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.

If you use SEO (search engine optimization) in the right way, it is one of the most effective ways to attract potential customers to your website. If you rank on page one of the SERP (Search Engine Results Pages) you will generate organic traffic.

This is where you need SEO.

In this article I will cover seven SEO trends to leverage in your online advertising.


1) CORE WEB VITALS

Google is rolling out a new algorithm update which integrates a new set of metrics known as Core Web Vitals into what Google has traditionally referred to as “page experience.” These metrics measure how long it takes a user to get to your page, how easy/difficult it is for the user to initially interact with your page, and how easy/difficult it is for the user to become disoriented due to inconsistencies/shifts in your page design.


2) GOOGLE’S BERT

Google’s BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) algorithm uses machine learning and natural processing to understand what users are actually looking for. With the BERT update Google search engine bots are much more “conversational.” Google’s algorithm can interpret the intent of a searcher. In other words, Google can understand things like the human brain.

To optimize for Google’s BERT be sure your content and the keyword intent match. If people are searching for “seo” as a keyword on Google, they want to know about SEO. On the other hand, they may search “seo services” or “seo expert.”

Always perform a keyword search on Google before writing your content to be sure the keyword you’re trying to rank for matches the searchers’ intent. You can do a search to find free and paid SEO tools.


3) KEYWORD RESEARCH

Keyword research is becoming more important. Use long-tail and targeted keywords, and understand the intent. While SEO tools are important to use you need to analyze the SERP for the keyword before selecting it.

If the intent is right, even a low-volume keyword with only 10-20 searches per month can still generate thousands of dollars.

That’s why you do your keyword research with patience and find keywords that can easily rank and generate income for you.


4) ORIGINAL CONTENT

Google still wants original content. That is, unique content that hasn’t been published elsewhere. It must be authentic, useful, and add value in your own brand voice and language.


5) VOICE SEARCH

A staggering number of the global population are using voice search on their mobile phones. These search queries are long-tail and extremely specific.


6) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Due to the personalization that AI provides, it is changing the SEO and marketing industry. Google uses AI to provide searchers with the results they’re looking for.


7) VIDEO MARKETING

YouTube, the second most popular search engine (Google being number one), has over a billion users. Now is the time to get started with videos if you aren’t already using them.

To optimize video content for search engines, start by optimizing your video channel name and description. Keywords are important, however, don’t overdo it. Just provide a user-friendly description about your channel.

As you start typing the topic of your video, related suggested keywords will pop up in the search field. You can use these for optimizing your video to reach the right audience.

Remember, to rank higher or just to maintain rankings with Google’s ever-evolving algorithm, you need to keep modifying your SEO strategy.

These are seven SEO trends to leverage in your online advertising. Keep these trends in mind and use them to continue driving relevant traffic to your website.


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.

Internet marketing is more effective than traditional advertising. Online marketing is an economical way to get the word out about your products, services and your company. You don’t have to spend a large amount of money so a small budget works just as well as a large one.

Brand awareness is easy when you use the power of the internet. If you setup your marketing properly you’ll have a better online presence, get more traffic and be better able to compete against those who have already built good, strong businesses using effective Internet marketing.

If you don’t market your business you won’t be able to generate leads or make your products and services known. The Internet connects more people than could ever be directly connected in person.


Why is Internet Marketing Cost Effective?

Although it takes money to run any size successful business, it’s natural to be hesitant when it comes to spending without guarantee of success. There are numerous cost-effective Internet marketing strategies available.

Whether you decide to use a website, social media or some other method, Internet marketing can increase visibility of your business and make it marketable and more profitable. You’ll need to think of your marketing strategy in terms of something other than just traffic numbers. You need targeted traffic — those who are looking for what you have to offer.

You can use social media as part of your marketing plan. It cost very little to set up a Facebook page and discuss your product or service with billions of people, some who will be in your local community. There is also Instagram and Twitter, among others.


What are Some Effective Internet Marketing Techniques?

Besides social media there is:

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Use SEO for your site in order to rank at the top of search engine results, thereby increasing the amount of traffic to your website or blog.

EMAIL MARKETING

Email marketing is relatively simple, inexpensive, and can generate profit. You want to build a list of clients, prospects, customers and subscribers who want to hear from you. Then you can regularly market to them via email to keep them abreast of your projects and remain a priority and generate more sales.

