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Does Your Home Business Fight Poverty?

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Poverty is becoming a bigger issue by the minute. Billions of people around the world live in poverty, and the problem can seem overwhelming. But if everyone concentrated on a small patch of the world, eventually the individual efforts would add up.

And that means that your home business, no matter how small, can join the fight against poverty. Over at Responsible Marketing, there is a list of 25 things your business can do to fight poverty. There some things that even a home business can do. Here are some of my favorites from the list:

* Cook and distribute meals. You can work with a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. I know that my son’s school has programs during the summer and holidays where you can help provide a meal for children who mainly only get good nuitrition while at school.

* Give to a charity. And encourage any employees you might have to donate as well.

* Have a donation program. You can donate some of your goods and services to charities. Additionally, it is possible to offer discounts to your clients who buy goods and services on behalf of others.

* Engage in microfinance. Not only does this help those in poverty, it can also help you create another revenue stream for your business.

* If you’ve been accumulating reward points, donate them. Many credit cards will allow you to donate your points to charity.

Can you think of ways for your home business to help fight poverty?

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Home Business Blogging Tips

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When engaging in home business blogging, it is important to have a plan for what sort of voice and style you will have. Additionally, you want to be able to exude a sense of authority with regard to your subject area, coming across as an expert. I really like some of the thoughts and tips on writing offered by Lenin over at Cute Writing:

* Develop a writing style.
* Know your audience.
* Do adequate research.
* Write what you know.
* Be diligent in your efforts.

I think these are essential items if you are looking to improve the quality of your home business blogging. Can you think of some other tips that can help improve your writing?

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Increasing Pageviews on Your Home Business Blog

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Yesterday, I posted a video interview about selling advertising on your home business blog. Today, I thought I would address one of the items that can make your blog more attractive to advertisers: increased pageviews.

Pageviews are the number of times your blog posts are viewed. Right now, pageviews are considered one of those vital metrics used when determining whether to advertise on a Web site or blog. Problogger (always seems to know what to do) has some easy ways you can boost your pageviews:

* Self-link. Link to old posts you have written, and to products and services you offer.

* Add related posts. At the end of your article, you can add related posts. There plug-ins for different platforms (WordPress especially) that automatically do this based on category and tag.

* Make use of your sidebar. You can use your sidebar to link to most popular posts, best posts and other areas of your blog.

* Multi-page posts. If you have a longer post that you have written, use the "read more" feature to make your post two or three pages long. Just be aware of the fact that too many multiple page posts starts to get annoying.

Can you think of other ways to boost pageviews to your home business blog?

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Is Time Running Out for Freelancers?

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One of the things that has me thinking this morning is the massive hemorrhage on Wall Street. As things slowly continue the implosion, I am a bit concerned about my job. See, I’m a freelancer. I do a lot of work for online companies especially. And as things worsen as far as the economic picture is concerned, I think about the fact that if something is going to get cut in some budget, it is probably going to be me.

So, it’s time to cut back, make sure my emergency fund is in order, and hope that I’ve got enough work of different kinds to see me through this.

Does this economy worry you in terms of your home business?

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Home Business Blog: 12 Ideas for Better Blog Posts

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One of the promotional tools you can use for your home business is a blog. I really like these 12 Tips for Writing Better Blog Posts over at KoMarketing. Here are 12 ways you can improve the quality of your blog posts — potentially pulling in more traffic for your home home business:

1. Write with clarity.
2. Identify the objective as quickly as possible.
3. Make your blog post titles strong.
4. Images can help bring interest to your post.
5. Organize your writing (subheads, bullets, etc.).
6. Focus on the subject.
7. Reference sources.
8. Link to related posts.
9. Be concise in a wrap up at the end.
10. Get some feedback before publishing — even if all you do is edit it yourself for spelling and grammar.
11. Consider timing.
12. Evaluate and learn from the results.

Do you have any tips for writing better blog posts?

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Setting Up Your Work from Home “Paycheck”

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One of the things I know as a freelance writer working from home is that a steady and traditional "paycheck" is one of those things that you cannot rely on. Sometimes it can be a hassle getting paid for your work at all! There will always be clients that try to stiff you, or who disappear as soon as you send an invoice.

But there are a couple of things you can do to try and come up with some sort of a work from home "paycheck":

1. Set aside money when you have a really good month. When you work from home, it is important to have a really big emergency fund. Because freelance writer (or any other freelance work) income is anything but steady, you need to plan for the lean times. If you make bank this month, see that you set a good portion aside for next month — just in case.

2. Figure out a regular "paycheck" schedule. This is a great idea from Tamara Berry at Freelance Parent. She suggests that you figure up your annual income (you can use your tax return) and then divide it by 12 to get a "paycheck." You can live off this money each month, and use the rest for your emergency fund.

Do you have any ideas for creating a steady "paycheck" when working from home?

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For a Successful Blog, You Need More Than Good Content

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You have probably heard all about how you need a blog for your home business. Your home business may even be based around a blog. But in order for it to work, you need a successful blog. And while good content and good writing can take you a long way, you need a little bit more than that to get the extra oomph that puts you into success territory.

Things you need — in addition to content — for a successful blog

Darren Rowse, the Problogger himself, has a list of some extra things that you need to make a successful blog. Here is what he says you need:

* Mojo. You know, that "it" factor.

* Luck. Yes, luck.

* Trust. Are you authentic?

* Expertise and authority. What qualifies you to give others tips and avice?

* Charisma. An ability to connect.

What do you think it takes to build a successful blog for your home business?

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