I believe anyone wanting to succeed at network marketing should develop a website. It's not the only way to grow a business, but it provides a ton of leverage if you're willing to put together useful information for people, attracting traffic and people who want to join your team. I prefer people contacting me (rather than chasing people down) because I've already helped them and they're already partially sold on whatever I've shared. It makes network marketing a pleasure when you're answering interested questions.
Importantly, network marketers need a way to MAKE money rather than spending it on all sorts of marketing, and the great thing about websites is that you can run one for free. Wordpress and Blogger are the two most used systems, but by far my favorite is Weebly. Wordpress is more complicated, and you have to upgrade to the paid version to use the many plugins available to it. Blogger is limited on the number of pages you can add.
Weebly is so important because it is SO easy to use. True (with any system), the more you use it (and study websites in general to see how they're laid out), the better you can get at using Weebly to create a really nice website. But it is "drag and drop" simple -- just drag widgets where you want them on a page. Need some text here? Great. Drag it there. Need a YouTube video? A map? A contact form? Columns? Dividers? A button? A document for someone to download? No problem. Just drag them into place.
And yes, you can drag an HTML widget onto the page -- that means you can use TONS of third party functionality. Other sites will give you codes to paste in without knowing how to code. This is easy when you see it in action.
Take a look at the image below to see what it looks like to work in Weebly -- that's me working on this page. Notice I've dragged an image widget into place. After clicking on it, I simply picked the image from my hard drive that I wanted to appear in that position.
Importantly, network marketers need a way to MAKE money rather than spending it on all sorts of marketing, and the great thing about websites is that you can run one for free. Wordpress and Blogger are the two most used systems, but by far my favorite is Weebly. Wordpress is more complicated, and you have to upgrade to the paid version to use the many plugins available to it. Blogger is limited on the number of pages you can add.
Weebly is so important because it is SO easy to use. True (with any system), the more you use it (and study websites in general to see how they're laid out), the better you can get at using Weebly to create a really nice website. But it is "drag and drop" simple -- just drag widgets where you want them on a page. Need some text here? Great. Drag it there. Need a YouTube video? A map? A contact form? Columns? Dividers? A button? A document for someone to download? No problem. Just drag them into place.
And yes, you can drag an HTML widget onto the page -- that means you can use TONS of third party functionality. Other sites will give you codes to paste in without knowing how to code. This is easy when you see it in action.
Take a look at the image below to see what it looks like to work in Weebly -- that's me working on this page. Notice I've dragged an image widget into place. After clicking on it, I simply picked the image from my hard drive that I wanted to appear in that position.
Getting Traffic
Of course a free website builder doesn't do you much good if you never get traffic and you never get people calling or writing to you about your network marketing opportunity. How do you get that traffic?
The answer boils down to two main things: 1) developing content (written, audio, or video); and 2) getting that content found.
Before I discuss development of content, let me add one thing: if it's not EASY and FUN for you to add content to your site, we both know you're less likely to do it. This is why I love to recommend Weebly. For me, it is honestly FUN to use, and I've found that other people agree. A fun system that gets you adding content on a regular basis will help you to get found. But more on that below.
WHAT KIND OF CONTENT SHOULD YOU DEVELOP?
Ask yourself this: if you were looking into any network marketing opportunity, what would YOU want to know to make a decision about it?
I usually want to find someone talking honestly about a program -- the good and the bad, the potential, the challenges, how it competes with the competition, how its pricing stands up to retail competition, and so on. I look for real information instead of hype. If I can find someone online giving me the goods about an opportunity, I'm more interested to join them than blindly joining someone else.
So of course when I develop websites on network marketing opportunities, this is also the kind of information I write, and it tends to attract people who are LIKE me, rather than those excited by hype; so I tend to get along well with the people who contact me, and they know from the start that they can trust me to be a straight shooter.
Of course you can make videos or audios as well -- whatever is easy for you. But at least for now, WRITTEN content on your site is important because it's the easiest thing for the search engines to index. If this is a little scary to you, just record yourself talking about your opportunity and then type out what you've said later (and take out all the "ums" and "uhs"). It doesn't have to be professional -- just make sure it comes from your heart and it will attract people you tend to get along with.
I'll talk more in other articles about audio and videos.
Besides just content about the program, if someone has committed to provide special tools, or can offer up an exceptional position in a business, or otherwise offers me some benefit to more effectively turn something into a success ... well of course I'm more interested to team up with them.
