Ronda Tuckness asked:

If you are wondering whether to go with offline marketing or online marketing, the answer is up to you. I would venture to say that many network marketers use a little of each. Both methods can bring promising prospects your way.

Let’s take a look at some of the offline methods first. Leaving business cards, catalogs and brochures at places you frequent; placing a web decal or magnetic sign on your vehicle; newspaper ads; flyers; business stationary; free product samples; wearing apparel that features your company logo; home parties; craft fairs; flea markets; door hangers; postcards.

Online methods can include article marketing; forum participation; online ads; social networking; pay-per-clicks; Google adwords; blogs; purchasing leads; etc.

Each and every method is not listed here, but you get the idea. I believe that every method which gets your business website out there is beneficial. Network marketers will favor some methods over others, but it essentially comes down to you.

You will learn which methods you prefer after a little trial and error. There are a few that I simply detest only because they do not suit my personality. It is important to use the methods that you enjoy and are comfortable with.

If you force yourself to use methods that you don’t like because you think you should or because someone advised you to, that will be a mistake. You will **** every minute of it, and your disdain could cause you to leave your network marketing dream behind.

Your business belongs to you. You should seek advice and counsel from the gurus, but only use what interests you. Any method that gets your name and company to the masses in a positive way is a useful promotion tactic.

Offline marketing or online does not have to be a choice. You can easily use both for favorable results. Some people use online methods exclusively and have no desire to try anything offline. That is certainly their prerogative. However, something as simple as a web decal on their vehicle is seen daily by dozens of people.

Why not employ both methods for maximum effect? I admit that I do not use many offline methods because I truly prefer working online. However, I would not discount anything that appealed to me just because I prefer working online.

The more people that are exposed to your website or your business, the faster things will go. It is all about numbers, or as some would say, “It is a numbers game.” I do get tired of that cliché, but it is true.

So, the bottom line is, “offline or online”, it is all good. Any method that suits your style, used consistently, will produce results.

Zack Miller asked:


Network marketing and MLM businesses have been around for decades. The pioneers of the network marketing industry were Amway and Avon. They are mostly responsible for all of the offline marketing strategies that are still used today. They had to because the internet was not invented yet. Most if not all network marketing, MLM, home based businesses, affiliate marketing and direct marketing businesses have an online presence today. However, most of them are still using offline marketing strategies, even in light of the internet. So the question is, which is better, offline marketing or online marketing?

Offline Marketing

Most businesses have the, “if it is not broken don’t fix it”, motto and continue to use offline marketing as their main form of marketing. The first and most popular offline marketing strategy consists of getting your friends and family involved. This strategy is most successfully achieved through hotel meetings, conference calls and home parties. With this strategy, your market is a local one. Also you have to go out and find your prospects. The second most popular is buying leads from leads companies. This strategy involves calling complete strangers and using your phone sales skills to get prospects to know like and trust you instantly, in order to join your business. This strategy involves hours of phone time and is all about numbers. Once again, you are going out and finding prospects. The third, and most popular, is telling everyone that you see and come in contact with about your business. This strategy runs on the, you never know who might be interested and it’s all about the numbers game. Once again you’re going out and finding prospects. Other forms of offline marketing strategies involve: business cards, postcards, flyers, car wraps and more. These are the main offline marketing strategies that most companies and entrepreneurs implement in their business. The two main problems with offline marketing is saturation and you have to find the prospects.

Online Marketing

Very few network marketing and MLM companies and distributors market their businesses online. Most business owners that use offline strategies say that online marketing strategies will not work with their business model. Or they say that online marketing is to in personal. However Online marketing is the best way to put your

business, products, services and brand in front of the biggest audience in the world. That audience is called the Web. The Web has a market of over 1.5 billion people in 100 English speaking countries. It can be accessed from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection. You can work your business in your underwear at home or on a beach in a tropical paradise and still reach the world. With online marketing strategies, such as article marketing, video marketing, social media marketing and more, prospects find you. Also once you put the content online, if done right, it will drive tons of traffic and leads to your site forever. With these types of strategies you are able to flood the marketing with your content. This in turn will brand you as the expert, not your company.

I, myself have used both strategies offline and online at one point in my career. Through the trial and error, I prefer and will always prefer online marketing strategies. My reasons are simple. You can reach a larger market from anywhere. All you need is a cell phone and laptop. You can avoid the saturation effect that offline marketing usually creates. Another reason is with the content you put online. It will drive traffic back to your site forever. Do the work right once and it continues to pay you. The last reason is, I don’t have to go and find people. People find me through the content I put out there and they instantly know, like and trust me because of it.

Which do you prefer online or offline marketing and why?