MLM Sales Funnel: Components

Here are the major components:

1. Your Domain Name

2. Squeeze Page

3. Sales Page (Optional) Some MLM companies WILL NOT allow you to name their Company or Products. Your “sales page ” might be the emails you send out. You’d use a sales page when promoting affiliate or your own products, not your MLM products.

4. Blog/Website (self hosted and unique)

5. Autoresponder Email System

6. Web of Content  (including videos)- for traffic generation (the bait that attracts the fish!)

1. Domain Name
Its best to get the .com! Go Daddy is a good option to register your domain name.

Use a keyword rich domain name with a benefit in it that talks to your target market. For example www.sinus-wellness.com talks to the target market of sinusitus, and has the benefit made very clear within the domain name.

Other benefit loaded domain name examples are: www.positivehealth.com, www.skin-you-love.com, www.videomarketingqueen.com, www.ppcdomination.com, www.getprospectsformula.com…you get the idea.

Register your domain for 2 years (renewable). Google ranks these domains higher than 1 year domain registrations (it assumes you are a more serious business person- in for the long haul!)

Read this article on choosing and registering the right domain name.

2.  Lead Capture Pages

This is the entry point of your online MLM sales funnel. Your prospects details are captured here  so you can continue the relationship with them.

www.blinkweb.com and www.weebly.com are two excellent easy-to-use, and FREE resources to create capture pages.

Ideally you’d want to use self-hosted lead capture pages (Google indexes these and you can track using Google analytics).

For that you’ll need to use an html editor (www.Nvu.com is a free tool) and FTP your files up from your computer to your host server,  using an FTP client like Filezilla.

You’ll need to learn a bit of coding.

If you’re not keen to do that (and I don’t blame you!)- find a geek and outsource it!

Remember: If you use a free service like Blinkweb or Weebly, you’ll need to REDIRECT your domain name to that server, where they host your lead capture page.

If you use your own hosting, you’ll just add your unique domain name to your C Panel. (In your public_html folder)

You can have many capture pages for different sub niches (or micro niches) within your niche. This is a good idea, as each page can be customised to that particular micro niche’s needs.

e.g. Constipation in toddlers blog post has a link to your lead capture page made for parents with toddlers having constipation.

You might give them a general free report, which also has a chapter in it on dealing with constipation in toddlers. They’ll become a lead and your auto email series can talk to their specific issues- dealing with their kids constipation.

Your “constipation in the elderly” blog post could lead them to a capture page that talks specifically to your elderly leads.

They might also get the same free report as the parents of the toddlers (above)- as it also has a chapter in it on the elderly. They will become a lead and enter your funnel. You can then tailor make your email series to their specific needs and concerns.

Both types of leads will ultimately be encouraged to buy your MLM Product (which helps relieve constipation in everyone- from toddler,to the elderly- heck, even to dogs!)

You get the idea.

You might also create a lead capture page that brings leads in that are interested in an affiliate product you are promoting.

If you like, you can then send those leads to your affiliate product sales page (your affiliate URL).

The nice thing is, you captured the lead independently of that affiliate programme- and that lead is yours (not the affiliate programme owners!)

Read this article called: Squeeze Pages: Vital Component of MLM Marketing Systems “for 10 tips On Making Cool, Authentic and Converting Squeeze pages.

Especially what you need to have on them, the do’s and dont’s and the best practices for maximum conversion.

3. Sales Pages

The sales page comes in if you’d like your prospects to be moved from becoming a lead into a buyer.

The best time to put your prospect onto a sales page is immediately after they become a lead (opted in).

You have their attention and they’ve just said “yes” to you by giving their name and email address.

You’d usually not make a sales page about your MLM products/services.

Some MLM companies give generic (customisable) squeeze page, sales page and mini site templates.

Once again- beware: You’ll look similar to the others and Google wont index them.

You also need to ask yourself: “Will I be able to track these pages?”

The sales page is really useful when you have your own products/services that you are promoting as part of your funnel.

So in addition to seeing your MLM Company or products as a potential back end, you are also able to offer your leads related products they might be interested in.  (like E book, coaching services, home study course, webinars, membership sites etc).

Of course, the secret to a good sales page is the copy and the ability to have a  “1 click upsell”.

Your copy must be compelling enough to get those “fence sitters” to take action.

We go into good copywriting in this blog in much greater detail.

Re the “1 click upsell”- this means you need to have an integrated payment gateway/shopping basket that allows your customers to simply add items to their cart (with one click) after you’ve presented them with an upsell (higher priced item than your first offer).

