Tuesday, July 08, 2008

How to Survive Your First 30 Days in an Online Business

Operating a home-based internet business within the first 30 days can be confusing and frustrating. There are many things that can be done to make your novice experience pleasant, but there are three key tips that will help the average person psychologically. If the mind is not in the correct condition, then be prepared to fight an uphill battle.

Tip number one. Know what it takes to succeed. With so many people trying to work from home on the Internet, how many are not aware of the work load they have coming their way? I would say a huge majority. Many of these people do not even sit down and calculate their expenses or set goals. They see an internet business opportunity and read the information on the website. Next, if they like what they read, then they would sign up and get their account number and password. Finally, they would jump right into the company's "promotional tools" section and start promoting the business. This is a huge mistake. You must know what you want and find a way to obtain it. You must know your ultimate goal and set small "benchmarks" to getting there.

If you are not sure whether or not you have the drive to succeed, then you might want to save yourself some money and aggravation. Working from home is not easy in the beginning - despite the thousands of claims out there. When people believe the nonsense about working one hour per week and striking it rich, I truly feel sorry for their heads and wallets when they finally come back to the earth's atmosphere.

Success can not be bought in a box. You must be able to walk many avenues in order to reap the benefits of success it can yield. The great Winston Churchill once said, "If you find yourself walking through hell, then just keep going". It is vital to keep in mind that the strong will survive and the weak will fall.

Tip number two. Only use two or three online advertising methods. Understand that you will not get the word out about your business in one week and expect to be financial independent the next week. It is more effective to work two or three advertising methods when you first start promoting. Do not try seven or eight different marketing strategies at one time if you are starting a business for the first time. This is perhaps one of the main reasons why people quit within their first few weeks. Use two or three methods and perfect them. If possible, create a way to automate those methods. Once they are automated (or once you can do them easily each day) and traffic is coming in, then move on and add two more advertising strategies. If one method does not fit your schedule, then you can easily adjust. This whole process prevents overload and stress in the early stages of building your business.

Tip number three. Treat your online business as if it is your second job. This tip is very powerful because you are basically programming your mind. You are incorporating your business into your daily routine. Arrive at your place of business (kitchen table, desk, etc) at the exact same time every single day that you are scheduled to work. This helps build consistency and good work habits. It may seem difficult in the beginning because you are not earning a salary immediately. But you must understand that you really are earning profits. You are spending your time working a business that will "free up" some of the time you are losing working on your current nine to five job. You may need to go back and read that last sentence again. It is vital that you comprehend that statement. For example, if your current job pays you 10 dollars an hour, and your home business is paying you 20 dollars a month in residual monthly income, then you have just eliminated two hours of hard work per month. Now, you just have to work your business harder to increase that amount.

Understanding these three tips will help anyone survive their first 30 days in their online business. After the first 30 days of applying these tips, your mind and body will already be engaged and programed to consistently focus on your online business. Before you know it, 6 to 12 months would have passed and you may have already accomplished your dreams and goals.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Clever Online Business Advertising

Creative and clever advertising - Internet marketing online businesses depend on it. Advertising is the key to any successful online business. Considering how many others are competing for your customer's money, it is not surprising that advertising, online marketing, and promoting on the Internet have become something that every entrepreneur who took an online business to the Internet has become familiar with. Outstanding goods and services are not enough to draw customers and patrons, but spreading the word of how and where the products can be found is just as, or maybe even more important.

In the past days of advertising, online business advertising was mostly done with banner ads. Most of the banner ads tried to attract people by being more colorful or brighter and than their competition, but this soon turned into ugly, gaudy banner ads that would make eyes burn out. Then when the vibrant color wasn't good enough movement was added to the banner ads. Therefore, banner ad advertising became online business advertising at its worst in some cases and got a bad reputation. Many website owners pulled most of the more obnoxious ads. Obviously, this left merchants scrambling for other methods of online business advertising for their products and services.

Those who were more creative subdued their banner ads to be more elegantly constructed and agreeable to the eye. Instead of going for shock value they enlisted the aid of affiliates to widen the word about their products.

In addition, these online business entrepreneurs looked to other media to spread the word of their products, and rapidly these methods paid off. Print ads are now regularly used for online business advertising, and now a website takes the place of a telephone number more often. Clever online business advertising, Internet marketing at its best has once again reclaimed the market place and made it a welcoming place for consumers and a competitive environment for merchants.

Article marketing or content marketing has become one of the most accepted ways of online business advertising. This method takes more time than placing ads, swapping links or banner advertising. Writing and submitting articles related to your product or service may take longer but the payoff is much greater. If your article is of good quality other websites may publish it, and your online business advertising will multiply with little more effort on your part. This method will increase the links back to your website, drive targeted traffic to your website and increase your name brand recognition.

The more your website and name are seen online the more trust you build with consumers and the more your business will grow. Your business depends on creative online business advertising.