I posted a quick video to demonstrate a neat little feature in both AWeber and GetResponse to create a tweet or a fb post when you send a broadcast to your list.  Take advantage of this real quick extra step to increase you’re exposure on the social media sites.

Jack Kapala

“The Lead Guy”

I recently decided to dive into Facebook PPC advertising to test the waters a bit.  My initial results were very encouraging and I was receiving preliminary results that meet the cost per lead metric’s I need to qualify an advertising source. 

In my efforts to tweek and expand this test I discovered a frustrating flaw in the Facebook advertising platform.  By simply adding a few keywords to my approved and running adgroup, my ads were pulled out of rotation and needed to be approved again. 

Check out the video below to see my example and the work around.

Hope this helps you avoid some frustration.  If you enjoyed this please feel free to add a comment.  And go ahead and use the “share buttons” to share this with your Twitter and Facebook friends.

Jack Kapala

“The Lead Guy”

Network marketers who want to intensify their online business campaigns for the purpose of generating more leads have a wide range of Internet tools available to them. These tools include the enhancement of relatively more traditional online solutions, such as business blogs and company websites, and the use of prevalent social networking media such as Twitter and Facebook. Some network marketers have been able to utilize a combination of these tools and affiliate marketing to gain more ground and receive larger amounts of revenue via the added income streams.

However, the best use of these aforementioned solutions may not be as effective if the strategies implemented do not take into account the concept of attraction marketing. Attraction  marketing helps many businesses, including those in the network marketing industry, to build a larger, high quality circle of contacts or leads. High-quality contacts simply mean that the individuals who “follow” your company via the various online methods stated above need to be loyal, and thus, keep coming back for more of what you can offer. How do you ensure that you retain current leads and add to the number exponentially?

To retain customers and attract more leads, a network marketing company has to offer relevant and reliable information through these Internet venues. Oftentimes, a business may have to start from scratch, or at least build a larger fan base through existing leads or contacts. The idea behind affiliate marketing promotions is similar to slowly putting together a building, you start with a strong foundation, add to it with good materials, and so on. In this case, even the tiniest misplaced brick, or a misaligned girder can cause what you have built to topple down eventually, to apply this to your attraction marketing efforts, you must continuously tweak your fortification, and remove and replace anything that will cause your campaign to fall into shambles.

Again, attraction marketing is all about the long-term goals, all that you do in the past, present, and future will directly influence the likelihood of your business’ success or your company’s failure. You need to make sure that your contacts or leads are well taken care of, by offering them information of great value. It simply follows that the greater the value of what you offer, the higher the chances of your leads being retained and even spreading the word to other prospective employees or members of your downline. Remember that, like other worthwhile efforts, you will not be able to build your campaign and desired number of leads in a day, you may have to invest large amounts of time, money, and effort to reap the benefits of attraction marketing and see your business grow.

Why is attraction marketing so important? This marketing philosophy is not entirely new, as the processes and methods behind it are based in some of the traditional advertising tenets that existed prior to the emergence of the Web. It is in application where it differs from the old-school methods of marketing, thus making it necessary for network marketers to hone their skills on the tools available before being able to apply this type of marketing philosophy to their businesses successfully.

Network marketing, a marketing strategy employed by many businesses, sounds like an easy enough campaign to do, especially since it does not necessary require a big budget. The truth is, it can be easy for some but you have to have the right tools and approach to do it in order to ensure success. The probability of success will depend on how many leads are generated and how much you grow your network. Duplication is the key. What that means, is that if you are very effective individually that’s great, but to truly be successful you have to employ techniques that you can easily teach your downline to reproduce as well.

Believing that network marketing, or what used to be called multi-level marketing, is a get rich quick model where you put in very little work is a major mistake. Hard work is always part and parcel of any business, there is no such thing as a quick fix on success either. Just like any other endeavor, success has to be earned through hard work. Despite the fact that the Internet has made marketing easier in a sense, you still need to work at it. Presence on the Net does not make your orders or interested downline flood your site. You still have to find a way to pull them in or push them to the site. Remember that the Internet is just a medium and the business model remains the same you just have to tweak it to adjust to the uniqueness of the medium.

