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Home Business Idea – Build an Online Niche Store

October 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There’s still a lot of money to be made online. One great business model is to create an online niche store. A niche is a specialized topic or product. For example, smart phones might be a niche. Blackberry smart phones would be an even more specialized niche. Repurposed Blackberry Smart Phones is even more specific.

Niches work well because you don’t have the same amount of competition. And you know that people who come to your website are interested in your specific product. There’s a higher rate of conversion. This translates into more sales for you.

If you have an idea for a niche store, here are a few tips to make it a reality.

#1 Plan it!

You want to have a solid plan before you launch a store. Go into business without a plan and you may end up with a mess. Your plan doesn’t have to be formal. Instead, write it for yourself and anyone who will be working with you. Include:

* Vision and mission
* Your goals
* Your available time/schedule
* Your business model. For example, will you be a reseller? Are you going to join a direct sales company?
* Are you going to outsource work or hire employees?
* Who is your market and how will you reach them?
* Who is your competition and how will you beat them?
* How are you going to test and track your products, systems and strategies?
* How will you receive payment and fulfill orders?

#2 Your Storefront

This decision is important because it can be difficult to change your mind later on. How are you going to sell your products? Will you create an eBay store? Sell on Amazon? Or will you create your own storefront and host the site yourself? WordPress makes it easy – if you find the right theme that integrates with available shopping carts.  (We recommend elegant themes, specifically the estore or boutique themes, which areabsolutely gorgeous and offers easy integration with ecommerce and shopping cart plugins.

Review your options and make a decision that supports your current and long-term business goals.

#3 Choose a Good Store Name

Your store name, and URL or website address are important. You want people to be able to find your products and storefront quickly. For example, if you’re going to sell repurposed blackberry phones you might want to make sure those keywords are in your storefront and URL – Www.repurposedBlackberries.com for example.

Building a niche storefront can be a fun and fulfilling way to make money. Research your idea and find a niche that has good demand and little competition. Decide how you want to set up your business and storefront and start making money online!

Here are more resources to help you get started:

How to Start a Home-Based Online Retail Business (Home-Based Business Series)
How to Start a Home-Based Online Retail Business (Home-Based Business Series)
Price: $18.95
All the information you need to get online and selling, from creating a winning website to writing a business plan, software choices, security issues, taking credit cards, taxes and record keeping, marketing your business, legal matters, and how to grow your business.

Start Your Own Retail Business And More: Brick-and-Mortar Stores, Online, Mail Order, and Kiosks
Start Your Own Retail Business And More: Brick-and-Mortar Stores, Online, Mail Order, and Kiosks
Price: $15.56
In every community large and small, you’re likely to see a variety of stores: clothing boutiques, gift shops, bookstores, specialty food shops, hardware stores. Their inventory may be totally different, but the steps involved in running them are much the same. Whether you want your own storefront, a kiosk in a mall, an e-commerce store or anything in between, this essential guide covers everything you need to know. Learn how to discover your niche, establish inventory, set pricing, create policies, reach customers, and more! Plus, gain priceless tips, tricks, and insight from successful retailers sharing hard-won advice and cautionary notes. Learn how to: Choose from popular retail niches specialty items, clothing store, gift shop, kiosk, and more Discover the right sales avenue for your products Select merchandise that flies off the shelves Set prices to maximize profits Boost brand recognition using social media, public relations and other marketing strategies Efficiently manage inventory and supplies for easy order fulfillment Hire a staff that will help you succeed And more Retailing is a trillion-dollar industry-grab your share today! Entrepreneur Press is a leading small to midsized business trade publisher, provides aspiring, emerging, and growing entrepreneurs with actionable solutions to every business challenge-ultimately, leading them from business idea to business success.