This is why I always let my team members know that I'm a professional writer and marketer. (Have done this since 2001 on a freelance basis for real busiensses.) So I write autoresponders and other materials for team members to use, and teach them about marketing tools and techniques, giving them WAY more value than the business opportunity would have on someone else's team.
If you bring something special to the table, let people know. In the end, though, maybe it's just your personal interests that connect you with someone. Remember, the one thing no one else can offer is YOU -- so if you don't have tools or other obvious benefits, let people know who YOU are. Let them feel a trust for you, as trust is the cornerstone of any sale or partnership.
GETTING YOUR CONTENT FOUND
There are many, many ways to drive traffic to your website, and I'll talk about most of them in other articles. But there are some things you can do on your site that help out.
1) Use Metatags. These include a Title Tag; a Description Tag; and Keywords. In my opinion, the keywords don't have a lot of value. Use them by adding the most related keywords for your site or, better yet, for the individual page, but don't expect them to do much. But the other two elements are important.
For the title tag of each page, use the keyword for that page at least once, along with related keywords, as long as they fit in naturally. For instance, a page about building websites with Weebly might use the following for a title tag:
Weebly -- Free, Easy-to-Use Website Builder
This includes the word "Weebly" as well as the words "Free" and "Website Builder" all of which are pretty essential. But there's another important point to a Title Tag: people will see it in many search engine results. It is like the HEADLINE, and is your chance to entice people to click on your search result when they see it. So choose your words carefully. Give them a reason to click.
The description tag is also important. I usually use the primary keyword one or two times in this, but again include related keywords. But this is longer than the title. Think of it like a descriptive subtitle. It will often (but not always) show up in search engine results below the title, so again it's important to think about HUMANS as much as search engines. For a page on Weebly, you might say something like:
How to use Weebly for free to easily build a professional website that gets found by search engines. Start with Weebly today!
Use a word processor to count your total characters including spaces and don't go over 150 -- this way the whole thing can show up in search engine results. You may even want to include your phone number at the end!
To set up metatags in Weebly, go to Settings and then SEO. Here you can set the default metatags for your entire website. If you forget to put tags onto individual pages, these will be used. I recommend, though, that you write metatags for each individual page so you can focus on they keywords for that page. In Weebly, go to "Pages," then click on the page you want to add tags to, then clicked on "Advanced Settings." You'll see the Page Title, Description, and Keywords areas you can type directly into. And that's it!
2) Use "Alt" text for images. This just means naming each of the images you place on your site. If you place an image of Weebly on your Weebly page, you'll want to call that image "Weebly" or something specific like "Weebly Website Editor" or whatever fits. In Weebly, you change the text by clicking on the image, clicking "Advanced," and then just typing what you want for the Alt text.
3) Produce original and meaningful content. Long content seems to do well in search engine results; so do sites with frequent additions to them, which is why a blog is useful (for your latest news, thoughts, etc.) Don't use content others have written, even if you've modified it a little bit. Put your own, honest, original content, and make sure it is USEFUL for people visiting your site. Part of what determines search engine rankings is how long people stay on a page, because this is one of many indications for the search engines that you've given someone a reason to be on your site.
4) Be first, and be around a long time. Hate to say it, but sites that have been around a long time -- especially if they've been producing valuable content for a long time -- tend to have more power in search engines. Don't let that discourage you. Think of this as the beginning of a long-term adventure in business. Start building content on a regular basis and think about the power you'll have in a couple years, if not right away. Real businesses take time to become extremely profitable. Don't think short-term! Having said that, it doesn't hurt to be first online with content about a new program. So if you happen to be involved early in an opportunity, get that content online quickly -- striking while the iron is hot!
The answer boils down to two main things: 1) developing content (written, audio, or video); and 2) getting that content found.
Before I discuss development of content, let me add one thing: if it's not EASY and FUN for you to add content to your site, we both know you're less likely to do it. This is why I love to recommend Weebly. For me, it is honestly FUN to use, and I've found that other people agree. A fun system that gets you adding content on a regular basis will help you to get found. But more on that below.
WHAT KIND OF CONTENT SHOULD YOU DEVELOP?
Ask yourself this: if you were looking into any network marketing opportunity, what would YOU want to know to make a decision about it?
I usually want to find someone talking honestly about a program -- the good and the bad, the potential, the challenges, how it competes with the competition, how its pricing stands up to retail competition, and so on. I look for real information instead of hype. If I can find someone online giving me the goods about an opportunity, I'm more interested to join them than blindly joining someone else.
