Dream Affiliate Money

Your Home Business: Turning Pennies into Dollars

November 11, 2008 – 8:25 am

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Henry Ford taught us that to simplify the manufacture of automobiles, that the best way to do so was to install the assembly line. That one change revolutionized the auto manufacturing industry permitting the industry to build cars at a cost whereas the average person could afford to buy one.

The lesson we should take from this is that having the ability to improve the process of getting the job quicker and cheaper, without compromising the quality of the job being done, will help catapult the person who simplified the process to the top
of his/her field.

Pennies saved in your home business can turn into dollars at the end of the day, and dollars can quickly multiply into hundreds or thousands of dollars over time.

Doubt me if you will, but let me ask you a question. Do you think a saving of two fifths of a penny could make any real difference in the profit margin of a home business? Of course
the right answer is “it depends on how many transactions are done in a year, utilizing the savings of the two fifths of one penny.”

You only have to think back a couple of decades to really appreciate this question. Do you remember the nut that lived and died in a Las Vegas hotel room? You know the one who was a billionaire, and was so worried about germs that he died of starvation? If you guessed Howard Hughes (1905-76), pat yourself on the back.

Now Howard did not make all of his money on his two fifths of one penny. He did however make a ton of money from his two fifths of one penny. It seems Howard owned a can manufacturing company. And one day, Howard`s team figured out how they could make one minor change in the design of their food can to reduce the amount of tin necessary to make a single can.

As the story goes — if my memory serves me correctly — the reduction in tin usage equaled a saving of two fifths of one penny per can. Howard — being the really smart businessman that he was — decided that he would not be so greedy as to keep all of the savings for himself. What Mr. Hughes did do was to keep half of the savings for himself, and give the other half to his customers. The incredible thing about Mr. Hughes decision
is that by saving his customers an extra one fifths of one cent per can, he managed to take more market share away from his competition — netting his company an additional and
substantial portion of the total market share in the canning industry.

Let us return our thoughts to your home business. Have you ever gotten the feeling of excitement — when you read something or thought of something — that you could not wait to implement this new idea? This could be one of those moments…

In every home business, there are certain processes that we do over and again. Sometimes it may be possible to trim the time or expense of a process which in turn will add pennies or dollars to your bottom line. If it is a process that you do hundreds or
thousands of times per month, then your savings will multiply into hundreds or thousands of dollars in monthly savings.

Imagine what running a home business was like BEFORE the computer…

Before the personal computer, we had to hand type all letters and invoices. Now, we can setup a letter or invoice that we send out quite often, and we can save it in our word processor so that when we need to use it again, we can print it quickly and efficiently. There is no longer a need to type the document again from scratch.

The computer has simplified our business communications and has provided us the opportunity to reduce our costs of doing business.

Think about all of the other processes that the computer has enabled us to do for far less expense than what we could in the past.

In this case, the computer is a tool that permits us to save time and money.

So, my challenge to you is to begin examining the processes in your own home business and look for ways in which you can save yourself time and money. It is far better for you to contemplate on this matter than it is for me to do so for you. Simply put, you know your business better than anyone on the planet does. Therefore, you are in a better position than anyone to find those extra dollars that will decrease your costs and increase
your profits.

The extra pennies and dollars you could extract from your business could spell the difference between success and failure for your home business enterprise.

About the Author:
————————————————————
Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy has helped thousands of people in over 200 countries around the world start and run a successful home business. Discover 3 easy steps to start
your own home business and subscribe to The Home Biz Guy’s Free Home Business Secrets Mini-Course at:
PlugInProfitSite.com

————————————————————

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By Kelly Yuile Posted in Home Based Business No Comments

3 Important Steps To Affiliate Marketing Profits

October 27, 2008 – 5:37 am

When running an affiliate marketing business the obvious results you desire are to get results and earn profits. Care should be taken not to rush into your promotions, as this is the determining factor concerning how profitable your business will be.

I have included 3 very important steps, that if followed can lead to a more profitable business for you.

1. Doing your keyword research is a key factor to your success. This is not to say that every article or blog entry that you submit has to be aimed at chosen keywords. However, in order to gain a higher search engine ranking and reach your target audience it is important that you research the keywords and phrases that are commonly used.

It is also a good idea to search for keywords that have high search results, yet have lower advertising competition. Once you have your list of keywords and phrases, all efforts can be geared towards effective promotion.