Build Your Own Online Store In Yahoo: Start Your Own e Commerce Business and Build Your Online Store Using The Resources Of One Of The Most Powerful Search Engines In The Internet
Build Your Own Online Store In Yahoo: Start Your Own e Commerce Business and Build Your Online Store Using The Resources Of One Of The Most Powerful Search Engines In The Internet
Price: $15.95
Yahoo has come up with a very successful solution to helping out business-minded people all over the world. It is well-known now as the Yahoo store, ever since more and more people worldwide have become successful business owners by simply using this ingenious service. The Yahoo store is a very clever and resourceful channel to start selling your products or services online particularly if you are very adamant in starting your own business but do not have the cash outlay to put up a retail store, not counting too, the global market reach that one of the major search engines of the internet can provide you with. The Yahoo store has very flexible merchant plans you can choose from to fit your budget and a wide-range of resources you can utilize to get your business started. The building process is easy: prepare your store content information, choose your store design that is best suited to your business needs, layout your content, set up your payment methods, your shipping service offers and, there you have it, you’re ready to start selling. Yahoo doesn’t stop there, though. They help you out further with growing your business by providing you with the latest web tools and current advice on internet marketing such as online promotion, advertising, customer relations and measuring success.

Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Professional Edition: Learn how to design, build, and profit from a sophisticated online business.
Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Professional Edition: Learn how to design, build, and profit from a sophisticated online business.
Price: $30.67
The book can be read from front to back, but each chapter is self contained so the reader can skip chapters to read those that they are interested in. Each chapter will move from basic to advanced where applicable and also relate what the administrator (reader) is doing to how this affects what the client sees on the site. So, for example, the customization chapter will start off with a discussion on the concept of design and how to relate this to your business. Once the reader has a clear idea of what they need to do, we look at some really simple changes such as modifying the site’s language, before moving to some advanced modifications which may involve some PHP programming. At the same time the discussion will demonstrate how the changes made affect the site. Throughout the book, much consideration is given to the “right” way to doing things. Readers will have the great advantage that they begin, from the very start, doing things properly. This will save them a lot of time and effort in the years to come as they build on and modify their site. Utilizing best practices and sound methodologies is a great asset for beginners and experienced users alike. At all times, the coverage given in this book pays homage to the fact that, ultimately, the reader has a business goal in mind. To this end, the material never gets bogged down in technical issues or long discourses, but rather focuses on what is practically important for the online business and then moves on. To complement this, there are plenty of suggestions and hints as to how and where to look for further information. This book is written for anyone who: Already uses OSCommerce. Would like to use OSCommerce. Would like to make a website for their business. Is charged with administering, running and maintaining an OSCommerce site. Is interested in learning how an eCommerce application is created and maintained.
OpenCart 1. 4 Beginner's Guide: Build and manage professional online shopping stores easily using OpenCart
OpenCart 1. 4 Beginner’s Guide: Build and manage professional online shopping stores easily using OpenCart
Price: $39.99
Murat Yilmaz, Paperback, English-language edition, Pub by Packt Publishing

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How to Make Money Selling Your Photos Online

June 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you have a knack for photography, you can turn your passion into profits. There are many businesses, organization, and resources online who want to buy quality photos. Let’s take a look at how you can make money selling your photos online.

#1 Research Your Niche

Most photographers have a niche. There is a specific type of subject or photograph you like to take. For example, Ansell Adams was a nature photographer. He took many popular photographs of America’s National Parks, including several notable ones at Yosemite. Other photographers specialize in portraits, cars, animals…the list goes on and on.

If you have a specialty, spend some time researching people, organizations, websites, businesses and publications that may need your specialty photos. For example, travel websites and publications are often looking for travel photographs.

#2 Sell to Stock Photo Sites or Create Your Own

Stock photo sites are always an easy way to make money. You simply create a profile, upload your photo and you get paid every time someone downloads your photo. Some stock photo sites pay more than others. Do your research so you know what to expect.

You can also create your own stock photo site that caters to your niche. Generally when you sell photos on a stock photo website you sell limited rights to publish the image. This means that the customer can buy the photo at a reduced rate. However, you can also sell the photo an unlimited number of times. It’s not unheard of for a stock photo to have been purchased several thousand times.

