Tips From A Network Marketerby Jen Patton

In the network marketing industry, actually the whole internet marketing industry, you can get overwhelmed by the sheer number of information products for sale.  Products to help you in SEO, copywriting, making money online, developing a marketing system- you name it you can find it. 

And while it is certain that there is a lot of information that can be gathered for free, eventually you are going to have to break out the wallet to purchase a more in depth guide to what you are looking for. Most smart marketers are going to give you just enough free information to show you that 1) they know what they are talking about and 2) that you are missing out by not having their information.

But are you throwing your money and time out the window?

PotPieGirl wrote a really interesting post today titled Make Money Doing Nothing in which she talked about the 80/20 rule (or what she says is the 95/5 rule in internet marketing) and how she is not afraid to sell her secrets because she know that for every 100 people that buy her course only 20 will take action and of those 20 only 4 will really make a success out of it.

Kind of sad isn’t it?

Lets say for every product you buy you spend an average of $40 dollars.  You then take the next 4 hours to go through the information, and then 10 hours trying to put it into action before giving up.  In doing so you spend another $10 on either hosting, domain names etc. You buy at least one of these products a month.

Over the course of a year that is $600 that you are spending and 168 hours (about a month of work at a typical job). Only to end up at the same place you started at.

So what can you do to change this?

1)Don’t fall for the hype.

There is always going to be the next best thing, the magic “pill” that people are looking for that is going to earn you millions by tomorrow. Yeah, right. If it sounds too good to be true it, it is. Nothing is going to turn you into an overnight success story except hard work, becoming knowledgeable about your subject, and perseverance.

Whenever you hear of the network marketing big wigs that came to a company and made $20,000 thier first month, 9 times out of 10 they have already learned the ropes and figured out the way the game is played in another network marketing company.  Every once in a while you have an exception to the rule but for the most part it takes some time and a whole lot of effort.

So if you see a product that you think you really need and that will assist you greatly- bookmark it.  If you are still thinking about it a week later then buy it.

2) Read, Review, and then Read again.

Really learn what you purchase.  The first time you listen to something or read something you are going to retain about 7% percent of the information.  That is miniscule when you take a look at the whole picture.  Out of 100 words- only 7.  So imagine if you only went through the information once. You would lose 93% of what is being taught to you.

Read the information.  If you have a hard copy then highlight, write in the margins, underline- anything you need to do to make sure the important things are front and center.  Then go back and look at the stuff you thought was important and review it.  Then read again.  You will be amazed at the stuff you missed.

If you want to really get fun put yourself to a test.  Read and take notes on a separate paper.  Then go back a week later and do the same thing.  Compare the notes- they will not be the same.

3) Make an Action Plan.

Now that you have learned a whole new set of skills it is time make a plan of how you are going to implement them in your network marketing business.  This is where most people start throwing away their money.  They have learned so much and they think that things  will magically start to implement themselves in their business- and all at one time.

Imagine beginning a blog on day one and thinking that you are going to set up the blog, add your theme, plugins and widgets, write ten posts, build inbound, outgoing and interlinks,  market, generate traffic, monetize, and advertise all in one day. You would get overwhelmed and most likely throw your hands up and walk away.

The secret is to slowly introduce each new point into your business over a period of time.  In your action plan rank the skills that you learned in order of importance.  Then after they are ranked figure out the best way to implement and change from what you are currently doing to what you want to do.  Once you have each skill mastered then move on to the next.  But remember, it is not about perfection but about knowing you are completely comfortable with that skill.

4) Don’t give up.

Probably the most important step.  Remember things don’t happen overnight.  While you definitely don’t want to beat a dead horse if something isn’t working, you have to make sure to give it the time it needs to work.  90 days seems to be a good middle ground as it gives you time to set something up, get comfortable with it, and see if it is working without letting it go too far.

This is what is going to separate you from the rest of the pack.  Do you have what it takes to push forward or are you going to throw the towel in the second the going gets tough?

