The world of marketing is coming full circle. No one trusts emails anymore… unless they trust you already… not many trust telemarketers… but there is something different about getting a piece of mail in the mailbox.

I’m 37 years old, and I still look at every item I get in the mail. I open almost every envelope. I read every postcard. And I read every flyer. I just like mail.

To contrast this, I delete 90% of my emails without ever reading or opening one of them. They are spam, crap, junk emails. I read the first line, if that, of the remaining 10% and immediately delete 80% of those. I read and respond or take action on the rest. What that means is about 98% of the crap that comes through my inbox is pure trash, and is worthless in every way.

Furthermore, when my phone rings and the caller ID says “Unavailable” or is from an area code out of state that I don’t recognize, I will either ignore it or I answer the phone grouchy and HIGHLY skeptical. I hate almost all phone calls.

But, going to the mailbox is still something I have to fight my wife and kids over to do. We all love to go to the mailbox!

So, why not capitalize on that by getting back to roots of postcard marketing and mailing out postcards to build your business? I sure would. Sure, people will throw in the trash, but almost all of them will have at least read it, and maybe took some kind of action, like calling the 800# for more information or visiting the website you have listed. My uneducated, yet experienced mind says that no other form of marketing has a greater action-rate than postcard marketing.  None.

Also, it is probably one of the most duplicatible forms of marketing. Do you think it would be easier to recruit someone and tell them to buy some leads, put some stamps on postcards, and mail them out, or pick up the phone and dial 500 strangers every week for the next 3 months, or set up an elaborate email server and blast out millions of emails to spam the crap out of them, and hopefully not get shut down or cussed out by angry recipients?

You will have to do a bit of research – most companies have some kind of postcard, but you may need to create one on your own and have a place print them for you, or find a company that has some good options to making them for you.

Here’s the bottom line – if I was building an MLM business, or any other kind of home business, I would have a postcard made for me (it doesn’t have to be expensive), buy some post card leads, put on a stamp, and repeat that every week, all year long, and teach everyone else to do the same thing.

That’s my opinion, but hey what do I know. Many moons ago I build my entire business using postcards. I was with a company called ProStep. We used this yellow postcards with black type, and a bit of red on them. Nothing complex. Just a simple yellow postcard, and we made thousands.

If you have any suggestions or know of any postcard companies, leave a comment here on this blog post and share with the community.

So what does it take to achieve network marketing success? It’s probably the most asked question in MLM and there have been a multitude of answers.

After strong consideration, the answer is mindset. It’s actually having the right mindset but unless you are prepared mentally then you really will be pushing whatever uphill. Without the right success mindset you’ll be a sitting target for those things which come along and throw you off course. And believe me, they will come along.

It’s not really about listening constantly to positive mental attitude material. While this can help the key is developing a long term mindset and setting short term goals along the way. Without short term milestones that long term goal will remain just that.

It’s all about reeling it in step-by-step. In internet network marketing a steely resolve is required and this can be achieved by getting your mind focused on what’s important in building your business. One trick is to picture yourself in several years time facing your family and explaining to them that this is all you have to offer them.

Can you see how powerful something like this can be and it’s a technique which has helped many high achievers in network marketing do that 5% extra to make sure they build long lasting wealth just to maintain the respect of those people closest to them.

Focus Is Key

So this brings me to my main point here. How and where you focus your marketing efforts in M-L-M will ultimately determine your overall results.

In other words, if your thinking is short term then your marketing will reflect that. You’ll be constantly battling to come up with winning strategies to keep your business afloat.

But if you have a long term mindset then again, your marketing will reflect that. You’ve got to really define in the beginning what it is you want from your business. That is, you should have your end clearly defined.

By knowing what your end goal is your marketing will also be targeted to long term success and won’t be of a short term fix nature. You want your marketing to be producing results 12-24 months from now, not in what I term the “bee effect” – once it’s lost it’s sting it dies.

So achieving home based business success starts with your mindset and if it’s on other things, then save yourself the frustration and wait until it’s focused on your business.

Generating leads is an essential part of building an at home business. Without leads, your business will cough and splutter and really go nowhere.

One of the big mistakes at home business owners such as network marketers make is driving their leads away after attracting them into their funnel. Sounds crazy doesn’t it and it’s called the desperate marketer syndrome.

People willing to do everything but give their prospect what they really want during the initial contact and that’s what’s in it for them and how do I get there. It’s called giving value before asking for the sale and the truth is, if it’s executed correctly then in many cases, the sales pitch won’t even be required.

An home based business is hard enough to establish and grow without sabotaging it with desperate marketing tactics which leave a sour taste in the mouth of a prospect and you a lead lighter. So what is a desperate marketer and how do they behave. Does this sound familiar?

The Desperate Network Marketer

Here’s an example of a desperate marketer. He gets a lead and is due to speak with them on the phone. Now this first step is going to tell a prospect a lot about the person they’re thinking of joining in business. And this is where most network marketers fluff it. Many suddenly get gripped by the desperate marketer syndrome.

They get into a lather about “what if this person doesn’t join my business” or “are they a potential Diamond Director and what if I lose them.”

