What is the top home based business idea in 2010?There are many home based business ideas floating around all over the internet. Many of them are legitimate, but for every legitimate program you find, there are 10 dishonest people selling products that they definitely wouldn’t sell to their mother.It bothers me that so many dishonest people are trying to prey on new online marketers, but unfortunately that is just how the world works these days. It shouldn’t be like that, which is why in this article I want to share with you the top home based business idea in 2010, and show you how you can make money with it in 2010, 2011, 2012, and beyond!The top home based business for 2010 is not new, because chances are something new is just a fad that does not have any track record of success! In this article I am going to discuss a concrete and legitimate business model that I have been using since 2008 to earn a nice income online.What is this business model you ask? Well it involves selling other people’s stuff online, and getting paid a commission for each sale. Before you stop reading, I know right now what you are probably thinking: Either you don’t want to sell products because you think you may have to store physical goods in your home and office, or you don’t want to sell anything because you do not want to sell to people face to face.The business model I use is commonly referred to as affiliate marketing, and since I am going to show you how to sell items that can be digitally downloaded, you will never have to talk to a customer, personally take an order, or stock any sort of inventory whatsoever!When I first heard about affiliate marketing I thought that it was too good to be true. I mean who wouldn’t want to sell products and services, have a third-party company process all of the orders for you, and get paid 50-75% commissions on digital products!I think you are beginning to see why this is without a doubt the top home based business idea in 2010. I do want to be completely honest with you however, and tell you that in order to set things up correctly you are going to have to learn some new skills with regards to internet marketing.Working online is much like owning an offline store. In order to get people to purchase the digital products that you are offering as an affiliate marketer, you must get people to see your offers. This is the same as getting customers in your “store” to buy products and services. If you owned a restaurant you would need hungry people to come eat in order to make money, right? The same is true if you want to be successful with the top home based business idea in 2010.In order to attract online consumers to your offer, you are going to have to use a variety of marketing methods. Since affiliate marketing is 100% free to start, you can focus any money that you want to spend (you don’t have to spend a dime if you do not want to) on generating “traffic,” or customers to your website or blog where you will promote your product.You will need a blog to get started, but setting up a blog is very easy, even if you have no technical skills. When I first started marketing online all I could do was check emails, but after watching a few YouTube videos I was able to design a free blog using blogger (free blog service offered by Google) in no time!After you have set up your blog (Part 1 of the top home based business idea in 2010) you must get people to view your blog, where you will link to your affiliate product! Instead of telling you how to do it, let’s use the example method to clarify things.For instance, let’s say that I found a golf product that I want to sell. It is a digitally downloadable book (e-book), and I need to get people to my blog where I am selling this product. In order to get traffic to your blog, you could:Write articles and submit them to article directories.Create short videos and upload them to YouTube.Post classified ads on golf websites.Post a link to your blog in golf forums (don’t SPAM!).Using a combination of these methods, you can start seeing hundreds of people coming to your blog daily, and some of them will buy the product that you are selling!I know this may all seem new and overwhelming, but I truly believe that affiliate marketing is the top home based business idea in 2010, because I have been using it successfully for almost 2 years! If you want to make money online, then you are going to have to sell something. Selling digital products (software, ebooks, etc.) is the easiest way because:You do not have to store anything.Products are already created, so you do not have to create or invent anything yourself!You can receive up to 75% commissions from popular affiliate networks (I use ClickBank).You don’t have to process refunds.You get paid every 2 weeks consistently (with ClickBank).I have no problem telling people that affiliate marketing is the top home based business idea in 2010, because I truly believe that. If you want to start your own home based business, then choosing a reliable, web based business model is the way to go. Affiliate marketing will help you reach your goals, you just have to figure out exactly how to do it!Do you want to see how I do it?
A Simple Product Creation and Product Launching Formula
If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.
The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.
The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.
What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.
You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.
The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.
I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.
I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.
Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.
You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.
It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.
Effective Marketing Strategies in Product Creation
Marketing includes matters such as pricing and packaging of the product and creation of demand by advertising and sales campaigns. There are other options, of course, like product creation, resale rights marketing, joint ventures and the likes, but they are merely secondary to the above.
If you take the freelance route, it is important to ensure that all rights to profit from the final product, or any materials produced in its making, remain yours. Bookkeeping, physical product creation or delivery of goods can be done better with specialized help. Determining the purpose of the product is vital in niche product creation.
Implementation of Methodology – The choice of implementation of Six Sigma methodology depends on whether development is required on existing processes (DMAIC) or on new process/product design creation (DMADV). Determining what you really want to sell, something that you can be relaxed selling is the first step at the creation of a niche product. With the technological advancements in the hosting industry, from automated control panels and scripts that simplify creation of accounts; to complete turnkey solutions, there is no excessive need to worry about spending time on the actual product sold to the customer.
For instance, you should be prepared to either perform yourself or to subcontract the completion of the following tasks:- Product idea research (are there any existing products or patents already existing for this idea)- Product specification document training (what it will do, how it will look, how will it be powered, and how the user will interface with it)- Marketing study (what it will be named, who would buy this, how much would they pay, how will we get customers to purchase the product)- Schematic or electronic circuit design process- Creation of a bill of material or BOM and an approved vendor’s list or AVL for each component in the design, preferably with multiple sources identified, with a BOM and AVL for each assembly level in the product- Printed circuit board layout design process (single sided board, double sided board, or multilayer board; size of the PCB; board material)- Mechanical packaging design with user interfaces (displays, buttons, switches, key. This removes all product creation costs from your budget as a marketer.
No other database of affiliate programs offers such a possibility for profit on either the affiliate side or the product creation site. Your chosen niche should allow for the creation of more than one product or service.
There are several marketing strategies that are necessary in the creation of a successful e-commerce web site – Email marketing (broadcasting) of prospects/customers – Effective use of auto responders (generate automatic email messages) – Online Newsletter – Online Form / Survey to capture your prospect’s email address – Electronic Product Delivery (if you sold a digital product) – Advertisement (Ad) Tracking – Back End Sales – Affiliate program etc.