Internet Marketing Reputation

[silke247]

At The Nettle forum David posed this question:

"Why does the internet marketing community have such a poor reputation?
What can be done on an individual basis to combat this view? "

This was my response, which also features on the "cover" on issue 39 of The Nettle ezine.


I'm in a position to answer this as I am a business woman and entrepreneur first and a network marketer second, and that is both offline and online.

The reason I got into NWM was to allow my employees -who had no chance of ever running their own businesses - to basically do that - run their own business, run an affiliate program the same way as you run a franchise.

Unfortunately a lot of MLMs are just scam schemes, they make money by getting people to sign up, buy and use the products themselves, and pay monthly membership. They are selling the opportunity to wannabes, they are not running a legit business.

The reason I now lead with SFI is because there is no fee, you ONLY make money by selling products and helping your downline do the same, so it runs like a business.

Internet Marketing - whether you start as I did selling photographs which I previously sold only to magazines - or whether you are a mail order company who adds a website - is a lot different from Network Marketing on the Internet.

A lot of REAL business people consider network marketing to be nothing but scams full of amateurs and wannabes, and for the main part it is, or rather it used to be.

Because it is so easy to join an affiliate program, get a free "website" (nothing more than a gateway page really) it opens the whole thing up to scam and spam.

In network marketing, you genuinely need to help those in your team and around you. But there is room for exploitation by those who know how to do it, and used on those who don't know how to avoid it.

There is also a need for some tolerance for those who really want to make it with their own business but really aren't business people, coz they are the ones who need NWM most of all. And they can be the most rewarding people to work with and mentor.


Silke

[skouk]

Great post silke!
Trying to come up with an answer to David's question, one could say that scammers found out that NWM has money, a lot of money if you are really successful.
As with every business, if people see there is a lot of money involved, they will try to get into it. Most of them don't care about offering a good 'product' or whatever they want to promote to their customers. They just want to earn as much as they can, until customers find out their business is scam.
I don't think that NWM has a poor reputation. The problem is that the competition is so high that people just cannot stand it or don't have the patience to succeed. Consequently, they resort to non-ethical ways of promotion.
Anyway, it is my strong belief that network market is getting more and more saturated every day. Potential customers get so confused that they 'buy' nothing in the end.

[silke247]

If you say to me "is running a nightclub a lucrative business" and I say yes, then that's as far as it will go. Are you going out tonight to open your own club?
In all probability you are not.

But if you say to me "is running a NWM company from your own website lucrative" and I say yes, I can sign you up to SFI and give you our Action Plan to show you how to build a team and make residual income. A business you can build over the next few years and go fulltime if you want.

Will you become a millionaire like Corey Rudl or John Reese?
Again probably not.
But then, even if you did start a nightclub you would probably never become a millionaire like Peter Stringfellow or Stuart Cadwell.

The difference between owning your own nightclub and owning your own website is that the website is realistic.

As long as you remember it is a business and you have to work it as a business, then you will make more money than you ever would at a J.O.B.

And that's as good a guarantee as you're going to get.
I'm just offering the red pill.


Silke

[Francisco Aloy]

Hi All

I think one of the other reasons Internet Marketing has such a low reputation, is the nature of all the ads.

I can't view my inbox without emails wanting to sell me "secrets" or "long-lost manuals." I mean, that's the kind of ads I see in the tabloids while I'm waiting to checkout at the supermarket!

There is a very well defined set of steps to establishing your Online Business. The hard thing - specially for a new person - is separating the "flash trash" from the real deal.

When I first started - not too long ago - I had to study very hard to separate the good from the bad.

Many of the Internet Marketing dream merchants are having a predatory feeding frenzy. However, as the Web matures, they will be seen as the low value operators they really are.

Use your own mind and don't fall for any of the big money promises. You can start your own Web Business if you are willing to use common sense and work with absolute commitment.

[silke247]

Hi Francisco,

That is so true, and as you noted people are seeing through this sort of thing. There is a saying "if you have to lie to get them in, what do you do to keep them in?" Why all the garbage ads for garbage programs you get sent every day?

I have had great success using this ad copy with my affiliate program, which leads with that very point:


"Earning $100,000 a year is just as easy as earning $15,000� when you know how�"

If you're like most Internet users...your email inbox is bombarded with get-rich-quick schemes. Most of us delete them without so much as a quick glance. Yet deep down, I think we all know that amongst the junk there has to be a few jewels.

