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Saturday, September 30, 2006

Finding the best affiliate programs for you

Do your homework to determine the best affiliate programs for your web site.

Affiliate (aka Associate) programs are a win-win situation for everyone involved. Internet-based merchants hook up with affiliates to generate traffic to their web sites. Affiliates get paid if the traffic from their site visits the merchant web page. The smart Internet entrepreneur does some research to determine the best affiliate programs for her business.

Where to Look

Affiliate networks are the middle man between affiliates and web sites with affiliate programs. Look for affiliate networks that provide all the tools needed to set up and maintain an affiliate program. AssociatePrograms.com is a popular directory with information about merchants that pay you to sell their wares.

Commission Junction is a free network that offers access to thousands of the best affiliate programs. Commission Junction combines all your affiliate earnings (product sales, on-line ads, links) into one monthly check. One caveat, however, is not to sign up before you are ready to start promoting products, because some programs will disenroll you if you wait six months after sign up to actually get your sites and promotions up and running (networks do not want to have hundreds or thousands of inactive members cluttering up their affiliate program software and complicating their statistics).

What to Look for

The best affiliate programs will be those that target your customer base. An on-line florist would get little traffic from a pet supply website. You want an affiliate whose business is similar or comparable to your product. Avoid affiliates with low quality products. Ask to speak to existing affiliates to find out if a company is reputable.

Referral traffic may link to the merchant site and not buy initially but return to make a purchase weeks later. Look for affiliate programs that remember your site was responsible for that customer. The best affiliate programs remember you for 60 days by using cookies to tag the customer's computer when he visits the merchant site.

The best affiliate programs offer reliable support such as ads, logos, and sales advice. Good programs also provide timely updates on click through sales and earnings, and, respond to questions or problems within 24 hours.

Getting Paid

There are three common affiliate payment plans. With pay per sale, the merchant pays when the affiliate sends a customer who buys from the merchant's site. The payment could be a set amount or a percentage of the sale.

In a pay per click set up, the affiliate is paid based on the number of people who visit the merchant's web site regardless if a purchase was made.

With pay per lead programs, affiliates are paid based on the number of people who sign up as leads. A lead would be a visitor who filled out an information page on the merchant web site thus becoming a potential customer.

Multi-level payment plans allow affiliates to earn commission on sales, clicks, or leads from their sites as well as commission based on activity generated by affiliate sites they refer to the merchant site. Another form of payment is residual commission. Affiliates continue earning money after the original sale has been made. This is common in situations where customers pay monthly fees for merchant services.

The best affiliate programs pay at least 25% commission with some going as high as 50%. Payments should be made at least once a month although some affiliate programs pay quarterly or twice a year.

Honorable Mentions

There are hundreds of good, reputable affiliate programs. Three that stand out among the best are Neil Shearing's affiliate program which pays some of the highest commissions and conversion rates; Ken Evoy's 5 Pillar Program which offers excellent marketing and educational information; and My TemplatesStorage, a good site for web development merchants. Each of these, however, has its own plan details that may or may not be best for you and your situation, so be sure to read up on how any affiliate program works, and what is required for payment.

Sources

"How Affiliate Programs Work," (howstuffworks.com)
"Best Affiliate Products for Maximum Profits," (bestaffiliateproducts.com)
"Affiliate Programs," (buildwebsite4u.com)

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Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Online Business Strategies for Successful eCommerce

Internet Tips and Pointers

The goal of any online business is to sell something, be it a product, service, or information. To accomplish this, you need customers, or traffic, to your web site. Follow these key Internet business strategies to generate customers and cash.

Image is Everything

Your web site should reflect how you want customers to feel about your business. The site must be professional looking and easy to navigate and understand. The content provided should be relevant to the needs of the customer.

Marketing is King

What promotional tools are you using to advertise your web site? Search engines are the primary method Net surfers use to locate information. One of the top Internet business strategies is to choose relevant keywords for the most efficient search engine optimization. The word "books" is too generic for a site promoting life/career changing seminars based on motivational books. Surfers who type in "books" probably want to buy one rather than attend a seminar. Use specific terms that closely relate to what you are selling.

Links to your web page are another important Internet business strategy. Links increase visitors who often become customers. Relevancy is key; links to your home page should be from sites with topics closely related to your business. Be descriptive with links. "Buy last season's Coach handbags at closeout prices" entices more clicks than "Brand name liquidators."

Consider starting your own affiliate program. It's cost effective because you only pay other sites for the visitors they link to you. You can pay for visitors or pay if the visit results in a sale.

Online businesses do best with online marketing. However, don't discount "old" media. Get a press release or article about your eBusiness in the local paper. Place an ad in the Yellow Pages or industry trade magazines.

Information Content

Don't just sell your product or service. Include articles, news, or interesting facts related to your eBusiness. Many customers will appreciate the information. In addition, reporters often look for information online; a blurb about your web site in their story might bring in more customers.

Customer Friendly

If your eBusiness customers are the general public, go easy on the industry jargon. Use "nose jobs" more than "rhinoplasty" if your cosmetic surgery site is aimed at patients rather than fellow medical personnel. This is important also when choosing keywords for search engines.

Go easy on graphics and other bells and whistles. These things tend to slow down page loads. A easy navigation system is one of the most important Internet business strategies. The average customer doesn't want to sit through mini films or music interludes to get to the information desired. If your web pages take too long to open, customers will surf elsewhere.

Sources

"The Top Seven Strategies for Website Success," (cyberspeaker.com)
"Twelve Things Every Web Site Must Have For Business Success," (netatlantic.com)

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Tuesday, September 26, 2006

How to Buy Wholesale

Check out the wholesale market for low prices and great deals.

Own a business? Buy for large groups (scouts, students, family)? Allergic to paying retail? Any of these reasons is good enough for you to explore the world of buying wholesale.

Hard Core Buyer or Casual Shopper?

If you always buy large quantities of merchandise, it would be a good idea to obtain a business license and reseller's license. Some wholesalers will not sell to you without these permits.

In addition, the licenses are your ticket to trade shows that are not open to the public. Here, you can find a multitude of items priced below retail. You can also get on the mailing list for major trade shows. These events sell everything from furniture to the latest fashions at wholesale prices.

When applying for a business or reseller's license, make sure you understand what fees, taxes, and bureaucratic red tape are required to keep you out of trouble. Depending on the state, you may be able to get a reseller's license for free. However, you are responsible for collecting sales tax on products sold within the state. Assess the cost verse expected savings from buying wholesale to determine if it's worth the trouble to obtain licenses.

To get a business license, you must be in business or planning to start one. You can legitimize your business status by turning a hobby or talent into a business venture. For example, a weekend furniture maker sells a few pieces to friends and a business is born.

Even the casual shopper may benefit from obtaining business and reseller's licenses. You get access to non-public wholesale events and wholesalers that don't sell to the general public. In addition, you can make a little money off the deals you find. Buying wholesale usually means purchasing large quantities. While you don't need three dozen cashmere sweaters, you can keep a few and sell the rest to friends, or, via online auctions and at flea markets.

