5 Tips To Make Your Home-Based Business Not Appear "Homemade"
Start with a logo and branding. Hire an expert to design your logo. This is the first impression people will have of your business, so it has to show professionalism and quality.
Create a website with e-commerce capabilities. If you can't afford to have this professionally done, many templates are available for purchase or download at no cost. You can always hire someone to create one for you as well.
Customize your website's content by adding testimonials from customers and photos of happy recipients of your products or services (assuming these are available). Make sure that the page layout is professional and pleasing to the eye, too!
Purchase a domain name (a custom URL like www.yourbusinessname .com). You can purchase these for as little as $10, or you can build a free one yourself for free. The same goes for web hosting and e-commerce solutions.
Hire a title search engine through Google to ensure your website is listed when someone types in the term "your business name." This will help with internet search engine optimization.
Post your contact information on business cards and stationary available at places like Office Depot or Staples. There are sites online that will help you print out advertising materials such as postcards, flyers, business cards, and letterheads at very affordable rates.
Don't underestimate the power of social media marketing. Create a Facebook Fan Page and invite your friends to like it. Generate excitement concerning your business by posting photos, videos, and encouraging comments from people. You can also create a Twitter account and post what you're doing daily as well as important updates about your company.
Create a blog and start writing short articles about the business. Post these on your website or blog, and provide people with a link to it so they can access this information at any time. Write about things like what you do, what you offer, the benefits of doing business with you, testimonials from customers, etc.
Get out there and get your business name circulating so that people will begin to recognize you. You can contact anyone you know personally and ask if they'd be willing to pass out business cards or give your website out when they know someone who could possibly use your products or services.
If your business is a service, tell everyone you come across what you do (don't be ashamed of this, as it's a great thing!). They might have family and/or friends that need your services, as well! If they don't, they can always pass on the information to others who are interested.
Always be on the lookout for new marketing ideas and don't hesitate to try something new. There's no such thing as a stupid marketing idea. If you think it would be helpful, do it!
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A Guide to Selling Wholesale to Gift Shops, Resellers and Mass Merchants [FREE]
Selling your creations wholesale can significantly increase your income if you have a product that's in demand. The following guide will help you get started selling wholesale by revealing the key steps involved in selling wholesale and providing valuable information that will help you get started right away.
If you're selling to gift shops, then you'll most likely be selling at the wholesale level of 50% or higher. If you're working with a manufacturer, then many times they have a particular rate that they charge for bulk orders. There are also rates for bulk or wholesale orders that are lower than what it costs to make each item.
When having your wholesale order completed, there's always some type of paperwork involved. You'll need to have a sales agreement, invoice and shipping documents all introduced in advance of having an order filled. Then there's the inventory list itself to make sure all items in which you want to sell have been listed in tabs and arranged in the proper manner so that things are documented correctly.