If you’re a parent, you probably know what I’m talking about. Whether from the point of view of the customer or the marketer, young kids just seem to know what works and what doesn’t. And they’re not afraid to let the adults in their life know about it.

Here are five useful lessons my daughter’s taught me about sales and marketing:

1. Deliver On Your Promise

Recently, C and I went on a daddy/daughter day trip to a nearby amusement park. When we stopped for a restroom break, she asked for a snack. Ever-concerned about proper nutrition, I said, “Ok, but no sweets now, before lunch.”

She responded, “Can I have some on our way back home?” (Negotiation skills!) I said, “Ok, we can get the sweets now, but you can only eat them on our drive back.” Deal.

After a full afternoon of playing on the beach with a friend, and going on a bunch of rides, she climbed into the backseat of the car.

Before she could buckle-up, she asked, “Daddy, can I have my sweets now?” Doh! Daddy had totally forgotten about the sweets (maybe because he’d made sure to keep them hidden in the paper bag). “Sure, C, here. You can have them while drive back home.”

Marketing Tip: When you make a promise to your customers, you better deliver. They won’t forget it. So, you better not either.

2. Make a Direct Call to Action

Just before walking to the parking lot, C’s friend reminded her Mom that she’d promised her they’d play an arcade game before they left. (See, it’s not just my kid!) So we all walked back to where the games were. She played, she won a prize. We were all happy for her.

After walking back to the parking lot entrance, C says, “Daddy, I want to play an arcade game, too.” I didn’t make that promise. Not to mention, as I said to her, “C, we just came from there. I really don’t feel like walking all the way back.”

Then, she game me that look. It’s hard to describe. But, I’m sure other parents know that look. It communicates something like, “We’re not leaving here until I play an arcade game.”

So, we walked all the way back to the same arcade game her friend played. C played, she won a prize. Everyone was happy. Probably no one more than her Daddy.

Marketing Tip: Stand 100% behind your call to action. Be confident that the value to your customer is worth the cost (in terms of money, time, any perceived inconvenience). Don’t apologize for your pitch.

3. Don’t Oversell or Hype Your Claims

Wake up time can be a tug-of-war at our house. Mommy and Daddy say it’s time to get up for school or camp. C wants to sleep longer.

The other morning, I was getting a bit frustrated with C not heeding my repeated requests to get up, so I said, “C, I’ve asked you five times now to get out of bed and you’re still lying there. It’s time to get up right now.”

C: “No, Daddy, you only asked me three times.”

Uhh. Ok. Can’t recall what I said after that. But we both knew she’d scored a point. I had only asked her three times.

Marketing Tip: Stretching the facts even a little bit doesn’t work. Your customers will not respond if you’re overstating your case. Stick to the facts. That should be compelling enough.

4. Give Your Prospects Room to Choose

The afternoon of C’s first performance in a school play, Mommy and Daddy decided to take her out to her favorite ice cream shop for a treat. There were a few things to do before leaving for the performance, but we weren’t rushed. Yet.

Standing in front of the freezer filled with ice cream, the sometimes-overbearing Daddy says, “Why don’t you just get a chocolate cone?” (Her favorite.)

C’s slightly annoyed response: “Daddy, let me choose.”

After sampling coconut (and not liking it), C settled on a cone with one scoop of chocolate, one vanilla.

In her world, the difference wasn’t the scoop of vanilla. It was that it was her choice, not Daddy’s.

Marketing Tip: As a marketer, your job is to provide a powerful context for your prospects. Give them all the information, lead them to the decision point. Then, back off. Let them choose. They’ll own the decision. And appreciate you more afterwards.

5. Use Testimonials

This spring, scooters were all the rage for the “big kids” (the 10/11-year-olds) on our block. One day, C’s 5-year-old best friend/neighbor, E, got a scooter too. Of course, C wanted one herself, but she didn’t just start insisting that we get her one. Or pout about not having one.

Nope. She started telling us all the reasons that E loved having a scooter. It’s pretty! E gets to ride it with the big kids! She gets to ride it when she comes home from school! It’s so small, E’s Mom can put it in the car trunk on trips! E’s having lots of fun with it!

So, Mommy and Daddy asked E’s Mom about it. Yes, we were told, E really loves it for all of those reasons. And more.

Soon enough, yours truly was making a special trip to the nearby sporting goods store to pick up a scooter that was — you guessed it — exactly the same as E’s.

Marketing Tip: Know when to get out of the way and let other people’s experience and results sell the product.

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp
@roadmapp

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Ken is extremely committed to his company. Not only did Ken relocate to the state where his company was doing the most business, but he would co-organize many of his company’s training events there.

Because Ken didn’t know anyone in his new location, he realized that he’d need to really start “working the phones” to drum up recruits for his business. Cold-calling. Speaking to new friends about his “great” business opportunity.

Industrious, Ken also realized that he should “try out the Internet” to build his business. So he contacted an Internet network marketer for some advice on how to do that.

After a few phone conversations, Ken thought it would be “alot of work” to learn all that Internet stuff and wanted a shortcut. The Internet marketer, basically said, “There is no shortcut. It is what it is. There will be new skills for you to develop. And that takes a little bit of time.”

Ken felt he didn’t have that kind of time — too much traveling, too computer-phobic, too much other stuff to do — and left it at that. He presumably continued on with the phones, organizing recruiting events, soliciting people he didn’t know, and who knows what else. I wish Ken well.

Ken’s story may sound familiar to you. It’s loosely based on someone I’ve actually spoken to. That Internet network marketer is me.

It’s About Networking, Remember?

Here’s what Ken and other network marketers like Ken are missing. And it’s right in front their noses: networking. That’s right, networking.

An essential part of what makes a “network marketer” a “network” marketer (as opposed to any other type of marketer) is the willingness and ability to “network” with the right people.

Consider that some of those “right people” are other network marketers.

Strange as it may seem, there can be a resistance among network marketers to exchange ideas with other network marketers because they’re “not in my company” or “at a competing company” or “in my company and, therefore, competition.” Definitely not an abundance mindset.

The irony is that, as we’ve discussed here before, the vast majority of the time, your company isn’t a marketing company. So you’re relying on marketing “advice” from a group of people who are focused on manufacturing and product development. Why does that make any sense?

The result is that you’re left on your own island, trying to figure out all the marketing stuff by yourself and listening only to your upline who you think either (a) has the right answers, (b) has your best interests at heart, or (c) all of the above. Truth is, maybe they do, maybe they don’t. And if they do, how would you know what the right answers are anyway?

The way off that island is simple: Start networking with other network marketers. Particularly those who are more experienced and successful than you or even your upline are. Regardless of what company they’re in.

That’s how you’re going to actually learn how to market better. And, yes, “marketing better” will probably mean learning new skills.

Obvious. Simple. Yet, it’s an idea that Ken and people like Ken miss.

How to Network With Other Network Marketers

Here’s a list of networking tips:

(Note: None of these points has anything to do with “joining someone else’s opportunity.”)

1. Keep this in mind throughout: Don’t become a groupie. This isn’t a rock concert or a hip hop show. This is business. It can be social, sure. But you want to be taken seriously. So don’t waste people’s time — their’s or yours.
2. Follow that person first (on Twitter, via their blog, on other social sites, wherever) to see if you “vibe” with them, if you feel a connection. Are they providing useful information? Do they present that information in a way that you appreciate? Can you “relate” to them on a personal level?
3. Interact with them via Twitter, by commenting on their blog, by asking a question via email. See how they respond.
4. Sign up for their list or RSS feed. Find out what they’re up to by getting in the conversation they’re having. Are you still learning something? Getting value? If not, unsubscribe. Unfollow.
5. Buy a product they’re selling. Let’s face it: sometimes you need to ante into the game so you know you’re serious.
6. IMPLEMENT what they’re teaching. This is crucial and cannot be overstated. Taking action is what is going to make a difference in your business. Not chit-chat. Not “knowing some hot-shot network marketer.” Action. (See item 1 above.)
7. Find some way to provide value to them. Yes, you may have already purchased a product from them. But identify other ways you can provide value. Remember, this is a “relationship business,” don’t devalue that relationship by just taking from it or by assigning a monetary value to it. Do something that’s an authentic expression of who you are. You may be surprised by what you receive in return.

If you’ve followed me on this blog or on Twitter for any length of time, you know that I actively network with other network marketers. And I appreciate all of the people I’ve had the privilege to meet, learn from, exchange ideas with. It has only enhanced my business and my understanding of what it is to be a Internet network marketer.

So, trust me on this one: the true value of the relationship you create will be found in the extent to which you implement what they’re telling you. That is what they most want for you. That is what you most need.

Years ago, my late grandfather put it to me this way when he’d want me to do my homework instead of watch TV: “Those people you’re watching have already made their millions, what are you doing to make yours?”

Where to Find Network Marketers to Network With

There’s one shortcut I know to finding other network marketers to network with and learn from. You won’t have to endlessly surf the Internet to find them. Or try to “figure out” if they know what they’re talking about.

