Personal Branding: It's All About You!

Network Marketing is all about you. It is about branding yourself.
It is not about your product, service, or opportunity. Your company pay plan means nothing. Even the famous and rich founder of the company or their track record can be totally forgotten. Keep reading and you will learn why.

The Network Marketing arena is actually a small world. You will find a lot of the same people joining a lot of the same programs or companies. If you have been in this industry long enough you are probably used to seeing the same people again and again, as you and them are exploring the new life that enters our industry at a rapid pace. It is normal for most people and even expected to be in many more than one business. In fact, it is not uncommon to be, or have been, part of a dozen or even more over time.

How can this benefit you as a network marketer? It is not only you who sees other marketers time and again, they also see you time and again. But in order for you to make an impact on them and draw them to you, you need to make a positive impression that will be a memory attached to your name. To be the person that this person decides to join the next business under you need to attract them to you, and they need to like you. This means you need to create personal branding for yourself. You need to create an opportunity for them to actually WANT to be a part of your business, buy your product, or whatever else your final goal is.

No e-mail list is exclusive. The fact is, each and every person is on many other marketers contact lists and so they receive e-mails from all kinds of people. If you have an e-mail list (which you should, or else you should start building one) you need to remember that it is not exclusive to you. These people are receiving messages from other people. When the next business launches or the next product is launched, they could potentially receive an invitation from many other marketers, not just you! What are you offering them that will make them want to work with you instead of all the other people they could work with? Now you can see the value of personal branding. Once you have built a personal brand so people trust and like you, they will be much more inclined to go with you instead of all those other people... and that is when you start making the real money.

As I said in the introduction, people are not interested only in the product, service, or opportunity. The pay plan alone will not make them join you. YOU will make them join you. That means that the impression you give them will help them decide if they want to work with you or not.

So how do you create personal branding? I will cover this briefly because there are really many possibilities, but there are some major tips I can give you:

1) Always strive to offer more support to your downline, more helpful tips and content for your e-mail list, and more quality relationships than anyone else. This in turn will provide you with
a loyal membership that will want to always stand by your side, no matter what. I know many people who have huge lists compared to me, yet when I send an offer to my list they are highly responsive because of this.

2) Use websites to brand yourself. Offer people who don't know you the ability to read and learn more about you online, without even interacting personally with you. It is surprising how connected someone can feel to you just by reading your printed words on your website, listening to your audio, or viewing your video. No matter who you are, you need a website. The network marketing industry is relying more and more on personal connections, and if you aren't following the wave you could be left behind while the ones who started branding themselves now pick up the pieces you left behind.
I have had people read my blog, my bio I posted on my website or articles I have written and later during our first actual conversation they tell me that they feel like they already know me!
If people feel like they know you before you even talk to them you are on the right track. On your website create a personal bio and tell your story. Explain how you got into network marketing, why you wanted to get into it, and what your goals are. Let them see the whole picture and invite them to become a part of it.

3) On every promotion you have, include your name, and preferably a photo picture, with a personal touch. If you promote splash or lead capture pages online try to create your own so you can add a personal touch and a photo. Think of the individual that you would be talking to, and write like you were actually speaking to them.
This way your words will mean something to them and draw them in.

4) Write a regular newsletter to your contact list. I dedicate myself to writing at least one quality article per week. If I would write more maybe they would not be as top quality and I want to
offer the best I can to my subscribers. If your contacts are seeing value in being on your list they will not want to unsubscribe because they know they will become more knowledgeable and in turn improve their online business. If you help them improve their business they will be more likely to return the favor and work with you. Always seek out to learn and increase your knowledge and you will always have more to write about. If you have a blog you can easily post your newsletters to it and increase traffic and exposure.

There is much more you can do but that should help you get started.
Remember to focus on creating quality relationships with others. As a rule, ask more about them and their experiences than you do talking about your own. If you stop trying to think of a way to get them into your business and instead focus on helping others and connecting with them then you will start to experience more joy and accomplishment in your business. The students I have had and the people I have seen most successful on network marketing are those that you can recognize by their name alone. Next time when someone sees you in another business, especially in social networks, give them a reason to say... "I remember you because..."

Dive in and get noticed!

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