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Using Twitter to Increase Traffic to Your Home Business Site

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You’ve probably heard about how Twitter can be a great tool. And it can. It’s a good way to spread the word about a particularly interesting post. (Or to regularly update via some sort of something like Twitterfeed.) Easton at Visionary Blogging sent some helpful Twitter tips for increasing traffic to your web site. Here are 3 ideas that I especially liked:

1. Place Twitter buttons on your articles.

2. Share original in your tweets, not just RTs of other people’s stuff.

3. Share useful links to your web site regularly.

Of course, there is such a thing as overkill, and you want to be careful. No-one likes Twitter spam. But you can use moderation and share helpful tweets and interesting posts from your home business blog. And find new followers and maybe get a little extra traffic.

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Finding Relaxation in Your Work from Home Schedule

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Brittany Ganson (C...
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Sometimes it’s easy to forget to take a deep breath and relax when you work from home. However, stress relief and relaxation are especially important with a home business, since there are some many stressors related to being your own boss. Taking time to relax a little and refresh is important. I try to make sure that I relax at the end of my work day — and make sure it is the end of my work day. I also like to do small things during the day to keep me motivated, and feeling a little relaxed and less stressed. Some of the things I do during my work from home day for relaxation include:

* Self-massage: I do my neck and shoulders, and my hands. It’s amazing how relaxing — and energizing — this is. Meditation balls help especially with the hand massage.

* Deep breathing: Sometimes I’ll take five to 10 minutes and do some deep breathing exercises that bring close to meditation. This helps refresh and relax me, relieving stress.

* Power nap: A 15 – 20 minute power nap can relax me, and help me feel less stress as I tackle my afternoon.

I also like to start my day with yoga, and I swim three times a week in the mornings. This helps me start the day with a lower stress level, and higher endorphins. I feel more relaxed on days that I exercise. I also find that having greenery in my home office helps soothe me. I have two plants where I can see them, and enjoy a bit of nature in my home office.

What do you do to help relax and relieve stress during your work from home day?

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Being Prepared for a Drop in Home Business Income

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When you work from home as a freelancer or running a home business, there is always a chance that you could take a hit from the loss of work, business or a big client. This is a special concern during times of economic turmoil. Even though the recession is technically over, many home business owners are likely to continue to struggle for a little bit longer.

When you are your own boss, you need to make sure that your plan your finances so that you are prepared for a drastic drop in income. Here are some things you can do to protect yourself in the event that your home business can no longer provide the income you need:

* Save up: Have an emergency fund that you can build to help get you buy until you can replace the lost income.

* Find other revenue streams: Diversifying your income is a good way to provide protection from income loss. For example, you can participate in affiliate programs, look into dividend investing (but this comes with its own risks) or do work for sites that offer recurring revenue.

* Build in some contractual protection: One thing I like to do when entering into a long term arrangement is to require a notice of two weeks before the client can terminate an arrangement. While this isn’t always full-proof, in most cases it will at least give you a couple of weeks to find replacement income.

In the end, it is up to you to be prepared. You can’t rely on anyone else to look out for you, and protect you from a drop in home business income.

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Home Business Idea: Handmade Crafts

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garden in crochet
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I’m not a particularly “crafty” person. My talents lie in other directions. However, I know plenty of people who enjoy making things. One of the advantages of the Internet is that you can use it to work from home by connecting you with buyers who might be interested in the fruits of your hobbies. This is something that my sister-in-law discovered when she had a surplus of items she had made for fun. “What do I do with all of these?” she asked. “Sell them online,” I replied.

And it’s true. You can make handmade items on your own schedule, and then sell them online. While you can sell them on eBay, a better choice might be to go to one of the sites that specializes in crafts. Here are three web sites to consider when selling handmade crafts:

1. Etsy.com: You can trade and sell crafts, vintage items and supplies on this site. You do have to pay a commission to the site, and 20 cents per item, but it’s not too bad.

2. LillysPlace.com: This is more of a place to go and create an online craft store. There is a setup fee, and then a monthly or annual fee. It doesn’t matter how many items you sell, and membership comes with a variety of tools, such as traffic data, coupon creation and newsletter templates.

3. CraftMall.com: This is a monthly rate program. The rate is based on the number of items you have to sell. If you have a lot of items up for sale, this can be a really good deal. You can also creative incentive programs and discounts for your customers.

In the end, what you choose depends on your volume of goods to sell, and your goals. You can also check with a tax professional to see what fees you pay in connection with selling your handmade crafts are eligible for a tax break.

