Friday, December 21, 2012

Goal Setting for Your Home Business


Do you ever look up from your home business in December and wonder where the year has gone?  It is amazing how fast a year can go by.  Did you meet your home business goals for the year?  Setting up goals for your home business is a good idea.  Goals can help you focus on what is important and can help you eliminate or reduce the amount of time that you spend on less important things.

Home Business Goals - Where do you want to take your home business

Just like planning a long trip to a place that you have never been before, you want to have a destination that you want to reach.  If you don't have a clue about where you want to take your home business, it would be a good idea to think about it, right?  You don't have to spend a whole month coming up with your business goals, you can sit down and think about where you want to take your business.

Putting it down on paper

You can have a lot of different ideas about your home business that you want to implement.  Ideas can come into your mind and they can leave just as fast.  Have you ever thought about something but you didn't write it down and forgot it?  You don't want that to happen with your home business goals.  Make sure that you have a way to make a record of your goals.  It can be as simple as pulling out a piece of paper and a pen or as complex as buying business plan software.  The main key is to get your home business goals into a format that will not get away from you.  Print out your home business goals and put them in an area where you can see them on a regular basis.

Home Business Management

Management is a constant in all forms of business and your home business is no different.  Are you going to focus more on managing your home business?  Getting your business organized can help it run more smoothly.  When you are not organized, you can waste a lot of time trying to find information and trying to get things done.  When you are organized and prepared in your home business, it can help keep your business on track. One of the goals that many home business owners and business owners in general seek to accomplish is better management.

Growing Your Home Business

Do you want to grow your home business in the near future?  What do you want your home business to look like in the next three to five years?  It helps to start thinking about the future of your home business and what it will take to reach those goals.  Breaking down all the steps that are needed to get to the goal is an important step.  There are day to day items that need to get accomplished to reach a goal.  Building better habits and reaching those smaller goals can help you build momentum to reaching your ultimate business goals.

Putting in the right home business systems

Are there systems in place in your home business?  Trying to do things in a haphazard way might work in the short term for your home business but it might be better to start learning about systems that you can use to help your business run better.  One of your home business goals might be looking into newer technologies that can help your home business run better.  Sometimes a business might be doing things in a certain way but there are other business advancements.  Are there better more efficient ways of getting your business done.  Taking the time to investigate newer software systems and processes might have a real impact on your business performance.

Taking the time to sit down and take a look at the direction that your business is headed is a good idea.  How is the business landscape changing?   Are your customers changing?  Are new regulations going to have a big impact on your business prospects?  Goal setting can help give you an outlook on what is ahead for your home business.  Business planning might not be the cure all for your home business, but you are going into the marketplace with your eyes open to possibilities and pitfalls.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Podcasting for Your Home Business

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Give people more than just one way to get your content.  Especially for long blog posts, you might want to consider using a new format to spread your message.  Lets face it.  Web readers might only want smaller chunks of text to read online.  For more indepth information, it might be better to use audio.

People don't have a problem downloading an audio file. They can listen to it in the car.  They can listen to it while they are exercising or walking.  Audio can be more convenient and less of a strain on the user.

You probably have lots of written content that could fit this model.  So really think about taking those long blog posts and articles and turning them into something that can be consumed on an apple iphone, ipod or ipad.

Those audio podcasts might also be a way to increase the income for your business.  Think about grouping similar content together and turning it into an information product that you can sell.

Learn more about what you need to start podcasting here.


Sunday, July 22, 2012

Cheap Laptop Computer for Business

I want a cheap good quality laptop computer.  It has been a long time since I bought a computer.  The dell computers that I have purchased in the past really worked well for me.  Now the computers are starting to break down and they are getting a little loud.

The dell laptop that I own has a monitor that went out.  Plus the screen hinge where the monitor meets the base has broken.  The computer still works and I have setup an external monitor to actually see what is happening, but the time has come to upgrade to something new.

Dell really does make a good product.  There have been so many advances since the last time I bought a computer.  The computer battery life is much longer and now they make them so much lighter. Plus there is a whole new category of computer to consider.  The tablet computers, the apple ipad and the android tablets are starting to get my attention.  They keep getting more powerful and they are light and easy to use.  The touchscreen doesn't hurt too.

One thing that I am focused on is the price.  I don't want to overspend on a laptop.  Right now, I just need to get something that will work and be useful.  I am not going to wait as long to upgrade in the future.  The thing about computers is that when they work you really don't mess with them.  My computers are running windows xp and they have worked like a charm since they were removed from the box.

Sometimes I check the free classified ads to see how much people are selling computers for.  The prices are low, but then you think about the small additional cost to buy new.  Another factor is the right time to buy.  We are getting close to the back to school sales and there is the yearly tradition of the big black friday and cyber monday sales.

The cheap laptop decision will be made soon.


Monday, June 4, 2012

Online Work

Online work is attractive.  What are some of the reasons that people consider online work?  Regular jobs might be hard to come by.  Online work might be plentiful.  When you have something new, there are going to be requests for new services.


Take social media for example.  People are just starting to learn how to use social media apps like facebook and twitter.  There is online work for people that can provide social media services.  


Online work is also attractive because you might not need to drive to work everyday.  Online work can give you more freedom.  Getting an internet connection and a computer instantly puts you into the game no matter where you are. 


Online work is going to happen because people like to outsource work that they don't want to do.  Do you love to write?  Could you do it all day?  There are new blogs and websites that get started all the time and the blog owners might start to get tired of writing all the content by themselves.  They might turn to outsourcing. 


