Hundreds of thousands of people every month are turning to the Internet to find a home based business opportunity. Working from home for many people is a wonderful dream and goal. The lure of the freedom it offers appeals to many people, such as those who stay at home with small children, those who must remain at home because of their health, those who are limited in their careers by finances, credit and education, those who are in a dead end job and want to be their own boss, or those who just want to get out of the 8-5 rat race. In fact, over 50% of small business owners now work from home, and research suggests that revenue generated from home-based businesses will increase by 17% yearly.
There are many questions involved in a search for a home business opportunity such as:
Do online business opportunities work or are they scams?
Is an mlm business opportunity a good online business?
What are the best home based business opportunities and how do you find them?
It is no doubt that some people are making a fortune with their own online home based business. But for every person who making a good living online, there are many more who get caught in scams and lose their money.
If you are looking for an Internet home business, it is important to do your research. Learn as much as you can about the company you are thinking about joining. Be wary of business opportunities that promise instant wealth. It takes time to build a successful online home business. Shortcuts are usually too good to be true, and are most likely a scam. Remember that an Internet home business is still a business and it takes work and dedication, especially in the beginning, when little income seems to be coming in. Those who research, persevere and continue to learn are the ones who will become successful with their online business.
By Dianne Ronnow © 2007. All rights reserved.
This article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and the resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.
Showing posts with label online. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online. Show all posts
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Are There Any Good Ebay Alternatives?
When it comes to selling your items at auctions, I’m frequently asked what some good alternatives to eBay are. Usually, the person asking wants an alternative to eBay because they think the fees are too high or there is too much competition eBay.
I too have dabbled in eBay alternatives. The overwhelming problem for the vast majority of these sites is that the traffic to these sites is simply too low or nonexistent to bring in good prices.
According to http://Alexa.com, eBay is the world’s 12th most popular site. That means there are millions of people a day who go to eBay to shop. So just going to a site where the fees are lower doesn’t necessarily make sense if they’re attracting less traffic since the prices you’ll get tend to be lower as well.
That’s not to say there aren’t any viable options to eBay. The key to doing well with eBay alternatives is to find a niche auction site.
You want to find a site that specializes in the items you’re selling. For example, in the past I’ve sold coins on specialty auction sites and got better prices than I would have on eBay. However, the fee was actually higher than it would have been had I used eBay.
There are also sites that specialize in selling jewelry, electronics, art, and even links to websites. These sites may not have near the traffic levels that eBay has, but are able to be successful because they attract a very targeted audience.
So should you use eBay or should you go with the niche sites? It depends. Yes, the fees on eBay may be higher than some of those other auctions sites. However, the fees the eBay charges may be lower than some of the specialized sites. You need to test the prices you get to help you determine which is the best for you. You may even find that both are effective ways to sell your items.
For those of you who sell a lot of different items, then you’ll probably want to stick to eBay since you can build up your feedback for all the different items you sell and can manage everything from one centralized account.
I too have dabbled in eBay alternatives. The overwhelming problem for the vast majority of these sites is that the traffic to these sites is simply too low or nonexistent to bring in good prices.
According to http://Alexa.com, eBay is the world’s 12th most popular site. That means there are millions of people a day who go to eBay to shop. So just going to a site where the fees are lower doesn’t necessarily make sense if they’re attracting less traffic since the prices you’ll get tend to be lower as well.
That’s not to say there aren’t any viable options to eBay. The key to doing well with eBay alternatives is to find a niche auction site.
You want to find a site that specializes in the items you’re selling. For example, in the past I’ve sold coins on specialty auction sites and got better prices than I would have on eBay. However, the fee was actually higher than it would have been had I used eBay.
There are also sites that specialize in selling jewelry, electronics, art, and even links to websites. These sites may not have near the traffic levels that eBay has, but are able to be successful because they attract a very targeted audience.
So should you use eBay or should you go with the niche sites? It depends. Yes, the fees on eBay may be higher than some of those other auctions sites. However, the fees the eBay charges may be lower than some of the specialized sites. You need to test the prices you get to help you determine which is the best for you. You may even find that both are effective ways to sell your items.
For those of you who sell a lot of different items, then you’ll probably want to stick to eBay since you can build up your feedback for all the different items you sell and can manage everything from one centralized account.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
What Do You Have To Be To Succeed In A Home Based Business
So, 95% of the people that try to earn money online FAIL. That's a fact and nobody can argue with that.
