In a discouraged economy, many people turn to a home-business to help make ends meet.  Some look at Network Marketing, while others prefer Affiliate Marketing which is typically an online approach.  There are certainly values in both.  While this site is predominantly focused on Network Marketing and building a traffic funnel to a business opportunity, one can argue that Affiliate Marketing is still a form of Network Marketing.  With that, let’s explore some elements of Affiliate Marketing.

Look at this example of a Fast Mobile Income system, that happens to be an affiliate marketing program.  Check it out at:  www.fastmobileincome.com

Okay, so some marketing affiliate programs are what you might consider hard-core.  They are programs where you seriously devote yourself to the building of online ad campaigns and the promotion of products, and where your affiliate manager assigns you the campaigns and supervises and assesses your results.  But most affiliate programs are a little more low-key.  If you’re just getting started, then it will be useful to learn what different types of programs are out there, to help you decide on the degree of effort you want to put in.

(By the way, this is a shameless plug, but it fits perfectly here)… the Fast Mobile Income system, is an extremely low-key and automated approach.

There are many companies now, both bricks-and-mortar establishments and those that are solely online, that have discovered the benefits of using an affiliate marketing model.  Most of these don’t view such programs as their primary source of sales, but are rather casual, offering these internet marketing partnerships as a small way of adding to sales while still keeping this marketing effort as a sideline to their main business.  Even Walmart and Office Depot participate in affiliate programs now, but of course the granddaddy of all such programs began with www.amazon.com back in 1996.

However, another site that’s been doing affiliate marketing programs for almost as long as Amazon is www.clickbank.com.  The company recognized the potential of affiliate marketing early on, and for ClickBank, these marketing affiliate programs are pretty much all the company does. The site brings together three groups: vendors who have products to sell, people who want to buy the products, and affiliate marketers who take those products and promote them on their own websites. The vendor works out the price and commission with ClickBank, and as sales are made, payments are divided between the vendor, ClickBank, and the affiliate. ClickBank is the go-between for everyone.

Whether you want marketing affiliate programs as casual as the one used by Amazon, you want a more structured program like what ClickBank offers, or want to go whole hog and treat your marketing almost as a full-time business, there’s some sort of affiliate marketing network that will answer your need. Be sure to explore the various possibilities first, so you’ll know what you’re getting into, and can plan your activities accordingly.

I seldom get all giddy about a new traffic or income system.  I’ve studied just about everything that is out there, and really only get interested in easy income and traffic systems that the average internet visitor can afford to purchase.  I love the products that a lot of the guru’s launch out, but c’mon, most newby internet and network marketers can not afford a $3,000.00 package right out of the gate.

Anyway, before I get to rambling too much, Check out this easy unlimited income  system that I believe is absolutely BRILLIANT!  It works excellent for anyone who is trying to make some cash online.  Whether you are a newby or an experienced guru, this system is top-o-the-line!

Check it out!

Anyway, back to the story… I’ll admit, I’ve spent FAR more than $3,000 on super special traffic systems and training over the years.  I used to purchase traffic and prospect generation systems every couple of weeks, simply because I wanted to drive tons of visitors to my business opportunity.  The funny part is, most of the information that I paid thousands of dollars for – I ended up giving it away at training seminars and sharing in my writings.

But… to be fair (and in case my wife is reading this) I have earned FAR, far, more than I’ve ever spent out in courses and systems.  Of course, some systems gave me a greater return than others, but typically, every system made me money in some way.

The reality is, there are some excellent systems available today.  With a 9%+ unemployment rate, now is the perfect time for people to really take action with a great system, and start making boatloads of money online.

Of course, it’s probably a catch-22 for someone if they are unemployed and don’t have a lot of expendable cash.   I am sensitive to that.  When I first started out, I certainly did not have a lot of money to spend.  But… when I had the cash, I’ve spent as much as $5,000.00 for training seminars  – because I wanted to learn from the very best in the industry.  And, I’ll say this emphatically… IT WAS WELL WORTH the cost.

The system I recently got involved with, will not cost you thousands of dollars to get started.  In fact, it won’t even cost you hundreds.  I think you’ll be surprised at how inexpensive it is.

