Archive for September, 2007

If you offer a physical product for sell, having a website can help you bring many sales you wouldn’t have otherwise received.  People from all over the world can view your products, both day and night.  To make the most of your website (and your profits), you will want to display your highest quality product photos.

Many times, when it comes to your products, your website may be the only thing your customers have to go by.  They may never have had the chance to see your products in person.  It only makes sense to include photos that show several views of your product. You may want to include a shot of both the front and back views.  If you are offering something such as a purse, you may want to include a shot of the inside lining.

Depending on the type of product you are selling, you may want to include a model in your photos.  This is especially true if you are offering something such as clothing, jewelry, or handbags. If your visitor can “see” the image on someone else, they can more easily imagine it on themselves.

If you typically conduct your business via the Internet, you could be passing up a goldmine of business located right in your backyard.  You may not think local people are interested in your services, or perhaps you are just not sure how to actually reach them.  By placing a survey in your local paper, you can boost your local exposure (and your local profits).

A survey can consist of a few short questions, or it can be very long and detailed.  Most people will not take the time to fill out anything too drawn out, so it is best to keep it short and simple.

For example, if you are a virtual assistant, you can include questions such as “do you know what a virtual assistant is?”, “do you see the benefits of hiring someone on a contractual basis?” and “how much would you be willing to pay a virtual assistant?”

Setting up the survey is very easy.  First of all, you will want to create the survey page on your website.  Remember to name it something simple that people can remember. Once you have the link established, you can contact your local paper and give them the ad wording you would like to use, making sure you include the link to the survey.

When some people hear the word “marketing,” they may automatically think of networking or public speaking.  While those are certainly some forms of marketing, those are not the only avenues available.  In fact, there are numerous ways to market your business, both online and locally.

Finding a marketing activity to fit your personality will make marketing a fun activity for you.  The first step would be to decide if you have more of an outgoing personality or if you are more introverted.  Once you have decided that, you can decide if you would like to focus your efforts locally or online.

If you feel that you are outgoing and would like to market your business locally, you could try joining a networking group.  These groups meet weekly and the goal is to meet other local business people and help each other with referrals and leads.

If that option sounds a bit too intimidating, you could try joining other types of groups, such as a book club or hiking group.  This will also allow you to meet new people, and as you get to know the other members, the topic of what you do for a living will come up.  Another member may be in need of your services, and if not, they may pass your name onto someone else.

Many business owners take careful consideration into the type of advertising they buy.  They want to choose the right keyword for their pay-per-click campaigns or the best publications and websites for their other paid ads.  However, there is a free type of advertising that deserves just as much attention, but is largely ignored.  That type of advertising is known as “word of mouth.”

Positive word of mouth advertising happens when a client or colleague recommends you and your business to another person.  Of course, negative word of mouth advertising can happen, too.  That is when someone dissuades another person from using your services.  There are several things you can do to generate positive word of mouth advertising.

Providing quality products and services will set you apart from the competition and greatly increases the chances of receiving positive word of mouth advertising.  If you do a great job on a project for someone, they will definitely let others know about it.  Plus, they’ll want to hire you again for any upcoming projects they have.  Performing quality work is definitely the first step in generating a solid customer base.

The quickest way to getting eyeballs on your business these days is by establishing an online presence and central to establishing a powerful online presence is choosing a domain name that will attract the right customers.

Somehow, there hasn’t been enough emphasis placed on choosing a domain name that attracts the right customers, so allow me to expound on this subject with some tips you can put to immediate use for your next website or blog.

1. Choose A Name That Describes Your Website

Your domain name should aptly let your visitors know what your website is all about even before visiting your site.  In other words, give away as much information in your domain name as possible, leaving no room for your visitors to guess what your website is selling.

For example, if your name happens to be Sue Brown and you own a hair salon called Sue’s Hair Salon, get a domain name like, www.sueshairsalon.com instead of www.suebrown.com.  Seems pretty obvious, but you’ll be amazed at how many business owners use their personal names as domain names instead of choosing one that specifically describes their business.

One of the greatest advantages of the Internet as it pertains to home businesses is the many different ways that you can utilize it to market your business.  As in the “real world”, small business owners have lots of different options when it comes to getting exposure for their offerings and gaining new customers.

One of the most obvious ways to advertise your business online is to buy ad space on websites.  Some sites offer advertising space for a certain price per week, month, or year.  Some offer text ads, others offer space for graphics of certain sizes, and some offer both.  If you can find a website that complements your services or products very well, this type of advertising can be effective.  But there are other methods of marketing online that could give you more bang for your buck.

