Choosing The Right Domain Name For Your Home Based Business

If you're looking to create a professional image for your Home Based Business the fastest, cheapest and easiest way is to own your own domain name.

If you're trying to create a picture of success so that people will follow you into your home based business opportunity you will have to register your own domain name. It's that simple.

Don't get me wrong, it won't exactly lift you to heights you never dreamed of. In fact, these days it is almost expected that you'll have your own domain name for any kind of business you're involved with but if you don't it will most definitely damage your street cred.

As we've talked about before, in network marketing or any other home based business you decide is right for you, you are creating a profile for yourself as well as your business with everything you do. So, start out right and look for the right domain name.

Don't make the mistake of jumping in with the first free domain name that comes back at you as this could be costly. If you fail to select a domain name which creates a picture of success and value for your home based business you will find that people will go elsewhere. People follow leaders and you can expect to see them heading in the opposite direction if you have an email address that goes something like bigasssuzy3456@hotmail.com for your will writing business.

If I'm looking for a new domain name for a business I'm promoting I'll take hours and sometimes even days making a list of twenty or thirty different domain names before I even attempt to register one of them. This is essential if you're going to create the right image for your home based business. If you're not a great judge, then take your list around and ask fifty people on the street what image they have in their minds when they read each of your list of potential domain names. I have to say my wife is my preferred reader on this one and someone who I trust to give me an honest appraisal of my suggested domain names.

Remember, the old saying, first impressions count and today with the power of the internet that couldn't be more true. You won't get a second chance with 99.9% of people and the ones who do let you through the door as bigasssuzy are possibly not the ones you will want to take your home based business to the next level.

With your own domain name you will be able to create a personalised and professional email address to support your future correspondence and this is essential if you're going to build your profile and capture customers from the opposition.

A further reason for owning your own domain name in case you're still undecided is that this allows you to use what's called 'redirect' for any affiliate products or links you might wish to promote.

An affiliate link might look something like this; http://www.thecompanyname.com/43637

As you might have guessed already there are a number of problems with this type of link.

• People have a habit of forgetting the number if you're giving them the link over the phone
• People decide to remove the last part of the domain name and have a look at the site themselves.

Either way, you guessed it, you're going to lose money and fast.

Affiliate addresses are usually fairly long and difficult to remember and Adwords will prohibit their use simply on character count when placing an add so you will need to redirect from your own domain name to whatever affiliate link you wish to promote. This is very simple and if in doubt go with a tried and tested hosting service like GoDaddy who will do most of the work for you.

All you have to do is use what is called URL redirect or domain forwarding. This is like a postal redirect only faster. You simply instruct the hosting company to redirect all traffic from your site to the affiliate address for the product you are promoting. This allows you to advertise the domain name you selected and not the one your affiliate product company has given you to promote.

A useful tool is to use domain masking on your redirect. This allows you to redirect from your domain to your chosen site without the address changing in the browser window. It basically hides the website address and keeps your original domain name in place. This can be useful if for whatever reason you don't want the customer to recognize the address of the site you're sending them to.

I use a ready made capture page and email responder set up for some of the products I would promote and the domain masking works well here as it retains my profile throughout.

A word of warning though, don't use masking on affiliate products or you're likely to lose around 50% of sales as this can throw off the tracking system for affiliate promotions. Use re-directs only for affiliates.

Here's a list of my top five tips for creating a successful domain name:

1. Try to use the key words in the domain name itself
2. Go for .COM over any other domain name extension
3. Go for a generic domain name which you can use again and again for different promotions
4. Go for words and not numbers in your domain name
5. Finally, if you can afford it, purchase all other domain name extensions to protect yourself against the opposition .net, .biz, .ws, .org, .ie, .co.uk and on and on. That way nobody other than you will benefit from misplaced domain name extensions being typed into the browser somewhere along the line.

This can seem an expensive outlay for anyone starting out with their home based business but it's worth it down the road and you should be able to pick up a domain name and hosting account for around €5 per month.

So there you go.

