Can you create a successful online MLM business if you have no website? Yes. Is that the best way to go? Nope. Do you have to be an online genius to have and intelligently use a website for MLM promotion? Nah.
So what do you do if you want to do online MLM marketing but you have no website? First, you don’t let the fact that you don’t yet have a website be one of the “Ya, buts” that keeps you from promoting your business online (as in, “I’d love to do online marketing, ya, but I don’t have a website”). Instead, you let your fingers do a little walking, your brain do a little thinking, and then you make a few decisions. No genius is required here.
Three Steps to an Online MLM Home Base
Chris Brogan, online marketing genius that he is, came up with the idea of online marketers needing both a home base and marketing outposts. As the name implies, your online home base is where people go to find out about you, your MLM business, and your products. It’s like inviting someone to your house for an MLM presentation or home party, only it’s online rather than in-person. The marketing outposts, which I’ll cover in other articles, are online places where you let people know about your home base and invite them to visit.
So what is this online home base, exactly? The simple answer is this: a website or a blog, or a combination of the two. Some would argue that a social media profile page, like a profile page on LinkedIn or Facebook, could serve as home base, but that’s usually too complicated for a beginner just getting into the online marketing game. So, to keep it simple, home base is a website, a blog, or both.
So how do you figure out if need a website, a blog, or both? You follow these three steps.
Step #1: Research Your MLM Company’s Online Policies and Offerings
Before you go hog-wild designing a website or launching a blog, find out what rules and regulations your parent MLM company has regarding online marketing. This is best done by calling the customer service line. At most MLM companies, the customer service department will do one of several things:
- point you to a web page that discusses their policies about online marketing
- direct you to the relevant page in your distributor agreement that outlines their policies
- give you the phone number of the compliance department that handles online marketing
Wherever you get the information, you want to find out from your parent company:
- what you may and may not do in terms of online marketing
- whether you may use company-trademarked names, images, and phrases in your online marketing efforts, and under what circumstances
- whether the company offers “approved” template websites or has authorized a third-party vendor to authorize these websites (be sure to ask the cost, which usually includes a setup fee and monthly fee)
- whether there is a compliance and approval process, whereby the company reviews your website or blog before you can publish it (there is usually an annual fee associated with this)
Every company is different so be sure and ask all the questions. One way to get a feel for what your parent company may or may not allow in online marketing is to do a Google search for the company name, the product names, or the names of prominent distributors. If you see a bunch of websites that look the same, chances are that your parent company only allows the use of pre-approved duplicated “template” websites, where everything is the same except your name, ID#, and perhaps a profile. If you see widely-varying websites, then your parent company may allow distributors far more freedom in their online marketing methods. Either way, get the facts before you get going with your online MLM marketing efforts.
Step 2: Evaluate Your Online Options
Once you’ve gotten all the relevant information from your parent MLM company, the next step is to evaluate what the company offers and allows, and decide whether those are enough to suit your needs for a home base. If you want to create a seriously successful online MLM business, you need a home base that offers:
- a wealth of product information
- a clear description of the business opportunity (including the compensation plan)
- an easy way for people to sign up and order the products
- a clear sense of your personality and who you are
- a definite sense of your expertise about the business and products
- strong reasons people should buy specifically from you or join your downline
If you’re new to online marketing, you might have a hard time figuring which online options fir these requirements, so here’s a short run-down of each option and what benefits usually go with each option.
Duplicated Template Website
These are either offered by the company itself or approved by the company and offered by a third-party vendor (who are sometimes also distributors with the company). These websites are duplicated, which means they all look alike. The only parts you can customize are usually your name, your ID#, contact information, and a short bio about yourself. If the duplicated website has multiple pages and a shopping cart, it generally satisfies requirements 1-3 above.
This means it offers plenty of information about the products and business, and an easy way for them to order the products or join the business (see mine here). Be sure to review the template website thoroughly to make sure it covers every product well, and is very clear about the business opportunity. If your company has several approved duplicated websites, check them all out and find the one that offers the clearest product and business information.
Caveat: One thing you definitely want to check out is the ease of the shopping cart. Try shopping for a product on another distributor’s version of this duplicated website. Make sure that it’s easy for even the least computer-literate person to order products or join the business. One thing to be wary of: if the website requires you to register before ordering, you might think twice about getting one of these websites. Registration can be a real show-stopper for a lot of people when it comes to ordering online, so if possible, avoid websites that require this in their shopping carts. If you have some choices, go with a duplicated website that allows people to shop without registration.
Blogs and Custom Websites
Most MLM companies allow you to have a blog or a custom-built website as long as you don’t use any company-trademarked names, phrases, or images. If your parent company does allow you to use their trademarked info on your website, all the better (just be sure to research and follow their compliance rules). If not, that’s OK. You can still have a blog or custom website that does not use trademarked information. Instead, the blog or website will focus on you and your expertise.
For instance, you can have a generic MLM blog (like mine) that educates people about the MLM industry, how to market an MLM business, and online MLM marketing. You can also have a custom website that is centered around your product expertise, without mentioning product names. For example, one very successful online MLM promoter has a website that discusses digital services for small business, which are the products he sells, without ever mentioning trademarked names. He reviews the different digital services and includes links to that point visitors to a duplicated website where the actual products are named and sold.
Blogs and custom websites fulfill reasons 4-6 above. These online platforms give you a chance to really demonstrate your expertise about your MLM business and products, as well as express your personality. These are all reasons that people will want to buy from you, specifically, as opposed to any other distributor they can find online. A customized online presence gives you the chance to connect with others on a more personal level, establishing a deeper relationship with more points of commonality. For instance, because I am a horse addict, I often sell products to people who love and ride horses. Horses form an instant bond and understanding that would otherwise not be present.
OK, so hang in there with me. We are almost done. Just one more step to go.
Step 3: Make an Online MLM Marketing Plan
In this step, you decide what ingredients are going to form your online MLM home base. You don’t have to come up with detailed plans, just a bare-bones approach. For instance, are you going with a template website plus a blog or custom website that doesn’t mention trademarked names? If you have more than one option for the template website, which one are you going to use? Or, if your company lets you have a custom website using trademarked info, are you going with that?
Don’t hyperventilate doing this step. Just figure out the basics. If are going with a template website plus a blog or custom website, you don’t even have to decide between the blog or custom website at this point. Just decide that you’re going to use a template website and have a custom “something-or-other” on the side. That’s all you need for now. That gives you a foundation for your online MLM home base. Way cool! You’ve just done a lot of work.
In upcoming articles, we’ll cover how to set up and personalize your home base, and, if your home base has several components, how to hook them together in a seamless way.
Is there anything else you want to know about this phase of figuring out your online MLM home base? If so, drop me a line and I’ll see if I can answer ya!
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.
{ 0 comments… add one now }