Mom 2 Mom WAH

Improving Your Home Office - Time Saving Tips for an Efficient and Organized Office

2009-07-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

Today’s home offices are busier than ever. Gone are the days when all we needed was a writing desk, small filing cabinet and a few envelopes and stamps. Many home owners now have separate home offices, outfitted with computers, printers, fax machines, copiers, scanners and more.

How is your home office doing? Do you have a clear desk, comfortable seating, good lighting and a place for everything? Or is it an overwhelming cluttered space, full of papers and unidentified objects? Home offices need not be disorganized, boring and sterile. Even an office situated in a basement with poor natural light can be transformed into a bright and cheerful environment with good lighting and decorative accessories.

Before you get started on improving your home office, it is important to identify all of the activities that take place in there. Are you simply paying a few bills, filing some statements and sorting mail? Or do you also like to use the space for your children to do homework, browsing on the internet, sorting photographs and wrapping gifts? If you are running a home-based business, it’s important that you try to keep it separate from your household office, even if it’s just in another area of the room.

For your home office to function properly it should be comfortable, with functional and ergonomic furniture. It should also be free of paper clutter. Invest in office organizing products to keep paper clutter at bay, so that you can enjoy your office, instead of fearing it! I have listed a few of the typical activities that take place in today’s home offices. If you also run a home business, it is imperative that you have the necessary office supplies and equipment to run your business efficiently. Use this as a guideline to help you to organize your space:

 Sorting Mail & Paying Bills: Purchase an organizer with slots, trays or cubbies to divide up bills, mail, envelopes, stamps and address labels. As soon as a bill comes in, place it into the appropriate slot immediately!

Tip: A mail organizer with a small drawer for stamps and small office supplies will keep your desktop neat.

 Accessing Office Supplies: Your everyday office supplies should be kept at arm’s length on your desk or in your desk drawers immediately!

Tip: Avoid messy drawers by purchasing compartmented junk drawer organizers.

 Checking Your Schedule: Place a monthly calendar on the wall so that you can quickly view upcoming events.

Tip: Use a magnetic dry erase message board to write brief notes and reminders.

 Dealing with Action Items: You might feel more comfortable keeping your action papers on your desk in a “neat” pile, for fear of losing or forgetting them. Unfortunately, papers left out can be easily misplaced or even accidently thrown away. There are many different options available for organizing your day-to-day papers, including desktop trays and step-up files. Consider your options and invest in organizing products that will work for you.

Tip: Spend a few minutes each day reviewing your action files on your desk.

 Filing Papers: A file cabinet is essential for storing important documents and statements. If you do not have a cabinet, consider purchasing a file crate or file box. Stackable file crates are convenient, affordable and take up minimal space. In addition, a fire-proof safe is recommended for important documents, such as birth certificates and passports etc.

Tip: Make copies of all important personal and household documents and store them either off-site or in another part of your home.

 Looking up Telephone Numbers: A manual or electronic rolodex is a handy tool for quickly accessing contact information.

Tip: Keep the local telephone directories handy in case you want to look something up quickly. They can be stored in magazine holders or on a durable letter tray near the phone.

 Handling School Papers: If you have school aged children, set up a system to handle all of their incoming and outgoing school papers. Try a portable hanging file holder, file crate, file cabinet or wall pockets.

Tip: Show your school aged children where they need to place their school papers each day.

 Using Technology: Identify the equipment you need for your home office. If you have space and budget constraints, but would like to have it all, consider purchasing a multifunction printer, with an integrated copier, scanner, fax machine and photo printing capabilities. You’ll save space, time and money.

Tip: Consider purchasing a fax/printer organizer with drawers and/or trays to hold paper and office supplies.

Finally, don’t be afraid to decorate your office! This is not a corporate office, so decorate it as you wish. Use color and accessories to liven up your space. This is your space, so make it one that you will love to be in!

How an eBay Store Can Boost Your Business

2009-05-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

Author: Angie Sandy

If you're already selling on eBay or are thinking about it, you might be wondering if an eBay store give your business an edge? Absolutely! eBay makes expanding your business, and of course your profits, an efficient and straight forward process. Best of all, eBay provides a wealth of tools, tips, and resources to create a profitable store - a store that will increase your business traffic, broaden your audience, and increase that all important bottom line.

Here are just a few of the benefits of having your own eBay store.

Increase Awareness

eBay currently reports more than 84.5 million members worldwide. That's a huge audience that other online auction sites just don't have. Now, of course not every member is going to be interested in your products however tapping into this audience will help you reach a targeted group of people who are interested in your products and services and an eBay store will help you reach them.

Increased Traffic

Driving traffic to your eBay store couldn't be easier. As a store owner you receive a unique URL and home page. This storefront and URL is customizable, which makes it easy for you to consistently brand both your eBay store and your online business.

Store owners also receive an email newsletter function, which is crucial for being able follow up with your customers and to get them to buy from you over and over again. A basic store owner can send 100 email newsletters each month. Search tools, cross promotion tools, and assistance with print products like business cards and flyers are all provided by the eBay team specifically for store owners.

Beyond the Basic Store, Featured and Anchor store owners receive promotional dollars which they can then use on the eBay keywords advertising program. It's an option definitely worth looking into.