Get it NOW!  Go to:  http://www.easyunlimitedincome.com/special

The bottom line is, look for a great system that you feel you can sink your teeth into – and take massive action.  With trainings that are here on this site, you are well on your way to creating an excellent traffic system.  Match that with an income system, and you will find yourself earning huge money in a short time.

Every day there are thousands of new distributors that make the decision to take the plunge into a network marketing business, which is sometimes referred to as a multi level marketing company.  In this difficult economy, Network Marketing is a great option for people needing to earn a full or part-time income.

There are literally thousands of Network Marketing Opportunities available, in a wide-variety of interests.  People join any one of these thousands of Network Marketing companies that are available these days in the hopes of striking it rich, or at least making some extra money and starting their own business.  There are great systems available to Network Marketers to really help them achieve maximum success in their endeavor.

One of the biggest and most talked about of all of the Network Marketing services that a network marketer can make use of are the companies that provide Network Marketers with business opportunity leads. This type of lead is the personal contact information of a person who has expressed interest in knowing more information about certain types of offers, such as learning how to start and thrive in a home based business.

The Network Marketing services that provide these kinds of leads to business builders in the Network Marketing industry have developed internet advertising campaigns and systems to gather the information of the visitors to their web pages. Some of these lead generation companies also use TV and radio advertising and they provide toll free numbers for people to call who are interested in getting more information.

Once one of these lead generation companies gather this information from people who want to learn about some kind of home business, they typically will confirm that information and then these leads are ready to be sold to network marketers.  Some lead companies will offer “exclusive leads,” which means that only one Network Marketing distributor receives that lead so they will be the only person contacting that lead about a home based Network Marketing business.  These are the most expensive type of leads that a network marketer can purchase, but many find that these exclusive leads give them a better chance of recruiting the person.

The majority of the Network Marketing leads that you can buy will be packages of “shared leads.” This means that the contact information of these interested parties will be sold multiple times, usually somewhere between three and six times. The more often a lead is sold, the lower the price should be. If you are considering buying these kinds of leads to help you build your business, you must always ask how many people will receive that same lead.

Buying shared leads is not necessarily a bad thing. It can significantly reduce your cost per lead and give you more people to talk to about your business. The lead generation companies will make sure that two people from the same company do not receive the same leads, so this gives the person asking for information an opportunity to select from various businesses they will hear about when they are contacted.

It is interesting to note that buying shared leads is not as bad a deal as someone might think at first glance. The fact is that even though an Network Marketing services company will sell one lead to several Network Marketing distributors, there will only be one distributor or two at the most who will actually put out the effort to contact the leads. This is true of other Network Marketing tools as well, and it is a known fact that most people buy things but never use them to make their home business take off.

Millions of companies worldwide promote products or services with one common goal:  to rake in profits that would make the business grow.  For this reason, so much money is being poured in promotional campaigns that gives hope to many people through products or services.  On the contrary, there’s another breed of promotional company responsible for creating positive behavior among the public- social marketing company.

A social marketing company offers it services to any institution or government agency that needs to create an advocacy towards an issue. Frequently, the campaigns are concerned with health issues such as AIDS awareness and prevention, tuberculosis, Maternal health and family planning, and other diseases such as cancer. Although it is also possible for a social marketing company in creating marketing strategies for a cleaner environment such as promoting green products.

Commonly, a social marketing company is mainly directed to influencing perceptions or value systems of a target audience. Unlike traditional marketing companies that promote brand preference, social marketing company influence the way people think towards a product or a service. For family planning campaigns, a social marketing company creates marketing plan that aims to promote the use of  pills for  birth control. In a way, this is not an easy task since each culture has barriers like religious or cultural beliefs. Thus, a social marketing company specializes in communicating messages to the audience by taking into account their beliefs, social environment, culture and perception.

Typically,a social marketing company conducts marketing research that provides statistical information which can greatly help in knowing the target audience. The research can be conducted using several strategies like telephone interviews, focus group, mail survey and the formal business research like research design, multivariate analysis and regression analysis. Likewise, marketing management like development, diversification, pricing analysis, social marketing initiative, competitive strategy and long-range planning are offered by such company. Other marketing services that are valuable are new product development, positioning, marketing plans and promotional programs. A series of meetings and consultation with the client is conducted by a social marketing company since a huge amount of money is at stake in launching campaigns.  Nevertheless, because of  social marketing companies people have changed their behavior for the better.