In a nutshell.

Overall, you have to really sit down and examine what you are doing with the products that you buy. 

Are you using them to the fullest that you can?  If not why?  Why do you continue to buy them, continue to waste your money and your time?  Continue to wonder why your network marketing business has not progressed the way that you want it to? 

Make this month the month you are going to:

• buy a product for the product and not for the hype
• read it, review it and read it
• make an action plan
• not give up.

It will be your best month ever.

As a serious network marketer your number one goal is getting your business in front of people to increase your network marketing income.  There are many ways to do this and each is successful in its own way.  As you generate leads through your chosen method you are building your list- a list in which your end goal will be to present your business.

Is your blog an effective list builder?

One of the ways to generate leads is through the use of attraction marketing.  The steps of attraction marketing are as follows:

1.  Creating a Brand for Yourself
2.  Sharing Useful and Knowledgeable Material
3.  Building up a loyal and trusting following
4.  Presenting your business opportunity

By having a blog you are in fact practicing the first three steps almost at the same time- if you are doing it correctly.  Your writing style, theme, and presentation begin to create your brand- or your You, Inc.  Your blog posts should be sharing useful and knowledgeable material that is assisting others in their learning and the longer your blog is in existence the more trust and loyalty you build with your readers.

But what about presenting your business opportunity?

This is where you really have to rely on the fact that the premise of attraction marketing works. Because most likely your blog is a defective list builder- for your network marketing business anyway. 

With attraction marketing in the end the prospect approaches you  directly for information on your business.  This only happens if step one through three above are done correctly. Your information must be compelling, concise, and convey authority and a sense of leadership.Then they want to join you, they want to be a part of your team, and they want to learn more of what you have to offer. 

If not- you have missed the boat.  Out of luck. Say goodbye.  You will never have a chance to complete step four because your blog is not the place to pitch your business opportunity.

Now I am not talking about affiliate links or information products. I am talking about your main business opportunity.  The product or service that is your main source of income. The company that you are affiliated with.

So how do you turn your blog into an effective list builder?

1) Have an inconspicuous link to your main business opportunity.

You really do not want to put anything about your business on your blog- unless of course it is a blog that is only about your business.  You can put a link in the about me page.  You can have a note in the footer saying something like, “if you would like to take a look at joining my team review this information and then contact me.”  Or you can have a link in the contact me section.

When people go to your business information if they like what they see they will make a choice to fill out the information for you to contact them.

But don’t, don’t, don’t- I will say it again- don’t pitch your business on your information blog.  You will lose everything you have worked to gain.  People are coming here to learn, to connect, and to discover- not to have a pitch pushed down their throat.

2) Create a newsletter and have a sign up page on your blog.

When you use a service such as Aweber for your newsletter, it will capture the information that you choose to put in your subscribe box.  Most of the time when you have a newsletter form in a blog you only gather the email address.  You save the phone number and other information for your lead capture page.

While you don’t want your newsletter to be a in your face business promotion only, you are able to intermix a little more of your network marketing opportunity in your newsletter than you would in your blog. You can have an email broadcast when something interesting happens in your business or even have a business section of your newsletter that is talks about a different aspect of your business in each publishing.

3) Use linking techniques to send people to a lead capture page.

When using links within your posts you can try different techniques in sending people to your specific lead capture page.  One of the downsides to using direct affiliate links when trying to build a list is that if someone goes to the affiliate site to purchase or sign up for information you may get their email address but that does not give you the ability to add them to your list.

You can turn these links to your advantage though if your link is not to the affiliate directly but to a squeeze page that will then direct them to the information they are looking for.  This puts them on your list while still leading them to the place they wanted to go.

The Bottom Line.

It cannot be stressed enough the importance of taking caution in directly promoting your business on your blog. Even with the techniques listed above be sensitive to the reason people are reading your blog.  Make your network marketing opportunity take a backseat to your information. 

