Let Your Website Do The Work!

How Do You Know If Your Online Business Has What It Takes

So you've decided to start an online business or take your offline business online. Maybe you're tired of your corporate job? Maybe you're a Mom, like me, looking for a way to take care of your kids while you work from home? Or maybe you already have a business, but tired of trading hours for dollars? 

You have a story, you have passion, and you are hoping you have a business idea. I love when business owners have passion for what they're doing. I'm such a passionate person and it makes going into your office so much more enjoyable when you've got passion for what you're doing. But unfortunately passion alone won't create a successful online business. The key to a booming online business or any business for that matter is passion plus demand. Without demand you have no customers and thus no business.

It's easy to just tell your friends and family about your new business idea, but you are going to need a little bit more market research then this. So where do you start?

Google Keyword Tool- Find out how many people are searching for what you're passionate about. Go to https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal and type in a phrase people would enter to find what you're selling. Take a good look at the numbers that come up and how many people are searching for it and how many competitors there are. Now, I can't tell you exactly how many searches there needs to be to succeed. But the more searches and the fewer competitors the better. Also, you if you know your top competitor's website, you can enter their website address and find out the top keywords. This can really help if you're unsure of what keywords people are searching for to find your product. You can let your competitor do the work.

Google Trends-http://www.google.com/trends If you're looking for some quick website traffic via search engine optimization, Google Trends will be a great resource for you. It tells you what's hot and being searched right now. For example, if were one of the first ones to notice the iphone as a new trend you would be doing very well right now.

Create a free offer- Another great way to test the market is to create a free irresistible offer and see if anyone is interested in it. By setting up a one page website, a squeeze page, you can test the demand. The most important thing to keep in mind though is you must send traffic to this website to get accurate results. If no one is signing up for your free offer you might want to tweak it or you might need to move into a different niche.

 Check out the bookstore- If your business idea has a huge section in Barnes & Noble and several magazine racks you're onto something. Also, I just got this great tip from one of my Twitter friends @NormLanier. Head on over to the personal development section and check all of the Chick Soup book titles. There is a reason these books are so successful and there are over 100s of subjects they focus on.

So even if you've already started your online business, it's not too late to do your market research. You might find a niche you never thought of. And if you're just getting started remember to combine your passion and demand and you'll easily create an online business that has what it takes. 

Three Things You Need to Build a Successful Business and Thrive During a Recession

With our current economy, you've probably been hearing a lot of bad news lately. Well, I want to share some good news with you. Women entrepreneurs, especially moms, are harnessing the power and flexibility of internet marketing to design businesses and lifestyles on their own terms. They're making millions of dollars working-at-home on their own schedule.

Take a look at a recent article in Time magazine about our changing times, "At no other time in recent history has it been easier or cheaper to start a new kind of company." The article goes on to discuss the advantages of Web-based businesses that cost almost nothing to get off the ground and can turn into great moneymakers.

Whether you want to get a new business off the ground or just want to use the Internet to expand your current business income, you need more than great ideas. Basically, there are the three things you must know in order to grow your business and maximize your time and energy.

• You need to know which internet marketing strategies will work best for your business.
  
• You need to be building your team because you can't go it alone.
  
• You need to start implementing proven systems that will get the money pouring in.

I'm thrilled to be speaking at the Metromom Online Success Summit! If you're serious about taking your business to the next level I hope you'll join me for on May 1st & 2nd for the FREE Metromom Online Success Summit. It really is FREE to listen to 18 online marketing experts share the latest techniques and creative ways to build your business and thrive in this new economy.  During the Summit you can listen to what you want, when you want (completely around your schedule) so there isn't a single reason why you shouldn't check it out here.

How To Stand Out Online- Using Contests & Buzz Marketing

I finally was recording my Ustream show! Last week I only caught James Wedmore's video marketing tips, but missed my portion of the show. So I made sure to hit the record button this time. I modeled  my new MILT (Mom I'd Like To Tweet) t-shirt. What I am calling geek chic :)

And I talked about my new contest "Get Your Business On-line" and my twitter party I'm having tonight. Then I shared how others are using contest and buzz marketing to stand out in their marketing.

If what you're doing in your biz doesn't put butterflies in your stomach sometimes, then you're not playing BIG enough.

So do you have butterflies?

Details on contest and twitter party can be found here.

 

And here's my show with James Wedmore of Reality Mastermind sharing his video marketing tips.

I'm having a party! A Twitter Party!

I'm having my first Twitter party and I would love it if you would join me! I'm so excited about my "Get Your Business On-line Contest" I just had to celebrate! I'll be starting the party at 9:00 pm CST on Friday April 24th.

Here’s what I’ll be up to:

• Cool Free Gifts: I'll be giving away free gifts from some of my friends! Just answer a few trivia questions and those gifts could be yours.
  
• Website Tips: Those of you who know me might realize by now I'm a bit of a geek. So of course I will be sharing some geeky website, seo, and social media tips.
  
• Spinning Tunes: I love Blip.fm and will spin some of my favorite tunes during the party. Hopefully you don't hate my choice in music!
  