This way they don’t have to enter their credit card details again- (which lowers conversions.)

Other aspects of your sales page should include:

* Bonuses,
* testimonials,
* proof (of the claims you’ve made) and
* a money back guarantee  always gives an added “push” to the buyer-  reducing their risk and removing any lingering obstacles to buying.

Using a video makes the sales page convert more.

4. Your  Blog

This is your “home” or central hub.

Its where your prospects get to know you and get to like you.

Most prospects will visit your blog before they opt into your squeeze page or make a purchase from your sales page. It’s where they get “warmed up”!

Its also a stand alone lead generation technique- as blogs are indexed by Google.

If you get your  niche keywords right, you can rank high up for blog posts and generate search engine traffic.

You can also syndicate your blog (plug it into the social networks) for more exposure and get viral exposure that way too! WordPress blogs are ideally suited to this.

There are many blog platforms (Squarespace, Blogger etc), but a self hosted WordPress blog is the best for search engine rankings as well as content syndication.

You can get free hosting at WordPress.com for your WordPress blog, but then you don’t have full control over the blog.

WordPress can delete your blog if they think its inappropriate- and they do not like MLM Blogs!

Its well worth the $6.95 (or thereabouts) monthly hosting fee you’ll pay to privately host your blog at webhosting services like Hostgator or Bluehost.

For those just starting out, you might enjoy this article Blogging For Dummies which outlines the basics of WordPress Blogging.

5. Autoresponder Email Marketing System

This is where you use email software to send automated (and manual) email messages to your leads and buyers.

Once your prospcet has entered the sales funnel as a lead, they can be immediately placed onto your leads list.

They have given you permission to continue marketing to them.

So you send them pre designed auto emails (and weekly time sensitive manual emails) that:

* Continue to build the relationship with them

* Send them to your blog posts

* Put offers infront of them (including your affiliate and MLM products)

* Invite them to conference calls or webinars you offer

* Keeps you visible and in the prospects mind

Its an invaluable follow up tool, but there’s an art to email marketing.

It must be studied and done correctly so that you do not get flagged as a spammer or have your prospects unsubscribe.

Constantly placing offers in front of your leads and buyers will not endear them to you! You need to be entertaining, enlightening and educational (i.e. give value) in your emails.

I-contact, Oprius and Aweber are excellent software programmes. They start at around $9.95 per month and increase in price the more subscribers you have.

(You want to be paying more!!!)

I personally use I contact because you do not need a double opt in, to generate a lead on your list. (Improves conversions)

The great thing about these software programmes is you can go into your email software back office and easily create opt in forms to put on your squeeze page and blog.

When a prospect visits your blog and optsin, they are automatically put onto your emailing list- and if you’ve set up your autoresponder, they’ll start getting their emails immediately, at timed intervals.

You can also track the number of opens, clicks and bounces.

This way you can continually test new subject headlines to improve your open rate.

The Email Marketing section of this blog includes what to write in your emails, how often to write, when to place offers (and how), how to set up an autoresponder series and what you should and should not be doing in your email campaigns.

And much much more, of course!

6. Your “web of content” to drive traffic to your Sales Funnel

There’s no point having an online MLM sales funnel if you cannot get traffic to it!

And not only traffic, but pre qualified traffic- people interested in what you have to offer.

Your web of content is your “point of contact” marketing.

Its where your prospect will come across an article, or a forum post, a video or a blog post, or a note at your FaceBook, or your URL posted at Twitter (retweeted) and be led ultimately to your capture page (perhaps via your blog).

There are many methods and places to place your content all over the internet so that your interested prospects find you.

Here are some examples:

Article Marketing

Squidoo

Hub Pages

Ezine Articles

Your Blog

Social Media Marketing

FaceBook

Twitter

YouTube

Social Bookmarking sites like Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Stumbleupon, Misterwong

LinkedIn

And Content Syndication is where you link up all your content and disperse your blog posts across all the major social media marketing sites!

There is an art and a skill to getting qualified online traffic to your sales funnel.

For in depth MLM Sales Funnel Training and MY Number One Secret For Sales Funnel Success in MLM, visit

www.PutYourMLMBizOnline.com

MLM Sales Funnel Related Posts

Help Me Figure out My Domain Name: Web Site Name Search and Choosing the right Domain Name

Blogging for Dummies: Set Up Your WordPress Blog Easily

Squeeze Pages as part of your MLM Marketing System

Online MLM Sales Funnel: Why Create Your Own?

