Networking is one of the two primary legs of network marketing, those who succeed in their network marketing business understand this completely.  There are many similarities between networking and marketing, but it is important to realize that the two terms are not identical.  Both share a heavy reliance on personal interaction, requiring people to confront and overcome any fears of talking to others that they may have.  With both come the potential of rejection, but both also bring tremendous potential for opportunity. Unfortunately, all too many people, consider both to be dirty words.

Those that consider networking as something to be resisted, generally have a flawed understanding of what networking truly involves.  This would also apply to people who believe they are above network marketing.  A common perception of many people is that networking is simply a way to get connected solely for their own personal gain. This viewpoint might lead a person to view networking as unethical or unprofessional.  This type of thinking comes from the idea that advancement comes at the expense of others. This viewpoint believes that success in life is a zero-sum proposition.  This perspective also directs their thinking as it pertains to network marketing.  The  thought of profiting from other people's is viewed as being negative and unfair.  The truth is that those who have achieved success in their network marketing business are quick to point out that their businesses were not built at the expense of others.  The business of network marketing actually rewards people for helping others become successful.  When viewed from this perspective, network marketing may actually be the most ethical and equitable business model being utilized today.

Much of the cloud that surrounds network marketing can be explained by the different types of network marketers.  Some individuals could best be described as 'hunters' who move in for the quick kill, and then disappear just as quickly. These individuals operate without regard for the interest and well being of others, because of this they will only enjoy limited success for a short period of time. Soon the reputation of this type of marketer will catch up to their activities, as people find out the hunter's true motivations.  Once these motivations are exposed, people withdraw their willingness to interact with the marketer.  In sharp contrast, highly successful network marketers operate much like farmers.  These  marketers invest great amounts of time to sowing and nurturing their relationships, instead of simply focusing on the next sale.  The successful marketer invests in their network, motivates their network and empowers others in their network.  They use the leverage of their network, but they take advantage of the team members within their network!   This fact is both know and appreciated those within their network.   A true network marketing practitioner will always keep the interests of others in their proper place.  This alone makes working with a true network marketer highly rewarding. 

Networking is an essential skill to any business, not just network marketing.  While network marketing differs in many ways from other traditional business models, the importance of networking is just critical, perhaps even more so than in the other business models.  A network marketer has not learned to effectively network will quickly be out of business.  At its core, network marketing is a people centric business and by definition, the ability to effectively work with people is a critical necessity.  It is no wonder why successful network marketers have mastered the art of networking.  Developing this skill can pay off far beyond the network marketing business as well.  In many cases, a business owner can apply their networking and people skills to their traditional business, leading to greater business success. 

Regardless of whether you are involved in a network marketing business or a more traditional business model, it would be a mistake to underestimate the importance of good networking skills.  For those truly wanting to master this skill, some of the best training will come good network marketers. So find a few people who fit that description, and tap into their knowledge on this skill.   Their mentoring will benefit you as you build your own networking success story!

        

On a regular basis you have seen me promote JV Giveaway Events on this blog.  JV Giveaway Events may be a new concept for you, but they can be one of the most powerful tools in your list building arsenal. 

To put it in the simplest form, a JV Giveaway Event is an online event, that generally runs for one to two weeks, in which online marketers contribute "gifts" to the event (hence the JV - Joint Venture).  These events can be ebooks, videos, audio, website scripts, memberships, etc...   These don't even have to be things that the marketer has created.  Many marketers utilize PLR (Private Label Rights) content for the giveaway.  PLR content can be personalized and branded to the marketer, thus making it unique.  Personally created content is always best, simply because it is unique and not likely to be duplicated.

There are two phases of any JV Giveaway Event.  In the first phase, marketers become contributors by donating their gifts to the event.  During this phase they are given a marketing link to solicit other contributors.  Points are awarded for each new contributor signed up, and these points are then utilized to increase the placement of the marketer's contributed gift. 

The second phase is the JV Giveaway Event open time period.  This time period is generally anywhere from one to two weeks in length.  During this time, prospects are invited to come to the event to download free business building tools and resources.   Each contributor is given an affiliate link through which prospects can enter the JV Giveaway Event.  To download a contributed gift, the prospect is required to go through the marketer's opt-in process.  By downloading the gift, the prospect is now added to the marketer's autoresponder campaign and becomes a part of the ongoing marketing list.