After all, the Internet is a multi-billion dollar marketplace, soon to be multi-TRILLION!

There's got to be SOMEBODY who's developed a legitimate opportunity for cashing in on the Internet revolution.

There is�


And then this leads them to click through to our gateway where they can learn all about the business and see for themselves.

I find this honest and open approach, optimistic but not over hyped, works, and many of my prospects say they found it refreshing.

People are getting smarter. They are getting wise to how things work.
This makes them harder to fool.

From my point of view this is great!
I don't want to recruit fools.
I want to recruit the smart people!


Silke

[Francisco Aloy]

Hi Silke,

Thank you for your kind words.

I really like you lead ad. It's easy, logical and has a
clear point.

Matter of fact, this coming year I'm going to point my
web efforts away from the usual and well-worn path
of looking for Internet Marketing visitors; I intend to use
other media to reach a different customer.

I went to your websites and your Forums. I like them and
you are about to get a new member at your Forums.

Francisco

PS: Check your PM

[silke247]

I see you signed up for my forum and got a warm welcome from my crew.

I always stick with the time honoured idea that "honesty is the best policy".

This is another ad that has worked well for us:


Thinking about starting a home business?
Not sure where to begin?

Start your home business on a rock-solid base!

Consider teaming up with us.
Since 1985, we've helped tens of thousands of men and women worldwide build successful home businesses. And we can help you, too.

Click Here for home business success stories, and for information on getting started.

Your enrollment now includes over $400 in FREE bonuses.


Basically it's honest and straight forward. We are offering people looking to work at home, to start a home business, the chance to join us, a network of people who do work from home, with a company that has been helping people do that for twenty years now, with an affiliate program that really works, selling products that are really good and have use and value.

And the line about the free bonuses is true as well!


Another great one is this:


Start your own Internet business from home.

Proven, worldwide income system. 19-year track record.
Extensive training, support, websites and products all provided FREE!

Earn $500-2000 per month and up working in your spare time.

No cost to get started, no obligation, and zero risk.


Again, we have affiliates who make as little as $500 - a good second income, as good as any part time job - to those who make $2,000 a month, which is a fulltime income. We leave out wild claims about big figures and "making millions".

It is the ads you see that are trying to "push" something on the prospect that turn them away. Provide them what they want, not what you want them to have.

That is what Network Marketing is all about. You help yourself by helping others.

A lot of people who come into "Internet Marketing" forget this. They either forget, or were never around to have known, how we used to do it offline in the old days. The Internet really does make it easier - but only when you know how.

Start with providing the "know how".
The rest will follow.


Silke

[Francisco Aloy]

Hi All,

Silke, thank you for your input. Joining your Forum is a good thing.

I like you ideas about copywriting, your style is easy and flowing.

I'm working on my website's home page because I want it to reflect
more of a personal, one-on-one approach.

Thank you.

Francisco

[sdefiore]

Hi All,

After getting inundated with emails all the time we wrote the following article. Think it is appropos to the discussion:

Are You A Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda?

The impetus for this article came from one of the 40 to 50 e-mails we get each week that go like this:

"Dear Chuck & Sue,

Can you recommend a business that will help me earn $10,000 to $20,000 each month. I need to start earning this type of money as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

I want To Be A Millionaire By Next Tuesday"

We kid you not. We get e-mails like this everyday. They are the types we call shoulda, coulda, and woulda.

If you are a Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda, then this article is really going to tick you off. I hope it makes you angry, very angry.

Angry enough to change your ways or at least stop you from wasting your time and everybody else's.

Those that get angry see themselves all too well in this piece. They don't like being challenged. They are the people who will never do anything. They will never change.

You know who you are. You're the person who goes to discussion boards and asks "Does Carleton Sheets work in _____". Go ahead, fill in the blank. Name a city or state. You can, of course, fill in any other name or business in place of Carleton.

You're usually answered by those of us who have been around the block as follows, "No, Sheets doesn't work, you do".

Not liking that answer, you move to another group and ask the same question. Getting a similar response. And so on, and so on, etc.

You're the type of person who is afraid to spend a $100 - $200 to better yourself, your financial situation, your family's situation.

You're afraid to take a risk. You need a iron clad guarantee that whatever you do will make you money. Preferably by next Tuesday.

You're the type of person who gives great lip service to the concept of it takes work. But you're unwilling to put forth any effort.

You're afraid you may fail. IT, whatever your particular IT is, will not work for you.

