Home School Education Comes Full Circle

The face of schooling has changed over the years. From learning at home from one’s family, to one room school houses that served as the classroom for children of many ages, to schools housed in massive buildings where students have access to resources that used to be reserved for the finest universities, schools have constantly evolved throughout contemporary history. Today we are witnessing a reversal of that trend as more and more students find themselves out of the public schools and back at home receiving a home school education.

There are many reasons that parents may opt to provide their children with a home school education. Some parents prefer a home school education because public schools are not legally allowed to provide religious guidance and instruction. Other parents may believe that a home school education can provide higher and more stringent academic standards, or a safer learning environment than the public schools can offer. For others, a home school education is the best option because the parents travel extensively, or the child has special needs that are best met at home. For those reasons, and many more, home school education is a booming business that is gaining momentum with each passing year.

For those who are considering home school education, and those who are already engaged in that endeavor, there are several factors on which to focus. Public schools offer more than just academic instruction, and a good home school education needs to fill those gaps in order to be most effective.

Socialization is a primary concern of many parents who provide a home school education for their children. While students can learn the “Three R’s” at public school or at home, they also need to learn how to share, listen, take turns, and get along with others. Students who are receiving a home school education are often enrolled in clubs, sports, and other extra curricular activities that will help develop the child’s socialization skills.

Educational resources are another element of education in which home school education must strive to match the level of the public schools. Public libraries, internet, and specialized home school education publishers and curriculums can help parents provide an adequate and effective home school education for their children.

Ultimately what matters most is that our children are educated. Recent studies show that children receiving a home school education perform as well, and in many cases better, than their counterparts in public and private schools on standardized tests. That success has continued even after students leave the comfort of a home school education and move on to colleges and universities. Parents who feel that their education options are lacking might consider a home school education. It could be the best fit for their child and their family’s needs.

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Home Based Business – Beating Off Recession and Securing Your Future

The world has slid into the depths of economic downturn. Many big and small companies have either laid their staff off or trimmed their salaries. All those who have taken housing or automobile loans are worried. They are in a terrible fix as they do not know how they are going to repay the loan amounts or by not being able to loose either their house or car. It is for this reason many people have either already started or are contemplating on starting their own home based business.

Discover your talent:

In order to effectively make it through the present economic crisis you may have to draw up a financial plan. You have to look for a back up plan which will take care of your decreasing income and job security. Find out ways to generate extra income. For this you will have to discover your hidden abilities and hone them to take on the economic instability.

Each one of us has some special abilities or expertise that can be put to good use during adversities. You might have picked some experience, knowledge or skills at the job where you have worked. Now is the time to make use of those qualities to carry you over the difficult times.

You can start your home based business on a freelance basis. Your decision-making abilities, administrative insight and supervisory talent and strengths will prove to be useful.

Honing your skills:

Once you have discovered your hidden skills, you’ll need to perfect them. Get in touch with those who are already doing well in the field of home business. Do research on the Internet. Remember your home venture can prove to be profitable only if you recognize what it takes to make it happen.

You don’t have to be overly eager to make a fast buck. You will need to constructively and gradually improve your knowledge and skills to be able to deliver the goods. Don’t believe in get-rich-quick schemes. You cannot become millionaire overnight with any home based business.

Bidding farewell to your present job:

In your quest to be self-sustaining and financially independent don’t say goodbye to your present job without making sure that your future is secure. You can continue to work from home without having to quit your existing job. You can also get the help of your spouse or other relatives to look after your enterprise while you are at your regular job.

When you run your venture from home, it trains you to pick up some managerial skills that can be used at your ‘real’ job. You can prove to be an intangible asset to your organization. However, you will need to make a choice between your business and your job at some stage.

Press home your advantage:

To overcome the hard times, spot your talent and press home your advantage. Initially you can work freelance. Reach out to your potential customers and tell them about your product or service.

There is no harm in going whole hog in accomplishing your dream but at the same time identify your strengths and acknowledge your limits. Your home based business can help you go from strength to strength only when you have a well thought-out business plan in place.

