How To - Network

It's not my intention to tell people how to suck eggs but I was very surprised in the number of people who did not know how to network or why.

Put aside the details of what your business is about.  Whether that may be a stand alone business or if you're an affiliate marketer.  However, can we agree you are in the business of making money?

Readers need to know the year is 2014 because it's relevant.  Technology is everywhere and it's here to stay.  Sadly, the criminal element is siphoning huge sums of money from peoples bank accounts has made us all very cautious about who we do online business with.

 The above is one reason why many home business folks do not trust or engage in online business relationships.  Another reason is some people don't know how to establish these relationships.  More importantly, many folks don't think it's necessary.

Let me talk about the list (not how to build one).  Your list of names and email addresses are comprised of people who believe you are going to provide them with some form of value.  Something / someone has convinced these listed people to give you their details.  Furthermore, the value you are going to provide is exactly what your listed people need and are keen to receive from you.

In addition to that, your list of people must think you're an OK kinda person, they have some degree of trust in you.  You have obviously impressed these folks with your previous promotional material.  Perhaps you came across well in your video or slide show about your offering.  BUT wait, what's that you say!!!

NO list...you don't have a list!  At least the above two paras will give you a clue what you need to do to get a list.  Moving on....

Some people have a strange idea about networking.  They will join a few social media sites, fill in their bio and stick a pic of themselves or an irrelevant ghastly looking avatar on there and tell people how good they are.  They then post low value information and wonder why they are ignored.  I admit this is worse case but it happens.

To avoid my ramblings and a lengthy post, networking is about 'joining in'.  Subscribing to groups that you relate to.  Learn from others.  Take and offer advice or suggestions.   Respond to other people's posts, make constructive comment and invite remarks.  Yes, this will be an imposition for many of you and also will place you on the edge of your comfort zone.

I will tell you something I discovered.  By doing the above, I quickly realised I had more knowledge than many others and so my following grew.  This was a light bulb moment for me because I was networking, many of the folks that followed me knew about me via word-of-mouth.

In summary, networking is not plastering your posts on a social media site.  It's about getting involved and connecting with other people.  Seek out others in groups such as Google + or Face Book groups.  Forget about YOU for a while, get out there and introduce yourself to others.  Just like you would do at a party or business conference.

OK, that's it for now, I trust you got some value from this post.  Go ahead and subscribe to my blog, I reply to everyone.  Because it's Friday here in Oz, I wish you all a brilliant weekend.

TTFN

Previous post about "Networking - A Problem"

Networking - A Problem

Sometimes I get the feeling that people who work from home online have no clue what networking is about.

Networking has been around long before the internet and is an integral part of business.  Making contacts and connections, meeting people, attending seminars and functions and simply getting out and about was and still is a key to running a successful business. Back in the day, networking actually involved conversing with a real person either face to face or by phone.

These days of course and thanks to the internet, networking has a much broader application.  How many social media sight exist?  Webinars, hangouts, video, mobiles and VOIP are just some of the methods used to communicate with people or businesses.

Somewhere between the pre-internet era and current day, way too many people forgot how to or do not know how to network.  People call themselves 'network marketers' and that's just not true. It's not a lie but so many folks just don't know what it is to network, and by putting 'marketing' after the word network doesn't change that.

Another thing people don't know is 'networking' is crucial to developing a successful online business.  Specifically, I am talking about those people who have setup a home office and are trying to make a dollar using the internet.  Apart from the fact 95 percent of these people don't know what they're doing, not having a clue about networking just makes reaching their online aspirations so much more difficult.  Let me explain what I mean. People decide to make a start building an online business from their home and after a while they figure out it's tough going.  Some will quit with few kind words to say about their experience while others persevere.

Those folks that stick around Google ways that can help them create wealth.  At this point they discover those shiny objects, dozens of ways to spend their money in the hope that other people and their companies will make them rich.  This usually involves subscribing to monthly sites that provide "how to" content.  Some people pay yearly membership fees for the same thing.  I'm not knocking these methods of creating wealth but they only work for a lucky few.  Actually, paying others to create your wealth rarely works, period.  An individual needs to create their own wealth but that's another story.

Here's the thing.  It does not matter what you do, if you are not networking you are doing it hard.  Here's the obvious;  the average person who works from home online wants to make money, a lot of money.  This money has to come from other people's pockets.  These 'other people' decide to give you their money in return for something of value.  With me so far!  Next question is, does your product have any competition?  Are you selling something that can be found anywhere and everywhere?

The majority of people trying to make a dollar online are all using similar methods to do so.  At this point I refer you to an earlier post you would be interested in reading.  There is a better way, however, let's keep with this most common model.  Now we get into the "list".  It's a fact that the best way to build success is through a well developed list of followers.  Most people do not have a list of people / prospects / buyers that will help them with their wealth creation.  WHY?  Because they don't know how to network and if you can't network, you can't network market.  I hope this makes sense to you!

In my opinion, networking is one of those key foundation blocks everyone needs to build their business on.  So, here we have identified a problem that hinders many people's business progress and sadly, they are totally unaware of it.  Don't worry, all is not lost.  Over the next few posts I will provide insights into the world of networking.  I will give you what you need to develop one of those key foundation blocks to build your business on.

In the meantime, you can practice networking by subscribing to my blog :-)    Until next time remember, you should not be alone!

TTFN