What is Multi-Level Marketing or Network Marketing?

Have you ever wondered why people are so turned off at the mention of Multi-Level Marketing? Is it legal? Is it a pyramid? Who benefits the most? Where does the money flow? In this article, we will examine basic differences between Multi-Level Marketing and a Corporate Structure.

Let's take the corporate structure first. Almost all of our work in this type of hierarchy every day. A CEO heads the corporation or company. Below him/her are upper management people i.e. Vice President, Controller, Senior Sales Exec...etc. Below them are middle management people i.e. Department Heads, Retail Directors, Consultants and various Supervisors.

Finally, we reach the Sales Representatives, Customer Service Representatives, Stockers, Cashiers, Cleaners, Drivers, etc.

So who makes the most money in this type of structure?

If you were to draw a flowchart this, it would look like a “Pyramid” The CEO makes the most money as he/she sits at the top. Below them are a few upper management people, then more middle management, then most of the workers. It is the person at the “top” of this “pyramid” that makes the most money because, in this type of structure, you are paid based on “where you are” in the structure. So, how do you make more money here? The only way you can truly increase your earnings are if someone in the structure is promoted, gets fired, dies, or quits. As a result, everyone in the structure can move up.

So.... Let's take a look at a Network Marketing Structure and then compare. On the surface, both structures are mirror images of each other. BOTH look like a “Pyramid” structure. Flowchart it out again. An affiliate will sponsor someone, they sponsor more, they sponsor more...etc. But...who makes the money here? The worker at the top? Possibly, but most likely not. Here's why:

Even though this structure looks identical to a corporate structure pyramid, in the MLM structure you get paid STRICTLY on what you produce and the work you do, not on where you are within the structure. Wouldn't it seem fair that if you do more work, you should get paid more money? This structure is simply a structure of business owners. Pay is based ONLY on what you do, not your position within the network. This is what differs Network Marketing from a typical “Corporate Structure Job”.

In the MLM structure, YOU are in control of your income. In the corporate world, someone else will always be in control of your income. Always!


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How To Increase Your Network Marketing Recruiting?

The first problem network marketers face, is having enough leads for their business. If the number of leads isn’t the problem, then the problem lies in the conversion rates in your Network Marketing recruiting. Growing your team has more to do with your ability to lead, and ability to connect with people than it does with the sheer numbers. Keeping this in mind, your training should be focused on developing your abilities in these areas. Here are four basic changes you can make today, to increase the number of prospects you convert to full blown business partners with your Network Marketing recruiting.

1. Don’t lead with your opportunity. This takes me back to when I was seeking an opportunity. Since I was serious and answered several ads, I was overwhelmed with calls, my inbox was full, and packages were arriving constantly. It was an endless stream of sales pitches. The only person that I spent more than 3 minutes on the phone with, was my existing business partner, the person who recruited me into my business over a year ago. So what made her approach different? Because she didn’t jump me like your average network marketing recruiting call, with information on her awesome business opportunity, she didn’t hound me. Instead, she asked me questions. She interviewed me. Here is an outline of the interview process. Always give first, then ask. Let them know you want to share a little bit about your company, and they can get more information from your site or presentation. Next you want to learn more about them to determine if you may have a solid foundation to work together. In the ask portion of the interview, take your time learning about their job, special skills, their family, what they like to do when they're not working, and their primary reason for wanting a home business. Determining a person's real reason will require you to probe this question in multiple ways, to get to the heart of the matter. The superficial response given by just about everybody is time and financial freedom. It’s not the time and the money, it’s what it will allow them to do, their passions, what really motivates them, and that is what you want to find out. Make sure you follow up by summarizing their "why" so they know you are listening, and ask if you have understood them correctly.