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Revealed – The Four Reasons Why Home Based Business Ideas Usually Don’t Work

When I started up my first home based business idea years ago, I just knew that it was going to work. To my surprise, the first couple of home based business ideas I started off with were not successful. Eventually, I gave up all hope. Does this sound like you? If you can find a way to avoid the pitfalls in the home based business world, you too can become successful working from home. Here are some of the reasons why certain home based business ideas fall through:1. Scams – If you’re like me, then you have fallen for quite a few of these. Newbies tend to want to believe everything they read. I mean really, who doesn’t want to believe that they will be making $250.00 an hour in five days? Try to steer clear of businesses that sound too good to be true and you might still have a chance to succeed.2. Too Much Work, Not Enough Pay – Yes, you’re working from home, but is it worth it? If you are an independent contractor who works for practically nothing, you’re bound to end up quitting eventually because you’ll be exhausted from the effort you put into what you do, and disappointed with what you get out of it.3. People Don’t Want What You’re Selling – We’ve all embarked upon a business venture with great gusto only to find that what we agreed to sell was something that people have no interest in. It pays off in the end to research your product and to ask yourself if what you are selling would be something that you would find very beneficial as well. If not, then it is better to try something else.4. Many Are Recruiting Programs – I, for one, am very familiar with this. If only the business itself was as exciting as the opening web page. The advertisements claim that their top earners are millionaires. Some even display photos of the actual people. They tell you that they will offer you free training and be available to you 24/7. After you have finished the training, what you are left with is a bunch of disinterested people and a monthly fee of about $40.00 to $60.00. You might be lucky if you recruit two people within the year. It’s just just too difficult to get people to sign up to programs like these.These are just a few of the reasons why home based business ideas do not work. My recommendation to you is to recognize the difference between something good and something rotten. When in doubt, do your research and always follow your true instincts!

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Why Insurance For Home Based Businesses is Different From Homeowner’s Insurance

Is Your Home Insurance Policy Covering Your Home Business? The number of people who run their business out of their homes is increasing all the time. Some people work from their kitchen table or home office because it saves money. Others do it because they just enjoy having a 30 second commute to work. There are lots of reasons why home offices are ideal places for people to run their businesses.But one big risk that many home business owners make is to rely upon their homeowners or renters insurance. There are quite a few reasons this may not be a prudent idea. This is especially risky if you have not reviewed your home policy since you started your business.Home Contents Insurance Most homeowners policies are a package of coverage. One part of the package is home contents insurance. When you purchased your policy, some time ago, you may have estimated a value for your personal property like your furniture, TV and jewelry. But most businesses rely on supplies, inventory, computers and accounting records. If you purchased your original policy without thinking of these things, it is very likely that you do not have enough coverage.Liability InsuranceA typical home policy may cover you in case a visitor to your home claims damage. But this may not cover you in case a customer claims your business caused damage. You may need business or professional liability insurance to be sure you are not risking your assets.Relocation One very handy feature of many modern home policies is relocation in the case your home must be vacated while it is repaired or rebuilt. This feature may help you rent a motel room or apartment. This may be fine for temporary living arrangements, but probably will not provide enough space to keep running your business.How Can You Cover Your Home Based Business?Some larger insurers may present you with a simple and affordable solution. For a very small business, an additional rider for a home based business may be all you need. You may just need to increase your personal property insurance. A chat with a good insurance agent should point you in the right direction.If your business is a bit larger, you may be able to purchase an inexpensive Business Owners Policy (BOP). These policies provide a package of commercial coverage, but can be customized to your needs. They are common choices for small business owners like store owners, dentists, and home business owners.How Can You Find A Good Deal On Home Based Business or Homeowners Insurance?You can find online quote forms for homeowners or home based business insurance. You start off by entering your zip code, a few basic details, and you can be quickly matched with the top insurers who do business in your city or town. Remember that most insurers have policies and prices that differ by location, and that is why you need to look for top insurers in the place where you live or do business.

