Start A Home Business – Top Ways To Earn From Home
Home based business are on the rise. The internet makes it easy for people aspiring to transition from a traditional 9-5 or make some extra money from home. Here are some of the top ways to earn from home.
#1 Freelancing
Freelancing is simply selling a service without a long term contract. You can offer any number of services. Writing, graphic design, transcription, editing, audio creation, photography, and even voice over services can all be offered as a freelancer. Freelancing gives you the ability to pick and choose the projects you work on and whom you work with. It provides you with the freedom to set your rates and to choose when you work and when you don’t.
#2 Information Marketing
Information marketing is exactly what it sounds like, it’s making money by selling information. We’re an information hungry society and we often turn to the internet to help solve our problems. Whether you need to stop back pain, learn how to train your dog or learn how to be a parent to your teenager, we all have problems we want to solve.
Many times information marketers make their living writing books and reports. However, information marketers also create software products, or have them created for them. You can hold teleseminars or offer an online course. The key to being a successful information marketer is finding a topic you’re passionate about and researching supply and demand. There are tons of niches just waiting for a motivated entrepreneur.
#3 Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketers earn a commission on products or services they sell. Generally, affiliate marketers create a website around a niche topic. They use content to build an audience and drive traffic to their website. In their content they promote, review, and link to the sales pages of the products or services they represent.
For example, a person could create a website around pet health and be an affiliate for companies that provide products and services that support pet health. Affiliate marketing can be a very lucrative home based business. Like information marketing the key is to find a niche you’re passionate about and to research supply and demand. You’ll also want to research affiliate products and services.
Other ways to start a home business include direct sales, selling a product, coaching and membership sites. There are a number of ways to make a living from home. Find the business model that’s right for you and enjoy!
STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD
Wherever you find a successful business, you will find a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) — something that sets them apart from the competition and defines them in the minds of consumers. Companies without a USP either struggle to form an identity, or fail to leverage the benefits they offer.
When you boil down a USP to its basic ingredients, you find it is made up of two things:
1. The aspect of your business that makes it unique
and
2. The benefit your business offers to the consumer.
Without the uniqueness, no one will be able to distinguish you from your competitors. Without the benefit, no one will see why they should care.
So the USP is vitally important — but how do you create one?
I'm glad you asked. Follow these three simple steps to a specialized USP for your business.
1. Have the meeting
Gather your staff together, especially those who have direct contact with customers, such as salespeople. Once you have everyone together, you need to have a brainstorming session and answer these three questions:
1. What makes us different from our competitors? (and don't say "it's because we have the best customer service" – everyone says that and it's NOT unique…at all)
2. Why is our product/service a "must have"?
3. What are the benefits of choosing us over the competition?
Disclaimer: You are going to hear your staff say things that will make you cringe!
However, everything said here is productive because you need to know not only what you want the USP to be, but also how you are currently perceived. It is good to get a dose of reality every now and again. You also may find out you are unique in ways you hadn't considered before.
Usually, one question will be harder than the others. For instance, a lawn service company is pretty clearly a must- have for people with lawns, and the benefit is obvious as well, but it may be difficult to find out what makes you different from the thousands of other similar businesses.
Here's where you really need to dig in. No two businesses are exactly the same — find what is different about yours. If you can't, come up with something! There are always ways to separate yourself from the pack.
Once you have discovered what makes you different, and why a consumer would want you, you are ready to create your USP.
2. Craft the Wording
Take your businesses uniqueness and benefits and marry them together in a way that is absolutely crystal clear and easy to read. You don't want a single word to be lost on the reader.
For example, my company PostcardMania's USP is, "PostcardMania is the ONLY postcard marketing company that creates custom marketing campaigns based on proven industry results."
From that you clearly understand why we are different (i.e. we are the only company that tracks industry results and uses them to create our clients campaigns), and why we benefit you (better marketing = better results).
3. Put It Everywhere
Now that your USP has been discovered and crafted, simply put it on every piece of marketing that goes out the door. This is how you build recognition of not only your name, but your business' purpose and benefit as well.
Greatest Job
What is selling? Selling is not tricking people into buying. Real selling is many things.
Selling is helping people grow. If you have a product or service that will improve the customer's life in some way, you are helping this customer lead a better life. Does your product save more money than it costs? Then You are obligated to answer any question they have, that will help tem start saving money as soon as possible.
Selling is giving great advice. This is my favorite outlook. Selling at its best is simply giving advice that will benefit the customer. Real, unbiased advice can be seen from a mile away. So can a lie. So can advice with an agenda. "What is the best thing for this customer?" is a question professionals ask themselves. This attitude will show itself in every word and gesture.