2. Focus on the person as a person, not a goal. Approaching people with "me" on the brain, and what you need to accomplish with Network Marketing recruiting, will not attract people to your business. It is not a verbal cue I am talking about. I am talking about the non-verbal communication which is about 93% of your conversation, it won't take long for people to see your primary goal is about you, and the door will be closed. Take the focus completely off of your goals, and put your focus completely on the person you are speaking with. Trust can only be built when people feel you have their best interest in mind. Be genuinely eager to learn about their needs and desires. When you can master techniques in listening, and being sincerely interested in the other person, they will walk away from that conversation feeling understood, and like it was the best conversation they have had in years. They will feel like you are the person who can help them accomplish their goals. People want to feel important, recognized and understood. Take excellent notes, because the next time you call, if their spouse answers the phone, you should be able to address them by name.

3. Under promise, and over deliver. Honesty will take you further than indulging. Quite simply, avoid leading people to believe they can accomplish outrageous goals with network marketing, especially when you know it's not a typical result. Kindly let them know that although you really like their ambition, and nothing is impossible, with your company, the average income after 3 months is about $1,000 a month (whatever the case may be). Next pose a question like - if you were generating (amount) three months down the road, how would you feel about that, keeping in mind this is your intial start up period? More people will appreciate you being honest, and lowering their initial expectations, than if you agreed with their goal, and 90 days down the road, they are completely disgusted because they haven’t even made $2k. The simple lesson here, don’t inflate numbers, don’t suggest pie in the sky results, if the majority of people are not reaching them. Sure we can all live by anything is possible with Network Marketing, but if only less than 1% of the people in the company have accomplished it, we can’t set our targets based on that group. The same applies with your products, don’t make promises or claims that are not 100% backed by real data.

4. Be real and be yourself. We can see a fake coming from a mile away. I remember listening to one of my newer business partners role playing a particular Network Marketing recruiting phone message script. Naturally, he is an easy going guy, comes through very genuine and sincere, but as soon as the voice mail tone sounded, he came across like a shiny happy salesman, with the energy of a cheerleader. Please understand, if your personality is naturally bubbly, I am not saying change it, because it is true to who you are. If you don’t, you come across like you are a walking infomercial with Network Marketing, and you won’t get a call back. Whether online or offline, just stay true to your personality.

If you will begin today by implementing just these 4 things, you should increase your conversion rates with your Network Marketing recruiting. You will want to spend more time training and developing these skills, and I suggest connecting with a mentor to help you. Also, make sure you have a good marketing plan in place, so you will always have enough people to talk to with your Network Marketing opportunity.


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Steps for Creating a Powerful Landing Page

If you practice Internet marketing, you know the importance of a high converting “Landing Page”. Also called a promotional page, jump page, or squeeze page, effective development of these pages are essential for online marketing success.

After a web browser clicks on a search engine generated link (organic or paid), they are directed to a website or jump page. Regardless of the specific purpose of your page, one fact remains the same – you want a browser to take some type of action.

In the steps that follow, I will share some landing page best practices that have been provide to increase conversion rates and have those browsers taking the action you’re hoping for. Keep the following concepts in mind when designing your jump-page:

 Big, Bold, Relevant Headline. If you don’t catch the attention of the browser with a big, bold, headline that is relevant, than nothing else matters. This is why expert marketers test multiple jump-pages at once – to see which page proves most relevant to browsers.

 Use Visuals. If people have to read beyond your headline and sub-headline before understanding what you’re selling (or offering), you’ll have a difficult time getting them to read any further. This is where visuals come in. Pictures are worth a thousand words and can convey your message quickly and with less effort. Make sure your jump page goes beyond plain text and integrates visuals in the form of a different colored font, pictures, and/or video.

 Testimonials Sell. Would you buy a product you never heard of? What if your best friend told you all about it? People like to buy based on recommendations. This is particularly true of online purchases. Having proof points validated through like-minded individuals removes fear and breaks down skepticism. There are a variety of ways to share a testimonial and they all work (photo and quote, audio recording, video).

