Stand Out From The Crowd!

In order to succeed in a home-based business you can NOT be like everybody else. You need to stand out from the crowd. Always keep in mind that you don't want to be "just another fish in the sea." You want to be the biggest, brightest and fastest fish in the sea!So how do you do this? You create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). A USP is how you stand apart from the crowd. It is what separates you from your competition and gets you noticed. Here are a few examples of companies with clear, concise and memorable USP's:HEAD AND SHOULDERS: We get rid of dandruffDOMINOS PIZZA: Pizza in 30 minutes or less or it's FREEFedEx: When your package positively, absolutely has to get there overnightM & M's: The milk chocolate melts in your mouth not in your handsOlay: For younger looking skinYour USP must contain the following three components:1) You must offer the customer a specific benefit (if you buy this product, you will receive this benefit).2) Your offer must be unique and different than your competition.3) Your offer must be compelling enough to pull in new customers. Once you create a USP that truly stands out, you will find prospects lining up at your door! With all of the competition in the home-based business industry, you must find a way to make yourself unique. Use the following 6-Step Formula to Create Your USP!Step 1: Describe Your BenefitsDescribe the 3 biggest benefits that customers would receive by joining your business opportunity. Here's the reality of the situation. Your prospect doesn't care if you offer the best quality, service, or price. Those are simply features of your business opportunity. Your prospect only cares what your business does for him/her. (For instance, will the prospect be happier, healthier, wealthier, or smarter?)Step 2: How are You Unique?Remember, you MUST offer your prospect something that others DO NOT offer him/her. Basically, your USP separates you from the competition so that the prospect feels that clearly the best option is to join your company (as opposed to your competition). Think of the different ways in which you can differentiate yourself from your competition. What unique qualities, attributes or skills do you have to offer?Step 3: What Problem Can You Solve?At this very moment, there are numerous problems in the home-based business industry that customers would like to see solved.- How to find good leads- How to find a supportive sponsor- How to keep a downline active- How to market online- How to talk to prospects on the phone- The list goes on and on!Identify some problems that you see in the home-based business industry and write them down. Now, how could you help solve or alleviate any of those problems? Be creative! There are many ways that you could help ease some of the burdens of the home-based business industry. Are you a caring and supportive sponsor? Do you have great phone skills? Do you understand the internet? Write down how you could help solve a problem below. Just make sure that you can deliver on your promises!Step 4: Be Specific and Offer ProofDo not just claim that you are the best sponsor in the world. This means virtually nothing to your prospects. Remember, prospects in today's world are skeptical and will need specific examples and proof that you can fulfill your promises. What specific examples and proof can you offer your prospects?Step 5 Use Your USP In ALL Your Marketing MaterialsVariations of your USP will be included in ALL your marketing materials such as your...- Advertising and sales copy headlines;- Business cards, brochures, flyers, & signs;- Your "elevator pitch", phone, and sales scripts;- Letterhead, letters, & postcards;- Website & Internet marketing.FINAL STEP: WRITE YOUR USP!After going through some of the above steps, take some time to write out a USP for yourself that you will be able to use in conjunction with your business opportunity. Your USP should be clear and concise. You want your prospects to see the benefits and unique qualities that you have to offer so that they feel compelled to join you!

Positive Thinking!

I love inspirational stuff, stuff that's positive and motivational and things that make you stand back and think. I got this in an email from a friend and love it. Just thought I would share! After all anyone can do anything he/she puts their mind to.

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!' He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all o f the time. How do you do it?' He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood I choose to be in a good mood.' Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. 'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested. 'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.' I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?' I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. 'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.' 'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked He continued, '..the paramedics we're great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.' 'What did you do?' I asked. 'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'.' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.' He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything . Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:34. After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Participate on internet forums

There are thousands of internet forums. They are a great place to advertise your business. Best of all, online forums bring free advertising to your home based business. Online forums are simply a way to exchange ideas and offer information to others.

There are two main reasons to participate in forums:
One) To answer other people’s questions/comments
Two) To post your own original questions/comments.

One of your goals is to promote your expertise in your particular industry. Remember, people are attracted to leaders and if you come to the forums with a leadership mentality – people will begin to seek out your advice and counsel.

