by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

In part 1 of Beginner Blogger Mistakes to Avoid, we discussed 6 mistakes.

Following are the remaining mistakes to avoid:


7. Not tying specific posts into the larger picture.

Specific posts should relate to the broader picture and to your readers’ concerns.


Solution: Identify the problems and concerns they’re facing.

What will be the benefit for readers taking action?

What do they think are the consequences of not taking action?


8. Using stream-of-consciousness writing style.

You don’t want your writing to be a brain dump. People usually scan a blog post. So, it needs to be well organized.


Solution: Use a template, outline, and section headers.

Write an outline before you begin your post.

Make a list of the top things you want readers to get from your post. Then, pare those into larger section headers. Putting in a section header every few paragraphs. This makes your blog post more enjoyable and easier to read.


9. Relying on the conceptual rather than concrete.

Don’t rely on conceptional and vague ideas. Include actual, actionable steps to be taken for success.


Solution: Include actionable steps to achieve success.

Content creation should be useful. Your audience should be given something. It could be a “how-to” recommendation for a particular strategy or simply a suggestion for a tool or tactic to make a process easier.


10. Not using data as evidence.

When you make claims in your post, use data and research to back them up.


Solution: Use data to support your statements.

If you say that people prefer one social media platform over another, you need to show proof of your argument.

Some places to find great data include:

Hubspot Research

Pew Research Center

Marketing Sherpa

HubSpot’s State of Inbound Report


11. Not adding enough context.

Not using examples to back up that what you say is important.


Solution: Use visual aids and additional content to illustrate your ideas.

Saying that one product is a better bargain than another is fine. Don’t just make the statement and move on. Add more content to show why by actually comparing the two and showing the additional benefits of the one over the other. Write for the person who’s just learning about your topic.

For more specificity, you can hyperlink to other posts that relate to your current topic.


12. Borderline Plagiarizing

Don’t copy and paste content to your blog. Your post must be in your own words and in your style of writing.


Solution: Give proper credit.

If you quote someone’s content, you must cite the source.


13. Not Editing.

You’re not done when you finish writing the post.


Solution: You must take time to edit your writing.

Proofread your post. Check for typos, sentence structure, there/their type mistakes, format, and flow.


14. Trying to be perfect.

Don’t try to be perfect. It won’t work. You’ll always find one more thing to correct.


Solution: Publish. You can update later.

After you’ve put in about thirty minutes editing, just publish the post. You can always update it at a later time.


15. Not being consistent.

It’s important to be consistent for your sake and so your subscribers learn to know what to expect.


Solution: Use a calendar.

Before you start blogging, set up a planning strategy that includes how often to post, dates to post, when to do related duties to prepare for each post such as research, the actual writing, etc.

You can use Google Calendar, excel spreadsheets, other sources or just make your own when first starting to blog.


16. Concentrating on fast traffic.

Your focus should be on long-term traffic.


Solution: The ROI of your blog is the accumulation of organic traffic over time.

Publish content that has durable relevance on a consistent basis, to help drive traffic. This is known as “evergreen” content. It’s great quality and is relevant year after year with minimal attention required.


17. Not growing your subscription list.

To get traffic, leads, and eventual customers you need to get subscribers. You can add a call to action (CTA) to your blog to grow subscribers.


Solution: Set up a subscription CTA and email newsletter.

Use your email marketing tool to set up a welcome email for new subscribers and place a simple sign-up form at the top of your blog. You can also use PPC advertising, email, and dedicated landing pages for subscribers that direct people through channels like social media and other pages on your website.

Some other things you can do include offering incentives for signups, promoting on your “About Us” page, adding footers that act like CTAs to blog articles, and using SEO (search engine optimization) for each article you post.

These are beginner blogger mistakes to avoid.

Not making these mistakes and using the suggested solutions to avoid them should set you well on your way to productive blogging.


Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

When you tell people that you blog for a living, they think it’s easy, that you just sit at home all day on the internet writing. They say anyone can do that!

But, when they actually try it, they realize it’s much harder than they thought. At first, they make many mistakes like any beginner.

The challenges are pretty easy to avoid if you know they’re coming.

Below are some common mistakes most beginners make and some tips for avoiding them.