AI CHATBOT

You can integrate a chatbot into your marketing strategy to qualify leads, interact with site visitors, and personalize the customer experience. Chatbot marketing may seem new to you, but it has quickly gained lots of popularity.

VIDEO MARKETING

Videos are educational and informative. You can use them to demonstrate your products to help customers understand them. They help you stay competitive and boost conversion rates.

Keep things simple when you are just starting out, and use only a couple of these techniques. As you get results add more.

Be sure to have a written plan with your goals and budget and incorporate these effective Internet marketing strategies.


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.

Your moneymaker is content.



Why is this?

You must have a plan because your content is also your sales pitch, billboard, brochure, and portfolio all combined into one.


Successful Internet marketing requires planned content.


Therefore, you must lay out a plan for implementing your moneymaker – content.


Your content must be structured and organized to reach your audience.


Whether you’re a blogger, a professional marketer, or a social media strategist, you need good well-organized content.


When laying out your plan consider the following for content development:


How to reach a larger audience through organic promotion
How to design content for different readers
How to produce new quality content
How to create trust
How to convert visitors into repeat (paying) customers


It needs to be well-written, shareable, and educational, and it should confirm your reputation as an authority.



What is content development?


Content development has two sides.

1. Engineering

The engineering is strategic planning of how and when to distribute content.


2.  Architecture

The architecture is side two, content creation – the actual writing.


You have to master both. Put as much effort, or more, into planning as you do producing content.



Content development is very important.

It’s the plan you use to envision the structure of your goals and the strategies to achieve them.


Content development prevents you from missing deadlines and eliminates procrastination and other distractions. There are steps to take when developing content.



What are the steps or stages in content development?


1. Define Content Goals

The first thing you need to do is define your content goals.

Does your content add value such as education and problem solving?
Who is your audience?
Where will you post your content?
What is your schedule for getting out your content?
What is your strategy for having your audience find and interact with content?
What makes your content unique and innovative?



2. Learn About Your Audience

Research your customers’ buying habits and behaviors. Pay attention to their comments and suggestions. Use Google Analytics tools.



3. Create a Content Development Calendar

This calendar shown contain what to post, how often, and dates of postings. The calendar helps avoid duplication and gaps in content. They also help you plan for milestones, so you make the most of important events and holidays.



4. Use a System

Use a system for your writing process for efficiency and performance. Utilize templates for blogs, white papers, infographics, video scripts, charts, and graphs. Set up writing guidelines to ensure consistency in branding and quality.

Test out content variations and different tones for different audiences. Collect performance data and which content generates the best results?



5. Study Your Competition

Analyze your top competitors and stay relevant using their best practices. Find out what they’re lacking and fill that gap.

Don’t give visitors any reason to bounce to your competitors. Ask your audience what they want and start giving it to them.



6. Use Social Media

Use a variety of social media channels and post regularly but not too often, and make it easy to share your content.



7. SEO

You need search engine optimization for effective digital marketing.

Know and use the fundamentals of good SEO writing:

Make sure all your web content is indexed.
Be sure to use proper formatting tags (H1, H2, etc.)
Keep individual page URLs short and use dashes to separate words.

Learn to rank for Google.  Produce authoritative content and Google will prioritize your content.

Regularly perform keyword research.  That means using tools like SEMrush to find the best and most relevant keywords for your content.

Keep up with changing trends.  SEO marketing changes all the time. It pays to stay abreast with industry experts.



8. Free Content

Give away free content to your visitors. Educate them with free downloads filled with actionable tips and helpful tools they can use. Teach them a skill, so they feel empowered and grateful.

If visitors don’t stay on your page, they can revisit your portable download later.

The downloads establish you as an expert, expand your network, and are easy to share, spreading word-of-mouth interest.


Your free content can be:

Blog articles
Newsletters
Infographics and memes
Emails with coupons
Videos
Tutorials and courses
Templates
E-Books


Freebies are proven lead magnets that make visitors happy and draw them closer to buying your products or services.



9. Know What Constitutes Top-Performing Content

Capture the attention of visitors with a platform rich in quality content so they convert into paying customers.

The best content promotes interest, solves a problem, and leaves customers wanting more.

It establishes your reputation as an industry expert.

Generating consistently top-performing (and high-ranking) content is easier than you might imagine:

Stay focused and concise.
Be engaging.
Answer your readers’ questions.
Quote industry experts.
Be adaptable and agile.
Write for your audience.
Link to High Domain Authority (DA) Sources
Learn to Write for “Scanners,” those who only scan and glance.