You definitely want to have an effective list building blog if you have a network marketing business but you want your attraction marketing principles and your knowledge of your subject to come first and foremost.

Do you have an effective- or defective blog?

Many networker marketers lose their shirt when it comes to using Google Adwords as a lead generation tool.  The average person spending anywhere from $1.00 to $10.00 for just one lead from their pay per click ads- PPC Domination will show you why you don’t have to be average.

The Faces Behind PPC Domination

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while you know that Mike Dillard is one of the people who I hold in high esteem. Mike has many products, his flagship being Magnetic Sponsoring, which teaches network marketers how to use attraction marketing techniques in their network marketing business.  He coined the term You, Inc showing that you need to brand yourself and not your network marketing opportunity.  With over 300,000 students all over the world when Mike releases a product such as PPC Domination people sit up and take notice

Jim Yaghi is the in-house pay per click expert at Magnetic Sponsoring.  Not your typical copywriter Jim learned that you didn’t have to be a master writer to be a master at pay per click. He focuses on how to make a Google Adwords income instead of losing lots of money getting your network marketing business off of the ground. The actual creator behind PPC Domination, Jim gives away his many Google Adwords tips and tricks that has Mike making $667. a day in Google Adwords Income.

$667 a Day= $20,016.00 a month- just from Google Adwords.  Plus this is creating 4,500 leads a month for his business.

What Is PPC Domination?

Mike and Jim are calling it the “holy grail” of lead generation.  PPC Domination is a video course that will guide you through Google Adwords from start to finish.  Just a small portion of the course includes:

• Discovering the secret to making money every time you run your ads
• Quickly setting up your Google Adwords account even with no online experience 
• How to become a lightening fast Google Adwords writer
• Where you should be sending your prospects to build your list the fastest
• Using Adwords to legally advertise your network marketing business
• What keywords to use- and which ones not to
• Selling multiple products correctly to exponentially increase your network marketing income
• Making lead generation easier and more effective than it has ever been

Why Network Marketers Should Use PPC Domination

The network marketing industry is gathering more strength every day as the Internet makes marketing, learning, and promoting your company very easy.  Along with the increase in numbers is an increase in competition for those who are out there are a company to join. 

This makes lead generation- your knowledge of how to do it and how do make it most budget friendly- a core ingredient to success in creating a strong network marketing income.  PPC Domination is one of the only, if not the only, Google Adwords course that focuses solely on network marketers and how to use Google Adwords to build a huge list creatively and effectively all without going broke in the process. 

You can spend a ton of money learning the Google Adwords ropes the hard way or learn from the experts- $20,000 a month from Google Adwords alone is nothing to sneeze at.  In network marketing your list and converting that list is the number one priority in building a business.  It is a known fact that no matter how good you, your product, or your business is you are not going to convert everyone- but you can learn to make money from even those who don’t join your business. PPC Domination teaches you all of that and more.

I have seen that one of the best ways to build up traffic, a loyal readership,  and sense of community in your blog is to comment on other blogs in your niche (or close to it).  But the million dollar question is… How do you find them?

1) Social Networking Sites and Forums

I distinctly remember the first blog that I subscribed to was Ben Tremblay’s Frogstr, after reading the post New Google Feature Reader. I had been on a social networking site and someone had recommended it as an interesting article and really cool feature.  I went there- it was- and I saw learned quite a few new things that night alone.

I used to stay on the social networking sites just reading articles and comments and never clicking on any links.  But once I did I realized that it opened up a whole other arena. Most bloggers don’t put their best information on these sites but in their blogs.  So pay attention to the comments, the recommendations, and if you see a name mentioned frequently be sure to go check that person out.

2) Links from other bloggers within posts.

The next blog I found was Yan’s Thou Shall Blog.  I found this a post Ben had made, Posts the Frog Enjoyed .  In it he mentioned a couple of Yan’s posts and after my first click there I was hooked.  The blog had really strong learning material, a great layout, and a sense of community among the commentators.

