Posts Tagged “Ezine”

I just submitted my fifth article to ezinearticles.com. It normally takes about 10 days for ezinearticles.com to review the article, but my loyal readers can check it now. Let me know what you think.

I am a Network Marketing NOOB. A noob is slang for a newbie or newcomer. I am not a Network Marketing guru. I will expound on the trials and tribulations I am going through as a Network Marketing NOOB. The intent of this article is to educate others before they make what could turn out to be a large financial mistake.

My first experience with Network Marketing was when I was around 18 years old. I don’t remember the product name, but it was supposed to be some type of cure all pill. I had sent away for some free information and received a nicely bound book. The book did all the selling by providing great information for free and then introducing me to an income opportunity that could speed me on my way to financial freedom. All I had to do was give away the book. I spent hundreds of dollars for copies of the book, enrolled in the opportunity, purchased a mailing list, and started sending out the book. To my surprise, I got nothing in return.

Being somewhat of a techie, I decided to do some research online. I wanted to learn how to become successful as a Network Marketer. I found tons of free information, but the free information didn’t always tell the whole story. I had to pay a fee for the whole story. By paying the fee I got the whole story, and I also got access to an income opportunity. All I had to do was give away free information in the form of an eBook.

WHOA! I went through this same process when I was 18. The only difference is the technique had been revamped for the Internet.

What did I really learn from doing research online?

I learned that the Internet is full of income opportunities, some are scams, and some are not. Most opportunities target people like me, the Network Marketing Noob, hungry for information and willing to pay for that information. Most Internet opportunities follow this method:

1. A “capture page” that establishes the seller as an expert.
2. The page is designed to entice and reinforce the seller’s expertise, and offer some type of free information.
3. In order to receive the free information, the user needs to provide their contact information.
4. Traffic is directed to the capture page via marketing and advertising.

What is the reasoning behind this method? The seller is building trust by providing the relevant free information. The seller is building a list so that he/she can up-sell or cross-sell other products. This is no different from a business or corporation asking you for your email address with the sole intention of emailing you specials or deals.

I learned a lot about myself while doing my research online. I learned that I am not good at marketing and advertising. I purchased all kinds of training materials telling me how to market and advertise. I tried pay per click, writing articles, youTube, MySpace, Facebook, writing a blog, craigslist, and classified ads, but I’m still not getting enough online traffic to my capture pages. The concepts look good on paper, but when you’re competing with others who purchased the same tools, implementation is difficult and results are less than stellar. On top of that, I’m not a good salesperson. I can’t market face to face, and I also do not enjoy talking on the phone.

Fortunately, there are ways to market, advertise, and sell without being an expert. All you really need is a good upline. My upline is great! I am currently piggybacking off of the marketing and advertising efforts of my upline. My upline also does my follow-up phone calls. The services my upline provides are not free, but the services are well worth the money while I establish myself as an expert.

Take some advice from a Network Marketing Noob. Research and ask questions before you open your wallet or purse. I don’t care how much John Doe made last year because he could be the exception; I want to know how the regular everyday person performs. Most importantly, find an upline who is willing to take you under their wing and help you succeed, but don’t take advantage of your upline. You should be learning from your upline so you can take others under your wing and establish yourself as an expert.

On August 25 I received an email from EzineArticles.com. My first article did not meet the requirements for publication, and I had to adjust my article. I had included too many links in my signature line, so the simple fix was to remove the excess links and re-submit. I thought I would have to wait several days again, but on August 26, I received another email from EzineArticles stating my article had been published. But, the confirmation was for another article I submitted.

The email was still good news for me, and a few hours later, two more articles were published which included my first article with the adjusted links. As of today, I have 4 articles published with 1 article pending approval. I am now considered an “Expert Author” on EzineArticles.com and I feel pretty good.

Webster’s dictionary defines a scam as, a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation. Are “Magnetic Sponsoring” and “The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing” scams? By Webster’s dictionary definition, Yes, these two systems are a scam as they contain deceptive acts. But wait a minute though; tobacco companies put nicotine in cigarettes knowing that nicotine is an addictive drug. What about car salesmen? Haven’t you ever spent some time with a car salesman “Negotiating” a price on a car? The car salesman already knew exactly how low he could go. By Webster’s dictionary, these are all scams as they are deceptive acts! I am here to identify three deceptive acts of Magnetic Sponsoring and The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing.

