Article Marketing – some ideas to get you going in your online business

When we were young infants at school, our teachers constantly asked us to write stories, particularly on a Monday morning when the teacher would ask us to write about our weekend and what we’d been up to.  Most children are happy to do this; they love to talk about themselves, their families, their pets and fun things they did.  Now I’m sure there was much hilarity in the staff room as teachers regaled each other with stories about little Jonny and his escapades at the weekend.  Many parents squirmed in their chairs at parents’ evenings when little Jonny’s storybook was handed to them to read.  You see, children have no preconceptions, they don’t think before they speak or write.

As adults we frequently consider what others may think about things we’ve said or written.  Somewhere we’ve lost that freedom, that creative and energising quality to just be who we are and not conform to what we believe society demands we are.

Starting off

I’m suggesting now, go back to your childhood.  You know the saying ‘dance like nobody’s watching?’ – Well write knowing you’ve got something really interesting that the world needs to know about.

Start with an outline – what do you want people to know?  This will guide you in creating an introduction, body and conclusion for your article.  What I always do is mind map, it’s a wonderful way to be as creative as you like, it uses both right and left side of the brains so applies both logic and creativity.  You can find lots of free software to do mind maps professionally but use the search engines to find out what mind maps are and how to start using them with just a piece of paper initially.

So you’ve came up with the theme for your article, now how are you going to write about it?  Consider your heading, it needs to immediately grab the reader and make them want to read on.  Here are some suggestions for starting your header off:

• Little known ways to…..
• Who else wants a…..
• The Secret of…….
• Get rid of that…….
• Here’s a quick way to…….
• Now you can……..
• What everybody ought to know about……….

Next step

• Jot down some phrases and sentences that you would like to use.
• Always consider, what would I like to know about this topic?
• How would it best help me?
• Who or what is my target audience?  This will ensure you write in a language that is easily understood by them.
• Do as much research on the topic as you can to ensure the information is current

Consider how your introduction will flow?  This is a couple of sentences drawing the reader in to what you are actually writing about.

Are you going to have on large paragraph on your topic or will you break it down into sub-headings?  This is best as one continuous flow of text can be off-putting for some people.  So consider what your sub-headings will be and what will be contained within each.  One or two paragraphs here is plenty.

Finally, how are you going to end your article?  What do you want to say in your final paragraphs that will encapsulate everything you’ve written about?  You may want to use some sort of analogy here linking in to something you or someone you know has experienced and the outcome of that.  You may consider giving a look forward to the reader, e.g. watch out for further articles where I will show you the many free ways to submit your articles.

And finally…..

In essence then, give yourself permission to write with a totally open mind, start with drafting an outline of your topic, jot down some notes on what you want to include, decide how you will lay it out, then just go for it.

And lastly, just heed this saying; I have no idea of the originator but it goes ‘If you make a choice that goes against what everyone else thinks, the world will not fall apart.’

A duck or an eagle, what will I be today….mmmm….

I read something today that simultaneously inspired and educated me.  Whilst reading it, I was able to relate much of it to how I went about my daily life in my job as a corporate leader and more recently in my home based business which happens to be in internet marketing.

It was a story about a cab driver in the USA and written by one of his passengers who was so blown away by the actions of this one cab driver that at the end of the ride, he made an immediate decision that he would effect immediate change in both his thoughts and behaviour.

He was waiting in line for a cab and as this immaculate cab drew up, the door opened and out stepped a driver dressed in immaculate white shirt, black tie and trousers with razor sharp creases in them.  The driver rushed to open the back door and in doing so handed the passenger a car that read; “I’m Wally, your driver. While I’m loading your bags in the trunk, I’d like you to read my mission statement.”

Wally’s Mission Statement:

To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This totally blew the passenger away and even more so that on entering the cab, the pristine condition inside matched that of the exterior.  Once behind the wheel, Wally said “would you like a coffee, I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf”.  The passenger jokingly said “no, I’d actually prefer a soft drink”.  Wally’s reply to this was “no problem, I have a cooler here with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice”.