Different bloggers do this in different ways. Some have weekly posts in which they pick their favorite reads for the week and do a link and a little blurb about them. I think this works really well once you get a wide variety of blogs that you are subscribed to and read on a regular basis.  Others will do a link love post once in a while.  This is usually styled similar to the weekly bloggers but done less frequently.  And then there are the outbound links within posts themselves that are woven amidst the theme of the post.

3) From Comments

This one has to  be my favorite and how I have made the most additions to my Google reader. It can be from two sources- comments from blogs that you read and comments made at your blog. Comments from other blogs is much easier to accomplish if the blogger has Comment Luv on their blog.  With this you can click on any headline that catches your attention and see if the blogger has a style that you like. It is more time consuming but still effective if Comment Luv is not there. 

I always go to someones blog if they have made a comment on my blog.  Sometimes it takes me a time or two but I will usually subscribe if I am interested in the topic being written about and I like the authors writing style.  And when I go to my commenters blog I usually look at their links and comments if time permits.

4)Blogrolls

I really have not used this one personally although after reading some of the comments on Dennis Edell’s post Blogroll Effectiveness- What Do You Think? I may start paying more attention to them.  There was a lot of debate on whether the blogs in the blogrolls were just link exchanges or if they were high quality blogs. Overall though, I now think that for the time it takes to click on a few links and glance over some posts you could find yourself a keeper there.

5) Search Engines

I cringe when I write this one as I had NO luck with it at all- the blogs I found were either out of date or only used reprinted material.  But for some niches it may be a really good source.  I would suggest though that if you are going to take the time to do a search go deeper than the first few pages. In doing so you may find someone who has really good material but doesn’t yet know SEO.

6) Article Submission Sites

Ezine articles is a great one for this.  Go there and pull up one of the categories that you are interested in and then just start reading until you find an article that is well written and has quality material on it.  Hopefully within the resource box the author will have a link to their site or blog where you can check them out further.

A few words of wisdom (or better put as learn from my mistakes)

I found that you can be easily overwhelmed by your blogs subscriptions if you don’t set them up correctly. I started with setting up my subscriptions on my home page. Big mistake. It was really hard to comb through the material and my homepage grew to very large proportions as each blog had its own little box where the last five posts showed.  Once I started using my feed reader the posts I read disappeared and it didn’t bother me to have some unread ones sitting in there. 

Don’t just subscribe just because someone made a comment on your blog.  Make sure it is an author you enjoy reading and material you can relate to.  Otherwise you won’t read the posts anyway and it will be clogging up your reader.

If you read a post- make a comment. Unless you really can’t think of any good input.  But every comment you make may lead others back to your blog  increasing your traffic so make the best use of your time.

How do you find other bloggers?

One of the biggest fears that I see people have when first getting started in network marketing is the fear of the question, “How much do you make?” It often times keeps them from moving forward in their business and keeps them from beginning to earn that coveted network marketing income that got them started in the first place. 

So, when asked that question what should your answer be?  The truth?  Or should you fake it until you feel like your are earning what they want to hear?

When I first got started in the home business industry I will admit this was the dreaded question for me.  Why would anyone want to join me in my business if I am not making any money?  After voicing my concerns to my upline sponsor at the time I was given several suggestions on ways to “stretch” the truth and “sidestep” the question.  Not knowing any better I took the advice I was given and over the next few months found myself very uncomfortable when answering the question.  Soon I was having to remember who I had stretched what to and which way I had stepped on which question.

One day I hung up the phone after being asked the question for the 1000th time and started questioning myself.  Here I was a few months into my business basically lying about my network marketing income thus far and feeling really bad about it.  Why was I doing it?  Why was I scared to tell someone I had just started my business and was getting it off the ground?  I made a pact with myself right then and there to change how I was practicing business and go back to what I was true to- being honest and straight forward.