Also available during JV Giveaway Events are some great OTO (one time offer) opportunities, in which marketers will offer a paid product for a greatly reduced cost.  Commissions are paid to the referring marketer on these purchases. 

JV Giveaway Events are by the the fastest way to build a substantial marketing list.  In an average event, a marketer can easily add 25 or more people to their marketing list.  When you couple that with the ability to earn commission on the OTO opportunities, JV Giveaway Events make great business sense.

Current JV Giveaway Events:

Bargain Basement Giveaway - until February 13th
EZ-IM Giveaway - until February 19th

JV Giveaway Events Looking for Contributors:

Valentine Giveaway - Launches February 6th
New JV Talent - Launches February 13th

Members Only Giveaway - Launches February 15th
Traffic Tsunami - Launches February 15th
Luck of the Irish Giveaway - Launches February 19th

        

A few days ago, I told you about the release of a new traffic generation system called Viral Traffic Bar.  Today I wanted to give you a quick review of this new product.

Viral Traffic Bar is a new site that says it guarantees more CONVERTING web visitors and online advertising with very little effort or cost.  My first impression was the site looks professional and clean, with an attractive look and feel.  It is easy to read and understand.  Joining the site was easy and painless--they do offer 2 upgrade options but they are not required to gain the benefits.

The Members Area is very well laid out and intuitive--I was able to quickly figure out what to do after only a few minutes and was up and running in less than 5 minutes.  Inside the site, you create links and ads--the links you simply enter any URL links you use into the generator and it transforms them into "Viral Traffic Bar" links.  You create ads for anything you want to promote using the Viral Traffic Bar Ad Generator, which is very easy to use.  You can create as many links and as many ads as you like.  And they are organized in a logical way--links are displayed in the order you create them but also your 5 most recent links appear on the main page for quick reference.  Also, since the link generator is the tool you'll use most, it is also right at the top of the main page when you login.  Very smart!

After you've created at least 1 link and 1 ad you can start to generate traffic.  Just use and promote the new Viral Traffic Bar link instead of the original source link you had.  Every time the Viral Traffic Bar link is clicked, the page loads followed by a cool slide-up ad window at the bottom.  It displays an ad PLUS an image with your affiliate link that goes back to Viral Traffic Bar.  So if anyone clicks the Viral Traffic Bar image they see the site, and if they signup they become your referral.  It's a great viral feature because you can build referrals without even trying to just by using the site.

Now every time the ad window displays (your Viral Traffic Bar links get clicked) you earn credits that get YOUR ad displayed in the ad windows when other members' links get clicked.  So the more clicks, the more times your ads get displayed. 

And this works virally--meaning as you make referrals into Viral Traffic Bar (either by promoting it or just using it and visitors click the Viral Traffic Bar image on the ad window to join) you also earn ad credits on THEIR link clicks.  And this works up to 5 levels deep.  So you can create a massive amount of free ad views and web traffic by referring others to Viral Traffic Bar also.

I didn't get to test the full effect of a big downline yet (I just got the tool) but I can tell you the rest of the site works exactly as stated--my links got clicked, I earned credits, and my ads got displayed.  Viral Traffic Bar even tracked my results so I know how many clicks and how many ad displays.  That was an impressive unadvertised extra feature.

There is one more benefit and feature which might be the best of them all--downline emailing.  You can email your downline with offers, promotions, or whatever you like, and here is where Viral Traffic Bar really shines.  They took time to make the emailing often enough that it's valuable as a user, but no so often that it's a burden to your downline.  But the best part about this feature (and actually the credit earning too) is that it tells you exactly how long until you can mail again.  Now THAT's cool.

Overall I have to say I am impressed with Viral Traffic Bar.  It is simple yet powerful, and delivers on its promises.  Highly recommended to anyone who wants to increase traffic and advertising.

You can see it and join here:

http://viralbar.carlwillis.com

Free $297.00 Value Viral Traffic Bar

Get Your Viral Traffic Bar Package For FREE with "No Strings Attached" A $297 value! Get it online now! Viral Traffic Bar

        

Even though I am involved in both affiliate marketing and network marketing business ventures, I find much greater satisfaction from being a network marketer.   In this post I thought I would share a few of the reasons I think it is great to be involved in a network marketing business.

At times you may have heard others refer to network marketing as a people's business. Others have even gone so far as to call it a  people's franchise because of the similarities to a franchising business model.  Industry advocates refer to network marketing as the ultimate people's business, adding that there is nothing quite like it.  The majority of people involved in network marketing would wholeheartedly agree with this.