Outsourcing work is a trusted business strategy.  Big business does it all the time.  They might bring in consultants to handle a new account.  They might remove some employees and outsource the work to another location.  Many jobs that don't need to be done in-house might be an option for online work.


Online work takes the emphasis off of where the work gets done.  It all comes down to getting the results the client is looking for.  New technology is making it easier to do online work.  Smartphones and tablet computers are just two new inventions that give online workers more ways to stay connected.


Are you ready to venture into online work?  

How to Work Online

How to work online is something that you hear a lot about.  People are having a hard time trying to find traditional work.  Going through the process of getting a job is tough and it can take a long time.  The idea of getting started working online is something that many people would love to do.


The internet brings the globe together.  There are people all around the globe that are requesting services.  New websites are popping up all the time and you never know which ones will become a big hit.


One area that gets a lot of attention online is content.  Websites need new information posted online to stay relevant.  So the answer to how to work online can be answered rather quickly.  The key is to find something that you can do and get started.  


Working online means putting yourself out there and trying to land some clients.  There are all kinds of websites that work as a middle man in placing service providers with people requesting services.


Start taking a look at what you are good at and the skills that you have.  Next start taking a look at the demand for skills.  Software development is a popular skill.  You don't have to go get a job at a large corporation.  You could create software for popular programs like wordpress.  Wordpress plugins are really popular.  Sometimes it might take looking at things differently.


Even if you are not a software developer, you could create your own websites.  Blogs are easy enough to start and you could use your writing skills to create short term and long term income.  


Some people really enjoy writing and a blog could be the perfect outlet that answers the question how to work online.  Create a blog on your favorite subject and offer advertising space for earning income.  Google adsense is a popular income program that can help you make money with your sites.  


Creating your own blog can be simple as pie. You could realistically have a new blog up in just a few minutes.  All you need to do is come up with a blog name and start adding content.  


Choose the focus of your blog.  Are you a political junkie?  Do you think that Mitt Romney has the right answers for the economy?  Do you think President Obama will get the jobs picture turned around? These could be blog topics that you discuss.  


Getting online is not that hard to do.  Just take the first step and get started.  

Friday, June 1, 2012

Home Business Blogs

Why are blogs good for your home business?   A blog can be a great way to share information about what is going on in your company.  Blogs don't require a lot of technical knowledge to be effective.


Your blog can be updated from just about anywhere.  An internet connection and a computer are all that you need to keep your blog up to date.  


What can you blog about?  You can create content around interesting topics that your business is focused on.  Blogs can be tightly focused or they can be really general.  Your blog doesn't have to be strictly business.  A blog can have light information too.  


Take pictures, create audio podcasts and make short videos and share them on your blog.  You don't have to stick to just one form of content creation.  



Saturday, May 5, 2012

What home business owners can learn about marketing from top rapper mixtapes

Do you ever give something away to get business later?  The other day I downloaded a mixtape from one of the top rappers in the game.  The quality of the music was just as good or better than a lot of the music that I have paid for in the past.  


The rapper talked about giving the music away as a thank you to all the fans.  It was great marketing.  He was not giving away something that was crappy music.  This music was outstanding.  And it wasn't just one or two songs, but 21 songs.  


I guess that they create mixtapes to help build buzz about the upcoming albums.  Well, I think it really works.  They get the music into the hands of people that will become clients in the future.  The free music is so good, that they up the expectation of what the paid stuff must be.  


Home business owners can think like top rap stars and start giving away some good content for free.  It doesn't have to cost you a lot of money.  Think about making your own ebooks and free videos.  Getting that information into the hands of your audience might be the  first step in opening the door to new business opportunities.  


Creating an ebook is not that hard at all.  All you need to do is create your document and save it in pdf format.  You could use the free ebook to help you grow your mailing list.  Free videos could help get more people coming to your website or blog.


Rappers are really smart when it comes to marketing.  Releasing mixtapes keeps their names in front of their audience and at the top of people's minds.  Plus they get the added benefit of their audience telling their friends and others what they thought about the music potentially growing the client base going forward.  So think about adding freebies to your home business offerings.  


The mixtape was called No Ceilings from Lil Wayne.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Get a laptop for your home business

Your home business computer is essential to your business. A laptop computer is probably the best move that you can make.  With a laptop computer, you have the flexibility of moving around and not being tied down to your home office.


There use to be a time when you would get much more value by selecting a desktop computer instead of a laptop.  Now items such as hard drives and computing power are pretty much the same.  Now with usb devices you can extend the storage capacity of your computer with ease.


A light laptop computer can give you the option of working while you are on the go. You may have a home business, but your business could require you to travel sometimes.  A laptop keeps you in the game while you are away from the home office. 


Laptop computers are really the right choice for the home business owner.  Laptop prices are similar to desktop computer prices.  You may be able to save money by purchasing laptop computers during certain times during the year.  


Black Friday Laptop Sales usually feature inexpensive laptop computers.  You also may want to shop for laptops during July and August.  They might have good prices on laptop computers because of the approaching new school year.  Just because you are a home business owner doesn't mean that you should miss out on deals.  

Easy Way to Earn Income Online

An easy way to earn some income online is to start writing.  The great thing about writing online for money is that you don't have to go anywhere to do your job.


With a computer and an internet connection, you can start to produce content and get paid online.  There are all kinds of sites that you can choose from. The only thing about writing for money is that when you get started you might not be making much money.  If you are going to use one of the freelance writing sites you can expect lower pay.  But hey this is the internet and you are getting some money.  People think that it is really easy to make money online and they find out that it takes real work to get things done. 