You'd rather continue to moan and groan about your job, your life, your finances, your ______. Go ahead, fill in the blank again. I can't begin to come up with all the things you find to complain about.

Are you getting a good look at yourself in the mirror. I hope so. I hope by now your spitting nails. If you're not, then you are probably hopeless.

If you're not spitting nails, then you should skip the rest of this article.

Why?

Because I am going to let you in on some secrets that can change you from a shoulda, coulda, woulda to an I should, I could, I would and I did person.

First, let's dispel a myth. There is no legitimate get rich quick method, short of the lottery that I know about.

Getting rich takes hard work, perseverance and guts. It takes education. It takes a willingness to take calculated risks. It takes a willingness to fail before you succeed.

In short, it takes everything up to this point that you're not. But you can change.

Following is how to get started.

1. Embrace the concept that you and only you can make it happen. Why? Because the world really doesn't care about you. The world will go on, regardless of whatever you do or don't do.

So decide to make it happen. This is the most important step.

2. Educate yourself in whatever area your interested in. And no, this is not a plug for our educational material. We know ours is excellent, but that choice is up to you.

But for Pete's sake, buy somebody's. Start somewhere. If you truly can't afford to purchase, look on the web. There is some good free info out there. Go to the library. Read magazines or journals in your area. Do something to educate yourself.

3. Learn to weigh the pros and cons of different types of businesses or investment areas. Be willing to take a calculated risk. If an area looks promising, try it.

Just don't quit your day job.

There are many businesses you can start on a part-time or spare time basis. This is one of the reasons we recommend Lease Purchasing so highly to those we consult with. It is ideal for starting slowly.

4. Understand that it is not going to happen overnight. Make a firm decision to work whatever you try, long enough and hard enough, to give it a fair chance to succeed.

All true, solid, successful, long term businesses take effort and time to develop properly.

Learn to measure your progress toward your end goal.

5. Don't be afraid to fail. Much can be learned from failure. And remember, you never really fail, unless you quit and give up.

Keep trying. You'll eventually succeed.

Those of you who have read our book or spoken with us, know that we are perfect examples of not giving up.

We had four successful businesses, lost them in the economic downturn in California in the early 90's. We went through some hard times, but never lost sight of what we wanted.

We have re-built a successful business and are doing better than we ever did.

Just keep trying.

There you have it. The five secrets to our success.

Is it easy, no. But nothing worthwhile is.

Can you do it. Of course. Now get going and change your life.

Copyright 2000, DeFiore Enterprises.



Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:[email protected]

[Francisco Aloy]

Yep, I know what you're talking about.

It takes determination and hard work.

There is no pie-in-the-sky.

It's yours if you want it, but ain't nobody
gonna do it for you!

Francisco

[silke247]

Or the best single line phrase that captures it perfectly:

"If it's to be, it's up to me!"
- Gery Carson



Silke

[newdad]

I'm new to the forum, looks like I'm in great company! I look forward to meeting and becoming friends with many of you (any of you that are cool...lol)

I may have a little bit of a unique opinion on this...I was a full-time MLMer for about 7.5 years ("retired" from MLM last October).

I recently decided to get into traditional business partially because I couldn't handle the "bodybags" ALWAYS associated with building a successful network marketing business. Over the years I was a top earner in all 4 of the companies I built. I recruited over 1700 people personally over the years (about half offline, half online), and I made alot of money in the process. (((OK..for those of you MLMers reading this going...he did what?!? Must have been "throwing stuff on the wall and just seeing what stuck" ...NO...that never was me. I created over 1000 great relationships where I sought to help people lay out a game plan to acheive their goals..etc))) ((Hm...didn't mean for that to sound defensive... )

I look back on last year, and the years prior... and see piles and piles of bodybags all over the place. My fault? Do I take it personally? 99% of them, nope. Not at all. I understand that a minimal investment usually brings a minimal commitment from the new recruit...and there are a million excuses not to follow through.

Part of the reason I decided to move into traditional business is that even with my relative success in MLM, for about 99% of the time, it was a real grind! Hard to create and keep boundaries on one hand, and have lofty goals on the other... I had a hard time not falling into the role of running an Adult Daycare Facility.

The bottom line for me is this - I leared more in 7.5 years of MLM than I could have learned at any business school or college (my personal opinion and experience), so overall, I'm very happy with my experience there. With that said however, I can't tell you how happy I am to be done with MLM!!