Thursday, May 31, 2012

12 Easy Tips to Skyrocket Your Productivity

Working from home: A dream come true! Relaxed days spent doing what you love with much less stress than working in an office.

Well... maybe. What you'll find is that working from home has its own unique challenges. Your business world can start to intermingle with your personal life in ways that can be confusing to you. You very well may find yourself becoming less productive. Without a defined schedule built into each day, you may become distracted and conflicted about which activities to focus on; do you clean the house or work on marketing this afternoon?

One of the most important things in a solopreneur's day is being productive, whether you're a voice actor, a web designer, or write code for a living. As entrepreneurs our time, quite literally, is money. Being productive in our business day is absolutely vital to our success.

I've outlined some steps here for you that I use in my own home-based business practices to keep me focused and productive. They aren't listed in any particular order, but if you use these strategies in your own home-based business, I think they'll work well for you too.

1. First, start with the end

Know exactly what you would like to achieve before you begin. Get absolutely clear on what you want the end result to be. Whether it's finishing a sales letter by 10:00 am, making five prospecting calls, or getting a detailed quote on your website design, know exactly what you're aiming for before you start.

When you have your outcome clearly in mind it becomes easier to strategize the steps necessary to achieve it. Start with the end.

2. Work with your body's natural energy cycles

I don't know about you, but if I had to buckle down to work at 7:00 am I'd never get anything done! But from 3-9 pm I can work like gangbusters!

Pay attention to when you feel energetic, clear-headed, motivated, and focused. Whether you work best in the early morning on your patio or prefer to go into the office in the evenings to get things done, make sure to work with your own natural energy cycles and you'll get a lot more accomplished.

3. Focus on the critical inch

Are you perhaps focusing on the wrong aspects of your business? Are you staying very "busy" but not getting any revenue-producing projects completed? Are you working on what's urgent vs. what's important?

I like to think of the "critical inch" of a business as that which is the most vitally important to make the business produce a profit in the shortest amount of time.

Are you entering business card information into a database when you should be calling prospective clients? Are you reading your colleagues' Facebook posts when you should be working on creating new products for your customers?

Deliberately focus every day on what will monetize your business.

4. Least favorite first

There will invariably be some tasks or projects that are your least favorite, or that you may even dread. I recommend tackling these as early in the workday as possible. Don't wait until late in the day to work on a difficult project. If you make the decision to get any unpleasant tasks out of the way first thing, it will set up the rest of your day for success.

5. Stop multi-tasking!

No, multi-tasking does not help you get more done. It dilutes your efforts, interferes with your imagination, and you end up giving 20 percent of your attention to five different things instead of 100 percent of your attention to one.

Make a point to have a single-minded focus on one task at a time with 100 percent of your energy and imagination. You'll be amazed at how much more you're able to accomplish.

6. Discourage distractions

You'll get much more done more quickly if you can focus completely on what you're doing without interruptions. This can be tricky with kids, friends, and family members who think they should have easy access to you now that you're working from home. Do your best to make it clear that when you're working you cannot be interrupted. Or you can schedule specific times to check in with them. But endless interruptions and distractions will derail your productivity.

7. Use a timer

If you want your productivity to increase exponentially, get a kitchen timer and start giving yourself a specific timeline in which to complete a task. When I started using this method of time management, I'd complete in a few hours what used to take me all day. Set the timer, whether it's for 10 minutes or an hour, and while that timer is running I want you to laser focus on what you're doing. No stopping. No distractions.

8. Clear the decks

Is your desk a mess? Are you working at your coffee table that's heaped high with magazines and unopened mail? Clutter in your work environment is a money repellent. Clean organization is a money magnet.

A tidy, streamlined work environment is one of the quickest ways to increase your productivity. Have what you need close by whether it's reference materials, office supplies, files you refer to frequently, or your client lists.

9. Plan your day the night before

I suggest planning your day the night before. Take some quiet time in the evening before you go to bed and decide what needs to be done the next day. That way you can get up in the morning and you already know what your priorities are and you won't get sidetracked by emails and low-priority tasks. You'll feel more organized and won't waste morning business time trying to figure out what you need to do that day.

