At Home News July: The Power of Print

Printed materials can showcase your business in a fresh way. The July issue of At Home News provides tips on how to develop the right printed materials for your at-home work.

If you're not a subscriber, you can sign up for the free monthly e-newsletter by clicking on the Newsletter tab. I never sell or give out my subscriber list.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Online Advertising

Figuring out what advertisements to run can be challenging, especially for small businesses. "What Kind of Online Ad Should Your Small Business Run?" gives some tips on navigating the tricky waters of online advertising.

Display ads can increase overall brand awareness. Banner ads might not generate a lot of click-through, but they do up recognition of your business.

Facebook ads can be a great way to get involved with social media. Facebook allows you to ultra-target your ads, which can mean getting your business before people who are more likely to be interested in what you have to offer.

Keyword ads allow you to reach people who are searching for your products or services.

Check out these online ads and see what might work for your business.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Making Marketing Pay for Itself

As a business, you probably spend part of your income on marketing in order to grow your business. But figuring out if your marketing efforts are worth it in terms of increaesed income can be tricky. "Sales vs. expenses: Did it really pay for itself?" on CBS.com talk about how to look at marketing dollars.

The relationship of sales to expense dollars is not a dollar-for-dollar comparison. If you spend $100 on flyers advertising a special and you get $100 in sales from that special, it doesn't mean you came out even. You should consider whether your marketing dollars will continue to generate sales or if it was a one-time thing.

You should also think about whether your marketing effort cost in terms of your time and effort, and what you would have done had you not spent time on that marketing project.

Until next time,

Sarah

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When To Give It Away

For small businesses, knowing when offering something for free can be a good return on investment can be a tricky thing. CBS's Moneywatch recently listed several reasons when giving it away can be a good thing for small businesses.

As a thank-you gift. To show your appreciation to loyal or frequent customers, giving away something along with a note thanking them for their service, can go a long way to establishing continued patronage.

As a way to apologize. We all make mistakes, and, after fixing one caused by your error, offer the customer a little something extra to smooth over any still-ruffled feathers.

As a prize. People love to win things, so try running random-drawing contests for your customers a couple times a year. Make sure the prize is worthy of attention to make it extra special.

As a random act of kindness. Sometimes, bestowing a gift on a customer or client "just because" can reap rewards beyond the gift. Those random gifts can trigger much good will and positive word-of-mouth.

For more ideas, check out "Sell more stuff by giving it away."

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Open House

If you sell a product, either made by you or others, holding open houses can be a cost-effective and profitable way to market your business. Here are a few tips for holding a successful open house.

Decide on a date. Pick your dates carefully, as you don't want to schedule your open house when most of your customers will be out of town or attending other events. Avoid scheduling the same time as major festivals or street fairs, or holiday weekends. Check your city or county website for local events that might impact traffic flow to the open house.

Pick a location. If your home is large enough to accomadate the expected crowds, then have it at your house. If the season is one that makes an outdoor event viable, consider having it on your front yard or lawn. Be sure to check with your local city or county zoning or permit department to ensure you'll have the proper paperwork filed for having such an event at your home. If your home is not an acceptable location, consider asking a local business if you could hold an open house at their location in exchange for cross-promoting their services or products.

Choose your merchandise. If you're holding the open house around Christmas, you might want to have a holiday theme or at least have products that could be used for Christmas gifts or decorations. Make sure you have a wide variety of products and price points for all shopping budgets and tastes.

Figure out payment methods. Decide if you want to accept cash, checks and/or credit cards. Some companies like Square offer an easy way to process credit card payments for a low fee without the costly transcation equipment. Make sure you factor in sales tax collection, if applicable to your state.

Schedule help. You'll need someone to assist you in running or setting up your open house, so enlist the help of friends and family. Be sure to have a thank-you gift for those who help with their time if you're not paying them outright.

Advertise your open house. Don't forget to let people know about your open house through email marketing, mailed postcards and signage along busy roads and at your house. Make sure you comply with any zoning requirements for signs.

