Coles and Woolies’ great big wine con

YOU might feel hip bringing your bottle of tempranillo to quaff at dinner tonight. But there’s a good chance you’ve been fooled by Coles or Woolies.

Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1REEBW9

The new Aussie liquid goldmine

WHAT is it about Australians and juice? The craze for fruit-and-vegetable concoctions seems to know no end, and our entrepreneurial minds are cashing in.

Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1LHGTCq

Macca’s backlash over ‘ghetto’ store

BURGER-LOVERS are not lovin’ a McDonald’s that underwent a trashy makeover — that makes it look vandalised. The “ghetto” design leaves a bad taste in their mouths.

Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1jY3IZF

Budgeting Software Showdown: Alternatives to Mint.com

Since its founding in 2006, Mint.com has grown from a small financial startup into a formidable personal finance tool with more than 15 million users. Acquired by Intuit in 2009, Mint has become the budgeting go-to for tech-savvy consumers who want a convenient place to manage their money on the go. You can use Mint via its website or apps made for iOS and Android devices.

Despite its massive following, however, Mint has some drawbacks. We’ll take a closer look at them in this article, and recommend a few alternatives in case your love affair with the site has cooled, or you simply want a service with a slightly different approach.

A Quick Overview of Mint.com

What can you do on Mint? If you’re unfamiliar with the site, here’s an overview of the main features:

• Stay on top of your budget: Mint lets you see where your money is going with a quick glance. Once you know your spending patterns, you can set up a budget to help you meet your goals, dialing back spending in one area to save in another.
• Free credit score: Your credit score can have a huge impact on your financial freedom, so it’s important to know where you stand. (Note, however, that the score you’ll get from Mint is not your FICO score, which is based on your credit reports from all three credit bureaus and is the one most lenders check. Mint’s score uses information from Equifax only.)
• Custom alerts: Mint can tip you off if you’re overspending, wasting too much money on ATM fees, or approaching an important bill due date. It can also let you know if there’s an unusual transaction that could be fraudulent.
• Pay bills: With Mint Bills, you can pay whomever you owe with a couple of clicks by hooking up a bank account or credit card.
• Track investments: Wherever you’ve stashed your money — 401(k)s, IRAs, mutual funds, brokerage accounts — you can see how it’s performing compared to market benchmarks. You can also keep an eye on fees and get advice on asset allocation.
• Track your net worth: Mint integrates all of your assets and debts to keep a running tally of your net worth — one of the best gauges of your overall financial progress. If you’re a homeowner, it will even factor in your home’s estimated value (via real estate website Zillow) and remaining mortgage debt.

How Mint.com Makes Money

It’s free to sign up for an account on Mint.com, and unlike many other competitors, there are no premium accounts that require a fee for you to unlock more features. Mainly, the site makes money when you sign up for some of the sponsored services it recommends, such as checking accounts, brokers, or credit cards. When you use these services, Mint.com gets a referral fee for being the middleman.

According to Investor Junkie, Mint.com has also recently started running banner ads, which are typically pay-per-click. The site also sells its deep pools of financial data to different providers, but it’s important to note that this information doesn’t contain users’ personal information — it is aggregate information about users’ financial habits on the whole.

Downsides of Mint.com

For a free service, Mint is fairly robust. But it’s aging — not gracefully, many say — and has some drawbacks that have sent some users searching for an alternative:

• Categorizing transactions can be clunky: Mint automatically funnels your transactions into categories such as entertainment, transportation, and food and dining. Unfortunately, the process is far from seamless and users say they often have to change where their transactions end up manually.
• Data synchronization hiccups: Many Mint users, including some here at The Simple Dollar, have had trouble keeping their various bank accounts synced with the service, sometimes experiencing lags of up to a week.
• Ads and suggested services: As we discussed above, this is how Mint keeps its services free. But some users complain that all the advice they receive on Mint is tied to a sponsored service.
• Weak investment feature: If you’ve invested any amount of money, you may be underwhelmed at Mint’s investments feature. Though you can see where your money is, you can’t do much with it since there is no way to manage asset allocation.
• Reporting isn’t that great: You can’t generate any reports or financial statements via Mint. The only functionality in this area is the ability to export transactions using a CSV file that you can open in Excel.
• Weak customer service: With a free product, customer service is typically one of the first areas to suffer, and several reviewers say Mint needs improvement here. If you need help, you can browse a community forum or fill out a Web form for a personalized response, which Mint says should come within 24 hours. There is also a chat feature. However, there is no phone support for immediate answers.
• Security fears: Mint.com touts its triple-layer security, which includes bank-grade 128-bit SSL data encryption and a mobile PIN. But the fact remains that when all of your financial data is laid bare and synched with the institutions themselves in one place, a cyber breach could be very damaging. You could also be liable for any losses, depending on whether your financial institutions prohibit you from sharing your account information with third-party sites.
• Lacks running register: Without a running register, you really don’t know exactly how much money you have at any given moment, since transactions take time to clear.

Alternatives to Mint.com

One of Mint’s longtime alternatives is Quicken, but its future is currently up in the air. Intuit announced in August that it would try to find a buyer for the well-known desktop-based personal finance software, once the bedrock of Intuit’s business. Mint, owned by Intuit, is well-positioned to snap up some of Quicken’s users, but it’s not as fully featured and (like most alternatives) doesn’t allow users to import Quicken data.

Fortunately, whether you’re jumping ship from Quicken or simply want a different feature set than Mint offers, there are a lot of alternatives. Here are three of the best:

CountAbout

CountAbout set out to specifically address some of the shortfalls of services such as Mint.com. For instance, it offers a running register balance, and it’s one of the few services that lets you import data from Quicken.

It uses a paid-subscription business model, so you won’t see any ads or be pitched any services. In addition, CountAbout pledges not to sell your data to anyone, and stores only your email address on its servers.

“CountAbout can import users’ historical Quicken data, so users can pick up with CountAbout where they left off with Quicken,” says Joseph M. Carpenter, CountAbout co-founder. “Additionally, since we are using Intuit (makers of Quicken and Mint) to connect our users to their financial institutions, any account that you can connect in Quicken or Mint can be connected in CountAbout.”

Here’s a sampling of CountAbout’s features:

• Track detailed budgeting and expenses
• Automatically download transactions
• Customize your spending and saving categories, searches, and reports
• Know exactly what you have with running register balances
• Easily import Quicken data
• No advertising, hidden fees, or forced upgrade charges

A basic CountAbout account will set you back $9.99 a year, while a premium version costs $29.99 a year. The difference between the two: With a basic account, you won’t get automatic downloading of banking, credit card, and other transaction information that you will with a premium account.

