Archive for November, 2008
Let the truth be told – all online network marketing opportunities succeed or fail based on search engine optimization (SEO). That is, if you are using a website, hub, message board, etc. to promote your products or expand your network, you need visitors. If not, your online presence is worthless. This is why SEO is critical.
For those not familiar with the term, search engine optimization refers to your Web site’s placement in a search engine results page. If you are in the top 30 listings for a particular keyword, then you will experience a good amount of traffic; if you are ranked at 150, then you probably will not get many visitors. As such, boosting one’s ranking in the search engines is of paramount importance for network marketing opportunities on the Internet.
On a baseline level, boosting search engine presence centers on link building. Each link on the Internet pointing towards your site is a “vote” for the site’s placement in the search engines. The more links your site has, the higher it will be ranked in the search engines.
This can be performed by trading or purchasing links, although these are very risky methods that are highly discouraged by Google and the other major search engines. Submitting links to various online directories is helpful. Even “easy” methods such as leaving a link as part of a signature in a message board or blog comment post will help as well.
There is much value to gain from a large network of referral members. Obviously, the income that can be derived from such eager members would be quite welcome. This is why so many people seek to recruit people who wish to perform network marketing as a full time job. But is this always a wise thing?
Believe it or not, sometimes the best network marketing company distributors are those who are only looking for a few dollars on the side. Those looking to make $50,000 a year may come with a number of complexities that are difficult to handle.
Now, some may think this is an absurd assessment of the best network marketing company distributors. It really isn’t…let’s explain…
If a member of your network’s lifestyle is dependent upon making “X” amount of money per year such a person can be very difficult to deal with if business hits a downturn. In a way, you become the de facto business manager for such a person even if you are not necessarily in a position to handle such responsibilities.
Now, a person who is only looking for a supplemental income will be much easier to deal with during business ups and downs. They have a tendency to handle inconsistent income because they are not relying on it exclusively to put food on their table. As such, they are often much easier to work with.
It is simply not enough to recruit new members to a network marketing opportunity. These individuals must be retained. After all, if the members of your network perpetually sign up and then quickly drop out, your network will be of little value. This is why it is always important to work on retention.
Keep one thing in mind, however; you will not be able to retain everyone you recruit unless you employ the successful strategy of stacking. Many people in a traditional network marketing opportunity model simply do not have the commitment to stick with a program. When these individuals do not see immediate results they will drop out. As annoying as this may be it is an undeniable fact of the average network marketing opportunity.
So, rather than worry about these folks and retaining them by motivating them and teaching them how to succeed on their own, why not just do it for them by building their down-line? There is never a lack of incentive for distributors to stay in because their down-line keeps growing and they make more and more money each month. And all they have to do is buy and/or sell the network marketing company’s products to succeed. This provides a huge incentive for prospects to join your organization as well.
Using the traditional model, one way to retain members of your down-line would be to provide an information/communication hub for them. This way you can stay in touch with your network easily and aid in their professional development. Methods of doing this include running an online message board, sending e-mail blasts or inviting everyone to join a social networking page you have published. All of these methods are free and they provide a solid means of two way communication.
If a member requires a little one-on-one help and you’re using the old-fashioned method of building a network marketing opportunity, then you would need to spend your time and energy bringing him along. Many times, the problems the individual may be facing can be corrected, provided a little experienced advice is offered. So, you would provide this advice and make sure your affiliates are doing as well as they possibly can. This will not only ensure they make a return on their investment, it makes sure you earn a return on your investment as well.
But all of this trouble can be avoided with a successful stacking method. Offer to build prospects’ down-lines for them, and then do it honestly and consistently. It is a win-win situation for all, and you’ll never have to worry about retention in your network marketing opportunity again.
There is a little confusion out there when it comes to network marketing. Some may view a network marketing business opportunity as a potentially lucrative venture. Then, others may look at such an opportunity as a potential scam.
The reason some individuals will be skeptical of a network marketing opportunity is because they often confuse network marketing with pyramid schemes. These two entities, however, are extremely dissimilar.
In a pyramid scheme, the people at the top few levels make all the money while everyone at the bottom gets taken advantage of. The money they invest is going towards making the distributors at the top wealthy. Also, a pyramid involves a person investing money into something with no value, which means there is no product. This can be a chain letter or even some of the cash gifting schemes which are so popular these days.
A network marketing business opportunity actually involves the sale of a product, whether it is from a distributor to an outside customer or from the network marketing company to the distributor. If someone is earning money selling something, there is no reason why any referrals the salesman enlists to sell the product can not do the same as well. Of course, those with varying levels of skill will yield different levels of success, but the deck is never stacked against anyone to the point where no matter what they do they will never make their money back.
In short, a network marketing business opportunity is a reliable and valid business model. Pyramid schemes have no legitimacy to them whatsoever.