Network marketing is the operation of marketing products and services by recruiting people into your genealogy.  As a result of this effort, you garner commissions on downline member sales and recruiting.  New network marketers should acquire basic prospecting skills to become successful in network marketing.  Otherwise, without the growth and expansion of their downline many people will get disheartened and give up.  Make it your goal to acquire the mindset and skills to be successful with your Network Marketing business.

You can become a successful network marketer by exploiting assorted skill-building systems that your network marketing opportunity provides.  You will want to master these systems and share them with your team members so they are also successful.  Remember, the key to massive success with Network Marketing is being able to replicate success amongst your team.

Let’s discuss some basic systems that you will want to become familiar with…

Most network marketing opportunities have conference calling systems in place for both recruiting and education.  Make certain you ask your sponsor or contact the network marketing company for both the phone and PIN (personal identification number) numbers to the conference call system.  Typically, the company will send out a regular announcement via email or will give you the information in your signup packet.  During conference call trainings, you will often listen to successful network marketers make cold calls to prospects.  These network marketers are also working with the same network marketing company.  Listen to the caller’s demonstration techniques, including what he/she says and how he/she presents the network marketing opportunity to prospects.  During a prospecting call, most successful network marketers present qualifying questions like “If I can show you how to establish a business from home, would you have expendable money to invest in getting started?”  These type of qualifying questions will help you ascertain who is serious about joining a home based business.

Conference call training also includes question-and-answer sessions.  Make certain you ask questions if you do not understand certain techniques or systems.

Many home-based business opportunities also have turnkey postal card marketing systems.  In other words, the company prints the postcards and creates telephone messages for people to call.  Many of the postcards are full-colored and printed on high quality slick card stock.  These postcards are specifically designed to assist you in recruiting people into your business enterprise.  Typically, the postcards will have your phone number or a “sizzle-line” phone number that people will call.

The short telephone recorded messages are designed and created to get people interested in your network marketing opportunity.  Consequently, people will call you about your business opportunity.

When people call you, be sure you are ready to share information about your opportunity.  You will likely want to utilize a pre-rehearsed recruiting script when speaking with prospects.  Furnish people with specific pieces of information, such as a website or perhaps a text-on-demand system.  To get started, simply purchase the postcards through your network marketing company and then subscribe to mailing lists that your company may suggest.

Again, inquire as to whether your Network marketing company offers glossy postcards available for you to use to promote your business.  If not, make your own postcards on your computer and get them printed locally.  Network marketing distributors often get higher response rates from postcards they create themselves.  The important point is, regardless of what the company or your upline may offer, TAKE ACTION to build your business.  Don’t wait on anyone.

You mainly use postcards or other systems to generate leads.  Whatever system or promotional too you use, make sure you include your recruiting site so that people can get more information about your business opportunity online.  If you include your phone number on the postcard, you should record a two-minute introduction about your network marketing opportunity for people who call you.  Invite people to leave their name and number after the message. Follow-up with people right away, as they may be looking at several home based business opportunities.  You want them to join your business, not someone else’s.  The area that causes most Network Marketers to fail is the lack of follow-up with prospects and new recruits.

Network marketing (MLM) companies provide an opportunity for almost anyone to start his/her own business from home.  If you’ve decided you want to do so, you need to understand that it takes work.  The rewards are amazing for those who are willing to put for the effort to succeed.  If you invest in yourself and are willing to take massive action, you can achieve success beyond your wildest dreams.  The opportunity is there, you just need the mindset and skillset to go after it.

In a Network Marketing venture, typically all the people that are under you in the genealogy become part of your downline.  This includes the members that you have brought in yourself and the members that your people bring in.   The whole model of Network Marketing is based around building a network of people who work together.  The most successful Network Marketers understand the importance of building relationships and working within those relationships to mutually benefit everyone within the organization.

Certainly, if you want to succeed in your network marketing venture, you must learn how to build a healthy downline.   Furthermore, it is not just about building the downline;  you have to train and motivate them so that they keep working productively.  The important part in Network Marketing is replication, so you need to show your team how to mentor their team.  Certainly, it is not always easy to do but if you have the right team dynamic and will show a good example to your team, you will do well.