 Provide Something for Free. Encourage action by offering something free in exchange for name and email address. If you’re actually selling a product from your page, consider giving added bonuses for making a purchase. The more you offer at the price point you’ve identified, the more value you create for your potential customer.

 Time Bound/Limited Offers. Create a sense of urgency with an offer that is only valid for a short time. You may also make your offer available to a limited number of new registrants. Either method works for creating urgency and encouraging a purchase. You will need to test your time-bound offers to identify the time frame that works best for your potential customer base. The same is true for limited-time offers.

 Offer Multiple Payment Options. Believe it or not, some marketers only provide one way for prospective customers to order their product or service. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work that way, nor should it. Give users multiple options for how they pay.

 Test.Test.Test. No matter how good you think you are, you can always do better. Be sure to test your control page, attempting to improve conversions each time. This ensures that your business will continue to grow and you’ll better understand what works and what doesn’t with your target audience. It will also help you better understand seasonal trends.

Creating an effective landing page is essential for successful online marketing. Begin with a basic page that follows the criteria mentioned above. Test multiple pages to determine which has the highest conversion rate and continually tweak the page to improve results. This ensures landing page will continue to produce long into the future.

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How to do an Online Advertising?

The world wide web is being utilized widely today to lure in new and potential customers and to send out marketing messages. To do this, you should implement effective online advertising, also known as Internet or web advertising. There are many ways on how to implement online advertising effectively. Some of these are through the use of email marketing, advertising network, advertising via social networks, banner ads, search engine results pages and the like. Most importantly, web advertising should achieve a good business-to-customer (B2C) interaction to be effective. Here, we will be tackling some insights on what Internet advertising can do for the success of your business.

There are several things an Internet-based business should learn before doing an online advertising. For you to effectively implement it, it is necessary for you to know your customer base. It is also important for an online business to consider the demographics, age, and backgrounds of the customers. Knowing your customer plays an important role in the success of your company because it will help you target the most specific and potential clients over the web.

On the other hand, traditional advertising does not considerably targets the projected audience. In Internet advertising, the advertiser can easily select a target market, thus making it as an effective marketing tool. All in all, web advertising can attain marketing goals and it is a user-friendly marketing tool to implement.

Aside from being an effective marketing tool, online advertising is cost-effective, offers outstanding return on investment (ROI), and is highly operative. In online advertising, the active participation between the sellers and the consumers is present. It provides an easy access to sell products and get feedback from it. When it comes to publicity and product endorsement, web advertising is one of the many best methods that can be used by small businesses to vie against large businesses.

Before you start engaging in online advertising, you should obtain a first-rate tracking program to monitor your advertising efforts. A tracking program is necessary for you to know advertising campaigns that effectively work for you. The secret in Internet advertising is not to work harder but to work smarter.

Furthermore, you should do preliminary research for you to do well in the field of web advertising. You do not need to spend huge amounts of money to enhance your advertising skills because there are many available resources that you can find on the Internet about online advertising. All these things are needed to be fruitful in your online advertising endeavor.


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Importance of Mentoring for Online Business

So you want to be successful in your online business? Then better seek the expertise of an online business mentor to improve your online strategy and presence in the World Wide Web. Many individuals prefer to go solo when it comes to running their Internet-based business. But little do they know it is more advantageous and beneficial for them to join a mentoring program that focuses on the success of their business online.

Many people believe that they can easily start earning money online because of the notion that the Internet provides an easy way for anyone to begin an online venture. However, most of these people tend to fail in their online ventures because of the lack of additional knowledge in this field. Yes, it is easy to create an online business but it is also difficult to turn it into a profitable one. Having the training provided by a skilled online business mentor would be very helpful in determining the success of an Internet-based business.

The help of an online business mentor is important, particularly in providing expert advice related to online ventures. Most of the times, working by yourself on the Internet can be a lonesome experience, but the aid of an online mentor will give you comfort because he knows your needs to make your business successful.

