6 Reasons A Beginning Marketer Should Start With Affiliate Marketing

In this article, I will give you 6 Reasons A Beginning Marketer Should Start With Affiliate Marketing.

If you are wanting to start an online business but you don't know where to start, I think you should really give affiliate marketing a try. The reason I would start with this technique is that it's by far the easiest to get started with and has just about no upfront cost at all.

So let's take a look at 6 Reasons A Beginning Marketer Should Start With Affiliate Marketing.

1. MANY OUT THERE TO CHOOSE FROM

Just about all the companies out there have affiliate programs you can join. And not just small companies but the really BIG COMPANIES as well. Such as Walmart, Bestbuy, Amazon, JVZoo, Warrior Plus, eBay, and tons of others. All you have to do is do a Google Search with "the company name" and put affiliate program behind it like this (example. Walmart Affiliate Program)

2. FREE TO JOIN

Affiliate programs pay you to promote their products and it's free to join them, so no upfront cost for you. Now depending on the company will depend on how much commission you will make. As an example, Walmart pays 8% commissions. And most vendors on JVZoo will pay a 50%-100% commissions depending on the vendor and product. While Amazon typically pays 4-8.5% depending on your seller rank.

3. NO PRODUCTS TO MAKE

When you do affiliate marketing you don't have to worry about creating a product because you are simply promoting someone else's product. This is a no-brainer and you don't have to have any skills in creating products from scratch. All of the hard work such as building a website, create awesome graphics for a product, paying someone to write the copy for the sales page are all already done for you. All you need to do is drive people to the page.

4. NO PRODUCTS TO SHIP

When you do affiliate marketing you will never have to struggle with having to ship a product because the vendor takes care of all of this. And it doesn't matter if it's a digital product or a physical product. The vendor takes care of all the hard work for you. All you do is get people to have a look at their products and if they buy you get paid and they ship or deliver the digital products.

5. MANY PLACES TO PROMOTE

There are unlimited ways you can promote these affiliate products. You can use email, Facebook, YouTube, Forums (read their rules and regulations before posting), Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Even if you are a beginner you can make some good passive income. To me, the easiest way to make affiliate sales though is to use your emails list. If you don't have one, start building one now. Build a good relationship with your list and once they trust you and you send them affiliate promotions and they like the offer they will buy from you.

6. NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Another great thing is you don't have to handle customer support. Everything is done for you.

Well, that about wraps up the 6 Reasons A Beginning Marketer Should Start With Affiliate Marketing. I hope now you can see why this is one of the easiest business to start making money online.



If affiliate marketing is something you would like to try for yourself but want more info on the subject, check out my video about affiliate marketing here: http://ronnierokksmith.com

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How Does Affiliate Marketing Work As An Online Business?

Affiliate marketing is one branch of the internet profit tree. It works when you generate targeted traffic to a particular website selling a product for which you get commission on each and every sale. You don't own the product and your job is to come up with creative ways to connect a prospective customer to the product landing page.

Here's an example of how affiliate marketing works:

An online entrepreneur decides to sell a popular "How Lose Weight After Pregnancy" information product. She goes onto the internet, and visits the ClickBank Marketplace and looks up the weight loss products. There, she is presented with a choice of maybe a dozen different products to sell and decides on one whose sales page and statistics prove it converts well.

She clicks "get hop link," which incorporates her own unique ClickBank ID into the URL. She can then take the new URL and includes it somewhere in her sales funnel. When someone reads her sales material (an article, social media post, a pay per click ad, a YouTube video, etc, which pre-sells the product), and they click through to the sales page and buy it, she gets the affiliate commission - usually 50-80% of the price of the product.

Of course, she wasn't limited to selling products from ClickBank. There are other top paying affiliate programs out there. Large websites like Amazon.com and Wal-Mart and others have affiliate programs, too.

Low Start Up Cost

If you want to start affiliate marketing you don't have to spend loads of money to get started. The basics include a website domain, hosting, and some advertising (if you want to). But it's not a necessity to get the ball rolling. The investment you'll be making will be effort, not cash.

No Product Creation

When you start affiliate marketing, you don't have to create any products. You're the middleman. That means you go into a niche to bring together buyers and sellers. You're the liaison between the two.

Become The Go-To Person

The key to becoming a successful affiliate is to build a list of email subscribers and become their go-to person whenever they need advice. Someone they can trust. Building a stronger rapport with your readers will increase conversions. If you take the time to review and maybe even put into practice some of the products and share your results, that will help you convert more sales.

Affiliate marketing is right for just about everybody. Even product creators adopt an affiliate strategy to complement the product development branch of their business. You don't even need sales experience to become a great affiliate. Your job isn't to sell the customer, but to connect them to the solution that they're seeking.



