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Did you know that blogging and social media can be one of the best ways to market a direct sales business? In this post, I’m going to give you five strategies to grow your direct sales business through blogging and social media.
{Note: Please make sure you are allowed to have a blog and use social media with your direct sales business. Many businesses have very, very specific rules on what you can and can’t say and do online. If you know for sure blogging and social media is allowed, then continue reading! If not, please do your own research to make sure it is allowed.}
1. Focus on growing your e-mail list.
You should always, always think of your blog or online presences as a way to grow your e-mail list.
Why? When you can contact people directly through their inbox, you’ll see SO many more conversions! You can use your e-mail list in really powerful ways if you have a direct sales business or a product to sell.
In the beginning days of blogging, I rode the social media and Facebook wave and I didn’t worry about an e-mail list. This was a HUGE mistake! I was so dependent on traffic from social media that when all the algorithms changed a few years ago, my traffic tanked.
I can’t stress it enough…your e-mail list is SO important! Whatever you’re doing online, always keep in the back of your mind how it will eventually help get people on your e-mail list.
2. Show how you use your product in everyday life.
Your business will be so much more successful if you focus on helping and serving people and not just selling a product. Think of your product as something that is meeting a genuine need for your target audience.
Don’t just tell people about your product…SHOW them with your own photos! People want to be shown how something is going to change, impact, or better their life.
For example, if you’re selling essential oils, show them how you’re using essential oils to clean your kitchen, make your house smell better, feel more calm, etc. Include your own photos of how you’re using the essential oils throughout the day.
Show your audience how the product is changing your life and how it could change theirs, too.
3. Talk about the why instead of telling people to buy.
You should only be selling a product that you truly, honestly believe in — that has impacted your life in some way and you are really passionate about seeing it change others’ lives, too!
And if you really believe in the life-changing power of your product, it will pretty much sell itself. Because when you focus on the WHY, the product will speak for itself and you won’t even have to convince people to BUY.
Give them the WHY. Why do you love this product so much? How has it changed your life? How will it change others’ lives?
Tell people why it will impact/improve their life — how it will give them more energy, save them money, save them time, etc. And be sure to tell stories about how it’s changing other people’s lives, too!
When you focus on the why instead of telling people to buy, this is a win-win situation. People will have SO much more trust in you when you aren’t bombarding them to buy your product.
4. Use video as much as you possibly can.
In addition to using your own photos to show people how a product will change their life, you also want to be sure to use video as often as you can.
Blogging is great and it can be your hub, but you’ll also want to branch out and utilize social media to get people to come to your blog and eventually build your e-mail list. There is so much potential to use video on social media these days — YouTube, Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, Instagram TV, etc.
When you use video, you are making an extremely personal connection with your audience. So don’t be afraid of live video. Put yourself out there!
Here are a few examples of how you could use video effectively:
- Show people your outfit ideas with LuLaRoe
- Do a tutorial with makeup tips using Mary Kay makeup
- Make a recipe in your kitchen using your Pampered Chef cookware
- Talk about your favorite essential oil diffuser recipes with your doTERRA or Young Living oils
And often times you can take a little bit of time to create a video and maximize it in multiple ways!
For example, you could do an Instagram Live video and save it right after you’re done. Then you could upload that to Instagram TV, YouTube, and Facebook to have the video in multiple places! You could then do an Instagram Story that showcases 3-4 frames of what you talked about in the Instagram Live and link over to it!
{I highly recommend trying Instagram TV, because that pushes your video to people who aren’t already your followers on Instagram!}
5. Give away freebies.
People love getting things for free, and a freebie is a great way to get people on your e-mail list!
Create a freebie that will attract your ideal customer and an easy URL landing page that people can go to and sign up for it. When you’re on live video, promote it! Even if you don’t yet have the swipe-up feature on Instagram Stories, the easy URL will make it simple to tell people where to go.
(You can create landing pages with Lead Pages, Mad Mimi, Constant Contact, or Mail Chimp.)