That shortcut is Renegade Professional. You can find the long list of marketing training that’s offered there by going to the link above.

What’s not explicitly stated there — and arguably the biggest bonus you get from joining — is being part of a community of people who are committed to your business success. Regardless of what company you’re with.

Have a question about how to, say, “generate leads for free without cold-calling,” “talk to prospects on the phone,” “create multiple streams of income,” “set up a marketing funnel,” “start a blog,” or anything else related to your business?

Check out the applicable video series in the video vault. Believe me, if it relates to your Internet network marketing business, there’ll be step-by-step video training on it at Renegade Professional.

Have some follow up questions? Contact the expert who made those videos and say, “I saw your videos on [add subject matter here]. I have some additional questions. Here they are: [list questions].” Or, better: contact your personal guide, yet another experienced marketer you will have access to, who can assist you in getting the most out of the trainings.

Think you’ll get a response? You better believe it.

More to the point, you will have accelerated all of the tips above.

All in one shot, you (a) have anted into the game, (b) have gotten value from a top network marketer, (c) have gotten a sense of their personality, and (d) are able to ask questions about implementing something in their area of expertise. You’ve got some credibility: you’re not a bystander or a tire-kicker, you’re in action.

It is a great way to start a relationship focused on progress and exchange of value.

This entire post is basically what Ken and I spoke about over a few phone conversations.

Unfortunately, Ken didn’t apply this concept of networking to expand his knowledge and improve his skills.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t. Or won’t. Go for it.

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp
@roadmapp

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I started off thinking I knew what was going on, that I could control myself. But then things slowly got out of hand.

Check it:

• A personal friend of mine called and told me he was following me and asked if I had a “personal account” because my tweets “didn’t seem like the person he knew.”
• One follower @replied to me, saying that she couldn’t read the article I tweeted because it was in German. What article? In German? I don’t read German either.

Ouch!

So, I’ve adopted a new approach, one that’s given me renewed social media strength and power. To quote one esteemed tweeter, “It’s not about the followers, it’s about the following.“ Amen.

Here are the steps I’ve taken on this journey. I’ve asked myself all of the questions listed below. And came up with some eye-opening answers. I invite you to do the same.

Step 1: Admit that you’re powerless over your “get-more-Twitter-followers” addiction and that your social media life has become unmanageable.

This is clearly the first step. Are you so overcome with “Twitter follower addiction” that you’re pushing “get-more-follower” schemes on new followers via auto-DM (and getting commissions from them)?

Do you actually login to Twitter and first check to see how many new followers you “got overnight” before you check on who RT’d a tweet of yours or who sent you an @reply?

This is clearly addictive behavior. Logical to you, perhaps, but completely irrational to the un-addicted. Admit it, it’s out of control. You’re out of control. And your social media life is not working.

Step 2: Believe that a Power greater than your automated toolkit can restore you to sanity.

Automated tools are great. But they can’t substitute for the most powerful force on Twitter: you.

People may actually want to meet you, get to know you, learn from you, get a laugh from you, be informed by you, be responded to from you, be acknowledged by you.

Why not stop hiding behind auto-tweeted Google alerts and actually engage with the people you follow? Don’t have time for all that? Then why do you have a Twitter account in the first place?

Step 3: Make a decision to turn your will and your Twitter life over to the care of the Twitter Gods (as you understand the Twitter Gods).

As I understand them, the Twitter Gods are those who truly “get” and embody the social nature of the medium. I’ve included some of those folks on My All-Time Twitter #FollowFriday List.

You may have other people whose tweets you love. Learn from their style. Trust that if you keep it real, good things — and good people — will follow (pun intended).

Step 4: Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself and your Twitter tactics.

Do you find it disingenuous to tweet headlines that you don’t actually read?
Do you find it a bit weird that you’re following people whose tweets you don’t read or in some cases are annoyed by?

When was the last time you actually read anything Einstein wrote? Then why are you quoting him in a tweet?

If you wouldn’t make a sales pitch to someone you first meet at a dinner party, why are you DMing pitches to new followers?

Ask yourself these questions and others that may apply.

Step 5: Admit to yourself and your Twitter followers the exact nature of your wrongs.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Yes, admit your inauthenticity to your followers. If done well and honestly, they’ll probably appreciate you for it.

Step 6: Be ready to have the Twitter Gods remove all these defects of character.

If you’re committed to making a difference on Twitter, take the time to educate yourself on how to authentically work the medium with Mike Klingler’s “How I Built My First List” or Darren Monroe’s “Twitter Program.” I’ve gotten great value from both.

(Full disclosure: Yes, those are affiliate links. A contradiction? Not really. They’re out in the open, not the dark backalley of auto-DM. )

Step 7: Humbly ask the Twitter Gods to remove your shortcomings.

The Twitter Gods help those who help themselves.

Step 8: Make a list of all the Twitter followers you’ve harmed, and become willing to make amends to them all.

Consider that your inauthentic tactics have harmed your relationships with all your followers.

Step 9: Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Make direct amends by actually reading tweets from the people you follow. RT them. Congratulate and promote other tweeple. Respond to their questions. Read and comment on their blogs. Engage them in conversation.

You know, be yourself (or the best expression of yourself you can be).

Twitter can be one big party. No need to be a wallflower. Or a bot.

Step 10: Continue to take inventory of your Twitter tactics and when you are wrong, promptly admit it.

Yes, I’ve auto-followed. Yes, I’ve DM’d pitches to new followers. Yes, I’ve excessively used Twitterfeed to tweet headlines I didn’t read. My bad.

What inauthentic activities can you cop to?

Step 11: Seek through prayer and meditation to improve your conscious contact with the Twitter Gods (as you understand the Twitter Gods), praying only for knowledge of the Twitter Gods’ will for you and the power to carry that out.

Do this in the peace and quiet of your own home. With the computer off.

Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, try to carry this message to other Twitter-follower addicts, and to practice these principles in all your social media affairs.

Remember how you hit up every new twit who followed you on the DL (I mean, on the DM) about your “get-more- followers” scheme?

Now do the same in the open with a “keep it real” theme. It’s liberating. Have fun with it.

May the Twitter Gods be with you.

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp
@roadmapp

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Related posts:

1. Twitter Tools and Resources
2. How Can You Increase Your Twitter Following?

When I first noticed, I tried to open a support chatroom with my hosting provider, BlueHost, to get some additional information, as I’d done on other occassions. Not available.

Didn’t receive an email from BlueHost either, saying whether it was a planned outage or an unexpected emergency.

So, I checked to see if there was a BlueHost Twitter account tweeting any useful information. Turns out, the @bluehost account had been suspended.

Then I asked other tweeters if they were experiencing any outages on their BlueHost sites. Oh boy, were they. And they were pissed off!

(For the full blow-by-blow, check the Twitter hashtag #bluehost. FYI: My fave tweet came from @timwindsor, who wryly observed: “Bluehost home page is alive. Guess Bluehost doesn’t use Bluehost for hosting… ;-)” Hilarious!)

Here are the facts as I understand them: BlueHost had an outage of some servers, taking lots of sites offline. Most people were in the dark as to what was going on (problems with their ISP? Maintenance [in the middle of the workday!]?) ETA: Unknown. Yikes!

Having worked in IT for a while, I can get it: whether due to human error or machine failure, stuff happens. When you least want it to. When you least expect it to. When you can least afford it to.

This is the Internet, after all!

And because this is the Internet after all, what I don’t get (and what alot of people on #bluehost didn’t get) is why there was no communication from BlueHost to their customers about what was happening.

There’s Twitter. There’s Facebook. There’s email. There’s the BlueHost homepage, which, ironically, was still live throughout the incident. Nothing.

I’ve been happy with BlueHost’s support and their service level. Responsive. Reliable. And, truth be told, for a sitewide outage, a resolution time of less than two hours is pretty damn good.

But there’s no way to sugarcoat this middle-of-the-workday incident: It was a classic marketing and social media #fail.

So, what’s the point of all of this?

The point is, if you’re marketing or servicing customers on the Internet, it’s crucial to have a social media presence. Not just for lead generation. But to be able to respond quickly to the needs of your customers or business associates. Especially in a time of crisis or change.

But, you say, “I’m in network marketing, things like that don’t happen.”

Oh yeah?

• Your company changes the comp plan.
• A marketing tool you were using through your company is now being retired (this happened to me recently)
• You decide to change companies
• Your company discontinues a popular product
• Your company has a lawsuit filed against it
• Your company declares bankruptcy
• Your websites go offline for about two hours!

You don’t know if you’ll have a crisis until it happens. And, you won’t know what that crisis will be until it happens. So, why not think now about how you’d deal with one?

Here are some suggestions that include both public and private ways to leverage social media to get the word out when you’ll need to the most:

• Encourage your business associates and readers to follow you on Twitter
• Create a Twitter #hashtag for certain topics related to your business
• Set up a keyword alert on Tweetlater so you’ll be notified if your name or brand is mentioned on Twitter (great for responding to problems/concerns/issues that aren’t brought directly to your attention)
• Create a Google alert for keywords related to your business
• Set up a Facebook group (by invitation-only, if you like) for your business associates
• Set up an email list specifically for your business associates
• Host a webinar or conference call when needed

This isn’t to suggest that you need to be monitoring your social media presence 24/7. Part of the benefit of establishing public means of communication is that other people can talk amongst themselves and, where possible, solve problems and clarify issues.

