Work At Home Business Options

Archive for the ‘Business Advertising | Business Marketing’ Category

Those who are in a Direct Sales business tend to really work their butts off when it comes to advertising their home business. For those of us in this line of work…we have to work “much” harder than those in big corporation to get the word out about our business.

With that said, we don’t have the advertising budgets that the big guys have so we need to get creative with our advertising campaigns. Today I thought I would share a few “creative” ways I have successfully marketed my business over the years and all of these ideas are super affordable.

T-Shirts: I went to VistaPrint.com and had a dozen T-shirts printed up with my business information on them. I got a variety of sizes and did it when Vista Print was having a deal on them. I then handed these shirts out to friends & family members and had them wear them while running errands in our community. Cost was less than $8.00 a shirt and it’s an advertising campaign that keeps on giving since the shirts can be worn many, many, many times!

Cook Books: Since I was selling products for a kitchen company I would actively seek out print ads in charity cook books in our community. The PTA, local Animal Rescue Groups, Health Groups, Scouting Groups, School Groups, etc. have cook books printed on a yearly basis and then sell them to raise funds. For around $25.00 you can get a 1/2 page print ad with your business info printed in the back of their fundraising cook books.

High School Year Books: Every year I would spend $50 to $75 to have my business ad printed in the back of our local high school year books! These ads are a ‘worthy’ and ‘affordable’ investment and your ad will be seen for many years by hundreds of people.

School Art & Athletic Programs: You can get affordable print ads in your local school’s arts and athletic programs that they hand out at their functions. (plays, sport’s games, etc.) and you can usually get these ads for $25 and up.

Magnetic Car Signs: Many Direct Sellers do invest in magnetic car signs for their vehicles to advertise their home businesses. However, you should purchase several of them and let your family and friends slap them onto their cars when they are out and about doing their errands. You could give them a free gift or a continual discount on their purchases to help you out by keeping it on their cars.

These 5 creative advertising and marketing ideas are all relatively affordable and make for a worthy investment in your business. When it comes to advertising your home business it is time to think “outside” the box and get creative with your marketing campaign.

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When it comes to running a home based business, you look for as many avenues as possible to market that business to others. One successful marketing tool is to write and publish your own newsletter. This can be published in print and mailed out to customers and clients, or it can be formatted and sent via email.

When it comes to writing the newsletter to promote your home business, you need to write and publish quality content that your readers will want to read. This content should be informative and engaging…along with a call to action sprinkled in.

Including graphics is a good way to go because it will grab the reader’s attention and give them immediate satisfaction of what you are talking about. I recommend publishing it in a normal black text that is easy on the eyes. You don’t want to get too fancy with fonts and colors.

Your newsletter should always contain your business’s contact information in a prominent place. I recommend you place it at the very top and at the very bottom with your important content in the center.

When it comes to the type of content you want to include, here are some great ideas on that.

1. In depth Product or Services Information: Let readers know in great detail about the products you are marketing, how they can use them, how they will benefit from them, how they can fit into their lives along with pricing and purchasing information.

2. Customer Testimonials: A great way to attract new sales is by including customer testimonials in your newsletters. Readers love to know how others are using your products or business services.

3. Company Events: If you participate in or sponsor company events, you will want to include that information if they will be of interest to your readers.

4. Questions and Answers: Ask your readers to submit questions to you and you publish those questions along with your answers.

5. Preview Of The Next Issue: You could include a little preview of what is coming up in your next issue.

When it comes to writing and publishing your newsletter, it is important to publish informative content that others will want to read. You want it to be viewed as a valuable piece of information and not as a spam advertisement that offers no real added value to the reader.

You will want to take your time writing it, formatting it and publishing it so that it comes out looking professional…after all, your goal is to gain readership and to represent your home business in a professional manner.

Written By: Shelly Hill ~ This article can not be reprinted unless Shelly’s official Author’s Bio is attached. Please email/contact Shelly to obtain her bio before reprinting this article. Thanks!

A couple of weeks ago I emailed a Direct Sales consultant with one of the beauty companies a particular question that I had about the company’s mascara line and she did promptly respond with the answer to my question.

About 2 weeks after that I started getting spammed by her once a week with her weekly customer email newsletter. Wow…I was shocked! I immediately clicked the unsubscribe link in the newsletter and realized it was disabled and not working! I then emailed her (nicely I might add) and asked her to unsubscribe me from her customer newsletter as I did not sign up for it nor did I tell her to add me to it.

The following week…I got another newsletter in my email box from her! ugh! I then fired off a second request for her to remove me. This entire back and forth process took a month or so before I was finally removed from her list!

