Thinking of selling candles and lotions for the Scentsy MLM as an at-home business opportunity? You're not alone—but how successful can you really be with this business?
I've got all the info you need to consider before getting started with Scentsy, and how the skills you could apply there in network marketing can help you soar as your own boss.
In addition, I've got insider info about the best work-from-home-online opportunities and how you can get started.
My Review of Scentsy
Scentsy is a network marketing or multi-level marketing (MLM) company that focuses on selling fragrance-based items like waxes, wickless candles, wax warmers, essential oils, diffusers, laundry and cleaning products, lotions, and more.
Scentsy consultants join to sell these products to their friends, family, and acquaintances via network marketing.
How Do Consultants Get Started?
Like most MLM setups, Scentsy consultants start by buying some products in a starter kit. This gives them a few options to try out for themselves or start selling to their customers.
When consultants sign-up, they can search for the person who recruited them during the process. Being part of someone's “downline” theoretically offers mentoring opportunities.
After being part of the downline, they can then purchase the $99 starter kit. This includes products like a mini fan diffuser, hand soap, sample bundles, fragrance testers, a Scentsy bar, and a wax warmer.
It also contains getting started materials like the Consultant Guide, seasonal catalogs, and invitation and thank you postcards for sending to clients.
During the sign-up process, consultants sign an agreement with Scentsy. They also can set up a personal website to sell their products from under the Scentsy domain.
With all that housekeeping out of the way, consultants can pay and wait for their first shipment to arrive.
Is the Scentsy MLM a Profitable Opportunity?
In multi-level marketing companies like Scentsy, you earn based on the products you sell plus a commission from the sales of anyone you have recruited.
In 2020, Scentsy released their most recent Income Disclosure Statement.
For 50,000+ consultants who had been working with Scentsy for a year or more at that time:
- Minimal annual commissions were $121
- Maximum annual commissions were $1,282,079
- Average annual commissions were $2,901
- Median annual commissions were $869
For the 135,000+ consultants who had been working with Scentsy for less than a year at that time:
- Minimum annual commissions were $0
- Maximum annual commissions were $34,933
- Average annual commissions were $452
- Median annual commissions were $203.
The key numbers here are the average and median commissions in both groups, which show that the vast majority of Scentsy consultants are making a Scentsy profit between $203 and $2901 a year.
Is Networking Marketing Your Best Bet?
Looking at these numbers—and building on my own personal experience in an MLM—probably not.
And here's why. When it comes to marketing opportunities, network marketing is one of the hardest to break into and succeed at. They're not really designed to make each member successful.
Instead, those who get in early and recruit downlines benefit from all of their sales. That's where the majority of profits come from heavy-hitters in the MLM world.
Selling the products is a struggle for a couple of other reasons. First, your area may already be saturated in consultants. Think about how you got recruited. Is there a chance others nearby will also be recruited and fight you for territory? This limits the number of customers and future recruits for your own downline.
You may also struggle to sell such niche products to a narrow customer pool.
What Can I Learn From Network Marketing?
As someone who also once worked in network marketing, it's a good base for basic marketing skills. It gives you skills in connecting with customers and problem-solving. You learn how to market your product as something that can help with their problems.
If these are skills that you already have and which attracted you to network marketing, it might be time to consider a different direction in marketing, like affiliate marketing.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is an all-around better way to make money online. You tap into the great marketing skills you're already nurturing to help promote products. Connecting with customers and finding products and services that solve their problems are prime skills to take into affiliate marketing.
And you get to use these skills online, from home or wherever else you want, to have a legitimate business that is independent of anyone else's inventory cost or downline demands. You get to take on a legitimate opportunity at little cost.
So How Do I Make Money from This?
You can turn affiliate marketing into a job by creating content that features promotable products. You probably see this all the time on Instagram, YouTube, or blogs.
A content creator reviews a product—like a new make-up palette—and they'll say, “Click my link for 5% off.” Two things are happening here: 1) you really are getting 5% off the product, and 2) they're getting a portion of your sale as a thank you for directing them to the seller.
Creating content is a low-investment business opportunity—unlike the Scentsy cost which can require you to purchase a lot of inventory before you see even the smallest profit. Many of the sites you can use to host your content like WordPress or TikTok are free or low-cost to get started.
You can review products at your own discretion, or you can even get signed up with some affiliate marketing programs that direct sellers who need content creators to promote their products.
Legendary Marketer Can Tell You Everything You Need to Know
Intrigued by affiliate marketing? Ready to break out of network marketing like the Scentsy MLM for something new? At Legendary Marketer, we host online learning opportunities for you to get up and running as a skilled affiliate marketer.
If you've reached the end of this review and decided you'd rather try your hand at affiliate marketing, please consider checking out our free online webclass which will walk you through our #1 recommended way to earn money online from home and teaches affiliate marketing strategies including how to make multiple high-ticket affiliate commissions each month marketing valuable products people already want to buy.