Within days I saw a difference. Not only in myself but how people were reacting to me.  Now that I was not nervous that I was going to get asked the dreaded question I literally was rarely ever asked.  If I was I told them the truth- that I had just begun my business and was also just building my network marketing income. Everyone has to start at some point and it was not when I had started but if I could make a connection.

I started attracting a different type of person- higher confidence, stronger leaders, and of a great quaility. I was being me and they could sense that.  It was one of the best things I could have ever done for my business. I then aligned myself with a sponsor who was more in tune with the way I wanted to run my business.

The moral of the story…..

1. Don’t lie- be true to yourself. You will create a stronger business, a stronger team, a bigger income
2. Find a sponsor who has the same beliefs you do. In doing so you will be able to trust what they say.
3. Remember that your team members are going to model you.  Who else are they going to learn from?
4. Be comfortable with how you are running your business.  If you are not your prospects will sense it.

It’s ok if you fake it if you are talking about faking your confidence and belief- those take time to build.  Borrow your belief, your confidence, your posture from your leaders until you become one on your own.  But when it comes to faking it on the size of your network marketing income, your team, how long you have been in the business- ask yourself this- would you want it done to you?

Money.  We all start a home business to create that extra cash flow that is going to lead us to our dreams and goals.  There are several ways to get prospects to increase your network marketing income.  Which are you using and are you open to other ideas?  Below are 4 of the ways to gain prospects for your opportunity. 

1) Traditional Networking.

While some say this is dead in the water others would not build their networking business any other way.  Traditional networking includes things such as talking to your circle of influence and the “three foot rule”.

Your circle of influence- the list of 200 people you know.

Newer network marketers look down on this way of building your business as the phrase “NFL club” or “No Friends Left” club echo in their mind, paralyzing them to speak with the people they know.  What many marketers don’t realize is that you are not really looking to recruit these people into your business but you are looking for the people that they know, and the people that they know- networking in the true sense of the word. 

Talking to people that know you intimately assists you in honing your question answering skills, lets you work on work presentation, and ultimately builds your business and therefore your network marketing income.

At several Dani Johnson seminars that I attended she asked everyone in the room who had made a list to stand up- several hundred did.  She then asked those who had contacted every person on that list to stay standing- about half of the people sat down.  Next came who had made money from contacting their whole list- EVERY person remained standing.  Finally, who had made six figures in the last 12 months- over 50% of these people stayed standing.  This was an exercise that really opened your mind to the possibilities if you just got over your hang ups.

The three foot rule.

Again, newer network marketers tend to frown on the three foot rule as they prefer to let the prospects come to them.  But for every person who thinks it doesn’t work there is someone who is making money using this method.

The three foot rule is where you are constantly on the look out for people to prospect.  Whether it be in the grocery store, in line at the movies, or sitting next to someone on the plane, you are finding ways to draw the person closest to you into a conversation to see if they have a desire to create an extra income for themselves.

This is a difficult skill to really hone as you must be really on your prospecting game.  A major part of the reason that so many people shy away from doing this is because they do not have the right people teaching them. They approach people and put their networking marketing business first, instead connecting with the person and finding out thier hot buttons and needs.

2) Lead generation companies

The second way of creating your network marketing income is through purchasing leads.  Many people decide to do this as a way of talking to people who have shown an interest in having their own at home business.

When you purchase leads you can get many different types of leads at lots of different prices from $.10 per lead all the way up to $25.00 a lead. The difference depends on how qualified you want your prospect to be and whether you want your lead to be exclusive to you or not.

Usually you will get information such as name, phone number, email address and additionally may find out a little bit about how much prospects want to spend to start their business and how much network marketing income they would like to make per month.

Proponents of purchasing leads like the fact that they can have an immediate supply of leads to call at any given time without any extra effort of advertising.  By having the phone number and email address you can not only call them but also can put them into your auto-responder to stay connected with them over time.