Store pages. Each store receives a number of pages for their site. These customizable pages include an "About Me" page, policies and procedures, sizing and order information, and an FAQ page - helping you create better customer service and confidence from your buyers.

Great Return on Investment

A Basic eBay store costs $15.95 per month and offers a wealth of resources including payment and fulfillment tools and resources via PayPal.

You can easily save time, and money, with eBay's automatic re-listing feature for store owners. This tool lets you set listings for 30, 60, 90, and 120 days or "Good 'til Cancelled. If you're worried about the high cost of insertion fees, it isn't a problem. As a store owner, insertion fees start at $0.02 for 30 day listings. The maximum you'll pay is $0.08 for 120 day listings. Best of all, your insertion fee covers up to 1000 items.

eBay is a wonderful resource for internet entrepreneurs looking to grow their business. It costs very little to get started and eBay offers an abundance of tools and resources all designed to help you sell more and grow your business. If you plan to sell a large amount of goods on an ongoing basis on eBay, an eBay store is definitely worth looking into.

About the Author:
Set yourself apart from your online auction competition with your own unique eBay">http://www.auctionaddons.com/category_1/eBay-Store-Fronts.htm">eBay store design. Angie Sandy is a Certified eBay Store Designer and owner of Auction Add Ons, your source for making the most of your online auction business.

10 Ideas to Create a Successful Craft DIY Business

2009-05-25T22:54:00.000-07:00

Take the Leap.

I think the most important advice is, you'll never know if you don't try! Have you got passion? Do you enjoy what you make? Have people complimented you on your items? All very good reasons to just give it a go.

The number one reason most craft businesses never make it, is because their owner is too scared to take the plunge, too scared of failure. Don't be! If failing is the worse thing to ever happen to you in your life then you're pretty darn lucky :P
Do some ground work

You have to be passionate about your business. Try to get out of the head space of just items on a table at a market. Try to get into the head space of a larger corporation. Start looking at all those larger companies out there that millions buy from each year. What is there image, what colours do they use, what is there brand name? Start a folder with a bunch of clippings that you can go back to over and over.

Also start a savings fund, although start up costs can be relatively small, there will be a point where some extra money may be critical in advancing your business
Start thinking about your own name

Brainstorm for some catchy names, ask family and friends for input. Make sure the name is short, catchy and easy to remember. Also make sure that when you google it, a hundred other names don't come up, because you'll end up having to try and compete with all those other names already out there!
Start thinking about your own image

Who are you planning on selling too? Start thinking about the colours you would like to use, or the look of your logo. Look at your competitors sites, what have they done that you could imitate from? If you're confident in design, create your own, or if not, do a search for a graphic designer to help you out. There are some inexpensive graphic designers out there who can offer you a design logo package for under a 100 dollars. If that seems expensive just remember that the logo design will be yours for life :)

Build up stock

Make sure you actually have enough things for people to buy from. Nothing worse than having only a few items!
Photograph your items!
It doesn't matter if you only have a cheapest digital camera, as long as you've learnt to use macro and utilise natural sunlight, you can really create some fabulous results. Start looking around at your favourite craft sites, why are they your favourite? Often a big reason is how well, presented their products are. Start paying attention to the background. Have they used a white background or maybe something more fancy?

If you do a google search on light boxes, there are some easy cheap tutorial out there for the hand-made variety. This will heap to achieve a natural light upon your products
Start writing product descriptions

When you start to write the description, it's useful to picture your target audience in your head. Perhaps you knit shawls and your target audience is in the older generation bracket. Imagine who your average customer would be and as your writing the description imagine you're talking directly to her about why she should buy it. Don't just list colour, size and materials (although these are very important) but list why it's good, and what would be in it for the customer if they bought it. Again check out how other successful sites do it.
Make sure you do all the boring things!

It's the least favourite part but you have to make sure you're registered as a business and you have programs in place to keep in track of expenses and orders (for tax purposes) Staying ahead of it at the start will save major headaches come tax time!
Set up your shop

Maybe you have a large budget and can afford to have your own website, great! But if you're not in that category why not try a site like etsy.com. It allows you to create your own little shop space. It's a great alternative and you'll be able to build up a customer base from and perhaps start saving for your own site.
You could be giving away 100 dollar bills, but....

If nobody knows you're out there, whats the point? You have to get the word of mouth out there, start with family and friends and tell them to pass on the word to other people. They'll be the most keen in the start to help you out! Add your site's link to your email signature. This will be sent out at the bottom of every email and is a nice friendly way of getting the word out there. Wear your products everywhere, people will comment on how pretty something is and then you can let them know about your site! Contact craft blogs and let them know about your site. Send out samples and press releases to magazines. There are so many ways to advertise on a cheap budget and you only need to do a quick Internet search to find many more!

Never see your mistakes as failures, for really they are just another opportunity to really learn and remember, you'll never know if you don't give it a try! Most importantly, good luck!

A Few Web Design Elements You Should Avoid Having on Your Site

2009-05-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

As a web designer, you should design your websites to give your visitors the greatest ease of use, the best impression and most important of all a welcoming experience. It doesn’t matter if you had the greatest product in the whole world — if your website is poorly done you won’t be able to sell even one copy of it because visitors will be driven off your website by the lousy design.

