Why is getting started with MLM online a worthy topic for today? How skilled does a person need to be to build an MLM on the internet? Is building an MLM online even acceptable by MLM company owners? I've heard horror stories of company owners removing distributors for promoting online. Is it true?
These are great questions. Questions that you yourself may have. So stay tuned, read all the way through, and you'll have your answers.
Experts say that by the year 2020 one half of the world's population will be online. A healthy percentage of them will be looking for opportunity.
That's a good reason for starting in MLM now. There are several other good reasons.
Done the right way can position you in front of a good percentage of those people. Over 80% of new opportunity seekers start their online business journey's with a search on Google.
If you learn to put yourself in the path of those opportunity seekers you can leverage your business building efforts in a huge way. Does that make sense?
MLM And Online Marketing
Before I go any further though I have to make a point and I must choose my words carefully to get the correct meaning across. I'll talk a lot about getting started in MLM the right way. I'll also talk a lot about internet marketing.
That doesn't mean to start your business adventure using ONLY the internet. Online marketing is a learned skill that takes time. And I wouldn't want anyone to not start building their teams while learning.
Since you can't begin with something you don't know how to do yet, start in a conventional manner. Get things moving. But start learning online marketing for your MLM business now as well. Do it in your spare time. Trust me it will serve you well down the road.
Begin with what you know how to do. Talk to your friends and family, co-workers, and others in your community. Develop your product story and share with those people. This will get you well on your way.
So when I say getting started with MLM online, this simply means understanding and knowing that a well rounded strategy will need to be in play. Big global businesses are never built with just friends and family. You can acquire some other skill sets to expand your business.
Secrets To Success
One secret to success with any network marketing company or business is to learn and use all phases of marketing. That includes online marketing of all sorts, and offline marketing of all sorts.
Contrary to what some might think, MLM and internet marketing are an excellent fit, if done correctly. A person can build any MLM using nothing but the internet once they get good at it. Provided of course the company allows it.
Keep It Simple
If you hear one thing, hear this. As a beginner, KEEP IT SIMPLE. Get a plan and stick to it.
This is a big part of getting started with MLM online the right way. You will run into a lot of trainers, guru's, coaches, and know-it-all's. All saying something different.
This is where so many people get frustrated and walk away. Information overload leads to frustration and confusion. Too many people saying too many different things. There's no need to buy courses or pay to attend webinars.
Start creating your own brand online by being everywhere. All the training you need is online and it's all free. It might take you a little bit to determine who you should be following.
The best thing you can do is find one person that is doing what you want to do successfully, and watch them. Do what they do.
Choosing The Right MLM Company For Online Marketing
You probably know already that there is no shortage of MLM companies to choose from. We prefer health and wellness product based companies (they've stood the test of time). But you may have other interests.
But to stay on topic, for this post we are talking about companies that are online marketing friendly. Not all are, so this is always something to look into when considering getting involved with a company.
Some tips for learning which ones are internet friendly:
Just Start And Figure It Out As You Go
This might be the most important step right here ... and I say that because I see so many that never start. They think they need to know it all first and they get stuck in training.
But nothing could be further from the truth. Expertise is not a requirement to get started. You'll learn as you go I promise. But you must put in the work.
Start with the basics and keep it simple in the beginning. Step by step. It's okay if you don't know the first thing about it right now. Because you know enough ... everyone knows enough to get out there and get started.
I can help you along with some simple advice and direction. You want to create an online identity. This will be the beginning of building your brand. You'll see the importance of this as you get going. Anyone that wants to make something happen online must create an identity and a brand. If you don't, you are just a ghost.
Keep reading for two important getting started steps.
Steps To Getting Started With MLM Online
I've told you why a person would want to take their MLM business online. Now lets talk for a minute about how to get started. We'll start with the bare basics, Step 1, Step, 2 etc, and then we'll discuss some fundamental concepts to follow.
Your Domain Name - This Is Step 1
Your domain name is your name tag. It's all part of your brand. It can be anything you want it to be. Preferably something professional that relates to you. Some people use their name if they are an individual business person.
Company owners might use a company name or a company tagline. Others might use a nickname or something that people know you associate with. But keep it professional. You can always adjust before you get too deep into it.
Get Your Hosting Account and Set Up Your Blog - Step 2
This is your next step. Creating an identity online, and creating some online real estate. People need to find you if they put your name in a search engine. This is the beginning.
So you need a base. A place to send your traffic and tell people who you are and what you're doing. Start with a simple about me blog post. It doesn't need to be a life story. You can keep it simple for now. Just get started.
The great thing about blog posts is that they are editable, or even removable, at any given time. You can easily add to them, or even take away. There is no pressure. No one cares right now. You are in training. Don't be afraid to tell people that.
You can add your home page and subsequent website pages later but start with a wordpress.org blog. You'll get going in the easiest and fastest way possible..