10 Best Home Based Business Ideas for Online Income

With the rate of unemployment as high as it is and the economy in the dumps, now, more than ever would be the time to get started in a home based business. While many may choose a bricks and mortar business to start, they have high capital requirements that are beyond most peoples reach. The flexibility of a home based business is just one of the reasons they are so popular. Below are some of the 10 best rated home based business ideas for online income that require little or no start-up capital.1. Call Center – Large and small companies are saving significant money by outsourcing their help-desk center jobs. This provides you an opportunity to work from home performing call center duties such as receptionist, troubleshooting client issues and answering general questions. Chat, Skype, remote desktop and webinar software allow you to support those using the call center.2. Niche Products – With your own website (or eBay auction site) you can resell products obtained at wholesale prices. The manufacturer can drop ship directly to customers, saving you handling fees and warehousing hassles. Children’s items, collectible gifts and sporting accessories are all ideas for a home based business in niche products..3. Affiliate Marketing – Often found in top 10 best home based business listings because it can be inexpensive to set up. You can have a blog for reviewing products with affiliate links that pay you when people make purchases through your site.4. Technical Support – Leverage the internet and put your technical skills to use by providing technical support to individuals or companies from home. There are low-cost and free remote management and desktop control software available for troubleshooting issues.5. Life/Business Coaching – There has been a boom recently in specialized coaching areas such as life, corporate, spiritual, business and relationships. If you have good communication and people skills and are knowledgeable in one of these areas, this can be a great career.6. Blogging – Blogs have become a great way for individuals to make income online as they rank high in the search engines. However, they need new content on a regular basis to stay current, so companies and marketers pay to have individuals post blog content for their sites.7. Freelance Writing – Similar to blogging but with a broader scope. If you can write articles, ad copy, reviews or reports, you can get hired for short-term or repeated projects by marketers and companies needing content. You may need to have good typing and writing skills to complete the amount of work some of the jobs require.8. Internet Marketing – Another of the often listed 10 best home based business opportunities. Why? Because even with the learning curve, it is simple and can be lucrative as many companies want to know how to get their websites higher in the search engine rankings.9. Online Auctions – Many people make items to sell online or fix up things found at garage sales and sell them online. Crafts, art, jewelry are all good ideas for a home based business with online auction or sale sites.10.Website Flipping – Similar to property flipping, you can buy established websites, fix them up or add value in some way, then sell it for a higher price. The choice of which website to buy from those up for sale is key to being successful in this area. Often you’ll be looking for those that have decent traffic, or will, once you make the improvements. This is one of the newer ideas for a home based business.An important point when looking at the 10 best home based business ideas is to consider going with something you are passionate about and would enjoy. Your enthusiasm will come through when selling your services. Also, don’t give up to early on your new business as it can take a little time to get it rolling. Once your site, product or service gets some exposure over the internet, you will see your business begin to blossom.

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7 Reasons Why You Should Start a Home Based Business

You spent thousands of dollars and at least four years of your life just to start your career. Now after years of hard work you wonder what options exist for you. One of your options is whether a home based business is right for you and your family. This article will give you 7 good reasons why you should start a home based business.1. FlexibilityThe Internet business operator knows the value of being at home. You can work whenever it is convenient for you and your family. If you have an hour or two, you can work on your business. If you know you will be free every Tuesday night, you can plan your business appointments for those times. You control how much, when and where you will spend your time on your business.2. Low costsMost start-up internet-business do not require large sums of money to start. The investment is usually under $100 and rarely exceeds $2000. Additionally, a home based business does not require the large overhead many businesses required. Many home based operators deal with companies that drop ship to their customers relieving you of added shipping costs.3. TimeA home based business requires less time and effort to become successful. With the traditional brick and mortar business requiring anywhere from 3 to 5 years, the traditional home based business usually shows signs of success as early as 6 months to 1 year from start up.4. Service or ProductWhen you know you have a product or can offer a service that will be in high demand you should start a home based business. People recognize the value of a unique skill or product; as a result people will look to you as the one who will bring it to them.5. PeopleThe typical work environment does not allow you to choose who you will come into contact with. As a result, you often are working with people you don’t like, who don’t like you, or people who make your job more difficult. The home based business operator chooses those individuals they want to work with and the customers they sell to. If someone becomes too much trouble, you cut them loose.6. Your CareerYou have the option to continue working your career while you build your online-business. You don’t have to worry about your finances, insurance, or other benefits if you keep your career. You can build your home bases business as quickly or as slowly as you choose.7. YourselfYou may find owning your own home based business brings you greater satisfaction than your career. Knowing you have been able to create a successful business venture is a tremendous ego boost and gives you bragging rights to all of your friends and associates.Running an online-business is not for everyone. Those who own their own online-businesses know the reasons above will eventually lead them to greater financial success while allowing them to feel better about themselves and their life. Once you start your own business you may find more than 7 good reasons why you should start a home based business.

