I know, it sounds harsh, but the analogy is sound.

I’ve attended hundreds of parties – admittedly, [...]]]> It astounds me every day that marketing professionals would have the etiquette to attend a friend’s party without trying to pitch everyone within three feet of them; but use social media to try to have sex without first saying hello.

I know, it sounds harsh, but the analogy is sound.

I’ve attended hundreds of parties – admittedly, mostly in college – and have always come to expect at least one dingbat who presumes that everyone else attended the party just to buy from him. It was like dropping fresh garlic in the middle of a petry dish filled with common cold virus. The bugs all flee to the outer rims of the dish!

The party pooper is seen later all by himself – no friends, no fun, and NO SALES. I’m sure you know the type.

The phenomenon we call Social Media is no different. Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and Twitter – for example – are places where we can meet people, have fun, and build relationships. They’ve never been very effective as marketing venues. But this fact doesn’t stop marketing wannabes from dumping pitches on everyone else’s parties.

For example, I get automated direct messages on Twitter every time I follow someone, and more than 60 percent of the messages go something like: “Hi, thanks for following. To make money from your Twitter traffic, click here http://blah.blah”

They don’t even know my name yet, but want to stick their hands into my wallet. No relationship. No fun. And – you guessed it – NO SALE. I simply delete their feeble and transparent marketing attempt and UN-follow them.

The most effective marketing utilizing social media is still “attraction marketing” – which makes friends first by offering free, useful information, attracting visitors to a central hub – usually a well-optimized WordPress blog, where they are given opportunities to learn more from the person they’ve already deemed to be an expert in the given topic AND with whom they’ve already developed a relationship.

Ask yourself this: If I’m marketing to everyone on social media and NOT selling very much, should I continue to do what doesn’t work and expect the results to change for the better?

The universal Law of Reciprocity holds that whenever we give, without expecting anything in return, we will often receive in a measure greater than our gift. Nice philosophy, right? While I can’t say with certainty that it works in [...]]]>

“If you can help enough other people achieve their financial goals, yours will be met automatically.”
~~J.D. Rockefeller

The universal Law of Reciprocity holds that whenever we give, without expecting anything in return, we will often receive in a measure greater than our gift. Nice philosophy, right? While I can’t say with certainty that it works in every aspect of our daily lives, in the world of Online Marketing, the principle has been proven over and over.

Let me put it this way: Which of the following types of people attract you the most?

1. When you first meet this person he/she immediately tries to sell you on whatever MLM program or product they’re representing;
2. When you first meet this person he/she is genuinely interested in your activities and offers some free advice or proven suggestions that could help you succeed.

If you answered #1, you might as well close this page now!

Some elite web-based marketing gurus have applied this principle to their approach, and are earning five- to six-figure returns each month. How?

They have come to the realization that traditional products, services, and opportunities don’t solve people’s needs. The traditional model tries to sell specific tools like saws, drills, vitamins or home-based businesses when, in fact, the customer needs a specific sized piece of wood, a hole in that wood, better health or financial well-being.

The customer doesn’t care about the brand of tool or vitamin, or what home-business it is, as long as he/she receives the “solution” to their need and trusts the person offering it.

Successful online marketers, therefore, have become experts in solving problems, offering free advice to anyone who asks for it. After awhile, the customer – on his/her own timetable – will make the decision based on who they perceive has their best interests at heart and who they trust.

That’s “Attraction Marketing” in a nutshell, and it’s exactly what 99% of network marketers fail to do.

The secret is to create – or plug into – a system that guarantees:

• You don’t have to “sell.”
• You don’t have to ask people to join your business – people ask you!
• You don’t have to post “work at home” flyers on car windows and home doorknobs.
• You get paid to prospect people.
• You can duplicate your success by just plugging customers into an automated system.
• You can make cash quickly, even from the people who DON’T join the business.
• You can start making money your very first day.

For example, let’s say that you are trying to supplement your primary job with a home-based source of income, such as a network-marketing plan around health supplements. Will others be as excited about your company or product line as you are? Probably not.

However, if you offer free training on how to attract an endless source of qualified prospects for any home business, once people learn it, they will naturally trust your guidance on which opportunities can make them the best return for their efforts. They will know that you have an interest in their individual success – no matter which opportunity they choose to join. And a few may ask you about your supplement business.

The great thing about this is that you will have earned money along the way just to prospect these people, and by the time they join your business they will have already been trained on how to recruit new prospects!

Your expertise and experience on the subject will naturally make you the hunted. Putting these proven methods into practice, you will no longer need to search for prospects, because they’ll already be drawn to you like magnets.

If this approach interests you, please consider continuing your education with this FREE 7-part video series on “Magnetic Sponsoring” by marketing guru, Mike Dillard. It will open your eyes to financial freedom. Check it out!