Fast-Track Your Journey to Home Business Success

By Hendra Subrata Liu

No one has ever logged onto the Internet for the first time and
started pocketing dollars in a really short period of time. As
with all things in life, there is a learning curve.


THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS IS A STRAIGHT LINE

There is only one way to shorten the curve on the Internet:

You must plan to succeed!

Here is the deal. Most people put up a freebie website and select
a few affiliate programs to add to their website. Right out of
the gate, most people are running for the finish line without any
real plan in mind.

After a few short weeks, people begin to see the writing on the
wall that says, "This is going to be a long hard road."

People check their hit counters daily for six weeks before they
realize that getting traffic to their free site is going to be
tough.

At this point, they begin developing their first batch of
advertising. Then they spend countless months finding places to
show their advertisements for free. Some make an even more
drastic mistake by blowing thousands of hard earned dollars on
their new and untested ads.

These are the people who will learn the facts of life the hard
way.

In time, they will learn how to make their advertising work for
them, but most will earn very little money from their affiliate
programs.

At this point in the learning curve, most people throw up their
hands and walk away from their dreams in utter disgust. Instead
of a walking away point, this should have convinced the
struggling online entrepreneur that they were simply traveling
the wrong road.

YOU MUST PLAN TO SUCCEED

From day one, you must begin to learn about the nuances of web
promotion. Read everything you can get your hands on. Don't just
read the hype, back it up with the opinions of others who have
reviewed the same programs before you came along. Learn from
their mistakes and successes.

As you begin to learn, you must also look to make a decision. Do
you want to step into a pre-built program that is designed to
help you to succeed, OR do you want to create a completely new
program of which you are the sole owner?

If you decide to step into a pre-designed and complete turn-key
online money-making venture, then you must select the right
venture to step into. If this is your decision, I encourage you
to check out the Plug In Profit Site at:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-677/freesetup.html

If you decide to go the journey on your own, then do all of the
necessary research, planning and preparation that is needed for
your success.

PREPARE TO SUCCEED

Decide what you think you would want to do, and then figure out
how your planned site will generate a real income.

Internet old-timers know about hundreds of corporation domains
that existed with IPO millions, but did not have an actual money
plan that could sustain their business model. Most of these
companies were among the hundreds of companies that bellied up in
the 2000 dot bomb experience.

Don't blindly believe in your plan. Research others on the web
who have undertaken similar business models and see if they have
survived. Study your competitors in depth to learn what is
working for them and what did not work for them. To better
understand what has or has not worked for competitor websites,
check out their time lapsed progressions using the Wayback
Machine: http://web.archive.org

Once you have determined your money plan, then you should
undertake the development of a business plan and a marketing
plan. Utilize professional assistance if you need to do so. While
creating your plans, make a determination as to which domain name
you think would be best, then register it along with a hosting
account. You can do this at Host4Profit in Step 2 on this page:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-677/freesetup.html

Once you have developed your business plan and marketing plan and
have run them through several revisions, then it will be time to
buy your domain name and to begin work with a site designer and
developer. You may need to have your domain sitting on a web host
for your site developer, but this is not always necessary. While
they are doing their work, enlist a copywriter to help you with
your site sales copy.

When your site designer and developer have your site working, you
should then undertake significant testing to make sure everything
works as planned. It is much harder to fix problems on a
operational site than it is to fix problems on a site that has
yet to be launched.

When testing is done, then you should fill in your sales copy and
then shoot for launch. Of course, you already have a marketing
plan in place, so your preparation here will be simply a matter
of putting the pieces of the puzzle into place.

You are finally ready to open for business. Don't be afraid to
spend the money to bring your dream alive. Time can replace money
in the goal of starting a profitable online business, but money
invested can shave years off of your company's growth.


Quote of the Day:
"We are still masters of our fate. We are still captains of
our souls." -- Winston Churchill

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

Advertising Your Home Business on a Budget

By Hendra Subrata Liu

When you are starting out in a new home business and no one
knows who you are, one of the greatest challenges you will face
is how to drum up new business.

If there were not people in your community or marketplace that
you knew who needed your products or services, you probably
would not have started your business to begin with. But, once
you have talked to those who you personally knew who needed your
what you offer, then your next task is to find others who will
help keep your doors open.

Many people know that they must turn to advertising at some
point in the future, but they hope that day will be long down
the road. For some, this utopian concept will come to fruition.
But for the rest of us in the real world, we must come up with
creative solutions for meeting our home business advertising
needs while working within our budget.

Most people have a misconception about having to spend lots of
money in order to advertise their home business. When you start
out, you honestly will not have much money available for
advertising, and if you do, you should still spend it wisely.

Before you jump headfirst into the world of advertising, let me
share some of the lessons I have learned concerning this most
important topic.

LESSON #1

It does not have to cost an arm and a leg to advertise your home
business, unless you fail to plan and fail to test.

As much as is possible, you should always test your advertising.
If you jump in and start dumping tons of money in to advertising
without first testing your advertising, you might find yourself
broke and without sales at the end of the road. Most people who
commit this error write off their failure on the home business
they chose or the economy or any of a hundred other excuses.
But, if they are unwilling to take responsibility for their
mistake, they will never learn from their mistake. Don`t let
this be you.

LESSON #2

All testing should be done in blocks. If you begin to advertise
simultaneously in newspapers, radio and television, how will you
know which advertising is bringing people to your cash register?
You won`t. All you will know that something might be working,
but you will not know what is actually doing the trick.