If you’re commitment-shy, you can try out a premium CountAbout account for free for 15 days. You can access CountAbout via its website or apps made for iOS and Android devices.

You Need a Budget

Like CountAbout, You Need a Budget (commonly known as YNAB) won’t pitch you products or show you ads. And because you don’t directly connect YNAB with your bank, security worries aren’t quite as apocalyptic.

However, the major difference between YNAB and Mint.com is YNAB’s more proactive focus on teaching users about how to better manage their money.

YNAB requires you to be a more active user than Mint, uploading transactions yourself. It uses a four-rule method to help you meet your financial goals, whether that’s digging yourself out of debt, living more within your means, or saving up for future expenses.

To that end, YNAB also offers up to three free webinars every day. Topics include a more detailed introduction to YNAB, budgeting, smart credit-card use, and adapting to your pay cycle.

Here’s a sampling of YNAB’s features:

• Automatically sync your account on all devices wherever there’s an Internet connection
• Reconciliation wizard lets you reconcile accounts so YNAB and bank balances match up
• Schedule repeating transactions such as paychecks and bills
• Easily split transactions into more than one category
• Generate reports on spending by category or payee; income versus expenses; and net worth

YNAB is a bit pricey at $60, but it’s a one-time purchase that gives you access on all of your mobile devices and household computers. If you want to try before you buy, you can use a fully featured demo for 34 days at no charge.

There is no cost to download YNAB’s mobile or tablet apps, but you’ll need to have either already purchased YNAB or have an active free trial to use them. You can access YNAB via its desktop program or apps made for iOS and Android devices.

Personal Capital

Mint.com might be robust enough for tracking day-to-day spending and saving, but it doesn’t offer much in the way of investment planning. If you’re looking for a tool that helps you step up your investment game, Personal Capital could be a good choice. It also has budgeting tools and bill reports to help you manage daily finances.

Here’s a sampling of Personal Capital’s features:

• Calculate your net worth based on your major assets and debts
• Analyze your investment account fees to see if you’re paying too much
• Run investment checkup to see improvements you can make to your portfolio to bump up returns without taking on too much risk
• See cash flow, account balances, spending, bills, and other crucial information on your personal dashboard

Personal Capital follows the common “freemium” business model — you get the base level service for free, but have to pay to upgrade for additional services. In this case, the basic budgeting tools are free, and it’s Personal Capital’s investment advisory services you’d need to pay for.

The price depends on how much is in your portfolio — most brokers, whether online or not, charge this way. For an account of up to $1 million, you’ll pay 0.89% of your account balance per year. If you invest more, fees drop to 0.79% for the first $3 million, 0.69% for the next $2 million, and 0.59% for the next $5 million. Got more than $10 million? You’ll pay 0.49%. You can access Personal Capital via its website or apps made for iOS and Android devices.

For a more complete picture, see our Personal Capital Review.

Find a Budgeting Tool You’ll Stick With

In the end, any of the budgeting services we’ve mentioned here are worthy competitors to Mint.com. Mint is certainly the juggernaut in this category, and though it’s showing its age, it still has a lot to offer — especially since it’s free.

If you need more help deciding on the best financial planning programs and apps, check out some of our past articles on the topic:

• Choosing a Budgeting System That’s Right for You
• 3 Apps for America’s Money Management Woes
• Best Debt Repayment Tools and Apps
• Startups to Help You save Money and Manage Your Finances
• How to Use Technology to Start Saving More

The post Budgeting Software Showdown: Alternatives to Mint.com appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Think You Can’t Afford to Buy a House? Bet You Didn’t Think of This Program

Are you having trouble trying to buy a house? Would you like to save up to $90,000 and get a brand-new home?

If you answered yes to these questions, Habitat for Humanity might be able to help you out.

You may think Habitat for Humanity is only for people living in poverty, or that they give away houses. Neither statement is true.

In fact, you have to have a steady income that’s high enough (but not too high) to qualify for a Habitat house, along with decent credit. And you have to make mortgage payments just as with any other home purchase.

I held a few of these common misconceptions about Habitat for Humanity before I started volunteering with them. Here’s what I learned about this nonprofit organization from my experience and further research.

How Habitat for Humanity Works

Habitat for Humanity states “Every person should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live,” and I saw firsthand how smart they are about working toward that goal.

For example, they build small homes so homeowners have lower costs for future maintenance and utilities. That’s very different from lenders and real estate agents I’ve met who seem to think we should all buy the biggest house possible.

They also won’t build homes for those who can’t afford them. This isn’t a giveaway: Habitat homeowners buy their homes and have monthly mortgage payments.

In the U.S. this is all arranged through one of their 1,400 affiliates. Each affiliate has its own rules, but in general you have to:

• Be a legal resident

• Have steady income

• Have decent credit

• Prove you can save some money

• Make a small down payment

• Complete homeowner classes

• Help build your home or others’

• Make payments on time

• Have an income between specific minimum and maximum limits

How Much Do You Need to Make?

In general, your income has to be significantly below the median income for the area where you live, but not too low. The exact limits also depend on your family size.

For example, to buy a Habitat home around Los Angeles, California, your annual income has to be between $17,450 and $46,500 if you’re single. If you have a family of four you have to make at least $24,900 and up to $66,400.

On the other hand, the upper limit for a family of four in Antigua County, Alabama is just $35,800.

To find out the minimum and maximum income limits where you live, contact one or more of the nearest Habitat for Humanity affiliates.

The Cost of a Habitat Home

What you pay varies by your home’s size and location.

For example, the current average cost for a Habitat home through the Lafayette, Louisiana Habitat for Humanity is $85,000. The North Central Massachusetts affiliate states their homes cost between $100,000 and $120,000.

But you’ll actually save much more than these prices suggest.

These are usually new homes (Habitat also rehabilitates properties), and the Lafayette affiliate website points out that — because Habitat doesn’t make a profit — you’ll typically pay $20,000 less than if you hired a traditional builder. The savings can be much higher in other areas.

In addition, Habitat mortgages are interest-free. The Lafayette Habitat affiliate states “Our homeowners are saving an additional $50,000-$70,000 they would otherwise spend on interest charges over the life of the mortgage.”

