Online Income

Before the internet, information was not always easy to come by. If you needed a recipe, you would most likely have to go to the book store and buy a cook book or go to the library. If you ever wondered how something works, you could only guess or of course go to the library again. In other words, before the internet information was NOT at our fingertips like it is now. Have you ever found yourself sitting on the couch, seeing something on TV and wondering "Cool, I want to know more about that" and all you have to do is simply go to your computer and type what ever it is you are looking for into google and all of a sudden you had everything you needed.

With the help of the internet, there has been an information explosion and with this information explosion, six ongoing trends have formed:
"Infopreneuring"
It is not information, however, that we need more of! We are already drowning in information. The problem is not a lack of information or ideas but a lack of information that is packaged properly. Information needs to be categorized into specialized knowledge that the consumer can use quickly. This is the job of an infopreneur - an entrepreneur that sells information.

So, how can you be an infopreneur? Anyone with a good idea and some persistence can do it!! You just need an interesting story or expertise that people want PLUS good marketing skills! Your life story or your life's expertise have market value. You don't even need a unique, new system. It can be old knowledge, repackaged and
remarketed in new ways. Look at all the diets out there. There are only 3 variables in the diet game: food, exercise and mental attitude.
The formula is pretty simple:

1. Identify a Core Human Desire/Need

2. Find new technology for solving this Core Desire/Need and/or find a new way to market to this Core Desire/Need With a winning idea, and many different media to market it, you can then branch into many related support products....bringing in more residual income (see creating a funnel in the last section of this chapter).

There are 3 Essential Skills that you need as an infopreneur:

1. How to research, discover, acquire, and organize your ideas. What do you know that we don't? Or who do you know that knows something that the rest of us need or
want to know? You don't have to spend years learning a core expertise. You can find some expert who is undermarketed and take his or her idea to the marketplace. Just
remember to organize this information in the communication age style....easy to learn, simple to use, fast results.

2. How to express, display, package, communicate yourself. Here are some core packaging skills you will need to develop, rent or acquire:
* Find the best prices for materials
* Designing useful, interesting packaging.
* Creating low cost ways to organize your materials

3. How to sell, distribute, disseminate, promote yourself and your product. Marketing is the essential skill. Here are some core marketing skills which you will have to buy, rent or acquire:
* Writing compelling copy
* Understanding psychology and human nature
* Learning the secrets of direct mail advertising
* Buying the best and cheapest advertising.
* Tracking your results.
* Managing a database.
* Tapping into the Internet

You must have a core expertise that is either a revolutionary new technology or is an old expertise that has a new marketing strategy. As I said earlier, you don't have to be the expert yourself. But you do need to borrow, license, acquire the expertise from someone. You are looking for an expertise that has a large and growing body of interested people who can be easily identified, who have an immediate need/want/problem that they are highly motivated to solve, who have the money to spend and are willing to spend it.

Once you have identified your market and your expertise then, the process of figuring out how to market your information in a way that causes people to want to buy it! Basically, there are no real new or totally unique human needs or wants. They have been the same for thousands of years: sex, money, self-esteem, health, relationships, beauty, greed. Your information should tap into one of these universal wants/needs. The title you select, the words you use to market your information, the benefits your information offers, the way it is packaged will cause consumers to flock to your product. Once you have discovered the right combination of message and media, you have cracked the code.

Here is an example of steps to follow to become an infopreneur. Let's say that you are passionate about cooking with hot spices.
1. Brainstorm the most profitable topics

2. Deliver hot and sensual content.

3. Publish quality, in-demand information. You'll be surprised at how quickly a following develops.

4. Monetize... Google AdSense automatically places relevant ads on your site, generating an excellent financial foundation. Refer pre-sold visitors to the affiliate programs of Barnes and Nobles for spicy cookbooks, and other merchants for cookware, food processors, and so forth. In-context textual recommendations from a trusted advisor convert into sales. Similarly, earn income by creating a page about the best spice retailer in each of the 100 largest cities around the world. Get paid via a pay-per-lead model from each. Increase revenues by selling your own e-book of "The World's Hottest, Most Exotic Recipes... Cooking with Fire." Even promote your own "hot 'n spicy" catering service for local clientele.

There is no limit to the number of ways to monetize your traffic -- the above are only a few possible examples for the "hot 'n spicy" niche. Nor is there a limit to the number of niches in the small business world...

Robert Allen published a book in 1980 called Nothing Down: How to Buy Real Estate with Little or No Money Down. It took over two years before the money started to flow. But it was worth the wait. Since that time, he has earned millions of dollars in royalties. And every six months he still gets nice royalty checks. That's the power of residual income... it keeps flowing and flowing and flowing.

Here are 8 tips that will help you get started producing audiotapes, books, reports, pamphlets, or any other medium you choose to sell to distribute your information:

1. Produce an information product for an audience that's already waiting to buy it. This will guarantee your greatest chance for success.

2. Clearly identify your target market and direct all your promotional materials towards them. When promoting and marketing your product, first identify the it's purpose. Then find a target market that will benefit from it. Once you've done that, find ways to bring them your message. Speak to them in ways they can relate both to your product and to you. The rapport this builds between you and your prospective buyers will ultimately lead to sales.