10. Batch tasks and errands

Group similar tasks together for greater efficiency. Whether it's running your errands all on one day - post office, doctor or hair appointment, meeting with your web-designer, etc. Or computer tasks - for example, returning emails, researching information for your business, or ordering supplies. Make the most of your time by grouping meetings, out-of-office errands, or in-office tasks, together.

11. Get away for a bit

Yes, you have my permission to take a break! Whether it's a short nap, flicking through a magazine with a cup of tea, a meditation pause, or a proper lunch break, getting away from your project can work wonders. It allows your mind to relax and soothes your nervous system so you can get back to work with renewed clarity and motivation.

Just don't leave your project for TOO long. Remember it's just a break, not a change of plan!

12. Exercise

One of the best ways to keep your brain alert and firing on all cylinders is to get plenty of exercise. If you spend a lot of time sitting (or standing in a recording booth like I do) then including exercise in your daily schedule is crucial to your productivity. Inactivity can make the blood and oxygen circulation in our bodies sluggish and our creativity and energy suffer as a result. Get up and get moving. Whether it's a brisk walk for 20 minutes or a yoga class at lunch time, put exercise on your schedule.

If you implement these productivity-enhancing strategies of mine I know you will definitely start getting more done each day with less stress.

You'll feel more inspired as you see your business results improving and you'll become even more able to create abundance and success in your life.

© 2012 Maxine Dunn



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4 Reasons Home Businesses Should Have Logo Apparel

Does your business have a uniform? Do you and your employees were shirts with your logo on them? If, not, why not?

Logo apparel or decorated clothing offers so many advantages for the business. Let's take a look as some.

First there is the advertising aspect. Each time someone see one of your shirts they are getting exposure to your business. Exposure is important. It takes a minimum of 3-9 times of seeing your business name before your potential customers will begin to trust you with their purchases. Clothing with your logo on it is more cost effective than business cards. Today companies are looking for ways to increase the exposure and return on investment for their adverting dollars and logo apparel is the answer. More people will see your message than if you tried to hand out business cards to everyone you meet.

Next there is brand building. We all would like to have the brand recognition of Nike or Kellogg. It takes years and many dollars in advertising to build that kind of recognition. Logo clothing helps you build your brand every day.

Logo apparel helps build a professional image in the eye of the customer. Which would your customers prefer someone who is dressed in a grateful dead t-shirt or someone with your logo shirt? Seeing people in business related apparel shows that the business is serious about their appearance and there for the quality of the work.

Finally, logo apparel offers a tax break for the business as it is tax deductible. According to the IRS, you may also claim a deduction for any article of clothing that contains a company logo.

There are different styles of logo apparel available, such as t-shirts, polo shirts, dress shirts, sweat shirts, jackets, hats, pants and pull overs. The most common logo apparel will be t-shirts, polo shirts, dress shirts and hats.

Want to make your advertising and brand building profitable? Sell your logo apparel to your customers. They will wear it and you get the benefits. By selling your logo apparel to the public; you get the profit and the advertising value.

Another way to build your brand and make a positive impact is by using hats with your logo and website on them in place of business cards. Yes they are a little more expensive, but everyone loves hats and they last a very long time. Now a days, business cards are more than likely being discarded shortly after they are handed out, but with a hat, they are kept and the message is seen over and over again.

Logo apparel is not that expensive. For example you can get your logo embroidered onto a polo type shirt for well under $20, embroidered hats around $8 or if you prefer t-shirts you can get these printed for less than $10.



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Ways To Make Money Without Leaving Your Home

In these times of widespread financial difficulties, most of us could use some additional income to pay for the necessities, or maybe even a few luxuries. Making some extra cash from the comfort of your own home can be an ideal solution. For many people, leaving the house to go to work is not possible, which makes it even more essential to find ways of home based business.

Most people could use a little extra cash to help with the bills, pay for a few luxuries or even just to save for life's little emergencies. If you have young children, health problems or other commitments that lead you to spend most of your time at home, it can be difficult to find ways of improving your financial situation. Making money without leaving the house is an ideal solution for many people. The following ways to make some extra money are not get-rich-quick schemes, but genuine, simple ways to make money without leaving the comfort of your own home.

