Have you ever received an email from an MLM contact or a network marketing training service that had odd characters or unusual miss-spellings?

Most people would think the person was stupid or that there was some kind of scam underfoot.

There IS actually a good reason for emails to arrive with funky spellings.

Take this one for example.  When you sign up for my ebook, Success In 10 Steps, you will receive several training emails written by Michael Dlouhy.

Take notice of of the odd characters and miss-spellings highlighted in red in the following text.

“Subject:  M-L-M Frustration Causes Success

Hi Karen,

Frustrated?

A big reason for the effectiveness of “Success In 10 Steps” is THAT word. The eb00k answers the questions of frustrated netw0rk mar*keters – who REALLY want their questions answered. It’s eating away at them, why they just haven’t made it big. They are so darned – frustrated!

I recommend you use that word in your advert1sing for “Success In 10 Steps.” Use it when you talk to your leades. Pound, pound, pound on “frustrated.” That word is worth its weight in gold.

Things change over time. It may not always be this way. But it definitely is true now. M-L-Mers are frustrated, and they want answers now. Use that knowledge when you advert1se to them and when you talk with them.

To build your own big income in M-L-M, the people you sponsor will need a constant stream of hot pr0spects. I can help you do that for them, and for yourself. For details, call me at (541) 484-5455 or hit reply right now and send me your name, phone number, and the best time to call.

To Your Success,

Karen Miller
(541) 484-5455

PS: Karen, I hope you have had time to print it out and read the eBook, “Success In Ten Steps”, which you requested a few days ago. it. Remember, there are only two things in life—reasons and results. The first one doesn’t count.

If you haven’t yet downloaded the ebook, here is the link:

http://mlmsuccess4u.successin10steps.com/ebook_download.php?d=MTQ0NTk1CWthcmVuQGthZG9raXRzLmNvbQltbG1zdWNjZXNzNHUJNwk1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you requested a free copy of Success In 10 Steps, you indicated you were serious about learning the secret to making a great extra paycheck from home or taking your business to the next level. If that’s changed and you want us to scratch you off our list, just hit the link below.

To opt-out from receiving notices from Karen Miller, visit:
http://mlmsuccess4u.successin10steps.com/optout.php”

Why is this email written in such an odd way?

You see, most email ISPs will block emails as spam if they contain certain words, hyperlinks and “opt-out” links.

Unfortunately, there has been such a proliferation of scams and email spam, that ISPs have had to take action.

Primarily, the ISPs have to control the bandwidth consumed with email spam.  Bulk spam costs the ISPs money.

As a Network Marketer, sending and receiving email is your lifeline to building your business.

Professional Network Marketers and those offering training programs, know that many people out there don’t understand how their email service works.

This is why emails are sent “disguising” the words with miss-spellings or odd characters.  Even this tactic doesn’t always work since some email ISPs will block emails with “opt-out” links.

If you are a business professional, why would you use an email service that makes decisions for you on which emails you should receive or not receive?

Make a smart business decision and set up an email account that allows you to decide which emails are spam and which are not.

Gmail is a free service and does not block your emails.

Wishing You the Success of a Lifetime!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com

Most people who start a Network Marketing business, do so with a very limited budget.

Since Network Marketing is a networking business and requires a lot of personal and telephone contact, phone bills can really eat up a person’s budget.

There’s a great online tool that is FREE to download called Skype.  The web address is www.skype.com.

Skype allows you to talk FREE to other Skype users.

In my Network Marketing Business, just about everyone uses Skype, so instant messaging and talking within my team is free.

Skype is a much more well known tool outside of North America.  Most people you network with in other countries…the U.K., Australia, the Phillipines, Israel…just about anywhere…already have Skype accounts.

How great of a tool is Skype when you can call a client on the other side of the world for free?

You can buy Skype credits to use when you call from your computer to someone’s landline for about 2 cents a minute.

Instant messaging is convenient when you want or get a quick message to your team or clients.

You can also send large files via Skype that are too large for email programs.

Conference calling is another great feature Skype has.  You can have small team meetings, conduct 3-way calls, and 3-way in candidates for your business to training and company calls.

Last thing…you can do live video calls too.  The first time I used this feature was a video call with a Facebook friend I met from Australia.

Skype isn’t perfect, though.  Calls get dropped sometimes and sound or video quality isn’t always the best.  You also have to be very careful about calling cell phones.  The charges can be 50 cents a minute or more.

There are certainly other phone services available.  Skype is a smart choice for those just starting out in a network marketing business.  Making calls worldwide for FREE or for very little per minute rate is a fantastic budget saver!

