Here’s a very sobering statistic for you. 97% of network marketers, who attempt some form of network marketing business, where down-lines are your gravy train, fail in short order because they either cannot successfully build their down-line or they build a very weak down-line. Let’s call them the “97 percenters.” They quickly come and go in the business, with many of them turning to bad-mouthing the industry because they failed miserably, thinking they gave it a valiant effort, and it just didn’t work – heck after-all, it wasn’t their fault.Well, there are a few things going on here that many who understand the industry can easily explain. Since I was one of those “97 percenters” for a two to three-year span, I can empathize with them. However, rather than outright quitting after only a half-hearted attempt, I persisted, even though I kept making the same mistakes over and over. I’m sure you know the old saying, “the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and getting the same results.” That certainly was me at one time.As my attempts at network marketing continued their ascent into the abyss, I blamed the programs themselves for my failings. I just assumed that they weren’t as attractive to others, as they were to me. I thought maybe I was the oddball for seeing value in the product or service.Nothing changed in my attempts at success until my lightning-fast mind began to consider, maybe it wasn’t the programs after-all, but just maybe it was “me” that was the problem, and my lame strategies at attracting leads.Let’s start at the beginning and discuss the nature of a network marketing business.Many assume that because it is easy and very inexpensive to get into the network marketing business that they can just sign up with a NM program and the money will just come rolling in.Now in fairness, whether it’s intentional or not, that’s how many of these network marketing programs tend to mislead people to believe. Let’s face it – and this is not an excuse to mislead people because I believe network marketers, for their own reputation, should be upfront with the statistics of potential success and failure, and by law they should be – but if network marketers were to give these statistics, their prospects of accumulating leads would drastically be reduced.In the same token, as a network marketer, you want to keep you product or service reputable and not be looked at, as so many do today, as nothing more than a “pyramid scheme.” In some cases this label may fit, and you should certainly steer clear of those types of programs, where nothing of value is being offered. There is no product or service that one can get a benefit from.These programs certainly only benefit, monetarily, those who establish the program. These programs quickly “peter out,” almost as quickly as they started because most people want something of value when forking over their hard-earned money. Plus the fact that pyramid schemes are unlawful.However, network marketing is a very reputable and profitable industry if your product and/or service holds value in the eyes of the end consumer. The beauty of a good network marketing program is that consumers could benefit in a twofold manner. First, they can find benefit from purchasing the product or service, and then turn around and profit from it by establishing their own network marketing opportunity, utilizing the very same product or service – hence, multilevel marketing.But, that’s not the end all. You can have the best product or service on the market; yet, fail in your bid in marketing it yourself. This is what happens to many in the “97 percenters” category of failed network marketing businesses.With this post, I am beginning a series of articles aimed at the “97 percenters” and dissecting the reasons for their failure in growing a network marketing business. I mentioned earlier that I was, at one time in the not too distant past, a “97 percenter” myself. It wasn’t until I began to understand the nature of the business and that it has to be treated like any other reputable business opportunity, with knowledge of the industry and a developed skill-set to be successful.For example, you wouldn’t open a restaurant without knowing how to cook, or at least, hiring someone who does. You can go online and copy a recipe and attempt at opening a restaurant with that, but you still need understanding on how to improvise, as a good cook will in order to develop his or her own unique flavor that sets them or her apart from the rest.The same goes for a network marketing business. 97% fail because they just follow the same failed principles of those who preceded them. When you look up how to market a network marketing business, you will get the same failed examples of contacting (and ultimately alienating) friends and family and pushing yourself on them. Posting fliers on cars and local announcement boards in supermarkets or libraries, or wherever. These techniques just do not work.What a network marketer needs to do is attract others to themselves, rather than chase people down, begging them to sign on. This is the key to network marketing. Once you know how to attract people to you, it is then when you will watch your business take off.Now, don’t get me wrong, all those techniques above can help you develop your business, if handled properly and you use “out-of-the-box” ideas to attract attention to your product or service.In my next article, I am going to begin to explain how to approach network