Selling is improving the economy and making money flow. A bad economy doesn't mean there is less money. Nobody burned the money. It simply isn't changing hands fast enough. The act of selling something speeds the money along to the people who made the product, their workers, the worker's families, and to the merchants they buy from. Every time you buy something, hundreds of people benefit. And people who sell more, buy more.
Selling is making someone happy. People love to acquire new things. They like to buy something from a friendly, helpful salesperson. The experience of buying from you may be the high point of that person's day. If the customer isn't happier after they buy what you sell, you are selling the wrong thing.
"How to sell" is the most profitable knowledge you can gain. Selling is the applied science of human nature. Knowing what motivates your fellow humans, what makes them happy, content, laugh, and like someone is valuable knowledge. Not to use with petty intent, but to make their lives better by knowing you. CEO's of large companies are almost always great salespeople.
If selling is so great, why isn't everyone doing it? Because of what most people believe selling is.
You can actually make a living selling by pressuring, using trick closes, and exaggerating claims, but you will never build a customer following with these tactics. You will never grow a business.
Selling isn't using double-talk to confuse a customer. Selling is clarifying. Selling is educating.
The lifeblood of any business is repeat business from satisfied customers and referrals from those customers.
If you help your customer as a trusted advisor, you have taken a big step in the right direction.
Always hold the thought in your head "What is the best thing I can do for this customer?"
You'll be amazed how often the answer is to help him buy your product.
Earn From EBooks
STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD
Wherever you find a successful business, you will find a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) — something that sets them apart from the competition and defines them in the minds of consumers. Companies without a USP either struggle to form an identity, or fail to leverage the benefits they offer.
When you boil down a USP to its basic ingredients, you find it is made up of two things:
1. The aspect of your business that makes it unique
and
2. The benefit your business offers to the consumer.
Without the uniqueness, no one will be able to distinguish you from your competitors. Without the benefit, no one will see why they should care.
So the USP is vitally important — but how do you create one?
I'm glad you asked. Follow these three simple steps to a specialized USP for your business.
1. Have the meeting
Gather your staff together, especially those who have direct contact with customers, such as salespeople. Once you have everyone together, you need to have a brainstorming session and answer these three questions:
1. What makes us different from our competitors? (and don't say "it's because we have the best customer service" – everyone says that and it's NOT unique…at all)
2. Why is our product/service a "must have"?
3. What are the benefits of choosing us over the competition?
Disclaimer: You are going to hear your staff say things that will make you cringe!
However, everything said here is productive because you need to know not only what you want the USP to be, but also how you are currently perceived. It is good to get a dose of reality every now and again. You also may find out you are unique in ways you hadn't considered before.
Usually, one question will be harder than the others. For instance, a lawn service company is pretty clearly a must- have for people with lawns, and the benefit is obvious as well, but it may be difficult to find out what makes you different from the thousands of other similar businesses.
Here's where you really need to dig in. No two businesses are exactly the same — find what is different about yours. If you can't, come up with something! There are always ways to separate yourself from the pack.
Once you have discovered what makes you different, and why a consumer would want you, you are ready to create your USP.
2. Craft the Wording
Take your businesses uniqueness and benefits and marry them together in a way that is absolutely crystal clear and easy to read. You don't want a single word to be lost on the reader.
For example, my company PostcardMania's USP is, "PostcardMania is the ONLY postcard marketing company that creates custom marketing campaigns based on proven industry results."
From that you clearly understand why we are different (i.e. we are the only company that tracks industry results and uses them to create our clients campaigns), and why we benefit you (better marketing = better results).
3. Put It Everywhere
Now that your USP has been discovered and crafted, simply put it on every piece of marketing that goes out the door. This is how you build recognition of not only your name, but your business' purpose and benefit as well.
Greatest Job
What is selling? Selling is not tricking people into buying. Real selling is many things.
Selling is helping people grow. If you have a product or service that will improve the customer's life in some way, you are helping this customer lead a better life. Does your product save more money than it costs? Then You are obligated to answer any question they have, that will help tem start saving money as soon as possible.
Selling is giving great advice. This is my favorite outlook. Selling at its best is simply giving advice that will benefit the customer. Real, unbiased advice can be seen from a mile away. So can a lie. So can advice with an agenda. "What is the best thing for this customer?" is a question professionals ask themselves. This attitude will show itself in every word and gesture.