My Skype ID is karen.j.miller.  If you’d like more information on no or low cost methods for operating your network marketing business, contact me.  I am always happy to help.

Wishing You a Lifetime of Success!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com 

When you first were learning how to cook, you probably made a lot of food that the dog wouldn’t even eat.

I remember when I first got married, I burned a pot of peas…then broke into tears!

If you are brand new to internet marketing and are venturing out with your first Squidoo Lens, I know how frustrating it can be not being sure if you’re doing it right.

One of the nice things about Squidoo lenses is that they are very forgiving.  You can go back and change anything about your lens (except for the url…bummer).

I wanted to give you some tips to get you off to a good start with your first Squidoo lens, so you don’t have to re-do too much later.

You should have a good understanding of Squidoo Basics and the 4 Essential Steps to Squidoo Lens Success before building your lens.

1.  Introductory Module.

Think of constructing your lens like you would an essay.  There is a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Your Introductory module is your beginning.  It is what it says…your introduction to what you are going to write about.

This is where you have to grab your reader’s attention.  You only have about 3 seconds, so you have to make it good.

The Introductory module is NOT the place to write your story or the meat of it.

Briefly tell your readers what you’re going to tell them and how you can solve their problem.

2.  Modules

Be creative with your modules.  Don’t restrict yourself to using just Text modules and a Guestbook.

Use your text modules as if they were paragraphs in the body of your essay.  One main point to each module.

Break up your text modules with some visual interest.  Use the “Black Box”, “Talk Bubble”, or “Sticky Note” to punctuate an important quote or main idea.

Consider using the Amazon module to recommend books on your topic.  There are several other modules like CafePress and Orbitz, but avoid using too many modules that will direct your reader away from your lens.

End with a guest book to invite comments and interaction with your readers.  Use the Title and description to tie it all up…think of it as your conclusion.

Remember to ALWAYS create your own title for every module.  Never leave the default headings!  Make sure your module titles contain your keywords and are relevant to your topic and module contents.

3.  Visual Appeal

We are by nature visual beings.  With the high volume of information we get on the internet…email, pop ups, ads, blogs, social media, tweets, etc…we are relying more heavily on grabbing reader interest and attention with a visually appealing article.

Use pictures or graphics in all of your modules.  {Remember to site your sources.}  Avoid the overuse of logos.  They tend to send the message of a pitch rather than information.

Do a search using Google Images to find a variety of photos and clip art that are free-use or public domain.

Use a lot of white space.  One or two sentences broken up with space is far easier to scan for main points than a complete paragraph.

Bold and italicize key words and ideas.  This makes it easy for readers to scan the text to see if they should read further.

As a last bit of advice, don’t get too worried about making your lens perfect for the first time you publish it.

You can always go back and edit your content.  You can change or add images, modules, titles, tags….just about anything…except for the URL.

Besides, Squidoo likes it when lensmasters go back and freshen up their lenses.  It boosts your lens rank within the Squidoo site.

Always have the goal in mind to add value to solve your reader’s problem without being one big sales pitch.

So, get started and happy writing!

Karen
I Believe In You
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com

This is a hot topic these days for network marketers using the internet to advertise.  These new FTC guidelines must be heeded.

I’ve blogged about this previously and wanted to pass on the FTC’s final guidelines for how we publish testimonial advertisements in our blogs and articles.

1.  Consumer Testimonials

When using a consumer’s testimonial, and they have had unusually successful results, you MUST make a statement that “clearly discloses the results that consumers can generally expect.”

In the past, you were allowed to include a generic disclaimer “results not typical”.

If I say that I lost 50 pounds in one month eating my company’s Diet Crunchies, and this result is not typical, I would have to state: “usual weight loss experienced is 10 pounds a month.”

2.  Material Connections

When an endorser (you, the blogger) receives a payment or free products in exchange for the blogger’s review of the product, that fact has to be disclosed.

In the past, you didn’t have to say a thing.

If I do a comparison review of face creams, like Oil of Solay, Super Value Face Paste, and the Most Incredible Facial Cream Ever, and I received $100 from the Most Incredible company, I have to tell my readers. 

“I love the Most Incredible Cream.  All of my wrinkles disappeared, my sagging chin lifted, and my skin is as soft as a baby’s butt.”  Oh, and the company paid me $100 to use and review this product.

3.  Celebrity Endorsements

Celebrities and advertisers can be made liable for false or unsubstantiated claims or for failure to disclose material connections.

In particular, a celebrity has to make their relationship with an advertiser clear while making and endorsement  when on talk shows or social media.

