Examining The Online Internet Business Opportunity

Examining The Online Internet Business Opportunity:

The biggest question that online internet business opportunity seekers have goes something like this "How can I tell if this is a legitimate offer or not?"

So first off, let's just set you straight on one thing. Yes, you can make a full-time living (and up to much more) working from home at your own business. In order to develop a profitable business, you want to build it around your skills and interests. It can take a lot of time to make a significant amount of money but all you need to get started is a computer with reliable high-speed internet access. There are so many different opportunities online but you only need to master a few to be able to go into business for yourself helping others.

Another type of online internet business opportunity offers legitimate products to sell. But many of the companies that promote these opportunities exaggerate the income potential and understate the amount of time, effort, marketing dollars and skills needed to turn the opportunity into a profit-making business.

So you want to make sure that you investigate a business opportunity thoroughly before making a decision, especially if it requires a large investment. By investigating thoroughly, I mean learn all you can about the type of business and the company selling the opportunity. Do your own research. Do not rely soley on "facts"  or testimonials presented in the company's sales literature.

Ask yourself some of the following questions and look for the answers:

Who will buy the product or service?
How much will your target market pay for the product or service?
How much will it cost you to find customers and how long will it take?
How much profit will you make for each sale?
How many products or services will you have to sell to pay back the cost of buying into the opportunity?
What technical knowledge do you really need to make money in this field of business?

This is very important . . .What kind of reputation does the company selling the opportunity have. Find out if they've had complaints filed against them and, if so, how they were dealt with. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) web site can help with this at http://www.ftc.gov. Call the District Attorney's office and the Better Business Bureau in the city the opportunity company is located in and ask what information they have about the company. This is why I have the three listed as "My Best BizOp Sites" listed in the margin on the right of this page.

If you can, talk to other people who have already bought the opportunity and ask them for feedback. Remember that information is power - the more you can find out, the better decision you will be able to make. And once you do have all your answers, you will be very excited to join an opportunity that fits everything you are looking for!

And last but not least, take your time before making a final decision. Make sure that your future online internet business opportunity fits your budget, your personal work habits, likes and dislikes and your skills.

How To Get White Listed

Get White Listed:

Handling spam is not something that is a mystery to anyone who uses email regularly.  It is almost out of the question for anyone to operate a computer on the internet and not have some form of spam protection software working to catch bad emails and delete them or trap them to a quarantine folder.  But if you have worked with any of the popular spam protection software packages, you know those services have to be "trained" to know what is spam and what is not.

Probably the most common method for determining spam is by email address.  So when you installed your spam protection software, the first thing it will do is import your address book and build a list of email addresses that you will allow into your inbox without question.  This favored contacts list is one you will manage and update regularly as you add new contacts both personal and professional.

From a merchant perspective, one of the most prized lists that online retailer can hope to get on is the customers favored user list.  This is because once a customer flags an online merchant that they are allowed to send the customer emails without question, that customer becomes an A-list candidate for specials, discounts, special sales and other marketing methods that the online merchant may use to encourage sales.

From a retailer point of view then, one of the top methods for avoiding email delivery problems is to "get white listed" by your customers so you can exchange emails with them freely and often.  The theory behind how to get white listed is not complicated but the methods can get pretty creative.  The theory is very simple. You have to make the customer want to see your emails.  How to do that opens up all kinds of marketing ploys to appeal to the customer to invite you into your email inbox as often as you wish to show up.

The first opportunity you have to entice the customer to add you to their favored contacts list is when you do an email verification of membership when they first sign on to be a regular part of your web site "community".  But event then, one rule applies universally for how to get customers to want to see your emails.  You have to convince them that there is something in it for them.

To create value that you will deliver to the customer's email box from time to time, you just have to know what the customer wants. Discounts and coupons are very popular items that customers will often seek out.   When the customer opts in to become a part of your web site community, you can take that opportunity to solicit the customer about special offers, discounts and coupons.  Few of us can resist a good deal so when the customer signs on to get those offers, that is the time to remind them that all they have to do is add you to their favored contacts list in their spam software to make sure those "once in a lifestyle" deals don't go into the spam graveyard on their computer.