2. Get to know what your competition is doing. This is an important factor for your affiliate marketing business. Know where your competition is heading and what marketing tactics they are using.

The promotional action they use could present you with ideas on what works to grasp your target audience.Observe carefully and be aware of new movements in marketing and promotion.

3. Know your weaknesses. If your skills in ad writing or article promotion are not up to scratch, then you will need to take action to either improve your skills or failing that, hire a ghostwriter or freelancer to prepare your promotional material for you. Well written articles and advertisements are important to ensure you capture your target audiences attention.

These 3 simple, yet vitally important steps, will be sure to set your affiliate marketing business in the right direction.

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By Kelly Yuile Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Home Based Business, Online Marketing, Work From Home No Comments

Now Anyone Can Get Free Advertising

October 22, 2008 – 8:09 am

As you know some of the best ways to get traffic to your site is through the search engines. And as you know search engines love blogs.

If you know how to use blogs you can easily get more traffic to your website just by posting your keywords in the title and having your blogs indexed.

Other ways to get traffic to your site is to use popular free traffic exchanges. They come in many forms such as start (homepage) exchanges, safelists (opt in email ads), toolbar ads such as instantbuzz.com and forums such as the free advertising forum.

If you are looking to kill 2 birds with one stone, you can advertise for free on a new BLOG that actually allows you to place your ads for free on their site.

The reason this is good because you get all the benefits of placing your ads on a BLOG and you all get to advertise for free.

Most people would look at this as a no brainer. Although most webmaster do not like people to advertise on the blogs, this site was made just for that.

It is free to join and thousands are flocking to this service to drive huge traffic to their sites in just 8 days by simply posting one little ad on their home page.

Anyone looking to increase their profits should look in to

free-advertising-blog.com

By Kelly Yuile Posted in Advertising, Home Based Business, Work From Home No Comments

The One Week Marketing Plan Exposed - Affiliate Marketing Tips For the Frustrated

October 19, 2008 – 11:01 pm

By Leo Hanes

Ok, You already know a little about internet marketing and are trying to make a go of it to make money online using all free websites, methods, and techniques.

While you have some of the pieces to this great big puzzle, you don’t know yet how to fit them all together to make them work.

We’ve all been there. We know what we were thinking then. We know what was confusing us then, too. We know the frustration of NOT being able to make money online like we thought we could in the beginning.

However, there are MANY places that folks just like yourself hang out to find answers to their questions. - Forums.

Yes, internet marketing related forums.

Any time someone asks a question on a forum about keywords, article marketing, Squidoo or Hub Pages, free blogs, Bum Marketing, etc etc etc, you have most likely found someone who is a good candidate for your affiliate marketing campaign.

Simply put, a campaign covers everything that you are planning to do to promote your selected affiliate product….you do have a campaign, or marketing action plan, don’t you?

To those not familiar with it, affiliate marketing involves selling the products or services of other people in exchange for a commission from sales made. Many people have already become successful with affiliate marketing and are earning thousands of dollars from it every month.

The flexibility of affiliate marketing coupled with the relatively low capital needed to enter this kind of business makes it a very ideal money-making endeavor for moms (or dads) who want to spend time at home with their families rather than in an office.

If you want to learn more about affiliate marketing there are many resources available that can help you.

In choosing a resource to help you learn affiliate marketing, choose one that is not full of hype and empty promises, so many, from so-called “gurus” are simply fluff-filled materials that will make you more confused about affiliate marketing, and how to make money from home.

Do you want to learn more about how to create an effective affiliate marketing campaign to make money online faster?

Discover that the best affiliate marketing resources around are the ones that provide real, down-to-earth information about how to make money online

Get a free “sneak peek” at what the One Week Marketing Plan Exposed about affiliate marketing.

Leo Hanes is full time internet marketer, that focuses all his writing and publishing efforts on the three core principles of creating profits online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leo_Hanes
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-One-Week-Marketing-Plan-Exposed—Affiliate-Marketing-Tips-For-the-Frustrated&id=1589237

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By Kelly Yuile Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Home Based Business, Work From Home 1 Comment

Affordable Home Business Ideas

October 13, 2008 – 8:14 am

Running a home business could potentially be expensive, although there are home business opportunities that won’t cost a great deal to get up and running. Here are a few affordable home business ideas.

