If you’re thinking about joining a direct sales company, you’ll want to listen to this week’s WAHM Talk Radio show. The show’s host and my friend and online colleague, Kelly McCausey and I talk about the industry in general and some of the things to look at and question when choosing a company.

Click here to listen to the show and please comment here or there. I’d love to know whether you agree or disagree and if you have questions on the topic, ask here or contact me.

Proposed FTC Guidelines
This week many bloggers are discussing new FTC guidelines that may go into effect later this summer. Guidelines designed to require that bloggers disclose when they are compensated for reviewing or recommending products or services, as well as giving the FTC more power to go after those who make false claims about recommended products. It’s currently unclear, but many believe these guidelines will apply to affiliate links as well.

My Reaction
My first reaction to the news was one of disbelief that people don’t already know that many bloggers and review sites are compensated in some way. But I have to remember that there’s a whole world separate from the Internet Marketing and work at home community I’ve been a part of for so long. Many people coming online for information don’t know what an affiliate program so how could they realize that many of the links they click are affiliate links? I myself have occasionally wondered whether a frequently recommended and praised product or service is really all that good or just heavily endorsed because of it’s generous affiliate program.

Other Questions
Some question whether additional guidelines are needed, saying that there are already laws regarding deceptive marketing. Additionally, many think we should be able to police ourselves and that disclosure is simply good business. And there are those who think the guidelines will be of benefit to both consumers and bloggers and help instill trust.

For me, there’s still the huge question of how on earth can the millions of blogs in existence be monitored. My guess is that it’s the companies who pay for endorsements that will end up being monitored and in turn, they’ll require disclosure in order to participate in their programs. Others have asked how it will effect the blogger who is in the habit of casually recommending a product or service they’ve used. Will they be under scrutiny even when they aren’t being compensated?

My New Disclosure
In the interest of complete transparency and compliance there is now a link at the top of this page to my new disclosures section. There’s always been a statement in my website terms of use indicating that I use affiliate links, but now the information is front and center. I don’t think I’ll change anything about how I choose and recommend products and services, it will just be more clear when I may be compensated as a result.

What do you think?
Are you making any changes in the way you blog or link to products? Please comment.

As the New Media Marketing Specialist, Ben Johnson looks after the marketing and business development activities for Logoinn, a design company based in Leicester, UK. He’s been working as their Marketing Manager for two years, and with his more than five years experience in the industry, he has gained a good understanding of the logo design process and the different types of business logos.

Ben kindly took the time to answer my questions about the benefits of a logo for a small home business.

  Does someone who runs a home business marketing other people’s products (direct sales consultants or affiliate marketers, for example) need their own logo?

  In contemporary times, branding is fundamental whether you run a large organization or home based business. You need to differentiate yourself from your competitors. For that reason, you will most likely need to have a brand identity, and of course, a logo plays a vital role in creating a unique brand identity.

Moreover, a business logo makes you recognizable for customers. People instantly recognize all about your business when they see your logo on any type of marketing collateral.

  How soon should a new business start using a logo?

  A logo should be used before you start your business operations. Generally, you get all your marketing collateral designed and printed before you actually open your business for consumers. Therefore, start using your logo long before you actually start your business operation.

  How can a new business choose a logo when the business focus or type of products being marketed might change several times in the beginning? Or when they market many different types of products?

  The real purpose of a logo is to portray the vision, objective and target market. So keeping this view in mind about your business and target market, brainstorm about the design of a logo, and get a logo which could be used for the next 5 to 10 years.

  What are some design considerations to keep in mind for a first logo?

  Remember the KISS formula (Keep It Simple Stupid!) as a first priority in logo designing. In addition, it should portray the right message of your business with iconic representation, Fonts and colors should be recognized easily, should look good in black and white, and should not have a resemblance with any famous logo.

  What are some tips for choosing a design company?

  Consider following when choosing a logo design company:

• How long a design company is in the business
• Have a look at previous projects completed by the company
• Go for the most reasonable price
• Consider available customer support
• Check the policy on revision
• Understand the money back guarantee criteria

And in closing, Ben added:

Logoinn was founded to provide cost-effective premium quality graphical solutions to small and medium enterprises. Our dedication to excellent customer service is the foundation of our every client engagement and it sets us apart in our industry. When you need design services, you will find no better partner than Logo Inn.

As a compliment I would like to offer your readers a 15% discount on any service ordered at http://www.logoinn.com. All you need to do is enter this code “MKT-01” (without the quotes) in the promotion code section while placing an order.

Every Friday users make recommendations for who to follow on Twitter. It’s a fun way to find new friends. It’s a bit like a who’s who among your followers.