Need some examples of freebie ideas? You could create a:
- Free printable with seasonal makeup tips if you sell Mary Kay makeup.
- Free printable with essential oil diffuser blends if you sell doTERRA or Young Living oils.
- Free printable with your favorite recipes or kitchen tips if you sell Pampered Chef.
- Free printable with capsule wardrobe ideas if you sell LuLaRoe.
Whatever it is you sell, give your audience a free download to sign up for your e-mail list.
If you’d like me to give you some step-by-step help to grow your email list, check out Build Your List 101.
In this course, I take the mystery out of building your list so you can start getting excited about growing your audience (and your income!) using simple tips and strategies that have made such a difference in our business!
Build Your List 101 is an easy-to-understand multimedia course with text and video lessons + bonus video tutorials teaching strategies to help explode new bloggers’ list growth! Find out more about it here.
I’m disappointed to see a post targeted at those involved in direct sales/multi-level marketing. Those types of companies have an unsustainable business model, they are known for their dangerous and unfounded health and wellness claims, and they specifically recruit vulnerable populations – single moms, immigrants, retirees – using inflated, inaccurate, and untrue sales numbers.
As a longtime MSM reader, I have a lot of respect for you and your business. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a post like this coming from a blogger who is focused solely on income, but I know you as someone who would never prioritize making money over the best interests of her readers. Considering a large portion of your MSM audience – especially stay-at-home moms looking to contribute to family finances – likely falls right in the middle of MLMs’ favorite recruitment pool, I wouldn’t have expected you to align yourself with this group of companies.
MLMs are nothing more than pyramid schemes. 99 percent of those who sign up to sell lose money, which means those sellers would have better luck trying to increase their income by gambling. Here is a link to a study posted on the FTC’s website:
https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/public_comments/trade-regulation-rule-disclosure-requirements-and-prohibitions-concerning-business-opportunities-ftc.r511993-00008%C2%A0/00008-57281.pdf
Hi, Abby!
Thank you for commenting so I could clarify why I put this post together. I’ve gotten a number of questions from people who are already part of a direct marketing company asking for tips or ways to use their blog to build their business.
While I totally agree with you that many people can lose money in this business (and I’ve personally turned down all opportunities to sign up under people because I personally know that this business model is not for me), I also know a number of women who have been very, very successful, too. (I can name offhand at least 25 women I know who are very successful and who are running their businesses with integrity.)
So I wrote this post specifically to help people who are already part of an MLM company (or have something else they are selling or want to sell) and who want to be more successful and wise in doing so. I’m not aligning myself with any company by doing so or making any money from doing so, I just want to help others be as successful as possible while also keeping their integrity.
I know there are many differing opinions on MLMs/direct marketing companies and I have shared some very strong opinions on ways to incorrectly market with them and hurt others in the process (see this video that got a LOT of comments and shares: https://www.facebook.com/MoneySavingMom/videos/288603791732707/?fref=mentions&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDZNfIcG_StjLXoSbRpn9x6THiOyk0rVKZShobVlcd5R1_8eHpjVFjDYyfMahTflf0LDZfWBJCsmjRDbfjs-OJpD7C3oYfPPjqF6kjPaB3F2RClgYC3YIZP8Bho9jtLPYgxOeWE7rETFcE_lQ2fu4dFuDuO4oAR9JivJIQR0f_O10Yn_MxPvXY8m6aTDzzKB0qq15ns-rfPQNGE8CCewb097ApvoEEMzd2wQiEXlWuXu11nxTnUqugdRlO6xE9BlB9h0qbtkimCVW6yyWWT0tswjeuOouSR4BRNWCYJSMhVfwGG8vVN-FtNsapNtHyk-2PUE6JX0lpGu5agWov9w0KaPdChjNkMatUB1g&__tn__=K-R), but I also know that they can be run well and with integrity — just like just about any other business! You can choose to keep your integrity and not prey on vulnerable people and sell a product you truly, truly believe in.
