The internet has changed our world drastically over the past twenty years. Not only has the internet opened the world by allowing instant communication, but it has opened up the world by leveling the playing field for commerce. A person no longer has to have a store front or a commercial office to participate in the world of commerce. The internet has allowed for many people to build an internet home based business.Building an internet home based business has become a popular way to run a home based business. The advantages of running a business online include having a large marketplace, many people that visit that marketplace and a very lower overhead cost.Another advantage of running an internet home based business is the illusion of having a big business. The internet can create is a false sense of reality. One person can run what seems like a large business, but is actually an internet home based business.Before you can begin to build an internet home based business it is important to gain some knowledge about the internet. Teaching yourself a little bit about how a web page is built or how to perform certain tasks can go a long way. However, you do not need to know a lot about web programming. There are a lot of web site builders that make building a website simple and easy. For the more complex requirements there are many websites that offer freelance programmers for a relatively inexpensive fee or pre-built programs are readily available too.The biggest difficulty with beginning an internet home based business is deciding what type of internet home based business you want to run. There are many options and deciding which one is right for you can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. The easiest way to decide is to build a business around what interests you (your hobbies).There are different types of internet home based businesses, but they all fall into a combination of four categories (selling, offering services, offering information, and advertising).Category 1: Selling – An internet home based business can sell any type of product or service. Some businesses chose to sell products from their own website by using a shopping cart program. Whereas others chose to sell off of websites designed to sell products (like Ebay). Another method people use to sell items is through classifieds. All methods can be used to offer a more widespread plan.Category 2: Offering Services – An internet home based business can either offer a service that another person may need (like web design or programming) or can offer a service that brings the “have’s” and the “have not’s” together. Depending on the service the internet can be an excellent place to work from, because of the instant communication and immediate gratification it offers. However, if a service that is offered requires you to travel to a specific location your service market will be greatly reduced.Category 3: Offering Information – The internet holds volumes of information. An internet home based business can offer information to teach others about what they know. Depending on the information offered it can be sold for a price or the information can be used to generate traffic to a website. Some highlights of offering information include forums which offer information and a place for people to interact with other people who are giving and seeking information, web articles offer information by allowing people to read and learn, and blogs offer information by offering an insiders opinion on any topic.Category 4: Advertising – Advertising can either generate revenue by others paying to advertise on your website or advertising can be an expense to an internet home based business. However, many internet home based businesses are utilizing advertising as both a means of generating revenue and as an expense to increase the traffic to their site. An internet home based business can make a location for others to advertise a good place to advertise by having a high amount of traffic. Additionally, there are many internet home based businesses that join affiliate programs offered by many large companies that offer a monetary reward for marketing their business.After you decide which direction you want to focus your internet home based business the next best step is to start learning how others are making a profit. Participate in the many programs on the internet. If you are interested in selling items as an internet home based business take a look at the ways everyone is currently selling items. Learn the basics of buying and selling on Ebay. Learn about the different methods of payment offered on the web. If you are interested in making an internet home based business by offering services find others who are offering services that you are considering and investigate how they generate income. If you are interested in offering information as an internet home based business find out what information is out there and determine how you can make that information better. If you are interested in creating a business with advertisement generated income learn how people currently advertise and what type of location is needed for them to advertise at the locations you offer. The biggest step you can make is to research and know what others are doing then determine how to make your internet home based business bigger and better than the rest.
Finding The Right Home Based Business
Finding the right home based business can either make or break you. When searching on the Internet using the keywords “home based business” or “work at home” you will find millions if not billions of results. The competition is extremely competitive and you have to know or research carefully before investing any monies. I got started a little over a year ago and I have read and researched a lot of information regarding the home based business industry. I have found a lot of them to be creditable and some that were absolute scams so be sure you research thoroughly before taking that first step.
One of the home based business programs I am currently involved with and have had some great success with is SFI Affiliate Program. SFI stands for “Strong Future International” and was founded by Gery Carson back in 1998. SFI supplies everything you would need to get started including: free websites, training, support and all products provided. You can even sign up with SFI for free. They have a no risk, no obligation policy. I have been a SFI member now for a little over 5 months and have seen my monthly income increase every month as I remain an active Executive Affiliate. You can become an Executive Affiliate by either purchasing products for yourself, sell products to people you know, subscribe to their monthly newsletter (IAHBE) packed with helpful home based business information or visit my website and click on the 2008 Home Based Business “Top Pick” for complete details.
I encourage you to at least sign-up and then browse through the SFI Leader Boards which you will see in the top right hand side of the website. You are going to see many familiar names that are at the top of the home based business industry. You will see names like, Ewen Chia, Stone Evans, The Rich Jerk and Shawn Casey to name a few. I don’t really see these guys ever wanting to waste their time and money on a home based business program if they were not getting paid well, very well. Remember you can sign up for free and you can opt-out anytime. I just want you to really browse through the SFI website and get yourself familiar with an awesome home based business program. It’s not a get rich quick system, which I don’t know of too many of them out there but it is definitely something to take 5 minutes out of your time to look at. It has worked for me and I guarantee it can work for you too!
If you feel like the above home based business opportunity is not for you then please visit my website [http://www.automatedcashprofits.com] which features additional Home Based Business Ideas and Opportunities. You might find something there that will suit your needs. Remember starting a home based business takes time and some kind of investment just like everything else we are involved with in our lives.
A Simple Product Creation and Product Launching Formula
If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.
The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.
The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.
What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.
You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.
The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.
I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.
I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.
Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.
You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.
It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.