Multi-level marketing businesses are popular primarily because of their attractive compensation plans. There are different ways a multi-level marketing pays their members. Some pays them outright. Others pay bi-monthly and still others cash out all the member’s benefits on a monthly basis. Actually, it really doesn’t matter how seldom or how frequent a company pays their members. What’s more important is that they pay on right on time at all.

The attractive compensation plans of multi-level marketing companies come from different streams. The first, and usually the most important stream is the downline stream. A lot of MLM’s pay their members for every recruit that they generate. This is especially true if the MLM business requires for some sort of registration fee, setup fee, or sign up fee from the new members. For example, if new members need to pay $10 to join the program, their direct referrer will earn anywhere from $1 to $5 as per agreed upon. This means that the more people you recruit, the more commissions you get.

Another income stream would be through your direct sales. Most MLM opportunities revolve around the promotion of a certain service or product. And so whenever you successfully closed a sale out of your own sheer marketing efforts, then you will be paid a certain percentage of the total sales you managed to post. If you were able to send a total sales amount of $120 for the whole month of April and the MLM company pays you 30% of your sale, then you’ll have $36 more in your next payout. This is paid to you on top of the commissions you gained from your recruits.

MLM companies also pay you for the activities of your downlines. If all of your downlines managed to make an aggregate sale amounting to $100 and the multi-level marketing compensation plan says that you are entitled of 10% commission for that, then you should have $10 out of their marketing efforts. This is a good compensation plan because this is what can give you residual income. For as long as your downlines are active and are doing their part, you should be able to collect income from the MLM company regardless if you work or not. Some programs even allow to downline sales commissions up to 3 levels deep.

These are the three major income streams of an online multi-level marketing business. There may be others still. The other compensation plans are usually implemented on a certain company alone and not across all MLM’s. This is actually where MLM’s become different. Other MLM opportunities would pay you just for the three basic income streams stated above. But there are others that would think of other creative ways to pay you so you’ll be more enticed in joining their program.

One creative way to earn is through the mere promotion of the splash page. Although there are only a few MLM companies that actually pay a few dollars per thousands of impressions, this is still a convenient way to earn through this stream. If you stumble across an MLM company that pays you as you promote the main site, then you are actually paid for promoting your affiliate link, which directly benefits you as well.

MLM companies are getting more and more competitive these days as far as compensation plans are concerned. It is upon you to actually choose the one that would maximize your earning potential.

Most websites for offline businesses that I see are close to worthless. That’s a shame because some of them cost a good bit of money. There’s a reason for this, which is a confusion about the roll of brand advertising as a money maker.

Build your brand! You hear it all the time. College students majoring in advertising chant this as a mantra. But unless you’re big enough to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange what you need is not a brand, but more sales!

I want you to consider internet marketing not as brand advertising, but more like direct mail. Direct mail builds a brand identity, but it also makes money at the same time. Internet websites need to be treated like direct mail, not glorified billboards or magazine ads that only serve to create awareness.

If you’re a small business, it’s not awareness you need, but sales. This is true for the individual entrepreneur as well as for the business with ten employees.

The best use for websites it to capture leads for your business. If your website just sits there with no possibility for interaction from your visitors, you’re wasting your time. People will click in, look, then click out…never to return. With all of the competition out there, why would they remember to come back to your site.

Sometimes I think offline businesses think about the Internet like a glorified Yellow Pages. It’s not! It’s not just an automated way for your customers to find your business.

Used right, the Internet is the greatest direct marketing machine ever!

So, how should a small to medium-sized business use the Internet?

For one thing, quit thinking of your website in static terms. One of the most important functions of your website needs to be gathering the email addresses of prospects. You need a way to do that. Specifically, you need a way to get qualified prospects visiting your site, and you need a way to get their email address.

Pay per click advertising (PPC) is a great way to get people to visit your site–Google AdWords. Once you get them there, you need to have some mechanism in place to entice them to give you their email address.

This is usually accomplished with a giveaway.

Let’s look at a quick example.

Suppose you owned a small kitchen remodeling company. On your website, you could have a small ebook about how to plan your kitchen remodeling. You could take pictures of current and past jobs and use those as an example. An idea might be to have a cheap kitchen, middle priced kitchen, and an expensive kitchen job that you’ve done.

You might walk people through some of the decisions you would like them to make before they even talk with you, such as what kind of counter tops they want.

An ebook like this can accomplish so much. The prospect gets it if they give you their email address. The book also serves to pre-sell you. When they actually call you to schedule an appointment, they’re already predisposed to like you and trust you. With their email address you can email them on a weekly or monthly basis and send them information they might want.

Almost every business has used direct mail to send sales messages to their prospects. In every campaign, one of the main objectives is getting your prospect to open the package instead of throwing it into the bin. How can you increase the open rate and the success rate of any campaign? Use CDs or DVDs!