When I’m talking about a “good design”, I’m not only talking about a good graphic design. A professional web designer will be able to point out that there are many components which contribute to a good website design — accessibility design, interface or layout design, user experience design and of course the most straightforward, which is graphic design.

Therefore, I have selected some features of the worst web designs I’ve come across. Hopefully, you will be able to compare that against your own site as a checklist and if anything on your site fits the criteria, you should know it’s high time to take serious action!

1) Background music

Unless you are running a site which promotes a band, a CD or anything related to music, I would really advise you to stay away from putting looping background music onto your site. It might sound pleasant to you at first, but imagine if you ran a big site with hundreds of pages and everytime a visitor browses to another page on your site, the background music starts playing again. If I were your visitor, I’d just turn off my speakers or leave your site. Moreover, they just add to the visitors burden when viewing your site — users on dial up connections will have to wait longer just to view your site as it is meant to be viewed.

2) Extra large/small text size

As I said, there is more to web design than purely graphics — user accessibility is one big part of it too! You should design the text on your site to be legible and reasonably sized to enable your visitors to read it without straining their eyes. No matter how good the content of your website or your sales copy is, if it’s illegible you won’t be selling anything! And avoid using bold text or all CAPS!

3) Popup windows

Popup windows are so blatantly used to display advertisements that in my mind, 90% of popup windows are not worth my attention so I just close them on instinct everytime each one manages to pass through my popup blocker (yes, I do have one like many users out there!) and, well, pops up on my screen. Imagine if you had a very important message to convey and you put it in a popup window that gets killed most of the time it appears on a visitor’s screen. Your website loses its function immediately!

These are just a few of the many design issues that hinder your website’s performance and negate your visitor’s experience. So in conclusion, let me remind you that as a webmaster your job is to make sure your website does what it’s meant to do effectively. Don’t let some minor formatting mistakes stop your site from functioning optimally!

What have you done for your business today?

2009-05-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

Wrote By Our Mom 2 Mom WAH Member Olivia

Every day is a new opportunity for your business. Meet someone new, find a new advertising method, stumble across a new networking avenue. There is always something you can do everyday that is not always the same.

Before you say you can't do something everyday lets ask why? You committed to building a business. With that commitment comes sacrifice. Nobody likes to sacrifice but it is a necessary element when building a business. As a WAHM you do not have less sacrifices. As WAHM you may have more.

Sending out a website link is simply not enough. Sending out an ad is not enough. You have to actively interact with potential customers and close a sale, book parties, educate, network. When you think you have done enough, do more. Learn to effectively market your business. Marketing is more than advertising. It encompasses the overall strategy for success. As Yoda would say "Do or do not, there is no try".

Add value to yourself and ditch the sympathy and pity sale. Pity sales are those where you point out how you are needing money. This only tells people your business is not successful. It doesn't matter the reason and understanding. If you make no money, you are not succeeding. Steer clear of the guilt sale while you are at it. These are the sales that forces another into a sale because you "helped" them out so now its your turn. This is not harsh, this is reality.

So back to the original question, what did you do for your business today? No excuses. If you did nothing, own up to it and move on. Don't make a habit of it. Become a self-starter and self-motivated. As a WAHM working for yourself you have nobody telling you to get back to work. You are the boss now.

Every day you must do something for the good of your business. You cannot succeed doing nothing.

Lost for ideas? Comment and ask others. Have ideas? Offer advice to those seeking them.

Olivia Vidal

http://sochicbagboutique.com

Your Image Means Everything

2009-05-21T17:16:00.000-07:00

Written By Our Mom 2 Mom WAH Member: Olivia

In the WAHM world we come across women from all walks of life. One thing that never changes in the professional image we expect from a business. No matter whether you are the frugal mom trying to help provide for your family or the seasoned owner building the bigger and better business, your image is everything.

When we speak about image, we are not always talking about the physical sense. We will talk about the physical sense though. For now this is more the details in which we operate our business. This can start with your website and end with your business card and everywhere in between.

As a WAHM myself I am far more forgiving than the neighbor down the street seeing and hearing about what you have to offer for the first time. Because of this, you need to think in the shoes of a customer purchasing from a business no matter the size. Here you have a specific standard and want nothing less. Being the business owner (as a consultant you are also a business owner) you can't expect your customer to be understanding of you being the WAHM and excuse a less than expected image. Your customer feels the same about you as they do about any business and is not going to lower the standards just because you are a WAHM. This is the harsh reality and why it is so important to focus on this area.

If you can only spend money in one place for your business, make it your business cards. Get high quality glossy cards. Do not make your own here. The cost is cheap because they quality is cheap. Now that sounds brutal but amateur printing sets the tone for an amateur business. If your first set of business cards has to be done at home, keep it simple, keep production small. Upgrade ASAP though. Another sign of amateur is ordering free cards and advertising for that company stamped on the back. These things do not sound important and you may be told by several close to you this is OK but think about a multi million dollar company doing this. No you are not a multi million dollar company but you are a business and should show the most professional abilities available to you.

