Best Home Business Resource

Affiliate Training for FREE!

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:48:42 +0000

This is the fourth year that I will be participating in The Thirty Day Challenge. The Challenge is a FREE training program that will teach you how to make your first dollar online with affiliate marketing. The Challenge allows you to work at your own pace. You can finish the training in thirty days, or take your time and complete at your speed. If you are not interested in affiliate marketing, but have your own online business, you will be able to come away with some good information as well.

Some of the things you will learn include:

Using Twitter for Your Business
How to Find Niche Ideas
Analyzing your Niche
Creating Good Content
Backlinking
Using Web2.0 Sites to Funnel Traffic to Your Site
How to Monetize Your Site

Every time I complete The Thirty Day Challenge, I learn something new. It is worth your while to give it a go!

How Google Helps Drive Traffic To Your Site

admin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:22:58 +0000

The number one goal for a home business is to make money! In order to do this, you must drive traffic to your website or blog (just like you would need to get people into your store if you had a brick and mortar store). Google uses “robots” to browse sites and determine incoming links to that site. The more incoming links you have to your site, the more valuable your site becomes to Google and the higher you will rank on the search page.

For example, let’s say I have a site called “Cool Dog Tricks”, I have used my keyword tools to determine that there is a decent amount of traffic and low amount of competition. I have bought the domain cooldogtricks.com and setup WordPress on the blog. Now, I need to get traffic to my site. When I search “cool dog tricks” in Google, my site does not yet appear on the first page of the Google search results. I start blogging and adding content, but I still am not getting any visits. I need to get other sites linking to my site to build incoming links and boost my rating in Google.

I am not going to explain all the ways to build incoming links in this post, but I will talk about different ways in subsequent posts. Here is a simple graphic to explain ways traffic is driven to your site:

Affiliate Marketing for Stay At Home Moms

admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:12:40 +0000

I am sure that you have heard the buzz about Affiliate Marketing. There are many that claim that you will make hundreds, even thousands, of dollars a day just by following a simple plan. In truth, it is not as easy as it sounds. I am not trying to discourage you from trying affiliate marketing, I just want you to be aware that it will take work to build up a site that will get decent traffic to make good money.

I have tried (and paid for) numerous affiliate marketing lessons, tips and tricks. Some of these have provided a great deal of good information. Others, have not been as informative as I would have liked.

Other the next few weeks, I will share with you what I have learned about affiliate marketing and how you, as a stay at home mom, can benefit from this knowledge. I have set up numerous sites, some which make money, some which do not. I have found it critical to pick products to promote that I feel are worth while, products that I know something about.

I hope I can provide you with information that will make it possible for you to succeed in affiliate marketing.

NOTE: If you are a work at home mom who owns their own business, these posts will benefit you as well. Look for this symbol to find tips to use the information provided for your home business website.

Learn About WordPress

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:23:45 +0000

UPDATE: Classes are held every Monday. Check WordPress Orientation for current class dates.

Have you wanted to start a blog, but are not sure that you can handle using WordPress? Starting your own blog can be a bonus to your existing business. It can help keep your customers informed about new products, policy changes, and even tidbits of information about your particular business. Unfortunately, a lot of people are intimidated by WordPress, the preferred blogging platform.

If you want to learn more about WordPress before you delve into your own blog, or if you have a WordPress blog already and want to make sure that you are getting the most out of the platform, this seminar is for you. WordPress Orientation is a three hour group session in a web conference room. You will be able to follow along with the lessons and even ask as many questions as you want. The course includes the following concepts:

Get a complete tour of the WordPress Dashboard
Learn the difference between posts and pages.
Learn How To Use the Visual Editor to create great looking blog posts.
Learn about categories and tags and how to use them!
Learn about Plugins
Learn about Widgets
Learn about Themes
Learn about Exporting/Importing and Backups.
Get Answers to All Of Your Questions!

Check website for session dates! Sign up now to reserve your spot!

