Building a business and personal brand online can be overwhelming. There are many different ways you can build online and so many decisions you have to make.
At the beginning of the year, I was so overwhelmed with everything I felt I had to do to create my online presence and personal brand.
- Who is my audience? How do I find them or how do they find me?
- What is my brand? Do I need a specific look?
- What is my title…do I need a title?
- Do I need a logo?
- What all needs to go on my website?
- Which email marketing system should I use?
- What’s the best freebie?
- Do I need a newsletter?
And that is just skimming the surface, right? Having people to guide me has helped a ton and muddling my way through other parts is why I made this roadmap for you.
If you are wanting to build your presence and personal brand online, this roadmap is an overview that will help you know where to start, where you’re going and how to get there with the steps in between. It puts the focus on the most important pieces at each step so you don’t complicate it which, makes it overwhelming.
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
We hear this a lot in network marketing. “Don’t reinvent the wheel.” It’s human nature to make things complicated and when you follow somebody else's path, you take that complication factor out of it. However, with most things, there isn’t just one way to do it. You don’t have to follow this roadmap step-by-step. Do what’s best for you and make it your own.
The Roadmap
STEP 1: KNOW YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER
This is a really important step and a lot of people skip this because they think their products, services or business opportunity is for everyone. Not everyone will want what you have to offer so it is really important to know who you are speaking to.
- If you could work with anyone, who would it be?
- Who is your dream person to work with?
- What result do you want them to get from working with you?
The more specific you are about your ideal person, the easier it is to come up with topics and to write content that they want. It will also help your message to connect with them more, which will lead to sales.
So get very specific on your ideal customer. You’ll want to picture this specific person every time you create content for your blog, newsletter, social media, etc. Here are more questions to help you:
- Who are they? What is their name?
- What is their gender?
- How old are they?
- Where do they live?
- What do they do for work?
- What are their passions?
- What are their goals?
- What’s a specific issue or need that they have which YOU could help them with?
STEP 2: DEFINE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
In this step, we are talking about the look of your personal brand and what you want to be known for. When someone thinks of your name, what do you want them to associate it with?
In network marketing, it can be easy to get lost in the crowd because there are so many people doing the exact same thing. What is going to make you stand out? Why should someone work with you instead of someone else?
This also relates to the look of your personal brand. What colors, fonts, images, patterns, etc. best represents you. When you create your branding, you’ll want to use it consistently across all of your online platforms, worksheets, newsletters, etc.
Here’s an example of using your branding:
Quotes are really popular to share on social media and I see a lot of people sharing quote graphics from other people instead of making them their own.
You can use a simple tool like Canva to customize things to your brand and people will start associating them with you.
Step 3: CHOOSE YOUR BLOG TYPE & PLATFORM
You don’t have to blog for your network marketing business, but I definitely recommend it. And when I say “blog,” I’m referring to some type of content that you create for your audience.
When starting your blog, you’ll want to decide which type of blog you want to have and the platform you want to use. I can already hear you saying, “I hate writing.” So do I! A written blog is definitely the easiest to start, but you want to choose one that you’ll actually keep up with.
Think about how your ideal customer likes to consume content. Do they like to read, watch or listen? As I mentioned above, which one are you most likely to keep up with? Personally, I love watching vlogs, but trying to keep up with recording different parts of my day and editing the video are enough for me to stay away from vlogging. Vlogging might not be for you either, but short YouTube videos or live streams might be right up your alley!
STEP 4: BUILD YOUR WEBSITE / BLOG
This is usually the hardest part for most people because when they think of having a website, they think they have to know how to code or be “techy.” I don’t know how to code and I’m able to update my website easily. There are so many great resources out there, plus your website doesn’t have to be this elaborate 6-page thing. It could literally be only a few pages. Just get it started and make small changes as you go.
STEP 5: CREATE A FREEBIE
A freebie is something you give to your audience in exchange for their email address. You want to build your email list because it is one of the only direct connections you have with your audience that you have control over, especially if you don’t know them personally.
Emails are more personal and your audience is more likely to see your emails than your social media posts. They also provide another way of giving more value.
STEP 6: CREATE A LANDING PAGE FOR YOUR FREEBIE
A landing page is a separate web page people can arrive at. You can create this on your website or use software like ConvertKit or LeadPages.
You’ll want to create a separate page on your website or blog just for your freebie so you can send people directly to it. This page gives your visitors more information on what the freebie includes and why they should sign up to receive it.
Pro Tip: Your landing page should not have any distractions. You’ll want to remove your navigation bar and footer and have it on a blank page. The only options should be to sign up for your freebie or leave.
STEP 7: BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
Now that you have all the prior steps in place and are building your list, you can start building relationships with your audience. You can do this by sending your list a newsletter, creating a Facebook community, doing video and live streams. Create a content strategy that you can use across all the different platforms you use.
Want a copy of this roadmap, plus what mistakes to avoid?
Download Your Network Marketing Online Biz Roadmap by clicking on the image below.
