Many mlm companies offer a company website for their distributors.  Some of these websites are quite impressive with interactive tools, information about your business opportunity and of course, the ability for customers to make their purchases online.  These kind of websites are called "replicated websites."  In other words, all the distributors' sites look and behave in the same way.  The distributor cannot go in and edit the information.

A company website is great for the convenience of your customers.  Problem is, it doesn't help you to obtain those customers.  When the customer searches on the web for company xyz.com, one of two things will happen:

1.  The company may sell product to them directly or,

2. The company forwards that customer to the website of one of its distributors according to geographical proximity.

My first mlm was a big enterprise, and I live in the same city as corporate headquarters.  There are thousands and thousands of distributors out there.  I had the site for 8 months before the first customer was referred to me, and it may well be another 8 months or more before I get another.  That ain't gonna pay the bills!

What's the solution?  Develop a web presence that is yours.  You can do this by social marketing, blogs, or build your own website.  It isn't as difficult as it sounds.  The point is that you can develop a relationship with your future customers and/or downline by presenting yourself as a knowledgeable expert in your field. 

 Most mlms will not allow you to mention their name or products on the web.  But that's ok, because you don't want to be specific about your product or service  at first. Do not fill your website with ads for your opportunity.  Instead, give useful information.  Put yourself in your target audience's shoes and imagine what their problems might be, or questions they may have.  Then provide the information they are looking for on your site.  As they come to respect your opinion, they'll be willing and wanting to learn more.   And that's when you will begin to build traffic! 

For a relatively easy website at a low cost, you can go to GoDaddy, which is also a great place to buy domain names.  For a more extensive program, try SiteBuildIt.  It will take more time to get your website up - it took me about six weeks to really get it going, but you are given every thing you could possibly need to know.  You are given step by step instructions on how to write your articles, which keywords to use and exactly where to place them.  If you place a link on your site incorrectly, you will get an email notifying you of the broken link.  Not only are there guides and tutorials, but there are forums on every conceivable topic, where SBIers can get answers to their questions.  The tracking system is already built in, as are ready-made templates, for those who do not wish to create their own.  For an example, go to my site at www.skin-you-love.com or www.how-to-market-guide.com.  Your domain name is included when you buy SBI, so if you think you'll go this route, hold off on getting one.

When you have your own website, you can add a link in the appropriate place to your company site where the customer can purchase.  Or you may choose to sell directly from your site.  I drive traffic to my company site by providing a small discount to people who link to the company site from my Skin You Love site. 

So, remember, replicated company websites are good for sales, not attracting customers.  Your own website can both attract customers and drive that traffic to your company site.  Or, you can keep them on your site and sell from there by setting up a virtual "store."  Do you absolutely have to have a website?  No.  You can get a lot of mileage out of social networking and blogs.  But if you are serious about building your business, a website is probably in your future!