One thing that goes without saying in today’s business world, is that regardless of the nature of your home based business, a website is an absolute MUST. Whether you have a product or service to sell, whether local or global, your business will go nowhere fast if you don’t have an online presence. If you need internet marketing help, you’ve landed on the right article. I’ll give you some home based business marketing ideas that will help you promote your business successfully.The first step is choosing a domain name and getting it registered. You can build your own website (if you have the time) and host it yourself or you can have everything done by another company (if you have the money). Either way, you have many options and tools at your disposal that can align with your business plan and budget. Also note that you can still start your own home based business even if you don’t have a product or service to sell. There are thousands of individuals and companies that have products you can sell for them while earning a commission, called affiliate marketing.Of the many business marketing strategies known to man, internet marketing is, hands down, the best strategy to use for promoting a home based business as it is the cheapest method and has the potential for reaching millions of people all over the globe. Driving traffic to your site through online resources is like killing two birds with one stone. You can tackle print advertising by writing articles and publishing them to directories and ezines and by submitting ads to the many available (and most of them free) classified ad sites. Online media advertising encompasses writing press releases and distributing them to press release sites. One of the biggest and most popular online advertising trends today is via social media advertising through sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn where you build relationships with your customers. Forums and communities are also great ways to build relationships which helps promote your home based business in the long run. Simply Google your market or industry with the word ‘forum’ or ‘community’ behind it and search for one or two that seem to be the best fit for you.All of these methods of online advertising contribute to search engine optimization (SEO), which is to say improving your online visibility and escalating in the search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. Your goal is to claim the #1 spot in the organic search results (the results on the left, not the right side which are paid ads). This is where your traffic will come from. If you are 800 in the list of search results, no one is ever going to see your site because very few people have the time or patience to scroll through 800 search results. Research shows that people typically won’t even scroll past 4 or 5 search results, let alone 800.Can you grasp the importance of internet marketing for any business? If you are new to the internet marketing phenomenon and don’t know exactly where to start, there are many great programs or systems online that walk you through every aspect of marketing your online business. A lot of these systems were created by online entrepreneurs who have spent thousands of their own dollars trying to figure it all out over the years and finally DID. Their sacrifices have made it easier for newbies to become successful at their own online home based business. If you are new to running your own home based business, I recommend you find a great system (do your research, read reviews, ask questions in forums) and start marketing your home business from there. Don’t waste the time and money that so many of us have in going it alone, without a proven system, as it will just set you back further and hinder your progress.If you are truly interested in starting your own home based business, I invite you to visit homebusinessmarketingprosonline.com and see how a comprehensive, step-by-step system can help you succeed before wasting hundreds or perhaps thousands of dollars and hours of time on the multitude of systems offered online, most with promises of making you rich in no time.
Real Estate Auctions – The New Land Rush
On a sunny afternoon in Florida, an energetic crowd gathers on the lawn of a high end luxury estate. A loud and eager banter between an auctioneer, a group of bidders and bidder assistants fills the air. For several minutes the auctioneer asks for the next highest bid and the bidders respond. Suddenly the bidders grow silent. The high bidder holds his breath in anticipation of winning the auction. The auctioneer calls for one more bid. In a loud clear voice which rolls over the audience he says, “Fair warning, last chance” the auctioneer pauses, “SOLD!” And in less than 10 minutes another multimillion dollar estate has changed owners.
Successful real estate auctions like the one above are happening all over North America and the Caribbean. Recently real estate auctions have been on the rise, the increase in popularity is partly driven by growing inventories and fading buyer confidence. Properties that were selling in weeks using traditional methods are now languishing on the market unable to attract buyers even as seller’s lower prices. Many say the real estate boom is over but savvy buyers and sellers are profiting from real estate auctions.
Real Estate Auctions Work in Up or Down Markets.
Regardless of trends or market cycles, real estate auctions provide an open and transparent process for buyers and sellers. Properly conducted real estate auctions attract ready and willing buyers and motivate them to act now.
The auction method removes the “wait and see” attitude which serves to further depress real estate values. Buyers are always concerned about overpaying. Buyers gain confidence with their purchases at real estate auctions because they can see what others are willing to pay.
When market demand is high and inventories low, real estate auctions can deliver selling prices well above what a willing seller would have accepted in a negotiated private treaty sale. In good selling climates many property owners using traditional real estate methods; negotiating with one buyer at a time, leave thousands of dollars of equity on the table. During up markets real estate auctions are the best way to establish top market price.