When you write for online content sites, when you finish your assignment and it is approved, you can expect to get paid. It should not take long to receive your payment.  Some sites pay weekly.  


When you start to build your writing skills, you can do more than just writing for instant income.  You are in business for yourself.  You can take your skills and use them for long term financial gain too.  If you really love writing, there is nothing to stop you from creating your own blogs for long term income.  You are a real business and you are creating online properties that will have value in the future. 


Instead of just thinking about your current income, you can start to create long term passive income opportunities.  How can you accomplish this?  If you are setting up your own sites with your own web hosting, it can open the door for more income sources.  You are writing already, so the only logical step is to come up with income opportunities that don't require a lot of additional work on your part.  This can include getting signed up with google adsense, and affiliate programs.  You can add the code to your site one time, and then just get back to writing content for your sites.  


Take it even farther by creating your own information products.  You are writing already.  Start writing your own ebooks and start selling them online.  The ebook is becoming the dominant way that people consume information.  Do you still buy hardback books or do you have an electronic reader?  As more people make the shift to electronic reading devices, it only opens the door of opportunity even wider.  Those device owners are going to be looking for reading material and that is where you come in.  


Making ebooks is not that hard at all.  If you are just going to make a simple ebook, you could just use microsoft word or google docs to create your document and then save it in the pdf format.  If you are going to sell your ebook on amazon, you may have to jump through a few hoops to get it ready for the kindle publishing system.  Either way, you are taking your writing skills and turning them into long term income opportunities.  


You started the day thinking about starting your own business and now you see what can be possible just by taking the first step of using your writing skills. Now all you have to do is get started.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Home Business Income - Earning Money through online offers

Affiliate marketing.  Are you doing it in your business?  The thought of making money just by providing a few links to products and services related to your business sounds great.  It might not be that easy to earn affiliate income.


One of the first things that you realize is that you are going to need a lot of web traffic for this to work.  If you already have a large client base, then this may be an option for you.  It might even be better if you have a mailing list that you can include offers.  But if you don't have a lot of clients or traffic, affiliate marketing can seem like a big waste of your time.


Building a solid website that gets traffic is important in any business. Even after you get traffic, the question becomes turning that traffic into buyers.  What some people fail to see is that even if you get a lot of traffic and clicks, the traffic may still not convert into commissions for your business.  That can be a real bummer. You log into your affiliate accounts and see a large number of visitors but you don't see any money.  


Sometimes it makes you think twice about even getting involved with affiliate marketing.  Now the FTC is starting to crack down on some affiliate promotions, so there is an added level of caution that home business owners need to think about.  


The key to affiliate marketing seems to be finding targeted traffic for the offers.  That means that you have to really know your audience and they have to really want the types of products and services that you are offering.



Sunday, April 15, 2012

Go Into Business

Going into business for yourself is a big decision.  You may have been forced into deciding to go for it all because of unemployment.  You don't really think about the unemployment number, but those are real people that have lost their jobs and they still have a need to become productive members of society.  Making money is not only done by getting a job.  Business owners can create jobs.


When you read the book the science of getting rich by wallace d wattles, he talks about workers.  You have to see where the opportunities are and you have to capitalize on them.  


The great thing about business is that you can get started whenever you decide to join the game.  The secret is that you have been playing the business game your whole life.  


You transact business all the time.  You walk into stores.  You make decisions on buying.  You have worked at a job and you do work at home.  The only difference in running a business and doing a job is that you have more freedom when you run a business.  The flip side of that is that you don't have a solid paycheck.  But it is all about how you view the situation.  With a business, you have the potential for unlimited income.  


Over the years, you will acquire all kinds of skills.  The task becomes how to turn your skills that you learned on the job into a business.  New services are being created all the time.  Do you see an area that is being ignored?  It there room for a new business to come in and take over a market?  The answer is yes.  Business is dynamic and always changing.  New innovations and services are being developed as we speak.  Old ways of doing things go obsolete and new business opportunities are being formed.  


Are you ready to start your own business?  

Click here for the science of getting rich


Get a computer for your home business





Get a good computer for your home business.  Computers are just a part of the business world and they allow you to do a lot of things in your home business.


Desktop computers and laptop computers are needed in business.  Computers don't have to be really expensive.  You can buy a new computer for your home business or you can get a used computer to get started and upgrade later.  


Marketing Your Home Business 


A computer can allow you to market your business online.  It can also help with creating content for your marketing purposes.  A computer with a solid graphics program and a word processing program like microsoft word or google docs can help you make your marketing materials.


A computer that can connect to the internet can be a big help for your home business.  Setup your own blog and use your home business computer to create the content for your blog.  A blog is just a form of website.   


Mobilize Your Home Business with a Laptop Computer


A laptop computer like a new ultrabook can give a home business owner more flexibility.  Instead of keeping your home business at home, a laptop computer can allow you to get out into the field and do business from just about anywhere.  That is one of the things that you hear a lot about online.  The ability to work from anywhere with an internet business.  Computers give you that ability.


Get a computer for your home business 


Where can you find computers for a good price?  You can look locally for a good computer.  Check craigslist or even ask your friends or family if they have a computer that you can use.  The secret is that you don't need the most up to date technology to get started with your home business.  You just need to get started.  


Finding Affordable Computers


You can also find affordable laptop computers online at ebay.  Another option for getting a computer without spending a lot of money out of pocket, is to use a online site like qvc.  They have an easy payment program where you can break the payments up into more affordable amounts.



Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Home Business - How to get started with social media

There are many home business owners that might not even know about social media.  What is it anyway?  There are all kinds of sites online that are geared toward social interaction.


Social media applications like twitter, facebook and others are a place that you can go online and share information about yourself and your business.


How do you get involved in social media?  Go to the top social media sites and sign up.  When you sign up for a social media site, you will be given a social media profile.  This usually means setting up a username and a password that gives you access to an account.  Social media is all about being social and sharing information.  Once you get an account, you will need to fill out information about yourself.  They might ask you for your real name, birthday, and email address.  Once you get your initial profile information filled out you can start diving deeper into social networks.  


Social apps are a great way to connect with some of your long lost friends and family members.  You can share information by writing text updates or you can post links to pictures or videos.  Most social networks will give you a place in your profile area to talk about your interests, relationships, and links to any websites that you consider important.  


Twitter is a popular social application.  You can follow people and businesses through twitter with just the click of a button.  So if you were a home business owner, you could find all the products, services and news outlets that you enjoy and start following them.  As they post new information, it would pop up in your twitter stream.  With twitter, you can post information and get followers too.  So if you want to update people on what you had for breakfast, you could do it.  If you wanted to update your status bar with a picture of you at a conference, you could do it.  


Social media applications can be an inexpensive way for home business owners to connect online.  Stay abreast of the latest news in your industry and share information about what is going on at your company. 

Home Business - Getting Things Done, Outsourcing and Getting Online

Home business leadership skills are going to be necessary.  Are you someone that can get things done?  If you are going to run your own home business, you have to be able to make decisions and make sure that the work gets completed.


When you run a home business, you set the agenda and you have to get things done.  It all falls on your shoulders but there are ways that you can get other people involved.  


Outsourcing some of the tasks that you don't want to do is essential.  Nobody is great at everything.  There may be times that you need to hand off some work to other qualified professionals.  You may be a great leader and really understand the business, but your technical skills may not be the best in the market.  It might be better for you to let a professional consultant or software development company handle the creation of your website.  This is just one example of leveraging the talents of others.  Leaders have to focus on what they do best.


One factor that comes into play with home business is the money.  Some home businesses are getting started on shoestring budget.  You have to do the best that you can with what you have when you are just starting out.  You might not have the cash to hire the best web developer to get your first website online.  You may have to do your first website yourself, but as soon as you can upgrade and afford it, do it.


Learn more about home business

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Write Online and Get Paid

Writing articles has been one of the ways to make money online. There are many different ways that you will hear, but for me, using the writing broker sites has worked the best.  

Write Online and Get Paid 

The pay at the sites is not great when you are just getting started but it is real money and it doesn't take long to get paid.  The only thing with using these sites is the competition.  There are lots of writers that are going after the same orders.

How to sell your writing online

Writing can be sold a number of different ways online.  Writing for the brokerage sites is fast and it doesn't take a long time before you get money into your paypal or bank account.  

Making Money with Your Writing - Short Term or Long Term

This is a short term view of your writing.  Those people on the other side of the transaction are probably counting on using your writing to help sell affiliate products or generate passive income through other contextual ads on a blog or website.  You should think about doing the same thing for yourself.  

Make your own websites and blogs

Make websites and post your content there with the long term view of generating passive income online.  The only thing about going that route is that the money doesn't show up immediately.



 

Monday, March 26, 2012

Get your business ready for mobile

Finally upgraded to a smartphone and there is no looking back. There are so many apps that you can download for the google android system.  The only issue that has popped up is the internal storage seems to run out rather quickly.  The funny thing is that there is a micro sd card that has plenty of space.

So what does all this have to do with home business?  Not much really.  The thing to remember is that more people are just like me and they are upgrading from regular cell phones to smartphones.  Is your home business ready to start handing mobile web traffic? 

Apps are quick to install. It all really depends on the data plan that you have and the download speed.  There are two ways of getting mobile apps for your business.  There are mobile websites that anyone can pull up with a browser.  These are not focused on just one platform.  Then there are the mobile apps that are platform specific.  

 When mobile web users land on your pages what are they going to see?  You don't want them to see a lot of jumbled letters that don't make sense.  Mobile optimized websites can be a help for your home business.  You might not have  alot of money to invest in a mobile website, but you could always look at using a blogging system that is ready for mobile.


There are going to be more people using smartphones and other mobile devices going forward.  Regular cell phones are just not going to cut it anymore.  Plus the costs of smart phones are starting to drop.  There are prepaid smartphone plans that make the getting an android phone more affordable. 


Home business owners should checkout mobile devices like smartphones if they don't already have them.  Your prospects and clients are starting to adopt them and your business will need to be able to deal with them.  When new technology is introduced business has to adjust.  Just like the business that had fax machines early, you have to keep your business up to the latest standards for doing business.  


Get your business ready for mobile.






 

Friday, March 23, 2012

First experience with sales

What were some of your first experiences with business?  One of the first business opportunities that I can remember was selling chocolate candy bars for the school.  

At some point during each school year kids are used as salespeople for fundraising.  You learn about he program and finally the day arrives.  You get to school and see that they have boxes and boxes of chocolate candy bars that they are ready to hand out.  

They explain the rules and after a few minutes you are headed home with a few boxes of chocolate.  They usually had a prize for selling the most candy.  

Do you remember them really training you on selling the candy?  I don't.  They just wanted to get those boxes of chocolate in your hands.  They probably knew that the candy was not going to make it out of the house and that your parents were going to end up paying for the whole box.  

I think a lot of kids ended up using the old school business strategy of outsourcing.  Just give the box to your parents and let them take it to work and make your sales.  They would provide you with a yellow envelope to secure the money.  