#3 Market to Website Designers and Graphic Designers

Partnerships or relationships with designers in your niche can be a great way to make extra money. For example, a website designer that caters to the health and wellness industry may be in regular need for photos and images for their client’s websites. Likewise a graphic designer tends to work with stock images when creating headers and simple graphics. Your photographs can help them develop original designs.

#4 Create an Etsy Storefront

Etsy.com is a website that enables artists and vintage retailers to sell their wares. You’ll find many handmade items on the website. You’ll also find artwork. You can create a storefront at Etsy and sell your photos through the store.

#5 Wallpapers

You can also sell your photographs as wallpapers for people’s computer monitors, mobile devices and tablets. Everyone wants to customize their electronics and your original photos may be exactly what they’re looking for.

There are many ways to sell your photos online. Begin by defining your niche and looking for opportunities within that niche. Don’t forget to market your photographs. A great way to do this is to participate in social networking and photo sharing websites.

For further study:

Make-Money-Online Series: How to Start Your Online Photography Store: Step-by-Step Guide to Selling Your Photos Online
Make-Money-Online Series: How to Start Your Online Photography Store: Step-by-Step Guide to Selling Your Photos Online
Price: $14.95
As in two of his previous books, “How to Start Your Online Affiliate Store” and “How to Self-Publish Your Book the CreateSpace Way,” author Blake Webster lays out a clear, concise easy-to-follow game plan-in this case, for starting your own online photo store. It’s never been easier. If you are an event photographer, or for that matter a photographer who simply believes his work is worth selling, running your own online store makes perfect sense. It allows you to market your photos and prints online, expanding your potential audience and making it more convenient for your customers. You will learn how to choose a storefront, set up your store, lay out your photos, and promote your work. Webster details various approaches to setting up your store, from out-of-the-box solutions to the popular WordPress platform. In each case, the step-by-step process is brought to life with screenshots, all aimed at helping readers decide on a storefront that fits their needs.

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Home Business Idea – Become an Event Planner

April 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Being a successful event planner can really be a dream come true. You get to dream up fantastic events and turn them into reality, at a very good pay while meeting many interesting people along the way.

How do you become a successful event planner? Here are a few tips.

=> Pick a Specialty or Clientele

It’s very hard to market yourself as just an “event planner.” It’s just far too general. The most successful event planners tend to focus on one specialty. That specialty might be large conferences, large parties, corporate trainings or industry trade shows – it could really be anything.

If you tell someone “I set up conferences,” you’re much more likely to get referrals than if you tell them “I’m an event planner.” It’s more specific and gives people a much more solid idea of what you do.

=> Establishing Contacts and a Track Record

It’s very hard to land event planning clients if you’ve never planned an event before. Before you go out on your own and try to start your own event planning business, it’s a good idea to get some experience in the industry.

Start out by working for another event planning company. Volunteer at other events in your spare time. Establish contacts with organizers and event hosts.

Planning an event isn’t easy. You need to have contacts in a wide variety of areas. For example, to run a successful conference you need a trusted sound team, a great volunteer organizer, interior designers familiar with conference design, and so on.

In addition, you need contacts in the industry to land clients. In short, rather than jumping in and hoping for big success right away, you need to ease into the industry and develop the necessary contacts to both do the job right and to land clients in the first place.

Get at least six to twelve months of experience by working with existing events before you try to market yourself as an event planner. If you’re going for smaller-scale events, such as birthday parties, you can cut the learning and networking time down significantly.

=> Create Your Portfolio

What does an event planner’s portfolio look like?

You want pictures of packed events. You want pictures of smiling event speakers. You want testimonials from event hosts about how amazing and easy you made the whole event.

In short, you want to have something you can show prospective clients about how great their event is going to be by working with you.

Start collecting testimonials, pictures and even videos as early in your career as possible.