Between the savings on construction and interest, you could save up to $90,000, and probably much more in areas where the prices are higher. Of course, you do have to put in some time and effort, which brings us to…

What You Need to Know About Habitat for Humanity Homes

Habitat for Humanity operates around the world. Programs are similar in the U.S. and Canada, with mortgage loans being the norm. In other countries, they operate in various ways. Check Habitat’s international website for a list of Habitat affiliates around the world.

While Habitat for Humanity is a non-denominational Christian organization, they state, “Habitat homeowners are chosen without regard to race, religion or ethnic group, in keeping with U.S. law and with Habitat’s abiding belief that God’s love extends to everyone.”

However, there is quite a bit of variation in how each Habitat for Humanity affiliate operates. Here are some examples.

Required Sweat Equity

You must help build your home or others’ (no experience required), or, if you’re unable to do that, work in a Habitat thrift store or office.

In Los Angeles, you have to contribute at least 200 “sweat equity” hours. In Bozeman, Montana, you’ll have to put in 500 hours.

Your Move-In Date

It can take up to 18 months from the time you apply to the time you move into your new home. In areas where Habitat fixes up homes rather than building new ones, you might move in within a month or two.

The Down Payment

In Glenwood Springs, Colorado, you need to save up $2,000 for your down payment. In Champaign, Illinois, you only need $500.

Mortgage Payments

Habitat of Durham, North Carolina states, “The average monthly mortgage payment for new homebuyers is between $475 and $525.” Because the loans are at zero-interest, most programs have very affordable payments.

Your Credit Score

While the general guidelines say you need decent credit, affiliates make their own rules.

So, for example, if you get a Habitat home in Chilton County, Louisiana, your credit score can be as low as 550. Having a previous bankruptcy is often OK if it’s at least two years old and you’ve paid your bills on time since then.

Debt/Income Ratios

Habitat for Humanity does not want to “help” people get into financial trouble, so affiliates have rules about how much debt you can have to qualify for a home.

For example, in Broward County, Florida, you cannot exceed 40% debt-to-income ratio for all debts, including your house payment.

Income Source

Again, affiliates are free to apply their own guidelines. In general, you just need steady income.

For example, the Twin Cities Habitat affiliate states, “Income sources can include: employment, public assistance of cash, social security, disability, etc.”

Income from a business, child support or a retirement plan is also OK by the Seminole/Apopka, Florida affiliate.

Home Size

Most Habitat affiliates keep their homes to 1,050 square feet or less. In Williamsburg, Virginia, they build homes up to 1,500 square feet.

Cashing in on Your Equity

A Habitat home can really help you get ahead financially.

For example, Habitat’s Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg, Virginia, affiliate states their homes cost about $95,000 total but are worth about $200,000 when completed. Gaining over $100,000 in equity when you move into your home is significant, to say the least.

But can you cash in that equity at some point? Different affiliates have different rules.

For example, the Wake County North Carolina affiliate lets you sell your home anytime, but they have the right to buy it at whatever price you are offered. They lift this and other restrictions once you pay off the mortgage loan.

The Huron County, Ontario, Habitat affiliate puts two mortgage loans on your home. You make payments on the first, which covers the cost of construction.

The second, which is equal to the difference between the cost and the market value when you move in, you pay off only when you sell the home. So you don’t get any “instant equity,” but you can still gain equity from paying down your first mortgage loan and from any rise in home value.

Other affiliates have their own arrangements, so be sure to ask. In any case, you may be able to own a home for less than your current rent, and any equity gains you get over the years are a nice bonus.

The bottom line? If you’re willing to take a few classes on homeownership, do a few hundred hours of work and you meet a few other qualifications, you might be able to get a Habitat for Humanity house with very affordable payments.

Your Turn: Have you ever had a home through Habitat for Humanity? If so, please tell us about your experience.

Steve Gillman is the author of “101 Weird Ways to Make Money” and creator of EveryWayToMakeMoney.com. He’s been a repo-man, walking stick carver, search engine evaluator, house flipper, tram driver, process server, mock juror and roulette croupier, but of more than 100 ways he has made money, writing is his favorite (so far).

The post Think You Can’t Afford to Buy a House? Bet You Didn’t Think of This Program appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Clipped: How to Make $100/Hour as a Consultant, Handle Work-at-Home Overwhelm and More

Happy Friday! Welcome to the first installment of Clipped, our new weekly roundup of great posts from money bloggers, side hustlers and other penny hoarders.

Each Friday, we’ll share some of our favorite posts that will help you make money — whether you work at home, want to get ahead in business or just want to make some extra dough on the side.

Here’s what we clipped this week:

1. Freelance Blogger Survival Skills: How to Beat the Sophomore Slump

Art Anthony (@artcopywriter) at Be a Freelance Blogger

You’ve taken the initial leap into the freelance blogging business, nailed a few assignments and schmoozed a couple clients. Now the work should just roll in, right?

Wrong. You’re probably still going to have to work hard to land every new gig, Art Anthony explains. Follow his six tips to overcome this challenge and move on to the next step — getting the freelance work to come to you. Read more…

2. Clarity.fm: Start a $100-per-Hour Consulting Business in 5 Minutes

Nick Loper (@nloper) at Side Hustle Nation

Side hustler Nick Loper has made over $1,300 this year coaching brand-new clients through Clarity.fm.

Loper explains the benefits of putting your “buy buttons” on existing marketplaces like this, plus takes you step-by-step through creating your Clarity profile and setting your coaching rates. Read more…

Love these posts? Let the authors know! Click here to tweet about it.

3. 35 High-Paying Jobs You Can Get Without a Bachelor’s Degree

Jacquelyn Smith (@JacquelynVSmith) and Rachel Gillett (@rgillett23) at Business Insider

No time or money to invest in a bachelor’s degree? No problem!

Business Insider shares a list of jobs with a median income of at least $55,000 you can get with a high school diploma or associate’s degree. Read more…

4. Four Simple Tips to Help With Work-at-Home Mom Overwhelm

Caroline Pigott (@FlourishTweets) at The Work at Home Woman

How can you maintain work-life balance when you work from home and have kids? Entrepreneur and mother Caroline Pigott has a smart answer to the common conundrum.

She explains how to batch your work, when (and how) to blend work and home life, what to delegate to someone else and when you simply need to suck it up and power through it. Read more…

5. Man Cashes in Pennies He’s Saved for 45 Years

Frededreia Willis at The News-Star (Monroe, LA)

We love this story about Otha Anders, a Louisiana man who hoarded pennies for 45 years!

Anders has been finding and picking up pennies for nearly 50 years and has stashed them in 15 five-gallon plastic water jugs. He cashed them in this week at a very forgiving local bank — and you won’t believe how much he saved! Read more…

Enjoy your weekend, Penny Hoarders!