But, you can belong to the 5% who actually earn money from the confort of their own houses. How? I call it the three "Be's".
Before that, let's talk about something else. Is it possible to start bulding an income using just FREE advertsing resources? Basicly, is it possible to earn money online without spending a penny?! NO! I've talked about it with other marketers and we all reached the same conclusion: at some point, you have to spend some money. But the trick, is how to spend it. Face it like an investment to future. Just spend it wisely. What leads to my main point. What do you have to be to really earn a "few bucks" using the internet in these so called "home based business"?
Be Active - That's right. If you have an idea, just explore it and do something about it. How many times did i heard: "oh man, i want to do this, but i don't if it's going to work. Maybe i just should let it go". WRONG. Be active in every way that you can be. You will never know if it is a good idea, if you just don't try to make it work!
Be Patient - While you are advertising your main home based business you have to be patient. Advertising is a number's game. Just don't quite and keep trying. Give yourself a couple of months until you give up.
Be original - In every step of the way, you have to be unique and creative. Do something different from the competition, and BEING ACTIVE here can really pay off. Write down some ideas that you think can work, embrace them with enthusiasm and you will see results in no time.
That's about it. If you can be active, patient and original you can earn money online. Along your money journey, invest your money wisely (no guarateed sign-ups and so on). Before EVERY MOVE research about it in order to find some feedback and then ACT!
But, you can belong to the 5% who actually earn money from the confort of their own houses. How? I call it the three "Be's".
Before that, let's talk about something else. Is it possible to start bulding an income using just FREE advertsing resources? Basicly, is it possible to earn money online without spending a penny?! NO! I've talked about it with other marketers and we all reached the same conclusion: at some point, you have to spend some money. But the trick, is how to spend it. Face it like an investment to future. Just spend it wisely. What leads to my main point. What do you have to be to really earn a "few bucks" using the internet in these so called "home based business"?
Be Active - That's right. If you have an idea, just explore it and do something about it. How many times did i heard: "oh man, i want to do this, but i don't if it's going to work. Maybe i just should let it go". WRONG. Be active in every way that you can be. You will never know if it is a good idea, if you just don't try to make it work!
Be Patient - While you are advertising your main home based business you have to be patient. Advertising is a number's game. Just don't quite and keep trying. Give yourself a couple of months until you give up.
Be original - In every step of the way, you have to be unique and creative. Do something different from the competition, and BEING ACTIVE here can really pay off. Write down some ideas that you think can work, embrace them with enthusiasm and you will see results in no time.
That's about it. If you can be active, patient and original you can earn money online. Along your money journey, invest your money wisely (no guarateed sign-ups and so on). Before EVERY MOVE research about it in order to find some feedback and then ACT!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Are They Wearing White Hats?
Time was when you could tell the good guys from the bad just by taking note of the color of the hat that they wore in the movies. A white one always meant that they were good and could be trusted to do the right and honorable thing.
Those who were in black hats were the bad guys and were to be avoided like the plague. They could not be trusted. They were always the villians who did all of the bad things.
You can't really tell the good guys from the bad online today by just viewing a website or reading an email. If you do business with the bad guys, you are unlikely to know that there is a problem until it is too late.
Fortunately, I have had very few negative experiences online which kind of reinforces my personal philosophy that most people online or off are going to do the right thing and can be trusted.
Still, we all need to keep our guard up when surfing around the internet.
How can you identify the good guys and bad guys these days? Well here are a few suggestions that may help you avoid some problems.
1) Have you done business with them before?
2) Do they have a virtual domain name or a freebie site?
3) How long have they been online?
A quick check at:
networksolutions.com/whois Can provide you with lots of information the holder of the domain name including how long it has been registered and contact info.
4) Do they provide good, complete contact information? A phone number & email address is a minimum here. A physical mailing address is even better.
This is certainly not a complete list of things to check out about a business site online, but it will give you a good starting place.
Hopefully, it will save you some time, money and other problems when trying to determine which ones are wearing the white hats?
(This article may be reprinted in your publication or posted to your site by including the resource box below)
Those who were in black hats were the bad guys and were to be avoided like the plague. They could not be trusted. They were always the villians who did all of the bad things.