Companies are happy to pay commissions to people just like you, in return for selling their products and services. You have the potential to make a great income when you choose the right niche, stay committed, and understand your audience. For a no-nonsense, kick-start guide to getting started, download my free checklist, Affiliate Marketing For Beginners at https://jonallo.com/affiliatechecklist

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5 Do's of Social Media Marketing

Many business don't do the marketing the right way, especially when it comes to social media marketing. What you need to keep in mind is that your social media campaigns have to be effective and affordable. If done the right way, they can help you grow your business. Targeting the wrong audience is not a good idea. Let's talk about 5 do's of effective social marketing.

1. Learn to use the power of social media

On the Internet, you can find a lot of information about marketing. You can find free courses as well as paid ones. Understanding these things is not difficult as long as you want to educate yourself.

So, it's important that your take your time to find out how these marketing campaigns work. Although basics are the same, businesses have to customize these strategies so as to grab the eyes of their potential customers or clients.

2. Listen to your prospective customers

How can you find out what your customers want from you? There is only way. You need to listen to them. Aside from this, it's important that you make use of social media platforms to extend your customer service, as more and more customers present their feedback and opinion on websites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

By listening to your clients or customers, you can avail a lot of opportunities too. For instance, you can read up on the key influences to find out how you can improve your products or services.

3. Make use of automation tools

It's not a good idea to opt for spammy automation. Instead, you should use the smart automation. Blasting out a lot of promotional offers all the time is not a good idea. This may prove counterproductive and your followers may lose interest in your offers. What you need to do is make use of social media to get in touch with your customers and offer useful information. By doing so, you can build a loyal audience that can become your customers.

4. Engage with your audience

You don't just need to keep updating your social media pages, it won't work. What you need to do is keep in touch with your audience and keep them engaged. What matters is their satisfaction.

If you engage your audience, you can find out more about the problems that they are facing. Then, you can work harder to resolve those issues and make those customers satisfied.

5. Work on just two platforms first

It may not be possible for you to stay active on all of the social media sites. If you are just starting out, make sure you choose one or two platforms and focus all your efforts on them. Most of your customers will be active on two big platforms, such as social media and Twitter.

So, these are 5 do's of social marketing. If done well, they can help you run effective social media campaigns to grow your customers and clients to expand your business.

If you need more of social media marketing advice, we suggest that you head to PopuSocial.

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Social Media to Build Your Brand and Get Customers

It is no secret that social media has become a part of our daily lives. It is a direct platform for reaching consumers. The best thing about it is that people spend so much time on social media that you are sure that it will reach a portion of your market. In addition, it gives you realistic data and statistics which are easy to measure and interpret. Consequently it is the ideal way to build your brand and get customers.

How do you do it?

Create your social media pages and complete all the info. Add an attractive cover picture with a call to action. Add your logo as the profile photo. Then post on a daily basis, because each post only reaches a percentage of followers therefore posting every day is ideal.

Prepare a strategy that is your guideline to what will be posted on the social media. Don't just post anything. Be deliberate with what you share.

Post relevant and interesting content. You may be tempted to post ads every day. But rather break it up with interesting tips or fun posts in between. Make sure that the tips or fun posts are in line with your brand.

Use attractive images in your ads and add a call to action. Good pictures grab attention. Either, get a photographer to take pictures of your products or business, or make use of stock photos to create eye catching adverts.

Set up sponsored adverts that are targeted to your specific market. Specify the interests of the people you are targeting as well as the area. Be realistic with the area definition but also don't limit yourself too much. If you select an area that is very small, you will not see good results. Actually the results may show a very low reach in terms of the people that see the advert. You want as many people as possible to see the advert and the ones who are interested to interact with you.

Build a community by being available. Many businesses build a social media presence but don't maintain it. When people ask you questions, whether it is about your product or simply a question that you could answer, then answer it. Answer it quickly. Don't wait a week to get back to the person.

Remember they are probably on social media every day and may check if you've replied. If you don't respond, they may think that your brand doesn't care about them.
These are a few tips on how to get your brand noticed and your marketing campaign to generate leads.

Web2Go is a Gauteng based website development company, with over fifteen years' experience in the digital industry. Founded in 2002, Web2Go focused on providing clients with an all-round digital solution.

Our team brings forth a wealth of knowledge in website design, website development, social media management, search engine optimisation and Google advertising.

Email us for more information on ismail@web2go.co.za.

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Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes

Chances are, the person reading this right now has Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Social media surrounds our world, but some businesses still think of social media as an afterthought. Any digital marketing company will tell you your business can thrive with the right social media marketing strategies.