In a way, the Internet makes it easier to do network marketing but a little more difficult as well and you have to know how to take advantage of both. It is easier because you don’t have to do too much physically, except perhaps use your brain and your imagination. But, the essence of success in Network Marketing always comes down to relationship and you will have to work a little harder at that aspect of the business when your contacts are online.

You can have presence on the Internet in more ways than one – you can have your own site, you can create an account on social media sites and link that to your site, you can have several sites with different advocacy related to your product that interlink, and you can have all these and have multiple backlinks and feeders if you will for your funnel. The more presence you have, the better. However, here lies the difficulty too. The difficulty in dealing with the Internet when it comes to network marketing is information overload. First of all, you have to compete with the barrage of information out there. Fortunately, this is not new to any marketing professional, rising above the clutter is an age old issue and the discipline is not much different on the Net. Variety is essential on the Internet, otherwise, you will bore your target and he will move on to other sites in a split second. If you have multiple presences on the Net, each should be original in a sense, a different angle or a different benefit, for instance. Don’t make them multiple personalities, just think of them as different windows into who you are.

Another important thing to remember about network marketing is getting quality leads and quality downline members. Sometimes, it is not always about the numbers but the percentage of conversion. Static energy is still energy but kinetic energy is infinitely better. Getting into social media sites is one of the musts on the Internet when you’re using this business model but make sure you maximize the opportunity to get quality leads and downline members so you can increase your conversion ratio. Remember:  the key is in the duplication.

Wordpress is a very popular blogging software, much like an online personal diary. Blogging is the easiest way to gain presence online without much ado and is a very important tool in marketing your products and services. The great thing about this particular software is that it is search-engine friendly and supports tagging of articles and posts. It is easy to use and the software can be downloaded for free and most hosting companies will automatically install it for you free of charge or provide a utility that does. This software also allows you to incorporate additional features in your blog to enhance the blog’s functionality. Most of the add-ons, called plugins, are also free, although some have to be purchased separately – especially those that provide more functionality to the sites.

Network marketers should have a presence on the web and Wordpress will give you that presence easier and faster. Just like any other marketing tool, however, getting the basic package of this software is great but adding plugins will make the tool more powerful and better for your purposes.

Google Analytics is a power free tracking utility that tracks views on your posts and pages. Tracking is important in blogs especially if you are network marketers. It is useless to have your presence on the web and not have anyone view them. The more views you have, the more chances your site will be cross-referenced in other sites, the better for you.

The All in One SEO Pack is also a good plugin to have for your Wordpress blog. It creates automatic meta tags per your specifications and this helps search engines identify your site faster and easier. It also automatically optimizes header information and titles for the search engines. You don’t even have to be well-versed in SEO (search engine optimization) to work this plugin because all you have to do is install it and modify a few things.

Commentluv is another important Wordpress plugin that every blog should have. Commentluv encourages and attracts more bloggers to your site because it creates a link to the last post in their blog into your site. More and more bloggers will want to post their comments on your site because of this cross link, it’s reciprocal. This will drive more traffic to your site.

Sociable is a great plugin especially if you use it in conjuction with ShareThis plugin. Sociable will list your social networking sites and will automatically create links to these sites on your blog pages. What ShareThis plugin will do is make these button links bigger. The point of these plugins is to encourage and facilitate the process for people to share you post with others by tagging it or bookmarking it with their favorite social media site.

There numerous other plugins you can use to increase the functionality of your blogs which will improve your chances of being noticed and make your site friendlier to prospective leads. Just get the ones that are applicable to your target market and your marketing objectives. Some plugins are more complicated to use than others especially if you are a novice in the game. Make sure that you understand how best they can work for you before installing them and beware of plugins that may be considered blackhat or spamming tools.  One last piece of advice is to not confuse Wordpress with Wordpress.com.  The latter is a blog that you don’t have full control over, while free and it doesn’t require you to purchase a domain name, you should direct your efforts to a more robust and permanent solution by installing a blog into your own domain.