No More Excuses for Small Business Owners for Not Growing Their Businesses

When talking about business related issues, solutions, and technologies, you will almost always group businesses as small and large. While the separation is there, it won’t be wrong to say that in a modern where digital technologies prevail, it should not be a problem for small businesses to compete with large ones. The large corporations have the advantage of having more resources without a doubt. However, there was not a time in the past when growing and expanding was as easy for small businesses as it is today.Digital Marketing for EveryoneDigital marketing starts with a website today. When it comes to website designs, more money does not always mean a better design. If you are working with the right people and are clear about your requirements, your website can be just as impressive as the website of a large business. In fact, internet users today are more in favor of simplistic websites with a focus on the information they are looking for rather than the glitter and sparkle.As for social media marketing, there is no difference in the size of the market that small and large businesses have to target. They are both targeting global audiences and how good they are at it is not defined by how much money they put in their marketing efforts. Social media marketing is free marketing, so there is no excuse as to who has more resources.And if you believe that the large corporations make it to the top of the search engine results, you always have a better and more effective niche to compete within – local. With local search engine optimization, small businesses can compete with the medium and large businesses head to head. In simple words, regardless of the size of the business, everyone has access to the same market and same people today. What matters is who does it better.Digital Solutions Are Available Specifically for Small BusinessesWhen it comes to software solutions for businesses, the focus is not on large corporations anymore. Today, all types of software solutions have their versions built specifically for small businesses. These digital solutions allow small businesses to cut down their costs and make use of the same technologies that large companies are using.Take the example of CRMs. At one point, there was a notion that customer relationship management software are only for large businesses, but the things have changed quite a bit today. Web-based CRM are a revelation for small businesses. First, these CRMs provide great marketing, database, customer service and sales solutions to the businesses. Second, they are unbelievably affordable. If you own a small business, you don’t even have to worry about software integration, hardware compatibility, updates, and upgrades, etc. Keep in mind that with in-house solutions, these are the costs that make it difficult for small businesses to grow financially.With web-based solutions designed for small businesses, you can now have access to a world-class CRM at a fractional monthly or yearly cost. Other affordable digital solutions available include invoicing software, bookkeeping software, payroll software, etc.Customers Have the Power in HandsThe Internet has empowered customers like never before. You can’t say that just because a business is in multiple countries, it will be impressive enough for people to buy its products. The amazing thing about today’s economy is the power that customers have in their hands. Online reviewing websites, YouTube videos, blogs, etc. are among many platforms that allow customers to know more about businesses. In fact, even Google now puts business ratings and customer reviews right within its search results.What this means is that when a customer searches for a business today, he/she is already able to see the reputation of the product they are going to buy. Furthermore, negative reviews from customers can greatly affect the sales of business, giving other businesses a chance to make their name.Furthermore, it’s not just the quality of products that matters today. In the modern world, businesses are competing for better customer experience. If your business can give customers the experience they are looking for, your growth is inevitable despite the small size of your business.Funding Is No Issue for StartupsIt is always the starting days that matter the most for business. When you are a startup, you are looking for ways to fund your business so you can materialize your idea and polish your product/service according to the requirements of the customers. Finding a platform where you could connect with investors was a challenge in the past. This is not an issue anymore.With like our websites, it is easier than ever for small businesses to get in touch with investors and get the right amount of investment that sets them on the path of growth. These are websites that act as a bridge between investors from all around the world and startups. With traditional banks and lenders, you are only limited to a local audience of investors. When you can’t find an investor in your local market, your hopes are almost dead.With online funding websites, all you have to do is create a convincing pitch that explains the viability of your startup to the investors and its scope. Your pitch along with all the necessary information that you think investors should see goes on the website where it is visible to hundreds and thousands of investors. If you have done your homework and have a team of right professionals on board, getting the right investment is just a matter of hours or days.Final WordsYou can see that a small business can overcome almost all of their challenges much more efficiently today. Starting a business has become so easy that even students can be entrepreneurs today. They can lay the foundation for a business using just their pocket money. From connecting with the right investors to cutting down operational costs, all can be done from the comfort of a person’s home. The only thing that makes the difference today is if you are confident enough to take the first step.