About 20 percent of customers use social media channels to find information about any business. That means your role as a business owner should be to maintain your brand's online presence.

What some entrepreneurs fail to understand is that it isn't just for fun-it's a force to be reckoned with. When used right, it can bring power to your business. On the other hand, flops on social media can be bad for business. Here are the top social media marketing mistakes companies make.

1. Having Too Many Social Channels

Alright, so if you're on social media, you don't have to be on all the platforms. Your company just needs to be on the ones that are best able to reach your customers. After all, the content you post on LinkedIn may not apply to Snapchat, as your audiences on both platforms may also differ.

Additionally, every channel you sign up for is another platform to maintain regularly. It is a real-time channel, which means content should always be flowing on your page. So if you have five different channels (which you can), you have to make sure you can manage all of them regularly.

2. Ignoring Feedback

This applies to both good and bad feedback. Customers love hearing from a brand they follow because it gives your company a friendly, human face. While it may be tricky to keep track of your followers' interactions, the more (and quicker) you respond to their comments, the more chances you'll have of giving them a good experience.

It's said that 71 per cent of customers who have a good experience with a brand are more likely to recommend it to others. This is also your chance to express brand personality. You don't have to sound like a robot. Use a voice that works for your branding. Spotify's brand identity targets millennials, so their tone is fun and hip.

3. Posting Content Manually

Creating content and managing social channels regularly are tough tasks. It takes a lot of time and effort, which is why some businesses fail to update frequently. Luckily, there are lots of tools that can help you optimize your social media management.

There are tools for different needs. For publishing, there's Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social; for quick graphics, there's Canva. These are just some of the examples of tools you can use to save time, and make its management easier.

4. Not Optimizing Content for Each Platform

Your hashtags on Instagram make sense but on Facebook, not really. At the same time, the ideal character count on Facebook is not the same on Twitter, and the number of emojis you put on Instagram won't work on LinkedIn. Each social media platform has different ideal posts, so you should optimize your posts for each channel.

Any digital marketing company knows social media marketing is more than just signing up for accounts. Maintaining your channels is a lot of work but it can build brand loyalty, which is something hard to find. So the next time you sign your business up for a social media account, remember to maintain it on a regular business.

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What Best We Can Do In Social Media To Get Maximum Exposure

Once we come into a fresh chapter on a new year, it is time to begin planning regarding successful SMM techniques for your little business. So as or perhaps you to remain in front of the rival it is important so that you can set your online marketing strategy to make the most of prevailing trends and also the ever developing marketplace for different company industries.

The little business platform has altered a whole lot in the last couple of years and remaining as much as date with those modifications could be a obstacle.

Here are some SMM tips to help keep you in front of the competition in 2018.

Raise your presence - The main reason SMM is really big is because more and more people spend some time there. You cannot enhance presence for your needs and on the internet personality with a personal page. Throughout the year 2017, I saw lots of this created me scratch my head a little. I am not sure why nevertheless the drawbacks for this can harm your brand.

If the largest issue is undesirable spam comments, this is managed and removed with the block button and also by modernizing your settings. The target is to accommodate your audience and create leads. Make certain every bit of your social networking approach serves the objectives you set and also those who might find it. Improve your social networking existence. It is important to success of one's brand. Upping your presence drives visitors and invites involvement.

Concentrate on Mobile - Most searches and site visits are done via mobile phones. Unfortunately, most companies are yet to seriously accept mobile inside their marketing techniques. Take the time to optimize your internet site content and internet assets for mobile phone users this season.

The attempts will enhance your Return on Investment from all internet channels and can drive leads to your site improving traffic from the search engines within the proceeds. I am not just dealing with design and loading speed, but really optimizing an individual experience for website search, form entry, commerce, navigation and basic mobile phone usability.

Create Involvement a Priority - You want to become popular on social media. It isn't a soap box so that you can stop by to face on to done an announcement every now and then. It had been created in order that individuals around the globe might connect to each other. How big your "followers" on social networking does not matter if no body is attending to.

Big followings cause you to feel effective however if there isn't any message to allow them to abide by it's unlikely your brand is likely to make a lot impact. What actually matters is involvement. Engagement is exactly what earns you shares which produce leads that can become sales and achieving loyal clients. Additionally you should allow it to be a place this season to regularly revisit your buyer personas to make sure your message remains unique and highly relevant to your viewers. This amount of interaction is exactly what solidifies your brand.

Content - Making plans for your calendar and content approach with this year ought to be towards the top of your to-do list. For those who haven't got began yet, yesterday will be a great time. Paid advertisements on social networking are excellent. They produce effective leads. But, it is incredibly important to master how exactly to make a trusted, expected and scalable flow of traffic that changes into clients in order that company remains afloat with or without one. This may simply be carried out by creating awesome content. All it requires is a few efforts, testing out a couple of various tactics and consistency.