10. Educate While Entertaining

The best content creators use compelling storytelling to captivate readers and sell their message; to explain problems and solutions through relatable narratives using analogies, humor, and emotion to make their stories memorable. So, tell some stories, and don’t get lost in the narrative. You’re not writing a novel. You still have to get to the point.


Now, develop your winning strategy that includes your calendar with short -and long-term goals for success. Remember that successful Internet marketing requires planned content. Write your content with this information in mind.


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.

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

Do you have a blog set up?


If you have a blog online you have established your online presence in business, and you most likely know the benefits of article marketing.


Use your blog as your marketing tool for articles that promote your products and services. Blog article marketing, can bring more visibility to your site and establish you as an authority in your area of expertise.


Use article marketing to add fresh content to your site and create visibility and authority. It’s a cost-effective way to drive visitors to your website and a way to obtain potential customers. When you write about your offers you can place a link in the article that redirects wherever you wish – to a squeeze page, another article, or a website.



What are some ways to gain publicity and credibility?


Write articles

Writing articles and marketing them via free article directories is one way to get more publicity for your site, products, and services.

There are millions of sources on the Internet with a non-stop appetite for content and articles written by people like you. There are plenty websites and newsletters that need articles daily. If someone uses your article, you get instant publicity and credibility.

The best articles are ones that contain great useful information. They may solve a problem or offer resourceful tips of some type. These are often the kinds of articles that get the most reads and are picked up by other webmasters. Just don’t give away all your secrets at once. You want readers to have a reason to revisit your site.


Do what you say you’ll do

Know the value of what you offer. Whatever your product or service, over-deliver.  Your customers might be pleasantly surprised with getting better service than they’re accustomed to.


Be honest

Honesty is self-explanatory.


Be genuine

Being genuine goes along with honesty.


Communicate clearly

Don’t use a lot of business jargon when writing. Be yourself. Use your own writing style. Write the way you talk.  You win trust by communicating clearly how what you offer will benefit your audience. Position yourself as someone who can help.

Don’t make everything about getting a sale. First, communicate with prospective customers so they get to know, like, and trust you. Then you can present your offers, maybe once in every three or four contacts with them.


Be consistent

When using social media channels like Facebook and others, be sure your message is consistent across all those channels. It should align with the values and mission you’ve established for your business.


Use a resource box

In about 50 words describe what you’re about and include a link back to your site.


When writing be sure you’re reaching your target audience by including a clear call to action. Start with a blogging schedule that you can maintain, maybe once a week.


In summary, you can use your blog as your basic marketing tool for advertising your products and services. As people visit and read the information on your blog, you gain publicity and credibility. Use your blog as your marketing tool for articles that inform people what your business is about.


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.

Blog article marketing for your business is a cost-effective way to drive traffic to your website or blog. It’s also a way of acquiring potential customers, a way to get your website indexed on search engines, and a way to promote your site and to get backlinks.

Using blog article marketing for your business makes good sense. Since blogging doesn’t cost anything on most websites, you can choose a popular blogging platform and connect your blog with your other marketing campaigns. This lets you connect and have conversations with the people that visit your site and it’s a great way to engage customers.

Starting your own blog doesn’t have to be complicated. Here is an article that was written some time ago, but the information it contains is still current.

Once your blog is set up and you consistently write informative articles, your reputation within your niche will improve and this offers you a good way to improve your income.

A blog is an indispensable tool for your business.


Build Your Following

To build your following offer your readers important information that is helpful. Share useful and interesting content on a regular basis.

Use a warm, friendly casual style even when writing on technical subjects. You don’t want to be boring and drive away readers.


Get Found by Search Engines

To help your article get found by search engines, use your main keyword or keyword phrase in the title, header, sub-headings, and in the URL, which leads to more traffic and sales.

The first paragraphs of your article should be the best and very powerful. Include the best information here to grab the attention of both readers and search engines.

You want your audience to read the entire article so don’t give away too much at the beginning, just enough to grab their attention. Lead them down the page using your sub-headings under which you feed them even more interesting information.


Do Not Duplicate Content

For the best quality content, write your own articles. They should be original and fresh. Put forth your own spin and offer a unique outlook or suggestion to impress your readers. If search engines detect duplicate content you will be flagged and penalized, and your marketing becomes ineffective as search engines will not “pick up” your article.