You can't really tell the good guys from the bad online today by just viewing a website or reading an email. If you do business with the bad guys, you are unlikely to know that there is a problem until it is too late.
Fortunately, I have had very few negative experiences online which kind of reinforces my personal philosophy that most people online or off are going to do the right thing and can be trusted.
Still, we all need to keep our guard up when surfing around the internet.
How can you identify the good guys and bad guys these days? Well here are a few suggestions that may help you avoid some problems.
1) Have you done business with them before?
2) Do they have a virtual domain name or a freebie site?
3) How long have they been online?
A quick check at:
networksolutions.com/whois Can provide you with lots of information the holder of the domain name including how long it has been registered and contact info.
4) Do they provide good, complete contact information? A phone number & email address is a minimum here. A physical mailing address is even better.
This is certainly not a complete list of things to check out about a business site online, but it will give you a good starting place.
Hopefully, it will save you some time, money and other problems when trying to determine which ones are wearing the white hats?
(This article may be reprinted in your publication or posted to your site by including the resource box below)
Monday, July 25, 2011
How Often Should You Contact Your List?
One question that people have once they have a list whether that be past customers, newsletter subscribers, or leads is how often they should be contacting them.
There’s really no hard and fast answer to this question, but I can tell you that most people are so afraid of contacting their subscribers too often and annoying them that their err on the side of caution and don’t contact their people often enough.
You need to remember that if you’re not constantly reminding people that you’re still there, that someone else will, and that person will likely forget about you.
For example, if you’re not contacting your subscribers at least once a month, you’re just not contacting your customers often enough. A lot of people think that contacting subscribers everyday is way too often, but there are certainly areas where it works. I am on a list right now where every weekday I’m sent a short little email, and I read it everyday. However, these aren’t marketing and sales pitches, but rather little motivational blurbs – they’re short and take me less than a minute to read.
A good rule of thumb that works for a lot of people is to contact your subscribers once every 2-5 days. That’s often enough that they’ll remember who you are but not so often that they’re going to think they’re being bombarded with messages. Feel free to play around with this number and see what works best for you and your subscribers.
Also remember that not every contact that you make with your customers needs to be an advertisement for something. While sending free content to your subscribers or past customers may seem like a bad financial move, it can be a way to build up good will with your past customers or current subscribers, and when it comes time to buy, they’re going to remember you, and will be far more likely to do business with you.
There’s really no hard and fast answer to this question, but I can tell you that most people are so afraid of contacting their subscribers too often and annoying them that their err on the side of caution and don’t contact their people often enough.
You need to remember that if you’re not constantly reminding people that you’re still there, that someone else will, and that person will likely forget about you.
For example, if you’re not contacting your subscribers at least once a month, you’re just not contacting your customers often enough. A lot of people think that contacting subscribers everyday is way too often, but there are certainly areas where it works. I am on a list right now where every weekday I’m sent a short little email, and I read it everyday. However, these aren’t marketing and sales pitches, but rather little motivational blurbs – they’re short and take me less than a minute to read.
A good rule of thumb that works for a lot of people is to contact your subscribers once every 2-5 days. That’s often enough that they’ll remember who you are but not so often that they’re going to think they’re being bombarded with messages. Feel free to play around with this number and see what works best for you and your subscribers.
Also remember that not every contact that you make with your customers needs to be an advertisement for something. While sending free content to your subscribers or past customers may seem like a bad financial move, it can be a way to build up good will with your past customers or current subscribers, and when it comes time to buy, they’re going to remember you, and will be far more likely to do business with you.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Using Video To Draw Business On The Web
It has been proven in the United States that there are more broadband internet users compared to dial-up. That being the case, media that requires high bandwidth is now more readily available to anyone who wants to download it.
A medium that is still relatively new is using video presentations to market your products and services. While photos do provide a potential customer a view of the product or service at hand, video commands much more attention. It delivers a multimedia experience to the viewer that demands attention. Also, the power of a moving image with audio over plain text is indisputable.
However, certain things are appropriate for video while others are not.
A very good use of video on the internet would be to sell real estate. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but you can’t exactly walk through a house via photos alone. Video will allow the potential home buyer to tour the home before they visit to pique interest. A use of video that would not work would be something that would not help sell the product at all. For example, if you were selling paint, using video would not enhance a paint’s color or texture. A photo would be much more appropriate.