The next step is to find a domain name which is still available and start to rpomote your home based business with a new face.

Good luck,
Neil.

Does A Home Based Business Mean No To Bank Holidays?

Here I am sat in front of the computer waiting for one of my business partners to arrive from Galway and I started to think...'Does a Home Based Business mean no Bank Holidays ever again?'

Well, the truth is out there, as the saying goes and take a look at any successful entrepreneur and they will tell you one thing. You never stop.

It might seem as though you're listening when your partner walks into the room, throws a cup of coffee your way and tells you the kids have just climbed up onto the roof and are throwing slates at the neighbours cat for the fifth time this weekend but the truth is you haven't heard a word of it and so you smile curiously and say something like ' Oh, okay, I'll be with you in a minute. Thanks for the coffee'.

You haven't heard a word because you're too busy looking for that next million.

And listen, if this is you...

It's okay.

really...we understand...we know what it's like to rush down stairs at 3.47am because there's just that something you need to do online because the guy you were talking to an hour ago in Hong Kong promised to get back to you and you're sure he's probably online right now waiting for your reply and besides you're not really that tired.

We understand.

So go do your thing this bank holiday and forget that others around you have different lives.

Yours is exactly that so make the most of it.

neil.

Creating a Positive Profile for Your Home Based Business

Running a successful home based business is all about creating the right profile for yourself. This is marketing we're talking about, after all.

So many people simply miss this vital part of the business building process. Forget the product. Forget the profit to be made or the pleasure to be found in running your own business. If you don't create the right profile for your home based business you may as well sit back and watch the daisies grow because there won't be too many customers knocking on your door in the near future.

Cutomers, clients, consumers or even new prospects to your MLM will be attracted to you because you have the right profile and will stay well away if you don't.

So, how do you go about creating a positive image for your home based business?

• Do your homework - find out what the leaders in your field are talking about and look at how they are marketing themselves.
  

• Offer something of value to your customer without trying to dive in for the kill. This can be a free report of some kind or simply a piece of useful advice to help them on their way. If they like what they see they'll come back again.

• Learn, learn and learn some more and pass on your knowledge to others so that they can share in the success that your knowledge brings. This is vital if they are to trust you and be willing to work with you down the road and besides this is the best way to do business. You'll sleep better at night and feel good about yourself.

These are the basic steps to creating a positive and professional profile for your home based business. Stick with them and you'll start to see the rewards and begin to enjoy the battle much, much more.

Slainte,
Neil.

What Are Your Home Based Business Options in Ireland and the UK

What are your home based business options in Ireland or indeed anywhere in the world?

When you start to look at your work from home options in Ireland and the UK you can very soon be overwhelmed by the number of voices shouting at you from afar and offering you untold riches for very little effort.

The internet is full of get rich quick schemes so be careful and keep your wallet in your pocket.

And remember this simple truth; if it seems too good to be true then it probably is.

There are many work from home scams out there and a few less than scrupulous individuals who are more than happy to offer you the world with their once in a lifetime opportunity just to see you sink without trace several hundred or even thousand euros poorer.

So, my advice to anyone thinking of taking the plunge and looking to start a home based business in Ireland or anywhere else in the world for the first time is very simple but if you haven't heard it before then listen.

Don't pay a penny, cent, dime or franc (I know they don't exist anymore but I still like the sound of the old french franc don't you?) until you have spent at least one month researching what options are out there for you with your home based business.

If it takes longer than a month, then give it that time. Believe me, the next best thing will still be just around the corner in two months time, six months time or even a year from now so no need to rush in all guns blazing.

Do your research and be honest with yourself when you look in the mirror and when the time is right for you to commit to earning your fortune from your home based business then commit to it and you will succeed.

Take the following steps;

• Speak to others who operate a successful home based business and find out what works for them and what doesn't. We're all different remember, so what might be right for me might not be right for you.
  

