Direct Sales Business Tips

Hey Mamas!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  It was actually a little on the cool side for May so we mostly spent our time inside doing a little Spring Cleaning and Organizing.  I couldn't wait to share with all of you today one of the best Direct Sales Business Tips I have yet to receive for my business.  It has literally changed my life and how I run my business.

As a Stay At Home Mom of a 3 year old boy and a 5 year old girl, I dreaded the task of taking my two little ones to the Post Office.  Standing in that long line and keeping my kids still was like herding cats into a box.  My son would stand next to me for about two minutes and then run off while my daughter struck up a conversation with the old lady five people in front of us.  I was literally out of breath and red with embarrassment by the time we got back into the car!  Kids can certainly humble you, don't they? 

A few months ago, I was told by one of my leaders about this amazing gadget called a Postage Scale and that you never have to go to the Post Office again.  Wait, what?  Sign me up!!!  When I heard about this, I ordered one immediately!  And it was everything that I had ever dreamed... I could mail samples, products, and team incentives all from the privacy of my own home.  It's like having a Post Office right inside The Direct Sales Mama Headquarters!

Here is what you need to transform your Work At Home Office into a Post Office:

1. Dymo Postage Scale.
2. Avery Internet Shipping Labels.
3. Pay Pal Ship Now Account.
4. Scotch Bubble Mailers.
5. Catalog Envelopes

Using the Postage Scale is so easy!  Here is what you do:

1. Pull together your package to be mailed and weigh it with your Postage Scale.

2. Go to the PayPal link.  If it does not automatically bring you to the 'Ship Now' portal, you will have to key http://www.paypal.com/shipnow to get you there.

3. In the Address Information section, fill out your customers address and your email so you have a record of your shipment and purchase. 

4. In the Shipment Information section, there will be two drop downs you will need to select from.  I always choose First Class Mail Parcel 2-5 Days and Package/Thick Envelope.  You can certainly change these options depending on what you are shipping, however, this is what I use most of the time.

5. Fill out the weight of your package, the second boxes is the ounces which is what you will mostly use.

6. Click on Continue.  It will bring up a screen with your postage rate.  Then click on Print Label.  Another Pop-Up window will show asking you if you want to print a sample label.  I printed a sample label with my first couple of packages as I was getting used to the process and to see how my printer worked with this system.

7. Print your label!  I have to cut mine out of the Avery label sheet.  Peel and stick.

8. Do a happy dance to your mailbox knowing that you do not have to drag the kids to the Post Office.

Here are several Incentives being mailed out to a few rock star team members who earned happy mail from one of my incentive programs.  All from the comfort of my own home...my kids happily playing inside. 

I can practically hear all of the Mama's rejoicing as they read this.  Have you received a Direct Sales Business tip that has literally changed your life?  Please share in the comments below, I can not wait to hear more amazing business tips!

Have a great day!   XOXO, Karen

For even more tips for your Mompreneur business, follow me on Instagram,Twitter,Facebook

Instagram Tips for your Direct Sales Business

Hello friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  You all know how much I love Social Media and sharing my knowledge with all of you so I couldn't wait to talk with you today about my latest obsession...Instagram.  I feel like using Instagram for your Direct Sales business has really taken off recently and I couldn't wait to share a few tips that I have learned recently to help you use Instagram and apply it to your own Direct Sales business.

Instagram is an amazing visual social media platform that allows users to connect equally.  It levels the playing field to allow everyone an equal opportunity to connect with others through their pictures.  The MAIN reason I love Instagram so much is your followers can view all of your photos all of the time without the issues of a social media algorithm dictating your reach and limiting the pictures that are shown in your followers feeds. 

Tips for Using Instagram for your Direct Sales Business

• Share only positive and compliant images.  Always be sure when posting a photo that you are mindful of any rules that you could be breaking with your Direct Sales Company's policies and procedures and, of course, always keep things positive!

• Mix it Up: Share entertaining and attractive images of your daily life along with product images which keeps your feeds engaging and relatable.  Even though you may have set up an Instagram account with the sole purpose of selling products, you do not want to only post your products all day, every day.  Your followers will start to tune you out or unfollow you all together.

• Share your Excitement: If you follow my journey on Instagram, I am sure you could just feel my excitement and passion leaping out at you through the screen of your smart phone.  Excitement breeds excitement!! 

• Tag another Instagram User:  Tagging others on Instagram is a great way to promote another user or encourage engagement on your account.  For example, you can congratulate one of your top leaders who earned a promotion and tag them by using the @ symbol.  Not only does this invite engagement, but it will also bring attention to your leader's Instagram account as well. 

• Use Hashtags:  Adding hashtags to your photos is a great way to find new followers and share your photos with more people.   A hashtag is a symbol that allows web search engines to find and categorize messages, keywords and in the case of Instagram, photos.  When you use them on social media like Instagram, you can search on them and see who else is using the same hashtag.  Using hashtags is also a great way to brand yourself on Instagram.  I always use that hashtag #thedirectsalesmama on every photo that relates to my Direct Sales Mama tips to group all of my business related photos together.  If a user were to click on that hashtag, they would find every photo related to my business. 

• Optimize your profile: Your Instagram profile says a lot about you so make it a good one!  This is where potential followers will determine whether or not you have enough in common or that you portray a certain quality that will make someone want to follow your account.  Try not to be too specific when writing your profile as you will want to attract a large pool of users not related to just one area of your life.  

• Engage with your Followers - I click on every user who likes my photos.  Follow them back and engage with them.  If you can, stay active in their feed through your own likes and comments.

• Cross-promote - Post your Instagram photo on Facebook or Twitter with a catchy phrase to entice readers to click over.  A great tip is to also use the same Instagram name as your Twitter handle for easy brand recognition.

• Connect your Facebook and Twitter Accounts to your Instagram Account:

First, open the Instagram app on your phone or mobile device. Click on the Profile incon and then click on the settings gear.

Once in your settings, click on the "Share Settings" option. 

Then select your Facebook account and grant Instagram access by signing in.  I have my Instagram pointed to The Direct Sales Mama Facebook fan page, not my personal page.  That is a personal preference, you can choose whichever option is best for you!  Now repeat this process for Twitter.

Every time you now share a photo, you have the option to share with your fans on Facebook or Twitter by selecting one or both of the buttons below before hitting "Share".

• Find people to follow:  Connect with your current network of friends and family by following them through the "Find People to Follow" feature.  Instagram makes it easy to connect with anyone who you are friends with on Facebook or your friends through their email stored in your smart phone address book.  Simply go to Profile and then Settings again as you did in the step above and select the "Find People to Follow" option at the top. 

First click on "Find Friends on Facebook" and either follow each person individually or select 'Follow All'.  Go back and now do this with your Contacts.  This is a great way to connect with your already established network of friends, they will now know you are Instagram and follow back.

Are you on Instagram?  I would love to connect with you!  Please follow my Direct Sales Mama account @mompreneurstudio or my lifestyle blog account @KarenAtHomeBlog.  

For even more tips for your Mompreneur business, follow me on Instagram,Twitter,Facebook