I use a more advanced hosting account now, but I started with a Hostgator Baby account. This is perfect for a beginner. You can always upgrade at a later time if you decide to stay and take it seriously.
After a while you'll learn about the importance of a faster site for SEO and a better user experience. Then you can move away from a shared server and into a more specialized company with dedicated servers. You'll spend a little more, but I know for me it was the best move I ever made.
You will also appreciate the higher level customer support as well. There's nothing worse than your site going down and not being able to connect with someone that can help ... immediately.
These two steps are vital to starting your MLM business online the right way.
Learn As You Go And Build On Your Momentum
Getting started with MLM online obviously is just the beginning. But if you keep going you'll learn a trade that can benefit you for life.
And as you start learning the trade a couple things will happen to you. You'll get more confident, and you'll begin to see the possibilities. This creates momentum for you as you get more excited.
Watching yourself learn and grow is a huge motivator. There's nothing better than the satisfaction it will give you. And there's plenty of training as you advance. It's all free and online. You'll learn more about that too. Where to go, who to follow, etc.
Understanding The Strategy Is Crucial To Your Long Term Success
Most new people online immediately think of social networks like Facebook when they hear the term internet marketing. That's not wrong, but it's not right either. At least not completely right.
Yes, using social media to share your MLM business is a form of internet marketing. But it's just one small piece of the puzzle. It's one step in a series of steps to complete the picture.
I could talk about how important on the scale each piece is. But it's really about making all the pieces work together. That's where the power comes from.
You see, it's all about becoming seen and becoming known. And for this to happen you have to learn how to be everywhere. How to spread your message far and wise using the power of the internet.
If you do this consistently over a period of time, you'll create your own brand online. And if you can do that, you're winning the battle.
This is true for getting started with MLM online, as well as for sharing any kind of message or business using the internet.
It's all about becoming seen and becoming known. For this to happen you have to learn how to be everywhere.
Here's Your Basic Formula For Starting An MLM Online
It's going to look something like this ...
You need a home base. Most often your own personal About Me website or personal blog. Here you will tell people about yourself and what you do. This is where you will drive traffic to capture email addresses. You will include a plan of action for your visitors directing them what to do next.
Eventually you can add more pages so they can get most of the information right there ... without having to send them to another site.
The goal now is to just get started.
If you just get started you will grow and learn and figure it all out. If you continue to wait, taking training after training thinking you can learn it classroom style, you might not make it.
From this home base you will feed all your other online properties by sharing your articles and posts. Picture it like a wheel. Your base is the hub and the spokes are the paths to all your other platforms.
The other platforms consist of video sharing sites like Youtube, all your social media profiles like Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest, newsletters, company owned websites, and Facebook business pages and team groups.
So you share the blog posts and pages out to your other platforms, with links driving the traffic right back to where they originated, Offer the visitors an enticing reason to opt-in to your email list. This is a trade. The visitors email in exchange for your gift (something of value).
Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up
Your #1 goal at your blog is to capture an email address. If your visitors are not comfortable, or learning something, you will not get their email. So you provide quality content that is valuable, or useful in some way. If the visitor finds value in your content, they will leave their email.
Once they subscribe to your list you have permission to stay in some kind of regular contact with them. This is how you well get to know them and let them get to know you. This is a critical piece that so many fail at. The follow-up.
It's also a whole other subject.
Now You Are Building A Hot Email List Of Interested Prospects
You've all heard it before. The money is in the list. And it's as relevant now as it ever was.
This is a true advantage of getting started with MLM online.
Email lists of prospects are powerful. About as powerful as it gets.IF you use them right.
You can follow up with these people by providing good quality content that teaches stuff about your niche and teaching them about your company and products.
I don't care what anyone says email marketing is still the best. But it's not the only way. You can build lists of followers on your Facebook pages and groups and also your Youtube channels.
However, you are still eventually going to have to get those people to a website so they can join your biz opp or purchase your products. And your blog posts which you drive the traffic back to will take care of that for you. Just link to wherever you want people to go.
Why The Blog, And Not The Company Website?
So why do we do it this way? Everyone in an MLM gets a company replicated website where people join and purchase. Why not just send your traffic to those sites?
Many reasons. There are a ton of reasons why it's not a good idea to send your traffic to a company website.
First of all you don't own that site and you cannot change it or add to it. You cannot tell people about yourself and you cannot collect email addresses to build a list. And that's what it's all about. Here I'll say it again ... the money is in the list.
Even though you are a rep of the company, you absolutely are building your own business. And your business consists of your inventory. Your email list and your followers are your inventory.
What if something happened and you changed your mind about the company you are with? If you don't own the list you cannot take it with you.
Do you see? Even though you are with an MLM you are still the boss. You are branding yourself and you are building YOU first.
