Internet Business Opportunities: How to Start Earning From Home?

Internet business opportunities are ideal for anyone who wants to work at home. Thanks to the Internet, there are many business opportunities being offered online. They allow anyone to make a living by working from home.

How can you earn a decent income from these opportunities?

Obtain Internet connection at home. If you do not have an Internet connection yet, you should have one. A reliable Internet is the first tool that you need so you can start working from home. Whether you are selling products online or making a website to generate income, Internet connection is a must-have tool.

Search for legitimate Internet business opportunities. When exploring your options, you have to know what special skills you can offer to your potential clients. Specifically, what are you good at that can help you make money? Do you love writing? Are you good at working with jewelry? Do you have a talent in graphic arts? As soon as you know what skills you have, then you can start searching for a job related to your skills.

Find out the needs of your potential clients. What are the things you can offer them that cannot be provided by anyone? There are many clients out there looking for someone who can do data entry jobs, computer programming and web designing. You can visit and browse job listings at freelance consultant sites. Most of these sites do not require fees upon registration.

Start your own blog. There is money in blogging. There are hundreds to thousands of bloggers out there who can testify to this fact. Blogging is one of the Internet business opportunities that you should not miss.

Create an eBook. If you want to share your tips and ideas on how to become a full-time mother or whatever topic you have in mind, you can create your own electronic book and sell it online. You do not need to have perfect writing skills. However, it can be a big plus if you have excellent writing skills. Most readers prefer to read friendly and informal tone. The reason for this is that it is easier to understand and digest, rather than opting for a very formal writing.

Earn through affiliate marketing. When considering this, you have to own a website where you can post your ideas and comments about a particular product. Do not worry. Starting a new website does not burn a hole in your pocket.

Before you start looking for Internet business opportunities, however, you have to make sure that such home-based work is reputable.

Marketing Crypt Tales: Are You Just Earning the Badge?

How Will COVID-19 Impact Holiday Shopping?

COVID-19 is a global crisis that has affected economies, supply chains and retailers around the world. Your customers’ purchasing decisions this fall/winter may look completely different from what they did last year.

As marketers, we’ve had to pivot our strategies in the face of COVID-19.

Those tried-and-true marketing tactics that worked for us before may not anymore. No matter what type of small business you have, it’s crucial to realize that because the retail landscape has shifted, your holiday marketing plan must too.

Take a look at these recent stats from Think with Google:

  • 56% of Canadian shoppers say the pandemic will affect how they’ll shop for the holidays this year. Almost 65% of those who plan to shop this season said they will shop online more than they did in previous seasons.
  • 73% say they will browse for gift ideas online and not in-store.

So as we head into the 2020 holiday shopping season, here are 3 ways to ensure your small business stands out from the competition and reaches your target audience effectively.

1. Embrace communication.

Communication is always important, and even more so when customers may have health and safety concerns around in-person shopping.

Contactless buying and curb side pickup are already incredibly popular, so expect that to continue into the holidays and beyond.

As part of your holiday marketing plan, think about how you can share these types of advantages with your customers, whether it’s a blog or adding keywords like “curb side pickup” to your social media posts and paid ads.

Before you share your seasonal messaging with people, make sure your inventory is up to date. Many shoppers will be searching online for products or services with the keywords “available near me” before heading out.

You don’t want someone to drive over to your shop because they saw a trendy toy on your website or loved an outfit they saw was “available near me,” only to arrive and find out that you don’t actually have it in stock.

I’m sure there are many other examples of how COVID-19 will impact holiday shopping.

READ: How to Create an Email Marketing Campaign Your Audience Will Love

An email newsletter campaign can be an essential part of your marketing plan, and not just during the holidays.

Sending consistent newsletters to your followers gives you the ability to develop a “Know, Like and Trust” relationship with them that will dramatically increase your brand visibility and market reach.

Yet many business owners and entrepreneurs pass up this golden opportunity to build relationships and increase sales. Are you one of them?

I’m sharing some reasons why your small business should create an email marketing campaign and offering tips to help you increase open rates.

Read more on our website.

2. Think local and lightweight shopping.

While lockdown shopping boosted Amazon’s revenues by 40%, many consumers have been trying to shop locally as much as possible. According to BDC’s research, 97% of Canadian consumers choose to buy local to support the local economy.

This isn’t about just pushing local products or services on your target audience. It’s about telling your brand story, whether you’ve been serving customers in the same small town for 40 years or are a new startup supporting charitable seasonal initiatives.

Become part of your community, and make sure that whatever you’re selling locally provides real value to your customers. People do want to support local businesses this season, but that doesn’t mean they’ll sacrifice quality or convenience.

During the 2020 holiday shopping season, also think “lightweight.” The majority of Canadians will be home in December, rather than travelling to see family or going on a vacation. Consider what that means for gift-giving:

  • Consumers will likely be looking for small gifts to ship to loved ones that they can’t see in person.
  • People will be receptive to free or discounted shipping offers.
  • Gift certificates and gift cards could be the most popular presents of 2020.

Are there some ways you can target your audience with lightweight and local products this year?

3. Adjust your offerings.

I spoke above about the shift to more lightweight gifts, but what about the gifts themselves?

With so many homebound families this year, people who previously bought things like vacations, tickets to events or formal shoes/clothing as gifts will need some other ideas.

Think about how you can reach your target audience with replacements for gifts that don’t make sense in the current climate.

For example:

  • An entrepreneur in the hospitality industry could offer an “experience in a box” for customers who can’t travel right now.
  • A clothing retailer could focus more on casually chic clothing people can wear in or out of the home, rather than on high heels and festive dresses.
  • A sporting goods retailer could highlight solo sports like skiing and swimming in newsletter campaigns, to encourage socially distancing folks to get out into nature.

How can you adjust your offerings to give your customers something unique and timely in the 2020 holiday shopping season?

I like to always say that with big challenges come big opportunities. While we’ll have to wait and see exactly how COVID-19 impacts holiday shopping, we do know that the better prepared we are as small business owners, the better!

I hope this Holiday Marketing Guide for Business helps you have a successful season!

To your business success,

Susan

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