Even though it’s true that the more people you have viewing your writing the better your chance of success, you don’t have to target large audiences with your article. You want the people that do read your articles to be those who are truly interested in what you have to say.

Never ignore your dedicated readers.

Blog article marketing for your business can be extremely lucrative. One of the most exciting parts about it is you’re building interest in you and your company and offers through unique and interesting articles.

Nothing is more important than drawing in readers and giving valuable information that will keep them coming back time and time again. The key to building long-term business relationships with your visitors and potential customers and clients is in providing them with valuable, quality information.



Your Web Hosting Essentials

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.

How Do You Create a Responsive Email List?

Although creating and growing your subscriber list is not easy it’s not rocket science, and it’s absolutely necessary if you want to run successful email marketing campaigns that reach people who are truly interested in your business.


What Are Email Lists Used For?

Email marketing is still an extremely useful way of reaching customers, despite the popularity of social media channels.

Email marketing offers many ways for a business to generate leads in the sales process. You can use email to generate brand awareness and fans through regularly emailed newsletters announcing sales, recommending products and services, or sending cart abandonment reminders.


Where do Businesses Get Email Lists?

There are two main ways to get email lists:

1. Buy from a third-party source
2. Build your own from scratch


Buying an Email List

We’ve all received unsolicited emails promising $1 million to our bank account if we give them our account number. We should all know by now they’re not to be trusted.

Well, the same goes for people trying to sell you ready-made email lists. So, now you think you can get started immediately without spending time building your own lists. Sometimes you’re offered free lists.

Remember, “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.”

You could be breaking the law, but most likely violating the CAN-SPAM act in the U.S. and GDPR in the EU for not getting expressed consent from the recipient before sending them email. And, you probably won’t get the results you’re looking for.

Put yourself in the other person’s place. What would you do if you receive an email from a company you’ve never heard of? You would probably delete it or mark it as spam. Either way, it’s a bad idea to send emails to someone who hasn’t requested to receive them from you.



Building Your Own List

To generate better leads and increase your conversion rate, you need to build and grow a list of people who have opted in to receive emails because they want to hear from you and have a genuine interest in your brand or offers.

You can also get more relevant information such as the products they like, their communication preferences, and demographic information other than name and location.


Now, how to create a responsive email list.


How do You Grow an Organic List?

To successfully grow an organic email list you need to:

1. Take Advantage of Your Own Network

You can take advantage of your own network by thinking of at least 10 people who would be interested in receiving your newsletters. Send an email to these contacts asking permission to add them to your list. For compliance, you need to retain records of securing their permission.

You can optimize the homepage of your website, to make it easier for people to join, by adding an opt-in form. Be sure the form is simple and quick to fill out.

2. Optimize Subscription Forms

Create subscription forms to capture your signups’ details. This could be a popup, a static web form, or a landing page. If you want a good signup rate the design, copywriting, and position of these forms are crucial.

Initially, only ask for what you need. You can get information for segmentation later based on the user’s action and what they read or view on your website.

3. Incentivize Signup

People don’t give up their contact details for free. So, you need to offer them an incentive and provide value. For example, this could be an e-book, a webinar or a competition.

4. Add Share Buttons

Recommendation by others is a great way to grow your list. By putting share buttons at the bottom of your emails, people can easily send them to anyone they think would be interested, or share them on social media.

5. Use Paid Ads and Social Media

Your newsletters should only be one part of your marketing strategy. Use paid ads as well as social media channels to tie your business together to drive people to a signup form or landing page where you can get more customer details.

These people are highly valuable leads and subscribers, as they have already shown an interest in your company or offer.


How do You Manage and Use Your New Email List?

The point of building a list is not to collect as many email addresses as you can. You need to keep a clean list by deleting subscribers who are not opening your emails or clicking any links.

Do this about every six months or so. Doing so will decrease your email marketing service bill, and you’ll get better click-through and open rates.

Most email marketing software provides the necessary reporting and analytics functionality, so you don’t have to manually prune your list. The software helps you understand who is opening emails and engaging and who is inactive.

Once you have that information, you can try to re-engage these recipients by setting up a win-back campaign. If that doesn’t work, remove them from your list.

As you grow your list, you can start to create segments based on past interactions and demographic information. This allows you to send more relevant, personalized emails to help boost click and conversion rates.