What is a blog?

A blog is short for weblog, a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page. — Wikipedia

Blogs can help you establish authority in your industry, drive traffic to your website, convert traffic into leads, and grow your business.


What are the most common blog post mistakes?

1. You think of ideas that only interest you.

No matter how great you think your post is, you’re writing for other people.


Solution: Blog posts should reflect your company’s or your site’s larger goals.

You’re blogging to offer solutions to your audience’s problems and to grow your business. All of your blog posts should be written with these goals in mind and have a natural tie-in to issues in your industry while addressing specific questions and concerns of your prospects.


2. You forget about your persona.

If you want your blog content to generate traffic, leads, and sales, it must resonate with your audience and make them take action. You have to have an idea of the person you’re trying to reach – age group, interests, male, female, income range, etc.


Solution: Understand your persona’s problems and frustrations and solve them.

You can bridge the gap with your content by defining your buyer persona and the things that are important to them.


3. Your writing is too rigid.


You should write like you talk, in a style that is effortless to read.


Solution: Write blogs that are personable.

So, relax your style of writing and be more conversational. Use contractions. Throw in a pun or two.


4. You think people care about you as a writer.

People care more about what you can teach them than they do about you and your experiences.


Solution: Show your personality without obscuring the subject.

You can introduce parts of your personality in your writing to make people feel at ease. Some people crack jokes, some reference pop culture, and others use vivid descriptions in their writing.

The choice is yours. Make your tone personal and engaging, as if you’re in a face-to-face conversation.


5. You digress

Although you’re encouraged to let your personality shine through when you’re writing, don’t abuse the privilege. Don’t bring up too many personal experiences that bury the point you’re trying to make.

Don’t digress into these personal anecdotes and analogies too much — your readers aren’t sitting in front of you, which means you can’t guarantee that you have their undivided attention. They may lose patience and bounce from your article.


Solution: Assert your argument repeatedly.

Restate your point in every section of the article, to prevent your writing from losing its audience. Commit to an overarching message and deliver it gradually, repeating it several times throughout the post.

State your main point upfront. Don’t spend several paragraphs telling a story of how you came to do a certain thing before getting to the main focus of your post.


6. Not narrowing your topic.

Don’t use topics like:

“Internet Marketing”

“How to do Social Media Marketing”

“Digital Marketing”

These topics are too broad. To get the most short-term and long-term benefits of your blogging, you need to be very specific.


Solution: Start with a clear, concise idea.

A working title isn’t final — it’s just a solid perspective to keep your writing on track. Once you get this stage right it’s much easier to write your posts.

This is a link to some sources to get ideas. (I get no commission)

https://coursemethod.com/blog-topic-generator-tool.html



Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

What is burnout?

Burnout is the accumulation of work-related stress coupled with continued pressure to perform at an increased level over time without sufficient breaks and downtime.

What are the signs of stress?

1. Fight response

People who have a fight response to stress may have increased irritability and anger. They may have an urge to lash out, raise their voice, be accusatory toward others or the situation. This response can also show in their physical demeanor such as tightening of parts of the body and muscles, and high blood pressure.

2. Freeze response

The freeze response is manifested in an inability to concentrate, the mind freezing or locking up, brain fog, and forgetfulness. Those suffering this response may be avoiding certain situations and distancing themselves from others, and are becoming demotivated at work and in other parts of life.

3. Flight response

The flight response can cause people to become restless, fidgety, and unable to sleep. People suffering this response to stress may be having anxiety-like symptoms, such as a tight chest, affected breathing, stomach pains and excess sweating.




How do you manage stress?

If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s important to manage them as quickly as possible in order to avoid burnout and to keep your brain and body functioning in a healthy way.

Following are some things you can do to avoid burnout.

Sleep

Establish a consistent bedtime routine, so your body and brain know when to start winding down. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

Do not exercise, use caffeine, nicotine or alcohol for a half hour before going to bed, and limit blue light exposure from mobile devices. This will improve sleep and good quality rest.

Exercise and movement

Aerobic exercise will pump endorphins through the body, reducing stress. And, physical activity leads to positive physical effects, such as improving cardiovascular, digestive and immune health and can protect the body.

