Successful Blog

9 Practical Work-at-Home Ideas For Moms

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau figures, some 5.6 million mothers, or nearly 1 out of 4, have opted to abandon their jobs to be with their kids. More and more are preferring the stay-at-home option after childbirth.

Women who take care of their kids full-time are more likely to get depressed, however.  While they love their kids to bits, they feel that a life doomed to changing diapers day in and day out is a waste of education and talent. Besides, letting the husband be the sole breadwinner during a shaky economy seems not a wise option.

The solution: Keep your sanity and dignity, as well as the streams of income flowing by being a stay-at-home but working mom. The following are just some of the many work-at-home options you can choose from:

1. Freelance writing. Do you have a way with words? Many businesses pay good money for content writing. There are many freelance writing websites you can sign up for, like Elance,  Odesk, and Guru. You can also set up your own portfolio to promote your writing services. All you need is register a domain name and use solutions like Wix or Squarespace that require no coding skills.

2. Customer service. There is a huge demand for virtual employees to handle in-bound customer calls which can be routed directly to your computer via the Internet. Virtual customer service agents are paid by the hour and keep a specific work schedule. Training is also paid.

3. Medical transcription. If you type fast and have excellent spelling and grammar, you can try working as medical transcriptionist.  There are training programs available online for this line of work with focus on honing your English skills, knowledge of human anatomy and pharmacology, and ability to take dictation from health professionals.

4.  Data entry. A data entry job usually requires some form of data being converted into another form, like a list of people’s name and addresses in Word document being transformed into entries in a spreadsheet.

5.  Online teaching or tutoring. Online teachers and tutors may teach a variety of subjects, ranging from elementary to college levels. A teaching certification or experience is usually required to qualify for this job.

6. Bridal and wedding consultant. A bridal wedding consultant performs a variety of tasks including planning the schedule for the wedding and the rehearsal dinner,  connecting the couple-to-be with the right vendors, creating the budget and the bridal registry, etc.

7. Selling arts and crafts online. If you love crafting, why not create a website showcasing your creations? Just make sure you have quality photos because your customers will be judging your work based on these images. Try beaded jewelry, hand-sewn bags, dolls, ceramics — the possibilities are endless.

8. Cake decorator/designer. If you have taken a course in baking and cake decorating, this home-based work option may appeal to you. You can start by offering your services to friends, neighbors, or former officemates.  Make sure to make a portfolio of your best designs.

9.  Dog daycare. If you love dogs, this job should come easy to you. You get to pat, groom and interact with multiple dogs at the same time and get paid for it! In the U.S, dog owners pay as much as $30 per dog for a few hours’ stay at the daycare center.

Experiment! You may even come up with your own idea.

Take the leap!

The first step in building a successful home business is coming up with a solid plan of action.

You don’t necessarily have to develop an actual business plan in the traditional sense (though it would probably help), but it is very important that you have your goals, promotional strategy and costs mapped out clearly for use as a personal reference.

Put away at least three months’ worth of money, and get ready to be your own boss.

Stay-at-home businesses are a great way to transition into self-employment. Just remember that to be your own boss, you also have all of your boss’s responsibilities: you’ll need to keep work coming in, keep pay going out, and keep your clients happy.

Finally, you’ll need to keep yourself happy and stress-free. That’s the most important thing!

Welcome to all and thank you for your visit ! ツ from Pixabay

How to Monetize Your Hobby

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Are you looking to make some money in the new year? Do you want to start a business but are confused on where to begin and how? Then why not start with one of your favorite pastime hobbies?

It may sound too good to be true, but many people are starting to turn their hobbies into side hustles to generate an extra stream of income. The best part of monetizing your hobby is that when you work on something you enjoy and love, it doesn’t feel like work.

It becomes fun.

Whether you’re a painter, a graphic designer, an illustrator, a calligraphy master, create DIY art pieces, an embroiderer, or make custom pieces, you can literally monetize any hobby and start generating an income.

That is why in today’s post we’ll share some tips on how you can convert your hobby into a small business that not only generates an income but gives you joy as well.

Keep on reading to know how you can start, right now!

1. Create a strategy

Whenever you start with a new venture or endeavor, it is always wise to start with a game plan on what you want to achieve, and listing down steps to get there.

