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Are
You Using Viral Marketing? Article About Viral Marketing for Freelancers & Home-Based Small Business
by Denise Hall
No, I'm
not asking if you have a cold. Or if you're spreading a computer
virus. I'm talking about your business. Do you have hundreds
of visitors to your website everyday? Are you making lots
of sales? Can you afford to quit your day job? If the
answer to these questions is "no" maybe you need
to revamp your business plan. A fellow
ezine publisher recently asked me how I get new subscribers
to my newsletter.
The key
is to PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE! And when you're done, PROMOTE
some more!
I can't stress that enough. You don't
have to be an ezine publisher to use these resources. They
pertain to running any internet business. Everyone needs to
get VIRAL! What exactly
does that mean? It means
spreading the word about your small business every possible way
and everywhere you can. It means making your name and your
website known to the world! There are many ways to do this.
Viral Marketing for Your Business - Generate Traffic to your Freelance Home-based business With Ezine Ads
Viral Marketing for Your Business - Generate Traffic to your Home Business' Website With Banners & Banner Exchanges
Banner
exchanges are a good way to advertise, too. We all see banners
displayed at just about every website we visit. If a banner
catches our attention we click on it, don't we? Get the point? A banner
exchange means your banner is displayed on other websites
in exchange for displaying their banner on your website. It's
a free service. Here are
a few sites that offer banner exchanges: http://freeautobot.com
http://www.adtactics.com/index.php?ac=itsallfree2002
http://QuickPayPro.com/x/qpp.cgi?adminid=1946&id=40550&pid=0 This website
is just FREE banners for you. No exchange is necessary. Check
it out here: http://www.unlimitedbanners.com/?a=gifts_n_things2002
Many websites
offer banner displays for a fee, also. If you don't have your
own website you may want to buy some banner displays as an
alternative since you can't display other people's banners. Banners
get attention, and you want attention! Here are some good
sites to visit for paid banner ads: http://QuickPayPro.com/x/qpp.cgi?adminid=1946&id=40550&pid=4597http://www.autohtml.com/a.cgi?id=itsallfree2002 Most duplicated
websites come with banner URLs and information explaining
how to use your banner for exchanges. However, if you don't
have a banner for your business or newsletter, or if you'd
just like to have a different one, you can make them here
for free: http://www.addesigner.com
Viral Marketing For Your Business - Generate Traffic to Your Small Business' Web Site by Writing Articles for Ezines
Viral Marketing For Your Business - Generate Traffic to Your Small Business' Website with Search Engines
Submitting
your site to search engines and directories is a MUST! If
you don't, you're losing potential customers because they
can't find you! But please
submit your website only once every 30 days or so. Otherwise,
the search engines think you're SPAMMING them. Here is
a good way to put your search engine submissions on autopilot: http://www.worldwidepromoter.com/?itsallfree
Viral Marketing For Your Business - Generate Traffic to Your Small Business' Web site With Safelists, Classified Ads, FFAs & Message Boards
Other
types of advertising include safelists, classified ads, FFA
(Free For All links) pages and ad or message boards. This
website contains several suggestions: http://www.mylinksite.com/tons_of_offers
Viral Marketing To Generate Traffic to Your Small Business' Web site With Startpage Programs
Startpage
programs will also produce traffic to your website. They can
be joined for free and you can purchase more credits if you'd
like. Here are a few good ones: http://PowerFulHits.com/?ref=200
http://QuietSurfer.com/?ref=1880
http://freetrafficboost.com/g.o/itsallfree2002
http://www.magnetichits.com/default.asp?userid=its_all_free2002 Some people
think startpage programs are a waste of time. But you never
know who might see your website! Exchanging
links with other website owners will also bring traffic to
your website. This is similar to banner exchanges but these
can be either banner or text links. Each time
you visit a site or read an ezine check to see if the website
owner participates in link exchanges. Send them an e-mail
and swap links with them. Take advantage
of every opportunity you find to send feedback and profiles
to ezines that you read. Publishers normally allow a 2 or
3 line signature file with your submission. If you're
an ezine publisher ad swaps are a great way to gain subscribers
and visitors to your website. Similar to link exchanges, you
simply trade ezine ads with other publishers. The internet
contains millions of websites. Becoming viral means linking
to as many of them as possible. The more you link to other
sites, the more visitors you'll receive. This will also give
you higher rankings in the search engines. In a nutshell,
if you don't make your website well-known, you'll be invisible.