1# Sell your photos:
Online photography agencies, such as Fotolia and ShutterStock, allow you to sell your photographs. You retain copyright of your images, but you will receive a fee every time someone uses one of your photos on their website, blog or other publication. The fee you receive is usually set by the agency, although some may allow you to increase the price of your images Photography agencies often have stringent rules about quality and composition, so photographs must be of high quality, but they don't need to be breathtakingly spectacular. Close-up photograph of everyday objects are often just as popular as the more extraordinary images

2# Fill in surveys:
Market research companies are always looking for opinions and feedback from the general public. Survey sites, such as MySurvey and Ipsos, offer payment for completing surveys online. The amount you can earn depends largely on the amount of surveys that you complete. To increase the amount of surveys you receive, be sure to fill in as much personal interest information as possible. Surveys can last anything from 5-60 minutes, and payment varies from a few cents to a few hundred dollars, although it usually takes time and commitment before you will be offered the high-paying surveys.

3# Rent out your garage:
If you have unused space in your garage, you could rent it out as workspace for artists, crafts people, dressmakers or anyone else in need of workspace. Alternatively, you could rent it out as storage space for children's bikes, paddling pools, swing sets and so on. You can set your own rates when charging for the use of your garage space, and even specify terms and conditions regarding access to the space. These are the some ideas for home based business.



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4 Brilliant Ideas for a Home-Based Business

It is very difficult to start a business with scarce resources. If you are planning to run a business from home but are short on funds, here are a few ideas to help you out.

Laundry

Many people with full-time jobs are not able to give time to household chores. They do not have the stamina or time to complete chores after coming home from a tiring day at work. If you have such people in your area, you could offer them your laundry services. Starting a laundry business would need minimum investment. You can use your own washing and drying machines. Other than that, you will need to buy additional detergent, more than you usually purchase. These costs will be covered as soon as you charge your first few customers for rendering your services.

Pet-sitting

Pets are good company and fun to have around. If you love pets and are good with them, then this business is for you. It hardly needs any capital investment and you will enjoy your time spent taking care of them. People with full-time jobs often seek pet-sitters to look after their pets in the daytime and feed, bathe and walk their pets till they return home from work. You can even offer to keep pets for longer and charge a higher fee if the owner wishes to go on vacation.

Freelance Writing

If you have a flair for writing and are passionate about it, then you should opt for freelance writing. You can write on topics that interest you, describe important events or experiences or write reviews about the latest movies, books or games. You can then send your material to newspapers or online magazines.The benefits of freelancing are that you can choose your own hours of work and take up as many projects and assignments as you want. You are under no obligation and can work at your own pace.

Gardening

Most fruits and vegetables sold in the market are treated with harmful chemicals for faster growth. If you have a garden at home and grow your own vegetables, why not make a business out of it? You could plant fruits, vegetables and herbs in your garden. Your neighbors will surely be delighted to buy safe and chemical-free produce. Besides this, you can even approach your local super-market and sell your produce to them. If your produce meets the quality standard they require, they will surely come to you asking for more. Check with your local bylaws and regulations
to see if you can take advantage of any tax savings.



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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The 3 Rules Of Organization That Are Crucial To Small Business Owners

Are you unorganized and overwhelmed? Is your work area a disaster zone with papers strewn across your desk, no processes in place to complete daily tasks and excessive information coming at you both online and off?

The problem is that this state of physical and mental disorganization and overwhelm can spill over into your personal life too. This is especially true for home based business owners because our personal and business lives are so interconnected and it's important that we are managing our time wisely.

But how did you get to this state of disorganization? It probably crept up on you as your business was growing and you started focusing more on the work at hand and less on managing your office.

How can you get from disorganized back to organized? The solution is simple if you follow these 3 rules and start streamlining your systems to manage the overwhelm:

Rule #1: Clear your desk. Before you jump into your work day, take 10 to 15 minutes to clear your desk and clear your mind saving you more than the time you invested. Make sure you have a procedure in place to keep your work area tidy and ensure paperwork is easy to access. Tools such as literature organizers to sort paperwork and containers for your writing utensils will make it easier to maintain your office space and manage your records.

