How often have you read about a product and service and thought, “I would never buy/use that because it sounds so complicated”? Now imagine if within this same article, the author was trying to recruit you to sell their product or service. You’d be flipping the page, or moving to another web site in a heartbeat.

You know your business – and you’re extremely good at what you do. Yet that can sometimes work against you when you’re trying to recruit people. Why? Because their perception of what’s involved is that – quite simply – it’s too involved! When you add to that the lack of face-to-face contact that occurs with methods such as article marketing, blog posts, or social media, there’s even more focus on what you say.

Step back for a minute and go over what you do when you recruit face-to-face, and determine what must change with your approach when only written communication is involved for recruiting.

To help your thinking process, ask yourself these questions:

• Am I being overly enthusiastic about the product/service? There’s a difference between having true passion for what you do and being overly zealous. Passion speaks from your heart and is more than simply words on a page. To show this passion, make positive statements consistently throughout the article about your product/service. Write something such as “I am so grateful that I found this opportunity since I can now stay home with my daughter full-time.” That’s far more effective than writing, “This is such a great company to be associated with.”
• Do I give specific details about the benefits for what I’m offering? Remove the words great, fabulous, amazing, etc. from your article vocabulary. Now, write about what this opportunity can really do for the reader. For example, instead of writing, “the money you make is amazing,” switch this around to become, “The money I’ve earned has allowed me to take a vacation to Europe that included a private tour of Windsor Castle.”
• Can I deliver on what I promise? Potential “recruits” will have some hesitation – especially when their first exposure to you and the opportunity is via an article. Therefore, when they contact you via email after reading your article, your inclination might be to offer help to keep the process moving (and the interest up). However, the definition of “help” can be on opposite ends of the spectrum. Nip this in the bud before it happens. Inside your article, explain – in detail – just what you offer in the way of help. Even better, share why the training you deliver is, hands down, better than what the next person does!

Recruiting can be a very stressful thing: there is pressure to expand your down line, increase your sales, etc. Add to that, the fact that you are making your pitch using articles as your marketing tool. Switch up your thinking and view this article as a more passive way to help someone else realize the same dream you once had: to be successful doing something that delivers a return of tremendous satisfaction coupled with financial reward.

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This article is available for reprint through EzineArticles.com

Newsletters are an excellent communication and marketing tool for your direct sales business. They help you connect with customers and prospects, provide value to readers, and keep customers up-to-date on promotions and product offerings. Some direct sales companies provide newsletters either by sending them directly to customers or making them available for consultants to send. If you are using a company provided newsletter, I recommend personalizing it as much as possible to make it more of a reflection of you.
 

If your company doesn’t provide a newsletter, create your own. Here are the steps to take to create one.

Step 1. Frequency: How often do you want to publish your newsletter? Remember each issue involves a few hours of preparation including creating the content. Establish a schedule you know you can keep up with. It is always easier to add supplemental issues or increase the frequency however decreasing the frequency can give a poor impression. Monthly or quarterly is probably a good place to start.

Step 2. Content: What is your newsletter going to be about? What are you going to include in your newsletter? Some newsletters have a single article and a promotion. Others have 3-5 articles and an equal amount of promotional content. What are your articles going to be about? Will you write them or will you hire a writer? Take a look at newsletters you like and consider why you like them. Consider what types of content will add value to your readers. What questions or problems do they have?

Step 3. Email or print: How are you going to distribute your newsletter? There are benefits to both. Email is very cost effective and instantaneous. Print is nice because it gives something tangible for customers to hold onto.

Step 4. Email Service: If you’re going to email your newsletter, consider paying for an email distribution and list management service. There are many available online. They offer newsletter templates, automatically manage the list subscriptions and unsubscribes, and enable you to create newsletters in advance and schedule them for future delivery. The price for services vary however many base their prices on the number of subscribers.

Recommended Resource
AWeber Autoresponder and Newsletter Service

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Step 5. Subscribe Form: If offering an email newsletter, add a signup form on your website. This not only increases traffic and visitor value, it helps build a list of contacts and customers.

Step 6. Marketing: Let people know about your newsletter. Include a link to your subscription form in all email communications, signatures, and even consider adding it to your business card, brochure, and other marketing materials.

