Well my friends, you are about to discover an insane little secret that has dropped a bomb on the Internet Marketing/Network Marketing online world.

Google has gone mad – shutting the door on Pay-per-click (better known as PPC) campaigns on a daily basis.  YouTube is vanishing accounts faster than a blink of an eye and Squidoo (which used to be one of my favorite marketing weapons) has categorized MLM (an honorable legal global business model with 50 years+ in the making with over $100 billion in sales around the world) in Squidoo’s rules; “nor may you upload, post or otherwise include any Content that is defamatory, libelous, tortuous, vulgar, obscene, invasive of privacy, racially or ethnically objectionable, hateful, promotes or provides instructional information about illegal activities, or promotes any act of cruelty to animals or certain vegetables”.  Call me crazy but I don’t see any relevance here.

Bottom line: If you continue trying to market your business using these methods without a backup plan – you are potentially setting yourself up for a major marketing disaster.

If you’ve been in the game for a while then you could quickly identify the names of dozens of Internet marketers and business owners who have been directly effected by these so called ‘new rules’.

Think about this…here you are creating hundreds of leads per day using Google Pay Per Click and all of a sudden out of nowhere, Google says ‘no more’ and slams the door shut on your account.  (Here’s the part that will really eat at you) You try to connect with someone in the customer service department at Google to find out exactly why your PPC account was closed and you get an email reply that says “You are in violation of our policies” with no further response or explanation.

And then there is YouTube, what most marketers proclaim to be the grand daddy of them all when it comes to video marketing. Let’s just say that I personally know several marketers whose accounts were completely wiped out (some with close to 300 videos with hundreds of thousands of views and subscribers) and absolutely no explanation and way to respond, period!

In my opinion the worst of them all is Squidoo because no mater what the legitimacy of your business is, Squidoo considers it as spam based on its rules. I have personally created sites on Squidoo marketing my product line from one of the health and wellness companies I’ve been in business with.

Here is an example of the email I received from Squidoo:

We posted in July 2009 about a policy update that would disallow the creation and hosting of X rated and Adult lenses on our site, as well as lenses on what we’ve determined to be spam topics. We publicized these changes early on in an effort to give you significant headsup time to either change your lenses or export your Adult content and take it elsewhere.

Hello! It’s a nutritional product!

So what is you alternative?

Stay tuned for part 2. Great news is heading your way!

It boggles my mind when I hear people compare network marketing to a pyramid. Yes it’s true that when you look at how MLM is structured it is typically shown in a pyramid fashion. But what most people don’t understand is there are some key differences between a legitimate network marketing opportunity versus an illegal pyramid or chain letter schemes that tend to give MLM a bad rap.

You need to fully understand that multi level marketing is a perfectly legal way of moving merchandise. You are getting paid on the movement of products and services. Another key component is your company must adhere to guidelines such as paying commissions on product sales and permitting product returns of products kept in good condition within a certain time period. It’s a known fact that some of the biggest companies in existence today are involved in network marketing.

Another key factor between an MLM opportunity and an illegal pyramid is the fact that multi level marketing actually moves a valuable product or service whereby the payout of commissions come from sales of that product or service. An illegal pyramid typically offers no product with any real value and usually operates on the principle of payment for recruiting people. I’ve even seen some of these illegal pyramids try to offer some kind of product or service serving as a front but without real value or worth.

A big factor in the legitimacy of network marketing is consumers can and want to purchase your product or service without being forced to become a distributor or representative. Although most do, distributors do not have to buy the product to market it. When it comes to an illegal pyramid people are forced to join the network to participate.

Lastly, in a legitimate network marketing opportunity, everyone benefits due to the fact that consumers get valuable products and services and those who sell them reap the rewards for their marketing efforts which can be incredible because of the multiplication effect. In comparison, a pyramid is typically a get rich quick scheme whereby only a few individuals benefit. Once the saturation takes place, the folks on the bottom of the pyramid run out of new prospects to join and inevitably lose money.

In closing, network marketing provides the basis for building a long term business that offers a valuable product or service. An illegal pyramid scheme may produce a few winners but a lot more losers who get hurt because nothing is purchased and only the transfer of money takes place.

I was surfing on you tube the other night and came across this video of the late Jim Rohn. The one thing that struck me immediately was the message that came so clear during his speech he was giving on value.

All my life I’ve been driven to help people succeed no matter what they are trying to accomplish. In my network marketing career I have met hundreds of people. Most that dabbled in MLM say they have failed. This makes me sad. Because you see, I feel that those who claim to have failed in a network marketing business didn’t realize the true power of leverage. In my opinion, the way you get to the leverage in your home business is by helping others get the duplicating process going. And what better way to accomplish this than giving people true value.

I hope you enjoy the value in this video below. I know I do:-)

Click here to view the embedded video.

When I first started my MLM business I remember being completely overwhelmed trying to learn all aspects of the business. I was so excited with the idea of quitting my job and having a money trail that would allow me to be financially free. My first question I asked my sponsor after I signed up was ‘what do I do next’? I can vividly remember the blank look on his face as he said to me…’Rich, go out and talk to everyone you know about your network marketing opportunity’. Can you relate?

So you go home, make a list of your personal contacts and you reach for the phone. All of a sudden the phone looks like it’s 100 pounds, your hands begin to shake while the sweat pours off your forehead. I bet you have chills running down your spine because you too have probably fallen into this trap. Now the questions start to consume you:

• What do I say and how do I say it?

• What if they say no?

• What if they’ll never speak to me again?

• Will they hang up on me?

After all, these are your family and friends right?

Well to be honest with you, it’s true that this form of marketing does work for those who have learned some basic communication skills and applied what they’ve learned and understand how to network. But for the majority it ends up giving them a sour taste for the network marketing industry.

• Tip #1 – Develop a guide script with the help of your sponsor

• Tip #2 – Put on a smiley face when speaking to prospects

• Tip #3 – Practice, practice, practice!