• Speak to others who have failed in setting up a home based business (you will learn more from this group so listen carefully)
  

• Surf the internet to see what home based business opportunities are around and which would be easy to operate in your own country (many online home based business opportunities are solely for the US market and will not, however much your sponsor assures you, translate to a European market)
  

• Be honest with yourself and list your strengths and weaknesses (they call them challenges these days but let's be honest here) and see where they stand and fall in the business world. Are you a good networker or does the thought of meeting new people turn your stomach? Do you have a hidden talent that you could market? Are you prepared to learn a new skill set and take the time to perfect it in order to build your business over time?
  

• Decide what you can invest in building your home based business and look for an opportunity or business idea which you can succeed with. It's no good taking on too much too soon or you will simply fall at the first fence. Remember, this is a long run and not a sprint so start with small bites and build up to taking bigger portions once you have started to see some return on your investments (and by investments I mean sweat, blood and tears if that's what it takes to get your home based business off the ground)

• Finally, list the ten things you love about yourself and the ten things you don't and with each home based business idea you come across write down ten things about the ideal person you think would be good at that business. If you score more than five in your good list, you're in with a chance of success. If you score seven and above you could be onto a winner. If you start to see the hate list coming to the fore too often then perhaps you should stick with the day job.

Keep busy,

Finding The Right Mentor

When considering the success of your home based business over the last few months ask yourself the following question;

Is this me?


* I have a hard drive full of PDF files, e-books, free stuff, and paid for training courses about the secrets of network marketing, but just not making enough money again this month.

* I have tried a bunch of ways over the past couple months or years to build a website to make money, and still find myself with the same old problems.

* I am spending way more than I am making, its taking so much more time than I expected, my partner is about to leave me and I look as though I haven’t slept for a month.

* I have called everybody I have known for the last twenty years at least three times to see if they’ve thought any more about my opportunity.

* I just bought another bunch of leads, spent the evening on the phone again, got rejected again when I called the few that said they wanted a bit more information from my last classified ad, and finally my commission cheque came through the post and I couldn’t even buy a decent meal out of it.

* I have done all the things my mentor or coach that has told me to do, but still just do not have enough people visiting my website or phoning my contact number, or signing up for or buying my offers or asking to join my business opportunity. In fact, the whole thing feels like a bag of s**t! that nobody wants to hold.


So, before you throw the whole thing down the back of the wardrobe, here’s a few things to get you back on track.

GETTING STARTED: (If you haven’t done these things before go back to basics!)

* Learn the 3 Core Principles to Creating Profits in your home based business.


* Study traffic generating, list building, and sales copy writing.


Has anyone ever told you that before? If not listen NOW. You need to study AND learn.

There is no short cut.

The reality is this – if you want to succeed in marketing your home based business online or even off line through classified ads, articles, ezines or any other method using the written word then you need to not only study but learn the basic principles required and to implement them over and over again. Creating profits in your home based business is never easy and involves effort and persistance but with the right advice and support from your mentor this can be achieved.

Finding the right mentor is the key. This is the person who is going to be with you building your strengths and working through your weaknesses, so take your time and find the right person. This person may not be in your upline so you might have to go outside into the cold to look for support. It will be worth it though so take the plunge.


You must take this step, find yourself a true mentor who is successfully working in your specific area of interest, then study and learn the principles of creating profits in your home based business.

And one simple but easily missed tip: Stick with a mentor who you trust and who helps you to deliver. There are plenty of people out there making promises and before you realise you spend your time hopping from one to another like an indecisive kangaroo.

In the online business world, just like offline, it is mandatory that you do the hard work of studying and learning your business, and implement your knowledge and skills in order to create profits, and you must start by finding a true mentor that will coach you, and then study and learn the principles of building a successful home based business.

There are many internet marketers just like yourself creating profits online, simply because they started out finding a mentor and coach, and stayed focused on studying and learning the core principles they needed to pass the creating profits online tests.

They are not smarter than you, they simply have a mentor, and they stay focused on studying and learning the core principles of network marketing.

So if you want to know how to use Internet tools like blogs, articles, Google Adwords, and SEO techniques to generate endless free leads, and instant cash for your home based business?
find the right mentor.

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