Now you may think these costs are too outrageous just starting out. As the old saying goes - it takes money to make money. You just need to plan well. Before starting any business, you need to have a plan and part of that plan includes a financial budget. In your budget you should include marketing. Business cards and such are part of this category. If you started your business before planning, it is not too late. Break out that notebook I am always talking about. Start working out a plan.

Previously we talked about goals. This is another reason why goals are so important. You need to know where you are going and how to get there. Advertising and your image are part of your goals. In your notebook you should already have jotted down an idea of where you want to be financially. For you to make a profit this month after paying for products and services, business suppliers, advertising, what number have you given to make that happen? We will get more into budgets in the future but for now you need to keep these in mind. Having that goal and knowing how to get there allows you to follow a course and not just stumble your way there.

Another big no no but a common project is printing your own catalogs on standard paper. Not only do these bleed through, crease easily, they look terrible no matter how clever your attempts. Many times there is an obvious printing margin set by your printer that looks out of place and shows you printed these items. Now this does not mean never do it. You can explain you printed them a catalog so they can see the products and you will be sending them your normal catalog soon. If you must print your own, create a border that looks like it belongs, use a nice card stock or specialty paper (available at office supply stores), don't go overboard with unnecessary graphics.

If you don't want to take my word for it, look at those who are making a good living doing what they do. Are you getting flimsy business cards and self made catalogs? Are you getting cheap flyers that bleed through due to double sided printing? Are they crinkled because of wet ink?

Another part of image we forget is our fun profiles. We sign up for social networking sites for business or pleasure but we forget others are watching even the personal pages. Those sexy pictures that lead to an active imagination are not the pictures you want your clients to see. They may not be actively looking for them but may stumble upon them. If you must share these, make them private and not available openly in public areas. Another is watch your language. In a fun atmosphere you feel free and let the words flow but those words can portray a very unsavory business person and turn people off. Not to say you shouldn't let loose and enjoy but watch how much you partake in and how far you take it.

Never show up to a party in a t-shirt and jeans. It is inappropriate. If you must wear a t-shirt wear khaki slacks and business casual shoes. Not tennis shoes. Jeans and a t-shirt should be reserved for athletic activities not parties. Keep hair clean and simple, jewelry simple, makeup appropriate, tone down the perfume (some are very sensitive), shoes always clean.

There is always somebody watching. They watch how you run your business, interact with others, how you dress. Everything. Nobody wants to deal with someone unprofessional. Don't give anyone reason to not want to do business with you.

Olivia Vidal

© 2009

http://sochicbagboutique.com/

Getting Started on Etsy

2009-05-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

Author: Angie Sandy

Have you been looking for a way to sell your handmade goods online? Do you currently have a business website but long for more traffic and a larger customer base? If so, Etsy may be the answer. Etsy is an online marketplace dedicated to handmade products.

Opened in June, 2005, Etsy now represents more than 100,000 artisans from around the world - each artisan selling their handmade goods, crafting supplies, or vintage items with their own Etsy store.

Why Sell on Etsy?

·Etsy store owners receive their own customizable store, a URL to link to and drive visitors to, and an abundance of marketing tools and resources to build awareness and of course profits.

·Etsy is easy for both buyers and sellers to utilize. Store owners can customize their shops without the need for programming skills or knowledge. PayPal is the payment processor of choice so payment and fulfillment are easy for both customer and buyer. Etsy also offers sellers several pages including policies, profile, favorites, feedback and a custom request form so you can set your store apart from the others.

·Getting started is free! Much like eBay, Etsy makes money by charging a small listing fee and a 3.5% sales fee.

Your First Step to Selling on Etsy

Step one for selling on Etsy is to register for a seller account. This requires you to provide the typical information which will include your name, address and such but will also include adding a credit card to your account. There is no charge to sign up however your credit card will be used to pay for your listing and transaction fees and is therefore a requirement to signing up as a seller.

Make sure when registering your username that it accurately represents you. Your username will be your URL. For example, yourusername.etsy.com. If your username is difficult to remember, type, or doesn't relate to you or your business, it will be more difficult for customers to find you.

Making the Most of your Etsy Store

There are simple strategies and tips to follow to make your Etsy store as successful as possible. These tips and strategies include:

· Generate positive feedback. Like the feedback system on eBay, Etsy provides buyers the opportunity to leave positive, or negative, feedback. The better your feedback rating, the more confident customers will be to do business with you.

· Do your research. Spend some time finding out what other sellers, especially your competition, are doing on Etsy. How much are they charging? What payment options and procedures do they utilize? What can you do better to both attract and keep customers?

· A picture is worth a thousand words. Would you buy a sweater, candle or piece of jewelry without knowing what it looks like? Probably not and your customers won't either. Take good pictures of your items, from all angles, and show your customer how wonderful your products are.

· Describe your products accurately. A detailed product description will help sell it and if you happen to have a knack for creative and entertaining catalog copy then by all means use it. Share your item's story, engage your customer, and make them want to share the experience by buying your products.

· Categorize and tag your products. Etsy offers tagging features and categories. Utilize these features to make finding you and your products as easy as possible for your potential customers.

Whether you're selling vintage clothing, crafting supplies, or one of a kind homemade items Etsy is the place to sell them. Their continued growth rate, ease of use, and highly targeted audience make it an ideal place to sell your wares and grow your business.