Your Turn: Did you read any great posts on how to make money this week? Share them in the comments!

Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a Staff Writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more.

The post Clipped: How to Make $100/Hour as a Consultant, Handle Work-at-Home Overwhelm and More appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a High Converting Webinar

I know that you understand the power of blogging and building an email list.

But the next step is often harder to grasp.

How do you turn those readers and subscribers into customers?

I’ve seen many online business owners work hard for several years to build a solid audience and not know how to profit from it.

And without any profit, how will you be able to keep producing free valuable content for your audience?

You can’t.

So, how do you convert those audience members into customers?

You can employ many effective tactics.

But there is one tactic with which I’ve had an incredible amount of success, and I know that many other businesses have as well.

That tactic is using webinars.

Webinars are essentially one- or two-hour live video streams, usually like mini-courses.

Anyone viewing the webinar can type in questions and comments throughout the presentation.

Webinars can be incredibly effective, on average converting around 20% of viewers into customers buying products. And these aren’t just cheap products—they are premium products.

Although I won’t go into the technical details of creating a webinar here (e.g., creating a slideshow, using webinar software), I’ll teach you a step-by-step procedure you can use to create webinars that convert.

Some businesses use only webinars in order to sell their products, and they do very well…I am talking about webinars just like this one I created. 

Why webinars might be the best form of content for any business

At their core, webinars are just another type of content.

However, webinars are a type of content that is optimized for selling. Why?

First, viewers typically place a higher value on webinars than other forms of free content, which means that they pay closer attention to what you’re showing them.

In addition, since the webinar is done live, they are forced to pay attention so they don’t miss anything.

Put those two things together, and you will have a captive audience when you deliver webinars the right way.

With webinars, you get to deliver your full message to your audience, whereas with blog posts, you never know how much of the content your website visitors read.

Finally, webinars allow you to connect with audience members in a real way. Other than creating a conference and trying to convince your audience to attend it, webinars are the best way to talk to hundreds, even thousands, of people at once.

And unlike with a blog post, you can actually answer the questions your audience has in real time during a webinar.

The conversion rate of webinars is insane: Say, you create a fantastic email sequence for a product you’re selling.

If you did a great job, you’ll get a conversion rate that is somewhere between 1-5%, depending on the price and a few other factors.

I would say that 5% is the low end of even a mediocre webinar.

Back at KISSmetrics, we used webinars a lot and had great results.

Our first 77 webinars had a total of 155,386 people who signed up to attend a webinar. Of those, about half (74,381) actually attended, and a solid 16,394 turned into high quality leads.

That’s a conversion rate of 22% (of the people attending).

A few other businesses have published results of their webinars.

Adobe claims a solid 19% conversion rate, while Buzzsumo says that 20% of webinar attendees turn into paid customers.

Depending on what you sell, a single lead can be worth upwards of $50. It doesn’t take much math to figure out how incredibly lucrative webinars can be (even with small audiences).

But a difference in conversion rate of just a few percent can be the difference between thousands of dollars in profit.

If you’re going to incorporate webinars into your content strategy, you want to make sure that you’re at the upper end of conversion rate (20%) rather than the low end (5%).

If you want to make a high converting webinar, follow these six steps.

Step #1: Learn how to warm up the crowd

Despite being a great sales tool, a good webinar isn’t a sales pitch at all.

A good webinar is a lot like a blog post. It actually provides value to the audience without asking for anything in return.

And just like with a blog post, you shouldn’t start off by digging right into the meat of your topic.

Instead, you want to build a bit of anticipation and excitement as well as take advantage of the opportunity to engage with your audience members.

The point of engaging here is two-fold: first, you start to loosen up, which will make your presentation better, and second, you get your audience into an engagement mode.

Since you’re interacting with them now, they are more likely to interact throughout the webinar.

There are a few different options at your disposal, and I recommend trying different combinations of them.

Option #1 – Have a quick chat: You should always arrive 10-15 minutes early to make sure that you don’t have any technical difficulties, which do happen from time to time.

Assuming everything goes smoothly, you will likely have a few minutes before you can start the webinar.

There are always a few people that come to the webinar early.

This is a great time to start talking with them about anything in the chat box.

 

Simply getting to know them a bit and learning about why they’re at the webinar (and why they’re so eager to get started) will improve your conversion rate down the line.

At the same time, you might learn some interesting things about your audience.

Option #2 – Ask a few questions: It’s always good to ask questions during the webinar, but it’s especially good to do at the start.

Basically, when you get your viewers responding in the chat box, they get used to it. And that makes them more likely to respond to you and ask more questions in the future.

Ideally, you want to get them in this habit early.

That’s because once they realize they can actually talk to you, they are more likely to pay attention throughout the webinar so they can ask questions about something they didn’t understand.

Option #3 – Ask attendees to fill out poll or survey: Instead of asking questions and getting responses in the chat box, you can have your viewers fill out a poll or survey.

These have to be prepared in advance, so it’s best to use them for questions that reveal something useful about your audience.

Here are a few sample questions you could use:

• “How many webinars have you attended?” - So you know if you need to explain webinars at the beginning.
• “How familiar are you with [your brand]?” - The less your audience knows you, the more important personal details and an introduction become.
• “How important is [webinar topic] to you?” - Over time, you will see that your customers care more about certain topics than others. Do more webinars about those important topics.
• “How much experience do you have with [topic]? - If your audience is more advanced than you thought, you don’t want to spend too much time on the basics. The opposite is also true.

Just about every leading webinar software (e.g., GoToWebinar) comes with built-in survey and polling tools. You can see the results as people answer your questions.

Or start the webinar with an introduction: It’s a good practice to introduce yourself near the start of a webinar.

Yes, you’ll have some long-time readers in the audience, but you’ll also have some brand new readers watching. Introducing yourself will allow you to start building trust with your new viewers, which will lead to them becoming customers (if not today, in the future).

A good introduction should be fairly brief, but don’t be afraid to show some personality and put in a joke or two.

Step #2: Without intrigue, you will fail

Webinars can provide a ton of value for your visitors.

But you are also asking for a lot.

They basically have to agree to spend 45 minutes (minimum) focused only on your presentation.

That’s a lot of time for many people.

You also need to consider that if at any point a viewer doesn’t like how the webinar is going, they can just click the “exit” button.

This is why your number one priority should be to keep them interested in your material.

There are a few things that go into this.

