Personal Blog of Forest Marie

The fundamental priority of any network marketer is to generate prospects. More the number of prospects you can garner, more the revenue you can generate. However, if you are a seasoned network marketer, you will agree that generating leads is one of the toughest things in the world. Ann Sieg’s Renegade Networker is a program that helps to address this urgent need of hassle-free lead generation.

Most network marketers get into this home business hoping for financial independence and a regular stream of income. Lured in by the promises made by MLM companies, they become a distributor thinking that they would somehow get the leads for their business. However, the shocking fact is that over 90% of such individuals opt out of the system within the first 90 days itself because they have not been able to generate leads and moreover lost money and time in their efforts.

This is where Ann Sieg’s Renegade Networker comes in. In her famous e-book ‘7 Great Lies of Network Marketing’, Ann Sieg explodes the myths of traditional network marketing. She points out that the old school approach of getting leads is to sell the business opportunity to one’s friends and family. However, even if due to considerations of politeness, they listen to you, the chances are that they are least bothered about your business. This turns out to be a disappointing experience for most network marketers as they had built high hopes on their friend circle.

The problem is neither in the company and its products nor in your ability to sell. The root problem lies in the fact that you are talking to the wrong guy. Why spend your energy and time in convincing someone who is not the least interested in starting a home business? No wonder the statistics of drop-outs are so discouraging.

Ann Sieg teaches a revolutionary approach that uses the techniques of attraction marketing and the internet to generate prospects. She turns the whole network marketing theory on its head by saying that you will not have to go after your prospects but they will come knocking at your door, wanting to know more about your business opportunity. This seems ridiculous at first glance but is based on a powerful insight that people look up to others who are more successful than them and are naturally attracted to them.

Ann Sieg teaches her techniques through a series of courses called The Renegade Network Marketer, The Renegade Professional training system and the Breakthrough mentoring program.

General Network Marketing, Hype, MLM, Reviews ann sieg, MLM product review, renegade networker

Well, I have to admit March was an awesome month for me and I’m expecting April to be even bigger. I’ve been published in the Wealth Masters International newsletter as a “mover and shaker.” Yeah, baby!

I’ve also had the privilege of sharing some of my success and tips in a 35 Minute Interview with Julian Miller in a recent interview.

You can check it out here:

Click Here For The 35 Minute Interview Between Julian Miller and Forest Marie

Happy Sunday Everyone!

CarbonCopyPro, Hype, Wealth Masters International CarbonCopyPro, Forest Marie, julian miller, wealth masters international

I talked to two people today about LocalAdLink, a recently released program that has some marketers very excited.

If you don’t know, LocalAdLink is a company that allows, among other things, you to purchase advertising packages that may get shown in sponsor results on Google. They’ll also put information about your business in their directory, which I don’t have a problem with. And you can also be a brand builder for LocalAdLink yourself and sell the services they offer to other individuals.

Let’s talk about the advertising packages first:

They have advertising packages that you pay, ($69.99 to $249.99 a month) and you get to bid on a select number of key phrases as well as a select number of zip codes. For the complete breakdown of pricing and where they market your business, visit LocalAdLink Advertising Packages

So, for example, if you bet on the keyword concrete, and someone in one of the zip codes you selected does a Google search for concrete, an ad may show up that goes to a LocalAdLink Web Page that provides the search engine user information about your business.

According to LocalAdLink:

Businesses purchasing these packages are submitted to third party search engines (using paid and non-paid strategies), website directories and high traffic websites as an added value however, placement is not guaranteed.

Source: LocalAdLink

Unlike pay-per-click, however, you don’t exactly pay per click if an Internet searcher clicks your ad. It’s “unlimited” in theory – you only pay for the advertising package itself. So then we can probably conclude that LocalAdLink pays the actual pay-per-click cost to Google. Google Adwords is, after all, a pay-per-click service, so someone has to pay for the actual click.

Sounds good so far, right?

Well, it’s not. Period. In fact, I personally think

LocalAdLink Is A Scam

Stay with me and I’ll explain why I think this …

For the record, I REALLY hate the word scam. I think it’s ridiculously over used in this industry, but many of readers look to me for answers and respect me for being blunt.

