Get creative with home business

Huntsville Times

You may plan on lounging by the pool or firing up the grill over Memorial weekend. But why not take advantage of the downtime to cook up a plan for your very own home-based business?

To get you started, I concocted a recipe for home-business success with these five brand new startup ideas:

Open source management consultant: Described as a social technology evangelist, Heather Gold developed the theory of open source management for businesses. OSM is when companies use open source communication tools (such as blogs and wikis) to create a better work environment between employee and employer. My guess is that this might just catch on.

Especially if corporations are convinced that improved communications and healthy relationships equal more money in the coffers. Thus, I spot an opportunity for OSM consultants. If you understand the social aspect of technology, and have a hankering to stomp out interoffice politics and corporate head games, this might be the business for you.

Quinceaeras planners: Traditional party planners, move over, 'cause there's a new gig in town. A coming-of-age party for 15-year-olds, quinceaeras got its roots from the Hispanic culture.

However, over-the-top bashes are immune to cultural divides, and girls of all ethnicities are clamoring to throw quinceaeras of their own. The lavish events mean muchos de dinero for the party industry. Specializing as a quinceaeras planner is not only a potentially lucrative home-based business, but an entertaining one to boot.

Mobile specialty carts: Sure, the street vendor peddling his food cart has been around for eons. And who hasn't heard of the mall kiosk? Rest assured there's room for innovation in the delivery of niche products.

Instead of hot dog carts, think cereal vans. For example, Cereality, a food store specializing in cereal teamed up with Dodge to put a cereal bar on wheels. Or how about delivering homemade baked goods via boat to fellow mariners? Coastal Living magazine featured a Cape Cod family that's made a business out of doing just that. Take heed. There is room for creativity when it comes to what's sold on the streets (or ocean) ... and what mode of transportation is used to peddle it.

Telecommuting security specialist: There's not a doubt in my mind that companies will continue offering employees the option to work remotely. However, I can also testify that individuals and their employers have a lot to learn about how to maintain a secure telecommuting environment.

From minimizing general security threats to creating solid written policies, companies should be eager to hire a telecommuting security specialist. And remember, this doesn't apply to only full-time telecommuters. Any employee who travels or takes work home is by definition working remotely.

Hiring outsourced contractors also translates to remote working conditions. There's a recent (and unfortunate) example of the potential harm remote workers can inflict. Look no further than the case of the stolen VA records, which has put thousands of veterans at risk of becoming identity fraud victims - all because a laptop was stolen from an employee's home.

Virtual broadcasting technician: It's probably no surprise that the next wave of home-based business ideas is closely tied into technology. This one is no exception. Podcasting (broadcasting to iPods), viral videos (low-budget videos distributed over the Internet) and blogs (Web logs) are increasingly becoming valuable marketing tools for businesses.

Yet many executives don't have the knowledge or the time to implement and manage these tools. That's why I envision a growing demand for virtual broadcasting technicians. These are folks who can assist a company in identifying a strategy for using these tools.

Sound bite engineer: Yes, attention spans are waning at breakneck speeds. Customers simply don't have the time or interest in digesting long, drawn-out sales pitches. Ah, but I've said too much already.

So here's the point. Your ability to keep it short and sweet, yet seal the deal, is in demand. Companies need engaging wordsmiths to write product descriptions, Web site copy and multimedia content. But it must be light on words and heavy on persuasion. Future novelists need not bother. This is a job for a true sound bite engineer.

Shannon Belew is a Huntsville-based home business owner.
She can be reached via e-mail at sbelew@hiwaay.net.

Can You Tell Me How The Hell Should I Choose Products To Promote In Clickbank?

By Dy Loh

Firstly, I would have assumed you have already signed up with Clickbank as an affiliate. If you have not, please proceed to their website to register.

Selecting the right product to promote.

This is actually one of the trickiest to do. Do you select a popular one and risk being in an over-crowded market? Do you select a new product? But risk low popularity and sales? How about a “middle” product? And risk being mediocre? As you can see, it really takes a lot of skill and experience to select the right products.

Select a high paying enough product.

When I say high paying, I mean in terms of commission. How many percent do they pay you? 50% 55%? For me that is quite low already I would, generally, never promote a product that has a commission below 50%. Almost watch the price of the product, if it is too high perhaps it would deter price conscious customers.

Take a good hard look at the sales page.

The sales copy is one of the most important, in fact I would rate it the most vital, aspect to look at. Because all it matters is whether your traffic you send to the affiliate link will convert, and a good sales page certainly does up your chances a whole lot. Rate it upon 10, how convinced are you yourself to buy? Certain stuff to look at includes testimonials, bonuses, pricing, layout etc…

Look at the stats generated for the vendor generated in Clickbank Marketplace.

It is almost a no-brainer that you have to come here to look at some very important statistics. It gives information on the percentage of sales made through affiliates, how recent sale were generate and the payout. More on deciphering these statistics will be revealed in my book “Clickbank Profit Machine”. Pay close attention to all the statistics here.