Below are some tips to help you build your Downline Big and Fast.

Be Personable and Passionate

Remember that most of the people that will join your network, at least initially, will be the ones who know you personally.  They will include your family and friends.  But even though they know you, they will participate in your venture ONLY when they are convinced about your passion about the opportunity.  You must be genuine, or you will not convince people this is something they will want to invest their time with.

Be Observant and Recruit Strategically

In sports, the most successful team is not always the team with the best athletes – it is the team that works well together toward the common goal.  As you begin building your Network Marketing team, you should look for people you believe will work well together.  It is especially important as you are putting together your core leadership.  They will be vital in replicating the success of your recruiting.

Always be on the lookout for the right “type” of people that you would like to induct into your team atmosphere.  When shopping in a mall look at people who seem energetic, passionate, and positive.  A good place I’ve been able to find quality candidates is in the magazine section and finance sections of bookstores.  They are obviously looking for ways to improve on their financial status, so I can easily strike up a conversation.  These people are usually pretty good candidates.   Conversely, look for people who look as though their expenses are a bit too much on them.   Strike up conversations with people in buses and trains.

Promote Your Gig

If you really have passion and believe in your product or opportunity, you will likely want to share your gig with as many people as possible.  There are thousands of Network Marketing opportunities out there, so you need to be courageous in your promotions.  In addition to the typical marketing approaches like business cards, advertising online, and flyers, you may also want to wear t-shirts, pins, or buttons in public that will generate attention and questions.  It may seem cheezy, but remember, the industry is all about numbers.  The Network Marketers who get the most people involved – win!  If you want to build your downline big and fast, you simply need to do whatever it takes to generate interest and growth.  Low-key promos will likely not cut-it.

Be a Leader

When you get the first handful of people in your network, assure them of your full enthusiastic support and whenever they need it.  Many of your people will be new and apprehensive, so you will need to assure them you will be there to help them.   As you begin building the foundation of your Network marketing empire, you’re going to have to spend a little more time nurturing your people in the beginning.   Just look at is as an investment.  Once you get them trained and comfortable, you will see a huge return.

Make yourself available to do 3-way calls, meetings with possible candidates, or perhaps talking at seminars or gatherings your team has organized.  You need to establish yourself as an authority so your team feels confident they are working with a key leader in the company.  It will motivate them to work hard.

Replicate Success

Keep in mind, everything you do will be replicated.  It is a fact in the industry, your group will do exactly as they see you doing.  If you are enthusiastic, passionate, and work hard to support your team – your downline will do the same for their downline.

Conversely, if you are lazy, uninspired, and unwilling to follow-up with your team, you may as well find a new profession.   The fact is, regardless of how wonderful the product or opportunity is, if you are unmotivated – your downline simply will not survive.

Replicating enthusiasm is a key to success in Network Marketing.

If you have spent any amount of time on this site, you know that our primary focus is to share strategies and resources to help our visitors drive traffic. The strategies can be used for any site or marketing model, but we really focus on building Network Marketing traffic.

So let’s talk about Article Marketing and specifically how the strategy is really attracting and assisting Network Marketers.

So you may have recently joined a new Network marketing opportunity and perhaps have set up a website and are ready to recruit – but visitors (prospects) are just not coming to you you thought they would.   This is a key problem that a lot of Network marketing newbies face – especially if they are trying to recruit online.   It’s easy to get discouraged.

Now, before you drop the whole dream, let’s evaluate the situation and start by asking a legitimate question… “how can prospects join you if they don’t even know you exist?”   The answer is pretty obvious… you market and expose your business.

While that seems to be an obvious answer, the problem is many people (especially in this economy) are flat-out broke.    The assumption is that marketing your website and your opportunity or product will cost money you may not have.  Right?   Well… not so fast.

One strategy is to use Article Marketing to get the word out.  Article marketing is free (if you can do it yourself) and is one of the most effective zero-cost marketing tools that is available to you.

Forget all the marketing theory you may have come across – marketing is simply the action of creating interest in your opportunity and/or product (and your website) and article marketing is a great way to do this.

Let’s try a quick test…

Do an online search for any product or perhaps search “home based business opportunity” (this is how most people try to find things they need) and you will find articles about them high in the search results.  Read these articles and you will find that those that stay in your mind are the ones that offer people quality content and good information about the products in a way that makes them feel they have learned something of value without having to go through a sales spiel.

