MLMWoman Newsletter Blog

Seven Things You Can Do to Sponsor New Distributors

By Audrey Okaneko

If you are in network marketing, then one of your goals should be to meet new people and to sponsor new people into your business. Here are seven things you can do to begin a relationship with others:

1. Make a goal of talking to at least two new people every single day about your business. I’m not saying to “pitch your deal” to someone, I’m suggesting mentioning some aspect of your business every single day to at least two others. Maybe this will be sharing an article. Maybe this will be brainstorming on product usage. Maybe this will be asking someone if they’d like a catalog. Two people every day for a month is 60 new people you’ll have spoken to in just one month.

2. Join at least one new online or offline community and get involved. You might join a message board community online, or you might join a networking community such as Ryze or MySpace. Don’t just join, go one step further and get involved. Offline, you might join a local non profit, or you might join a local breakfast club. Again, go beyond joining and get involved.

3. Load up your purse, briefcase and car with business materials. Make sure you have business cards, catalogs and recruiting information with you, everywhere you go. You never know when someone you meet will want information or a catalog.

4. Create a newsletter. What can you write about that others will enjoy learning about? If you don’t have a website to promote this newsletter, consider using a service like Yahoo Groups. I get a few newsletters via Yahoo Groups. This is a wonderful way to meet others and share your knowledge. Thousands of people search Yahoo Groups each and every day and just might be looking for the newsletter you’re offering.

5. Make a goal of talking to five new people every single day. This is different than the above suggestion of talking to two people about business. I’m suggesting that you make a point of introducing yourself and saying hello to five new people every single day. In one month’s time that is 150 people you will have met. There’s a good chance that of those 150 people, one of them knows someone who wants what you’re offering.

6. Reconnect with old acquaintances. Write an email or make a phone call and say hello to folks you have not spoken with in a long time. Just this past week, I was in a community and recognized a woman I had known from two years ago. I sent her an email, told her how wonderful it was to see her again, caught up with her and discovered she wants what I have to offer.

7. Make a point to learn new things this month. For example, I’ve never used Twitter. It’s my goal to learn how to use Twitter this month. What have you thought about learning more about? Make it a point to learn something new this month and to implement this new learning into your business.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

About the Author
Audrey Okaneko has been working at home since 1983. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at www.recipe-barn.com

June 2008 Issue of MLM Woman Newsletter

Welcome to the 137th edition of the MLM Woman Newsletter and a fresh crop of new ideas to help you build your business as we sail towards summer.

If you like this month's issue, please be sure to let your friends know about it too and invite them to come and visit us. Also, if you have comments, questions or something to share after reading this month's articles, please visit our MLMTalk Discussion Forum and join in the lively conversation.

And also be sure to check out our Moms in Business Blog and MLM Marketing Blog,
and my Twitter Tips Blog for lots of additional tips and resources which are added throughout the month.

Yours in Success!

Linda Locke, Editor MLMWoman

Celebrating Your Uniqueness

By Linda Locke
Editor, MLMWoman.com

One of the best ways to promote your business and to stand out from the crowd is by uncovering what is truly unique about your business and celebrating it. But how do you find your uniqueness, and how do you communicate it once you've discovered what it is?

Here's five ideas to get you started:

1. Tell your business story. By telling people your story about your unique business journey (why and how you started your business), people will start to make a connection with you, especially if they can personally relate to your story. After all, people like to do business with people that they like and trust and can relate to. Your story will help them to decide if they want to do business with you. Just be sure to keep your story true, consistent and authentic and you'll make the connection.

2. Make it personal. Tell your prospective customers and prospects what you offer that is different and better than anyone else. In other words, answer the unasked question lingering in their minds, "What's In It For Me?". Maybe you offer fast delivery, or personalized services, or a unique system or training program that you designed. Whatever it is, make sure it's something that's perceived as truly valuable.

3. Think outside the box. Get a copy of Seth Godin's "The Purple Cow" for ideas on how to make your business truly remarkable. And read his blog http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ regularly to stretch your marketing mind with a fresh perspective from a master marketer.

4. Target a niche market. Select one or two niche markets to focus on. Develop a marketing campaign designed to get their attention and that focuses on what's important to that niche. How do you find a good niche? To start, list the niches that you are part of yourself. This makes it easier for you to figure out what that group's needs and wants are and also makes it easier for them to identify with you.

5. Think service - Providing excellent customer service and going that extra mile will definitely get you noticed. Answer your phone messages and emails promptly, fix problems with a smile and always keep your word.

May 2008 Issue of MLM Woman Newsletter

Welcome to the 136th edition of the MLM Woman Newsletter. This month our focus is on Web 2.0 Social Marketing tools (Blogs, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter) and how you can use them to promote and build your business.

