The Top 20 Social Networks

Some Social Networking websites are generating massive amount of traffic that rival a small to medium-sized broadcasting or publishing network.

MySpace for example, with over 65 million visitors viewing almost a billion views is the kind of traffic that a major network would kill for especially when the margins to generate that traffic are factored in.

What was once a monopoly on the means of production for film and print, is no longer controled by corporations of large networks. Democracy has come to the creation of media and obviously there's a demand for it.

I'm sure there always has been a demand for niche markets and now with the new technology that makes it easy to produce and distibute economically, for the first time in history people can get access to any niche imaginable.

These are exciting times we live in. I wonder what will be next?

Sincerely,
Frank Tocco--Marketing Mentor
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Social Media Networking Tips

Influencing Powerful Social Media Users To Generate Massive Traffic To Your Website

Generating a buzz to get massive amounts of traffic to your website is best done using social media websites?

The easiest way to accomplish this is to leverage the clout of influencers within the social media community.

Influencers are people within a social network that are respected and liked by others in that community and are able to popularize discussions on topics of interst in that community.Influencers stimulate the conversations, connect people to ideas and can capture the mindshare or opinion of an audience within a social sphere.

All social media websites have a few select individuals who stand out or their activity within the community and their expertise has gained the trust and support of the social media users.These are the people you are are looking for and the ones you want to influence.

There are so many social media sites and the points we make in this article can be applied to any of them.

We'll be studying how to develope your own strategy for targeting the influencers of these sites to engage their social network with your content.

Let's look at a social news site like Digg for example. Digg and other sites like it allow the audience tovote on the value of content with a simple thumbs up and thumbs down vote. By actively participating in the community you can develope a following and become and authority and with that comes influence.

Over time supporters will share your content with friends or add it to their websites and blogs. Social media users can be pitched just like a blogger or writer can be pitched with a simple introduction at first gradually building a relationship that's mutually benefitial. The goal is to leverage their brand of influence by influencing them to promote your website content within their community.

The main steps are Targeting, Networking and then Pitching the influencer in question.

1.Targeting
Finding a social media influencer that shares your point of view about your content and is relevent to their website or sphere of influence is most important. Making your content in-line or coherent with the influencers interests makes it much easier to get them to promote or agree with your content.

Go to the public user ranking list of the social media site in question, in this case Digg, and visit each profile on the listed looking for who has influence and also who resonates with what you're promoting. Get a feel for what interests them.

You can also do a keyword search on the social media site looking for content based on your keywords and find the users that rank high within the site on those keywords. If they have consistently submitted content around those keywords they are likely to be open to suggestions of simular content.

You can also do a URL search of your keywords to find people that may be open to more content of that type.Using the site yourself will help you discover little details about the user you're targeting that can help you reach them and develope rapport.

For example, while top Digg user MrBabyMan submits a great amount of stories, most active Diggers are familiar with his avid interest in Cracked.com, a popular pop culture/men’s portal/magazine.

2. Networking
After you're done targeting a specific social media website you need to contact them and develpoe a relationship. You can get in touch with them from their contact info in their user profile and join the site as a registered user.

If contact info is not available Google them by their name and user name to see if you can find it elsewhere. Look for their blog or other profiles they may have listed on other sites.

Once you have their contact details initiate a conversation by just send them a note and thank them for their contributions. Trying to pitch to promote your content right away is very bad etiquette and annoying.

You can stand out from the crowd of self-interested crowd by genuinely showing your appreciation for their contributions.

Take a genuine interest in them and engage them in a dialog of common interests and do so continuously until you have a good idea what material they would support and do favors for the user by giving them publicity or links to free resources and interesting content (not your own).

Real social media users are always interested in buzz-worthy news or opinions that can boost their own authority within the social media community. Your content or anything else you offer should not only meet the integrity of their personal brand, but it should improve it and the reputation of the user within the community.

Offer them free invites to unrelated websites, give away exclusive information on certain topics. Share some links to excellent websites. Do little favors without asking for anything in return at all. Give them a reason to be interested in you.

Networking is really just about making friends. It’s that simple. This will gradually lead you into the third and final stage: Pitching the influencer.

3.Pitching
So now that you've built a rapport with this person what next?

A. Ask Casually.
Do your pitching in a light hearted and casual manner and do notaggressively push the user to promote your content. This is a huge turnoff andyou should understand that the user has a perfect right to refuse you.

B. Disclose Your affiliation.
I would recommend letting the user know that youare affiliated with the specific website, particularly if you plan to have a longworking relationship with the user. He or she will appreciate your honesty and itwill also make it easier for you to ask the second time round.

C. Space out your pitches.
The biggest mistake you can make is to ask the influencerto promote every single piece of content that comes out on your site. This is a majorirritant so only offer the user your best work, while pitching your material only onceper week or every two weeks.Continue to keep aclose contact after they are promoting your site.

Step by Step Checklist to Follow
1. Here’s a quick checklist of steps to follow. Remember that these steps are sequentialand should be completed one after the other.

2. Pick several social media users who might be interested in your content. Make sure thatthey have some influence or clout in the community.

3. Confirm that your content is relevant to their publicly declared or observable interestsby studying their usage of the social site.