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Finding Inspiration for Your Blog

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One always wonders how to continually come up with content for blog posts. Indeed, when you are trying to find inspiration for your home business blog, it can be frustrating to draw a blank. The good news is that there are some places you can turn to find a little help in getting started. Some of the places I like to look include:

* News reader: This can collect up news and the latest posts and headlines from your favorite sites. News sites, industry sites and other blogs. It is easy to skim the news reader for good topics.

* Email alerts: You can receive alerts in your email inbox when something is published on a topic you have interest in. Email subscriptions to your favorite newsletters can serve the same purpose.

* Your life: Look at what is happening in your daily life, and use that for inspiration for blog posts. If you have giveaways and contests, that can also make a good subject for a blog post.

It you’re still stuck for blog post ideas, you can head to GregWolejko.com and see this list of lists containing blog post ideas.

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Planning Your Finances When You Work from Home

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If you are self-employed, you know that it requires a little more financial planning to make sure that everything is properly taken care of in terms of your cash flow. Budgeting when you work from home is a delicate exercise that requires that you plan for the future — especially if you earn different amounts of money from month to month.

David over at My Two Dollars has an interesting look at the way he arranges his finances so that he is prepared to cover all of his expenses (including estimated quarterly taxes!). Some of his tips for making sure that your budget is set for being self-employed:

* Direct all of your income to a central location.

* Pay yourself out of this central location.

* Charge businesses expenses to a single credit card to keep track of your business expenses.

This is some good advice. He recommends dividing what you need for the month by four so you can figure a “weekly paycheck”. I actually look at what I got the previous year and divide it by 12 to get an idea of my monthly income for the year. Of course, the numbers are different each month, but it gives me a rough idea. On months where I beat the average, I put the extra aside for the future, so that it can make up for months when there is a shortfall.

I also have two separate accounts. Since I am an LLC, I have a business checking account. All of the income goes there first (makes it easier for taxes, and in the event of an audit), and then I pay myself out of it by moving most of it to my personal checking to cover all of my expenses. I can move money from the personal account into savings and have some automatically withdrawn for the retirement account from there. I leave enough money in the business account to cover business expenses.

How do you organize your work from home income?

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Work from Home: Finding Motivation

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Arthur C Clarke in his home office in Sri Lanka
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Today I slept in. I find that when I don’t get up and get going on my work, my motivation suffers. And, in fact, I’ve been sort of petering out today — and my day’s just begun! One of the hardest things about having a home business and being responsible for your own schedule is that you have to motivate yourself. It’s really easy to just say that you can do something later. Procrastination can be a real problem.

The good news is that there are some things you can do to help keep you motivated — at least enough to power through your day. Here are some ideas for motivation when you work from home:

1. Build breaks into your schedule so that you feel as though you are getting a little refreshment. I plan a short morning break, and a longer break for lunch. It helps me feel as though I’m not just sitting at the desk all day. Plus the food gives me a little boost. Bonus points when I choose a health snack/lunch.

2. Break down your goals so that they are manageable. I like to be able to check things off my list. When I see that I am accomplishing something, it helps keep me interested in pushing forward, rather than giving up.

3. Take care of yourself with some daily exercise and rest. It’s amazing what doing a little exercise each day, and making it a point to relax at some point, can do for your mood and your motivation. You don’t have to spend hours and hours on this, but I find if I take a half hour for some exercise, as well as take some time to read a book or meditate, I feel refreshed and energized.

While money can be a motivator, I find that it isn’t always the best motivator. Indeed, sometimes it’s just about feeling better and wanting to do something.

What helps you keep your motivation level high?

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Finding Freelancing Opportunities

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My First Desk when I started off Full time Fre...
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When you work from home as a freelancer, it is vital to look for opportunities. If you want more opportunities, you might want to look in more places. Laura Spencer, at Freelance Folder, has some great suggestions for increasing your chances of finding more freelancing opportunities:

* Follow instructions: You are more likely to get a look if you follow the instructions on the job posting.

* Be first: You want to be one of the first to respond to a job posting. Spencer says that Monday morning is the best time to look for freelancing opportunities.

* Consider the source: Instead of going to a job aggregator site, look at the original posting site. You might get a jump on things before the job is aggregrated — and seen by more people.

* Use social media: It sounds funny, but it’s true. An active social media presence can help you find freelancing opportunities. I have received gigs via LinkedIn, Twitter and StumbleUpon.

* Have a web site: A web site allows you to be found more easily, and provides contact information and a resume. You can also have a blog on your web site to draw even more traffic.

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