1. A very cost effective home business idea is to create a website. Your website could be used to sell a product or service of your own, to promote and sell affiliate products or even an information or article site. The cost to launch your own website is minimal, often well under $100, and could even be free. However to get traffic and customers to your website will take dedication and hard work. A lot of time and effort will be put into promoting your web site. For Internet marketing “newbies”, there are many great websites and books to help you to get started.

2. Another popular home business idea is selling items on internet auction sites, such as eBay. If you begin small the cost is minimal. Most people start out by selling items they no longer need around their house, or purchasing a few bargains at garage sales. You may even consider selling items that you have made yourself. Eventually you will be able to link up with wholesalers, perhaps even some who can dropship items for you. This removes all of the work involved in purchasing, storing and shipping your merchandises.

3. Maybe your talents lay in writing articles. One of the very best home based business opportunities for writers is freelance writing. There are numerous web sites where you will be able to sign up as a freelance writer and bid for jobs from all over the world. There are so many different projects that exist for a freelancer such as article writing, website content, writing sales copies for businesses or even ghost-writing books. The demand is high for good quality, well written articles and e-books.

There are many more affordable home business ideas and opportunities, such as typing for local businesses, tutoring, babysitting, dog walking or even gardening. The list is seemingly endless, and not all home businesses have to be Internet based. By starting a business from your home you will have minimal, if any, start-up expenses. Your home business is only limited by your imagination and your talent. Find something you love to do, and then come up with a way to provide these services to the public.

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By Kelly Yuile Posted in Home Based Business, Online Marketing, Work From Home No Comments

Finding The Right Home Based Business

October 7, 2008 – 8:49 pm

Starting a home based business is a fantastic opportunity, allowing you to spend more time with your family, freedom to work your own hours or providing additional income to enjoy a few of life’s luxuries. Your home based business could turn out to be your dream come true.

There are more and more home based business opportunities arising on the Internet. Some of them are great, while others will only prove to make the seller a fortune and nothing more. Therefore it is a wise idea to do your homework on all of the home based businesses available before choosing one that suits you. The good news is that with so many choices of home based business out there, you will be able to find the perfect opportunity for your needs and skills

Any business requires work and a home based business is no exception. No business will run itself, therefore you must dedicate the time and effort that is required to make your home based business a success. Any successful home based business owner will assure you that they had to work hard at their business. It is not enough to put up a website and expect the customers to just start rolling in. A home based business needs time to develop and become successful. All businesses start small, everyone has to begin somewhere. So allow yourself the time learn and develop your skills, to go from newbie to success in your home based business.

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By Kelly Yuile Posted in Home Based Business, Work From Home No Comments

Customer Value

October 4, 2008 – 10:08 pm

This is a great article I found about customer value, and although it is relating to face to face customer service, many of the points made can be utilized with an online home based business because without customers there is no business. Enjoy!

It drives me crazy the way some companies treat their customers - as well as their employees. An employee who isn’t treated with respect may not treat a customer with respect and there goes all value of even having a business, right out the window. All I can say is, if you want your business to fail, then forget about your customer value. And if you want to succeed, then customer value should be your highest priority.

A profitable business has and shows respect not only to their employees but to their customers as well. In showing this respect you build a “bank”, and in that bank you can find a return respect, appreciation, friendliness and willingness. All this adds to the recipe of having positive customer value. Having this value is a cornerstone to achieving repeat customers and less hassle. It saves time for all involved. If a manager or CEO or whoever can show that they care, then that gets passed on down the line to an employee straight to the customer.

Customers are the only reason a business stays alive. I don’t imagine that a business owner would ever go and buy enough of their own products to keep themselves afloat, so they have to rely on someone else. If you show no appreciation for the person who visits your store or online store, even if nothing is purchased, then you need to step back and consider why you are doing what you are doing and either shut down business or provide what the customer needs.

Keep in mind that as soon as anyone walks into your store, they are immediately a customer, with or without a purchase. There is no rhyme or reason to have to continually find new business because of the loss of customers. To do so only means more costs to run your business and these are necessary costs that only inflate your overhead, giving less profit.