How to Participate in a Forum. Click on a link at the bottom of this page to log into an online forum. Create your free account (including username and password; keep the same username, password and signature for all the forums that you belong to) Create your signature file (an ad placed at the end of each of your forum posts). This signature file is very important! It advertises your business to everyone that is in these forums. The more posts that you make on online forums, the more people will potentially be exposed to your website (through your signature file). Here are some sample signature files that you can use for your home-based business:
Finally....an Honest Home-Based Business
Are You Ready to Make $1,000 a day?
Dreams DO Come True!
Become Part of a 7-Trillion Dollar Industry!
It's Time to Change Your Life!
EVERYONE Loves to Travel.
Tired of Living Paycheck to Paycheck?
It's Time to Plug Into Success!
You then “hide” your URL inside of the signature file. This can be done by clicking on the button that says “link” and then typing your URL inside of this pop-up box.Remember, some people will help you out a great deal; others will be negative and difficult. Don’t let the negative people depress you. Keep your focus always positive! Don’t get into fights or “yell” at people online. You want your posts to always remain positive and helpful, no matter what!

RULES FOR FORUM POSTING:You can post in any forum that is interesting to you. Although the “Main Discussion” areas will have the most activity. Experiment and get to know the people in the different online communities. You will find that they offer an enormous amount of support and free tips. They will, in essence, become your friends as you travel through your online adventures!Make sure that when you respond to posts you never blatantly advertise your business.BLATANT ADVERTISING IS HEAVILY FROWNED UPON! Instead, offer comments, suggestions, and questions. Remember, your advertising is in your sig file.In addition, your posts should always add fresh insight to the discussion.If you decide to begin a new post, take the time to look back over the previous original posts to make sure that no one has posted on that topic before. If there is a similar post, join that discussion instead.

HOW TO POST YOUR REPLY:Click on the Title of the discussion that you would like to contribute to Click on “Reply to Topic” Type your reply in the new page, Click “Preview” to look-over your post then Click “New Reply”
Here are some high-traffic forums to get you started:

http://www.wahm.com/
http://mlmforums.com/
http://onlinemlm.com/
http://workathomenetwork.com/
http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/
http://forums.about.com/ab-sbinfo/messages
http://www.anyboard.net/biz/WORK_AT_HOME/

Have fun with it, it's also a great place to get new info and ideas for your business.
Enjoy!

YouTube Marketing

YouTube is taking the industry by storm! It seems that anyone and everyone is beginning to make a statement on YouTube. According to the July 2008 issue of Computerworld, YouTube is the 12th most visited site on earth and receives 18 million views every single day. That is staggering!In addition, many researchers believe that a top-rated video on YouTube will reach 40% more people than a commercial on a national TV station, that's incredible. So, obviously if you aren’t marketing on YouTube you sould! So, the bottom line is that if you have a home business, you should be on YouTube.

Marketing on YouTube is similar to marketing elsewhere. You want to stand apart from your competition. You want to make a statement and have people remember you. This can be accomplished if you follow a few simple steps
:1) Make sure that your video is not a blatant advertisement. Most people that watch YouTube aren’t looking for a “sales pitch.” Instead they are looking for information.
2) Even though you don’t want to turn your video into an advertisement, it is still important that people understand what product you represent. You shouldn’t make it a mystery.
3) Make sure that your video is not too dark. Dark videos are a sure way to turn off prospects. You should shoot your videos in a well-lit room.
4) Make sure that the audio reception in your video is audible. You want people to hear what you are saying.
5) Don’t expect perfection. Your videos won’t be perfect and you shouldn’t expect them to be. YouTube is certainly not about perfection. In fact, most people find that a few quirks and quibbles will give your video a less “staged” feeling.
6) Finally, have some fun! You should smile and look like you are having a good time while you shoot your video. Add some energy to your voice and a bounce to your step.Although it’s important to present a nice image, don’t worry too much about how you look. You will do just fine.Remember that shooting videos for YouTube will take some time to perfect. At first, it will take some time to learn. But, before long, you will have the process down to a manageable amount of time. You will soon have prospects knocking down the door to do business with you!

