List Building for Direct Network Marketing

If you are into direct network marketing and you are not building a list for email marketing, you are setting yourself up for failure. It used to be that network marketers were focused entirely on finding good qualified leads and getting them to join the particular business opportunity they were promoting at the time. Once they joined the game was won. It’s not so simple anymore if you really want to be successful.

Being able to build and market to your own list is a critical component in any internet marketing business. It is just as critical for network marketers in today’s environment. I don’t mean going out and buying or renting some list. I’m talking about building your own list of trusted subscribers. This is something different than your downline. Your downline should be just a subset of your list that happened to join your business opportunity. But if these people aren’t on your own list as well, you lose in the long run. That downline list really belongs to the network marketing company.

The list I’m talking about is one that belongs to you. Some of the people on that list may join your network marketing business opportunity and some won’t. If they do, that list becomes your downline and really belongs to the network marketing company. Who cares? They are already on your own list. They are there for you to offer other services and business opportunities over time.

So how do you go about building a list? There are many ways. But whatever you do don’t go out and buy a list. These are worthless over the long term. You need a list of subscribers who follow you. To do this you need a website. I know some people will say you don’t but people say a lot of things. Trust me, if you want to build a business that will last build a website and build a list.

Once you have a website, build it out with good valuable content. For example, you may want to build a website that helps network marketers grow their businesses. Put up on the site tips, techniques or processes you’ve used that have worked for you. Talk about some of the tools you’ve used to build your own downline. Maybe you have used a very helpful online service that you would recommend. If you have been in this business, you know a lot more than you realize.

Now most people will need some inducement to give you their email. Create a free offering that will have some real value for their business. Here again an ebook on tips and secrets for developing a downline is an example. Maybe you want to provide your subscribers with a regular newsletter on strategies that are working right now in the marketplace. The options are really limitless. Use your imagination.

As you build your list you are building one of the most valuable assets an online business or any business for that matter can have. It is a pool of people who will continue to buy from you based on the trust they put into your recommendations. Treat your list well and it will make you money for many years to come.

Todd Gleason is a frequent author on small business development and internet marketing. You can learn more about the new skills needed for direct network marketing and get a free copy of “7 Secrets to building a Productive Downline” here.