Trying to make sales is a tough business.  The fear of rejection is something that is hard to get over.  Kids selling candy is still a going on today.  I guess that they don't provide too much training because it might come off wrong.  Maybe they wanted some people to feel sorry for you and you could make those sympathy sales. Most of that candy didn't make it out of the house.  

So what was there to learn about business from selling candy? Business can be tough.  Have the right product and it will sell.  Outsource some of the work if you can.

The Flinch



Just got through reading this book called the flinch.  If you are looking for something to help you get out of a rut, then this is a good step.

Starting a home business means taking a jump into something unknown.   Are you ready to make a change and get off the sidelines?  The book is not a long read, it just cuts to the chase and tackles things quickly.

Start running with your ideas and take the step forward.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

6 Ways to Market Your Home Business

Starting your home business is a big deal.  You have skills and you have services that you want to share with the globe.  But how do you get prospects and clients to find your company?  This is something that all business owners have to deal with.  

Every one from the small one person business to the large multinational corporation has to stay focused on marketing and sales.  When you are starting a home business you might not have a large cash pile for marketing purposes.  This means that you have to think differently and become creative to get clients.
 
Setup your own blog

Blogging is a simple way to share information online. It doesn't have to be super difficult to get started. Blogs are a form of website that just about anybody can create.  

Post information about your business with articles that fit your niche.  You can make your blog as corporate or as personal as you like.  Think about mixing your blog up with more than just long text articles.  Take some pictures and create short videos to give your audience something new and exciting to view.  

Before you create your blog posts, take some time to do some research on the keywords for your new blog site.  Your prospects may be looking for information with different words than what you had imagined.  Use the google free keyword tool to get a handle on what your audience is looking for.

There are many options for creating a blog. You want to use simple software that is easy to update.  Find a good looking design for your site and get your own custom domain name that fits your home business.  Take your blog to the next level by getting your own home business logo designed 
( Call 888-302-3997 ).

Keep your blog updated frequently with new content.  Blogs are loved by the search engines.  If you are having a hard time coming up with content for your site, you can always outsource the writing or use an online content source.


Sign up with Online Forums

The internet has been around for a while and some of the oldest sites are forums.  They are places where people come together around the same niche.  

Signing up for a forum is pretty simple. Create a profile and start to interact.  Some online forums let you put information in the signature area.  Always pay attention to the rules of the forum.  It would be great if you could post a link to your site in your forum profile.  

Forums are made up of threads.  They might be grouped in a category.  Using internet marketing as an example, there might be a group talking about offline marketing.  Different forum users will post different thread topics that everyone can see.  So a new forum member might post a thread asking what is the best way to get started with offline marketing.  If you answered the question and you had a link in your signature, then everyone that views the thread would see your link.

You can find forums on all kinds of subjects online.  Just do a search.  Forums might turn out to be a good traffic generator for your home business website.

 
Create Social Media Profiles

Get on twitter.  Use google plus.  Start a facebook account.  Social media is just a part of business these days.  You see it all over the place and you need to get your business in front of those potential users.  Don't recognize @homebizcashinfo?  Then you need to get a crash course on social media and how you can use it in your business.  

There are tons of users that are flocking to social media sites.  You don't have to do a hard sell for your business.  You could just include information in your profile about your company.  Social media sites like squidoo have a place for your social media contacts, so you should use them.  

Do you trust the recommendations of your friends and family members?  This is a part of social media.  It can be a way to earn referrals.  There are all kinds of conversations happening on social media.  Twitter streams talk about everything from news to entertainment. Get onilne with social media networks and share quality information related to your business niche.
 
Write Your Own Ebook

Take your writing skills and use the to create electronic books for your business niche.  It is just like writing a regular document for a class.  

Think about a big problem that your audience is facing.  Come up with a headline.  Make an outline and start writing your document.  You can make an ebook just by saving a document in pdf format.  If you have a google account, you can use google docs to make your ebook.  Just download your doc as a pdf.

Make sure to include information about your home business.  Pdfs allow you to have links to websites embedded in the document.  You could link to your websites and blogs.  An ebook could be a long term web traffic generator for your home business.  Ebooks don't have to be long novels.  Just pick a topic and create a good solution.  You could make a quality ebook that is under 10 pages.
 
Make Videos about Your Home Business

Video is huge online.  Have you thought about using your smartphone or flip ultra hd video camera to make videos about your home business?  Videos can be short and entertaining or they can be educational material for your audience.  

Video is really a hit online.  People search for fun videos and they want to learn new things.  Make videos and post them on youtube.  Think about the wide reach of video for your home business.  People are search youtube on their android phones, apple ipads and at home.  Your video could get popular and send you a lot of visitors to your site.  

When you are creating your videos make sure that you include a link to your site in the video and also in the description area provided.  Make it easy for your prospects to find your company online.
 
Create Audio Podcasts


If you don't want to appear in videos, do the next best thing and make audio podcasts.  Podcasts are great because people can listen on their computers or download the files and listen on the go.  Do you have an ipod?  People use them for more than just listening to music.  Create informative talks on subjects around your business.  Post them online on your blog and try to get them posted in itunes.  


People love to listen to information that could help them with their business while they are walking, jogging or working out.  Think about the busy professional that is on their way to work. They might decide to pop your great audio podcast into the car and listen while they head to work.


With audio, you don't have to get on camera but you still be just as effective.  Think about adding a podcast to your home business blog.


These are just a few tips that you can use for marketing your home business.  Get even more tips at homebusinesscash.infoLearn how to write fast articles too.