4. Make first contact with the user by sending a ‘hello’ or ‘thank you’ email/message whileintroducing yourself.

5. Gradually develop a relationship by talking about common interests or the social community.

6. Do some small favors for the user, but do not ask for reciprocation of any sort. Avoid pitching theuser at this point.

7. After determining that your content is a perfect fit with the user and perfectly understandingthe interests of the user, make your first pitch.

8. If successful, continue to pitch the user but do it infrequently and only for excellent content.If unsuccessful, pull back a little and re-pitch after some time has passed.

9. Deepen your relationship with the user till the point where he or she will automatically monitorand share your content with the community.

You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008

Sincerely,
Frank Tocco--Marketing Mentor
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NEW! Social Media Networking Tips

Teens and Social Media Report

Social Media is the new Website 2.0 and everybody is doing it. One of the largest groups using social media are teens age 12 to 17. Over 93% of teens use the internet and they are ahead of the curve of treating it as a venue for social interaction.

This Pew Internet And American Life Project Report has found that 55% of online teens havecreated a profile on a social networking site like FaceBook or MySpace; 47% have uploaded photos and 14% have posted videos.

Teens and Social Media: Summary of Findings at a Glance

The use of social media – from blogging to online social networking to creation of all kinds of digital material – is central to many teenagers’ lives.

Girls continue to lead the charge as the teen blogosphere grows; 28% of online teens have created a blog, up from 19% in 2004.

The growth in blogs tracks with the growth in teens’ use of social networking sites, but they do not completely overlap.

Online boys are avid users of video-sharing websites such as YouTube, and boys are more likely than girls to upload.

Digital images – stills and videos – have a big role in teen life.Posting images and video often starts a virtual conversation. Most teens receive some feedback on the content they post online.

Most teens restrict access to their posted photos and videos – at least some of the time. Adults restrict access to the same content less often.

In the midst of the digital media mix, the landline is still a lifeline for teen social life.

Multi-channel teens layer each new communications opportunity on top of pre-existing channels.

Email continues to lose its luster among teens as texting, instant messaging, and social networking sites facilitate more frequent contact with friends.

You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008

Sincerely,
Frank Tocco--Marketing Mentor
Social Media Networking Tips
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Social Marketing Is The Democratization Of Information

Social media marketing: Participatory online media where news, photos, videos, and podcasts are made public via social media websites through submission.

The yellow pages of Social Networking or the Social Networking Directory is the largest searchable directory on the world wide web.

Social Media Marketing Definition: Social Media and social marketing is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into content publishers. It is the shift from a broadcast mechanism to a many-to-many model, rooted in conversations between authors, people, and peers.

Social media uses the “wisdom of crowds” to connect information in a collaborative manner. Social media can include Internet forums, message boards, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies such as blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, group creation and voice over IP, to name a few.

Social media applications are Google (reference, social networking), Wikipedia (reference), MySpace (social networking), Facebook(social networking), Last.fm (personal music), YouTube (social networking and video sharing), Second Life (virtual reality), and Flickr (photo sharing).

Social Media or Social Networking(industry term) has a number of characteristics that make it fundamentally different from traditional media such as newspapers, television, books, and radio.

Social media is not finite: there is no set number of pages or hours. The audience can participate in social media by adding comments or even editing the stories themselves. Content in social media can take the form of text, graphics, audio, or video. Several formats can be mixed. Social media is typically available via feeds, enabling users to subscribe via feed readers, and allowing other publishers to create mashups.

Social Media signifies a broad spectrum of topics and has several different connotations. In the context of Internet marketing, Social Media refers to a collective group of web properties that are driven by users.

For example, blogs, discussion boards, vlogs, video sharing sites and dating sites. Social Media Optimization (SMO) is the process of trying to get ones content more widely distributed across multiple Social Media networks.

Social Media has two important aspects. The first, SMO, refers to on-page tactics through which a webmaster can improve a website for the age of social media. Such optimization includes adding links to services such as Digg, Reddit and Del.icio.us so that their pages can be easily 'saved and submitted' to and for these services.

Social Media Marketing, on the other hand, is an off-page characteristic of Social Media. This includes writing content that is remarkable, unique, and newsworthy. This content can then be marketed by popularizing it or even by creating a “viral” video on YouTube and other video sites.

Social Media is about being social so this off-page work can include getting involved in other similar blogs, forums, and niche communities. Search Engine Marketing or SEM involves utilization of all available Social Networking platforms to brand a product using Search Engine Optimization or SEO techniques of communication, to the end consumer.

You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.

Pick up your copy of the Social Networking Directory, the yellow pages of Social Networking.

Sincerely,
Frank Tocco--Marketing Mentor
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Building Personal Brand Within The Social Media Landscape

Gary can be a bit rough around the edges but he sure tells it like it is with an abundance of passion. This video recorded at the Web 2.0 Expo NY shows Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library),
Building Personal Brand Within the Social Media Landscape

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS


PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS

Frank Tocco--Marketing Mentor
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Business Owners Do Not Work For Money

Marketing is not a job that you put in so many hours and get a paycheck or a salary and that is why people have difficulty marketing their business or product. Most people are approaching their business from an employee mentality.