If you are ready to invest enough time, you could have all of the benefits of a well-trafficked company and site with no spending an astronomical sum on paid advertisements. As a company holder and content maker, it is element of your work to provide powerful info to your visitors regarding the services and products. Good content, powerful headlines, back-links, SEO, sales campaigns and e-mail marketing produced good, reliable traffic, and sales well before the social networking paid advertisement game was invented. It even performs.

Video Streaming - Video in real-time has become ever more popular with consumers. Numerous social networking platform giants are all investing more income into increasing their video streaming capabilities. It provide chances for content marketing along with client involvement. It really is a format which has achieved serious momentum within the last one year and it is the continuing future of branding. It is a good idea to include it to your online business marketing strategy this season.

As a whole, the greater particular and strategic you will get together with your SMM plan, the greater effective you will be with its implementation. Be it Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram, there's a great deal you are able to do when it comes to marketing and producing latest chances on your own while including tremendous value to your customers, clients and readers. Do not create your SMM strategy so high and broad that it is difficult. Balance is key. Continue to keep your visitors and audience in your mind. A great company goal will guide your actions, however it may also be a measure through which you see whether you are profiting or failing.

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Ten BE's To Increase Your Social Media Followers

As a business owner or marketing strategist, social media is an important tool to increase brand awareness, we can see social media like a cocktail party, where you can have networking and fun. I will explain 10 Must-Haves in your campaign to rock your social media strategy.

1. BE INTERESTING.

According to BBC News the average attention span is less than 12 seconds, thanks to multiple devices and a lot of distractions is really hard to stay focused and maintain the audience entertained. The only way is generating interesting content in relation to your service or product, there are a lot of formats according to each channel like videos, interactive images, and useful information applicable to their needs.

The best example is TED Talks, their content is about generating content through guest speakers of the most trendy and interesting topics in different industries.

2. BE AN EXPERT ON YOUR AUDIENCE INTERESTS.

Rule number 1. The more you know about your target, your strategy perform will better. Who are you talking to? What do they do? Why they buy your product/service? What are they doing? Where are they from? Which type of content are they interested in?

Netflix knows us well, if you are watching comedy movies, they will recommend other ones of the same type, the recommendations are driven by machine learning algorithms analyzing your interests and behaviors.

3. BE PART OF THE INFLUENCER TREND.

The storytelling of influencer marketing is more realistic, and the followers can feel connected and identified with their daily life. Marketers are increasing their budget on influencers thanks to the impact on their audience.

Fiji water did a partnership with the influencer Danielle Bernstein who is a fashion blogger offering workout videos with her personal trainer. The goal was to highlight the importance of hydrating if you want to feel and look good, the campaign name is #weworewhat with #bodyworewhat.

4. BE EMOTIONAL.

We are human beings and even we live in a connected world, we want to feel different emotions on ads and campaigns to take the experience to the next level. The campaigns that get a connection with their audience are the ones who will last for a long time in their minds.

Dove is the brand taking the beauty perception as its core strategy, they don't sell soaps, they sell beauty to women empower them to gain esteem.

5. BE FUN.

To engage your audience, you need to be unique and enjoy this job. Choose a game, a funny quote, a meme, depending on your service or product to get your audience attention.

Test, measure and repeat, you never know how your campaign is going in comparison with other campaigns, just make experiments and make them run to see what happens.

6. BE AWARE OF YOUR DATA.

Imagine if you just do campaigns and don't measure their performance, you maybe will get the results you want but, you don't know what exactly is causing a conversion or working with your audience. With your data, you can optimize your campaign and bidding.

A great example is Amazon, do you imagine this revolutionary business without data? Data gives the information and the information gives the power.

7. BE INBOUND.

Inbound marketing is a whole strategy to increase the traffic to your website and create conversions to get new customers. Content marketing is one part of that strategy, the first step is identifying the pain points of the brand and competitor's analysis. Then, create a persona (with the information you have on point 2), create content offering value to your audience and make it with a CTA (Call to Action) where you can redirect them into a landing page and you can proceed with a sales strategy.

Chipotle captured gaming fans, chipotle fans with a successful inbound strategy about "Chipotle Taste Invaders" with a laser tag shooting burrito, fighting against additives and educating the customer about the burrito ingredients.

8. BE CREATIVE.

Remember you need to captivate your audience with your campaign and it's not necessary just explaining the products and services. One of the best campaigns is Metro Trains with "Dumb ways to die" with catchy music and cartoon characters getting in the top 10 on iTunes in 24 hours.

