I got lost a couple of weeks ago when I was driving my girls to their Sunday Stage school. Now don’t laugh…there was a diversion on the road and I missed the turning. We were chatting and there were some confusing cones … Long story.

Anyway I went round and round for quite a time until I managed to figure out a new route to get to where I wanted to go.

At one point I really felt like screaming (I might have done)

My eldest daughter was very calm and did the equivalent of ‘phone a friend.’ She phoned my husband who tried to figure out where we were and help us find our way.

I wasn’t able to fully listen or pay attention though because I was still driving and kept having to make new decisions about which way to go.

Frustrating! If you’ve ever been lost then you know exactly what I mean right!

My youngest daughter was moaning about missing her dance class and being late.

So what’s the lesson for social media?

Well it occurred to me that there is so much information about what to do with social media; but not so much about what to do when it all goes wrong!

Here are some tips for what to do when you get lost online and are facing stressful challenges:

1) Stop everything (like I should have stopped the car)

2) Don’t panic. Take a deep breath. (I definitely should have done that!)

3) Know that FAST can be SLOW. (Driving round and round did not get us there any faster!)

4) Figure out where you are. Phone a friend who knows ‘the area,’ ie; ASK FOR HELP.

5) Then concentrate long enough to LISTEN to their suggestions. (I didn’t do that either!)

6) Follow them and get yourself out of the sticky situation (so you don’t lose your work etc.

7) Take a break and re-evaluate where you are

Create a game plan (get help if needed) so you can move forward in the best way to achieve what you want

9) Listen to yourself too! When I slowed down and took a few minutes to think clearly I found my way back to the place I recognise and just started again.

10) Know that frustration in business and social media (and driving!) is quite normal. Be prepared to push through the obstacles and the reward will be all the greater.

I hope that helps. You must have a social media strategy for your MLM business or you too might find yourself going round and round with no destination in site!

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Ok well last week we looked at using Facebook for building your networking and MLM business.

Today let’s take a look at Twitter. I’m going to cover the basics and more advanced stuff today cause we’re mostly learning a lot quite ‘by accident’ as we discover social media.

What this means is that you can become quite familiar with some advanced strategies cause you clicked on a link that showed you what to do…

But it’s quite likely that you’re missing out on some of the basics unless you have taken an A-Z Twitter training course.

I started with Perry Belcher and Mike Dillard’s fabulous social media course but of course everything has evolved so much since then that it’s a continuous learning process.

That’s what makes social media a great way to do business. It’s fun. It can also be frustrating as hell if you don’t know how to use the tools. So here goes…

Tips for maximising Twitter for your MLM and branding you online

Tip 1 – Start branding your own name online

I recommend you start with an account in your own name like this:

This way you start to brand yourself and you can build your network authentically around your own hobbies, passions and business. All in one.

I do have a second account (I’m being very transparent as should you be in social media. People will find out what they want to know about you anyway!)

I saw on my blog stats that someone googled ‘the Truth about Rachel Henke’ the other day! I mean what’s that all about… ? Everyone’s a potential reporter these days so be honest!

The second account is useful as I have one that goes to my blog (my name) and one to my MLM capture page but it’s confusing so just start with your name and add in more twitter profiles later if you want to. Better to have one really good one I think for starters.

Rachel on Twitter

Tip 2 – Hook it up to your MLM capture page or blog

If you’re planning on being a consistent blogger then hook it up to your blog. (That is related to your MLM business and in turn connects to your MLM stuff)

If NOT yet a blogger with an opt in to your list. (Are you completely nuts?!)

Just hook it up to your capture page. You want to generate leads on auto-pilot right?

If you want to leverage your time there is no better way to do it. One of one still works brilliantly but if you want to crush it with online marketing and have fun doing it you need a web of content.

At the very least an effective capture page with a ‘giveaway.’ This just means people will exchange their email, name and phone number (if you ask for it!) with you in EXCHANGE for some tantalising titbit that THEY WANT.

This could be an e-book, video or free report. Why else would they hop into your marketing funnel?

You will miss out big time if you only do manual networking. Do MANUAL i.e. commenting and replying to people who respond to you but ALSO automated gathering of leads = BUILD YOUR LIST!

