I don’t know about you…

But I tried to resist it…

for as long as I could..

BUT, I finally caved.

I am officially a Pinterest Addict!

Not sure what I am talking about?  Go HERE to find out.

It’s an online pinboard.

Where you can pin your interests….. “Pinterest”….

Get it?

Cool, right?

So I resisted, then I gave in.  I asked for an invite..

and the rest was history. 

Clearly I am not the only one.  Pinterest is now claiming fame to the being the social network to hit over 10 Million monthly views the fastest!

So what is the appeal you ask?

Well, I personal think it is a mix between the dreamer and the wanna be organizer. 

You can create yourself a perfect world all within pinterest.

I will admit, I am a dreamer…

But there is another side that appeals to me…. the wanna-be organizer in me!

I am always surfing the net, making mental notes of what things really tickled my goat.

And creating little scraps of paper with websites scribbled on to “go visit again”

But Pinterest just makes it TOO easy!

Just click the nice PIN IT button,

Chose a Board,

Save Pin

and

Walla!  Never to be forgotten again.

But here is where the magic comes in…. people Re-Pin.

The things I Pin…

So there is a GREAT opportunity to go Viral Here!

Especially for businesses!  According to a New York Times Article published HERE

You can with a couple clicks of your mouse, add a price banner to a picture on Pintrest,

Which of course the picture can lead back to your website   Awesome.

Now, I don’t suggest you become blatantly salesy here…

But I do highly suggest you get started on Pinterest and give your brand a presence there.

My business partner Dani Nir McGrath, published a post on using Pinterest for business a few days ago.  You can find that post HERE.

She made a quick video of how to get started, and I posted it below.  Be sure to check out Dani and her Blog HERE.

And also, be sure to take the time to watch her short video below!

I don’t believe Pinterest is going to be a Fad.  I think it will hang around a while… and I think the numbers (10 Million Unique Monthly Views) prove this fact.

Leave me a comment and tell me if and how you are using Pinterest for your business.

Also, come visit me on Facebook!

And Twitter!

Oh, and be sure to add your information in the box to the top right… so you get on my mailing list!    Or Go HERE.

Mindset is huge… Huge… HUGE…

did I make that clear enough?

The secret to making it in your home based business is your mindset.

You can learn all the tricks and master all the tools….

But if you don’t have control over that mind of yours… you might as well forget it.

If I had to pick what the number 1 thing someone needs to make it big in network marketing… THIS would be it!

And how cool is that?  That this is the only true skill/talent you need!

Now, I won’t lie to you… I have always been an optimist.  BUT this doesn’t mean that I don’t have my bad days or my poor me moments.  This doesn’t mean there aren’t times that I feel the whole world is against me.  BUT, I just decide to get happy, brush it off, and get my mind right again.

The cool thing is… you can LEARN this… You can!

My top tips for getting your mind right: 

Personal Development- read and listen to audios that help you grow as an individual.

Hanging around the right people- find those who are positive and successful and spend most of your time listening to them, hanging with them.

Getting rid of excuses- Just STOP!  Realize that no matter WHAT seems to be standing in your way, there is someone out there that has it worse than you, and MANY people out there who have had it worse than you and have overcome!

Deciding to be Happy- Simple- put a freaking smile on your face and be grateful for all the good you DO have in your life…. again… there is always someone out there who has it worse than you do.

Um… so I think people have this misconception of me that I have it all together always…. and well….. I don’t. 

Yes, I run several businesses from home, a few of which are pretty darn successful if I do say so myself…..

BUT…..

Ahhhh, here is where the secret part comes in….

I DON’T always have it all together……

My house is usually a mess…

My kids run wild most days….

and my hubby often feels ignored…. (don’t worry I make it up to him on the weekends – bow chicka bow-wow

SOOO, here is something that I am super dooper excited about…..

Don’t laugh, it is really kinda dumb, but I am a dork and so silly things really excites me!

I bought this ebook- 31 days to Clean….  and I am going to follow this book!

I just bought it, it was only 5 bucks… so I figured what the hay….

My Blogging Friend, JennyLou Raya told me about it….

and I figured even if it stunk, I wouldn’t be out much money….

