Network marketing has been around for many years, yet there are still those who are somewhat confused as to what it entails. As such, a clear definition of network marketing is necessary. Essentially, network marketing is a two phase form of sales distribution through independent contractors. The first phase involves selling products for a company. The second phase involves hiring other independent contractors to create a lucrative sub-network of sellers. For example, a company produces a product such as diet pills and aligns with an independent party to sell the products. The salesman then makes a profit on what he or she sells. Additionally, the salesman can “hire,” or sponsor others to sell under him and assumes a managerial role over this sales force. Of course, the salesman would also draw an income from the sales derived within his team network. So, in addition to promoting a product, the salesman is also promoting the ability to sell as well. Needless to say, this can prove to be a very lucrative venture!

The utilization of a network greatly aids in the ability to sell. This is because the seller has help from the strength of the brand. That is, if the diet pills prove popular, the salesman can ride that wave of popularity to increased profits. Also, the salesman can benefit from any advertising campaigns the network marketing company invests in. Additionally, if the salesman is having any difficulties, the network marketing parent company can provide valuable infrastructure assistance in order to support the salesman. This is obviously more preferable than having to go it alone during tough times. So, it goes without saying that network marketing has a host of positives associated with it. This is why it remains so very popular in the modern era.

If you are promoting a network marketing opportunity, then you will need a way to promote it. Obviously, if people do not know you exist then you can’t possibly sell anything. Nor will you be able to amass referral members. As such, promoting your venture is critical for success.

One of the most common ways of promoting a network marketing opportunity is through direct e-mail marketing. This involves sending out “e-mail blasts” either directly promoting a product or the product’s website. But has this method become outdated or is it still viable?

The answer to that question is found in the approach. If you send out countless spam   e-mails (as offered by many low cost direct e-mail “blasting” companies) then your chances for success are limited. People generally do not respond to spam e-mails because they have grown numb to them. Overuse has eroded much of mass e-mail marketing’s effectiveness. However, if you use a targeted electronic newsletter approach then the odds of success will increase.

The way this works is that you build up an e-mail list of interested parties. There are a number of ways you can do this and the most common method involves soliciting e-mail addresses for future network marketing opportunity updates and news. Then, a properly designed e-mail newsletter heralding your business can be composed and sent out periodically to interested parties. Sending out a few thousand of these types of e-mails will benefit a network marketing opportunity far greater than mass mailing millions of “throwaway” e-mails. This is why so many large, billion dollar companies employ the same tactic.