I purchased both of these systems, and yes I will stand behind the practices of both systems, but I want to make it clear, that these systems are not FREE and will cost you some money. This is deception number 1. Both systems draw the buyer in by offering a FREE product. The product is information that only addresses the tip of the Network Marketing / MLM iceberg. To get the full details you have to pay. I spent $80 on Magnetic Sponsoring and one of Magnetic Sponsoring’s other products, “Building on a Budget” ($39.95 each). I also spent $67 dollars on “The Renegade Network Marketer” which included “The Renegade System”, which is the “meat and potatoes” of The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing. All of these items are the basic tools to promote these systems.

Deception number 2 is the urgency created in the advertisements of these systems. This is standard practice for almost all advertising; therefore, I’m not really going to touch on this subject. We’ve all seen this type of advertisement in other businesses. These are the attention grabbing headlines that get people to take action!

LIMITED TIME OFFER!

ACT NOW!

ONCE IT’S GONE, IT’S GONE FOR GOOD!

The last deception is the biggest and most complicated. Each system made marketing sound like child’s play. They made it sound like just by mentioning these products, people would be beating down your door. Guess what, if you read the fine print, “Marketing” is not guaranteed. Marketing cannot be guaranteed! How successful you are in promoting the materials in these systems all depend on your marketing skills. The information contained in these systems is excellent! I work for a small corporation in Hawaii in the Internet Marketing department. The concepts you can learn about using the Internet to market a product are the same concepts being implemented at my place of work (We recently got listed on NASDAQ). The deception is that these concepts are not easily implemented. The concepts take a lot of work and a lot of creativity. You can get results with hard work, but you can get outstanding results with creativity.

Why creativity? If we all learn the same techniques and we all use the same marketing to promote the same product to get the sale, and we all advertise in the same place, who do you think is going to get the actual sale? Any one of us could get the sale? But what if you think outside of the box, and get “creative” with your marketing? What if you took the techniques you learned and take it to another level? How easy is it going to be for you to get the sale?

Marketing these systems is going to be the toughest to master, but both systems will give you a good foundation to build upon. But, you need to take it to the next level to truly succeed. Now that I’ve brought to light the deceptive acts of these systems, are they SCAMS? NO. The truth is, you are buying a turnkey system that you must market. And your success depends on how well you market the product.

A battery leak in a flashlight is not too bad. You simply clean the contacts and all is well, but a battery leak in an electronic device usually spells doom for the device. The fluid that comes out of the battery is corrosive and will normally cause damage to the sensitive circuitry in an electronic device.

There is hope! Did you know that most battery company’s actually Guarantee that their battery will not leak and damage your electronic device? The next time you buy a set of batteries, look on the package for a guarantee. If it does not have a guarantee, I would stay away from those batteries.

NOTE: I have only seen this type of guarantee on standard size Alkaline batteries: AAA, AA, C, D, and a few watch batteries. I’m not sure if re-chargeable batteries leak and I’m not sure if they offer this type of guarantee.

When batteries leak, if the item is not that expensive, most people will simply throw the item away and buy a new item, but what about bigger ticket items like a digital camera? Battery leaks are not covered by the camera warranty, and having someone clean the battery leak could void your camera warranty. This is the where battery guarantees come into play.

For example, I had an $80 dive light in which the batteries leaked. I thought this was really strange because I changed the batteries weekly. TIP: Never go night diving with old batteries. I sent the dive light to the battery company and I received a new light (newer model) and new batteries.

Example two, my friend had an old camera winder which was damaged by leaking batteries. We sent the winder to the company and in a few weeks the battery company sent a check to buy a new winder and of course new batteries.

The obvious drawback to the guarantee is you have to pay to ship your item to the company, and you will be without the item for a while (4-6 weeks). Also, it is the company’s discretion to repair or replace the item. For me, it’s a hassle to send the item to the battery company if a replacement can be purchased for less than $20.

Do’s and Don’ts:
1. Do make sure the battery company offers a guarantee on their batteries and read the terms of the guarantee.
1. Don’t mix and match batteries? This will increase your chances of experiencing a leak and this will void the guarantee.
2. Don’t leave batteries in electronic devices for extended periods of time.
3. Don’t expose electronic devices to excessive heat, as heat will cause a leak and possibly worse, an explosion.

Whenever possible, buy rechargeable batteries. They can be used over and over again, but they need to be used, and over time they will begin to lose their ability to hold a charge. Don’t expect a rechargeable battery to hold a charge after sitting in your desk drawer for two months. You will be able to recharge the battery, but the charge will not last as long.

Don’t throw that thing away just because the batteries leaked in it! Check if the battery company has a guarantee!