Other "goodies" you can use to entice customers to add you to their favored contacts list are newsletters, autoresponder courses, ezines and give aways.  If you notice a customer is a regular contributor to one of the blogs on your web site, offer to email to him or her each new blog entry.  To see the latest ramblings on that blog, that customer will eagerly add the email address to their favored contacts list and you have accomplished your goal.

Now every one of these marketing tools we have mentioned have additional sales potential in them as well.  Newsletters that deliver regular entertainment and education to your customers also can carry advertising for your products or advertising that other merchants pay to include in your newsletter.  Many online merchants have developed a large secondary income source when their newsletter became suddenly very popular with a large circulation.  So put some work into these marketing tools because they could take your business in an entirely new direction.

Choosing An Online Business Opportunity

Choosing An Online Business Opportunity:

So you are looking for an online business opportunity.  Are you overwhelmed yet? As soon as you began typing in search phrases like “home-based business”, “working from home opportunities” and “affiliate marketing programs” it can seem like the list just keeps growing. Your e-mail box starts filling up with offers that seem too good to be true to say the least.  Where do you start? What do you look for when considering an online home based business opportunity?    Should you go with affiliate marketing or network marketing? The questions also can seem to pile up as every new program seems to spur new questions.

Passion 

The first and foremost consideration is that you choose a program that you are passionate about.  Trust your gut. Does that opportunity excite you and make you want to work the business?  This is important because to succeed you are going to have to work hard.

Product or Service

What product or service is being sold? Is it a product or service that you would buy? Is there good customer service? Is there a demand for it? These are great questions because without sales you aren’t going to make any money online. It is all about sales.  It is a one-time sales or recurring?

Commissions

How much money do you make per sale?  How often are you paid?   Many online marketers prefer to promote businesses that pay a recurring monthly commission. This is the best way to build up a nice residual income. Is the commission or profit substantial enough to allow you to spend money on advertising?

Marketing System

If you are like most people just getting starting with online business you probably do not know a lot about marketing or advertising. Many business opportunities online provide marketing training through ongoing webinars as well as written materials. You also want to find a program that has a built in system for marketing the business. There are many opportunities online that have all of the tools that you need already in place and all you have to do is plug into the system. That is probably one of the most important aspects of a great opportunity.

Support

The final thing you want to look for is does the company provide support for their affiliates. If you have questions or problems can you reach out to someone and expect to get help. Do they have customer service or support by telephone or e-mail or help desk. Many companies provide all of the above.   Be sure to ask questions before you get signed up.

Work At Home Opportunities

Work At Home Opportunities

Thanks to internet, there are thousands of work at home opportunities available nowadays. These opportunities help stay at home parents, students etc. Anyone can do a home based job  irrespective of their age, qualification and skills.

Those who do not have basic computer knowledge can try crafts or assembly work, toys making, catering, wall painting etc are ideal work at home opportunities which do not need computer knowledge. However 63% of home based workers use the internet to do their work.

There are more than 5000 legitimate work at home job opportunities available online. These jobs require you to have some basic computer knowledge and communication skills.

Work at home data entry job opportunity is suitable for those who want to earn some extra money at their own timings. You need to fill out forms provided by the company hiring you. You can get payment for your service monthly once or twice as per the policy of the company. These jobs generally do not require any experience or special educational qualification.

Virtual assistance is an excellent work at home job opportunity for those who have experience and skill in administrative and clerical services. You can earn smart income from these jobs. You can also provide technical or creative support to the client company.

Online survey and mystery shopping are some other home based job opportunities that require only few hours daily. These jobs are ideal for stay at home moms who need to take care of their children.

Home assembly is yet another excellent work at home opportunity where you need to assemble different items. You can enjoy the fun of assembling things and at the same time can increase your earning potential. You can earn some extra money in your convenient timings. You can select either part time or full time.

Since numerous work at home opportunities are available, there is always the chance of scams. Hence you need to be careful before starting any type of work at home. Before accepting a home based job ask the program sponsor what type of job you need to perform, how much you would get for the work, who would pay you, work hours etc.

You can also check whether the company hiring you as home based worker are reliable or not by typing the name of the company in google or Better Business Bureau's search box. If there is any complaints, you can then reject and move on.