The downside to using lead generation companies is that it can become costly- especially in the beginning when working on your prospecting skills. You also have to be aware of the fact that although people may have requested information they are not always really looking for a home business.  You can get go through a lot of people before you really find ones who are not tire kickers.

3) Using a Lead capture Page

Many successful marketers really promote using a lead capture page to create prospects for the following reasons:

• lead exclusivity
• interest in your business is peaked
• better chance of name recognition
• list building

Lead exclusivity is just as it sounds- being the only one to have that lead.  When purchasing leads, unless you are paying top dollar,  most of the time you are sharing the lead with several other people.  This means that just as you are contacting them other people are too.  Many people don’t like the competition of this and would rather use the lead capture page knowing that when a prospect fills out their information they are the only people receiving it.

As your squeeze page is directly related to you and your business, when someone opts in to your information you know that you have a higher chance of conversion as they have shown a desire to have more information about that specific business or product that you are promoting. 

Building up a connection and trust is key to making sales and increasing your network marketing income.  When a person requests your information they have already seen your name and starting that trust process.  Once you begin connecting with them whether it be via email or phone your name will click and make the next step in your sales presentation that much easier.

As many career network marketers know having your own list is very important. Countless times stories are shared about losing databases of 1000’s of names when companies shut down or when changing to a new company.  By having your own list you are in control of those names and they belong to you.  Lists can become huge and therefore great sources of additional income from affiliate products, new product releases from your company, and good ways to also distribute information- just make sure you are following all SPAM laws.

In addition, in using  a lead capture page you can actually make money on generating your leads instead of spending money through a funded proposal.  This is very attractive to those with a smaller advertising budget.

4) Blogging and Social Networking.

Blogging social networking have become a huge source of gathering prospects over the past few years and you are able to make the most use out of attraction marketing principals in this venue. 

Blogging itself has become a preferred way of sharing information, getting your thoughts and ideas out, teaching what you know, and creating a brand yourself.  You can do searches for almost any topic out there and find countless blogs about that topic.  For someone who has the motivation and persistence to persevere in the blogging world, you can create not only an increased prospect base to raise your network marketing income, but also set yourself up to be an authority in the industry.

Different social networking sites are popping up all of the time and are a very inexpensive way of advertising and finding new prospects.  But don’t just jump on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, BetterNetworker or any other social networking site out there and start pitching your business.  If you do, you will get a response opposite your desired one. 

One of the best ways to learn the ins and outs of a specific site is to join, observe, participate with comments, share your knowledge, and then if the situation arises and you are asked, talk about your opportunity.  Most sites and forums will have specific policies about business, product, and affiliate promotions and will stick to them. 

Some network marketers prefer this form of generating prospects because generally in this situation the prospects are able to observe you, your site, knowledge, and authority and then they are the ones contacting you for more information about your business.   There is a lot less one-on-one legwork with this method as each post you write and each site you participate in has the possibility of being seen by thousands of people.  If the information is strong enough you will attract the strongest prospects to you and increase you network marketing income.

Increasing your Network Marketing Income.

No matter which way you choose to go, your overall goal is to increase the dollars that are coming in to your business.  Not every person is meant to do every one of the ways listed above.  If you are going to be an effective network marketer one of your biggest obstacles is going to be choosing the prospecting method that works the best for you and the one that is going to increase your network marketing income the fastest.

What are some of the ways that you prospect?

As the need to change my theme became more pressing in my mind I decided to tackle the dreaded upgrade to Wordpress 2.7. I fumble considerably when it comes to making any type of changes, saves, plugin edits, etc. involved with my blog- there was a time not long ago that HTML drew from me a blank stare. What takes those more experienced in blogging five minutes to do will leave me swearing and wanting to throw my computer out the window.

So after picking a new theme (the first of many last evening) in which I needed to be upgraded to Wordpress 2.7, I settled on the couch for what I knew was going to be a long night. After about an hour of staring dazedly at the upgrade instructions, thinking I did the right things but knowing that at the click of one button I could be seriously screwed I decided to do a little search for Hostgator Wordpress 2.7 .