Tip 3 – Indentify your personality!

If you are wondering whether you have the ‘personality’ to build a following online this is time to LOCATE your PERSONALITY and say HELLO to it!

Connect with yourself for a moment and write down all your passions and interests. Be authentic. If you like fishing don’t pretend you’re more into car racing cause you think its cooler… Just be yourself.

I’m sure you can attract lots of enthused fisher-people who would like more TIME freedom to go fishing. Hello? You following me?

Start to share your daily activities. If your life is deadly boring this is the time when you can do some inner soul searching and figure out how to have more FUN!

Make time for your hobbies and passions. Share it with your followers.

For instance I’m a huge reader so I share Tweets about books as your can see in the picture above

So don’t

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Hello hello!

I’m going to do a series of articles about social media because I get the most questions about this. New networkers are coming online and can see the potential of Facebook but have no idea how to use it efficiently.

Facebook currently has over 400 million users and the average person spends 55 minutes per day on the site.

25% of all page views in the USA are on Facebook! I was listening to a video by Robert Grant this morning with all the latest stats.

Europe is not far behind.

Facebook is rivalling google for advertising market share and offers a completely unique and authentic way of interacting with your network.

As Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame has written, ‘The richest people in the world build networks, the rest just look for work.’ (Thanks to Mark Hibbitts as I was reminded of that quote by him)

So here goes. I can’t tell you EVERYTHING in one article but I will try and give you the best tips for getting started right.

The best way to learn is to follow people who ‘get it’ and start getting some real experience by building your own network.

Tip 1

If contacting people individually on Facebook to ‘pitch’ them into your MLM was ever in your head then please take it out right now.

You will save yourself a lot of embarrassment and pain. Facebook is a social site that gives you the ability to build real relationships with people who just may be interested in what you have to offer.

I am not talking about contacting your warm market here. You should have a professional invitation process for that, using tools to expose your business, and if you choose to use Facebook as the communication method to contact your real friends then that’s quite a different thing than what we’re talking about here today. (Got it?)

Hopefully you have some good MLM professional training at your fingertips, and are listening and applying it. If that’s so then you will NOT be running around accosting people in the street about your MLM.

So let’s say Facebook is like the world.

Your profile and network are your virtual city.

Interact with people graciously in the same way that you do in your real life city. (Not that Facebook isn’t real life but you know what I mean!)

Tip 2

I’m gearing this up for the people who are starting from scratch because it’s you guys that really need this help.

You start at 0. Don’t panic. We all did that. I started a few years ago after resisting lots of smart people who advised me to get on it.

Action step 1: Look up your real friends and start to build your network.

Action step 2: Join groups and fan pages that are INTERESTING to you where you can CONTRIBUTE with pleasure.

If you are chasing sign ups and money people will smell you coming! I promise. Trust me on this one.

Build up your Facebook presence. I don’t mean sit on Facebook all day. (That can be fun but doesn’t pay well!)

Spend 20-30 minutes per day adding existing and new potential friends that you are connecting with through groups and fan pages. After a while it takes on a life of its own and if you behave nicely on Facebook and give value, people will start to add you every day and it snow balls.

Here’s a recipe for successfully building your network. Spend 10 mins morning and evening adding friends and commenting (with no agenda) Just be your ‘best’ you. (No excuses here please – you can use any pockets of time you have. Doesn’t HAVE TO BE morning and evening!)

Tip 3

Action step 1: Add your capture page or blog to your profile with an interesting message for your target market. Your capture page should ideally lead straight into your opportunity but on the front end offer something of real value such as a free ebook, report or video.

This does not mean leading with an offer to pay money to join your MLM. (That’s what your company website does and you use that later in the process) That is pitching not giving value to a new friend.

If you are advanced and already have a blog then that should be on your profile too. Again this is not a blog about your MLM but more about what value you are giving to the world. Of course it can lead into your MLM opportunity ideally with a link to your capture page so you can build your prospect list.

Here’s a screen shot of my Facebook profile so you can see that this is not pie in the sky!

Action step 2: Show people who you are by commenting on your friends’ stuff (you can see it all in the ‘home feed.’) Enter the great Facebook conversation.