One of the things that makes network marketing unique is the fact that every individual distributor is in business for themselves, although because of the team component of network marketing, they are never by themselves. The network marketer will always be part of a larger organization, with the compensation models designed in such a way so as to encourage some form of ongoing support from their upline.  

We have all heard of the fortunes that can be made in this type of business and many have been able to accomplish great success. Even though this may not describe the majority of network marketers, it should be understood that every individual distributor has the same opportunity for success. The success or failure of an individual in network marketing is not dictated by politics, race, age, background or gender, but simply performance. In this regard it is also one of the fairest business models that can be undertaken by the average individual.

It is important to realize that the true value of network marketing business may not simply be in the financial return. The life lessons through the process of starting, operating and expanding a network marketing business are truly priceless.  In many instances, people experience great personal transformation as they meet the day to day challenges of operating an MLM business.  As they leave their comfort zones, they not only grow their businesses, but they also grow on a deeper personal level. 

So how is this unique to network marketing, doesn't every entrepreneur have to deal with challenges? The answer of course is: Yes, they also experience personal growth; however, many entrepreneurs are self made success stories, who learned their craft largely outside of confines of formal education.   In most cases they were taught by a family member, mentor or in many cases they learned everything the hard way: by trial and error.  It is rare to find an entrepreneur who starts out with an extensive library of books and tapes on personal development. Most entrepreneurs don't have the opportunity to attend seminars and motivational trainings that are directly tied into their business.  The opportunity to learn from those who have already achieved a certain measure of success in the same business is one of the most valuable components of network marketing. 

In at typical network marketing business, this type of education is built into the training system of the MLM company.  There are few businesses that place such a strong and direct emphasis on the importance of personal development as the network marketing industry. While many companies might argue that they spend a great deal of resources on continuing education and employee training, what they are undertaking is personnel development.  Even though the words may seem similar, their meanings are vastly different.

Network marketing is all about developing people. It is probably one of the best resources available for learning about what it takes to succeed in life, no matter who you are or what your background may have been.

To start developing your success story, I invite you to take advantage of my Exclusive MLM Power System training. You can initiate that process by clicking on the banner below.

        

In my final post in my recent series on cash flow in your network marketing business, I introduced affiliate marketing as a powerful tool for building cash flow.   Today I thought it would be appropriate to give a basic introduction to affiliate marketing to help bring clarity to the topic.

Affiliate Marketing is a variation of online marketing, in which the advertisement publisher gets paid by the customer or by the sale, for any transactions generated through his/her affiliate marketing link.   Affiliate marketing is starting point for all other online marketing strategies. 

In this type of internet marketing, affiliate management companies, in-house affiliate managers and third party vendors are utilized to generate sales, using a variety of online marketing methods.  These methods include, but are not limited to:  E-mail Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, RSS Capturing and Display Advertising to generate sales traffic.  Web sales traffic is traced with the help of a third party or affiliate program.   In the early days of affiliate marketing, this method involved lots of spamming, false advertising, trademark infringement, etc...; however, the invention of complex algorithms and advance security measures has brought these practices under control, making it safer for doing business and shopping online.  These measures also brought about greater scrutiny regarding the terms and conditions offered by the online merchants. Affiliate marketing became more profitable with the opening of greater opportunities,  but it has also substantially increased the marketing competition.

This pressure effectively brought an end to in-house affiliate programs, as merchants began to replace them with out-sourced programs operated by third party vendors.  The companies who offer this type of service have expert affiliate and network program managers, who advise on effective program management techniques.  Additionally, these third party affiliate networks have experienced publishers working with them to help direct the advertising efforts.

Affiliate marketing was pioneered by cdnow.com, a publisher of music oriented websites. They placed listings of available music albums on their site and then paid others to publish those links on their own websites.   When a visitor bought an album through the cdnow link, the website publisher received compensation. The first company to link with cdnow.com was Geffen Records.  Two months later, a woman approached Amazon.com with a proposal, that she would sell Amazon’s books on her website if she was paid a certain percentage in return.  This idea was well received and led to the formation of the Amazon associates program.

Since its invention, the affiliate network has been adopted by a large segment of the business community.  Things like travel, education, telecom, mobile, gaming, personal finance, retail, and subscription sites, all offer affiliate marketing programs.  In the UK alone, affiliate marketing produced £ 2.16 billion in revenues.