About the Author:
Set yourself apart from other sellers with your own Etsy">http://www.auctionaddons.com/category_26/Etsy-Items.htm">Etsy logo design. Angie Sandy is the lead designer and owner of Auction Add Ons, your source for making the most of your online selling.

How to Start your Own Crafts Business

2009-05-21T00:57:00.000-07:00

It's a common thing nowadays that most people are earning good money by starting their own home crafts business. Making your favourite crafts can be fun but you also need to have a good understanding of what products will sell and how one goes about selling them.If you are going to start a craft business, you need to know how to come up with ideas for which craft to focus on, how to maximize profits for your business, where and how to sell your products, and especially how to market your new business. One of the things that can kill a business faster than a natural disaster is not knowing the ins and outs of running a successful business.

Now obviously most of us think that you don't need to develope a business plan for your new craft business. But, a business plan will help you work out the financial aspects of your business before you've invested any time or money on a losing proposition. And lets face it, general business books don't go into enough detail about the specifics of starting, running, and marketing a successful craft business. At the end of the day without customers, your craft business will never take off and quickly die. Having said that I would like to talk about a guide called "How to Start Your Own Craft Business." The information given in this Home craft guide will not only provide information on how you can run your own successful crafts business with advertising and promotional techniques as well as how to control your finances but will also provide you with a large database of how to make a variety of about 250+ crafts. Whatever it is that you are interested in making, the chances are that this guide will have it. So if you would like to find out more information on this guide please visit my homepage below.

About the Author:

Did you find this review helpful? For more information on this Home Crafts guide please visit my homepage below:

Professional Home Crafts Guide

Starting A Soap Making Business -- 5 Success Tips

2009-05-21T00:52:00.000-07:00

I learned about starting a soap making business by doing it. We sold 35,000 bars of soap in about 4 years operating just a few hours a week.

Now this was a really low tech sort of business. Very little investment was required and this was literally a kitchen sink operation. At the most we made a hundred bars at a time. Don't be fooled by small scale though. A soap business can be a money maker or a money disaster. Ours was a money maker and here's why...

Tip 1 You have to make some soap...

I correspond with people who want to start a big, profitable soap business and they've spent a ton of money, but... they've made little or no soap! Make some soap. Make more. Get started. After all... it's a craft. You learn by doing.

Tip 2 Get it right...

Don't even think of selling natural soap until you're consistently making beautiful soap that works just right. It isn't hard to do. Do all handmade soap makers a favor and only sell well cured, professional quality soap. It's really easy to do if you get some good instructions. But please spend the time to learn how to make soap right... Ignore this and you're finished before you start.

Tip 3 Selling the easy way...

There are dozens of ways to sell soap. You can choose what methods you prefer. One of the easiest ways is to rent a space at a local festival or craft event. That's a great way to get started. We have often sold over 500 bars of soap in just two days of a festival. There's a trick to this...

Tip 4 Easy money repeat sales...

You can sell more soap to your festival customers. See, selling to repeat customers is easy. That's why a little catalog or a little brochure you can easily make yourself is a proven money maker. That way you can sell soap without leaving home. This is where a website works great too. Repeat sales are easy money...

Tip 5 Just do it...

You can get bogged down by a hundred details. Some people want you to go around getting all kinds of licenses and permits before you take a step. Now you need the right licenses and permits, but use a little judgement please. Who cares if you sell a few bars of soap just to see if you can? Nobody... Excuses for doing nothing are everywhere. Do something. Make something happen.

My family made a pile of soap and all kinds of other related products. We sold the stuff fast too and so can you. The trick is to get started and just do it.

There are a whole bunch of tricks that will help you with starting a soap making business. Get more details about how to get going at http://soapbizkit.com/. Make the best soap and sell hundreds of bars and have your own part-time soap business in just a short time.

About the Author:

Al Bullington and his family sold 35,000 bars of soap part-time. You can do it too.

WAHM Webhosting

2009-05-21T00:21:00.001-07:00

Below I have listed some Web Hosts that cator to WAHMS and that I have found to be most affordable and offer great customer service.

Shoppe Pro Hosting

WAHM Hosting

Need a Website? Check out Designer 218 Webstore Builder!

Build your own website with Create A Shoppe Plus's DIY program!

Pappashop

How to Use Twitter for Marketing

2009-05-20T23:41:00.000-07:00

Twitter is a relatively new web 2.0 site that is starting to gain a lot of popularity. That means that a lot of people have heard of it but it is also quite common to run into people who haven't heard of it.. yet. Twitter.com is this social site that encourages users to post often about what they are currently doing.

A lot of people are using it to improve their marketing reach, by being an active twitterer they gain followers who are interested in what they got going on. This means people being exposed to their updates on a regular basis. For example, if you have hundreds of followers in Twitter and you decide to post an affiliate link, that means that hundreds of people have instantly been exposed to your offer. In this article I will discuss ways to maximize Twitter for your marketing, and also a big mistake to be aware of.

In order to have a fan base per say of followers in Twitter you must be able to keep their interest in you and what you are doing now. "What are you doing?" is the whole foundation of what Twitter is about in the first place. Make sure to post daily if not several times throughout the day updates about what you are doing. The magical thing behind this is that many of your contacts will be able to feel like they know you so much better, will trust you more, and feel much more comfortable about working with you. On the other hand, when you follow others you can learn about them and their possible needs.