Action step 3: Interact with your upline and others in your MLM team so you can learn the ropes. This will give you credibility as a group.

Tip 4

Action step: Start posting and sharing cool stuff. You can share stuff from blogs, videos or social sites such as Digg.com or Stumbleupon.com. Youtube.com has a ton of amazing free content.

Only share stuff that you feel has real value for the kind of person you are looking to attract. Of course you can share some fun stuff with your friends too.

I highly recommend avoiding time wasting activities that involve mafia wars and Farmville though!

Share with no agenda and the good stuff will come back to you. Being a selfish marketer who talks about their own stuff all day long does not go well in social media marketing. It just doesn’t…

Tip 5

Be nice! Have a GREAT attitude. If you are new to MLM you will be realising that an incredible attitude is key to your success. You’ll be learning to deal with some rejection when your prospects say ‘no thanks.’ (Please don’t cry!)

Work on yourself by feeding your mind everyday so that you have a great attitude. It will be one of your best assets.

Facebook is NOT a place to moan and groan about how unfair life is. You will attract dead beat moaners who want to groan with you! So many people spend lots of their time at work moaning. If you’ve fallen into that bad habit then now’s the time to lose it.

Remember that your downline, upline, crossline and potential prospects can HEAR everything you say. They can find your thoughts online in some instances for years to come so be mindful of this.

Start afresh. Post positive stuff. Inspire people. Share the best stuff you can find online. Build relationships and build your network.

Closing thoughts…

Social media plays a huge part in the new economy and new ways of doing business. Your ultimate goal when using Facebook to build your MLM business is of course to find business partners that are a match for your team.

Remember though that building an online network is a long term asset for you. You can use your network for all kinds of things. It’s the new way of finding business opportunities, contracts, jobs, new hobbies, groups, friends and even husbands or wives.

So in the wise words of Jim Rohn, ‘Success is something you attract by the person you become.’ Keep that in mind when you’re social networking and choose to always do the right thing.

Have fun and connect with me on Facebook. If you found this useful please share it with the buttons below as I’m on a quest to make Facebook a better place to network and could use your help!

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We’re all so ‘busy’ online it’s easy to get behind with the stuff we know we should probably be doing.

One of the things I know I should be doing more of is bookmarking and sharing content.

But the clock ticks so fast for me! Does it for you? Wow the days just fly by and time goes even faster when I’m at my computer.

Maybe you can relate….

Anyway today I just wanted to let you in on something really cool that I’ve started using to get my online content out there more easily.

There’s a lot of talk with home business owners and Network Marketers building online, about ‘VAs.’

Pardon Rachel?

No I’m not being rude… A VA is a Virtual Assistant and in simple terms is a way of outsourcing some of your load to someone else without having to have an employee.

You can pay them by the hour and you can start off with a VA for as little as a couple of hours a week.

They can be used for all kinds of things such as marketing, phone calls, admin, customer service etc.

There are also techie Virtual Assistants who can help you build your websites, blogs and systems. I couldn’t have built my systems without one of those so that’s a must for anyone who is not plugging into someone else’s system.

Some people pay their kids, neighbours or family members whilst others hire people through Virtual Assistant companies locally or overseas.

I’ve been dreaming of a marketing VA for some time but have procrastinated terribly over finding someone.

Meanwhile my teenage daughter seems to be more highly qualified than most adults I know at whizzing around on the computer so we’ve been working together and I’ve been showing her the ropes with online marketing. It’s been a lot of fun and she is getting some great skills!

I’ve heard quite a lot of buzz about ‘SYNND,’ which is a Content Syndication Network created by Charles Heflin. It’s a big hit and many high profile online marketers are using this service.

I was tempted in a few weeks ago and decided to check it out and see if it’s as good as I’ve heard.

I’ve found that you literally can outsource your marketing to 500 people worldwide in a couple of minutes. (Took me longer at first until I figured out what to do!)

The good news is that it is like having a VA who doesn’t need to be spoken to. It’s all automated and even while you sleep you are earning credits for your own marketing by bookmarking other people’s through your computer. (I won’t even try to explain that because it’s mindblowing but they do a good job at Synnd of explaining it.

