Sunday, March 2, 2008 

Part Time Business Ideas, To Help Pay The Bills

A couple of friends of mine needed to generate a little extra income on top of their wages. They were both into keep fit and enjoyed working out. They decided to supplement their income by becoming part time fitness instructors.

They had to do a course which lasted less then six months and taught them the basics of keep fit. They both enjoyed doing the course and made some great friends along the way.

The money is good and they keep fit at the same time! One teaches spinning on the stationary bikes whilst the other does aerobics classes. They both benefit from free membership in the gym they teach in

If you are good with your hands and into DIY then why not become a part time handy man? Busy people now a days just never get round to fixing that faulty cupboard and the money that they are willing to pay for odd jobs is not that bad either for a couple of hours work.

Start up costs are very low as long as you have the full range of basic tools. Most people who start out working part time find that this can easily turn into a full time occupation!

Do you enjoy gardening? This is a great little earner if you do not mind getting your hands dirty especially enjoyable if you find someone rich with a beautiful garden! The only problem with this business is that work dies away in the winter months.

A mobile car wash can be a nice earner and if you buy all the equipment it can be very easy to clean a large number of cars in a short time. Pick one or two street and whiz around a couple of times a week.

You will need to buy a van with some specialist tools and carry your own water on board. Starts up costs are higher than other part time businesses and therefore this business demands a lot more careful planning.

A photography business can be run from home and it is easy to make a decent income. Digital cameras are so good now that you do not even need a dark room to process your pictures. Start of with the usual weddings and birthday parties. Take pictures of all the landmarks in your city.

More websites are being created every day and all of them need some images. Speak to web designers and take pictures to their specifications. Online networks are expanding rapidly and people need portrait pictures. Demand for head and shoulders shots is massive.

The great thing about the photography business is that you can take pictures all the time. You do not have to be in work mode to snap away! It is easy to build a huge collection of images and showcase your work on a website. Start up costs are now very low and this business can become extremely lucrative once you have built up a collection of images.

Do you have any ideas for a part time business that can help to provide additional cash flow for people struggling to pay the bills?

Naz Daud is the Founder of the CityLocal Internet Business Franchise Opportunity.

 

Timeless Marketing Truth: When Headlines Really Draw, Who Needs Pictures?

A great title is a work of genius, said E. Haldeman-Julius in the 1920s.

Haldeman-Julius sold 200 million (really) of his Little Blue Books. His headlines were his product, because he sold his books by the title. About halfway through his brilliant marketing career he wrote a book called The First Hundred Million, in which he shared some of his secrets

EHJ had a system. If a title didn't sell over 10,000 copies in a year, it was sent to a place in his office called "The Hospital" to be given a new title. And if the new title bombed, then it went into "The Morgue." As an example, "Art of Controversy" didn't meet his 10,000 copy quota. The title was changed to: "How to Argue Logically" and sales soared to 30,000 copies. He changed nothing about the bookjust the title.

Haldeman-Julius discovered that certain words could increase the sales of almost any book. In 1925 "Patent Medicine" sold a measly 3,000 copies. Haldeman-Julius changed the title to: "The Truth About Patent Medicine" and sales rose to a respectable 10,000 copies.

EHJ found that the words "The Truth About" had some sort of magic. But far and away the best was How To. How to Psycho-analyze Yourself out-sold "Psycho-analysis Explained" and "How I Psycho-analyzed Myself" almost four times over. He found that the words: Life; Love; Sexy; Romance; Self-improvement; and Entertainment also worked well in titles. Small changes in his titles resulted in massive differences in sales.

Has the crafting of learning-laden and benefit-promising headlines gone out of style? Gary Halbert was a copywriting legend of recent times in the way that EHJ was in the 20s. Heres what he said: Go read a copy of The First Hundred Million. It is where I learned my magic words the ones that make copy SIZZLE and my headlines impossible to ignore.

