Why Did You Create Your Own Network?

[Mari Torres]

There are over 600,000 ning sites and more being born everyday. I get invites to new sites every single day, there are a few sites that I belong to which I love, but there are others that make me wonder, what the purpose is.

It seems as though people get excited about the potential that there is in creating your own network. They get it started but then it seems to kind of fade out. Creating a network takes a lot of work and with the many niche sites that are available today just building a site and inviting others over, is not enough to make it a success.

Before you decide to create your own network you should know a few things

1. What is your objective, what is the purpose of creating a site.
2. Who is your target Market? What people do you want on the site.
3. What features will you have and what purpose will they serve.
4. How will you add value to this site, what will keep members coming to your site
5. Research your competition, find out what they are doing and figure out how to improve on what is already in the market. Don't be discouraged if there are other sites that have the same niche as you, your site should have your essence that is one of the things that will make it different.
6. create a marketing plan, how will you get the word out about your site, word of mouth, viral marketing is great but that should just be one part of your marketing mix.

Creating a networking site that has lots of members is great but in this industry quantity is not always best. If members just come by, build a profile and never return that will hurt your stats and affect the possibility of getting outside advertisers. A site that has members who spend a lot of time on the site is better than a site with twice the members that spend no time on the site.

I am a Marketing Specialist after 2 years of being in business for myself, I wanted to create a community where I could consult members and teach them how to market their products and businesses effectively, I also wanted a place where people could understand the value of relationship marketing which entails learning about the people that you are associating with.

I knew that creating a site would be time consuming and take away from my own business so I made it an extension of my business by offering courses pertaining to my line of work.

I created a site where I teach, Relationship, video, viral, offline, online, grass roots (guerilla) Marketing. I teach these techniques through courses that I developed and utilize for my own clients.

I created web 2.0 interactive training centers where members could come and learn the courses that they choose. They are able to learn at their convenience through videos, discussions and articles housed in each training center. Because this is now an extension of my business the courses that I teach serve as the alternative to my $200 personal consultations and it is available to members for $5 per month.

I wanted to do something to help the members on my site monetize their own knowledge and time spent online so I offer the same platform to my members where they can offer courses of their own and get paid directly from members who want to attend these courses. This way a person could utilize my site to make money no matter what industry they are in.

My intention is to have a site that will house 10,000 paying members by July 09, When accomplished I will be earning $50,000 monthly in residual income. That does not include the money that I will earn in advertising.

I am sharing this information to help ensure the success of those that are planing to create a network. You must have a plan it is easier to get their when you mapped out the path.

Mari Torres

[Ippolita]

Pleasure, Mari. The pure joy of creating. I have 17 websites. They are all beautiful works of art. Not interested in money from the sites. I rarely join other sites unless it's to :1. support another person; I joined your site because it's full of good business marketing news..but I have already been there, done that, got the shirt the hat and the website..so now it's because you are my Latina sister and that's how we roll on the East Coast. Do your thing. Namaste.

[Mari Torres]

Wow Vernon! Thank you so much for your words and for seeing my vision. This weekend I was witness to the power of what having a network can do. I am pumped and I am going full speed ahead! Lets stay connected so that we could help each other get to where we are going!

Thank you for being part of my story and allowing me to be a part of yours!

Mari

[Vernon Harleston]

Mari
I am blown away at the way you radiate authenticity. What you have in mind with this site and this community is something more than I've found in all the other places I've looked. Whatever I can do to contribute to your success know that all you have to do is ask and I am willing to give it my best shot. I really feel like I've found a hidden gem.