For the past two or three years, the consensus is that the Internet is making physical media such as CDs and DVDs obsolete. Yes, internet download speeds are increasing and yes, there has been a steady decline (about 5% per year) in CD sales and DVD rentals and sales. However, the opportunities for businesses to use physical media and incorporate them into their marketing efforts are real and exciting.

Let’s consider the case of a business selling a piece of fitness equipment. Ordinarily, they would obtain a list of prospects based on demographics such as age, location and income. They might also obtain prospects who have bought similar products in the past or who subscribe to a fitness magazine. After constructing the sales letter, they would include some coupons for a time-limited discount on the machine and attempt to drive the prospect to a web page or store location to use this discount. Then, they mail out 50,000 or more of the letters and wait for the results.

Let’s consider another scenario with this same business and same machine. This time, they include a DVD with the sales package. On this DVD, they show how the machine works and include video testimonials from previous clients who have obtained fantastic results. There is also store location information and the ability to make a purchase online by clicking one button. How many more sales do you think they would receive with this second package? Let’s think about it. First, studies have shown that “bulky” mail could double the chance of your package being opened by your prospect. Second, you can track the success of the campaign by sending users to a special secure website and you can track IP addresses and the paths the users take while on the site. You can even segment your prospects and send them to different parts of your site. Finally, the interactivity that multimedia presentations and video allow is far beyond any sales chatter on flat white paper.

It’s not difficult to fall into the trap of being a follower in Network Marketing. From the moment you sign your name on your business registration form, you are guided into a certain direction designed for you by your upline. Some people find comfort in signing up for expensive lead programs and wind up quitting, while others choose to follow outdated techniques taught at monthly trainings and wind up quitting. The people who do not quit are the ones who understand the importance of being a leader instead of a follower.

It’s great to get guidance when you first begin something new and exciting, but owning your own business means you have to be in charge. Leadership requires more than simply making a decision that you are not going to follow someone else. Here are seven characteristics that you must strive to understand and practice.

1. Be Strong:

This doesn’t mean you should go to the gym every day and pump iron. (Even though it’s always a good idea to exercise). Being strong means standing up for what you believe in and refusing to let obstacles stand in your way. It is important not to come across as rude. You don’t need a strong and forceful personality, you just need strong conviction for what you want to achieve.

2. Be Humble:

Your success is not a means for you to be better than anyone else. This business requires you to help people, and it is extremely difficult for a leader to accomplish this with arrogance. Being humble means you put others first, and the more you take the focus off yourself, the more successful you will become. Successful leaders do not look for applause or think they should deserve it after every good deed.

3. Be Bold:

This one is sort of like being strong, but it has to do more with the way you talk to people. It is important to get your point across to people in a direct manner. Everyone is busy and if you are serious about what you do, your boldness will speak volumes. Do not be a bully about it though. No one likes to be pushed into anything, especially by someone they look up to for support and guidance.

4. Be Thoughtful:

People who take on the challenge of wanting to work from home and earning extra money usually have a very good reason. A good leader understands the circumstances that people have gone through to get to the point where they need mentoring. The world can be a tough and cruel place, so thoughtfulness and compassion are necessary to encourage people to keep moving in a positive direction.

5. Have humor:

It is always a good idea to have a sense of humor while you are mentoring people. If you make everything serious, no one will have any fun or breathing room. You want your distributors to feel as though they have made the right decision by investing in you to help them. Having humor does not mean you are teaching them to take their business lightly. It just means you are teaching them that they can find joy in the process of obtaining success.

6. Be An Optimist:

Save pessimism for the bosses of corporate America where it belongs. Successful leaders know that the more you focus on being positive, the more the negativity gets pushed aside and forgotten. It is rough enough to turn on the news every day and hear nothing but negativity. You do not want your people to think that building a business is all weeds and no green grass. Work is work, but having optimism makes it easier to accomplish goals.

7: Have Vision:

Successful leaders build confidence by showing people the possibilities of what they can become, and that requires vision. Painting the picture of prosperity is an important part of being a leader, so talk to people about what could be, then help them improve. When people have a light at the end of the tunnel, it helps them go through the journey of working toward their goals with desire and conviction.

I was a follower for ten years before I realized I had to stop falling for every popular fad that came around and start focusing on being a leader. Sometimes you feel like quitting, but you know that is not the answer. When you realize you have to be strong enough to break from the turn-key systems that are designed to do nothing more than drain your savings account, you will begin to find success with network marketing.

William Winch is a Business Growth Specialist whose mission is teaching other struggling entrepreneurs how to expand and explode their home-based businesses without breaking the bank. A former High School and College Business Educator and Counselor, he mentors from his home office in Rochester, NY. If you are interested in receiving his FREE 30 page Hidden Truth Report on how to explode and expand your home-based business, click on on FREE REPORT [http://retainmlmreps.com] or by calling him directly at (585) 271-3767 for a free business consultation.