With a little planning, an open house can be just the ticket to marketing your business.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: 7 Ways to Boost Business, part 2

In "Small Marketing Changes With a Big Impact" on Entrepreneur.com, the authors outline seven simple--and low-cost--ways to increase business. Last week, we discussed four of those ways; this week, we'll tackle the remaining three.

5. Get lists from sites with similar demographics. If your client base overlaps with another website or business that's not a direct competitor, ask about swapping mailing lists. Be careful you're not violating your own rules if you've indicated that you wouldn't share your list with others, but if you've made no such promise, exchanging lists with other businesses could enlarge your customer base considerably.

6. Consider getting a vanity phone number. Companies like Ring Ring offer businesses vanity numbers that will make remembering your phone number easy. The cost can be small compared with the return on investment.

7. Measure your success. Whether it's through online sources like Google Antalytics or from customer surveys, finding out information about your clients can help you tailor your marketing.

Use these tips to make your marketing successful.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: 7 Ways to Boost Business

In "Small Marketing Changes With a Big Impact" on Entrepreneur.com, the authors outline seven simple--and low-cost--ways to increase business.

1. Put a Twitter, Facebook or website link in your email signature. That's an easy way to spread the word about your business.

2. Use your business card's reverse side to promote your business. Don't let the white space on the back of your business card go to waste. Put a photo of yourself or your product. Turn it into a coupon by adding "10 percent off services or order" on the back. List what your company can do for a client.

3. Redesign your website. If it's been a few years since your website debuted, consider doing a facelift. Changing colors and fonts, and rearranging material can freshen up your site. Make sure your site is readable and that browsers can easily find information about your services or product.

4. Push your expertise through blogging and tweeting. As a small-businessperson, you are an expert about your services or product. Let people know that.

Next Tuesday, I'll review the final three ways this article suggests to boost your business.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Developing a Marketing Plan

To be successful at marketing your business, you need a marketing plan. "How to Create a Marketing Plan" on Entrepreneur.com takes you through the steps to developing a personalized plan for your business. Here are a few of the tips covered in the article.

Plan for 12-months at a time. "For small companies, this is often the best way to think about marketing. Things change, people leave, markets evolve, customers come and go," the article states.

Give enough time to write the plan. Expect to spend several months on developing your plan, even if it's only a few pages.

Get input from others, either your co-workers, employees or friends. Have a few people look over your plan and offer suggestions or improvements.

Make your marketing plan mesh with your business plan. While these two things are completely separate, your marketing plan should adhere to the basic tenets of your overall business plan.

A marketing plan can be as simple or as complex as you need. But taking the time to create one can make a big difference in promoting your business.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Postcards

In this age of electronic communications, using something as old-fashioned as a postcard to promote your business might seem like a throwback to the Dark Ages. But postcards can become a great way to capture the attention of current and potential clients.

Here are some tips to develop a smashingly successfuly postcard campaign.

Start with one idea per postcard. Don't overload your postcard with multiple ideas. Simplify your text to one idea or promotion per postcard. If you want to highlight several different things in an integarted campaign, consider doing a series of postcards instead of piling everything up on one postcard.

Write your copy with an eye for clarity, not cleverness. No one wants to get a postcard that cloaks its message behind overly cute word play or coyness. You don't have to be boring with your word choices, but don't go too far in the opposite direction and have copy that the reader doesn't get.

Use artwork sparingly. Don't have your copy overwhelmed by the postcard's design. Go with streamlined instead of cluttered when it comes to graphics. Many printers--both online and traditional--have templates you can customize.

Shop around for the best price. Online printers such as Vistaprint.com offer good prices on good quality print jobs. But don't forget to call your local printer, such as FedEx Office, to talk about pricing because you might be surprised how affordable local printers can be.

Postcards can be an effective marketing tool that any business should consider adding to their advertising program.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Affiliate Programs

The tenth way you can market your home-based business is through affiliate programs. An online affiliate program can market your products or services to a wider range of customers.