But it’s important to lay the foundation in advance. That will allow you to respond quickly and appropriately in a time of real crisis. And in those moments, at least you’ll be able to address concerns and listen to questions, if not solve the actual problem.

The key thing to remember: First and foremost, people want to be heard and responded to. Particularly your customers, readers, and business associates. Once they have the experience you’re listening to them, then they’ll be more apt to cut you some slack.

So, give the people what they want: Communication channels!

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp
@roadmapp

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Network marketing is a great wealth generation method because it applies this principle to building residual income. Your ability to amass a huge residual income stream is the direct result of leveraging the efforts of others.

Apply this principle to your marketing efforts and you’ll be able to maximize the results from your content, increase your presence, and generate lots of leads and/or big profits, all from low- or no-cost methods.

Here are some great strategies to add leverage to your marketing:

My Ultimate Article Marketing Strategy

How can article marketing get more traffic to your blog or website? Why is this a preferred low-cost marketing method to generating qualified leads? How to use your articles to get your name all over the Internet and on Google’s front page. Get my secrets here.

My Really Simple Syndication Strategy

What’s the relationship between your blog posts and your social media profiles? How can you extend the reach of your blog in one simple step? Find out how syndication works and why it’s a great way to get you and your posts more exposure. Get my simple strategy here.

Build a List for Free Using Social Media

What are the best methods for leveraging social media to build your list? How can you leverage other people’s content to attract prospects and generate leads? What does the news, popular trends have to do with your marketing? Find out more here.

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp
@roadmapp

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Leverage is what makes article marketing such an effective marketing tool. Using this technique–and the strategy I’ve outlined here–you’ll be able to leverage your content in a number of different ways. And you’ll be able to leverage your time and/or your money to achieve massive results.

This strategy will help you reap all the benefits of article marketing.

Who Are You Writing For?

The first thing to understand is who your articles are for. Article marketing has three basic audiences:

1. Readers
Your articles need to have useful, valuable content for readers in your target market.

2. Search engines
One of the benefits of articles is that they can be great fodder for search engines, if you do the proper research first.

3. Ezine publishers
Once you distribute an article in an article directory, ezine publishers can publish them in their ezines. What are they looking for?

Know Your Target Market & Research Keywords

(Audience: Readers, Search Engines)

Notice that the “audiences” above are different than your target market.

Your target market is, essentially, those group of readers that you want to locate and read your article because they’ll find the information useful and valuable.

You should already know who your target market is–if you’re a real estate agent, it might be “first-time home buyers” or “real estate investors.” I use this example to show that each article may have a specific “micro-market” within your larger “target market.” The more specific, the better.

Once you define the “micro-market” you’re targeting, then you’ll want to research keywords that are relevant to that “micro-market” to identify two or three keywords to build your article around.

WordTracker is an excellent keyword research service. It provides a free keyword research tool that gives an estimate of each keyword’s daily search volume. WordTracker also offers keyword research guides to help educate people on how to improve your use and understanding of keywords.

One thing’s for certain: you can’t know enough about keywords if you’re marketing on the Internet.

Write The Article

(Audience: Readers, Ezine publishers)

With your keywords selected, write your article, keeping in mind some basic copywriting concepts and making sure to provide information that’s useful and valuable to your target market. Does your article solve a problem? Does it answer an important question? Does it provide a new twist on an old topic?

Some type of articles to consider:

• A list of tips on a particular subject
• Compare and contrast products or services
• A “how-to” piece that outlines how to get something accomplished

What not to do:

• Hype your network marketing company
• Blatantly promote an affiliate product
• Write something that’s not of value to your target market

When writing the article, ask yourself, “Is this an article I’d be interested in reading?” Or, “Would this information be useful to me now, or would it have been useful to me when I was first learning about the subject?” Looking at the article from that perspective will give you a sense of what an Ezine publisher might be looking for.

One way to leverage your money is to hire a ghostwriter from a site like elance.com to write your articles. While the former journalist in me doesn’t highly recommend this, it is a useful strategy to know about, especially if (a) you can afford to, (b) you’re not confident about your own writing abilities, and/or (c) you’re more actively involved in other marketing efforts, but want to leverage the benefits of article marketing.

Post the Article on Your Blog or Website

(Audience: Readers, Search engines)

Once the article is completed, post it to your blog or website with the same title and same keywords. (If you don’t have a blog, you can use Squidoo or HubPages, which are free content communities.) Article directories don’t allow images or links within the body of the article, and they have certain formatting requirements. So, I’ll edit the article for my blog, maybe add an image, definitely add a little more Ben Mapp flavor, and post it here at RoadMapp Marketing.

Some marketers explicitly don’t do this because of the idea that “duplicate content” will be frowned upon by search engines.

I don’t have any experience that this is the case. I mean, if I’m the author of the article, I should be able to syndicate my content for maximum distribution. Why would that get “slapped” by Google? Newspaper columns, sitcoms, and other media use this type of syndication model to maximize readers/viewers and revenue, why shouldn’t it also work on the Internet? More importantly, if this were the case, then why would Ezine publishers use content from article directories in their ezines?

(If you have evidence that syndicating your own content in this manner results in a Google “slap,” please add a comment to this post.)

Anyway, the benefit to you of adding your article to your blog and to article directories is revealed in the next section.

Write the Resource Box

(Audience: Readers, Search engines, Ezine publishers)

From a direct-response marketing standpoint, the Resource Box is perhaps the most important part of your article. (I’ve had articles rejected — thankfully — because my Resource Box didn’t contain a link. My bad.) This is where you get to say a little bit about yourself (establish your credibility) and direct readers and search engines to the links of your choice.

And remember: part of the “deal” between Ezine publishers and the article directories is that if they choose to re-use your article, the publishers must print your Resource Box exactly as written. So you need to get this part right.

A good Resource Box will contain:

• A link to one of your lead capture pages

The key element to your Resource Box is a “call to action” to the reader to click on the link to your lead capture, or squeeze, page. That squeeze page should have some relevance to the topic of your article and the “call to action” should make the bridge between the subject of the article and what the reader will encounter on the squeeze page.

• A little bit of information about you

This should be brief. A short sentence or two about your credentials and why you’re someone anybody should listen to on the subject is all you need. Short. Sweet. Simple. Anything else can seem desperate. And you wouldn’t want that.

• A link to your blog or website

Here’s where your blog gets the benefit of the distributed article whether readers click on your links or not.

Take the main keyword of your article and link to it from a sentence that goes like this: “This article was originally published here: KEYWORD PHRASE”

Link only the “KEYWORD PHRASE” directly to the blog post of the same article.

What this does is create a backlink to your blog post, which helps your blog post rank higher in the search engine. The more backlinks you develop, the more you increase your search engine page rank. Since this backlink contains the main keyword of your article, it adds even more value to that link from the search engine’s point of view.

The key to using this method is to always use a “custom” Resource Box because the default one won’t allow you to create a unique backlink to your blog post.

Distribute the Article

(Audience: Readers, Search engines, Ezine publishers)

There are lots of article directories and it can be hard to choose which ones to use. My approach is, again, to leverage my time to get the biggest results from my actions.

I’ve seen some article marketing strategies recommend that you submit each article to five article directories. Or more. And I’ve even seen some marketers who’ve submitted articles to more than five article directories.

No doubt, that’s a great strategy and, perhaps, one to strive for. But it does take a significant amount of time to distribute, say, 10 articles to that many directories. I intend to do that myself.

For now, though, my current strategy uses two article services: EzineArticles.com to optimize my search engine presence, and Article Marketer to maximize my distribution channels.

Both of these services provide editing services before publishing your article. Their editors evaluate your article for basic grammar, sentence structure, etc., as well as adherence to their own editorial standards. So read those standards carefully to avoid rejection and continued requests to make changes.

The difference, I find, is that Google seems to really love EzineArticles.com. So, a well-written, well-keyworded article stands a great chance of being on the first page of Google for either short- or long-tail keyword phrases.

On the other hand, Article Marketer specializes in distributing articles to other article directories and to Ezine publishers. Using this service can take the tedium out of cutting-and-pasting your articles to directory after directory. After directory. You get the picture. By using Article Marketer you’ll get tons of backlinks and wide exposure.

What Can You Expect

If you’re new to an article directory, like the ones mentioned above, it can take up to 7 to 10 days for your article to be published. This is because it has to go through the directory’s editing process. Be prepared for a submission to be returned, requesting changes. Don’t fret. Writing is all about re-writing.

TIP: Upgrade your membership on Article Marketer for a faster turnaround time. EzineArticles.com requires you to submit at least 10 articles first in order to be considered for an upgrade.

Once your articles are published, it may take some time for it to be indexed by Google and other search engines.