Finally, the most important thing is that you jump in feet first. The only way to really learn how to be a successful event planner is to just jump into the industry and learn. You’ll often find that people are more than happy to teach you what you need to know.

Resources for further study:

FabJob Guide to Become an Event Planner

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Home Business Idea – Be a Social Media VA

April 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

profitable niche ideasDo you have what it takes to become a Social Media Virtual Assistant?

Being a virtual assistant who’s fluent in social media management is going to be an increasingly lucrative career in the coming years. Social media is quickly becoming one of the most talked about sources of traffic and brand building. More and more business owners are seeking virtual assistants who can manage their social media platforms well.

Do you have what it takes to really succeed as a social media virtual assistant? What are the most important skills and qualities you need to succeed at the job? Read on.

=> Comfort with a Variety of Social Networks

Each of your clients will have different needs and different social networks. In order to be successful, you need to be fluent with at least Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Furthermore, specific clients will have more specific needs. For example, some clients might get a lot of traffic from StumbleUpon and need you to manage their account and relationships with other stumblers there.

In order to succeed as a social media virtual assistant, you need to be fluent in all the major social networks and be able to learn the smaller networks quickly.

=> Ability to Write in a Variety of Voices

You may have one client who’ll require you to manage his LinkedIn profile in a professional and courteous voice. Simultaneously, you may have a client who needs you to manage his reddit and Digg accounts in a crass and satirical manner.

One of the most valuable skills you could have as a social media specialist is the ability to write in the voice that your clients want.

Remember that when you’re representing someone in a social network, you’re basically representing them and their brand. Their readers expect to hear from the brand in a certain voice. If you’re able to adapt to and take on that voice, you’ll become incredible valuable for your clients.

=> Consistency and Organization

Finally, being a social media virtual assistant requires being very organized and very consistent.

For example, one client might ask that you do certain tasks every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Other clients might ask that you make certain posts on certain dates. Other clients will ask you to handle certain basic tasks every single day.

It’ll be on your shoulders to make sure you manage all these tasks properly and don’t let any balls drop.

Furthermore, you’ll need to be keeping tabs on all the different accounts and passwords of your clients, in addition to important relationships.

In short, you need to have organizational systems that work for you. You need to be able to keep track of notes, tasks, relationships, logins and more.

If you’re fluent in social networks, you’re organized and consistent and you can write in a variety of voices, then you may have the makings of a very successful social media virtual assistant.

Filed Under: VA Tagged With: ,

Home Business Idea – Start a Travel Website

April 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

profitable niche ideasDo you enjoy traveling or talking about places you’ve been?You can use your passion for tourism and travel to start your own travel website. This type of online business has the potential to make a good income. Best of all, you can start it from your kitchen table.

A travel website is a website about a specific location in the world. It provides all of the information a potential visitor might want to know. If you live in a destination city or region then you can create a site about your home town. You can also choose an area that you love to create your business.

For example, if you’ve been to Tamarindo, Costa Rica a few times and love the place then you might create a website about Tamarindo. You’d highlight activities, restaurants, hotels and places to stay. You might also provide reviews, maps, travel information, and itineraries. A travel website is essentially an information website. You provide information about the area. You can include articles, videos and an abundance of travel and travel planning resources.

How Does a Travel Website Make Money?

The key to a successful and profitable travel website is to choose a destination that is in demand but doesn’t have too much competition. You can also specialize in a travel topic. For example, Alaskan cruises for singles. Choosing a specialization or a niche will help you attract targeted traffic. This will result in more profits for you.

The profits will come in the form of selling advertising space to businesses that have the same target audience you do. You can also earn money from pay per click advertising programs, such as Google AdSense. Much of your income may come from affiliate commissions. For example, you might choose to be an affiliate for a zip line tour company in Tamarindo. Each website visitor who clicks on your link to the zip line company and makes a reservation earns you a commission.

What Do You Need to Get Started?