No License, No Problem

Although business permits give you more access to buying wholesale, you don't have to have a license to get wholesale prices. Wholesale businesses often have special times they open to the public. Prices will be a little more, but you still pay less than retail. Check the Yellow Pages to find local wholesalers and ask if they have public sale hours.

Consider buying wholesale from liquidators. Liquidators buy huge quantities of product from manufacturers and retailers. These items are usually discontinued, damaged, or from a previous season and prices are often below wholesale. You can find liquidators in the phone book or on the Internet.

The Internet is also a good source for buying wholesale merchandise
especially for those who don't want to bother with permits and buying in bulk. Many Internet wholesalers don't require a minimum purchase.

Another option is to join an association that buys in bulk. The combined purchasing power of a large group lowers the cost of merchandise. Warehouse clubs such as Sam's Club and Costco are another good source for prices that are close to wholesale.

Wholesale Grapevine

Use your network of friends, associates, and family to find wholesale buying opportunities. Your interior decorator neighbor may grant you access to her wholesale contacts. The local florist may be willing to let you in on a sweet deal on dried flowers. Beware though - these folks may require you to engage their professional services in exchange for buying wholesale through them. Weigh the cost of doing business with them against potential savings from buying wholesale.

Sources:

"How to Buy Wholesale," (ehow.com)
"Five Secrets to Buying Wholesale," (majon.com)

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Monday, September 25, 2006

Software tracking solutions and affiliate programs

Affiliate programs are a great way to increase traffic to and sales for your web site. There are several affiliate tracking software solutions that keep track of sales, clicks, and commissions.

Affiliate tracking software solutions come in a variety of packages. Software for a click-based program allows you to pay affiliates a set rate for each visitor to your web site. Look for click-based software with helpful features including click-through tracking, link code generation (keep banners current and linked correctly), referral tracking, and detailed stats.

Other software lets you set up a commission or flat rate pay for each potential customer sent via your affiliate member. You can also customize the commission schedule for individual affiliates. Commission-based programs can be more economical because you only pay affiliates when their referrals generate sales.

You don't have to choose between click-based or commission affiliate tracking software. Programs are available that let you use both pay arrangements.

Many affiliate tracking software solutions now have private affiliate network capability. This feature is helpful for those with multiple web sites. It lets you run one affiliate program for all your web sites on your own private network as opposed to setting up affiliate programs for each site.

How does it work?

The basic premise of affiliate programs is the same for all affiliate tracking software solutions. An affiliate joins your program by logging into the member area on your web page. There the affiliate can get the tools needed for linking to your site such as banner codes, text links, and product images.

When a visitor clicks from the affiliate's web page to yours, the tracking software places a cookie on the visitor's computer to track him as he browses your web site. If the visitor buys a product or service from your web site, the tracking software notes the affiliate responsible for said visitor and records the sale in a database. The Administrator and the affiliate are both notified of the sale via email.

Affiliate software makes its easy to monitor the success of your affiliate programs by tracking the number of times banners or links are displayed, number of visitors who linked to your web site, and how many of these visits resulted in a sale. In addition, the software keeps account of commissions earned by and payouts to affiliates.

Helpful Features

Software packages are easy to install and manage. However, software companies will gladly lend a hand to technically challenged web entrepreneurs. Look for affiliate software tracking solutions that provide reliable tech support and don't charge setup fees or monthly charges. The software should be easy to customize for your specific needs.

Other helpful features include:

Unlimited affiliates categories
Automated fraud protection
Performance rewards for your best affiliates
Lifetime upgrades
Multi-level marketing (affiliate program promotes itself and your web site).

Sources

Cosmicperl (cosmicperl.com)
Affiliate Wiz (affiliatewiz.com)
Quality Unit (qualityunit.com)

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Sunday, September 24, 2006

A Seller's Market on eBay

There's money to be made on eBay

Garage sales and flea markets are so "20th century." These days, if you have stuff to peddle, sell it on eBay. You'll be joining thousands of other like-minded people looking to make money selling their wares on the popular web site. Since everyone is hip to the online selling gravy train, you'll need to make your items stand out in order to make more money on eBay.

Size up the Competition

Before listing your items for auction, check out eBay's Completed Items listings. Here, you'll see what products are up for sale, their prices, and how they are presented. You might also get a better idea on how to title your product to produce a higher price.

Don't overload the auction site with items. You will make more money on eBay auctions if you sell a few items at the same time rather than overload the auction site.

Describe Your Wares

You have limited space for product information so make your words count. In the auction title, avoid words such as "Look," or "Wow." No one types in these words to do a search; use words that potential buyers will likely use do search for your product.

Be generous with information in the auction description. Include any product details that buyers will find helpful. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words (or maybe a thousand dollars!). A good, color picture is essential to catch the eye of a buyer.

Shipping News

Don't tack on too high shipping/handling costs for your auctions. While your aim is to make more money on eBay, sky high shipping fees may turn off buyers. There's always another seller who will give them a better deal.

Promote Your Wares

To help make more money on eBay, it helps to advertise your auctions on a personal web page. Or, run an online store with links to your eBay auctions. Send emails to subscribers notifying them of upcoming auctions.

eBay Auction Support

eBay provides sellers with several tools to help them navigate the auction process. Automated listing tools allows sellers to post additional listings without going through the "Sell Your Item" process every time. With eBay's Turbo Lister, you can sell your wares without having to visit the web site - and it's free.

If you are selling a very expensive item, it may be beneficial to purchase an auction upgrade from eBay. These upgrades generate more potential buyers. However, the cost of auction upgrades will eat up the profit on lower priced items.

The Right Stuff

Having unique, high quality items is another way to make more money on eBay. Estate sales are great places to find specialty items such as antiques, vintage clothing, and jewelry. You may also find a few nuggets from liquidators who purchase discontinued or last season's merchandise from manufacturers and retailers.

Sources

"Tips for Ebay Sellers: How to Make More Money Off of Your Auctions," (associatedcontent.com)
"How to Make Money on eBay," (submityourarticle.com)
"How to Make More Money With Ebay's Affiliate Program," (bharatbhasha.com)

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Saturday, September 23, 2006

Beyond your garage: finding stuff to sell online

Billions of dollars worth of products are sold on eBay and other online merchants every year. Where are people getting all these items to sell? Surely, they've emptied their closets and garages by now. Even if they have, finding stuff to sell online is still relatively easy. Several sources are available for those who want to make a little or a lot of cash selling online.

Home Stuff

Not all garages have been cleared of junk. Weekend garage sales are still popular places to find items to sell. Sales in higher income areas tend to net more quality items like designer clothes, high end furniture, and antiques. However, don't neglect an average Joe garage sale; one never knows what unique items will be unearthed regardless of the neighborhood. Go to these sales toward the end of the day. Homeowners will be more inclined to sell you merchandise at rock bottom prices rather than having to pack up unsold items.

Look through your own garage and closets to find items to sell online. You may be harboring old clothes, books, Cds, and toys that will bring in a few bucks online. Offer to rid your friends and family of their unwanted junk by selling on consignment. You sell their stuff and keep %25 of the profits. Local retailers may also agree to let you sell their overstocks and returned merchandise on consignment as well.

Buy Online, Sell Online

Finding stuff to sell online is as easy as buying it from the same online source. eBay is an excellent place to find everything from antiques to huge lots of merchandise that you can buy and resell at a profit.