TIP: Be patient.

Track the performance of your articles in the directory’s backoffice. See which articles generate more traffic and more click-throughs on your links. Use that data to improve your topic selection and linking strategies.

That’s My Ultimate Article Marketing Strategy. And it has been working quite well for me. I’m sure it will for you too.

I’m interested in your feedback to this post so please add comment with questions and/or other article marketing suggestions or techniques.

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp
@roadmapp

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1. Content and Article Marketing

Yes, it’s cool to acknowledge the friendly, helpful, and insightful tweeps you meet and get to know. But, the constant streams of ever-longer lists of “cool tweeps” takes up lots of screen real-estate.

My eyes start to glaze over with “FollowFriday blindness.” And I don’t always have the time to give shout-outs to all the people I’d like to.

That said, I thought I’d highlight the people who have made my all-time Twitter #FollowFriday list.

Some are marketers, some aren’t. Some I’ve spoken to offline, most I haven’t. Some are famous in their fields, most aren’t. Some I converse with on Twitter, some I just read and/or RT. Some have lots of Twitter followers, many don’t.

The common thread is that they all provide value in some form or fashion and, to me, their tweets are must-reads for one reason or another.

So, here goes, a list-in-progress in no particular order and sometimes in more than 140 characters. (Hey, my blog, my rules! ):

@Bonniestwit Bonnie’s a tutor in NYC, who simply kills Twitter. You want to know how to “do Twitter right,” follow Bonnie. Period. She’s fun, provocative, inspiring, personal yet never boring. She rocks.

@LarisaBelliveau Another Twitter supastar who “gets” the medium with no agenda other than to communicate and be communicated with. Insightful. Fun. A friend I’ve yet to meet.

@Follow_Steph Steph is definitely good tweeple who says, “I love to Promote other Twitizens. I guess I’m a Twitterholic.” He communicates, RTs when he likes a tweet, and gives props when props are due. In fact, his #FollowFriday Tribute page is the inspiration for this post.

@melmilletics Melanie takes social media marketing to the next level. Informative. Hilarious. Follow and learn attraction marketing in action. Plus, her site’s chock-full of awesome marketing tutorials: Sponsoring Success.

@unmarketing No doubt a skilled marketer with an expertise in social media. Never one to shy away from an opinion or discussion, his posts and probing questions caused me to re-think my Twitter presence and stop auto-following. From Scott’s bio: “Stop Marketing, Start Engaging.” Indeed.

@itsallsuccess Seems like we’ve known each other for a long time. A professional network marketer who’s in the masterminds of several Big Deals. Literally. Deborah knows it’s really all about people, not just products and comp plans. Her blog says that and more importantly she lives it.

@PerryBelcher Bio: “Seriously Bad Ass Marketer & Neurological Copywriter With a Gift From God.” Yup. Tweets useful links about how to do cool web, marketing, copywriting, etc stuff. Plus, his informative videos usually feature a whiteboard.

@LorenaHeletea Bio: “Passion to Coach. We figure out where our old Beliefs have us stuck. We create new habits, set goals, identify actions.” Always positive vibes from another person who “gets Twitter.” She’s not a successful life coach for nothing!

@jawar Not just because his tweet style is featured in Mike Klingler’s “How I Built My First List” as an example of great tweeting, but because he’s truly motivational, insightful, and a masterful networker. Best plus: He really supports his tweeps and is great at connecting people with common interests.

@Ferny_Ceballos & @RaymondFong No, they’re not the same person with multiple accounts. But they are biz partners in SEO Networker. Cool guys who know their *ish about SEO and marketing.

@h0neyb One of the first people I “met” on Twitter and one of the most memorable. I mean, who else do you know who blogs about bees and can chronicle her move from UT to DC without sharing too much or revealing too little?

@rebelbrown Even my “more than 140-character” leeway can’t do Rebel justice. She’s real, humorous, caring, committed to transformation (of people, of organizations), a great conversationalist, a great ally. Simply a great person I’m privileged to know. Her ebook “Its Not About You Anymore” is a straight-up strategy for positioning your business. It’s free (no signup required). Get it. Read it. You’ll learn something.

@k0zm0zs0ul A masterful copywriter who I think of as the “Queen of the RT,” which is all good because the people she follows — and the perspective she has — leads to very useful tweets from all over the map.

@lorenzomyers The name of his business says it all about Lorenzo: Positive Impact Solutions Positive impact, indeed. He’s got a lot going on and will RT when he likes what he sees and reads.

@kimshahan Kim always seems to tweet some info or a new tool that makes me go “why didn’t I think of that?” or “why didn’t I know about that?” She’s connected, makes informative videos, and constantly creates useful content everywhere. A whirlwind.

@darrenmonroe First noticed Darren right before one of his “24 Hour Twitter Marathons.” Told him to make sure to walk around a bit! Seriously, Darren’s a committed entrepreneur who’s got his pulse on Twitter and marketing. And, he’s combined the two into a great Twitter program.

@vernitasherman Not a frequent tweeter, but when Vernita tweets a marketing tip, take note and take action. As cited here before, Vernita’s truly committed to being what her bio says– an “Internet Marketing Coach for Solopreneurs.”

@vene2ia Bio: “Physician, writer, entrepreneur, educationalist, pianist, world traveler, sports, good friend to many (not necessarily this order!). Carpe deum-what’s sleep?!” Judging from Yvonne’s blog, it’s all true. Plus, a fellow chocoholic with a nutrition site to prove it!

@marketingmandy Her first at-reply to me was a helpful suggestion. And from there, she’s been a consistent source of assistance and thoughtfulness, which embodies what her company, Marketing Kinetics, is all about: Strategy, Action, Results.

@ALauderdale Bio: “Bio Triple major, M.A. candidate, songwriter and poet trying to bring change to the world. I also have this blog people seem to like.” His blog, First Wonder of the World provides a peek inside the complex mind of a guy who clearly got a lot going on.

@kemet He stepped to me once saying that network marketing doesn’t work. I stepped back to him with some mojo of my own. We’ve been cool ever since. Provocative, opinionated, calls-it-like-he-sees-it, Bill will educate you on how to have your money work for you on his blog and Internet radio show.

(If you’re not following me — @roadmapp — or just started to, please check out my Welcome Twitter Followers page for more info.)

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp
@roadmapp

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The confidence comes from a solid-self image, which is critical to making things happen, producing powerful results in business and in life.

People tend to follow those who are more confident than they are because:

1. Many people feel that, by associating with a leader, they can become more like him/her.

2. Confidence makes others feel safe.

3. It’s easier to trust a confident person.

4. People feel better about themselves if they hang out with confident people.

Notice how all these reasons address basic psychological needs, which makes self-confidence an integral part of mass prospecting and mass psychology.

By being confident, and having a good self-image, you project the image of someone who knows what he/she wants, knows what he/she is doing, and knows where he/she is going: Success is Inevitable.

As a network marketer, investing in improving your self-image would be a good investment. Certainly, there are many ways to go about that. There are many approaches to personal improvement and this post isn’t about promoting or suggesting one method or another.

Rather, the key is to understand that your self-image, your mindset, your “thought process” will have a direct impact on your business. In fact, you’ll probably find that many hugely successful people (regardless of profession or industry) stress the importance of personal development.

To be really confident about yourself and your abilities, you’ll want to focus on a few areas:

1. Get rid of negativity. This can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be. In reality, it’s as simple as deciding to that negative thoughts won’t stop you from acting on your commitments. It only takes a few days of conscious practice to turn it into a habit.

2. Work it out. If you have any issues, take the time and expend the effort work through and resolve them (you do not need any baggage to hold you back).

3. Take stock of yourself. Assess your capabilities and play to your strengths while steadily improving upon your weaknesses. One powerful technique is to do a SWOT Analysis of your business.

Apply this to your network marketing business and you’ll see the impact in improved results there (and in other areas of your life). You’ll see it in the way you interact with others. You’ll see it in the content you create.

Your voice will take on a tone of authority, not because you are trying to project it, but because you have taken control of your life and your future.

You’ll find that people open up to you and in turn, you’ll be (really) listening to them because you can relate to both their successes and failures.

Just remember: In every venture there are setbacks and failures, especially in network marketing. The key is to not let them affect your self-image. Working through these setbacks will earn you even more respect from your colleagues and from your. In fact, the way you handle them will eventually attract even more people to you - because you’ve “shown the way,” you’ve been there, done that.

More importantly, once you overcome failures and setbacks, you’ll be better equipped to advise others, making you a better leader.

Read more tips in this series:
Index: Network Marketing Tips to Become a Top Earner
Tip 1: Promote Yourself First Not Your Company
Tip 2: Master Copywriting and Maximize Your Results
Tip 3: Master Mass Psychology for Mass Prospecting Appeal
Tip 4: Learn Prospecting on a Large Scale
Tip 5: Improve Your Self-Image, Confidence Attracts

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp

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Related posts:

1. Network Marketing Tips to Become a Top Earner
2. Network Marketing Tip: Learn Prospecting on a Large Scale
3. Network Marketing Tip: Master Mass Psychology for Mass Prospecting Appeal

One-one-one or small-group prospecting makes sense as far as it goes. The chances of success, it is said, can be much better if you could talk to a person or do a presentation one-on-one.

