Network Marketing Online

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The basis of network marketing is building networks of people who buy and sell products. What better place to build a network of people than on the ultimate worldwide network--the internet? According to Internet World Stats, as of 2006, there were more than 1 billion people online worldwide. It's no wonder that the internet is the place to go to build a network marketing business.

The benefits to building your business online are extensive--you can work in shorts and a T-shirt, you only talk with people who are highly interested, your business is working for you 24/7, your maintenance costs are low, and it’s easy to expand internationally. Most important, anyone can do it--you don’t have to be a computer genius to find success.

Your first step is to create an online presence. Before you begin building a site, you need a domain name. You could secure your personal identity site (yourname.com), which is always a good idea. Another approach is to pick a domain that relates to the name of your network marketing group or team, for instance, wealthteam.com or prosperitygroup.com. Or you might want a domain that says something intriguing, such as increaseyourwealth.com or massiveincome.com. Come up with a bunch of ideas, then check your choices on a registry site until you find one that's available.

Once you have a domain, you'll need to buy hosting services and then begin to build your site. If you don't know how to design a site, you can either hire a designer or use a site builder that offers pre-made templates through your host. No matter which method you choose, your site should include the following:

• Information about your company, product and opportunity
• A system for ordering your product or registering to operate a business
• Information about training and your support team
• A list of the advantages of joining your company and team
• The offer of a free e-book, document or newsletter if users give you their name and a valid e-mail
• An autoresponder that sends follow-up e-mails to everyone who provides their contact information. Make sure it can also send out newsletters.

Once you have your site up and running, you need to start marketing it. I recommend using two to five different marketing methods and sticking with them for at least a few months before reevaluating them. Marketing tactics you may want to try out include:

• Free classifieds
• Pay-per-click advertising
• Paid banner advertising
• Writing articles that include links to your website
• Starting a blog
• Participating in forums and newsgroups
• Starting an e-mail newsletter

All these methods will help create exposure and attract prospects, but my favorite marketing method is "attraction marketing." Any time you can establish yourself as an expert, you'll attract people interested in the topic you know so much about. Be sure to include articles or e-books on your site that establish you as an authority.

As you attract prospects, you’ll need a database to keep track of them. Outlook has a great contact manager, though if you create something on your own, make sure it has enough room to keep track of a prospect's name, e-mail, phone number and address, and has an area where you can write comments.

Once a prospect's in your database, send them a personal e-mail to see if they found the information on your site to be valuable and to determine their level of interest in your business. Use e-mails to create a rapport with the prospect and move them toward a phone call. If you have an effective web presentation and follow-up system and a prospect agrees to speak with you by phone, there's a good chance that person will join your business or purchase your product.

The keys to network marketing online are a solid presence, consistency and persistence, so get out there and build your system, and stick with it until it produces the results you seek.

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Rod Nichols is Entrepreneur.com's "Multi-Level Marketing" columnist. He has been involved in the network marketing industry since 1979 as a consultant, trainer and author. His articles, bi-monthly newsletter and books can be found at his website, www.RodNichols.com.
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How To Increase Sales With Telemarketing

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First - the real key to effective telephone marketing is structure and organization. Winging it is a real bad idea. A script, an outline, notes, flip cards, some written tools to help you stay on track are important. The most experienced telephone selling professionals in the country use scripts and notes.

Second - courtesy is a paramount of importance. Remember that the person on the other end of the phone can't see you; they can only react to what you are saying and how you're saying it.

Third - recognize that some people will not respond well. They'll cut you short, even hang up on you. You'll just have to be okay with that. Don't take it personally. Remember people throw out your mail pieces unread too. You just don't have to be there to see it.

Fourth - practice makes perfect or at least better. You need to give yourself the benefit of at least twenty or twenty-five calls of a particular type with a particular offer before even beginning to be judgmental about yourself, your skills or the results. If you've never used a telephone this way before you'll be understandably uncomfortable with the process.

It's important to remember that just about everything you now do well was once difficult and uncomfortable for you. Stretching comfort zones and mastering new skills is an important reoccurring part of living to be enjoyed not feared.

Learning telemarketing skills, mastering them and being able to teach them to others is a way to greatly enhance your personal worth and be able to increase the sales of profits of just about any business your involved with.

Unfortunately, I've discovered that many businesses don't like using this tool or because of the DO NOT CALL LIST, they think they can no longer use it. And in many applications that is correct.

But there is one application that every business should 'legally' be using the phone for in order to grow their business.

Dan Kennedy, http://www.dankennedy.com/

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The A,B,Si's of Hispanic Marketing

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If they're not on your marketing radar, chances are you're already one step behind your competition. The U.S. Hispanic population is growing exponentially, and so is their purchasing power.

According to HispanTelligence, Hispanic spending power has skyrocketed to $700 billion and is projected to reach as much as $1 trillion by 2010. The latest U.S. Census Bureau figures estimate the total U.S. Hispanic population at 42.7 million, making them the largest minority group in the country. They're also the fastest-growing group: From 2004 to 2005, the Hispanic population grew by 3.3 percent. By 2050, Hispanics are expected to reach 102.6 million and will constitute 24 percent of the nation's total population.

