Truth in Advertising, revisited

Back in September I posted a short article on Truth in Advertising. After reading an article today written by Vern How Chan [1], I felt the need to expand my original article and while I don’t like to promote my own business in my blog environment I can no longer sit back while others misrepresent what our product is or is not.

My primary business is as an independent distributor for Scent Sations who makes Mia Bella Candles. If you don’t live under a rock you have probably heard of our products. If you have looked for a home business you have probably seen a multitude of advertisements and websites promoting our products.

This is where the problem has taken deep root. Our candles are not Soy Candles, but you will see them advertised as a Soy Candle at just about every level of distributor from the bottom all the way up to our top distributors.

Technically for a candle to be a “Soy Candle” it must contain 25% soy wax which ours do not. Clearly many of our distributors are told in the recruiting process that our candles are made of soy as that is what is reflected on the different distributor’s personal websites but it simply is not the truth.

Another common claim about our candles is that they are “Healthier” than paraffin (or other types) candles. Again this is not true and no solid research has been done to back up this claim. Our candles defiantly burn cleaner than any other candle I’ve used, but that doesn’t mean they are “healthier” than other candles.

In the early days of my business I also made this claim because it was the information I was given by my sponsor and upline. It is an unsubstantiated claim and could be construed as medical advice which crosses a dangerous line in any industry. My marketing strategy has evolved as my knowledge base has grown and I have corrected my advertising efforts to reflect my products in a truthful light.

In an effort to make sure that I was marketing our products with accuracy I emailed our VP of Marketing about our products with some pointed statements about our product line. My request was for him to confirm or deny my statements, here’s what I got back:

Our candles are not a “soy” candle

We have not promoted our candle as a soy candle since 2001 when we were a soy candle....ever since we have kept the information updated on the websites and the company materials...

Our Candles are made from “vegetable wax”

From Carmen[2]: soy, palm and other natural waxes are called vegetable wax in the trade...we use a vegetable wax blend....if there is any soy in that blend, its a very small blend...we prefer to say there is no soy

Our candles do not contain “beeswax”

Because of the mystery that is wiping out about 70% of the bee population in the USA which has consequences more dire than global warming or terrorism, beeswax is not in our current formula, actually, that is a positive for many vegetarians who wont burn beeswax

Distributors should not make health claims about our candles, i.e. “healthier” than other candles

Correct.....we are now a big and growing company ..we must be very careful of wording that could be construed as a medical claim

Distributors should not promote our candles as a longer burning candle as the burn times of any candle is subjective to environmental conditions and there is no conclusive testing that has been done to prove this statement on behalf of our candle products.

That is correct

With the exception of the beeswax and the burn times of our candles I had been marketing ethically by providing my prospects and customers with the truth about what our candles are and what they do. I have made the adjustments in my advertisements to reflect the new information about both beeswax and burn times.

I am very proud of the gourmet candles that I represent as an independent distributor. It is a stand alone product in the candle industry because of it’s ability to burn clean and it simply smells better than any candle I’ve ever used.

The result of my not using the buzz words and misinformation in my ad campaigns has affected the growth of my team. I recruited many more distributors when I was providing the wrong information, however it is my firm belief that marketing honestly and not using buzz words to describe my products has enabled me to build a very firm foundation for my business.
Providing my team of distributors with accurate information and solid leadership based on facts and not hype will in turn make my team strong and profitable in the long haul.

[1] Read Vern’s Review of Scent Sations and Mia Bella Candles
[2] Carmen is our Master Chandler

Do You Provide Tools to your Team or just Affiliate Links that put Cash in your pocket?

Clearly affiliate marketing is important in the big picture of what we do as Internet Marketers, but is your bottom line to milk every extra penny for every tool you refer your downline to, or to provide tools that will help your team?

I've struggled with this one early in my MLM business, but finally decided that my bottom line was providing my team with every resource I have available regardless of how much affiliate money it put into my pocket.

When I started my business I didn't realize how much money could be generated from affiliate marketing. That changed quickly with my AWeber account. But referring my team members to this affiliate isn't always the best option for them.

I'm fortunate that early on I found some tools that I was able to pay a flat fee for and then provide my team with a few key tools that they could use to promote their business. It was a pretty simple program that provided them with a url rotator, ad tracker and a web page that they could use as their landing page.

I would give these tools to my team to help them get started without having to reach into their pockets and the tools have been well received by my team members.

Over the years these programs have been improved and now include many more very useful tools at no cost to the people I refer to the program. The system now includes a fully functional Autoresponder which has been a stumbling block for my team members on a budget.

