How and When to Use a Replicated Company Website in Network Marketing

If you haven't yet studied internet network marketing, then it is understandable why you might have the idea that the way to go is to try to get your replicated company website as many places online as possible. Not only does that strategy not work, it can actually work against you and undermine your online presence. Having said that, there is a time and place for the replicated corporate website. It's a matter of knowing how and when to use it.

In the world of network marketing, a replicated website is a cookie cutter site that everyone who belongs to a certain network marketing company can use to advertise and communicate with prospects.

For example, your network marketing company likely has a corporate website. This website is often replicated for you to use, but encoded with your specific details so when people join your opportunity, you get credit for it. Some companies have team websites that don't advertise the company but rather a team within the company.

In either case, these replicated websites are about the company, the team, the products and/or the opportunity, but there is very little information about you. In some cases there may be an area on the website where you can upload a picture or have a short biography. Other than that, they are all generic to the company or team.

When you are networking online, whether it be at an article marketing site (e.g. Hubpages, Squidoo) or a social networking site (e.g. Facebook, Twitter), you should not include a link to your replicated corporate website. Why? There are several reasons. Here are the top six:

Reason #1. It is impersonal and doesn't communicate anything about YOU.
Network marketing is a relationship business. People join people, not companies, products or compensation plans. And using a replicated company website only emphasizes the company, not YOU.

In this industry, people follow leaders. If you want to present yourself as a leader, you have to showcase YOU. It's a much better strategy to have your own website or blog that is all about YOU. It should reflect your personality, and highlight the value you bring to people you may be doing business with.

Reason #2 - Pitching is Out, Teaching is In
When you promote your company's replicated website you are trying to sell someone from the very beginning. You haven't provided them with any value, and chances are, they don't trust you. Would you do business with someone that you don't know or trust? Probably not.

As Ann Sieg illustrates out in her free new ebook, Attraction Marketer's Manifesto, you have to sell yourself before you can even think about selling a product or business.

To sell yourself you have to let people get to know you as a person. People want a live person to talk to, to be able to ask questions. They want someone who is genuinely interested in them.

Most importantly, they want someone who can help them find a solution to their needs. That means you also have to sell your ability to help them get what they want. This means positioning yourself as an expert who has enough valuable insights to offer that you are worth seeking out.

How do you do this? You do it by providing free information that is of value to your prospects. Educate them, don't sell them. And in doing so, you're building trust and attracting them to you. That is what attraction marketing is all about!

Once people have consumed your educational message and you've earned their trust, they will be much more open to buying from you. No sale ever takes place without trust. And the best way to build trust is to genuinely invest in your customer first.

Reason #3 - Network Marketing Company Web Sites Don't Convert Well
Most network marketing companies have no idea what they are doing when it comes to building a web site that converts well. The web site typically has information that people don't care about, while lacking information people do care about.

For instance, it is well know that features do not sell, benefits sell. Yet, most (if not all) company websites focus on the features vs. benefits. Replicated network marketing websites also lack the most important element, which is an area where people can opt-in for more information.

In contrast a good lead capture page is designed with one purpose in mind: to get the prospect to provide you with their name and email address, so that you can continue to communicate with them. Once they are on your list, you can continue to provide valuable information and build a solid relationship of trust.

Reason #4 - Search Engines Don't Like Replicated Network Marketing Websites
Network marketing business opportunity web sites aren't unique. Therefore it makes them almost impossible to get them ranked high in the search engines.

Google has a duplicated content penalty. What this means is if Google comes across a web page that has the same exact content as another page, it picks ONE page to show in the search results and ignores the rest.

On the other hand, your blog or lead capture page, is a unique page with its own content. This makes it much easier to get it ranked in the search engines.

Reason #5 - Replicated Network Marketing Web Sites Cannot Be Tested & Tracked
When you use a replicated network marketing web site, there is no way for you to test and track your internet marketing results.

When you control your own opt in page you can install software that allows you to test and track your results. Some software even allows you to display different headlines or different content so that you can see which one performs the best.

Reason #6 -- People Forget the Personalized Part of a Replicated Website
A lot of people, when they see a link which includes a name (ie: http://joeshmoe. companyabc.com)...will often forget the personalized part of the web address and go directly to the root (ie: http://www. companyabc.com). When this happens, they will be routed directly to the main company site. At that point, they will enter their information in as a lead and someone else will get the lead.

Now that you understand that you don't want to lead - first thing - with your replicated network marketing website, you might be wondering, What do I do with my replicated network marketing corporate site then?

Once you have attracted someone to you, and they are on your list, there will come a time to tell them about your network marketing opportunity. This is when you use your replicated network marketing website.

You can also use your replicated corporate website in an article you've written. Say you are writing about a specific health issue and providing valuable information to help people with their health. It would be appropriate to include a link in that article to your replicated corporate website so readers could do more research.

In this sense, use the replicated corporate site as you would with any presentation. Direct your prospect to the compensation plan, the products and other important information that everyone should take into consideration before making a purchase or joining a network marketing opportunity.

So if you see someone using a replicated corporate website as their main link, don't hold it against them. Just realize that they don't know better. Send them a copy of Attraction Marketer's Manifesto or forward them this article. You will be doing them a favor and, in so doing, creating a new business relationship.