Locate other online sources by using search terms such as wholesale liquidators, closeout dealers, and drop-ship services. These same sources can also be found in print media including the Yellow Pages and classified ads in newspapers, trade magazines, and free weeklies.

Auction Action

Unclaimed, slightly damaged, and repossessed merchandise can be purchased at freight claims and government auctions. Check the Yellow Pages for contact information and newspaper classified section for upcoming sales.

There's a storage unit operation on every corner these days. The storage company auctions off the contents of unpaid rental units. Although the contents are sold sight unseen, there's probably enough sale worthy items inside to let you break even.

Estate auctions are another great source for finding stuff to sell online. Like garage sales, high income estates yield the greatest finds, but gems can be found regardless of the estate's net worth. These sales are advertised in the newspaper.

Drop Shipping

Drop shipping is an easy, hands off way to sell online. You send the order to the manufacturer or distributor and they ship the product to the customer. No inventory or shipping hassles that you have to worry about.

Local Events

Bazaars, flea markets, and festivals are good sources for everything from unique handmade crafts to valuable collectibles. Like garage sales, stop by near closing time for deep discounted deals.

Check with the local convention and visitors' bureau to find out about upcoming trade shows that are open to the public. You'll be able to buy from manufacturers and sale reps selling the latest products on the market.

Offshore Action

Asia is a good source for finding stuff to sell online. However, the red tape and cost of contacting sources there can be a hassle. Your best bet is to hook up with a manufacturer's rep who has overseas connections. There's enough available home grown sources for locating products to sell to make this option unnecessary.

Sources:

"Finding Stuff to Sell," (alsnetbiz.com)
11 Of The Best Places to Find Items to Sell on Ebay," (ezinearticles.com)
"Finding Product Sources for Your Business," (entrepreneur.com)

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Friday, September 22, 2006

e-Riches from writing and selling e-Books

Can you get rich selling e-books? While Bill Gates' type of income isn't guaranteed, you can earn you a very nice income selling e-books online.

E-books are electronic versions of printed material that can contain text, sound, and images. The profit potential from selling them is high because start-up and operating expenses are very low. The biggest expense is purchasing books for sale.

You can earn even more money if you write some of your own e-books. Your writing skills don't have to be stellar. There are online sources that will take your research and craft an e-book for you. Some of these companies even take care of marketing, payments, and shipping.

Buying e-books for Sale

You can purchase e-books from authors online. eBay is another source for e-book buying. Purchase e-books with resell rights. This allows customers to sell the e-books they buy from you themselves thus providing an incentive for them to do business with you.

Make sure the e-books you buy (or write yourself) are full of useful information and resources. Some e-books are nothing more than ads and sales pitches for the writer's products. These "ad books" will turn off customers and decrease repeat business.

Do your research to determine what types of information people are seeking. Getting rich selling e-books will depend on the topics covered, customer base, and marketing campaign.

Before buying an e-book for resale, do an online search for the title. If lots of web sites are selling the book, it's probably a popular title and will be a good seller. It also helps to sell e-books that cater to a specific market niche. Search online forums and other group sites to locate potential target markets for niche titles. Contact these groups with a short email inviting them to visit your site. Offer an incentive such as 20% off first purchase to increase site traffic.

E-books about current trends or hot topics will generate more income. Your income will really get a boost if you can spot the "next big topic" and write or purchase e-books to sell before the competition saturates the market.

Marketing Extras

You can use a common template for your e-books' web site or sell them on an existing site you already have. However, to stand out from the competition, create you own web site to sell e-books. Always add new titles to your stock to keep old customers coming back and to attract new ones. Use email to notify customers of new titles and special sales. Offer discounts on slow moving titles.

Affiliate programs are another way to get rich selling e-books. The affiliate pays you a commission for his or her e-books you sell. To earn extra cash from e-books you write, start your own affiliate program.

There are plenty of online and print books that will help you learn how to get in on the e-book sales bandwagon. A good place to begin reading is "Make Your Knowledge Sell," by Ken Evoy and Monique Harris.

Sources

"About Making Money with E-Books," (about-the-web.com)

"Make Money Selling Ebooks," (christianet.com)

"Make Money Selling Ebooks," (homebusinessmag.com)

"Is Your Dog Selling eBooks Too?," (marketingsource.com)

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Thursday, September 21, 2006

eBay for Stay at Home Moms

If you are a stay at home mom you may be getting the urge to do something more with yourself. You may want to make a bit of money while staying at home with the kids all day. One of the best ways for any stay at home mom to make money is by using eBay. This may sound a bit far fetched, but the fact of the matter is that thousands of people have turned eBay into a full-time job. And to take this a step further, there are many people who have become millionaires by using eBay to buy and sell items. If you work hard at it, you can be next in line for the profits that are being made on eBay everyday of the week.

At this point you may be wondering how eBay can make you money. This is something that a lot of people have on their mind. Using eBay to make money is quite simple. You will list items for sale, and then wait for other people to bid on them, or purchase at a predetermined price.

But in order to get started with this you will need to have items that you can place for sale on eBay. There are a few ways that you can go about getting these items.

1. To find items to sell on eBay you may want to become a regular at garage sales and flea markets in your area. At these events you can buy items for cheap, and then turn around and sell them for a large profit on eBay. This is one option that a lot of stay at home moms opt for when looking for items that they can sell on eBay.

2. Another option to consider is making your own products, and then listing them on eBay. For instance, some people make crafts such as candles and then list them for sale. You may not think that there is a large audience for this type of thing, but there are many people that make a lot of money doing just that.

3. Stay at home moms can get their start on eBay by selling items that they have laying around the house. Chances are that your garage or attic is full of junk that you no longer use. But just because you think that the items you have are junk does not mean that somebody else will. By just selling items that you have in your home you may be able to get your start on eBay. And with the money that you initially make, you can then in turn buy more items. Pretty soon you will notice that your profits are growing.

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Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Tips on how to promote your home business web site

Traffic on the freeway is bad. Traffic on the Internet is good. With over 60 million web sites on the Net, you need a solid strategy for steering customers to your home business web site.

Search Engines

Search engines are the yellow pages for a home business web site. Over 80% of Internet surfers use search engines to find information on the web. To get the most traffic to your site, list first with the big search engine players Yahoo, Google, and MSN. Smaller search engines also get results from the big three so you'll be covered in case customers visit less popular engines. A smaller search engine network to consider is Exactseek.com, for example.

Looking Good

Your home business web site can be simple or complex but it must be functional and attractive. Make sure your site does what it is supposed to do - provide customers with concise, useful information about your product or service. Be wary of making things too complicated. The site should be easy to navigate or customers will look elsewhere.

Your home business web site should also look professional, not cheap. If you aren't design savvy, spend money on a good web designer. The investment will pay off by attracting more people to your web page.

On-line Ads

The Internet has many sites where you can list your home business web site for free. To guarantee the greatest exposure, place your ad on several (20 or more) sites and repeat the process every month.

Banner advertisements can be as effective as TV spots in increasing customer awareness of your business. A banner ad should be direct, i.e. promote a benefit of rather than just the name of the product or service. Try participating in a banner exchange program such as LinkExchange that connects your home business web site to other company sites that have similar customer bases.