There are really only three things you need to get started. You’ll want to research and find a travel destination that has a good demand and not too much competition. You’ll also want a solid business plan. In your plan you’ll outline who your audience is, what your business goals are and how you are going to reach those goals.

Finally, you’ll need a website. Consider a theme based website. They’re easy to set up. They’re inexpensive. And they’re easy for your visitors to navigate.

If you enjoy traveling and talking about the places you’ve been consider starting your own travel website. It’s a fun business to own. And you can start and grow right from your kitchen table.

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Home Business Idea – Be a ‘Home Helper’

April 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

profitable niche ideasMany people are in need of help around their home. They need someone to help them, decorate, organize, clean or run errands. It can be a great business to start if you like helping others.

What is a Home Helper Business?

A home helper business can be any number of things. You might offer errand running and scheduling services. You might clean homes or offer organization strategies. You could cook meals, shuttle children, and take care of pets. The type of services you offer depends on your skills, interests and the needs of your potential customers.

How Does a Home Helper Make Money?

As a home helper you’re likely going to charge by the hour or by the service. You might consider creating a membership program. Members could sign up for a specific number of hours each month. Members receive a discount on their membership and you receive predictable income. Consider how you want to charge for your services. Do you want people to pay at the time of service? Or will you bill them at the end of the month?

What Do You Need to Get Started as a Home Helper?

A business plan is your first step. Outline what your business is going to offer. Who are your customers? What are your goals and how will you reach them? Spend some time researching your competition too. Position yourself to stand apart from them by offering a unique value or benefit.

The second step is to decide how you’re going to market your business. A website is strongly encouraged. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate website. A simple one page brochure site can do the trick. However, you might also consider adding useful content to your site in the form of articles or blog posts. Provide information that your customers will find helpful.

If you already have good connections in your community a brochure or postcard and word of mouth might be enough. Consider offering a referral program or loyalty program. Provide incentives to refer your services to others. And provide incentives to use your service repeatedly. For example, after ten hours you get one hour free. You might even hand out punch cards like many coffee shops and restaurants do.

The equipment you need to get started will depend largely on the services you provide. If you’re cleaning homes then you’ll need cleaning supplies. If you’re managing small repair tasks then you’ll need tools. If you’re running errands then you’ll need a car. You’ll most certainly need a business phone and a scheduling system.

All in, you can start a home helper business for less than a hundred dollars easy. You can likely start it for less. If you enjoy helping others and are looking to start your own business consider becoming a home helper.

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Home Business Idea – Start Your Own Tutoring Business

March 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

profitable niche ideasDo you enjoy teaching? Do you have specialty knowledge? You can turn your enjoyment for teaching and your specialty knowledge into a business. You can become a tutor.

As a tutor you have a variety of choices on how you set up your business. You can offer online tutoring. You can offer one on one tutoring at your kitchen table. You can of course offer both. Online you can host your tutoring sessions in chat rooms. You can offer them on a membership site. Or you can pre-record them and offer sessions as information products. People can pay for “how to” sessions.

This means you can charge by the hour, by the membership level, or you can charge for the products your customer purchases.

What You Need To Get Started

The first step is to take some time and choose a tutoring topic or specialty. What are you going to teach? Who are you going to teach it to? What is the best method to teach it? Once you have the answers to these questions you can begin to create a business plan. The plan will include your business goals, pricing, competition and marketing ideas or strategy.

You’ll also need a bit of equipment. You’ll want a computer and an internet connection. You’ll also want to create a website to promote your business. If you’re holding tutoring sessions online you’ll need a means to make this happen. You can use a chat room or video conferencing. If you are creating how to tutoring sessions then you’ll need a video camera or screen capture software depending on your topic and how you want to teach it.

Marketing Your Tutoring Business

Your website may be the most powerful marketing tool you have. Content published on your website will attract potential customers. Your website will establish your credibility. It will convince people to hire you to help them learn.

In addition to your website, you might advertise online. Consider also embracing the power of social networking to spread the word about your services.