The big mistake to watch out for is only posting affiliate links or offers on your Twitter page. This looks like Spam and many people will see you as just abusing Twitter for your own personal gain. Think of it this way, if you would not want to invite your friends or family to keep up with you via Twitter then you are going about it all wrong. As with anything you send out or provide, ninety percent should be content and ten percent (at most) advertising. So this concept is quite simple... constantly post throughout the day what you are doing.. it is usually very simple and only takes a few seconds to post! Secondly, if you write articles or provide content online, provide a link for those in your Twitter posts. You may post many things within one day, but the last thing you post for the day is usually the most important because it will be there the longest. This means that your last post for the day should very well contain a link that you want your followers to see before your start Twittering again the next day!

Another part of Twitter is contributing. As with any social site it should be a give and take relationship. Notice that give comes first... the more you give the more people will want to work with you and the more attention you will receive. Make sure to read and follow other users in Twitter. If you read something interesting or helpful then make sure to reply and say so, or even put a link for it on your Twitter so that you are directing others to more quality content. This can also be as simple as connecting with other users, if they know you are reading their Twitter page they will be much more likely to check out what you have going on too.

To get started in Twitter you should first invite contacts who aren't using Twitter and also find contacts who are already using Twitter so that you can start following them and also start getting people to follow you. Twitter has a nice invite and find feature that makes this incredibly easy. To grow your reach even more you can start following people who follow or are followed by the people who follow you.. or that you follow. You might need to read that sentence again.. but basically you can find other users to connect with that are already connected to other users.

Now for a big tip. If you really want to maximize the potential with Twitter, you should make sure to take advantage of any plug-ins or sites that support Twitter. Here are three, but I'm sure there will be many more in the future if not already. Squidoo allows you to input your Twitter account info into your Squidoo account and then it can automatically post updates to your Twitter account when you create or update Squidoo lenses. Facebook has an application called Twitter, it automatically updates your Facebook status when you make a Twitter post. The other tool is a free WordPress plug-in called TweetMyBlog that allows you to create a two-way connection from your blogs to Twitter. TweetMyBlog allows you to use a widget on your Wordpress blogs that will display your current Twitter feed.. that way all visitors to your blog can look at the widget and see a running feed of your latest Twitter posts. If they click on that they will be brought to your Twitter page. In addition, when you make a new post to your blog, TweetMyBlog will automatically make a post to your Twitter page with a link to your latest blog post. Imagine the extra exposure you can receive by using these tools that help people see more of what you are doing.

Lastly, have fun! Twitter is a social site... so interact and enjoy!

Featured WAHM

2009-05-20T23:35:00.000-07:00

Olivia Smith

Independent Tupperware Consultant

About Olivia: Independent Tupperware Consultant

I am a full time college student in Pennsylvania studying Business Administration/ Human Resources. I will graduate in May 2010 with my Bachelor's and move back to my home state, Maryland. Garrett and I are recently engaged (March 20th) and have been dating since November, 2008. He attends college in West Virginia and will graduate in May 2011 with a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and a Masters in Business Administration. We are planning a May 2011 wedding. I am a Tupperware Consultant and joined in December 2008 for the discount. I am working my way to Manager with Tupperware and LOVE being a part of such a GREAT company. Tupperware products carry a lifetime warranty and are so versatile. The company has an awesome consultant and hostess plan!!

Visit My Site Today-www.mytupperware.com/osmith

Website Management Made Easy With a Content Management System (CMS)

2009-05-20T22:33:00.001-07:00

Website Management Made Easy With a Content Management System (CMS)

Having content available on your website can help you steadily and consistently build traffic. Content increases your chances of free traffic from search engines, it also provides consistent value to a visitor which means they’re more likely to visit often. More website traffic and loyal website visitors can, in short, mean more sales.

Bottom line, if you want to increase sales frequent and valuable website content is essential. To make uploading, modifying, and managing all of this content, many business owners turn to a CMS, which stands for content management system.

What is a CMS?

A content management system is defined quite simply as a system used to manage the content of a Web site. It displays the content, creates linking and provides a uniform design for the site.

A CMS offers two main functions:

It enables the user to manage the creation, modification, and removal of content from a Web site without needing the expertise of a Webmaster. This means you don’t need to know any programming language to use your website.

It delivers the content, it basically updates your website once you’ve added, modified, or removed your content.

Benefits of CMS

The benefits of utilizing a CMS based website are tremendous. Imagine being able to write, upload and store thousands of articles and reports, protect certain areas of your website, and create professional looking pages without any HTML skill or knowledge required.

Professionally designed pages and no HTML required. WYSIWYG (stands for “What You See is What You Get” - which refers to a web page editor that allows for copy and paste formatting), is the CMS function which may appeal to many non-technical internet entrepreneurs. If you would rather not have to learn HTML but still want your content to have all of the features and functions that an HTML document has, then look for a content management system with a web editor. Users can format their content as they see fit, with underlining, bold and even embedded text links, without having to know programming languages.

Access from anywhere, anytime. Many website owners struggle with the fact that they have to be at their personal computer if they want to upload or change any aspects of their website. A CMS based website is accessible from any computer. All you have to do is logon to your account and you’re good to go.