3. Always test the market before producing anything. This will save you time and money, if, by chance, you're not on the right track. If test marketing indicates your target market has no interest in the information your product provides, simply redirect your focus, find another topic, and start again with enthusiasm. Or stick with the same topic but find another market that may be interested in what you have to say.

4. Keep your products simple, yet highly informational. Remember the concept is not to compete with Hollywood, but to offer valuable information to specific groups of people who share the same interest.

5. Never stop searching for effective ways to promote your products and reach your target market. Marketing is everything.

6. Create ancillary products such as special reports, audio tapes, and books to complement your initial product

7. Seek out others in your industry who might be willing to joint venture with you on a project.

8. Establish an effective order taking system. Keeping track of your sales, your customers, advertising responses, and your shipping is critical if you plan on being successful.

Quick guide to building an opt-in list

Stage 1

In the first stage, you have identified a target audience. Let’s stay with dog owners. I prefer Old English Sheepdogs myself, but let’s stay with the more generic category, dog owners. I’ve suggested a cumulative total of 3,000 dog owners that will be targeted in three different media. Obviously, there are far more than 3,000 dog owners out there, but we’ll be conservative.

Stage 2

Next, find places where these folks would normally be drawn to for information. Your own content-oriented site would be my favorite, or an e-zine that focuses on the needs of dog owners. You can also find numerous free places to advertise. Ruth, in Vestal NY, has a website www.lifestylespub.com where she categorizes and catalogs all the ezines that are available. She tells you who the readers are (ie, dog lovers, teachers, etc) and the average number of readers. For $100, you can get a year’s subscription to this site.

As well, you want to optimize your own destination or home page so that people can find you on the search engines. A great place to learn more about search engine placement is Robin Nobles’ and Susan O’neil’s, Maximize Web Site Traffic: Build Web site Traffic Fast and Free by Optimizing Search Engine Placement, or Fredridk Marckini’s book, Search Engine Positioning: Grow Your Web Site Traffic by Achieving Top 10 Search Engine Rankings.

Again, we’ll assume that the average monthly readership or visitors to each place is 1,000. Let’s assume a click-through response rate of 1%, so that each location yields 10 prospects, for a total of 30.

Stage 3

Here’s where you really start leveraging your time. An autoresponder is nothing more than a sophisticated email address. Think of it as your automated electronic employee, working for you 24/7/365. At predetermined times, the autoresponder automatically sends out your pre-formatted messages to people that have responded to ads, search engine inquiries, e-zine placements, web site articles, referrals, etc. Let’s say your advertisement was for a free canine-related newsletter you publish. If the respondent replies, they’ll also receive a free report on the care and feeding of miniature, small, medium and large breed dogs. When they click, the autoresponder automatically sends the report as an email.

Stage 4
One of two things also happens. The first might be that a web form pops up immediately to collect their name address, telephone, email address and other qualifying information. A form is nothing more than an electronic version of a piece of paper where you gather information. For example, see the form I use to collect information on business opportunity seekers at www.Igreply.com/aboutyou.

The second possibility is that the respondent is redirected to your own content rich web site, or even someone else’s. This is a “softer” direct approach because not only are they getting a free report, they also just discovered a great information packed site to come back to. They get more bang for their click. At your web site, they can browse around and read to their heart’s delight on every conceivable topic related to dog owners. Here is also where they would fill out the same type of form mentioned above.

Stage 5
The autoresponder collects, stores and puts into database fashion format every name that is submitted. That database then contains your opt-in list of names of like-minded people, in this case dog owners.

The autoresponder also keeps track of when messages have been sent out and when to send any follow up messages. Marketers know it takes somewhere between 7 to 10 communications with a prospective client before the prospect will buy. That’s what the autoresponder does with those preformatted messages. The first message was the free report. You preprogram the autoresponder to send out another message in, say 3 days, then 5 days, then 2 days, then 7 days. This is what I call following up on a “regular irregular” basis. In other words, don’t make the delivery of the message an expected event. It’s that follow up that will generate profits.

On a ratio of three to one, send out three informational messages to one “soft-sell” message. The “soft-sell” message is primarily informational, but couched inside the message is some promotional content. For example, you might have sent out three messages about the grooming habits of various breeds. The fourth message might also be about grooming, but it suggests a site where they can go to get grooming tools. Maybe that’s your site or an affiliate’s (see number 4 below). It’s a soft sell, but one that educates as well. Be sure to include you name and email on each letter that is sent. In this way, you make yourself more accountable and earn the trust of those that are receiving your email.

Opt-In List Marketing

The only things that matter in real estate are location, location and location. The only things that matter for your web site are traffic, traffic and traffic. Just because you launched that spiffy looking new web site or you've created some sharp autoresponders, there's no guarantee that someone will find you. You must drive traffic to your site. More specifically, you need to funnel prospects and clients into your autoresponder or steer people to your web site on an ongoing basis.

One method to acquire email addresses is referred to as the opt-in list. This is where someone has voluntarily given you her/his email address in exchange for some free or low-cost item. Or maybe they responded to an ad you placed somewhere on the Internet. Or maybe that person attended one of your presentations. Maybe, as we'll see in just a bit, that person has come to you as a result of some affiliate program you are a member of. The key is to get the email address.

