One of the most common things I see other network marketing owners forget is the word ‘marketing.’ Seems kind of silly, especially since it’s called network ‘marketing’, but it seems to be the most common problem for people seeking to grow their new business. Marketing must be an integral part of your business’ growth plan. Without a good marketing plan you’re not very likely to sell much of your product, or attract new associates.

To keep up with the constantly changing world of marketing you should always be reading new books and blogs, as well as listening to the best podcasts out there.

Reading new books is the easy part, especially if you’ve decided to join BookWise. The BookWise store has plenty of marketing/sales books available for purchase. And don’t forget about using your local library if your on a budget.

Blogs are another great source of freely available marketing advice. There are many out there, and some have some very experimental advice, while others stick to mainstream marketing. Personally I’m into blogs that integrate social networking and marketing advice for the new media age. Here are a few that I recommend you add to your reading list:

1. [chrisbrogan.com]
2. Conversation Agent
3. Self Made Chick
4. Seth Godin
5. Skelliewag.org
6. Social Media Marketing
7. The Jeff Pulver Blog
8. ThinkBlogger

There are also a few podcasts that focus on new media and marketing and you can download the MP3s for your portable media player of choice, or just listen to them online. I recommend listening to the following regularly as they are full of great advice about personal branding and how to use today’s new media tools to market yourself:

1. Managing the Gray
2. Marketing Over Coffee
3. Six Pixels of Separation
   

What I especially like about the resources I have listed here is that they have nothing to do with network marketing. Sometimes thinking outside of your business’ typical sphere of influence can give you ideas you never would have thought of. Don’t get yourself trapped into thinking you have to do everything the way your upline tells you to; you might miss a great tip if your only influenced by what everyone else is doing in network marketing.

If you have some great blogs or podcasts you’d like to share please leave a comment.

Books

The Intellectual Devotional, by David S. Kidder & Noah D. Oppenheim The Intellectual Devotional is a collection of 365 short lessons that will inspire and invigorate you every day of the year. Each daily digest of wisdom is drawn from one of seven fields of knowledge: history, literature, philosophy, mathematics and science, religion, fine arts, and music. This book will refresh knowledge you may have forgotten, make new discoveries, and exercise modes of thinking that are ordinarily neglected once our school days are behind us. Offering an escape from the daily grind to contemplate higher things, The Intellectual Devotional is a great way to awaken in the morning or to revitalize one’s mind before retiring in the evening. Retail: $24.00 BookWise Price: $15.99

Boom!, by Tom Brokaw Boom!, one of America’s premier journalists gives us an epic portrait of another defining era in America as he brings to life the tumultuous Sixties, a fault line in American history. Race, war, politics, feminism, popular culture, and music are all explored here, and we learn from a wide range of people about their lives.   Retail: $28.95 BookWise Price: $16.79

The Darkest Evening of the Year, by Dean Koontz Dean Koontz entertains and enlightens readers with novels that bring us to the edge of our seats. Amy Redwing has dedicated her life to rescuing abandoned and endangered golden retrievers. Amy’s behavior is far more puzzling and hides a shattering secret. Someone has come back to turn Amy into the desperate, hunted creature she’s always been there to save. But now there’s no one to save Amy and those she loves. Retail: $27.00 BookWise Price: $16.19

Music

Best of Andrea Bocelli Vivere For the first time during his historic career the world’s best selling tenor Andrea Bocelli will be releasing a collection of his greatest hits.   Retail: $24.98 BookWise Price: $16.13

Celine Dion - Taking Chances Likely to be her strongest outing since 202’s A New Day Has Come; nobody unfolds a lyric with more care or nuance. Retail: $18.99 BookWise Price: $16.13

These items are all available at my BookWise bookstore!

For anyone who signs up as a Preferred Customer between now and January 31st 2008, you will be entered into a drawing for a free book of your choice (up to $30) from my Bookwise bookstore. We will draw two names at random on February 1st, 2008 and announce the winners on this blog. All you have to do to be entered is click here and sign up as a Preferred Customer. Signing up is completely free and you are not obligated to purchase anything. And if you do decide to buy books from my bookstore, you’ll be saving up to 42% off select books.

Sign up today!

The title says it all. Whether your a seasoned professional or new to network marketing, your bound to hear that line sometime. Some people are simply so turned off by network marketing that they will never like what your doing. That’s ok, these aren’t the people you want to market to anyway. Don’t waste your time trying to sell them. And don’t loose friends and family relationships pushing your new business on them. This is how network marketing used to be done, and it has never worked. The internet gives you ample opportunity to target your audience if you market yourself correctly.

I found a fantastic ebook that exposes why network marketing has gotten such a bad image and what you need to learn to make your business a success. Click on the banner below to get your FREE copy of this ebook.

I’ve had a few people ask me what Bookwise is. In short Bookwise is like a book club that pays you back, in money and knowledge. Check out this flash movie to find out exactly what Bookwise is:

http://www.bookwise.com/whatisbookwise/index.html?id=110052

A little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick)

Ever had that feeling that you’re banging your head against a brick wall and going no where? How do you know when you’ve hit a dead end? Or will you break through to tremendous success if you just keep pushing through?

This is the subject matter of the Dip, by Seth Godin.

The idea of quiting scars many people who are comfortable with their current situation, despite the fact there may be no further progress on the path they chose. But knowing when to quit may be essential to your career, relationships, and life. And likewise, knowing when to persevere is just as vital.

This book will show you how to differentiate between the two. It’s a short, fast read. Another one of those books you could knock off in an afternoon. I found the advice very useful, and I was reading it right at a time when I was thinking of quiting my day job. As it turns out, I was just in a Dip and needed to keep going to get through it. New opportunities came to me after getting through the difficult parts of my job. Reading ‘the Dip’ gave me the perspective I needed to to see the path necessary for my career.

If you’d like to get this book type ‘The Dip’ into the search box on my Bookwise bookstore.

I just added this blog to my Technorati profile:

Technorati Profile

If you want to build your personal brand online, there’s no better way to accomplish the task than blogging. In today’s online marketing you’re not just selling your products or services, you’re selling yourself as well. People want to buy from someone they feel a trusted connection with. The blog is your vehicle for accomplishing this.

Some of you may be new to blogging, while others are seasoned veterans. Either way the link below will prove useful to everyone interested in this art.

Here are the 2007 best blog posts about blogging!

Have you had a change in your life that has your head spinning? Not sure how to handle it? Sounds like someone moved your cheese. So what should you do? Buy ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ by Spencer Johnson of course!

This is a short little book that you can read in an afternoon. And it just might change your perspective on how to manage change. The story details the thinking patterns of 4 individuals, 2 mice and 2 little people, when someone moves the cheese inside their little maze. The behaviors of these 4 individuals displays the typical thinking patterns of people faced with a change in their life.

Lets face it, all of us are faced with change everyday, in everything from our home lives to our workplace to the global world. Change isn’t going away, its a part of life. The best thing we can do is figure out what to do and how to manage change. And if this short story doesn’t give you a new perspective on change, nothing will.

If you’d like to give this book a read type ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ into the search box on my Bookwise bookstore web site. I will promise you that you will not regret buying this book.