When first trying to monetize your hobby, research online how other people in the same category as you are selling their products or services.

List down the steps you need to create a digital marketing strategy that includes the time, resources, cost etc it will take for you to achieve goals you’ve set.

If you have a budget, you may want to invest in Adwords Consulting to get things rolling quickly.

Make sure that you set goals that are tangible and realistic, so that you can maximize the benefits from your strategy and be on track for success.

2. Start a website

Having a website for any small business or entrepreneur is a must, even if you’re not thinking of turning your hobby into a monetary profession for the long haul. Creating a website to showcase the range of products you have or services you offer, not only makes it easier for the right customer to reach you, but has positive outcomes long term.

Use this domain name generator to pick a name that reflects your hobby.

When you make a website and provide accurate information regarding price, contact info, shipping and delivery details, it creates credibility in the eyes of a potential customer and will help spread the word faster for more traffic. One of my favorite examples I recently found is this site profiling awesome waterfalls a family is visiting. Such a cool hobby!

3. Pitch and reach out clients

Reaching out to potential clients whether locally or online is very crucial to make your first sale. This point is especially important for people who run a food business, catering, provide supplies on a large scale, and are looking to expand their hobby to serve a company or a large gathering.

Whether your first pay check is the $5 or $500, your motivation to continue your new endeavor will be highly contingent on your first sale. In order to get potential clients, pitch yourself via email, in person, or on call to people you know can get benefit from your services or products.

Even if you’re shy of putting yourself out there, dropping emails is a great way to introduce your new business and if you can’t do that, then the follow the next point.

4. Create content for your social media account

Having a social media account even for your hobby is extremely important for exposure and gaining potential clients. Nowadays, both businesses and customers check social media accounts of businesses they want to engage with financially. Making sure you post creative content, regularly will not only increase your following but help you target potential customers as well.

The goal isn’t to go viral overnight, but to hope that one post gets viral enough to land you on the radar of your targeted business/customer for your category. And for that you need some strategies and tips to engage with your social media audience.

According to Oberlo, there are more than 3.5 billion social media users as of 2019, and the number is only increasing. Making sure you market your products the right way to the right customers will only increase your revenue and help you make profit.

And those are top 4 ways on how to monetize your hobby to generate an extra stream of income in 2021. We hope you found them useful and motivate you to start your journey today.

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

How To Get Paid For Sharing Your Travel Stories

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I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about the realistic expectations of travel writing and blogging. For many travelers it is a dream to eventually get paid to traverse the globe. Some people manage that goal, and blogs everywhere claim that anyone can do it and have their trips covered entirely. But is this true?

Yes, and no. It is possible to get paid for an entire trip as a writer, but it is incredibly rare. Most people will be experienced journalists, or bloggers who have managed to score deals with companies that sponsor their traveling. The truth is, this isn’t a feasible expectation for the average writer, especially not in the beginning.

That doesn’t mean you can’t earn money with travel stories. Actually, there are plenty of places that are willing to pay for that. Plus, you can earn more cash by dipping into other niches in your freelancing, which can help to recoup costs or fund the smaller expenses of your travels.

I have done this myself, and have often worked while away traveling in order to pay for things along the way. A friend of mine traveled through Europe, relying on his travel stories for everything from food to hostel fees. Which should show you the more realistic side of travel writing: it can be a good way to make some money while you are traveling anyway.

Start Your Own Site

Promoting a site to the point when it can make money takes lots of time but it is also incredibly rewarding because it could become a passive income.

Use a smart AI-powered domain name generator to pick a great brand name that will be fun to promote!

Selling Your Travel Stories

How do you do this? There are quite a few options, such as finding individual clients who are looking for travel writers on their blogs on in their magazines. They usually pay per word, and are a good option for more steady work.

Marketing your photos through stock photos sites is another option: You can get very popular there quite easily but don’t expect too much from that.

You can also go to travel sites that pay per story. Most travel blogs have this option, but the more popular are established sites like the Matador Network or Lonely Planet. These will usually get you around $25 per story, which isn’t great but also not terrible for occasional work.

This Writer’s Opinion

If you want an opinion from someone who has been doing this kind of thing for a living for awhile now, branch out. Write your travel stories and sell them where you can, under your byline. Use those to help push you into other avenues, padding your resume and portfolio for higher paying positions in other industries.