Employees work so many hours and expect so many dollars for their work. Building a business is not going to pay you for hours worked like a job would. Building a business is an asset that will pay you long after the work is done. A true asset pays you even when you are not there or even if you are dead.

People coming from a job mentality have to learn to re-program themselves to think differently because if they are only interested in getting paid for their work, they should keep working or keep their job.

Take my friend Mary for instance. Mary has a business grooming dogs. She is well liked and has lots ofcustomers and referals. Her business is doing so well that she had to hire her neighbors daughter Beth to help her on weekends and some days after Beth is finished with school. Beth's friend Carla has even helped when they get busy and sometimes they walk the dogs for some extra money.

There's only one problem. Without Mary there to run things, the busines would stop running. She cannot take a vacation for fear of losing business. The last time she tried to go away some of her customers went somewhere else while she was gone and did not return. She feels trapped and her business looks more like a job then a business.

There's nothing wrong with her business except for the fact that she is an irremovable part of the business system and this is because from day one she approached her business like an employee would. It's not her fault really because like 97% of the population, that is all she has ever known. Her friend, family and business peers have only known how to be an employee and nothing in her entire life has ever prepared her to be anything else.

Building a business is not a job with a steady paycheck so the skills and mind-set needed to succeed are completely different than an employees. For example, hours worked have nothing to do with the profit made in a business and although many business owners work more hours on their business than most people, especially in the early stages of the business, the profit is not directly proportional to hours worked.

So just as there may be many hours worked with little profit at the start of a business, there can also be a lot of profit with very little hours worked as the business matures.

People who start businesses with an employee mind-set often take money out of the business like an employee would to pay for personal expenses instead of re-investing the money back into the business to fund its'growth. This is like starving your business and eventually it dies. 90% of businesses fail in the first five years of start up and of those that survive after five years another 90% fail in the following five years. That means that one out of a hundred businesses survive after ten years from start up and the main reason for this is that people are treating their business like it was their employer.

A business is a seperate entity and the ones that survive do not need the person who started the businessto be part of the business.

All businesses that survive beyond ten years have one thing in common regardless of what industry they are part of. They are businesses that have created a system that could be run by anyone. The owners created a system that does not require the owner to be part of the system. This means that anyone with the proper training could run the business and the owner can be somewhere else like on a beach or golfingor shopping around the world.

But if the owner of the business is only interested in taking money out of the business it will not live past ten years and nobody is going to stay there to run it unless there's something in it for them. So from the start, a business has to think about how to provide what everyone wants and needs in the most efficient manner and still pay everyone to work the business and still create enough profit to make it a worthy investment for its' investors. Not an easy task but if a business succeeds in doing so, it will be greatly rewarded and the owner should be able to go golfing while the business grows because it made peoples lives easier and created jobs for people.

Business owners who think about how to benefit everyone else before themselves are the ones who create businesses that survive even their founders. This is in stark contrast to the mind-set of an employee who is thinking about compensation for their labors. Building an asset that benefits everyone involved cannot be compensated by the hourand only passion and purpose can fuel and inspire someone to create such a business. Without a bigger purpose than a business will not survive and with a strong purpose and passion behind it, everything is acheiveable.

PLEASE ADD YOUR COMMENTS TO THIS POST WITH A LINK BACK TO YOUR SITE

Sincerely,
Frank Tocco--Marketing Mentor
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You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008

Network Marketing - It's an Asset, Not a Job

By Robert Kiyosaki

I am sometimes asked, "Why do so few people make it to the top of their network marketing system?"

The truth is, the top of the network marketing system is open to everyone-unlike traditional corporate systems, which allow only one person to reach the top of the company.

The reason most people do not reach the top is simply because they quit too soon.

So why would someone quit short of the top? Most people join only to make money. If they don't make money in the first few months or years, they become discouraged and quit (and then often bad-mouth the industry!). Others quit and go looking for a company with a better compensation plan.

But joining to make a few quick dollars is not the reason to get into the business.

The Two Essential Reasons to Join a Network Marketing Business:
Reason number one is to help yourself. Reason number two is to help others.

If you join for only one of these two reasons, then the system will not work for you. Reason number one, means that you come to the business primarily to change quadrants-to change from the E (Employee) or the S (Self-employed) quadrant to the B (Business owner) or I (Investor) quadrant. This change is normally very difficult for most people because of money.

The true E or S quadrant person will not work unless it is for money.This is also what causes people to not reach the top of the network marketing system: they want money more than they want to change quadrants.

A B quadrant or I quadrant person will also work for money, but in a different way. The B quadrant person works to build or create an asset-in this case, a business system. The I quadrant person invests in the asset or the system. The beauty of most network marketing systems is that you do not really make much money unless you help others leave the E and S quadrants and succeed in the B and I quadrants. If you focus on helping others make this shift, then you will be successful in the business.

As a B or an I, sometimes you don't get paid for years; this,a true E quadrant or S quadrant person will not do. It's not part of their core values. Risk and delayed gratification disturb them emotionally.

