If you’re trying to learn how to build a MLM Business online, you are in the right place at the right time. I have personally spent more than $125,000 and fifteen years of my life to learn, implement, and master this process.
Bookmark this page. Share it with your team. Return to this page once a week for the next 90-days and re-read it, and pick up what you missed the first time around. And whatever you do, take this information and apply it in your network marketing business immediately, rather than just think about it.
I’m sharing these tips with you today so you don’t make the same mistakes I did. Trust me, I’ve made more mistakes than I could even list here. Thankfully, I learned from each mistake and discovered what works.
My tips on how to build a MLM Business online are broken down into seven simple steps. Just follow these steps in order and you will quickly separate yourself from the masses in our industry.
First Things First
From a legal, ethical, and moral point of view, I must tell you something right out the gate. Here it goes.
Everyone wants to build their network marketing business online. It sounds easy and sexy. You see ads all over the internet that make it sound that way.
- “Join my automated system.”
- “We’ll do your recruiting for you.”
- “We build your team for you.”
- “We’ve found the secret.”
- “Push button profits.”
These ads are BULL SHIT. Building your MLM Business online IS NOT EASY. Figuring out how to build my MLM Business online was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. And I’m a smart, hard-working dude.
There is a HUGE learning curve to build a MLM business online. It is NOT fast, free, or easy, contrary to what anyone else tells you. There are no secrets or shortcuts either.
If you think there is a push button system, you are only fooling yourself. The only people who make money with “push button systems” are the creators of those systems who happily take your hard-earned cash by appealing to your greed to get something for nothing.
Also, if you think you can just spam your link everywhere on different social media sites and think people will magically buy from you, get ready to eat a big lunch. If you think you can just “blast an email” to two million people and you’ll get a bunch of new distributors, you better go out and buy some TUMS, because your stomach will hurt (so will your checkbook)!
If you think you don’t have to “talk to people” because you are building your business online, you are fooling yourself.
There will ALWAYS be a human element to this business. It is a people business. You cannot replace that with the internet.
Also, network marketing is designed to be a warm market business. You might be the 1 in 1,000 who can build your business online, but 99% of the people you sponsor won’t be able to figure it out. It is certainly not duplicatable. That’s why most successful distributors don’t encourage it or teach it.
The real power of the internet is your ability to leverage the internet to meet people worldwide 24/7.
You can leverage your time and work smart. You can also have people contact you first.
Your goal should be to meet people online, but take that relationship offline as quickly as possible.
On the other hand, the internet can also be a huge distraction. It’s not for everyone. And you don’t HAVE to use the internet to build your network marketing business.
Most top earners in our industry stick to the old school methods, because they are proven and work. Yes, most of these top earners have an online presence, but their major focus is still “one person at a time!”.
Now that we have that out-of-the-way, let’s dive into the training.
How to Build a MLM Business Online: The 7 Steps
I’ve broken this process down into 7 steps to keep things simple. Follow these steps and you can’t go wrong.
Step # 1: Determine Your Target Market
Let me start by telling you that you can’t be all things to all people.
If everyone is a prospect, NO ONE is a prospect.
Read that again and remember that. All businesses have a TARGET MARKET. Network marketing is no different.
A target market is a group of customers within a business’s serviceable available market at which a business aims its marketing efforts and resources. A target market is a subset of the total market for a product or service.
Source: Wikipedia
I like to think of a target market as a segmented group of people within a specific demographic who are MOST LIKELY to be interested in what you have to offer. Here are ten examples of different target markets:
- Other network marketers.
- Stay at home moms.
- Small business owners.
- Corporate executives.
- Realtors.
- Insurance agents.
- People who currently buy natural health products.
- Marathon runners.
- Men in their 40’s.
- Single women.
I do believe you could be successful with ANY target market. I recommend you to pick a target market that you have something in common with. This makes life easier for you. Pick a target market you understand.
Personally, my target markets are network marketers, small business owners, and military people. Why? Because I am/was all three of these things myself.
As a result, I can relate to them. I know how they think. I know what they worry about. I know what interests them. We have common ground. This gives us an instant connection when we communicate.
Choose your target market wisely. You can always change it later on, but start with one you have experience with. If you are a high school teacher, recruit other high school teachers. If you are a mechanic, recruit other mechanics. This is some of the best wisdom on this page.
Once you have identified a target market, focus MOST of your time, money, and energy on approaching people in that target market.
Step # 2: Determine Your Unique Selling Proposition
Also known as a USP, your unique selling proposition lets people know WHY they should do business with you, and not someone else. It’s what differentiates you from your competitors.
For example, I am “The No B.S. Network Marketer.” I call a spade a spade, do not use hype, and am no non-sense.
Not every prospect will like that. But my ideal prospect does. Remember, you don’t want to be all things to all people. Instead, you want to attract a certain type of prospect.
If you don’t know WHY someone should join YOUR TEAM over someone else in your company, no one will join your team.
Look at everyone in your company and figure out what makes you different and unique. Until you do this you will spin your wheels in the business.
This is a basic marketing principle that few network marketers understand. Put some serious thought into your USP. Get it right the first time around. Once you do that you can move to the next step.
Before you can begin to sell your product or service to anyone else, you have to sell yourself on it. This is especially important when your product or service is similar to those around you. Very few businesses are one-of-a-kind. Just look around you: How many clothing retailers, hardware stores, air conditioning installers and electricians are truly unique?
The key to effective selling in this situation is what advertising and marketing professionals call a “unique selling proposition” (USP). Unless you can pinpoint what makes your business unique in a world of homogeneous competitors, you cannot target your sales efforts successfully.