Over time, as more and more people volunteer their email addresses, you are building a database of names that are of like-minded people. That database is the opt-in list of names of people that have given you permission to stay in touch with them. This will form the basis of what I call permission-based email marketing (see number 2 below).

My opt-in list is composed of people who fit into one of four general categories:

1. Business owners and professionals, or anyone who wants to build or enhance their personal, interpersonal and electronic networking skills.

2. They want to learn how to use those skills to grow their career or business, or to market themselves more creatively and effectively.

3. They want to generate multiple sources of income.

4. They are interested in leveraged or residual income, or they currently make a living via residual income based activities, e.g., insurance salespeople, bankers, real estate investors, web site owners, etc.

Many times, these categories overlap. Marketing 101 dictates that you define your audience before you set out to meet their needs. This is a key reason why there are far more dot-bombs than winning dot-coms: too many sites searching for a market. Each of the following two diagrams contains a step-by-step flow chart of the stages you would go through to acquire email addresses. The first Opt-In List Direct diagram illustrates how you will get leads directly as a result of your advertisement. The second, Two-Step Opt-In List, is basically the same procedure, but it allows you to make some money along the way. These serve as "templates", and you can even use them to get paid simply for the act of acquiring the leads. Won't that be nice!? Let's see how they work!

By the way, before we review the templates, a word about SPAM. SPAM is unsolicited email that has not been requested by the recipient. Never, never, never, never, never, NEVER SPAM!!!! I cannot emphasize this strongly enough. Always get permission from the recipients of your message before you send the email.

If you send to a list that you bought, obtain written permission from the list vendor as to the permission rights of the list. If the vendor will not provide that permission, don't do business with them. If someone voluntarily opts into your list, ensure that the autoresponder, or whatever other service you're using, provides an audit trail as to where, how and when that request came in. If you are using leads you got from, say a speaking engagement, retain the written record of the
request to be added to your list.

And one last piece of CYA (cover your assets) advice. If you get a listing of names and email addresses from an organization, e.g., the membership list of a group for which you made a presentation, make sure you retain the permission letter or email message attached to the list. If someone goes to your information service provider (ISP) and gets temporary amnesia about how you got their name, you just pull out the piece of paper that has permission on it. Some ISPs have become very strict, with little to zero tolerance. They can and will shut you down! So don't chance it. Get the permission!

Lastly, make sure every message you send provides instructions, or preferably an automatic means, for the recipient to opt-out of the list. If someone requests to be excluded, remove him from the list ASAP!

Permission-Based Email Marketing

You now have a database of names of “like-minded” individuals. They’ve given you permission to stay in touch with them, so do that via email. This would be like the program above where you send out emails at a ratio of three informational messages to one info-mational message. And you would regularly irregularly feed them into the funnel of your web site. See the last section in this chapter. Let's briefly review the three types of email marketing:

1. Direct email: Direct email involves sending a promotional message in the form of an email. It might be an announcement of a special offer, for example.

2. Retention email: Instead of promotional email designed only to encourage the recipient to take action (buy something, sign-up for something, etc.), you might send out retention emails. These usually take the form of regular emails known as newsletters. A newsletter may carry promotional messages or advertisements, but will aim at developing a long-term impact on the readers. It should provide the readers with value, which means more than just sales messages. It should contain information that informs, entertains or otherwise benefits the readers.

3. Advertising in other people's emails: Instead of producing your own newsletter, you can find newsletters published by others and pay them to put your advertisement in the emails they send their subscribers. Indeed, there are many email newsletters that are created for just this purpose - to sell advertising space to others. As people tire of getting sales messages via email, it's these quality communications that perhaps hold the most potential for the future. According to a 2001 study by New Century Communications and AdRelevance, the average costs per message were as follows:

• Permission-based direct email: $0.20

• Telemarketing: $1.00 to $3.00

• Direct mail: $0.75 to $2.00

As you can see, permission-based direct email beats all other direct-marketing vehicles hands down because there are no production, paper, or postage costs. InternetVIZ reported in 2002 that email marketing response rates outpace direct mail ten to one. DoubleClick found in its 2002 survey that more than 88% of online consumers have made a purchase as a result of receiving email that they have requested. And, according to the Association for Interactive Marketing, 64% of surveyed marketers say that revenue has increased directly from transactions resulting from email usage.

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) wanted to fill up some available seats during off-peak days during the holidays and had a great idea. For a special low fare of $149, SAS was offering a deal: fly out of the United States on a red eye, land in Copenhagen the next morning. Shop all day and board the plan that night. You snooze on the plane and wake up refreshed. They even gave a free shower voucher to use in the airport.

So, how did they get the word out without spending a fortune, which would in essence nullify the inexpensive package? Simply put: email based marketing. Or, better yet, viral marketing. Which is exactly what happened. For instance, after a friend received the offer in the email, she ran around telling all her friends about it and forwarded that email to about sixty people! When the email based marketing piece launched to SAS's registered user database, along with a link to the online offer and ticket purchase available online, reservations started coming in 9 minutes later and the flight packages sold out less than 2 days later.

