I believe paid advertising is more effective at first because most of the people who join SFI have little to no experience with advertising, I think this is why a lot of affiliates have such a hard time getting started. With paid advertising you can get your business off to a faster start,and then go to a mix of free and paid once you learn how to properly advertise your business.Also at the start this will free up more time to learn how to support your downline,and to become a good leader.