Selling ideas?

Question

If you work from home, what is the best way to target people to buy your product? What's the best kind of advertising?

Answer 1

The following article assumes that you have an up and running website.

The most effective way to advertise on the Internet is

to first set up a website and publish its domain name

on major search directories such as Google.com,

Yahoo.com [at http://www.google.com/addurl/?...... and

MSN.com since 85% of Internet shoppers rely on these

search directories to provide them with goods and

services. In a sense, these search directories are a

very large Internet Yellow Pages.

Nevertheless, should your website or opening webpage

fail to contain "generic" keywords, then anyone using

such "generic" queries will not be able to discover

your website. Your domain name [URL] of your website,

in a sense, will be invisible, undiscoverable.

You may want to consider some simple algorithms which,

when observed and committed in designing of a website

with placement of various critical metatags that can

surely achieve a high search engine presence and

increase Internet traffic to your website. These

metatag strategies work well with published webpages

at Google and Yahoo.

Design: Should you create an extensive Flash-based

website, make sure to fill-in the property entries

such as the Title, Description and Keywords. Failing

to do so, leaves no hard HTML or ALT resource that can

be readily indexed by search robots. Also consider the

Internet audience and their incoming setup. For

example, if they are on analog/dialup, Flash webpages

take too long to load up and therefore analog users

will likely lose interest and discontinue entering the

Flash site. On the other hand, anyone on hi-speed DSL

lines, will welcome Flash pages which load quickly. So

before designing a pure Flash websitge, ask the simple

question, "Who's my end user - is he on dialup or

DSL?" And if you had to choose between these two users

for maximum marketability, then select analog users

since 80% of most resident users are still analog

Internet subscribers and pure HTML designed webpages

is best for them.

A non-Flash-based website which relies on hard text,

is far easier to be indexed by search robots. Limit

the use of stylized text saved as .gifs since as a

graphic, they are not indexable by search robots.

Avoid use of frames since any number of search robots

are unable to properly classify textual material.

Placement of Metatags:

A ranking or search order does take place with Google

and Yahoo and it begins with the "Title" metag which

should consist of no more than 65 characters separated

by commas. The "Title" should describe in generic

terms, the goods and services, followed by a location

from which the resource is located, i.e., city, state.

The placement of a domain name which is not generic

within the "Title" is not appropriate, unless your

domain name is a major recognizable brand name.

The second metatag is the "Description" which is

usually 25-30 words to form a complete sentence which

best describes one's goods and services.

And the very last category - "Keywords" are also

somewhat limited to 15-16 words which can be plural

and compound in nature. Again, avoid multiple entries

which could be mistaken as "spamdexed entries" which

is defined as the loading, and submission of

repetitive words into a particular metatag category.

"Spamdexing" when discovered on a webpage and reported

to Google's spamreport.com can result in the

elimination of your website from their search

directory.

Here's an example of a very highly-placed website on

Google.com: Begin with the very "generic" search query

"sandwiches downtown los angeles," taking note to not

abbreviate Los Angeles to "LA" and of course, leave

out the parentheses ("). It will bring up some 2.4

million+ search results. Check out where "Nazos.net"

is ranked. It's ranked No. 1!

Again, Nazos.net's high web presence was achieved by

proper web design and placement of relevant metatags

according to Google's publication guidelines.

Good luck!

Answer 2

There is no ' best' way. The 'best' way is to do ALL ways possible:

Online:

Advertise on sites like http://www.sellit-right.com

create a blog and allow comments

Myspace

facebook

bebo

Have vid?Then Youtube

Offiline;

Flyers and word of mouth

Ad on your company / general vehicle or bicycle.

Answer 3

I have been running home businesses for years. I have found that the best way to get customers is through word of mouth. You can advertise through people you know, offer them a free gift of the product you are selling in return for three refferals to buy from you. You have to be strict with it though. You have to tell them that instead of three customers they can get one customer who buys $30 or more of your product instead.

Advertising on the internet never works with selling because you have no real way of making deals or making good contacts with people.

You can print up a catalog of your products if you don't already have one, and set up a table somewhere with a sign for free product samples and give out samples. When they stop in to get the samples, insist that they give you their name and number so you can follow up with them on their opinion of the product. You can give them the catalog, but only if they give you their contact info.

I sell Avon and I make pretty good money from it. I expanded my customer base by "throwing books". I buy the catalogs from Avon, then put them in the plastic bags, go around to the neighborhood and leave it hanging on door k***s. I make sure I have my contact info on the books along with a card and a sample in the bag. I have gone from 3 customers to 50 in one month. It is better than cold calling(which nobody likes).

Also, you can print up business cards and three fold flyers. Staple your business cards to it and go around to public restrooms and leave them in there for people to pick up when they come through.

I have gotten 40% of my customer base just from people who were reffered to me by people I know. I give gifts for that, and so they keep sending me new ones. Avon's gifts and samples are cheap, so it isn't that big of a deal. It is also a tax right off. If you give people free things, they love you. If they use the gifts you give them, they get addicted and come back to buy it. Once they buy one thing they will start thinking about the other things in the book they might need. Pretty soon you have a $100 order. If you give a $5 gift for each $100 order then they will keep buying from you.

Hope this helps.