If there is a lot of direct selling in the article the reader will think of it a merely an advertisement and will relegate it to the “spam box” in their minds that most ads go, but if he feels he has learned something from it, it will stay in his mind.

That is what you should be doing – writing articles about your product or income opportunity that give value to the reader and raise his interest to a higher level.  Of course you need to promote your business interest so you can put in a few words about the fact that you can supply the product.  Or, if the article format permits, you could put in a few lines about yourself and your contact details and invite people who want to know more (potential prospects) to contact you for more information.

Keep putting out these articles regularly and soon you will have people out there who will remember the information you have given them and who you are.  Who do you think they will contact when they decide to join?  You, of course.

There are a large number of ezines and sites you can post your articles on.  Many are free and some of which you will have to pay for; but the important thing to always remember is that your competition will be doing the same thing so the quality of what you offer will determine how successful your article marketing efforts are.

Make your articles compelling, but most important – be yourself.  Remember, Network Marketing is about building relationships and your article may be the first introduction to your new business partner.

Podcasting is an amazing and easy tool for traffic generation.  Anyone can create a podcast on any subject, and it can be started without major expense.  The issue is, many people just don’t know how to begin.  With that, I want to answer the question “What is Podcasting and How Can I Start Today“?

Podcasting is a system that lets you download audio programs directly to your iPod or other media player.  You may listen to these audio programs later on whenever and wherever you want to listen to them.   Many people like to download podcasts so they can listen to them while they exercise or do housework.  The advantages of Podcasting is that it allows a person to listen to audio content of their choice without any charge – and at a time of their convenience.  Therefore, Podcasting has proven to be a far better alternative to the traditional radio.

So, how do I Start Podcasting?

Podcasting is a very easy process. You do not need anything other than an Internet-ready computer and a portable media player.  Even if you do not have a portable media player, you can begin Podcasting simply using a computer  that has an Internet connection.    There are many websites that really help you get started with Podcasting.  One of my favorite sites that allows you to create audio content is BlogTalkRadio.   Without question, they are the best-of-the best when it comes to ease of use, unmatched value, and quality service.  They are one of the treasures of the internet for providing convenient marketing resources without major expense and a difficult learning curve.  Obviously, I highly recommend the resource and believe it can be a major tool in your marketing arsenal – especially for creating quality audio content.

There are certainly other resources available to help you gather information on podcasting and audio creation, and to get you started quickly.

Years ago I shared the importance of the emerging social media trend in building traffic.  At the time, I called podcasting and social media the direction that online marketing was heading – and the emerging importance in the marketplace.  Obviously, we can see that value on display today in every area of the internet community.

Podcasting has gained a prominent place in the social marketing community, and the growth-rate continues to rocket across all continents.  If you pick any niche topic and do a search, you will likely find podcasts already available on the net – and ranking high in the search engines.   Podcasts are available on a almost any subject, but the missing and valuable information may be YOU.  Only you possess your unique opinion and perspective, so that makes your content valuable and relevant.  You could very easily possess the next viral podcasting audio message that penetrates the marketplace, and creates a massive traffic funnel to your opportunity or site.

If you still have any doubt in your mind about the value and importance of podcasting, simply do a Google search on the term “Podcasts”.   At the time of this post, there are more than three hundred seventy five million results returned.  That should certainly interest you and wipe out any doubt about the effectiveness of audio content in the marketplace.   The simple fact, Podcasting is really in it’s infancy as a means of delivering marketing content and driving targeted and relevant traffic.  There is immense growth ahead, so getting started now will certainly give you an edge in your niche.

Podcasting is a Great Tool For Home Based Business Owners
If you run a business from your home, you can make use of Podcasting very effectively to build your brand and grow your business.  Getting your podcast launched will help build credibility and establish your authority on your subject.  Sharing the information with your listeners makes you an expert in their eyes.  As they continue to “follow” you, they will have confidence in what you share and will be more likely to purchase from you or join your business opportunity.   With that, I believe podcasting is the ultimate Virtual Prospecting tool.   Simply put, it enables you to reach new customers in the marketplace.

