk.
Yes I joined because you don't have to sell, we just give it away.
But:
Wealth can also be measured in a spiritual sense.
The fact that what we are giving away will help change people's lives.
The fact of giving something back to society as a whole.
The fact that identifiable worthy causes and individuals will benefit
from the actions of other's - (Our Membership and Corporate) where
they have possibly not had any recognition from any source in the past.
________________________
The bottom line is that My Power Mall simply doesn’t fit any “model” that’s out there. We have the opportunity to lead the way in a business that is truly designed for every single person to be able to succeed. We believe that’s something you can be very proud of!
We believe in you!
The MPM Team
Shopping Tip: We all have our Favorite Stores to shop in and you can list them here for your shopping convenience. To add them to the Shopping Mall page, go to your back office, look for Manage My Mall, click on My Favorite Stores, and begin adding them in! You will see this tab next to the Featured Stores tab just under the Streaming Message Bar on your Mall. (You can also access it from the Specialty Stores link in the menu at the top of the Mall page.) There are no stores listed in your favorites until you put them there. PLEASE do not confuse this with Internet Explorer Favorites. And it’s probably a good time to mention that you should NEVER bookmark a store link. OK – back to your mall’s Favorite Stores… Log into your back office. On the left-hand menu, under Manage My Mall, you will see a link labeled “My Favorite Stores.”
Business Building Tip: Place free classified ads with your local paper and college paper. (Robin Hancock, Illinois) People are always looking for something that's free, and what's better than MPM?
Change the World Tip: Don't dump oil, grease, antifreeze, pesticides, fertilizers, paints, cleaners, and other toxic household products down the storm drain or street gutter. Such products end up in rivers, lakes, and oceans (depending on where you live) and ground water supplies. You most likely have a recycling drop-off in your community. Call Public Services to find out where it is. (From our 101 Ways to Help Planet Earth ebook)
"The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings
can alter their lives by altering their attitudes or mind."
~William James
To download all Power Bites in Manual form go here.
