MLM Online Training Resource

Research Tools and Links

Posted on 16. Feb, 2010 by admin.

Formal Research tools & Links

Forrester Research offers reports emerging trends in technology and their impact on business. Again, you can narrow it down to whatever category you’re interested in.

BizMiner features “hard-to-find” information for a fee: industry financial, market research, and business planning reports. Take a look at the available free samples to see if it’s the type of information you’re searching for.

FedStats is a government page that offers all sorts of statistical data, as well as links to other federal agencies that offer statistics.

General Research Tools And Links:

Google Keyword Tools can to see who your competitors are and how they are doing business.

Yahoo has a list of message boards and chats. It is beneficial to hear feedback directly from your intended audience. Message boards are a good way to do that, if you become a contributing member. The “regulars” on the board are more likely to offer you helpful feedback if they know you’re there to participate, rather than drop a survey and then leave. Also, before using this method, please familiarize yourself with the rules of each board.

BoardReader is a convenient tool that searches multiple message boards across the web for the keywords/phrases you specify.

Media Finder is a good place to search for magazines in your market. Search for trade magazines in particular (if applicable); they often offer useful information about upcoming events, reader interests, etc.

The Trade Show News Network is a searchable database of trade shows all over the world and across a wide variety of industries. Attending trade shows is a great way to learn about it…identify your competitors, view the products, and read the literature, etc.

TracerLock is a time-saving tool that automatically scans web pages for your list of keywords and phrases. It highlights them when found, so that you can quickly determine whether or not you want to continue research the site.

Other Sources Of Help

The US Small Business Administration is an excellent source of information for both people in the startup phase and those further along. Lots of great links and resources.

Learn How To Create Success & Wealth

Continue Reading

How To Make Your First Million Online

Posted on 15. Feb, 2010 by admin.

It seems that 5% of the people on the internet marketing, make 95% of the money.  Why do so many people fail and what are the top network marketers doing that the rest are not?

First, what exactly is network marketing: it is actually not just about marketing online.  It consists of three groups of people.

1. Consumers – accomplishment is in the purchase
2. Business opportunity seekers (quasi business people) shotgun approach try to do everything. They chase lots of different programs and don’t focus on anything.
3. Entrepreneurs who are using the internet as one of their marketing vehicles or maybe their main vehicle.  They are focused on their business.  They understand business.

People who are not making it are generally in the first two categories

- 20/80 rule 20% of the people make 80% of the money
- the same people make the money in the internet marketing industry would make money in any industry whether it’s real estate, investing, or pottery.

To make your first million, there are 4 simple disciplines to follow: mindset, focus, education, and action

First Step towards making your first million online is Mindset:

The way you think defines your reality.  It defines what you get out of life.  What you believe you can achieve.

Your thoughts can make you healthy and wealthy.

Henry Ford: There are 2 kinds o f people in this world, those that think they can and those that think they can’t.  They are both right.

Donald Trump: If you going to be thinking anyway, think big.

These are the way successful people think, which also contributed to their achievements.  There is  a direct correlation.  There is a direct link between the way you think and what you actually get.

If you look at your business as a hobby, you’ll make hobby income  If you look at your business as a multinational corporation, your income will follow.

It does not matter whether your working in the corner of your bedroom.  It’s your mindset that makes the difference.

The other part of the equation is action.  Because you can sit stagnant in a corner all day, thinking “I’m going to be successful”, but without action to follow-up, nothing can happen.

Mindset is absolutely critical to the success of your business.

The second element to your first million online is Discipline.  This is where you need to discipline yourself.  Instead of being reactive, be proactive.  Know where your business is going. What do you want out of it short term and long term.  What is your exit strategy.

Exit Strategies:

1. Work it for the rest of your life.
2. Work it for 5 years and sell it.
3.  Work it for 5 years and take it public and sit as a chairman

Knowing where your business is going will allow you to set objectives, strategies, and tactics.

Objectives: What are you going to do?
Strategies: How are you going to do it?
Tactics: What are you going to do on a daily bases to accomplish your goals?

Objective: Operate a website that sells resale rights ebooks and software and generates an income of $100,000 per year.

Strategies: Buy all the resale rights products on the market and develop the most comprehensive, organized valuable resale rights website on the internet.

Market your website using SEO, article writing and tele-seminars that you podcast.

Tactics: Optimize each webpage you design.
Write 3 articles each week and post them to article directories
Conduct 2 tele-seminars and podcast them every week.

Objective is the high level overview
Strategies are a focused version of your objectives
Tactics are your daily ToDo list.

Once you have that under your belt, we can return to talk about proactive and reactive.