Affiliate programs offer an excellent opportunity to promote your home business web site. Affiliate businesses post links to your web page on their sites. You pay them a commission or set fee based on the amount of traffic sent to your web site. Pay arrangements vary and can be based on the number of people who visit your site or the number of customers who purchase your product.

Bloggin' It

Bloggers are the hot new information medium. Getting them to write about your home business web site is an excellent way to gain exposure to potential customers.

Technorati Blog Directory provides a listing of blogs by industry. Do your research here to determine which blogs might be interested in writing about your business. Send a short, personal email to a few blog writers describing your web site and asking the blogger to write about it. Offer the writer something in return, for example, free product or a link back to his blog on your web site.

Off-line Ads

Cruising Down the Highway

Your car is a moving billboard for a home business web site. Window decals and bumper stickers are inexpensive ways to get the word out about your web site. Spend a few extra dollars for a personalized license plate with your web address.

Old Media Standby

Regardless of what the bloggers say, people still read the printed page. Run ads in the classifieds of large and small papers, trade magazines, and free weeklies. Your choice of print media will depend on the product or service offered and whether you do business locally or nationwide.

Sources

Gaebler Ventures, "Advertising on the Web" (gaebler.com)
Data Synthesis, "Internet Solutions for Today" (ictks.com)
"Top Ten Ways to Promote your Website" (agora-business-center.com)
"Using Blog PR to Promote Your Site" (sitepronews.com)

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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

For Internet Business Newbies - How to Promote Your Web Site

If you are new to the internet world you are not alone. There are a lot of people who are not too familiar with the internet, but want to join in on the profits that are available. If this sounds like you one of the most important things that you will need to learn is how to promote your web site.

When it comes to promoting your web site there are many options available to you. The good thing is that a lot of them are free of cost, or will only set you back a few dollars. But at the same time there are also a lot of ways that you can promote your web site that will cost you quite a bit of money. But either way, if you learn what you are doing you will be able to get the word out about your web site.

As far as free web site promotion is concerned, one of the best things that you can do is join in on the discussions that are taking place at some of the online forums. For instance, if your new web site is targeted towards the clothing industry, you will want to find forums that discuss this topic. When talking with others you can run ideas past them, and also market your new web site to them. Make sure that you add your web site to your forum signature. This way, every time you make a post anybody that reads it will be able to click on your link. Believe it or not this will drive plenty of traffic to your site.

Another low cost way to promote your web site is to submit articles to article directories. This can be done in a matter of minutes. All you have to do is write an article that coincides with your web site, and then submit it to directories. In addition, you will be able to add an author’s resource box after the article. This again will allow readers to click on your link and head straight for your site. Over time different article directories will pick up on your articles. In turn, your links will begin to show up all over the internet, which of course means more traffic directed to your web site.

Overall, web site promotion is something that you will want to learn about early on. But do not let this scare you away. There are many ways that you can promote your new web site to the internet world. With a bit of research, patience, and determination, you will be successfully promoting your web site. And with successful promotion comes traffic and profits! And isn’t this what everybody wants?

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Monday, September 18, 2006

Five Work from Home Ideas for Pet Lovers

If you love pets, why not start a business that will allow you to make money at the same time? Thousands of people from all over the world have started pet based businesses. And out of these people, many of them work at their pet business on a full-time basis. If this is something that is of interest to you, the first thing that you will need to do is determine what niche of the industry you want to focus on. There are many options available, and by finding the right one you will be on the fast track to success in no time at all.

Here are five home business ideas that pet lovers should consider. Of course this is just a start, but these five are among the most popular.

1. A pet sitting service will allow you stay in touch with pets while also making money at the same time. People are always looking for a way to have their pets cared for while they are on vacation or on a business trip. A pet sitting service is a great option for these people. And if you are the only service in your area you may be able to garner a lot of business right off the bat.

2. Being a dog walker is a solid home business idea for pet lovers. You will probably not make a full-time living at this job, but you can definitely make a bit of money as your client base expands. For one reason or the next people do not have the time to walk their dogs. If you can offer this service at an affordable rate you can get a lot of regular clients.

3. Pet photography is becoming very popular. If you have the skills to start a pet photography business you can make a very good living. More so today than ever before pet photography is popular. Offering this service in a well populated area can be quite profitable.

4. Make pet related crafts if you do not want to deal directly with the animals. Crafts are selling great in today’s day and age, and can be anything that you can imagine. Believe it or not selling pet crafts can turn into a profitable full-time business.

5. A lot of owners do not have the skills or patience to train their dog. For this reason pet trainers are always in demand. Offering this service at a good rate will allow you to place yourself at the top of the industry.

Even though these are only five pet related business ideas, there are many others that are do-able. With a bit of research you will find a home business idea that you can incorporate into your love of pets.

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Sunday, September 17, 2006

New Diet and Nutrition Niche Article Club

Many of my readers may already own a health-related blog or may be contemplating starting a website related to diet, weight loss, or nutrition information. After all, diet and nutrition are always popular topics, and many home businesses or work at home on the internet situations promote or advertise products having to do with weight loss or nutritional supplements. A new service has become available that provides original private label rights articles in this diet and nutrition niche on a monthly basis at an affordable price. The articles are perfect for blog publishing or other web content uses, and the overall project is overseen by a physician concerned with quality content. If this niche interests you, don't miss checking it out early before the competition catches on. Just go to http://www.diet-nutrition-article-niche.com for more information on these diet and nutrition niche PLR articles.

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Saturday, September 16, 2006

Pet Photography Business Tips

If you like pets, starting a pet photography small business is a great way to make money. Not only will you get to make money, but you will also get to do so while enjoying your job. And isn’t this something that everybody is looking for in a career?

But before you start a pet photography business there are a few things that you will need to keep in mind. Remember, you cannot simply start a pet photography business because you like animals. There is much more to it than that. And if you want to be successful at what you are doing you will need to be the best of the best (or at least one of the very best).

Before you start your pet photography business look into the market that you live in. There are two things in particular that you should look at. First off, are there enough people in your area that will want to use your service? Obviously, the bigger the city you live in the better your chances are of garnering a lot of business. You will also want to make sure that you do not have a lot of competition in this industry. If there is already an established pet photography business in your area you may want to reconsider where you open up shop. This is a specialized niche, and if somebody has already tapped into it you may have a hard time grabbing a share of the market.

To have a successful pet photography business you need to be good at taking pictures. That is the bottom line. If you do not have the skills to take top notch photos nobody is going to pay for your services. In addition, you will need to have the necessary equipment in order to be a success in the pet photography industry. This can cost a lot of money, but it is something that you need to have to move to the top of the industry.

And speaking of expenses, a good pet photography business has a professional atmosphere in which clients can bring their pets. You will need to have a space to do this, as well as different props and backdrops. Plus, keeping the area clean is an absolute must if you are going to be having pets in and out all day long. Giving off a good sense of professionalism is a great way to garner repeat and referral clients.

Overall, a pet photography business is a great way to make money. If you love pets, and have a knack for photography, you should look into this industry right away. Who knows, you may carve out a niche in your area and garner more clients than you ever thought possible.