True. But there are two main flaws to that approach:

1. Having a better chance of recruiting the person does not mean he/she will turn out to be a better network marketer.

2. It takes a long time to build the numbers needed to explode your business.

Let’s say you are starting off part-time. That means that, after attending weekly meetings and training, you’ll be able to visit three people (assuming you still want to make time for your family over the weekend). That’s 156 people per year. According to statistics, only 5% of those you recruit will be likely to achieve any measure of success, and 1% of those will make it big. If you have success rate of one in three (brilliant), that means you will have recruited 52 people for the year, and two or three of them may make it. And then, of course, this is all subject to the mindset, circumstances, and capabilities of the people you approached. It will take years to build your downline. And very few people have that patience.

Bottom line: the numbers just don’t work out.

Mass Prospecting

In order to be able to produce real results, you have explore prospecting on a large scale. Instead of visiting three people for the week and signing up one, connect with a few hundred–and sign up 10. While the success rate is a lot lower, the actual numbers are a lot better. And your success is accelerated tenfold.

The key is positioning yourself to reach large amounts of people. And, working smarter, not harder.

There are a number of good options for mass prospecting:

1. Social Networking

Networks like Facebook, Myspace, and the very popular Twitter, can be perfect platforms to connect with lots of people. These systems boast huge numbers of people and the social aspect enables people to learn more about you and what you offer. Additionally, you can social networks as a way to brand yourself and promote yourself as a network marketer.

2. PPC advertising

Pay-per-click advertising is an instant traffic source. It can be highly targeted, and therefore very effective. It is an incredible way to quickly access a mass audience. If done properly, it does not have to be a costly prospecting method.

3. Classified ads

There are a number of huge classifieds websites out there. In addition, there are the classifieds in your local newspaper. These can be very effective, provided you have a good headline to help your ad stand out.

4. Solo Ads

Placing ads in home business magazines, as well as ezines, can also be a very effective mass-prospecting method. It reaches a large and highly targeted audience that would be receptive to hearing about network marketing business opportunities. Direct mailing, though it can become relatively expensive, adds a “personal touch” and can also produce good results.

Mass prospecting is all about working the numbers. How you work them is up to you. You don’t need to do all of the above four options. You may only choose one or two and perfect your skills in those areas before exploring others.

The point is: in order to grow your business quickly, you’ve got to work smarter, not harder. And, you’ve got to leverage your time by developing effective ways of prospecting on a large scale.

Read more tips in this series:
Index: Network Marketing Tips to Become a Top Earner
Tip 1: Promote Yourself First Not Your Company
Tip 2: Master Copywriting and Maximize Your Results
Tip 3: Master Mass Psychology for Mass Prospecting Appeal
Tip 4: Learn Prospecting on a Large Scale

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp

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Like this article? You can subscribe to our full feed RSS. You can also subscribe by email and have new posts sent directly to your inbox.

Related posts:

1. Network Marketing Tip: Master Mass Psychology for Mass Prospecting Appeal
2. Network Marketing Tip: Improve Your Self-Image, Confidence Attracts
3. Network Marketing Tips to Become a Top Earner

Prospecting One-on-One

If you follow your company’s recommendations and call your family and friends, you probably have a “success story” to share with prospects that has the following basic structure:

I was once…
I felt…
Then I…
And now I…

In theory, that should work. People want to relate to someone else, especially if they’re successful.

But the truth is, not everyone is a great storyteller. Not everyone has the ability to inspire every time they tell a story. More to the point, not everyone is able to convey their network marketing experiences in an inspiring way.

So, if you add in addressing groups of people — on a conference call or at a presentation — you may very well lose every prospect in the room if you’re not able to touch, move, and inspire them.

Throw in the fear that many people have of public speaking and you have a recipe for why many people fail in network marketing by trying to “prospect one-on-one.”

It is simply not duplicate-able. Just because so-and-so can address a group of 50 people and have 10 of them sign up doesn’t mean you can.

Internet Network Marketing: The Mass Audience

The Internet offers the opportunity to get out of this type of prospecting. But since your prospecting isn’t one-on-one, you can’t simply get to know the person, and use that knowledge to connect. You are now doing mass prospecting, and you have to use mass psychology to connect with your prospects.

This means you have to appeal to basic human needs. And basic human reasoning. Things that any average, normal person would respond to. When you’re telling a hundred people about your network marketing opportunity, you cannot spend the time to determine individual expectations.

There are two things every human being responds to:

1. Gaining pleasure
2. Avoiding pain
(In short: WIIFM [What's In It For Me?])

Most of our decisions are based on emotion. Emotions drives sales and responds to benefits (gaining pleasure/avoiding pain). Logic justifies the emotion. Even in network marketing.

Using mass psychology comes back to having a basic knowledge of the average person’s needs and wants, which are, in short:

• Having financial security
• Avoiding risk
• Getting out of debt
• Being healthy
• Enjoying life

While “old-school prospecting” requires speaking skills, prospecting on the Internet requires copywriting skills to generate mass appeal.

What’s On Your Prospects’ Minds?

To break this down further, consider that when people are online, they’re in different frames of mind depending on what they’re doing.

Here are a few examples:

• Search engine user

When people are searching, they’re seeking a solution to a problem or they’re getting ready to buy.

• Blog reader

When people are reading blogs, they’re in a news-getting or entertainment mindset.

• Email reader

When people are reading emails, they’re often looking to connect with people they know–friends, relatives, people they trust–and/or they’re in a “let’s be productive” frame of mind.

None of this is “a fact,” but it’s a useful model to look at how to connect with prospects on the Internet.

So, for instance, if you’re communicating with prospects or leads via email, you may want to write your email differently than you’d write, say, a “how-to” article on some technical task.

The point is: not only do you need to take into account the broader driving forces of a “mass audience,” you need to take into account where that audience is encountering your marketing material.

Mind the Gap

Now, what about this duplication thing?

One of the great things about the “personal story” in one-on-one prospecting is that it gives prospects the feeling that there’s not a big difference between your success and their ability to achieve the same success. The personal relationship can make the gap seem not so great.

It’s no use to you if your prospect thinks “that sounds wonderful for you, but there’s no way I can do that.”

When communicating to a mass audience, one way to bridge the gap is to use testimonials from average, everyday people who’ve “made it.” You need to underscore the point that your past need not determine your future. Not in network marketing. (Or in life!)

So, put yourself in your prospects’ shoes when you’re preparing your Internet marketing material and speak to these points:

• What do you want?
• How can this opportunity give you what you want?
• Here’s what I and others have accomplished.
• Anyone can do it. You can too.

Yes, you can.

Read more tips in this series:
Index: Network Marketing Tips to Become a Top Earner
Tip 1: Promote Yourself First Not Your Company
Tip 2: Master Copywriting and Maximize Your Results
Tip 3: Master Mass Psychology for Mass Prospecting Appeal
Tip 4: Learn Prospecting on a Large Scale

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp

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Related posts:

1. Network Marketing Tip: Learn Prospecting on a Large Scale
2. Network Marketing Tip: Master Copywriting and Maximize Your Results
3. Network Marketing Tips to Become a Top Earner

But what exactly is “value” and how do you know if you’re giving it or getting it? And, maybe more important, what’s the cost of adding value?

Last post, I gave an example of how one forum post could provide tremendous value.

Let’s take a deeper look at what value is in attraction marketing in terms of “Content” and “Commerce.” Then, I’ll provide an vivid example of both from some recent interactions I’ve had with Raymond Fong and Ferny Ceballos of SEO Networker.

Content: Leading With Value

(Webster’s defines “Value” as something (as a principle or quality) intrinsically valuable or desireable.)

Quite simply, providing value in content comes from a mindset of “giving without want.” By that I mean you’re writing that article, shooting that video, or recording that audio file, solely for the purpose of offering useful, insightful, valuable information to the consumer. That’s it.

You’re not trying to “sell,” them or “get them” to do anything.

Types of value in content could include:

• Leading a step-by-step tutorial on how to complete a particular task or process
• Giving an insightful explanation of an critical concept
• Sharing a personal story that offers an important lesson or demonstrates a principle in action
• Answering someone’s question such that they are left with a new opening
• Responding to someone’s objection or complaint in a way that leaves the person feeling heard and respected
• Asking a provocative question (say, in a forum) that triggers a thought-provoking discussion

Commerce: Providing or Adding Value

(Webster’s also defines “Value” as a fair return or equivalent in goods, services, or money for something exchanged. Relative worth, utility or importance.)

Now, let’s be honest, marketers aren’t in business just to give without receiving anything in return. At some point, a marketer will wind up presenting or pitching an offer and invite you to buy.

How do you do that and still be true to the “value first” principle?

1. First, make sure that you have “lead with valuable free content.” (see above)

2. Second, make sure that you’ve got a good — no, great — product. More importantly, make sure that product is offered below what it’s actually worth.

