For those of us who choose to study proper marketing techniques as our source of education in Network Marketing, having a sense of community is essential for success. We don't travel every month to company sponsored trainings that teach the same outdated techniques over and over, and we don't participate in online business systems or follow the latest fads to generate business. Like everything else that comes with being a leader, we have to rely on ourselves.

Having a sense of community helps you keep your head in the game, and gives you a chance to inspire and be inspired by others who have the same goals as you. When most network marketing companies emphasize their trainings, what they are really doing is promoting their company by providing an outlet for its distributors to gather and socialize. It can get expensive, especially when the techniques they usually teach aren't helping you grow a powerful business.

The alternative is to create situations on your own to promote community and keep the retention of your peers and distributors. Here are a few successful ways to accomplish this without spending lots of money.

Share Inexpensive Leads With Your Downline

Anyone who has received proper marketing education knows that all leads stink, but they are necessary to help you build a solid skill set for talking on the telephone. The problem in the past for me was that I used to spend a lot of money for leads that I was told were "fresh" and of good "quality." I spent a lot of money to learn that these kinds of leads simply do not exist, and that I can get my own set of leads for pennies compared to what my upline was offering to me.

One great way to interact with others is to go in on a set of leads and hold phone briefings to discuss your results. Not only will this cut your costs even more, but everyone can benefit by the stories you share. The whole point of leads is to build a skill set while you zero in on your target audience. Having others working with you will speed up the process and in turn accelerate everyone's business at the same time.

E-mail Promotions

If you haven't already noticed, e-mail is a much faster and inexpensive way to communicate the written word than sending packages and letters through the U.S. Postal Service. Mostly everyone has a computer these days, especially if you own and operate a home-based business. Building excitement through the use of promotions has never been easier. You can inspire everyone you know with the push of a button and you don't even have to open your mouth to say anything.

I was always excited when I heard about the latest promotion my company offered, but after I changed my way of thinking and found quality education specifically designed for network marketers, it was up to me as a leader to do the offering.

After much trial and error, I found that point systems work very well. Run small promotions to get your distributors to do just a little more than they usually do. They will feel a sense of accomplishment because smaller goals are attainable and they will stretch to reach them. Always putting big goals out there that only one or two people can reach can split apart your group and make people think they aren't progressing if they always fall short.

Magazine Subscriptions

A great way to build a sense of community is to encourage people to subscribe to magazines and have discussion groups about them. First, they should choose a magazine they like that has no relation to building a business. Everyone has a hobby that they enjoy doing without the concern of making money. This is important because it allows people to reveal and discuss their interests outside of "working" so others can get to know them.

They should also subscribe a magazine that relates to business, specifically the products they endorse. You can learn a lot from the ads people place and they way they are worded, not to mention the many articles that offer ideas written by peers and other successful people in the same field of interest. Think of it like a "book of the month" club but with an emphasis on helping others with your insight and wisdom.

The point to building a community on your own is to improve your business without the help of your parent company, but that doesn't mean you have to alienate them either. Just compliment what they do. Attend their annual trainings if you like being around the people and the excitement. Just remember to treat it like a social gathering and not an educational experience. That's usually why they promote them in the first place.