Home Business - Eanring Online with Services

Why do people want to work from home?  For one, it is a much shorter commute.  You don't have to worry as much about high gas prices.  You can get up in the morning or in the middle of the night and get started on whatever project that you decide to do.

With laptops and the internet, a home business owner can get a lot of work done.  Then you add in the use of a smart phone and you have all the ingredients that you need to get your business going.

A home business can be a way to earn extra money.  Do you have skills that can translate into online services?  Write ebooks, create websites and blogs.  The web is the perfect place to share your skills.  

The internet has reduced the costs of starting a business.  You can get a website for little to no money.  You can create information products and services and sell them online.  It all depends on what you want to do and where the demand is online.

Getting paid is getting easier online too.  Sign up for paypal because it is a widely accepted payment method.  You can even get a paypal debit card to use at your local atm machines.

Take a look at what you like to do and see if there is a market for it online.  Working from home is becoming a reality for more people.  Use your skills and start earning.  Even if you don't have a lot of skills there are even other ways to make money using the web.

Online survey sites are another way to earn. Just give your opinions and get money or gift cards.  Selling services online is another popular route to earning.  There are low cost service sites like fiverr that allow you to earn money for all kinds of services.  The web is still rather new and people are learning how to make money with it.  Think about how you can use a home business to make money online.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Web Traffic is always going to be a hot topic

What are some of the things that you like to do to generate web traffic?  When you get online and start your own business, you come across a lot of information talking about what you should do.  The first step is to create content for your own site.


You get a new domain name and setup your site and you know that you need to put something up there.  What are you going to talk about?  What is going to be interesting enough to get people to visit?  You don't really know.  


The term search engine optimization gets tossed around and you decide to give it a try.  You know that people are using different search terms because you do it too.  When you want to find something you go to the search engines and type in keywords that you think apply to the subject.  Do you really pay attention to what you are entering.  You learn that there are places to find keywords.  The google keyword tool or traffic travis usually will get a visit.  


But what happens after you visit those sites?  Do you use the information that you get?  You find a lot of keywords and they might end up sitting in a file on your computer.  They should be used to create content for your site but sometimes procrastination can set in.


Writing content for your site is a top priority, but it can get tough trying to constantly come up with something new to say.  Then you run into the issue of seo and whether you should write for the search engines or write for your visitors.  You want to write in your own voice but you also want to get some traffic coming to your site.


As you continue in your online journey, you keep hearing about ways to get traffic and you keep trying them.  Blog posting, writing for article directories, blog commenting and many more keep coming to the top of your list.  


The only thing that you can do is try them and see what gives you the best results.  Writing articles and posting them in the article directories can take a lot of time. If you like writing, it could be a strategy.  


Writing ebooks can be another tool for generating web traffic.  It is just like writing anything else.  Instead of posting the information on your blog or website, the text is saved in pdf format.  A good ebook can get people to sign up for your email list and get people to visit your site.  


A good tip for learning more about generating web traffic is to join online forums and see what is working for other people. If you are into internet marketing then the first place to visit is the warrior forums.  There are tons of discussions on everything from mobile marketing, cost per action, offline marketing and much much more.  They even have products that you can buy called warrior special offers or wso's.  These information products might be able to help you with your online marketing problems.

Start Your Internet Business

What are some reasons to start an internet business?  The internet gives you the ability to reach the entire globe.  You can come up with content and post it to a website and you don't have to do any more work.  The real work is getting people to come to your site and view the offer.


With a well designed webpage, you can have visitors coming to your site at anytime during the day without you having to be there.  You could make sales while you are off doing something else.  That is a huge advantage.  


The internet allows you to connect with many people.  The internet can allow large groups that like the same things to connect.  A webpage that is focused on a niche market can bring people together without spending a lot of money.  


The internet is always on, so you always have an opportunity to make sales and educate people about your topic.  The internet can allow you to do marketing for low out of pocket costs.  Instead of printing up a bunch of flyers or buying television ads, a small business could create their own site and start adding content online.  


Building a website is not an automatic money maker.  The site will need to have good content and have something that people really want.  


Regular businesses might require a lot of up front money to get started but a website can be created in just a few minutes.  A regular business might require an office or a store front location, but a website can be created and managed from just about anywhere with a computer and an internet connection.


Low barriers of entry means that just about anyone can get started with an internet business.  It doesn't mean that everybody is gong to be successful, but you get a chance to create what you want online.  


Internet businesses have the ability to grow really fast.  Some companies that were never thought of just a few years ago are now household names.  The web can turn good business ideas into big companies.  


People are still coming up with new ways to use the web.  Social media wasn't a word that meant anything just a few years ago.  Now there are big businesses that are taking off because of this new way of connecting people.   


The internet is changing the way that we do everything.  Tech advances are opening the door for more people to participate and earn income using the web.  


Content is becoming more important.  It is not hard to create a website or a blog anymore.  Now people can focus on the message that they want to send.  They can focus on content and  not know as much about the details of building websites.  


Are you ready to start an internet business?  Do you have something to sell?  Even if you don't personally create a product there is still hope for an online business. You could join affiliate marketing programs and offer links to those products and earn a commission.  


Internet business is only going to become more important in the future.  Don't you think it would be better to get started now.  Come up with a domain name.  Start a blog.  Give your idea a place to grow online.  

Mobile Marketing and Home Business

How are you marketing your home business?  Many will begin their marketing efforts with starting a website or a blog.  Websites and blogs are a great way to get your business online.