Delayed Gratification and Emotional Intelligence:
One of the beauties of network marketing is that it focuses on developing your emotional intelligence as well as your business skills.

Emotional intelligence is an entirely different matter from academic intelligence. In general, someone with high emotional intelligence will often do better than someone with high academic intelligence but low emotional intelligence. That explains, in part, why some people do well in school but not so well in the real world. The ability to delay gratification is a sign of higher emotional intelligence.

In a recent study of emotional intelligence, it was found that people who could delay gratification often led more successful lives than those who could not. This is why the educational system inherent in a good network marketing opportunity is so important. It's the emotional education or emotional intelligence aspect of their programs that I find so valuable for people.

Many people write me and tell me they loved my book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, but I fear that many of them don't get the most important point of the book:

Lesson #1, "The rich don't work for money."
Once I have built or bought an asset, that asset works hard to make money for me. But I will not work for money-I will work only to build or buy assets. Those assets make me richer and richer, while I work less and less. That is what the rich do. The poor and middle class work hard for money, and then buy liabilities instead of investing in assets.

What Kind of Asset is a Network Marketing Business?
Remember, there are two reasons required to be successful in network marketing: to help yourself, and to help others. Reason number one means helping yourself get to the B side of the quadrant.

What about reason number two? The beauty of most network marketing systems is that you don't really make much money unless you help others leave the E and S quadrants and succeed in the B and I quadrants. If you focus on helping others make this shift, then you will be successful in the business, If you only want to teach yourself to be a B quadrant and I quadrant person, then a true network marketing system won't work for you. You may as well go to a traditional business school, which focuses only on your becoming a B quadrant person.

The beauty of a network marketing business is that your goal is to create assets, which are other B's working under you-and their job is to create other B's working under them. In traditional business, the focus is for the B to have only E's and S's working for them.

The type of business I was taught to build is a business with me at the top and E's and S's at the base. I really don't have room at the top for many other B's, which is why in my businesses, I strongly recommend that all my employees look into network marketing as their own part-time businesses. The traditional corporate system really is a pyramid, because there are a few B's and I's near the top, and more E's and S's at the base.

A network marketing system is a reverse pyramid:
Its primary focus is to bring up more and more B's to the top. One type of pyramid, the traditional type, has its base on the ground; the other type has its base in the air. It's a pyramid that pulls you up instead of pushing you down.

A network marketing business gives everyone access to what used to be the domain only of the rich.

This passage is excerpted by permission from The Business School for People Who Like Helping People, by Robert T. Kiyosaki, with Sharon Lechter, CPA, authors of Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Frank Tocco--Marketing Mentor
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You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.

Words That Sell Like Crazy And Will Add Sizzle To Your Ad Copy!

I feel that what I am going to present in this article is very powerful and important for you to remember.

Always remember that powerful copy is what’s going to sell your product. What you sell is very important, but how you sell it is more important.

That’s the one thing I harp on that you need to learn - to write powerful sales copy. If you don’t want to write it, pay someone else to do it for you. I get frustrated when I see people who are trying to make money in direct response and Internet marketing trying to write their own sales copy without really knowing how to do it.

You need to either learn how to write advertising or take the time to hire someone who can do it right for you, because it is the most important part of your entire sales presentation. If people don’t like the copy, and the copy’s not compelling, they’re not going to buy from you!

So with that in mind, I am giving you 42 power words that sell like crazy and will add sizzle to your ad copy.

I am going to briefly summarize, and then I’ll give you all of the words so you can go back. I want to give you as many as possible. There are probably hundreds more of them. In fact, there are books called “Words That Sell” that you should probably have in your library. But, if you can read this article again and again and try to incorporate these words in whole or partially into all your ads and sales letters, you will be more successful.

One thing I just want to reiterate - you should always incorporate use “you” copy. Always tell the reader what is in it for them! In fact, I read sales letters on the Internet and even in direct mail where people talk about “what I will give you.”

“I will give you this when you buy my package. I will give you that.” That is totally the wrong approach! Instead of saying, “I will give you.” all you have to do is turn it around and say, “You will get...” and it makes all the difference in the world!

By just changing a few words - taking the “I's” and the “me’s” out and changing it to the “you’s” - you can do a much more powerful job of selling your products. It’s much more valuable to say that than to try to come across as the “I will give you’s...”

With that in mind, I am going to go ahead and get to my list of 42. I’ve got a lot of them here! Now you can check them off as you use them throughout your sales letter so you can make sure to get some of these powerful words in.

It is not enough to simply have a sales letter. It needs to have powerful words in it! So here are 42 power words, and there are a lot more of them out there. These are some of the words I think are vitally important, powerful words!

Okay, here we go:
- Suddenly
- Challenge
- Special
- 100% money back
- Now- Compare
- Ultimate
- Boost
- Announcing
- Bargain
- Wanted
- Introducing
- Hurry
- Plus
- Increase
- Improvement
- Startling
- Amazing
- Surefire
- Practical
- Sensational
- Easy
- Discount
- Profitable
- Revolutionary
- Instantly
- No-risk
- Important
- Secret
- Miracle
- Surprising
- Valuable
- Magic
- Warning
- Insider
- Bonus
- Free
- New
- Easy
- Proven
- Discovery
- You

There's a lot there! I think two of the most important ones you can use in your ad copy are probably “you” and “free.” People love to get stuff free!