Step 7. Graphics: Graphics are a great way to make a newsletter visually interesting. Options include adding a logo or a header to each newsletter as well as including graphics, photos, and even charts within the newsletter. Stock photo sites are a good place to get started, however it is a good idea to make sure the reprint rights are available.

Newsletters are an excellent tool for connecting with and marketing to your customers and prospects on a regular basis. To make sure your newsletter is well-received, focus on providing quality content that will keep your readers interested and subscribed.

Not only are product reviews an exceptional tool to drive traffic to a website, but they are a great way to overcome a bout of blog writer’s block. When you are out of ideas for fresh content a product review can be a fairly quick and easy post to write. And a well-written review becomes very valuable content as shoppers seek them out regularly. Product reviews are also an excellent marketing tool for affiliate marketers to pre-sell products. (Note: When using reviews as affiliate marketing tool, be sure to understand and comply with the FTC rules and guidelines for disclosing affiliate relationships and using testimonials.)

To be effective, a product review must be believable. Here are a few tips for writing great product reviews.

1. Answer these questions in your review:
   • What does the product promise?
   • How well does it achieve those goals?
   • Is it a good value?
   • What are the drawbacks of the product?
2. In addition to writing a single product review, consider comparing two similar products. Consider what features to compare. If you talk about the cost of one product, be sure to talk about the cost of the other. If you have a bias toward one product, be honest and tell readers that you prefer one over the other but don’t leave out features or drawbacks simply because they place a preferred product in a darker light.
3. Be honest. You want visitors to respect your opinion and in the case of affiliate product reviews, make a purchase. Write the review as if talking to a friend. This not only enhances the copy because it’s written conversationally, but it will ensure that the review feels genuine to its reader.
4. While it is possible to learn enough about a product to review it without trying it, I don’t recommend it, especially when you’re first learning to write reviews. Again, consider your readers. How might they react if they buy something based on your review and then learn that you never tried the product?

Product reviews can end up being some of the most frequently read content on your sites. Use them to your advantage to not only attract visitors, but to build trust.

We interrupt the scheduled tips on communicating with customers and prospects to give your this free report on using private label rights content (PLR) to build a mailing list from Wendy Wood of Mom PLR eBooks.

Read the report below or download it from Scribd.

 

Resources

• AWeber autoresponder service
  Wendy’s affiliate link from the document
  iRepNetwork’s affiliate link
• Mom PLR eBooks.
• Special Report Club
• All Private Label Content

Enjoy!

Tips in the series so far:
Tip One – Listen
Tips Two – Email Etiquette

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Offer an ecourse on the topic of Freelancing without writing a single message yourself!

Download this autoresponder series with private label rights, copy and paste the messages into your autoresponder, and start promoting it to build a mailing list.

Before you order, get the coupon below.
But hurry! It expires in about a week.
 
Grab the Freelancing PLR Email Messages Here

I’m sure you hear it all the time – email marketing is one of the most effective ways to market online. But sometimes just the thought of writing an entire autoresponder series can be overwhelming. Now there’s no need to write it all yourself! This private label package contains 30 pre-written messages on the topic of freelancing. These are high-quality articles that you can use as is, or edit them in your own voice or to more specifically target your audience.

For several years now I’ve purchased content from the creators of the freelancing series, and I’ve never been disappointed. You won’t be either.

Some of the topics covered in the series include how to find freelancing jobs, how much to charge for your services, promoting your website, and why freelancing is a good option for moms. There are also topics on specializing in areas such as writing or transcription services.

Plus, some of the messages include product promotions where you can add your affiliate link to earn sales commission.

Grab the Freelancing PLR Email Messages Here

Use this coupon when you order for 20% off all autoresponder bundles:
Coupon Code: 540D8
Expiration Date: April 21, 2010

Find other autoresponder bundles here, including a blogging bundle.

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WordPress is the website building tool of choice for many business owners these days. It’s a great option. No software needed on your computer, great functionality and flexibility – and you can update your site content from any computer, netbook or smart phone. It’s no wonder that it’s become so popular.

