If you’re like most people, you’re still trying to figure out exactly how Twitter works, and how it can fit into your home based business marketing strategy. Well, don’t fret because you’re not alone. Many novice and experienced marketers alike are figuring out how to integrate this powerful social media tool into their marketing plans.Launched in 2006, today it is estimated that approximately 5 million people are Twitter users, with approximately 5 to 10 thousand new users joining every day. Clearly, this social networking site has the potential to put your home based business in front of thousands of prospective customers in a matter of minutes.Twitter is a public forum, and some have described it as “instant messaging to the public.” Here’s how Twitter works, on a basic level: Twitter allows you to post texted-based updates, or short messages called “Tweets” limited to 140 characters per tweet. Tweets are displayed on the poster’s Twitter profile, and delivered to those people or “followers” who have signed up to follow you on Twitter. The good news is that you can post an unlimited amount of tweets per day related to your home based business, allowing you to get around the 140 character limitation. When individuals signup to follow you on Twitter, they will see all of your tweets, therefore, the key is to establish a large group of followers who will see your updates on a regular basis.Once you establish your Twitter account, you can begin to build a following by searching for people who have a Twitter account and viewing their followers list.When you view their followers, you can simply click on the button to the right of the person’s picture, and follow each of those individuals on Twitter. Because many individuals set their accounts to automatically follow you back, by following others on Twitter, you can build a massive following of your own quickly, and therefore, build a following for your home based business.Another way to build a following is to simply tell all of your family, friends and associates to sign up as your followers on Twitter. You should also place your twitter URL on all marketing and promotional items. Once you have established a large enough following, you’ll really be able to leverage the power of mass communication. For example, a home based business owner with a following of 100 can literally tweet home base business or product information to those 100 individuals on a daily basis with no costs and minimal effort.Because Twitter is a public forum, however, it’s important to remember to keep your tweets professional, while still giving a personal touch. Tweeting about home based business updates or product information is fine, as long as you balance those posts with helpful or useful information from your particular niche of the home based business industry. Too much self-promotion on Twitter can leave a bad impression among the Twitter community, and can actually damage your business reputation on the long run.
7 Steps to an Online Home Based Business
Are you thinking about starting an online home based business from scratch but don’t really know how to get going? Well, then this article is for you! I have outlined seven steps to get your online home based business up and running in a matter of days, or even hours.Here you go…1) Defining Your Reasoning – The first thing you need to do is answer this question for yourself… why do you want to start an online home based business? Write down all the reasons for why you want to start an online business. Here are a few of the more common reasons: financial freedom, luxury vacations, more time with family, new car, new house, money for college, etc…Once you have written down as many things as you can think of for why you want to start your own online home based business then pick the best one that applies most to you. This is what you will use as your “reason” from now on. Now write this one reason on a separate piece of paper and post it everywhere you can, so you will see it many times per day. This will keep you driven and focused on your dreams.2) Domain Name – Since you are starting an online home based business it is obviously very important that you create an online presence for yourself and your business. So a website is an absolute must have. The first thing you need to do before you start building your website is to register a domain name. One of the best places for doing this is godaddy.comSo what should your domain name be? Well, I can’t entirely answer that for you but I can tell you that you want to make sure that your domain name reflects what your business is. Too many people use their names, some “cute” name, or some other irrelevant domain… do not do that unless it actually is reflective of your home based business!3) Choosing a Web Host – If you don’t have a way to host your domain/website, you won’t be able to proceed with your online home based business. Yes, this is a very important step!Here are a few things to look for when choosing a web host:SpeedIt is important to your business success to make sure visitors can see your site quickly. Part of this has to do with how fast your web-hosts servers are. Although there are a few other factors, server speeds are pretty darn important.Customer SupportWeb hosts should offer a variety of customer support options. These are typically toll free phone numbers, email support, frequently asked questions pages, live support, and help forums. Obviously the more support your host offers, the better it is for you if you ever need it.ReliabilityChecking out the reliability of a service is also very important to your website and ultimately your online business success. Hosts usually have several backup systems in case something goes wrong with the main servers. They also can promise less “down time” by backup power systems. I wouldn’t use a web host unless it has at least a 97% uptime guarantee.4) Building Your Site – This will most likely be an ongoing task for as long as you have your home based business. However, just to get something up and going at first here are some pointers…* Keep your text relevant to what you are offering.
* Do not stuff keywords in to your text.
* Do not put banners on your home page.
* Always have a catchy headline.
* Keep the site clean looking and easy to read.
* Dark text on light background is always best.
* Let your visitors know what you can do for them.