Here are some benefits of having an online business mentor:

• He will help you in choosing the most proper keywords for your website and will teach you how to optimize it. In this way, search engines will able to show and rank your website in a higher position because it will now receive more targeted traffic.

• He will teach you in building quality backlinks so that you can drive targeted traffic to your website.

• He will give you details on Internet marketing strategies and teach you on how to implement it. In this way, you will save extra money and time and build you a lucrative online business at the same time.

• He will be an expert critique for your landing page or website. He will provide you sound advice if there are some things to be fixed in order for you to redouble your conversion rate.

• He will provide you several free online resources. In this way, you will save extra money intended for software and e-books purchase.

• He will teach you to add significant stuff that matter in the field of online business which includes creating pages in social networking sites, putting up a free blog, using webmaster tools from Google, setting up a stat counter to your website and much more.

With this in mind, the expertise of an online business mentor is really important to build a successful Internet-based business.



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How to Overcome Skepticism of Online Marketing

Everyone loves the Internet but not everyone is ready to buy. There can be a level of skepticism you may have to overcome and one way to do that is let them see your face. Use online video and you have an advantage over your competitors when dealing with customers.

Successful marketing is all about establishing a relationship; and that is so much easier when they can see and hear you. You may be very comfortable online but some people are still skeptical about doing business with you over the Internet and you need to persuade them to trust you before they will buy from you.

These are some of the top 10 direct marketing principles you can use to make sure your Internet marketing really works for you:

1 History

People want to know you are not going to disappear overnight so if you've been in business for any length of time then this will add credibility to you and your offers.

2 Statistics

Use genuine statistics to give you more credibility by listing number of customers served, money saved, profits made, and so on.

3 Testimonials

Don’t overestimate the importance of these so get them from your Customers and Clients saying how you and/or your products have helped them. Get experts in your market to validate and endorse your products and services and if appropriate get celebrities who you either 'rent' for your marketing, feature at your events or use by association.

4 Demonstrations

With the use of online video and 'how to' DVDs it is very ease to show a demonstration of your product and services both on and offline. MyVideotalk Studio is a web-based software that lets you make a screen capture video where you can demonstrate your products and services or talking though the sales letter. If you are in a market that isn't really familiar with online buying this works really well. What better proof that your product or service works than by showing an example of before and after. This treatment is very effective in diverse markets and you would be surprised at how many products benefit from it.

5 Credentials

What credentials do you have in your market? They don't have to be academic, but can awards, accomplishments, membership to organizations that are relevant to your market.

6 Publicity

Reprints of articles about you in the press or your articles being published in the media that lend weight to your credibility as the expert or authority in your market are highly valuable to you. Show your market that you are in demand and have status as an expert.

7 Guarantee

If you can't guarantee the product you're selling then find something else to sell that you can guarantee. Nothing gives more reassurance to prospects than a genuine, good guarantee.

8 Accessibility

On your website have your full contact detail if possible as this will give a big boost to your potential customer confidence in you and your company. Using just an email contact is the worst and an email, phone and address the best.

Never give a PO Box as your address as it immediately makes people suspicious.

9 The Personal Touch

Being visible in the business to your customers is a confidence booster for them. Make it personal so you are a real individual, anecdotes about you and your business, pictures and videos all make your customer more comfortable as if they have already met you.

10 Excess

Use a combination of as many of the examples above in your marketing! What may seem like overkill to you may not be enough to overcome some people's skepticism!



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How to Influence Anyone in the Most Effective Manner

It's easy to influence anyone if you know the right tactics to use. Here's a list of 7 powerful techniques to get the most out of your persuasion efforts.

Tactic # 1: Start your discussion on the right track.

One of the biggest mistakes people make in persuasion is that they start talking about a topic or situation that the other person is not yet aware or familiar with. It's important to start your discussion on a point that people can relate to, preferably from the very beginning, unless you're sure that they already know the foundation of the topic of discussion.

Tactic # 2: Be crystal clear in imparting your message.