Pinpointing your USP requires some hard soul-searching and creativity. One way to start is to analyze how other companies use their USPs to their advantage. This requires careful analysis of other companies’ ads and marketing messages. If you analyze what they say they sell, not just their product or service characteristics, you can learn a great deal about how companies distinguish themselves from competitors.
Source: Entrepreneur.com
Step # 3: Set Up Your Capture Page
Step three is to create your capture page. This is a fairly simple step.
Contrary to what some people might tell you, you don’t need a blog or fancy website. All you need is a capture page. If I knew what I knew now, and had to start over again, all I would use is a capture page. I would not create a blog.
A capture page is a one-page website designed to collect people’s name and email. This is the link you promote in your content and advertising. People visit your capture page, type in their name and email and become a lead. It’s that simple.
You want your capture page to be unique and simple. Here is a photo of one of my capture pages, just to give you an example. If you want to see what it looks like on my website, just click on the image.
You can hire someone on Fiverr.com or Upwork.com to create your capture page for you.
Step # 4: Get an Auto-Responder
Once you have a capture page, you need an auto-responder.
This is nothing more than a software program that lets you collect and manage your email list. I personally use Aweber. I’ve been using them for about 15 years now and swear by them.
Your auto-responder allows you to keep in touch with your email leads 24/7. It automates your follow-up process so you don’t have to manually send emails yourself. My auto-responder is hands down my most valuable business tool.
I would give up my blog and downline before I ever gave up my email autoresponder and email list.
You can synchronize your auto-responder with your blog, your podcasts, or your YouTube channel. You can even create capture pages in Aweber and connect them with your auto-responder.
When you get an auto-responder, you must set up your email campaigns and lists. You can have more than list. You might have one list for your products and another list for your business opportunity. You should even have a list for your current team members and customers.
It’s up to you. I have a list for my business opportunity and one that is generic for MLM training. Do whatever is relevant to your situation.
Keep in mind your auto-responder is connected to your capture page. When people visit your capture page and type in their name and email, they are added to your autoresponder.
Finally, please know that your auto-responder is your SALES FUNNEL. It sifts and sorts through your leads for you, weeds out the tire kickers, and puts you in touch with people who are ready to buy or join.
Basically, people on your email list keep getting your email messages until they buy, die, or unsubscribe! Assuming you provide quality content, many of these people will warm up and eventually join your team or buy a product from you.
Step # 5: Traffic
Once you have your capture page and auto-responder set up, you should spend 90% or more of your time and money generating traffic. You want a tsunami of high quality, targeted traffic visiting your lead capture page every day.
Ideally, you want thousands of people visiting your capture page every day. There are many ways to do this. Some of the common ways to generate traffic include:
- YouTube Videos
- Article Marketing
- Banner Ads
- Pay Per Click Ads
- Advertising in Newspapers or Magazines
- Solo Ads
- Direct Mail
- Social Media
- Postcards
- Safelists
- Email Signature
I suggest you pick ONE paid and ONE free marketing method and do nothing else for at least one year. You must master traffic. If you try to do too many things at once you will only dilute your efforts.
FOCUS on one or two marketing strategies and learn everything you can about them. You can add new strategies once you have those two traffic strategies mastered.
I’d also like to chime in and tell you there is NO SUCH THING as free traffic. Even if the traffic doesn’t cost you money to generate, it costs you time. And time is money.
Ideally, I recommend paid traffic over free traffic because you have more control over it. It’s also much faster to start generating paid traffic compared to free traffic. Plus, you can scale your efforts once you find a paid strategy that works well for you.
You should also study direct response marketing. Study guys like Mike Dillard, Frank Kern, and Dan Kennedy. Take courses about marketing and lead generation. Read books about whichever traffic methods you choose.
Never stop learning. Take massive action, learn from your mistakes and persist.
If there is only one thing in common among top internet marketers, it’s their ability to send an endless amount of targeted traffic to their offers.
One last tip. Once you pick the lead generation strategies you want to use, head on over to YouTube and study up on it. All of these methods have hundreds of tutorial videos on YouTube on how to generate leads. Best of all, the training is free.
Step # 6: Follow-Up & Build a Relationship
Most people who opt-in to your email list won’t buy from you right away. It might take several months or even several years before your leads join your primary MLM Company or purchase products from you.
You must remember that people buy from people they like, know, and trust. It takes time to build up that trust. It also comes down to timing. Not all of your leads are in the market for what you are offering them today.
In addition, most people need to see a message at least 10-20 times before they will ever respond favorably. In order to do that, you must follow-up. I suggest you send 2-3 emails per week to your email list, and even up to one email per day.
Your goal is to educate and entertain your prospects to show them that you offer something of value. Don’t make the mistake of always pitching your business opportunity or products in each mail.
Instead, focus on educating your leads by sharing helpful videos, articles, and lessons that will help them solve their problems. Provide value and establish yourself as a leader. Build credibility. Sell by teaching! This is known as attraction marketing.
You can mention your products and opportunity in the P.S. line of each email. That is what I suggest you do.
As you build up your credibility your leads will start to like, know, and trust you: just what you want. Once you have this credibility, it’s easier to make sales and recruit new distributors. Never forget that people buy from people they like, know, and trust.
Step # 7: Build Your Primary MLM Company
Your ultimate goal is to build your primary MLM Company. Building your primary MLM Company will happen naturally as a result of doing everything else I mentioned above.
As you add people to your email list each day and cultivate a relationship with them, many of them will want to join your team, EVENTUALLY. They’ll see the value you provide and realize you would be a good sponsor for them to work with.
What’s great about using an auto-responder is that you weed out a lot of the tire kickers and thumb suckers. You don’t need to call your prospects. You wait for them to call you or email you. That is what I do.
It’s like a dream come true. You become the hunted, not the hunter.
As time passes, you should have a large team of distributors that provides you a nice residual income for you. That is what you ultimately want.