A business in an affiliate programs rewards other affiliated businesses for each visitor or customer brought into the affiliate via its own marketing. Examples of affiliate programs include rewards sites. You also can grab a percentage of the sales generated via affiliations with online retailers like Amazon.com.

You can work with a variety of affiliate programs to optimize your business and cross-promote those relationships on your website and other promotional materials. Check out affiliate program clearinghouses like http://www.affiliateonline.net/ for ideas, but be sure to vet the programs through the Better Business Bureau and read all the fine print very carefully before signing any contracts.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Expertise

The ninth way you can market your home-based business is with expertise. If you’re running a home-based business, chances are you’ve become an expert on that topic. Use your knowledge and expertise to leverage speaking opportunities around your community.


Offer to speak to groups for free about your topic, such as giving horticulture tips on household plants if you’re a landscaper, or simple holiday crafts for children if you’re an art teacher. Find the right groups by visiting city or county Web sites and looking in newspaper calendar event listings.

Think beyond your business for more general subjects on which you can speak knowledgeably. For example, in addition to starting a home-based business topics, I list time management as one of my speaking subjects because as someone who works from home, I’ve become an expert on managing my time.

Another way to promote your expertise is through articles. Write free articles relating to your business, such as ways to keep a shaggy dog cool in the summer if you have a pet grooming service, for local newspapers, newsletters, magazines, and online city, county, or state Web sites. These news outlets are usually hungry for good quality articles that have broad appeal.

Develop a good relationship with the editors of these periodicals, positioning yourself as an expert on your particular business. When their reporters need a source on your particular topic, you will be the one they call—and reap free publicity for your business. Register with online sites like ProfNet that journalists use as a source resource.

Using your status as an expert about your home-based business can be a win-win marketing solution.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Referrals

The eighth way you can market your home-based business is with referrals. Referrals are the lifeblood of any business, home-based or not. Referrals from current customers to their family and friends can boost your business and reputation.


Some ways to ensure you will get stellar referrals from your clients include offering the best possible customer service as possible and providing the best product or service as possible. Also having a system in place to promptly deal with any problems or concerns can help spread positive news about your business.

Even if your business isn’t one that traditionally has lots of interactions with customers, referrals can be an important way to grow your client list. As a freelance writer and editor, I’ve gotten several projects as the result of referrals from current or previous clients.

Consider offering your clients incentives for referrals. For example, my website designer offers free website update time for new business referred by a past or current client. Our local swimming pool gives current members $50 for each new stockholding membership sold via member referral.

Referrals can be an easy, cost-effective marketing way to increase your business.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Case Studies

The seventh way you can market your home-based business is with case studies, which can expand beyond scientific applications. You can find out a lot about your products or services and how customers use them.


Team up with your local college or university’s marketing department to conduct the case studies. Many times, the departments are looking for ways to give their students real-world experience and your case study could be beneficial to both parties.

Write a list of things you want the case study to discover, such as how your product is used, what are the positive and negatives of the product, and what improvements the product needs. Be thorough and explicit in order to develop the best case study possible.

Work closely with whomever is conducting the case study to gleam information as it goes on. Be willing to hear the good and the bad, keeping in mind that all of the data will help you with your product development.

Case studies aren’t for every business, but it could help yours reach new heights.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Press Releases

The sixth way you can market your home-based business is with press releases. Sending a press release to a news organization can generate positive coverage of your business, event or product.


Make sure you have news that will interest readers. For example, appropriate press release topics include the launch of your new business, or your involvement with a local charity or an event that’s open to the public.

A press release should answer the questions who, what, where, when, why, and sometimes how. The headline should tell what’s in the release, and the first sentence should give more details. Don’t make the reader guess what day your event will be held or the name of your business.

Press releases do not need to be clever but they should be grammatically correct. Read your press release over carefully before sending it out, enlisting the help of family or friends to make sure it’s as accurate as you can make it.