Affiliate Programs

OK, let’s stay with our target audience of dog owners. So you log onto one of the search engines and enter the keywords, “dog owner” and “affiliate program”. Make sure you include the quotes. Up will pop numerous sites that

a. cater to the interests of dog owners and
b. have affiliate programs you can become a member of.

I came up with 89 “hits” when I entered those words into the Google search engine. Affiliate programs are nothing more than referral-based marketing arrangements where you get paid to refer people to other sites. For example, if you referred your database of dog owners to a web site that specialized in dog supplies, you would share in the proceeds of any resulting sales.

Another affiliate example is provided by Amazon.com. If you see a button for them at a site that is not Amazon.com itself, chances are that that other web site owner participates in Amazon.com’s affiliate program. So if you were to click on that merchants Amazon.com button and bought a book or other merchandise, that referring
merchant would share in the proceeds of the sale.

You can also search for affiliate programs at sites that specialize in rating affiliate programs for profitability, as well as standings against other like web sites and affiliate program directories. Here are some sites you may want to check out:

www.associateprogram.com
www.affiliatematch.com
www.marketingtips.com
www.sitesell.com
www.cj.com (Commission Junction)

If there's one common thread that runs through most successful affiliate web sites, it's that each Webmaster has a passion for their subject matter. The right affiliate program can turn a hobby web site into something with a life (and a revenue stream) all on its own. What could be better than being paid to do something you love to do?

A prime example of this is the owner of The Flick Filosopher, which was launched in September 1997. The Flick Filosopher has original movie reviews and affiliate links. In order to derive income, each review contains direct links to the specific movie at Reel.com, so that readers can immediately purchase the film in DVD or video tape format (new or used), as well as movie soundtracks in CD format. Most reviews feature a host of relevant text links to other related
movie reviews on the site, as well as to actor-specific links. The Flick Filosopher's biggest successes stem from special review themes. Reviews of television movies from the A&E, HBO, Showtime, and TNT networks provide content that's hard to find elsewhere. Mining the niches pays off. Affiliate links to Reel.com's massive inventory allow readers to easily purchase made-for-TV movies, which might otherwise be hard to locate.

Niche Marketing

Just as it's absolutely vital to have a puzzle picture in place while solving a puzzle, carving a niche for your business is an absolute MUST for today's successful Internet business. A niche can be defined as a small targeted and focused area of any business entity that offers a unique program, or benefit, satisfying a common NEED of like-minded people.

Identifying a niche requires a particular mindset. You can't come up with a niche in a flash until you really understand how to go about it. You can only come up with a well-defined niche by having the right attitude towards a concrete, and clear objective.

You need to go through a certain hierarchy in order to find your niche. For example, if you're targeting women in business, your hierarchy may well be drawn something like this... women -> women's health -> pregnancy -> nutritional requirement in pregnancy -> semi liquid food supplement -> finally your product, with a clear and distinct benefit.

Be as specific as possible. Put your entire force towards a single specific value driven business model, rather than getting generalized and trying to sell everything under one roof. In simple terms, by narrowing your business focus you'll effectively broaden sales. You’ll end up making more money this way. And in this way, you will establish yourself as an expert in your field. To be an expert you don't necessarily need to have lot of knowledge or expertise. Needless to say you can get started right away with what you already know or enjoy doing in your spare time, and preferably have a passion for it too. Just try to be a little bit "different" than the rest.

Once you have positioned yourself online as an expert in a specific niche, you will outgrow automatically into more related profitable areas. Your credibility in such areas will carry more weight than if you would attempt to offer "everything under one roof" approach.

Another great benefit of having a narrow niche is the fact that visitors to your site will have a greater interest in what you offer. Why? Because your product or service is highly targeted to them, and you aim to solve their specific problem. What this means is your visitors are pre-qualified with a ready to buy attitude, i.e., they are almost already 50-60% convinced. The rest is your job. Make your Web site simple and attractive with a killer copy, and with useful content that
further persuades them to make a purchase.

It really makes no sense starting or running an Internet business without identifying a niche. If you're really determined to get success on the Net, this is the way to go. Do some positive brainstorming, relate different things around you trying to get into a specific niche, and add value. You will eventually come up with a great idea. And a great idea is the spark for a big explosion.

One Internet marketer started out online with a generalized marketing site that was lucky to get 500 visitors a month regardless of the amount of promotion. Then, he did an in-depth review of HTML compilers for potential ebook self-publishers and the traffic increased substantially! So substantially, in fact, that he began working
exclusively with ebook marketing and created www.ebooksnbytes.com. He then chose complimentary affiliate programs for marketing ebooks, HTML compilers, pricing surveys like the new "Make Your Price Sell," and other ebook-related programs, and all were much more successful at generating sales than from his previous site. Visitors increased from several hundred to almost 10,000 per month in the space of only a few months.

The point I am trying to get across is that by analyzing your own site's statistics, you may notice that you are sitting on a potential gold mine without even realizing it. Which page on your site is getting the most visits? Does it happen to be a page giving away free ebooks or software?