Proactive is making business decisions on how your business is going to run and then going precede to go out looking for products and services that can help leverage your money and time to maximize the effectiveness of your business.

Reactive is when you have no idea of what you want in a business.  You turn on your computer and everything looks great.  You buy a search engine optimization book, the latest book on blogging, join a couple of network marketing companies, and you order a 57 set DVD home study course on starting a home business.

You’re all over the board because you have no focus.  Thus you spend a lot of time, never following through on what you purchase.  Your hard drive is cluttered with stuff, but you never take the time to learn it.

Third element to making your first million online Education:

You have to educate yourself.  You need to focus on getting educated in the areas where you need expertise or at least hire people in the areas that you are going to focus your business on.

The challenge people have online is they turn on their computer, hop online and think they should be pulling in hundreds or thousands of dollars tomorrow, without having the first clue about what they are doing  Then they get disgruntled because nothing works and they quit thinking the internet is a scam.

It is similar to me waking up and deciding I am going to be a neurosurgeon.  I rent an office, get some tools, and set a sign outside my door that says, “Lawren Smith Brain Surgeon”.

The final element to your first million online is Taking Action.

This one is pretty self-explanatory.  You put things into motion.  Be as effective as you can and don’t be afraid to outsource some of the parts of your business you don’t have to do directly.

Basically, this article covers the difference between the 20% that make the 80% of the money and the other 80% that never seem to get it.

Don’t be like the 20%, get what you need Make Your First Million TODAY!

Continue Reading

Discover The Steps On Choosing The Right Network Marketing Business Opportunity

Posted on 13. Feb, 2010 by admin.

When you choose a network marketing company, you have to select one that offers you the opportunity to succeed.  Unfortunately, many people get involved with a network marketing company that they thought offered them the opportunity to succeed, but for some reason the company did not deliver.

Even if you are brand new to network marketing, you do not have to be a great analyzer and you do not have to be a network marketing historian to figure out whether a network marketing company presents you with the opportunity to succeed.

There are books and programs that help you to choose the right network marketing company.  The problem with some of these books and programs is that for every rule that some experts tell you must be in place in order for the right company to exist; there are a lot of exceptions to those rules.  Don’t buy into all those rules about picking the right company.

Often, it will be your common sense that will serve you best.  So, here are the things to look for in selecting the right company to join.  There are five key factors to look at and consider in choosing the right company.  Now, it is quite possible that you are already with a great company.  Well, take these five factors and incorporate them into your sales and marketing tools.

1.    The first factor is that the products, services, and compensation plan must  be appealing to you.  Ask yourself this question. “Is this company going to appeal to my prospects and customers?”  Ask yourself, “Can I sell this?” Next, ask yourself “Does the company and everything that comes with it, does it have mass appeal?”

2.    Most important, the company must  be owned and managed by people who are honest, experienced, and competent.  The people running the company must be good decision makers.

If you look at the history of network marketing, you will see that the tens of thousands of people who have owned and managed network marketing companies, most have failed.

Despite the fact that many have failed, there are people who have made tremendous sums of money.  If you know how to play the game, know how the tactics work, and know how to apply them, you can still make a lot of money with a company that has had a two to five year run.

Network marketing companies are much more fragile than traditional companies. One bad decision on the part of those who are running the company, can cause the sales of that company to plummet.  It all comes to who is making the day to day decisions.  Leaders within a network marketing company must be great decision makers.   Thus, learn everything you can about who is running the company.

3.    There must already be a demand in the market place for the products or services that the company offers.  The bigger the demand, the better.  If there isn’t, then that means you and your downline must create the market and this is a difficult thing to do.  So, when making a decision on whether to join a particular network marketing company, ask yourself, “Is there already a demand for the products and/or services?”

4.    The compensation plan must be fair to everyone across the board.  However, it must also offer rewards for the overachievers so that the overachievers are compensated for their extra productivity, their hard work, their dedication, and their leadership.

Side Note: There are only 4 compensation plans.  All of the others are a derivative of these four.  Many people have made millions of dollars with each of the four plans.

5.    Company must have something special about it.  It must have something that makes it sizzle; something that makes the opportunity unique; something that makes it stand out from the crowd because this will be something you want to sell.  This is something you can use to persuade others.

These five factors are all that you need to present you with the opportunity to succeed.  From here on out, the ball is in your court. The success factors are about you and the decision you make.

Continue Reading

Internet MLM Targeting Your Audience

Posted on 13. Feb, 2010 by admin.

On the internet, those who surf the internet have the ability to search specifically for what they want through various search engines, directories, and links from other sites.  Location is not a factor because on the internet, just a click away is another website.