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Motivation And The Home Based Business Owner

Many people who start a home based business are not successful. The reasons why people fail will differ from person to person. I want to have a closer look at the theories of motivation to analyse some of the reasons for failure.

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Due to the structure of this industry, most of the home based business owners do not employing other people on a full time basis. They do not report to a boss on work progress on a regular basis, they do not interact with fellow workers on a daily basis as people working fulltime in a formal job do.

The motivation is totally different for the home based business owner. We must understand it to be optimally motivated every day in this environment.

Quite a lot of the people become involved in a home based business programme due to good salesmanship and not after they have done their homework. They have high expectations of making big bucks quickly, without much effort or work and study.

False Assumptions About Motivation And The Home Based Business

Many people believe that the motivation of people is only money and biological drives like hunger.

Studies have proven that the ability of money to provide motivation is very limited. It is only motivating people when they have a relatively small, simple task to perform over a short period of time. The more complex and long term the task is, the less money will be a true motivation factor.

Having a good lifestyle or the ability to travel and see the world will be considered by many people as nice to have. The big question is whether it will really motivate somebody to perform and work hard over time on a daily basis.

Most of the people that join a home based business group are motivated to join because of the guru or salesman telling them about the new lifestyle and the big money they can earn. The problem is that motivation does not last. It is not enough or a good enough motivating factor to keep that individual slogging and working hard every day.

I believe the fact that the real motivation of people is not being understood well enough in this industry by the gurus is one of the main reasons why so many people join but are not successful in making the big bucks that can be made with the programme.

Newer Theories Of Motivation And The Home Based Business Owner

People will not be motivated in their daily task if their basic needs are not satisfy. Their basic needs are not necessarily the potential better lifestyle or big bucks on some future date.

People are only motivated in the long run if they are doing something that is their passion or that interests them, something that they feel is meaningful. They must have a feeling of being part of a community. They must work for, be part of, and believe that they are working towards something much bigger than themselves. They must build a legacy. This legacy is not the life on the beach or travelling.

Understanding these true motivational factors of people is missing in the marketing strategies of most home based business owners when they sell their product and try to motivate people that have joined their team. Let’s have a closer look at them.

Autonomy And The Home Based Business Owner

One of the big motivational factors for people is autonomy. This is the beauty of the home based business. This is the kind of job somebody can do where he does have absolute autonomy. He has control over his time, tasks, techniques and the people he wants to work with. He does not have a boss to report to.

The home based business owner has complete autonomy over everything he does. He must develop his own business plan, set his own goals, develop his own time scales, decide for himself on his training programmes, and have his own daily plans.

I believe the importance of this as a motivational factor is not being used properly in this industry. Reasons for failure are due to the fact that many people starting out in this industry do not understand all the basic processes involved in planning a business and managing it on a day-to-day basis. More assistance is needed to assist home based business owners in this.

Mastery

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle

People are motivated if they feel that they have learned something, have developed a new skill, applied that skill successfully, and are making progress in the development of their own abilities. They must see and feel the progress. They must be able to measure and evaluate their progress regularly. The athlete preparing for a big event has a training programme. He knows where he wants to be on a specific future date. He is planning his daily exercise programme and is monitoring his progress regularly. That is the only way he can be assured that he will be in top physical form and mental state on the day of the competition. He is being motivated daily during the slogging period of exercise and preparations because he has a dream, a goal, a plan are taking action, monitor his progress daily and give him feedback on the progress.