Rule #2: Document your processes. Every time you do something for the first time it's a good idea to make step by step notes. If you haven't been doing this, start now. Again, it may take a little bit of extra time to document but you will have a reference to assist you with the task the next time and it will save you time in the long run. This is especially helpful if it is a task that you don't repeat on a regular basis. And this information will be invaluable when your business has grown to the point that you decide to outsource or subcontract out work in the future. Make sure you document your notes within a Word document with separate headings for each topic or in a notebook or binder dedicated only to recording procedures. You don't need more loose paper to manage.

Rule #3: Manage your information. Avoid information overload and stockpiling unneeded information. We collect so much information and it often isn't organized in any specific way. There is so much useful information out there and some that we collect we don't need to use right away. Start up one file to collect all this information. I have created a file I call "Tips and Tools" within my Outlook Tasks. It's a simple table with the following headings where I can copy and paste all the info in point form that comes across my desk or inbox for easy reference when needed: "Company Name/Site Name/URL", "Function" and "Details". You can set up a similar system either in Word or within a notebook or binder. Now you have a handy reference and you can delete the emails or recycle the papers containing the original information. No more searching in various places as all the information is now in one place.

Initially it will take some time and energy to get from a state of disorganization to an orderly efficient system. Stick with this plan for several weeks and you will have control back. In a couple of months you will be reaping the rewards of greater productivity.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Your Home Based Business and Your Job/Career

When people decide to start a home based business, it can be a very overwhelming experience. It is new to them and there are so many different ways, products and systems on how to make money online with their home based business.

Let's first talk about "where do you start and "what to look for in a home based business system".

When I first started, I was completely overwhelmed with all the different ways to make money online. There is a lot of crap out there and sifting through all this crap to find a good, proven system is half the battle to starting a successful home based business.

The only advice I can give you, is to find a "home based business system" that has a beginning and end. It should be "step by step" and it should give you the "big picture." It should be a system that is similar to when you went to school/college. First, you take economics 101; once you pass that you move on to economics 102 and so on. - this is the only way to make money online with your home base business. Making money online is a "learning process" and you must find a system that you can follow and learn from.

Making money online is a "process" and not a "get rich quick" gimmick or "product. Making money online with your home based business will take you time to learn and develop. There is no such thing as "get rich quick", so stay away from anything making these claims. Stay away from "this guy made $102,340 in 3 months" or "use this push button software and make $15,000 per month." These kinds of "sales pitches" are false and misleading and I can pretty much guarantee that you will not duplicate what they claim, so stay away from them and save your money.

So, where does you current job fit into the picture of making money online with your home based business?

Your current job/career is a "critical piece of the puzzle" of having success online with your home based business. Never quit your job/career to pursue making money online unless you are financially sound and have significant savings. What do I mean about financially sound? Well, this is a personal decision, but what I can say is that probably 99% of us do not have the adequate savings to go it alone with no job. Be very careful with this decision as your current job/career is paying your bills, mortgage, living expenses etc. and you need to make sure this is covered each and every month to free your mind of unnecessary stress and future financial problems.

Work at your current job/career and while working at your current job, work part-time (5-15 hours per week is all that is needed and probably the most common) on your home based business and learn the "online skills" needed to be successful with your home based business. It is an exciting process and it can change your life as you know it, if you put in the time, develop patience, be dedicated and blow through any obstacle that comes your way.

These are some basic questions that you must address before you start any home based business or making money online opportunity. If you address these issues and develop a plan around these issues, you will be on your way to creating the life you want.

The economy is in the tank, the political environment in all countries is in complete chaos and there is a world wide recession impacting each and every one of us. Normal everyday people are getting killed in the pocket book and there is no job security anymore.

There is a solution....



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2 Easy Ideas for Growing Your Home Based Business (HINT - You DON'T Need to Work Harder at All)

Everyone with a home based business knows they need a blog.

You need content to compete.

But not just any content. And NOT just "any" blog.

You need content that's continuously updated with topical and temporal content that keeps your audience engaged, entertained, interested and inspired.

What most online marketing gurus won't tell you.......is that is NOT an easy task.

Sure it's easy to crank out a funny post, or a contrarian position, or some controversial content that WILL generate some buzz.