You’ve probably heard that WordPress is incredibly user friendly – and it is! Still, most first time users find it overwhelming at first. If you ever tried to tackle WordPress on your own and felt like giving up, you’re not at all alone. There’s a lot to take in at first.

I was lucky though. I had several patient friends available to help me over the learning curve. Still, I wouldn’t say that I felt truly comfortable for months after. The more I got to know it, the more I realized that WordPress is both simple and complex all at the same time.

If you only want to use WordPress to publish content, it’s pretty darned simple. The visual editor operates like any basic word processor. You enter content, press publish and you’re finished.

Think of WordPress as being three things at once.

1. It’s a Content Management Script that runs on your web server, letting you enter content as easily as writing an email.
2. Your content is stored in a Database on your web server.
3. Finally, it wears a Theme, a set of template files, that determines how the content is displayed online.

Entering content is easy. The database takes care of itself. Customization, want to alter your design and manipulate the database for special needs, you have to tap a whole other area of knowledge and that’s where many get stuck.

There’s good news and bad news for those who want to learn more about managing their WordPress site. The good news is that there’s a huge resource of documents and a large community of developers and users who are willing to answer your questions. The bad news is that there’s a huge resource of documents and a large community of developers and users…

The trouble for newcomers is usually that they don’t know how to ask the right questions to produce the answers they really need. The documents and forums seem to be written in a foreign language and newbie questions are often answered with links to more foreign explanations that just add to their feelings of overwhelm.

My advice? Don’t give up. Keep asking questions. To get the best answers, provide as much information about your problem as you can. If you’re persistent, you’ll find that things come easier over time.

About the Author:

Kelly McCausey of Mom’s Talk Biz invites you to WordPress Orientation, your all access pass to exclusive WordPress learning. We demonstrate answers to your questions during our live web conference sessions. If you’re goal is to do it yourself WordPress Orientation is your pathway to learning how.

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For your blog to be successful it’s important to regularly post fresh content. But it can be difficult to continually come up with new ideas for blog posts. Even the best writers suffer writer’s block sometimes. If you feel like you are running out of ideas, here are some ways to find things to write about.

1. Keep your blog readers informed about the changes you have made to your website. Whether you’ve added a new article, made major design changes, added new products or services, have a special offer, write a blog post to let your readers know what’s new.
2. Post lists of tools and resources that your readers will find useful.
3. Use a search engine like Google News to find news stories that relate to your business. For example, if you are in direct sales, you may find a news article explaining the benefits that a career in direct sales offers (which would make a great recruiting tool). You can post your thoughts or feelings on the news item and include a link to the original article. Watch your local news too. There might be something going on in your local area that you can write about and tie into something about your business,
4. Let your readers know when you find something of interest on another blog.
5. When a customer or blog reader emails you with a question, turn the answer into a blog post (don’t name the person who asked unless you get their permission). Or start a series of FAQ’s.
6. Visit message boards and social networks to see what information your target market is looking for or what types of questions are frequently asked.
7. You can give reviews of products and services that you have personally used. And check for an affiliate program for the product so you can include an affiliate link in your post. (Be sure to research, understand, and follow the FTC rules about posting affiliate links on blogs.)
8. Use a video service like YouTube to find and post videos about topics in your niche.
9. Define some of the common and/or more complex terms used in your industry.
10. Give your readers a glimpse of yourself. Every post doesn’t have to relate directly to your business. You can blog about a particularly busy day you had and include your favorite crock pot recipe. The people who read your blog may be very busy business people as well and can appreciate the fact that you too are struggling to get everything done.

Always be sure to invite your readers to comment on your posts. Some lively discussions can result as well as other new ideas for blog posts. So please, post a comment here and share your ideas for overcoming writer’s block.

Nicole Dean just released two videos from some of the material we covered in a recent interview about how direct sellers can use private label rights articles.

In this first video Nicole talks about how PLR can be used to help direct sales consultants earn customer loyalty.

 
This video answers the question, “PLR: Can It Help Me Train my Direct Sales Team?”

 
For the complete interview, click this link: Easy PLR for Direct Sales Consultants.
 