Do not over-exercise. Exercising too much and too hard without adequate recovery can add to the burden on the nervous system. Those who like to do intense exercise might want to do less to give their nervous system more recovery time. Choosing other types of exercise like walking, yoga, and pilates instead of some of the more strenuous workouts during the week, can be beneficial.

Along with exercise, daily pick-me-ups such as spending 10 minutes in a park or the garden can be beneficial in minimizing stress. Fresh air and greenery are instant mood boosters that do not require putting time aside like a long, strenuous workout. These also provide the necessary regular breaks from work and help avoid burnout.

Journaling

Reflecting through writing is an effective way to manage stress, since it encourages you to explore the cause of your stress. It’s a good way to gain a deeper understanding of stress by putting it into words and then working to improve the root causes of negative stressors.

Reflecting will also provide the tools to mindfully treat stress triggers, rather than simply managing the symptoms of the stress. This will reduce overall stress as problems are solved and removed, leading to greater long-term confidence and avoiding burnout.

Take a break from technology

While on a morning walk before starting work or while attempting to wind down after dinner, we can be tempted to check messages and emails. Thus, the home office space becomes blended into the living space. This constant exposure to work-related technology can have psychological consequences and lead to an inability to switch off.

Social media can lead to distraction and prevent you from getting tasks done, and this can lead to work backlog, and ultimately contribute to burnout. Set clear parameters for work time.

Be conscious of how much time you spend on social media and look for ways to reduce this.

Maintaining Social Connections

Control what you can. Feeling like you have no control over your situation is another common burnout contributor.

It’s very powerful to accept that you cannot control certain things, and work on what you can.

Try some relaxation techniques, from breathing to mindfulness, which engage the parasympathetic nervous system.

And you can always share your concerns and fears with your trusted social connections.

Prioritize and plan

Regularly step back and look at what needs to be done in order of priority, and direct your energy accordingly. Do not let the small, less-important tasks overly absorb your limited energy.

Look at the big picture and make a plan. Then break the plan down into smaller tasks that you can direct your energy toward on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis, until you feel like you’ve got things under control.

At the beginning of the day write a to-do list. At the end of the workday look at what you achieved to remind yourself of how much you do and recognize what you can let go of.

Remain focused and don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ to things that distract from your plan.

When you have the tools to recognize and manage stress and burnout, you can take control and manage many of the variables that can contribute to this. Stress and burnout are something that we all experience at various stages in our lives, but we have inner resources such as adaptation skills and resilience.

So, the first step in avoiding burnout while working from home is recognition and then taking the necessary steps to alleviate it.



Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Are you the only person in your business or are you just starting a business?

You can run a small business on your own, although it requires planning and lots of patience.

You need to write your business plan, meet with a business advisor to discuss activating your plans, and have patience.

Your business plan needs to include the right business structure. You’ll need to prioritize tasks and set goals.


Following are 5 tips for starting a one-person business:


1) Start as a Side Business


Continue reading…


Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

In my last article we covered what to do before you start blogging.


Now, you need to actually set up your blog.


How do you go about setting up a blog?



1. The first step to setting up a blog is picking the right topic.

For a personal blog you’re only concerned about enjoying the topic and having fun.

But, if you want to create income you need a winning blog topic.

Don’t try to be unique or clever. Pick a topic that has an existing audience and popular blogs already competing for the audience attention.

Who will link to you if there is no competition? Where will you get your audience? How will anyone find you?



2. The correct blogging platform is vital. To test the water you can start with a free blog at Medium.com and check ideas for viability. (A suggestion only. No compensation for me.)

When you’re ready to build an audience and make money online, use self-hosted WordPress.

That’s WordPress.org NOT WordPress.com

You can check out the difference here.



3. Now, decide on a domain name. Make a list of topics that interest you. These could be topics you think might be profitable, hobbies, or something random you’ve read about.

When your list is complete, check out these questions:

Do blogs on this topic have a Facebook page with more than 10k fans?
Do any blogs on this topic more than 50k followers on Twitter?
Does Amazon have any books with more than 30 reviews on this topic?
Are there any Google ads when you search for words and phrases related to this topic?
Do any words or phrases related to this topic have more than 100k searches in Google’s Keyword Planner tool?