Of course I think all of my friends are worth following, but here are a few suggestions to start with (in no particular order):

And in a category all his own… @RoyMontero who I suspect would really rather talk to you on Skype than Tweet.

There are many more people I can recommend and I’ll do so in the weeks to come by adding to this list regularly.

Added on June 18, 2009

Added on July 3, 2009

And if you aren’t already following me, please do.

Whether you write your own special reports or use private label rights (PLR) reports, transforming them into something different increases their earning potential. If you use PLR special reports, changing them is even more important, because making them unique will make them more salable and more valuable.

Here are a few ways to turn a special report into a totally different type of product.

1. Create an audio version to give away, or sell. Some people prefer audio products they can listen to while they’re on the go or doing other things. Give in to their demand by converting the special report into an audio report.
2. Use a special report as the basis for tutorial videos, again to give away or sell. Videos are hot nowadays and turning special reports into video provides extra value.
    
   The report can the basis for a series of marketing videos to build your list and/or drive traffic to your site. Get 3-5 top tips from the special report and turn them into a video you post on video sharing sites (like YouTube), for instant traffic for your blog or site.
    
   Or use the videos to promote affiliate products.
3. Combine the audio and video versions you created into CDs and/or DVDs and sell physical products. Physical products don’t cost a lot to produce, but have higher perceived value than digital products.
4. Use a special report as the basis for a podcast, which can be in audio or video format.

If audio and video isn’t your “thing,” how about using special reports to get social?

1. Separate the most actionable tips from the special report into a Twitter tweets and improve your status as an expert.
2. Make a special report a prize on a Twitter giveaway or offer it to all your new followers.
3. Use a special report to create Web 2.0 sites, such as Squidoo and Hub Pages that promote your products or services, or affiliate products.

With a little creativity, special reports can be used to earn money directly or through your affiliates. They can help you gain mailing list subscribers, gather Twitter followers, and establish your expertise. They aren’t difficult to write yourself and are also readily available from private label rights sources.

One of my favorite sources is the Special Report Club. Be sure to use the discount code “save10” (without the quotation marks) to get $10 off your first month’s membership.

How do you use special reports? Please leave a comment to share what works for you.

Special reports are popular with Internet marketers. They are quick to make and easy to sell, which means they’re a great way to gather a bit of fast profit to fund a project or handle an emergency bill.

The most obvious way of making money money with special reports is to sell them and keep all the profit. But there are many more ways to earn with special reports.

But first, if you think you can’t possibly make your very own special reports, check out the Special Report Club - and use the code “save10” (without the quotes) to get $10 off your first month.

Now that you have a source for special reports, here are some of the ways you can use them:

1. Let your affiliates sell them for a generous share of the profit; maybe even 100%. Wait… why would you give away all the profit? Because you can still benefit by building a list of buyers. Plus you can earn money on the back-end either by promoting other products in the report itself, or as part of the sales process, or both.
2. Give them away. Use a special report as an incentive for people to join your list. Or make affiliate sales with them by embedding affiliate links in the report. Just add a “Resources” page or sprinkle affiliate links where appropriate.
3. Turn a special report into blog posts. A blog needs regular content and you can easily break the report into posts.
4. Put them together. Combine a few into an ebook. Turn each special report into a chapter or two, add an introduction, conclusion, new title and cover, and you’ve got a brand new ebook to sell or give away to build your mailing list.
5. Use a special report or combination of reports as an ecourse or set it up in your autoresponder series to provide useful information for your subscribers.

One of my favorite things to do with special reports is to rewrite them to cater to a different or more specific niche. For example, I transformed special reports about business blogging in general into a special report about direct sales business blogging.

Ready to make money with special reports? You can jump-start the process with a special report, sales page, e-cover and more, done for you month after month.

Find out how at the Special Report Club. And don’t forget to use the discount code “save10” (without the quotation marks) to get $10 off your first month with Special Report Club.

 
Check back tomorrow for a post about changing special reports into other popular formats.

Choose a free graphic from Twitter Signature Styles and gather Twitter followers from your message board signatures, blog, or website.

Here’s my favorite

Claim yours at Twitter Signature Styles

Updated June, 2009 because things change. Comments posted before June, 2, 2009 refer to the original version posted last July.

I just finished going through a stack of email notifications for my new Twitter followers and it prompted me to let followers know how I decide whether or not to follow in return.

Some Twitter users believe that etiquette dictates that one return the favor by following anyone who follows you. As much as I’d like to always return the favor of following, I just can’t. I can only read so many tweets so I just can’t follow everyone.

At least once a week I go through my Twitter notifications and look at the profiles of everyone who is following me. Here’s how I decide whether or not to follow you:

• If I know you personally or have developed an online relationship with you through some other online venue, I’ll follow you.
• If I don’t know you, but your profile and tweets reveal who you are, and you are someone I think I can relate to either personally or professionally, I’ll follow you.
• If you interact regularly with someone I already follow, I’ll probably follow you.

