In recent days, I have been approached by various people in Dallas who have second businesses in the MLM, direct sales, and network marketing industries.  They have asked for all forms of help with their start using online internet marketing.   If you are in a similar position with a MLM/direct sales/network marketing business then here are some tips to help you get started.

First, be sure that you are allowed to market online in any manner.  Some of these businesses, like deregulated electricity, may have tight restrictions on letting their distributors use the internet to grow one’s business.  Make sure that you are all clear on what you can and cannot do.
Second, understand that most likely you will have to build some other web property(ies) in addition to the site which the corporate office assigns you.  This does not mean that you have to go out right away and buy a domain and web hosting, although you may wish to do so at some point.  Instead, you may control pages on Web 2.0 sites, pages and channels on video-sharing sites, social bookmarking accounts, and you may be syndicating articles on various topics.  No matter what path you choose, just realize that you probably will be controlling accounts and pages on websites other than what corporate gives you.

Third, and probably most important (!), make sure that you are VERY clear on the type of person you want to attract to your content using the internet.  In addition, you must be very clear on what it is that you want that person to do AFTER they become aware of you and your corporation.  The people with whom I have spoken never really had a defined person and a defined message in mind when it came to the topic of internet marketing.  Here is a better example:

• I asked one of these people who approached me about what he wanted in his network marketing business.  He said that he wanted to dominate the Dallas market for his business.  When I asked him why he wanted to use online and internet marketing to attract just a Dallas audience he told me that he wanted to meet everyone face to face in order to convince them to take action and join his down line
• I asked him if a video explaining his story would be just as good in order to use internet marketing to expand his awareness outside of the Dallas area.  He said that he simply wanted to meet people in the area face to face
• We decided then to use an internet marketing strategy which involved online event directories/calendars, press releases announcing his events which were being held in public places, social media (including MySpace, which everyone seems to forget!), local forums, and Dallas-specific SEO
• We also decided to help him “lead” with the business opportunity rather than the product.  This meant that he would target keywords (for SEO purposes) which dealt with Dallas-specific terms people are entering.  Such terms could be “Dallas residual income”, “Dallas work from home”, or “Dallas business seminars”
• An online marketing keyword and competition analysis would then be done on those Dallas-specific keywords which had the underlying psychology of someone who may be inclined to take action right away or, at least, attend a free business seminar

Hopefully you begin to understand that by narrowing down the list, and being specific on what you want to accomplish, you THEN can begin to use more-interactive social media (e.g. Facebook and Twitter), sound SEO techniques, and intelligent website targeting to reach your audience.

Should you need any internet marketing help for your MLM/direct sales/network marketing business then feel free to contact me through the Contact link at the top of the page.  If you found this article helpful, or believe that it can help someone you know, then you are welcome to share it on your social networks, social bookmark accounts, or e-mail lists.  Thanks!