Take an honest look at your own site. Is it unique compared to many other sites out there? Do you have any original and helpful free content to attract visitors? What areas of your site are the most popular? Capitalize on those pages by featuring them or even creating separate domains with those target markets. Whether you will be catering to ezine publishers, web designers, people wanting to lose weight, or even dog breeders, all can be excellent target markets to cater to. Another benefit to niche marketing is that you may end up being ranked high on search engines without much effort since your pages will be specific as well as content-rich.

To summarize: Analyze site traffic... pick your most popular topics and specialize in those areas by building a highly informative site around that specialty. Whether it is golfing, nutritional supplements, ebooks, babies, or even snorkeling... there are affiliate programs and books that you could sell on the side for extra income. Be an expert in a topic you love and know well (or learn as much as you can about it) and then go for it!

Your Own Web Site Must Act Like a Funnel

A funnel? Why are we talking about funnels? Let me explain by first looking at the definition of a funnel: “A conical utensil having a small hole or narrow tube at the apex and used to channel the flow of a substance.” Now, let’s imagine that you have a funnel that is floating out there in Internet space. With any of your Internet marketing, you are trying to capture consumers and put them into your funnel.

Of course, there is no real funnel, nor are you really “capturing” anyone. You are, however, doing all that you can do to capture email addresses and add them to your database. Once that database has been established (and continues to grow, of course), what are you going to do with the names? Send information and sell products!! With the funnel concept, you start out small and move them down the funnel to larger and more profitable products. Do these products have to be your own? No! Consider affiliate products or products you have licensed from someone else. Once you get a consumer’s email and get them to buy the first product, you use your autoresponder to send them 2 more informational pieces and then another product message.

If the first item they purchased exceeded their expectations, then they are more likely to purchase another item from you. And so it goes, one item after another, until you have “groupies” that purchase just about anything you send their way. In fact, they may want to talk with you individually and see you as a guru. Consider
Tony Robbins. He gets $1 million to be a personal coach! Now, I am not saying that you necessarily want to get as big as all that, but you can turn the marketing around so that you become the hunted rather than the hunter. The funnel will get people seeking you out for your skills and expertise.

Another way to gain their trust, beyond providing exceptional information is by giving a clear, no questions asked guarantee. Here’s mine:

You have an unconditional, lifetime, no questions asked, 100% money back guarantee! YOU ARE NEVER AT RISK! (By the way, not one person has yet to call!)

Beyond all of the Internet techniques suggested in this chapter, there is simply your own website. And your website can be another avenue to gain emails to put into your funnel. Your site needs to be informative and be “them-focused.” Your site can offer free stuff, which is an easy way to collect an email address and also provides an easy way for someone else to recommend your site to their friends: “Hey, Joe, I got this free report about Internet Marketing Techniques that is really great. Just go to www.reallygreatwebsite.com and get a copy!” Cha-Ching, one more email into your funnel! By the way, referred customers are more likely to buy. Why? They aren’t taking your word for it, but the word of someone they know and trust that has used your product!!

Become a Very Wealthy Man

The great salt lake is the world's oldest inland sea. A remnant of the last great Ice Age, it has been collecting and concentrating the minerals of the surrounding Rocky Mountains for tens of thousands of years. The result is nutrient rich waters which contain over 70 ionically charged minerals six to ten times more concentrated than normal sea water and in precisely the same proportion as healthy human fluids. It is from this source that mineral resources international (IMR) harvests the minerals and trace minerals that go into concentrated mineral drops.

The origin of the great salt lake can be tracked back to ancient Lake Bonneville, which covered most of Western Utah and small parts of Idaho and Nevada during the Ice Age, Lake Bonneville receded and the Great Salt Lake is the remnant of that ancient lake. The Great Salt Lake is the largest body of concentrated 'sea water' in the world. Each winter, an average 500 inches of snow fall on the mountain ranges surrounding the Great Salt Lake. In spring, the waters of melting snow dissolve minerals from the soils and rocks as they wash down the mountains into a like that has no outlet. Utah's scorching summer sun evaporates water off the lake leaving the concentrated minerals behind. Only tiny plankton miraculously eats up bacteria in the lake, thus purifying the water.


The forces of nature have created a lake that has a minerals concentration six to ten times that of ocean water. Due to this naturally high concentration, MRI does not use any chemical processes to harvest or produce the liquid minerals. MRI simply continues what nature has started. Utilizing the dinamics specific to each of the four seasons, MRI's trace mineral products.

Network Marketing

If you don’t know what Network Marketing is, it is a 50-year-old industry and has the highest residuality quotients of anything that I have shown to you or will show to you in this book. Network Marketing is just a way for businesses to distribute their products. It is:

• Person-to-person communication
• Establishing, building and nurturing relationships
• Marketing channel
• A different way of doing business
• Helping and serving other people
• A way of living: FREEDOM!
• Residual income at its best

Rather than using the customary distribution process that moves from manufacturer to warehouse to wholesaler to retailer to end customer, Network Marketing companies use a network of independent marketers to move the products directly from the manufacturer to the end customer.Any business methodology that is not in sync with the “norm” will always be considered a scam. Network marketing, however, is not a scam but a great way to produce residual income.

