USANA Health Sciences becomes offical supplier for Women's Tennis Association

WTA Tour Signs On With Vitamin Supplier - New York Times - Larry Scott, the chief executive of the WTA Tour, said "the WTA Tour chose Usana, a company that has been manufacturing supplements for athletes since 1992, because it has worked with elite athletes and adheres to strict quality control."

Arbonne: You Can't Beat Positive Press Like This

Direct seller touts personal care goods - 08/23/06 - The Detroit News Online
- Very positive article about Arbonne and the direct selling and network marketing industry in general. "The direct selling business has seen 20 years of consecutive growth and customers appreciate the one-on-one attention and chance to try the products in a more private setting than a department store, said Amy Robinson, a [Direct Selling Association] spokeswoman."

USANA Stock Recommended

USANA Health Sciences stock recommended by Erik Dellith of Reuters.com due to the company's strong gains and prospects for future sustained growth.

Before Mary Kay and Tupperware, Madam C.J. Walker Went Knocking

Yahoo! Financial News - Direct Selling Association (DSA) honors African-American Madam C.J. Walker who pioneered one of the first direct selling companies and advanced the lives of many oppressed Black women in the 1890's and early 1900's.

FreeLife - Goji - Free Publicity

Goji juice guru Mindell to pay visit to Dorval - Although the article is a bit critical at times, what a great way to publicize your business: FreeLife distributors Jennifer Birnie and Patrick Villeneuve even had their FreeLife website included.

A guest appearance by your company's owner or other representative is a great time to contact journalists to notify them of the event. Smaller, local newspapers are best suited for this type of article.

The Goji article appeared in a Quebec newspaper, The Chronicle, "The Voice of Montreal West Island."

Trouble for Ameriplan

Discount card provider shut down: Montana Forum
- Apparently Ameriplan sold it's discount card to Montana residents even though there was only one provider in the entire state who accepted the card. Promoting the business opportunity was also problematic since a biz opp without a product, which was the case for Ameriplan in Montana, is a pyramid scheme.

However, as is often the case, there is another side to the story. Check out this thread on the mlm.com forum to gain a balanced perspective.

WAHM.com Message Boards: Mentoring For Free?

Informative thread regarding Michael Dloughy's Mentoring For Free program, started by Arbonne Consultant Casandra. I do have a post in the thread referencing my Mentoring For Free review. But also see the helpful perspectives from Isagenix distributor Rhonda Peterson and Isagenix distributor Rhonda Donahoe, and Liberty League representative Tony Rush.

Blog Directories List - Have You Submitted Your Blog?

Helpful thread at WAHM.com on blog directories. It contains lists of directories and links to even more lists. There's also some discussion of the "how to's" of blogging.

I posted a comment to the thread, which includes some advice for successful blogging, mainly for beginners:

The most important aspect of a blog is to offer your readers value on a regular basis, daily if possible, or at least 2-3 times a week. Value can mean different things:

1. Well-written opinions on topics of interest--often controversial but supported by facts and strong reasoning
2. Tips, techniques, strategies for success
3. Humor
4. "Inside" information, not found elsewhere and/or compiling a collection of insider information from other sources about a carefully defined subject
5. Alerting readers to valuable resources you have discovered
6. Giving visitors an additional reason to subscribe to your blog's RSS feed so they return often. See my sig file for an example.

This is the sig file:
__________________
Mark Worthen, Psy.D.
877-349-1726
"Who Else Wants a Free Link to Their Distributor Website?"

Retailing vs. Direct-to-Consumer Sales

I wrote the following on a discussion forum. It highlighted the importance of defining one's terms as I and the gentleman with whom I was debating were using the term "retailing" differently:

I think we are using the term, "retail sales" and "retailing" differently. Perhaps I should use the term, "direct-to-consumer sales" or something like that because I agree with you that the companies we are discussing do not sell their products in retail outlets.

Mary Kay is not sold alongside Clinique in Nordstroms--you can only purchase Mary Kay from a Consultant. So in that sense, Mary Kay does not allow retailing but they do emphasize direct-to-consumer sales via their independent representatives (Consultants).

And I agree that one does not have to become a Mary Kay or Pampered Chef Consultant to purchase their products. But the same is true for many "traditional" MLM companies. As a result of the court decision I referenced earlier, many companies have developed "preferred customer" programs that enable consumers to purchase products at the same wholesale price as distributors without having to become a distributor.

While you cite some companies, Melaleuca, Life Force International, and Sportron, which want everyone to become a distributor, there are many more companies with customer programs, e.g., the company I represent, USANA, along with (if my memory serves me correctly) Amigo, Freelife, Pharmanex, Reliv, Isagenix, Shaklee, Mannatech, Young Living, Xango, and Herbalife.

I think it's a matter of degree. Some companies, particularly the "party plan" companies, emphasize more direct-to-consumer sales, while the ones you mentioned want everyone to become a distributor. The nutritional MLM's I mentioned in the previous paragraph are somewhere in the middle. They may have customer programs but they differ in how easy it is for a customer to order without the assistance of a distributor and the extent to which they try to persuade customers to become distributors.

Mannatech - Great Product Testimonial from Professional Baseball Coach

London Free Press - Other Sports - Recovered coach plans payback tourney

The article in the London Free Press, a Canadian newspaper, referring to the former professional baseball player and coach:

Two weeks after being released from hospital, there were no plans for dialysis as had been felt necessary. He was on no medication. He didn't even have a doctor's appointment and he was getting around with a walker. Muir put faith in supplements he began taking, supplements supplied by Mannatech, of which MannaRelief is an arm. "My body began healing itself," he said.

If you are interested in the Mannatech business opportunity, visit the Best MLM Opportunities Mannatech Distributors listing.

Discovery Toys - Ila Jean Traudt Earns Promotion - PR.com

Ila Jean Traudt is a Discovery Toys Educational Consultant who provides an excellent example of how to announce your next rank advancement using a press release.

Use Ms. Traudt's example to model your own well-written, professional press release that provides "third-party" validation--even though it's written by you!

More information about the Discovery Toys opportunity can be obtained from Ms. Traudt or from distributors listed in our Discovery Toys Educational Consultants Directory

Mary Kay - Nigerian Fashion Expert Promotes Mary Kay Cosmetics

Vanguard - Columns : I’m mild with jewelry— Uche Alachebe - Nigerian newspaper article about an exclusive fashion and beauty store in Festac Town, Nigeria. The owner is also a Mary Kay Consultant. The fact that there even is a Mary Kay Consultant in Nigeria is evidence for how far-reaching the Mary Kay business has become and why it's ranked #2 on the Most Popular MLM Companies list.

Webcast Alert: Reliv International (Nasdaq: RELV) Announces Second Quarter 2006 Earnings Call Webcast: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Webcast Alert: Reliv International (Nasdaq: RELV) Announces Second Quarter 2006 Earnings Call Webcast: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Shaklee Corporation Donates Nearly $600,000 Worth of Nutrition Products To Vitamin Angel Alliance

FinanceVisor reports on the donation by Shaklee Corporation, a leading network marketing company, listed as one of the Best MLM Opportunities.