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Improve Your Online Writing By Making Use of Eye Tracking Facts

: Image by vernhart via Flickr

I saw an article on ProBlogger today that really caught my attention. The article pointed out some of the more interesting findings of a study from Eyetrack III. Here are the points that ProBlogger singled out from the findings:

1. “Dominant headlines most often draw the eye first upon entering the page”
2. “Smaller type encourages focused viewing behavior…. larger type promotes lighter scanning”
3. “a headline has less than a second of a site visitor’s attention”
4. “For headlines — especially longer ones — it would appear that the first couple of words need to be real attention-grabbers”
5. “Navigation placed at the top of a homepage performed best”
6. “Shorter paragraphs performed better in Eyetrack III research than longer ones.”
7. “We found that ads in the top and left portions of a homepage received the most eye fixations”
8. “Size matters. Bigger ads had a better chance of being seen”
9. “Close proximity to popular editorial content really helped ads get seen”
10. “the bigger the image, the more time people took to look at it.”
11. “Our research also shows that clean, clear faces in images attract more eye fixations on homepages”

I think that these findings can be very helpful to you. You can improve your online writing by giving you something to focus on when you are developing content. Creating smaller paragraphs and attention-getting headlines are more likely to encourage readers to visit your Web site. If you are interested in drawing ad revenue, the information about ad placement and size can also be very helpful.

This information is not just for bloggers and professional writers. You can use the information for online copy and product descriptions on your home business Web site.

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Extra Income for Your Home Busines: Constant Content

by Miranda Marquit 1 Comment

On Sparkplugging the other day, I read about an interesting opportunity to earn a little extra money for your home business. It’s called Constant Content, and it serves as sort of a clearinghouse for online content. While it is geared primarily at freelance writers, I can see how someone with reasonably good skills could use it as a source of income, even if writing isn’t your main focus. It matches up writers with people who want to buy online content. Lorna Doone Brewer describes how it works on Sparkplugging:

The way the site works is you, the writer, turn out an article on any topic that pleases you (unless responding to a request, more on that later) and submit it. You set the price and decide if you only want to sell usage rights or full rights. There is a strict approval process that ensures only top quality articles get into Constant Content’s article database, but once you’re in, potential buyers can view and purchase your article. Constant Content takes a percentage off the top (35%) and the rest goes into your account, which is paid out at the beginning of each month if you have $5 or more pending.

She goes on to say that you can get between $25 and $50 per article (minus the 35%) and as much as $100 or more, depending on the quality of your work. And I like that the article are carefully screened for quality. I have been Associated Content as my “fallback” when I have a little extra time to make a little extra cash, but Constant Content might be more profitable. AC will accept just about anything, regardless of quality. However, with Constant Content, your article has to sell in order for you to make money. On AC, you just get your money (even though it’s less).

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Friday Fun Video: Bank Stress Test Results

by Miranda Marquit 1 Comment

Saturday Night Live did a great sketch about the results of the bank stress tests. Great stuff.

Happy Friday!

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Working from Home: Will Clients Be Visiting?

by Miranda Marquit 2 Comments

When setting up your home office, one of the important considerations is whether or not your clients will be coming to you. In my situation as a writer, my clients do not come to my home office. Sometimes I make a video, or have a video chat. In those cases, I make sure that my background is reasonably attractive and professional looking.

If you will have clients coming to your home office, it is important to make things look as professional as possible. Have a neat work area, and make sure any part of the home your clients see is clean. If you expect to have clients visiting regularly, it is worth considering adding a separate entrance for your home office (remember, though, that you might have to consult your town’s codes to make sure you are in compliance).

Some work at home professionals arrange meetings off-site, at a restaurant or coffee shop. There is even office space or meeting space available for rent on an hourly basis in some localities. However you choose to do it, though, it is important to work on professionalism when meeting with clients for your home business.

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Tools To Help Your Home Business

by Miranda Marquit 3 Comments

I received an interesting email from the folks at Outright.com, a service that provides free online bookkeeping. Here is what Kevin Reeth, the CEO of Outright.com, points out about having an easy to use bookkeeping service for your home business:

“We are streamlining the process around financial record keeping, simplifying life for the small business owner and their accounting expert by making all their records accessible through a shared online experience. By improving communication and transparency, entrepreneurs and their bookkeepers can spend more time delivering business results and less time on overhead.”

What other tools are available for your home business? Here are some online tools that can help you get started with your home business — and keep it running smoothly:

1. oDesk is fast becoming one of the leaders in helping you find freelance work. oDesk isn’t just for writers; software developers, graphic designers and other freelancers can find work using oDesk.

