How to build a long-term successful network marketing business

What network marketing companies aren’t telling you is that for long-term business success, you’ll have to brand yourself, not the product. Having quality products is important, but it’s not what makes the difference between those who have a glorified hobby and those who make a real full-time income from home business.

Perhaps you have been in network marketing for a while. You’ve made the phone calls before. You’ve prospected strangers at the grocery store. You’ve had awkward conversations with people you know, trying to convince them to join your home business. That kind of prospecting is a starting point, but it wears you down. Long-term success in network marketing requires exactly that: marketing.

People are not buying your product and they are not buying the company. They are buying you. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can start concentrating on marketing YOU, Inc.

As CEO of YOU, Inc., it is your responsibility to get your name out there and be known in the marketplace for delivering value to people. If people begin to associate value with your name, it won’t matter what you offer them. The product doesn’t matter, the company doesn’t matter, it’s the fact that you’re doing it and people want a piece of whatever you’re doing. That only happens if you provide value and brand yourself with the right marketing.

So how do you brand yourself? Having a consistent presence on social media is a great low-cost method. Daily Facebook posts that provide inspiring, life-changing thoughts and information will build a following. You can do the same on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, or any other platform. Invest in the social networks that you like the most and already have the strongest following.

Guest blogging is another great form of marketing to promote yourself. Email someone whose blog you read and ask if you can guest post. When I decided I wanted to share financial education with police officers, I sent an email to the editors of the five most widely circulated police magazines in the United States. Two of them accepted my offer and I started writing columns. I have a constant stream of leads filtered through just by writing those columns every month.

Once you have people who show interest in what you’re doing, whether they’re texting you, emailing you, or messaging you on Facebook, put them on a list. That list should receive regular correspondence from you, preferably in the form of emails. Learn the art of copywriting to make your marketing emails effective. Learn to write good titles. Your emails should have an 80/20 or 90/10 ratio, with 80-90% of the emails you send containing strong educational content and 10-20% offering a product or service with a value argument. Of course, in your emails, it’s okay to have a link to a capture page, as long as the link doesn’t steal value or appear commercial.

Bottom line: In the beginning, you will be proactive most of the time. You will be looking for people to do business with. However, the faster you start promoting yourself and promoting yourself, the sooner people will search for you. They will show up on your doorstep with their hands raised, wanting to buy your product or join your home business. Get started today and move things in that direction so you can experience the steady, accelerated growth of a successful network marketing business.