You don't
want to be invisible, do you? Of course not!
Denise Hall is the publisher of Home Business
on a Budget Newsletter. Her bi-weekly publication contains
helpful information, tools, tips and resources. Each issue
has free ads and contests for subscribers. To subscribe her
newsletter here or visit her
website here.
HOW TO SET YOUR FREELANCE RATES - A GUIDE FOR FREELANCERS & CONSULTANTSThere are many factors which business owners must consider on a daily basis as it relates to the running of their business. Things such as how to find good help, where to acquire supplies and how much to pay one's employees are all pertinent matters which must be addressed. There are a few ways to go about figuring out your rates when it comes to how much to charge the customers.
BUSINESS PLANS: Business Plan Examples, Samples, Templates, Software and ToolsIn any type of the business including those people that perform freelance work, the proper tools are necessary to become a success. The following links consist of selected online tools for the freelancer to develop an effective business plan.
FREELANCING AND FINDING WORK AT HOME JOBSThe difficulty lies not in the fact that there aren't plenty of work at home jobs available but rather in the fact that genuine, quality, money-earning work at home jobs are all mixed up with work at home scams. This makes finding a work at home job that's legitimate a not-so-easy task for people who are just breaking in to the freelancing business. But don't worry; once you learn the lingo and know the basics, finding a work at home job gets a lot easier!
Business plans are necessary in all types of businesses … and this also includes freelancers. Writing an effective business plan will help you plan out the success of your future business. Factors such as customer base, profit potential, as well as many other factors will be placed in this document. The business plan will help you, the freelancer, think through every aspect of your future successful business. We found the following business plan articles to be very helpful and we hope that you will find them to be useful too.
HOW FREELANCER WRITERS CAN DEFEAT WRITER'S BLOCKHelpful hints and tips to overcome the dreaded White Page Syndrome - There is probably nothing more dreadful and problematic for a writer than not being able to get going, being stuck on a menacingly white page. Read on for more ideas on how freelance writers can overcome Writer's Block.
WAYS TO GET MORE CUSTOMER REFERRALS FOR YOUR FREELANCE BUSINESSThe amount of customer referrals will often determine how successful one's freelance business can really be. As word spreads quickly, having customers refer others to you and your services is a wonderful way of gaining new freelance business and making more money. There are a few distinct ways to get more client referrals for your business.
FREELANCE HOME OFFICE DISTRACTIONS VS DISTRACTIONS WHEN WORKING IN AN OFFICEOf course, distractions are different depending on whether you are freelancing from home or working in an office. Both kinds have their pros and cons so let's take a look at some of the basic ones so that you can start getting a grasp on good vs. bad distraction behaviors for freelancers.
WORKING FULL TIME WHILE RUNNING YOUR FREELANCE BUSINESSThe key to being able to make the transition to full time freelancing is in setting goals that allow you to focus on moving away from working full time for someone else and towards putting more hours in to your freelance business.
60+ UNIQUE LOCAL & OFFLINE MARKETING IDEAS FOR YOUR CONSULTING BUSINESS Although online promotion is important for your freelance business, it's crucial to remember to go back to your basics and do offline promoting as well locally, nationwide, and worldwide depending on who you are marketing to. Here are over 60 ideas to market your consulting services locally. Let Freelance work find you.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE GOOGLING INFORMATION ON YOUThis can be an issue for freelancers whose customers google them and try to find out information relating to them and their business. The following is a list of what to do when your customers are googling information on you.
