Health Food and Cigarettes

By Jim Daniels
Posted Wednesday, August 25, 2004

I was doing a little surfing this week and stumbled upon a real beauty. I just have to share this one with you.

Occasionally, I like to surf through network marketing sites just to see what's out there. While I've tried a few network marketing companies in the past without much luck, I still feel the internet is ripe for a solid internet services related MLM. If the right one were to come along I'd take a hard look at it.

But whenever I check into network marketing online, for the most part I find health related programs. You know, the programs that sell vitamins, supplements, health food and the like.

While I'm certainly not against this stuff (my soft body probably could use some of it) I really can't get behind it. Why? Well, it's totally unrelated to my current website. If I were to start pushing health products at my internet marketing and services site I would lose credibility.

The only way I would really jump on the health product bandwagon is by trying a bunch of products and then creating a whole new web presence and site explaining my findings. At the site I would promote the program that worked best for my health.

And while my body would probably benefit from such a project, my mind would probably blow up from the extra workload. As most of you know I have my hands full already.

Now getting back to the title of this tip, "Health Food and Cigarettes..."

As I neared the end of my surfing safari I found yet another MLM site promoting health products. But this one seemed better than most. It was professionally designed and contained some decent looking products. Among them were whole-food snacks and meal replacements and an all-natural, chemical-free line of products to enhance my health and personal care.

This distributor seemed to be behind this particular MLM company 100%. Unlike many MLM distributors, this one seemed to be focused on one company instead of promoting a list of opportunities. And from their writing, they seem to genuinely care about my well-being.

Or at least I thought so...

As I continued reading about this awesome new program I started thinking, hey, maybe my wife would be interested in running with a company like this. After all, if this distributor was so high on it, maybe the products really were something we could use. Maybe this distributor was about to upgrade our health!

Then it happened...

I was nearing the bottom of the distributor's webpage and was ready to click to the main company's site to further review the products and opportunity. But before I could get there a text link caught my eye. It read...

"Internet Business Opportunities -- Take charge of your life!! Use your brain not your muscle!!"

I figured it may be a link to the opportunity part of the health site they were talking about -- either that or a related program they were promoting.

I clicked the link and BAM! The next words I read were...

"CIGARETTES $11.95 A CARTON!"

Yikes. CIGARETTES at a health site. Credibility shot. Goodness, what were they thinking?

Yet the worse part was the 'tie-in'. You see, it seems this health food distributor had a fleeting thought that pawning smokes may clash with their main health program. They must have, because they added the following...

"100% NATURAL TOBACCO" ( no chemical additives! )

Oh, now I understand. Maybe these were health cigs. In that case, sign me up for some health food and yeah, throw in a carton of smokes too!

My message today is simple. There are lots of ways to say it...

Stick to one niche.
Narrow your focus.
Think.
Use common sense.
Don't chase the buck at all cost.

If you truly want to succeed online, the formula is simple...

Focus on ONE market, figure out what they want and need, and then fill their needs. Build credibility at your website by focusing on helping your target audience.

If your target market consists of health conscious web surfers, serve them a steady diet of health-related information and products.

Just don't throw in a pack of smokes as your free bonus.
Best regards, Jim Daniels
Owner - bizweb2000.com

About the Author
* Article by Jim Daniels of JDD Publishing. Jim's site has helped 1000's of regular folks profit online. Visit (http://bizweb2000.com) for FREE "how-to" cybermarketing assistance, software, manuals, web services and more. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to their Free, weekly BizWeb E-Gazette: mailto:freegazette@bizweb2000.com