• The Big Contest- Answering all your questions about my contest "Get Your Business On-line" and Websites 2 Grow

To win the prizes all you have to do is:

1. Contribute to the party on Twitter by “re-tweeting” (that’s repeating by copying and pasting something I say), adding a question, or useful comment AND using the hash tag #Web2Grow. I’ll be looking only through the #Web2Grow hash tags so you have to use that to win.  An easy way to keep up will be to visit TweetChat.com, enter your Twitter ID and password, then enter room Web2Grow.  (This is a great way to meet new friends and twitter followers)
   
   
2. Answer the trivia questions I throw out during the party. 

I've got tons of prizes to give away including gifts from my friends:

• Danielle Miller, The Toolbox Teacher, is donating a coaching session. I don't know all of the details right now, because she's on a cruise. But I'll tell you all about it Friday night.

• Angie Jones, Fit Business Woman, is excited to party with us and give away a free month membership to FitBusinessWoman.com and YourOnlineTrainer.com. I'm so excited about this, because I love how easy Angie makes working out even if you're a busy business woman, like I am.

• James Wedmore, Reality Mastermind, is giving away a mastermind session with him and maybe another Reality Masterminder! Have some on-line biz ideas you want some advice on or what about your videos do they need his creative touch?

• Kathy Balland, Lose The Diet, a Websites 2 Grow client has donated her new book, Lose The Diet. If you want to never diet again this is a must read!

• Aaron Foster,Business Owners Online, is donating a generous gift for one lucky winner and that’s a free pass to his 101 Traffic Tactics Teleseminar coming up at the beginning of May.
  

Make sure you're following me on Twitterand use the hashtag #Web2Grow. If you're wondering what all this talk is about hashtags check out this great video below by my friend Mari Smith. See ya at the party!

Grow Your Business, Win a Website

 

I'm so excited to announce my Websites 2 Grow Get Your Business Online Contest! I hear from so many small business owners who realize they need a website for their business to succeed, but are so overwhlemed and just don't know where to start. Also, for small business owners cash flow can certainly be a problem when starting up a new business. So to celebrate the upcoming launch of my new website solution, Websites 2 Grow, I created this special contest! 

Not only will someone win a free website, but I'll also build the site live on my Ustream show for all to see! Talk about ultimate free advertising for the winner.

To enter the contest follow the instructions below and I'm looking forward to announcing the 3 winners on my Ustream show!

And not only can you win these special prizes, but I'm also hosting a special Twitter party Friday April 24th at 9:00 pm CST giving away other prizes as well.

Rules of the Websites 2 Grow "Get Your Business Online" Contest

1) The Get Your Business Online contest runs from Thursday April 23rd, 2009 to Thursday April 30th, 2009. All entries must be submitted before Midnight PST on Thursday April 30th.

2) To enter the contest:

You must write a paragraph as to why having Jennifer Haubein build a website for your business would help your business.

Post your paragraph in the comments section below or via email at info@bestbizwebsitesolutions.com.

3) I will select the best 3 entries on Friday, May 1st, 2009, at 5:00 PM Central.  The selection will be in my sole discretion, and you must comply with all steps above to be eligible to win.  The 1st prize winner will be notified on May 1st by me via email, and must reply within 24 hours with additional contact information in order to receive prize. The 1st prize winner must have some content ready to put on website by the deadline of May 6th. All winners will be announced live on my Ustream show at www.Websites2Grow.tv on Thursday May 7th, 2009 at 8:00pm CST. After the show 2nd and 3rd prize winners will be contacted via email to receive further details on how to redeem their prize.

4) Prizes are as follows:

1st Place Grand Prize- Free Websites 2 Grow website (including a custom banner graphic & online strategy session with Jennifer Haubein) 

2nd Place- Free online strategy session with Jennifer Haubein & online action plan (Regular price $150)

3rd Place - Free Blogging For Business System (Regular price $127)

Click here to read the rest of the contest rules.  

I'm looking forward to reading your entries and picking the winners!

5 Tips to Create an Ezine That Kicks Some Serious Butt

An ezine, email newsletter, is a very powerful tool in marketing your business. I've found this to be absolutely true!

My clients and I have found a proven system for our ezines that pays off. So I would love to share the secret of how I created my award winning ezine.

1) Model what works- In this case it's best not to re-invent the wheel. While I like standing out from the crowd in my marketing, in this case, there is a reason to model other successful ezines. Others have tested, tested, and tested again so you don't have to. So find a few email newsletters you really enjoy and make it your own. Think of a way to model and then tweak it for your personality and business.

2) You still have to test- Even though you are modeling your ezine after other successful ezines, you will still need to test it. I use Outlook 2007 and a lot of ezines do not look very good when I receive them. It's important to test it in a few email clients if not all. You're not going to catch everything, but it's a start. Also, now you can test and see what your ezine looks like on your mobile phone.