But keeping that up over time is what keeps MOST blogs in the basement, at least as far as earning what they're truly worth.

I want to challenge you to think a wee bit differently.

The truth is, if you are blogging for building your brand, your business and your bank account, you do NOT need to create copious amounts of killer content to build a huge audience.

Instead, you need to create content strategically, and serve multiple masters simultaneously as well. (your readers, the social networks, and the search engines alike)

I'm going to give you 2 super simple strategies that NOT one in 500 bloggers use, and that will radically improve every single element of the above in rapid fire turn around.

As a matter of fact, I've personally used this exact approach to rehabilitate, rejuvenate and reactivate any number of bland, boring and plain "dead" blogs......both for myself and for our clients, and without really needing to write much more than usual.

Crush it With Q and A:

Question and Answer sites STILL do incredibly well in 2012. Do a search for any topic under the sun....and I guarantee you'll find at least one Q and A style site on the first page of the results, often in the first few spots. (YAHOO ANSWERS being the most omnipresent of the bunch)

The truth is, there are simple plugins that you can get for free which will emulate that exact approach, and quite literally, you can add 10 questions a day to your blog in under an hour. (that's 300 a month if you follow through for 30 days)

A big TIP? Go and use the 100% free Word tracker Questions tool...as it will give you the EXACT questions being asked in your niche, verbatim. Just add those exact questions to your Q and A section, and you've got a luscious long tail of "perfect match" keywords that your competition won't.

Build it With Buddy Press

If you haven't used it yet, BP is a free plugin that turns a standard Wordpress installation into a full featured social network. The benefit is, as you sign up new readers, they will naturally create copious amounts of content FOR you, by virtue of sharing their thoughts, opinions or activities in the niche.

I can't you how amazingly easy and effective this is, as Buddy press takes about 15 minutes to set up, and about 5-10% of your traffic WILL sign up for your site and create a profile, add interact with your content and community.

Remember, this is all FREE content that you don't have to pay for....it's natural, and unique and 100% user generated (which is the holy grail of SEO in 2012 and will continue to become more important for years to come).



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You Have the Choice to Work From Home

The paradigm has shifted. No longer are people dogmatic about their employment options. It used to be that you'd find work with one company and stay with them through retirement. However, those days have gone the way of the poodle skirt.

Why? Well, if you ask anyone under the age of 40 why they don't plan on staying with one company for their entire career, they'll probably cite the professional mistreatment of their parents. How after decades of hard work and loyalty, they were eventually downsized or forced to retire early by their employer.

People of all ages and professions are finally understanding that they are no longer indentured to their employers. That they can in fact have ample success by finding one of the many jobs that allow them to work from home independently.

Trades

Often when people think of work from home jobs they think of computers. Whether it's being a virtual online assistant or a freelance web designer, most of the time working from home is synonymous with keyboards and spread sheets.

However, if you have trade skills you don't have to be beholden to a time clock. You can choose to start up your own home based contracting business. Whether you are a carpenter, a plumber, a mason, or a whatever, when you work out of your home you remove yourself from being tied to the whims and fears of your company.

Are there cons to starting your own contracting business? Sure, but after you read up on some work from home information you'll be better able to protect yourself from some of the more common pitfalls.

Work from home Moms

A category that is full of tradition and professional stigma, and thus ripe to highlight that we all have choices. There are hundreds of work from home jobs for stay at home Moms, but you would never know that unless you were motivated to seek out this information. A short list would include virtual assistant, corporate party planner, bookkeeper, picture framer, or computer repair technician.

All of these jobs offer the freedom to work and earn from your own home, and all of them can be had if the person so chooses. Just because a stay at home is expected to keep their focus and energy centered on the kids, doesn't mean they can't have a productive and healthy professional career. This is all to say that the days of having only one employment option are gone. This is America, after all, home of opportunity!



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Learn Yourself! (About a Work From Home Business)

Do you find it frustrating when you really want to do something but don't know how? Me, too. However, if you really want to start a business that let's you work from home, you may find it a bit grating because it requires skills and knowledge that you can't just find at the bottom of a cereal box. Unfortunately, this isn't the sidewalk lemonade stand you ran on your corner in the summer of 4th grade (despite your impressive profit margins).