A CMS makes improving your search engine rankings much easier. Users are able to upload relevant content on a regular basis, which is perhaps the best way to appeal to Google, Yahoo, and MSN’s ranking algorithms.

A good content management system makes being an internet entrepreneur a much simpler and more profitable experience. Not all CMS systems are created equal. If you’re looking to utilize a content management system into your business website, make sure you’re getting a user friendly, secure product which offers good customer support and all the features you need to continue growing your business.

Make your content management as simple as point and click with the Easy Boutique Builder Angie Sandy proudly provides simple and cost-effective options for website owners. There is no HTML required, search engine optimization is a snap and you can add your own products with the built-in shopping cart.Try the site builder demo today.

Easy Boutique Builder

2009-05-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

What You Need For a Great & Profitable Website

Whether you’ve been an internet entrepreneur for quite some time or are just getting into the world of online business there are a few things that every business website must have to both attract and keep customers.

A Memorable Customer Experience

One of the most important aspects of owning an online store is your customer experience. To the customer that means being able to find all of the information they need to make a purchasing decision.

For example, FAQ pages, easy to calculate shipping charges, and product descriptions.

For many customers, it also means feeling a sense of connection to the store. Frequent buyer programs help create that sense of community, however free content, superior customer service, a fun and friendly ‘about us’ page as well as unified branding images like your logo, all help to tell customers who you are and what you’re about.

Article Management And CMS

For business owners, in order to provide your customers and visitors with a fabulous experience a CMS, content management system or article management system will make providing valuable content quick and easy.

A CMS enables the user to manage the creation, modification, and removal of content from a Web site without needing the expertise of a Webmaster. This means you don’t need to know any programming language to create your website. You can create, schedule, edit and remove pages without spending hours modifying HTML.

Secure, Easy To Use Shopping Cart

If you’re losing customers at checkout, part of the problem may be your shopping cart system. There’s nothing more frustrating than a system which drops items, makes you jump through hoops and doesn’t provide all the payment and cost information right up front. An integral aspect to a customer friendly and therefore profitable website is a secure and easy to use checkout system.

For business owners a good shopping cart system will manage your data, produce real time reports and not cost an arm and a leg.

Easy Navigation

One great feature for customers is the ability to search a site for a specific item or keyword.

For example, imagine you’re visiting a pet store and you need to buy a coat to keep your pooch warm during the cold winter months. Rather than having to search through pages and pages of items, having the ability to search for “dog coats” enhances your shopping experience

As a business owner, providing this feature to your visitors will be well appreciated. It enhances their shopping experience and reporting functions provide you with valuable visitor information.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

When building a profitable online business SEO plays a very important role in driving website traffic and sales. A key feature for a website builder is an easy SEO system which makes linking, content, and keyword tagging including meta and alt tags a straightforward process.

A sitemap feature is also a huge benefit when it comes to SEO. Sitemaps inform search engines about pages on your sites that are available for crawling. This helps increase your page rank and traffic.

Branding

In the competitive world of online business, your branding strategy can certainly help set you apart from your competition. While a logo is important, think about the Nike swish or the colorful eBay lettering, for a small business owner your personality is a large part of your brand. Your personality can be reflected in the content and design on your website.

Many website building tools are difficult to navigate, have a steep learning curve and make it extremely difficult to get the look and feel you want to convey. A profitable website, one which provides customers a memorable and enjoyable experience, isn’t impossible to create. You just need the right tools and to know what you want the end result to be.

Tilley's Custom Jewelry and Accessories~Featured Etsy Mom

2009-05-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

I am a work-at-home-mom, married with three girls (16,15, & 8). I officially started my business in 2002, but I've been doing arts and crafts for as long as I can remember. I was raised by an artsy mom, a basketmaker, and used to spend many a weekend growing up travelling to craft shows. When it was allowed by the show she used to let me sell whatever I was making at the time in her booth. I've dabbled with almost every art/craft medium out there at one time or another, but around 1997 I started working almost exclusively with beads and wire. I did craft shows for many years, but it got to be too physically demanding to travel so much. My customers were always asking me about selling online so they could find my work between shows. I was researching how to set up a website when I discovered Etsy in early 2006, when it was still in Beta. I set up my main shop in February 2006. I currently run a total of 4 Etsy shops--my main jewelry store, a destash supply shop, a shop for my 16yo daughter's artwork and my recently opened bridal boutique. Etsy is only a small part of my overall business--I sell on multiple online venues, do wholesale and dropshipping and some local consignment. I also work part-time as a designer for a couture bridal accessories company, a job which I am fortunate enough to be allowed to do from home.

Visit My Etsy Shops Here
http://tilleyjewels.etsy.com & http://tilleyjewelsbride.etsy.com

Say My Name Say My Name, 9 Tips for Shameless Self-Promotion

2009-05-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

Destiny's Child coined it back in 1999 with the hit song of the same title, "Say My Name". The premise of the song centers around a woman whose man suddenly has what appears to be a change of heart and stops saying all of the sweet nothings that he used to. She demands to know that his affections haven't strayed by insisting upon him calling her baby, telling her he loves her and of course, saying her name. This woman wants to know that she is on his mind 24/7. It's only natural, and you should be striving for the same type of adoration from your target audience in your business.

