I'm so excited about the new reward program coming out for my Market America Preferred Customers!! I really hope they use the webportal for holiday shopping and get the
2% Cash back for purchases. There are also exclusive offers from our merchant partners and the ads for companies has even created a new stream of revenue for the distributor that MA is also passing along to the loyal MA customer...they'll earn even more "maCash" for clicking around and using our features!! How cool is that??
I've been into internet marketing since 2003 when the first version of the site with partners launched yet I still can't fix a computer & I suck at Excel but I love showing people the portal. My tendency to dive into marketing topics consumed my time and I learned to master Pay Per Click and getting my URL out there. I also created, out of necessity, my own Preferred Customer follow up system for online purchasers which is now taught to the field by our Internet Advisory Board trainers because I shared it with corporate from the distributor perspective.
My only challenge was staying on top of those retail tasks when I had hundreds of customers. I got a lot of leads and sales volume that created a lot of checks but didn't want a retail job so I slowed it down and managed the few that just want their stuff and I don't have to chase them down to re-order. It's the same way I shop and want to be treated. To me reminders are ok but I will buy when I want and ask for info when I can't find it online. Those are the best kind of customers in my opinion, the ones that know what they want & find value in what they get from MA. I'm their guide and here to help when called upon.
In the meantime, social media evolved into a new platform of marketing. No longer are directories, forums and conversation threads--like the ones Work at Home Mom sites & Craigslist offer--satisfying our need to promote or connect with others and contribute our 2 cents. The simple idea of quick emails via phone text or instant messages with a downloaded program has birthed Twitter. Half of the top Fortune 500 companies out there are on Twitter, the other half either hasn't figured it out yet or sees no value in reaching out to their customers directly for branding. It has also become the best way to get real time news and opinions on what people are saying about any topic you can imagine with a search. Using networks like this also evens out the playing field because any one can post comments and reach a massive amount of people globally which helps someone like me an independent distributor.
As for marketing my services as a Motives Consultant & Trainer, it's been giving me insight into review of other beauty brands. There are so many beauty bloggers, makeup artists and makeup junkies on Twitter or on social networks, you'd be amazed. They share pics from photoshoots, events and aren't shy about voicing their thoughts on most anything, which can be annoying to the newbie just learning to scan through to pertinent info. Yeah, I post stuff about my dog, cat or kids but that's because I am an actual person and not a company working on a brand image yet I am mindful that I represent the quality of entrepreneur associated with MA. Social Media is about being a professional and being personable and real too but drop the cussing and negative stuff at the curb.
I've heard that the MA webportal will have widgets & chicklets soon. Chicklets are a box of links that can share a video or product by connecting with your social network profiles from Facebook, Digg, StumbleUpon, Twitter and a host of others. It will be so much more powerful than Email-A-Friend which mostly ends up in a Spam filter. Share links will also be bookmarked on my own profiles which will make for easy reference when I go there to browse or look for something or someone. Widgets on the other hand help monetize a website much like AdSense or Amazon affiliate programs. I really must listen to that audio again.
Let's hope that MA has the public relations firms working their tails off to truly create effective advertising campaigns for this holiday shopping season featuring the 2% Cash back, it can literally help people save money this Christmas while boosting the economy. MA has been simmering like a friggin' CrockPot for so long, 17 yrs!, with the invention of all these great services and features it would be such a shame to let it only be a word-of-mouth promo. I can't stand hearing about another MLM copying our stuff!! First it was Quixtar--which went back to the Amway name, then last year it was "ShopToEarn" under several identities and this year it's the "Blast Off Network" from PrePaidLegal. Ugh. They'll be gone soon anyhow with a trail of destruction behind them.
JR Ridinger has said before that advertising would happen after the rebranding of MA but none of my customers or friends read the magazines we've had major coverage in such as the Robb Report or Haute Living that go for $25 an issue. If this company is truly based on the average person becoming an entrepreneur than why aren't there strategies aimed at the average consumer or prospect? Motives has certainly helped MA get a lot of coverage in the beauty industry, and I like to think I had a small part in that, but Motives or MA still hasn't captured the attention it should have, not yet anyway. We need a viral grassroots message or iPhone app that is also supposedly under construction.
I believe that with a few strategic adverstisements, like commercials--hopefully produced by Andrew, or print ads in the average consumer's view, not just all the highbrow publications and luxury magazines.....then & only then will MA gain the public attention it so richly deserves. Until then I can only hope. So, with all of that in mind I have made myself searchable with profiles, findable via networks, and a resource with this almost 4 yr old blog that will all send lots of targeted visitors to my portal!!!

(and if you are a distributor you can do it too, just be mindful of MA's internet policy and don't spam people, be a professional!)
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(I anticipate a lot of growth these coming weeks, if you heard about us and want to shop click my
link or if you are looking to start your own business,
contact me ASAP to get the scoop & watch the YouTube video below)