The compensation methods used in affiliate marketing are Cost per sale (CPS), Cost per action (CPA), Cost per mile (CPM) and Cost per click (CPC). The latter two are the more well known of the methods. This is because in CPM and CPC methods, the visitor comes to a particular website might not be part of the targeted audience and a click would be enough to generate commission. In the CPS and CPA methods, visitors have a compulsion that the visitor not only clicks on the link but also to make a purchase or signs up for some service.  It is at this point, that they are among the targeted audience.  The key for the affiliate is to try and send as much targeted traffic as possible to the advertiser in order to increase his/her returns.  For this reason affiliate marketing is sometimes referred to as performance marketing, since compensation totally depends on the performance of the affiliate. There is a distinct difference between an affiliate marketer and a sales person, as seen in the nature of their roles. The job of the affiliate marketer is to bring targeted traffic to a point and from that point it becomes the job of the sales person to influence the visitor to buy the product or service being offered.

Affiliate marketing is a very effective marketing model, because money is only being paid when results have been achieved. The publisher incurs all the cost except that of initial setup and development of the program, which is incurred by the merchant. Many businesses give credit to this method of marketing for their success.

To learn more about affiliate marketing, visit the training section of Affilorama

        

Viral Traffic Bar was just launched today.  This FREE traffic generation system has tested out with amazing click through and conversion rates.  Watch this video to learn more.

        

In my first post on this topic, we established the importance of creating positive cash flow if you are going  succeed in your network marketing business.  In that post we used the hypothetical illustration of Joe and Sally, who have just launched their new network marketing business endeavor.   In our illustration, we took into account the expenses they would incur each month for things such as autoship orders, training materials, travel to company meetings and client contact meetings.   We found that Joe and Sally needed $540 per month to operate their new network marketing business.

Continuing with our illustration, Joe and Sally need to create sufficient cash flow to cover this monthly expense or they will be forced to dip in to their own personal savings, or even worse, forced to take on debt.  Today I want to share with you a widely underutilized strategy for creating positive cash flow for your network marketing business.   This strategy is the simple addition of affiliate marketing to your network marketing lead generation process. 

Let me explain how this tactic works. 

Lets assume that Joe and Sally's network marketing business is built around a company that markets nutritional supplements, and the core product is a $150/month full nutrition package.  If we follow commonly stated statistics we would expect that five out of every 100 people that Joe and Sally present their product to are going to purchase.    If Joe and Sally are making $75 per sale, they will need approximately 7 sales per month to cover their cash flow requirement of $540 per month.  This will statistically require them to present their network marketing business to a minimum of 140 times each month, simply to break even.  No wonder so many wash out so quickly.

Now let's look at this same hypothetical with the addition of an affiliate marketing component to the network marketing business model.  Joe and Sally do some research and they find a video series on the role of nutritional supplements in promoting overall health.  This video series sells for $39.95, with 50% going to Joe and Sally.   Joe and Sally also begin to market a healthy living cookbook that retails for $29.95 with 50% going to Joe and Sally.  Joe and Sally's marketing efforts bring 100 people per day to each of their affiliate pages, where they experience a 5% conversion rate.  Here is what now happens to the cash flow in Joe and Sally's network marketing business:

Video Series - $99.88/per day x 30 days = $2,996.25 per month
Cookbook - $74.88/per day x 30 days = $2,246.25 per month
Total affiliate marketing revenue = $5,242.50 per month

Even after subtracting the $540 per month for their network marketing business expenses, Joe and Sally now have a positive cash flow on their business of $4,702.50 that can be reinvested into their business, put away for savings, used for debt reduction or even to take that long awaited vacation.   This whole amount was generated without one sale from their network marketing opportunity.

Here is the thing that really should get you excited.  Joe and Sally have now also generated a marketing list of 300 people per month who are warm towards their niche and have already said yes to Joe and Sally.  Joe and Sally now have placed these 300 people into their sales funnel and can begin presenting them with their primary network marketing business.

Cash flow can be a network marketing business killer, but making a simple addition to your business, can not only meet, but far exceed this need, giving you additional capital to work with as you build your network marketing business.

To start developing your success story, I invite you to take advantage of my Exclusive MLM Power System training. You can initiate that process by clicking on the banner below.

        

I am always looking for new tools to add to my marketing tool chest.  Giveaway events are one of the key places that I pick up new tools, trainings and resources.  The best part about these events is the fact that these items are given away.  That means it costs you NOTHING!