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Friday, September 15, 2006

Picture This Home Business

A home photography business doesn’t necessarily require formal photography training. What it does require is a passion for photographic art, an artistic flair, the technical skills to operate the equipment and the ability to market the business.

Someone who is still in high school or college can start out preparing for a home photography business by taking photos for the yearbook or the student newspaper. A basic photography course would be very helpful as well. Nowadays it’s good to know how to operate both a 33 mm and a digital camera. Local community colleges often have very reasonably priced community education courses, many that involve just one class in the evening or on the weekend. Colleges that offer Lifelong Learning Centers for folks 50+ have courses as well, and some of these are taught by very experienced retired home photography business professionals at little or no cost.

There are many types of photography and the home photography business entrepreneur may want to specialize, perhaps in photography for news organizations such as the local daily or weekly paper, or in advertising photography for local magazines and local firms that need to market their products. One of the most common forms of home photography business is for events and celebrations such as weddings, bar mitzvahs, anniversaries, and other events. These can be especially lucrative as repeat business and excellent multiple referrals.

Travel photographers have exciting home photography business lives, although it takes a lot of skill and a lot of travel expense and practice photography before that first paid vacation is finely paid for.

Some folks create a home photography business working as photojournalists or specializing in medical or science photographers. While quite lucrative, these almost require a four year degree with extensive photography and communication training. A college photography internship is a wonderful foot in the door for a home photography business as well.

A portfolio is a must for building clientele for a home photography business. This means taking lots and lots of unpaid photo shots to show off exceptional talent to potential clients.

Helpful ways to learn the ins and outs of home photography and a home photography business are by working as an assistant to a photographer, by joining associations and organizations of fellow photographers and by attending seminars and workshops on home business and photography.

Source:
http://www.ehow.com/how_12361_become-photographer.html

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Thursday, September 14, 2006

How to Build a Home Internet Business

Many people who choose to work at home engage in online businesses. Building a home Internet business is challenging and once you really got the hang of it, you could earn good income as well. There many areas to choose from when building a home internet business. What really matters most is that you are knowledgeable on the topic or area that you want to engage into in order to get ahead of the pack.

Before you start building you home Internet business, it would be wise to get as much information possible regarding the area you want to enter. There are many ways of getting your information through the Internet. You can try surfing open sources to save cost, but most of the time these open sources are very limited in terms of information. Your local library could help you. There should be some information regarding the area you want to engage in; however, you might not find what you need as easily as typing a word and generating information. Now, if you don’t have the patience or the time to spend in libraries to get the information you need, you could always go to paid information sites on the Internet. Finding a good source of information on the Internet could be a bit tricky though, so it is best to rely on the well-known sources although they may cost you a bit more than those sites which purport to offer comprehensive results for lower price.

Once you have enough information regarding the area you want to engage in, you can start building a home Internet business. For starters, you should get a reliable computer and a fast Internet connection. If you are good at building website, then you can start right ahead and design your web page. However, if you are not so techno savvy when it comes to building a website, it is best for you to hire someone who can give your website a professional look. Building a home Internet business with a professional looking website will attract more customers than those badly designed ones. Remember that being in the Internet business means that you will be judged by the look of your website. Having a good homepage would convey to the reader a sense of professionalism, which inspires trust and confidence. Your website is your store so make it look good. People like to shop in a store with well arranged merchandise so try not to clutter your website unnecessarily.

Soliciting ideas and comments regarding your website would help a lot. You can ask your friends and colleagues what they think about your site and what they suggest you should improve on. You can also join forums and invite people to take a look at your site and give their comments. You can easily find forums where building a home Internet business is a hot topic. There are many techno savvy people in forums who are very willing to share their ideas so don’t be shy and post your questions. An added value of joining is that you can invite these same people to your website once you are ready to launch. Who knows, those people could become one of your customers, too.

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Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Top 10 Home Business Opportunities

Being a stay-at-home parent does not necessarily mean you cannot contribute financially to the family coffers. On the contrary, there are many lucrative home based opportunities in which you can engage. Listed below are 10 top home business opportunities that are suitable for stay at home parents.

Scrapbook and memoirs-making is an excellent choice for a stay at home parent who likes to work with his or her fingers. There are many people who would like to make scrapbooks of their family pictures but never have the time to do so. You can start by marketing your products and services to your friends and neighbors.

Childcare or a day care center would be a good business. It would give you time to take care of your kids while taking care of your neighbor’s kids. There are always many people who are looking for good day care centers where they can leave their children while they go to work in the office.

Offering accounting and bookkeeping services to small companies around your neighborhood would be a good idea if you have good accounting skills. They are many people who do not like balancing their own books or accounts so you could have a big market for your services.

Medical transcription is increasingly becoming a good home business for people who are familiar with medical terms, have a good command of the English language and can type fast. Usually, medical transcription pays very well and you could have a good full time income while staying at home with the kids.

Network marketing is popular among people who are good at building a team. Many people are earning very good income from networking marketing. Some social skills and enjoying connecting with others is a definite plus for this type of marketing.

Catering is a good business for stay at home parents who love to cook. There are so many people who do not have time to cook their own meals, especially when they are entertaining visitors. So if you are a good cook, you can easily build a good number of loyal customers.

Freelance writing is good for those who have talent with words. There are many opportunities for those who can write a good story. Magazines usually pay their writers well so you can aim for such magazines if you want to earn well doing freelance writing.

Freelance typing is a good idea for people who can type fast. There is no shortage of those companies outsourcing typing jobs.

Medical claims billing is a good business for those stay at home parents who have financial backgrounds, and who do not mind checking details regarding medical coding and code numbers.

Publishing an e-book would be a good idea for those stay at home parents who love to write.

Stay at home parents who have other special skills--you may find other more lucrative home businesses than those mentioned in the top 10 home business opportunities. The good thing is, whether or not your work on one of these top 10 home businesses is that you enjoy what you are doing and you earn good income to contribute to the family coffers.

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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

With a Computer, the Internet Has Your Home Business Opportunity

Have you ever dreamed of running your own business, being your boss, setting your own hours, and doing something that you actually enjoy? Do you like shopping, and do you ever wonder what it would be like to run your own store? If you have your own computer, then your home business opportunity might be knocking loud and clear!

Did you know that more and more computer users are actually selling goods online? You might have wondered in the past if they have a garage full of clutter, or if their second bedroom has become a storeroom, but the amazing truth is that neither is the case. As a matter of fact, these individuals have managed to hook up with huge warehouses that will store the merchandise they are selling online until their orders come in. Inventory control, reordering of stock and shipping is all done from the warehouse while the computer user is responsible for setting up, maintaining, and marketing a website that enumerates the wares which are available for sale. What could be easier?

While you may not get rich by starting this kind of business, your income level is not limited and instead your efforts will directly dictate your income levels. For example, if you build a professional looking website and are very diligent about listing it with as many search engines as possible, and if you are able to take hold of a corner of a certain niche market, you may indeed to very well. Depending which retailer you sign up with, you will also the chance to recruit affiliate sellers whose sales with net you a portion of their gross profit. By setting up such a network, you may see your sales growing exponentially in a rather short period of time.

