Your online Reputation builds … or kills your business
There is only one thing worse than a lousy reputation: that's no reputation at all! The idea is that if you want to sell, you need to have a track record, a profile and this is true for affiliate marketers who simply drive traffic to the merchant as well as for networkers who pre-sell opportunity packs based on their personal endorsement or authority.
What and who makes your online reputation?
First of all your reputation is made by publications interested people will find online. If a person knocks your name or the name of the company into the Google Search Field, there is a return and what you get in the top 10 makes a big part of your reputation. (if you are not found, you are dead, inexistent and you reasonably cannot expect high returns and conversion).
This is namely true for situations where people don't know you and wish to find out more about you and the business you are promoting.
In your warm market, your behavior and the perception people get from that behavior are more important - forget Google there, it may help however in case of doubt.
Your reputation is made first by yourself and then by all those publishing about you and gaining high visibility online. Now here we are at the center of the point: the internet is a place where those with most publishing power get an edge over the competition when it comes to publishing, making or destroying a reputation, building or killing a business.
Why do Low-tech MLMs not sell online?
This is obviously not true across the whole industry, but in general, MLMs don't sell their opportunity online and and all those who adopt low-tech MLM attitude are in the same case.
2 Examples: Herbalife and DubLi
Protectionism vs. Brand Identity
Herbalife protects it's brand by imposing it's distributors a certain number of rules to follow when it comes to publishing, marketing web sites and in general the way Distributors have to represent Herbalife. DubLi does the same and so do most MLMs. This is an understandable and logic rule, however in contradiction with the nature of MLM per se.
Part of the earning potential of MLM opportunities is linked to the fact that the MLM company often does not spend or only in a limited way on marketing, public image and global brand promotion: Herbalife decided for the first time about a significant Communication Budget in 2002 or 2003! During the first 20 years the idea was that the distributors spend on marketing which leads to the fact that no homogeneous Corporate Image is created as every Distributor, being Independent, builds his personalized version of the Business Image.
Online marketing is somewhat different from offline marketing in as much as you reach a global audience. If a distributor builds a negative image and gets high visibility on Google, then all distributors and ultimately the Business as a whole will suffer.
You may hold that eBay too is protecting its brand and imposing harsh rules on their Partners; that's true, however, eBay has been the largest Advertiser on Google for years and as an eBay Partner you don't have the MLM Handicap and pay a license fee for being allowed to promote the Company's business and profit from increased earning potential due to MLM leverage.
MLMs tend to neglect the product marketing and focus on Networking, whereas it is assumed that in the end most of the members of the network will be the consumers of the product; the proportion of Networkers/Consumers is extremely high in MLMs while on comparable non MLM companies it's exactly the inverse.
Take eBay: less than 100 000 partners for 200+ million of Consumers! In Herbalife I would assume that 90% or so are Networker/Consumers.
The Problem for Distributors
As a distributor you want to promote an opportunity with a clean image. The first reflex is Google: what does Google return on the name of the opportunity you promote?
If you look at online pros like eBay or Google, they monopolize the top 20-50 positions of their brand name. If you look at the low-techies, they believe by being restrictive and protective they build a positive image without however investing into what it takes to protect their brand and brand perception efficiently.
Example: Check out eBay or Google vs. Herbalife or DubLi
eBay and Google are in control of their name. Herbalife and DubLi are not. Why? Probably because the two MLMs have a low-tech marketing and branding plan and or they are not ready to spend the money necessary to build their online image daily.
MLMs have a problem and that's the public controversy about the legality and legitimacy of MLM. It is therefore extremely difficult to build a 100% clean top 10 on Google.
Take Herbalife: if you search Herbalife, you get 30% to 40% negative entries, and surprisingly on DubLi you get the same since DubLi has gone after Associates who have been using Domain names including the word DubLi.
In MLM it is a typical pattern, that business opportunities cannot be successfully promoted using the business name; it's all based on pre-selling and that's true off-line and online, or have you ever seen an add: Join my Herbalife MLM Business?
Distributors or Associates are handicapped: the name protection on domains works to the largest extent only in-house where the company has a certain power over its network and imposes more or less restrictive rules. How about people who are not associate with the brand?