9. BE HONEST.

And this is a little related of why influencer marketing is so successful now, the truth is that you will obtain your customer's loyalty and retain them with honesty and transparency; if they trust you, you are a winner. Put yourself in a scenario where you are really hungry and there is a new restaurant that someone told you about it, but you're not 100% sure of how healthy it is, then, you realized they cook your meal in front of you; that will make you feel confident about how they prepare the food, what type of ingredients and if it's fresh. The same happens with your company, the more transparent your product or service is, the better your audience will accept it.

One company with a lot of negative comments about their quality food is McDonald's. To attack this, the company creates a transparent marketing campaign called "Our Food. Your Questions" Where McDonald's answer all your concerns about their food.

10. BE A FRIEND.

This is my favorite part, to see the importance of these channels. Back in the days, we wouldn't think about Facebook to a way of communication of resolving inquiries or issues with a brand. Today you can take Customer Service to a whole experience making it so personal like you're in the store, providing that, you are saving time, energy and effort to the customer having a satisfied customer or just changing their perception if they had an inconvenience.

The best example is a lovely response from Lego, who could just reply with a "standard message" but it was so personalized and unexpected that went viral to all channels.

Check out your current campaign strategy and think about the above information and try to implement it to your own business.

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Transitioning From Employee to Solopreneur

Is your number one Bucket List goal to establish your own entity and become a business owner or Solopreneur consultant? Are you planning to abandon the "safety" of a traditional job to directly market and sell your products or services to customers with the money and motive to do business with you?

Going out on one's own is a thrilling and sometimes frightening prospect. Those who take the plunge eventually discover that many resources that are casually taken for granted while working in an office are not readily available to those who step out on their own. As you weigh your options and prepare to write your business plan, be aware of a few changes and additional expenses to expect should you join the self-employed sector:

No paid days off

There will be no more paid sick days, holidays, vacation days, or personal days when you become the captain of your own enterprise. Neither will there be any pay for days off that result from bad weather. When winter arrives and snow begins to fall, there will be days when harsh weather conditions impact your business and your income. When the governor of your state declares a snow emergency, important meetings will be postponed and businesses may be unable to open and operate.

In particular for those who own a B2B or B2C venture where the business model requires you or your employees to visit the customer's location (e.g., cleaning services), or customers to visit your location (e.g., a laundromat), snow days = no revenue days. Small businesses have been known to go out of business within a year following periods of extreme weather.

Establish business credit

For tax purposes, it will be useful to open a separate business bank account and also apply for a business credit card or two. There will be business expenses to write off and you'll want to make it easy to monitor spending. Do yourself a favor and check your personal credit ASAP and pay off outstanding credit card balances to improve your credit score and correct any errors.

Financial management

Financial management will assume more than one form. As noted above, you'll need to establish credit for the business, so that you can order inventory and supplies without immediately impacting the business cash flow, for example. Those are Accounts Payable items. You will also need to ensure that customers pay you on time, or at all, and that is an Accounts Receivable function.

Maintaining sufficient cash flow is crucial to the business' survival and your own ability to keep a roof over your head, food on the table and your car on the road. You must develop a business budget and plan for the purchase of equipment, licensing costs (if applicable), insurance (if applicable), professional certifications (if applicable), or space rental (if needed).

In addition, you may consult with a business attorney or accountant to discuss the legal structure of your venture: Sole Proprietor, Corporation (chapter S or C), or Limited Liability Company (LLC). The type of business that you're in and your exit strategy will play a role in choosing the business legal entity.

Paying for office supplies

Free scanning and photocopying will be over. When you need to staple a few pieces of paper together, you must buy the stapler and the staples and you'll buy paper clips and envelopes, too.

There will likewise be no meeting space or audiovisual equipment for you to reserve. You'll have to meet at the client's office, or at a coffee shop or other restaurant. Privacy might be an issue and arranging a Power Point or other visual presentation might be awkward as well.

A lap top computer or tablet will be office equipment must-haves. It will be imperative to possess the tools of your trade and to always appear as a competent and prepared professional as you develop your reputation and build your brand. Good luck!

Thanks for reading,
Kim

Kim L. Clark is an external strategy and marketing consultant who brings agile skills to the for-profit and not-for-profit organization leaders with whom she works. Please visit http://polishedprofessionalsboston.com to learn how your organization can achieve mission-critical goals when you work with Kim.

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Multiple Revenue Streams Keep A Solopreneur Solvent

To build a successful career as a Solopreneur consultant requires courage, resilience, possession of marketable skills and relationships with people who are willing and able to refer or endorse you for paid project assignments. Solopreneur consultants must have a talent for selling, the discipline to create and pursue business goals, a knack for big picture thinking and implementing strategies and an understanding of human nature and motivation. The ability to attract good luck and dodge bad luck helps, too.