The independent marketers earn a percentage of the profit on all sales they make. While it's possible and highly recommended to earn an income by selling to customers directly, the real power of Network Marketing is that you are allowed to build a downline of other independent marketers below you, and earn a percentage of their combined sales.

Advertising

The new MLMer faces a daunting task...and competition...when it comes to "advertising". Finding that "best combination" of time, effort, and money is a growth experience. Rarely will it just appear....education (self and provided) plus mentoring (if available) are important factors and hopefully a fact of life. However, "advertising" is not impossible. How you "advertise" or "share" can take many forms. There are free and inexpensive methods that do work. It's a matter of finding those that work for you.

For example:

1. Writing and submitting ezine articles is an excellent method. It requires time & effort...but no money. The benefits include increased link popularity for the url used in your sig box (important for search engine ranking), branding, and reach (you can "reach" more with an article than an ezine ad). Plus it's viral. Often your article is archived by publishers and directories.....available well after it was originally offered. Plus publishers and web masters will often "pick up" your
article...again well after you originally submitted it.

2. Business cards are always a good method...and more inexpensive than one realizes. You can even make your own. Just pass them out like candy....stores, church, ball games, local events, restaurants (leave 1 with your bill), businesses you frequent, networking meetings, local Chamber Of Commerce. The possibilities are only
limited by your imagination.

3. Flyers, posters, post cards, brochures, etc. can also be done very inexpensively. You can make your own on your PC or purchase custom or ready-made templates from numerous online providers. You could even strike up a joint venture with a local community provider. They print it for you and include their "advert" somewhere...you distribute.You both win, you pay less, and maybe influence that partner to be involved in your business.

4. Web decals on your vehicle(s) is another inexpensive method. Cost is about $40 each but the visibility is priceless.

5. Newspaper/magazine ads can be found that aren't going to cost an arm and a leg. Local publications are the best place to start. Nationwidenewspapers.com is an excellent source. For some services you may find College student newspapers and alumni magazines to be good performers. Of course there are the traditional ezine and magazine ads, leads programs, event booths, direct mailings, card decks, Forum participation, search engines, etc. Most of these will cost you money...all will cost you time & effort.

The key I believe is in being creative and sticking to what best fits your time, effort, money combination. It is and should be a personal choice. If the dollar "cost" doesn't give you the dollar "value" you hope for,keep looking. But don't EVER give up. Plus...diversify. Use multiple methods. Why limit yourself to just "one path"? Just remember to be honest, be helpful, be yourself....and have fun! Then pass it on!

Tips For Getting Started

1. Forget about "Getting Rich Quick!" If you're looking to "Get Rich Quick," you better take some heavy risks or be awfully lucky, because this business, like any other business, takes time and hard work. No way around it.

2. There's no secret that the network marketers making the most profits have the largest lists. The quickest way to build your list and keep in constant contact with your prospects is to publish an ezine.

3. Freebies are the best ways to generate leads and build your list. Free reports, free eBooks, free software, use any or all of these to gather email addresses and your list will build in no time. Always make sure the prospect leaves their address in return for the freebie.

4. Build a site geared around your network marketing program in specific or MLM in general

5. Patience is the key. It takes about 1 year before true "Geometric Progression" begins to take place. It's no coincidence that:

• Most network marketers quit within the first year.
• Most network marketers fail.
• Network marketers that stick it out for a year or more usually end up becoming the new "Heavy Hitters."

6. Make a commitment to recruit a new member into your first level on a daily basis. There are two major reasons for doing this.

• Momentum is a key factor in keeping you dedicated to your efforts.
• Only about 5% of your frontline members will contribute to building your downline.

7. The majority of your time should be spent recruiting. You'll waste a lot of time trying to work with the 95% that aren't going to do anything. Offer your help and those that are serious will contact you.

8. Once you've developed your downline and your contact list, you can maximize your profits by diversifying. Multiple streams of income will take you to the next level and your monthly income will continue to grow. You can diversify by:

• Adding more programs.
• Adding webmaster tools such as autoresponders and hosting.
• Adding informational products and programs.
• Adding time saving software.

When you diversify, think in terms of related goods and services that will benefit your downline.

Advantages of Franchise Ownership

The benefits of franchise ownership are only as strong as the franchise you select. Generally speaking, the benefits can be classified in several broad areas:

1. Overall Competitive Benefits: The public has become accustom to a certain level of quality and consistency from brand name franchised locations. Whether you believe a company's product is superior or mediocre, the secret for their success is usually that it is consistent. The consumer knows the level of quality they will receive in every location they visit. This brand identification often provides the new franchisee with an established customer base accustomed to shopping under the company's brand and that makes it easier to compete with the well-established independent operators and even against other well-established franchised competitors.

2. Pre-Opening Benefits: Franchisors have made mistakes. Another advantage of franchising is that they have survived their mistakes and can guide their franchisees not to make the same mistakes. Upon joining an established franchise system new franchisees generally receive comprehensive initial training in the operating of the franchise system, its product, services and methodologies. While the cost of entrance into a franchise system includes a franchise fee - often cited as a disadvantage - the franchisee benefits from a host of services including operations manuals, site selection, store design, construction programs and reduced cost of equipment to name just a few.

