Archive for the ‘Advertising’ Category

Google Local Business Center is the one place that many at home business owners just do not make enough use of, which is a shame since it is a very effective way of promoting your business or service within your local area. Best of all it is completely free to list your company and it takes just a few minutes to set up.

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Promotion is the key to the success or failure of any business, but it is especially important for those who run a business from home.

1. 1. Invest in business cards and then give them out to everyone you encounter. Make sure your business cards represent your brand well and include your name, phone numbers, e-mail address and, website if you have one. For those on a very limited start up budget, sites like Vista Print and BizCard offer 250 free business cards, only charging a very small shipping to first time customers.
2. Ask people you meet if you can have an email address to mail them updates and information about your products or services. People are often more comfortable giving out an email address rather than a telephone number and an email campaign is quite easy to implement. Make your emails informative and interesting and never be tempted to spam prospects with useless information as that only undermines your credibility.
3. If you market a physical product carry samples with you – you never know when you might run into a potential great new customer.
4. Start a blog that links discretely to your product or service. Focus on making it interesting and readable while still promoting your brand.
5. Talk about your business, and be prepared with the answers to any possible question that might come up in those conversations. Being passionate and knowledgeable about what you do can only serve to impress.

Many people turn to email marketing to promote their home based business or service but in today’s market you have to be very careful to ensure that you are not labeled a “spammer” and therefore end up unwittingly sabotaging your own campaign and even perhaps the credibility of your company.

Ideally in order for your email marketing campaign to be successful you need not only get recipients interested enough to read your message, but to also forward to their contacts, people who are not on your company’s mailing list. One of the best ways to achieve this “viral email” status is to add a little humor to your message.

Amusing videos, funny pictures and cartons can all be added to your email to make it more appealing. If something makes a person laugh out loud chances are that they will indeed pass it on and share with their friends.

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Ebay, the number one auction site in the world, lots of fun and often a place to score some great bargains. But, can you really make an income from being an Ebay retailer?

What you sell on Ebay is not nearly as important as how you sell it. The art of making money on Ebay is all about the pitch and the customer service you provide as a seller.

How much you can make on Ebay is just as much up to you as it is in any retail business. There are thousands of listings posted everyday on Ebay and in order to get your product sold you of course have to get them noticed. That does not necessarily mean paying extra fees to eBay for featured listing banners and bigger photos though. A well worded ad with a catchy headline works just as well. Photographs are a must, as most people will simply bypass an auction that does not have a visual representation of the merchandise on offer.

Price is key on Ebay and not just the cost of the item but, shipping and handling too. Keep shipping costs to the buyer as low as you can to attract more bidders. You can always add a more expensive option for a winner who wants their merchandise shipped quickly if they request it but, if not stick to the most economical option available.

These days the Ebay system is completely geared towards using PayPal as the preferred method of payment for an auction. Although you may be tempted to accept a check or money order to avoid PayPal fees it is not the best idea, as such transactions are hard to dispute if something goes wrong.

When shipping any item, even a very small item, always use a tracking number. In the event of a dispute when a buyer claims they have not received their merchandise from you, if you do not have a tracking number to prove you sent the item Ebay and PayPal will almost always decide in the buyer’s favor. There are quite a few dishonest people out there willing to take advantage of a seller’s lack of documentation to claim an item that they received was lost and receive their money back too.

Good feedback is critical to an Ebay seller’s success. Create a simple thank you email to send to your buyers and include a handwritten note of thanks in the package too. Little things like that really make a seller stand out in Ebay buyers’ minds and can improve the quality of your feedback immensely.