BUT what I WAS thinking… was, wouldn’t it be fun if my fellow Mommy business owners did it with me…. That would be YOU….

Maybe you don’t have the same problem as me….

Maybe you run a successful business and your house is IMMACULATE…. well then, phooey to YOU.. (kidding, I applaud you)

But, if you ARE like me and your house could use a bit more TLC on a day-to-day basis….then come do this with me!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO get the book HERE…..

And let me know you are IN….. (I am thinking if I get enough people, I will do a facebook group and we can all chat in the group as we go through the books and the 31 days…)

Let’s plan to start on Monday February 20th….. that should give us all enough time to get the book and get ourselves ready to get to work!

I AM SOOOOOO excited about this!!!!!!!!!  Woot!  Email me or comment below to let me know you are in!  melissa(dot)bufford(at)gmail(dot)com

Alright, So, we have the basics covered on how to have your blog set-up and ready to go.

If you haven’t followed along here are the posts in this series.

Brand You!

Where to Begin?

Get Hosted!

Collect & Capture

Now that we have those all out of the way, we HAVE to talk about Daily Routines!  You can’t have a blog and just let it sit.  Or if you REALLY want to make money with this blog, you MUST create a following… you MUST create content (good content works best) and you MUST do this daily!

You need to come up with the daily tasks needed for your business and your blog.  I don’t know what tasks you need to do daily… you will best know that… but what I DO know is that you NEED to set the tasks and you MUST be sure to do them DAILY.  Every day.  Or don’t go to bed.

Here are some suggested tasks:

Post 3 times a week/Daily.  Create a blog, video, audio each day or a minimum of 3 times a week

Make 10 new online connections/friends/leads daily

email your list a few times a week

Keep yourself in the front of the mind of your followers.  This way when they are ready to purchase… YOU are there!

Let me know your tasks… what are you going to do to make this happen for you?  I want to know, I want to cheer you on!

Melissa

xo

be sure you read the previous blog in the series about Getting Hosted!

This is THEE biggest component to building your brand online with a blog!

We are talking about the 4 C’s here.  One of my Mentors Diane Hochman always talks about the 4 C’s.

They are:

Collect

Capture

Communicate

Close

Well,  you have your blog set up and ready to go.  You can use it to collect, i.e. get people to come stop by your blog.  You do this by creating interesting content, and then posting it on your social media sites to lure people to come read your blog and learn more about you.

BUT, WHY do the work collecting people (getting them to come to your blog) if you do not have a way to Capture them!  You need to have a mailing list, and your job here after you get people to come to their blog is to capture their information, so you can continue to communicate to them.  And then eventually close them- i.e. make a sale, book a show, enroll them in your business….

But let’s not get too far ahead…  I just want to talk to you today about the capture part.

I felt as though I did not need a email list for the LONGEST time.  I even built my FB fanpage to over 3,000 people before capturing their info.  How DUMB was that!!??  I want you to STOP right there, and LEARN from MY MISTAKE!

CAPTURE them!  CAPTURE them!

Your Network is your Net Worth.  Go here! Now! And get yourself an autoresponder!  You MUST have it.  If you want to build the business of your dreams, you MUST have an autoresponder.  I don’t even care if you don’t use it for a year… START COLLECTING.  (I actually DO care if you use it or not… but that’s not for this post!)

I use Aweber, again, mostly because that is what all the other big-wigs in the industry uses.  Go HERE to get Aweber.

You can also use Get Response, not familiar with their services, but I hear they are good too!  Not sure why the big-wigs don’t use Get Response.  Probably there was a time it did not offer as much as aweber did.  But I bet they are comparable now.  Go HERE to check out Get Response.

Ok, in our last Building Your Brand With A Blog Post, we talked about Branding YOU.

SO, now that you have your URL from Go Daddy, that brands YOU… let’s get you hosted.

Listen, this is super simple.  You want to find a hosting company.  I do believe GO Daddy has hosting…you can always check that out…

I personally use Dream Host.  I have NEVER had ANY issues with them.  However, I know there are lots of other hosting providers out there.  If you are ready to go and want something someone else has used with ease… go here.  If you want to take the time to compare and see what the differences between the many providers are… go for it.  You can do a google search and I bet you will find some good blogs that will tell you the differences.