Check the masthead (the listing of the editors and writers of a print publication) or online staff listing to see who should receive your release. When in doubt, call or e-mail the editor or managing editor to ask to who should receive the release. Getting your release into the right hands can help ensure your release is read and not ignored.

Find out the publication’s deadline. Most provide general guidelines for calendar or event listings, as well as due dates for copy to be considered for those sections. Follow the guidelines, as sending the information exactly as requested will be much appreciated by the editor or writer.

If you don’t have anything newsworthy to write up in a press release, offer your services as an expert. Send the appropriate editors a brief bio and a list of topics on which you could provide quotes or background information.

Many newspapers—both large and small, print and online editions—are cutting back on staff reporters and are looking for authoritative outside sources. Submit articles for free that relate to your business. For example, if you have a pet-sitting service, write an article about how to teach a dog to heel properly. If you have a catering service, write an article about how to prepare a simple but elegant Valentine’s Day dinner for two. I recommend not even mentioning your business in the body of the article at all; just put it in your author bio.

The most important thing to remember when working with the media is to stay on topic, keep focused and provide newsworthy content. Let your expertise speak for itself.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Brochures

The fifth way you can market your home-based business is with brochures, which can an inexpensive yet attractive way to promote your business.


Brochures have more flexibility than other direct-mail pieces because you can hand out brochures at conferences, meetings, at a vendor booth, in person, at affiliate businesses, etc. Designed correctly, you can even mail brochures to your direct-mail addresses, too.

Most brochures are designed in as tri-folds, so plan your copy accordingly. Resist the urge to put too much copy on the brochure. A clean, crisp design with minimal words will capture the eye more than a cluttered, densely worded brochure. Work with a copywriter to develop the wording can be beneficial if that’s not your forte.

Again, have it professionally designed—it’s worth the extra money. One way to save on the design costs is to write copy that is timeless, so you can use the brochure design for several years.

For example, a brochure promoting our community pool’s open house tells readers about the annual the open house held Memorial Day weekend with the times listed but no specific dates plugged in, since the open house is held the same time every year. We also avoided dating the brochures by not listing specific membership prices, rather directing the recipients to our website. We’ve used that brochure for five seasons, reprinting as needed from PDF files provided by the designer.

Also, draw up a list of distribution places. Include businesses that could provide cross-promotion, such as flowers and bakeries.

Brochures can be a classy way to present your service or products to new and current clients. Give them a try and you might be pleasantly surprised by the return-on-investment.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Direct Mail

The fourth way you can market your home-based business is with direct mail, which can be a cost-effective way to reach customers. Direct mail works best if you have a targeted area that you want to reach. For example, my community swimming pool uses direct mail to advertise its memberships each spring to specific area locations.


Map out which areas you want to target. Many times, you can do the direct mailing yourself by contacting your city or county zoning or residential offices for mailing addresses. Some online companies offer this service for a fee, while some localities do not charge residents for providing an emailed list of addresses.

Invest in a mailing label program. Depending on how frequently you want to do direct mailings, you might want to consider investing in a program that will allow you to update addresses and manipulate data. While word-processing programs like Microsoft Office have a mailing label component, that software might not be robust enough for your purposes.

Develop a direct-mail plan. You might start off with a postcard mailing, followed up with a brochure or sample newsletter. Figure out what you want to accomplish with the mailings and plan accordingly.

Consider hiring a professional designer or copywriter to work on the presentation of the pieces. You might be able to barter for the work. Most local printers have on-site designers or a list of recommended freelancers.

Check out on-demand online printing. If money is tight, go to online printing companies, such as VistaPrint.com, which have attractive design templates for postcards, brochures, newsletters, etc. Pick the design best suited to your business, insert your copy and contact information, and presto! You’ve got a professional-looking direct-mail piece delivered right to your door for a low cost.

Don’t forget to drop by your local post office if you have any questions about how to mail your pieces. If you want to mail them anyway but using first class postage, you might need a special permit.

