You may have realized this long before I did. Blog themes aren’t just about layout and design. Now even many free themes come with some cool functionality and features. And if you’re willing to spend a little you can find some amazing features included in some really nice designs.

I guess the whole concept of themes including functional features sort of snuck up on me. In the nearly five years that I’ve been blogging I’ve changed themes several times to change the look of the Business Opportunity Connection. This new theme is the first time I’ve gone looking for some functions I wanted, including the featured section at the top and the tabbed section in the sidebar that contains “Popular,” “Comments,” etc. I’m sure with a little know-how or research those elements can be added to almost any theme, but it’s great to find them bundled together and ready to go.

I modified the theme a bit to make it more my style and move some things around. For continuity I kept the same header graphic and some of the same colors. The big difference is the magazine style home page, which may take a little while to get used to.

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think. How often do you change the look of your blog? Is it more about design or more about functionality for you?

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.

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?

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

“When it comes to business opportunities, everything works…you just have to find what works for you.”

I’ve been thinking about that tweet for a few days now, debating whether to comment on it or not. I keep thinking that it must be out of context… perhaps it was part of an ongoing conversation that I haven’t been able to find. But I’ve looked and I can’t find the context.

The statement caught my attention and it bothers me because it’s just not true. Fact is….

• While there are countless numbers of legitimate business opportunities available, there are also countless numbers of schemes, scams, and illegal programs being promoted as business opportunities.
• There are many different, successful methods of marketing and building your business opportunity, but there are also many ineffective, unsuccessful methods being promoted.
• There are many excellent business opportunity leaders who can and will teach you how to succeed, but there are also self-proclaimed experts who are really only interested in building huge teams or collecting a few dollars from you.

Before you join any business opportunity be sure to do your research and ask lots of questions. Don’t be fooled by promises of instant riches – it takes time and effort to build a successful business. Trust your instincts and use your common sense.

Good opportunities are out there; take your time and find a great match. They don’t all work.

More information:

• Be Alert for Internet and Email Scams
• Some Pros and Cons of a Direct Sales Business
• Fact Is: The 95% Failure Rate is a Myth
• Start the New Year by Choosing Your Perfect Business

By the way… I purposely didn’t credit the person who originally tweeted that message because I still don’t know if it was in reference to something specific, and because it’s not my intention to “call out” the author. It’s just that it’s been on my mind for a few days and it’s what prompted this post.

Kelly’s talking about whether a blogger’s physical weight plays a role in her popularity. It got me to thinking, are there other factors that contribute to a blogger’s success, but really shouldn’t?

What about age? Older bloggers could be considered more experienced and “wiser,” but a younger blogger might be more thought of as more savvy and more fun.

How about general attractiveness? Ethnicity? Gender?

There was a time when the Internet was much more anonymous. Many people worked and socialized online under screen names and never posted pictures of themselves. Now, especially with social networking being so popular, people realize that building relationships is a better way to market online and we’re making ourselves know by name and picture.

Does putting a picture out there to be more personable end up backfiring for some?

To Kelly, it appears that it’s the slender, beautiful mom bloggers that are attending live events. Or at least that’s who is in the pictures from the events. Self-confidence is probably a contributing factor and those of us who aren’t so skinny may stay home because of it. Or are we there and just good at avoiding having our picture taken?

As I said in response to Kelly’s blog post. I think it’s no different in the blogging world than it is in society in general. Thin, good looking bloggers are likely to be more popular because for the most part we all many of us still hold on to stereotypes about overweight and unattractive people.

What do you think?

You’ve probably seen many of the same articles and blog posts I’ve seen claiming that there is a 95% failure rate for new direct sales consultants and network marketers. It’s a widely used statistic that seems to be generally accepted as fact.

Fact is, the reported 95% failure rate for direct sales and network marketing businesses is unsubstantiated.

In fact, it’s quite difficult to find information that confirms or refutes the generally accepted statistics on business failure. I almost gave up on writing this article because I had so much trouble finding clear information that could be substantiated by additional sources. I couldn’t find one article that also referenced a source for the information when quoting the statistic.

Some of the difficulties with measuring success and failure include:

1. What defines failure? For the most part, statistics on small business failures are based on how many companies or individuals are still in business after a certain period of time. The reasons for closing the business aren’t considered. While many of the closures may be because of lack of profit, others closed for a variety of other reasons including being sold for a profit. It’s been shown that about a third of new businesses “closed while successful” and “…only one-third of new businesses
   (33 percent) closed under circumstances that owners considered unsuccessful.” (source 1). Many network marketers tend to change companies and they probably don’t consider these changes a failure.
2. Data that’s being analyzed to determine failure rates doesn’t distinguish between different types of small businesses or home businesses. Network marketing is most likely lumped in with all small business or at least all home businesses.
3. Many direct sales and network marketing companies are privately held firms that do not have to disclose financial information, again making it difficult to analyze success and failure.

So where does this 95% failure statistic come from?
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In recent weeks I’ve come across number of articles and blog posts claiming that direct sales is recession proof. Some have gone as far as saying that consultants who admit their businesses are struggling are just using the recession as an excuse to give up.

Fact is… the current state of the US economy, the recession, affects your direct sales business. Sugar coating it, ignoring it, or denying it won’t change it.

I don’t think anyone should give up because of the recession, but I believe that it’s important to operate from a position of knowledge and acceptance of the facts. If you don’t recognize how your business is affected, you can’t adjust for it. Now is not the time for business as usual.

Fact is… in order to survive a recession, all businesses need to make some adjustments.

Some who are claiming that direct sales is recession proof are using a video clip from Jim Cramer’s “Mad Money” show as further evidence of that claim. A closer look at the information presented in the video may produce some doubt about whether it’s clear evidence that direct sales consultant businesses are recession proof.

First it’s important to note that the video is from a show that was produced nearly a year ago, in mid-March, 2008. A lot has changed in a year, including the price of the company stocks mentioned in the video.

In the video, Cramer is offering advice and opinions about investing in the company stock. He’s not making any recommendation about becoming an independent sales representative. The information speaks to the likelihood of success of the company, not direct sales consultants.
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One of the disadvantages of running a business from home for me is that my work is always in the next room and I can sit down to it any time. I tend to be most productive in the morning, and there are certain times during the week when I don’t work, but otherwise, I don’t schedule my work time. When I worked a job outside the home, I had a specific schedule and left work at work.

I definitely don’t want to become a clock watcher, but some days my lack of schedule allows me to procrastinate too much or waste too much time. Today has been one of those days. I’ve really not accomplished much at all, but I’ve been at my desk for quite a few hours.

I’m thinking that if I had more of a set schedule I might end up being more productive during that time. If I only work certain hours I may be less tempted to indulge in time wasting activities. Without a schedule it’s easy to think I’ll finish the work later.

How do you handle work time for your home business? Do you keep a schedule or just totally wing it?