Plus, you will have a huge email list of people you can recommend different affiliate products to, so you end up with multiple streams of income.
Bonus Tips for Success
Even if you are a master at doing things online, you should still do some offline things too. When you meet people in day-to-day life, you can share your business opportunity and products with them and help them get started.
Offline skills are important to know because not everyone you sponsor will want to build their business online. You’ll still need a game-plan for them.
Also, as you a build a MLM Business online, you can use OFFLINE strategies to promote your capture page. Postcard marketing is my favorite offline strategy.
Downsides of Building Your MLM Business Online
What are the major downsides of building a MLM Business Online? I do not write any of this information to scare you off, or be negative. I simply want to “open your eyes” to some of the problems you will face with online MLM. It definitely won’t be as easy as you think, so you should know what you are getting yourself into.
# 1: High Attrition
When you sponsor people online, and you don’t get to interact with them face to face, most of the folks will drop out like flies. Network marketing is about connections and friendships. It’s hard to build connections and friendships 100% online. It can be done, but it’s HARD to do.
People are more likely to quit when they have never met you personally and really aren’t close friends with you. If they are easy to sponsor they will be easy to quit. To be quite frank with you, I’ve never met a top earner in any company who built their team 100% online. They might have MET prospects online, but they still invested time and energy to build a relationship with them.
# 2: It’s Not Duplicatable
This is the biggest problem with online MLM. Even if you are a master at it, most of your team will not have the desire or skill-set to figure out blogging, SEO, video marketing, email marketing, article marketing, pay-per-click advertising, social media strategies, and all of the other things they must figure out.
Why do you think so many leaders teach old school MLM? Because anyone can talk to a friend, have a home party, or do a one-on-one presentation.
# 3: Steep Learning Curve
I’ve talked about this in several other articles. There is a STEEP learning curve to building your network marketing business online. Don’t let anyone else tell you that it’s easy either. It’s not. It took me a few years doing it full-time to figure it out. Yes, you might do it quicker than I did, but I guarantee it’s going to take at least a three years of part-time effort to learn the ropes of online network marketing.
Most people can’t learn online marketing strategies AND build a network marketing business at the same time. What happens is they put their network marketing business building efforts on hold while they try to figure out the online stuff, so they never end up building a team.
Did you hear that? Let me say it again so it sinks in.
Most people put their network marketing business building efforts on hold while they try to figure out the online stuff, so they never end up building a team.
And that’s the problem with it!
# 4: Crazy Competition
The internet has CRAZY competition. Back in the late 1990’s and early to mid 2000’s, the internet was like the Wild West for network marketers. Anything worked. You could get one penny clicks and create leads like crazy. Not so anymore. There is so much competition today online that it is extremely hard to get noticed and stand out in the crowd. And if you want to do that you better have deep pockets!
Spend even five minutes on Facebook, Google, or YouTube and you will see tons of paid ads for opportunities, products, and systems. Most of these people are paying $1 or more PER CLICK just for you to see their ad. In other words, they are spending HUNDREDS of dollars per day. Most people can’t afford to do that.
Look at how many YouTube videos there are about network marketing. Type in almost any MLM term on Google and you will get MILLIONS of search results. Each day the competition gets tougher.
# 5: Time Consuming
Running a blog, YouTube channel, website, or social media account online to build a MLM Business takes a lot of time. It’s time-consuming to research, edit, and create content, send emails, make videos, work on SEO, and all the other countless things you must do to keep your business going. For the average part-time person, there’s not enough time in the day to do it right (and still build a team).
Factor in the learning curve, and trying to build your MLM Business online can take over your life! Yes, once you have everything set up and working smoothly it’s low maintenance. But to get to that point you must invest tons of time and money. And most folks aren’t willing to do that.
Sidebar
Please note, I am not trying to be all gloom and doom here. As I mentioned earlier, if you know what you are doing, or are willing to take the time and money to develop your online marketing skills, the internet is a fun, exciting, and an effective way to grow your MLM Business. But for most reps it’s more of a nightmare!
Online vs. Offline MLM Recruiting
After nearly 15-years of building my MLM business online, and finally getting really good at it, I am 100% convinced that it is NOT the best option for most people in our industry. It is just too expensive, time-consuming, and competitive for the average person to get good at it.
So many folks are drawn to the internet because they think it will be fast and easy to recruit other people into their business. They think by focusing online they won’t have to talk to people or get rejected. Boy, are they wrong!
Over the past four to five years, hundreds of thousands of network marketers have shifted their efforts to online recruiting, most failing miserably. Yet, when you look at most of the top earners in our industry, their major focus is still face to face recruiting. Of course, many of them have some type of online presence, but that is not their primary focus.
And think about it this way for a minute. How many emails do you get a day pitching you on a business opportunity? How many ads do you see on the internet each day pitching you a business opportunity? How many YouTube videos are pitching you on a business? Can you spend even 2-minutes on Facebook without seeing a MLM related ad?
Like most other people, you have developed AD BLINDNESS, meaning you ignore most of these ads.
Now, think about this for a moment. How many times do you get pitched FACE TO FACE each day about a business opportunity? I can’t speak for you, but over the past TEN YEARS I have only been prospected twice face to face about a MLM Business. Can you believe that? To me, it just means that there is a wonderful opportunity out there still to build your business face to face.
And one last thing. Anyone can make a name list of 100-200 people, but not everyone can master internet marketing.
Myths About Building Your MLM Business Online
I figured I would take a few minutes and cover some of the common myths about building your MLM Business online. That way you have a clear thought process if you decide this strategy is something you want to pursue.
# 1: It’s easy.
Yeah, right. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Nothing worth accomplishing is fast, free, or easy. Anyone telling you that it is easy is either lying to you or trying to sell you something.