As they were about to set off, Wally offered a choice of daily newspapers and handing the passenger another laminated card, he was pleasantly surprised to read about the various music stations available and the music each played.

Setting off, the passenger was informed of the best route to his destination considering the time of day and a further offer to show the sights or leave him to his own thoughts if this was preferred.

Obviously a number of questions were now in the passengers head and on asking Wally how long he had been in business and how his business had evolved, he was informed that Wally had been a regular cab driver like all the others for about 5 years.  He said he spent his time complaining like most of the cab drivers do then one day happened to listen to a personal growth guru called Wayne Dyer on the radio.  Liking what he heard, he purchased one of Wayne’ books.  The real message Wally said he took from this was ‘Stop complaining!  Differentiate yourself from your competition.  Don’t be a duck.  Be an eagle.  Ducks quack and complain, eagles soar above the crowd.’  He went on to tell the passenger that he looked around at other cabs; they were dirty, drivers unfriendly and customers generally unhappy.  He immediately began to put in changes and as the customers responded well, he put in some more.

I related to much of this story as I read it and above is only a short excerpt.  In my place of work and being a leader, I love to innovate, get the team on board and make things happen.  I used to get frustrated by senior management’s reluctance to make decisions, move things forward and generally suppressing innovation.  One of my favourite thoughts was “how can I soar with the eagles when I’m tied to the turkeys.”  So I suppose it was the eagle analogy that caught my eye in this article I’m writing about today.

Once I mastered the rules of the business in my organisation, I adopted the philosophy ‘it’s best to just do it and beg forgiveness later than to ask and be refused.’  If my gut instinct tells me I need to do something, change something then I just do it.  It has not let me down; to the contrary, I have won accolades and also an award for leadership, innovation and producing results.  I always recruited like minded people and we constantly sought out new and better ways of delivering to our customers, to our stakeholders and to ourselves.  I quickly recognised my eagles and constantly fed their hunger.

So are you a duck or are you an eagle? Do you spend your day complaining, whining and generally stalling?  Do you seek out like minded ducks that wallow with you in procrastination?  Do you like to have long conversations that have a basic theme running through them i.e. ‘100 reasons why we can’t do this.’

Or are you an eagle? Are you constantly seeking out new and better ways of developing your life and business?  Do you surround yourself with positive and like minded achievers?  Do you just go for it, make lots of mistakes, laugh at them and continue to learn and grow?

Ducks, you don’t have to sit around in the water then, every now and then giving a wee kick with your webbed feet under water.  Start flapping your wings, raise yourself up a wee bit at a time, and move away from all the others who are content to sit there.  Look up at the birds in the sky; aren’t they having fun seeing how high they can really fly?  Ducking and diving, trying new heights a small distance at a time.  Try it, you may find a whole bunch of people who see much more from where they are; learn something new every minute of the day.  Move away from your fellow ducks who sit there, reliant on people bringing bits of bread or food to them, get out there and seek your own, you can then eat anything you want because you’ve made it happen.  Don’t rely on others, it’s far more rewarding when you’ve learnt something for yourself and the rewards are then all yours.

Does your product do what it says on the tin?

Knowing your customer 

The heart and soul of any business decision is the need to know your customer.  No matter how good your product or service is, if it’s not something your customer is looking for then you’re shooting a dead duck.  Businesses spend millions each year in advertising only to realise a very small return on their investment.  If only careful market research had been carried out prior to the launch of the advertising campaign, then huge sums could have been saved.  In the world on online marketing and particularly when you are working in your own home based business, you may think market research is not something you need to do.  You may think I just need to get myself out there and create an online presence.  I think by reading below, you will find there is a lot more to it than that.

 Benefits of market research

 Careful and accurate market research is essential to any business, regardless of it being a home based business, online or offline or your regular retail outlets.  You have to know what your prospects are looking for and bring it to them.  By doing this you will:

• Identify prospects
• Increase sales
• Improve products and services in line with prospect requirements

 Before you can expect your potential prospects to take value from your message you must be able to answer these questions about your product and company: 

• Who and where are my existing prospects?
• How do I communicate with them at present?
• Why did they choose me in preference to others?
• Who and where are my potential prospects?
• How can I effectively reach them through advertising?
• What benefits, in addition to my main product(s), do I offer or sell?  E.g. quality of product, expert guidance etc, continued support etc

 Competitors

 Some other questions you may wish to answer that will help you focus more are:

•  How much do I know about others in this industry?
• Is my range of products/services different from theirs?
• What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• Do they advertise well?  How much do I think they spend on this?
• What are their selling messages? 

If you can answer all these questions above, then you may conclude that you fully understand your business.  If you have difficulties answering then you need to go back to basics and find out so you can confidently answer them all.  If you don’t know everything there is to know about what you are actually selling, chances are you will come across as under-confident, hesitant and unenthusiastic.  People buy from people who firmly believe in their product, can easily sell the values and benefits of it and are enthusiastic and passionate in their marketing approach.  

 Complacency 

This is a frustrating trait of many service providers and is a major cause of irritation and frustration to a product purchaser.  What was promised pre-sale has not lived up to expectations.

 Have you ever adopted an honest approach with a buyer of your product and asked them what they honestly think of it now they have been using it for a short while.  Good after sales is one of the most powerful marketing strategies out there but many people shy away from it and this is through fear.  The fear is that you know you haven’t delivered on your promises but you really need to take the courage and do this in order that you evolve and you can continue being confident in your product and yourself if you are coaching or mentoring.

  You could for example ask your purchasers a straightforward question such as:

 On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being absolutely delighted with the product you bought, where are you now on the scale, 3 months down the road?

 Straight out the gate this will indicate a number of things to you:

• Did I mislead in my advertising?
• Have I not lived up to my customer/prospects’ expectations?
• If not, did I outline boundaries/limitations right at the start or even before purchase?
• What can I do now to make things right?

Is Facebook heading for world dominance?

I was just reading an article on the BBC website this morning that focussed on Facebook and how it has now grown to having a global audience of 300 million active users each month.

The Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg stated that they had not expected to make a profit until 2010 but were way ahead of schedule with this.

The site is gathering about 5 million new users each week and this equates to 50 million in the last 75 days.  It is not hard to see therefore that this social networking site is definitely at the cutting edge of all others.  The site’s popularity was evident to me recently when I was on holiday in Europe.  The resort we stayed in hosted a bank of PCs, I think there were about 8 in total and they always had some young person sat in front of them.  I found it really interesting that every time I passed, each and every one of them were on their Facebook page.  I also noticed some older people also using Facebook and this is because it is an excellent way of building networks in the business world also.

Facebook is primarily funded through advertising and what I noticed and don’t think it’s a coincidence is that when I open up my Facebook home page, there are age appropriate adverts on there.  I’m not going to say what they are, but one could take offence with some of them if one didn’t feel as old as they were!

Companies who are not using Facebook to promote their products through direct advertising are missing a huge opportunity to get in the face of 300 million people each month.

Facebook Lite (no, not for those looking to save calories while using Facebook)

The recent launch of Facebook Lite has not gone unnoticed either and is probably partly attributable for the recent rapid growth in users.  Facebook Lite will be faster and simpler than the main site because it offers fewer services.  Initially it is designed to support users in developing countries where bandwidth constraints make the current version too slow to use.  At the moment it is only available in India and the US.  Many industry watchers said they believed that even users with good internet connections might well flock to Facebook Lite because of its new look and ease of use.

Twitter seems to be at the forefront of any discussion regarding social networking but I’m not convinced that it can ever match up to the popularity and profitability of Facebook.  If Facebook continues to expand its platform and incorporate some of the Twitter features, this could spell trouble for the Twitter industry.

Want to Make REAL Money Online? The Money is There Waiting in Your List!

Building a list is extremely important and once you understand it, it is really simple to grasp.

The fact is you can build a list in a couple of different ways.

How to do it

1. The number one way to build a list is to give something away for free.  This could be a:

• Free report

• Free product

• Free trial

I would suggest exercising slight caution and careful thought as to what you want to give away, you don’t want to devalue your main product and if too much is given away free, there may be reluctance when your prospect finds out they eventually have to pay for a product.

2. Another way to building a list is to create curiosity where you make an upfront statement or a bold statement in your headline that people are just drawn to.  They’re thinking “Oh I guess I just need to find out more about this”.  An example of this could be on your capture page you have a heading such as ‘Find out the controversial and sometimes shocking truth behind (your business opportunity)’.  Another example could be ‘Just released (your business opportunity), video report reveals everything you ever wanted to know about this business’.

When you create an opt-in form, you want to be selling the opt-in form; you don’t want to be selling your opportunity.  You just want to be giving people an incentive to join your list because when they join your list, this is your opportunity to cultivate that list, get people to bond with you, like and trust you so you don’t have people who are coming on and just leaving.  You want to be able to continue to market to these people things that are going to be beneficial to their business or to their interests and that’s when you can get into marketing affiliate programmes and such like.

Resources

The main essential resource you will need for building any list is an effective auto responder.  This will ensure your message is getting to who you want it to, when you want it.  If you are just starting out and your marketing budget is tight, the small investment of about $12-15 per month for an auto responder is absolutely essential if you want to continue in the internet marketing world.

Mindset and Determination

Many people when they start in internet marketing become increasingly agitated and frustrated and their inner voice is constantly there telling them they can’t do this.  They think “I don’t know how to build a website, I have no idea how to create any of this stuff, and I have no idea what the heck I’m doing”.  “What do I say to these people?” 

Just think back to when you started on the path to the business you were in.  What were the things that attracted you to invest?  You just need to put yourself in the prospects’ shoes, what are they looking for, and what do they want to know?  Then just give it to them.

What the blog is this all about then?

Blogging is extremely powerful and super easy to do. You may or may not be aware of what they are, but they can definitely be a fundamental part of your business growth.  I’ve written this as I was really unsure when I first started out what it was all about.  Trying to get my head around the terminology was bad enough, but write about what I was doing, I hadn’t a clue where to start.  Once I found out, I could just be myself and write about things that may help others,  I was well up for it then.

So what is it?  Well it’s really like a personal diary, a place where you can be yourself through your writing, get on your soap box if that’s what you want, share some of your private thoughts, in fact it can be anything and everything you want it to be.

In basic terms, it is a website that is your daily or weekly journal.  People can comment on it or link to it or email you, or they may just read it and do nothing!

Blogging is not only a great way to drive traffic to your site but is incredibly important in building your credibility and brand.  Remember, people buy from those they like and trust so blogging helps to develop and build a good relationship with prospects.

Blogging is a great way to keep in touch with your audience.  People like to read new stuff often when they are looking into an opportunity or business.
By providing them with new info you are staying connected to your prospects and when and IF they decide to purchase, they may very well do that through you, especially if they feel a connection to you or feel the relate to you in some manner.

Blogging is also FREE, you don’t have to pay to set up a blog site.  I would also suggest you link to an ‘about me’ page from it so people can see who you are and what you stand for.  Again this is all part of the relationship building.

With the free blogging services, you are not allowed to blatantly promote your business opportunity and if you do this, you may find your blog being shut down with no explanation given. 

If you host your own blog however, you can do WHATEVER you want with it.  I know in the early days of internet marketing when most people are combining it with a regular job, a marketing budget is somewhat limited so any free methods are seen as a bonus.  

What I would stress to you when blogging is that you are giving out information.  When you do your posts, you want to keep them informative, interesting and not written like a sales letter.  You want the reader to be educated about certain aspects of the business and also the relationships you have made.

Some useful tips

1. When you write, you want to try and incorporate some of your keywords in your heading to enable Search Engines to pick up on them.  One example of this could be ‘Find out how this opportunity could guarantee you a Wealthy Income 4 life’.  Be as imaginative as you like and play around with the words to make it catchy but not blatant.

2. You may want to put your keywords in quotes occasionally in your headlines but don’t do this too often.

3. In the body of the blog post, you want to underline your keywords, but again only occasionally.  This could also help the SE find your keywords easier.

4. Don’t go mad with keywords and have them all over the place.  Once per paragraph is enough and make sure they’re in context and relevant to what you’re actually saying.

5. Aim to blog every day, but if that’s not possible then 2-3 good posts per week should work.

6. Don’t ramble on too much, if you find your subject matter is vast, consider breaking it into several posts over a few days.  You could make parts 1, 2 etc giving your reader something to look forward to with your reference to your next blog at the end.

7. You do want to link your capture page into some of your posts depending what you’re writing about.  I would suggest being careful here and not putting in too many links as this lessens the credibility of the post.

8. Inject some personality into your posts; let the readers know about your own experiences of those of someone you know.  Again people join people not organisations or businesses really.

9. Make sure you include all relevant keywords at the bottom of your post alongside the heading ‘Tags’.

10. Lastly, enjoy it, blogging is great fun, it lets you be you and share your passion on your subject with the world.  What are you waiting for, there’s no such thing as tomorrow, when it arrives it will be ‘today’, the present and there’s no time like the present.

Don’t give up on your internet business (well not yet anyhow)

Most internet marketers fail because they try a few quick promotion methods, see little results then just give up.  They lack the focus and determination that this industry demands.  Someone, somewhere promised them they would be earning high figures in a matter of days/weeks and when this doesn’t materialise, the inner voice within most people tells them to give up, this is a waste of time, it’ll never work.

But what if someone said to you “this is not your fault”.  Would that make you feel any better, a bit more motivated?

One of the main and fundamental reasons most internet marketers fail is they don’t know how to gain traffic to their sites.  Perhaps they miss the value of the connection between themselves and their prospects and see their list for what it is i.e. a list of faceless people that they need to sell their product/opportunity to and as quickly as possible.  As more and more people unsubscribe from their list, they’re often left wondering ‘Why is no-one interested in this product’.  The answer is simple; you were obviously interested enough to buy it, so what was it that made you buy?  What marketing approach did your vendor use?  Was it that they valued you, sold you the benefits rather than the product?  If so, then go back and see exactly what attracted you to this, what were the defining keywords/phrases used that made you buy?  Now replicate this method.  I would not advise that you plagiarise but simply observe the use of language, what value to you was offered with the product and what the real reason you bought it was.  You see, people join people and if they can relate to your reasons for purchasing, then perhaps they have very similar reasons for looking at your site.

Another reason for failure is time management and this is very important to your business.  You should set out daily goals and ensure these are achieved before you go to bed each night.  If you are combining an online business with a regular job in the early days, then you need to be even more focussed, structured and rigidly manage your time.  Failing to plan your day(s) is planning to fail.

You need to make choices every day, positive choices and even taking no action is a choice, albeit it a negative one.  A lot of internet marketers fail because they just stop working.

If you find a lot of what is written above applies to you, then may I suggest you do your due diligence and either find a business that has a mentorship programme or invest in some online coaching?  This can be expensive though and may be in excess of $850+ for 8 hours coaching.

Online mentoring is occasionally compared unfavourably with face to face mentoring.  Online mentoring is effective in many areas, but is especially important in areas that involve specialised knowledge and skills.  What could be better than looking over the shoulder of those in the industry who are doing it?  Not only are they doing it, but they are hugely successful.  As highlighted above, find someone who is doing it and copy them.

An analogy I like to make with this is just watch children and their parents when they are out in a restaurant.  What does the child do?  They stare at people, fascinated by them and what they are doing.  What do the parents say?  “Stop staring, look away”.  What we should be saying to our children is watch what others do and copy.  Children learn through mimicking, monkey see, monkey do type of learning.  They then go to school and are asked to draw/write something.  The very young ones will watch their classmates and try to copy and what does the teacher say?  Yes, you’ve got it, “stop copying, do your own work”!  We should always strive to learn from those who do it better than us. 

