Network Marketing Lead Generation - What's Stopping You From Generating Your Own Leads Online?

It doesn't matter if you're new to network marketing online or have years of experience. Ask anyone what their biggest challenge is with their MLM business, and lead generation will likely top the list. Network marketing lead generation can be especially challenging if you're just starting out, or have never had any success generating leads before, and what if you're unfamiliar with the internet?If you've been searching the internet for low cost alternatives to lead generation, or want to know where to start, you've probably guessed there's more to it than 'opportunity leads' and 'systems.' There are plenty of people out there promising to relieve you of your hard-earned cash in exchange for the latest 'lead generation system', but just how do you generate leads for yourself without spending tons of money, or hiring an expert?In this article, we're going to share with you a process for generating leads yourself and why it's important you distinguish yourself from other network marketers.Think of the internet as a massive library of information. When you want answers to questions, what do you do? You go online and do your own research. As this applies to network marketing and our typical lead generation techniques, think of how things are often still being taught:- First, make a list of your warm market - typically family, close friends and co-workers- Get 'trained' to 'prospect' them- Send out DVD's- Print up some business cards and hand them to anyone and everyone- Buy company leaflets and distribute them around your neighbourhood- Set up 3-way calling with your sponsor- Schedule appointments with anyone who will listen- Home parties- Cold call bought opportunity leadsBut with the internet, your prospect can do all their research online (think library) where they stumble across someone offering valuable information in the form of a free report, and they most likely forget their 'appointment' with you!This is where you want to be; putting information out there on the internet to be found by people looking for answers to their research queries. But you may be thinking:- that's okay for you, but I don't know where to start- I don't want to spend years learning internet marketing to reach this point- how does this fit in with my network marketing opportunity?- can I really do this?To answer this first point and to put your mind at ease, thanks to the internet you can get your message out to more people, quicker, easier, and more cheaply than at any time in the history of the world.The second point and the key to the whole thing is to understand the whole marketing process; you have to engage in activities which will bring the maximum payback for you- and these are your marketing activities. Think of how you came to read this article. You were probably introduced to online marketing through a message, a piece of content or an ad which offered some useful information.The third and most critical point is that you are in direct competition will every other distributor in your opportunity."Your first job as a marketer is to position yourself against the competition." says John Carlton Million Dollar Copywriter.Now you may be thinking that one of the ways MLM works is through duplication. If you're going all out to be different from everyone else, how will duplication work? Think of network marketing as purely a way of compensating people- nothing more. Network marketing is just a means to an end; a system for achieving a lifestyle.Instead, people are looking for information which will show them how to succeed with THEIR business building activities, and this applies to ANY network marketing opportunity. With that in mind, if you start putting yourself out there as a provider of useful business building information, YOU will appeal to ANYONE researching these topics.To distinguish yourself from everyone else is simply a matter of developing your own unique angle. We all have unique skills, experience and viewpoints with which we can put ourselves in the shoes of our prospects to connect with their needs and address their wants.When you position yourself as a trusted advisor by offering useful information to your target audience, people will want to hear more of what you have to say.The final point is you really can do this! If you can switch on a computer, browse the web and send an email, you can do this. There are a number of social sites you can use to get your information out there like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter etc and social bookmarking sites like Digg, StumbleUpon etc. These are all ways of presenting information on the internet and if it's you doing the presenting, it's a very quick and useful way to come across as a valuable resource and trusted advisor in your chosen niche.As you add more valuable information over time, you build your reputation and are able to make more recommendations because you have built trust first. This is how all the big players do it. Get your content out there, offer value, build a list and make multiple offers over time.In addition, you get the opportunity to build a growing reputation with social sites which fit your personality. Being you and developing your personality through this media is a great way of getting your message across and the more your audience gets to know you, the more they expect to hear recommendations from you which reflect their needs and wants, are relevant, personal and expected; the holy grail of email marketing.