I just started an online business and I am new to this whole Network Marketing thing. Any advice?

[Kari]

I am a stay at home mom that was looking for something to do to help with the bills. I joined an online business opportunity that has real potential, I just have no idea what I am doing. I have never been in Network Marketing or owned anything that even resembled a business. I am on Facebook and Twitter. But I have noticed that Facebook is getting overrun with others who are in the same opportunity that I am so the competition is becoming a bit overwhelming. Twitter is great but it takes time to "tweet" often enough to stand out among the thousands doing the same thing. I have also tried Craigslist, I've heard that this is good to use, again I have no idea so it could be the one thing I shouldn't do! I have to say I am a little frustrated because it seems that in order to get any advice or help whatsoever I have to pay for it and that gets expensive. I am trying to help PAY the bills not create more bills to pay! I am wondering if there is anyone out there who started like I am, from no experience, and made it happen. I don't need sarcastic comments or useless offers for free e-books or anything else other than real advice from people who have real experience in this industry. What worked or didn't work for you? What do I do now, when it seems like everyone around me is able to build their team and I am just sitting here waiting for someone to notice what I am saying.

Thanks in advance,

Kari

[Jennifer]

Kari,

The web is a tangled place to do business and unless you have a product of your own or something that Everyone Wants, then it is a hard place to make money.

That is why I chose a different program that allows me to make a Very Good income in publishing. Yes I actually sell books, nothing digital. I work part time, as a sales consultant, for "Practical Memoir" they publish a book that allows anyone to write there own memoir. Most people that get the book have completed it in a few days or weeks.

Then when they have put their life story into print, they mail a copy of the book back to "Practical Memoir" and order copies of the finished book for their family members. The cool part is that each book ends up costing only about $20 and makes the BEST gift you could ever give a loved one.

So how do I make my money from this? As I mentioned I work as a "Practical Memoir Consultant" and host parties with friends and family just like Pampered Chef. I sell copies of the book at the events(average sale is 2 books per guest, 1 for the guest and 1 for a friend of theirs) then we all sit around with snacks and start the process of completing our books. A few days later when those guest are done, they mail in the books order the copies etc.....

I get paid right at the party for the Profit on the books sold at the party, then I also get 25% commission on all the reprints. It is great residual income that is their for life. In January I made $1,692 in commissions from doing only 4 shows. In February I did 7 parties, and plan to bring in close to $2,500 for my next check. I now also have 3 girlfriends working in my network and have just started seeing overides on their sales. Plus, if I keep this pace going I will be looking at making bonuses.

Best of Luck

Jen

[dan]

Kari,

A good free way to market your product or service would be to write articles about it and post them in online article directories like ezinearticles.com and streetarticles.com. You can then place links in these articles that link back to your blog or web page that has information about your product or service.

It helps if you learn a little bit about keyword research. This helps you to write your articles in such a way that they get listed in the search engines (like Yahoo or Google) under certain search terms (keywords) of your choosing. So if your product were a weight loss product, you would want to find less competitive keywords where your article would have a good chance of being listed on the first page. So instead of writing an article about "weight loss" which would be highly competitive, you might find a keyword like "get rid of beer belly" that would probably be much less competitive.

[Sam C]

My first piece of advice is to sponsor under the type of person you just described. (Someone who is making it happen in the marketplace now using marketing and sales techniques that match your personality) As you move along in your network marketing career you will encounter successes and challenges repeatedly. Challenges which will be more easily weathered through with the advice and support found in a mentor/apprentice relationship. A sponsor who is also your mentor has a vested interest in working with you.

Second, go to "school" (so to speak) studying and learning about the network marketing profession.

There are four books that I recommend (links in source below):

The first is the Email Marketers Cookbook. This is book authored by a former MLM sponsor of mine. I was able to achieve a 12% response rate in my email campaigns after studying this workbook. This book will teach you how to write compelling ad copy. Ad copy that can be applied to any marketing medium, whether it be direct mail, magazine advertising etc. etc.

The second book is Inside Network Marketing by Len Clements. This book will tell you the truth about Network Marketing and help you understand how it works so you can develop you're own philosophy on the profession. On the marketwave website you can read most of the book for free by going to the articles section.

The third and fourth books are not specifically about MLM but are valuable marketing strategies you should use in your MLM career for selling and/or recruiting. IdeaVirus will teach you how to create an Idea that spreads like a virus (viral marketing) and Permission marketing will show you how to market one to one by first asking for permission, offering value and creating a dialogue that will hopefully end in making the sale. I recommend all of Seth's books.

Bonus: Google Kim Klaver and read a few of her articles. She has a way of explaining MLM in a compelling and easily understandable way that can be adapted to your conversations about the profession.