Franchise Opportunity – One Hour Parties

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:21:37 +0000

I am always on the look out for exciting new opportunities for work at home moms (and dads). This one caught my attention – One Hour Parties. This company was founded in 2001 and is based in Seattle, Washington. One Hour Parties provides quick party services that are great for a variety of events including work, kid and adult parties. Plus, One Hour Parties provides custom party and event planning services.

The franchise program includes a five day training session in party and event planning. There is a franchise fee and you need to have some working capital. This business is great for a home office setting. The franchise program is not yet available in the following states: Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin.

If you visit their website, you will get an idea of the types of parties that are offered. Some parties are self-serve and the party planner is just responsible for delivering the necessary supplies.

One Hour Parties - Luau

An example of a theme party is the Luau Party. The party includes: Fruit Hula Punch (8 ounces per serving) delivered in our signature Punch Bucket, ladle, cookies (1 per serving), chips (1/2 cup per serving), chip dip, yellow plates, theme napkins, turquoise blue plastic table cover, 8-ounce clear cups, drink umbrellas, plastic lei (one per serving), table confetti, and set up. Price is $5.95 per person.

If you love parties and planning them, this could be a great opportunity for you!

Promoting Your Home Business

admin — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:44:04 +0000

I was at an event today and I did not have one business card with me. I had the opportunity to give away a few, but I couldn’t take advantage of it. One of the keys to promoting your home business is to always have promotional material on hand. Here are ten ways that you can promote your home business:

Have business cards made up and carry them with you – EVERYWHERE! Drop them in the restaurant giveaways. Hand them to people when they ask what your do, or how to spell your name. Post them on bulletin boards. Include them with any products that you ship. Who knows? One of your customers might pass them on.
Always have catalogs, brochures or flyers in your car and in your purse. If your catalogs are large, print up a one page flyer with a few products highlighted that includes all of your information. Be prepared when someone asks you what you do.
Keep track of who you give catalogs or cards to. Ask for their email address, it is less intrusive than a phone number sometimes. Ask if you can email them specials and discount codes.
Keep samples on hand in your car or wear what you make. I love handcrafted jewelry and I always ask about it if I see a piece that I like.
Talk about it! Be willing to talk about your products. Make a goal to talk to one person a day. Then make a new goal to talk to two people a day, etc.
Make sure that your name, address, telephone number, url and email address are on all of your catalogs, brochures, flyers and business cards. In more than one place if possible.
Coupons, coupons, coupons. If you can, try and include a coupon or a code on your business card or flyer. This may help customers decide to go with your product versus a similar product. Make the coupons codes unique and valid only one time.
Schools and other organizations are always looking for fundraisers, could your product fit? Contact the PTO or head of the organization.
Contact popular bloggers and ask them to giveaway one of your products on their site. Make sure the blogger asks the readers to visit your website in order to enter the giveaway.
Contact local small stores and boutiques. They may be interested in selling your product if it is unique and valuable to their clientele.

Remember, your business is your baby! Be a proud parent!

Nature’s Sleep – EcoTex Contour Pillow Review and GIVEAWAY!

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:31:42 +0000

WINNER! Jennifer from Life According to Jenn!

Nature's Sleep Pillow

Last week I received two Nature’s Sleep – EcoTex Contour Pillows in the mail from BedroomFurniture.com. I gave one to my daughter, who seems to wake up often with puffy eyes and sneezes, and I saved one to giveaway!

Two Thumbs Up!

My daughter was so thrilled when she received her pillow. The pillow is very soft and comfortable. It is filled, covered and packaged in natural, earth-friendly materials. Nature’s Sleep claims that the pillow is great for allergy sufferers. After sleeping with the pillow for a week, my daughter gives the product two thumbs up! She has had puffy eyes or sneezes upon wakening and she loves how comfortable the pillow is.