# 2: It’s fast.
I’m a pretty smart dude and it took me five to seven years to figure it out. Yes, if you already have internet marketing knowledge, it will be faster for you. But if not, it will take you a while to learn the ropes, make mistakes, and learn from your mistakes.
# 3: Anyone can do it.
Not really. Most people do not have the discipline or mental toughness to stick it out, pay their dues, and learn. From personal experience, about 99 in 100 people who try building their MLM Business online give up before they ever figure it out.
# 4: All you need is a website.
There are lots of pretty websites in the internet world that don’t get any exposure. Your website actually isn’t all that important. What is important is the amount of targeted traffic you send to your website every single day. Traffic is king!
# 5: It’s free.
Nothing is free. Even if something doesn’t cost you money, it will cost you your time. And, that is one thing you can never get back. If you are broke, or aren’t willing to invest in your business education, don’t even try to build your MLM business online. You can’t nickel and dime your way to success.
# 6: You need to use someone else’s system.
There are lots of “marketing systems” for network marketers. In my opinion, all of these systems are useless UNLESS you learn traffic. Just joining one of these systems will do not do you any good. MARKETING is what you must learn.
My Three Takeaways
Whether you are building your MLM Business online or offline, you need your own capture page and auto-responder, so you can build your list and follow-up with your prospects on auto-pilot.
Next, you still need to add the personal touch. You must be willing to form connections with your prospects and talk with them on the phone, ZOOM, or in person. You can’t just hide behind your computer. Your goal is to meet people online and then take that relationship offline as quickly as possible.
Finally, if you’re focusing on building your MLM Business online, more than 90% of your time, money and energy must be focused on TRAFFIC and lead generation. Unless you can send a steady stream of targeted traffic to your capture pages, you will fail.
My System for Building My MLM Business
If you’d like to know what I do to build my MLM Business online, you should check out this article where I share My System for Building a MLM Business. I know the information will benefit you. I also recommend you read the books Magnetic Sponsoring and How I Made My First Million On the Internet. Those two books are a good blueprint for success.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, this is the process to build a MLM Business online, as I see it. It’s what many top earners do. It’s what I do. It works for me and I know it can work for you, too.
What are your thoughts? What do you think about my tips on how to build a MLM Business online? What strategies have you used in the past to build your MLM business online? What are your best tips? Just leave a comment below to share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great day.
Disclaimer: Even if you follow this process, I cannot guarantee your success. Individual results will always vary. In addition, it might take you a few YEARS of applying this process and tweaking what you do to finally master it.
Sincerely,
Chuck Holmes
Network Marketing Professional (21+ years)
Top Recruiter & Top Rep
mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
This is a good information that MLMers need for a fruitful result.
Here are the 4 KEY COMPONENTS that EVERY successful ONLINE network marketer has and does to be successful, attract leads and sponsor. Would you like this?
1. , or hub of the universe (We’re here, on you, so you know this to be true, right?)
2. Lead Capture – how else will you GET and SPONSOR a lead
3. Content – articles, audios, and videos – that’s what makes a blog function and the internet go round, right?
4. Social Media – for engaging, connecting, marketing and bringing people BACK to your blog/hub so you can capture them as a lead.
5. MARKETING, MARKETING, MARKETING – you simply MUST learn and master marketing online to do this!
Hey Chuck,
Lets say I kind of fell into MLM. My background is sales. I have vast experience in direct sales where I have risen to a position of European Sales Director for my current company. I appreciate the hard work and devotion in making any business work. Its my natural character to work like with that ethos. Therefore I fully intend to apply the same principles in building my MLM business. However, i’m also a realist. I’m first to admit I have no MLM experience nor am I at the cutting edge of the digital world. Hence why i have been reading your material to better educate myself. I like what I read from you and can completely relate to your thinking. Think of me as a hard worker with great sales skills but zero MLM knowledge. I’m a complete novice.
I want to target other MLM marketers as one of my chosen target groups. What advice would you give where to look for this group and how?
Thanks Chuck
The easiest thing to do would be to advertise on Facebook, Google PPC, or place ads on MLM related sites, since that is where your target market is.
I was goofing off at work the other morning and found this site. I spent the rest of the day on it.
A lot of good info & reading here for sure. Reading the daily bootcamp stuff now.
Great work.
Glad you enjoy it.
I am curious. Are there ever any complaints in regards to the auto-responders? Do people react well? I plan on checking more posts, but what is the experience of being turned off by them? What is the turn around rate in regards to those who may consider them click-bate? If approaching marketing as if it were a numbers game (as it is) this could of course still be beneficial in the long run. I
My autoresponder is my most valuable tool. If people don’t like the message they can just unsubscribe.
Most people are quite accepting of auto-responders. Like Chuck said, if they are not in the mood, they can simply click unsubscribe.
Most of the people usually willingly signed up to receive communication from time to time, so normally they are expecting it to be in their email.
I do suggest not getting too carried away. You wouldn’t want to send your list multiple emails each day.
I use a different responder than Chuck does, but it has worked out well for me.
Most people don’t even know what an auto-responder is. Truthfully. If you treat people well and offer value, people will read your emails and buy from you. It’s all about value.
So much of this is new to me, but I am looking forward to delving into “how-to” portion of the online business and learn all I can. I never hear any MLM’ers discuss multiple streams of income unless it is within their own company, such as ~ selling products, building your downline, building your residual income. Thanks for all the tips and resources. It still all seems a little foggy to me at this point, but I am excited about learning something new. My question on regarding the capture pages ~ how do people know they are legitimate? So often I see these and “X” out of them right away, because I want to be cautious of viruses.
Thanks so much!
I guess people will never really know if a capture page is legit or not. Most people in our industry are used to filling out forms and capture pages so it’s not normally that big of a deal.