If the answer to these questions is yes, you’re good to go.


Your domain name needs to represent your audience, a specific topic, and a benefit. For example:

Name the Audience.   TheBlogStarter.com

Name the Specific Topic.   TechRadar.com

Name the Benefit.   MakeALivingWriting.com


Once you’ve made a decision on your domain name, you need to check its availability and purchase it through a domain registrar. Any one of the following would be a good choice, and the fee is about $8 to $10 per year for a .com extension.

http://www.godaddy.com
http://www.namecheap.com
http://www.networksolutions.com
http://www.onlydomains.com



4. Purchase a web hosting plan. You need a place for your website on the Internet. You can pay a small fee to keep your website on the Internet, handle all your visitors, back up your website, provide customer support, manage the security of your website, and so on.

There are loads of WordPress hosts, but I recommend HostThenProfit.com (affiliate link).


Do not purchase anything else when you buy a domain name. The registrars will try to get you to do so, but don’t take the bait, as you’ll be setting everything up under your web hosting plan.

You’re now ready to roll.


So, how do you set up a blog?

By following these steps you can create your blog, grow an audience, and start earning a real, tangible income.

Don’t wait days, weeks, or months to get started. Start a blog today — right now.

Get Your System With Autoresponder Here

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Many people who are trying to start a full-time or side business are looking for home business ideas. With new technology and software, opportunities to create a low-cost home-based business have never been easier.

Here are 7 home-based business ideas:

1. Web Development and Digital Marketing

Although websites have seemingly been around for ages, people still need high-quality sites. As a web developer you have many options for creating websites.

In order for you to create custom websites, you’ll need to learn code. If you are proficient at WordPress, you can set up sites for people or teach others how to use it. WordPress and others like it are semi-custom websites.

A semi-custom website can earn you about $2,500. However, if you build websites using code you can make up to $15,000 or more.

Digital marketing is a term that includes any online strategies used to get more customers to a business. This includes online Ads, social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and Google My Business.

The goal of digital marketing is to help businesses make money. If you can do that, you can create a business as a freelancer or marketing agency.

2. Affiliate Marketing

Although the term affiliate marketing has several meanings, it typically means selling someone else’s products for a fee.

Affiliate marketing can work for you if you recommend a product, service, or software on your website. You earn a commission for every person that clicks on your unique link and buys a product. The difficulty is finding people to sell affiliate products to? You have to build an audience of people who know, like and trust you. You can do this by way of a website, an email list, social media channels, or a video platform. Once you have an audience you can recommend your affiliate products and services to them.

3. Personal Trainer

As a personal trainer you can freelance in your own home, a client’s home or a public place such as a park, beach, or parking lot.

It’s helpful to have documented results from clients. If you’re just starting as a personal trainer, consider taking on a couple of committed clients at a cut-rate and document their outcomes. Then you can show their success on your website, on social media, and in your marketing materials. Rates can range from $11 to $52 an hour.

4. Yoga Instructor

Yoga instruction is similar to personal training in that you can host classes outside. You can also teach virtual classes with a software to assist you like namastream which provides the tools needed for a successful virtual yoga business. Use the software to create multiple membership options, set up autopay, and integrate email marketing.

5. Voice-Over Artist

The demand for voice over artists is high due to the rise of e-learning and e-books. Also, the diversity of voice quality has increased with people looking for unique accents and dialects.

Technological advances have proven advantageous to the voice over industry and have brought it to a new level with the arrival of podcasts, audiobooks, and even smart devices that enable self-command features.

You are not limited to jobs in your local area. With a voice coach you like and believe would properly train you, try remote coaching which makes use of video chat apps such as Skype and FaceTime, and podcasts and webinars.

Even as assistive apps such as Alexa and Siri have grown in popularity, people still prefer the emotional connection of a real human voice.

6. Sell Handmade products

You can sell handmade products through a third-party website like Etsy or AmazonHandmade. If you use a third-party site instead of your own ecommerce site, you gain access to the third-party site’s visitors.

On Etsy and AmazonHandmade you can sell jewelry, pet toys, candles, ornaments, bath bombs, face masks, knitted products, and personalized planners.

