The internet provides so many tools that network marketers can use to increase their down lines. While the old methods of giving out business cards and looking for prospects in public places are still effective, doing it online has been the most convenient option for the present breed of people involved in network marketing. This is what they call online prospecting.

Prospecting on the internet can be done in two ways -using free traffic and paid traffic. Both are effective methods and can be used together depending on your budget.

Generating free traffic involves organic search results, blogging, article submission, forum posting, free press release and viral marketing. Blogging is a hot trend today and its more personalized approach makes it easy to attract prospective customers. With a blog, you don't have to write long articles and you can keep it updated on a regular basis to keep your visitors coming back for fresh information.

Submitting articles in several article directories is also an ideal way. Make your articles short and interesting (one page will do) and provide information related to the product you are offering. Be sure to include your company's name, website address within the article for easy searching by your prospective customers.

It's best also that you link your web page with articles. Remember that people are constantly searching for information so go ahead and write something about your opportunity and your write-up will be read by as much as a thousand people in a month's time. Provide a link to your opportunity by specifying the domain name with lead capture page at the end of the article.

As for paid traffic, you have a choice between the pay per click (PPC), paid banner advertising, CPA advertising, paid press releases, sponsored reviews, co-registration lists. It may also include outsourcing the traffic generation method such as for instance the e-book.

Once you've gained some money, you can start using the paid traffic scheme. For instance, you can opt for banner advertising on other websites or blogs. Other options include getting a third party service to provide content to your blogs via pay per post or buying sponsored reviews for blogs. I also have a technique for getting free advertising! You can check that out in the featured product section.

By utilizing both free and paid traffic, you will soon see more visitors coming to your site. Once you have achieved the traffic you desire, make sure to link them to your lead capture pages that provide them with incentives such as a free e-book or special report after registering their name and email address. From there, you can follow up with auto-response emails to pre-sell your business opportunity to prospects some of whom may eventually become your partners for the long term.