Bookmarked it! I will be coming back to this. I am still new to MLM and I know enough people who do it and have made good money. That is what brought me to your blog. Thank you for all this information. I will be coming back and reading more of your posts in the future. I been reading all day!
Glad you enjoyed the post.
Chuck,
This is a great post and I can see why it’s getting lots of attention. You are spot on in terms of attracting business partners by providing value – as opposed to pitching anyone and everyone!
– Neil
The whole key to success is to provide value. The more value you provide the more people you will attract and the more money you will make.
Personally, I hate the word “pitching,” unless I am watching the St Louis Cardinals play ball. I think educating is a much better term. Yes, we want to educate anyone and everyone, but not come off as if we are trying to sell them something. If we use an educational tactic, people will request what we have to offer versus trying to “push” what we have to offer on them.
Yes, Chuck did a great job with this post and hopefully many people learn the right way to build a MLM online.
You can’t go wrong when you have a genuine interest in others and educate them. That is the best and only way I can recommend to anyone.
Am really enjoy reading this post and now gaining my knowledge too. Thanks Chuck.
By the way, what is your opinion if we create FB Groups to support them? Is it really helpful?
Facebook groups can be good. But not everyone on your team will be on Facebook.
Awesome post, I’m really glad I stumbled upon your site.
Sorry if this is a silly question (I’m brand new to network marketing and the concept of generating leads online) by the way. You say that we should target network marketers, but if these network marketers are already in another business opportunity, then in the long run how would we convert them join our own team?
My target market is other network marketers. I don’t actively try to recruit any of them. Instead, I focus on educating and helping them. I provide value. I sell the picks and shovels. I know that many people switch companies frequently, especially if they aren’t getting the results they desire. I simply plant seeds by being a person of value and many of them seek me out when they are looking for a new company to join. I don’t try to sell, pressure or convince anyone. People hunt me down rather than me hunting them down. That is my business approach.
Depending on the MLM you belong to, you want to go after a “target market.” Many network marketers go after people that are broke and have no job. These people usually will not last in an MLM. It is better to look for professionals; for people who have a desire to make more, to build more.
In some cases, other network marketers may be your market as it is Chucks. In other cases, it could be different types of people. This takes research and this blog can help you discover your target market.
When it comes to your target market focus on people who will be interested in your products, people with disposable income, people with high paying jobs or their own business, people with good self esteem and people with a large sphere of influence.
Helo Chuck
Your post is really inspiring, because I now know am in the right place with the right people, I just joined a MLM Company two months ago and planning to combine offline and online methods in building my business. Searching for the right ways to start brought me here.
Before now I have come across that eBook you mentioned here and subscribed to it, it is really amazing. From the beginning of your post in this site to the end preaches what is in that Magnetic Sponsoring. I am encouraged to know that it has helped you and am planning to follow it also.
I have been wondering how to set up a blog the right way, whether to use blogger or WordPress, please suggest for me the best. And you made me to understand that setting up capture page first, is the good way to start. I have just got to do that now.
Thanks
Chuks,
Thanks for the comment. Yes, I recommend everyone reads Magnetic Sponsoring if they want to build their business online. Blogging is good. I recommend a self hosted Word Press blog, not one of the free options. Capture pages work well too. Ultimately, you want to pick one strategy to get started. Don’t try and do too many things at once.
Chuck
When it comes to blogging, I have found that by purchasing a domain and hosting thru GoDaddy, you can use WordPress to completely set your site up. You can have your capture page and your blog, or multiple blogs by running sub domains all in one. The price is usually not bad especially if you look for the discounts.
This is much better than having the free blog version.
Never use a free blogging service. When you do that you don’t own anything!
One thing that some people do that I have heard is great is to start a free blog at WordPress, but then go premium with it and have your own domain name. By doing this, you are only dealing with one service. WordPress handles the hosting and registering the domain. Personally, I have my blog/website through iPage, and it is a great hosting program too. The key is to generate quality and educational content that people will want to read and subscribe to.
You only want to use a self-hosted blog. Avoid the free blogs at all costs. You want something you own and can control.
I have a slightly different take on this.First, I think that doing MLM online is very much like mining for gold in the old days. I don\’t say this to discourage you but, to say if you continue to mine you will strike gold! MLM 2.0 which I term as “Social Employment” is still new to most and then you couple that will building online and it just takes the both the “Networker” and the Prospect time to connect in this medium.Second, I suggest that you definitly should approach this with the idea of using Multiple Steams of Income! Learn to build your list (which all Network Marketing companies tell you to do w/pen & paper) online. Then with this list, you can also do affiliate marketing and develop your own products while supplementing your MLM income. All the while, learning to “mine” on the internet and preparing yourself and your audience for your MLM Business. Third, If you teach your new people these two techniques above they will have do doubt to want to be a part of your Network Marketing business because, although MLM is a people-to-people business, it won’t be long for everything will be done (or a majority of it) on the internet and you are preparing yourself for the impending GOLD RUSH!
Sticking with it is more than half the battle. Few people have the guts to do that.
I like your analogy. In a way, it is like mining for gold. What I take from your comment is to not “put all your eggs in one basket.” I do agree with that though, but I believe your MLM should be your biggest basket.
Where many go wrong is leading with the business opportunity instead of the products or services. If you lead with your products, you will build a “basket” of happy customers. It is easier to flip a happy customer into a distributor because you then show them how to get their products at reduced prices, or even free.
The system is really not difficult and it isn’t as hard as finding gold; it just takes perseverance and hard work.
Yes, your MLM should be your biggest income stream, but not your only one.