If you want to use Dream Host, GO HERE and use the code “melb” and you will get $17 off!  You can also use Host Gator… I know of many people who use and have good luck with them.  But I do not have a discount for you on that one…

Dream Host has a thing called “One Click Installer” and it makes installing wordpres.org  SOOO easy… in one click, obviously.

Anyhow, I’m not super techy, but let me know if you have any troubles with installing wordpress.org and I will do my best to help you, or direct you somewhere you can find the answer!

We are SOOO close here now!  Let me know when you are set up.  After you have wordpress installed, you get to pick a theme!  Oooh, the fun part!  Just don’t get hung up here taking to much time choosing your theme!  I used to do that… (I still sometimes do!)

Once you are up and running, go on over to our facebook group and leave your url so we can all go give your blog a visit…

Next up on deck is talking about How to get readers, drive traffic, and learning about Alexa.com

Alright, it’s here, my first post in my Building Your Brand with a Blog Series.  I created this series for the members of my Building Your Brand with a Blog group on Facebook.  Go HERE to join!

And be sure you read this post on Branding You!

The thing is… getting a blog started for your business is VERY easy… IF you know what to do!

When I first started out, I spent hours and months getting my blog going… AND it still wasn’t until many years after I started that I had finally figured out how to do it the RIGHT way!

I have to tell you, I am NOT the master at this… There are lots of people out there who know way more on the this subject than me…. that is how I learned…shifting through all of the blogs, videos, etc of those who know best.

But what I am going to do for your here, is make this super simple.  I am not going to go into all the details on how and why here.  I am just  going to tell you what to do here.  If you are one of those people who need to know why for every step I tell you, then google it

I don’t have a ton of time, and we want YOU to get YOUR blog up and running and making you INCOME and Generating Leads for your business ASAP!  So we are cutting to the chase here…

I will go into details about some things that I find to be very important… the others, and the technical aspects here, you are going to have to figure out on your own.  Again, google searches, and use the support team from the hosting providers you select, etc….

If you follow my step by step directions here, you could honestly have a blog up and running by the end of this week!  I’m serious!

So, let’s get started!

We need to begin with your brand.  I highly suggest everyone brands themself!  I don’t care what you do.  Go now, to Go Daddy:  http://x.co/d0NT check and see if your name is available. Or something close to it.  Maybe you use your middle name, or an initial.  You want to use your name!  And remember, don’t ask me why… just do it! lol!  Honestly, I don’t ask why… I just look at what the top dogs in my industry are doing and I follow.  I don’t ask why… I’ll figure it out later, when the checks are rolling in and I have the time to find out… for now, just do!

Here are the big dogs I follow:

www.jennkmay.com

www.danimcgrath.com

www.dianehochman.com

They all do it, and they are successful, so again, go to Go Daddy and see what you have to work with: http://x.co/d0NT

If you have a common name, again, you might need to use some variations, or try something like wealthwithMelissa or workwithMelissa or something that has YOU in it!  But if your first and last name is up for grabs, GET IT NOW!  :)

Then, lets start thinking HOW you are going to brand you.  Don’t spend a ton of time on this now… just pick something… you can still continue to tweak this, but you need to think of what you have to offer people…. what value can you give to your readers…because I have a secret for you… pay attention now…. your Blog is about your Readers, and NOT You!  I’ll say it again… YOUR blog, is about your READERS!  Well talk more about this later.  For now, go get your url and start thinking what you have to offer people! More tomorrow!

xo

Melissa

Next Up:  Building Your Brand with a Blog:  Get Hosted

Here’s one thing you need to “get” if you are going to have success online…

You need to brand you!

The most successful business builders online, know that people do not buy from companies…

Rather they buy from “People”.

Why do you think your upline suggests you go to your family and friends first when starting your new business?

That’s a great way to get your family and friends really annoyed with you!

If you want to have success in your home based business, you want to turn your cold market into your warm market as quick as possible and the best way of doing this is to Brand YOU!

This song was on my playlist this morning at the Gym.