Dylan is the author of highly relevant “Clickbank Profit Machine”. Only affiliates serious about making a fortune online need to look.

http://www.ClickbankProfitMachine.com

Have A Business? Get A Blog

More and more people are finding blogs to be an effective business tool. Blogs can generate helpful feedback, solidify a customer base, and even draw in new clients. They are an especially cost-effective tool, as they can generally be maintained for little or no money.

"If you don't know where to start, go with one of the big names, [such as] Yahoo! Small Business. Also, for experimenting with a blog, there's nothing more simple than setting up one on Blogger.com." Such is the advice of Rex Hammock, owner of Hammock Publishing.

James Governor, a technology analyst with Denver-based RedMonk, suggests using a tagging service such as Technorati.com as a way of building traffic to your blog. "A tag is basically a label you give your blog-say ‘professional services.' Anyone who uses Technorati and has subscribed to that tag will receive a notification of your new blog entry on that subject," he said.

Some businesses form blogs in conjunction with several other businesses. In instances where they offer complimentary services, this is mutually beneficial, resulting in increased recognition for all without any competition from within.

Ruth Bielobocky, president of Ion Design, offers both words of support and caution. "A blog can be a great part of your marketing effort, but it should be planned appropriately with strategy in place . . . . Don't forget the true needs of your target audience. If the information from the blog doesn't directly help them solve a problem or address their wants and needs, it will not work."

Any blog, but particularly a business blog of which something is expected, needs to be updated regularly. It is generally considered best to have one dedicated writer, or at least a consistent voice between several contributors. And companies shouldn't hesitate to solicit feedback from readers-that is a large part of what business blogs are all about.

Doug Caverly
Staff Writer - WebProNews

Has Hard Work Become An Unknown Concept In Home-Based Business?

If you are thinking about starting a homebased business, keep in mind you will need to put in many hours and much effort to get the business off the ground.

As I sit here in front of the TV at 8.30pm on a Wednesday evening, many would be mistaken for thinking that working from home is easy. But then that is before you take into account my daily routine:

I get up at around 7.45am and feed the cat, make myself a cup of tea and then by 8.30am I am sat in front of my computer collecting my emails and responding to the numerous enquiries for more information on my home business.

Then after an hour I start my daily traffic exchange surfing, forum posting, yahoo group blasting and so on....This daily routine of promotion and advertising takes me until around lunch time. The afternoon is then taken up following up prospects, updating my websites and checking and responding to further emails. I usually finish for the day at around 6pm, although I always leave the computer on and check my emails again before turning in for the night.

I work longer hours now that I work full time from home on my home-based business than I did when I worked a normal day job. Back then I started at 9 am. I left the house at around 8.40 am, had an hour for lunch, a couple of breaks through the day finished at 5.15 am and was back home by 5.30 pm. Now I start at 8.30 am and finish at 6pm with the odd trip downstairs to make a cup of tea and half an hour for lunch.

Of course I wouldn't and don't think I could go back to working for someone else and doing a 'usual' 9 til 5 job. Why do people think working from home is easy? And why are so many people scared of putting in some good old fashioned hard work to make their homebased business a success?

Working from home, whether in a MLM program, an affiliate program or running your own website or selling your own product, promotion, getting sales and following up prospects all take time and effort. You must put in the time and utilize the effort needed to get your business off the ground. It is imperative you do the necessary promotion to get the required sales. And of course, you must follow up with your customers, update your website and answer emails...

Anyone who joins an affiliate program, becomes a distributor for a MLM company or starts their own home-based business must be prepared to work at it, and usually work much harder than you would when you work for someone else.

If you are afraid of a little hard work, then do not attempt to start you own home-based business, because the bottom line is, you will fail. If hard work is a dirty concept to you, stick to working for someone else.

If you are prepared to put in the hard slog and really work at it, then you will find working from home extremely rewarding and in the long run... one, two or three years down the line, you will be successful. And your success will be proportional to the hard work you put in at the beginning.

Stick at it.... You will succeed.

Growing Up Wired; E-biz Looks Younger

It won't be long until the average Internet user isn't so average. As teenagers, a demographic that has little or no memory of life before the Web, grow into adults, the world of e-commerce will expand to levels heretofore unrealized (or dreamed).

The grownups of today, whose image of the world is altered by the Web but not hedged by it, belong to a camp that remembers entire days at the mall, long bargain-hunting trips to outlet stores - back in the days when shopping was a planned event, one that required a car and an empty trunk. For us, it's different now, and the Internet offers an alternative, but we feel we might manage without it, all because we remember life before it.

Those over 65 find even less use for it; only a third of them use the Internet, says Pew Internet and American Life. The numbers, as one might guess, increase as age decreases. Seventy-one percent of 50-64 year-olds go online; eighty-four percent of 30-49 year-olds; and 88 percent of 18-29 year-olds.