Develop relationships, be courteous, make them important to you and let them know that. There are so many ways to show appreciation to get value. Why not have a customer appreciation day a couple of times a year? Maybe it will be an in-store party complete with a cakewalk and prizes. Why save this only for grand openings? Maybe at holiday times, spend the extra bit of profit to buy little holiday-related cheers to hand out, or simple “thank you for doing business with us” notes that aren’t printed on the back of a receipt.

If you want your business to succeed, then cater to those who will come to visit. Think about what you want when you walk into a store. Keep in mind what you dislike about the treatment you may receive from other businesses, and know not to do that. Put out a suggestion box, and make it conspicuous. All these tings show you care, and the end line will be that you build value in your customers which promotes repeat transaction as well as free, positive advertising via word of mouth.

Author unknown

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By Kelly Yuile Posted in Customer Service, Home Based Business No Comments

How To Manage Customer Data

October 2, 2008 – 12:48 am

As your home based business grows so too does the volume of customers, subscribers, and contacts. Keeping track of all that information can be a real challenge.

Losing customer information can be costly as is sending marketing messages to inaccurate addresses. Not to worry, there are many tools and systems to manage your customer data effectively and efficiently.

Step One. Forget doing it by hand.

Even if you’re just starting out in business, managing your customer data by hand, entering information into a database isn’t the best idea. It’s time consuming and once your business really takes off, you simply won’t have time to keep up with it.

Step Two. Choose a method of collecting, maintaining, and organizing your customer data.

Options include:

Software. Many shopping cart software programs offer customer relationship management features and functions. Use these functions! Use your system to store and update your customer data.

Many of these same shopping cart software products also offer autoresponder and marketing functions so you can merge your existing database, perhaps maintained on Excel or Microsoft Access, right into your shopping cart software customer database. All your contacts are now maintained in one location.

There are also separate Customer Relationship Management programs or CRM like salesforce.com however unless you have a large sales force and a large list of contacts this type of system may not be suited for your internet based business. Another alternative is a subscription list manager.

Subscription list manager provider. You have a form on your website to collect subscribers. You have their email addresses and perhaps you have their name and some other relevant demographic information – what do you do with it? Use list management software to collect, compare, and organize your subscriber’s information.

Step Three. Compare systems.

Look for a customer data management system which:

Enables your list to grow without having to change systems
* Allows you to generate reports
* Eliminates duplicate information – you don’t need to send an email to the same person twice!
* Offers good customer service
* Is with a large enough software provider that they won’t go out of business and leave you high and dry.
* Is easy to use.
* Let’s you export information out of the system and import information into the system.

Step Four. Back it up!

What ever system you choose, it is important to back up your customer database. Each name on your list is worth valuable time not to mention future profits. It’s worth protecting. Create a system to back up your information regularly and be sure to test the backup procedure to make sure it’s working.

Your customer database is quite likely one of the most valuable assets you own as a business owner. Take good care of it and it’ll take good care of you.

Presented by Kelly Yuile

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By Kelly Yuile Posted in Home Based Business, Home Business Organization 1 Comment

7 Steps To Setting Up Your Home Business Office

September 26, 2008 – 5:19 am

There are many advantages in setting up your own home based business such as: flexibility, setting your own schedule, eliminating the daily commute and spending more time with your family.

To be successful with your new home based business it is essential to create an efficient working space or office. I have provided 7 tips to help you keep an organized home office

1. List All Of Your Home Office Needs

Setting up you home office isn’t just a matter of finding a corner, or a room in your house and calling it an office. You need to make a detailed list of your basic needs such as your desk, computer, telephone, fax machine etc. Think about what sort of work you will be doing and what office equipment you are going to need to fulfill all of your home business needs.

2. Choose An Area For Your Home Office Space

Once you have made a list of all the office equipment you are going to need to operate your home business, you will have a better idea of just how much space is required. If you are sharing your house with a spouse and/or children or even a roommate you are going to need a space that offers some peace and quiet. If you have a spare room this is an ideal location. To concentrate on your work you need an area that can remove you from the noise from the rest of the house.

3. Balance Workspace And Storage

Many home office areas are limited for space, so you may have to be a little creative when it comes to your organization. Keep in mind that to work efficiently you need an uncluttered area that allows you to spread your work out. However there is also the problem of storage of files, stationary etc. Maybe you could build a desk with a filing cabinet or drawers set into it. This way all of your supplies are easily accessible yet they are not cluttering your desk top. The more organized your home office is, the more productive your work day will be.