Yes I realize that $20 a month isn't much for me, but if I had a couple of kids at home it would be.

I've been criticized and asked if I was setting up a "welfare mentality" with the free tools I provide and I even was asked if what I was doing was "duplicatable". Forgive me, but the ability to duplicate something isn't really what "my" business is about. It's another one of those old school marketing techniques that sound great but in reality work for only a few.

So as the release of the new program was announced providing a multitude of awesome online tools including an advertising module, I had to decide how to present it to my team. It was clear that the best thing to do was give it to them and let them decide for themselves if it was a system they wanted to use.

I did let them know if they were currently using other resources to keep those in place until they had evaluated the new program. Doing this allows my team members to have the tools they need for their Internet marketing without having to dig into their pockets to pay for the tools. It also meant that I would lose some of my affiliate money each month, but the bottom line is always to provide the best tools at the best price for my team. What I will gain in their own business growth by them using the free tools will far outweigh the small affiliate commissions I lost.

And then there's the obvious...

The less they have to spend on websites, autoresponders, advertising and other things, the more money they have available to buy product which they can sell and put money into their pocket as well as my pocket. Win Win.

If you are curious about what I provide my team members use the banner to check it out. No money goes into my pocket by promoting this program.

Marketing Responsibly on the Internet – Social Networking

Now that Social Networking has wrapped it’s arms around the Internet I’m seeing more spam originating from these networks landing in my email box.

My frustration level with these newbie marketers has grown to a point that now I’m turning the tables on them.

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 clearly states that using deceptive emails in order to “pitch” your opportunity is in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act yet for some reason these social networkers think that if you reply to their email, they are in compliance.

Social Networking certainly has it’s place in today's world of electronic marketing, but it isn’t in my mailbox and I’ll venture to guess that it’s not in your mailbox either.

Clearly for those looking for home business ideas or an online business opportunity, a social network could provide them with a plethora of information. But no more information than if they had used Google or Yahoo.

How many of you have received a request for information about your business that looks like this:

Hello,

I am requesting more info on your business ad and how it works. Is an investment required?

Looking forward to hearing more.

Name of Sender
Email of Sender

The first few I got I took the time to answer that question in a thoughtful manner only to get this:

Thank you for the email. I am screening people who have home businesses that would like free advertising in what is the “My Space” for business people. I am associated with many thousands of networking professionals that may also be interested in your offer.

You are invited to post a free profile on my site. And I will send some business contacts your way.

Many serious entrepreneurs, from around the world, will view your contact and business information.
http://www.directmatches.com/XXXXX

Join for free… Advertise for free in The Business Directory.

“As relationships mature, incomes grow.”

Name of Sender
Email of Sender

Clearly I’m not a social networker. I did not start a home base business so that I could grow relationships. I started my business so I could earn money.

So how have I turned the tables? Quite simply. When I receive these requests for information, I reply with a short note that directs them to my website to fill out my Auto Responder form. I tell them that because I am in 100% compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 that this is the best method for them to learn more about my business.

This usually is enough to stop the spam but not always, so I added the CAN-SPAM Act to my website and direct them there. Their curiosity usually gets them onto my website.

Because they have requested information about my business I am now also in compliance with the act and can send them my promotional emails. Technically I could add them to my list, but I don’t because I prefer to have a clean list of only people who have opted in because they are interested in my home based business.

If you are into Social Networking and using the types of techniques included in this article, wouldn’t your time be better spent doing things that actually drive traffic to your website or educating yourself on your chosen business instead of cruising online classified ads archives harvesting email address’s?

Like many multi level marketing business’s, my advertising budget is limited. I have to maximize each dollar I spend to achieve the maximum benefit for my business.

I make a conscious effort to ensure that each method I use in my promotion of my primary business has at least two functions. Showing that I am knowledgeable about my business and driving traffic to my site. Once they land on my site I’m able to build trust based on my knowledge.

This is a more productive way for me to build that “relationship” and by example they have the opportunity to learn how to earn money online with a home based business.

The email used in this article was an actual email that I received this month. Interestingly enough the email address it was sent to has never been used in any open ad campaigns for any of my business adverts, but only as an administrative contact.

MLM’s reputation has suffered over the years, however it is still the best opportunity for regular people to earn extra income or replace the income from their “JOB”. Lets give our newcomers the best chance of actually building a respectable business and lead them by example as well as provide them tools that work in today's electronic world.

Learn more about compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003