Selling is improving the economy and making money flow. A bad economy doesn't mean there is less money. Nobody burned the money. It simply isn't changing hands fast enough. The act of selling something speeds the money along to the people who made the product, their workers, the worker's families, and to the merchants they buy from. Every time you buy something, hundreds of people benefit. And people who sell more, buy more.
Selling is making someone happy. People love to acquire new things. They like to buy something from a friendly, helpful salesperson. The experience of buying from you may be the high point of that person's day. If the customer isn't happier after they buy what you sell, you are selling the wrong thing.
"How to sell" is the most profitable knowledge you can gain. Selling is the applied science of human nature. Knowing what motivates your fellow humans, what makes them happy, content, laugh, and like someone is valuable knowledge. Not to use with petty intent, but to make their lives better by knowing you. CEO's of large companies are almost always great salespeople.
A great salesperson, with a following of loyal customers is always in
high demand...no matter what the economy is. Selling is the only job in
any company that actually generates a profit. All other people in the
company depend on the business generated by salespeople. Salespeople are
the backbone of any profitable enterprise. Just stop selling and see
how long a company lasts. Not long.
If selling is so great, why isn't everyone doing it? Because of what most people believe selling is.
You can actually make a living selling by pressuring, using trick closes, and exaggerating claims, but you will never build a customer following with these tactics. You will never grow a business.
Selling isn't using double-talk to confuse a customer. Selling is clarifying. Selling is educating.
The lifeblood of any business is repeat business from satisfied customers and referrals from those customers.
If you help your customer as a trusted advisor, you have taken a big step in the right direction.
Always hold the thought in your head "What is the best thing I can do for this customer?"
You'll be amazed how often the answer is to help him buy your product.
Earn From EBooks
If
you are serious about making money online, there are a number of ways
to do it. One profitable idea is eBooks. They require very little cost
upfront and can provide lots of revenue for your business.
What are EBooks?
EBooks are digital reading media that is easy to pass along to others. Many are opting for electronic books over printed books these days for several reasons. One, eBooks are shorter versions of more traditional books that can be created and published by you.
Secondly, eBooks are easy to use and store. They fill files on your computer instead of space on bookshelves in your home. EBooks can be read in PDF format online or printed to take with you. Unlike traditional books, as soon as you order an eBook, you can have access to it in minutes.
What does that mean to you?
Do you like to write? If you have a way with words and a talent for enticing readers, you can use eBooks to bring a profit to your blog or website. Use your niche as subject matter for your eBooks. Since you already have knowledge about, say, Internet marketing, put your experience to work by offering it to others in the form of an eBook.
The cost to you is negligible. With a blog or website, you already have access to the Internet and a computer that is probably filled with software that is needed to work with eBooks: Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word. It is not a matter of creating the inside of the eBook. There are books and online articles that give tips for writing eBooks people will want to read.
EBooks vary in size. You may be able to charge more for longer books or you may command a good price for shorter ebooks that provide very concise and valuable information.
An eBook can be composed in a Word document on your computer. Use Microsoft Publisher to format your work and add extras to attract readers. Turn your Word document into a PDF file for easier downloading and printing by customers.
Selling EBooks
Now that you have created this eBook, you’ll need to find a way to get it into people’s hands. Marketing your eBook follows the same lines as marketing your website or blog.
Use article marketing to draw attention to your eBooks. Create an article series based on your eBook. Submit these articles to article sites and on your blog or website. Give just enough information in the articles to have the reader wanting to know more. In the resource box, mention the eBook and link to your website. Submit articles to social bookmarking sites with links to your website page showcasing the eBooks.
For customer ease, link your eBooks with your checkout process. Once the customer pays (PayPal, credit card, debit card) they will receive a link via email or automatically where they can download your product.
EBooks cost you next to nothing to produce so the money you make is all profit. Turn your writing skills and expertise in a certain area into money for your business.
Start E-commerce Store
If you have a product oriented business, the Internet offers a unique ability to reach a broad audience. With new technology, it is easy to build your own e-commerce store.
E-commerce Store
Today's world is an E-commerce (electronic commerce or e-com) world. E-commerce, clearly termed as web commerce, basically means selling of merchandise or services over the Internet with electronic transactions and also through a secure network. E-com is not merely buying and selling or providing services but it is also a method of advertising and marketing through an electronic system as well. E-com also means facilitating the progress of commercial transactions electronically. Right now e-com is a well-established technology in all major countries. In most cases Internet marketing requires you to have your own E-commerce store for maximum return.