Building an email list from scratch takes time and patience. There are no shortcuts. It’s all about quality over quantity. Having an email list of a few people who are interested in what you have to offer is better than a list of 1,000 who don’t care.

The hard work begins when someone subscribes to your list. This is why you need to send relevant content, personalize your emails, spend time perfecting the copywriting and design, and be useful and helpful.

You can use these tips on How to Create a Responsive Email List and get started now.


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.


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 start an online business you’re probably selling one of three things:

Your time (coaching or consulting)
Your products (e-commerce)
Someone else’s products (affiliate marketing)Advertising


With a blog, you can sell all these. Blogging is the ultimate low-risk, high-reward business idea. You can set your plan in motion by starting a blog. You can test the waters by using it as a hobby or you can set yourself up as a scalable full-time business with a business structure such as an LLC, which requires filing certain paperwork for a fee.

You can use your blog to advertise whichever of these Seven Business Ideas for Working from Home that you choose or others.

Now, what are these seven business ideas for working from home?


1. Start a Profitable Blog

You need to be clear on your reason for starting a blog. For example:

To increase retirement nest egg
For the ability to quit your 9-5 job
To be able to spend more time with your family
To take more vacations

When you’re clear about your goals move forward with setting up your blog.

Install WordPress as your blogging platform if your eventual goal is to make money. A WordPress blog can be monetized.


2. Web Development

Front-end web development is a valued skill to cater to the rising demand for starting new websites.

Although there are a lot of tools to help small businesses create their own websites, developers are needed for more custom jobs. New businesses are always looking for efficient coders at cost-effective prices.

You can start by building websites for relatives and friends to improve your skills and then slowly transform your career into a more lucrative business plan.

Developers must have basic coding skills in computer languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. There are several cheap or free online courses that can help you learn and get started with web development.


3. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing is a branch of Internet marketing where the advertisement publisher gets paid for every customer or sale provided by him, i.e. publishers and bloggers.

This is not a new concept. It’s essentially, getting a commission on a sale. Affiliate marketing is a quick way to offer products and services without having to create your own.

For more information read my in-depth article on affiliate marketing.


4. WordPress Web Consultant

Small businesses and bloggers use WordPress to start their own website.

If you are experienced at setting up WordPress websites, use your skill to build a business.

Along with your consulting, you can offer digital marketing services to your clients as an additional income stream.

Once you build a successful business as a WordPress website consultant, you can change your business into a digital marketing agency.


5. Freelance Content Writing

There is a huge demand for content writers. If you can create engaging stories and write articles, you can turn those skills into a profitable freelance writing business.

You can write content for a variety of purposes from website copy and sales pages to blog posts and email newsletters. You can also edit and proofread work.

Grammarly is the most popular grammar checker. It enables you to develop your writing by using proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and better word choices.

As a freelance copywriter, you have the opportunity to work from any location. You need to build your portfolio, and then you can launch your own inbound lead-generating website. You can connect with potential clients on social media platforms like LinkedIn and offer everything from content writing to SEO writing.


6. Computer Repair

Due to the high cost of computer repair at authorized service locations, you have an excellent opportunity to earn money by offering cost-effective repair services. You can approach small businesses and neighborhood homes to get repair projects. Then you and your team can steadily expand and take bigger orders from medium to larger organizations.

The opportunities in this field are immense and include learning to fix networking issues and replacing crashed hard drives.


7. Pet Grooming

Pet grooming is a booming business idea where wealthy pet owners live. People are spoiling their pets with spa and foot massages, haircuts, and massage therapists.

It takes about $2,000 to set up a pet grooming business. You can find clients in your neighborhood or check on Facebook and WhatsApp groups.

For a better understanding of the job, you can take a dog grooming course. If grooming is not for you, you can set up a pet-sitting business which requires a small startup fee.

Of course, there are many more options including but not limited to:

Baking
Child Care
Computer Repair
Crafts
Dog Walking
Home Services
Self-Publishing

You can access many courses here(skillshare.com) to get started with your business idea. This is just a suggestion. I receive no compensation for this recommendation.

Working at home in your own business requires the same discipline as working in an office for someone else. If you treat your business like a hobby it will be difficult to make progress. You must have a plan, a proper setup, and keep good records.

Use these Seven Business Ideas for Working from Home to help you start brainstorming your next entrepreneurial venture.



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by Rahimah Sultan

What is affiliate marketing?