Most home-business bloggers and network marketers will not have an opportunity to use a celebrity endorsement.

On the FTC site, it is explained that these are Guidelines and are interpretations of the law, not the actual Federal Trade Commission Act.

If you’d like to read a 12 page PDF document, Revised Endorsement and Testimonial Guides, you’ll find specific examples that help explain what is an endorsement and what isn’t.

It is important to keep in mind that the Federal Trade Commission Act and these Guidelines exist to protect consumers from the deceptive use of testimonials or endorsements.

Remember, if you are blogging about the products you sell from your Network Marketing company, you must be truthful. 

You also must never, ever

• make claims that your products can heal a disease or disorder, or
• attempt to diagnose someone’s problem or prescribe any products.

Your only objective is to introduce your products, give your own testimony or that of your customers, and invite people to try your product to see if they like it.

Always be truthful and honest.  Run your business with integrity and you will always be operating within the law.

I Believe in Your Potential for Success!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com

Remember the last time you were sent a URL to someone’s website and the link in the email was broken because it was a mile long?

It might have looked something like this…
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/  group.php?gid=158313410778&ref=ts.  (The part in black is the broken part of the link.)

You obviously couldn’t follow the link in the email, so you had to copy and paste that long link, hoping it would work.  It usually didn’t.

Then, if you tried to type the link in the browser bar, you probably gave up because it didn’t work.

Have you ever sent a long link like that to your business contacts?  Ever wonder why your website traffic never increased?  Ever wonder if your links were broken?

Ugh!  Frustrating, isn’t it?

What if you could shorten and clean up that mile long URL to something that wouldn’t break in the emails or posts?

Along comes TinyURL.com 
to save the day!

TinyURL.com offers a FREE service of shortening those mile long URLs to smaller…tiny…URLs.

So, you can enter a mile long URL like this  http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=158313410778&ref=ts

and change it to something like this
http://tinyurl.com/MLMAuthorityGroup.

Not only is the new URL shorter, but the name makes sense and is easily remembered.

I can now send an email or a Facebook message to my business contacts and use the tinyURL to invite them to my Facebook group.

I can also use the tinyURL to promote my Facebook group in blog posts, articles and Squidoo lenses.  It is clean and looks more professional.

BTW, the part of the URL after “tinyurl.com/” can be generated automatically by the tinyURL software, or you can create your own “custom alias” like I did.

Get creative and use a tinyURL for a variety of websites you want to invite people to and increase your site’s traffic.

I Believe In Your Potential for Success!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com

So you’ve entered the field of Network Marketing and you’re beginning to realize that you’re one of many fish in a really big pond.

Is it time to give up on your dreams of financial freedom?

Or is it time to do something to bring yourself to the level of “Professional Network Marketer”?

I have collected 5 essential must do actions to brand yourself and make your business stand out from the rest.

1.  Decide on a user name that you will use on Social Networking and Social Bookmarking sites. 

• Your real name is the best choice.
• If your name is common (like Jane Doe), choose something with your name in it like “MentorJane” or “Jane.Doe”. 
• Avoid cutesy slogan names like MLMMegaMama.
• People join people, not tag-lines.
• Check a site like namechk to check the availability of your chosen username on over 130 sites.
• Do this before creating your accounts!  Continuity throughout the sites you use strengthens your personal brand.
• Once you’ve chosen a username, go create those accounts to lock in your username, even if you’re not ready to use the sites yet.

2.  Open an email account with Gmail.

• Gmail is one of the best free email accounts you can use for your business.
• Gmail won’t block emails that other providers would identify as spam…emails with the words “free”, “opportunity”, “MLM”, etc.  When you have an MLM business, you will be receiving a lot of legitimate email with this vocabulary and you don’t want to miss it!
• Do not join email blockers like Boxbe.  These types of services will block important emails.  If you are doing business on the internet, you don’t want to make it hard for people to contact you!
• Again, choose your real name if at all possible.  The email mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com is easier to identify with as a real person than the email k.j.miller.777@gmail.com.

3.  Create your own website.

• You do not want to use your company’s splash pages as your personal website.
• Start a blog where you offer unique, valuable content for your readers.  Host your blog through a service like HostGator or GoDaddy.
• If blogging isn’t for you, develop a simple webpage where you introduce yourself, offer some valuable content, and tell people how you can help solve their problems.  Take a look at Blinkweb for a free website.
• Your website will contain links to your products or business opportunity.