Additionally, they have not only their franchisor as a seasoned partner to ask questions to but the network of other franchisees within the system that can be of assistance. In essence, the major stumbling block for pre-destined failure is removed by the franchisor - lack of preparedness. Most independent businesses don't fail because their product or services were inadequate. They fail because they did not anticipate problems. Chief among these is working capital. Well developed franchise programs ensure that before they accept a new franchisee that they have adequate capital, even after servicing their debt and taking into account seasonally adjusted cash flow. Without this guidance many independent operators fail soon after opening.

3. Ongoing Benefits: In exchange for paying an ongoing royalty and other payments, franchisees generally receive continual training programs and other ongoing home office and field support and assistance.

Group purchasing power is a major benefit of well-developed franchise systems. Frequently buying groups established by the franchisor allow the franchisees to benefit from a lower cost of goods, equipment, and supplies than that available to independent operators.

Leveraging off the contributions of the entire franchise system, franchisors are able to create professionally designed point of sale, advertising, grand opening programs and other marketing materials that independents could never afford. Franchise programs can also afford to continue to modernize the system through ongoing research and development and the test marketing of new products and operating programs.

Franchising is a critical mass business both with a market and system wide. The spending power of the individual dollar, combined with their fellow franchisees within their market and the rest of the system enable franchises not only to dominate local markets and established independents but also to compete effectively against the established large chains.

Buying a Franchise

There are many misconceptions about franchising, but probably the most widely held is that you as a franchisee are “buying a franchise”. In reality you are investing your assets in a system to utilize the brand name, operating system and ongoing support. You and everyone in the system are licensed to use the brand name and operating system.

Why is it a lease? In any franchise deal the franchisee receives the assets upfront but only for a limited period of time--the term of the franchise agreement. The term of the agreement may run 5 or 10 years or, in some cases, only 1 or 2 years. At the end of the term, the franchisor decides whether or not the agreement will be renewed. The reasons for not renewing the agreement should be completely spelled out in the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular and franchise agreement.

An “ownership mentality” destroys the reason franchised and company-operated units are successful. Think about it. If you think you “bought” a franchise, you become an “owner” and begin to think and act like an owner. You will want to change the system because of your needs, you will wonder what you are paying the royalty for, and you will begin thinking of other franchisees as your competitors. For these and many other reasons you do not want to think of yourself as an “independent owner.”

Steps to Acquiring a Franchise

Step 1: First, you must determine if you would function well as a franchisee.

Your job is to make an informed business decision about whether a franchisor’s business opportunity meets your needs and whether you can provide what the franchisor wants and needs in a franchisee.

You need to ask yourself basic questions:

1. What do you want from life at this time?
2. What are your wants, needs, and desires?
3. What are your goals, objectives, and dreams?
4. What are you looking for in a business?
5. Have you decided to leave what you are now doing–not just the job, but the profession?
6. Have you made a decision to become a part of another organization? Remember that in franchising you joined someone else’s business. You are going to be using their marketing system to generate customers and their operating system to satisfy them.
7. Do you have the kind of personality that can accept running the business according to someone else’s plan without feeling that it compromises your individuality?
8. Do you have an interest in doing this kind of work for the length of the agreement?
9. Have you ever worked for one company for five or ten years?
10. Do you have related skills, knowledge, abilities, and work related experiences similar to the ones required for running the franchise you are considering?
11. Do you have the financial resources to open and operate the business successfully?
12. Can the business support your lifestyle needs?
13. Which of the franchises you are reviewing meets your financial needs short and long term?

Step 2: You then have to choose the right franchise among the 3000 plus franchise selections available. Most franchisor's today have web pages with tons of information on their companies and their franchise opportunities. Evaluate the legal documents from a business perspective. Determine whether the franchisor has territory policies that might make franchisees less competitive in a highly competitive environment. Many prospective franchisees erroneously believe that having a large territory is best for them. It could, in fact, be the worst thing for them. For example, if you have too few franchisees in a market and competitors have more units than you have, it could leave you at a disadvantage in terms of dominating the market for your product or service in your area.

Look for a franchisor who can communicate a strategy not just for market presence but for dominating markets; look for a franchisor interested in establishing a competitive edge and increasing market share. If a franchisor cannot talk about these issues, it is entirely possible the franchisor is using franchising as a way to generate franchise fees and royalty revenue rather than to establish a competitive position in the marketplace.

Evaluate the marketing/advertising fee. Many franchisors and prospective franchisees erroneously believe that a low marketing fee is a good thing. In fact, the marketing fee should be related to the amount of money each franchisee needs to contribute to support an advertising campaign that will generate enough new and repeat
business for each of them. A 1% advertising fee may look good now, but when you need 5% from everyone to be competitive, it might not be possible to convince all franchisees to participate.

Evaluate the effectiveness of the Franchise Advisory Council. Does the franchisor incorporate the franchisees’ input in the decisions that affect the future direction of the system? Does the franchisor involve franchisees’ input in decisions?