The web expertise you will need for this venture is limited. Much can be done with just a few snippets of code that can easily be inserted into a website. As a matter of fact, website building can be so much fun that you might find yourself building two or three and setting up a number of storefronts, each with a slightly different feel.

The advantages of this home business opportunity are easy to see: no inventory, no sales tax figures to compute, straight forward selling, the ability to run your own online store, no cold calling or doors slammed into your face from face to face contacts, and no friends and neighbors who are hesitant to accept your invitations for dinner in fear that you will break out into a sales presentation or recruitment session. Instead, your computer is your business, and your store will run whether you are online or not. What a great home business opportunity!

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Monday, September 11, 2006

Start to Build a Home Business System

One of the reasons why many entrepreneurs can fail in the first six months of operations is that they lack the proper systems to run their business. Building your home business system should be one of the main tasks you take into consideration before you start out your enterprise. Putting home business systems in place will require a lot of cooperation from all family members so you should inform all members of your household about the things you are doing or going to do to avoid miscommunications and possible mishaps.

What should you do when building your home business system? There are a number of things you should look into to get your systems running. First stop would be the office space. You cannot seriously run a home business if you don’t have the proper workplace where the children will not tinker with your equipments and your records. No office systems will ever survive if your kids will have access to everything that you are working on. Kids are very curious, they like to experiment, so unless you want your website corrupted, better find a secure place to work at home.

The second concern if you want to get your home business system up and running is the telephone. Having teenagers in the house would mean you can forget about using the house phone for your business. It’s not going to work so get your own line. Make sure that everyone in the house understands that your phone is yours alone and it is meant for business. Nobody is allowed to touch that phone unless it is an absolute emergency. To get your point across, put that phone in your office space and attach an answering machine to it. If you are not home, that means the answering machine takes the call and not whoever is home.

Now that you have a working space and a telephone line, get yourself a secure filing cabinet preferably with a good lock on it. All your files important files should go into the filing cabinet and not lying around in your working space. You don’t want anybody accidentally spilling something on it and ruining your work so hide them. Now for that computer, put an especially difficult-to-crack password on it. You never know who will be tempted to play games on your computer so take precautions.

Your home business system will not be complete if you have no financial management system. If you are handling your family finances, don’t mingle your household money with you business money in one bank account. Open a separate bank account for your business and record expenses separately. You won’t be able to trace your business expenses if you start mingling it with your personal expenses so always have separate accounts. Now that your home business system's basics are in place, use your creativity and improve it further.

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Sunday, September 10, 2006

Online Marketing as a Base for Your Home Business Opportunity

When you base your home business opportunity on online marketing, you will be able to tap into a large number of resources that each promise to give you access to a whole different segment of the market. There is a plethora of online marketing opportunities that will permit you to introduce your home business to a wide audience. Conversely, if you find that you would have a hard time marketing your business to a large audience, perhaps this business opportunity needs to be revised a little bit in order to appeal to a much larger segment of the market. Here are some tips for getting the word out about your home based business opportunity via online marketing.

Build a professional-looking website. Too often individuals make the mistake of going overboard when creating a website, and the result is a site with too many ads, pop ups or pop unders, and streaming videos that take the viewer’s eyes away from the business itself. Unless you know how to design a website yourself, this is a task best left to the professionals. Keep in mind that a well-designed site will permit potential customers to visit your store and learn about your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You want to put your best foot forward when it comes to website based marketing.

Purchase email addresses. You need to take great care that you do so from a reputable business so that you will not be accused of spamming, but once you have found such as list, use it! This is a great opportunity for emailing out newsletters, recipes, memorable quotes, and special offers. If your newsletters are witty, you will be able to add new subscribers by folks who liked what they read when a friend forwarded it.

Set up an affiliate program, and permit others to receive a little profit from sending visitors to your website. You might even specify that the commission will not be paid out until someone signs up for a newsletter or places an order.

Change your email signature to showcase your business. Think about how many emails you send out every day, and you will be amazed how many potential customers you can reach simply with your signature.

As you can see when you base your home business opportunity on online marketing, you will be able to attract customers on a daily basis, even when you are not online. In addition to the foregoing, because of the many times that emails get forwarded when they contain witty or important information, you will be able to capitalize on your email investment many times over! So go ahead and give it a try; you will not be disappointed!

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Saturday, September 09, 2006

Home Businesses, Online Opportunity, and Work

What’s the connection between home businesses, online opportunity, and work?

Whether or not you like your job, you should seriously consider starting your own home business. Online opportunity and online work is, at the moment, at its zenith. No matter what you do for a living, you simply cannot afford to ignore the opportunities that are available on the internet today. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a company CEO, there is surely a way that you can benefit by using the internet.

The internet is perhaps more valuable to those people who need a regular supplemental income, or maybe even a full-time income. For people who are unemployed or underemployed, the internet is a potential godsend. The combination of online opportunity, available work, and viable home businesses can do wonders for those who need just a little more money.

As long as you have something to offer to the global market, the internet is your key to better rewards. It doesn’t really matter what you do – you don’t have to be a computer wizard to profit from today’s high-tech world. Just remember that these days, people still need very basic things to satisfy their very basic needs. If you can provide for the wants and needs of buying public, and do so at a reasonable price, you basically won’t have a problem providing for your own needs. In today’s capitalist world economy, you will be justly rewarded for the value that you provide.

Of course, starting a home business has its risks; but risk is simply the price of opportunity – in this case online opportunity. Think about it. Even if you work regularly for a paycheck, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are not taking any risks. We live in an uncertain world, and there always exists the possibility of our losing our jobs. Hey, if Steve Jobs can get fired from Apple (the company he founded!), then you certainly can get fired from yours! So don’t harbor any illusions about job security. More and more, there simply is no such thing.

The growing job uncertainties of the new millennium only makes home businesses, online opportunity, and online work more valuable to the average person. You may think that you being rewarded amply in your job, but that’s actually not the case. Remember that your employer only keeps you employed because he or she profits from your labor. In other words, you are part of the production equation. If you produce $100,000 worth of productive labor for your employer, you may only get paid $25,000 – that’s part of the game. In order to get the most out of your skills, you must be prepared to strike out on your own. By starting your own home business, you will be taking advantage of online opportunity and work.

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Friday, September 08, 2006

Making Money Online with Home Business Internet Marketing

Home business Internet marketing has become one of the favorite businesses of stay at home parents. The reason behind this popular choice is that online marketing does not cost as much capital as putting up your own store and keeping inventories. If you are one of those who are contemplating setting up your own home Internet marketing business and earning a living out of it, it might be good to consider affiliate marketing.

Most affiliate marketing programs do not require you to put up capital to sell their products. All you need to have is a website where you can put the logo of the merchants and provide a link to their site. Like all other business--be it home business, internet marketing, or the traditional brick and mortar form of business--there are many challenges you need to contend with in order to succeed and earn good money.

