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

As you start reading the beginning of this post, you find yourself wondering… “What on earth is a Central Hub and Why should I care?”

If you are a professional Network Marketer, and are using the internet to promote your business, you need to know what a Central Hub is and how it can benefit your business.

Allow yourself to imagine the bustling scene of your family kitchen.  Most women would agree that their kitchen is the central hub of their homes.

This is where the family meals are prepared, children may be doing their homework at the table, you may be working on your home business there.  The kitchen is where all of the activities of your household and family’s lives come together to find cohesion and harmony.

In Network Marketing, we often start several marketing strategies with the goal in mind to attract potential prospects into our businesses.  But if we do not have a central hub, our marketing energies are not focused.

Secret # 1 

A Central Hub serves as the focal point of your marketing strategies.  It’s a home base so to speak.

All of your marketing strategies should point to your Central Hub.  If your other marketing strategies are ways to become introduced to people, then your Central Hub is a way to invite them in to get to know you better.

Secret # 2

If the term Central Hub sounds intimidating, don’t let it. 

Your Central Hub is generally a website, quite often a blog.  That’s easy enough isn’t it?

It’s important to remember that you should never use your company’s website or splash pages as your Central Hub.

Remember you’re inviting your new friends over to get to know YOU better, not throw your company or products at them.

Secret # 3

In using a blog, you will want to focus on content that adds value to your audience, or new friends.

Charles Heflin teaches that your content should entertain, educate and/or enlighten.

We should always be adding value to the network marketing community, especially to your niche.  This value needs to be interesting to your audience…so interesting that they will want to share your content with other people.

Secret # 4

Your Central Hub, or your blog, like in my case, needs a clean, crisp appearance. 

Avoid cluttering your sidebar with a lot of advertising.  The small amount of income you may make won’t compensate for detracting your visitor’s attention away from your content. 

It also makes it appear that you are desperate to make money.  So perhaps your primary business is not all that lucrative after all.  (Not a good impression.)

Your sidebar IS the place to offer a free ebook, newsletter, or other training information.  Do not be tempted to spam your audience with your opportunity.  You are still in the process of building your relationships.

Secret # 5

Once you have written your blog post, you will want to submit it to some social news websites like,

1. StumbleUpon
2. LinkInn
3. Digg
4. Reddit
5. HubSpot

Make sure you are visiting other’s sites and commenting and voting on their posts as well.

This gets you backlinks to your site and shows the news websites that you are not just submitting your own work. 

Get your wheels turning and generate your energies on making your central hub the focal point of your online marketing strategies. 

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