By creating a highly targeted site you can concentrate on drawing visitors who are already interested in the types of products you sell.  It is much easier to sell specialty pet beds to a pet lover than to sell book-keeping software to a pet lover.

Internet mlm targeting is simply a specific group of people with the same interests or needs.  For instance, you internet business could cater to:

• Tennis players

• Coin collectors

• Comic Book Collectors

• Fitness Enthusiasts

• Computer Games Players

Suggestions for Choosing A Target Market

Your choice of a mlm targeting market will dictate everything you do online. It will dictate the topics you write about, which products you have to offer, your choices in advertising locations, and much more. Below are a few suggestions on generating ideas for your target market:

What skills have you picked up through eductation or your current line of work?  Can you market these skills online?  For example,

• Programmers and Engineers may be able to write custom scripts and sell licenses for their use.

• Stay At Home Parents may be able to offer child-care tips, information on how to evaluate a daycare, or advice on finding the right school.

• Construction workers may be able to create a series of booklets on “inside information” prospective home owners should know before selecting a builder.

Start by selecting a market related to a passion or an interest.

Are you a hobby gardner?  A fan of rhythm ‘n blues music?  A proponent of wiping out home business scams?  One thing to be aware of is that turning a hobby into a business may “ruin” it for you.  You may not like the feeling of being “forced” to come up with new content, new products, etc.  You may simply prefer to keep your hobby exactly that: a hobby.

Then again, you may adore it.  Imagine getting paid doing something that you love!  I know several people who have turned their passions into a business, and not only do they make money, but they also have a good time while they are engaged in it.

Choose a market that fills an unanswered need.

Can you think of a product or service that you wished existed, but you have not been able to find it anywhere?  If so, chances are that others have as well. The question is whether or not there is a market large enough for you to tap into and make a decent profit.  For instance, doggy bakeries that offer gourmet doggy treats never existed until a few years ago.  Now they are popping up all over the place to fill the demand.

Choose an existing market and improve what is being offered.

There a thousands of website that claim to have the answer to finding a home-based-business.  If you were to try and break into this market, you could “specialize” a bit more: do you want to cater to work at home moms?  What about work at home dads?  How about freelance writers?  Technical jobs?

Take a look at what your competitors are doing.  Can you offer something unique or improve upon what is already being offered?  Can you offer better service, more personalized service, extras, that no one else has?  The more saturarated your market, the harder it will be to make money.

Regardless of what you choose, consider whether or not you can stick with it for a long time.  Do you have the motivation, knowledge, and interest to offer up-to-date content to your audience? Do  you have the skills and desire to create new products, or are there good affiliate programs available?  Will you be able to sustain your interest and motivation in your business of choice?

Is the Internet An Ideal Vehicle For Marketing Your Business?

The internet offers an amazing opportunity for the “average” person to make money selling products and services (whether his own, or those of another company’s).  However, not all products sell equally well online.  As youself these questions:

• Is there a more convenient alternative? Products that aren’t easily available at a local store have a better chance of selling online.  Not only is it often more convenient to simply drop in and pick up whatever you need, the customer isn’t going to be hit with additional shipping and handling charges (which can be quite expensive when shipping heavy products).

• Is the product something a customer needs to feel or see before making a purchase? An example would be a wedding dress.  Most women want to try it on, walk around in it, and see how they look and feel in the dress before they make the purchase.

• Are customers normally cautious about buying your type of product, even offline? Many people are still naturally hesitant to purchase anything online.  So, if you are selling something that they normally hesitate to buy in the real world, then your challenges are compounded.

• Is there a market for your product, at the price at which you intend to sell it? This is what it all boils down to.  There has to be sufficient demand for your product at a price that allows you to earn a reasonable profit after all expenses are paid.  For insance, if it costs $10.00 to manufacture a product and your optimum price ( the price that allows you to sell at maximum profit) is $10.50, is it really worth the effort?

• Is your target market likely to use the internet? Be aware that some audiences just don’t intend to use the internet much or they use it sparingly.  For instance, you are going to have a difficult time if your target market is retired folks who are terrified of technology, or low-income families who may not have access to a computer.

Researching for Your Target Market

Because of the changes that occur so often and so quickly, particularly online, businesses have to keep up-to-date with changing customer wants or trends.  This is where researching your target market plays an important part in your business:

• Learn about your market: What do your customers want? Where do they congregate, and how do you contact them?  Do you prefer contact by postal mail, email, fliers, or trade shows, etc…?