Precious few Solopreneurs are able to just "go to the office" everyday and delve into the usual work. In order to generate the preferred amount of business revenue, we understand that creating multiple revenue streams may be necessary and to make that possible, we must recognize the marketability of our skill sets, in aggregate and in segments. As well, we must learn to package, promote and sell our skills and value to prospective clients.

Consider my revenue streams, for example. When asked, in my short form elevator pitch I say that I'm a self-employed external consultant who provides business strategy and marketing solutions to mid-size for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. What that means in reality is that I've facilitated strategic planning meetings at not-for-profit organizations; edited a 100 page nonfiction book and also served as its photo editor and project manager; developed curriculum for a series of 90 minute sales skills training workshops; and periodically I teach business plan writing.

I've been fortunate enough to regularly win business strategy development or marketing campaign assignments, but the fact is that there are often gaps and in response, I've learned to branch out and offer segments of my skill set to clients or employers as a way to maintain my required cash-flow and, whenever possible, also enhance my brand. In my experience, it's the ability to leverage one's perhaps infrequently promoted competencies that help Solopreneurs to create and sustain a profitable business venture.

My friend Adela is a busy educational consultant who works with college bound high school juniors and their parents to identify suitable colleges for the student and navigate the application process. Adela's business appears to be thriving, yet she nevertheless teaches Spanish at a local university (she was born and raised in Mexico and came to the U.S. to attend Notre Dame University).

Jackie, a friend of many years, is the founder and manager of a small, full-service fitness center that became very successful in that highly competitive market, yet she teaches a fitness class at another gym a few miles away. Why? Because she gets to observe another style of fitness center management from the inside, she receives training in new fitness techniques that she can evaluate for inclusion in her own gym and she earns a few extra dollars each week, something that a mother of four can always use. Sometimes you can get paid to research the competition!

My friend Carole toggles between freelance marketing gigs at technology companies and corporate positions in that sector. She's a Lotus alumna who's also worked for tech giant EMC, distinctions that command respect and open doors in the tech industry. In between corporate gigs, Carole goes out on her own to develop marketing strategies for tech start-ups. A couple of years ago, she was offered a position as director of marketing at one of those start-ups, but when the inevitable reorganization occurs, she'll re-enter Solopreneur life.

So, Solopreneur friend, I invite you to put on your thinking cap and brainstorm how you can create additional revenue streams by exploring how certain segments of your skill set can be packaged and promoted to current and prospective clients!

Thanks for reading,
Kim

Kim L. Clark is an external strategy and marketing consultant who brings agile skills to the for-profit and not-for-profit organization leaders with whom she works. You can ensure that mission-critical goals at your organization will be achieved when you contact Kim at http://polishedprofessionalsboston.com.

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Freelancers: We Are the Future

Presented here are relevant statistics and observations gleaned from the fourth annual "Freelancing in America" survey, conducted by the Freelancer's Union. According to the organization, "Freelancing in America" is the largest and most comprehensive measure of independent workers conducted in the U.S. The online survey queried 6002 U.S. adults who had engaged in full or part-time freelance work between August 2016 and July 2017. Freelancing was defined as temporary, project-based, or contract work performed at a for-profit or not-for-profit organization or government agency.

Who we are

In 2017, 57.3 million of our fellow citizens, representing 36% of the nation's workforce, participated in the freelance economy and contributed $1.4 trillion to the U.S. economy. The survey found that 63% freelance by choice, rather than by necessity, and enjoy this way of working. Freelancers reported feeling positive about our work and 79% preferred freelancing to traditional employment. We're more likely than traditionally employed workers to feel respected, empowered and engaged in our working environment. The survey designated the following freelance categories:

Independent contractors (35%, 19.1 million) -- Full-time freelance consultants whose only income is derived from client work
Diversified workers (28%, 15.2 million)-- Freelancers who regularly do client work, but also perform other part-time work
Moonlighters (25%, 13.5 million)-- Those who periodically take on freelance projects in addition to their traditional employment
Freelance business owners (7%, 3.6 million)-- Full-time freelancers who assemble ad hoc teams of freelancing specialists to form a consulting firm, so that more complex and lucrative client work can be performed
Temporary workers (7%, 3.6 million)

What we like

Time and money impact the decision to freelance. Flexibility is considered a significant benefit and is favored by 60% of freelancers. Additionally, more than 50% of workers who left full-time employment to freelance were able to earn more money within the first year of freelancing than was earned in traditional employment. Forty-six percent raised their project fees and hourly rates in 2017 and 54% said they planned to do so in 2018.