Requirements of an E-commerce Store
Building an e-commerce store is not an easy job. Software is required that can manage customers as well as their needs. E-commerce software should be able to handle inventory, shipping and handling costs, taxes, dispatching and payment processing of client's orders. You may encounter many options when setting out to build an e commerce store. Before choosing any of them it is important to have a clear view of your requirements. Technical requirements might include coupons, tracking systems, customer login options or any number of other things. Other requirements include what type of impression you want to provide to your valuable clients.
Study the Sales and Marketing Cycle to Determine Your Needs
Before you opt for any of solutions for building e commerce store, study the basic model of e commerce that represents the entire sales and marketing cycle. The first building block of this cycle is audience in which you define what type of customers you will target. Second are commodities, in which you characterize the types of products you will put on the market. Third is customer support where you will answer the questions and offer solutions to clients' or potential clients' problems. Next is advertising, marketing and endorsement where a business promotes the products or services. Then there is transaction processing, the most important technical phase of the cycle, which will handle orders, taxes, payment processing and order delivery.
Transactions may be automatic or manual. In manual processing you have to enter credit card information manually through an offline terminal. In the case of automatic processing a client's order form will be setup with a program that processes and charges the credit card for you. After that there are post-deal services regarding how you provide solutions and services after the sale. Last but not least is brand name with which you will create a distinctive business image to correspond with customers. Nobody is going to pay attention to your online store unless something catches their eye.
Research your Options
Once you have defined your needs, you can then begin researching your options. There are two basic paths you may follow when building an e-commerce store - either buy ready made software or build a custom system with components and parts according to your requirements and budgets.
Flexibility
Some business firms offer gifts and well placed impulse products for better marketing approaches. This requires an e-com solution to be flexible enough to allow various give-aways, coupons and promotions. Also, if your product comes in a variety of models or styles, with different options and different prices then you must communicate these factors and portray them distinctively in your online store. A true businessperson will certainly follow the patterns of his or her usual clients as well as those who directly visit the site. Web statistic tracking tools can be a great help to this end.
Ease of Use
Some e commerce stores are very easy to use and require only a few minutes to learn while others are more complex with so many features that they can be overwhelming. Being able to see a demonstration of software before buying it is a great help to determining ease of use.
Scalability
Being able to grow with your company is very important. If you choose a very simple solution now, then require a more robust solution down the road, you will lose time converting your store. If the URL structure of your store is not consistent, you can also lose search engine rankings by changing e commerce solutions. Therefore, it is important to choose an e commerce solution that can grow with you. For example, some stores owners may not want coupons in the beginning but then down the road decide it is a good idea. Some stores may also have limits on number of products, inventory control and tracking that down the road will be very important.
Security
Of utmost importance to online stores is transaction security. The priority for any business firm should be secure transactions. Thanks to Netscape for introducing SSL (secure socket layer), data can be protected by online store owners. SSL is an encryption technology that encrypts a message and the receiver decrypts it by using RSA security. To enable SSL on your web server you need a digital ID (a form of identification that will recognize you). Many web hosts provide SSL installation for anywhere from a few bucks to a few hundred bucks per year.
Overall, in building your own e commerce store, four things are essential - flexibility, ease of use, security and scalability. Research your options before you make a final choice, and whenever possible, get a free trial of your solution before you buy.
What are EBooks?
EBooks are digital reading media that is easy to pass along to others. Many are opting for electronic books over printed books these days for several reasons. One, eBooks are shorter versions of more traditional books that can be created and published by you.
Secondly, eBooks are easy to use and store. They fill files on your computer instead of space on bookshelves in your home. EBooks can be read in PDF format online or printed to take with you. Unlike traditional books, as soon as you order an eBook, you can have access to it in minutes.
What does that mean to you?
Do you like to write? If you have a way with words and a talent for enticing readers, you can use eBooks to bring a profit to your blog or website. Use your niche as subject matter for your eBooks. Since you already have knowledge about, say, Internet marketing, put your experience to work by offering it to others in the form of an eBook.
The cost to you is negligible. With a blog or website, you already have access to the Internet and a computer that is probably filled with software that is needed to work with eBooks: Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word. It is not a matter of creating the inside of the eBook. There are books and online articles that give tips for writing eBooks people will want to read.
EBooks vary in size. You may be able to charge more for longer books or you may command a good price for shorter ebooks that provide very concise and valuable information.
An eBook can be composed in a Word document on your computer. Use Microsoft Publisher to format your work and add extras to attract readers. Turn your Word document into a PDF file for easier downloading and printing by customers.
Selling EBooks
Now that you have created this eBook, you’ll need to find a way to get it into people’s hands. Marketing your eBook follows the same lines as marketing your website or blog.
