Making Custom Graphics

Today I have two subjects I want to introduce.  The first is the benefits of creating your own one of a kind graphics.  The second is a new feature I will be introducing next week.  EEK so excited on both counts.

When you are posting ads about your company and products, you want to stand out from the crowd.  You don't want your ads to look just like every other sales representative.  You also don't want your ads to look spammy.  Either you will blend in with the crowd or friends will start ignoring your posts.  Eventually you will drop from their newsfeed entirely.

Don't be overwhelmed about trying your hand at creating.  Start off simple.  If I can't come up with something that sounds quotable, I

look for quotes in Google search.  I try to find something that pertains to what I want the potential customer to feel.  For Health and Wellness, look for healthy lifestyle quotes.  For jewelry, look for quotes on how jewelry make you feel confident etc.

Once you have a quote, look through a site that has free images to download.  There are more than you think it would be. Pixabay and Pexels are two that have a ton of pictures.  Canva and Desygner are graphic programs that have free pictures to choose from too.  Look for an image that stirs up the emotion you are looking for.  It can be more than one picture.  More on that later.  

Next go to a graphic site. There are several to use right from your PC.  I use Canva. Others are PicMonkey, iPiccy, and pixlr. There are phone apps too.  For the iPhones, there is WordSwag, Word Dream, Photophy, PicStitch, PiZap, and Polyvore.  For Android phones, there are Photofy, PhotoGrid, Instaquote, PicGrid, Polyvore, PicsArt, PiZap, and Word Dream.  There are others, but these are the most popular.  Experiment and find which is the easiest for you to use.

Either upload the pictures you picked from the free picture sites or go with one that is already in your graphic program. The graphic programs have a ton of different elements to arrange the pictures in different arrangements, add text, and some effects.  You can also crop your picture.  I have also uploaded a picture to PicsArt, used the filters to get the desired effect for the background picture, then saved it and uploaded it to Canva to use as a more unique background.  Make sure the text compliments the background but that it stands out.

I hope you are now encouraged enough to try your hand to stand out from the crowd!

Now for the next item.  Starting Wednesday,

I will be having a feature called Wellness Wednesday.  I will be posting health information, recipes, encourage- ment, diet tips and maybe even some exercise tips (those will probably be coming from someone who actually exercises LOL).  I hope you will enjoy this feature as much as I am excited to be bringing it to you.

Try me.  Observe the results.  Love the outcome!

How to Choose the Right Network Marketing Company

Did you know that the Network Marketing Industry has a 98% failure rate?  One reason is because people jump into selling without understanding how to make a knowledgeable decision on if the company is a good fit.

Some of the factors that need to be considered are:

• Quotas.  Does the company have monthly quotas that have to be met for you to stay a representative?  Many companies have have quotas for you to be paid, but you stay a representative and you keep your web site.  Are you satisfied with filling the quota every month?
• Take a look at the earnings.
• Commission structure.  100% commission or higher is not sustainable.  The company has to make money or it won't be in business.  
• Income claims.  Any opportunity that claims you will make so much money a week is not a good opportunity.  If they say it is a possibility to make a certain amount, then that is a more true statement.
• Never go with a company where the representatives only post graphics of cash.
• Never click on just a link in the ad/spam groups.  These are probably viruses.
• Look at the products.  Are they good solid products?  Are they reasonably priced?
• Research the owners.  See if they have any connections to any previous network marketing companies that have gone bankrupt or sued.  
  

The question you should be asking is not will I make money, but is the company sound.   I have said in previous posts that your Network Team will make or break you.  Here is where that comes into play.  Take your new opportunity to them for their opinions.  Some of them may want to join your opportunity right at the start.

If you find my posts helpful, please leave a comment.  Also, sign up to get my blog updates through your email to make it a little easier.

More Company Team Building Tips

Recently my team member and blogger, Bob Swetz, made a very good distinction between a Network Marketing Team and a Network.  

Network Marketing, according to Dictionary.com, is "A marketing strategy in which sales representatives of a company recruit other sales people and earn commissions on their own sales and on the sales made by their team."  

A Network, on the other hand is "An association of individuals having a common interest, formed to provide mutual assistance, helpful information, or the like: a network of recent college graduates."  

This post will continue to give you tips on how to build your Networking Marketing Team, not your Network.