4.  Buy a domain name

• Again, use your own name if it’s available.
• Use your domain name for your personal website.  It looks much more professional and is easier to remember.
• Consider buying other domain names that capitalize on your brand.  Think of a unique domain name you can redirect to your affiliate page with your company.  KarensDiet Crunchies.com is easier for a customer or new prospect to remember than www. BestCompanyOnThePlanet.com/affiliate123456.
• Domain names are inexpensive, $10-15 a year.  Try GoDaddy, NameCheap, or HostGator.

5.  Make business cards

• Create business cards that are unique to you.
• Include your photo.
• Include your name, phone number, email, skype ID, etc.
• Include a tagline that tells how you will solve people’s problems.
• Include your website with your personal domain name. 

Starting your own business takes planning, patience and persistence.  Getting off to a solid start with creating your own brand will help you focus your marketing efforts.

Wishing You the Success of a Lifetime!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com

Everybody knows you cannot have success without integrity.

Everyone expects that their MLM company’s management personnel have experience in the Network Marketing industry.

Everybody in an MLM company trusts that the management of the company’s business practices is solid and in the best interest of its distributors.

Most people have blind faith.  They assume since the company has a snazzy website with flashy banner ads, it must meet all of these criteria.

Looks can be deceiving.

Take for instance a woman, Sally, who has to walk a couple of blocks through the snow to get to work.  Sally really looks forward to stopping at a local cafe for some hot coffee and a fresh pastry.

There happens to be two cafes located on opposite corners.  To save time, Sally likes to stop at the cafe on the side of the street she is walking on…makes sense.

Every time she has gone into Cafe A, there is never fresh coffee, the pastry case is just about empty, and the waitress is usually out back on a 10 minute smoke break.  Sheesh! 

After a few disappointing times at Cafe A, Sally decided to take some extra time out of her morning and cross the street to Cafe B.

To Sally’s delight, whenever she goes into Cafe B, she is greeting warmly by the waitress and promptly served fresh, hot coffee.  Sally also enjoys a fine assortment of baked goods prepared just that morning.

Both Cafes look alike, serve the same menus, and charge the same amount of money.

So what’s different?

The management, experience and integrity of the Cafe owners.

Who is going to stay in business the longest?  Which cafe has the best interests of its customers and waitresses in mind?

Most people instinctively know what to look for in a good Cafe.  They know which of these two Cafes they would patronize.

But not everyone is so certain of their company’s management, experience and integrity.

It’s a tough question to ask yourself.  It is also imperative that you have the right answer.

Do you have a system for evaluating your MLM company?  I do.

Wishing You the Success of a Lifetime!
Karen
k.j.miller.777@gmail.com

Writing a Squidoo lens is pretty simple.  Of course, if you’ve never done it before, it could seem like a very difficult task.

I’ve put together 4 essential steps you should follow to ensure your Squidoo lens success.

Remember, a lens is simply an online article.  You have the added benefit of using a variety of visually appealing and interest grabbing modules to keep your readers on your page longer.  This translates to better Google rankings.

1.  Choose your topic wisely.

When starting out, it is tempting to grab a hot topic your company training program talks about on every call.

However, a lot of other people in your company have had the same idea.

Rather than write on the broad, general topic of the greatest MLM training video series known to mankind, perhaps choose a more unique aspect of the videos.  Write on one smaller sub-topic that really impacted your business. 

There will be fewer competing articles and you will be more likely to develop a better reader interest with your personalized touch.

2.  Choose your keywords/tag words carefully.

The trick in choosing keywords, is in figuring out what your readers are going to enter into the Google search box.

Then you need to play around with those ideas until you find some combination that gives high enough search results with low enough competition.

A lot of people might enter “MLM training” in the Google search box.  That term returns 5,830,000 results!  Page 1 lists sites written by such MLM superstars ad Randy Gage, Doug Firebaugh, and John Milton Fogg.

See how key word selection becomes important?

You might try longer key word strings like “best MLM video training” that returns about 256,000 results for your competition.  A more specific long tailed keyword gets you closer to your goal of ranking on page 1 of Google.

3.  Choose to use your long tailed keyword strategically.

In order for Google to see your Squidoo lens as relevant, your keyword phrase needs to be used strategically.

Your long-tailed keyword needs to appear in

• your lens URL,
• your lens title, and
• within the first few sentences of your introductory module.

Additionally, a few of the main words in that long-tailed keyword need to appear in the titles of everyone of your modules.  Your titles have to be relevant and make sense, though!

4.  Choose relevant supporting keywords. 

On a last note, choose your supporting keywords so they have relevance to your topic.