4. Start With The Right Home Office Equipment

It is important to start right from the very beginning with the right equipment for your home office. It is important to have a good desk and an office chair that provides support and comfort. Since your computer will play such a huge role in your home business it is important to have one with sufficient memory to be able to store all of your files and data. Also high speed Internet connection is a must. It is hard to be efficient if you are forever waiting for pages to download on your computer.

5. Use A Separate Phone Line For Your Home Business

If your home business includes dealing with clients on the telephone it is necessary to have a separate phone line. When sharing the phone you run the risk of children or other family members answering the phone. To potential clients this does not give the impression that you are running a professional business. Also your home and business phone would be sharing the same answering machine. This could be very confusing to people who are ringing with business enquiries.

6. Establish Working Hours

Even though you are working from home you still need to treat it like a real job, because that is exactly what it is. To make money you have to work so it is important to schedule working hours for yourself. Setting yourself a daily schedule for your home business will help you to stay focused. Also by setting working hours you are less likely to get distracted by the drop in visits from friends and family. Hang a clock so you are able to keep track of the time. When working from home it is easy to be so absorbed in your work that you completely lose track of time. You have to set yourself a limit, finish off for the day at your set time and get straight back into it tomorrow.

7. Separate Work And Personal Time

When you have a home based business it is important to separate your work from your personal life. Keep separate banking and checking accounts for your business. If you mix personal expenses with business expenses it can cause an awful lot of confusion, especially when it comes to tax time. To avoid this confusion, and possible scrutiny from the taxation department, it is easier to keep it all separate from the get go.

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By Kelly Yuile Posted in Home Based Business, Home Business Organization 2 Comments

How To Create A Successful Home Based Business - Part 5

September 20, 2008 – 1:20 am

This is part 5 of the Create A Successful Home Based Business series - marketing your product.

Now by this time you have found your niche as well as a great product to sell and it’s time to start making money! In order to do this you need to drive targeted traffic to your website.

There are many great ways to market your product but many home based business owners do not have a lot of spare cash to spend on their advertising when starting out. That is ok because I am going to suggest methods that will have potential customers visiting your site in no time at all, and best of all they wont cost you a cent!

Blogging

Search engines favour sites that are constantly being updated, and this is why blogging has become a high powered tool for home based businesses. Because you are able to post on your blog frequently (at least 2-3 times per week is recommended) your online content is constantly changing.

It is for this very reason that search engines love blogs, triggering them to index your blog. The search engine spiders will visit your blog on a regular basis therefore boosting your page rank.

To get the maximum benefits from your blog make sure that your affiliate website is set up first. Then when you post articles on your blog you can link to relevant pages on your site.

Article Marketing

Article marketing is a long term strategy but it’s power is often underestimated. This is a very effective way of driving targeted traffic to your website.

Not only that, it is a very simple concept. Write articles using your chosen keywords, post them to high ranking article directories, include your author’s bio box with a link back to your website and let the traffic start rolling in.

Some great tips when writing your articles are:

Target one keyword or keyword phrase per article.
Make your articles approximately 500 words long, these convert the best.
Writ original content, but if writing articles is not your thing then you may consider using a ghostwriter to write them for you.
NEVER submit spun articles, more often than not they are unintelligible rubbish!
Make sure your article topics are relevant to your website.

Forum Marketing

Forums are a place where a group of people sharing the same interests can get together and discuss their topic, ask questions and provide answers.

The first thing you will need to do once joining online forums is to set up you signature or “sig”. In most forums it is against the rules to do any kind of promotion in our posts. However, you may provide a link to your website in your signature such as,

Learn how to start your own home based business http://www.yourwebsite.com/

This way you are not pushing your product, rather providing helpful information to others on the forum with a link to your site that will provide answers to any of their questions.

It is a good idea to post at least 3-5 times per week on the forums. It takes time to build up your reputation as an expert in your niche, and by posting regularly you are building trust with people as they “get to know you”. Over time this will prove to be a very effective marketing method.

These marketing strategies are only the tip of the iceberg. There are many other great ways to market your website such as, eBay, Social Bookmarking, Classified Ads, Traffic Exchanges and Direct Link Building. Ideally you should look into as many possibilities as you can to drive traffic to your site and turn your home based business into a profitable venture.

Good Luck