So of course when I develop websites on network marketing opportunities, this is also the kind of information I write, and it tends to attract people who are LIKE me, rather than those excited by hype; so I tend to get along well with the people who contact me, and they know from the start that they can trust me to be a straight shooter.
Of course you can make videos or audios as well -- whatever is easy for you. But at least for now, WRITTEN content on your site is important because it's the easiest thing for the search engines to index. If this is a little scary to you, just record yourself talking about your opportunity and then type out what you've said later (and take out all the "ums" and "uhs"). It doesn't have to be professional -- just make sure it comes from your heart and it will attract people you tend to get along with.
I'll talk more in other articles about audio and videos.
Besides just content about the program, if someone has committed to provide special tools, or can offer up an exceptional position in a business, or otherwise offers me some benefit to more effectively turn something into a success ... well of course I'm more interested to team up with them.
This is why I always let my team members know that I'm a professional writer and marketer. (Have done this since 2001 on a freelance basis for real busiensses.) So I write autoresponders and other materials for team members to use, and teach them about marketing tools and techniques, giving them WAY more value than the business opportunity would have on someone else's team.
If you bring something special to the table, let people know. In the end, though, maybe it's just your personal interests that connect you with someone. Remember, the one thing no one else can offer is YOU -- so if you don't have tools or other obvious benefits, let people know who YOU are. Let them feel a trust for you, as trust is the cornerstone of any sale or partnership.
GETTING YOUR CONTENT FOUND
There are many, many ways to drive traffic to your website, and I'll talk about most of them in other articles. But there are some things you can do on your site that help out.
1) Use Metatags. These include a Title Tag; a Description Tag; and Keywords. In my opinion, the keywords don't have a lot of value. Use them by adding the most related keywords for your site or, better yet, for the individual page, but don't expect them to do much. But the other two elements are important.
For the title tag of each page, use the keyword for that page at least once, along with related keywords, as long as they fit in naturally. For instance, a page about building websites with Weebly might use the following for a title tag:
Weebly -- Free, Easy-to-Use Website Builder
This includes the word "Weebly" as well as the words "Free" and "Website Builder" all of which are pretty essential. But there's another important point to a Title Tag: people will see it in many search engine results. It is like the HEADLINE, and is your chance to entice people to click on your search result when they see it. So choose your words carefully. Give them a reason to click.
The description tag is also important. I usually use the primary keyword one or two times in this, but again include related keywords. But this is longer than the title. Think of it like a descriptive subtitle. It will often (but not always) show up in search engine results below the title, so again it's important to think about HUMANS as much as search engines. For a page on Weebly, you might say something like:
How to use Weebly for free to easily build a professional website that gets found by search engines. Start with Weebly today!
Use a word processor to count your total characters including spaces and don't go over 150 -- this way the whole thing can show up in search engine results. You may even want to include your phone number at the end!
To set up metatags in Weebly, go to Settings and then SEO. Here you can set the default metatags for your entire website. If you forget to put tags onto individual pages, these will be used. I recommend, though, that you write metatags for each individual page so you can focus on they keywords for that page. In Weebly, go to "Pages," then click on the page you want to add tags to, then clicked on "Advanced Settings." You'll see the Page Title, Description, and Keywords areas you can type directly into. And that's it!
2) Use "Alt" text for images. This just means naming each of the images you place on your site. If you place an image of Weebly on your Weebly page, you'll want to call that image "Weebly" or something specific like "Weebly Website Editor" or whatever fits. In Weebly, you change the text by clicking on the image, clicking "Advanced," and then just typing what you want for the Alt text.
3) Produce original and meaningful content. Long content seems to do well in search engine results; so do sites with frequent additions to them, which is why a blog is useful (for your latest news, thoughts, etc.) Don't use content others have written, even if you've modified it a little bit. Put your own, honest, original content, and make sure it is USEFUL for people visiting your site. Part of what determines search engine rankings is how long people stay on a page, because this is one of many indications for the search engines that you've given someone a reason to be on your site.
4) Be first, and be around a long time. Hate to say it, but sites that have been around a long time -- especially if they've been producing valuable content for a long time -- tend to have more power in search engines. Don't let that discourage you. Think of this as the beginning of a long-term adventure in business. Start building content on a regular basis and think about the power you'll have in a couple years, if not right away. Real businesses take time to become extremely profitable. Don't think short-term! Having said that, it doesn't hurt to be first online with content about a new program. So if you happen to be involved early in an opportunity, get that content online quickly -- striking while the iron is hot!