There is a ton of freelance work out there for every niche. If you can be adaptable and show your worth in various areas, you can get a lot more work. I wouldn’t suggest working while traveling in these areas, because you run the risk of not enjoying your trip. But before and after you go off on your adventure, it can provide a much more stable income or even fund your next escapade.

Have you been lucky enough to sell your travel stories? Let us know how, and where, in the comments.

7 reasons why visitors leave websites for ever

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When I built my first website in 2003, none of the tools we have today existed. WordPress was a newborn and you had to know HTML!

For an entire week, I worked my butt off within Microsoft FrontPage. I was so proud of the result that I spent the first day staring at the site and sending its URL to friends and family.

In a nutshell, I felt on top of the world.

Then, someone brought me back to reality. “You know, the animated gif of the mouse lifting weights on your landing page? It looks very cheesy. Get rid of it,” they said. And, of course, little me had no idea that the browsing experience would vary depending on screen sizes. Needless to say that I was heartbroken.

It took me a little while to realize that website design is an art. If I wanted to be taken seriously, I had to do some research and educate myself.

Well, 13 years and six websites later, self-education is far from over. Actually, I learn something new almost every day.

If you cannot grab the attention of your audience within a couple of seconds of them seeing your website, chances are your bounce rate will remain high.

Here are seven areas of concern that you should address when thinking of creating or upgrading your website.

1) Automatic music player

Years ago, a business owner sent me a link to her website. The only thing I remember when landing on the home page was the blaring music. The player was impossible to find, so I left and never visited again.

Auto players are at the top of most people’s dislike lists (alongside automated DMs on Twitter). Why? Because when you are looking for specific information, unexpected noise and content distracts attention. Even radio stations stopped using auto players a long time ago.

If you must have music on your site, visitors should have the last word when it comes to clicking the “play” button.

2) No call to action

A call to action is a short message that urges people to take action (e.g. “Follow us on Twitter,” “Subscribe to our YouTube Channel”).

Installing a web form to convert readers into subscribers is always a good idea.

When they land on your website, visitors want to find relevant information right away. So, do not leave them hanging. Tell them where to go and what to do. You will be surprised by the results!

3) Confusing menu section

A menu is one of the most important areas of a website. Think of it as your personal portfolio, where you feature exactly what visitors need to know about you, your work, and/or your products.

Drop-down menus, in particular, allow you to regroup several related sections under a main theme and make things a little less confusing for visitors.

When deciding what to show in your menu, do not forget to include an “About,” “Contact,” and “More” sections — especially when your pages do not have a common theme.

4) Lack of key information on the landing page

Do not delay information delivery by forcing visitors to click through several pages. Use your home page and sidebar to give them a good idea of what your website is about. Then, let them decide what they want to do next.

Also, pay attention to your keywords and avoid making grandiloquent statements and promises.

5) No “About” section

A website is designed by human beings for human beings. As such, if there is no human touch, visitors will leave right away.

Without an “About” section, a site looks impersonal and cold. People do not do business with robots, unless you are in a science fiction movie.

Want to see an example of a great About page? Moz has one of the best I have seen.

Visualizing your About page is always a good idea to make it more engaging.

If you are just starting a website and checking the domain name availability, think how easy it will be brand your new name.

6) Typos

I have blogged about this several times, but it bears repeating. Occasional typos and grammatical errors happen. However, when they are recurrent, they will lead visitors to wonder how serious you are about your business.

Nobody wants to have to stop on every other sentence to catch what you are trying to say. So, if writing is not your forte, ask somebody else for help. A (professional) proofreader is worth the investment. They may end up saving your reputation…

Here are more tips:

  • Find a few grammatical resources that you like, such as The New York Times’ Grammar News section or the Grammarly Handbook, and spend a few minutes every day reviewing a rule.
  • Subscribe to the Ragan’s PR Daily Writing & Editing section.
  • Read varied quality literature to teach your brain to think differently.
  • Play word games regularly to increase your vocabulary. Vocabulary.com is a great starting point.

Conclusion

Sometimes, a little help comes a long way. Do not hesitate to ask your own audience for feedback. They will be more than happy to give you a hand.

