Have you ever received a printed letter in the post that's ten pages long - or come across a website page that just scrolls on and on - full of bold, underlined and italicised writing, a few centred paragraphs and signed by a REAL person - designed to confirm that everything you ever wanted is contained in this secure, sincere and SPECIAL! offer that's been created just especially for you?

Ever been had? Well, not 'had' exactly - but did you part with your money and feel VERY disappointed with what you received in return? Ever done it a second time? Or a third???

We learn slow, don't we!

For those of you who are tempted, let's define exactly what you are likely to get - an invitation to create exactly the same letter, or exactly the same web page, with exactly the same 'two-step' or 'three-step' or - oh, major innovation - the latest 'five-step' programme (so if you bought the two-step progamme, be sure to send more money in order to buy all the 'new, improved' steps in the hope that this really will be the winning programme!!).

The words 'replication' seems to have taken over from the concept of the 'chain letter' but that's basically all it is.

What's wrong with this? At best, nothing - if there is a product at the end of it and you are a salesperson par excellence with all the gen on internet marketing. At worst, if no product is being sold, then you may be getting involved in pyramid selling and breaking the law.

One way the scam merchants get around this problem of illegality is to offer you an on-line shopping mall or training centre all of your own. Great! Have fun choosing the products you like, let someone else deal with the on-line payment and wait for the world to come by/buy.

The hypnotic hype which accompanies these 'opportunities' is full of statements of genuine fact (eg the internet is the shopping experience of the future; thousands more people are coming on-line every day and they all have lots of money to spend!) BUT it does not follow that this particular 'opportunity' will make YOU (or anyone else) any of that money. Have you thought about why anyone should choose your shop out of all the thousands of others??? How would they even find you???

And THAT's the moment of truth.

But perhaps it's a truth we don't want to see - for whatever reason. Whether you are hoping for a pot of gold obtained with little effort, or a modest return for a fair day's work, it won't be through these manipulative marketing ploys which bring the world of selling into disrepute.

Then there's email marketing. Email marketing works slightly differently. The 'specially targetted' email which has just dropped into your inbox has probably been sent to another million email addresses around the world. You can usually tell just by the address of the sender. If there are lots of letters and numbers in the return email address, then that's been sent through a spammer. If you didn't request it, it's spam - the internet version of 'junk mail'. You know better than to respond, of course - they'd have your money and you'd never see them again because you'll never be able to find them - on-line or off.

But I suspect the real victim in this case is more likely to be the poor emailer who has been promised thousands of 'hot prospects' by an intermediary when all they get in return are angry spam-haters and an irritated ISP which closes down their email address long before any of those prospects actually part with their money.

That wasn't you, was it?

Find your niche, find your product, find your mission in life and on the internet - believe in abundance (not riches!) and you won't have to put up with any of this nonsense. Believe in YOU!

Thank you to Sue for her contribution

Sue Wentworth-Sheilds has been involved in network marketing for a number of years and enjoys helping people gain the confidence to go out and Think Success. You can find her at www.ThinkSuccess.net