The cold hard fact is that 95% or more of those who attempt network marketing (MLM) fail miserably. On the other hand, there are certainly many who do achieve success, and sometimes succeed massively. What do they know that enables them to eliminate MLM failure? What do they do differently from the vast majority?

Here are the four key elements of a proven success model for eliminating network marketing failure:

1. Choose an ideal network marketing opportunity.

Select an MLM that offers a clearly great product or service, along with a top level support system, and one that has proven “staying power”. There are literally thousands of MLM opportunities out there and it is essential that you conduct thorough due diligence measuring against these essential criteria of “must haves” for the opportunity you finally select:

The actual product or service offered must be of critical need and in very high demand by a large number of people.
The actual “value proposition” for the offering must be clear and indisputable.
The tools and training needed to support your selling and team building efforts must be exceptional and easily accessible.
The commission plan must generous. A good example is one that is structured with a minimum 50% commission on first order direct sales that you make and at least 20% on recurring sales. You should also get a minimum of 20% matching commission on direct sales by your direct recruits plus 5% of all sales from those in your downline network.
Finally, choose a company with a proven long term track record for delivering clear value and service
2. Do not expect to “get rich quick”.
This just does not happen in real life, regardless of the sales hype. Just as for any business, network or distributive marketing requires very hard and smart work. Expect to put in a lot of time as well as up front monetary investment to get your feet on the ground.

3. Never expect “spillover” to make you money.

So many opportunities, or those who promote them, hype the “guarantee” of profits or the passing down of profits from those who have recruited you to make you money. While this can happen in a very few cases, you will certainly fail if you expect it to happen in yours. You must expect to rely entirely on your own personal marketing efforts, and the effectiveness of the organization that you recruit and personally train to achieve any significant monetary success.

4. Select an upline sponsor whom you have come to know, like and trust.

When you join a new opportunity, or start a new business venture, it is essential that you have a mentor in whom you have confidence, and from whom you can expect to get high value training and consultation. Always make personal contact by phone, or via audio video conference before your final decision to find out exactly where you stand in the mind of your sponsor. Network marketing is exactly that, marketing through a network. Your personal network will either make or break you.

This article will show what you can do with your marketing messages so that it is easier for the customer to digest the information. It may take a little more work on your part, but you are not the one making the purchase. Read on to find out what you can do to keep more eyeballs glued to your copy.

When you are sending out a direct marketing message, whether it’s a sales letter, an email, a postcard, or anything else, you need to make sure that it’s easy for the customer to digest. A sale is such a fragile thing that you don’t want any bumps in the road.

I am surprised at the amount of guru-level email marketers that make people click a link to continue on to a blog post so they can get the rest of the message. It may for a few posts, but most customers will just get annoyed and unsubscribe. People are not just sitting at home and waiting for your next marketing message to them.

Therefore, you need to make it easy on the customer. Send them a whole email with very short sentences. Keep the reading level simple and easy to understand like a conversation between friends. Say exactly what you need to say, but don’t be overly wordy. There is a time for long copy, but not in your emails and other periodic marketing.

You only have seconds to engage your prospect’s attention. Add some curiosity to the headline or subject line. Do something that makes the person stop and say “hmmmm, I wonder what that’s all about” just long enough to open your marketing piece. Don’t give away the whole sale in the headline, just enough to spark interest.

If you watch your format and you deliver the simplest, most compelling direct marketing message possible, you can really increase your closing rate in a short amount of time.

Joshua Black is an on-line infopreneur, marketing consultant, copywriter and educator dedicated to helping the bootstrapping small business owner succeed.

Visit his flagship resource site for entrepreneurs at [http://www.UnderdogMillionaire.com] for the free Underdog Millionaire Wealth Pack: including a free e-book and daily wealth building tips for the bootstrapping small business owner in the areas of sales, marketing, motivation, product creation and more.

When you launch a postcard marketing campaign, your primary goal is to get recipients to respond immediately. Ideally, you want them to open their mailbox, see your postcard, and get on the phone/web right away.

But of course the vast majority of your recipients aren’t going to respond immediately. Think about it: when was the last time you got a direct-mail postcard and ran to your phone to contact the company right away? Probably never, right?