Cost Per Impression (CPM) programs allow you to pay based on the number of times your advertisement is shown.  Publishers place your banner or other graphics on their website, and you pay a specified amount for every thousand times it is shown.  This allows you to gain the maximum amount of exposure for your money.

Boy am I ever excited today, my baby is here and today is the day I unveil the new look of Scrappers Talk Radio. I’ve been on cloud nine all day and it’s been an absolutely beautiful day here in Vancouver.

I’m going to share with you why I decided to change this site over to a blog format, my thoughts behind it and how it’s going to benefit my business.

So watch for updates on income, excitement, and best of all helping a cause I’m so passionate about, Mercy Ministries.

I’d love to hear what you think about the new design, come on over and join the party!

The Internet has opened up new doors for entrepreneurs who want to start their own business.  No longer does someone need to be skilled in a certain area or have a big investment in order to “set up shop,”  A person can take the skills they already have and for a nominal fee, put a website up and open their business.

The benefits of having a web-based business are amazing.  Thanks to the Internet, people with disabilities who were once unable to work, mothers who stay home with their children, and even children themselves, are now able to start their own businesses.  With the power of the Internet, they can reach global markets in ways only top companies could have in the past.

It is no secret that people who do business over the Internet are also more likely to feel most comfortable marketing their business online.  That can be a big mistake, as they could be missing out on lots of local clients. There could be someone in your neighborhood right now looking for the type of product or service you offer.  If they don’t know you exist, they can’t hire you.  The following are some tips on how to market locally:

When you think of marketing your business, you may tend to think of marketing to individual consumers.  However, there is a lot to be said for marketing to other businesses.  A business can provide you with a lot of steady work, and you can also use business to business marketing as a way to generate new business leads.

The term “business to business marketing,” also known as “b2b” marketing simply means marketing your product or services to other businesses.  While some companies focus their entire marketing efforts into this category, the vast majority of businesses spend their time marketing to consumers.

When you take the time to market to other businesses, you are opening up a whole new client base for yourself.  For instance, if you are an event planner, you could market to an individual consumer and plan children’s birthday parties, family reunions, baby showers, and even weddings.

You could also market yourself to businesses and plan luncheons, product launch receptions, holiday parties, and other business functions.  This can offer you a much busier schedule than you would have had, if you were only marketing to consumers.  Plus, businesses may be willing to pay more for your services, thus allowing you to charge a higher rate.

Many businesses have a long history of contributing to various charity events and helping those in need.  Not only are they making a positive difference in the lives of others, they are also creating a great reputation for themselves and promoting their business to many people who may not have otherwise known about them.

Many charity events receive local and national media exposure.  As someone who is contributing a donation to an event, or organizing the event yourself, your name will most likely be featured in any news stories that are written about the event.  Even small stories can get picked up by news wire services or bloggers, and a small-town story can be spread all over the world.  Who knows how many people could read an article about the event (including information about your business).

You can choose to simply contribute to events that are already taking place or you can create your own.  This can be held online or offline.  To find a charity event you might be interested in, start thinking about some causes you would like to promote.

A press release may be a simple sheet of paper, but it can also be the key to publicity and profits.  Simply put, a press release is a document that contains information about your business or an event you are holding and is sent to the media.  Once they receive it, they may choose to feature a story about the information contained in it.  If they do, your business will gain a lot of exposure.

When the media features a story about your business, they are giving your business credibility.  Most people trust the information they receive from their local newspapers and television news programs.  They will assume that if your business is good enough to be featured in the local news, it must be a very good business. Plus, this publicity is free.

Many stories that are featured on national news wires and national news programs once started out as simple ‘local stories.’  Many writers and television news producers spend a big chunk of time watching out for the ‘next big thing.’  Your story could be just the story they are looking for.  Plus, being featured in local news stories gives you experience; when you get the chance for national exposure, you won’t be as nervous.

If you are wanting to become a professional scrapbooker and charge money to scrapbook for people who don’t have the time. You really need to start getting ready for the Christmas Season. This season is the best one to kick start your business into high gear.

I’m always planning for Christmas in July & August. You need to think about what you’re going to sell, what packages you can offer, which ones go over the best, which ones are HOT, and which ones you may let go for this year.

Getting involved with all the Christmas festivities will bring you lots of business.

You can start out by doing the flea market & craft fairs
Don’t ever underestimate selling at the flea market, I personally started my business at age 20 doing the flea market every single weekend for 2 years, and I might add that I was pregnant with my second child too! This afforded me to open my first store and soon 4 ore after that.

And brick and mortar stores are not cheap, just one sign for one of our locations cost us just over $4000.00 - so don’t think the flea market is not something worthwhile to do, because it really is.