In time the texting concept caught my attention. Slowly I began to gain more interest in using it. My original thoughts were somewhat lost in my mind as I could no longer heavily weigh the reasons I shouldn’t bother texting over the reasons I should – the tables had turned. It seems now I use SMS messaging every day, with many contacts. Had I simply looked back 4-5 years ago I’d never have thought this would be the case.

The main reasons I’m so fond of texting is pure convenience. Maybe I’m one of the few who think about this but I tend to worry about calling someone because I don’t want to be interrupting their dinner, date or maybe even a nap. Though I shouldn’t feel guilty (they should turn the phone on vibrate) as it’s impossible to know when I can/can’t call, I still do. With texting I can simply send someone a message and get a response when they are able to reply, it’s that easy. On top of that, it barely disrupts what I’m doing…and I can do so practically anywhere without disrupting the people around me.

But, this all brings me to my recent thought. Conversations have changed with technology. In fact, can we even call some of our communication methods conversations? It’s strange to me to say I “had a conversation” with a friend even though I simply texted back and forth. To me, it’s missing a key value of relationship building.

Along with texting of course there are methods such as Skype (text chat), AIM, Facebook chat/messaging, email, Twitter….the list goes on. Do those have the same conversation values? Though technology can be absolutely wonderful, I question if we’re losing the personal touch of having a face-to-face or audible conversation with other people in our lives.

Don’t be afraid to pick up that phone and dial instead of texting. Having a real dialogue is healthy – let’s not lose that skill.

There are things you can do NOW that make technology less important to your success. It’s called…building relationships. Believe it or not, you can make such an impact on your business by having connections and building relationships with like-minded people.

When I started out there was more uncertainty in my mind because…I didn’t know ‘John’ from ‘Sally’. Along with those relationships builds trust. In my case, I thought it was safe to trust the people I came in contact with along the way. Truth: Trust your instincts and follow your heart. There are amazing people in this world and in the business/marketing community, you just have to find them. I’ve made friends with some incredible people – some of which I met years ago and still work with, it’s awesome.

When you launch a product, what is the easiest way to get it spreading like a wildfire? JV Partners. But you can’t have quality JV Partners without first building relationships with people.

As you’re trying to build your network marketing business, who are the types of people in your organization that are the most helpful? They are those with who you’ve built that relationship.

And…it’s far easier now than it was years ago.

Use Facebook. Use Twitter. Connect on blogs. Use Forums.  …and so on.

If you build those relationships now, you’ll change your odds of success, positively. Look at successful network marketers and you’ll see they have built a large number of quality, long-lasting relationships.

And yes, this can work in traditional business too. Don’t worry, you’re covered!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Anyway, back on subject.

As my recent post shows, Twitter and Facebook have been gaining some serious momentum. They’re both steadily growing now, stomping on Myspace quickly. The unique communication method that Twitter is about is captivating. Millions now use Twitter and it will continue to grow. Facebook has made some serious changes/improvements over the past couple years that has helped skyrocket its popularity, hence being a bigger catch than Myspace. On top of that, Google has a slew of services that are excellent such as Gmail, document sharing and of course Youtube.

The recent silent display of Google Wave looks quite impressive and eye-catching. It combines the most popular service and social networks with the power of Google’s sharing (documents, youtube, etc..) to one place.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Could this damage Facebook, Twitter, AIM, Yahoo IM, Myspace, and others? I would not be surprised if they are all starting to shake in their pants. This is a POWERFUL communication tool which brings nearly ALL of the tools to one place…

Personally I’m pumped about it, despite not using Google services too much, yet at the same time I’m a little scared. Google seems to have absorbed the idea of having their foot in practically everything. Is that a good thing? If you ask me, I definitely say “I think they’re very creative but they need to relax!”.

What are your thoughts?

Before we had Facebook, Myspace was the the only major social network that existed (in it’s field). There were many small competitors but nobody could touch Myspace at the time. Now, it’s a different ball game all together.

Looking at the below chart we see three dominate players; Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. All three are in the top websites in the world and compete with one another. Though, despite the success of Myspace, things are changing. They are losing the battle. Twitter and Facebook are rising while Myspace is slowly declining over the past year.

You can see that Twitter is just starting to gain a curve like Facebook but only over the past couple months. This is expected since it has only recently gained serious attention. Major news networks, newspapers, celebrities and even politicians are using Twitter to connect with their audiences.

There seems to be some phenomenon that people believe website/blog visitors are ignorant or stupid. Manipulating the number of people that appear to be following your blog posts so that you look “Cool” and popular is disgusting. In this Internet marketing industry we’ve had trouble with new people in the industry getting ripped off. The notion that making yourself more popular is unethical and should not be condoned. Do you think it’s OK because you haven’t got caught? Here’s some news for you, it’s really not hard to figure out if you’re “cheating” the numbers. Have you ever been on a website, “viewed the source” of the page and checked out the code? That’s all it really takes to expose those faking their popularity and “coolness” as Alejandro put it.

That lead to Alejandro discussing the “Fake it ’til you make it” strategy which I brought up to him during his video cast tonight. You see, there are “fakers” and there are those who act the part – a big difference! Donald Trump probably didn’t lie, cheat, make-up stories, or just tell people want they wanted to hear when he was starting his business. Did he act like he was a professional? Probably. Was he making the right steps to appear to have lots of experience? Most likely. Did he learn, read and study other business professionals to understand what to do? Chances are, yes!

When you’re starting out a business the last thing to do is lie, be dishonest, cheat, and make-up stories. It is one thing to sell yourself but it’s another thing to tell people what they want to hear so they’ll listen to you. Imagine if you lied to get 1000 subscribers to your newsletter and then all of a sudden 500 of them figured out you made up a story about your success. What do you think would happen? I’d bet money that news would spread faster than a flash flood…and on the Internet it would be nearly impossible to reverse.

