Is online network marketing really network marketing?

A Google search for "online network marketing" just now resulted in nearly 23 million hits.

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Well ... the questions are obviously not whether there is activity with the online dimension of network marketing. Or whether there is interest amongst online prospects. But I have heard a few maintain that only traditional person-to-person prospecting is what counts.

So how does online network marketing resemble the network marketing we knew before the internet was so dominant? I wasn't building a network marketing business back then, but here's what stands out to me as I pursue both face-to-face and online aspects of my business today.

1. Regardless of how the door opens -- whether through online tools or on-the-street -- networking is most powerful when it's personal. And the internet is the preferred medium for personal interaction for a growing number of people.
   
2. It's about the numbers -- contact with enough people to connect with those for whom you can fulfill a need right now.
3. Network marketing businesses transcend distance very readily. The telephone was king for accomplishing this initially. The internet represents an additional tool for being effective at making a non-issue out of being remote from your prospect.
4. Your network marketing business also scales in size more readily than any other business model. The availability of online tools and communication only enhances that advantage.
   

So there are no big drawbacks in choosing to grow your network marketing business with an online approach.

But one important advantage is the degree to which you can leverage attraction marketing via the internet. In more ways than ever, your prospects are initiating contact with you, already disposed to look at your opportunity. And whether old school or new, that is the enduring success groove for any network marketing business. Be sure you're leveraging that for your business.