(”Worth” is, of course, relative. One person’s “bargain” is another’s “rip-off.” The rule of thumb is: if someone used the product before they bought it, would they pay more than you’re asking for it?)

3. So…offer your “great product” for free!

(One of the “secrets” of Internet marketing is: The best way to make money is to give away a valuable product for free. But that’s the subject of a future post.)

4. Demonstrate: Show the value of your product by providing testimonials from people who have used it. A powerful testimonial includes where the person started from, what specific benefit they received, and the specific, tangible results they produced from using the product.

5. Upsell (with lower pricing): Give discounts on new products to existing customers especially if those existing customers had previously gotten your free product.

6. Bundle: Say, you’re an affiliate selling someone else’s product. That means other people are also offering the same product. To distinguish yourself, you add one or two (or three) of your own products to your overall offering for the same price as the original affiliate product. That’s adding value.

Example: SEO Networker

My interactions with SEO Networker, Raymond Fong and Ferny Ceballos, provide a great example of all phases of the Content and Commerce value propositions presented above.

Initial Contact: Leading With Value

A couple of months ago, I signed up for their free 8-part video series on what they call “SEO 2.0″ because I wanted to get the right plan in place for my blog and social content. I implemented as I went along and noticed pretty immediate improvement in my Google results in short and long-tail keywords. I’ve also noticed a sharp, and continued rise in this blog’s Alexa traffic rank. Not to mention, their “silo structuring” tip for blogs made a huge difference in how I organized the content on this blog. (Notice: Valuable content provided for free.)

So, I tweeted Raymond Fong to let him know this and ask how could I join their SEO Networker Mastermind subscription site. Answer: Closed for now; will let you know when it’s open. Cool with me.

Additional Products: Providing Value

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, and Ferny Ceballos tweeted that they had a new free DVD called SEO Demystified. I clicked the link and signed up. (Notice: Valuable content provided for free leads to repeat customers.)

After clicking on submit, I was hit with a new offer. This time to buy another DVD, SEO Rush, for a discount price. Hmm. Normally, I just click on “No, Thanks” when I’m confronted with these upsell offers. But this time, I clicked on “Yes.”

Well now. Another upsell offer. This time for SEO Blitz, the sequel to SEO Rush. Double Hmm. This has now become a bigger financial risk. But, I flashed back to the 8-part video series and felt comfortable that I’d get the same or more value from this product. So, I clicked Yes again.
(Notice: Setting a precedent for providing value leads to increased sales.)

Along the way, being a former magazine editor with pet peeve for typos, I noticed a somewhat confusing and potentially sales-reducing typo on one of the upsell pages. So, I thought I’d provide some value of my own and I DM’d Raymond about it. He thanked me and said he’d fix it right away. Cool.

What followed next took me by surprise.

Offer I Couldn’t Refuse: Adding Ridiculous Value

Same day, Raymond emailed back, first to thank me for the head’s up on the typo and also to inform me that I was the first person to purchase their new DVD offering. Pretty cool; nice to know.

More importantly, because of all of that, he was going to extend me an unprecedented special offer if I agreed to provide him and Ferny with feedback on the products as I used them. Feedback? No problem.

All I can say about his offer is that it involved early access to SEO Networker Mastermind and some other cool perks that I’d have to kill you if I told you. (Seriously, I agreed with Raymond that I wouldn’t publish the details.) Suffice it to say that I took him up on the offer. (Obviously: Crazy value provided!)

Quick Look Inside SEO Networker Mastermind

As I write this, the DVDs are on their way. I have, however, peeked inside the SEO Networker Mastermind site. LOTS of info there! First thing I did was read Ferny’s “Attraction Marketing Formula” ebook, which is on the site.

Bottom line: that ebook is an awesome breakdown of exactly what it says–the formula for putting attraction marketing in action for any type of business. It gives more detail in a relatively short amount of space about this formula than I’ve seen in one place. Extremely useful. Looking forward to adding some of its concepts to my own marketing efforts and to digging in further to the Mastermind site.

The Cost of Adding Value

It should be clear by now the answer to the question posed by the subject of this post.

It really doesn’t cost you anything to provide, add, or lead with value. Yes, admittedly, it will cost you time to create compelling, valuable content.

But is that time really a cost (as in a “loss”) or is it an investment (as in something that will lead to increased value) that will bear fruit and attract prospects to your business over time? For me, and I hope you’ll agree, it is the latter.

It also may cost you something in terms of reduced revenue from your immediate sale. But isn’t that worth it if it builds your relationship with your customer and opens the door to future sales? I think so.

Many thanks to SEO Networker for their special offer and for being a great example of the “providing value” principle in action.

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp

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Network Marketing Tip 1: Promote Yourself First Not Your Company

The top network marketers promote themselves and their brand first, not their network marketing company’s. Find out the advantages of this strategy.

Network Marketing Tip 2: Master Copywriting, Maximize Your Results

The top earners in network marketing are masters of copywriting. Developing your copywriting capabilities will go along way to making a good impression on prospects, motivating leads to take action, and ultimately maximizing the conversions of prospects into business partners or customers.

Network Marketing Tip 3: Master Mass Psychology for Mass Appeal

Understanding mass psychology and the different frames of mind people have when they’re on the Internet will enable you to move from prospecting family and friends one-on-one to prospecting to a mass audience online. When you’re effective at reaching more people, your business will grow much faster.

Network Marketing Tip 4: Learn Prospecting on a Large Scale

Top earners in network marketing know how to prospect well on a large scale. Mass prospecting is all about leveraging your time and working smarter not harder.

Network Marketing Tip 5: Improve Your Self-Image, Confidence Attracts

You’re the most important part of your business. Take the time and effort to develop yourself and you will see improved results in every aspect of your marketing efforts (and your life!).

Network Marketing Tip 6: Network for a Change

Find out what the story of an MLM’er named Ken can show you about how networking can help you accelerate the growth of your network marketing business.

Stay tuned: More tips to come.

Wishing You the Best,

Ben Mapp

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Like this article? You can subscribe to our full feed RSS. You can also subscribe by email and have new posts sent directly to your inbox.

Related posts:

1. Network Marketing Tip: Master Copywriting and Maximize Your Results
2. Network Marketing Tip: Improve Your Self-Image, Confidence Attracts
3. Network Marketing Tip: Learn Prospecting on a Large Scale

When I was first putting my network marketing business on the Internet, I was so hyped up, I just jumped right in with Pay Per Click advertising.

I’d heard that PPC could drive lots of traffic to your site. And I knew from traffic comes leads, from leads come profits. So off I went, buying a bunch of PPC ads and getting lots of traffic to my (untargeted) lead capture page.

Well, you can guess what happened next: no profits, no sponsorships, just holes in my pocket from the ad costs.

Then, one post in a network marketing forum changed all that.

In that post, I told my story, shared my frustrations, and asked for suggestions on how to improve my gameplan. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d get much of a reply. And if I did, I thought it would be someone trying to sell me something.

To my surprise, a response came the same day from another marketer. The message was simple. It went something like this:

“Yes, PPC can be expensive if you don’t know what you’re doing. To learn more about it, a really good course to start with is PPC Domination [note: with no affiliate link]. Or, if you want a free marketing strategy, try article marketing. You can get good exposure from it. And, it’s worked really well for me over the years. Please let me know if you have any questions.”

After exchanging a few more posts in that discussion, I Googled her name, Vernita Sherman. Turns out she’s a very experienced network and affiliate marketer, who has lots of videos on YouTube. One of them was a step-by-step video on how to use EzineArticles.com and it demonstrated the impressive results she’d generated since 2004.

Being a former journalist, article marketing immediately appealed to me, especially once I actually saw how easy and powerful it is. I quickly incorporated that and other free marketing strategies into my plans.

Not that I don’t do PPC. I just do it much differently and alongside other marketing strategies, not just on its own.

Long story short, that one post opened up a completely new direction in my Internet marketing and it made me fully appreciate the power of attracting people by leading with value.

Basically, that response to my forum post did three things:

1. Answered my question and gave me a new opening,
2. Lead me to find other related, valuable content created by that marketer,
3. Created an immediate respect for her as a credible marketer.
   

Bottom line: Vernita provided value — with no expectation of anything in return — and by doing that she created a “lead for life.”

Now that’s attraction marketing.

Wishing You the Best,

Ben Mapp

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That may surprise some. So consider this: In other industries copywriters are very highly paid. Their work determines how goods and services are seen, how and what people think about them, and, ultimately, whether people buy them.

Same with network marketing. Your copywriting capabilities will go a long way to attracting prospects to you and determining your level of success.

This isn’t to suggest that you need to be the best copywriter in the world to produce great results, just that your time spent mastering copywriting skills is time very well spent.

The Value of Copywriting

Example 1: Let’s say you decide to place a classified ad on Craigslist, because you know it gets a lot of traffic. Since it’s “only a classified ad,” you don’t think your copywriting capabilities will make that much of difference: If people see it, they will come.

Wrong!

