The Work From Home Blog

As Twitter gets more and more popular there are many new services popping up for the Twitter community. One of the latest is Twee Bay - a free service you can use to buy and sell items using Twitter. There is the option of listing as an auction or as a classified and payment is handled by Google Checkout. Although the service is new it looks like something with a lot of potential.

There are quiet a few ways to monetize a blog and asking for tips or donations is one of them. TipJoy is a site that makes it very easy to accept donations (or even sell digital goods) not just through your blog but also Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and just about anywhere else you can think of. Tipjoy also makes it easier to accept smaller donations without Paypal fees eating up all of it so people can even send payment that are under $1 which is sure to encourage giving :) .

Your business card can have a powerful effect on your small business. Being such a common thing, it can sometimes be taken for granted and even somewhat neglected at times. However it can be your visual brand, the thing that people will make decisions about you by before they even meet you. The more likely it is to portray the right image and be remembered the more likely it is that you will be getting some new (and possibly even more importantly repeat) business.

There are many places on the internet you can go to for inspiration when it comes time to design your card. Design blogs as well as the Flickr business card images set being some of them.
There are some amazing examples of what a little bit of creativity can achieve.

Whether you choose to hire a professional designer or design the card yourself, the procedure is a whole lot more affordable then it used to be. Printing a business card (or even poster printing for that matter) can be done online these days for a few cents per card (no more expensive print shops!) so there are no more excuses not to go out and get the best cards your small business deserves.

Many people who are trying to get a home business off the ground feel that creating a web site is confusing and possibly quiet expensive. As well as the prohibitive cost it can also be a fairly lengthy process. Whether you choose to have your site professionally designed or take on the learning curve required to learn how to build a web site, it can take longer then you are willing to have to wait.

It doesn’t have to be this way however and even if you have limited web site design knowledge to build your own web site and can not afford a web designer there are still options available. One service that is quiet good value for money is the “Build It Yourself” service offered at buildyoursite.com (take their service for a free test drive here ). Create your own web site with the site builder that comes with over 4,000 industry specific templates. You can use them “as is” or customize them to your needs without having to be an expert. Also included is a domain name and hosting for just $9.99/month which is a pretty good deal.

With the design and hosting out of the way it leaves you (and your money) free to concentrate on marketing your business and new web site.

I was planning to make a post about online marketplaces to sell your handmade art and craft items but I came across these two posts from At Home Mom Blog which I think do a fantastic job of summing up just about every place on the web. If you like to create crafty things and are wondering how to go about selling them then check out the following two posts, you won’t be disappointed.
Where to sell your crafts online part I

Where to sell your Crafts online part II

This is just a very quick post today, it is school holidays here so I don’t have a lot of time to post until next Monday.
Below are a few alternate sites to Craigslist (free classifieds) which you may not have heard of.

Kijiji - called Gumtree in some countries, run by Ebay
ClickaPost
Zikbay.com
iList - This one is still in private Beta but is one to put in your bookmarks.

There are many more good ones out there no doubt. Do you have any favorites?

These are just some ideas on how to sell more with your direct sales business. If you have more ideas I would love to hear them so please leave them in the comments.

1) Set up a stall at craft shows and fairs
2) Hold more parties where people can buy your products
3) Always carry a product sample with you and work it into conversations with everyone you talk to
4) Fundraisers
5) Always follow up with your past customers. Read more…

If you run a web site or blog, you might be familiar with the work and effort involved in running a competition where there are prizes to award. ContestMachine is a new widget that hopes to solve this problem by automating much of the process. You can read what exactly it can do here. It is free to use for up to two contests per month. If you need to run more promotions then you will need to pay a fee.
Found via TechCrunch

At Home Mom blog has a great post today on how to still get work done when you have a baby with you at home. There is some pretty handy advice there (I know I’ve been there) and it’s even broken down into age groups ie. working with a 0-3 months old etc. If you are expecting a baby and are wondering whether you will still be able to work from home, it is a good read.

Last week I was reminded how easily money can be made on Ebay by simply keeping an eye on what is selling in your favourite categories.
Around the time the Olympics began, McDonalds started offering BeiBei, the blue Olympic mascot as their promotional toy for the week (followed by all the other mascots in the following weeks). The toys cost $2 each or free with a Happy Meal.

This is how much BeiBei was selling for on Ebay within two weeks of McDonalds selling out. Read more…