Classes

Is it surprising to learn that there are classes centered on work from home information? It shouldn't as the interest in working from home has skyrocketed in the last twenty years. Still, it doesn't seem readily apparent, does it? Regardless, there are such courses and as long as you live near a community college (or just have access to the Internet) you can expose yourself to home-business concepts and approaches.

Some of the courses include not only how to write up a business or marketing plan, but also how to learn about zoning restrictions or licenses and permits. Not to mention that you'll be amongst peers and literally have a how-to instructor. The course may not teach some of the real life ins and outs, but at least it's a solid beginning.

Mentors

Maybe you already know someone who has a work at home business. If you do then it's time you bought them a cup of coffee (or dinner and drinks) and picked their brain about what to do. Unlike the academic setting, talking to someone with hands on experience can give you a more practical approach.

If you don't know someone, however, you can always go to your local Better Business Bureau and see if you can't happen upon a relationship. Undoubtedly, there'll be a few empathetic souls you can find or at least a fellow entrepreneurs who understands the importance of networking.

Self-teach

This is not the recommended way as a business to work from home is a serious enterprise. However, with more people taking this plunge there is definitely a wealth of available information about the do's an don'ts. In fact, for the price of a library card (free) you'll have access to most of the academic texts and personal blogs about starting a business from home. At which point you can leave your frustration behind and hopefully start enjoying the freedom of a home based business.



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Monday, May 28, 2012

How Can I Make More Money at Home?

How Can I Make More Money at Home - Your Key to Financial Freedom

There are millions of people around the world who would like to identify a way to work from home. You might be sick of your daily job, or desperate to be your own boss. You may have been looking towards a work from home opportunity to allow you to spend more time with your family. Whatever your reasons, there are a number of different ways to make money at home.

The most opportunities are found online using the internet. The web allows almost everyone access to the largest source of information in the world.

The important thing here is to think about your own skills. What can you do, and what skills can you offer other people. It's very important here not to play down your own skills. Many people looking for these opportunities will automatically play down their skills. After all, this is the internet. There must be millions of people out there offering the same skills so why would someone want my assistance? You're not alone if you've thought this.

However, bear in mind that whatever opportunities you get involved in online not everyone else has the same attitude towards work as you. Not everyone will deliver a good result not everyone will see the job through to the end. You have a different background to everyone else. You are unique, and with the right work ethic and desire to earn money you may be exactly what other people offering opportunities are looking for.

There are numerous opportunities to make money online. Many people offer their services on internet based work sites such as 'Elance'. Here people post jobs and work they need to get completed and you can put yourself forward to do the work. Many of these jobs are writing related, usually because the employer doesn't have the time nor the manpower to write them themselves. This can be a great opportunity for you to earn money. Earnings can range from £1 per piece of work to £500+ usually depending on the time required to complete the job. Employers will provide a brief of everything they want and how they want it presented. This really works and thousands of people make a good income completing these tasks for other people. You may find data entry roles, article writing roles, numeracy based roles etc.

This is just one of many different ways to find opportunities online to make more money from your home. The main thing to remember is attitude is key. Don't be afraid to put yourself forward for jobs. If you present yourself in a professional manner you will get opportunities to complete work for others. Don't bite off more than you can chew, make sure you read the brief properly and try your best. With these factors you're bound to succeed, but if for some reason things don't work out just move on to the next job. The internet is a vast place and let's face it, what is the worst that can happen?

Do You Have A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) For Your Online Home Business?

Having a unique selling proposition (USP) is what separates you from all the people, who compete with you in your marketplace. It's what makes you so unique from others who sell similar products or services. Your USP is what makes customers choose to buy from you and not from others. It's what makes you to have a unique advantage in business over others. Have you ever thought of having one?

Your unique selling proposition is a determining factor to your success in any business. If you are not yet clear about your uniqueness, then it's really hard to succeed in business. You should know that there are always other businesses that offer the products or services you offer. This means that for you to survive the competition, you must have something unique that attracts people to do business with you.