That’s why your postcard marketing should always have a backup plan — a way to ensure that your recipients keep the postcard, so they can respond later. After all. you don’t want them to lose it or accidentally throw it away.

One of the best ways to achieve this goal is to include a detachable business card directly within your postcards. Especially in B2B postcard marketing, detachable business cards are a great way to boost response by enabling your customers to hold onto your contact information. The business cards are simply a perforated section of your postcard, so customers can easily detach it, put it in their wallets, and throw away the rest of the postcard if they choose. Not only that, but detachable business cards look professional and will impress your clients and customers. In fact, they can be designed to look just like your regular business cards.

If you’re planning on using detachable postcards with your next postcard marketing campaign, here are some quick tips to keep in mind.

1) Consider your audience first. Remember, your primary goal is to get people to respond immediately. Accordingly, detachable business cards are often better suited for campaigns that don’t promote a special offer (Although, there are exceptions. See tip #4). For example, if you’re offering a huge sale than ends this weekend, the last thing you want is for people to be putting your business card in their wallets and not finding it again until next week. But if you’re introducing your company to another business or client, it’s a great way to make sure they’ll remember you for quite a while.

2) List your services on your business card. Make sure your business card reminds your customers/clients of what you do, so they remember why they kept your business card in the first place. You’d be surprised at how easily people forget.

3) Make sure your contact information is on the business card. Even if you’ve printed your phone number or URL 50 times on the postcard itself, you absolutely must place it on the detachable business card too. If your customers throw out the rest of the card, this will be the only way for them to know how to contact you.

4) Include a promotion. Your detachable business card doesn’t have to be a boring, traditional business card with just your name and contact info. If there’s any promotion you can offer, slap it on the card so that your recipients will be even more enticed to respond.

When I say Become a REAL Network Marketing Leader I don’t simply mean build a large organization. In the Direct Sales industry your success is in direct relation to the quality of your leadership. If you can go out and recruit hundreds of people, that’s fantastic. However, you need to keep in mind that you will benefit 10 fold if you position yourself as a REAL leader.

A leader is someone who has more intent on you becoming a success than themselves. Now at first glance this seems to be some of the same song and dance you always hear when you begin in this industry. Yes, we all know that leveraging other people’s efforts is one of the greatest attributes this industry has to offer. However, what I’m really talking about is having the same sense of urgency for your team’s goals as they do. Take your focus off of yourself and begin to help your team achieve their dreams. Not only will your goals happen during the process but it will be that much more rewarding in the end.

Normally a leader works more than the rest. Not necessarily in or on the business, but also on themselves. Constantly checking themselves to make sure that what they are doing is not only for the highest good of themselves, but of everyone else involved. It’s easy for people to get caught up in the day to days of business and forget what they are really trying to accomplish. To become a REAL Network Marketing Leader it is on you to help your team stay focused on WHY they started this journey.

There will be times of frustration. This is common amongst Leaders. Frustration can simply be a sign that what you are trying to do is not working. This is where we lose most people, but not you! This is when a REAL leader takes a step back and figures out another strategy. Chances are you are not effectively communicating with others and you feel they should just, “Get it!” Trust me, this is the Kiss of Death and a sure fire way to build a business on your own. It’s time for you to really make changes in yourself to be the person others can come to because you can maintain a focus on the end result for everyone. Snoop Dogg may have said it best when he said, “I’ve Paid the Cost to be The Boss.”

When you Become a REAL Network Marketing Leader you will give everything you’ve got. I don’t mean time, money, resources, calls, etc. I mean you will teach everyone how to do exactly what you do. Some people have a really hard time with this. Saying things like, “If I teach them everything, won’t they steal my ideas and move past me!?” This is NOT the mindset of a Leader. Actually this is still the mindset of someone who’s stuck in Corporate America where everyone is after #1, themselves. In this industry and in life, the more you give the more you get back in return.

If you think you’re ready to take it to the top it’s time to Let Go! Let go of the fear, let go of the excuses and let go of any past thoughts and actions that are keeping you where you are. It’s time to Become a REAL Network Marketing Leader by giving of yourself and others to truly start to shine. I hope this helps you on your Journey in this great industry. Until next time, Happy Marketing!