Marketing Online What A Journey
I’ve been in the network marketing space for nearly 5 years now.
I could write a book about my experience. It’s had its up and down moments, believe me. Happy, sad, wanting to quit, highs, lows and the rest.
Marketing: Early Days
When I first joined it was a company that sold silver. I was totally green and I didn’t even know what network marketing was.
Every time I went out socially I would talk about how fabulous it was to invest in silver.
Guess what, I pissed people off and they got bored with me. I stopped doing that and sat back, didn’t recruit one person or sell a thing. One thing I did have was a house full of silver.
Then, I thought, I need to have a blog like my upline has.
That led me to buying training courses, joining a place where I could buy them from. It said I could earn affiliate commissions. What the heck were they? The word affiliate meant nothing to me.
Anyway, I watched the trainings, even though a lot of it was gobbildy gook as far as I was concerned. Words I had never heard of. Jargon people used but for newcomers like me, it was so de-skilling.
I wasted months trying to set up my blog all by myself. In the end, I hired someone to do it for me.
To be honest I hadn’t a clue about any of it.
When I watched training and they talked about leads, I didn’t even know what a lead was. Crazy I know but thats how green I was.
I was told to write to my list a lot. I didnt have a list. How the heck was I supposed to get a list?
Next Steps
I hired a coach a year later (I still didn’t prospect because I didn’t know what it meant or how to do it)
In a lot of ways the coaching helped me understand social media and I learned a lot but I still didn’t quite get it. I know I frustrated my coach at times.
In the meantime, my silver company got taken over by a travel company. I was excited about that because I loved to travel. Yet….. I still didn’t really do anything with that and sat back for nearly two years doing nothing with it.
Quitting Time Came Along
Yes I was ready to quit. I felt I was going nowhere fast and was hopeless. None of this was for me. I decided I would live the quiet retired life. So, I phoned my upline, a good friend, who listened, advised me and talked me into staying. Its important to say that I will be forever grateful for that conversation. Thank you Richard Matharoo.
Richard told me Ray Higdon, his upline, was coming to our town in England. He encouraged me to go. I did and it changed everything for me.
Next Stage In My Journey
After meeting Ray I felt excited again about everything.
The following month I enrolled in his Top Earner Success School (TESS).
My Success With Lynda Online Course is based on everything I learned there. The confidence to even create that course came from my coaching from Ray.
When TESS ended, I went on to attend a workshop of his in Florida, joined a six month coaching program with him and then enrolled in his Top Earner Mastermind Coaching. A place where I have been for the past two years. I have recently renewed for another year.
The Jigsaw Pieces Began To Come Together
Marketing has not been an easy thing for me to learn. I did learn the difference between prospecting and marketing and yes, lol, I did finally know what a lead was.
In my previous business, the marketing was left to our marketing department. I did know that good marketing promoted our company and gained us new customers. What I didn’t know was how to market myself, how to prospect, how to sell.
Another thing I had done in all of this was bury my previous skills. Crazy, but I did. I had been a practising Social Worker, who moved on to being a Director, Shareholder and Board member of the company I helped to create. I had skills in management, leadership, training, people, communication, speaking in public etc and yet I never once thought to use them in this space.
Ray’s coaching changed all of that for me.
I learned so much from being a part of the community he has created. The training webinars, the mastermind retreats, the events I attended and our supportive community group mastermind on Facebook.
I’ve Still A Long Way To Go …..
- Although I still have a lot to learn, I have got better at branding myself, using Social Media, blogging, marketing, the right and wrong things to do etc. I now know the difference between marketing and prospecting.
- I use the blog regularly and generate leads from it daily as well as generating some from the marketing system I feel happy using and still do.
- Creating my own products is something I have done and am about to release a new online course to help people build their self esteem.
- Been on stage three times at Ray Higdon’s events in Florida and I am about to be on again at his next event, Top Earner Academy. Who would have thought that could happen for me?
There have been many changes and recently due to a bereavement and a health issue I decided to partner with a company that sells a health wearable device. It made sense to me.
Working on who my target market has been the most difficult. I focussed totally on Baby Boomers, mainly because I am one. Now, because my passion is personal development and I attract a great many women to what I do, I tend to focus on those that are open to that. Once you find what your passion is, it becomes easier to talk direct to your market using Social Media and any other marketing strategy you use.
Making mistakes is something I often do but I don’t let it get me down. Utilising previous skills has helped me and I am certain that you too have skills from a previous experience you can bring to your online marketing. People and understanding them is the same as any other industry.
What we do is relationship building and I learned the hard way about that.
Important
Don’t let anyone tell you it is easy to earn an income online. It is possible, of course it is. My coach has made literally millions and I know many others that have 6 and 7 figure incomes.
However, it is NOT easy. It takes hard work, commitment and a total belief in what you are doing. You need a thick skin,(not everyone will agree with what you are doing) persistence and a strong enough desire to get what you want. Make a decision to have someone you are accountable to…. a coach, a mentor, don’t see training as another expense, see it as an investment in YOU.
If my post, Marketing Online: What a Journey, has inspired you today, please leave me a comment below. Also let me know if I can help you in any way.
Entrepreneur, Coach And Author
Helping Home Business Owners Climb The Ladder To Their Dreams
Email me at Lynda@lyndakennyonline.com
Great info and things I may have heard before. I am one of those who believes online marketing will work and I want to build my busibess online. I am also one of those people who would love to participate in workshops, etc but unless it is free and online or free and right down the block, it’s not happening at this time. However. I will not give up hope.
Thanks for commenting Saundra. I hope you reach a stage where you can purchase the right things that will help you. In the meantime there is plenty of free content out there, including some on this blog. I am glad you haven’t given up hope other wise you would never move forward. Stay in touch.
You are right, we can’t let our mistakes get us down. We can’t let them get us down because they are pure learning lessons that will propel us forward. BTW, I LOVE your story, it ALWAYS motivates me because I have witnessed your growth & it’s inspiring. :)
Aww thank you Gary, we e both had our ups and downs and we are still there because we’re not quitters