The differences between MLM / Network Marketing and multi-tiered Affiliate programs are many. I have done both and I will choose MLM any day.

One difference is that in MLM, you are actually building your own business. The reason you have to invest is really simple common sense reasons.

• You are investing in your own business. Who do you know of that would help you start your own business with no investment on your part?
• Weeds out curiosity seekers. Just imagine how much it would cost a company to send start-up kits to anyone who asked for it when they really aren't serious about the business in the first place!
• Many companies require autoships of products for dealers simply because it is good business for a distributor to use the products that they promote. How can anyone honestly recommend a product that they, themselves wouldn't use? It is a great way to introduce new products for testing in the market through distributor trials and sales. It also is a way to keep distributors actively persuing goals in their business. Even in a brick and morter type business, you have to actively order inventory in order for business to flow properly. It is just good business to have some stock on hand for immediate sales as some customers are more "on the spot" buyers than they are online shoppers or catalog shoppers.

A major difference in the two is in MLM, many companies allow you to will the business to your family members either upon your retirement or your death. What a shame it would be to spend several years developing a business just to have any profits transfered back to the company when you are no longer able to work! Another difference is the fact that Affiliate programs are all about sales and numbers. MLM is more about people. It is a personal business in which a good sponsor knows their team members' goals, teaches them how to reach those goals and assists them along the way to insure their success.

There are more but just these differences alone sets MLM far apart from any other marketing program. Through many years of trial and error, MLM has progressed in member satisfaction, compensation structure and company training.

Network Marketing is a $100 billion dollar industry worldwide and is one of the fastest growing trends in home based business. More than 10 million people in the US are involved in a Network Marketing business. It allows anyone, from any background or education to create a significant income in a business of one's own.

Many Network Marketing Companies are Fortune 500 companies, traded publicly on the Stock Exchanges and many are held privately. Mary Kay Cosmetics; Tupperware; Jafra Cosmetics and Avon are just a few well known and well respected companies using a network marketing / direct sales business model.

Network Marketing has been written about favorably by major publications such as Forbes, Fortune, Success, Fast Company, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.

In the 50+ years that MLM has been around, there have been many improvements in the plans, especially in the newer companies that focus more on achievability, retention and company support and training. If the company is 5 to 10 years established as a respected company, your chances of success may be a bit higher due to these improvements. I would much rather put my time and efforts into establishing my own business that I can pass on to my family than just to build an income for the time I am involved with a certain business. To do less simply amounts to having an employer which is something I haven't missed in many years!

© 2008 Bonnie N. Ramsey