2. Wix.com provides a place you can build a Web site for free. I also like DotEasy, which offers low-cost Web hosting and domain names, along with Web site templates.

3. Freshbooks can help you keep your invoices and payments in one place. Additionally, applications like GnuCash also allow you to keep track of business expenses and income while helping you with personal finances.

4. Shoeboxed provides a way to digitize your receipts. It keeps them organized so that you can find them easily for tax document support.

And, of course, much is being written on the subject of Twitter and other social media when it comes to marketing your home business, as well as networking.

What are some home business tools that you like to use?

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eBay Home Business: Do Research First

by Miranda Marquit 3 Comments

: Image via Wikipedia

Many people have the idea of selling things on eBay as a home business. If you do it properly, it is possible to sell any number of items — handicrafts, old toys, antiques found at yard sales and more — online via eBay or some other auction site. However, just because you put it up for sale on eBay doesn’t mean that you’ll make money on it. Sparkplugging points this out about doing your homework before selling on eBay:

[D]on’t expect to open an eBay store and/or start an auction without some knowledge of how a product has done in the past and present.

Before you just throw something up there and hope to make a home business out of it, you need to do some research. Find out how much similar items go for, how many of them are usually auctioned on a weekly or monthly basis and how many of the auctions end in a sale. The same principle can be applied when you open an eBay storefront to sell items.

And, really, the same advice applies to any home business venture. Do some research first.

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Childcare Tax Credit

by Miranda Marquit 1 Comment

Last week, I mentioned that I am paying for childcare for my son over the summer. It’s not going to be a ton, but it will still be an expense. Luckily, even with a home business, I can get a childcare tax credit when I pay someone to watch my son. Even if it is my cousin. In order to claim a childcare tax credit, you will need to identify the care provider on your tax return. You will need:

1. Full name of the care provider or the business.

2. Social Security Number of the child care provider, or the Employer Identification Number (EIN) of the child care facility.

3. Address of the child care provider or business.

There are directions in your tax forms to help you figure out how much of a credit you are eligible for. Also, realize that if you have someone come to your home to provide these services (such as my cousin), you might be considered a household employer, and will have to withhold and pay social security and Medicare tax. Make sure you double check your status. My accountant says that if I issue a 1099 to my cousin and pay through my home business, I can pay her as a contractor for my business, and avoid the tax withholdings.

You can find out more about taking the child care tax credit from the IRS Web site. It is also a good idea to consult with a tax professional and/or accountant to make sure that you are abiding by law in the specifics of your situation.

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Friday Fun Video: Dollar Origami

by Miranda Marquit Leave a Comment

I really enjoyed this video of turning a one dollar bill into a star. Fun money trick.

Happy Friday!

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Home Business Idea: Help Other Businesses Go Green

by Miranda Marquit 2 Comments

: Image by Mornby via Flickr

As technology advances and the world changes, there are increasing opportunities for working from home. It’s all about fulfilling a need. And, over at Home Biz Notes, Mary Emma Allen offers a great idea for a home business idea: Help other businesses go green.

With green business becoming more prominent, and President Barack Obama focusing on the environment, it can be a good idea to do something in that niche. Here are some ideas suggested by Mary Emma regarding things you can do to either position your business as green, or help other businesses:

* Start a blog about green business practices, including tips to make a home business greener.

* Become a consultant to help other businesses become greener (you may need some sort of certification).

* Offer information about becoming a greener business, and let others know what you are doing to make your home business green.

* Produce items that comply with green standards, and advertise this.

Can you think of ways to benefit from being a green home business?

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Why Do I Have Child Care If I Work From Home?

by Miranda Marquit 2 Comments

Yesterday, I wrote about how I am getting a nanny to help me with my son over the summer. I will be able to get a childcare tax credit for hiring my cousin, and I will be able to get my work done. As is often the case when people find out that I use childcare (I did before my son started school), they wonder why I need it when I work from home.

Getting more done when you have child care help

The advantages of having a home business when it comes to your children, in my opinion, are mostly centered around the idea of flexibility and being here. It means that I can take some time to play a game, and that I spend more time with my son than I would if I were gone for normal business hours. And it means that I can schedule my home business hours around going in to the school to help, and that I’m here if something (like an illness) comes up. But it doesn’t mean I don’t need help.

Having someone watch my son for a few hours a week allows me the time to get my work done more efficiently. I figure that if my cousin can nanny the boy for 4-5 hours in the morning (I plan to have her take care of him from 8 am to noon or 1 pm), I can get all my work from home stuff done and be ready to spend quality time with my son all afternoon. I get uninterrupted work — making me more productive — and he still gets the attention he needs. Plus, if anything goes wrong, I’m still right here.

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