Blogs and websites are fairly easy to create now with all the new software options.  A new website can be created online in just a few minutes.  You are really not limited when it comes to online marketing.

There is a new area of marketing for home business owners that they might not be paying attention to.  This new area is called mobile marketing.  

Mobile marketing can include smarphones, tablet computers, and many other mobile devices.  What should a home business owner do about mobile marketing? 

A regular website might be the starting point for a home business owner but now they need to consider something more.   Smartphones and tablet computers like the apple ipad have different screen settings than the computer screens for a home computer or laptop.  

The question to ask is whether your home business website or blog is ready to handle traffic coming from mobile devices.  If you already have a home business website, you should stop what you are doing right now and find out the answer. 

Are people able to view your website without a problem when surfing the web with a mobile device?  Getting people to come to your site is a difficult task and you don't want to miss out on prospects because your site is not optimized for mobile visitors.

If you don't have a smartphone or a tablet computer, you can find online simulators that will give you an idea of how your site looks to these different mobile devices.

Optimizing your site for mobile web traffic is just one part of mobile marketing.  Have you ever written a text message? Now there is a complete generation of internet users that love to communicate by using text messages.  This is an area that home business owners should learn more about.  

Mobile devices are giving home business prospects access to the internet while they are walking around and moving from place to place.  Newer mobile devices can identify business that are in close proximity.  Mobile marketing is still new and more companies are trying to get ahead before everybody else catches on. 


Learn more about mobile marketing and how you can implement it in your business.

Home Business Websites - How to start a simple home business site

New businesses are getting started everyday.  Now you can get a home business website started really quickly.  You don't need to know a lot either.


Blogs are the easy way to get online for a home business owner.  A new home business is probably going to want to save some money while getting up to speed with the internet.


Build a basic company website with a blog.  What are your products and services?  Make a list of all the content that you want to include on your site.  Company contact information should be placed in an area where your prospects can easily find it.


Take some pictures.  Adding images can make your site more appealing.  Websites need to contain a good deal of content but it is also a great idea to have images that complement the text.


Create short videos that give your visitors something interactive.  Video can convey more information in less time.  Instead of your prospects having to read a really long blog post, you could create a video series and include it on your site.  


Compile all the information that you want to include on your new site, so that you don't have to wait after the technical details are done.  Some of the things that you will need to create a site include getting a domain name and ordering web hosting.  After you get those crucial pieces in place, you are ready to begin getting your site ready.


Blogs are a specific type of website.  They include four main parts. The header, main body, sidebar, and footer are usually included in most blogs.  


Blog headers can be text or graphical banners.  When just starting out, you may just want to keep the simple text header.  Also consider including a description of the site too.  


You have to think about how you want to organize your site.  Blogs have two kinds of information.  Blog posts and blog pages are the general ways that you show your text.  Blog posts are updated and included in descending order.  So your most recent blog posts will appear at the top of your site.   Blog pages are more static and they could appear in a menu.  


Adding information to a blog is as simple as creating a new document.  Just type in or copy and paste the text that you want to appear and hit the publish button.  You should be able to click a preview button to see how your new site looks to online visitors.  


Blogs are one of the quickest ways to get your home business online.  You can decide to start a site and in a few minutes you can be online and ready to present information to your prospects.

Home Business Management - Are you ready for outsourcing?

When you run your own home business everything falls into your lap.   You have to make the decisions on everything.  When the computer decides to stop acting right, you have to step in a make sure to get things back on track.


You are now in management.  Are you organized or are you doing things haphazard?  When you run your own business you make all the decisions.  


One of the options that you have is to outsource some tasks.  There are really two ways of outsourcing.  You can do it with people or with technology.  


Outsourcing with people could mean that you find someone to write content for your website or blog.  It could mean hiring someone to do your taxes.  It could also mean getting someone to do search engine optimization for your website or creating custom software for your business. 


Outsourcing can help free you up to do other more important tasks in your company.  You know that there are some things that could be done better by outside skilled labor.  You could end up wasting more time and money trying to learn how to do something yourself rather than finding someone competent that can handle the job.


Become more efficient in your home business.   Are there some tasks that need to be done, but are not your strong area?  It might be time to start putting on that management hat.  Make an executive decision and move your business forward with outsourcing.  Outsourcing is a big word, but really it is just finding someone better or more cost effective to get the job done. 


When is the last time that you updated your website?  Do you even know how to setup a blog?  Could your business benefit from getting online?  These are some of the questions that you need to ask yourself.  Do what it takes to get your home business in the game.  Don't let a lack of knowledge about an area keep you in the dark.  Find affordable services that can get the job done for you quickly and easily.   Big companies outsource all the time.  Small home businesses need to wake up and get in on the action.  

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Build an Email List for Your Blog or Website

One topic that gets covered over and over again is the importance of building your own email list.  When you think about it, it is a good idea to create one.  


The cost of creating an email list might be keeping you from getting started but at some point you have to start investing in your business. You spend a lot of time and resources trying to get people to visit your websites and blogs.  
The internet is filled with new sites everyday and people have short attention spans. What happens when they land on your pages.  They might visit your page and in a few seconds decide to visit another site online.  


You don't want to waste the opportunity when you actually get a visitor.  Collecting data and building a list should be top priority.  When you can get people on your list, you don't have to worry about traffic as much.  You can start building a long term relationship with your email list.  


Getting your email list started doesn't have to take much time.  Just sign up with a good email newsletter company.  Create a list and put a signup box on your websites and blogs.  