This song came on right after I read a text from one of my business partners, saying how she was discouraged and she also noted that while she had brought in a certain amount of money for the company this week, she was only paid a certain amount and it made her think…. what she was thinking about was the Benjamins… She wasn’t think about the fact that this was just her weekly pay, and she would still be getting paid for her work in her monthly check.  She wasn’t thinking about how she is close to hitting an bonus pool that would also pay her out.  Nope, it was just about how much she didn’t get.

If this is your mindset in your Network Marketing business, then you will not succeed.

Don’t get me wrong, the Benjamins are nice… and important.  But it just can’t be all about the Benjamins.

Your focus needs to shift and the bottom line is you need to get your mind right in order to succeed.

Instead of thinking about what we don’t have or what we want/need to have, I want to suggest some things we should focus on instead.

• Focus on what you have already accomplished.
• Focus on who you can help.  Who is out there that this could be a life changer for?
• Focus on making new connections and meeting new people.  Need some suggestions, go here to see 2 quick tips on how you can meet people.
• Focus on talking to so many people in a day/week, that the No’s are almost a relief…now you know where you stand and can move on to those who are open
• Focus on what you CAN control and not what you CAN’T control.  Like getting your company in front of as many people as you can.  You can’t control whether they realize the potential of your business.  That is THEIR issue, not YOURS, you can’t control what they think of it… so don’t focus on that.
• Focus on the people who love, and believe in you, and tune out those who don’t!

Make it a daily habit of focusing on the above suggestions, and let the Benjamins roll in!

xo,

Melissa

“Choose Your Friends Wisely!”

You’ve heard that before, right?  Most likely from your parents.  When you were a kid/teenager.

Or This One- “You are who you hang out with”

Another one you likely heard from an adult of some sort when we were kids choosing what crowd to hang out with in school.

Then there is the adult version.  I like this one.

“You are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with”.  Hmm, I might not have said that exactly how it was originally said, but I think you get the point!

But it’s true.  In a later post I plan to give you some suggestions on how you can get negative people out of your life…(yes I had to do it- and you may too to find success)

But for now, what I want to do is show YOU why I am such a ROCKSTAR in Network Marketing.

Ok, I promise I am not really full of myself, but I do think I do pretty ok.  And I have the secret why….it doesn’t really have so much to do with myself as it does with the fact that I hang out with some VERY cool people. Let me show you. Please, do yourself a favor and stay here with me till the end, and really pay attention to these ladies here.

First, My Upline in my Primary Company, the most Amazing Jenn K May. Visit her Blog here and catch her on FB here.   She is an amazing leader, leads with her heart, very successful in the industry and I am proud to say one of my favorite mentors.

Next, My SOUL Business Partner, Dani Nir-McGrath. Visit her Blog here and catch her on FB here.  I swear when I am not freaking out about the fact that we are thinking of the same thing at the exact same time, I am wondering if she was my Sister in a past life because of the crazy connection we have!  She is brilliant, motivating, and giving in the most selfless way.  I actually think she is everyone’s Soul business partner, as there is a not a person I know who has not learned from Dani or who has been touched by her inspiring ways.

Third, is the amazing Diane Hochman. Visit her Blog here and catch her on FB here. Now, I just recently started working with Diane, but I have been following her and watching her videos for over a year now.  I admire her no nonsense way, and how she teaches the simple, real, and honest ways to market that are really necessary to have success in this industry. Diane no longer does individual or group coaching… BUT I found a loop-hole on how I can hang around her on a daily basis, and get daily coaching with her.  This happens to take place in a private facebook group.

So my point to you here… is that to be successful you need to position yourself around successful people on a daily basis.  There are many ways you can do this.  Reading the blogs of the ladies here (and mine too) and watching their videos, etc… but if you REALLY want to take yourself to the next level in network marketing and personal development, then position yourself so you can WORK with amazing people on a regular basis… you don’t necessarily have to work with the same ladies I do, you can find your own amazing clan to hang with.  However, let me know if you want the scoop on how you can get to work with Jenn, Dani, and I… and I can also show you that loophole to have access to Diane via private FB group on a daily basis…

Just say the word, and I’ll hook you up!