Note — This is the second in a continuing series about social network marketing. A previous post showed why most people fail and how you can succeed in social network marketing.

To make it in social network marketing (and for that matter to make it in any method of MLM), you have to build relationships. The easiest way to do that is to have one place where you work on those relationships.

Your real goal is to find friends. One of my mentors likes to say that you should only go in business with people you’d like to join you on a 30-day cruise. To do that, you have to get to know them.

photo credit: Rennett Stowe

Many networkers try to relate to people in too many places. It’s OK to meet people in a variety of ways, but the best place to form relationships online is your blog.

A blog is basically an online journal. It lets you talk to the world about most anything. What many never realize is that it lets anyone in the world talk back. Many powerful conversations take place in the comments section of blogs.

Here’s some suggestions to get your blog off to a good start.

• Comment on other blogs and participate in online forums. Let people get to know you. Put a link to your blog in your signature file. If they find what you say in your comments interesting, they’ll find their way to your blog.

• Once they come to your blog, interact with everyone. Respond to every comment. And it might sound obvious, but allow comments.

If you want to impress someone, send him or her an e-mail thanking them for their comment. The other day, I got such an e-mail. I made a point to respond to the blogger. You can be sure I’ll go back to his site.

• Let people have their say. Even with they disagree with you. OK to moderate comments to keep spammers away, but don’t delete a comment just because they don’t think like you do.

• Be flexible. It’s OK for your view to be challenged. If your stance is correct, it will become stronger. If it’s not, you’ll see why you need to change.

• Be nice. Don’t come down on people who disagree with you.

• Let your guard down. Be transparent, likeable and trustworthy. People join people they know, like and trust.

• Most importantly, be you. You can blog about your business, but don’t make your blog just about your business. In fact don’t make your business the main focus of your blog. Talk about your life. Be real. Let people get to know you.

When you talk about business on your blog, focus on giving tips and suggestions to help other people succeed.

• Never come on like a salesman. Very few people react well to being sold. Keep your links to your business in your blog’s sidebar.

• Provide valuable content. Write stuff people want to hear.

• Help people. This is one of the strongest ways to build relationships. You can only help people by discovering what their needs are. You can only discover that by communicating with them.

Once you get to know people, you’ll also learn their primary motivation. Many network marketers automatically think everyone’s main drive is to make more money. It’s not.

While many people are motivated by money, a lot of folks have other, stronger motivations. Once you discover that, you can help them scratch that itch.

In his book, “Success in 10 Steps,” (you can download a free electronic version of the book at lifechangingebook.com), Michael Dlouhy talks about the importance of being able to determine what your distributors and customers want most passionately. He says successful networkers should study people and learn how to find people starving for what you have to offer.

Once people come to your blog and start commenting, it won’t be hard to determine how hungry they are.

Steve DeVane