Your audience wants to play a part in your journey, so involving them in the process will make a huge difference in the way they respond to you in the long run.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Nonprofits and Social Media: Which Sites Work Best for NPOs (and Why the Answer Isn’t All of Them)

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Social media is a must for nonprofit organizations (NPOs).

NPOs have to get in the social media game if they want to stay relevant and grow their donor base with the up and coming (of age) donors. What I haven’t addressed is why NPOs shouldn’t use ALL social media networks unless they have a very large staff to manage them. So today we take a look at which social media networks are best for NPOs and why the answer isn’t all of them.

The needs and target audience of a NPO will determine which social media network is best for them. The answer will be different for everyone. Sometimes a presence on just one site will work, while others may need to reach out via multiple networks. The important things to consider when making these decisions are 

  • Do you have a staff person that has enough time to manage multiple sites?
  • Which social network site offers you the services/features you need most
  • Where is your target audience flocking?

First things first, do you have a staff person who can manage multiple sites? The quick answer is typically no, but managing multiple sites doesn’t have to be a full-time job. Most social networking sites offer ways to link to each other so that when you update a status on one, it automatically posts to another. 

While I truly believe that any NPO can handle two or three social media outlets, I also believe there is such a thing as too many. Trying to be everywhere will dilute the time and energy you spend everywhere. So make sure you look at the time available for site management and choose wisely.

Once you’ve decided how much time you have to manage your social networking, how do you decide which sites fit your needs the best? The first place to start is with you and your organization. Determine what it is you really want to do online and then find all the sites that meet those criteria. Is starting a blog on your growth plan for the year? Do you want to post short, to-the-point updates throughout the day? Will you use social media to host chats or conferences for your donors or followers? Figure out what you need and want and go from there.

With your needs determined, the next step is hands-on experience. Get on the sites and see how easy they are to use and if their features are what you thought they were. Many sites offer similar features and it may be a tough choice.

With all of that homework and choices to make, the third thing to consider is the most important – know where your audience is and go there. If your target audience is into brief updates on Twitter then writing even the best blog won’t help you. There’s a good chance that some of your high-profile donor prospects are using LinkedIn and don’t have the slightest idea what Pinterest is. Know your audience.

Next, make sure you have a strategy. In other words, you know how to organize and consolidate everything you are doing on social media. Tools like Hootsuite and Linktree can help. Here’s a great guide on how to make a Linktree.

Having a presence on social media sites is a definite must for NPOs. Spreading yourself too thin with a presence on sites that don’t meet your needs is not. Do your homework and figure out what works best for you and then go for it!

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Are Complaints the Biggest Social Media Traffic Drivers?

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Have you ever had the opportunity to moan about something via social media? Did you do it? Put your hand up if the answer is yes…

Was it the stale bread in your lunchtime snack, a broken product, or something that you purchased but it didn’t work or was it something bigger? 

Did you complain about bad service?

So let’s talk about the dark side of social media traffic

I work with brands as well as small businesses to help them create and implement the right social media strategy for their business. If a company does its due diligence, it’ll find the Virgin Media post. They will see me bashing a brand to good effect – it got a resolution to a problem. But does that mean they will want to work with me? Am I biting the hand that feeds me?

When starting a business and considering various domain name ideas, keep branding in mind: How will it be perceived on social media?

Let’s look at it from their perspective. A company starts to follow me on Twitter. We interact a few times, start chatting and then they click on a link and find my site. They’re intrigued. Like all good social media marketers, I provide lots of valuable content for free and they can read through and see that I really know my stuff. 

They will also see that one of my busiest posts is one that shows how fed up I am with the responses from another company. They may feel empathy, they may feel annoyance or they may just lose a little respect for me.

Not all social media complaints get an easy resolution, just because you can blog and kick up a fuss doesn’t mean you’ll get the outcome you desire.

If you are looking for traffic and love to complain, be careful because it can quickly spiral out of control. It’s not just bloggers that complain, it’s irate customers.

If you are in business, great service is the way that you avoid bad social media traffic and the cost of a reputation management expert. If you experience bad service and are tempted to air it via social media, remember it can get out of hand, and not all social traffic is great traffic.

Have you or your company experienced the dark side of social media traffic?

Image by Azmi Talib from Pixabay