This hub-series explores the various ways people approach network marketing. We'll cover cold-calling to complete automation, and your experiences count!

Be sure to add your comments along the way so we can all share from your experience. When you comment, please try to stay positive. As we all know, some approaches work, and some don't. But guess what? What doesn't work for you might be perfect for someone else! Sometimes it's all a matter of personality and preference, so share your feelings about what doesn't work for you in a way that doesn't discourage, and I think we'll all benefit.

Let's start by dividing the field into two main camps: Personal Marketing and Automated Marketing.

Personal Marketing (some call it "old-school") might be exemplified by things like:

• Calling friends and family, or cold calling leads.
• The "3-foot rule" - asking anyone inside of 3 feet of you if they want to join your business.
• Adding leads to your Instant Messenger, and contacting them when they show up online.
• Making new friends on social networking sites, and talking to them about your business.

Automated Marketing might be exemplified by things like:

• Loading leads into an autoresponder and letting it do all the contacting for you.
• Using Pay-Per-Click or other search-engine methods

Some people advocate Personal Marketing. Some advocate Automated Marketing. I personally (and automatically) advocate BOTH. I think that both are necessary to build a strong business, though I don't advise all of the examples I cite above. I would love to hear what YOU think, so be sure to add your comments.

This series of hubs will continue to grow, bit by bit exploring the details of these two approaches to Network Marketing. For now I'll close with a concrete example of each approach. One is a perfect example of people doing Personal Marketing. The other is a new method folks are using to do Automated Marketing, which seems to be causing quite a buzz recently.

Follow Our Lead is a team of marketers who have PERFECTED the art of Personal Marketing. The team uses a Yahoo Group for daily support, and regularly scheduled online training meetings to teach their easily duplicated methods. For those who cannot attend the meetings, the audio appears in your member site back office for later review. These folks have honed the process of contacting, inviting, and follow-up to a science, and they're willing to share their insights for free. To attend as a guest in one of the online trainings, register for the Yahoo group and follow the instructions you'll find there (or just contact me for instructions) -- it's all free. And please remember, Sam invited you! My team member website is at http://www.JustFollowOurLead.com/YourOrganizationWins

The SpiderWeb Marketing System is the newest thing in Automated Marketing. Just introduced in March, it's already attracting a huge user base. I would ask you to contact me about it, but it's so automated there's no need. Just click the link, and it'll show you all you need to know.

We'll, that's my entry for today. Check back for more as we further dissect these categories. Be sure to add your comments, for and against, personal and automated, or any other way you see things in the world of Network Marketing.