Taking a Bath in MLM & Social Media Marketing?

Horses usually like their baths and Turnup is no exception, especially with Sara to give him carrots. But you sure don't want to take a bath in MLM or Social Media marketing. And the plain fact is that most of us do - 97% inadequate or dismal failure results. It's not the products themselves that cause this, although if you haven't done your research and got a good product/service, your results will probably be poor. The problem really lies in not knowing how to set up your approach to developing your business, and how you execute your task.

So many people try to promote their products directly on the social media sites. And they are most likely doomed to failure. They forget the point of 'social' in social media. It's not about business opportunities. It's about you and your friends getting to know and trust one another. But you can develop any number of friendships and establish relationships with them - and still fail to develop your business. Why? Because you haven't developed a center, a hub, to which you can bring your interested friends so they can explore your opportunities.

You need that hub. It's your office, your center for converting your efforts into money-making endeavors. It could be your website, but in today's world, more and more people are developing blogs as the hub for their activities. Why a blog instead of a website? Well, once you've set up your website, it's pretty static. But a blog is alive, it changes and moves, allows for constant creativity and can be linked to your social media sites.

Many people are intimidated by the thought of developing blogs. They don't think they can write well or just don't like to write, they don't have any confidence that they can keep a blog going and they don't know how to do it. Since the language in social media is predominately English, a non-native faces a real problem if they can't write English well - or think they can't. But most of those obstacles can be overcome - even the inability to write English very well. It takes a bit of work but it can be done. And I'm working with some innovative people who have developed a blog that can really revolutionize the industry - and eliminates virtually all the problems that a blogger novice faces.

My own blog isn't set up properly - not because I don't write well or have good content (she said modestly). But because I don't OWN it. So before you go rushing out to start a blog, wait a bit. I'm going to have a lot more about blogging. In the meantime, keep building your personal presence in social media, via Twitter, FaceBook, and You Tube. Brand yourself as a person of value and people will start to respond to you.

Building Your Social Network for Your MLM Business

To me, friendship is based on mutual value, respect and trust. It's not something you can buy - you have to earn it. In social networking, building friendships rests on the same principles. Your profile needs to be professional, honest and transparent. Most important, it needs to reflect that you have value.

Your business goal is to build your reputation as a leader, to attract other business builders and marketers to you and to generate quality leads for your business. But always remember that you are building a foundation. Participate actively in the social community but never, ever do any pitching.

So how do you get started? Once you have a professional profile, then you want to start adding friends. But don't scatter shoot. Think about who you want to attract. Look for people who have similar interests. Conduct a search for groups to join - not just in MLM, though you certainly want to establish your presence in that industry. Check out groups in other industries that interest you. Click on each group's member list and start adding friends.

But here's the key. You are not just building a list, you should be trying to build a relationship with that list. So consider sending a personal message with your friend request and certainly send a personal thank you (with a bit of info about yourself) when that person confirms you as a friend.

A word of caution: FaceBook doesn’t like spammers and pitching. So don’t add more than 20-25 friends at a time. Do some in the morning, some in the afternoon and/or evening. FaceBook will issue a warning if you are adding too many at a time (it assumes you don’t really know them). If you get that warning, get off FaceBook for 24 hours and slow down your pace when you return.

Reviewing The Fundamental Plan for Your Own Network Marketing Business

Life is all about sharing. Don't work in islolation. You can't get a new home-based business off the ground without drawing on other people's experience and knowledge. Like most network marketers, I made a ton of mistakes, largely because I simply did not have good guidance and a well-formed plan. Any of the real gurus will tell you that. Many of them struggled for years before succeeding. And you can learn a lot from the right mentor.

So today, I'm taking a look back and reviewing the basic steps you need to take to get started right.

First and foremost, whatever you decide to do, be committed - at least for a year. Businesses do not succeed overnight. And all those 'make thousands quick' deals in the MLM industry probably aren't worth your time. Be honest, thoughtful and consistent. Make sure you add value. Establish yourself as a real professional who has something to offer that people want or need.

Step 1: Determine what you want to do. Select something that suits you, that will allow you to build off your strengths and that you will really enjoy and will be committed to - if you aren't, you'll find yourself in trouble (and a lot poorer) quickly.

Step 2: Analyze why you want to do it. Write out a clear statement of your why. It's not just about making money, it's about making money to pay for your kids' education, to travel and do things you've never been able to afford, to build for your own retirement by achieving full financial freedom, to allow you to do something else that you're really passionate about but doesn't make you any real money, and so on. Whatever your 'why' is, it's your real motivation to keep going. So post your 'why' where you can see it every day.

Step 3: Consider when to get started. This is actually a bit tricky. 'Now' is the obvious answer. And most gurus will tell to 'take action now.' But if you start running around without a good financial and business plan in place, and you fail to accumulate some basic knowledge about your industry and business, you'll just wind up flitting from one thing to another, trying to find something that works. When you've got your foundation, you can apply the '80% action/20% learning' rule. But when you are getting started, I'd recommend '40%/60%'. I think you'll avoid a lot of mistakes and, ultimately, be more successful. So, by all means, get started now, but make sure you have your ducks in a row too. There is no road to instant success.

Step 4: How: The two major problems people building a new home-based business have are: 1) Lack of Money and 2) Lack of Quality Leads..

The first can be overcome by preparing and utilizing a good budget and by finding a way to generate enough income while you're getting off the ground with your main business. Know what you can afford to invest and how you want to invest it. Don't run around buying up stuff or programs without careful thought. There is a lot of good information on the Net and a lot of excellent guidance that is available for free from top leaders in the industry. Find it (google search, FaceBook groups are some good starting points) and use it. Allocate your funds so that you are getting maximum value.

Many people will tell you 'this is the truth, the way. Just sign up and you're off to success'. Look rather for those who invite you to learn, offer valuable advice, video presentations, and webinars - people who want to build a relationship with you that will be mutually rewarding. But don't buy anything until you've evaluated its potential benefit to you. And stay on budget or you'll be out of business.

Overcoming the lack of quality leads really rests on two factors: building your own list and building a strong relationship with that list. People who favor the warm marketing approach will tell you to start with your family, friends, acquaintances and associates. It works for some people, but not for me and probably not for many of you. I prefer the principles of Attraction Marketing and build my lists and relationships to establish myself as someone people want to do business with. But much more on that later.