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Psst!...Have you Heard the Buzz?
There's a new, fully automated traffic-generation system that can send thousands of targeted prospects to your website, every single day, for FREE! It takes just 5 minutes to set it up, and it's totally "viral"...
A Web log, aka a blog, acts as a conduit of information between your current and potential clients. Like a conversation, it is a big and forth exchange that allows you to share information and updates, involve your network with your business and a way to gather information. Blogging is a great market tool because it directs traffic to your Web site so potential clients can learn more about you. It isn't hard and doesn't have to take a great deal of time.
You should already have a Web site for your business, so adding a blog won't be difficult for your web manager or hosting company. It is generally just an additional feature. While we can't do an overview of every software package that includes blog add-ons, whomever is managing your site for you should be able to do this without problems. If they cannot do this for you or you don't have a Web site, there are free blogging tools on the Internet. Blogger, Wordpress and Typepad are all user-friendly and you can simply have a link from your main site to the blog. The sites vary in how much you can customize a blog, so start off with a simple template.
Blog posts are generally 200-600 words long and you should plan on adding no less than one per week. Many people blog daily and write about the topics that relate to their business, asking themselves always "what are my customers' needs?" If you own a computer repair shop, topics might include all things technology related including how to maintain your computer. If you own an auto repair shop instead, you might write about automotive maintenance and do reviews of new models. Just be patient. You will build a following over time if you are consistent.
Be sure you link to other sites within your blog posts. The dry cleaner might link to club soda giant Schwepps, the restaurant to Gallo as appropriate in the site. Why is this important? When someone does a search for Schwepps or Gallo, your article is likely to pop up, driving traffic to your blog and thus, your Web site and you.
Interact with readers. Ask questions in the blog like "how have you handled this?" or "what are your concerns about that?". This prompts them to engage in the discussion or comments section and helps push your statistics up as well as increase your Web traffic.
A "blogroll" is a list of links to other sites you list on your blog. Make sure that these are blogs that your readers can relate to and that you enjoy yourself. By adding a blogroll, you increase traffic for other blogs which helps you build online relationships and goodwill. List products and services that you recommend in a separate link list as well.
To make your blog more dynamic and appealing, you are going to want to use graphics and video. This is easy to do and there are plenty of low cost or free images available to you. Start off by doing a search for "copyright free" images and you will be taken to individual images or image sites. Some of these sites offer video as well, or do a simple search for video and most will offer HTML code you can copy and paste into you blog. Be sure your videos and images fit the content of your blog post.
IF you cannot write or simply do not have the time, there are plenty of affordable "bloggers for hire" online. Blog posts run from $5-$15 each and you can sometimes get them even more affordably if you buy a monthly package. The "problogger" should be able to do everything we've mentioned above plus review and edit comments for you. To find a writer, go to Elance or GetaFreelancer.com. Be patient. It can take a writer a bit to understand your "voice" (casual, formal, playful, etc.)
Blogging can be very enjoyable and does not have to be time-consuming. You get to build relationships with industry leaders and your customers, provide real information for them while you increase traffic to your Web site. Blogging is a must for those of you who are trying to establish yourselves as experts in your field.
About the Author:
With 30 years of consulting experience, Steven Schlagel offers training and coaching for startups, entrepreneurs and small business owners. Check his site for more articles to increase your success!
Before you can have a successful home based business, you must first possess 3
"intangibles." These are things that must come from WITHIN you.
===> Intangible 1 <===
First, you must have a strong WHY.
Why MUST you have a successful home business? What is driving you? What is it that you CAN'T have in your life anymore and/or what is it that you absolutely MUST HAVE now?
For me, I couldn't stand working 12+ hours a day anymore and missing the experience of my children growing up. I also absolutely HAD TO HAVE the freedom of being able to control my life and finances through a little box (laptop computer) that I could carry with me anywhere in the world and not be tied to anyone's time pressures or demands but my own. That was my carrot and my stick. I felt a great pain deep in my gut of missing out on my children's lives and the incredible freedom that succeeding in a home based business would provide for me. I found my why. You MUST find yours.
===> Intangible 2 <===
You must BELIEVE that it is possible.
If you don't believe that it's POSSIBLE for you to have a successful home based business or make your living from home, you won't. It's that simple.