The first thing that you will need to contend with when you opt to incorporate affiliate marketing in your home business internet marketing is that some merchant sites are rather difficult to navigate. Customers are often turned-off from buying their products because it is difficult to browse through. Often times, merchant sites, which are difficult to navigate, also have complicated payment systems that people who do not have the patience to deal with complications may just leave the site without buying at all. You as an online marketer often don’t have any say on the merchants website. The best thing you can do is screen out merchant websites properly before displaying their logo on your own website. It would be best for you to try and navigate your merchant’s website to gauge whether or not a buyer would easily find what he or she needs. Only provide links for those merchant websites that are user friendly if you hope to sell something and earn a commission.

Another thing that you will need to focus on when you are engaged in home business Internet marketing is that most merchant sites are not very attractive to online shoppers. You will need to market their sites aggressively in you website by providing information to buyers. When you sell the products of your merchant, it would be best to use text link instead of banners. Moreover, relationship marketing is a good tool, which you must use to earn good money in home base internet marketing. The cardinal rule in relationship marketing is that you build a good relationship with your clients and gain their trust. When a client trusts your judgment, they will be more open to buying the products you are endorsing. Building trust could take a long time but the returns are good if you have that kind of relationship with your clients.

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Thursday, September 07, 2006

Plan Before Building a Home Internet Business

Building a home internet business should not be unlike building other, more traditional businesses. While it is not easy, it does not have to be too hard either. If you have never done something like this before, it might help you to follow a few simple steps before getting started.

Before you do anything else, think! This is something that most people never do well, which explains why a majority of businesses fail within 2-5 years. In building a home internet business, you must understand that you are, first and foremost, building a business. In other words, you want to start a venture that will generate cash for you. In that case, you will need to understand every nook and cranny of your proposed operation.

Some of the things you will need to look into are:

First, look into the nature of the business. What exactly will you be doing? What business will you be in? Simply saying that you will be a home internet business will not cut it. You must be specific as to what you are bringing to the market. Will you be providing a service, or will you be selling a product? Will you be selling your own products, or will you get them from someone else? And so on. You must have a clear idea of what you have to offer.

Second, examine exactly how you will be making money, and how you will be losing it. Again, will you be manufacturing, selling, advertising, or combining these processes together? Look into which of these three basic areas will earn you the most rewards with the least expenditure of time and money. As important as understanding your revenues is, you should not neglect your costs. Keep in mind that your costs will have as much to do with your profitability as your level of sales will. Unless you can identify the areas wherein costs can be slashed, you will not be competitive.

Third, pinpoint your market. Which group of people will most likely buy your goods and services? The beauty of the internet is it now allows you to reach a wider of group of people than ever before. A home internet business theoretically has the ability to reach every internet-connected computer in the world, at a fraction of what such a service would normally cost. To make the most of this opportunity, however, you must carve out a niche market wherein you can dominate. How you find or create this niche is up to you, but you must undeniably do so if you are to succeed using the internet. Remember, millions of people have the opportunity to do what you are doing, so unless you differentiate yourself from them, long-term success is unlikely.

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Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Ways to Find a Home Business Computer Opportunity

In today’s business world, more and more individuals are choosing to work from home. This is a great avenue to pursue if one has small children in the home, lives in an area where jobs are hard to come by or is simply tired of the long commute to and from work. For these individuals, considering a home business computer opportunity might be the perfect option. There are various ways in which one can go about finding a home business computer opportunity to take part in.

Independent Contractor Websites

One place where individuals can search for their desired home business computer opportunity is on independent contractor websites. There are many websites which cater to independent contractors and those who wish to be self-employed. On these particular types of websites, one will most likely come across home business computer opportunities that they can engage in from the comfort of their own home.

Regular Employment Websites

An individual may also find a wide array of job opportunities related to a type of home business computer opportunity on regular employment websites. Many individuals who are offering job opportunities of this type will often place the advertisements in an arena where job seekers search the most, i.e. employment websites. This is another beneficial avenue to pursue when seeking out a home business computer opportunity.

Newspaper Advertisements

One should also check out their local newspapers for employment information. Individuals will advertise home business computer opportunities of this type in the daily newspaper. What better way to find a job of this sort than by simply flipping through the local newspaper? Oftentimes these types of advertisements will be listed most frequently in the Sunday newspaper employment section.

Recommendations from Friends and Family Members

Another way in which individuals can find a home business computer opportunity is by asking friends and family members for recommendations. There are so many persons who work from home these days that it is highly likely that one will know somebody who is knowledgeable with regard to home business computer opportunities. Obtaining these types of recommendations from friends and family members also helps to ensure that the computer opportunity is legitimate and worth the time and effort.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the more highly recognized ways to obtain a home business computer opportunity. Home-based businesses are extremely popular as well as lucrative for many of the individuals who embark upon a career choice of this kind. If one is looking to get involved with a home business computer opportunity, they should certainly check online job listings, both general and specific, peruse local newspapers and ask for recommendations from friends and family members. By doing so, the individual will be that much more likely to encounter the home business computer opportunity that is perfect for them.

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Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Starting a Profitable Home Business

Starting a profitable home business does not have to be a struggle, though it often is for many people. If you want to make the best of any work-at-home opportunity, it might help you to follow a few simple steps.

First, take stock of your interests, skills, and potential. No one can start a profitable business by sheer luck. You personally have to bring something to the table, so to speak. Your home business will ultimately take on the character that you give it – it will ultimately reflect who you are as a person. If you are disorganized, your business will be disorganized. If you lack focus, then your business will lack it as well. Before you even think if starting a profitable home business is for you, you must first understand yourself and what you can offer.

All of us have different strengths and weaknesses, and it is vital that you understand yours. Take your strengths and translate them to a competitive advantage; take your weaknesses and eliminate them. (Or at the very least, downplay them.) If, for example, you are an excellent salesperson, you might want to take the lead in selling your own products. If, however, you have poor sales skills, you might want to leave that area to someone else. Similarly, if you are good with numbers, you can do your own business accounting, but if you’re not, it might be better to hire an accountant. Take advantage of what you can do well, and leave others to do the things that you are poorer at.

Second, understand exactly what it is that you are offering to the market. In other words, understand your business. Know it inside and out. You can’t expect to have a profitable home business if you are playing catch-up the entire time. Do everything you have to in order to be up-to-date. Read up on all the trade publications, magazines, etc. Observe, even interview your competitors. Find out what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. Obviously, you should strive to imitate what they do well, and avoid their mistakes. Generate ideas through any means possible – they will keep you ahead.

Lastly, understand the market itself. Whom exactly are you selling to? Remember that you cannot hope to sell everything to everyone. You need to specify exactly with whom you will be dealing, then exert all efforts to reach that market better. If you are looking to reach the youth demographic, then obviously you will use advertising methods that will draw them. That, however, will not help you reach senior citizens. In other words, you have to choose.

Starting a profitable home business does not have to be difficult. By thinking it through before you jump in, you will maximize the chances for success.
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Monday, September 04, 2006

How to Spot a Legitimate Home Business Online Work Opportunity

Engaging in a home business is very liberating for most people. Finding a home business online work opportunity that is right for you would give you the freedom to simply be yourself and work at your own pace. For young parents, working at home is ideal since it will give them more quality time with the kids. However, working at home is not really as easy as it sounds. There are many things you need to know before you can start a home business. Working at home means you are your own boss. It also means that you get to take care of everything and make sure you earn enough to pay your bills since you cannot expect to receive a paycheck every 15 days just like the time when you were employed. Therefore, it is imperative that you find a home business online opportunity that is productive.

