Grocery Stores
With more people watching their pennies, it stands to reason they’re now eating at home more, rather than eating out. So that means more people are buying food from the grocery store and many grocery stores are hiring.

Auto Repairs
Rather than selling the old car and spending their hard earned money on a new one, consumers are opting to keep what they have. They’re going for repairs of the old car right now and taking a wait-and-see attitude about any future big ticket purchases. It’s also true that auto repairs are usually a “must have”. If the car stops running, repairs are absolutely necessary.

Healthcare
You don’t have to be a doctor; there are many support jobs that help hospitals and medical offices run smoothly. Think assistant positions, clerical, insurance liaison, finance manager, x-ray technicians or custodial. The number of injuries and illnesses don’t slow down just because the economy has.

Hair Salons
While haircuts and manicures aren’t considered necessities, many women will splurge on these lower cost luxuries. They may have had to cut out the big ticket items, but still want to reward themselves.

Movie Theaters
Movie theaters report an increase in the number of people who are going to the movies. This might also be considered a little luxury as opposed to a big luxury and therefore, okay to spend money on. Oddly enough, DVD sales are reported to be down. The thinking behind this is people are replacing other forms of activity such as going skiing or shopping at the mall with one that is more affordable – going to the movies.

Education
Many school districts are looking at ways to reduce their budgets and they’re investing in technology as a means. Outside, but related programs such as tutoring and test-prep for college remain big. Also related are businesses that help kids secure scholarships, loans, and other funding for college.

Government Contracting
Take a look at all the action the US Government is taking – banks, schools, and healthcare reform, etc. Many small and large businesses are getting new governmental contracts to handle these issues. You can either be the company that can fills the void and gets the contract, or you can seek employment from one of these companies.

Of course, not all states have the same growth in every industry so take an in-depth look at your state, or be willing to relocate where the jobs are. Not everyone is closing up shop or downsizing, so start your job search in these areas.

Many of us (me included) make the same newbie mistake.  We sign up for any programs we find, slap a banner or two on our website and then wait for the money to come rolling in.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.  As with any business, you will need to work consistently and persistently to build your affiliate sales business.  Below are ten tips to help you make more sales with your affiliate marketing business.

1.  Sell What You Believe – Selling a product or service that you have actually used and believe in is much more effective than selling a product you have no clue about.  Try the product, tell your story and make more sales.   Being able to personally recommend a product can go a long way.  Be sure to know about your product too, so when people ask you questions you can let them know the information they need.  This will help in making more sales as well.

2. Be Selective – Do not join every program you find.  Spreading yourself too thin will cause you to lose focus and sales.  Find one or two excellent programs and products that you can really spend time and energy promoting heavily.  You don’t want to confuse your potential customers with too many offers, ads and products plastered all over site.

3. Sales Materials – Most affiliate companies will offer you professionally made sales materials such as banners, ads, sales copy and more.   Be sure to take advantage of these if you cannot provide your own.  Test and track the ads to find the most effective.  Place the banners in different locations on your site and find what works the best.  Don’t just paste them anywhere and hope they work.

4. Customer Testimonials – Be sure to use customer testimonials or case studies.  Ask the company if they can provide you with some until you start getting some of your own to use.  Use the testimonials in whole and snippets in various places you are promoting.

5. Video Marketing – Video marketing can be much more effective than text ads because it allows the customer to actually see how the product is used and how well it works.  You can easily make your own effective video with your personal recommendation to go along with the demonstration.

6. Social Sites – Be sure to add videos, banners, incentives, etc. on your social sites such as Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and others.  Tweet pertinent info about your product as well.  Be sure to connect all your social sites to your site and vice versa.

7. Add a Bonus – Giving a person a little extra incentive to purchase your product is sometimes all it takes.  Offer a free ebook, report, gift card, etc. so the customer will be convinced to make the purchase.  A little extra push can make a big difference in your total sales.

8. eMail Signature – Your email signature is a sometimes overlooked advertising opportunity.  Write a little teaser about your product and/or bonus and add this to your email signature along with your affiliate link.  Every email you send could be a potential sale!

9. Article Resource Box – Be sure to incorporate article marketing into your promotion tactics.  Add a snippet and link in your article resource box to get people’s attention.

10.  Promote to Your List – If you have been online for any length of time, you should have built a reliable mailing list.  Send special offers and incentives to your mailing list.  Let them know they are appreciated and will receive special offers that no one else will.

Affiliate marketing can help you get started in the internet marketing business or it can help you increase your existing business income.  Either way you need to work at it and promote consistently and effectively for it to be successful!