This post answers the question that I asked yesterday in response to a different post, about the first thing to do and what steps to take. I think I could spend all day just reading about getting started, but success is in the action that counts. I like Colin Powell’s quote. Whenever he was asked how to be successful, how he had come to such success himself, his answer is always “There’s no substitute for hard work.”
Have a game plan, work hard, and make adjustments as needed.
This is a great comment – the quote from Colin Powell. That is why MLM businesses can be so lucrative. Many people in the business have a lottery ticket mentality and do not know want to or know how to work hard. They don’t do their homework and get into the right MLM business in the first place, or they don’t seek out a mentor to learn from. If you are one of the people who do the homework, put in the hard work and time needed, then you leave that competition far behind.
If you are dedicated, think long term and have a business mindset, this can be a great industry to be in. If you are looking for the quick buck, get ready to eat a big lunch. So many people looking to make money online or build a MLM online have a lottery mentality. It’s a sad reality.
Sometimes we can study the fine points too hard instead of just getting in and doing it.
The learning can come as we are working.
I have known many people who have spent so much time trying to perfect how they will do something that they never get around to actually doing that something.
Jump in and swim and the fine points will come as we do it.
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned from one of my mentors is that most people would rather spend money to learn how to do something than to actually go out and do it. I am 100% convinced that is true.
Getting started is very important but knowing what to do after you get started is also important. The whole process should flow in order for you to succeed. It’s important to never stop learning, especially on your self improvement. Your team’s success is going to reflect on how well you trained them, their willingness to learn and duplicate what you taught them. Hopefully you have a good mentor that is helping you take the steps to be successful.
These are all great tips! I especially think that building a list of prospective contacts and using an auto-response service seems like a great idea. By setting up several responses – welcome, education, etc. – it saves you a lot of time and hassle. At the same time, everyone is getting a response. The 5:1 ratio is an excellent idea. I have a very small, web-based service that I provide, and I have found that prospective clients will sign up for emails if they are given the opportunity for free information/education.
People love free information, especially if it is high quality. Focus on educating your prospects and over-delivering with good information and you will have more sales than you know what to do with.
This advice you give on building your MLM or any other business for that matter, is top-notch! My Grandfather always told me not to put all my eggs in one basket, and you instill this same wisdom within this post.I would like to offer just a bit of my own personal advice:You can do all the above with one website. By buying a domain and hosting, if you use the main domain as a capture page and then make sub-domains as a blog, a sales site, etc… you can probably save a lot of money.I purchased my own domain and hosting and use WordPress. You can set up your capture page using WordPress; it doesn’t have to always be a blog. WordPress also has many plugins that are very helpful. There are auto responders that are plugins that will not cost any more. You have now given me an idea for an E-book Charles. Thanks for this great info.
Yes, I agree. You can do everything on one domain if you choose to. I use WP too and love what they have to offer.
This is probably my third time reading this post, but it seems fresh every time and I gain new insight. I learned the hard way early on as well Chuck…Though I am not doing strictly a lead capture page, I do have a blog that captures leads as well. I believe I will rethink and try the lead capture page.
Smart move. Lead capture pages is where it is at. You can create them right in Aweber too!
The lead capture page can be tricky. There are a lot cheesy-looking ones that I see that send up red flags and make me leave a website as fast as I can get out of there. I have to really want something from that website to make me leave that information, not really knowing where it might end up. I do cooperate more with the capture pages that offer something free, say something like “I know, I know, I hate these pages too, but I still need the information”, AND promise me that my contact information will go no further than the web page manager. My advice would be that if you have a capture page, treat it as if it is the most important page on your website, and put a lot of time into making it look good.
Capture pages can be tricky. To most people outside the MLM and internet marketing niche, people are cautious of capture pages and normally have red flags. To people inside of our niche, we are very used to capture pages. Having a good capture page does help. What you give away as your freebie is equally as important.
Good point, Chuck. You are marketing to … well … your market. So if your market is accustomed to, and even welcomes capture pages, your credibility is kicked up a notch, and people have a chance to get on your list who are looking to do just that. They are also looking for exactly the free product you to offer, and know the deal.
Do you ever fill out capture pages? Just curious.
I believe a big plus to getting a great capture page is to be unique. If your capture page looks like every other capture page on the internet, I doubt it will do much capturing. I also believe you need to have a great headline, and by all means, yes, giving something for free is a wise move. I also think that it needs to be easy to read and educative. If you are capturing on a weight loss niche, write some very educational material about losing weight, or eating properly. I also am a firm believer in A-B testing. Try different styles and find what works.
Great point, Greg. You definitely need a unique capture page so your prospect doesn’t say to themselves “I’ve seen this before?” and then hit the back button and leave your page. The good thing is you can have a custom capture page made for less than $50.
That is great advice about treating your lead capture page as the most important page on your website.
I do agree that there are many that scare me away immediately too.
When developing these pages, we need to put ourselves in the position of the website visitor. Ask yourself if you would sign up or run away.
This helps you develop a capture page that works.
You definitely want to test a few different capture pages to see which one has the best conversion rate. You never really know which one it will be either. Sometimes just one or two small tweaks can make a huge difference.
HI Chuck,Looks like I’m late to the party again. This is an excellent article/blueprint. If everyone would follow this strategy, they’d have a fighting chance to find success in the network marketing business.
The good thing for us is that most people won’t follow this, so we have little competition.
This is an awesome post. I think anyone could build their business online if they did what you said, took massive action and persisted.
Taking massive action and staying persistent is definitely a key to success. You can’t just try it for a few months and see what happens. You need a game plan and you have to stick with it.
Amazing post here, Chuck. You make building a MLM Business online very simple. I think just about anyone could follow these steps and achieve success. Thanks for sharing.
It is simple, but it’s definitely not easy to do .