So, if you really have a passion about your product or service, Podcasting gives you an amazing vehicle to share that passion with others.  The best thing is that you need not to be a software expert or have any other technical expertise to start Podcasting.  All you need is the desire to take action and get started.

As we discussed last time, getting prospects to your Network marketing opportunity is the lifeblood of your business.  It is a numbers game – and those who get the most numbers, win.  Traffic generation is a vital point in that process.  Let’s discuss some other solutions to generating traffic to your opportunity.

Networking Swaps

In certain business networking circles, you are able to build a list of prospects and referrals even if you are in a different line of work.  In reality, many business groups exist specifically for the networking.    There are Business networking organizations like BNI (which is one of the biggest networking organization in the world) that are designed to facilitate this.

Of course, all this depends on the rapport and friendship between you and the other members.  You certainly do not want to get involved and immediately start hammering people to join your gig.  You need to build relationships first – and then share your opportunity.  It’s the same strategy as social networking online.

Online Prospecting

In today’s marketplace, getting prospects can be an easy and automated.  You still have to take massive action and follow-up with any leads you acquire, but the fact is you can build a strong prospecting funnel without spending a lot of money.

There are many ways you can acquire prospects online without spending a fortune on Google AdWords, or other ppc advertising.  On the Network Marketing Traffic website, we have discussed multiple ways to generate traffic to your opportunity.   “Virtual Prospecting” can be an excellent income building system, but you must understand some basic strategies.  We’ll discuss a few here to round out this post, but you should also look over the site for a more indebth discussion of many of these methods.

You can drop by people’s blogs, go to forums or build a mailing list of prospects in order to build relationships and meet new people.

Social networking sites like MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, MyBlogLog, twitter, and many other sites are a great place to meet new people with similar interests and make friends with them.

You must be very careful of one thing, NEVER, NEVER EVER SPAM forums, blog comments or other people’s email. It is a very quick way to get a bad reputation or banned from those forums.

Here are a couple of prospecting methods that you must be aware of if you want to survive in network marketing.   I’ve shared several articles on building your prospect funnel, and specifically how to drive traffic to capture prospects.  It is vital that you factor traffic generation (offline and online) into your business building strategy.  After all, having effective prospecting methods in place is your network marketing lifeline!

Cold Calling Invitations

With Network Marketing, cold calling (and going door-to-door) is one of the MOST INEFFECTIVE and DIFFICULT forms of obsolete prospecting.  I suspect some people might want to debate this, but let’s be realistic…

• YOU don’t like to receive phone calls
• Cold calling has a lot of resistance and people turn their ears away if you are a stranger
• People don’t like being sold things that they don’t need
• They don’t even need to see YOU – a total stranger!

Product parties or invitations to a presentation, on the other hand, might still work if it is done correctly.  You can invite your friends to an event or a tea-party but make sure that you let them know up front exactly what your intentions are.  In other words, say “Hi John, I’m having some people over on Friday to sample the product that I told you about – and wondered if you might want to join us?”  INTENTION is very clear when you invite him or her.  People are not stupid and they can sense your intentions if you have promised them otherwise.

In other words, never trick them into coming to your network marketing prospecting meeting!  You’ll not only get a rejection, you may also lose a friend.  Just don’t do it.

Classified Advertising (Google AdWords)

A good way to drive immediate traffic to your opportunity is through PPC advertising.  With the right budget, keywords, and ad, you can drive a lot of traffic to your website very quickly.   It can get expensive if you don’t know what you are doing, so be very careful with this approach.

One important thing about advertising is to ALWAYS go for direct response advertising.  Do NOT burn your money on advertising that does NOT solicit direct response and a measurable way to calculate your expenditure, leads contacting you and conversion to sales!

When you advertise your opportunity on classified advertising, make sure you have a website or a phone number that they can contact you that MUST lead the prospect to the next phase of your prospecting funnel.

The problem with people is that they dump all sorts of advertising without leading to the second phase which is the direct response or lead capture phase. They think just because they leave a website or a phone number (like leaving name cards all over town) they will get a lot of people to sign up.

With Google AdWords, you must make sure you have a system that is designed to deal with those leads and execute the steps above.

Next time, we will discuss some creative ways to generate leads and prospects.  You will want to utilize as many methods as possible if you want to be highly successful.