It will take time to build credibility. The potential trust customers have in your products and store will increase as you get more satisfied customers.

7. Pet Sitting

Consider becoming a pet sitter if you love pets and have experience taking care of them. While you can do your own local marketing to find customers, you can also use a website such as Rover.com to connect with those looking for dog boarding, walking, and day care.

As far as pricing, a walk in your local neighborhood can be $15 to $20. A trip to a dog park which requires more work and supervision may cost $20 to $30. Day sitting ranges from $25-$50, and overnight boarding costs between $50 and $75 per night.

To increase your fees you can offer additional services such as mobile grooming or dog training certification.

Freelancing using one of these seven home-based business ideas is a great way to start a home-based business. You can practice your service on, or sell the product to people you know in exchange for free or at a discount and get testimonials. When you have quality experiences and good results to share, use that in your overall business marketing.


Hosting and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Included in the abundance of business advice is the fact that you should delegate certain tasks so you can focus on your business rather than work in your business. This is sound advice, unless you happen to be the only person in your business or you’re just starting a business.

Can you run a small business on your own?

You can run a small business on your own, although it requires planning and lots of patience.

Following are 5 Tips for starting a one-person business from some entrepreneurs who have successfully done so. You can use your own plan, although this framework tends to lead to success.

1) Start as a Side Business

It’s going to take time to build your one-person business, and quitting your job will create financial challenges if you don’t have quite a bit of money saved.

For financial security, starting your one-person business on the side is often the way to go. If you develop a client base while working a full-time job over a year or so, you’ll be bringing in money and be set  to grow an already established brand once you take your venture full time.

Starting your business on the side allows you the time and opportunity to see what challenges may occur or whether you should change course and choose another type business.

Starting your business from home on the side affords flexibility to make mistakes and fail without losing your only source of income.

2) Determine the Right Structure for Your Business

The type of clients or audience you want and your branding play a part in structuring your business.

The simplest forms of business available are sole proprietorships which offer a lot of flexibility. You can be an independent contractor, operate a small more traditional business or do freelance work.

Although this seems like a logical choice, you are solely responsible for everything including any potential lawsuits that may occur and any applicable employment taxes.

The usual advice is to form an LLC or incorporate the business. In doing so you, as the owner, are provided with liability protection.

If you’re a one-person business and operate as a sole proprietorship you can change the structure when you become a multi-person organization.

Click here for more information on choosing a business structure.

3) Prioritize Tasks

Since you’re the only one working in your business, it’s critical not to procrastinate or waste time.  You need to prioritize your tasks.

Schedule your day and your tasks. You’re going to be pulled in many directions with phone calls and messages and such. You have to decide what needs immediate attention and what can wait.

Organize tasks with both a short- and long-term view. Block out times of the day to work on different tasks and long-term goals and projects. If your working only a few hours a day on your side business, there’s not a lot of time for tedious tasks and checking emails.

Help prioritize your tasks by setting long-term goals.

When working alone it’s easy to get off track and make little progress. Take a long-term goal setting approach, and hold yourself accountable to those goals. You can set long-term goals to accomplish in three-month increments.

Let’s say you’re just organizing a plan of action because you’ve not actually started your side business. Consider how you’ll get the word out about your business. Consider whether you’ll use a blog, social media or both. Then set target dates for having these in place. Set dates for when you want to begin posting to your blog. Decide how often you want to post and when you’ll write your posts. Setting goals helps you stay on track.

Although sticking to the grindstone and getting work done is great, you’ll need some help from other sources. Surround yourself with great people. That can be other small businesses and independent contractors who can provide a variety of services such as website development, graphic design, and video production. Working together and exchanging ideas and being flexible benefits you and your clients.

4) Community Supporters

Running a one-person business can be mentally tiring, so connect with like-minded people and build a community of supporters. Find activities that are not work related to get involved in like joining clubs and joint fitness groups for human interaction to allow time away the day-to-day office drama.

Connect with business peers for advice and to reduce business loneliness. Reach out to local business owners and entrepreneurs. Talk with experienced business people in your area and share advice and viewpoints with them. This builds connections and gives you a group of people to turn to for advice. LinkedIn is an easy way to connect with business people in your area and quickly build a network.