Chuck,
This is just what I was looking for. I’ve been considering taking my business online in recent months, but there is so much conflicting information out there about what to do. I think I’m going to follow the steps you outlined and focus on building a list. Thanks.
Denise
Good for you Denise. Follow these steps and you will be well on your way.
Absolutely amazing, Chuck. I learned so much about how to build your network marketing business online by reading this post. I wish my sponsor and upline would have taught me this seven years ago when I first joined the industry.
I’m glad I could help you out, Ralph.
Thank you for the advice 🙂
You’re welcome, Gillian!
I am just getting started to build my mlm business online (a health niche). But I do have some confusions though. If I am about to create a website/blog, the contents should be about health related topics or network marketing? This question goes same to email marketing. Please help me, thank you.
Gillian,
I would pick a health related theme for your website. You will have less competition and do a good job finding potential customers.
Chuck
I always thought building your network marketing business online was very complex and hard to do, but the way you explain it all Chuck makes things seem very simple. I’m going to follow your advice and get a capture page and promote a generic training product. I’ve tried (for almost two years now) doing things my way with little success. Hopefully, I can get better results using your online method.
Good for your, Michelle. If you follow the formula I provided you will be well on your way. All the best.
I do have to piggy back on this comment, Chuck. It is true: you do have a way of explaining things and making them seem easy, or at least do-able. I especially like your step-by-step instructional pages, or your templates that you offer on how to build pages or plans. Thank you for sharing all of this great information. You are modeling your own advice: give people something of value for free, and they will keep coming back for the rest!
Thanks, Faye. One of my strengths is that I can take complex things and break them down into simple steps. When it comes to building your MLM Business online, that is the key to success. Start with a goal, come up with a plan, and do a little bit each day to move forward toward your goal.
To build a MLM business online boils down to this:
1. Set up a capture page
2. Get traffic
3. Collect leads
4. Follow up with multiple offers
That’s my recipe for succes.
That’s a great strategy to build your MLM Business online, Ozzy.
Chuck
Great article, Chuck. I’ve been trying to figure out how to build a MLM Business Online for quite a while now. No one has ever broken it down to me like this before. I really appreciate all your help. I am going to follow your advice and see what type of results I can get in my business. Thanks again.
Good luck, Lance.
I’ve been trying to build my MLM business online for five years now. I’ve been with the same company for 10 years. For the first five years I did everything offline: prospecting, home parties, three way calls, hotel meetings, etc. The crazy thing is, these methods worked for me. I built up a team of more than 1000 people and had a nice monthly check coming in. Since trying to build my business online, things have fizzled out and most of my team has dropped out. I’m seriously thinking about throwing in the towel and reverting back to the old school techniques. What do you think about that, Chuck?
Kent,
I can tell you that most top earners in most companies still build their businesses the old fashioned way. Yes, there are a few people who built a huge business online, but not anywhere near the amount as people who did it offline. You simply need to figure out what works best for you and what is duplicatable in your organization. Good luck.
Chuck
I can see Chuck’s point, starting from the basics, which would qualify as “the old-fashioned” way. I am building a business as well, and as much as I love the online world of social media and blogging, I am marketing myself locally by building my post card list, drafting an introductory letter and doing some walking-and-talking as well. I have a couple of workshops planned for later in the summer, and am engaging in some plain old networking in my community. Online marketing has so many options that it is easy to get lost if you are not savvy, so doing some research and talking to some people with experience might help you fine-tune a plan that would work for you.
Nothing will ever replace face to face communication. Technology is great, but if you are great at connecting with people and meeting new people, that will always be the best way to build a business.
My advice is….Do both, but put the majority of time into what works best. It seems the old school method works great for you, so do it.
But, don’t give up on the online method. I would just try various methods until you find what works.
Sometimes simple things such as colors, fonts, etc… can change the whole scene and entice people to sign up.
But, each of us are talented in different ways, and it sounds to me like the old fashioned way is your talent.
Here are some more tips to build your MLM business online.
1. Look at what everyone else is doing and do the opposite.
2. Keep a long term approach.
3. Create a blog around your company’s product line.
4. Write a book, eBook, white paper or free report to give away to generate leads.
5. Stay active in different online forums.
Hope that helps.
Dwayne
Thanks, Dwayne.
Dwayne, it sounds like you and Gus have the same philosophy. I liked the emphasis both of you place on being different. While there is a foundation to be adhered to when building a business, there is always plenty of room for creativity. Doing some research into tactics that receive good response might be an option for coming up with ideas as well. Any effort, unique or otherwise, should be productive. If you try something and it does not work, time to make adjustments in the plan.
We all need to be different. If you look and sound like everyone else it’s hard to stand out in the marketplace.
Dwayne, I completely agree with you except on one point.
You said set up a blog around your company’s product line and I believe you may be heading into a lot of competition with that approach. I would set up a blog in a niche that can “lead back” to the product line.
I would suggest trying to be unique and develop a blog that is different than all the others.
You actually said this when you stated be different than everyone else.
Good luck in your business Dwayne.
Here are some of my top online tips.
1) Find a way to be different than everyone else.
2) Provide value.
3) Don’t puke your business opportunity all over people.
4) Lead with something other than your business opportunity.
5) Create multiple streams of income.
6) Have your own blog.
I hope that helps.
Thanks for the tips, Gus.
This comment from Gus really hits home.
First, I must say Chuck that every time I read and reread this post, I get more from it. I have been studying how I can make this work in my business of selling our books. I know that it can be used and online is the biggest way.
I am especially moved by what Gus said about “puking” your business on people. I believe this has been the major issue both online and off for network marketing. As someone who regularly receives emails from Chuck, I must say he is someone every network marketer should learn from. He doesn’t vomit the opportunities on me, he just tells me and lets my heart and soul decide.