marketing and why you need to educate yourself with a network marketing business, just as you would any other business opportunity. When you follow the principles that I will lay out here in these articles to follow, your chances of exiting the “97 percenter” category and joining the top 3% will grow exponentially.Until next time, I wish you all the best of success in your Network Marketing endeavor.One last thing – if you have struggled to develop your down-line in any network marketing endeavor, don’t give up! Believe me when I tell you, that there is a lot to learn in this business, just like there is in any business. If you’ve experienced failure to this point, that’s a good thing.Yes, that’s right, I said, “It’s a good thing.” Look, many of the most successful entrepreneurs experienced failure many, many times before hitting it big. Why? Because with each failure comes experience and knowledge of what it is that didn’t work. If you analyze your failings and understand why your attempts failed, you will now have a clearer picture of what will work.I’ll end with this quote of inspiration… “Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.” ~Author Unknown

Whilst it is fair to say that Internet marketing has certainly had an effect on offline trading figures, the comparisons are not directly proportionate for the simple reason that the Internet has opened up huge new markets which were not feasible before this ‘information superhighway’ was born. The interactive nature of Internet marketing, and the low costs involved in distributing information and media to a global audience, makes a very attractive platform for any business model, regardless of size. Latest figures from credit card companies report a 15 billion dollar turnover from Internet sales in the last year, and rising rapidly. So it is not surprising that budgets for Internet marketing are taking a bigger slice of the advertising cake and the numbers of individuals earning their living directly from Internet marketing are ballooning off the scale.Internet marketing draws together all the creative and technical aspects of the Internet, which include design, development, advertising and sales, and the techniques used in Internet marketing include search engine marketing, email marketing, affiliate marketing, online advertising and more recently, social media marketing methods as employed in blog marketing, and viral marketing.Internet marketing is the process of building, growing and promoting a business individual or organization through any online activity including websites, blog sites, article marketing, press releases, online market research, email marketing, and online advertising. In order to fully comprehend the huge benefits offered by the Internet marketing process, it is difficult not to draw comparisons with offline marketing methods, but it has to be remembered that one is not a replacement for the other. Internet marketing and offline marketing will both have an important part to play in the future of any business, assuming it is not purely Internet based. Let us now look at the benefits that Internet marketing has to offer..Low CostSince the Internet can be regarded as a ‘free for all’ activity center where information is shared freely with all interested parties, the cost involved in the overall Internet marketing strategy is relatively low. Apart from the obvious expenditure incurred in operating a web site, a large proportion of the budgets set aside for Internet marketing will typically be swallowed up by services and resources offering expertise in the various marketing techniques that fall under the Internet marketing umbrella. For example, Search Engine Optimization plays an important role in the positioning of a web site in search engine rankings and the larger organizations will often employ the services of a search engine optimization company to carry out this duty. Equally there are Internet Advertising Agencies available to handle all aspects of online advertising. Smaller companies or sole traders may carry out their own search engine optimization and advertising campaigns and would need only a few hundred dollars budget for marketing software tools. Either way, the overall cost of Internet marketing is much lower than the cost of a similar offline campaign.Work From Any LocationAll activities that fall under the Internet marketing banner can easily be organized from a laptop computer. Most communications are made using online contact forms, email or instant messenger, and payments for items such as web site hosting, internet marketing software tools and resource fees can all be paid online using a credit card. Web site design and management is also another area of Internet marketing easily managed from a laptop computer. The versatility of the ‘laptop’ means that these duties can be carried out from any location and therefore those involved in the Internet marketing fraternity can easily work from a simple home office, or even when away from home. Commuting is totally unnecessary.The Level Playing FieldUnlike offline commerce, the use of Internet marketing techniques now make it possible for an individual or sole trader to compete with the larger organizations in his online business. It’s true that a larger company whose name was on everyone’s lips would have a head start in the marketing of their web site, and a larger presence in the search engine pages, beyond that the doors are opened and it’s quite common to see a smaller commercial outfit riding higher than their much larger competition in search engine results. Yes the online advertising budgets would be much bigger for the national companies, but there are many Internet marketing techniques and resources available to the solo marketers that would help them to stay in touch. There are literally hundreds of new Internet millionaires developed on a daily basis.There are also many niche areas with good benefits derived from Internet marketing, but generally the process is attractive all round as a method of promoting any business, recreational or personal projects across the Internet. Internet Marketing is where the future lies for businesses large and small. The Internet has arrived and no-one can deny it!Trevor Taylor