Today the Bargain Basement Giveaway opened its doors.  This event will be going on for the next few days.

Here is a sampling of some of what you will find inside:


  

        

Courtesy:  www.blueangels.navy.mil

 Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated by military precision flight teams.  Throughout the course of my life I have gotten to watch teams from the US, Canada, UK and Italy.  My favorite team to watch is the US Navy Blue Angels.  The colorful aircraft and precise maneuvering still leave me with child like wonder.   So what does this have to do with your network marketing business?  I'm glad you asked.

A number of years ago I watched a documentary on the Blue Angels that examined the selection, training, preparation and performance of their role in our nation's military.   One of the things that intrigued me was a process that each of the pilots goes through prior to a demonstration.   This process is a flight of the mind in which the pilots go through their entire demonstration performance on the ground.   During this time each pilot visualizes their movements in the cockpit.  The squadron leader calls out the cadence and next maneuver.  It was amazing to watch as these pilots sat with their eyes closed making the joystick movements they would actually make in the cockpit.   During this envisioning process, the pilots were rehearsing timing, muscle movements, breathing control....everything they would be doing in the cockpit.  

The incredible demonstration we watch from the ground is perfected in the minds of each of the pilots while they are on the ground.   So let's apply some principles to your network marketing business.   First of all, you need to assess where you are now and where you are striving to get to.   For example, are you just starting out, but seeking to make a ten thousand dollar per month income?  If that is the case, then you need to determine how you are going to reach that goal.   What does it look like when you become a ten thousand dollar per month income earner?  What is the car you are driving?  What is your favorite restaurant? What charitable causes will you be supporting?  Where will you be taking your vacations? 

In precision flying, the team takes their flying cues from the team leader.  The team leader is the one calling cadence and next maneuvers.   In your case, you need to identify who your team leader is.   Set your sights on someone who is already achieving that ten thousand dollar per month income in their network marketing business.  

Not only do the other pilots identify the lead pilot, but they also mimic the maneuvers of the lead pilot.   This is the the second point...copy, duplicate, replicate and reproduce the activities of the income earner you have set your sights on.  Whatever they are doing in their network marketing business, you also need to be doing.  Make the same number of phone calls they do.  Read the same books, journals and blogs that they do.  Use the same tactics, systems and strategies that they do.  Remember they are already living at the level you are seeking to attain....follow their lead. 

Now it is time to envision yourself doing those top earner disciplines.  How many phone calls are you going to make?  How many training events will you attend each month?  How many new distributors are you going to sponsor each month?

Since we're talking about new distributors, let's address that point of envisioning.  How are you going effectively train and reproduce top earning distributors?  Envision your training platform.  Are you going to use a ready made system like MLMLeadSystemPro?  How often will you lead training calls for your team?  What does your training process look like?

For a demonstration pilot, the time to answer the questions and work out the bugs is not in the cockpit, but on the ground.   The time for you to resolve these questions is now as you are launching your network marketing business, not 6 months down the road when you've already spent considerable time and expense on your business.

So take a cue from the Blue Angels, fire the afterburner and make a high "G" climb, you've already rehearsed it over and over in your mind.   Now you can enjoy the ride.

To start developing your success story, I invite you to take advantage of my Exclusive MLM Power System training. You can initiate that process by clicking on the banner below.

        

A few months back, I did a review of a new mailer program called Viral Mail Profits.  I wanted to post a quick update of how this program has worked for me. 

I have done several major mailings utilizing the Viral Mail Profits platform.   I like a couple of things about this platform.  First of all is the fact that I can store and modify all of my mailings in one place.   The program automatically formats them for personalization in my selected safelist programs.  

The second thing which is of greater importance to me is the tracking that is done by the program.  I am able to track the number of emails sent and the number clicked on.  The program uses this data to also figure a click percentage for me.  I am finding in my own marketing that the lists that limit the number of mailers in proportion to their total subscriber list are actually my most active.   Here is a sample of my top responsive safelists from a recent mailing (these are staying consistent through all of my mailings, you will need to test market to determine your own results).

1. Viral Ad Store - 4.26%
2. Listjoe - 3.66%
3. Reactive Adz - 3.16%
4. Elite Safelist - 1.45%
5. Safelist XL - 0.48%

You can take a closer look at Viral Mail Profits by clicking on the banner below: