A lot of people want to earn huge sums of money fast and for very little effort. This is why this article will expose the MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) scams and lies, which has an aggressive social media campaign with promises of quick wealth, most of which you’ve probably seen on your friends and relatives’ posts.
I will also provide you with better alternatives that will allow you to make a decent living while working online so that you can spend your time and energy into something that will truly bring you profit and let you quit your 9.00 to 17.00 job.
Table of Contents
What is Multi-Level Marketing?
I have previously written a comprehensive article on what a Multi-Level Marketing is, if you want to learn more about it, you can read it here.
To simplify, it is a business structure that lets its members gain income through commission on sales and recruitment of new members who are called downlines. It is sometimes called network marketing or pyramid marketing.
What makes MLM so controversial is how uplines earn a percentage from the income of their members. This means that even if they don’t work much, as long as their downlines keep on recruiting and making sales, then they will gain some profit.
It should also be noted that not all MLM businesses are legal and that 30% of MLM companies have longevity of ten years.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosed that 99 percent of MLM participants lose their money, half of them quit after a year and about 95% leave the company within ten years.
Most Common MLM Scams and Lies
When something is too good to be true, then it probably is. These are ten of the most common MLM scams/lies that you should be aware of so you can more cautious the next time someone invites you for coffee to offer a free business seminar.
- MLM is more profitable than other traditional businesses. The structure of an MLM company only benefits the people on top of the pyramid/hierarchy or those who have joined earlier. Those at the bottom, who are usually the ones doing the hard work find it difficult to make a profit.
- Independent distributors also own the business. This is false because although the distributors earn a percentage from the sales of the members of their team, they do not claim the dividends, profits, and shares of the company.
- Anyone can be successful with MLM. This isn’t true at all. In reality, you need to have strong leadership and communication skills if you want to succeed in MLM. You need to know how to effectively motivate your team members and dedicate your time to explain the products and services to them.
- The best channel for product and services are MLM companies. There are now marketplaces available online, to add to local and foreign distributors and many others.
- It is the best way to reach customers. When you’re beginning your career in an MLM company, you will be asked to write down your acquaintances, friends, and family. They will encourage you to contact them so that they can either purchase from you or become your downlines. As you can see, this is set to create problems later on since some of your contacts may estrange you. Additionally, there are only limited products being offered, which means that not all wants and needs of consumers are being attended to.
- The point and reward system of MLM is attractive. It is true that aside from the commissions they earn, members of MLM companies are entitled to discounts and other special offers. However, some claims that MLM companies make are mostly exaggerated stories of success. They rarely talk about failed business ventures, which are often experienced by those who are starting out.
- Healthy relationships are being promoted through MLM. When a certain goal isn’t reached or promises are unmet, these relationships may crumble. Also, doing business with people close to you isn’t only bad for business, but can also ruin your social life.
- MLM companies are legal. As I discussed before, most MLM businesses aren’t legal. This is why you need to check the tax compliance, business registration and other regulations of the company.
- MLM is a form of spiritual movement. When people promote MLM as a spiritual movement, this is only done through the intention of deceiving others.
- The products and services of MLM are superior. This claim has no proof and is just an overstatement.
Genuine Ways You Can Make Money Online
Now that you are aware that working for MLM companies entails a high risk of you just wasting your time and losing your money, I will teach you legitimate ways that you can make a living online.
You can have the freedom to work anywhere and anytime you want.
On this site, I regularly write about genuine moneymaking opportunities and expose scams.
Unlike MLM companies that deceive you with their overstated revenue flows and success stories, I will give you honest and useful input from coming from my own experience.
The Easiest Way to Make Money Online
In my opinion, affiliate marketing is the easiest way you can make money online.
It was started by Amazon, and it keeps on growing. With over 3 billion people online, people are constantly looking for reviews and opinions of others before making a purchase.
The concept is simple and is somehow similar to MLM, but is completely legal and scam-free.
You do not need to work for demanding clients or create your products. You can live anywhere in the globe and work anytime as long as you have an internet connection.
All you have to do is promote products and services that you tried and works or you know are good from your research and you get a sale when someone buys it.
If you are interested in how to learn affiliate marketing, I have an introduction for you here. I also have specific articles that discuss building your affiliate marketing website, niching-down, utilizing social media channels like YouTube, SEO (search engine optimization) and generating traffic and making money with Amazon, etc.
Wealthy Affiliate
When you are beginning your journey on how to become an affiliate marketer, chances are, you won’t have a lot of money.
That’s why I highly recommend signing up for Wealthy Affiliate.
You can start for free. You don’t need a credit card and you can use your free starter account for as long as you want to since it isn’t a trial account.
With WA, you get free training specially made for beginner affiliate marketers. They offer the free Online Entrepreneur Certification Course, which is useful when you are figuring out what niche you want to focus on.
To add to this, you will gain access to a community of affiliate marketers who are more than willing to share their wisdom and answer your queries.
They also give you SiteRubix- a website building platform that lets you create your WordPress site in minutes. It comes with 12 beautiful themes that you can edit and customize to your preference.
Also, they provide a free siterubix.com domain, but I advise you to get your domain, just like I have – bestofmakemoneyonline.com. Keep in mind that you are starting a business and this isn’t a cost but an investment.
You will also receive Jaaxy – an SEO keyword tool essential for affiliate marketers. It allows you to be visible on search engine results and check the ranking of your website.
Your website will also be protected with top malware and virus protection. And again, this is free of charge.
On top of that, you get free web hosting from WA.
As you learn more about affiliate marketing and start making money, I highly recommend that you upgrade to a premium account. It will grant you access to more advanced and specialized knowledge. It is absolutely worth your money.
There are tons of places you can learn affiliate marketing, however, WA not only is the best, but it also offers tons of freebies that any starting affiliate marketer needs for their business.
Summary
It is important to discern which opportunities are genuine and which ones are not.
Your time is precious and money isn’t easy to come by.
Make sure that you engage in legitimate business ventures that will surely bring you profit.
You should also take advantage of free opportunities offered by WA and to start taking your business seriously.
Truly, I have come across a lot of reviews on MLM businesses coupled with my experiences with some of the MLM businesses, I can attest to your article that it is spot on concerning the various lies that MLM gives out to people. I fell victim of this especially the recruiting my family members and friends. I lost some of my friends due to the fact they thought I scammed them off their money through the business I recruited them for. I will gladly share this out to the social media platforms to get more people sentized on MLM.
THANKS
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Well-done! And timely. I’m really like this attention we as a society are paying of recent to this predatory business model. About 18 million Americans are caught up in MLMs. Few years ago, 1 out of 6 households in my home state were involved. You can’t turn around without seeing someone slyly talking about buttery leggings or magic mascara or essential oils in everything. Almost all of the victims involved definitely lose money or scramble to barely break even. And yet they will still defend their scammers to the skies. People are going to tell you it really works because this business relies so much on deception. They are already trained to fudge numbers and tell half truths.
Thanks for taking time to write on this Chris.
Regards!
Thank you for the comment Jordan.
Great information. I appreciate the fact that you have exposed the fraud commented by many multi level marketing companies and their distributors. In business there is no legitimate company that would tell you that they have a get rich quick method. Financial success always involves some investment of time, money and experience gained by massive action. Thank you Chris for this excellent article.
Thank you for the comment Tom.