When you say, “He’s mad” do you mean he’s angry or do you mean he’s crazy? Whenever you're going to say or write something that is vague or may lead to miscommunication, it's highly recommended that you change the words in a way that imparts a clear message.

Tactic # 3: Give them a summary or an overall glimpse of the big picture.

This is vital when talking about something that takes a little (or a lot more) time to comprehend. This way, they can better relate the discussion to the big picture and “absorb” what you're saying.

Tactic # 4: Stay humble.

Never brag or be arrogant because it’s a big turn-off. The other party may think (in his own mind) that he’s better than you, and you’ll just bruise his ego.

You may even feign to not know things you may already be aware of if it would give you an edge in persuading him. Give him the impression that you are an ally and not in competition with him.

Tactic # 5: Pay attention to what is being said instead of thinking what you’ll say next.

This may be a little difficult for you to do initially. That’s why it is critical to practice & enhance your persuasion skills until it becomes a part of you. When listening, don’t interrupt while they’re talking. Wait a second or two before you speak. Avoid changing subjects because this indicates your disinterest.

Tactic # 6: Choose the right time.

When they’re not in the mood or when they’re pressed with time, your persuasion efforts may just fall on deaf ears because they will not give you attention.

Ask first if you can have a few minutes of their time. If they say it's not a good time, ask for a time that fits their schedule.

Tactic # 7: Never disrespect anyone.

Watch out for the body signals that you are giving away. You might be pouting your lips, breathing heavily, shaking your head, or rolling your eyes without you being aware that you’re offending others.

Watch your language too. If saying “Whatever,” “Oh brother,” or “Yeah right” is part of your lingo, practice taking them out of your vocabulary.

Practice and apply these 7 tactics, and you'll be able to influence people faster than anyone else.



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How to Increase Your Blog Traffic

Every blog can attract too much traffic by just following few simple tips. Increasing blog traffic can be made in several ways but it takes a large amount of time and effort. By following few simple techniques that lack this time and effort any blog can start to enjoy plenty of free online advertising.

Once certain techniques are followed, the Blog owner can expect to attract too much search engine traffic which is the desired type of traffic to get because of targeting and it is free.

Below are 3 techniques any blog owner can implement to help attract more visitors.

Posting to Your Blog

The blog posting needs to be related to the subject the post is about. Each post should focus on only one subject and not many subjects. This will make it easier for you to efficiently optimize the post with keywords that are related to the post and will help serve search engines to rank that post.

One drawback to going away from your main topic will be the confusion it will create for the Readers of the post.

Another drawback is the search engines that will be confused if the post is not concentrated on one subject for the post.

Incoming Links to Your Blog

Actually the more incoming links your blog has the better for your blog and more visibility for your blog. Having external sites link to your blog is viewed as a vote to your blog. When these links are built on higher ranking sites or sites that have high page rank, they will help to give more votes in effect thereby helping to boost your blog ranking.

The best way to obtain new links regularly is to create good quality content on your blog and to post them too often. By posting regularly on your blog it will help to attract search engine spiders to crawl your site for the fresh content. Every time this happens it will help to boost your site in the higher rankings which make it more noticeable to new visitors and other sites that will link to your blog.

Internal Linking Inside the Blog

As you create more new posts inside your blog you will want to start linking similar posts to each other. It is true that most of your blog postings will contain parallel ideas and subjects. It is a good idea and recommended to link these posts to each other so the blog reader can easily navigate around the blog using that links to find similar subjects to what they are reading on the current page.

This technique of internal linking also helps search engines to crawl the blog more efficiently and find any relevant content you have posted when crawling any page.

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E-Mail Marketing Tips

There are many ways to sell products these days, especially considering the nature of the world. After all, we have access to the internet, so why shouldn't we use it to advertise? You can find many ways to use the internet as an advertising tool, though email marketing is one of the most popular methods these days.