Partnerships are another way to build a business and a clientele. Once you have a few customers you might want to start a referral program. Reward them for referring new customers to you.

If you’re going to be primarily tutoring at your kitchen table, consider posting flyers around town. You might also connect with relevant business owners. For example, if you’re teaching people how to use a computer or computer software you might connect with computer retailers.

Finally, email marketing is extremely successful. It is a way to connect with people, offer value in the form of a newsletter, and to also market yourself. You can build a subscriber base by offering a free video tutorial or report in exchange for an email address.

What is your specialty? How can you use this knowledge to help others? If you enjoy teaching and you are looking to own your own business consider becoming a tutor. You can make a living helping others.

Filed Under: Home Business Ideas

Home Business Idea – Start a Dog Walking Business

March 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

profitable niche ideasDo you love dogs and enjoy being outdoors? If so, a dog walking business may be the perfect business for you. More people own dogs than ever before. And these very same people are often willing to spend a great deal to make sure their dogs are happy. Their busy lifestyles prevent them from giving a dog what it often wants most – time outside. You can help.

What is a Dog Walking Business?

As a dog walker, you simply take people’s dogs for a walk. You might group your clients by neighborhood and walk several dogs at once. Or you might schedule appointments and walk dogs individually throughout the day. You can charge based on a per dog fee, a per walk fee or a package rate.

You might also offer to do other things for your clients. They might include feeding the dog, pet sitting while they are away or taking the dog to the veterinarian.

What You Need To Get Started

You need very little to get started as a dog walker. You will want to have:

* A love for dogs
* A business plan
* A few extra leashes, pooper scooper
* Good walking shoes
* Marketing plan/materials

You can start a dog walking business for less than a hundred dollars. In fact, much of your marketing may be done via word of mouth. You may also want to post flyers around town.

However, before you start marketing your business make sure you have a business plan. What are your business goals? How much do you want to make each month? Each year? How many clients do you need to reach your goal? What are your rates? Who is your competition? Who are your ideal clients?

Spend some time researching other dog walking businesses. Once you’ve created your business plan, then go out and market your business to your ideal clients.

Tips for Marketing and Growing Your Dog-Walking Business

Consider creating a website for your business. This will help people learn more about you. Include an “About me” page on your website. This is important because people will have to trust you with their beloved pets. They want to know more about you. Also include a services page that lists what you offer and how much it costs. Consider including a policies and procedures page along with FAQs. You might also want to have downloadable forms on your website. Clients will fill out the form so you have all the information you need. For example it asks for the name, breed and age of the dog. It might leave room for the client to document any special needs their dog has.

Publish a few articles or blog posts on your website as well. These can be articles you’ve written or have permission to reprint. They should be about the care and keeping of dogs. This information will be educational for your clients. It will also help boost your credibility as a care provider.

Make sure your dog walking website and business are listed with the local online search engines. For example, Google Places. Include your website on any marketing materials you print. Finally, consider asking local pet stores to display your brochure or flyer. Between your online efforts and a few strategic offline marketing efforts you’ll have a full dog walking schedule in no time.

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Home Business Ideas for Food Lovers

March 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

profitable niche ideasStart a Business Sharing Recipes or Reviewing Restaurants

The food industry has really changed. In fact there are many famous food bloggers and online restaurant critics. They used their love for food and created a business. You can too. Here’s how:

Making Money by Sharing Recipes

There are a few different business models you can embrace. One model is as an affiliate marketer. You can blog about your favorite recipes, create video cooking demonstrations and offer information about food and cooking. While discussing various recipes and cooking topics you can include links to relevant products. When a visitor clicks on the link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission. You can also profit from advertising sales and PPC clicks like Google AdSense. You can also write reviews for restaurants in your area and make money on advertising sales.

The second business model you can choose is an information marketer. You can create cookbooks and sell them online. You might consider creating a blog or website that supports your cookbook sales. For example, you could blog about various recipes and offer cooking demonstrations while also selling your cookbooks.