Use article marketing to draw attention to your eBooks. Create an article series based on your eBook. Submit these articles to article sites and on your blog or website. Give just enough information in the articles to have the reader wanting to know more. In the resource box, mention the eBook and link to your website. Submit articles to social bookmarking sites with links to your website page showcasing the eBooks.
For customer ease, link your eBooks with your checkout process. Once the customer pays (PayPal, credit card, debit card) they will receive a link via email or automatically where they can download your product.
EBooks cost you next to nothing to produce so the money you make is all profit. Turn your writing skills and expertise in a certain area into money for your business.
Start E-commerce Store
If you have a product oriented business, the Internet offers a unique ability to reach a broad audience. With new technology, it is easy to build your own e-commerce store.
E-commerce Store
Today's world is an E-commerce (electronic commerce or e-com) world. E-commerce, clearly termed as web commerce, basically means selling of merchandise or services over the Internet with electronic transactions and also through a secure network. E-com is not merely buying and selling or providing services but it is also a method of advertising and marketing through an electronic system as well. E-com also means facilitating the progress of commercial transactions electronically. Right now e-com is a well-established technology in all major countries. In most cases Internet marketing requires you to have your own E-commerce store for maximum return.
Requirements of an E-commerce Store
Building an e-commerce store is not an easy job. Software is required that can manage customers as well as their needs. E-commerce software should be able to handle inventory, shipping and handling costs, taxes, dispatching and payment processing of client's orders. You may encounter many options when setting out to build an e commerce store. Before choosing any of them it is important to have a clear view of your requirements. Technical requirements might include coupons, tracking systems, customer login options or any number of other things. Other requirements include what type of impression you want to provide to your valuable clients.
Study the Sales and Marketing Cycle to Determine Your Needs
Before you opt for any of solutions for building e commerce store, study the basic model of e commerce that represents the entire sales and marketing cycle. The first building block of this cycle is audience in which you define what type of customers you will target. Second are commodities, in which you characterize the types of products you will put on the market. Third is customer support where you will answer the questions and offer solutions to clients' or potential clients' problems. Next is advertising, marketing and endorsement where a business promotes the products or services. Then there is transaction processing, the most important technical phase of the cycle, which will handle orders, taxes, payment processing and order delivery.
Transactions may be automatic or manual. In manual processing you have to enter credit card information manually through an offline terminal. In the case of automatic processing a client's order form will be setup with a program that processes and charges the credit card for you. After that there are post-deal services regarding how you provide solutions and services after the sale. Last but not least is brand name with which you will create a distinctive business image to correspond with customers. Nobody is going to pay attention to your online store unless something catches their eye.
Research your Options
Once you have defined your needs, you can then begin researching your options. There are two basic paths you may follow when building an e-commerce store - either buy ready made software or build a custom system with components and parts according to your requirements and budgets.
Flexibility
Some business firms offer gifts and well placed impulse products for better marketing approaches. This requires an e-com solution to be flexible enough to allow various give-aways, coupons and promotions. Also, if your product comes in a variety of models or styles, with different options and different prices then you must communicate these factors and portray them distinctively in your online store. A true businessperson will certainly follow the patterns of his or her usual clients as well as those who directly visit the site. Web statistic tracking tools can be a great help to this end.
Ease of Use
Some e commerce stores are very easy to use and require only a few minutes to learn while others are more complex with so many features that they can be overwhelming. Being able to see a demonstration of software before buying it is a great help to determining ease of use.
Scalability
Being able to grow with your company is very important. If you choose a very simple solution now, then require a more robust solution down the road, you will lose time converting your store. If the URL structure of your store is not consistent, you can also lose search engine rankings by changing e commerce solutions. Therefore, it is important to choose an e commerce solution that can grow with you. For example, some stores owners may not want coupons in the beginning but then down the road decide it is a good idea. Some stores may also have limits on number of products, inventory control and tracking that down the road will be very important.
Security
Of utmost importance to online stores is transaction security. The priority for any business firm should be secure transactions. Thanks to Netscape for introducing SSL (secure socket layer), data can be protected by online store owners. SSL is an encryption technology that encrypts a message and the receiver decrypts it by using RSA security. To enable SSL on your web server you need a digital ID (a form of identification that will recognize you). Many web hosts provide SSL installation for anywhere from a few bucks to a few hundred bucks per year.
Overall, in building your own e commerce store, four things are essential - flexibility, ease of use, security and scalability. Research your options before you make a final choice, and whenever possible, get a free trial of your solution before you buy.