Without an intriguing topic, no one will show up: Interest starts with your topic. If you have a seemingly boring topic, no one will want to attend the webinar, no matter how good your actual presentation is.

The most important part of drawing attention is the title of the webinar. It functions exactly like a blog post headline.

Most of the same rules of writing a powerful headline apply here too.

You want to include specific results that your reader is looking for while not giving away the answer.

Here’s a bad headline:

Social media marketing efficiency

It’s boring, vague, and not provoking curiosity.

But how about:

How to plan your weekly social media marketing schedule in 60 minutes or less

That takes care of a specific problem (wasting time on social media) that a visitor might have. But it also makes the reader want to watch the webinar to find out the answer.

On top of the headline, you can also write a few high-impact bullet points on the landing page.

 

Those bullet points should contain the most important benefits from your viewer’s perspective.

In addition to putting them on the landing page, it’s always a good idea to put them on one of your beginning slides:

It’s easy for viewers to forget the specific reason why they signed up for the webinar, and this can jog their memory and get them to stick around.

Here’s one important aspect of picking a topic: The most intriguing topics for a webinar are the ones that act as mini-courses.

They take one specific important problem and solve it in those 45-120 minutes.

If you look at past KISSmetrics webinars, you’ll see that most of them involve the word “How”. Many headlines are “How to…” headlines.

Not only are these topics the most intriguing, but they are also the easiest ones to create a great presentation around.

Your presentation becomes a walk-through of the solution.

How do you get people to stay on the webinar? After you get your audience to register and attend the webinar, you still need to keep them intrigued by your material.

While some attendees will be entranced by the presentation, you’ll always have a large chunk on the edge of leaving.

They’re either not sure if this topic is really important to them, or they already know a lot of the things you’re covering but just want to see what you say about a few key aspects.

There are two things you should do.

First, don’t reveal everything about your solution at the start of the webinar.

It’s fine to give some details, like “our solution is to use batching along with a social media calendar.” Just don’t give out too much, like how you’re going to accomplish it.

If you pick your topic right (a how-to topic), your valuable content will be automatically spread out through the steps you present, so you don’t need to worry about this much.

But if your webinar is something like “7 secrets of…”, start with a really good one, and then mention that your last one will be the best one.

Another option is to provide an incentive to viewers who watch the entire webinar.

The bonus might be:

• a recording of the webinar
• a related bonus e-book
• a transcript of the webinar (or a PDF of it)
• free coaching
• or a special offer

For example, when guest presenters help out on KISSmetric webinars, they often include a related bonus book that a huge percentage of viewers will stick around to get:

Step #3: Every part you teach needs to accomplish one thing

A webinar is all about giving value, but it’s about giving the right kind of value.

It should educate your audience about their problems as well as potential solutions to those problems. This is valuable to any viewer.

At the same time, one of the solutions you show them will likely be a product or service you sell.

Assuming it’s legitimately a great product that solves the problem or makes the solution as easy as possible, all you have to do is present the product honestly when the time comes.

Until that time, everything in your presentation should have two purposes.

Phase #1 – Make the pain worse or the benefit better: Viewers sign up for webinars for two main reasons.

Either they have a problem that is causing them or their business pain and they want to solve it, or you’ve made a great promise that they’d like to get.

Here’s some examples:

• Pain: “I’m not getting any organic search traffic.”
  • Webinar: “7 steps to ranking #1 for long tail search terms”
• Benefit: “I wouldn’t mind making more money even if I’m doing okay now”
  • Webinar: “6 ways you can make an extra $1,000 per month”

Whatever the reason, you need to mention it early on. Remind them why they are there and what they will get out of the webinar if they stay for the whole thing.

When you do this, your viewers will pay closer attention to your presentation, and that’s when you jump into phase #2…

Phase #2 – Educate viewers about a solution: Don’t just educate them in general—educate them about specific solutions.

This will be the meat of your presentation, where you break down solutions, step by step:

Most viewers don’t care about the technical stuff going on in the background. They just want solutions that they can apply.

Among the solutions, you can include your product.

Or you might pitch your services at the end, offering to solve this problem for them.

Step #4: A buying audience is an engaged one

I’ve mentioned a few times so far how important an engaged audience is.

Let me clarify what I mean by that. Engagement is a measure of how much focus your audience is giving your webinar.

If you have low engagement, it means that people aren’t paying attention, despite watching the webinar.

It could mean that they’re zoning out maybe because the presentation is boring, or it could mean they’re distracted by email or social media.

A small percentage will just keep the webinar on to see if you offer a free bonus at the end, but don’t worry about those viewers.

A highly engaged audience will watch everything, and a decent portion of those viewers will jump at the chance to interact with you.

The more involved viewers are with you, the more invested they will be in the solutions you’re presenting.

The people who are talking to you the most during the webinar are your best leads for sales.

It’s obvious that getting your audience engaged is a good thing.

Here are a few different ways you can encourage engagement.

Idea #1 – Launch a poll: Every once in awhile, it makes sense to see if viewers are actually understanding what you’re saying and getting value from it.

If you’d like to do it informally, just ask a question and get responses in the chat box.

But if you also want to know if you’re presenting effectively, a poll is a good idea because you’ll get concrete feedback.

It’s a good idea to launch a poll or quiz immediately following a particular section. Ask the viewers about the main takeaway, for example.

Not only will it give you good information, but it will also make your viewers solidify their learning.

Idea #2 – Don’t read from your slides: One way to bore your viewers quickly is to create slides with a ton of words on them and just read them out loud.

If you’re going to do that, why do they need you?

Instead, put a few words on a slide, which attract attention, but fill in the blanks yourself.

Idea #3 – Mention viewers by name: This tactic is great at making your viewers feel more involved.

Instead of just being a screen name typing into a chat box, your viewers can feel like they are part of the webinar if you address them by their names along with saying something positive:

That’s a really good question, Neil! …

If you, as a viewer, get a personal compliment from an expert teaching a large audience, you’ll feel good about it. And chances are, you’re going to look for more opportunities to contribute and stand out from the passive viewers.

Idea #4 – Small webinars can be better than large ones: The default tactic is to try to get as many people to register for your webinar as possible. It’s not a bad one.

However, if you have a particularly complex product, you’ll need to be able to explain whether your product works for all specific situations that your viewers might have.

This is impossible if you have hundreds of viewers on the webinar.

But if you only had 25-50, you could cover quite a few scenarios and make a few big sales.

First, you should make it clear on the landing page that only 50-100 seats are open for the webinar (about half to two-thirds will show up).