So far, so good. I’m not spending much time with it at all but if you wanted to go really big with it you could even have a Virtual Assistant doing it for you. Maybe that will be my daughter’s next task! Although to be fair she is a very physically present assistant..

Who is SYNND good for?

Well I think it’s a great asset to those who create a lot of online content and want to spend less time getting it out there and more time creating it.

Business owners who want less employees and like the idea of employing robots!

Time challenged people who really want to leverage their time and output with tools.

Those who are familiar with social bookmarking and understand the power of it.

People who want to develop their Search Engine Optimization and want organic traffic to their sites. (And are doing the work that it entails!)

Who is SYNND maybe not for?

It’s pretty advanced (although there are step by step instructions in a manual) so I wouldn’t recommend it for none techie people or those just starting out. (Unless you get a super techie VA!)

Unless you have an online business other than your MLM I would say you probably don’t need it. (Unless you are really going for it online with lots of content and creating some kind of brand)

I would recommend you get the basic stuff done before you venture into SYNND. A WordPress Blog works best with it.

It’s also not going to be for people who still haven’t figured out how to create effective content. (Focus on that first)

Well I just wanted to share that with you. It’s not for everyone but it is pretty amazing. Technology has come so far – who knows where it will be in a few years.

You can check SYNND out here on the $1 14 day trial offer. Any questions give me a shout.

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So what do you do to build your MLM business when you feel you are too introverted or shy to talk to people about your opportunity?

Many new network marketers simply quit. First hurdle and bummm.. they’re gone.

If you’re tenacious but introverted then you need to find a way that can work for you. I think it’s because of challenges with personality types that so many people are switching into attraction marketing online.

On the other hand some of the most popular ways for building a business online are with Social Media Marketing. What does that require to be successful?

Perry Belcher, the king of Twitter and Social Media Marketing likes to say that Social Media is like one big party. So does that mean that if you’re introverted you’re back to square one and the outgoing people win yet again?

Well it can do but the great thing about building an online business is that you can customise your marketing to suit you. It’s not about one size fits all and you either follow this plan or you’re out.

There are days when we all feel more sociable and outgoing than others even if we’re not introverted or nervous of talking to people.

It’s useful to bear in mind that even if you are the most outgoing person on the planet and can talk to everyone on and offline about your business, the chances are that you will have people in your team who have not been blessed with this ease of communication.

Here are the main ways to build your business with social media in a way that can suit every mood and personality type: super shy, outrageously outgoing or somewhere in between!

Social Media for Extroverts
If you are a chatterbox and love connecting and chatting with people then Social Media Marketing is your match made in heaven. Spend some time each day posting items of interest, commenting on the networks such as Facebook and Twitter and actively social networking.

Twitter was made for chatterboxes so your time has come! Many are building their entire business around social media marketing in this way.

Top Tip: Create a blog to link your social profiles to and make sure you add plenty of personality to your content along with a lead capture box and your phone number so that people can call you or opt into your marketing funnel.

Social Media for Shy Pussy Cats.
Shy pussycats also have lots to do! Social Media represents a huge fishing pool for potential prospects. An incredibly effective way to build your MLM business online is to set up your content with attraction marketing so people come to you.

Attraction Marketing was really made for you! You can spend lots of your time attraction prospects into your marketing funnel and you can either set it up so that people call you (if you feel comfortable with that) or you call them once they have reviewed something.

Top Tip: Create content that pulls people to you and if you don’t want people calling you first then don’t put your phone number on your sites, or have your calls go to an answer service. Make sure to have a value based free report to offer so your prospects sign up on your blog or website and are exposed to your opportunity or services before you speak to them.

Most people are somewhere in the middle of these extremes, and you can have networking days or hours for when you are feeling in an outgoing mood. At other times you can work on your online content as there is plenty of quiet work to be done there.

At some point you’ll need to pick up the phone to build a relationship with your prospects but that is so much easier when they are already receiving email messages from you and when you call you are already positioned as someone who is offering them real value, and they feel they know you. Dare I say it but it is even an enjoyable activity!

p.s If you’re interested in learning more about setting up your own marketing funnel with a customised plan based around your personality type then register for a free account with Renegade University where you’ll be able to learn more about this type of attraction marketing.

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