For any given topic, there is certain language that is commonly used when discussing that topic.  Google looks for the relevant supporting keywords for a given topic to help determine page ranking.

Using the “best MLM video training” topic, supporting keywords may include ‘network marketing’, ‘tutorial’, ‘online marketing system’, or ‘MLM business skills’.

Use these keywords as your “tags”.  Also, make certain you are using these keywords/tags within the text of your lens.  Do Not try to take an easy way out and just throw keywords into your text.  Make sensible content.  Otherwise, readers won’t stay at your lens and won’t contact you for further information anyway.

Happy Writing!

Karen
”Teamwork Makes the Dreams Work!”

Have you ever wondered how one person can talk to 25 prospects and sign up 20 and another person can talk to those same people and struggle to get just one?

Another person took this secret and applied it to some prospective clients that had never bought from their company. These prospective clients turned into paying customers to the tune of over $180,000 in just 6 weeks.There are many various methods to identifying people’s personality types.  For me, the colors system is the simplest and most fun way to sort people out.

This secret when properly applied can allow you and any one who wants to use it to write their own check.

What is this secret?

Simply, the secret is learning the Colors Personality Typing System.

There are four basic personality types.

1. Yellow…always concerned with other people’s welfare and feelings; family oriented.
2. Blue…social animal, craves almost constant contact with people; loves to have fun!
3. Green…analytical, always wants more and more information about whatever it is they’re interested in; love to research.
4. Red…usually talks about themselves and their achievements; their way is the only way.

The bigger part of the secret is in actually learning how to listen and observe.  Only through listening can you learn how to apply the colors personality skills. 

Honing one’s listening skills takes practice.  Practice that is offered through Mentoring For Free.

What can it do for you?

So, big whoop.  You can categorize your prospects in a box of crayons.  What’s the use in that?

Understand please, that learning the colors system involves more information than I’ve shared here and it takes practice.

Let’s say you are talking to an interested prospect who is a blue.  You are a green.

You find importance in all the details and knowing every scrap of information.  So that is how you present your opportunity to your prospects.

Well, guess what?  Your fun-loving Blue prospect couldn’t care less about all of those details.  Blues want to see the big picture.  They want to have fun!

Since you’ve just bored Ms. Blue to tears with your analytics, her mind is off in another direction, and so is her pocketbook.

Want More answers?

If you are ready to unlock the full mysteries of this system so you can take advantage of its power?

Give me a call or send me an email and I’ll be happy to get you connected with our full training on the colors system.  Remember, all of the training at Mentoring For Free is, well, yes…free!

Wishing you the success of a lifetime!
Karen
k.j.miller.777@gmail.com 

I wish I had a nickel for every time I was working on the internet and something crashed…either the power, the internet, or a computer malfunction.

Worse is when I’ve lost some project I had been intently working on and was almost finished with.

Arghhh!!

We’ve all been there at one time or another.

A fellow Mentor, Jennifer Fisher, introduced me to a Wondrous FREE program—you all know how much I like FREE business building tools—you can use for your blog writing.

Windows Live Writer.

I was telling Jennifer how I had found a beautiful theme for my WordPress blog, but I didn’t like the difficult to read, grey font color.

I have Windows Vista and Microsoft Office Word 2007.  This version of Word allows you to write a “blog post” rather than a “blank document”.  It converts the characters to the correct format, and then publishes the post to your blog.

The drawback is that I could never figure out how to change the font color and size so it showed up on my blog.

OK, so I’ve never made a secret out of the fact that I am technologically challenged!

But that is one of the goals of this blog…helping anyone—even those who are technologically challenged like me—learn how to market online the easy way.

Back to my story…

So, Jennifer gave me the link to download Windows Live Writer.  I love it!

Some of the features I enjoy are

• ability to change the font color and size (black against white is easier to read)
• work on and save drafts on my own computer (avoids internet problems)
• publish to your blog or your dashboard (I like to add my tags and categories from my dashboard)
• add images and links
• see the draft as it will appear once posted in my theme
• manage drafts for all of my blogs

I’ve been without internet service this week, so this program has been a life saver.

I’ve been able to write drafts and save them to the program on my computer.  I can set a publish date for each post over several days or weeks.  Then, when I can access an internet connection, I publish the whole lot to my WordPress dashboard.

This allows me to keep current with my readers and the search engines.

There are many other features to list, but you can check those out yourself by going to the Windows Live Writer site.

Enjoy this new free tool!  If you need any help with it, give me a holler.

Your Friend and Mentor,
Karen
”Teamwork Makes the Dreams Work”