3) A one column format- An ezine is very different from a website. With an ezine it's best to use a one column format and keep it very simple. What's great about this format is it's the easiest to create. The biggest mistake you can make when designing your ezine is to design it like a print newsletter. There is a big difference in print newsletters versus email newsletters. We read email differently than we do a printed newsletter. So it's best to not use too many graphics or sections.

4) Personalize it- Add your personality to everything you do! Most of the comments I get about my ezine are about my personal note rather than the feature article. So it's important to get personal with your readers. Make your ezine something they look forward to receiving in their inbox. I have a couple ezines I subscribe to that I can't wait to open! Why? Because their whole ezine is so personal. It's filled with pictures, conversational writing, and stories. It seems like they are speaking right to me. So if you can find your voice when writing your ezine, you'll have everyone wanting more.

5) Add images- Even though you want to keep your ezine simple it's important to still use images throughout. I love adding a few images throughout the ezine to draw the eye to the important parts. I usually just use a candid photo or clip art from Microsoft Word. Using these graphics throughout the ezine keeps the reader's attention. Also, when sharing a video clip in your ezine you can create a graphic out of the screenshot of the video. This tip alone will increase your click through rate on your videos.

Video: What Are The Two Things You Need For A Successful Online Biz?

Come join us Thursday April 9th starting at 9pm EST/6pm PST at www.RealityMastermind.tv.

Why Do Market Research?

When starting your online business there are many things you probably thought about, what you wanted to do, how much money you wanted to make, how many hours you hoped to work, or hoped to have for "free" time, but have you or did you think about market research?

WHO you are targeting with your business makes a huge difference. In order to truly be successful with your business you must know as much as possible about WHO you are targeting, WHAT their needs are, HOW much they are willing to spend, HOW they like to communicate, and HOW they like to take in information.  All of this is known as "market research".  Without researching your target market you are going to be left at a significant disadvantage.

After all, it is highly likely that your competition did their research.  This is another thing you must consider when you're researching the market that you hope to be successful in, your competition.  How much is out there, how successful are they, and how competitive can you be? 

You can learn a great deal about your market from your competitors, so that is definitely a good place to begin.  

Doing your market research can help you to do the following:

• Determine your unique approach. 
• Set your short term and long term goals.
• Create and plan your marketing activities. 

You might ask yourself the following questions:

1. Who are my customers?
2. How can I reach those customers?
3. What are my customer's needs?
4. Can I compete with the competition?
5. Can my target customer afford my product?

These ideas and questions are just a starting point.  Want to learn more? 

Attend back to back ustream shows on market research and list building. Starting at 9 pm EST/ 6 pm PST watch James Wedmore and the guys of Reality Mastermind talk all about market research. These guys can make even a boring subject like market research entertaining! Then right after their show stay tuned for my show on list building where I’ll show you how to create a web page to effectively grow your list. Tune in on Thursday April 9th  at RealityMastermind.tv. See you on Thursday! And if you have specific questions you want answered just ask away by leaving a comment.

Photo credit: bast

Does Your Website Need A Makeover?

After a trip to the hair salon, I felt like a totally different woman! So I was inspired to film a quick video with 3 simple tips to transform your website. After watching my video below your website can quickly go from blah to fab! :)

And if you liked this video you won't want to miss my upcoming Ustream show on Thursday April 9th. To get even more website makeover tips and info about my show make sure you sign up for my free report "5 Reasons Your Current Website Just Isn't Working".  

Start Your Own Ustream Show with Me!

Technology is quickly evolving and as a result new opportunities for us are available daily.  One of the latest is the opportunity to broadcast live video right from your computer.  All you need is a webcam or video camera and an internet connection.  This concept is known as Ustreaming and is becoming widely popular.  Simply signing up via Ustream's website will have you going in no time. 

So I invite you to join me and begin your own Ustream show.  Ustreaming is not only a great way to get your name out there, but it will also help you to develop a relationship with your audience and give them an opportunity to interact with you through the live chat via the Ustream site.  You will be able to develop that "know, like and trust factor" we all strive for in business. 

Having an opportunity to connect with your audience live gives you a huge advantage allowing you to answer questions, and meet their needs right on the spot. 

Setting up your own show is easy.  Simply head over the Ustream site.  Click on sign up at the top and fill in the form.  You will then need to determine a time to host your show so that you can let your audience know to come watch you live.  Send out notice to all your lists and be sure to get the word out as much as possible using Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media. 

Once you're ready, when the time comes for your show simple connect your video camera or webcam, log in to your account on Ustream and start streaming.  It really couldn't be easier.  But if you get stuck here's the step by step from the Ustream site.  And to take your Ustream show to the next level try playing with Camtwist if you're using a MAC or WebCamMax for a PC. With this software you can add that professional touch to your show. You can quickly add scrolling text, logos, picture in picture, pre-recorded video, and several other video effects.  So,  Are you going to join me in creating your own Ustream show and use this cutting edge technology to YOUR advantage?

My first Ustream show is going to be Thursday April 9th at 8:30 pm CST. Follow me on Twitter to get the latest info on my show. Talk to you soon!