Certainly, all of these are very important words. You’ll find as you write ads and sales letters certain ones will be used for certain situations and others you might not be able to use every time.

These are 42 of the most valuable power words you can use. There are many more of them that you can come across and use. That’s why keeping a swipe file is very important. If you have a swipe file full of ads, sales letters, and web sites that have sales letters on them, you will start to see which words are used over and over again. You’ll start to see power words like these being used and you’ll know that these are words you need to pick up on.

In fact, maybe you can go through your swipe file and highlight the power words, the superlatives, and special words that emphasize certain words, and just keep a note of those so you can refer back to them and have words to include in your sales letters that can increase your response.

So, I’ll keep this short. I just wanted to make sure you had those power words so you can go back and refer to them every time you need them, like when you are writing sales letters. If you have a copywriter, they should certainly know these power words and include them in your copy. Make sure they are in there!

PLEASE ADD MORE WORDS THAT SELL TO THE COMMENTS TO THIS BLOG

Frank Tocco--Marketing Mentor
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You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008

Common Social Networking Mistakes

This just in from Rebecca Beasley at StartUpBiz...

Visit Me At StartUpBiz Now!

There are a few mistakes that people make when using social networking sites to try to get more exposure for their business. These mistakes can be minor and not amount to much, or they can be fatal and cause you to lose your business and never make contact with anyone.

Naked Profile.

If you try to use social networks by just signing up and sending bulletins and emails to people, you’re missing the point entirely. If you don’t have a profile that’s the first thing people notice. You’ve already ruined your credibility and made yourself look like a scammer. Anyone who doesn’t take the time to at least set up a simple bio page has nothing to present.

Even if you add friends, what are they going to see? No one wants to do business with someone they don’t know. To them you’re like a stranger lurking in the shadows with no real identity.

You also want to have a nice picture of yourself so they will see it when your activity comes up in the search engine of the site. If you don’t have a picture people see you as the default no pic blank photo and this makes you look like you’re not professional or trustworthy.

Your About Me Page is all about your business opportunity

This makes you look like you’re broke and you need someone to sign up for your opportunity because you need to pay your light bill. Your about page should be about you and who you really are. It’s not the place to promote or advertise. People want to know you, not what you do or how much money you make.

Too much hype

We already know that your business is the next best thing since buttered bread, but when you have too much hyped up claims about how your business is making you a millionaire in three days, we can see right through it. If you’re that rich why do you need to use social networks at all? You should be on a warm sunny beach somewhere enjoying your good fortune.

Sending ads in comments and friend emails.

Oh boy..that one is a big no no. When you use your friend’s comment box to post an ad or banner for your business, you’ve shot yourself in the foot. Do you honestly think they’ll sign up for your business just because you shove it down their throat?

Put a link or a banner on your profile just in case someone wants to know what you do, but the main thing you want to do is present YOURSELF as someone who is credible and has a handle on who you are as a person.

Social networking is all about making friends, being helpful, and being REAL.

People want to do business with people they can identify with and who they can get to know as a friend first and foremost.If they want to know what you’re doing to make money online they will ASK YOU. Then you have the opportunity and the PERMISSION to tell them and they won’t feel like they’re being sold to

Rebecca Beasley has been online for 16 + years and has written hundreds of articles to help newbies and oldies alike.© July 13th 2008 All rights reserved

Thanks Rebecca for this great article on Social Networking etiquette. Many people are missing the point of Social Networking and how it can build credibility for their business and you article makes some real points. Thanks for keeping it real.

Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring

Visit Me At StartUpBiz Now!

Help Your Partners Succeed At A Higher Level

This just in from Daegan Smith...

For those of you who don't know Daegan, "The King Of Never Calling A Single Lead" he is truely a leader in the Network Marketing industry.
Without further ado, here's Daegan.

Today I want to take a step back and just share a few things that I think can help you out along the way.

The home business industry isn't so much about the big numbers you or I could pull in,it's about what you or I can help the next person do, so let me share a few secrets that you can use today to help your partners succeed at a higher level.

1. Knowledge duplication: Make sure yourknowledge duplicates to it's fullest extent.What you know will go a lot farther if theguy 10 levels deep can have access to iteasily, so make sure everyone on your teamknows what you know.

How?
Start a blog and post all your home business result there for your team.

Create a team marketing guide with your best practices and be sure to pass it along to all your partners and have them pass it along to all their partners.

Hold live meetings and show and tell. Once a week bring the team together and show them what's working for you instead of just telling them. A picture is worth a thousand words, and this can be easily achieved these days with webinar software.

2. Make everything super simple: I used to think giving every last detail of everything I knew was important to duplication. It'snot. If you give to much you risk confusing your new team members, so I stick to just sharing the exact PROCESSES and NOT strategies (these are different) to make things easiest for your team to succeed.

Let me explain the difference.
Processes are what to do. Strategies are how and why. Your new team member doesn't need to fill his or her head with every contingency of what you know to succeed. Keep things simple for them and they will succeed faster.

I try, but sometimes fail, to keep all videos that I share as training less than 5 minutes to make things super simple. You should strive to do the same.

3. Invoke Passion: For your team members to know you care you've got to show them. Don't be afraid to put your heart on the line. Put yourself out there. Leave yourself vulnerable and you'll gain strength. In all your messages to your team share why what you're doing together with them is so important.

What it really means to you and, in that,they'll discover what it means to them.

Be yourself and give all you've got. Have a team mission. Share your story and remindy our team members of it often.

This business isn't totally mechanical. It's built around living human beings just like you, and we need a flame, we need a spark.

You've got to be that spark for them. Find the strength in them they didn't even know they had.
Do these things and you and your partners will thrive.

They'll carry your energy and sense of community down deep and you'll have an organization empassioned to grow. When that happens look out . . .

Don't just get the lead getting and recruiting right.
Get this stuff right and then and ONLY then will you be a true home business professional.

Thanks for this insightful post Daegan and look forward to more.

Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring

Getting PAID To Generate Leads That Respond To Your Offers

People in a network marketing business usually lose enthusiasm building their business because they either:

(1) Run out of leads
(2) Run out of money while trying to generate more leads.

A common problem with struggling marketers is paying for leads that are not responsive to the offer the marketer is promoting. Frustrated, the marketer gives up.

So, how do you generate responsive leads without going broke? Why, you get them to pay you of course. This is called a funded proposal system. In other words you get PAID to generate leads regardless if they join your network marketing company or not.

It’s very simple. What network marketers want is more leads, and more cash. A funded proposal system teaches network marketing prospects how to generate more leads and more cash - exactly what all network marketers want to learn all about.

People who use a funded proposal system are able to build a relationship with other network marketers - people already SOLD on the idea of network marketing and looking for a leader to follow.

Effective funded proposals position the marketer as a leader who provides solutions to a problem, in front of people who already have a need, a desire, and are actively looking for a solution to their problem. This targets a generic network marketing crowd.

This is a business about marketing pursued by people who have never marketed anything before. They need help by someone that knows what they are doing and will hold them by the hand to show them how it is done. The alternative would be for the networker to learn by trail and error, a very costly and frustrating course to take.

With this in mind, a highly effective funded proposal would do well to attract network marketers if it teaches how to market products and generate leads.

Someone who has invested the time, money and effort to learn how to generate quality targeted leads has information that is of great value to someone just starting out in MLM and needs new leads to grow their business. Leads cost money unless the method used to generate leads also generates money. This is where the FUNDED part of a funded proposal comes in.

Your funded proposal needs to have three parts.

(1) A low-cost high volume retail product for under $50 that pays for your advertising and generates a constant source of MLM leads for you.

(2) A medium to high cost backend product that pays your bills and makes you money.

(3) A network marketing opportunity that creates long term, exponential, residual income and grows your downline organization.

You see, the average person can not afford to pay for the costs of marketing their business while they learn to build it, eventually spending themselves out of business with advertising costs before their business has a chance to grow into a profit. A funded proposal generates the needed cash flow to keep the expenses of advertising going until the business pays for itself.

Most people just advertise their network marketing business or website and hope someone joins, while a true leader solves peoples problems. People will always pay for solutions and convenience. So a good funded proposal makes network marketers lives easier or offers a solution to their most pressing challenges.

If they are willing to invest in your program (even if they do not join your network marketing company ), the system pays you a commission based on the sale. So not only are you getting great targeted leads of people interested in what you have to offer but, you get a generous income as well.

Tracy Hamilton, who I was having a discussion with on Home Based Business Forums is right when she says:

I think that one of the benefits that you should look for in programs that offer the "funded proposal" strategy is... You want to find one that let's you brand Yourself.

Branding yourself as the expert in network marketing, or anything for that matter , is effective but only if you are an expert. Faking it will eventually be seen through and only hurt your reputation. Branding yourself is the way to go but pretending to be someone you're not is business suicide.

People would much rather be associated with honest people working together to build a business than dishonest posers.We all have to start somewhere and following a leader makes good business sense. Just make sure that you give credit where credit is due if you're passing along information that you got from someone else.

For example, if you are copying something from a funded proposal that one of the leaders in that system shares with you and you copy it verbatum and just erase and add your name to it, that is not branding yourself. That is plagarism. It would be much better to give credit to the person.Branding yourself takes time and persistence. So dont stop and be patient.

Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring
You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008

What's The Fastest And Easiest Way To Attract Your Ideal Prospects?

This just in from Malika Duke from BetterNetworker.com...



My first thought when I read this questions was: Fastest And Easiest Way To "Get" a Prospect is to club them over the head, drag them into you network marketing business opportunity meeting and steal their credit card...

But that's also the fastest way to jail too... so, assuming you are being ethical in your prospecting and recruiting lets go over the Fastest And Easiest Way to Attract Your Ideal Prospects instead step by step.

Step 1:

Brainstorm all the immediate benefits to your will get from your product or services. In or words know your product. Does it help your ideal prospect live longer, jump farther, cure athletes foot, get longer lashes?

What problem would your prospect be immediately looking to solve when they buy your product? It would be great to start with the solution the product or services provided for you or who you bought it for like a child or parent.

This is an important step because this is how you and everyone else goes shopping on the Internet. As a matter of fact that how we buy every thing. And I'll give you an example...

I have a client who is a health juice representative. The problem the health juice immediately solved for her was Chronic Constipation. She has lived with that problem for over 10 years and had thought she'd tried everything!

Step 2:
Research your suspicions. Use keyword search tools to determine the demand and supply of the "problems" and "solutions" you brainstormed in step 1.

I 'll go back to the example above of chronic constipation... That was a real *juicy* key word. Research revealed that the demand was high and healthy enough to invest time exploring variations and the supply was low. More importantly the other website that were providing information for that keyword left a lot to be desired.

That's good news for if the same is true for the problems your product and service solve.

Step 3:

Choose the media you'd like to deliver your content about your solutions. Having your own website and or blog has many advantages if you're looking to attract prospects online. There are several free and cheap ways you can do this but that's out side the scope of this article.

Once you have a website or blog up pick your media. Do feel comfortable speaking and recording your voice? Are you a natural in front of a camera? Do you prefer to write?

It really doesn't matter which you choose because you can always convert one for into another very easily and re-purpose your content so serve your audience who will learn in different ways. Some prospects will watch your videos, other will down load a speacial report, some will listen to an interview etc.

This particular client was in a financial position to higher a freelancer to turn her audio recording into text files and she delivers pages of articles and a special report about the issues concerning chronic constipation sufferers and the ultimate solution to their problems: her product...duh!

Step 4:
Go where your potential prospects are asking questions and seeking solutions for the problems you can solve with your product/service.

So, I advised my client to look in medical forums and health forums and participate in the conversation/wellness social networks and community forums. Look to see what kinds of questions potential prospects are asking and the quality of the responses they are receiving.

Another great place to check out is ehow.com and answers.yahoo.com.

Start answering questions and posting the valuable content you created that demonstrates to your potential prospect that you know what your talking about because of you are familiar with they problems and the *pain* of looking disparately for solid solutions.

Also don't be afraid to ask questions and start a conversation, discussion or even a group that is focused on helping this particular group of potential prospect.

Ah, yeah... I think that's it...
As long as you follow the above steps your potential prospects will start to take notice of you as a trusted adviser. Once you have that role established in their mind they will follow your links to your recommended product/service.

Regardless of how complicated setting this all up may seem to some people this is the basic formula for the fastest and easiest way to "get" prospects. It's also the way you will notice all the TOP Internet marketing leaders build their businesses now a days.

The point is to become one with your prospect. Discover how they think how they buy what promotes them to buy and present it in a way that they can get to know, like and trust you enough to take your deal.

Now, in the beginning, depending on your time and marketing budget you will choose to do some of these steps yourself or out source it to others who will do it for you.

Please notice I didn't mention to promote the specific name brand of your product or the company that you represent specifically. People rarely use that type of information to make a buying decision. If they wanted a name brand they probaly wouldn't have for you. It's all about your relationships.

Now how long will all this take? It depends on what point you are starting out, your tempement and how quickly you master each step.

If youd like to discuss a specific solution to your issue of getting prospects fast and easy, post your coments and questions here or email your favorite betternetworker in private e-mail.

*****Please Rate this article*****

Malika Duke
"The Business Savvy WAHM!"
Thanks for the insightful post Malka and for those of you who have not been to BeterNetworker.Com do yourself a favor and visit there now.
Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring

How To Keep Your New Year's Resolutions

Have you ever made New Year's resolutions and they did not make it past January? (Don't Lie!)

Ever tell someone that you were going to make this the year that you changed your life, and then come January 20th, you have fallen back into the same life pattern that you have been struggling with and it steal your Success?

Ever made a Success resolution to work out every week? You “decided” that you were going to get up and work out, and finally get that body you have always wanted? You were telling everyone that this was the year, and this was the time that they were going to see a new you and you were going to create Success doing it!

Uh huh. I have been there. And I ended up looking quite foolish, until I decided just to start it, and not worry about talking about it. Then you will start to see some changes in your physique!

How about to lose weight?

Ever talk to folks and tell them that you were going to lose the weight you want this year, and you were going to become a lean, mean, weight losing machine? And then after 30 days, you were back eating twinkies?

Yep. Got that one.

Here's one -- to quit smoking! I know so many folks that have promised themselves that they were going to quit smoking! This is the year! I will be smoke free!
Good idea!

Most of the New year's resolutions are made with the best intentions, but most fail miserably. They really never get out of the starting blocks to obtain Success. All the words were nice, but there was no real sustained effort in the change process for Success.

Why?

Simple.

Lack of proper focus in the word itself.

Actually, the word resolution has a very different meaning if you look at the word itself.
To me, it carries a little different meaning, if you use a little different perspective and view of the word. Many times, changing how you view something is the “shift” that you need to create Success with something.

I like the word “Re-Solution.”

In other words, if you make a resolution to change something, you are actually "re-solutioning" it with a different solution. Most people don’t do that. They are trying to use the same old solution to a problem that did not work before.

"Re" means to repeat. So you are repeating the attempt, to create a new success solution, to solve an old problem .

Simple.

But doesn't work. If it did, you would not have to be attempting the same new year’s resolution as last year, and the year before.

Here's an idea:

Don’t make a resolution, but a REAL Solution!

And if you make a REAL Solution, that will cause a DISSOLUTION to your problem.
(Dissolves that challenge!)

Ok. How? Simple.

1) What is it you want to change? Write it down.

2) How bad to you want to change it? (Deciding factor!)

3) How will that improve your life? (List them..)

4) What is the very first thing you need to do to start the change process? Do it.

5) What's the second? Do it.

6) What' s the third? Do it.

7) What's after that? Continue to do it till done..

Now, you are making a REAL solution to your life, not some wimpy, whiny, weak, wasted, willowy, wishy- washy, won't work, waste of time, woe is me, featherweight promise you know you won't keep!

If you look at the word "resolution" for what it really is, and change your mindset to a "REAL solution"..

You can change your whole life in a day, as well as the Achievement and Success in your life.

Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring

Do You Know Something About Anything?

Do You Know Something About Anything?
A Hobby? A Passion? Any Interests? Experience?

Turn Your Knowledge Into Revenue
Anyone with motivation can do it. So why do most fail? Because they fail to recognize and act upon the profound difference between offline and online commerce.

Do What Successful "Infopreneurs" Do?

Become an information entrepreneur.

" An "infopreneur." Basically... monetize what you know.

It's so simple. Not "easy" (real business takes some work)... it's simple. No technical barriers to stop you. Provide in-demand information ("Content") about something you know. From that point on, everything flows...

To learn the simple formula of how to monetize your site click here now...

Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring

Why We Need Word Of Mouth Marketing?

We know you've been told all your life that you don't get something for nothing. While that's normally true, this Tell-a-Friend widget is completely free with no strings attached.

Word of mouth is the best way and in fact the most popular way that we learn about things of interest to us and this little widget makes it so easy.

Tell-a-Friend widget works just about any place online:

Product Pages - replaces the traditional "Email a friend" link to spread the word on products/brands/sites.

Search Results - pairing the Tell-a-Friend widget button with each listed item will entice users to pass on information like cheap airfare deals, great discount offers, etc...

News Items - news items usually have tools to share, print and bookmark. Adding the Tell-a-Friend widget adds a more comprehensive set of options to enable interactions while keepng visitors ON your website.

Blog Posts - word-of-mouth is the best way to direct traffic to your blogs and Tell-a-Friend is the best way to encourage word-of-mouth referrals.

Get the word out - make time sensitive announcements contests, events and offers to spread the word instantly.

The reason why word of mouth marketing works so well is that we already trust our friends more than someone advertising and it is very natural to recommend things to our friends, we do it all the time. And something a friend recommends is more likely to get looked at then just another ad.

Everyone you know and are in contact with has friends that you don't know and so do their friends.If you're really looking to get the word out about what you're doing or offering, make it easy for people to tell their friends and add this free tool to your site.

Sincerely,

Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring

Please add your comments to this article with a link back to your site.

You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008

How To Use Social Networking To Grow A Thriving Business

Social Networking - perhaps you've heard of it before, but are not quite sure what it means.

Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like small rural communities or a neighborhood subdivision, if you will.

Although social networking is possible in person, especially in schools or in the workplace, it is most popular online. This is because unlike most high schools, colleges, or workplaces, the internet is filled with millions of individuals who are looking to meet other internet users to develop friendships and business relationships, too.

When it comes to online social networking, websites are commonly used. These websites are known as social sites. Social networking websites function like an online community of internet users. Depending on the website in question, many of these online community members share a common interest such as hobbies, religion, or politics.

Once you are granted access to a social networking website you can begin to socialize. This socialization may include reading the profile pages of other members and possibly even contacting them.

So how do you use social sites to promote and grow a business online? Well that's a great question and one worth investigating.

You see, the old way of networking and meeting people at a function was effective but the difference with social networking is it's permanent.

For example, imagine that you're at a social event and you're mixing with the crowd there and talking about your business. Some will be interested and some will not. Eventually, everyone would go home and maybe you got a few leads from the meeting.

Now fast forward and imagine you're at a social event where all the people are really interested in what you're talking about and everything you say about it is permanently recorded forever. In fact, years later someone comes into the converstion and the words you shared are still there.

Can you see how this would have an impact on your business? If used properly you would be talking to thousands of people forever about something they are deeply interested in. This is something worth looking into for any serious marketer regardless of what you're marketing.

Once you've convinced yourself that you are sufficiently informed, you can begin to search for networking communities to join. This can easily be done by performing a standard internet search. Your search will likely return a number of results, including MySpace, FriendWise, FriendFinder, Yahoo! 360, Facebook, Orkut, and Classmates.

Or, click here to get the biggest Social Networking Directory that i have ever seen online.

If you're using Social Networking and getting results, please share what you know on this blog by posting a comment at the end of this article and if you have questions ask away.

This blog IS a social site and your input has real and lasting value. Please inform the rest of us of your experience in social networking and we will all grow stronger together.

Sincerely,Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring


You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008