The Nature’s Sleep 10 – EcoTex Contour Pillow features:

Cream Velour covering
Naturally hypo-allergenic, mildew proof, anti-microbial and anti-mold
Dust mite and anti-bacterial resistant
Designed with two covers for longevity and protection against microbes / dust mites; Inner Cover is hand wrapped in 100% natural cotton and Outer Cover is luxuriously smooth natural cotton velour — removable and washable
The Pillow is 20″ L x 12″ W x 1.33″ D

Now for the fun part! I get to giveaway one of this pillows to a lucky reader courtesy of BedroomFurniture.com.

Win It!

One random reader will win a Nature’s Sleep – EcoTex Contour Pillow. To enter visit BedroomFurniture.com and leave a comment with your favorite item from their store. This must be done before Extra Entries.

Extra Entries

Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry.

Follow me on twitter and tweet the message (copy and paste): Win a Nature’s Sleep EcoTex Contour Pillow from MWAS and BedroomFurniture.com @WAHresources! http:/www.tiny.cc/DVxBK
Blog about this giveaway – just a short note in another post is fine.
Subscribe to my newsletter (bottom right)
Become a fan of MWAS on Facebook

Other Details

One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org
Please make sure you leave a valid email address. The winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be chosen.
Contest ends July 31st at 11:59PM EST
US entries only

This giveaway is listed on Prizey and was selected as an Editor’s Pick!

eBay Store Critique

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:44:58 +0000

If you own an eBay store and have not been getting the sales that you want, you might want to purchase and eBay store critique. The eBay Selling Coach is offering an eBay store critique for $19.95. The critique includes an in-depth report of your eBay store with suggestions and recommendations in the following areas:

Key words
Verbiage included in your listings
Seller policies and how they are worded
Photos, backgrounds and tips for improvements
Item pricing and shipping fees
eBay violations

The critique comes with a money back guarantee – if you don’t feel the critique was helpful you get your money back, no questions asked.

I use to have an eBay store, which had some success, but I closed it down because I didn’t feel that I was getting the bang for my buck. How I wish I had this service when my store was open!

The eBay Selling Coach, Suzanne Wells, is Silver Level Power Seller on eBay and has been selling since 2003. She is the author of The Stay-at-Home Mom’s Guide to Successful eBay Selling.

A New Product for My Allergy Prone Daughter

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:35:51 +0000

I have been giving the opportunity to try a new pillow for my ten year old daughter. She is prone to sudden bouts of what I call “puffy eye syndrome.” For no known reason whatsoever, she will all of a sudden experience an allergic reaction which causes her eyes to puff up and itch. She is now taking allergy medicine to school with her since she has no idea when the breakout might occur.

She will also often wake up with the same symptoms and I thought a Nature’s Sleep – EcoTex Contour Pillow might be a good product for her. The pillow is great for allergy sufferers and is filled, covered and packaged in natural, earth-friendly materials. BedroomFurniture.com has generously agreed to send me one for free to try out. PLUS, I will also be given a second pillow to GIVEAWAY to one of my lucky readers! Check back often to read my review and enter the giveaway.

BedroomFurniture.com is part of CSN Stores, a group of online specialty stores, featuring items such as futons, air hockey tables, greenhouses, bakers racks and many more!

The Thirty Day Challenge

admin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:41:17 +0000

Thirty Day Challnege

Are you looking to make money online, but you don’t know where to start? Do you have an idea or product and want to learn how to market it? Do you already have a website or blog and your sales are just not what they should be?

Sign up for the Thirty Day Challenge! The Thirty Day Challenge is in its fifth year. Last year was the first year that I joined and I learned so much! Ed Dale and others teach you, FOR FREE, some of the best marketing practices and how to promote your product. Pre-season has just started and lessons will be released soon.

The Thirty Day Challenge is an absolutely free program and is all about making your first $10 online. Even if you are already making money online there are a lot of tips and tricks that will help you optimize your online earning.

This is just a few of the topics covered last year:

Using Twitter and Facebook effectively.
Researching key words and phrases to help market my product.
Starting and maintaining and effective blog.
Writing additional content to get your blog or product noticed.

This challenge is well worth the time that you will spend completing the assignments. Don’t worry if you get behind, the lessons are still available all year long!