The Difference between Marketing & Promotion

By Hendra Subrata Liu

Are you an online marketer? Or do you simply promote affiliate
programs? Marketing is truly the most misunderstood word in use
today on the Internet.

In Marketing 101 at your local university, marketing is actually
the process of Product, Place, Price and Promotion.

PRODUCT

No business can exist without a product or service to sell.

In a nutshell, entrepreneurs are the people who believe in a
product, service or idea, so much that they are willing to
invest their lives into the development of their dream.

Historically, every major corporation in the world was started
by an entrepreneur with a dream and the drive to make it a
reality.

However, there comes a time in the life of every corporation
when those who fear the gambling nature of their founder, squash
the entrepreneurial drive that made the company a viable concern
in the first place. The entrepreneur will either submit to the
careful nature of the stockholders, or he will be forced to
leave the company he created.

The only entrepreneurs who withstand the pressure to move more
carefully are those who have maintained majority control over
their companies.

PLACE

In the offline world, place is defined by location. On the
Internet, place is defined by domain name and the web hosting
service chosen.

Both online and offline, place can make or break a company
without respect to the quality and value of the product, service
or idea.

PRICE

Selecting a price is determined first on a basis of whether the
company wants to be seen as a discount or a value company.

Take for example Wal-Mart and Staples.

Wal-Mart is the lead discounter in the marketplace. Staples on
the other hand is the specialist in office supplies.

Both sell a significant number of office supplies despite the
fact that the lowest price can usually be found at Wal-Mart. As
a value dealer, Staples can afford to charge more for their
products than Wal-Mart.

So the question for you is whether you want to position your
company as a discount or value company.

Testing has shown that products and services can be sold at any
number of prices and still reach a significant number of people.

The challenge of selecting the best price for your product or
service will require a certain amount of testing.

UNDERSTANDING THE PRICING EQUATION

Let`s assume we are selling a product. Let us also assume that
we know that the product can be sold for $10 or $50. Let us also
assume that if the price dips below $10 or rises above $50, then
the product sales fall off significantly.

Our challenge is to determine the best rate at which to sell our
product.

Testing has shown us that we can sell 1000 items a week at $10.
Testing has also shown that we can sell 500 items per week at
$50. And testing has shown that we can sell 650 items per week
at $45.

At $10, our projected weekly earnings are $10,000. When we sell
the product at $50, we know that we can earn $25,000 per week.
Most importantly, we know that we can earn $29,250 when our
product is priced at $45.

With the imaginary testing we have done on our imaginary
product, we can easily see that selling our product at $45 per
item will earn us more money over the long haul.

Thus, when we make the decision for a national rollout of our
product, then we will price our product at $45.

Of course, this is a very simplistic analysis of the point I am
trying to make. Though simple, I believe this analogy will help
you understand the methods of developing a product`s prices.

PROMOTION

Promotion, on the other hand, is the process of notifying the
consumers for your product or service of your availability to
serve them.

Methods of promotion vary distinctly and should be arranged to
meet very specific goals.

As with product, place and price, promotion should not be left
to chance. You should test every ad, every media, and every
price point to determine the best bang for your promotional
dollars.

HEADS UP!

If you are an online promoter or marketer, please factor in the
most important element concerning the cost of your promotions.

What element is that? Your time!

Value your time at a certain dollar amount, and figure in your
time into the cost of your promotional accounting.

I say this because too many online promoters lose sight of this
concept and spend 20 hours to generate one sale while using free
advertising. Even if you rate your time at the federal minimum
wage, then you will have invested $105 of your time for one sale
that might only net you a gross sale of $45!

ARE YOU TRULY A MARKETER OR ARE YOU JUST A PROMOTER?

Most people who run a business on the Internet call themselves
marketers. Yet, most of these same people are really just
promoters wrapped in the label of a marketer.

True marketers do not promote without a lot of advance work.
They spend time planning, testing and measuring their actions
and results to get the most out of every dollar spent and earned.

Entrepreneurs finesse the art of marketing as they build their
company into a major enterprise.

If you are a promoter who does not keep an eye on the total
marketing equation, then you are bound to fail.

If you do call yourself a marketer, then do what a professional
marketer does. Make sure that every dollar spent is spent well.
Make sure that every dollar earned is put to good use. Market
well so that when the people of the next generation look at your
life, they will see a fine example of a successful entrepreneur
that they will strive to emulate.

About the author:
To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.digitalphotography-camera.com/store
http://www.digitalphotography-camera.com
http://www.pandanwangi.pobs.me
http://www.homebizrevelations.blogspot.com
http://www.healthismorepreciousthanwealth.blogspot.com

Networking Your Home Business within Circles of Influence

By Hendra Subrata Liu

When you need an auto mechanic or an air conditioning repairman,
where do you turn for help? Sure, some people turn to the yellow
pages. But most will turn to friends and family and ask if they
know of anyone who can do the work.

The best place for your business to be positioned is to be the
business on the tips of the tongues of the people asked to make
the referral.

THE 300 RULE

Preachers, and people in a few other
professions have learned "the 300 rule" through their own
personal experience.

"The 300 rule" states that the average person knows 300 people
on a friendly level. Wedding planners tend to make reservations
for 300 guests. You get the idea.

DOODLING WITH CIRCLES OF INFLUENCE

Imagine your circle of friends, family and acquaintances,
your circle of influence. Now, draw your circle of influence as
a circle on a blank piece of paper.

Next, contemplate the people in your parents` circle of
influence. Some people who know your parents also know you.
Therefore, you will share some influence with the people your
folks know. Now draw your parents` circle of influence on your
piece of paper.