26 THINGS TO DO WHEN BUSINESS IS SLOW AND IN DOWNTIME MODESome freelancers are anxious to work day in and day out which may present a problem for them when business is slow. However, there are many things which freelancers can do to bide their time while waiting for new freelance work to come in. Here are 26 ideas for staying productive during your consulting business downtime.
ONLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE TIPS FOR FREELANCERS & THE SELF EMPLOYEDThere is a casual attitude about communication that takes place online and that creates an environment in which customers sometimes don't take your work seriously, leading to problems with projects and payments. In order to avoid those problems, you need to make sure that you are conducting all of your online work in as professional a manner as possible. Here are some tips on how to do that.
TOP 150 PLACES TO TRAVEL WITH YOUR FAMILY WHEN YOU STILL NEED TO GET WORK DONEWhen you are self-employed, there is no vacation time to save up, and there is no one to cover for you when you're away. For many that mean giving up on vacations altogether, and this is what I have been doing for awhile. Most of These All-Inclusive Family Resorts Have Kids Clubs in Which Your Child can enjoy supervised and fun activities while you and your spouse can have fun or get freelance work done. Take a look below and enjoy!
DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO FREELANCE OFFSITE OR ONSITE Deciding to work onsite or offsite sounds like a relatively simple decision, but it's actually one which isn't easy to make. Sure, when you're lying in bed just after the alarm has gone off and you see that it's raining outside and all you wish was that you could go back to bed for ten minutes and then do your freelance work from home, working offsite sounds ideal. But there are as many cons to the offsite work job as there are pros and you need to weigh them carefully when making the decision about whether to work onsite or offsite.
IS FREELANCING RIGHT FOR YOU? Freelancing, a term introduced by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), is when you work without being committed to an employer. With development of internet and communication technology, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people going their own way and leaving behind the cubicles. You are reading this book, so you must be contemplating becoming a freelancer, but before you make your move there are a few things to consider.
FREELANCER'S GUIDE TO TIME MANAGEMENT The most common problem that freelancers face is figuring out the balance between work and the rest of life. While there are a few freelancers out there who don't work as much as they need to in order to pay their bills and improve their business, most freelancers have the opposite problem - they work ALL the time. And that's why there are a great number of freelancers who "burn out" after a short (or if they're lucky, a long) time. In order to make sure that you aren't one of those people who "used to freelance but got burned out", you need to set limits on how much you work. Then you need to stick to those limits.
SHOULD I TURN DOWN FREELANCE PROJECTS? As freelancers, we often feel as if we have to say 'Yes' to every single job out there. However, we as freelancers are in a position where we can choose to say 'No' if we want to. Believe it or not, there are certain projects that you probably shouldn't accept. Turning down work is probably the hardest decision you will need to make when running your business, but sometimes turning down a gig is necessary. In this article I will explain to you the details that you need to consider when you aren't sure which route to take. Consider the following:
COOL IDEAS FOR YOUR BUSINESS CARDS As freelancers, we need to promote ourselves with business cards. How about putting yourself ahead of the rest of them by designing and printing completely unique business cards? You are about to take a look at the coolest and most innovative business cards that you have ever seen.
LIST OF FREELANCE FORUMS & MESSAGE BOARDS Looking to get together with other freelancers? Want to network? Want to ask questions about freelancing that you can't find the answer to anywhere else? Look no further than the freelance forums that we have listed below. Feel free to let us know about forums that we have missed.
The followup to Brendan Sinclairs successful Web Design Business kit is a comprehensive look at all the business aspects of working as a web designer. It's thorough and has some excellent advice in it.
A complete, secure, online billing application that maintains hourly service billing, flat fee billing and recurring charges. Integration with Authorize.Net and other leading payment gateways provides hands-free recurring billing with a sophisticated CRM system.
Browse through our extensive list of free Business, Computer, Engineering and Trade magazines, white papers, downloads and podcasts to find the titles that best match your skills and interests; topics include management, marketing, operations, sales, and technology. Simply complete the application form and submit it. All are absolutely free to freelance professionals who qualify.