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A Review of Desktop Lightning
By: Mark Worthen PsyD
Bottom Line: Desktop Lightning is the Best Viral Marketing Tool of 2006. I highly recommend it, particularly if you grab it at the discounted price of $14.99 per month.
Positive
Desktop Lightning is a viral marketing tool designed to help you build a list of potential new distributors, customers, or joint venture partners.
You communicate with your list via a desktop application, which alerts the user whenever he or she has a message via a small notification window in the lower right corner of your screen (similar to many programs, such as the Gmail notification tool).
Positive Features (Details)
Over time, DesktopLightning will empower you to build a list of people who are already interested in earning money from home via affiliate, internet, or network marketing.
You are able to communicate with these members direct to their desktops, thereby bypassing the spam filters that prevent many of your emails from reaching their intended audience.
Thus you have a very targeted market for your opportunity or services. By gradually building a relationship with your list members, e.g., by offering them assistance and advice, you create an atmosphere of trust which increases the chances they will become interested in your business opportunity or services.
A major benefit of Desktop Lightning if you are a Platinum member (currently $14.99 per month if you purchase it immediately after signing up; if you wait to upgrade it's $19.99 per month) is the "Platinum Bonus" feature. The way it works is that every time you send out a broadcast to your downline, your message also goes out to an additional random group of at least 57 people in the DesktopLightning system.
Thus, not only will your messages reach your downline members, but they will also reach a random group of at least 57 other members. This "Platinum Bonus" significantly enhances the value of the upgraded version. I should note here that Desktop Lightning does not have an affiliate program. I want to mention this fact so that you know that I am not recommending the Platinum version because I can make money off it. I recommend the Platinum version because I believe you receive good value for your money.
Negatives (Details)
It takes awhile to build a list, whether it's using Desktop Lightning or other methods. Therefore, you have to approach building a list with a tool like Desktop Lightning as a long-term process. Some of the ads for Desktop Lightning refer to sending messages to thousands of people. The ads can make it sound like you'll be sending messages to thousands right away.
Unless you have a huge list of loyal subscribers that just ain't gonna happen!
Of course, if you approach the task as a marathon as opposed to a 100-meter dash then this doesn't have to be a problem. I simply don't want you to assume that a thousand-member downline from the get-go is the norm.
I was initially concerned that DesktopLightning would suffer from some of the same problems as other list-building programs. For example, in many instances the older the program, the less attractive it is to potential new members because they fear being inundated with emails from a large upline and they worry about their own ability to recruit new members.
Another problem with many downline builder programs is that the new member drop out rate is high, usually because new members become discouraged only being able to send emails to a handful of people. Sure, a few experienced marketers build a large downline quickly but the average person has to promote a list-builder for a few months to build a reasonably sized downline. Many new members become discouraged and quit before that happens.
Fortunately, Desktop Lightning has built in a couple of features that ameliorate these concerns.
First, they limit the number of messages any member receives to 14 per week. DesktopLightning explains the mathematics behind this limit in their Support section, if you are interested, but the main point is that even if you join Desktop Lightning a year or two after the initial release, you will not be inundated with messages.
Second, if you are a Platinum member (currently $14.99 per month if you purchase it immediately after signing up; if you wait to upgrade it's $19.99 per month), you benefit from the "Platinum Bonus" program described above, in which you are able to send messages twice a week to 57 randomly selected Desktop Lightning members.
Recommendations (Details)
I'm neutral on the free version since it might prove frustrating for newbies trying to recruit downline members when they have little marketing experience to begin with. It could work for people who know or are willing to learn Internet marketing.
I highly recommend the "Platinum" version upgrade. The clincher for me was realizing that for $15.00 per month I could buy at the most maybe a 150 email leads (at 10 cents each) from a business opportunity lead vendor. But we know how email leads are these days--they're usually a waste of money because so many of the emails never reach an Inbox because of spam filters.
Alternatively, I could pay $15.00 per month for Desktop Lightning and send at least 456 messages per month (without having referred anyone!) direct to the desktops of "prequalified" prospects. By "prequalified" I'm referring to the fact that Desktop Lightning members already know they want a home business and they're doing something about it. Contrast that with a typical email lead who is "just curious."
One of the criticisms of list-building programs is that everyone is trying to sell--no one is interested in buying. But if you do it right (build trust, offer value, develop relationships) other home business entrepreneurs can be your best customers, distributors, or business partners.
Think about your own businesses: Did you learn about your opportunity, products, or services from another affiliate or network marketer? I bet the answer is "yes" for at least some of the products or services you promote.
If you are able to promote Desktop Lightning to a mailing list or via advertising and you are patient and persistent about it, it could prove to be a great way to build a targeted list of home-based business entrepreneurs with whom you communicate much easier than if you had to rely on email.
Who should not purchase Desktop Lightning?
If you don't already have an ezine or blog or web site and you know very little about Internet marketing such that even free advertising on traffic exchanges is something you're hesitant to do, then you'll probably want to hold off on Desktop Lightning.
You can use Desktop Lightning for free but I don't recommend it, mainly because you miss out on the "Platinum Bonus" feature, wherein you can send messages to 57 randomly selected members twice a week.
Purchasing Tip
If you decide to sign up for Desktop Lightning, immediately after entering your information--you register for the free program first--you will see a page with a one-time offer to lock in a discounted price ($14.99 per month) for the Platinum version.
Unlike a lot of "one-time offers" which seem to last forever, the publishers of DesktopLightning are actually serious about this offer. If you close that page and go back even minutes later wanting to upgrade, the price will have gone up to $19.99 per month.
Copyright Information
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License. Do not change the content except that you may hyperlink references to Desktop Lightning using your referral URL.
Mark Worthen, Psy.D. is a Phi Betta Kappa graduate of the University of Maryland. He was a Clinical Fellow of Harvard Medical School prior to earning a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degree from Baylor University. Mark enables other network marketers to build links to their sites and grab some free publicity by contributing to the MLM-News-Blog and MLM Companies Wiki. Affiliate marketers are invited to participate as well--we need information about products or services that can help us build our MLM business. |  |