But…

"The 73 million people under the age of 18 in the U.S. represent one thing to marketers and sellers: the next generation of spenders," said Carrie A. Johnson, an analyst for Forrester Research. And they're always online, either behind a computer or texting on their mobiles with a word-per-minute speed enviable by the quickest of typists.

It's this group that is growing up in a world of social media, "email a friend," instant messaging, consumer ratings sites, peer-to-peer sales, viral media, and Google.

"They're three times more likely to use Google to find local businesses than online yellowpages from a phone company," said Jupiter Research's Vikram Sehgal.

It's this group that represents a large chunk of the 147 million Internet user population making up an all-time penetration high of 73 percent of the United States. Currently, youngsters between 18 and 21 spend around $193 per month; under 18 spends $76 per month.

And though they're online as we speak searching for hardware, software, music, DVDs and books (and IMing their friends about it), it won't be long until they're looking for houses, cars, restaurants, jewelry, flowers, electronics, plumbing, psychics, antiques, theatre tickets, tires, and tools.

But not so much shoes or pants…some things still have to be tried on. But that doesn't mean a well placed and well done advertisement isn't worth it's weight. How long will it take (10 years?) before a bright eyed 13 year-old looks up and asks, "what's a magazine?"

Jason Lee Miller
Staff Writer WebPro News

AlltheWeb Is Back - Yahoo Introduces LiveSearch

Jim HedgerBy Jim Hedger

AlltheWeb almost became one of the world's most popular search engines a few years ago but was quickly forgotten during Google's meteoric rise.

In 2003, it was bought by Overture. Around the same time, Overture acquired AltaVista and Yahoo acquired Overture.

Yahoo used AlltheWeb and AltaVista for experimentation, eventually allowing the brands to fade to obscurity. Wednesday, Yahoo released AlltheWeb LiveSearch , a tool that automatically generates a dropdown menu showing keywords and phrases that might match the query as it is being typed.

Results are displayed as the user types the query, defaulting to the nearest match for the words as they are entered. It also offers users related queries, spelling suggestions and keyboard shortcuts that can be set by individual users.

SEOs can use LiveSearch as a keyword suggestion tool and as an indicator of other terms that might relate to targeted keyword phrases on client campaigns.

About the Author:
Jim Hedger is the SEO Manager of StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc. Based in Victoria, BC, Canada, StepForth is the result of the consolidation of BraveArt Website Management, Promotion Experts, and Phoenix Creative Works, and has provided professional search engine placement and management services since 1997.

Home Based Business - Offline Marketing Strategies

Jeff Casmer - Expert Author

The Internet has become the largest medium of communication; and has presented a lot of business opportunities.

Online home based business owners tend to limit themselves to online marketing methods. Nevertheless, there is a huge potential to promote your home based business through some cost effective offline marketing strategies.

So what are the most effective offline marketing strategies for your home based business?

1. Word of mouth in your circle of influence

Word of mouth is one of the best free advertising channels. We all have people we interact with on a daily basis, and these are potential customers. Make a list of all the people you know or interact with and how can you best tell them about your internet business. Be passionate about your internet business and always be prepared to tell someone about it when an opportunity to do so presents itself!

2. Mail-out newsletters and flyers

Mail-out newsletter or flyers can be effective if you target it to a specific 'group'. You could create one to distribute to local day care centers just as an example - and in your newsletter or flyer, highlight the benefits of an online business to the targeted group, for example earning money at home for stay at home moms or dads. Posting your home based business URL on bulletin boards can also be effective.

3. Use and give away free branded 'stuff'

You can promote your business by having your URL on all your stationery, all written communication and other items you can give away for free. If you want to get a lot of people to know about your home based business, you will need to come up with some creative ways of promoting your URL. You can be limited only by your imagination. Have your business cards with your home based business URL. Give them out to people you meet, leave them about where you can, such as in your local coffee shop.

4. Newspapers and magazines

Local newspapers are good for advertising your online business. Most local papers have 'home business opportunities' section, so you run a regular classified advert. In addition, contact your local newspaper or business-oriented magazine and let the business editor know you have a new business and web site and what you offer. Local newspapers are frequently interested in featuring local business people and their accomplishments. This is free advertising and should always be used. You can also contact your local magazine and offer to write a monthly or weekly guest column for them, and include your 'author bio' and home based business URL.

5. Joint ventures with offline business

You can get into a joint venture partnership with an offline business which sells a complementary product or service to your home based business. If you can identify a partner that best fit your business, this is an important offline marketing strategy that can help you succeed in your home based business by enabling you to reach potential customers that you could not reach before. As an example, if you have a website selling fitness/health products or tips, you could prepare a leaflet and make a deal with an offline local fitness/health shop where they giveaway your leaflet to their shoppers with each purchase.

The offline marketing strategies strategies outlined above can help you grow your home based business.

About the Author:
Jeff Casmer is an award winning internet marketing consultant with career sales over $25,000,000. His "Top Ranked" Earn Money at Home Directory (http://www.24hourwealth.com/) gives you all the information you need to start and prosper with your very own Internet Home Based Business.