In order to find a good home business online work opportunity and avoid getting taken by those pseudo companies online, you need to develop that critical and investigative attitude. Before you grab on to any home business online work opportunity, find out if the company offering such is legitimate. It is very important that you work with a legitimate company to avoid problems in the future. How to find out if the company offering the home business online work opportunity is real? What if the company does not have any contact numbers or address displayed on their websites? Legitimate companies usually have a contact number, a contact person and a business address displayed prominently on their website. If the company does not have any contact number or address then send an email first before you plunge in. Ask details regarding the company, especially their contact numbers, their address and the person in-charge. If they do not answer your email or if their answers to your questions prove to be unsatisfactory, them better stir clear and find another home business online work opportunity.

If the company does have a contact number and office address displayed on their website, is that enough reason to trust that the home business online work opportunity offer is legitimate? Trust is such a big word especially if the company requires you to pay some registration fee upon joining. So if you have doubts, to verify whether the address and the phone number are correct, try to call the company number displayed on their website. Listen intently to the tone of the person who answers the phone. Business companies have professional people answering their phone who know most of the aspects of the business. If the person who answers your call does not know what you are talking about, then you might need to reevaluate your options. Anyone who is in business should be able to answer questions regarding their trade. Invest only once you are certain that that certain home business online work opportunity is for real.

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Sunday, September 03, 2006

Marketing Your Work at Home Business Idea

You have a great work at home business idea and you have decided to jump in with both feet. You have already set up your computer, signed up with a reseller or the company who will provide you some leads, and you have even come up with an innovative plan to get the kids and the rest of the family involved. Everyone is excited about your new work at home business idea, but one thing is still missing: a viable marketing plan! Oh sure, the product is a surefire winner, but if nobody knows that you have it, how will they come and buy from you? Here are some tips and tricks to get you started with your marketing on a shoestring budget!

Have business cards printed up. Do not fall for the business cards you can get for free that have someone else’s log printed on the back, or that limit you when it comes to what kinds of graphics you can display. Instead, choose to go ahead and purchase a software program that will allow you to design and print cards from your own computer, or simply pay someone else to do it. It is a small expense that can reap great rewards!

Do not be shy when handing out your business cards! Leave them at places where you do business, leave them on the table in the restaurant with the tip, pin them up on bulletin boards at the local grocery store, and ask other businesses if they will permit you to display them.

Be sure to network! If you are running a business that might tie in to another business, for example if you are running a nail salon out of your home and down the street you have a friend who is running a hair salon, you might be able to network. Have ads for your nail salon displayed there, while displaying ads for the hair salon displayed at your site of business.

Let yourself be creative in your marketing efforts. For instance, get the kids involved! Nobody can resist a cute kid, and if you can have your little ones help to market your product, what a great opportunity! For example, if you are selling a honey based product line, maybe edible honey or honey based cosmetics, why not dress your little one up in a bee costume and hand out some fliers on the way to the grocery store? This will provide for a great conversation starter, get the kids involved, let them play dress up in public on a day other than Halloween, and will also get the name of your business out there!

As you can see, there are a number of ways that you can easily market your work at home business idea without having to rip a big hole into your budget. So go ahead and have some fun with it!

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Saturday, September 02, 2006

Top Home Base Businesses

There are many thriving home base businesses nowadays that give many people good income. Some of these home businesses are the usual brick and mortar things where you physically hold the goods and deliver them to the buyer while others are more abstract which involves selling goods and services as brokers over the Internet. For people who work online, there are possibilities for getting additional income. As long as you are willing to invest and work on your investment to grow, you can always make money online.

Online business can be very profitable if you put your heart into it. There are many areas from which to choose, ranging from freelance writing, designing, and selling commodities to network marketing. Selling commodities online and network marketing are one of the easier ways of earning online as these two don’t really need specific skills and talents. Anybody who can read, type and post messages can sell products on the Internet. You don’t even need to have your own website if you want to sell your wares through popular auctions sites. These auction sites would simply give you a space to post your commodities for sale and they take a portion of the sale as commissions. Many people have earned considerable income in this kind of home base business. In fact, many people would consider this as one of the top home base businesses online.

Aside from directly selling commodities to customers online, multi-level marketing is a thriving online business option. There are many sites featuring multi-level marketing on products sold either online or offline. Although you must have heard a lot of negative feedbacks regarding multi-level marketing be it online or offline, there are also a lot of success stories about multi-level marketing. Hundreds of people have grown rich because of this system and they swear that multi-level marketing is one of the top home base businesses around. Why do some people succeed in multi-level marketing while others don’t? Like any other businesses on the planet, not all people who tried it have succeeded. Just because you are engaged in a top home base business does not ensure that you will get rich because of it. The determining factor of your success still lies in the amount of time and effort you put into it. Take the example of having a website. Just because you put up a very nice professional looking website doesn’t mean a lot of people will visit your site and buy your goods and services. You need to work hard to advertise and to attract your customers.

People who work at home should always remember that engaging in a top home base business is just the beginning of the journey in the right direction. Once you are in the right direction, your chances of succeeding greatly increase. It is now up to you to turn that advantage into cash.

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Friday, September 01, 2006

Home Based Business Network Marketing

A lot of people would shy away when we start talking about home based business in network marketing for the simple reason that they don’t want to sell goods and services. If you take a closer look into network marketing, you will find out that it does not necessarily mean peddling or offering goods and services to your friends or family members. In fact, network marketing is really a system of income sharing and cost sharing.

How does a home-based business on network marketing work? Network marketing works by recruiting members who will use the product it is selling. The system is multi-level where a person who becomes a member of the network can recruit a friend or a family member to register under his or her network. Every time the recruit purchases a product of the company, the recruiter gets a commission. The good thing about network marketing is that you do not only get a commission on your direct recruit but also on the purchases of your recruit’s recruit usually up to the fourth level. Some networking companies give commission up to the eight level of recruits which really a big advantage if you have a wide network.

Many people have benefited for network marketing. People who set up a home based business in network marketing have succeeded in earning a huge income from their networks. The key to success in the networking business is helping each other build a wide member base. A member who helps his or her recruit in recruiting more people would most likely enjoy the benefits of earning commissions from their recruit’s recruit so it is really a good idea to help each other.

There are many critics who would say that network marketing only makes the people on top of the network rich while those at the bottom will not get anything. Well, that is a matter of opinion. The system is really about pooling of resources by creating a network of consumers. If you build a network, not everybody could be on top at once but everyone will have a fair chance of making it to a "relative top" with enough hard work. Look at ANY business and you will see a hierarchy or "totem pole" order. In any corporation only a handful of bosses are at the top, and often employees never get a chance to be promoted, even if they work hard. In contrast, a home based business in network marketing is created to function as a team business, meaning you help each other out, and everyone has the same rules to be able to rise in the network.

Remember also that in modern network marketing there is a product (or products) being sold, and that commissions are usually limited to a few levels deep: both of these factors distinguish it from any simplistic "pyramid scheme." Organizations like the Better Business Bureau recognize this, and that is why they can approve of organizations like SFI, the link to which you can find HERE - See SFI.

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