• Determine the demand for a product or service: Every business contains an element of risk, but with proper research, you will get a good feel for the type of product or service your market is looking for.  Find out what your market wants, then create a product that satisfies that want.  Don’t create a product first and then try to find a market for it.  That is a common mistake that can lead to wasted time, effort, and money.

• Adapt and thrive: New opportunities present themselves all the time!  As long as you see changes happening, you can adjust your products, services, or business practices to work with them.

There are tools that can help assist your with determining who your target market should be and what exactly your market wants and needs.  I shall talk a little more about this in subsequent trainings.

Continue Reading

Online Business Basics

Posted on 11. Feb, 2010 by admin.

The Truth About Building A Business On The Internet

Briefly, there is no such thing as “Get-Rich Quickly”. You can earn a solid income from the internet, but you have to be willing to put in the time, effort, and yes, even money.

Starting a business online is similar to starting a regular “Brick and Mortar” type business. It requires hard work, long hours, and even sacrifices. Some people turn a profit within just months, others take years. There are lots of individuals, small home based businesses, who are happily and successfully earning a living from the internet. Here are the “truths” about building an online business.

Online Business Basics:

Before, we move forward on this subject, let’s address some questions that most beginners face.

Question: Is it really possible to make money on the internet?

Answer: Yes. Many people are successfully and quietly earning an income online, whether it’s just a “”little extra” to help out with the household expenses each month, or a full-time, money-making venture that lets them lead the lifestyle he or she wants.

Success on the internet has a lot to do with your attitude. If you believe it is impossible, then you are already defeated before you even get started.

Not every attempt will be successful. Most people fail, but it isn’t a big deal unless you make it a big deal. Keep in mind that failure is only temporary.

The people who are successfully reaching their goals online, and there are many, are the ones who are willing to put forth the time, effort, and even funds to make it work.

Question: How much do I have to spend getting started?

Answer: It is reasonable to expect to spend at least a few hundred dollars. Your biggest expense will more than likely be your marketing. It is impossible to say how much you will spend, since it all depends on what methods you use to promote your business.

Regardless, it is a tradeoff between time and money. For instance, if you decide you want to write articles for reprint in other newsletters, you have to find a list of editors within your market who will accept article submissions. You can do this by going to any free ezine directory and manually search for the appropriate newsletters and email addresses, then verify that the information is up-to-date. Or, you can purchase a membership into frequently -updated searchable database of ezines. It is simple and fast to get a list of ezines that accept submissions.

The free enzine directory saves you money but costs time. Time that could be spent doing other productive tasks. The paid membership site saves you time, but costs money, which could be put to another use for your business. You will have to decide which one is more valuable to you in your business.

Question: How much will I make?

Answer: The amount you make will vary. Having an online business is still about business. It does not matter if it is online or offline. So the question of how long it will take before I start earning money, or how much you will earn depends on a lot of factors including your current skills, willingness and ability to learn, adapt, whether you have a list of targeted, legitimate contacts, how much time you have and how hard you work.

Many people make a small supplementary income, just a few hundred bucks a month. Others aim for a few thousand and still others earn for a six-figure income. No one can tell you how much you will make. This is in your hands.

However, despite all of the hype about making money online, It is not necessary to strive to be rich. Figure out how much you want to earn to make comfortable and live the lifestyle you want, then work towards it.

Question: What are the most effective and fastest ways to market my online business?

Answer: This is something you will have to figure out. There are many “tried and true” methods that generally work well, but not every business experiences the same results as another. This is a way you are responsible for tracking your marketing efforts so that you can refine them and continue to build upon your successes.

Using methods that are the most effective for your business, weighted against the time, effort, and money it requires. For example, writing a lot of articles and distributing them for reprint can be done quickly by some people. Someone else may hate to write but loves to tweak and test his or her listings on the pay-per-click search engines The key is to find methods that work for you.

Keep in mind that the fastest way to get results isn’t necessarily the best way. For example, gradually building a responsive opt-in list is one of the best things you can do for your business, but it certainly will not be the fastest. However, you will be able to market your products to your list time and time again, as will as leverage the list of mutually beneficial joint ventures and other businesses. In other words, you list is a good way to work towards long-term profitability.

Just keep experimenting new things. Dump the methods that are not working well for you and keep and refine the one that are working for you.

Continue Reading

Affiliate Marketing Survival Tips

Posted on 08. Feb, 2010 by admin.

Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.

There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the online affiliate marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in the affiliate marketing online.

What are these three tactics?

1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.

   You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.

2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.
   
   Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.

   Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid

   using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed

   up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.
   

3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.

   Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.

   Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.

The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.

Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do.

Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…

Continue Reading