Attend SBA (Small Business Administration) events in your area that interest you and meet others who are experiencing what you’re going through.

As counter-intuitive as it sounds, it’s not wise to run a one-person business alone.

5) Growth Limitations

Your growth limitations are determined by your definition of success. You can grow only so large without a team. If you find the limit that you can get to on your own and are able to maintain, you can certainly sustain that as long as you desire.

If you have no goals of building any level of empire, you might be completely content to stay on your own. But if your definition of success involves anything more than that, you’ll need to start considering having a team.

So, write your business plan, with these five tips for starting a one-person business in mind, meet with a business advisor to discuss activating your plans, and be patient.


Hosting and more

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Although email marketing is over 40 years old, it’s as strong as ever. It may be even stronger since brands have shifted to digital marketing channels due the ever-changing marketing landscape.


What is email marketing?

Email marketing is a method used to send emails to your customers and prospects to get more conversions. The aim is to convert one-time buyers into repeat customers and to get prospects to make their initial purchase.

An email is often the beginning of a customer’s journey with you.


Two reasons email marketing works:

You control who to focus on, and
You get more conversions


How do You Succeed With Email Marketing?

To succeed with email marketing you must first build your list.

Use your website or blog to get people to sign up for your emails. Place a form on your site with a CTA (call-to-action) asking for your visitors’ name and email address. Add a sign-up form on your “about us” page.

Another way to get signups is by using a lead magnet. This offers something free in exchange for their contact details. This can be a resource guide, an ebook or something else. It must be relevant to your target audience.

Make sure your sign-up forms are not too long or complicated. People might just skip over them and move on. Limit the requested information to one field, an email address, or two maximum that includes a name.


Designing and Sending Your Emails

Designing and sending emails to your subscribers is probably the most important part of the total email marketing process. You can create them yourself, which can be very time consuming and expensive or you can use templates from third-party websites.

A lot of sites provide free email templates that you can customize and use. As a business, there are different kinds of emails that you might want to send to your subscribers.

You’ll certainly want to send a transactional (confirmation) email that goes out immediately after someone takes action on your site. You can also use these to sell, upsell, and boost engagement.

Then there will be follow-up emails with relevant and timely information regarding what you’re offering.

Here are some things you’ll want to do:

— Use attention-grabbing catchy subject lines
— Use action words and verbs that encourage people to take action
— Add a stat or number to subject lines to add credibility and create curiosity
— Keep subject lines light and creative by adding an emoji
— If possible, personalize your email subject lines with their names to grab the target’s attention
— Remember your mobile readers and keep your email subject lines short and simple

One important thing you should NOT do is use words like “free” or “deal” that may trigger filters to send your email to spam folders.

Give your customers a good experience by putting them first throughout their journey with you. Email is often the beginning of their venture with you.

When you use a human-centered approach and put your customers and their needs first, you’ll be rewarded with their loyalty.

Email marketing continues to be a mainstay in the marketing world, and email marketing is the perfect marketing channel for relationship-building.

It’s a simple, direct and cost-effective way of connecting with your leads, and is still one of the most used digital marketing techniques.


Hosting and more

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

If you’re an entrepreneur with a home-based business, you may have considered getting business insurance. Well, hesitate no longer. The question is not whether or not to get insurance, but what type of insurance to get.

You definitely need insurance for your home-based business.

Just because you can run your business in your pajamas doesn’t mean it’s not a real business. So, it needs to be insured just like any brick and mortar establishment.

Your homeowner’s policy carries little or no coverage for a business and some insurance companies may even invalidate your policy if you file a business-related claim.

As a result you’ll have no coverage for:

Buildings used for business purposes
Loss or damage to business records or data
Loss of income that results from a business shutdown caused by physical loss to business property.


Why Do You Need Insurance for Your Home-Based Business?

Consider the following:

1) You run a consulting business from home, as an IT professional. If your home is robbed and all your expensive computer equipment is stolen, you may find that it’s not fully covered under your homeowners’ insurance because it is considered business property.

2) A business delivery person is leaving your home-based architect office and slips on some wet steps and sustains injuries. Your policy might not pay for these injuries because your insurance doesn’t cover business deliveries or any third-party injury claims.