Many people cold call or cold message people to recruit.  If the first message I receive from you is a request to join your team, it will be an immediate ignore or "No".  Any further communication from you will be tainted.  It will be seen as a way of softening me up to do whatever you asked me to do in your first message.  The first message to anyone should be a introduction of you, not your company.  And it should never be an invitation to join your company.

Also, if someone posts about needing extra income, don't immediately post in the comments a link to your website.  This will always appear as spam.  I think it is OK to mention that you know of a job and send a private message stating a very brief overview of your opportunity.  Keep it to one to two sentences so you don't bombard the potential team member with too much

information that they didn't request.  If they respond, then answer their questions, but give no extra information.  If you give them too much information too soon, you will come off as pushy.

If you are just starting with a company, it is OK to let your friends and family know.  Just don't immediately start trying to recruit them!  If they are interested, they will come to you - the first lesson of Attraction Marketing.  

I can not stress the importance of building a stable, productive and growing Network Team enough.  Slow and steady really does win the race.

Successful Income Producing Activities

When I first started Network Marketing, I was taught that doing income producing activities (IPAs) consistently will bring success.  The list they provided didn't look overwhelming.  But as I proceeded to go down the list each day, I felt like I was missing something.  Even though there was nothing wrong with the list of IPAs, I started to feel like a pushy salesman.

The IPA's on my list were:

• Following up with potentials (each time I did followup, I was trying to find out how they liked my samples or trying to send them samples)
• Making a few Cold Calls (something I disliked from the start.  My first message to a person I had never interacted with would be a sales pitch)
• Expanding my network on social media (this I liked, but again I would bring up the business almost immediately)
• Adding to your prospect list (treating prospects like marks, always looking for an easy mark to make money.)
• Engaging with people on your team (I would engage in my uplines FB groups and found them very helpful, but I didn't venture out to find teammates from other companies)
• Setting up meetings and phone calls (even though this is a needful activity, I was rushing people to make a decision)
• Calling people (always talking about the products)
• Personally inviting your friends to events (always pushing people to attend)
• Joining new Facebook groups (this is a fun activity, but only if you join to actually interact and have fun, not just trolling for your next mark)

The list is good, but I was missing the fact that I need to focus on building the relationships - with your network and with your potential customers.  Neither group wants to be sold to in each conversation with you.  Don't bring up your business unless the other side brings it up first.

Don't contact people just to give them a sales pitch.  That will turn people off very fast.

Don't post the same ads as everyone else.  Put some thought into it and create some unique ads that scream "This is my brand".  Create some new graphics that catch people's attention.  There are many free apps that can help with this.  The one I use is Canva.

Get rid of the ads and start posting some valuable content, lessons, tips, inspiration, and your opinions.  Also include some quotes, lessons and tips from your network team.  This builds the whole team up, not just your business.


IPAs are a needful activity, just make sure you are doing it with a pure attitude, not one of looking for the next sale.  The point is to make friends, actually learn about them.  Friends are more likely to buy from friends, so go make some in the new year!

Finding Your Network - What Next?

In a previous blog post, I talked about how to find your perfect network.  Now we will discuss what happens next.

Your new networking friends need to become friends with each other.  Everyone needs to coalesce into a group of people who loves and respects each other; or at least be able to work well together.  They also need to be able to celebrate each others successes and sympathize with each others disappointments - in their business life and in their personal life.  

There is no room for jealousy or backbiting.  If that happens, you need to have a one on one discussion about what being part of your team means.  If it continues, part ways.

During this phase, comment on each others posts.  Have on-line conversations, so people can see the real you.  Play games to get people involved and to find out more about them.  If someone posts a company ad, let the team know so they can show some love on your post.  If you post a game, let the team know so they can show everyone how fun it is to play.

Share your teammates posts on your wall, refer business to them.  Share their ads and anything they post that is encouraging in ad groups.  Do not be afraid to refer people to another company.  This is a trait of good leaders.  Leaders share their knowledge and influence.  

Everyone on your team will begin to be seen as leaders and influencers of network marketing.  In fact, if you concentrate on one person promoting them for a day or week in the ad groups and on each team members wall, it is amazing how everyone on the team will start standing out from the rest of the crowd.  

You, as a leader of your team, will need to make a plan and get everyone on board to the benefit of the whole team.   

That is what you want.  You want your team to be unique.  

Keep growing your team in size, knowledge and influence; you will be well on your way to a very successful team.