In a competitive marketplace, you should focus on how to differentiate your products or your services and your whole business from others. You have to think about how best to position your business so that you stand out of the crowd in order to withstand the competition and to make money online. Have you ever thought about it?

Remember that everyone offers professional services, quality products, quality services and value for money. If you also position yourself as someone who offers the same, then it may really be difficult to attract customers to buy from you. To stand out, you will have to say something else that is unique and different.

Coming up with a unique selling proposition is something you should consider carefully. You need to think about it deeply in order to identify your uniqueness. You should be clear about what you do or what you want to start doing that communicates clearly what is different and unique from your competition. After identifying your uniqueness, you have to build your brand name with it. You have to communicate your uniqueness to everyone you do business with and in various ways.

An effective unique selling proposition should basically find the solution to the problem your targeted customers have, what they want and what they will benefit. For instance, if you have a web designing business and you have identified the problems with your potential customers as being slow loading and unattractive websites designed by people who take too long and have little knowledge in online marketing, you can easily know that what they want are beautifully designed fast-loading websites with highly optimized web pages. For demonstration purposes, you can come up with the following USPs:

"A fast loading website designed in just a week"

"A quick and simple website with pages loading in less than 5 seconds"

"A web designing business that meets your online marketing needs within a week"

"Nice-looking and fast loading websites designed by an experienced online marketer within a week"

In the example above, you can notice that each one of the USPs provides a solution to the problems of the customers and defines what they want to fulfill their needs. If your targeted customers come across those messages and they find out that you are a better person to meet their needs, you stand high chances of doing business with them.

Having a USP and communicating it to your potential customers alone is not enough. You have to be part of each and everything you do. This simply means that just having your USP only in words doesn't work and will NEVER work for you. You should live it by showing it to your customers in actions. It's very important to exhibit what you stand for by doing it.

As a piece of advice, consider developing a USP for your online business to take it to another level. Communicate it to your targeted customers on your website, in your adverts, on your business cards, and in any other way that you may deem necessary. Finally, live what you stand for by showing it in your actions. It's your actions that will substantiate and speak louder than your words.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Discover Why Affiliate Marketing Is a Perfect Business Model for Beginners

If you're like many people struggling in this troubled economy, you're probably looking for a way to make extra money with some kind of home-based business. The Internet is the perfect place to start your search, but what kind of business should you go into? Well, even though there are many different options for making money online these days, we highly recommend that beginners start their Internet marketing career as affiliates.

Affiliate marketing is a legitimate business model in which you get paid for referring other people to a merchant. The concept is pretty simple. All you have to do is build a website targeted to a specific niche such as weight loss, coffee makers, or gardening etc. You would then have informative articles on this particular topic, and then you would refer people to a paid product for more information.

The affiliate products you can recommend include information products such as e-books or audio programs, or they can also be physical products that you would purchase at your local Walmart or on Amazon.com. Just think about all the items available at Amazon and you get an idea of how many physical product you can choose from -- like bread machines, coffee makers, juicing machines, and so much more. The list truly is endless.

All you have to do is refer people to the merchant's website through your special affiliate link, and you'll make a commission whenever a sale is made.

The beauty of this business model is that you really don't have to worry about the traditional headaches that most new business owners have to deal with each day. This includes managing inventory levels, processing credit card payments, talking with customers in person or on the phone about their complaints, shipping items at the post office, packing lots of boxes in your home (or paying for an office space each month), and so much more.

If you have any previous experience with business, you'll probably be amazed at how much easier it can be to run an affiliate marketing business. That's not to say that it's effortless or that you're going to make a huge amount of money overnight. You still have to treat it like a real business and work diligently, but the barrier of entry and administrative tasks are much lower than in any traditional business (or even in many other kinds of online businesses).

Can you really expect to make a full-time income with affiliate marketing? Yes, it certainly is possible, but you shouldn't expect miracles either. You need to devote some time over the next few months to building a serious online business. Affiliate marketing by itself can make you a living, but it can also be a stepping stone to more complicated business models like traditional e-commerce websites or creating your own information products. The great thing about affiliate websites is that you can get up and running very quickly instead of spending lots of time and money figuring out how to create your own e-commerce store with shopping cart software, etc.



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