There are some good reasons for creating your own Sales Funnel…

(If you need a quick recap on what a sales funnel is, how it works and what you should have in it, watch the video on this article…)

Sales Funnel: A Comprehensive Overview of the MLM Online Sales Funnel
1. Your Own Sales Funnel Ensures Differentiation

If everyone is using the same system you cannot really differentiate yourself.

This goes for both your MLM replicated website as well as “generic” lead generation systems that are out there.

Remember, you are branding YOU- so everything, from your content, to your power point presentations, to your lead capture pages, your emails, your webinars etc should make YOU stand out amongst the crowd.

It’s your unique angle and selling proposition and personality and story that needs to come through.

YOU are selling YOU!

If you use the same lead capture pages as all the other distributors in your MLM, whats to make you different?

Same applies to your affiliate programmes.

(You can still use their capture pages, but make sure you have captured the lead onto your list via your system FIRST before sending them to your affiliate lead capture page)

2. With  a customised sales funnel you are able to target your Niche Market with a good market to message “fit”.

Having the ability to communicate in all your content, your lead capture pages, sales pages and your follow up emails gives you the ability to lazer focus your message.

Your lazer focused message can be targeted at a different target market, a different age group, a group with a different set of demographics and interests (reducing competition) and ensuring your message “hits the spot”.

You can start to dominate a smaller niche and have many more successes.

Rather be a big fish in a little pond than a small fish in the ocean!

For example instead of talking to all people suffering from constipation (broad target market) you could look at sub niches within that market (constipation in infants) and customise your message to fit those specific needs.

Your message will have alot more punch as it will speak directly to the needs of parents with infants suffering from constipation. You’ll also become a respected specialist in this niche and the solutions you provide will be exactly what your target audience is looking for.

3. Your Own Sales Funnel will allow you to add your own unique spin, personality and “value add” to your business (especially your MLM).

When you combine your MLM with your own personality, skill set, additional products and services and interests- you are creating your own Unique Selling Proposition. (USP).

A USP (“Unique Selling Proposition”) is your service or product’s most powerful benefit, in combination with a strong, unique aspect of your business.

It answers that critical question…

“Why should I buy from (or hire) you?”

Here’s a simple exercise to help you develop your USP…

STEP 1) Write down what your business provides.

STEP 2) Outline the key benefit(s) to your client. What pain does it cure, what solution does it provide?

STEP 3) Identify your unique feature/benefit. What makes you stand out? Keep working on this until you can clearly separate yourself from the field. There must be a convincing reason for doing business with you… instead of your competitor.

STEP 4) Summarize all of the above into one tight, powerful, motivating phrase that will persuade your clients to do business with you, to trade their money for the benefits you deliver.

Your goal is to deliver specific and high-value information to your niche audience. You also need to position yourself uniquely (have your own angle of approach!).

Having your own sales funnel allows you to create  this specific and high value content and give exact solutions to your target audience with a unique approach or spin (angle) that “hooks” them!

Note: Your blog or personal website will do this pre selling for you.

So will your articles and other content you post.

There is no need to mention your company products or services at all (in fact you are actually not allowed to mention your MLM).

But at every point along the funnel- from the blog, to the lead capture page, to the sales page and to the autoresponder email series you will speak with your own “voice”.

4. Your own Sales Funnel will give you TOTAL control of your own list.

You in fact own the list.

You can communicate what you want and when you want to.

You can sell other products and services to them they might be interested in.

(Not just your MLM products, or that affiliate owner’s products).

5. Your Own Sales Funnel will help you to be indexed by the Search Engines

Get Google Rankings

Google (and people) love sites that are relevant and unique.

They do not index replicated MLM sites or generic lead capture pages.

If you have your own self hosted blog or website, Google will index it and return it to people making searches for the keywords you use on your pages.

(This is a POWERFUL lead source as you will get targeted traffic!)

Your company replicated website will not be indexed on Google.

It is seen as SPAM- clogging up the search engines databases.

Remember there are as many of those websites as there are distributors within your MLM.

Google certainly cannot return 30 000 of the same website everytime those keywords are typed in!

Your human visitors also like unique websites.

Think about it: Would you join a faceless, personality-less site or a site that is unique and brings across the real person behind the business?

Remember- people join people, not faceless sites.

People need to IDENTIFY with the person they are following and get the feeling that that person “gets them”  and understands their troubles and can help them.

Check out The Online MLM Sales Funnel- a Comprehensive Overview.