Many home business owners use email as one of their primary forms of communication with their customers and clients. On one hand this is great: it cuts down on phone time, your customers can easily send a request at any time of the day and, emails are much “greener” than traditional faxes.

However, there is a downside. If you overlook one email from a regular client or customer the relationship could suffer. Therefore organizing your email inbox is as essential as organizing your desk, if not more so.  Here are a few ways you can manage your emails more efficiently:

Set up regular times to check your inbox: Checking your inbox twice an hour wastes precious time that could be spent far more productively. Set a schedule for checking emails and it’s not a bad idea to let others know what it is, so they know when to expect a reply.

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Establishing a lively forum can be a great promotional tool for your  home business but, many have a problem getting their forum noticed. Here are a few ideas for a successful forum:

As usual, content is king – Before you begin creating the categories and topic areas for your new forum think carefully about what your target audience’s interests really are. Begin with the most pressing and popular issues then expand as your forum grows.

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Are slow sales inhibiting your business? Shift to Inbound/Permission Based Marketing Techniques when older methods do not work!

Is the economy slowing your sales and holding back your business? Then try newer Inbound/Permission Based Marketing Techniques if the older methods do not work!

Cold calling, telemarketing, e-mail campaigns, direct mail, etc., are known as Outbound or interruption based marketing. Bombarded and time challenged consumers and businesses fight back with their defensive do not disturb me mode. They use protective shields (spam filters, voice mail screening, etc.) and guard against your attack methods.

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Everyone loves to get gifts for the holidays, whether they are 9 or 90. Many business experts agree that giving clients and customers a small token of appreciation for their business during the holiday season makes a lot of sense. The simple act of giving a gift conveys how much a business owner values their clients and how they will continue to do so going forward.

For many home business owners though money is rather tight. Especially around the holiday season; they may not have the available budget to send gift baskets to all their clients, or the time to hand select individual gifts. This does not mean they should give up on the concept altogether, it just involves a little more creative thinking.

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Cyber Monday is coming; is your online business prepared? For those not familiar with “Cyber Monday” it is the “Black Friday” of online shopping. Black Friday has of course been considered the first day of the holiday shopping season. Cyber Monday falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving. The reasoning behind Cyber Monday?  As many of us return to work on Monday after the holiday many of us also return to surfing the web. Some start shopping during their lunch break and others….well some don’t wait and do it on the clock too! Regardless of when you start shopping on November 30^th one thing is for sure there are deals to be found.

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