Legit Home Business Opps

Finding a legitimate home based business can be frustrating. You have SO many options so what is legit and what's not? Like all internet marketers I like to promote my business but it may not be for everyone and thats ok too (you can check out my business at http://www.emilyblakeley.com.)
Well like I have said before do research, let me go into that more! First you can do searches on yahoo or Google for that business name and look at the better business bureau but also look on forum sites like http://www.wahm.com/, http://www.workathomenetwork.com/ , http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/, http://www.mlmforums.com/ or search for others they are real people chatting about all sorts of different topics and you can ask questions and get real answers and opinions.

The best sites I came across are www.workahstore.com/2962.html or
www.scamless-online.com/1395.html those will give you some good info on different business' and also jobs to do from home if a business is not what your looking for. They have good advice and also give you the sites to go to. Any of there opportunities are awesome.

If you are looking for a MLM the best advice I can give you is go to www.squidoo.com/Best-MLM-Company. Instead of going on and on here I think you should really read over this next website, they have some good tips and have done all the research for you.

Some other very good sites that I have been informed of are:
http://www.workathomecareers.com/
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/
http://www.moneymakingmommy.com/
http://www.ratracerebellion.com/

Be Inspired

The one thing about my business that I love the most is that it inspires me, to work harder, to push myself because I know what I have to offer IS amazing, does your business inspire you? Product is the most important thing in and if you don't get excited about it and want to tell people, just to share it, then why are you doing it. I found it to be the most valuable asset I have. Getting excited gets people excited about what your talking about! I have an amazing opportunity that I love to share with people do you?

It is very important to be enthusiastic about what your selling because people know if your not being genuine or if your just a sales person! Facts are key and knowing why the person your talking to should be a part of what your doing is really exciting. Not everything is for everyone, so know your target market and then spill the beans tell them everything get excited and your sales will go through the roof! Everybody needs some inspiration now and then, be that inspiration and people will move, take action! Simple but it works!

Finding the right home business.

For a lot of people selling is the main set back of home based business' because they don't think they can sell or they don't think they are a good sales person. Well you don't have to be a good sales person if your selling the right product for you! It really petty simple but it takes some time and research. I tried selling everything knowing I wasn't a good sales person until I found the right product something I was proud of and could brag about. Every one is different and that's great, that's why there are so many different business opportunities out there, its finding one your truly inspired by and love and believe in, one that your passionate about. That is key, having passion for your business because if its just a hobby or something your trying people sense that and that will ruin the sale for you.

Key factors in finding a home based business that's for you:

1. Find something you can be proud of and passionate about, something you can tell your family and friends about without having to sell it to them just being able to tell them you've found something amazing will sell it self to the right person.

2. Do your research!! Look them up in the BBB and even if there are a couple of things that are issues if they have addressed them then that's still pretty good and if they are not in the BBB that's OK to. If you can't find them in the BBB do a search on the Internet for the companies name and see what comes up, if there are sites about how its fraudulent look it up, go to those sites and see what is says. Ask people if they have heard of them at a message board or to friends. Find out how long they have been in business, because most business fail in the first 5 years and if they have been in business longer they have figured things out for the most part. If it sounds too good to be true then ask whats the catch or find out for yourself by asking to talk to somebody else in the business like a mentor or customer service phone number don't always rely on websites they are great but talking to a real person from the corporate office is always good.

3. Put time into learning about the product and business don't just go out and try selling it, if you don't know what your talking about you will either not make any sales or sell people lies and both of those will not be a good experience for you and your customer and is what gives hbb a bad rap.

4. When you've found that business be passionate about it when your talking about it, make it a little personal by saying how much you love and that it motivates you. Passion is very important when it comes to your product because if people see your not very into it they don't see any reason to try it themselves.

To sum it up, research is not the only aspect of finding a home based business because it might be legit but if it's not something that interests you, your not going to be devoted to it and that's what makes you successful is longevity and passion the longer you've been in your business the easier it gets and the better you get at selling it. And the more passionate you are the more people are going to want that passion in their life.