As a London children’s entertainer of over 17 years experience, I’ve been to a fair few parties. How many I couldn’t possibly accurately calculate, but I’d hazard a guess that I’m probably past my thousandth party. With all this experience I’ve become acutely aware of what can make or break a children’s party, especially from the entertainer’s perspective. Ideally when hiring an entertainer, the intention is to have a fun party with as little stress as possible. This doesn’t come without some planning and the best parties come from good team work between the client and the entertainer. Communication is vital, make sure you spend some time chatting to your entertainer to make sure they know what they are doing. Personally I feel an entertainer who is willing to compromise and bend to all requests may suggest an entertainer with little or no experience. An experienced entertainer is a source of many hints and tips for making your party successful, so don’t be afraid of picking their brains. A wise client is one who listens to suggestions from the entertainer and works in conjunction with them. Good teamwork is essential for a smooth and calm party. I don’t know about you, but I like to avoid chaos at all costs.Let’s start with BALLOONS.Balloons. What party is complete without them? They provide instant festive decoration and are a party must. Right?Right. But there are also times when balloons can be the cause of party chaos.As an entertainer who wants to make sure my client’s party experience is a calm and controlled affair, I walk a tightrope of sergeant major/party-pooper. It’s a fine balance of keeping control but also not destroying the fun atmosphere. After all, fun is what a party is about. But out of control fun can soon descend into very unpleasant chaos. This is easily avoided though by taking some precautionary measures.When clients book a party with me, I suggest to them that if they are having balloons, to make sure they are kept off of the floor.Party-pooper alert? Hmm, maybe, but balloons are great fun to play with on the floor as long as there is no other planned activity going on. If you are having a free play /soft play session for your party, by all means cover the floor with balloons. They are a simple and cheap way of keeping small children busy. Combine balloons with a few bubbles and that is a party in itself. But and this is a big BUT if you have booked entertainment for the party, keep the focus on the booked entertainment. Children find it hard to focus on one thing if there are lots of other things going on at the same time and that inability to focus often leads to all-consuming chaos.Keep balloons tied up and out of reach if you don’t want loose balloons to become bouncy weapons and missiles, perfect objects to hurl into puppet booths or bash puppets/entertainers/each other with.Don’t underestimate the noise balloons can create when in a child’s grasp, the squeaking and bursting and general distraction they can cause can’t be over-emphasized.Helium balloon ‘forests’ can be a beautiful decorative feature, but make sure that the dangling string is just out of children’s reach otherwise expect a few children to take on the role of chief balloon collector and claim them all. If there is to be a puppet show, make sure helium balloons are away from the front of the stage as the constant bobbing of the balloons can completely obscure the view for the majority of the audience and also risk popping on the hot lights. On that note, do bear in mind that some children are balloon phobic especially if they happen to be autistic and sensitive to noise. Balloons can then be a very terrifying thing, unpredictable and very loud when popped. We want to minimize tears and disruption and maximize fun by thinking in advance.So to summarize:Keep ‘air’ balloons off of the floor if you are having entertainment and use them for decoration and going away gifts at the end of the party.Make sure the string of helium balloons is just above the reach of the tallest child at the party to minimize squabbles and disruption if you want to make a forest of helium balloons.Tie helium balloons firmly to the child’s wrist on departure- they have a nasty habit of flying to the moon if you don’t. ( The balloons that is, not the children!)Consider tying helium balloon to each of the chairs at the tea table. This is a great way of adding instant party pizzazz but keeps the balloons in a secure place.Be mindful of any left over latex from burst balloons, small children can easily choke. In my time as an entertainer, adults have been known to use the stretchy stuff to make makeshift caterpaults to fire at the entertainer… Hmm. Not great. Silly grown-up’s hey?