Five Tips For Marketing a Home Based Business

1. Start by printing business cards. This is one of the most basic steps you can take and it won’t cost you a fortune. A good online printing company will offer printed business cards for less than $20. It’s a small investment you should make. A business card is something you can have with you at all times, the small size makes it easy to carry. You never know when you’ll have the opportunity to hand one out. It could be a huge client that will come back over and over. Look for a printer offering an online design center, or one that will accept your print ready files via upload.

2. Networking, get out there and chat. There are a lot of networking groups which meet regularly. They are designed to get small businesses together and refer leads within the group. These groups are helpful because the other small businesses are in the same boat. They all need customers and they have incentive to refer customers to you, because they know the favor will be returned when the opportunity arises. You should also let everyone you know about your home based business. Your friends already know and like you, try to enrich these relationships in an effort to gain the powerful advantages of word of mouth advertising.

3. Websites are essential. Even the smallest home based business should have an internet presence. A website should provide information about your business, what service or product is offered, and a method of contact. A website is a great way to get started marketing a home based business. Customers need to be able to know how to reach you, so ensure you put a phone number, contact form, or email address on your website. If you don’t know how to create a website, don’t worry. Coding isn’t necessary. There are a lot of alternatives including templates and themes that are ready to go. All you need to do is reserve a domain name and select a hosting provider.

4. Brochures can come in handy. If you ever go to trade shows, need to mail out information, or meet with clients in person, having a brochure can give your business a lot of credibility. Professionally printed brochures should contain brief information about your business, great graphics and a company logo.

5. Stay in contact with email marketing. You likely already have a ton of contacts in your email address book.. Use these to your benefit. Create a monthly e-newsletter and start sending it out. You can start with the friends and contacts you already have. Eventually your distribution list will grow. Every time you meet with a client, or talk with a potential customer on the phone make sure you get their email address. They may not be a customer right away, but keeping in touch on a regular basis will increase your chances of them becoming one.

Read more >>

5 Home Based Business Ideas

Start a Blog that makes money.


Regardless of your past experience with building a website or making money with one, starting a blog that makes money is a profitable way to start a home based business in 2012. And, in my opinion, is the first step to building a profitable small business online. There are hundreds of ways to start a website or blog, many of the best are free or cost very little, expense is not a barrier to creating a profitable business you can operate from home.


Learn how to make money with affiliate marketing.


Affiliate marketing is simply put, making money selling someone else’s products. Making money with affiliate marketing is a smart business idea for a beginner and it will tie in nicely with starting a blog that makes money. There are thousands of online entrepreneurs whose sole income is from affiliate marketing and thousands more who got started through affiliate marketing and went on to build online empires that have earned millions. Affiliate marketing has to be a component of any successful home based business idea in 2012.


Ways to make money now.


Making money now, or making money at will is an important part of any business. Maybe you have a service you could offer other people. A service that you get paid for. I wouldn’t advise starting a purely service oriented business on the Internet (because passive is better) but having something you can do today and get paid for today is a nice option for a beginner. Many of the best business ideas I’ve found online don’t earn money immediately, they take time to build. Once they are up and earning they are quite passive and the income will continue to build if your willing to work hard. Cash flow is important to any business and ways to make money now will help you with initial cash flow. You’ve probably heard of getting paid to take surveys and it’s one example of how to make money now even if you have no experience on the Internet. There are some legit sites that help you earn money taking surveys and save you a TON of time.


Home Based Franchise Ideas.


If you have experience as an entrepreneur in the brick and mortar business world but you want to start another business from home, then starting a home based franchise business may be right for you. Home based franchise ideas have a wide range industries, from consulting to pet grooming. I don’t have a particular franchise idea to recommend, but I’d encourage you to choose a franchise that you have genuine interest in you feel comfortable with.


Network Marketing Opportunities.


Network marketing opportunities or directs sales opportunities are also a very popular home based start up right now and will be one of the most popular home business start ups in 2012. That said, they aren’t for everyone. It seems everyone and their brother has tried a network marketing opportunity. Maybe you have too. The key to success in a network marketing or direct sales business opportunity is treat it like a real business. That was always hard for me and I’ve never really found an opportunity that felt motivated about. I do know several people who do very well with these opportunities and they all incorporate their opportunity into their website that also earns money. When you start a blog that makes money you will also have a great way to connect with others who are looking for good ways to make money from home and they may find interest in you network marketing opportunity. I’ve written several article on network marketing opportunities and how to avoid scams.

Read more >>