Because of this intense growth, Kagan Research estimates that Hispanic advertising is expected to reach $5.5 billion in gross advertising revenue by 2010. What differentiates Hispanic marketing from traditional forms of marketing? Gerry Rojas, director of Hispanic marketing with the Urban Concepts division of New York City-based US Concepts, says it's all about relevant marketing. "Anyone can do Latino marketing, but to be relevant is the challenge. You use a lot of the same marketing strategies as traditional advertising, but then you fine-tune them to fit your target consumer, and that's the key," says Rojas. "You don't have to reinvent the wheel, but you do have to be cognizant of who you're talking to."

Marketing directly to Hispanic consumers can be a risky move--not only do you risk offending the very group you're trying to target, but you also risk offending groups you aren't targeting. Last month, Bank of America announced a pilot program offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers--typically, illegal immigrants. The move was met by opposition in Congress and from critics nationwide. The National Illegal Immigration Boycott Coalition says it's collected more than 11,000 signatures on a petition calling for a boycott of the bank. But Bank of America stands behind its decision and says it plans to continue the program.

Controversy also sparked for pizza-restaurant chain Pizza Patron back in January, when founder and owner, Antonio Swad, announced the "Pizza por Pesos" program. The Dallas-based restaurant chain decided to accept pesos in exchange for their pizzas, and was met with a torrent of criticism, including death threats, vicious e-mails and obscene phone calls. "The campaign was immediately tied to the very hot, bubbling issue of immigration, particularly illegal immigration in the U.S., and somehow people wanted to throw that around my neck," says Swad. He explained that his team expected some controversy, but had no idea it would reach such extreme proportions. "We got a lot of brand impressions in those three weeks of media frenzy, I'm certainly not complaining," Swad says.

Though the program was expected to end in February, Swad has decided to continue it for the time being, saying it's still serving his customers. Swad says it's hard to say just how much the "Pizza por Pesos" program has affected his earnings, since their sales were already on the rise in January, right before the launch of the program. "I can tell you that January and February are typically the worst months in the pizza business, but that's not the case this year. In fact, many of our stores are achieving all-time sales records," says Swad.

Traditionalists vs. Second, Third and Fourth Generations
Rojas points out that it's important to differentiate between two very different types of Hispanic consumers: traditionalists and second generation-plus. He refers to recently arrived immigrants as traditionalists because they integrate their traditions from their countries of origin into their lives here in the United States. Rojas, whose father emigrated from Mexico to the United States, mentions his mother and grandmother as examples of this group.

Second generation-plus refers to Latinos who live the Latin lifestyle, but speak English. Rojas says marketers are missing out on this booming key demographic--choosing instead to advertise to the traditionalists in Spanish on Spanish-speaking TV and radio stations. "If you're going to market most of your dollars and spend them within Univision or Telemundo, that's fine for my mother and grandmother, for example, but who's talking to me? What brands are talking to that second generation-plus?" Rojas asks.

Rojas says he's trying to get his clients to grasp this concept because this is where he sees the biggest growth in the Hispanic market. "The third and fourth generations aren't watching novellas in Spanish. They're watching Ugly Betty," says Rojas.

4 Ways to Advertise Authentically, Not Offensively
As Rojas mentioned, understanding your target consumer is vital to a Hispanic marketing campaign. But there's more to it than just that. Both Rojas and Swad offer their advice for what to do and what to avoid when advertising to Hispanic consumers.

1. Know your market. Swad, who is Italian and Lebanese, says you don't necessarily have to be Hispanic to market Hispanic. "I made a conscious decision 21 years ago to work with the Hispanic community and adopt their culture as my own," says Swad, who believes he's so well accepted within the community because of his effort to make a connection at the community level. Pizza Patron participates in small community activities that larger chains tend to ignore. For example, in November, Pizza Patron showed its commitment to community soccer by sponsoring the Copa Lowes soccer tournament in El Paso. The chain also recently sponsored the Festival Hispano de la Salud in Dallas, a health festival dedicated to teaching families healthy habits for free.

2. Be aware of cultural nuances. "What's good for one Latino can be bad for another. Make sure you really look into the cultural sensitivities of the group you're targeting, be it Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Spanish-speaking Hispanics, or English-speaking Hispanics," says Rojas. "When I first started, people only thought Latinos should be marketed to in Spanish, but nowadays, marketers are realizing that Latinos speak English, too."

3. Be sincere. "You really have to search your heart and find out why you want to market to this group," advises Swad. "If it's strictly because you want to have a measurable monetary return, it never works that way. You have to build your brand awareness, and it takes time." When Swad opens up a new location, one of the first things he does is post a sign on the door with the words "proudly serving Hispanic communities since 1986."

4. Follow up. "It's important to follow up after planting the original flag in your campaign. Some people are so eager to tap into this market that they expect instant results, but that's not going to happen," Rojas says. According to Rojas, you can't just sell your product and leave. If you're serious about marketing to this demographic, you need to take the time to develop a program, not just a one-time deal. Rojas has helped his client Jose Cuervo succeed by creating a long-term campaign called "Cuervoton." The campaign is actually a U.S.-wide talent search for the next generation of Latino artists in urban music. With this campaign, Rojas says Cuervo is ensuring the longevity of Latinos in the music industry. "It's marketing that shows you really care about this demographic. Cuervo is actually doing something for their target customer, and they'll be rewarded--Latinos are very loyal," says Rojas.

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