Yes, this is your business so it is a far cry from a love affair gone sour, but the message behind the request is a powerful one. You want your target audience talking about you to their colleagues and network of influence. You want them lifting you up through the power of their good words and solid reputations. When it comes to your area of expertise, you are the only person that should come to mind.

As it relates to business, let's be honest. There is always going to be competition, even if on the smallest of scales there will always be someone out there who you will have to compete with for business. And this is going to sting a bit, but there might even be someone out there who is better than you. But guess what? That doesn't matter!

What matters is that you leave no room for doubt in your prospects' minds that you are the best and only person for the job. How do you do that? Simply by making sure that your message, meaning your unique solution to their common problem, is in front of them constantly. Everywhere they turn they should be seeing or hearing your name and your message.

Here are 9 solid tips to help you get in front of and stay in front of your target audience on a continuous basis:

1. ARTICLE MARKETING - Writing articles, just like this one, is a great way to showcase your knowledge and expertise in your industry or line of work. By providing your readers with useful information they can apply to their lives or businesses, you will be regarded as an authority on the topic of discussion.

Once your articles are written, the easiest and most time-efficient way to submit them to the literally thousands of online directories that exist is by leveraging the power of article submission services like Article Marketer. You submit the article and they take care of the rest. Simple.

2. BUSINESS CARDS - This may seem as old as Methuselah, but traditional business cards are still a great tool to have when networking face-to-face. People only retain a fraction of what they hear, so while your elevator speech may be great, don't expect everyone to remember you. Having professional and attractive business cards on hand to give to people is a wonderful way to help jog someone's memory later of who you are and what you do.

3. CAR DECALS AND MAGNETS - Think of these as your traveling business cards. Placed in rear and side view mirrors and on both driver and passenger side doors, these signs literally turn your car into a 24/7 marketing tool. As you're out running errands, driving down the highway for a day at the beach, or parked at a local stadium for your kid's softball game, your business is being advertised without any extra effort on your part.

4. EMAIL SIGNATURE - It's surprising how many people still aren't taking advantage of this simple, no-cost way to get their message in front of people.

Email communication has become a standard in business practices. Considering the number of emails that you send and reply to each day, why not take five minutes to create a signature that includes your name, phone number, email address, web address and possibly your company's tagline or perhaps a thought provoking question? Programs like Outlook and Thunderbird come with the option to add a personalized signature.

5. EZINES - Another great way to take advantage of the power of email communication. This doesn't have to be anything fancy. It can be as simple as a useful tip sent out once a week. Or, you can get more involved and provide articles (those same articles that you already wrote from Tip #1) and recommendations. Do what makes sense for you, but just make sure that whatever you do, you remain consistent.

6. INTERNET RADIO - There are literally hundreds and hundreds of internet radio shows on every topic imaginable. Chances are you'll be able to find one, if not several shows that cater to your target audience.

Show hosts are hungry for dynamic guests with great content for their listeners. Seek out and get in touch with as many shows as you can to start booking your interviews. If you can't find an internet show that fits your needs, consider starting one of your own.

7. PRESS RELEASES - Grab media attention with a well-written press release. In general, press releases should tell Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. The angle should be unique and it should not be one big sales pitch - keep it newsworthy. Just think about why it is important for people to know about your product, service or event.

If you've never written a press release, don't worry. You can either hire someone, or if you're keeping an eye on expenses, there are plenty of free resources online that not only walk you through how to write an effective press release, but you can even find templates where all you do is fill in the blanks. Once your release is written you can use an online distribution service like PRFree to get your news to the media.

8. SOCIAL NETWORKING - If you think sites like Facebook and MySpace are all about dating and places for people to just "hang out" online, think again. Sites like these and many others are becoming solid marketing tools.

When you set up your account on a social networking site, your profile page gives you total freedom to toot your horn. You can put up links to your websites and blogs, post articles, add photo albums, advertise upcoming events - the possibilities are endless! As you grow your connections or "friends", each time they visit your page they will not only see you, but whatever message you choose to share. In fact, many successful internet marketers use social networking sites as strategic marketing tools.

9. AUTHENTICITY - This final tip is truly the driving force behind the previous eight tips suggested. Whether it's these eight, or twenty other ideas that you decide to move forward with, none of them will be effective if you aren't coming from a place of sincerity.

You can have the best stuff out there, but if you're pushy in your delivery, or if your agenda is to make a sale and not help others, it will show. Really think about how you want to be known in the marketplace. Do you want to be known as someone who has a good product but is selfish and obnoxious? Or, would you rather be known as someone who has a good product, really goes out of their way to help others, and is enjoyable to work with?

Remember, having your prospects saying your name can go both ways; they can either sing your praises or bellow their discontentment with the masses. If you don't want to see your business end as quickly as it started, do business with the objective of serving others because in the end it will serve you as well.

FINAL THOUGHT: There is no shame in promoting your business. If you don't do it, no one will know about you so that they can help you spread the word. Don't be afraid or feel weird about putting yourself out there - the more of you the better! Go ahead and start tootin' that horn so others can join in and together you can create a symphony of effective marketing that never ends.