Network Marketing or Affiliate Marketing?

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.

What is Podcasting and How to Start Today?

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.

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Prospecting: More Solutions for Network Marketing

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.

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