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business.  Terri Seymour can help you make money online.  Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at:  ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

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Affiliate product programs and resources:

Finding Quality Opportunity Resources: SideSkills is a Service Marketplace for Employers and Employees, Offering Full-time Jobs, Part-time Jobs, and Freelance Projects – perfect for the work at home, entrepreneur! It is the first online community where work and social life connect and is a great place to post a resume, and for amazing connections and opportunities.

The Hours: It’s tough to know about the hours you’ll work, but consider that when you’re working away from the home, you get to leave your workplace at the end of the day. At your home office, it’s harder than you think to get up and leave work. It took me a while to find a balance of work time and family time, but it’s certainly doable. In the beginning, making that distinction and setting boundaries between work and play takes some practice. It’s well work it, but good to have the heads up about, right from the start.

Do You Like Computers? If you are anything like me, you answered with a confident “Yes!” I love it. It’s what I’ve been doing now for over 15 years. Working with and enjoying computer time is a necessity when you are working from home. Keep in mind that when you work at home, you become your own IT department.  If your computer freezes up or your software glitches, you will be the one in charge to get it fixed. Of course, it’s always good to network and find reliable friends or businesses you can depend on at times like this.

Are You Organized? Successfully working at home means keeping some decent sense of organization. You don’t have to be a wiz at it, but you do need to keep tasks updated, prioritize, and organize your business in an efficient matter.

How is your ability to Self-Motivate? Running your own work at home job or career does require self-motivation. Without that internal get-up-and-get-going drive, you won’t generate a reliable income for you or your family. This is pretty much a must for the home business freelancer. Who is going to tell you what needs to be done, and when it needs to be done? Uh, that would be just you! The joy of being your own boss!

When you look over these suggestions and ideas, just be realistic and honest with yourself about any strengths and weaknesses you bring to the table. If you have trouble staying motivated and getting to work on time, consider teaming up with an partner who can help with accountability. The buddy system works great for entrepreneurs too!

Your FAQ or “Frequently Asked Questions” page can be a very important part of your business website.  Your FAQ page is important for several reasons.

Your FAQ page could raise your Google rankings
Your FAQ page will help end any confusion your visitors might have
Your FAQ page will give a quick overview of your website content
Your FAQ page could increase your sales

Adding a well written and designed FAQ page to your website should be a priority and the tips below will help you ensure your FAQ page will do a great job.

1. Easy Access – Your FAQ page will not be able to work for you if people cannot find it.  Be sure to add links in your main navigation panel.  You can also add links to your FAQ at the end of your pages.

2. Order of Importance – Place your questions in order of importance so more pertinent info is easier to find.

3. Ask for Feedback – Have some associates or friends look over your website and see what questions they have.  Add these questions to your FAQ.

4. Appropriate Questions – Be sure to add only questions that are appropriate and pertain to your business and/or website content.

5. Format – Write the page in question and answer format and be sure the questions and answers are easily distinguishable.

6. Categories – If you have a long FAQ, it is better to organize the questions into categories so your visitors don’t have to waste time reading over info they don’t need.  Make a list of the categories at the top of the page and hyperlink them so your potential customers can click the category and not have to scroll down to find it.

7.  Quick and Concise – Answer all questions to the point and in just a few sentences, if possible.  If the question requires a very long detailed answer, put it in a separate page and link to the full answer.

8.  Search Box – if you can, add a search box for the questions so people can find what they need quickly and easily.

9. Call to Action – Add a call to action at the end of the page.  Have a Contact Sales Rep link or Get More Details Here link.  Guide the person closer to ordering.

10. Contact Form – Always add a contact form or email so if the person does not find the answer they are looking for, they can easily contact you.

11. Review and Update Regularly – At regular intervals, go over your FAQ page to see if all the questions still apply or if you need to add new questions.   Keep the content fresh so all the information is useful.

12. Keywords – Be sure to use relevant keywords strategically throughout the page.   Search engines like FAQ pages and using proper keywords can help improve your ranking.

Make Dinners Fast. This doesn’t mean that you have to find recipes that can be whipped up and served in 10 minutes.

All it means is that you find a way to make your meals easy to prepare. There are several ways to do this:

* Share the dinner-making duties with everyone in your family, depending on their age. You can create a schedule where everyone gets a night when they are in charge of preparing dinner. It also help to do this with the dinner cleanup routine.

* Keep meals simple during the weekdays when you’re working at home. You don’t have to fix elaborate meals. Stir-fry, meat loaf and crock-pot meals are all nutritious and time-saving meals to prepare.