The same principle applies to the home based business owner. He must know what he wants to achieve. He must have a plan on how he wants to get there and he has to monitor his progress daily.

There is so much knowledge that a home based business owner has to master and learn. He can be overwhelmed by that. He might not have a plan and priorities. By taking small steps every day he will not be motivated daily to keep on taking action and to work towards his goal. He will lose interest.

Purpose

Money or profits have a limited ability to motivate people. We are motivated in the long run if there is purpose in our life. We want to belong also and be part of a bigger community. We want to contribute to others. We want to find meaning in life. In his theories of motivation, Maslow called it self-actualisation. There must be a purpose bigger than ourselves in life.

I believe that in the home based business industry this is not getting enough attention. People are losing interest and becoming demotivated because the emphasis in the industry is on the “self”; my lifestyle, my travel, the way I want to spend my time, I do want to earn big bucks fast.

We must develop a way to motivate people by giving them a bigger purpose in their lives that they can work for or be part of. Every day they must feel that through their daily actions or work, they will improve their own financial situation, but they will also contribute towards the lives of other and build their legacy.

The home based business must look at the integration of social entrepreneurship as an integral part of the industry. We must also develop ways to support and motivate people working with us.

The Lessons For The Home Based Business

“A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.” – Tony Robbins

It is a science to motivate people and keep them motivated. In the home based business programme, there are too many people who start but lose interest after some time. The rate of failure is too high. If failure is being defined as people not achieving in the industry what they believed they could or should have achieved, the real reason for this must be determined. My view is that the importance of the correct application of the basic theories of motivation is not being applied correctly in the industry.

The nature of the home based business lends itself to apply the theories of motivation much better. The environment to motivate people is much better than in the more formal work environment. By applying some of the theories of motivation in our business, we will make more people successful and in the process everybody working together will be more successful.

Join our team and we will keep you motivated. Your success is our success. You can reach the sky if you dream-it-plan-it-do-it daily. It will not happen overnight but remember it is a journey to your goal, not a happening.

Online Advertising Versus Print Advertising

Online advertising versus print advertising. In my line of work, I get asked this question a lot. Which is better, online advertising or print advertising?

The answer is two-fold. One, it depends. Two, they’re both important if you are serious about marketing your business. I’m big on the “360 degree” comprehensive marketing plan that utilizes many different touch points. Think about your ideal customers right now. It is likely, no matter what industry your business sits in, that they are fragmented, don’t have a lot of time, use a lot of different communication methods (email, phone, Instant Messenger, mail, etc.), and use a lot of different methods to consume content and information (iPad, BlackBerry, Magazines, Search Engines, etc.) Because of this, a marketer has to use a lot of different tactics as part of their marketing strategy.

But sometimes, there are clear advantages to focusing your time in online advertising versus print advertising. I came up with a list of ten advantages, and I will present four of them here for you. (My next post will take the reverse approach and provide the advantages for print advertising versus online advertising.) In no particular order:

1) Speed

I have been around print advertising all of my life, and the one word I could use to describe it is “slow”. It takes time to create a print advertisement to fit specifications. It takes time to provide the files. It takes time for the publication to go to print or for the mailing package to get produced. It takes time for the postal service to do its job. Then, it takes time to see results which are sometimes measured in weeks! Contrast all of this with the online advertising process. It takes time to create the advertisement, sure. But everything after that can basically be measured in hours, not days, weeks or months. Once you have created the ad, you can have the ads running on a website or in a search engine within minutes, have the ad appear within a few more minutes, and have data on your ads a few hours later. That’s fast.

2) Scale

Most print publications, or direct mailings, have a pretty finite amount of reach or circulation. In other words, you’re able to reach only people associated with that print advertising effort. To get any sort of multiplier effect in order for more people to see or react to your advertisements, you have to repeat the process noted above over and over again or buy more ads. In the online advertising world, achieving scale becomes easier due to a lot of factors including but not limited to word of mouth, viral marketing, technology, and exposing your advertisements to a lot more people. Sheer numbers are easier to achieve online.