If you haven't experimented with any of these tools yet, now is the time to start. They are all free and available to anyone who is willing to take the leap and try something new. Social marketing is all about relationship building, making new connections, and sharing resources. Learning how to use these new tools gives you another highly effective way to grow your business using the power of the Internet.

If you like this month's issue, please be sure to let your friends know about it too and invite them to come and visit us. Also, if you have comments, questions or something to share after reading this month's articles, please visit our MLMTalk Discussion Forum and join in the lively conversation!

And also be sure to check out our Moms in Business Blog and MLM Marketing Blog,
and my new Twitter Tips Blog for lots of additional tips and resources which are added throughout the month.

Yours in Success!

Linda Locke, Editor MLM Woman

A Blogging Solution For those Who Have Little Time to Blog

By Marie Ynami

Microblogging has been the "hottest" thing these days in cyberworld. What is it exactly? Well, the shortest and simplest definition I can think of is that microblogging is like text messaging except - instead of sending your text to just one person, you are sending it for cyber-world to see. Note though that you have an option of having your microblog posts available to everyone on the web or a selected private group.

So ... how do you microblog?

While a traditional blog requires you to log-in and post your entries online, you can "microblog" using both your cell phone or your computer - thus microblogging presents that benefit of portability. One thing to remember though - microblogging only allows you to blog brief posts (usually limited to 140 to 200 characters) at a time. So before you start typing your post, you need to really think about how you can make the most out of your words. You can microblog as often as you want as long as you do not post spam. You can even build a following or your own microblogging community. You can connect with other microbloggers and get quick replies to your microblog posts. The fun thing about microblogging is that you can send your messages in text, audio or even video.

Below are some advantages of microblogging:

- It is very easy to post your thoughts in cyberspace using microblogging. Microblog to share your events, promote your business or just to share links worth checking out.

- You can build your own community by microblogging and have others subscribe to your feed - a great way to promote yourself. You can then make a connection with others.

- Microblogging is portable. You can use your cell phone and still be connected to your community even if you are on the go.

- You can microblog using text, audio or even video so there are a lot of possibilities here - you can let your creativity come out!

- The fact that there is a 140-200 character limit in microblogging, you do not have to worry about providing lots of content in your microblog post.

There are some disadvantages too and they are listed below:

- It can be really addicting and if you do not use it properly, it could be a great time waster.

- If you are not careful about what your post on your microblog - for example posting about your "ideas", your subscribers can easily "adopt one of your ideas and pass it as their own".

- If you work online and are microblogging for the most part of the day, it can be really disctracting and it can take away your focus on projects that you need to complete.

Ready to start microblogging? Let Marie Ynami show you how. Here is a free video on how you can get started - www.ynami.com/ad/microblogging.php

How to Use Myspace Comments and Bulletins to Grow Your Business

By Jackie Lee

Using Myspace comments and bulletins can be an easy and fun way to keep in touch and build relationships with your myspace network. This article will describe how you can use Myspace comments and bulletins to do just that.

Myspace Comments:

Comments are a great way to stay in touch with your friends. You can send text comments or you can look around the web and find beautiful pictures to send to your friends as a comment. When people receive a comment it shows up on the control panel of their myspace. They will go look at the comment and most likely they will click on your page to see who you are and possibly to comment back to you. This becomes another chance for them to get to know you better.

When I send out comments I also set the intention that they will be received by exactly the person that needs them on that day, another fun LOA game. I can't tell you how many messages I have received from people who were truly touched by a comment I sent. By sending out warm wishes and good thoughts I have touched others. In return they visit my page and I again have the opportunity to let them know more about me. Maybe that will be the day they will see something on my page that moves them to ask me more about it.

You will receive birthday reminders for people in your network. It's a great idea to send people birthday comments. I know how great I felt when I had comment upon comment wishing me happy birthday this year.

The last thing I want to mention about comments is this: they stay on the person's page indefinitely. Everyone gets to see your comments. So this is where it is appropriate to end your comment with one short link to a website. If you use your keywords as your anchor text you will have a powerful backlink from a site with a page rank of 8 which is really goo. By doing this you provide a quality feel good comment, and then you get a quick link. Not only will the person you sent the comment to appreciate your comment, but anyone who stops by their page will as well. Now you are not only getting exposure to your network, but the entire network of your network. This is often times where people will find you and request you to be their friend. Which adds to your network.

Using Facebook as an Online Marketing Tool

By Robert Lavoie

Have you ever wondered if what you know about marketing on Facebook is accurate? Consider the following paragraphs and compare what you know to the latest info on marketing on Facebook.

Social networking websites are becoming more and more popular each day. Websites like these are primarily used as a social utility that will enable people to connect with other people. With Facebook, you will be able to connect with friends, acquaintances, and with other people who you study and live with.