Serious challenges

Sill, money is an issue for freelancers. Survey respondents reported that adequate billable hours, negotiating fair project fees or hourly rates and receiving timely payment of invoices (or receiving full payment) could be problematic.

On average, full-time freelancers log 36 billable hours/week. When the billable hourly rate or project fee is considered inadequate, cash-flow is impacted and there can be a struggle to meet financial obligations. Not surprisingly, the survey found that debt is also a worrisome matter.

Access to health insurance and saving for retirement are a challenge. Full-time freelancers rank medical and dental insurance as primary concerns; 20% have no health insurance savings.

Shaping the future

As traditional full-time, middle class paying employment continues to disappear, the ranks of freelance consultants can only increase, making us a fast-growing segment of the American workforce. Sadly, our government leaders are not attentive to the freelance community's unique circumstances or our voting-bloc potential.

Eighty-five percent of survey respondents said they planned to vote in the 2018 mid-term elections. If that statistic is accurate, it would represent nearly 49 million freelancer voters, more than enough to influence congressional and gubernatorial elections. Seventy percent of survey respondents would prefer that candidates and political representatives would address the needs of freelance professionals, because no matter how lovely things may be for the chosen few who command lucrative project fees, we are nevertheless quite vulnerable.

Freelancers receive no paid sick, vacation, or holiday time. We do not receive co-sponsored health insurance or retirement benefits. Billable hours can have feast or famine fluctuations that wreak havoc on our cash-flow and ability to meet important financial obligations. The 57.3 million freelance consulting professionals in the U. S. desperately need political representation, advocates and activism.

Thanks for reading,
Kim

Kim L. Clark is an external strategy and marketing consultant who brings agile skills to the for-profit and not-for-profit organization leaders with whom she works. Ensure that your organization achieves its mission-critical goals when you contact Kim at http://polishedprofessionalsboston.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kim_L._Clark/647250
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9927388

Online Jobs Versus Online Businesses

It's Your Online Business, Not Your Online Hobby
An online business versus an online job has a different mentality for the individual. A job is something you do for someone else. It's something that dominates your day and your time with a prearranged schedule.

The job is your master, not the other way around. You work for someone else. Even if this is online the truth remains the same... you are still an employee. You have heard that you can make money online through working online for a company or a third party (this is not as an affiliate or a salesperson). You do jobs for someone else and complete a W4.

This to me is literally the lifestyle I intended to avoid when I got into online business. This model could not and would not do.

I know you see the ads. "We are looking to give stay at home mom jobs", but you may find that some of these places not only do not offer you a good job but will stick you with a horrible schedule. Not all of them are like this, though some are.

Why I like the online business model
For me it's about control. I like to control my day. If I want to work in the morning, I can do this. If I want to work late into the wee hours of the night... it's my right. Why? Because I decide how successful (or unsuccessful) my business is and this is through my effort.

It can be the highest paid hard work I ever done or the easiest, lowest paid work I have ever done. This lies squarely on my shoulders. You see the problem with a lot of online companies you may work for is stability.

Many of them catch people unawares stating grandiose claims making things look easy. For example, you may read something like "Earn Money Online Today, $55-$65 hour, no experience required".

What happens is that unsuspecting folks who trust these people invest time, money, and effort into a business that might not last the rest of the year. I have seen this with my own eyes. I always advocate starting your own online business. Why you ask? Who can you trust better than you? I will tell you, if I am going to invest in anything it will be me, period.

You Won't Let You Down
When you succeed those you love succeed. Those you care about succeed. It's about grabbing your dream and never letting it go. Working for someone else is helping them promote their dream through your effort. Working for yourself helps you to bring your dreams to fruition.

I know where the difficulty comes in. It is at the point of the beginning. How do you get started? Where do you start? Can I startup my online business quickly and with a minimal amount of investment?

Well, I can help you there. I recommend checking out my Internet Business Quick Start Guide by clicking here. It will help you to launch into the deep and get started making money online quickly.

I am serious about home business, and thankful for the time you have taken to read this article. If you are serious about beginning an online business then I recommend my Internet Business Quick Start Guide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Eugene_Barber/939610
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9928525

Make Money Online With Your Own Internet Business

The Make Money Farce
You have seen them and probably received thousands of them since you have begun internet marketing. They come out the wood works, don't they? Opportunities promising that you too can make money online with little to no effort. You then invest your money into the opportunity only to find out there aren't any pies in the sky... only the cold hard reality that you just spent some of your rent money on someone's new car.

