Internet Advertising - A System That Works

My System For Recruiting Distributors
This is a long post but it's an important topic. I have tried to provide a reasonable overview and I will return to some subtopics in more depth in future posts. Try to understand this concept - if you want to recruit distributors on the internet it's important.

Some of you will already be familiar with the system I use to recruit distributors on the internet as many of you have joined Telecom plus having been through this. There are a number of component parts - all of which are important - but I do think of it as a system and I definitely try to take a holistic approach when I consider any modifications.

Although it looks very simple, I have developed this system over a period of time, testing different variations and trying out different tweaks here and there. I suppose it took me about 6 months to get it firing on all cylinders - and I'm sure it can be improved further (feel free to make suggestions or tell me if there were any bits you really didn't like).

The main component parts are as below:

1. A very simple website which gives brief details of the Telecom plus opportunity and invites interested parties to enter their email address so that they can receive a series of emails describing the opportunity.
2. An autoresponder which contains a series of 9 emails. The autoresponder sends these out to registered recipients at predefined intervals.
3. Me. I answer emails and phone calls from people who have been through the email series and who find themselves sufficiently interested to ask for further details. I send out information packs when requested and distributor signup forms as required.
4. Traffic generation. It is necessary to drive traffic to the website in order for the system to work. There are many ways to do this, some are free, some cost money.

It would be possible to write a book on any of the topics above - some people already have. I will discuss each item in greater detail in further posts, but for the moment I'm just going to give a very brief description of each.

The Website
You can find my recruiting website at http://www.utilityteam.co.uk. This is a very simple, one page website and you will often hear this type of site referred to as a "splash page" or a "gateway page". It is specifically designed to load very quickly and to have all the important information on one screen with no requirement for the viewer to scroll up and down or left/right in order to view the information.

The information itself is pretty minimal - just enough to intrigue the viewer so that they enter their email address so they can find out more.

The Autoresponder (or the email messages if you prefer)
If you don't know what an autoresponder is it is simply a program which sends out preloaded emails to people at predefined times. You load your messages into the autoresponder and specify the time lag - message1 goes immediately, message 2 goes one day after that, message 3 goes one day after that ... - and then you just sit back and monitor the number of sign ups you get.

You need to establish a relationship with people before they will "buy" and these automated follow up messages will do that for you. There are many studies which suggest that you need to make contact seven times to maximise your chances of converting. Many of these studies are made by autoresponder owners of course - but there is plenty of independent evidence to suggest that follow up is absolutely essential.

Manual Follow Up
At some point you will be asked to provide further information. The prospect may phone you for a chat but an email asking for information to be sent in the mail is more common. Always respond to the email request, thank them for the enquiry and let them know that it's being dealt with. Ideally, tell them when you will mail the pack out to them so that they know it's on the way and when it will arrive.

By doing this you let them know that they're dealing with a real person, and of course you should treat them like a real person also. Whilst people are receiving my autoresponder series I think of them as "prospects". The minute I have a request from them they become "interested persons".

I always try to personalise the letter that accompanies the info pack as much as possible. If you know their title, Mr., Mrs., Miss etc. - use it. For the address I always use their title and highlight their name in bold, whilst in the body of the text I am less formal and use "Dear FIRSTNAME" as a greeting.

I have a fairly standard letter which lists the contents of the pack and contains a few pleasantries. If the interested person has given me any information about themselves I will try to use it if it's appropriate. For example, if they have an address within an hours drive of one of my existing distributors I might mention that I have an experienced distributor in their area who would be ready to help them get started. If they have told me their profession then I might mention it especially if I know of successful distributors in the same line of work. But don't force it or overdo it - people can always sense these things I think.

Driving Traffic to Your Site
This is an enormous subject, there are huge amounts of information on this on the internet. I will certainly return to this again (and again) - but for the moment here's a very brief summary of the two main methods I use.

TRAFFIC EXCHANGES
If you don't know what these are then you could consider them to be like a club. Everybody in the club has a website and they agree to look at other club member's sites in exchange for return viewings of their own site. Most exchanges these days will send one visitor to your site for every two sites you view, but there are others that operate on a one to one ratio.

Most traffic exchanges are free, though many offer a "pro" upgrade where you can get a better viewing ratio, inclusive visits without surfing etc. There is a strong north American bias to the exchanges and you will see lots of affiliate programs.

Some people will tell you they don't work but I can tell you that some of my best distributors have joined up through traffic exchanges.

PAY-PER-CLICK (PPC) ADVERTISING
Go to Google and do a search on something - any old thing it doesn't matter. Now look down the right hand side of the page and you will see lots of small boxes containing "classified ads" which relate to the search term you entered. If, instead of clicking on one of the sites in the main body of the page, you click on one of those boxes, you will be taken to a related site - usually commercial, where the site owner is selling something or offering a service related to your search term.

The site owner has paid for your click to get to that site. There is no fee to display the ad, you only pay for the clickthroughs to the site - hence "pay per click".

Some people will balk at paying for a click to their site - but it's a very effective technique. Think about it. The visitor has already indicated that they are interested because they entered an appropriate search term. To use T+ parlance they have "qualified" themselves in advance. Personally speaking, I would rather pay 25p to get one visitor to my site who is definitely interested in what I'm promoting than put 25 fliers that cost 1p each through the doors of people who haven't asked for them.

It's A Two Way Street
When you're in the early stages of your T+ business cycle you will, quite naturally, be keen to get as many new distributors as you can. Be aware that the above system is doing two things. It is presenting information to your prospects so that they can make a decision of course, but it is also sorting out the wheat from the chaff from your viewpoint.

Certainly you should put your best foot forward when presenting the information, but if you are honest and truthful about the opportunity then you will soon get rid of the timewasters and get rich quick brigade. There's nothing guaranteed to eat into your own limited time than a disgruntled distributor in your downline so be honest with your prospects, in your email messages, your telephone conversations and any other communications you may have.

What you want are motivated, self starters in your team. Ambitious people with targets, goals and big ideas are great. Daydreamers who think the world owes them a living because they just got broadband installed will drain your energy and swallow up your time before you know it.

What you really want is another half dozen people below you who share your vision and who will work the business to get what they want out of life. Use the system above and you just might find them.

More To Come
I will expand on some of the topics above in future posts - but that's more than enough for now. Thanks for reading this far.