In the Information Age, facts drive the internet. Think thats new? Good old EHJ found that The Facts You Should Know About was a massive hit again and again. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Yet so many advertisers run any headline at all, or no headline at all, because their creators think it's trendy or clever. Seldom will such an ad succeed.

Arguably, the most famous headline of all time was written by John Caples: "They Laughed When I Sat Down at The Pianobut When I Started to Play...." This ad was written forthe U.S. School of Music and people are still copying it today. Caples was a past master of the headline that promised both learning and benefitand of copy (and products) that delivered them.

Maxwell Sackheim was a great ad writer from E. Haldeman-Juliuss era. His most famous headline was Do You Make These Mistakes in English? You may well have seen that classic headline before, but you almost surely dont know that the first draft was Are You Afraid of Making Mistakes in English? See how one word changed the product from boring to excitingthese. That one demonstrative pronoun promised specific information and real benefits.

Pardon a somewhat personal question: What Mistakes Do You Make in English With Your Headlines?

Robert Greenshields is a marketing success coach who helps business owners and independent professionals who are frustrated that they're working too many hours for too little reward. Sign up for his free tips on earning more and working less at http://www.MindPowerMarketing.com

 

Online Home Business Marketing Ideas And Tips For Affiliates

A huge amount of time and effort goes into the advertising and marketing of an online home business so herewith some online business marketing ideas and tips for affiliates to ensure you get the maximum out of your online promotions.

Unfortunately there are people using the internet who are dishonest and will have no hesitation in changing affiliate links. Affiliate links are easily changed so it is strongly advised that you cloak your links prior to starting any advertising in order to avoid the loss of commissions. You can do this through your hosting panel if you own your own domain or by using tinyurl.com.

It is really important to check that all the links on your website as well as your affiliate links are working as there is nothing more off putting to a potential customer to click on a dead link. If you search on Google for `link checker` or `link validator` you will find some really helpful free online tools to check the links on your website.

It is not unusual for sites to go down for some reason or another, for example they may be having server problems and if that is the case you need to be in a position to immediately pause your marketing campaigns during the period the site is offline. You certainly do not want to be paying for clicks to a dead link. If you are using pay per click advertising (PPC) you can access your account and temporarily disable the display of your advert.

The same applies to credits you may have accumulated or purchased in the traffic exchanges. For example Traffic Swarm offers a facility where you can temporarily disable the display of your link. Once the site is back online you can then simply log in to your account and enable the links again. Most classified advertising sites also give you the option to open an account which will enable you to make changes to your adverts and put them on hold if necessary.

It is also unfortunate that some programs are short lived on the internet and so it is important that you ensure that you are not promoting an affiliate program that no longer exists.

If you are considering purchasing targeted traffic then be sure you will be given access to a panel where you can check your stats and change the targeted website if necessary.

Sure there are going to be places that you are promoting your online home business and affiliate links that you will not be able to change immediately, but at least for any paid advertising it is advisable to only use services whereby you have access to your account in order to be able to control when your adverts run.

Also be sure to read emails that you receive from the affiliate programs that you are marketing as they may include important information regarding changes to their links or advertising materials such as banners and landing pages. It is advisable to upload any banners you are using to your own hosting account so that in the event of the affiliate program discontinuing a banner your link will not be affected.

One of the very important things I have learnt while growing my own online home business is that you need to be in control of as much as possible on the internet and you can achieve this to a certain extent by owning your own domain. You then have more control of your online home business marketing and will be able to promote all your affiliate links on one website and be in a position to instantly access your hosting panel to change, cloak and redirect affiliate links.

Cynthia Minnaar is the owner and webmaster of http://www.cyns-home-biz.com, where you will find online home business marketing ideas, residual online income ideas, internet home business opportunities, online home business ideas, internet income training and more. Get your own Income Generating Website ideal for promoting affiliate links. You may publish my article if you include the bio.