Yes, there are a tons of people visiting Craigslist every day. But there are also a boatload of ads. How will you get yours to stand out?

By writing a catchy headline

How will you get them to click on it and contact you?

By creating curiosity.

Example 2: Twitter. All you’ve got to work with is a 140-character headline. If your tweet doesn’t stand out, it’ll be off the page, down the stream in seconds.

Can you afford not to be noticed?

No. The difference is in your writing. Copywriting.

Example 3: You want to submit an article to an article-marketing site like EzineArticles.com. So you just throw something together quickly and post it. After all, it’s just an article, right?

Wrong!

Your article doesn’t have to be worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. But if you want to write one that will drive traffic to your blog, website, or lead capture page, that article is copy that needs to be written well. And the success of it depends on your copywriting capabilities.

The AIDA Concept for Effective Copywriting

Your best bet for mastering copywriting is to follow this four-step formula, called the AIDA Concept. Apply this formula to articles, headlines, basically anything that a potential prospect or lead would read:

Attention:

Does the headline grab your prospect’s attention? If not, he/she is lost, probably forever.

Interest:

Does the introduction create enough interest? Or, put another way, to you spell out “what’s in it for your reader” at the beginning? This determines whether your prospect reads the rest of what you’ve written.

Desire:

Does the body of the article or headline create the desire to obtain the product, service, or more information?

Action:

Do you have a powerful call to action that compels the prospect to take another action, like, click on a link, sign up to get more information?

Push the Right Buttons

In addition to that copywriting formula, master copywriters know how to “push the right buttons” to compel prospects to take action.

There are just two basic buttons to push: Gaining pleasure (”Live the life you always dreamed of…”) and avoiding pain (”Avoid struggling to survive when you grow old…”)

Network marketing is about connecting with people. And one of the first ways that you attract prospects and establish relationships with people online is through your writing.

Developing your copywriting capabilities will go along way to making a good impression on prospects, motivating leads to take action, and ultimately maximizing the conversions of prospects into business partners or customers.

So push the right buttons, and remember this formula: Grab your prospect’s Attention, keep their Interest, stoke their Desire, and compel them to take Action.

Learn more about how to improve your copywriting capabilities to accelerate your business results.

Read more tips in this series:
Index: Network Marketing Tips to Become a Top Earner
Tip 1: Promote Yourself First Not Your Company
Tip 2: Master Copywriting and Maximize Your Results
Tip 3: Master Mass Psychology for Mass Prospecting Appeal
Tip 4: Learn Prospecting on a Large Scale

Wishing You the Best,

Ben Mapp

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Related posts:

1. Network Marketing Tips to Become a Top Earner
2. Network Marketing Tip: Master Mass Psychology for Mass Prospecting Appeal
3. Network Marketing Tip: Learn Prospecting on a Large Scale

Several high-profile celebrities have been in the news regarding fake Twitter accounts and some have gone to court over the issue. A few of the more popular cases involved:

• Tony LaRussa, baseball manager, who filed a lawsuit against Twitter, alleging an unauthorized and defamatory page in his name.
  
  UPDATE: Later, on the day this post was published, Twitter co-founder Evan Stone responded to LaRussa’s lawsuit and detailed Twitter’s plans to combat false accounts, which include a “Verified Accounts” feature. Read Stone’s blog post.
• Kanye West, Grammy-winning hip hop rapper/producer, who famously flamed Twitter on his blog over a fake account.
• Shaquille O’Neal, NBA superstar, who one-upped a Twitter Shaq impersonator by setting up his own Twitter account. Game over.

As an Internet marketer, your ability to be effective in your marketing is directly related to
(a) creating a name for yourself and/or your brand online and
(b) establishing the credibility of your name and brand.

If someone is abusing your name on social media sites or pretending to be you, that can have a negative affect your image and can adversely impact your business.

Two recent incidents made me realize that social media identity theft is an issue that marketers and not just celebrities need to be concerned about.

Well-Known Internet Marketer Gets Impersonated

A little while ago, I starting following a well-known Internet marketer on Twitter. I sent him a tweet, saying that I’d followed his site and newsletter for quite some time and was happy to follow his tweets. No response. Which I thought was odd, given his very personable, accessible online persona. Turns out, it wasn’t him. This week in his newsletter, he recounted the entire story of how he haggled with Twitter over the imposter using his name. Ultimately, he prevailed and staked claim to the username and all is now well. (The weird photo on his fake Twitter account should’ve tipped me off!)

My Name Gets Taken on Twitter

I first signed up for Twitter using this site’s name as my username: @roadmapp, which is the account I currently use. Later, I thought it would be a good idea to also create an account for @benmapp. Taken. Huh? At the time, there were no posts to that account. A Twitter squatter (or, would that be a Twuatter)? I opened a Twitter support ticket. Got a quick response, saying Twitter’s policy was to allow six months to go by before taking action. I didn’t think I could force further action because nothing egregious had happened. Yet. That issue’s still pending. Today, I just checked the @benmapp account. There is some activity so maybe there is another real “Ben Mapp” out there on Twitter. (But, the photo…? C’mon, dude.) As a “defensive measure,” I signed up for @Ben_Mapp. We’ll see how this plays out.

After researching this “fake username” issue for a while, I’ve come to realize that there are lots of them out there. And it got me concerned that my name could be scooped up on other social media sites before I got around to it.

What You Can Do About It

So, I started to go around to the most popular media sites to claim my name on them before someone else did.

Talk about a time-suck.

Then I came across a service called KnowEm. They check the availability of your name, domain name, or brand name on about 120 social media sites.

All you have to do is type in the username, and KnowEm checks all the sites to see if that username is still available. Convenient.

Stung by my Twitter experience, I used their paid service to create “benmapp” accounts on all the sites that didn’t already have one.

It takes a few days to complete because they do it all manually. But, to me, it’s worth it. Saves tons lots of time. Prevents misuse of my name.

Go to KnowEm to check if your name is available in 120 social media sites:

http://www.RoadMappMarketing.com/go/KnowEm

Ben Mapp

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1. Build a List for Free Using Social Media

Most people make the mistake of emphasizing the “representative” part of that term, not the “independent” part.

By that I mean, they promote the replicated corporate website or solicit prospects by starting off conversations about product benefits, great compensation plans, or one-of-a-kind opportunities.

The top network marketers focus on the “independent” part of the term, not the “representative” part.

By that I mean, they promote themselves or their own brand. They attract prospects by leading with useful, valuable content, marketing solutions, and/or educational presentations (webinars, etc).

From the company’s perspective, it actually makes sense for you to market yourself and not the company. Here’s why:

The company is focused primarily on developing products and services, and often manufacturing. At some point, they made a business decision not to advertise through normal channels like magazines, television, radio, etc.

Why? Because advertising and marketing are expensive. And, having to focus on marketing as well would deter them from their goal to provide industry-leading products or services.

So, they basically outsource their marketing and distribution to a group of “independent representatives” (you) by using an attractive, wealth-generating business model (the compensation plan). The pricing and structure of the compensation plan accounts for the (sometimes high) attrition rate and low-producing distributors.

What this means for you is that the very business relationship you have with your company suggests that it is only to your benefit to do two things:

First, educate yourself in what it takes to be a top network marketer. However great your company may be, it is not a “marketing company.” More than likely it is a product development and manufacturing company or a service provider.

They are not “marketing experts.” That’s what they hired you to be! They want you to market and distribute their products or services!

Second, if you’re going to be the marketing expert that your company expects you to be, then why not actually become that? Tell people that’s what you are, instead of “an independent representative” or “distributor” of [fill in the blank] company.

Promoting yourself and your own brand has several key advantages:

1. It attracts people to you
No matter how good the company or the products may be, any new member that joins up will be there because of you. The most highly qualified leads you can generate are ones that are attracted to you. Any professional salesperson will tell you that you have to sell yourself before you can sell your product to the client. It’s about trust. It’s about credibility.

2. It allows you to have a real business
As an independent rep for your MLM company, you don’t really own anything. You don’t own the product or have equity in the company. In many cases, you don’t even own the list you build. If you focus on promoting your own brand, you own the content you create, you own the list you build, you own the relationships you make, and the equity you’re building in the business.

3. It gives you flexibility
If you ever decide to market another product, join a different company, or if your company goes out of business, it won’t matter. Since your business isn’t focused on one company, it will be easy to plug in the new company or product to your marketing funnel. Since people joined to follow you, they will still follow you. That will make the difference between starting from scratch, or simply taking your downline with you.

4. It allows you to expand your business model
Developing your own brand will allow you to diversify your product offerings. Yes, you have a business opportunity with your network marketing company. But you’d position also yourself to offer other quality products and develop your own products related to network marketing. By doing this, you’d expand your revenue streams and your market for potential prospects.

Learn how to promote yourself and become a top network marketer.