The company you represent simply becomes one of your products. But the list and the followers and the traffic and the domain authority should ALWAYS all belong to you.
Company Websites Cannot Be Optimized For SEO
I won't go much into SEO (Search Engine Optimization) right now other than to say it is something that you are going to want to learn and apply. It's a little more advanced but it's something you can pick up once you have your foundation layed.
Do you recall in the beginning I mentioned putting yourself into the path of all the new biz opp seekers coming online every day? SEO is how you do it. When people do a search someone's website gets shown.
When they search for something related to your company or product, do you want to be the one that gets shown, or do you want it to be some other rep's site that gets shown?
Silly question right?
The thing is that company replicated sites do not get shown on the Google results. Personal sites and pages do. SEO is a huge part of internet marketing. It's a part that you would not want to ignore. You will want to learn it. If you get good with SEO it can make you rich.
And even though company replicated MLM sites do not work with SEO, you can still build a massive MLM team using SEO.
I'll go so far as to say getting started with MLM online the right way absolutely must include tapping into this organic traffic through search engines. This is what you are working towards. But you have to have the basics first.
Training Is Readily Available, And Free, But Don't Get Stuck In Training!
This section is important, and may be more important than you think.
Don't get stuck in training! I see it happen ALL THE TIME! Your MLM online business will never get off the ground if you allow yourself to get frozen with training.
You can take all the trainings in the world, attend all the webinars and workshops, read all the ebooks, and drive yourself crazy doing those things ... or you can just start and do, and learn as you go. The latter is by far the better.
Don't get me wrong. You will need to read and study and learn. I did, and I do. But just don't get stuck in training. There is nothing worse.
In other words, when you take in a training on a subject, in whatever manner you choose, then implement what you just learned. Do this BEFORE jumping into another training.
Will you make mistakes? Of course you will. Will you learn from them? Yes! Nothing will break... you can't hurt yourself. Try it and you'll see. Learn how to set up a blog, how to post and market on Facebook, and how to create a Youtube channel and start doing some videos.
Instead of putting things off because you're not really exactly sure what to do, just decide you are getting started with online marketing, and do it. Put some things in motion.
Take my advice and start with step one and step two. The rest will come to you as you go. It doesn't have to be perfect and it doesn't have to be pretty. Remember ... rapid implementation.
Train, But Don't Over-train!
You will need to read and study and learn. I did, and I do. But don't get stuck in training! There is nothing worse.
Did I Say The Training Was Free?
Yes I did say that, and yes it is! Don't go spending your money on every guru that comes along promising the world!
Instead, learn how to navigate the net, become resourceful, and find what you need online. It's all there and it's all free. Use Google and Youtube! Do searches with the keywords that you need that day.
This is how I've learned everything I know. By doing searches, reading posts, watching videos, and then doing the thing. This is what you call self-taught, and in my belief is the very best way to learn.
You want to make mistakes. But only the same mistake once :). It's okay you won't break anything. But you will learn from it.
There Are People Willing To Help You Get Started With Your MLM Online
Find someone who is doing the things you want to do,. Watch them, study them, learn from them, and then do what they do. Search around and you'll eventually find someone who's training style you like. Follow that person.
You will progress. You will polish, fine tune, and your work will become something you can be proud of. Getting started with your MLM online will lead you to bigger and better things.
Start with the basics. Work on those things and you'll get comfortable. You'll find what you are good at.
It could be blogging, or social media, or videos.
Learn that thing and learn it well and become an expert at it. Then start adding things to your portfolio. Eventually you will tie it all together.
After working at it for a while your current tasks will become habit. There's a lot of methods that you can incorporate into your daily routine that will gradually get you to the success that you want.
Anyone Can Market An MLM Online
It's true. Anybody can market an MLM online. You don't have to have any experience and you don't have to be some kind of a whiz or guru. You just need to take some simple action steps. I was doing this the slow long hard way ... doing it on my own figuring it all out from scratch. .
You don't have to do it that way. Do it on your own but with the help and guidance of someone who has been through it and who is willing to answer your questions.
It's not necessary for someone to do it for you and you don't need hand holding ... you simply need guidance.
I'm not an expert by any means but I've come a little ways. Not knowing a thing about it when I started I even put a note out that said "hey everyone I'm going to start blogging but i have no idea what i'm doing".
Telling everyone what I was going to do ... means I had to do it.
the best way to learn is to teach what you learn.
I can now see where it is all going and along with a brighter future. If i can help just one person that's very well worth it. I'm helping myself at the same time I'm helping someone else.
Learning as I go and teaching others. You know they say one of the best ways to learn is to teach what you learn. It sticks better. When you learn something, teach another person what you learned. Post about it, blog about it, and video about it.
The side effect to this? You will create a following, which plays right into what you are doing. Team building.
Everyone has strengths .... finding yours is the key. Getting started with your MLM online will help you do that.
