Best answer:

Answer by Mark Hodgetts
It depends what the membership site is offering – if all it is offering is a money line or a pyramid scheme – it is illegal, if it offers advice, training, eBooks etc to members only then it may be legal depending upon the value that the site offers.

There are many instances of membership sites that are nothing more than Ponzi schemes and yet other membership sites offering real value and service are perfectly legitimate websites

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Expanding your MLM recruiting efforts into international markets with books and products will mean that language and translation will be one of many challenges. As well you will need to do market research, finding ways to distribute and perhaps even dealing with legal and banking problems.

Regardless of all these things, don’t make translation unimportant or you won’t get very far. Reports out of the U. S. State Department say that in general U. S. businesses may lose $50 billion in possible sales due to poor translations. This number could include your MLM business. If you are trying to market with a translation that is inaccurate or culturally unsuitable, you will be dead in the water.

By using accurate translations you will communicate a high quality representation of your products or services and leverage your marketing message.

So just how do you get accurate translations? Not with computer-generated translations. It’s not smart to use computer-generated translations for your marketing messages as they just don’t do a good enough job and your information looks unprofessional to native speakers.

Finding a competent translation service can be difficult because there are literally thousands of them and the industry is unregulated. As well, unless you speak the language yourself you won’t be able to judge the quality of the translation. Expanding you MLM marketplace through translation does need not to be limited to your local area. Translations can be sent by e-mail, and usually you can contact the translator by phone. You might find it easier to work with a company based in your own country however. Most translation services will give you a free price quote for your situation.

Check list for finding competent translation:

1. Will your project be handled by a native speaker? Someone fluent in the language may do fine but only those native to the language have the exact feel for it. Translations done by native speakers make your translations sound natural to your market.

2. Will your project be handled by someone who knows your industry? If the translator does not understand terms the outcome could be incorrect.

3. Will your project be handled by someone who works from their native country? If you work with a translation company that has people located in your country of choice, your translations will be up to date and linguistically and culturally correct.

4. In what file Format will your project be delivered? Make sure you use a translation service that works with the same file formats you use to avoid a problem. As well be sure that the company’s technology is up to date in case there are revisions at a later time.

5. Ask what the Quality Assurance procedures are and if your project is checked before it’s sent out.

6. Ask for references to others that the company has done work for. Contact references and ask if they were satisfied with the translation company’s services.

After you have chosen a translation service, work closely with them to ensure the quality of your project. However, don’t get into a ‘rush’ situation as this risks project quality. Be sure that your source material is well written and offer as much background material as needed to help the translator understand your product and learn your business terms. As well, it’s good to be available for questions during your MLM translation project. That way there’s no guessing to meet deadlines.

Expanding your marketplace through translation can open new avenues of revenue, but it must be done accurately.

You know that spending time with qualified and quality people is going to be integral to your mlm success. It’s not always easy to find good people; let alone people who will stick with a program long enough to be successful.

As far as I’m concerned there is no fool proof way to definitively know if someone is a good recruit for your business or not. There are, however, ways to increase your chances. Your best and most qualified recruits will probably be your own customers.

Meaning, people that have actually purchased an upfront retail product from you are your best leads. A recruit who purchases an informational, how-to product from you is a very highly qualified MLM recruit.

That person valued your information enough to actually pay for it. As long as your content is solid, the recruit could be very qualified. A lot of MLM lead generation systems out there teach you to promote affiliate products as a “funded proposal” to generate leads. This is a good method for all those new to or getting started with attraction marketing. However, when you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and become a recruiting magnet, consider creating your own information product. Having your own information product elevates your recruiting and status in a number of measurable ways.

(1)You’ll be positioned as even more of an expert. Not only do you have your own content, but you are charging people for your content. This is what professional consultants and business people do. Can you imagine the perception you would have with your recruits?

(2)You’ll put more money into your pocket which you can use to expand your business.

You could purchase additional trainings, buy more ads; hire a coach and any number of things to help you expand. MLM recruiting is always thought of as a single focus approach to building a downline. The dowline is an important aspect of your business.

What if we were to think outside the box a little bit? What if we thought of our downline recruits as long-term customers who might buy other success-related products from us.

I mean, they are interested in what you have to offer right? Not everyone will be interested in joining your downline and that’s ok. If you’ve gotten them onto your email list, you can offer a variety of different products and services to help them in their business. These could take the shape of self-help products, marketing products, affiliate products, consulting services, or even joint ventures. Customers on your email list are your best mlm recruits not only for you downline, but for your entire business model.

It’s much easier to sell an existing customer rather than a new. If you look at your mlm as just one of your income streams, you can see that recruiting people for other purposes can be very beneficial for you. You’ll be able to achieve long-term success and build your brand of one.