Businesses that go into advertising (among other promotional efforts) to build their customer base may jump on the bandwagon of social media with a blithe approach.  This is done to attract prospective clients they were unable to reach before, or at least compound their existing promotional endeavors. Large organizations, such as a network marketing company, may see these novel venues as a surefire way to boost brand recall and company exposure, without the requirements of other traditional methods.

 For example, the advertising department of such a business may simply see it fit to set up a Twitter account and expect the results to roll in shortly. However, some may reach a plateau after a short while, or not gain any new ground at all, and become disappointed with this potentially effective new marketing tool. There are a few basic tips on how to go about incorporating Twitter into one’s network marketing promotions and gain more leads.

First, current statistics estimate that a fourth and possibly up to a third of all Twitter accounts only contain one tweet, or none at all. With little to no updating involved, the account is as good as useless, as it hardly generates any buzz for your business, company, or products. Even one brilliant “tweet” or post may pique the interest of some followers, but the lack of a follow-up causes that same interest to fizzle. Start strong, and update or tweet regularly to maintain and enlarge your leads.

Balance the ratio of your “Following” numbers to that of your “Followers.” Your business account may follow thousands of Twitter accounts, while only a few accounts actually follow you back, this sends the message that you or your company is in desperate need of followers that you are not getting. Slowly build the number of your followers first, then when the number is large enough, you can increase the number of the accounts you follow, but only to a small percentage when compared to the former.

Avoid tweeting too often. Sending out insignificant tweets may result in the diminished impact of subsequent tweets, as your messages’ impact gets diluted, so to speak. Strive to tweet strong, send out potent messages regularly, but not too often, so your followers have something to look forward to, and actually gain something from the tweets you send out. Speaking of something to gain, try to add even more value to the tweets you have by timing your release of company updates or news. In between, “reply” to any good tweets that pose direct queries to you. A dialogue, as opposed to a monologue, gets your followers more involved and more interested, and an interested follower could result in an actual lead.

Lastly, personalize your Twitter account and give it more of a “human” touch. Instead of an imposing business logo or brand, utilize a profile image that focuses more on the people in your company . Let followers know “who” your business is by providing your Twitter account with personality, after all, network marketing is ultimately a business built around and by people and relationships.

Ok, you’ve just joined your new network marketing company.  You’re excited as hell, you get your new domain name, dedicated email address and you’ve cleaned up your desk, You’ve configured your replicated web site info, read the comp plan for the 1000th time and checked in with your sponsor again and remind him or her how excited you are and exactly how rich you are going to make them. Sound familiar?

Well folks all of that is fine and dandy and I’ve done it myself. So while you are waiting for your distributor kit and first products to arrive you convince yourself that you really need to wait for all your stuff to arrive to be certain everything is as promised. And you need to “get ready”…then you’ll get started.  Right?  WRONG!!!

You need people to talk to, and NOW!  Statistics have proven that you will never be as excited about your new business as you are in those first days of getting started.  Do not waste the excitement. Excitement is contagious and comes thru the phone

Talk To Someone Now…but who?

Purchased/Redirected Leads

Often also called real time leads.  If you don’t or won’t contact your warm market, who are you going to talk to?  These type of lead can provide an excellent source of people to talk to and get you started while you build your own attraction marketing system.

 Genealogy Leads

Genealogy lead lists are compiled from lists of people who had or are involved in network marketing.  More often than not, these lists become available when companies close their doors, or a distributor leaves the company and sells his downline information.  While not for the faint of heart, there are gold mines hidden in these lists.  The challenge is that by the time these lists are available in the field, the phone numbers are usually 50% old. If you have the disposition for this activity you can find some potential diamonds in these lists.

Opportunity Seeker Leads

Stay Away!!!  There are no bargains or free lunches in the world of leads.  If they are costing you a couple of cents each…well you get what you pay for.