Nicole’s two PLR resources are:

• EasyPLR.com – a variety of topics including packs specifically about direct sales. (I have purchased several article packs at EasyPLR and have been extremely happy with the quality.)
• YummyPLR.com – all about food, cooking, and recipes.

Have you purchased articles from these resources? If so, leave a comment and let us know how you used them. And please feel free to ask any questions you have about using PLR. Nicole and I will be happy to answer.

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Whether you write just for your own sites or are branching out as content writer for others, these five tips will help you improve your skills and increase your value online.

1. Read other people’s content. Not only will you get ideas for what to write about, but you may pick up some pointers on style and format.
2. Stay current. Accepted writing practices change, especially online writing practices. You may want a copy of the AP Stylebook, a resource used by reporters and other writers as a guide to spelling, grammar, abbreviations, and more.
3. Keep learning. Set yourself up to be an expert.
4. Choose a niche. If you are going to be an expert, you need to have a field. It is hard to concentrate on three or four different areas. Choose one and establish yourself there before moving on to another area.
5. Find a writing style. Or find your voice. Are you laid back, witty or serious? Every writer has a voice – explore and develop yours.

The best writers are those who never stop learning. There’s always room for improvement.

Nicole Dean from EasyPLR.com was kind enough to answer a few questions about how direct sales consultants can use private label rights (PLR) articles for their business.

PLR articles are basically article drafts that are sold to bloggers and online business owners. You can purchase these articles very inexpensively and then use them on your website, in your customer newsletters, or even in team training. (We’ll get into that in a bit.)

My favorite thing about using PLR articles is that you can change the articles and customize them (since you get the articles in Word format as a .doc) and in many cases even put your own name as the author.

Here’s what Nicole had to say about PLR for direct sellers.

Prefer video? Click here to watch.

Hi Linda! Thanks so much for asking me for an interview. I’m glad to help.

Does EasyPLR offer content specifically for direct sales?

Yes. My site, EasyPLR does offer articles regularly just for direct sales. We create those packs for team leaders to use in recruiting members and training their teams.

Article titles that we’ve had in the past are:

• Direct Sales Beginner’s Dictionary
• Avoiding Last Minute Cancellations
• Do You Have What It Takes To Succeed In Direct Sales?
• Things to Look for In a Direct Sales Recruiter

As you can see, the potential is truly limitless with this type of content. Not only can you use the articles to recruit new members and to train your existing team, you could create an ebook or even a printed book and sell it on amazon.com and lulu.com – becoming an instant expert in your field.

All for the price of a pizza.

It’s pretty powerful stuff.

Can PLR content about other topics be easily adapted to direct sales or to a specific product line (like jewelry or gourmet food for example)?

Absolutely. My sister site, YummyPLR.com offers all kinds of cooking articles that a Tupperware rep or another gourmet food rep could easily incorporate into their business.

And, at EasyPLR.com we have plenty of content that can be adapted to a direct sales business – fitness and diet, parenting, holidays, debt, pets, and home interior. Plus, if you need content and we don’t have it on hand, just ask. We oftentimes can create an article pack if you provide us with the titles that you need.

Can the PLR content be used for printed material like recruiting brochures or training for team members?

Absolutely. In fact, I highly recommend that you repurpose the content in several ways to get the most bang for your buck. (Repurpose simply means to use the content in multiple ways.)

For instance, post the training on your own training blog, then send it in an email, and use it in printed materials, as well. You can also read the articles after you’ve tweaked them a bit, and offer audio or video training, too.

Does EasyPLR offer any training or help on how to use the PLR content?

Definitely. First you can sign up for my notification list at EasyPLR.com where you’ll receive more information and a free report – as well as notices for free and discounted PLR. Also, every article pack includes additional bonuses that will help your online business.

Just swing by EasyPLR.com and YummyPLR.com to see what we currently have available.

Again, thanks, Linda, for having me on your blog! If anyone has any questions, just ask them below and I’ll be sure to answer, if Linda would be so kind as to let me know so that I don’t miss any.

If you’d like to learn more from me, check out my Internet Marketing Success Podcast & Blog.

 

Please note: Links to EasyPLR and YummyPLR in this post are affiliate links (Why tell?)