3) Targeting

It is quite simply just plain easier to target your best prospects or customers online versus through print. Take search engines for example. You can target advertisements solely to people who enter search terms related to your product or service, thereby qualifying them and getting exposed to people who have a high probability of being interested in what you have to offer. Another form of targeting easier to do online is geographic targeting, which goes with “Scale” above. Many businesses only want to reach people in a certain geographic area of the country, and it is infinitely easier to do this online versus offline. You can advertise on the web ensuring only people in a certain zip code, city, state or region see that ad. In short, there’s no “waste” which occurs in paying for ads that appear to people who aren’t relevant to your business because they don’t fit a basic geographic criteria.

4) Cost

Probably the easiest one, because I think it is common knowledge that 1) most forms of online advertising are cheaper on a dollar to dollar basis than print advertising and 2) taking into account everything you can do listed above, the value and upside of online advertising is much greater than in print.

Now, this doesn’t mean that the sky is completely falling for print advertising. But the factors above are some of the reasons why the online advertising industry is growing (and is forecast to grow for the foreseeable future), while the print advertising industry is seeing difficulty (and is forecast to continue to see difficulty). Even still, there are some tremendous opportunities that are unique to print advertising which I will talk about next time. I always recommend a comprehensive approach to marketing, which includes a print component, but especially if you’re in the early stages of forming a business or are looking to transition from an offline ad strategy to an online ad strategy, you will want to focus online and take note of what I list above.

The Finer Points of Internet Auctions

WHAT IS A PENNY AUCTION?

Penny auctions have exploded in popularity with the massive growth of the internet. However, few people know the true origins of penny auctions.Beginnings actually stretch back to the Great Depression. Those were hard times for everyone, but even harder for farmers. Farmers struggled to bring in steady income because of droughts and crops not selling as well as they had previously. As a result, the banks would foreclose on the farmers who couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments.

The banks weren’t satisfied with just repossessing the house, they wanted to raise as much capital as possible, so they resorted to selling off the possessions of the owners of the repossessed houses. There was not much the farmers could do about it so they began bidding ridiculously low prices, pennies, on the items while threatening others who dared to bid higher than a few pennies.

The auctions of today hardly resemble their tremulous beginnings. Being part of a penny auction today is exhilarating, fun, and addictive. It combines the selling format of auctioning with a little bit of chance factored in.Auctions are a game of strategy but also a game of luck.

The premise behind penny auctions is giving people the chance to win an item at a drastically reduced price.Auctions make that possible by spreading out the cost of the product among multiple bidders. In order for a person to take part in an auction, they must pay a set price for each bid. For example, if a person wanted to bid on a fifty dollar Amazon gift card then he would spend a dollar for each time a bid placed. If he ended up winning the gift card, then he would only have spent a few dollars for a fifty dollar gift card. Usually penny auctions sell bids in packages.

HOW PENNY AUCTIONS WORK!

The main foundation of penny auctions is the pay-per-bid format. It is the key that allows bidders to win items at the fraction of their retail value and allows the auction owners to keep their site profitable. Most y auction sites run on the same premise: people pay a set amount for each bid, whenever a person places a bid within the closing seconds of the auction time will be added, the last person left with a unique bid after the clocks runs out will win the item. There are a large variety of items that can be won, but they tend to be popular electronics or gift cards to popular stores.

There are two types of auctions: lowest unique bid auction and highest unique bid auction. Lowest unique auction sounds confusing but it is actually quite simple. A unique bid is when only one person has a bid at a certain price. Bids usually start at one penny, a bidder can then place a bid at two pennies. Until another bidder places a higher bid, the most recent bidder will be the lowest unique bid because that was the only bid at two cents and nobody bid higher. However, penny auctions generally don’t stop at one penny. It is not uncommon to find auctions that end up at a couple hundred dollars based on the popularity of the item being auctioned. However, the same principles apply for those auctions. Highest unique bid auctions follow the more traditional auction format such as eBay. The person with the highest bid at the end of the auction wins the item.