But this next step is where the rubber meets the road. This is what sets apart the players from the novices.

Generate Your Own Leads

While you are using some of the lead sources listed above, your long term strategy needs to be focused on developing your own lead generating systems and strategies. There are literally dozens of quality courses available on this subject around online.  Most will revolve around “attraction marketing”, the system of positioning yourself as someone who can bring or provide value in exchange for some ones contact information.

You must position yourself away from the crowd, and attraction marketing is the preferred method that the leaders in this industry are using.

One of my favorite TV shows while growing up in the 60’s was The Andy Griffith Show.  A sitcom set in the slow-paced fictional town of Mayberry, NC;  where widowed sheriff Andy Taylor and his young son Opie lived with their spinster aunt, Aunt Bea.  They were joined by a whacky cast of characters that included Barney Fife, the infamous bungling deputy;  Gomer Pyle, the simple gas station attendant;  Floyd, the barber;  Otis, the town drunk, and other equally quirky folks.

Mayberry was, and is, the personification of rural America.  It has been frequently referenced in pop culture from music to movies as a metaphor for a happier and simpler life.  A slower time when families ate dinner together, friends would just stop by and the day would wind down on the front porch with family and friends, lemon aid and some stories or song.

The episode, “Man In A Hurry” has been one of my favorites for years.  It popped up again on my TV a few days ago and tells the story of a busy business man, Malcolm Tucker, from the nearby big city of Raleigh, NC.   Mr. Tucker finds himself stuck in Mayberry when his car breaks down on a Sunday.  Needless to say getting anyone to respond to his broken vehicle in the south, in the 60’s, and on a Sunday afternoon was impossible.  Mr. Tucker screamed and yelled and berated the people he met.  He just could not understand the complete lack of urgency to “his” emergency by all those Mayberry residents he encountered, who were all “very busy doing nothing”.

At the end of the day, Goober and Gomer come to the rescue and did the neighborly thing by fixing Mr. Tuckers car, so he may continue his journey and get out of Mayberry.  But in the meantime, Mr. Tucker has the opportunity to experience one of Aunt Bea’s famous Sunday dinners and some time on the front porch with the Taylor’s…Yes, some fine quality time just talking and doin’ nothin’, and suddenly this talking and relaxing began to make more sense to Tucker.  As you would expect,  Mr. Tucker began to rethink the invitation to spend the night and get some rest before continuing his trip.  Getting ready to drive away, Mr. Tucker pretends that his car was not running correctly, and gives in to his urge to spend one more night in Mayberry.

Almost 50 years ago, a terrific TV episode perfectly and wonderfully depicted how we were quickly letting the pressure and speed of business and the world around us create an increasingly stressful and impatient existence.  And, in the end, it was clear that we all really yearn for a simpler time, an unrushed lifestyle where we can embrace the people and life around us.

As for “what I’d like to do with Aunt Bea”?   Well, Aunt Bea was always the conscience for the characters of Mayberry, including Andy at times.  She provided a very fair but stern barometer for the behavior of those around her in a quiet, no nonsense manner.  I can’t begin to imagine how Aunt Bea would react to Opie texting away at the dinner table.  Or maybe Andy, talking on his cell phone while they’re clearing the table and doing the dishes.  And don’t forget Barney sitting on the porch after dinner, surfing away on his laptop following an unfolding crime spree, trying to involve himself in one way or another.

What I’d like to do is place the stern but loving Aunt Bea in charge of our electronic  and media habits.  Yes, make her the gatekeeper for our insatiable appetite to be plugged into some device or another every waking moment.  And especially those of us involved in marketing online…we always seem to take things to the extreme, and can’t be unplugged for an instant in the fear that we might just miss something.  Lets give Aunt Bea the power to unplug or turn off any of our electronics, at any time, and announce that it’s time to go sit on the front porch and spend some time together and talk about our day.  And maybe, just maybe she’ll bring out some of that lemon aid too.