NOTE: Post edited in early June, 2009 to add:

• If it seems like you use programs to automatically follow anyone and everyone you possibly can, I won’t follow you. It’s my preference to use Twitter in a more personal manner and therefore I do all my following and unfollowing manually.
• I don’t mind if you personally recommend products and use affiliate links. I do mind if you allow a service to send ads through your Twitter account. I try not to follow anyone who participates in some sort of auto advertising program for Twitter.
• If I follow you but you don’t follow back, it’s okay. I understand and I won’t automatically unfollow you.

If I don’t follow you, please don’t hesitate to ask me to reconsider after you update your profile or when you start tweeting more. Or if you think I overlooked the notification or made a mistake because you meet one of my decision criteria above drop me a line. I can be persuaded to change my mind.

If you are following me, thank you. I appreciate it.

If you aren’t following me and you’d like to see what I tweet about, you can click here to find and follow me on twitter.. If I don’t meet your expectations, you can always stop following me. (Don’t worry, I won’t feel bad about it.)

How do you decide who to follow on Twitter?

Direct sales party plan businesses are run primarily by women, and moms are particularly attracted to the business model. It’s a home business most people recognize and understand. In the US, where it’s a $30 billion industry with more than 15 million people involved in selling, about 75% of Americans have purchased products or services through direct selling. Many women were first introduced to direct sales at a home party hosted by a friend or family member.

Some of the factors that make direct selling an attractive business for moms are:

• The business can be run from home on a flexible, part-time schedule and can be built into a full-time business with a full-time income.
• Consultants are independent business owner, but training and support is available.
• There are a wide variety of products that can be sold through direct selling including food and cooking products, children’s products, jewelry, home décor, clothing and accessories, craft supplies, and makeup and skin care.
• Low start-up costs
• Anyone can become a direct sales consultant; there are no educational or work experience requirement.

Direct sales party plan businesses are well-suited to our social nature and fit well into moms’ support groups such as the kids’ play groups, church groups, homeschooling groups, and other parenting groups, and social groups like mom’s night out.

Additionally, because women make most of the buying decisions for families, we are the perfect target audience for direct sales. The personal attention provided by direct sales consultants and the convenience of having items delivered make the shopping method even more attractive.

The sales party is a social event and it gives everyone a chance to talk freely about the products and the perks of direct sales. Women can be honest with other women. They will be your staunchest supporters and your toughest critics.

Moms and women getting together can create a huge direct sales network. Some will host additional parties and others will join as sales consultants. Each will market to their associates and widen the business circle.

Direct sales also lends itself to online networking. If the direct sales company allows marketing online, set up a website of your own and advertise on other “mom” websites and participate in social sites to find other moms looking for a business opportunity.

Much of what we have in common makes women, and especially moms, the perfect target audience for direct sales businesses. This type of home business allows us to combine our social nature, decision making power, and our entrepreneurial skills to make some extra money.

One of the most attractive features of becoming a direct sales consultant can turn into one of the biggest mistakes made in marketing.

Many people turn to direct sales party plan companies to start their first home business because it’s an established system that can be implemented right away. There’s no experience necessary. Someone will teach you how to run a sales party so you can make money and how to recruit new consultants so you can build a team. It’s this easy to duplicate system that attracts many people.

It’s that very same duplicatable system that can become a consultant’s downfall. The very system that works to get someone started in direct sales, discourages individualism, personal branding, and uniqueness. Without those qualities, it’s very difficult to excel in direct sales, especially online.

I’m not suggesting that consultants completely abandon the system. Many of the components work very well. But developing your own unique style will help your business soar.

The direct sales party works and following the company’s system and script will result in decent sales and team building. Putting your unique spin on your parties will lead to even more success. Think about it this way… once your best friend or your sister hosts a couple of parties for you, they may be thinking “been there, done that,” because for the most part every sales party is the same. But if you offer them something unique for their next party, they may be more willing to host another. Offering a theme party, reverse party, or a solutions party might convince them to gather their friends again.

For your Internet marketing, establishing your own online presence is essential to success. Use your own website (separate from the replicated site provided by your company), a social media presence, and content marketing to market and brand you. Not only will your recruiting efforts be more successful, but establishing yourself, separate from the company, means that you’ll have a business that can move on with you if you change companies or decide to go into something else.

Becoming uniquely you will help you stand out from the crowd and build success.

Resources:

• Theme party ideas
• What’s a reverse party?
• What’s a solutions party?
• What is Content Marketing?
• Blog Your Way to Direct Sales Success