So bring back that child who is fascinated by everyone and everything and start adopting your own ‘monkey see, monkey do’ way of learning.  The world of internet marketing is an Aladdin’s cave of opportunities of learning.  Tap into it now, use it and build yourself a successful and prosperous home business that is sustainable for many years to come.

How to be a leader rather than a manager – 3 basic differences?

Leaders get the job done and keep the group going.  Leaders sell the tickets for the journey; Managers drive the bus to the destination.

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
Peter F. Drucker
Define your vision

What is fundamentally crucial and an essential aspect of leadership is ‘visionary thinking’.  Constantly having a vision is what sets the leader apart from the manager.  The manager is the person who normally implements someone else’s ideas.  A leader will work from the end to the beginning i.e. they will start with planning their goal and then put steps in place to reach it.  Having this vision is the currency of all leaders.

Share your vision

The Rev. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is an excellent example of how a vision can be communicated. Through his skilful use of language and imagery, King brought his vision to life.
I have found my most successful ideas are communicated informally, through one-one-one discussions in offices or chatting over lunch.  A night out with colleagues where invariably the conversations turn to the workplace can be invaluable in sharing ideas and bringing everyone into agreement.  Visions build excitement, leaders must have the ability to enthuse others and be a cheerleader for the cause.  Achievements should be celebrated and progress must be acknowledged and rewarded.  Strong and positive 2 way communication is vital to the success of any goal.

Recognise your leadership style

All leaders lead differently and it is important to recognise which style comes most naturally to you.  We learn through watching others do things and often imitate them at times but when the pressure builds, you are most likely to revert to the style that best suits your personality type.  It is okay to practise other styles of leadership so long as you are aware which style it is.  The most common type of leadership is the facilitative one:  i.e. you know what the end result should be and you actively empower others to arrive at a similar result.  This can be done through simple questioning techniques such as: 

1. Have you thought about….?
2. I wonder what would happen if…?
3. Imagine if we could…..
4. What do you think of…..
5. Who in the team do you think would be best to do…?
6. What obstacles are we likely to face…?
7. Where do you think would be an ideal starting point…?
8. Why should we do it this way…?
9. When would be best to start…?

Another approach is autocratic.  Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great Britain is an example of this style of leadership whilst former USA President Bill Clinton is an example of one who used a facilitative style of leadership.

A third style is charismatic – having the gift of power.  Former presidents John F Kennedy and Franklin D Roosevelt were two historical figures with special abilities to energise those they led.

Although each of us has a style that comes most naturally, the best leaders can use various styles as the situation requires. For instance, a facilitative leader may need to act more autocratic in times of emergency; if the situation requires swift, bold action, the leader must be able to switch gears and provide what is needed in the crisis.

Just imagine how much more productive your team would be if they actually took ‘ownership’ of effecting changes either in the workplace or within the team dynamics.  Their ideas are readily sought and implemented and in turn a great sense of achievement is felt by all.  They need never know this was all your idea in the first place; your leadership skills have influenced and convinced them it was their idea all along!

Trish Mullen has over 20 years experience leading from the front within a military environment and many years since then coaching and mentoring others to be the be the best they can be by believing in themselves and knowing they deserve their achievements.  Trish is now leading and mentoring successful teams within her home online business to achieve enormous wealth in their own home businesses.  Find out more at http://www.wealthyincome4u.com and http://www.whoistrishmullen.com

You can be a good network marketing leader – if you choose to!

One of the main differences about managing teams within a corporate job and building a network marketing business is that the latter is 100% all about leading others.  Many people who join an online opportunity have no experience of this type of marketing at all and therefore need much more leading than say recruiting someone with the relevant skills into a job.

Just as in the corporate world, network marketing today is vastly different to how it was 25 years ago or even 5-10 years ago.  Many of our parents/grandparents took up a job and tended to stay there for 10/20/30 years.  Evolution of the world we live in has changed all that.

Nowadays outside of an online business, the culture is to do something quickly, learn what you can from that then take the newly learned skills elsewhere.  Much is expected sooner, i.e. promotion, higher salaries etc and if it’s not given, then employees tend to vote with their feet and move on.