* Make navigation very simple for visitors.There are many more rules of website design but those are some of the basic ones that you need to worry about for now. This step is something you will always be keeping up on. Make sure you continue to learn, tweak, test, and build your site.5) Uploading files to your site – So you have built a few pages for your new site, now what do you do? Well, you have to upload them to your web host. Typically this will be done using “FTP”. Now you are probably thinking, “What the heck is that?” Well, don’t worry about all the technical stuff. In simple terms it is a way to get the files, or pages, that you just built onto your website and “live” to the world.You can just ask your web host for your FTP information or do some searching around the frequently asked questions in your control panel and you should be able to find this out fairly easily. Once you do it is simply a matter of putting in the information into an FTP client and watching it upload to your web site.6) Putting your business on autopilot – This is big step in creating a successful online home based business because it keeps you from being completely consumed by it and actually allows you to enjoy your new found freedom.One of the recipes to creating a successful online home based business is to automate as many things as possible. This will save yourself time to do things you do best and actually enjoy your business.One of the best ways to do this is with an autoresponder. An autoresponder pretty much defines itself. It will automatically send out your emails at intervals that you set.A great way to utilize autoresponders is to write up an e-course and/or a weekly newsletter, and then copy/paste those messages into your autoresponder, set the days you want your prospects to receive them, and voila… it’s on autopilot. You will want to have a form on your website for your visitors to subscribe to it. They will put in their name and email address and you will have a prospect to email to over and over again.I have used many different autoresponders since I started my home based business and I can tell you without a doubt that my favorite is Aweber. I use them to this day and highly recommend them. You can find them at aweber.com7) Automating the sales process – The last thing you need to do to get your online home based business up and going is to setup your ordering process, so visitors to your website can buy whatever product you are selling.The very first, and most common way people sell digital products, like ebooks and software, from their sites, is to use a 3rd party merchant called clickbank. You can find them at ClickBank.comSetting up an account with them is pretty darn easy to do and is quite a bit cheaper than getting a merchant account for your self. Just follow their instructions. They are well known and respected so you should feel safe with them.Alrighty, that’s all there is to it. Seven steps to getting your new online home based business set up and going strong. I will admit that for the complete beginner it may not be as easy as it sounds but it is not rocket science either. You could honestly have all this done in just a day or two. Do some reading, learning, a little bit of guessing, and jump right in. Your online home based business will take be up and running before you know it.If you have any questions I will be happy to help. You can find a link to contact me on my website (see resource box below).
What Are the Most Profitable Home Based Businesses?
That’s a question lots of people have, especially now, when so many folks are looking for a way to supplement their income, fight the rising costs of day care by staying home with their children, or have found themselves unemployed.
Unfortunately, when the average person begins searching Google, article sites or forums for answers, what most often happens is they are either inundated with links and pitches to join “the most profitable home business in the industry” (that’s poised to be “the next industry giant”), or told that they “must have” a particular tool or system in order to be successful. For those just venturing into the home based business industry for the first time, trying to find the opportunity or business that’s right for them can be a daunting task.
There are many solid companies with great products and commissions, but not every company is right for every person. If they’re not careful, they could easily respond to the emotional message of a skilled presenter, spend all their money and yet find themselves no further ahead than when they started. But you want to have a profitable home based business and you want some answers. Honest answers to your questions; Where do I begin? What should I look for? Is one company better than another? Should I pursue affiliate marketing? What kinds of products are the “best ones” to sell? Etc… My answer…Your home based business doesn’t begin with a product or a company. It begins with YOU!
The most profitable home based business will likely be one based on something that you love doing…something YOU’RE passionate about. And given some thought, you’ll probably notice there’s more than one income stream attached to it. Create multiple “cash registers” all around you… that way, when one isn’t doing so hot, you’ll have the others to keep you going. For instance, if you are passionate about a healthy life style, you could blog about it and become the “go-to” person for information on the topic. Then you could sell vitamins and weight loss products, sell exercise programs, become an affiliate for tennis shoes, exercise clothing, pedometers, etc. A real business (think of a store in your town) has more than one item on the shelf to insure as many income streams as possible.
So start by asking yourself, “What do I really like to do?” Think, “What do I (or would I) spend money on to do it?” and you’ll find income streams. Take the time to brainstorm, and you’ll no doubt find many ways to turn what you love into a profitable business. Then do a Google search to find resources and training on that topic. There’s also lots of free training on sites like YouTube and many industry blogs and websites.
It bears mentioning again…you must be REALLY careful out there. Many people are only after the money that’s in your pocket, which is why you’ll find affiliate links and pitches to join deals peppered throughout the answers you get to your questions. (sorry guys…I call ‘em as I see ‘em) Remember…there is no “magic bullet” no matter how good it sounds. YOU’RE the one that has to put in the time and the effort, even if you have purchased a $3500 program.
PLUS…I’m an advocate of free and/or very low cost tools and training. More on that another time. You can get started in your home based business with a little self examination, some homework and very little out of pocket expense. Be careful out there…and good luck!!