If we come off as puking, our auto-responders will end up sending emails to spam folders. So read what you are sending before you send it and use empathy as to how the person on the receiving end will take it.
You can use the process I mentioned above with any type of business. I do the same process with my military books and it works great. It all comes down to having a system for doing things that leverages yourself and lets you work smart.
Chuck, I really like your discussion of value. The first thought that crosses someone’s mind when they open your email or pull up your site is “What’s in it for me?” Your highlighting the importance of asking yourself “What do people want?” is spot on. Sure, you may know that you are offering an awesome opportunity, but they don’t, not at first. People want a reason to invest their time in even reading the first page of your site, and your job is to capture attention right off the bat and let them know that you want to do something for them. Education and information are great examples of offering something of value, as well as taking the time to build the relationship. People are not interested in spending time with someone they don’t know or don’t like. Giving them the opportunity to see the value of YOU is important too. This post is right–you have to sell yourself before you can sell the product. Hitting people hard with “do it now” is not a good way to do that. Avoiding the temptation to rush them into action on what you want them to do demonstrates respect, an important ingredient in building relationships. Success will not be found if you have a limited view that only lets you act on what you want.
Find out what your customers/prospects want and give it to them. I can’t think of any better business advice for any entrepreneur.
Chuck
I agree with Amy: everyone wants to know the bottom line – what is in it for me? No matter how much you sugar coat your MLM business opportunity, the smart people that you really want as customers or recruits are going to see through any smoke and mirrors to what is really behind them. So make sure that your opportunity is a good one, that you have made yourself into someone that others will want to do business with, and that you have something of value to offer your customer.
That’s true Faye. When you talk to people, either face to face or online, you have to focus on them, their needs and their challenges. Show them how what you have offers a solution or solves a problem and they will be very interested in your MLM.
The key word is to use empathy. No not sympathy, empathy. When you develop a capture page, write an email, or any of the many other ways to attain leads, instead of just posting it or sending it immediately, put yourself in a prospect’s shoes. Read it aloud to yourself and ask yourself, “would I sign up?”
So many network marketers do not consider how there material will be accepted. It may even help to utilize your mate, a friend or family member and read it to them. Have them critique it honestly, and be willing to accept what they tell you. By doing this, you are apt to develop well accepted material.
When I write an email to someone, I try to write it like I am having a natural conversation with them. I ask myself “what are their fears” and “what are they thinking about?” This helps me put things in their perspective.
Chuck,
This is the best blog post I’ve ever read about how to build your MLM Business online. I really appreciate you taking the time to write it. I’m going to bookmark this page and share it with my team. Thank you so much.
Evelyn
Evelyn,
I’m glad this post could help you out. Building your MLM Business online is pretty easy once you know the formula for success. Unfortunately, most distributors don’t know the formula so they can’t teach it to their team.
Chuck
I’ve built my online MLM business following the exact same advice you mentioned above, Chuck. It works. Unfortunately, it took me a few years and a lot of money to figure all of this out on my own. Hopefully, people will read your post and follow your advice from day one.
Congrats on your success, John. Yes, the steps do work. I hope people will follow this step by step process as well.
That part you said about maintaining an offline presence really is important. Not everyone looking to spend or invest their money is a younger person with knowledge of current technology. It might sound a little prejudiced but older people tend to know less about computers and how they work. Making yourself available on as many mediums as possible will invariably help you to succeed.
Diversify your marketing efforts so you can appeal to everyone. One of the best ways to build an online business is to promote it offline. Believe it or not I’ve done that for a while now and it works very well.
Chuck
Contrary to what some commercials try to tell us, older people know a good bit about computers, too. They just don’t run their lives around facebook, twitter, texts and instant messages. They still know how to live unconnected to technology. They want to know that they can look someone in the eye and do business with a handshake. Sooner or later, when the teens and twenty-somethings get a little older, they will want the same. It is essential to make yourself available offline as well as online.
I have to agree with you there. Most of the baby boomers I know of are not on Facebook or text. They still know how to use computers, it just isn’t their life.
I was just discussing with someone today that people rely so much on technology. I think that we may have lost the art of in person interactions. I think there is so much value in personal interactions. A face to face encounter with someone is a great opportunity to give people a glimpse of you and what you are all about. I agree with you that not relying totally on online modes of reaching out can be very good for business and a testament to how well you can speak about your business and get prospect interested.
I agree with you Diamond that nothing beats face to face communication. Personally, I think it’s wise to combine offline and online marketing methods. When combined effectively you can leverage yourself, work smart and still build strong relationships. Thanks for the comment.
Chuck
WOW, Chuck! What a great post! No one in my upline ever taught me anything about building my business online. The only tips I get are to share my link with my friends on Facebook. I’m going to try out your strategy and see how that works for me. Thanks again.
Brett
Good for you, Brett. Follow this strategy for a few years and you will be well on your way.
Wow Chuck, this is fantastic and soooo kind of you to help me and my team purely from the kindness of your heart. I am so thankful to have connected with you and I have already shared this on my team's website. I have never done network marketing before being introduced to inspired living and this is such a great place to start….it's very affordable, can be free and no commitments and it attracts so many wonderful, kind, nice people just wanting to help each other be successful. It is helping me to reach out to people like you Chuck from online MLM community which originally I would have never done. But the rewards are priceless… to have a complete stranger want to help with nothing in return restores faith in humanity. People can be mean, rude and cruel in the World but I am finding a new breed of wonderful kind people inside the MLM community and I am so grateful for the messages from the Inspired Living app company to give me the courage to step out and find these new and wonderful friends. iLa has changed my life for the better.
I hope many of you will join this amazing family of wonderful people and that it will bring you so many positive and wonderful experiences just like it has and is for me.
I’m glad I could help, Claire. Good luck with your business.
Chuck