If you are selling a product on the internet, explore ways to use video to show off your product or show people how to do things with your product. Encoding the video into Flash will make the video easily viewed by almost everybody online. It is important, though, that you pay attention to the quality of the production. While the video has a lot of power, it can work against you if the video looks amateur.
In the very near future, internet and television will not have any separation. As of now, major providers of services are offering plans that physically deliver television through the internet. This is an untapped medium for advertising that is sure to be a big hit.
A medium that is still relatively new is using video presentations to market your products and services. While photos do provide a potential customer a view of the product or service at hand, video commands much more attention. It delivers a multimedia experience to the viewer that demands attention. Also, the power of a moving image with audio over plain text is indisputable.
However, certain things are appropriate for video while others are not.
A very good use of video on the internet would be to sell real estate. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but you can’t exactly walk through a house via photos alone. Video will allow the potential home buyer to tour the home before they visit to pique interest. A use of video that would not work would be something that would not help sell the product at all. For example, if you were selling paint, using video would not enhance a paint’s color or texture. A photo would be much more appropriate.
If you are selling a product on the internet, explore ways to use video to show off your product or show people how to do things with your product. Encoding the video into Flash will make the video easily viewed by almost everybody online. It is important, though, that you pay attention to the quality of the production. While the video has a lot of power, it can work against you if the video looks amateur.
In the very near future, internet and television will not have any separation. As of now, major providers of services are offering plans that physically deliver television through the internet. This is an untapped medium for advertising that is sure to be a big hit.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
The Benefits Of Zipping And Sending Zip Archives Online
File compression is something that many of us use everyday. Maybe you have a bunch of photos to send to a distant family member and you want to archive them all into one file. In business, co-workers can be found zipping up files and sending them to each other all the time.
Zipping up files has many benefits. It saves valuable disk space, reduces the overall file size of the archived files, and helps keep the speed of your processor.
If you aren't great with fumbling with different zip programs but you need to zip up and send multiple files, then an online zipping service is perfect for you.
An online zip service will allow you to easily add files to an online zip archive and then send them to anyone you wish, via e-mail.
This kind of service is also perfect for people surfing the web on a public computer, like at a library or school. Many of these kinds of computers don't have any kind of zipping program, so this is where that kind of service really shines.
If you have a domain name and want to offer this kind of service to your visitors, you can be sure that a tool like this will bring back many return visitors to your website. You'll also be able to profit from it if you want to as well, every zip file sent has a header and footer with links that the owner specifies. These viral links can be offered up for sale to potential advertisers for an additional income stream. It's very easy to install, and configuration is a breeze.
Using this online zipping tool is great because it will ultimately save the user disk space as well. You don't have to worry about your privacy with this tool, either. An auto delete function deletes your zip files after a specified period of minutes. See if it works for you, check it out.
Zipping up files has many benefits. It saves valuable disk space, reduces the overall file size of the archived files, and helps keep the speed of your processor.
If you aren't great with fumbling with different zip programs but you need to zip up and send multiple files, then an online zipping service is perfect for you.
An online zip service will allow you to easily add files to an online zip archive and then send them to anyone you wish, via e-mail.
This kind of service is also perfect for people surfing the web on a public computer, like at a library or school. Many of these kinds of computers don't have any kind of zipping program, so this is where that kind of service really shines.
If you have a domain name and want to offer this kind of service to your visitors, you can be sure that a tool like this will bring back many return visitors to your website. You'll also be able to profit from it if you want to as well, every zip file sent has a header and footer with links that the owner specifies. These viral links can be offered up for sale to potential advertisers for an additional income stream. It's very easy to install, and configuration is a breeze.
Using this online zipping tool is great because it will ultimately save the user disk space as well. You don't have to worry about your privacy with this tool, either. An auto delete function deletes your zip files after a specified period of minutes. See if it works for you, check it out.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
How To Make Internet Marketing Paid Membership Sites Work For You
There was a time when setting up paid membership sites on the Internet -- where you have a site only people who pay you an ongoing fee can access -- was all the rage.
Lately it seems this isn't as popular as it was. Mostly because so many of them fail. In fact, in many cases, it seems people drop out of paid membership web sites as soon as they sign up.