One social networking website that is very popular among many people today is Facebook. With Facebook, you will be able to get your very own profile page where you can upload an unlimited amount of photos, share videos, and also a place where you will let people viewing a little about you.

Although this is a great social networking site that will enable you to keep in touch with your friends and acquaintances as well as meet new people and make new friends, it is also a website that made a lot of internet marketers drool.

With over 62 million active subscribers and still continuing to grow, you know that this place is the place to market.

The Age of New Media - Is Your Brand Up to Speed?

By Laura Pasternak

You Tube. Facebook. MySpace. These are just a few of the new media channels that have shaped our culture, influenced opinions, and sold ideas, products and services. Are you leveraging them to build and promote your brand?

While the traditional methods like print, television and radio still help to build a brand, technology is changing the way in which we learn about political candidates, discover new trends, introduce emerging artists and their products to potential audiences and more. Today, consumers are in control. They pick and choose what they watch, how they buy and where they get their information. Forums abound, offering reviews on everything from merchants to hotels. Blogs offer up varying perspectives on our social, economic and political landscapes. These new channels are changing the way brands are presented, marketed and even received by consumers.

Tuned In, Logged In and Plugged In

A 2007 survey of 7,705 U.S. college students conducted by Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa, authors of the book, Connecting to the Net, illustrates how technology has entered practically every facet of daily living:

• 97% own a computer

• 94% own a cell phone

• 76% IM (instant messaging)

• 15% of IM users are logged on 24/7

• 34% use websites as their primary news source

• 49% download music using peer-to-peer file sharing

• 75% have a Facebook account

• 60% own an iPod or other portable music/video device

Such statistics should be an eye-opener for businesses that haven't considered leveraging these mediums in their branding efforts. Often referred to as social media, social marketing or social networking (for consistency, we will refer to these collectively as social marketing), these mediums are shaping how brands are created, developed and perceived.

Social marketing outlets allow users to self-publish (e.g. blogs, You Tube, online forums) and provide other opportunities (think Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace) to interact and, in many cases, even shape buying choices. They wield a broad swath of influence; heightening exposure for the subject or brand and enabling viewers to help spread the message or sell the brand. For example, Wikipedia notes that in July 2006, there were 65,000 videos uploaded to You Tube daily and more than 100 million videos being watched there daily. This same source also cites that Facebook and MySpace have more than 64 million active users worldwide and well over 300 million accounts respectively. In January of this year alone, nearly 79 million users watched over three billion videos on YouTube. Those are staggering statistics.

Social marketing is proving to be fertile ground for all genres including businesses, charitable organizations, politicians and even the common consumer. Individuals can easily, quickly and inexpensively create, disseminate and/or gain information as well as establish and maintain social connections that help build and strengthen a brand.

Is Social Networking Just Politically Correct Multi-Level Network Marketing?

By Don Osborne

Use social networking websites to build your small business!

That message or something similar may have hit your email in-box. Many small business gurus have promoted the idea of social networking as a marketing tool to gain new customers directly or through the referral process associated with social networking.

At the heart of small business "social networking" is an expectation your "friends" and their "friends" will become a source of new business. Sounds like what's at the core of multi-level marketing: a business method for moving goods, services and opportunity by tapping into the multiple levels of people who know people - you tell your "friends" and they'll tell their "friends".

Or is it?

Most small business guru advice focuses on joining a social networking website as a way to create relationships you can develop over time into a business transaction or, worst case scenario, a socially networked referral source of new business.

If you've joined a social networking website you quickly realized you need to encourage your friends to join under you and also attract others you may not yet know to join under you. Without your friends joining, it's more difficult to convince people you don't know to add you to their "friends" list and vice versa.

Bottom line, without a new group of friends, who aren't currently members of the social network you've just joined being brought into that social network, the growth of the social network you're building can be very slow. It may never reach a level of critical mass sufficient to create enough relationships to produce business for you.

If business creation was the compelling reason for joining a social network, you'd better be prepared to cause others you already know to join you and, in turn, have percentage of them do the same.

Sound like multi-level marketing?

Maybe not - perhaps it's just a social networking experience defined by Webster's as:

"the use of a website to connect with people who share personal or professional interests, place of origin, education at a particular school, etc."

13 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

By Heather Bixler

A lot of online business woman take for granted the benefits a blog has to their business, and a lot of them choose not to use a blog because they simply can't see the benefit it has to them and their business.

Well in this article you will learn 13 very important reasons why your business needs a blog!

1. Networking - Blogs are a great way to build relationships and networking with those looking for your services and/or goods.

2. Information - Blogs are also a great way to get information out about the products or services you sell!

3. Fun - Blogging is a great way to build your business while having fun. Really it doesn’t even feel like work!