Evaluating Your Real Estate for Auction
Not every property or seller for that matter makes a good candidate for auction. First of all sellers must be ready to sell now and for the current market value. Also a real estate auction will not fix problems caused by a downturn in market value of your property, if you owe more than a willing buyer will pay, be prepared to come to closing with your check book.
Properties that do well in real estate auctions have a high uniqueness factor. Ask your self, “What makes my property different from most others?” Maybe you own a resort property or high end luxury home, commercial properties and land do very well at auction. Real estate auctions thrive on uniqueness. If your property is like everyone else’s, the best thing you can do is offer the most competitive price.
Most importantly sellers must be reasonable about setting a minimum bid. A seller must look at the lowest, most current comps and price below that to generate the interest and urgency necessary for a successful real estate auction. Once the auction begins and qualified bidders start competing against one another you can watch the selling price increase.
Locate a Qualified Real Estate Auctioneer
Start by checking with the National Auctioneers Association, the best real estate auctioneers belong to this organization. These real estate auctioneers are well trained and adhere to a standard of practice and a code of ethics. Many attend the annual International Auctioneers Conference where the latest techniques and innovations in the real estate auction industry are presented.
Find out if the company you are interviewing is a full time real estate auction firm. Many real estate agents are getting auction licenses yet have no experience with the auction method of marketing. Conducting a successful real estate auction is nothing like (private treaty) traditional real estate sales. Go with a real estate auction pro.
You’re probably better of with an auction house that specializes in real estate auctions. There are many qualified auctioneers who have generations of experience selling personal property; furniture, dishes, lawn equipment and the occasional rare painting. Selling real estate at auction is a complex matter that should only be attempted by full time experienced real estate auction professionals.
Commissions and fees may vary, sellers must pay all marketing expenses up front and buyers typically pay 10% of the sales price to the auctioneer of which a share goes to participating real estate agents.
Types of Real Estate Auctions
Auctions are effective because they create a seller’s market. Professionally conducted real estate auctions create urgency, a reason to buy today and competition for the property. Terms and conditions of sale are established ahead of the auction. Real estate auctions will follow one of these three approaches:
Absolute Auction
The property is sold to the highest bidder regardless of price- using this process often returns the highest sale price.
Minimum Bid Auction
Seller agrees to sell at or above a published minimum bid price – this method is useful for internet auctions.
Seller Confirmation or Reserve Auction
With a reserve auction, the seller “reserves” the right to accept or decline any bids usually within 48 hours of the auction. Reserve auctions are used when there is a lien on the property from a lender or a court ordered sale with a minimum selling price.
Using Free Advertising Online
There is an old quote that says, “The best things in life are free”. While the original intention of the quote was probably a loftier one, it will appeal greatly to all those who want to advertise online.
The number of sites for online advertising is as vast as the internet itself but every advertiser wants the same thing for his ads; visibility. For this purpose the advertiser has to decide on the type of advertisement and also the website, which will be ultimately responsible for promotion his advertisement receives.
Online advertisements are of different types and the advertiser has to choose the one best suited for his product and the target.
The most commonly identifiable one is the Search Engine Results Page. The list of web pages displayed in response to a search query will have a link above the Organic list (pages appearing according to relevance of the search) which looks like the list except for font and background color for differentiation. Alternatively the advertisement may be placed to the right of the page like a classified one.
Another equally identifiable and more visually pleasing form is the Banner Advertisement. They are placed on webpages in the form of pictures, animation and videos with or without sound. Clicking on the banner takes one to the website advertised.
Interactive Media responds to user action and presents content in various forms. A common type is virtual reality.
Social Network Advertising is effective when a certain group is to be targeted. With the growing popularity of various social networking websites advertisements can be placed on them directly or based on your friends. Groups or Pages that users can join is another innovative method.
Interstitial Advertising Webpages are advertisements that appear before or after the content the user wants to access. The advertiser should be careful using such a medium as the user is more likely to get frustrated if the content he is looking for is delayed by such advertisements.
Email Marketing is a very direct form of advertising online. Most users check their emails regularly so advertisers can reach them to introduce new products to existing and new customers as well as maintaining customer relationship. While response to such advertisements can be tracked easily, such mails may be rejected or filtered and must not violate spam laws.
Choosing websites for putting the free advertisement will ultimately determine the success of your advertisement. While it is true that most free advertising websites are actually ineffective the advertiser must follow the dictum ‘less is more’. Rather than advertising on all the websites one can find, in the hope of hitting the mark, the advertiser should carefully choose from a few top-listed and popular websites. There are several sites that continuously update list of websites for free advertising. Forums and blogs, many times attached to such sites, give an ample feedback from other online advertisers which can help any advertiser not only to avoid certain sites but also to find the websites best suited for their own purpose.