Work At Home Business Options

Archive for May, 2011

For this game you will ask the questions below and if the guest says yes they raise their hand and they get 3 points for that question. If the guest answers no, they get zero points for that question. The guest with the lowest amount of points wins! (don’t tell the guests that the winner will be the person with the lowest points, let them assume that it is the person with the highest amount of points).

This is a fun game that gets the guests laughing and helps them to get to know one another. The person with the lowest amount of points will win the prize you are offering at the home party.

Have You Ever…Home Party Game

1. Have you ever called in sick to work and weren’t sick? (hookie day).
2. While driving…have you ever ran a red light on purpose?
3. While shopping have you ever placed a bag or item onto the roof of your car and driven off and forgotten about the item on top of your car?
4. As an adult have you ever made a prank phone call to a friend or stranger?
5. Have you ever walked out of a store and left your credit/debit card behind?
6. Have you ever went out to eat and after your meal has arrived to your table forgotten that you didn’t bring money with you?
7. Have you ever ran out of gas and had to call for help?
8. Have you ever been embarrassed by wearing a piece of clothing outside of your house that had a stain, tear, hole or broken zipper?
9. Have you ever left your home and forgot to brush your hair?
10. Have you ever forgotten your spouses or significant other’s birthday?

Note: You can change these questions to suit your own needs or taste. The point is to ask questions that “could be” a little embarrasing to the guest and to get them laughing and into the party shopping mood.

These days one of the hottest ways to promote any type of business online is to set up a Facebook page and/or group for your business over on Facebook.com. However, as I see more and more businesses jumping onto the Facebook bandwagon, I am seeing a lot of them promoting their new page and/or group the WRONG way!!!

When it comes to getting new members or fans to come join you over on Facebook you should NEVER spam out invites to them and begging them to come over and join your Facebook page. Many companies and/or business professionals are making the mistake of emailing out invites that are BEGGING their subscribers and customers to come on over to Facebook and join, like or follow them there. In my opinion, that is distasteful and unprofessional.

You should announce to your customers that you have a new Facebook group/page and if they want to join you there, they will. However, you don’t send repeated invites to them and you certainly don’t use language in those invites that sounds like begging!!!

Furthermore, no one wants to join a brand new Facebook group/page that has only a handful of your postings on it. You should get your page up in working order and several postings onto your Facebook wall before you even invite folks over to see it. Often times I go look after I receive an invite and many times these pages are blank or only have 2 wall postings. C’mon folks, get real!

If you really want folks to come on over and follow you on Facebook give them an incentive…like a discount off their next purchase or free shipping or offer a new giveaway/contest on your Facebook page/group to “entice” people to want to come join you. You should NEVER spam these invites to your customers via email. You can include your new Facebook info in a regularly scheduled email newsletter, put an announcement on your web site and/or blog or tweet about it on Twitter.

I am really fed up with people and businesses who go around spamming me and others via email with their “begging” come join me/my group on Facebook type of deal. Give me an INCENTIVE to want to join and better yet, don’t spam me with the invite!

There are many PROPER & PROFESSIONAL ways to promote a new Facebook page/group…but begging people and spamming people is not the way to go.

Shelly

Several months ago a new consultant with one of the direct sales companies emailed me and asked me for my opinion on this specific question. “Is it okay for me to refuse a party booking if the host lives in an unsafe area here in our city?” Well, I thought I would share my answer and opinion on this topic here on my blog.

In my personal opinion and experience…YES, it is okay for you to refuse that particular party booking. However…you should help the host find a new consultant who doesn’t mind traveling to that area of your city. If you don’t know one, you should refer the host to your company’s corporate office.

An alternative to refusing the booking would be to suggest to your host a different location for her party.

I have refused a handful of party bookings in my 20+ years of being in direct sales…but I don’t do it often and I always help the host find a consultant to do the party for her.

When I have refused a party booking it has been for the following reasons:

I refused 2 bookings because they were in a dangerous area of town that I refuse to travel to. I refused 1 booking because this particular host was a pet hoarder (over 20+ roaming cats & dogs in her home along with the smell that goes with it) and with my severe allergies to dogs…I had to refuse her booking. The only other time I refused a booking was when a lady who I knew called me to book a party but I knew from past experience with her that she writes bad checks, reschedules party dates 4+ times before she actually goes through with them and she only ever has 3-4 guests who only came to her parties to get food and beer (not place orders).

So…in my personal opinion it is okay to refuse a party booking but you do have the responsibility to help that host find another consultants who will do it. If not, refer him/her to your corporate office. With all of that said…you should have a very good valid reason on “why” you are refusing the booking!

Do You Need More Bookings? If so, check out that site!

Are you looking to hire a ghostwriter to help with your article writing, blog posts, newsletters and marketing documents? If so, there are a few things you need to look for before hiring a ghostwriter to do your work.

1. Ask the writer for a list of references and check out those references. You want to make sure that this person does quality work and that they deliver that work on time.

2. Ask to see examples of their work and look at their work with a fine tooth comb for spelling errors, grammar mistakes, keywords, etc. You want to make sure that their final copy is professional looking and correctly done.

3. Take a good look at their rates. Just because someone is “cheap” to hire doesn’t mean they produce quality work. You know the old saying “You get what you pay for?” well, that applies to ghostwriters too!

4. Try to hire a ghostwriter that is multi-dimensional. (in other words, one that can write on a variety of subject matter for you).