What Do You Need to Get Started?

First and foremost, you need a love of food! If you enjoy eating, and who doesn’t, then you’re set. The second thing to consider is a specialty. Do you want to focus on sharing soup recipes? What about bread or baked goods? Will you review restaurants? If so, will you focus on a type of restaurant or will you cover them all?

Before you hop online and start blogging or reviewing, create a business plan. Set goals for your business and strategies to achieve them.

You’ll also need basic equipment. You’ll want a computer with an internet connection. You’ll also want to create a blog or website. If you’re creating video content for your blog or website then you’ll also want a camera.

Chances are you already have a computer, an internet connection and you may have a video camera. That means all you need is a domain name, hosting and a website or blog. You can create that for just a few dollars. Of course you can spend thousands on a website too. However, there’s no need to spend a ton. You can create a great blog or website all by yourself for very little.

Marketing Your Business

As an affiliate or information marketer, your biggest marketing tool will likely be your content. Content will help you rank on the search engines. You can also use pay per click advertising to drive traffic. Social networking is free and it’s a great way to increase awareness for your website.

Create a newsletter. Email newsletters are a great way to stay in touch with your readers. They’re also a fantastic way to promote a few affiliate products and earn extra money.

If you love food and you enjoy talking about it, consider building a business around your passion. Create a food blog. Write cookbooks. Share resources, recipes, reviews and information and earn income at the same time.

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Home Business Idea – Start an Online Magazine

March 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

profitable niche ideasHere’s a new home business idea for everyone who loves writing and graphic design:

Start a magazine or industry publication.

What is Required to Start an Online Magazine?

There are many wonderful online magazines. Most of them started with a passion and a dream. Add a good plan to that mix and you have the makings for a successful magazine. Here’s what you need to get started:

A topic or niche that you’re interested in. What will your magazine be about? It can be about anything from mobile technology to women’s rock climbing. The key is to choose a specialized topic that is currently not being covered by other magazines. It’s also important to be interested in your topic. Your enthusiasm will help bring others to the project. It’ll also transfer into your articles. Your readers will enjoy your magazine more if you enjoy the topic you’re writing on.

A plan. This is important. There are several questions you want the answers to before you move too far into the project. Who is your audience? What is your magazine about? How will you tell people about your magazine? Who will write the content? Who will lay out your magazine? Who will design the cover? Who will sell advertising space? How much will you charge for subscriptions?

A website. In addition to delivering your magazine via email it’s a good idea to have a website. (You can also print your magazine but it will cost more. This means you’ll want to make sure you sell enough advertising space to cover the print cost.) Provide different content on your website than you do in your magazine. Also use the website to promote the magazine.

Sales, promotion and profits. Many online magazines are completely free. The publisher, you, makes money by selling advertising space. You may also make money with a few affiliate endorsements. For example, if you have a magazine about mobile technology you might become an affiliate for Verizon. Each new customer you send to Verizon earns a commission for you. Tread carefully here. Readers want to feel like they’re getting an unbiased content, not a marketing piece.

You can also charge a subscription for your magazine. If you do this, consider giving the first one away for free. Once readers see how great your magazine is, they’ll be happy to pay the subscription.

A team. If you plan on doing all the work for your first few issues that’s fine. However, it is recommended that you find a few people to write some of the articles. It helps with the credibility of the magazine if you’re not the only writer. Your first issue may go out without any paid advertising.

Consider becoming an affiliate for a few companies in your industry. Use their banner advertisements to work as place holders until you have paid advertisers. The transition for your readers will be seamless. And you might earn a little extra affiliate income in the process.

Equipment. You’ll want a computer with an internet connection. You’ll also want word processing software and software to layout and design your magazine. Publisher, PowerPoint and many other basic office products can do the trick. If you have a computer and basic software you’re ready to get started.

If you have a passion for a topic and a dream to start your own online magazine you can do it. Create a plan and get started today.

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