Then, note the audience size right away at the start of the webinar. Say something like this:

I’ve kept the webinar really small on purpose; there are only 50 people here. I did that so I could talk with more of you one-on-one to find a solution that works for you. In order to do that, I need you to type in any questions or comments you might have along the way in the chat box.

Step #5: It’s closing time

If you’ve done everything up until this point right, making your pitch is actually really easy.

You’ve given away most of the value you promised, so at this point, it’s just a matter of giving away your bonuses (if you have any) and tying in your product or service with the solutions you just provided.

First, transition into your offer smoothly: The only way to really mess up at this point is to say, “Well, that’s all I have for you today. Now I want to show you a product to buy.”

As soon as you say something like that, the viewers will feel like they are being sold to, and no one likes that.

With a webinar, there’s an understanding that at the end you might make an offer, but it should flow naturally from the topic of the webinar.

The offer should have two qualities: it should be unique and valuable.

For example, if the webinar is about conversion optimization, I could offer a discount on Crazy Egg software.

First, that’s unique because they wouldn’t be able to get that discount anywhere else.

Secondly, it’s valuable because people who are learning about conversion optimization will need heatmap software, and Crazy Egg is among the best options.

It’s crucial that you tie your offer into how it will benefit the viewer in the context of the webinar topic.

Hold a Q&A session after the pitch: Before you even mention your product, tell the viewers that you will answer any questions they have in just a minute.

Although a large percentage of viewers will drop off here, the ones that stay are the ones that are really interested in your solutions.

By doing the Q&A after the pitch, you are forcing your viewers to at least listen to the pitch if they don’t want to miss the Q&A session.

Plus, making the pitch before your Q&A will allow you to answer questions about both the webinar material and your offer.

Once you’re done with the questions, you can finish the webinar with one last mention of your offer.

Step #6: You’ll miss out on a large amount of sales if you don’t do this

If you’re selling a particularly expensive product, you can’t expect all your viewers to be ready to buy right away even if you give them a great offer that they are interested in.

Some people will want to think about it a bit more, while others will need to get an approval of a boss or their significant other.

That doesn’t mean that they won’t take you up on your offer; it just might not be the second you give it to them.

Additionally, depending on the time of your webinar, some attendees may just want to go to sleep or have to go somewhere.

Neither of these scenarios allow time to carefully consider a major purchase.

So, what should you do to maximize your conversion rate? Follow up with them within 24-48 hours.

Assuming you’re using software like GoToWebinar, you will have access to all of your registrants’ email addresses.

This is your chance to provide even more value (which will help get a high email open rate) while also getting your offer in front of viewers one last time.

Here’s what a good follow up might look like:

Subject: Recording of last night’s webinar on [topic]

Hi [name],

I know that we covered a lot in the webinar yesterday, and it’s easy to miss things. That’s why I’ve put up a recording of the webinar that you can stream or download. Here’s the URL:

[URL of the webinar]

If you still have any questions about what we covered, just reply to this email, and let me know what they are.

Additionally, you still have 48 hours to take advantage of the 20% discount.

This is a pretty special offer that doesn’t come around very often, and I feel you could really benefit from [product] in 3 ways:

• (benefit #1)

• (benefit #2)

• (benefit #3)

If you want to take advantage of the offer or want more information, click here:

[URL of the landing page]

Best regards,

[your name]

No hard sell—just the last chance to get your offer in front of your viewers. If they are ready to become customers, they will do so now.

If not, don’t worry about it. If they enjoyed this webinar, they’ll likely sign up for a future one and might buy from you later.

That’s the beauty of webinars. They’re still part of your content marketing plan, and even if they don’t directly lead to a sale, they will help build your brand in the eyes of your attendees.

Finally, make your past webinars publicly available. This is something that KISSmetrics does.

At this point, there are over 100 webinars that anyone can access if they provide some basic contact information.

In my time at KISSmetrics, the old webinars provided about 20% of our overall webinar leads, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Conclusion

Webinars might be the single best tactic to not only attract visitors but also convert those visitors into leads or customers.

They offer a unique opportunity to engage with your potential customers, which no other form of content can match.

They also have a high perceived value, which means that attendees typically focus on the webinar the entire time, assuming that it’s interesting.

When you’re creating your next webinar, whether it’s your first or hundredth, make sure that you follow all six steps of this post.

If you do, you will have a webinar that can convert viewers at about 20% as long as your offer is enticing.

If you have any questions about the six steps in this post, let me know below, and I’ll see if I can’t clear things up.

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London at 'greatest risk' of property bubble

Tom Wilson

Notting hill.jpg

London has the world’s most overvalued property market and at risk of a ‘substantial price correction’ according to a new report from Swiss banking giant UBS.

London has the world’s most overvalued property market and at risk of a ‘substantial price correction’ according to a new report from Swiss banking giant UBS.

London at ‘risk’ of property bubble

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London has the world’s most overvalued property market and at risk of a ‘substantial price correction’ according to a new report from Swiss banking giant UBS. The ‘Global real estate bubble index’, which tracked 15 global cities, found a skilled service worker in London would have to work for 14 years to afford a 60 square metre flat (650 square feet), second only to Hong Kong where it would take over 20 years. London’s residential property prices have soared by 40% since the beginning of 2013, more than offsetting the losses triggered by the financial crash. Prices in London are 6% above their previous peak in 2007, while prices in the rest of the country have fallen by 18%. While property prices have sharply increased, real-term earnings have fallen by 7%, taking price-to-earnings ratios to new heights. Claudio Saputelli, UBS head of global real estate, said: "A mix of optimistic expectations, favourable economic fundamentals and capital inflows from abroad has caused valuations to soar in certain cities in recent years. Loose monetary policy has prevented a normalization of housing markets and encouraged local bubble risks to grow." London’s property prices have attracted global investors looking for a safe haven for their wealth, while domestic demand has been fuelled by the help-to-buy scheme, attractive buy-to-let yields and population growth, according to UBS. Hong Kong was the only other city described as a ‘bubble risk’ in the report. Though it would take a worker a longer period to buy a property, average price-to-earnings ratios in the city have historically been higher.

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How Much Do You Really Need to Save to Retire Early?

If there’s one financial question that really hangs over my head these days, it’s probably this one. How much money do I need to have in investments in order to feel secure retiring early?

It turns out that this question really isn’t all that easy – in fact, the more I consider it, the more complicated the question gets. So let’s wander down the rabbit hole a little bit and see if we can come to some kind of realistic answer.

