Network Marketers- Blog or Newsletter

As a network marketer using Internet marketing methods to create traffic to your website you may be wondering whether to have a blog or newsletter. They are both methods of getting information to your readers yet both serve a different end purpose.

Reviewing the below information may help you to decide which one is going to work the best for your network marketing business.

Network Marketing and Blogging.

Blogging for your business helps to serve several purposes.  Most of the time your business website is going to be a replicated site and even if you have your own domain name for it you are giving the same information as everyone else in your business.  Using a blog will help you differentiate yourself from other network marketers, emerge as a leader, and create a brand for yourself.

Differentiating yourself.  Of the hundreds of thousands of network marketers in the industry today, the vast majority of them do business the old school way- three foot rule, friends and family, purchasing online leads.  By using a blog for your home business you are able to not only open yourself to a whole different range of people but stand out as someone who is doing something different to promote yourself and your business. You are able to use attraction marketing to bring people to you instead of you constantly approaching them.

Emerging as a leader.By blogging and posting consistent, knowledgeable information you are able to show your potential customers that you are doing more than looking to make a quick buck.  You are positioning yourself to be a teacher in your business by offering more than is usually available to new business partners.  Network marketing takes more than just signing people up- it takes leadership, mentorship, and dedication- blogging is where you can show that you have these qualities.

Creating a brand for yourself.  This combines both of the first two points.  A lot of network marketers stay network marketers for a long time- but not always with the same company.  By branding yourself you are creating something that is beyond your business or company but is more like a "You, Inc" (as Mike Dillard would call it).  This brand that you create in your blog you can take no matter where you go because it is about you and your knowledge.

Network Marketing and Newsletters.

Newsletters are an additional way of getting your voice heard but are usually used as a way of capturing prospects information- more a form of lead generation.  A lead capture page or a form on your blog is used, putting people into your autoresponder- in this case your newsletter. And off of that newsletter you can continually drip information on your subscribers, promote your blog and your replicated website in a low key way, and convert prospects into sales.

Continually dripping information.  It has been proven time and again that it takes more than one exposure to something before a person is ready to purchase.  In fact,  usually five to seven exposures.  Your newsletter will help you do that even if you are not directly promoting your business within your newsletter. By giving high quality content you will build a trust and respect with your subscribers- making them want to see what you are up to and what business you are involved in.

Promoting your blog and your replicated website. You can use your newsletter as a promotional tool for your blog and your website- just try to keep it low key.  No one wants to get something pushed at them week after week. 

Some ideas for promoting your blog and website within your newsletter

• center each newsletter around a theme and use links for articles from your blog that relate to that theme
• put an excerpt from your blog in your newsletter and invite your subscribers to go to your blog to finish the rest of the post and comment on it
• put a link to your website or blog in your signature line 

Converting to sales.  The ultimate goal for any network marketer is growing your business. By using a newsletter you know that you are directing information to people who are specifically asking for it.  Through the newsletter you are able to create a relationship not usually available with traditional lead generation.  By the time your subscribers are wanting to talk to you, a bond has been formed and trust has been established leading to a higher conversion rate.

So which is better- blog or newsletter?

There is no real answer but if you have the capability you really should consider using both.  Each has its own benefits that the other does not provide and both are great ways of establishing yourself online.  Network marketing is a dynamic business and even using a small corner of it you will find that there are plenty of things to write about.