Do you remember the first day you got online? I sure do. Back in November, 1992, I got my first home computer, with a modem. I thought it was fantastic to have that modem that connected at up to 14,400 -- although at the time none of the services had a connection that fast.

I had a Prodigy disk, and signed up for that service. It took me less than 24 hours to see the potential of using the computer to market my MLM business. As I found my way around Prodigy I discovered their bulletin boards, and found that a simple message posted where it could be read by everyone would draw people interested in what I said -- they actually contacted ME and ASKED about my product, service or company.

I have always hated to get on the phone and call a prospect to follow up -- I always feel like I will end up calling them at an inconvenient time. What if they are eating, or taking a nap, or have company. Actually, I guess I totally hate rejection, and even an impersonal voice at the other end of a phone saying "not interested" wasn't something I wanted to keep hearing. So I sent out a lot of postcards and flyers, with full intentions of calling to see if the prospect got the information, had questions, and maybe wanted to order some product or better yet, join as a distributor.

But somehow I rarely did those follow up calls. Could it be because I hated to get on the phone and call a stranger?

So it was FANTASTIC to find a way to let people know about my business, and have THEM contact ME!!!

My new online friends and associates learned some neat tricks the first several months as we used Prodigy to build our business. We learned that if two people worked together, you could get more response. One person would go to the bulletin board area and ask a question -- then the "expert" would follow a few hours later and post an answer. This got us around the problem of "don't advertise" on the bulletin boards. We couldn't advertise, but we were free to answer questions.

I know a lot of people still use this method in newsgroups, and also on at least the AOL message boards. Using a team to stir up interest by good questions and answers DOES WORK!!!

I still have good online friends I met back in my Prodigy days. We aren't always in the same programs together, but we do keep in contact. (Hi Bill! ). Don't try to tell me you can't establish credibility and solid relationships online -- I know better.

When one MLM-hater made life miserable on Prodigy, jumping into every bulletin board and making a pest of himself (I bet he's STILL there), we pulled up stakes and moved to AOL. When we first joined AOL there were less than 1/2 million users, and we LOVED the free email. We also loved to send those free disks to all our friends so we could get more free hours. Look how we networked those disks -- AOL now has over 8,000,000 users. Exponential growth through MLM -- and we didn't even get paid much for it -- just a few free hours of time online.

The first time I tried the "real" Internet, I paid $50 to a service to get setup, and they sent me a disk and instructions, and turned me loose. I found my way to a site ONE TIME, and never could really do anything again. I gave up in disgust and went back to my AOL which was a lot more user-friendly. In pre-WWW days you had to be a bit of a computer guru to work on the "real" Internet, and to this day I am NOT a computer techie. Just make sure it is point and click, and I can do it.

Then I met someone who had just discovered the WWW and how it could be used to advertise with graphics -- I wouldn't be limited to just text. I remember how excited we were with the Web, and how fantastic that 8-1/2x11 scanned page was online. WOW -- we could have a color picture up there to advertise our business.

That was in about 1995. And look at the Web now. If anyone were to put a scanned page online they would be laughed at. And if you don't have a fast loading page, with super graphics, and even audio and video, you're missing out. And now you can use a shopping cart and wander through a website picking things to buy and having them added up as you go -- then click a button and off your order goes.

Heck, you can LISTEN to a presentation and WATCH a movie clip. Graphics can flash on and off, and messages scroll across your screen.

And MSN Messenger -- WOW, what a neat system. As soon as I sign on each day, I can see which of my friends is also online, and we can chat LIVE -- wherever they are in the world. I chat with my downline in Australia all the time -- and other downline in Europe -- and one of my business partners is in Canada, the other in California, and we keep in close contact with MSN. Instant online communication.

We've come a long ways baby. I wonder what the next few years will bring.

I still prefer to market online -- and see a lot of other people have learned what I have. It is inexpensive, and people will come to YOU if they like what you advertise. Get your business on the Web, get it advertised, and let people call you, especially if you are one of those who don't like to get on the phone.

Do I depend JUST on the Net? NO! But every postcard I mail out has my URL on it. At one time we made bumper stickers with our URL on it -- and that really got attention. My stationery and business cards have my URL on them. Any ad I place has my URL on it. So if someone gets my info and has a computer, chances are they will visit my website and contact me if interested.

Of course I also use 800 message centers so people can be pre-qualified. They get a postcard or flyer -- they call an 800 message -- sometimes they pull a Fax-on-Demand -- and many visit my website. I actually have new distributors who buy products and get signed up without ever contacting me. But they all call ME!!!

I make sure I have my phone number on my website and on my mailouts. Then people who want to verify I am real can give me a call. So use your website together with your conventional methods. Heck -- everyone without a computer LOVES the idea of having computer-savy people in their downlines. And those who have computers think it is neat to have avid offline marketers in their downline. Mix and match and have a strong group.

The Internet is the best thing to happen to MLM since sliced bread.

Kris

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