Case in point, be careful what tactics you take to appear as a “big wig” in this industry, especially on the Internet. When you tell people things that aren’t true which is purely to gain their trust and belief, you’re making a big mistake. Nobody likes a liar, at least anyone with decency.

What baffles me is the lack of guilt. If I were to fake something for popularity sake (and especially get caught) I’d feel extremely guilt, broken, torn, and I know it would hurt my integrity…even if nobody explicitly said it. Is it just me or is this truly a sign of lack of respect?

Networking on the internet has become a career for many people. Additionally, even more people dream in becoming financially successful through network marketing. There’s a fundamental issue staring those people right in the face and the majority of them probably don’t even realize.

While I was listening to the webinar, one of the marketers said that you need to be willing to invest in someone else. How many times have you heard that? Personally I thought the saying was “You need to be willing to invest in yourself”…not “…invest in someone else”!! This CAN’T be right…

To my surprise this concept is way more powerful than I would have ever thought. Chances are I wouldn’t have thought like that anyway but it makes a lot of sense. In theory you’re not just investing in someone else but also yourself, at the same time. Now, we’re not talking about money necessarily so don’t freak out too much on me.

One of the great powers of networking is the blossom and even viral effect it can create for you. To do so you can start by asking people how you can help them. I know, it sounds pretty basic…and it is. Providing people with a value that they need is THE item of importance. Again, providing someone else with something they feel is valuable can drastically improve your networking success. Yes, it’s a very simply concept but makes perfect sense.

Let’s take an example of the above and put it into context.

You know John who is an internet marketer. John already makes $40,000 a year in his online business. Great! Just because he makes more money than you do (and in this example we’ll pretend it’s true) doesn’t mean anything. You contact John and simply ask if their is anything you can do to help him. Of course, that is done with a slight introduction of yourself. John gets back to you and says he needs help designing a better website and you reply back saying you can help him get a great new design for his site.

At this point John has already welcomed you to help as well as told you what he needs. Now you can do one of two things; give him that value he’s looking for or not, it’s that simple.

You then contact a couple web designers after taking a look at their samples and connect John with one of the designers. You’ve now provided John with value, not trying to sell him something without knowing him. Do you think John is going to stay connected with you? Chances are he will as you did something FOR him at no cost on his end.

This type of networking can get even better. Imagine applying similar principles to marketers who are more successful than John. Don’t think it could happen? Think again.

As a networker you want to connect with people by earning their trust and providing value to them. This can be done several ways but the above is a powerful idea that I’ve just learned about. Put other people’s needs ahead of yours like the example explains. It’s easy to say “What do I get out of it?” and if you think about the example, you’ll understand how quickly you can connect with very successful people for almost nothing.

The two most popular social networks and social media sites are Myspace (existed first) and Facebook (newer to the market). Both networks have huge followings with millions of users but the user interface for each is quite different.

Now, Facebook allows you to create “Fan pages” which are perfect for companies who want to broaden their internet traffic and presence. Corporate companies are beginning to take advantage of this which is a good move to keep up with internet trends. Additionally these pages can be indexed by Google and allow you to post website links, articles, videos, etc. – it’s like having your own web page, kind of.

One of the best benefits to using Facebook is that your “Fan page” or even profile can become viral. I was talking to someone from a company who created a Fan page, started off with about 35 “Fans” (people) who were all employees at the company, and their popularity grew to over 600 “Fans” within a few months…yet they don’t actually know 95% of those fans. Additionally, it has increased their website traffic which you probably know is always a plus.

Did I mention Facebook is free to the user?

• Make it a part of your daily marketing efforts.
• Take advantage of the networking tools.
• Create a profile as a marketer
• Connect with other marketers be being their “friend”
• Have fun and be creative!

Why do people in this industry continue to lose focus? Can’t you spend the time a work a business for at least 6 months before you move on to something else?

It IS possible to make good money without an MLM. Generally people want value and many companies quickly lack that characteristic that helps make an opportunity stable and/or grow. Additionally, you can actually make a lot of money with your own product/service or someone else’s.

The ‘Marketing Club’ we are building is not an MLM where thousands of people will be waiting at the door so they get spillover to make money for doing nothing. A structure that is filled with hot air and tire kickers will eventually (most likely quickly) fail/collapse. Instead, our club is an environment built by real marketers for those who want to learn, network, and earn real money without the tire-kickers waiting for the spillover.

Also I want to add that we’re teaming up with an internet marketer who HAS made millions and doesn’t just say so, he proves he’s done just that. You CAN be a part of our team and I’d personally welcome those who are ready to sit down and make things happen.

Lastly, our club membership is NOT expensive – I personally promise that the price will be extremely reasonable. There are certain criteria that we want all club members to meet but will not be mandatory.

OH – I need your help!! I’d like to get your input on what you would like the marketing club to include, teach, and whatever you want. Use my Contact Form and send me a quick message with your requests! 

More to come in the very near future….

Thanks for hanging in there.

There are existing membership sites in which anyone can join – tire kickers, unmotivated, lazy, successful, and newbie marketers. Our strategy is to help build a plan and schedule for those that are lost, to bring together those people who are going to put forth effort in their business, to create a friendly club of like-minded entrepreneurs, and to develop relationships between one another and the individual goals. Don’t worry, making money is part of the strategy.

Again, this will be an invite-only group and one way you can be invited is by being a subscriber to my newsletter. You can relax about SPAM – I don’t email my list every other day with a new opportunity. In fact, I’ve NEVER emailed my list with an opportunity offer as of today.

Leave a comment on what you think about the club. I know it’s very vague right now but more will be revealed as we draw closer to launch.