Distributors using Brand related domains to get easier on top of Google are usually enthusiasts, publishing a heck of a lot of positive stuff about the company and best of all: they occupy space on Google.
It's a lot easier to get on Google's top if you post an article at scam.com or such like. It's easier to post negative stuff and get visibility and it's easier to harm a reputation rather than to build it.
After the big flop in 2003 and having frustrated most of it's successful online business builders, Herbalife had about completely abandoned online Network Building except may be for some team leaders (Presidents) who stimulate their troops to waste their money on Google Ads (it's not a waste to spend on Google Ads but it needs to be done in sufficient numbers to get a personal result; otherwise you are just a water carrier for your uplines, who will get the cumulated result of all those small budgets and you are just part of someone else's success).
As a Distributor you are handicapped by your company and maybe one should suggest one day a fresh concept for MLMs who wish to build their business online; the low-tech approach does not work as the last 8 years prove.
Why you must hide the MLM Business Opportunity's Name?
The reason is simple: first because most any MLM suffers from a mixed profile and image, partially caused by the negative perception MLM gets in widely published circles and partially because the perceivable online reputation of these companies' business opportunities is mixed as well, to say the least.
The general transparency online does not allow promotional transparency unless the Company is in control of its brand and name online, which is costly and requires professionalism; why do you think big companies spend 10thousands per month to build and maintain only their perceivable online image?
The mixed reputation of MLM as such makes things more difficult: take a DubLi Competitor Swoopo for example, two years back known as Telebid; they are not an MLM but they had from the beginning an affiliate program. So, they have not to carry the burden of the reputation as an MLM Company. Swoopo is heavily advertising it's auctions on TV, on very popular channels, daily and in prime time. They spend the money on customer acquisition for their platform and they have the money since they don't have to distribute it throughout an MLM network, counting on Associates to market the company's image.
Herbalife to a certain extent has the same problem and it took them 27 or 28 years to finally throw a lot of money at Celebrity based Marketing. How long will it take Herbalife to get a positive public perception online? Frankly, I don't know but for the time being I cannot see a big difference, rather some Articles about David Beckham where the fans don't understand his association with Herbalife.
In fact: Herbalife or DubLi are not any worse than their competitors, to the contrary, but for online purposes they have the handicap of being an MLM.
eBay and Swoopo both did something similar: they outsourced the Affiliaite Program. Until recently eBay was the largest customer of Commission Junction. Swoopo has a similar structure. These companies focus on their core business which is their market place and don't have to worry about a network. The reputation of the Affiliate Program, Manager such as Commission Junction inspires confidence, much more than a new company or its website.
I don't say that the do-it-your-self method does not work, but in the end it's costlier and more difficult.
You are a Networker or an affiliate Marketer
What applies to companies applies to you. If you are in an environment where you have to pre-sell, then your reputation is what's actually selling. It means that your prospects must have trust and respect your authority in the concerned matter. They believe you, not the Company you are promoting. They thank you for a good deal and they blame you if and when things turn sour.
Number one therefore: build your reputation.
Number two: associate your name and home business to companies who can live up to that reputation.
Number three: the MLM or Affiliate program is your Hen with the Golden Eggs; your behavior will build or harm the company's reputation. Once you have decided to market and to promote the products and opportunity from a company called XYZ, contribute to the positive public online perception, mainly by publishing. And don't forget, you must publish where the readers are, where people are looking for information. Scam com and similar seem to be better at the task than networks and networkers.
Your Claim as a Distributor or Associate
In as much as you are handicapped by the Company and eventually by the MLM connection, you have a due claim against the Company, that it does everything possible to keep a clean reputation and to invest into that reputation; after all, you have paid a license fee. Have you ever read in General Terms about the Company's obligation and responsibility in this respect when it comes to the online public image?
For further reference you may read selection criteria for your Affiliate Programs in YAM Affiliate Mastery.
The Solution:
Read our other articles about Marketing, Publishing, Branding and how to build your Reputation at http://yorgoopublishing.com.
Join YORGOO's daily calls and work with us together on your online profile.
Spend money on selling YOUR-self and YOUR business rather than on selling third party business.
Ycademy the online Business Education and Development Center for small business is a great training ground and a place where you get the real stuff from real people who have been building real success for years and who have a visible online track record - how is that for a change?
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