5. When hiring a ghostwriter it is extremely important to tell them that you want “original” material produced by them. You do not want re-spun or re-gurgitated material that they previously done for another client. It is important that all work is “original”.

Anyone online can call themselves a ghostwriter but that doesn’t mean they are a “good” ghostwriter! Take your time and really check out the ghostwriter you are thinking about hiring. The quality of work the ghostwriter produces for you does indeed reflect back onto you!

If you are looking for a professional ghostwriter to handle your business projects, you can check out my Ghostwriting blog called Two Classy Ghostwriting Chics that is owned by myself and my business partner Chris Carroll.

Twitter Marketing – Avoid the Hard Sell by Tammy Embrich

Twitter marketing can be a powerful tool. I see professional home based business owners capitalizing on this most widely used social network every day of the week. And most prove to be quite successful.

However, I see other online entrepreneurs using their 140 characters to post their sale ads and links every chance they get. They overwhelm their followers with pushy tactics to get their sales. This is labeled as “hard selling.” Many people who utilize this reputable social media (that houses well over 150 million members), find this rude and unprofessional, including myself.

What do you think these folks gain by using this hard sell, in-your-face marketing approach?

I would definitely venture to say, “not much!” I know for certain that this does not encourage a follow. In fact, these type of marketers get a large number of unfollows and blocks. And more importantly, they certainly don’t gain credibility for their online reputation.

I learned by trial and error when I first tested the Twitter waters, just as many others have. And I’ve provided a set of social networking tips below for avoiding the hard sell and making your marketing experience a positive and successful one.

* Engage in friendly and helpful conversation, don’t log in only to post your ads and links.

* Always address others politely and ask them how their day is going. Show genuine concern and interest.

*Provide beneficial tips (without web or affiliate links) and talk about your product first, before actually providing a link.

* Always space out your tweets. Don’t tweet every single minute. If you practice this, your followers will probably not be able to catch all your tweets. And what’s the point of tweeting if they won’t see them?

* Offer advice and answer questions when you know the answers.

* Connect with others and discuss and ask questions about their business. Of course, always use good tactics when doing this. Show your followers you are interested in them, and build effective relationships. This will encourage them to find out what you have to offer, visit your website, and possibly result in a sale.

* And finally, try to avoid posting just 1 or 2 tweets, and then leaving. Invest your time wisely, and try to offer worthy information that others will be interested in.

Associating with other business professionals and partners is what the Twitter platform is all about. Use it to your advantage and use it properly, and the benefits can be substantial for your business success.

Article Written By Tammy Embrich

Tammy has been successful in the work at home industry for many years. She is an Internet marketer, article marketer, and ghostwriter. She offers free job leads for the job seeker, as well as other work at home resources, work at home articles, tips, and more at Work At Home Jobs.

You can also find Tammy at her Grandparenting Articles and Tips blog, offering grandmother’s experiences, brags, recipes, tips, photos, and more.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

Work At Home Jobs – One Dozen Companies That Hire Telecommuters by Tammy Embrich

Work at home jobs are not for everyone. There are a lot of things to consider before you take on a telecommuting position. You need to look at your current work situation, your home lifestyle, your family’s needs and schedules, and last but not least, your skills and experience. Your children will also need to be considered. Do you have little ones at home during the day? Have you taken the needed steps in making sure they are well cared for while you perform your online duties?

Above all, don’t for a minute think that a real “job” online is easy peasy. It is NOT. It’s just like brick and mortar. You have to work hard to earn your wages! Please keep this in mind when you start out with your journey for home employment.

You will need patience when considering (successfully) working at home, along with a good dose of reality. These are not chances of getting rich quick, as you’ve seen those promises from a host of scammy thieves, but honest ways to make money from home. If you are looking for some sort of set and forget type of thing, you are reading the wrong article, as they are not offered here.

You also need discipline when you work at home. When you telecommute, you work for someone else and most of the time, this means their schedule. Also do you know WHERE to look for these home based gems? Half the battle is won when you know exactly where to look. Also, have an open mind when searching. There are a lot of variations of positions that are legitimately offered. A few will offer paid training, although most will not. For some, you will need specific knowledge and skills. Keep that in mind when reading on the following sites.

Below are one dozen companies to start your search

* cloud10corp.com/index.php?home_career
* odesk.com
* liveops.com/
* hirepoint.com/athome/index.html (Teletech)
* vipdesk.com/info/
* apply.westathome.com/workfromhome.html
* workingsolutions.com/
* 1800flowers.com/
* smarthinking.com/static/aboutUs/careers/
* elance.com
* accoladesupport.com/techjob.html
* grindstone.com/work-with-grindstone.html

The work at home sites listed above are all legitimate, so you’ll not have to worry about doing research for them. However, you WILL need to consistently check back with them to find out if they are currently hiring. Unfortunately, just because a site is legitimate doesn’t mean they are always hiring. So, don’t lose heart! Keep checking back. I suggest to check at least monthly, if not, weekly. You will also need to keep a careful record of which companies you’ve applied with. I find wordpad or notepad works well for me with staying organized with my information.

One Final Tip: Always keep a positive attitude. Successful people didn’t get far with doubtful thinking. Keep looking and applying, then search some more. Also the list above is just one dozen, there are plenty more. Make Google a good friend and perform your searches from there.

Wishing you much success!

Article Written By Tammy Embrich

Tammy is an Internet marketer, article marketer, and ghostwriter. You can find more work at home articles, tips, and more at Work At Home Jobs

You can also find Tammy blogging at Grandparenting Artcles and Tips

Article Source: WAHM Articles