When it comes to email marketing, customer newsletters and building your email subscriber’s list it is VERY IMPORTANT to never…ever…add a subscriber to your newsletter subscription list without asking their permission first! Better yet, don’t add anyone at all…have an online sign-up box so folks can sign-up for it themselves if they are interested!

Not only does this unprofessional behavior “irk” off customers and potential customers but it is also WRONG and ILLEGAL. You can not fire off emails and sign up folks to your newsletter just because you want to market your business to them. It is considered to be “SPAM” if that person did not sign up for it or request it.

6 Email Marketing Tips that Build Trust & Increase Sales by Ms. Liz

Having an opt-in email list is more than just sending subscribers your newsletters, tips, promotions and sales letters; it’s about establishing a positive relationship with your readers. People rarely buy from those they don’t trust but by fostering fond relationships with your subscribers you’re increasing their confidence in you which in turn will dramatically increase sales.

Here are 6 tips that will create reader confidence, build lasting relationships with your subscribers, lessen your opt-out rate and best of all, boost sales.

Tip #1 – Set Expectations for Your Subscribers

Be clear about what your subscribers are signing up for. That means telling them exactly what kind of emails they’ll get such as a newsletter, tips, ecourse, special report, etc. Also specify how often they can expect an email. Also, for easy recognition it’s a good idea to indicate what email address your emails will be coming from.

Tip #2 – Help Viewers Learn About You

Before asking for a sign-up, direct your viewers to your personal page where they can learn about you and your business. Share some personal trivia about yourself and include some pictures and a personal signature. Let your visitors see and relate to the ‘real’ you. The more they come to know and like you the more trust they will bestow in you.

Tip #3 – Respect your Subscribers Time

Your subscribers granted you permission to email them; this is a privilege, not a right so respect that. Send them only information and content that relates to what they signed up for. Introduce new products gradually. Sending blatant sales pitches are a sure way to increase opt-outs.

It’s also important to note that even though it may not be costing your subscribers money to opt-in to your list, it is costing them time to open your emails, read them and take action. Keeping your content relevant and to the point is recognizing that their time is valuable and they will appreciate that.

Tip #4 – Email on a Consistent Basis

Never flood your email subscribers in box, but don’t ignore them either. When you get a new subscriber send them a welcome letter but don’t wait a month or more to send them their next email. People subscribe to things all the time, so without consistent communication they often forget they signed up. Waiting long between emails increases the chance they’ll opt-out or worse yet, hit the spam button. Instead, use a good email autoresponder and send messages consistently.

Tip #5 – Always provide an Unsubscribe Option

No one wants subscribers to opt-out but you must give your subscribers the option. It not only shows your professionalism it also indicates that you’re a legitimate business and not a spammer. Use the double opt-in feature provided with most email autoresponders, it will considerably reduce the number of unsubscribes.

Tip #6 – Promote Less and Help More

People don’t like to be sold to; they like to buy on their own terms. Before they buy they need reasons, benefits and most importantly, trust in who they’re purchasing from. The “buy this because I like it” approach rarely woks and will annoy your readers.

If you have a product to sell use a slow paced approach by demonstrating how your product will benefit your viewers. A subscriber is not likely to stick around if they see you as someone only interested in making a quick sale. Your subscribers have come to you as a resource for help and information so be respectful of that. The more you help them, the more they will see you as genuine resource, then when the time comes for them to buy; they will look to you first.

In summary, don’t target your subscriber list as a way to make money, instead focus on building a strong relationship with them. Treat your subscribers well and they will treat you well.

Check in with Elizabeth for More Free Yet Dynamic Email Marketing Tips that will instantly boost sales no matter what size email list you have.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

For the past year I have been seeing a slew of advertising online from various direct selling companies and direct sales consultants all “touting” their company or business opportunity as “Recession Proof” and when I see that…it really irks me!!!

My post today is a big OLD VENT on those who run around “touting” their direct sales or network marketing business as “Recession Proof” which is a big old FAT lie!!! Nothing in life…no business large or small, home business, retail store business…whatever…is Recession Proof!!!

It really “irks me off” when I see people and companies throwing around the “Recession Proof” like it’s no big deal and it is!!! People and companies should not be “tricking” people into thinking that the company and/or it’s business plan is recession proof when NO business is 100% recession proof. Goodness people…wake up and quit “touting” that around!

I have seen 30+ year old direct sales companies who were profitting and stable before the recession hit totally fold and go under once we got into the current recession so it doesn’t matter if the company is new, old, big or small…nothing in life is “recession proof” and those who “tout” around that slogan in their advertising should be ashamed of themselves because most of us are not stupid people and we know there are no guarantees in life.

So there you have it…my vent today dealing with folks who “tout” around their “Recession Proof” slogan to try to entice people to join their teams or their companies business program. That is a terrible slogan and should not be used in any form of advertising.

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