Auction site owners turn a profit by selling bids. Say twenty people are bidding on a ten dollar gift card at one dollar per bid, at the end of the auction if there were twenty bids placed in total then the site owner would have made twenty dollars with a ten dollar profit.Auctions do seem like a win-win situation:The site owner makes money while the bidder gets an item for dirt cheap. However, not everyone wins in penny auctions. The people who paid one dollar each bid but left with nothing to show for their investments will not be so happy.

HOW TO WIN!

Penny auction has a lot of chance mixed into it, but one can incorporate strategy that will help raise the chances of winning. Playing smart can make all the difference between gambling and auctioning.

The first crucial tip to winning penny auctions is to know how to manage your bids. Your goal should be to win as much as possible without spending a ton of money buying bids. Managing your bids means that you should already know how much you are willing to risk in order to win an item. The amount of capital you are willing to risk will determine how many bids you can use. Once you know how many bids you have to spend on an item, then you will be better able to manage how and when you place a bid. That will keep you from blowing away all of your bids in the first few seconds of the auction.

The next tip is to practice time management. When fighting in the trenches of penny auctions, you have two enemies: other bidders and time. Knowing when to bid is a must if you want to have success. Placing a bid when there is a lot of time left on the clock is never a good idea. You have to remember that the key to winning a penny auction is being the last one standing when the clock runs out and that each bid increases the amount of time left. It would be a good practice to wait until the last few minutes of the auction before you begin to bid.

The final tip for successful auctioning is to keep your emotions under control.Auctions have a lot of similarities to gambling, and just like gambling, your spending can get out of control. If you keep your emotions level, it will keep you from making rash decisions and blowing loads of cash. Keep your mind clear so that you can gage the behavior of the other bidders and outsmart them.

HOW TO AVOID SCAM SITES!

Penny auctions are a great addition to the web whether you want to win an item that otherwise you wouldn’t be able to afford or if you simply enjoy the thrill that comes with bidding in auctions. Unfortunately, scam sites have tarnished the reputation of the legitimate penny auction sites. However, there are ways that you can protect yourself from scamers and enjoy your auctioning without having to worry about losing your money due to dishonesty.

Checking the reputation of the auction site before you start spending your hard earned money is always a good idea. Chances are other people have tried the site before you and some of them have left reviews. The reviews are your way to gage whether a auction site is trustworthy or not. If a site is getting overwhelmingly negative reviews, then that is a clear indication that you should steer your business elsewhere.

Another tool you can use to protect yourself is checking the Alexia ranks of the auction sites. Alexia rank will give a solid view of how much traffic the auction is getting. If you see a huge difference in the amount of traffic Alexia is projecting and the amount of active bidders on the site, then warning signals should be ringing in your head. Some auction sites have been known to set up robots that automatically bid on projects in order to keep the auction going and inflate the price. That is known as shill bidding. You can sniff out those sites by comparing the traffic the site should be getting to the amount of users using this site.

CONCLUSION!

New legislation may come out later down the road that will officially make penny auctions gambling, but until then, it is a fun, exciting auction that allows one to win the item they’ve always wanted but couldn’t afford.Auctions are also quite lucrative for the site owners because of the pay-per-bid strategy they’ve incorporated. Penny auctions had humble beginnings with farmers who just wanted to get back at the banks who kicked them out of their house. More recently, auctions have enjoyed an explosion in popularity with the rise of the internet.

There are two main formats fora auctions, lowest and highest unique auction, however they both run on the same premise where the last unique bid wins the item. Winning a penny auction will require a certain amount of mental tactic and a bit of luck. However, you can increase your odds of winning by practicing certain techniques such as managing your bids wisely, learning how to work with the time, and keeping a level head and your emotions under control. When you combine those three strategies to your bidding plan, you will find that you win a lot more often.

It is important that you do your due diligence to protect yourself when participating in auctions. Not every auction is run by honest and trustworthy people. There are people out there who just want to take your money. You can protect yourself by ensuring that you only bid on sites that already have a very positive reputation from real users.

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