For me, figuring out that it was possible was just a matter of realizing that many other people were ALREADY making great money working from home. If they could do it, I could too. It would just be a matter of figuring out what those people were doing and then adapting it to my situation.
There is no shortage of undeniable PROOF that people (millions of them) are making money working from home. Just get online
and do some research and you'll find countless testimonials and stories of REAL PEOPLE making real money on the Internet. Or head to your local bookstore and you'll find the same documented evidence of this fact. Truth is, it's getting easier and easier to make money with your own home based business.
I've always said that "affiliate marketing" (a simple way to make money from home) is the job of the future. In the
"old" days, you had to go to a potential employer, apply for the position and hope for the best. Now you can simply go to any company
you want, fill out their affiliate application and start work immediately. Affiliates are the new working class. In fact, making
money with affiliate programs or making your living on the Internet is WAY MORE than possible. It is pretty much (or will be soon enough) unavoidable now. Affiliate marketing is the "job" of the future that's already here TODAY.
===> Intangible 3 <===
You must be willing to MAKE THE LEAP.
Ready, FIRE, then aim... This is the operating philosophy you MUST adopt to succeed with a home based business.
That's backwards for most people who like to aim before they fire. The fact is that home based business success is a moving target... The only thing constant about it is change. You need to stop analyzing the game and simply jump into it. You can't learn from the outside... You have to be IN THE RING to truly understand it.
The lesson here is that you will never really be READY to start a home based business. You simply have to start one. It's like having children... You're never really ready, but when it happens you adapt and grow. This is what I call "Making the Leap."
The good news is that the cost of failure with having your own home based business is very small. In the "brick and mortar"
world you need to evaluate things very carefully before you decide to open up a business. It's almost always necessary to invest thousands of dollars to get an offline business off the ground. However, on the Internet you can often start a successful business for less than $100. The Plug-In Profit Site is a great example of this:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-21753
You simply need to get IN THE GAME... Each moment that you stay "out there," you're wasting valuable time that you could be learning and skills necessary to build a successful home based business. In fact, if you're not in the game yet, you're ALREADY behind the times. Make the leap to creating a successful home based business today!
About the Author:
Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy has helped thousands of people in over 200 countries around the world start and run a successful home business. Discover 3 easy steps to start your own home business and subscribe to The Home Biz Guy'sFREE Home Business Secrets Mini-Course at: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-21753
Tested & Proven Home Based Business Opportunities
Plug-In Profit Site
"I was a washed up restaurant worker desperately searching for a way to save my family when I discovered the Internet and affiliate marketing... 24 months later I finally cracked the code and started earning over $10,000.00 per month... Now the same system that saved me is available to you!" [visit
site!]
Success University "Who else wants to learn EXACTLY how our affiliates earn over $100,000 a month using a simple step-by-step formula? If your answer is "Yes", I'll give you a FREE 14-Day "Test Drive" of our system to PROVE this is the Quickest & Easiest way for you to begin making money online..." [visit site!]
Empowerism
"It's time to put your NetMarketing business on FAST FORWARD with ALL of the tools and training you need to become a SUCCESS on the Internet! All this in a nice, tidy package that's affordable to the masses and pays out a five-figure income! Others have tried it. Empowerism has perfected it..." [visit site!]
Host4Profit
"Sooner or later everyone realizes that they must have their own domain name. However, who you get to host that domain makes all the difference in the world. Most hosts simply provide you with space and that's that. You're on your own when it comes to making your new site profitable. Host4Profit.com has changed all that. We turn a necessity into a profit machine." [visit site!]
SFI
Marketing Group "Earn up to $100 per hour with your own home business. Join for FREE! Millions of people all over
the world are making money online. With just a computer and a few hours a week, you can too!" [visit site!]
Leisure Audio Books "Imagine... high commissions, solid product, multiple niche markets, AND a very simple system! It's a crying shame for you not to make higher commissions when so many people do it so easily..." [visit site!]
FREE Home Business Tips Newsletter!
Subscribe to our FREE Home Business Tips Newsletter and get hundreds of money making tips and tricks delivered to your inbox. A $147 value, yours FREE when you sign up TODAY! Enter your first name and email
address in the form below and click "FREE Signup!"
Psst!...Have you Heard the Buzz? 