Even so, there are a few smart Internet marketers who have been able to make it work well.
And one of those ways to make paid membership sites work is to simply offer content people simply cannot get anywhere else.
In other words, you’re probably not going to get them to pay you an ongoing fee to access your content unless you offer them something that’s just not possible to get online or offline anywhere else but from you and your site.
Yes, that sounds simple, but that's really what it all boils down to.
The whole key to making paid membership sites work is giving people something unique, valuable, proprietary to you, and that you, and only you, can provide.
For example, there is a marketer named Matt Furey. He has a monthly membership site and he gives away a ton of material to people who sign up for a year. Not material people can download online somewhere else, but real, valuable books, CDs, and even personal assistance with members' questions.
These are all things you can't get anywhere else but through him and so his membership deal thrives and grows. You can do the same thing.
It doesn't take a whole lot of sophistication or technological savvy, either. Just follow the model above with what you're selling and you will be fine.
Copyright 2006 Michael Senoff
Lately it seems this isn't as popular as it was. Mostly because so many of them fail. In fact, in many cases, it seems people drop out of paid membership web sites as soon as they sign up.
Even so, there are a few smart Internet marketers who have been able to make it work well.
And one of those ways to make paid membership sites work is to simply offer content people simply cannot get anywhere else.
In other words, you’re probably not going to get them to pay you an ongoing fee to access your content unless you offer them something that’s just not possible to get online or offline anywhere else but from you and your site.
Yes, that sounds simple, but that's really what it all boils down to.
The whole key to making paid membership sites work is giving people something unique, valuable, proprietary to you, and that you, and only you, can provide.
For example, there is a marketer named Matt Furey. He has a monthly membership site and he gives away a ton of material to people who sign up for a year. Not material people can download online somewhere else, but real, valuable books, CDs, and even personal assistance with members' questions.
These are all things you can't get anywhere else but through him and so his membership deal thrives and grows. You can do the same thing.
It doesn't take a whole lot of sophistication or technological savvy, either. Just follow the model above with what you're selling and you will be fine.
Copyright 2006 Michael Senoff
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Important Things to Consider when Choosing a Web Host
A Web host company will provide you with space to host your website A domain name and a whole host of scripts from forum software to shopping cart integration.
If you want to be seen on the internet you will need a web host, but do not just go picking any host. You need a reliable web host who offers a quality service. So here comes a few of my own personal needs before i sign up with a web host.
Price, Ok this is not the most significant factor when choosing a web host, but we do not want to be paying stupid prices for a service we can get just as good from someone else at half the price.
Experience, This is one of the things i expect from a web host, Yes every company has to start somewhere but why should you be the one to suffer if someone does not have the experience to keep your site online at least 95% of the time.
Reputation, as anyone who has a buisness knows reputation goes a long way, make sure you choose someone with a good one.
Infastructure & Adaptability, A good webhost will already be planning for the future, they need to be able to upgrade to the latest and fastest equipment as and when it is needed. New things come out on the internet all the time and you want your provider to be able to offer advice and support if needed.
Support, Most websites now offer 24/7 support online and offline, make sure the one you choose also offers the same support, no point having customers if your site is down and your web host is unavailable.
So with all that in mind take your time and shop around, use google and make use of the review sites that are out there.
If you want to be seen on the internet you will need a web host, but do not just go picking any host. You need a reliable web host who offers a quality service. So here comes a few of my own personal needs before i sign up with a web host.
Price, Ok this is not the most significant factor when choosing a web host, but we do not want to be paying stupid prices for a service we can get just as good from someone else at half the price.
Experience, This is one of the things i expect from a web host, Yes every company has to start somewhere but why should you be the one to suffer if someone does not have the experience to keep your site online at least 95% of the time.
Reputation, as anyone who has a buisness knows reputation goes a long way, make sure you choose someone with a good one.
Infastructure & Adaptability, A good webhost will already be planning for the future, they need to be able to upgrade to the latest and fastest equipment as and when it is needed. New things come out on the internet all the time and you want your provider to be able to offer advice and support if needed.
Support, Most websites now offer 24/7 support online and offline, make sure the one you choose also offers the same support, no point having customers if your site is down and your web host is unavailable.
So with all that in mind take your time and shop around, use google and make use of the review sites that are out there.
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