The whole concept of building a network marketing business is all about exposing enough people to your opportunity i.e. building your list.  Who you become in this process is one of the most important things that can either result in huge success or the ultimate failure.  You must never lose sight of who you are, where you came from and why you chose the business you are in.  The people opting into your list and eventually signing up to your opportunity are probably very similar to how you were when you were doing your due diligence in research.  Therefore being able to share some of you, and your experiences will help build a relationship with them faster than just promoting your own success and business all the time.  It is a bit like planting a garden; you sow the seeds, then continuously water over the months before the young buds bloom and give you the results you were aiming for.

Kiyosaki says that building a network marketing business is a revolutionary way to achieve wealth and makes it possible for ANYONE to acquire great wealth.  This suggests therefore, that all your team can do this, some may take longer than others, some may need a different approach to learning and you, as a mentor, must be prepared to adapt and go with them on this.

Building a network marketing business is all about building trust and consistency within the individuals you sponsor.  They chose you as their mentor for a reason and that is because in their eyes you had value.  This value will increase through the process if you continue to treat them as individuals, regularly check in on them, and let them know you’re there for them and them only.

If one or more of your downline are looking for answers on what to DO to effectively build their network marketing business, chances are high they are not being told the RIGHT things to do currently.

A strong and confident leader builds their downline through genuinely wanting others to succeed, giving of themselves before others, offering clear and succinct instructions and guidelines, and always being there if required.  This approach can only generate successful and confident leaders of the future.  This in turn will continue to grow your business whilst simultaneously ensuring your team achieve their financial goals which is probably the main reason they signed up to your home opportunity in the first place.

Doing well in your internet marketing or just bluffing? Humility is the key!

Having taken a couple of days relaxing by the pool in sunny Spain, I thought about topics for my next blog.  I mean what is there to say when all I’ve done all day is get up, check my emails, check my Facebook and LinkedIn, shower then move outside to sit at the pool all day.

Well, there’s lots;  you see I’m an avid people watcher, not because I’m nosey (I always say I’m just very interested in people), but because people fascinate me.  I love to chat with people from different cultures, backgrounds and find out what drives their lives in the direction they go in.

One thing I never do is push my business, I rarely mention this unless a thread in the conversation leads onto this and it would normally never be started by me.  I have a strong aversion to people who constantly brag about their wealth and I come across this often.  I can always see beyond this though and know it normally always stems from a sense of insecurity so I am able to engage in conversations with them when others may avoid their company.  I always remember reading somewhere that you can always tell how good someone feels about themselves by how much they tell you in the first 5 minutes of meeting them.  A person who is secure within themselves would prefer to ask questions of the other person and this is what I always try and do.

I overheard a conversation today by the pool and no, I wasn’t eavesdropping but the person’s voice was so loud I couldn’t help but listen.  I even tried putting the IPOD on but could still hear so thought, what the heck I’ll just take the earphones out and listen.

It started off with the mobile phone you see.  The man was walking around the pool deck talking loudly, berating someone for something they did or didn’t do and I could tell a lot of it was for effect and he was definitely getting the attention he was looking for.

It transpired that he worked in internet marketing and how did I find this out?  Well, he told me once he stopped talking on the phone and proceeded to boast to me how much money he had made by just sitting at the pool.  I put on my best impressed look but deep down felt quite sorry for him.  He had no idea, and still doesn’t that I am in a very successful online business but I don’t need to promote this at every opportunity, nor force people into listening to me talk about it.  That’s what I love about my home business, I don’t have to sell, I don’t have to promote to friends and family, people come looking to join this opportunity.

So, if you’re one of those people who love to talk about themselves and how successful you really are, then I question your motives.  I’ve always said that humility is one of the best qualities I admire in people and the truly successful people in internet marketing have this quality in abundance.  They are not afraid to talk about failure and are in fact quite proud of their earlier mistakes.  You see failure is only that if you never learn from it, if it doesn’t make you more determined to do better, if it doesn’t increase the vision you have for yourself.  So go on, show a bit more humility;  people will love and respect you more for it because you’re being real then and they can relate to that.