Direct mail can be an effective and attractive way to reach potential customers. Look into how you can use direct mail today.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Newsletters

The third way you can market your home-based business is by sending out a newsletter, which provides a way to communicate with your customers or clients on a frequent basis.


Think about how frequently you want to send out the newsletter. It’s wise to start out slowly and build up to more frequency as interest grows. Having a quarterly or monthly newsletter is probably a good place to start.

Decide how to send the newsletter, such as via USPS or email. How your newsletter is sent depends on somewhat on what data you have from your clients. If you can easily gather email addresses via your website or other forms, then e-newsletters might be the best way to go. If you have mailing addresses for most of your clients, you might consider snail mail.

Pick a catchy—but not too clever—title for your newsletter. Make sure your name says what the newsletter is about in a memorable way, but be careful that it doesn’t obscure your business. You want your title to draw people into to your business, not confuse them.

Develop an editorial calendar for your newsletter, which is a fancy way of saying plan out what you will put in each issue. This will help ensure you deliver valuable content to your readers in a way that will subtly promote your business. Whichever way you send it, make sure it’s designed in an attractive-yet-easy-to-read format.

Solicit content from customers and affiliate businesses. For example, I’ve profiled the jobs of a few readers in my free, monthly e-newsletter At Home News.

Have an opt-in and opt-out program. Make joining—and leaving—your mailing list easy for readers. And don’t forget to update the mailing list prior to sending out each issue.

Having a newsletter can be a fun and in expensive way to keep in touch with your customers. Consider starting one today.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Voice Mail

The second way you can market your home-based business is your voice mail message. The outgoing message of your answering machine and/or voice mail system can promote your business when you're not able to answer the phone.

If you're like me and your home number and business number are one and the same, combine the two with a short message. For example, my answering machine and voice mail messages say, "You've reached the Hamakers and the home office of Sarah Hamaker, freelance writer and editor. We're not able to come to the phone right now, so please leave a message and your call will be returned as soon as possible."

Provide additional information about your product or services if applicable, such as if you're accepting new clients or have a special running currently.

Also train your children to answer the phone in a professional manner, such as, "Hello, this is the Hamakers. How may I help you?" Then to also ask, politely, "Who is calling, please?"

Teach your children what information is needed when taking messages, such as name, time and date of call, phone number to return the call, and reason for calling.

Voice mail messages and phone etiquette can help promote your home-based business for free.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Marketing Your Home-Based Business: Website

Figuring out a marketing plan for your home-based business can be difficult. Over the 10 Tuesdays, I will tackle one marketing tool for promoting at-home businesses.

The first marketing tool is developing a website for your business. No matter what product or service you are selling or making, you need a website. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it does have to be accessible. Having a site hidden away under an obscure name will not help promote your business.

Buy as close a domain name as possible to your business name. If you conduct business under your name, use that. If it's a combination of your name and a business name, buy that. But make the domain name as simple as possible in order to capitalize on search engines searches. GoDaddy.com and Network Solutions are popular website that register domain names.

There are many sites that allow you to build your website at reasonable costs. If your budget allows, hire a professional to design your site.

On your website, clearly state who you are in terms of your business. What do you sell? Where can visitors find your products or services? How can they contact you? Ensure that information is easily accessible on your website.

Get your website URL out there. Use it in the signature of your email and put it on your business cards. Make sure every purchase has something with your website URL on it, like a receipt.

Having a website can be an easy way to promote your business.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Blog Intregration

When you have an at-home job or business that you need to promote, blogging should be one tool in your marketing arsenal. "How to Integrate Your Blog With Your Marketing and Social Media Strategy" from Network Solutions offers several good ways to make your blog promote your business.

Create an editorial schedule for your blog, linking in your other marketing efforts. Use regular features or interviews to supplement the information to keep your readers coming back.

Use social media to support your blog and vice versa. Set it up so that your blog posts automatically feed into your social media. Insert an RSS feed to make sharing your blog quick and easy. Request comments from readers about your blog.

These are a few of the ways you can use your blog as an integral part of your marketing plan.

Until next time,

Sarah

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