Challenge #1 – Health Insurance

Many people who are realistically considering retiring early are in positions where their jobs subsidize their health insurance costs, so they don’t typically see it as an ongoing cost. However, if you retire early, you’re going to have to come up with your own health insurance, which means navigating the ins and outs of the Affordable Care Act as well as footing the cost yourself without employer help.

Like it or not, that’s going to bump up your costs and by a fairly unpredictable amount. You can use any number of estimators to figure out your insurance costs, but it is worth noting that those are only estimates and your actual costs are likely to change.

For us, part of the equation is that Sarah’s job provides health insurance for our family, as her options are better than mine (and were better than mine back when I had an office job, so nothing really changed when I became a writer). If she were to retire early, either I would have to get a job that provided health insurance or we would have to start using an exchange. Thankfully, Sarah is very happy with her current career; she’s happy about the work that she does and I would be surprised if she retired extremely early even if it were easily possible. She may retire a little early, but it’s more likely that there will be a period where I “retire” and take on some other challenges (which I’ll talk about in a bit) while she continues in her current career.

Challenge #2 – Safe Withdrawal Rates

First of all, what’s a safe withdrawal rate? A safe withdrawal rate is the percentage of your initial investment that you can withdraw each year and be highly confident that your investment will last for the rest of your life. For example, if your initial investment were $1,000,000 and you withdrew $40,000 a year from that investment, your withdrawal rate would be 4%… but would it be a safe withdrawal rate?

Keep in mind that the money you leave in the investment will continue to grow each year, so in theory withdrawing 4% of the initial balance per year should last more than 25 years provided that your investment is going up at all and should last a lot more years provided your investment grows steadily.

Some people might think that the easy answer here is 4%, which is the safe withdrawal rate that’s often touted in retirement discussions and given by the well-known Trinity study. The Trinity study indicates that 4% is a safe withdrawal rate for a 30 year retirement.

However, there’s a catch. If you’re planning on retiring early, you’re going to need more than 30 years, likely much more. A 4% withdrawal rate isn’t going to cut it.

The question really becomes this: what is a safe withdrawal rate so that your money essentially lasts forever? Most advice I’ve seen seems to indicate somewhere between 2% and 3%. If you’re being safe, then you look at a 2% withdrawal rate.

Let’s say we wanted to withdraw $40,000 a year at a 2% withdrawal rate. That would require us to have $2 million in investments. That also assumes that we’re paying for health insurance out of that $40,000 per year.

Early retirement looks pretty tough, doesn’t it? You can overcome these first two challenges, but the road isn’t an easy one.

Challenge #3 – Social Security’s Long Term Health

For many people thinking about early retirement, Social Security looks like a beacon of hope. Starting at some point in your sixties, Social Security will kick in, providing you with a supplemental income that will reduce your withdrawal rate.

Let’s say that under current benefits, your Social Security will kick in at age 67 and pay you $2,000 a month. If your withdrawal rate is $40,000 a year, once those benefits kick in, you can cut that withdrawal rate back to $16,000 per year and still have the same amount of money in your checking account. This obviously would enable you to have a smaller amount of money in hand when you retire.

The problem is this: Social Security is going to eventually be unable to pay out full benefits according to their own projections. In fact, if they continue paying out the full promised benefits without some sort of increase in the amount of money they take in, they’re likely going to no longer be able to pay out benefits at all starting in about 2038, which is before I would even be able to draw a dime of it.

In other words, for me to fully bank on those Social Security benefits, I have to believe that politicians will increase the amount of money going into Social Security, which can only happen with a tax increase that will probably require bipartisan support to pass. Color me cautious, but that’s not exactly something I expect to happen anytime soon in Washington.

That same report indicates that they will be able to pay out about 75% of benefits over the long term, but that again changes the equation.

Simply put, full Social Security benefits are not something that I feel secure relying on with my retirement planning going forward. I do think it will help, but it is so insecure that I have a hard time betting my financial future on it at this point.

Challenge #4 – Channeling Self-Motivation and New Goals

One final challenge that’s well worth discussing is self-motivation. For anyone to even consider early retirement, they’re going to have to be strongly self-motivated and goal oriented. There’s really no other way to achieve early retirement unless you inherit the needed wealth.

The day I walk away from full time employment will be much like reaching the summit of a mountain. I will have been climbing that mountain for years and years and years… and suddenly, here I am, at the top.

What do I do at that point?

Like pretty much anyone who would achieve or even make a serious attempt at a goal like financial independence, I’m not really wired to just sit back on my laurels and do nothing. Even my leisure activities tend to involve exercising my mind or body in some fashion.

Right now, it’s easy to have a lot of big plans and dreams and goals. I can name lots of things I would like to do during that time.

However, right now, my life is very structured in a way. My hours are full to the brim with things to do and things that need doing.

When that early retirement point comes, not only will I lose the sense of need when it comes to earning an income, my role as a parent will be changing as my children leave the nest.

What will I do with my time? How will I continue to be self-motivated without the tight time constraints and the overarching goals of raising children and continuing to move toward financial independence?

When I think of things in that light, it leaves me asking myself deep questions about whether I want this goal at all. Perhaps what I really seek is just the security to take major career risks and try new things.

Right now, there are still plenty of positives about the big goal of early retirement, but there are enough questions to leave me debating whether or not it is the right goal for me.

The thing is, if I choose to take those kinds of career risks, I’m deliberately setting back that goal of early retirement. Unless I’m lucky enough to have immediate and strong success as soon as I shift gears – which, honestly, is never a sure or even a likely thing – it would set back my dreams of financial independence. It would alter my savings goals in an unclear way.

Am I motivated enough to stick to this one monolithic goal? Or will other personal goals sway me? Am I afraid on some level of reaching that summit? Do I operate better – and more joyfully – if there is always a mountain to climb in front of me?

I’m not sure, but it’s certainly possible, and the more I recognize that possibility, the greater this challenge becomes in assessing how much I really need to be saving.

Final Thoughts

The truth is, when I combine all of these things together – health uncertainty, safe withdrawal rate uncertainty, Social Security uncertainty, and personal motivation and goal uncertainty – the exact “number” I need to retire early becomes very, very unclear.

In fact, more than anything, this exercise has taught me one thing: I have no business retiring without some sort of plan in mind with regards to how to fill my time. It’s likely that whatever I choose to do will probably earn something, even if it is a small amount. I’m just not wired to do it any other way.

So, for me, the goal of early retirement (or financial independence or whatever you call it) is really just a fancy way to describe ultimate professional freedom. I could try anything and see if I’m successful at it or if it’s something that brings me joy without the slightest worry about a steady paycheck in the present, but with the understand that there will probably be some form of income at some point in the future.