Your circle and your parents` circle will intersect in one area,
although the larger majority of the two circles will not
intersect. If you are like most people, the two circles on your
page at this point looks very similar to the MasterCard logo.

Now imagine drawing a page full of intersecting circles, each
circle representing the circle of influence of the people who
are within your own circle of influence. Imagine trying to
encapsulate an accurate rendering of where your circle and the
circle of your friends will actually intersect.

Some circles will share a large area of space, while others will
barely cover one another.

Actually, you can only imagine at this point what your piece of
paper will look like. The actual layout of the circles imagined
in this analogy is simply too overwhelming for the mind to
comprehend.

THE BIG PICTURE

300 multiplied by 300 equals 90,000. By using the analogy of
doodles in the previous section, the average person can actually
network with up to 90,000 people! Even factoring in the overlap,
one can still probably network with 50,000 people through their
own circle of influence!

Simply amazing, isn`t it?

HERE IS THE SECRET TO YOUR SUCCESS

There are 300 people on this planet whom you have a reasonable
amount of influence. Take advantage of this fact. Make darn sure
that every person within your own circle of influence KNOWS that
you are in business for yourself, and make sure they understand
what your business offers.

When your friend is asked to make a referral, they will
recommend you.

PASSIVE VERSUS ACTIVE REFERRAL NETWORKING

When people ask your friends for a referral and your friend
mentions your business, that is passive referral networking.

Active referral networking is when you can get your friends go
directly to their friends and say "Hey, I have a friend who just
started a business. If you are in need of what he offers or you
know someone who will need his services, would you please give
my friend a call or make the referral to his business?"

If you can get even a portion of the people in your own circle
of influence to actively refer your business, then you have
built the foundation to build an advertising campaign even more
effective than the average local television advertising campaign.

Think about that for a moment.

Most people only dream of reaching 50,000 potential customers
with their television advertising dollars. You now have the
knowledge to reach 50,000 people without spending a single penny.

About the author:
To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.digitalphotography-camera.com/store
http://www.digitalphotography-camera.com
http://www.pandanwangi.pobs.me
http://www.homebizrevelations.blogspot.com
http://www.healthismorepreciousthanwealth.blogspot.com

Children in the Home Business Environment

By Hendra Subrata Liu

Operating a home business is seldom easy and interruptions come
in all shapes, sizes and forms.

Between the family, friends and neighbors who call or come by,
and the telemarketers who insist on ringing your number off the
hook, getting through the workday can be a real challenge.

When you introduce children into the home office environment,
your productivity and patience can be seriously tested.

OLDER CHILDREN AND TEENS

We will look at older children first since they pose the least
challenge to our work productivity.

Children, who are old enough to understand the idea of schedules
and chores, are old enough to understand the needs of your home
business. Explain to your children that you do your work at home
so that you can be near them when they need you. But also be
sure they understand that you must do your work so that you will
have the money necessary to keep your house, feed the family and
to provide them with money for entertainment.

Once your children understand the necessity of your work, then
outline a work schedule and explain it to them. Do make sure
they understand that emergencies are definitely an acceptable
reason to interrupt your work. Then make sure they understand
that between hours x and y, you will be doing work --- and then
hold them to respecting your schedule.

INFANTS

Infants will never understand your needs for work. But
fortunately, babies do well under a schedule or routine. Instead
of expecting your child to work around your schedule, schedule
your work around the needs of your baby.

It is simple. Babies eat, sleep and poop. Sometimes they play.
Fortunately, babies sleep more than they do anything else.

Naptime offers the best advantage for getting your work done.
Get your baby into a routine of eat, sleep and play, and you
will experience unexpected levels of productivity.

TODDLERS

If you have a toddler running around the house while you are
operating your home business, then you may find that your hair
turning gray or disappearing altogether. But, gray hair is a
sign of character, right. ;-)

Develop a routine with your children for meal times, naptimes,
and play times. Work these times into your work schedule and
adhere to them. If you fail to keep appointments with your
children, your children will have less respect for your work and
do more to prevent you from the completion of your work.

Don`t be afraid to let your children sit in your lap while you
are working. It helps them to feel wanted and it helps them to
be a part of your daily life. There are times when it is okay
for them to be sitting in your lap while you work, and at other
times you need them out of your lap. Don`t be afraid to tell
them to get down and go play or read a book so that you can
resume your work.

Permit your children to have their toys in your office. Often
they will sit contently and play while you work. Just knowing
you are near is enough to keep them happy.

Be prepared to take an hourly break to deal with your toddler.
Try to do potty breaks at your hourly break and to do drink
refills. This can help your child grow into a routine that will
work well with your home business. At each break, spend a few
minutes with your child giving hugs and kisses and talking with
your child about what he or she wants to talk about.

Toddlers don`t always do well with the routine, so be prepared
to take a few minutes when needed to give the attention that
your child so desperately needs in the moment.

IN CONCLUSION

Hope these tips serve to help you in the challenge of
operating a successful home business.

Home business permits fulfillment of financial obligations
*AND* see children grow up. Even with the added challenges of dealing
with toddlers in home office, the upsides far outweigh the downsides.

Growing own home business with children around has definitely
given a new respect for all people who successfully run a
home business with kids in the work environment.

About the author:
To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.digitalphotography-camera.com/store
http://www.digitalphotography-camera.com
http://www.pandanwangi.pobs.me
http://www.homebizrevelations.blogspot.com
http//www.healthismorepreciousthanwealth.blogspot.com