Online MLM Marketing — Don’t Be a Used-Car Salesman

Why the Best Online MLMers Are Not Used Car Salesmen

This is the part of the series called An Online MLM Marketing Roadmap.

Recently one of my MLM business builders asked me, “What’s the theory behind online MLM marketing? I don’t get it.”

What she really meant was that when she visited the best MLM websites and blogs, she didn’t see the opportunity or products being blatantly promoted. Her question was really this: “If you don’t promote the business opportunity or the product loudly, how do you get signups?”

She has a really good point. The question she asked is one that I pondered for quite a while before I really understood the answer. And the answer is something you really have to understand before you can be successful at online MLM marketing. So why don’t the most successful MLM blogs and websites hit people over the head with the business opportunity or product? Because if they did no one would visit their website or blog. No one ever wants to be “sold” so the most successful websites don’t sell.

The best online MLM websites and blogs do one thing: educate.

Why Do People Get Online?
Now why does education draw a crowd when selling doesn’t? Because you have to give people what they want before they will listen to what you have to say. Consider the reasons people get online. People go online to:

1. get information
2. learn something
3. be entertained (this is why humor often works)
4. interact with others of shared interest
5. network with people they know
6. toot their own horn
7. have a creative outlet for their inspiration
8. buy things they want and need

If you consider this list, items 5 through 8 don’t really apply to strangers whom you want to attract as a customer or business partner. Here’s why.

5. A stranger who gets online to connect with people they know won’t contact you because they don’t know you.
6. Unless you are providing some kind of online forum at your blog or website, a stranger can’t satisfy the need to toot their own horn on your site.
7. Ditto for this option. Without a forum, a stranger can’t use your website or blog as a creative outlet.
8. Most people think they can attract strangers by selling something they want, but the person has to already want what you have. If they don’t know anything about what you offer, they probably don’t know they want it.

So options 5 through 8 won’t work well to attract someone to your MLM website or blog, especially if all you offer online is a hard sell. That leaves options 1 through 4, and you can satisfy all of these options by offering an educational website or blog.

Education Generates Online MLM Traffic
If your online MLM presence offers great information about a topic of interest, you’ll bring in a lot of traffic. Great information helps someone looking for specific “how to” help. Solid information satisfies someone who wants to learn about a particular topic. Well-written information that includes stories and jokes can entertain someone looking for diversion. Finally, a wealth of great information about a specific niche attracts people who want to interact with others of shared interest.

Give to Get
With all of these options you are offering something of interest to your online visitors before asking for something. You have to give to get. It works the same way in radio or television. You tune into your favorite radio station and you get to listen to music for free. In exchange you have to listen to a few ads between a lot of good songs and, generally, you don’t mind because you are first getting what you want (music) before being ask to give something (your attention). The same holds true for television shows and commercials.

Will everyone who visits your website or blog sign up for your MLM business or buy your product? Nope. But a certain percentage will and that’s all you need. That’s the great thing about MLM: you don’t 10,000 business partners, you just need 5. A lot of people will visit your site just for the free information. No problem. Out of that crowd, a certain number will be so impressed with your “expertise” that they will inquire about your business. Another set won’t sign up for your business but will refer someone else who will sign up for your business. A third set won’t sign up for your business but will spread the word about a particular blog post to a larger group of people, which brings still more traffic to your website or blog. Are you starting to get the picture?

On the product side, if your website or blog offers helpful tips on how to use your class of product, people will tend to buy from you. A good example is the J&O Fabric Blog. The blog offers readers how-to guides on everything from making finger-puppets to choosing the right kind of fleece for certain projects. At the end of each informative blog post, J&O offers links to their own products. Since the reader is already on the J&O blog, chances are that he or she will click on the offered links and buy J&O products just because of the sheer convenience. The fact that J&O has a lot of expertise also helps the company’s reputation.

Don’t Be a Used-Car Salesman
In short, creating an online MLM presence isn’t about the hard sell. It’s about the soft sell. Using a soft sell or “attraction marketing” approach takes more output over a longer period of time, but the beauty of it is that over time you become known as a expert rather than the equivalent of a used-car salesman. Once you develop an online reputation as a broker of quality information, you can parlay that reputation in tons of different ways, from guest blog posts to speaking engagements. But for now, start with understanding the theory behind the art of online MLM marketing. If you stick with the motto of “give to get” you’ll be pleased with the results.

What are your experiences with attraction marketing? What techniques work best for you?

Photo credit: Give the Kisses

Tagged as: give to get, online MLM marketing, online MLM presence