Affiliate marketing is the process of promoting the products or services of another person or company in exchange for a commission on the resulting sale. Affiliate marketers join affiliate programs, find trustworthy affiliate products or services to promote, and share them with their audiences.


This is not a new concept. It’s essentially, getting a commission on a sale. Affiliate marketing is a quick way to offer products and services without having to create your own.


An affiliate, also known as the publisher, can be a single individual or a company.

So, what are the 4 Steps to get Started in Affiliate Marketing?


First, let’s cover a few of the technical aspects that run in the background with the merchant’s affiliate program software.


When an affiliate joins the merchant’s program, s/he is given a unique ID and a specific URL to use to promote the product. The affiliate then includes this link in blog posts or other marketing efforts and invites readers to click it for more information.


When someone clicks the link to visit the affiliate partner’s site, a cookie identifying the affiliate is placed on their computer. This cookie confirms the publisher is credited with the referral sale even if it happens days or weeks later.


Whenever a buyer completes the sale process, the merchant checks the sales record for a cookie identifying the source of the referral. If the merchant finds a cookie with an affiliate ID, the affiliate is credited with the sale.


The merchant makes reports available so that the affiliates can see their referrals (clicks) and sales. Then, at the end of each payment period the merchant pays the affiliate commission (i.e. revenue sharing).


This flow works the same for any kind of product you’re promoting and for any affiliate marketer.


Now, the 4 Steps to get Started in Affiliate Marketing.

The number one thing to remember is that you’re getting paid a commission in exchange for offering readers information on products / services they’re already thinking about buying.


By using your blog and the Internet in a systematic process, you are providing valuable advice to thousands of people to help them make a smarter decision.


Following are four steps to help you get started:


Step 1. Choose a Product to Promote as an Affiliate

As a principled blogger you will always face two constraints
when choosing products you want to promote:


a) You’re either limited to products you’ve used and like that have an affiliate program and are a good fit for your audience, or


b) You’re limited to products you can get access to for evaluation by buying them or getting a free sample or free trial.


Of these two options the first one is the most common way to get started with affiliate offers.


Option #1: Promote Products You already Use and Love


You become an affiliate for a product or service you’ve used and tested and feel good about recommending. It could be a course or an ebook or something else.


Make a list of courses, products, and services you have experience with and choose the one you would be excited to promote. Cross off any that are not a good fit.


Then, check to see if the merchant has an affiliate program. Some will not, although many do.


You can do an online search using a search engine such as Google for:


“affiliate program” + [product name], (i.e. “affiliate program” + Pinterest Marketing Course, or other product)


or email the merchant and ask.


Use a check list for your other products that includes the following:


>> You’ve previewed the product so you know its quality.
>> They have a solid refund policy that you trust they’ll honor.
>> They provide good customer support (and you’ve tested it).
>> You have a good story to share about your experience with the product.
>> The offer fits your audience’s needs and won’t abuse the trust you’ve built with them.


The affiliate products that meet all these requirements are your best income opportunities. You can add as many of these products as you like in the future.


Now, you’ve found your first product! Apply using the merchant’s process and start promoting.


This option may be enough to get you started if you’re new to affiliate marketing channels.


However, as a blogger you’ll also want to try option #2.


If you don’t already have a product that you love and is a good fit for your audience and that offers an affiliate program, you’ll have to explore this second option.


Option #2: Find Products through an Affiliate Network


This option requires investing time into research and money into buying products to try, even more than the first option. So, be very careful.


That’s because you have no prior knowledge so there’s less trust. Do your due diligence, to protect your reputation and the trust you’ve built with your readers.


When you work through a network, your business relationship is with that network, and you normally won’t know the merchant ahead of time and won’t build a relationship with them.


Popular and reliable networks include Clickbank, CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction), the eBay Partner Network (EPN), ShareASale, and the Amazon Associates program.


Some networks will assign you an affiliate manager to show you the ropes.


Many new marketers begin by becoming an Amazon affiliate and then scaling to other types of more profitable affiliate offers.


Step 2. Get Set Up as an Affiliate


Whether you work through a network or directly with a merchant you have to apply, be approved, and provide specific information in order to be paid.


At the very least, you’ll need to furnish your personal/business contact information for tax and reporting purposes as well as your bank account where commissions will be deposited.


The merchant will provide you with a trackable affiliate link that you’ll use whenever you post about the product. It will have a long tag at the end with your affiliate ID.