Even if you tell people in your advertising to tell you how they
found you, my experience shows that fewer than 10% of the people
ever will tell you anything --- and those people who do may not
even get the facts straight! You cannot rely on your customers
to tell you what advertising is working for your home business.
You must put in the extra effort to know for yourself.

LESSON #3

Only when you have a proven and solid advertising portfolio
should you venture to drop big bucks in an advertising campaign.
Even then, you should be careful to keep further measurements to
determine how much the maximum advantage of an ad would be.
Sometimes you might be able to reach ten times as many people,
but depending on the kind of media and other factors, the
additional exposure will only generate twice as many sales. Keep
your eye attuned to situations like this to get the most from
your advertising dollars.

LESSON #4

As Lesson #3 illustrates, sometimes your best advertising
investment may actually cost you less money. When you are first
starting out, whether you are running a home business or a
business outside of your home, you need to be able to get people
talking and thinking about your business.

If you are busy testing ads in media`s such as the newspaper,
magazines, radio, and television, you need to learn ways of
promoting your business that do not require large cash
expenditures. A few examples are:

· Word of Mouth
· Business Cards
· Press Releases
· Non-Primetime Ads on Radio and Television

Here is more information about each type of low-cost advertising:

WORD OF MOUTH

This of course is the cheapest kind of advertising on the planet
--- it does not cost you anything. Ask your customers if they
know anyone who could also use your products or services. When
they are happy with your offerings and service, they will be
willing to tell you whom you can contact, and they will pass the
word for you.

BUSINESS CARDS

You can usually pick up 500 business cards for about $20. When
you do, hand them out. Do not give more than a couple of cards
to each person. If they need more cards from you, they will ask.

Some people are known to network with others on a regular basis.
Some of these people are also known to be always looking for an
extra few bucks. With these people, you can suggest to them that
if they write their name on the back of one of your business
cards and the card is presented to you, then you will pay a
referral fee to them. You do not have to offer much ---
sometimes one dollar is enough. Look at your home business and
your offerings and decide how much would be a good referral fee.

PRESS RELEASES

Press Releases are a good source for generating news about your
home business. The business editor at your local newspaper is
always on the lookout for a good business story to fill the
business news section of the newspaper.

Of course, the business editor understands the economics of
running a paper and is more inclined to run your story if you
buy advertising in his/her publication, but will still print
stories for special events and openings.

The important thing to remember about Press Releases is that it
must be constructed in the form of a news story. Even if you are
a sole proprietorship, quotes from you should be written in a
third person format: John Doe said, "Your quote here."

A Press Release should pack the most important information at
the beginning of the copy, and leave extra details towards the
end.

You should always provide the reporter who gets the task a
simple and easy way for him/her to contact you directly. Often
the reporter will want to contact you to get details that will
enhance their take on your story.

NON-PRIMETIME ADS ON RADIO AND TELEVISION

Believe it or not, some of the best rates for radio and
television are on the overnight and non-primetime venues. These
target times are not a total waste as they can easily keep the
infomercial people in business.

These off-hours are just less populated than the primetime hours.

Don`t be afraid to check your local radio and television rates
for non-primetime hours to see what bargains may exist. With
television, primetime is 7pm to 10pm. With radio, primetime is
8am to 5pm. This sure leaves a whole lot of hours available to
advertise your home business at discount rates!

IN CONCLUSION

When it comes down to it, there is a lot to understand about
advertising, but when you have the basic knowledge down pat,
everything will fall into place and bring more dollars to your
bank account.

Quote of the Day:
"Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need."
-- Voltaire

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

Your Home Business: Turning Pennies into Dollars

By Hendra Subrata Liu

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.


Quote of the Day:
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not
an act but a habit." -- Aristotle

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

10 Killer Ways To Multiply Your Sales

By Hendra Subrata Liu

1. When you make your first sale, follow-up with the
customer. You could follow-up with a "thank you"
email and include an advertisement for other products
you sell. You could follow-up every few months.

2. You could upsell to your customers. When they're
at your order page, tell them about a few extra related
products you have for sale. They could just add it to
their original order.

3. Tell your customers if they refer four customers to
your web site, they will receive a full rebate of their
purchase price. This will turn one sale into three sales.

4. When you sell a product, give your customers the
option of joining an affiliate program so they can make
commissions selling your product. This will multiply
the sale you just made.

5. Sell the reprint/reproduction rights to your products.
You could include an ad on or with the product for
other products you sell. You could make sales for the
reproduction rights and sales on the back end product.

6. You could cross promote your product with other
businesses' products in a package deal. You can
include an ad or flyer for other products you sell and
have other businesses selling for you.

7. When you ship out or deliver your product, include
a coupon for other related products you sell in the
package. This will attract them to buy more products
from you.

8. Send your customers a catalog of add-on products
for the original product they purchased. This could be
upgrades, special services, attachments, etc. If they
enjoy your product they will buy the extra add-ons.

9. Sell gift certificates for your products. You'll make
sales from the purchase of the gift certificate, when
the recipient cashes it in. They could also buy other
items from your web site.

10. Send your customers free products with their
product package. The freebies should have your ad
printed on them. It could be bumper stickers, ball
caps, t-shirts etc. This will allow other people to see
your ad and order.

Quote of the Day:
"Never talk defeat. Use words like hope, belief, faith,
victory." -- Norman Vincent Peale

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