Yes, this is the reality many internet marketers face. I have been there. I started in this business with my father and let me tell you... we have seen every scam under the sun. Why? Because we were those people who had a dream and wanted to help other people through success only to find out there ain't no free lunch in business. The cold hard truth is that "business is business". Period. There are a million work from home opportunities contrived each year. There are many more gullible individuals who buy into the dream. In the end, they are left like me and my dad... a few thousand dollars shorter.

But, It's Online And It Has To Be TRUE
Here is a revelation. People who scam lie. They don't just lie a little, its more like lie a lot. They want you to trust them, and to believe their story. But when it comes to delivering... well. You know. You've been there a thousand and one times. You've spent your money on the magic potions of the internet only to realize that you are out of money and now have a rash (the legendary rash of discouragement).

I'm not here to sell you a pie in the sky. I am here to be your jolt of reality. Sleeper, it's time to wake up! The internet is not some new invention that defies the laws of business. It is business on steroids. Imagine the business rules you know and then multiply them by the sheer volume of variables now introduced by the online component. The internet can allow you to become very wealthy or very broke.

So... Can I Make Money Online Or Not?!
You can young Jedi. I know some of the things I've said may be a little cheeky but I am serious. There is no money like "internet business" online money. The thing is you have to see it for what it is. Your internet business is just that... a business. Do not enter the online business field with any other mindset than "I am going to run MY business".

There is nothing more rewarding and satisfying professionally then running your own business. And if ran right, your internet business can feed you and your family. You may be looking for quick ways to make money. Once you setup your business depending upon the model you use the money can come quick. It all comes down to you and your imagination. Add hustle, grind, and grit and you got something.

Nowhere to start? If you would like to skip the line click here for the proven method to get your internet business up and running quickly (which means more money).

I am serious about home business, and thankful for the time you have taken to read this article. If you are serious about beginning an online business then I recommend my Internet Business Quick Start Guide. Get your kit here now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Eugene_Barber/939610
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9928528

Start Your Home-Based Online Business With These eCommerce Platforms

Starting an online venture these days is super easy. There are many inexpensive or free open source platforms for eCommerce store development.And, with the right development team, you are just one step away from getting your own website. Starting a home-based shop to trade your handicraft items, or other locally sourced products is a great idea as a startup. Starting an online business is trouble-free with ample of flexible open source and inexpensive eCommerce platforms available. The only secret of success is not to stop halfway but go on expanding product categories and store's features to convert from a small startup to a leading online business.

While we know that for any individual who is not much aware of the functioning of the eCommerce world and how things go live overnight, selecting a platform rightly to set their own online shop is a backbreaking job. So, here's a list of most powerful and easy-to-use platforms which can help owners to successfully transform their startup idea into a vibrant reality.

#1 Magento

Acclaimed as the leading and fastest evolving platform, Magento is the benchmark platform. It supports all trades and can accommodate up to 500,000 products and 80,000 orders an hour. With a number of advanced features, easy integration, SEO oriented and versatile content management, it stands to the best solution available within the budget.

Further, it is modular and customisable, means you can gradually expand your store and add new features over time.

#2 OpenCart

If there is one simple platform for startups, then it is OpenCart! This is the reason it is exceptionally popular amongst small retailers or the home-based ventures. Easy backend functionality, extensive feature plugins, unlimited products capacity and less server load are few of the perks bestowed by OpenCart.

#3 Shopify

It comes as a befitting platform for eCommerce stores that simultaneously wants focus on mobile shopping and also social shopping. Easy integrations, lightning-fast loading speed, versatile payment gateway integrations, SEO features, direct social selling are the key features Shopify offers.

#4 WooCommerce

Those who are at ease with WordPress, then WooCommerce is the right platform for them. Based on the WordPress, it is easy to install and start and hence developers will charge you less. Further, there's a large number of additional plugins or templates and themes of WooCommerce, which will help owners to deck up their stores as per the business category.

#5 ZenCart

The whole reason for putting ZenCart in this list is its user-friendly approach and easy store management. It bears a set of far-reaching tools that offer full-scale customisation options to the owners. Moreover, it focuses on the store security features to safe keep all customers and products information.

For a household person who is new to the eCommerce world with zero technical knowledge, selecting a platform that serves their business interests fully is tough. So, the wisest decision lies in choosing the one that offers best user-experience and inherent SEO features that will help the store outshine on the Google results.

Rob Stephen is one of professed Magento developers in Melbourne, who works at PHPProgrammers, a pioneered company for eCommerce solutions development. It houses a pool of talented eCommerce experts, not only in Magento but other platforms like WooCommerce, Shopify and ZenCart. Follow the Facebook page to have more insights on our services, markets we cover and solutions we offer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Rob_Stephen/2369700
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9928042