I was so excited to see that there was a very specific article  at www.freewptraining.com about upgrading to Wordpress 2.7 on Hostgator. The article Wordpress 2.7 Upgrade One Click Install with cPanel Fantastico was so easy even I could follow it.  My upgrade went quickly, smoothly, and without a hitch.

Which brings me to the real reason behind this post.  When setting up my lead capture page for my newsletter, I was really stumbling around in the dark.  I picked Hostgator after reading a few reviews and had no clue if I was going with a good company or not. 

Months later I am pleased to say I made a great choice. I had an issue a few times where I needed customer service to assist me   hold my hand and had really good service with a very low wait time.  The answers were understandable, knowledgeable, and solved my problems within minutes.

The hosting is inexpensive.  I have the baby croc package which has come in handy as right after I created my landing page I decided to move my blog from blogger to Wordpress. With the unlimited websites that come with the package I was able to set my blog up with Hostgator as the web host at no additional cost.

This latest one click Wordpress upgrade just cinched it in my mind.  I had read at JR’s Internet Marketing Strategies blog that he had nothing but problems with the upgrade and I was really procrastinating at doing it.  But for me Hostgator was really looking out for the technically challenged and a big thank you to Hostgator.

Posting frequency has been the topic of many sites across the Internet as different marketers and bloggers share their opinion on how frequently, when, and why you should post.  As an individual, you have to look at the overall factors and decide which option works the best for you.

Here are a few opinions from both sides:

Post less……

Yan, from Thou Shall Blog, in his 101 Blogging Tips I’ve Learned in 2008 has #17 listed as Posting frequency is overrated. In it he links to Ben Barden’s post 10 Reasons Not to Post Too Frequently.  Their reasoning is that you should give your post a chance to breathe and time for your subscribers to read and comment before another post is being thrown in their face. Doing so will gain loyalty in your readers and increase your subscriber rate.

Another argument for posting less frequently is that your content will be higher quality because you will not feel pressured to write every day. You will have more time to focus on creating stronger articles in which your skill and knowledge come across.

Post more…

On the flip side, Shirley from Velvet Blues Website Development, wrote The Larger the Website, the Greater the Traffic.  In it she talks about how that while the more content you have the stronger your traffic flow is, you need to be aware of your quality and also take the opportunity to update your older page so you don’t lose size from your older posts dropping off.

Daniel from Daily Blog Tips agrees that posting frequency can increase your traffic and popularity.  His opinion can be seen in his post On Posting Frequency. He says that while some polls show that the highest reason for unsubscribing to a blog is too many posts it hasn’t been clarified as to how many is too many.

So what do I think?

There are positives to both views but here’s my opinion.  When first getting started in blogging you have to get a feel for it, gain your rhythm, and get comfortable with your writing.  In doing so your posting frequency may be less than when you gain full stride.  As some point you are going to realize that you are ready to really turn up the volume and create the vision that you had when you started your blog. 

For some that may take a few weeks, for some a few months.

At that point is when you begin to have the post ideas pop into your head unheeded and know that you can increase your frequency and still maintain the quality that you have built yourself up to.  Now your focus is on gaining traffic, and until you reach your subscriber “comfort zone” you should post as frequently as once a day.

After you have gained the following that you have set for yourself, it is time to slow down and develop the community among your subscribers.  Here is where you really flesh out your brand and turn your blog into the tool you need it to be- whether a stepping stone to your business, a knowledge base for your leadership, or just a way to create an extra income for yourself.

No matter what the view on posting frequency there is a united front that quality must supercede the quantity.  Don’t post just to post but develop your blog around your niche and yourself and let your passion show through.  The ideas will just flow after that.

Not every post you are going to write is going to be top notch but in Entrepreneurs-Journey’s author, Yaro Starak, describes the Pillar Article  and how having them is key to your blogs success. 