Be sure you can answer the question “How will I make money in this business?” There should be a very simple answer to this question. It will not violate earnings claims restrictions for the franchisor to answer it because you are not asking “How much money will I make?” You simply want to know how money is made in the business. Spend as much time as possible speaking to existing franchisees. Ask them if they would do it again. How long did it take them to recoup their investment? How much money are they making? Does the operating system work? Are they provided with good marketing programs? Do the franchisees get along well with each other and with the franchisor? What are the major problems with the business? Do they use all of the operating system? Is the franchisor’s ongoing support adequate and helpful? The answers to these questions will help you make your decision.

Step 3: After you narrow down your franchise choices, you must then thoroughly investigate each opportunity.

After your preliminary research, you’re going to contact the franchise systems you’re interested in. You will receive an information package from each company. By the way, this is a good way for you to begin to evaluate the franchise. You might want to think over whether or not you want to pursue this particular opportunity if it takes a month or more to receive the information or if you can’t even get to this point because all you do is leave voice mail messages for the franchise development department.

Generally, a franchise information package will contain a letter, a brochure describing the business and a qualifying questionnaire. The questionnaire usually asks for the following information:

o Assets

o Liabilities

o Net Worth

o Sources of Income

o Educational History

o Previous Employment

o Credit References

o Personal References

o Motivation for Buying a Franchise

The franchisor should have a business plan for the system that covers at least the length of the agreement you are being asked to commit to. Ask for the plan for the market where you are going to locate the operation. Ask for their analysis of the competition. Ask how many units are being planned for your area and why that many. Why not more, why not less? Ask how much is going to be spent on marketing in your area.

Ask to look at the operations manuals or at least to see an outline of them. This is important because the operations manuals are your guideline to a successful operation. You need to feel comfortable that they are complete and clear and meet your abilities, needs, and goals. Ask to receive a full explanation of the initial and subsequent training programs. Ask how people are trained. Is it classroom or hands-on practice? Are there case studies and discussions or is it straight lecture?

Ask for a full explanation of the pre-opening assistance offered by the franchisor. Understand any help franchisors give for site selection and lease negotiation. Be clear about what ongoing support the franchisor provides to the franchisees.

Step 4: Once you have made a choice you must analyze and understand the franchise agreement and, if possible, negotiate points of disagreement with the franchisor. The disclosure document will provide you with a wealth of information that you should have reviewed by your accountant as well as a qualified franchise attorney.

Many prospective franchisees unfortunately rely upon their local lawyers for advice on franchising matters. Franchising is a complicated and somewhat unique branch of the law and requires you to work with lawyers that practice in this area. A good source for locating a qualified franchise attorney is through the International.

Step 5: Finally, you will have to put together a financial package to fund your franchise investment.

Creating Your Own Franchise

Picture this: a terrier, smartly dressed in a red bandanna; a German shepherd wearing a police badge; and a springer spaniel, lovingly held by its owner. These are some of the clients Bill and Peggy Cain snap in their Bow, New Hampshire, portrait studio.

When Bill started his photography business 12 years ago, he noticed many customers wanted their pets included in family portraits. That gave him the idea for Dog Gone Portraits, a portrait studio for man's best friend and other critters. The Cains' studio averages some 1,000 sittings each year.

The Cains have just begun franchising their concept. Start-up costs of $22,400 to $36,000 cover the $15,000 franchise fee, equipment and training. The Cains run their studio from home, and franchisees can do the same by working with pet stores and pet-related associations that sponsor on-site photo programs in return for a percentage of sales. A photography background is helpful but not necessary; training involves photography lessons and tips on posing the furry subjects.

You need to look at your business and imagine that you're actively engaged in the process of readying it for franchise. That you are ready to create 5,000 businesses exactly like it. If you can think about your business in this way, if you can imagine what kind of systems, what kind of checks and balances you would need to achieve this result, then you can see what you have to do. You can see your mission clearly.

Every franchise in operation has done this to varying degrees. McDonald's, Starbucks, RadioShack, Baskin-Robbins...the list goes on and on. Don't let the magnitude of these corporations alienate you from the fundamental reality--that these companies employ techniques and strategies that are accessible to ALL business owners...even you!

It's not that they have exceptional products or services. They have exceptional businesses...their business model is their single most important product. If no aspect of a business is left to chance, the owner or operator's ability to achieve their business and life goals is greatly enhanced! The owner or operator's ability to remove themselves from the daily operating reality of the business becomes possible!

Here are four things to consider when gearing up to create your franchise prototype. They are the governing rules in the franchise game, and will provide you with a context in which to look at your business as a franchise prototype. Your business will:

• Provide consistent value to your customers, employees, suppliers, and lenders, and will exceed their expectations
• Be positioned to be operated by people with the lowest possible level of skill, because everything in the business will be systematized
• Be the exemplar of order, and will provide a predictable experience for your customers, employees, suppliers, and lenders
• Have all the work that happens documented in an Operations Manual, to ensure that the systems are followed

Creating the manuals, systems, formats, etc, will take time, money, and effort. Once these are established, however, you can begin selling your franchise like Dog Gone Portraits did. Let’s say that you sell 3 franchises per year at a profit of $15,000. That is an extra $45,000 to invest, creating even more residual income.