But, like I always say, if you’re just doing it for the money or someone is trying to get you to sign up by telling you how much money you will make, you should run far, far away!
I hope that helps explain where I’m coming from. I’m so sorry if you’ve been burned by MLMs in the past. That’s one of the reasons I am so careful in how I talk about them — because I think people need to be incredibly careful and do their research before spending any money on anything, making any commitment, or jumping into anything.
As someone who has been very successful in Network Marketing, someone has to stop the myth that they are a pyramid scheme. These are illegal! They might still exist from time to time, but we have regulations. Pyramid schemes are illegal as even their name suggests. It’s very sad to see others blasting a very viable income—and then calling it something it isn’t. This is paramount to calling all lawyers “ambulance chasers” or realtors “liars”. One person does not define everyone else. When Crystal started her business, she lost money. She tried a few things until she found something that worked. This might have been you? Did you try a NWM company? Did you actually work your business? People have got to stop commenting on something they truly don’t know anything about. When you work your business, you usually get results. Do things always go well in your business? No! No one has complete success ALL the time. Just because one person didn’t succeed at one type of endeavor—does not mean that they understand it. And, if you were never involved in the first place, than honestly you should not be commenting.
As far as stating how much money someone can make, my husband did not sign his contract until they agreed upon a salary. If I am going to enter into a business, I would sure like to know what I will be making. If it is commission based then at the very least the average of what is possible to make. This by law must be disclosed by all Network Marketing businesses. What Crystal does is networking, too. It’s just that she creates her own content/or product, if you will.Crystal, I don’t think I’ve ever commented on one of your posts. This is very near to my heart because my life and my family’s lives have been changed through the product that I share and I make a significant income that blesses my family as well. I hope and pray that I’ve helped shed a little more truer light on a business model that should be looked at more often than it is (sometimes due to false representation).
Thank your for your reply. I understand what you’re saying; I, too, know several people who do well in network marketing. I even respect and admire many of those people. The problem isn’t with those people, or really even with other sellers.
The problem is with the companies. The business model itself, based around the need to cultivate a “downline,” is unsustainable and predatory. Companies make, or allow and encourage their sellers to make, misleading and false claims about the health benefits of their products. They offer notoriously poor customer service, they gouge customers and sellers with hidden fees, and they sell overpriced products. Most egregiously, they have compensation plans that, by their very design, send most of the income to the top-level employees while, as I mentioned in my previous comment, 99% of sellers lose money.
I’ve never sold for an MLM and, while I’ve purchased products from a few in the past, I’ve never been “burned” by one. I’ve simply done a lot of research. I’m sure you’ve done some, too. I urge you to do more, though. I urge you to read studies like the one I linked in my first comment, or the FDA’s warning letter to Doterra and Young Living, or articles about the (latest) scandal involving Lularoe, or Herbalife’s lawsuit.
I’ve never seen you directly endorse an MLM on your main site, and I know this one post is insignificant in comparison with your presence on your other sites and on social media. I just know so many women look to you as an expert on legitimate, ethical, money-making opportunities. That’s why I hate to see you align yourself, even in this small way, with network marketing companies.
FDA letter to Doterra: https://bit.ly/2ChnH1i
FDA letter to Young Living: https://bit.ly/2rEJv0s
Lularoe’s scandal: https://read.bi/2S50mFx
Herbalife’s lawsuit: https://bit.ly/2QZb2rV
Thank you for sharing your concerns. I appreciate you sharing them so that people can be aware and always do great research before jumping into anything. I’m such a big believer in that and the importance of doing so… and of running our businesses with integrity — which is why I’ve been pretty vocal in how to build a business and how NOT to build a business, especially an MLM business. Sadly, what you are referring to happens in a LOT of businesses and business models, not just MLM’s.
Love all of these different options, thank you for always sharing your great knowledge. I love the idea of sharing videos in use.