Using email for your advertising campaign is actually a great idea for several reasons. When you are using email marketing, you actually have a list of clients that want to hear from you, which is a bit different from simply advertising on a website. When you are advertising through email, you generally have the consent of your audience, and there are a few other things to take into consideration as well.

If you are launching an email marketing campaign, then you have probably done so from a parenting website either by offering e-mail updates or by offering your clients the opportunity to sign up. Either way, they are your customers, and they are already willing to purchase what you have to offer. That being the case, you should work on the design of your email.

You are catering to an audience that has seen virtually every form of email marketing campaign under the sun, and as a result, you're going to need to come up with something a little different if you want to succeed. Then again, while you want to make it different, you will also want to make sure that it is easy for the user to navigate. The use of photos would be a good idea, and you want to make sure that all of your links are clickable.

Most importantly, never send an unsolicited email. It might seem like a good way to gain customers, and while there might be the occasional person out there that feels special or included at receiving an unsolicited message, most people will take great offense at it and consider it to be spam. Consider this when you are sending out your e-mails as it may very well save your business.

There are many benefits to using e-mail marketing, as you are certain to find out at some point or another. That being said, now would be a great time for you to research email marketing and learn all of its nuances. Once you get the hang of it, you will undoubtedly become an expert at the art, but always remember that you are serving your customers, and you must figure out what it is they want. In the end, your customer supports you and your customer that keeps you in business. Start campaigning and start listening!


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How To Start Making Money From Home Using Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other Social Media Sites

Isn't it shocking when you meet a high school classmate who doesn't have a Facebook, Twitter or MySpace account? Basically, we assume that everyone has these accounts, rather, everyone who knows the basics of computers and the internet. But you know what's more shocking than meeting someone who doesn't have these accounts? It's meeting someone who has been using for months and doesn't know that s/he can gain profits and earn bucks through this social networking site. Well, if you are guilty of this or you're just someone who knows that there's profit but is just wondering how to get started, here's some tips and tricks for you to make money from home using these social networking sites.

Sell products - You can take a picture of products at hand and tag your friends. To persuade your friends on why they should be buying products from you, you can also put descriptions of the said products. This way, you can be sure that your friends will be able to see what you sell and have the basic information on how to order. Plus, because of the newsfeed feature of these social networking sites, it's not only your friends can view the items you are selling, but also the friends of your friends.

Link your affiliate or blog link - If it's difficult for you to gain more views for your blog (business blog), then you can link your blog to your Facebook, MySpace or Twitter account. It automatically appears in the newsfeed and your profile, every time you update your blog. Check if your blog has this feature; if not, you can manually embed your link to your wall or even your friends' walls. This could also do this with your affiliate links.

Utilize Apps. - Not all applications just for games and quizzes, some enable you to earn money. By doing various simple tasks like taking surveys and completing offers these applications let you earn money. However, don't expect to get rich from this since they don't really offer much. But if you want to earn extra cash while basically doing nothing but chat with your friends, then you should really consider this.

Advertise through Social Networking Sites - If you are really serious about making money then advertising is the most effective way. Once you advertise, it will target specific audiences that are relevant to the products you are advertising. For example, if a person puts "tennis" as one of his hobbies and interests in his profile, then some of the advertisements that he can see in the advertisements tab are all about tennis. In order to advertise on these social networking sites, you must be willing to spend a few dollars; which is why it is only for serious advertisers who are willing to invest in their marketing.

Personal branding – There is nothing more important than personal branding. In every business, it is the businessman/woman which is more important because customers are more apt to deal or buy from whom they know and trust. Make use of social networking sites and let everyone recognize you – participate in discussion, share helpful ideas and tips, make new friends and/or find people you know and start communicating with them, join groups, make your own Business Page wherein you can detailed all information about your business and share the goodness of your products and services, invite famous people from the industry to become one of your friends and if so ask them to share their ideas. This way people will recognize you and will begin to build trust and loyalty.  


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