Here’s what some typical affiliate text links look like:


LINK THAT DIRECT’S TO THE MERCHANT’S HOME PAGE


https://merchantsite.com/dap/a/?a=1199



LINK TO ANOTHER PAGE ON THE MERCHANT’S SITE


https://merchantsite.com/dap/a/?a=1199&p=merchantsite.com/page.html


You’ll usually get some tips and useful marketing resources that could include:


a) An affiliate guide as well as instructions on how to use the platform and summary of policies such as payouts.

b) Online marketing tools like banners and sidebar graphics.

c) Sample email/webpage swipe copy.

d) Ongoing communications from the merchant about promotions, new products, etc.


You’ll get a link for each product you promote, if you use a network like Amazon.


Do check your specific network’s help and support pages for more information.


For your global audience you can check out geniuslink for tracking overseas sales through Amazon, iTunes, and Microsoft Store.


No matter which method you use, expect to invest money and time into researching the best products for your audience.


Step 3. Start Promoting Your Affiliate Offers


In the end, your hard work of finding and evaluating products only pays off when someone takes your advice and makes a purchase.


So, you need to place your recommendation in front of your audience in a trustworthy manner.


Don’t make the affiliate-marketer mistake of haphazardly slapping some banners on your blog that link to affiliate products and think that’s all you have to do.


Your recommendations should line up with your blog categories and topics, not some random products that are probably of no use to your readers.


Example:


If your blog’s focus is travel related, don’t use affiliate links advertising educational products or some other unrelated merchandise.


Here are a couple of options:


Option #1: Create a Resource Page on Your Blog


You can create your own resource page on which you can promote lots of different products, and they’ll all be organized in one place for easy reference for different readers according to their needs. It can also contain explanations regarding the usefulness of the products.


The page is not just a sales pitch but educational, with quality content. It should be well optimized for SEO so it will also rank well in Google search results and get organic traffic that also leads to good conversion rates.


Option #2: Create and Promote Custom Content


The following strategies are for those who are already sending traffic to your latest content by emailing your list regularly (at least two to four times per month) about what’s new.


A) Write Reviews


You can write in depth reviews of products, books, courses, or software products you promote as an affiliate.


Your reviews can focus on one product or comparisons between two products side by side.


Comparing two products in this way builds more trust, but is distracting due to multiple recommendations.


For multiple product reviews you can set up a “one-stop shop” for your niche by creating a site containing only reviews and affiliate offers.


B) Write Authoritative Content on a Related Topic


Write an authoritative comprehensive post that educates your audience and do a “soft sell” for your products.


For example, set up a guide for writing blog posts and include your affiliate links to your hosting providers.


Make sure your topic, whatever it is, is evergreen content – information that will be useful for years.


Create blog posts, infographics, videos, and more. Just do not create a sales page. You want to focus on building trust and authority.


Pay particular attention to SEO. Be sure to optimize for the right keywords and build links to your content to get a constant flow of traffic from Google.


C) Create Valuable Bonus Content


Check your affiliate agreement to see if you’re allowed to create bonus content. If so, create content, especially for your readers, to help them get even more value from the affiliate product.


People love bonuses! Creating them is fairly quick and easy, and they will help you stand out from other bloggers promoting the same product.


Some example bonuses are:


Step-by-step checklists.
Quick-start guides.
Video overviews or demos.
Complementary or discounted services (e.g., coaching calls).


Step 4. Follow Legal Requirements and Best Practice


In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that you let people know you’ll earn a commission.


But even if it isn’t required by law where you’re located, it is recommended. It’s just good business.


People will appreciate your transparency and honesty and want to support you and help you for improving their lives.


So, wherever you share a link – in blog posts, on web pages or in emails – let readers know you may make a small commission if they make a purchase through you.


Also, create a disclaimer page on your website.


There, you have it, the bottom line on affiliate marketing.


Your dream of making passive income is a completely achievable reality, although it’s not as simple as pushing a magic button. With a little knowledge and persistence you can do it and eventually turn it into an online business.


Affiliate marketing is one of the best business models for making an income from home, once you’ve gained a respectable following.


It’s very easy to get started. Just follow the steps covered in this post.


Find the one big thing everyone in your audience needs to reach their goals and start there.


Choose a great product you believe in. Share your success with it.


Deliver plenty of valuable content to educate your audience, without being too salesy.


Nurture the trust your audience places in you.


Be upfront, honest, transparent, and most of all, patient.



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