If you are thinking about building your business for the long term then you have to look at getting an email list.  How can you get people to sign up for your list?  Give away some free information to get them to join.  People are always looking for good information and giving something away is hard for most folks to turn down.


Make a simple ebook and use it to get people on your list.  What if you are not  a good writer.  There are ways get an ebook created if you need one.  The internet is filled with all kinds of content sources that can help you achieve your online goals.  


Have you ever signed up for a list when you got an ebook for free? ARe you still on those lists?  See that is the thing about newsletters, people join them but they hardly ever unsubscribe from the list.  


Are you going to be offering products and services on your blog or website?  Probably so.  Then a list is definitely something that you should consider. The internet is filled with all kinds of people interested in all kinds of topics and a list could be a great way to build up  your niche.  


There are many products that you can find online about list building.  Creating a list will take some time, but it is time to start taking your online business seriously.  


Signing up for a email list company is not hard at all.  Just some basic information is needed.  Your name and billing information is all that is really required.   You can find plenty of tutorials on how to setup your list.  Watching youtube is a great way to learn more about list building.  


You can create a sequence of messages that you want your new subscribers to receive.  Use your autoresponder and turn it into a mini course.  Get all the content that you need and the order that you want the information to arrive in.  Set it up once and you are good to go.


Once you get a list, you are going to need to keep fresh content for your list.  This is where other content writers and private label rights content can come into play.  Don't beat yourself up trying to come up with content all the time.  Get the content that you need to keep your list satisfied.  Learn more about plr by visiting plrblitz.com

Are you ready to run a home business?

One of the reasons to start a home business is to go after unlimited income.  When you work a job, your income can be limited unless you are getting paid on commission.


Working from your home office is possible now.  The reason is that computers and technology give you most of the items that you need to conduct business.


Computers and hardware give you the ability to do what you could do in an office setting.  Smart phones and internet phone calling services let you communicate with your clients.  If you are going to be making a lot of phone calls does it matter where you do it?  


A spare bedroom could be the perfect location for your home office. What are some of the items that you would need?  A good desk with plenty of space. A comfortable chair and a solid computer system.  With these types of tools, you can get into the game of business.


There are many different options for starting a business from home.  You could turn your writing skills into an online business.  New blogs and websites are getting started everyday.  They will need good content for those sites.  


Use your creativity and writing skills to make content that gets people coming to websites and prosper.  Writing skills are just one type of skill that is in demand online.  What about setting up websites. Designing websites can also be a good home based business.  The web connects users from around the globe.  You could design whole websites or wordpress themes.  This is a job that could be done from home.


Other types of businesses that could be done from home include affiliate marketing.  Instead of creating content and websites for other peoples income, you could take the long term approach and make sites for yourself.  


Think about using your writing skills for your long term income plan.  Use your free time to create content that you put on your own blogs and websites.  Make money by adding contextual ads likke google adsense.  


Adding advertising to your own websites and blogs is just another way to make money.  There are many affiliate programs that offer commissions for the sales that you generate with your traffic.  


Do you know how to create web traffic for sites.  Another thing that you can do from home is to learn and apply search engine optimization techniques.  


Web traffic is going to be a popular topic for years to come online.  Every new website owner is going to want to know how to get traffic.  Learn the rules from search engines and help get sites higher rankings online.  Keyword research and optimizing sites could be another part of your web development business.




Thursday, February 23, 2012

Write Articles and Create Information Products for Your Home Business

Writing articles and posting them on your blog can be a long term marketing strategy for your home business.  We live in an information based society.  People are looking for the information that solves their problems.  This is where your home business blog comes into play.


Writing articles gives your home business the possibility of being found online.  Instead of being just in a local phone book, your business can be on the web and visible from around the globe.  


Creating a webpage with basic business information will not cut it in this new day and age.  Your home business websites and blogs need to have the information that your clients are looking for.  The power of your information can lead prospects to find your company.


What usually happens is that someone wants to learn something new or they are looking for specific information.  Search engines have changed the way that people find information.  Years ago people would pick up a phone book or call information ( the number 411 ) and find the answers to questions.  The internet has come along and changed all that.  Now if people want to learn something they can type in exactly what they are looking for and get an answer.  Smart phones and mobile devices are giving people more opportunities to use the web to find what they are looking for.


So what does this have to do with your home business?  The search engine results have a big impact on building a business.  Are you currently creating information and posting it online?  Well then how are people going to find your company?  You need to create information solutions that lead people to your website.  Writing articles is the way to do it.  


Why article marketing?  There are lots of new home businesses that are started everyday.  They might not have the financial resources to go out and buy advertising.  But what they do have is time and skill.  Turn the knowledge that you have about your home business into information products that get your company web traffic.  


It is really funny when you think about it.  There are all of these home business owners that are great at what they do, but for some reason marketing a home business is much harder.  Sales and marketing can make the difference in whether your home business succeeds or fails.  


Let's be honest here.  Article marketing is time consuming.  You have to come up with headlines that get your targeted prospects to click through to your site.  There has to be enough of this market to make a difference in your business.  You have to do keyword research to find out how people are looking for your kind of information.  


What are some of the problems that you and your clients are experiencing in business?  What are some possible solutions?  Start turning some of those business frustrations into new information products.  Make sure to take notes and write them down for possible article titles.  


Article marketing can be your long term lead generation strategy that doesn't cost you money out of your pocket.  You are spending your time creating information and you don't know what the immediate payoff is going to be.   


Use your creativity to come up with new high quality information products that get your prospects to want to learn more about you and your business.  Your free and informative articles may get the prospects to join your mailing list or even purchase a product in the future.