* You can save time when you make a detailed grocery list and send your spouse to the store for you. If you have teenage kids, you can send them as well.

Use a Calendar: Using a calendar will help improve your work productivity. It doesn’t matter if you prefer to use an hourly, daily, digital or desk calendar – the important one is that you learn to use one. The calendar is where you should write down all of your daily/weekly commitments for both work and play. When you take the time to write everything down on the calendar, you will be able to easily see how much time you have to work each day. This will help you keep your daily work goals realistic.

Learn to Say “No”: Many people feel that work at home moms have a lot of time on their hands because they are work at home moms. However, this isn’t the case. To keep yourself less stressed and organized is to stay realistic about how much you can take on in a day, and to say “no” to everything else.

For more great ideas, see Home Decluttering and Organization – Volume 6: Home Office.

Two years ago, I made the decision to head back to school to complete my degree goals as well. I love working at home and my freelance career is something I look forward to enjoying for years to come. However, I also know that keeping my technical skills fresh, and learning new skills will help to advance me in my present and future jobs. Ya, great motivation, but the cost of this college plan? Hmm.. Well, I would not have been able to go through with the education finance process had it not been for the help of financial aid. I qualified for just enough money to help pay for classes, books and materials and I am do grateful for that help.
snhu.edu

Financial aid options should be looked at by everyone entering into college. Don’t bother trying to guess if you qualify. Just jump in and apply. The help for work at home moms returning to college to further their career or just brush up on their technical skills is great!

Step 1. Decrease Debt
The most advertised form of debt reduction are companies that will work with your credit card companies and loan agencies to reduce the amount you owe and then usually consolidate that into one payment. This makes it simple and easy to pay off debt faster.

The problem with these debt consolidation and debt reduction organizations is that not only do they cost money themselves; they can also severely damage your credit rating.

Another option is a debt consolidation loan. This is a loan a bank or credit union may give you to help pay off a variety of loans. In addition to giving you one simple bill to pay, you can often get a lower interest percentage on this loan. You owe the same amount, but will end up paying a lot less in interest.

If you can’t get a debt consolidation loan, you can do the work yourself to pay lower interest. Start by contacting your creditors and finding out exactly what your interest rate is and if it would be possible to get it lowered. Also ask them if they have any balance transfer offers available.

Next figure out which cards have the lowest interest rates or can give you the lowest rates by transferring balances. Put as much debt as you can into the card with the lowest rate. Just be careful, often the balance transfer rates only last for a limited time if the balance isn’t paid.

Step 2. Decrease Spending
Once you’ve got the amount you need to pay decrease, you still need to have the money to spend it (and of course, not create more debt). That means you need to find ways to spend less money. Here are some great quick tips for decreasing how much you spend.

* Track your spending. Once you know what you’re spending your money on, you’ll often be able to easily point out things you can cut.

* Use less energy. Take shorter showers, walk rather than drive, and turn your thermostat down a few degrees. Little changes will add up when it comes to your bills.

* Prioritize. Figure out what bills are the most important and try to figure out things that are less important to you that you can cut your spending on.

* Use Banks and ATM machines that do not charge you unnecessarily. You can do a search for local branches that offer low (or no) ATM fees or checking fees.

Step 3. Pay your debt down smart
If might seem like a good idea to pay off all your debts at the same time, but this can end up costing you more money in interest payments. In step 1 you figured out exactly what interest rates you have on each account. Pay minimum payments on all but one of your cards. Pay off as much as you can each month on the card with the highest interest rate. Once you’ve paid that card off, take the money you would have paid on that one and apply it to the next highest card. Be smart about credit card processing services and you will have the confidence you need to come out ahead.

If you follow these three easy steps, you should start to see a reduction in your debt immediately. The more you work at them, the more you can get your debt to go down.

Article Image Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos @ www.123rf.com

Owning a home requires upkeep and constant maintenance, right? Well, you certainly want the value of your home to increase on a yearly basis. To this end, you may want to use your tax refund and reinvest it into your home by implementing a few repairs. Or perhaps you front lawn needs new sod, or your backyard landscape needs a work over. Whatever the case may be, the more you invest in your home, the more likely you will be able to sell it at a higher price.

Another way to invest the tax refund is to apply it towards a bank CD, or increase your IRA account. Think about your retirement fund; maybe you would like to increase the amount you are paying into it now that you have this money available. Also, you may be saving for your children’s education via a savings account or other high-yield account. Instead of borrowing money, invest your tax refund for any future eventuality. You may have insurance premiums you need to pay; why not pay them off with your tax refund.