You have to decide what posting frequency is going to work for you and what you are building.

• What are your goals?
• What are you looking to create?
• What are your time constraints?

The bottom line- no one can choose the right path and what will work for your blog. Pay attention to your readers, keep up your quality, get the traffic you are looking for and do it with the posting frequency that strikes the best balance for all of those things.

As the new year opens taking a good look at your network marketing business might be in order.

Are you happy with your business? 

Are you moving forward or spinning your wheels?

Do you want 2009 to be a year that your business explodes?

If the answer to any of those questions is yes- then it is time to take action and set up a game plan for the new year.

1) Are you happy with your network marketing business?

Being in a  business that you really enjoy is one of the keys to success.  You need to feel a passion for your business, for your product, for what you are doing.  If you are having a disconnect or don’t believe in your industry to product you will have a hard time making others feel the need to join you in your business.

Think back to when you have been talking to someone about something they are involved in.  Can you tell in their voice, their posture, their words, their overall attitude whether the believed in what they were talking about?  The littlest hesitations in the conversations can be felt.

So what should you do?

If you feel like you have lost the zest for your business, the first thing you should do is begin to rebuild that belief in your network marketing opportunity. 

Revisit why you joined in the first place.  What was your why?  Were you looking for financial gain? Time freedom? Or just something different to do?

Seek out what first attracted you to the business itself. When you pinpoint that go and review the information once again.  Get yourself back to the place you were when you first started and were going to conquer the network marketing industry.

Reconnect with your mentors.  Sometimes when you start to get discouraged in your business you draw away from the key people that can help teach you success tools.  Reconnect with them and if need be borrow their belief until you have regained yours.

2) Are you moving forward or just spinning your wheels?

You may feel as if you are working your business day in and day out yet getting nowhere and worse making no money.  Take a deep look at what you are doing in those daily activities and be honest with yourself.

Do you engage in money making activities on a daily basis? Money making activities should comprise of most of your day.  These are the things that ultimately lead to sales and in turn money in your pocket.  Connecting with people, sharing your knowledge, generating leads, guiding people through your business information, working with and building your team sales- all of these things create profit for yourself.

Do you treat your business as a business or a hobby?  Your network marketing business may be getting the short end of the stick if you are not treating it like a true business. One of the best things about being an entrepreneur and having your own business is being able to call the shots but if you put your business in last place you won’t be the in business for very long. In 5 Tips to Running Your Home Business More Effectively I talk about ways to make sure you are making the most out of your business time so that you can have time for the fun.

Do you strive to continually learn new things to make yourself better in your business? Personal development is so important in your network marketing business- whether you are brand new or a seasoned marketer. Although you should make sure not to let personal development overtake your life, you should be constantly learning and developing so that you can be a better person, marketer, and team leader.

3) Do you want 2009 to be a year your business explodes?

Recession or not- you have the potential to make your business as successful as you want it to be.  But it is not going to happen unless you decide to make it happen.

Have a clear focus on where you are going.  Most people live their life on a day to day basis.  Going to work, coming home, cooking dinner, taking care of the kids, going to bed- only to get up and do it all over again.  If you study the people who really become successful you will see that they have a laser beam focus on who they are and where they are going.  Adopt that habit- it will take you far.

Be consistent and persistent. Success does not come overnight- but it does come over a period of time when the right skills and tools are being used. Develop a plan and stick with in- stay level.

Build yourself and your leadership skills. Personal development will help you build the skills necessary to be that successful network marketer.  It will assist in learning how to build and keep connections, how to advertise most effectively and how to create a brand for yourself.

Use attraction marketing to make others aware of what you have to offer.  Attraction marketing creates an atmosphere in which the sharing of your knowledge and skills will bring people to you instead of you prospecting them. They will see what you have created- your leadership, your brand, your ideas in building your team and that is when you will see your business begin to grow in proportions that will amaze even you.

2009 and your network marketing business- where will you take it?