This is the first in a series of articles and videos that I have put together to give you a comprehensive overview of the 10 best home based business success tools. These are the most important things you will need to succeed in any home based business. Here is the list at a glance: No. 1 – A Great Marketing System
No. 2 – A Fantastic Sponsor or Business Coach
No. 3 – A Millionaire Mindset
No. 4 – A Big Dream That Fuels Your Engine
No. 5 – A Strong Desire to Succeed
No. 6 – A Powerful Belief in Your Own Ability
No. 7 – A Stubborn Determination to Keep Going
No. 8 – A Continuing Education
No. 9 – A Purpose Beyond The Money
No. 10 – A Product You Can Connect With Personally In this article we focus on the single most important factor you will need to succeed at your home based business: A GREAT MARKETING SYSTEM. That’s right, my friends, a marketing system and it must be a great one. But why? Isn’t the product important, isn’t it important to have a great compensation plan? No, it isn’t. At least, it isn’t nearly as important as having a great marketing system. The reason is simple: the best product in the world will sit on your shelf, or in your garage, or at your company’s warehouse if you don’t have a steady stream of people who need it or want it, and who find you when they go looking for it. It’s the old basic principle of supply and demand. It really is all about the marketing.It doesn’t matter which came first or what created the other. The fact is that both are necessary ingredients in your recipe but the result won’t be success unless you can bring them together. This is where marketing comes into play. You have to find customers who want what you’re selling, and you have to make sure they want to get it from you. Then you have to provide it to them with a wow factor that keeps them coming back for more. Of the 10 best home based business success tools, a great marketing system is number one because it will overcome many of the challenges you will face along the way.A great marketing system will have an action plan that you can follow, steps you can take every day, things you can do on a consistent, persistent basis to attract people to you that will buy from you. You need to be constantly “filling the pipeline” with targeted leads and qualified prospects so that you can make sales on an ongoing basis. A great marketing system will utilize several forms of media. These can include classified ads, ezines, video marketing, radio, television, internet pay-per-click ads, social media networking, you name it. In a home based business you generally won’t use them all, at least not in the beginning. But a great marketing system will show you how to start with one, get really good at it, and then expand it into other areas, building upon what you’ve already done, so that your results are multiplied many more times than your relative effort.
10 Best Home Based Business Success Tools – No 1 – A Great Marketing System
Consumer Reviews – The Best Rated Home Based Businesses of 2009
What are the best rated home based businesses of 2009? As you know, a successful home based business can give you a tremendous opportunity to fire your boss, end that daily commute, and have much more of that needed time with your loved ones. Unfortunately, finding a legitimate home business opportunity can prove to be very difficult. You really need to do your due diligence to find the best opportunity that is right for you and your family. To help you with your research efforts, I would like to give you more information regarding businesses that I have come across. In my opinion, these are the top three best rated home based businesses of 2009.1. Medical Billing & Coding:This is an industry that has found favor with many stay at home moms who are trying to bring in another source of income for their family. Medical Billing and Coding consists of properly coding procedures that were administered to patients, and submitting those claims to the insurance carrier. This allows the medical provider to receive payment for his or her services. This industry does have a steep learning curve, and it is recommended that you have prior office experience. If you do not have experience in this industry, there might be someone in your local area who can offer you more information and expertise.2. Product Sales From Home or Online:Selling products from home is still a very popular choice for many. Many people are selling products like cosmetics, purses, home decor, etc. Many people are beginning to offer these sort of products via an online retail store, or website. If you participate in an opportunity like this one, I encourage you to utilize the power of the internet to market your business. I will go into more detail about this later on in my article. Many people are still participating in the traditional efforts of referring to family and friends, organizing hotel meetings, and hosting product shows for this sort of business. In my opinion, only using these methods can prove to be very difficult to achieve long-term success.3. Online Marketing:This home based business is my personal favorite. I have found that more and more people are finding tremendous success in this online business. With Online Marketing, you are using proven techniques and strategies to drive targeted traffic to a website where you offer a product or service. It does not matter if you are already involved in another business opportunity, Online Marketing can give you the increased exposure that your business thrives on, and give you a steady stream of new prospective customers. All you need is the right training, a computer, and an internet connection.
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.