And the phone conversation will go something like this…”Hi Joan, my name’s Ron and it’s good to meet you.” After the initial pleasantries the desperate marketer takes over. The conversation deterioates to something like this.

“I’m with company xyz and we are the best company in network marketing. Our products are life changing and will cure anything and boy, our compensation plan is the best. You’ll make a fortune with company xyz and you can’t fail because we do all the work for you. And if you don’t join our company you’ll be sorry because now is the time to get in blah, blah, blah…”

The Dreaded Early Sales Pitch

What’s wrong with this picture. Right, there has been nothing asked about what the prospect wants, their needs, their pain and how they can reach their goals. The desperate marketer has launched into a sales pitch from the get go and it’s been all about him.

The truth is, the company should never be mentioned unless the prospect specifically asks what it is. Never mention the products and never threaten the prospect with “if you don’t join…”

Make this initial conversation and one’s to follow all about the prospect. Give them information, training materials, educational resources. Show them you are genuinely interested in helping them achieve their goals. Show them you are someone who knows what you’re talking about and more importantly, earn their trust first and watch your at home based business grow.

Despite all the bad things leveled against it, believe it or not, the World Wide Web is not an entirely dangerous place. True, there may be scammers and thieves hiding in the corners of the Internet, but thanks to the web savvy of computer technicians, the Internet can actually be a good place to be if you want to meet people, learn new things, and even make money. Yes, the Internet can be your cash cow if you know how to manage it. But the question is why? Why should you even try to earn cash by start a home business,?

There are many different reasons why you should try to earn cash but one thing that you should not do (at least not yet) is to leave your day job. Internet-based businesses may earn a lot in the long run, but now that a lot of people are making money online, it might be difficult for you to break into the market and earn your gazillions immediately. In any case, here are a few reasons why you should start thinking about making that mouse work and getting yourself some bucks online.

There are many ways that you can make money online, and not all of them require you to be chained to a desk, writing down everything on a sheet of paper, or marking out graphs and curves with a highlighter. Take, for instance, affiliate marketing. In affiliate marketing, people online who have blogs or websites ally themselves with marketers. These blogs and websites need money to survive and these blogs and websites have an audience that can buy things online. So what do affiliate marketers do? They post advertisements on their client’s blogs and websites. Every time a visitor clicks on an advertisement, money goes to the blog or website owner. In fact, if this same visitor buys something on the new website, the blog or website owner gets commissions.

There are many options for starting a home business, online. There are actually money-earning programs available where you can consult with experts on how to set up your business. There are even profit sharing schemes where you can advertise popular blogs or websites on your site in return for commissions. There are even residual income sources that you can use for more income, such as answering surveys online, participating in forum discussions for a fee, and even writing reviews!

These are only a few good ideas on why you should start a starting a home business, online. But the main reason might simply be this: you need money for a better tomorrow, a good education for your children, a good retirement fund, a source of investment, and a way to enjoy your weekends. Your reasons will be different, but we all need money, and if the World Wide Web can give you a chance to earn money honestly, then why not take the chance?

What is your attraction to a home based business? The fascination people have with wanting to start their own business from home is staggering yet when we look at the success of this model, the truth is, there is little success.

Don’t get me wrong, yes, a home based business can bring you both money and time freedom but let’s ;look at the statistics. More than 95% of home business attempts come to a screeching halt while the attrition rate in network marketing for example is similar. In fact, more than 90% of network marketers walk away from their business within the first three months.

So what could the attraction of a home based business possibly be? It’s the dream and hopes it promises to deliver on and the problem is…most people never make the transition from that stage and get stuck in a syndrome called paralysis analysis. They can’t make the transition from job security to self starter.

But you can bet that the high failure rate won’t be stopping the surge towards home based business anytime soon and with the economy suffering a hiccup, job security has all but disappeared.

Doing Something You Love

What if you could turn a profit with your at home based business by doing something you love? That is something that many of us can only dream of, but in reality, there are so many more out there today that are achieving that even as you read this.

Part of being a success in today’s business world is loving what you do, and with that comes satisfaction each and every day, long after you are finished working. How satisfying would it be for you to say that you have reached your financial goals by doing something you love and it had carried you onto your retirement years?

Think about your hobbies, your passions. Are you into fitness? Cooking? Spirituality? Sports? There are so many different markets out there today that are just waiting for someone like yourself with ambition to capitalize on in order to reach your own aspirations.

Finding A Niche

Finding a niche in the business world is half the battle when it comes to making your work at home business a success. For some, making a list of ideas can bring out something more than just hobbies or passions, it could be a successful business opportunity that was never before visualized.

A blog can generate a lot of traffic and provides a number of avenues for you to generate revenue. By creating and maintaining a blog, you are consequently putting yourself in touch with thousands, if not more, potential investors or clients for your home based business.

Blogs are a great way to informally introduce yourself and your idea or product to those who go searching for it on their own. Rather than having an aggressive marketing strategy, blogs are there for the public to read at their leisure rather than having annoying popups while they are surfing the Internet. You can include links to your website or even include your own opinions in order to sway the reader’s image of your product or service.