Whether you invest the tax refund in your home or for the future, this is found money which you may not want cash and spend. Do you have credit cards which you need to pay off? While this may not seem like an investment, it can certainly help by getting that debt off your back and help you save your wages for other important things.

Think about why investing your tax refund is a smart move. Talk to your accountant to determine the best course of action which will yield you the highest interest for you and your family. This may be the smartest move you’ve ever made!

Article Image Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos @ www.123rf.com

Offline

When you think of networking, you probably picture informal face to face conversations and handshakes. Traditionally, this is how it’s been done, and this still works today.

When it comes to looking for employment, consider all the people you know and all the relationships you have.

• fraternities
• civic organizations
• sports-related such as your bowling league
• college alumni association
• previous employers
• coworkers, past and present
• work-related organizations
• neighbors
• family
• fellow church members
• your kids’ friends’ parents
• your doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant

Some possible paths to a new job are obvious, but the improbable happens too. Open up all lines of communication.

Online

Online, and along with important search engine optimization, there is a whole networking world called social media at your fingertips. This opens up so many more avenues for you, but if you’re not already involved in social media, it will require a little work and time to get set up and growing your networks.

There are a plethora of benefits. Recruiters can find you, you can establish your brand, beneficial connections can be made, and those hiring can see that you are up to speed with technology.

Twitter can be used as a business tool or a social tool, but it’s best not to mix them. Basically, you join; gather followers in your field of interest (the more the better if you’re job hunting), build relationships and send “tweets” or messages in 140 characters or less. It’s not a bad idea to let some of the better aspects of your personality show through, but know that anybody, including potential employers, can read your tweets. Be sure to tweet that you’re searching for a job.

Facebook is another, very popular, social media tool that is free to use. Again, it’s best not to use your profile for both business and personal. Create your profile as you would a resume, and consider that millions of people can potentially view it. Posting a picture of yourself is up to you. If you do, make it a professional head shot. See search engine optimization and social media campaigns for more information.

LinkedIn has been around a while and considered a good business networking tool. You create a profile with your professional accomplishments. You find and get found by others you already know in business and then others who want to connect with you based on your profile. You can see how your network web grows exponentially as your connection’s connections become your connections, and so on.

The basis of networking is building relationships that benefit both you and others. It’s not a one way street. The best time to establish these relationships is before you’re looking for a job, but it can be done after the fact too. Use networking, offline or online, to help you land that job before it gets posted to the public. I wish you success on your networking journey to a better job!

Post an amazing Prize

At the heart of the contest, is the prize. Contests that tend to do well are contests that have very valuable prizes. For example, how about the prize of an all-around-the-world trip ticket. If that isn’t your type of prize, how about a four-day three-night trip to Japan, all expenses paid. Wow, right? Okay, another prize option might be an iPad, preloaded with cool content. I wouldn’t mind of one those. Another prize I see successfully offered and entered for is a top of the line desktop or gaming PC. Fun stuff!

Whatever the prize is, make sure it is valuable enough to your audience that they would be willing to stretch to win the prize. It should be valuable enough that when they tell their friends about it, their friends will genuinely want to help their friend win.

Use a Voting Mechanism

Instead of deciding on who wins the contest yourself, hold a vote. Why?

Because invariably, people will invite their friends to vote on their submission. They may not invite their friends to participate, but if what it takes to win is to get 200 of their friends to vote on their submission, then that’s what many people will do.

Let’s say the contest is to see who can create the best 20-second commercial for your site. You have 100 participants, and each holds their own mini-campaign inviting their friends to come vote on their video.

If each person manages to get 80 people to your site, that’s 8,000 new visitors. Naturally, you could get a whole lot more people if you got more submissions.

Tie It to Social Networking

One of the best ways to get a contest to spread virally is to leverage the power of social networking. Social Networking is quite a powerful way to get quality content spread quickly among friends. People want to share. People especially want to share what they like the most. How great if this was YOUR contest folks wanted to spread, right?

On every page of the contest, have a Facebook “Like” button and a Facebook “Comment” box. Also, have a “Tweet” button.

Make it easy for others to share the contest. After someone submits their contest, the very next page they see should be a page encouraging them to post their submission to their Facebook wall.

Most people have several hundred friends on Facebook, many of whom won’t be exposed to your site yet. Furthermore, search engines are starting to look at how often things are being reposted in social media as a gauge for potential rankings.

If you follow this formula outlined above, you have a very good chance of creating a contest that gets passed to a lot of people. You’ll generate buzz in your industry, get new traffic and potentially even improve your search engine rankings.