3) If you run a landscaping business out of a building adjacent to your home and it catches fire and burns your equipment, you’re mistaken to think your homeowner’s policy covers such an incident.

4) As an accountant, you advise a client on a financial matter that ends up costing her money. As a result, she files a lawsuit. A homeowner’s policy won’t come close to touching that.

These are only a few reasons to purchase home-based business insurance.

Neither homeowners’ nor renters’ insurance policies cover home-based businesses.


The many types of business insurance include:

Business property insurance which covers any kind of equipment used to operate your business including your computer, printer, fax machine, furniture, etc.

Liability insurance that protects you and your business from being liable for damages caused to another person or property.

Product liability coverage to protect your business from damages to property or a person caused by a product you supplied, manufactured or designed.

Business automobile coverage which will provide coverage if you are in an accident while making pickups or deliveries, visiting clients or performing other business-related tasks. Your personal auto policy does not cover using your vehicle for business.


Here I have covered only a few types of insurance for your home-based business. There are many more for you to consider, depending on your particular business.

It is wise to work with an insurance professional who can furnish the details you need for the particular type of home-based business insurance that’s available for your business.

Based on the many potential business liabilities, you’re probably better off having at least a combination of a few policies, depending on your business needs. And that could be one less thing to keep you awake at night.


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by Rahimah Sultan

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If you’re considering a multilevel marketing (MLM) opportunity, be very cautious. MLM and pyramid schemes can be very similar.

How does MLM compare to pyramid schemes?


What is MLM?

Some people like the MLM business model. You have the opportunity to become involved in a system for supplying products to consumers. MLM associates have the support of a direct sales company so they don’t have to start a business from scratch. Some of the companies train you.

When you become a MLM distributor, associate, consultant, or whatever term the company uses, you make money, by selling products to other MLM participants who are not already a member, when you sign them up.

You earn money on your sales as well as a percentage of the sales of the new distributors you bring in. The people you bring in are your downline. Sometimes you get bonuses after reaching certain milestones like bringing in a certain number of new people or selling a certain amount of product. You can also win cash, trips, and automobiles.

MLM can be a legitimate business opportunity, but not always. MLM is legal in Canada and most of the United States, whereas pyramid schemes are not.


What is a pyramid scheme?

If you’re looking for a legitimate business opportunity, it can be very difficult to tell the difference between an MLM opportunity and a pyramid scheme.

A pyramid scheme also offers the opportunity to make money by signing up others and achieving certain levels.

Unlike MLM, a pyramid scheme exists solely to get your money and then use you to recruit other distributors.


Ask yourself the following questions before signing on:

Do you have to invest a large amount of money upfront to become a distributor? MLMs do not require large startup costs.

If you have to pay for inventory will the company buy back unsold product? Legitimate MLM companies offer 80% buyback.

Does the company offer actual products or services? MLM companies depend on an actual market for products and services. Don’t sign up if the company doesn’t seem to have any interest in consumer demand for its products.

Is the focus more on recruitment or products and services? Pyramid schemes focus on fast profits from signing up people and getting their money. If this seems to be the case, run.

How to Determine the Focus.

The pyramid scheme focuses on fast profits from signing people up and getting their money.
If the emphasis is on recruitment rather than on selling the product or service do not sign up.

Another trademark of the pyramid scheme is the offer of commissions for recruiting new members. This is what matters in a pyramid scheme, not the products or services being offered.


When you’re deciding on a business opportunity thoroughly check out the company. Get all the information you can on its products and operations.

Check out the business or marketing plan. Talk to others who have experience with the MLM company and its products. Determine if there are real products being sold and the quality of these products or services.

Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints against the company.

When attending recruitment meetings, listen very carefully for claims of you being able to make amazing amounts of money. That should set off the alarm bells for you.

Although being part of a successful multilevel marketing company can be both profitable and fun, unfortunately, some supposed MLM opportunities are just cons designed to flatten your wallet and trash your dream of running a business.

So, How Does MLM Compare to Pyramid Schemes? MLM is a legitimate business opportunity, whereas pyramid schemes are scams to take your money.


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