Here’s the definition of scam according to my buddy Merriam Webster:

Main Entry: scam
Pronunciation:
\ˈskam\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
origin unknown
Date:
1963
: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation

So why do I personally think LocalAdLink operating in a fraudulent or deceptive nature?

When you advertise on Google (or any search engine for that matter), users do a search. They search on a particular key phrase. Then the user sees ads and are provided with search engine results. When the user clicks on that ad, he wants to see information relevant to that ad. This is why people love Google because their search results are more relevant than other search engines.

It’s a psychological pipeline going on through the users head. It’s called CONGRUENCY!

When a potential customer performs a search on Google, your ad may show up for the keywords and zip codes you selected. In the case where your ad does trigger a result, it will look like a normal pay-per-click ad, but there’s a “catch.”

When a user clicks your ad, it does NOT go to a Web page on a domain that you have full ownership over. It goes to your LocalAdLink Web page which destroys the congruency big time, in my opinion.

To me, this is a huge red flag and I feel most LocalAdLink brand builders won’t explain this properly to business owners looking to get their business online. In my mind, it’s easier say “We’ll send prospects to your Web Site” than “we’ll send people to a LocalAdLink hub page and make them look around to find your link to a Web Site you own on your own domain.”

When the search engine user gets to the LocalAdLink Web page, they’ll see information about LocalAdLink FIRST and they put your name and Web Site under their LocalAdLink logo.

To me, that’s BS …

And here’s why …

Look, if I’m going to pay an advertiser to advertise my business and my products, I’m going to pay an advertiser to advertise just my business and my products. NOT together with their business and their products. Period. I don’t want my Web Site hosted inside of a hub with another company’s logo, color themes, etc. I want it to reflect my business, my culture, etc.

On the other hand, the issue of being in a hub page by itself is not so bad. There are many directories out there.

And if LocalAdLink was just a business directory, I would have no problem with that.

But there’s that Google Adwords issue I can’t seem to shake…

You’re paying them money to advertise their brand first along with yours second on Google Adwords. As a Google Adwords advertiser and consultant myself, I don’t like this at all.

I don’t personally know how LocalAdLink is working the Google Adwords side of their business, but if I’m Adwords, it’s important to me to know what cost per click is, my cost per customer, my cost per lead, etc.

Another Issue

If your ad does get seen, I think a lot of people will click on an ad, arrive at the directory page and leave.

Why?

Imagine you’re looking for a pizza restaurant and you land on a page seeing a LocalAdLink logo and a Web page that doesn’t capture the culture of your restaurant. I don’t like this …

There’s a reason Google is making millions selling advertising space: It’s because Google has thought all of this out. When you buy advertising with Google Adwords, you can rest assured you will maintain integrity and congruency and you will get to send them to your business Web Site and captivate them immediately with your business’s creativity, logo and culture.

Any Solutions?

One way I feel LocalAdLink can mitigate this would be to offer an option to send ads to a Web Site of your choosing instead of some self-hosted LocalAdLink hub page. I personally feel this would improve the user’s search experience and it should certainly improve the Google Adwords quality score substantially, thus lowering bid prices

Of course, LocalAdLink is a business and even in that case, they certainly shouldn’t give you $5000 worth of clicks a month for only $200.

Another thing would be to enforce very closely how their brand builders are marketing their service and have their brand builders explicitly tell people the traffic they receive will go to a LocalAdLink hub page (or directory page) and the user will have to click from that page to go to their personally owned Web Site and domain that they own.

Finally, make a decision. Are you going to be a directory? Then be a directory. LocalAdLink is suffering tremendously from an identity issue in my opinion – and trying to be too many things at once is my biggest problem with them.

To me, the “unlimited clicks” some brand builders are preaching is not sustainable in the real world due to the math. On the other hand, most business owners, I think, would not want to pay $69.99 to $249.99 just to have their businesses listed in a directory and some other partner sites when you can get it listed in Google’s Local Business Center for free.

At the end of the day, in my opinion, LocalAdLink a concept driven based on deception and hype.