In my eyes, if you’re self-motivated enough to actually chase early retirement, that’s the kind of retirement that sounds pretty interesting anyway.

What kind of dollar amount do you put on that? When it comes right down to it, I don’t think the Trinity study is all that far off base, except instead of living off of that income, it merely becomes a supplement during the years when things are lean. Sure, there are some additional uncertainties and challenges beyond that 4% withdrawal rate, but there are also boundless opportunities when you’re no longer worried at all about paychecks. I think, for at least a long while, they balance out.

In other words, if you’re a really self-motivated person – and you just about have to be in order to follow this path – figure out how much money you’ll need per year, multiply that by twenty five, and there’s your early retirement “number.” It won’t cover everything, but it would be shocking if a self-motivated person went through the rest of their life not earning a dime.

Good luck!

The post How Much Do You Really Need to Save to Retire Early? appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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How to Tell if You Have a Good 401(k) Match

It can be difficult for short-term employees to qualify for a 401(k) match.

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Is profitable Qantas’ fare hike fair?

QANTAS’ extraordinary financial turnaround was applauded but how will flyers react to fare hikes by an airline that just made a whopping profit?

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5 Things to Know Before Investing in Big Tobacco Stocks

Cigarette sales are down, but revenues for tobacco stocks have soared – and may continue to do so.

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5 Ways to Overcome Your Fear of a 401(k)

Putting money in a 401(k) is one of the best investment decisions you can make.

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Frazetta's East Stroudsburg costume shop sees Halloween boom after tough years

"...and vampires — we can’t keep enough fangs in stock.”

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3 Holiday Planning Tricks to Dodge Debt

Feel the holiday cheer long after your credit card bills arrive. 

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5 Money Management Horror Stories

If you're not careful, these financial nightmares will keep you up at night.

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Scam or Slam Dunk? The Pros and Cons of Multi-Level Marketing

I recently accepted a friend’s invite for an evening get-together. As soon as I arrived, I realized I wasn’t coming over for the usual conversation and cocktails.

“I have this amazing opportunity to share with you!” she said enthusiastically.

The opportunity turned out to be a multi-level marketing presentation for a company that provides satellite services and utilities.

I could earn money by simply signing up friends and relatives for services they used anyway. But if I really wanted to make money, I could recruit them to become company representatives underneath me and earn a percentage of their sales, on top what I’d earn from mine.

Not surprisingly, the presentation ignited a firestorm within our circle of friends between those who saw it as an opportunity and those who didn’t.

This debate isn’t a new one. Here are the arguments for and against multi-level marketing.

What is Multi-Level Marketing?

Contrary to what some people think, multi-level marketing is not a pyramid scheme.

In a pyramid scheme, you earn money money by bringing in people underneath you, not by selling a product.

As long as a company has a product available for sale to the general public, it’s a legitimate business, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s 1979 ruling on Amway. (Here’s more information on what the FTC considers multi-level marketing.)

Multi-level marketing, sometimes referred to as network marketing, companies typically give you several ways to earn.

First, you can profit by marketing the company’s products to others. You can also use the products yourself and essentially become your own customer.

Finally, you can recruit others. Most multi-level marketing companies give you a percentage of whatever sales those underneath you make. With each level that comes in underneath you, you earn a higher percentage of the sale’s profit.

Again, it is not a pyramid scheme, because your earnings are based on the sale of actual products.

The Argument For Multi-level Marketing

According to its proponents, if you want to ditch your 9-to-5 job, start your own business or become your own boss, multi-level marketing is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to do so.

You may have to invest money in products to show to potential customers, or pay a sign-up fee (my friend’s company required a $500 fee to get started).

However, when you consider what it costs to open other types of businesses, a few hundred dollars isn’t much.

“If you were purchasing a small business like a Subway franchise, the initial outlay would be over $100,000, and you would need a networth of $500,000 to be approved,” says Garrett Sanders, who operates his own network marketing business in North Carolina.

“How long would it take to recoup that investment?”

Multi-level marketing also has a built-in mentorship program. The people who recruit you have a vested (financial) interest in seeing you succeed.

Not only will those above you help you with presentations and answer questions, but most companies offer regular meetings with your peers to discuss strategies, motivational programs and additional training resources.

With hard work, you can make money, but how much depends on the company you work with and the product. It’s extremely unlikely you’ll make an extraordinary amount of money overnight.

Surprisingly, money isn’t the only reason people become involved with multi-level marketing businesses. Many people, especially stay-at-home parents and retirees, use their businesses to get out of the house, meet new people, learn new skills and do something that gives them a sense of accomplishment.

The Argument Against Multi-level Marketing

Jon M. Taylor knows firsthand how multi-level marketing works. After a successful sales career, first selling encyclopedias and then insurance, he decided to give multi-level marketing a try.

He threw himself into a multi-level marketing program, rose to the “level of about the top 1% of distributors”… and still didn’t turn a profit.

Taylor, an industry expert who runs the website MLM-theTruth.com, says multi-level marketing is designed so profits flow up. More than 99% of people who get involved with multi-level marketing programs don’t earn a profit, according to his research.

In addition, many don’t even make enough money to cover their expenses, which can include purchasing products, paying membership dues and traveling to events.

But there are other, non-financial reasons to avoid multi-level marketing programs, he says.

One is the toll they can take on personal relationships. When she realized their friends and family were avoiding them, Taylor’s wife told him it was her or the program.

Another is the emotional challenge. Recruits are often told if they follow the program, they’ll turn a profit, Taylor says.

When they don’t succeed, they’re told it’s because they’re doing something wrong, even though he contends the products are usually overpriced and inferior to what is available elsewhere.  

The Bottom Line

If you’re a considering signing up for a multi-level marketing program, ask questions. Find out about the product and get the company’s refund policy in writing.

The FTC provides guidance on how to steer clear of pyramid schemes and fraudulent businesses.

Your Turn: What do you think about multi-level marketing? If you’ve tried it, we’d love to hear your stories in the comments.

Teresa Bitler is a freelance writer who writes about personal finance, investing and travel. She lives in the Phoenix area with her husband and two children.  

The post Scam or Slam Dunk? The Pros and Cons of Multi-Level Marketing appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Fiat Chrysler’s global car recall

FIAT Chrysler is recalling 894,000 Jeep, Dodge and Fiat SUVs worldwide to fix problems with anti-lock brakes and airbags.

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