Read more tips in this series:
Index: Network Marketing Tips to Become a Top Earner
Tip 1: Promote Yourself First Not Your Company
Tip 2: Master Copywriting and Maximize Your Results
Tip 3: Master Mass Psychology for Mass Prospecting Appeal
Tip 4: Learn Prospecting on a Large Scale

Ben Mapp

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The formula enabled him to create the second largest downline in his network marketing company and it has since enabled thousands of other entrepreneurs to achieve their own financial freedom.

Today, Mike just announced that “MLM Traffic Formula 2.0,” a new and updated version, will be released June 3rd.

More importantly, he’s just released a free, 36-minute video that outlines the core principles of the traffic formula and gives a preview of what’s contained in “MLM Traffic Formula 2.0″

In this video, he:

• Gives you the entire formula
• Demonstrates it’s power by showing how a few emails resulted in over $250,000 in sales
• Shows you how he generates over 600 leads a day for free

All with no sales pitch. It’s compelling stuff you won’t want to miss.

As a Magnetic Sponsoring member, I can personally vouch for the value Mike’s products provide. They have contributed greatly to changing the way I do network marketing for the better. And, they’ve done this because they consistently overdeliver.

Also, as a Magnetic Sponsoring member, Mike’s allowed me to offer you the opportunity to get this new product at a very reduced rate for a limited time.

Just click here or the banner below, fill out the form, and you’ll be sent a link to the video.

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp

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The short answer is, yes it will, if you believe in yourself and take massive, committed action.

To illustrate what I’m talking about, I’m going to share with you an amazing story about something that changed my life:

I had a roommate who was about 10 years younger than me, who ran track in high school. While we were sharing an apartment, he started running again and began training for a triathlon. He did one triathlon. Then another. Then a marathon. And another marathon.

All the while, he’d tell me how exhilarating it was and invite me to join him. What I’d tell him was: "I admire you for what you’re doing, but long-distance races aren’t my thing." What I told myself was: "Ben, you’re too old for that. Plus, you’ve got exercise-induced asthma. No way you can run long-distance."

Soon, my fiance started training for a marathon. Her training schedule overlapped our wedding and honeymoon. So, on our wedding day, she got up early and, with a training partner, completed a 14-mile training run. Needless to say, the wedding guests were surprised. I, for one, was proud that she was so committed to her goal and amazed by her intention to not let anything stop her.

It got me off my butt. On our honeymoon in Brazil, I joined her on short, three-mile training runs. And, for the majority of her long 18-mile run along beautiful Copacabana beach, well, I walked. Her dedication and my former roommate’s passion, inspired me to commit to running a marathon myself.

Later, after several months of training, working through my self-doubt, and learning how to control my asthma, there I was running the Rock & Roll Marathon in San Diego. During the race, I had to stop at medic stations several times to treat a twisted knee. That didn’t stop me; I kept going.

When I made the final turn and saw the finish line, an unbelievable rush of emotion overcame me. Tears started streaming down my face uncontrollably. I just ran a marathon, dammit!!!

After years of telling myself I couldn’t do it. After years of sitting on the sidelines watching other people do what I absolutely knew I could not do, there I was crossing the finish line.

Why am I sharing this? To show that sometimes hearing about an opportunity from one person isn’t enough to cut through your cynicism and resignation, and inspire you to accomplish the unimaginable.

I could tell you that ever since participating in Renegade University and Renegade Professional:

• I attract leads to me on a daily basis
• I’ve greatly expanded my list (and learned the true value of having
  one)
• I’ve turned around my floundering network marketing business
• I’ve expanded my business to include multiple revenue streams
• I’ve created profitable partnerships with other marketers

I could say all of those things and more, and what might come immediately to mind is your own self-doubt, some version of "But I’m too [fill in the blank] for that." Or, "But I’m not [fill in the blank] to do that."

Maybe your "fill in the blank" is something like:

• "I’m not a computer genius"
• "I don’t have a big budget"
• "I don’t know where to begin"
• "I don’t have enough time"
• "I’m already trying something else"
• "I’ve tried other things and they haven’t worked"

Believe me, I understand.

So I’m going to let other people have the chance to inspire you, just as my wife inspired me to train for a marathon.

As you meet them, I ask that you keep two questions in mind:

1. Why did I get into network marketing in the first place?
2. What is my "finish line" that, if reached, would change my life forever?

These “other people” are more than 30 Renegade Professional participants. Their stories are excerpted on the webpage linked below, which includes audio from each of them.

As you’ll see, they are ordinary people like you and me who’ve used Attraction Marketing to transform their lives. You can too.

Renegade Professional is part of Renegade’s series of programs:

Renegade University: Free training in Attraction Marketing, a great place to begin. Start here now.

Renegade Professional: A full-featured training center for all aspects of Attraction Marketing.

Renegade Breakthrough Mentoring Program: Special mentoring program for serious entrepreneurs.

Ben Mapp

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Causing breakthrough results in your business is a different matter. Breakthrough results are mostly caused by implementing powerful new ideas that you hadn’t tried before.

The best business mentors specialize in getting you to think outside of your box and showing you how to implement strategies you hadn’t thought of before or hadn’t thought of in those ways before.

Ann Sieg and Mike Klingler are those type of business mentors. They connect dots you hadn’t even seen before.

On Monday, March 18, they launched a new 12-part program designed to cause a breakthrough in your business: Renegade Breakthrough Mentoring.

You will get these 12 business-building sessions:

• Session 1: Networking, Alliance, Partnering and JV’s
• Session 2: You and Your Business Model: Viability & Long-Term Growth
• Session 3: Outsourcing & Building an All-Star Marketing Team
• Session 4: Market Research: Finding & Creating A Hungry Mob
• Session 5: Creating Content: Building Your Own Fort Knox
• Session 6: Copywriting: Words That Sell
• Session 7: The First Phase of Your Marketing System – Leading with Value
• Session 8: The Second Phase of Your Marketing System – Closing the Sale
• Session 9: The Backend: Upsell Profits = Long-Term Profits
• Session 10: Marketing to Your Lists – Getting Multiple Product Lines
• Session 11: Traffic Generation: Stuffing Your Marketing Funnel
• Session 12: Monetization: Turning Losses into Sources of Profits

Is this program for everyone? No. It is for serious business owners who are committed to causing unprecedented breakthrough results in their business.

Between now and Sunday, May 24, if you register for Renegade Breakthrough Mentoring, you will get one full year of Renegade Professional for FREE.

Under normal circumstances this would cost $49.95/month or $599.40/year. But if you take action and register right away, you’re in for 12 months.

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp

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First, it makes it convenient for your readers to receive your posts in a way that is easiest for them (i.e. in their email inbox, in an RSS reader, or on their mobile phone).

Second, it extends the “reach” of your blog. “Reach” is most easily understood by this example using a print magazine: If one person in a household of 5 people (say, 5 college roommates) has a magazine subscription, then each issue has a subscriber base of 1 and a “reach” of 5.

By reaching more people, you attract more traffic back to your blog and generate more targeted leads.

The simple syndication strategy I’ve used follows from one basic principle: “make it simple for readers by putting your content where it’s easiest and most convenient to find.” Here’s that strategy, followed by a few tips.

My Simple Syndication Strategy

1. Use FeedBurner for syndication
Feedburner is a service that provides useful ways to manage your RSS feed by helping you “Analyze,” “Optimize,” “Monetize,” and “Troubleshootize” it. If you’re using WordPress, then get the FeedBurner FeedSmith plugin to redirect your WordPress RSS feed to your FeedBurner feed.

2. Allow Readers to Subscribe by Email
This allows readers the convenience of receiving your posts in a way that’s convenient for them. FeedBurner offers this feature. If you don’t use FB, then RSSforward.net offers a simple way to provide this feature.

3. Syndicate on Social Networks
The goal here is to extend your reach. You can use RSS to feed your blog to social networks like Facebook or Squidoo, again, to make it easier for your readers and potential readers to locate your content. I’ve syndicated this blog on my Facebook Page and via the Facebook app, NetworkedBlogs, and I’ve found that makes it easier for readers to be notified about new posts.

A Few Syndication Tips

1. Don’t over-syndicate or under socialize
Syndicate to the one or two social networks on which you’re most active. That is, you want to have a presence on that network beyond just your automated blog feed. Remember, it is a “social” network, so socialize with other people and have your blog posts be one aspect of your presence there, not your only one. (See my “Autopilot” post on the need to balance automation with a human touch.)

2. Add your byline to the body of the post
Blogs like WordPress automatically add your byline (”By Your Name”) to the heading of a post. Your RSS feed won’t include that. So, add your byline to the top or bottom of your post will ensure that wherever your post is syndicated, you are identified as the author.

3. Create a full RSS feed
You set your RSS feed to only syndicate the title and brief description of posts. I don’t recommend this because it forces reader to go to your blog to read it. I know some bloggers prefer this because it increases pageviews. But it can be annoying for readers who’d prefer to read your posts, say, in their mobile phone’s RSS reader, rather than being forced to open a Web browser to do so.

So far what I’ve seen from this simple syndication strategy is that readers find it easier to receive new posts. And its been a great way to attract new readers and leads to the blog.

(For more details about RSS, please see the Wikipedia page on RSS.)

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp

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