Of course, like all things, you should do your due diligence, read the comments below and read other people’s point-of-view (Fat Wallet’s for example) as well as LocalAdLink’s Web Site and business owners who have had a positive experience to make a solid decision.

My Personal Recommendation

If you want to market your business online or on Google, learn Google Adwords or hire an Internet Marketer to market YOUR brand and captivate users with your businesses’s creativity and culture (which can be expressed on a Web Site). It will pay big dividends and allow you much more control and flexibility.

Professional Assistance

If you’d like to hire me for Web Site creation, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your Web Site, Social Marketing for your business, Article Writing for your business, or any online marketing to brand your business, please send your request via my contact form.

Thanks for stopping by!

Agree or disagree with this LocalAdLink review? Head over to the comments and post your thoughts.

Hype, Reviews Local Ad Link, LocalAdLink, LocalAdLink Reviews, LocalAdLink Scam

After over 10 Skype solicits and tons of E-Mail, I’m going to speak on the latest and greatest hype that MLM junkies all over are flocking to: Web “Prosperity” with a good ole

Web Prosperity Review

Actually, more of a bashing…

Let me blunt: I would NOT recommend Web Prosperity to anyone.

If you’re wondering what Web Prosperity is, it’s a new “power”-line MLM carrying with it much hype.

It was supposed to launch on January 6, 2009, but missed that launch. Hey, you DON’T say? When has pre-launch hype ever launched on time? Let’s face it: A pre-launch hype is one of the most damn effective ways to built a huge opt-in list. Period. Extremely unethical, but effective nonetheless.

Back to that “power”-line logic…

It just means people can join the powerline and reserve their position for free. Can you imagine who that’s going to attract? Bingo …

Anyway, when a victim upgrades, it sends an email to all the other victims in the middle who are still free members to let them know they’d be “missing out” on commissions. It’s a fear of loss and works really well to encourage desperate people who have no idea how to attract quality people and actually build a business to get started.

And herein lies a major problem.

“Power”-lines are all about hype.

People are inundated including people who have no damn idea what they’re talking about telling me that “everyone” is jumping on board so I should too and offer it to “everyone.” I love it!

You will notice “it” is quoted for emphasis because the products are not even officially defined yet and products within a powerline MLM are typically very bland, lackluster, or even downright worthless.

And then there’s the Broke MLMer Junkie Issue:

Most MLMers and “marketers” joining the powerline are joining for the opportunity not to become a customer because it’s free. I know of one MLMer who was extremely emphatic that they signed up 200 people into the hype brigade. Perhaps they need confidence and self-satisfaction that they “signed” someone up. Kudos to you…

Reality Check: Leads and PREs don’t pay money.

Anyway, the problem with MLMer junkie attraction, as with most of these pre-launch hype parties is our good buddies at the FTC see this as more of a scam, a money game than a legitimate MLM, which is unfortunate because our industry has enough negativity towards it as it is because of companies like Web Prosperity.

Ergo, anyone associating with this knowing what I just said is supporting more negativity, more drama, and more hype in our industry thus making our industry less appealing to quality individuals and professionals.

Besides Web Prosperity, I’ve seen other ones. E4L had big hype and went into pre-launch about 10 times. Hell, I know of one victim who still thinks they’re going to launch and he’s going to make it big. Sad. Real Sad. It still exist but the hype is sinking rapidly…

Bottom Line:

This is not the kind of company you want to associate yourself with and fall on your ass with the rest of the victims out there with no “prosperity” gained, especially with much more legitimate companies with real products out there as the one I pride myself in being a member of.

But, hey, if you strike it rich with Web Prosperity, let me know and I’ll be the first to congratulate you. If it turns out legitimate and good, I’ll even offer a public apology. In fact, I sincerely hope I’m wrong and they put out some outstanding and unique products that really helps people build their business. But I feel so good about my stance, however, that I’ve created a new category on my blog: Hype. And this is the first entry into it.

Kudos, Web Prosperity!

Your turn: How do YOU feel about Web Prosperity?

Hype, Reviews Hype, web prosperity