Oct
22
Youth Venture.org – Dream It, Do It!
A website to explore and see where you might be able to plug in, Youth Venture.org invests in and helps young people
make their dreams of community improvement come true. Idealism is a gift of youth, often dismissed, but if there were adults that were willing to help mold those ideas, why not? Young people have an energy that seems to wane with age, but doesn’t need to go to waste.
Check out YouthVenture.org and read the amazing things some of these teams have accomplished! You can visit their blog at http://blog.youthventure.org/
Ashoka’s Youth Venture® and Staples Foundation for Learning® have been proud to sponsor the Staples Ashoka Youth Social Entrepreneur Competition. The 2009 competition is closed, but watch the videos of those who won and get some ideas for next year!
Oct
16
What You Need To Know About The New FTC Ruling For Review Sites
We’ve been talking about different ways you can make money online, with affiliate marketing being the focus. One of the most common ways to promote affiliate products is to review products on your blog or website. Last week, some new guidelines were set down that if you are reviewing products on your website or plan to, you need to know. You can read it on the FTC site, or you can read a very well done summary by Augie Ray on The Customer Collective that explains the relevant points and how it affects you.
Remember, ignorance is NOT bliss.
Oct
12
Making Money With History – And Other Great Business Ideas
I found this idea on Business-Opportunities.biz, and if you haven’t bookmarked this site, it’s time you did. Dane Carlson has been posting new small business ideas since 2001, and not only could you find your next big idea on his site, but he would probably be happy to post your business on it, too. I can’t guarantee anything, but it’s well worth your time to email him about your business, and see what he says.
One of his recent posts tells about The History Factory which develops a complete history of a business with websites, videos, and other media tools to make a unique branding and/or marketing statement. It’s another example of how someone took their passion and developed it into a successful business. It’s fascinating to see what they’ve done.
Some other ideas you might be interested in that have been posted recently on Business Opportunities are:
Mom Invents Hammock-Style Seat For Babies – Solving a problem that she encountered on a flight with her small baby, this mom thought of a solution that she felt other moms would benefit from as well. She was right. See her website at www.FlyeBaby.com.
After Shark: Treasure Chest Pets – Lisa Lloyd knew she had a good product, but lacked the necessary capital to promote it. All it took was an appearance on Shark Tank, and now her Treasure Chest Pets business on it’s way. Learn more about Shark Tank here.
Used Books: A Great Online Opportunity – This is still one of the best work at home ops that anyone can do! This was a guest post by Adam Bertram, owner of the SellYourBooksOnline. blog.
I’m sure you will find many more that are interesting, and I have no doubt that it will get those creative juices flowing for your next big business idea!
More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur
Oct
12
Shark Tank – Real Entrepreneurs, Real Investors
ABC has a reality show called Shark Tank that can give a small business owner the money they need to get it off the ground or even take it to the next level. If you make it onto the show, you present your idea to a panel of venture capitalists that will bid, and often compete, to invest in your business in exchange for a variety of interests. One investor may simply offer to lend you money, while another may offer to invest money AND help develop your business for a percentage of ownership. Usually, there is a tough variety of offers which makes the show interesting.
Watching the show for a season might give you ideas for a business of your own, but also give you an idea of what catches an investor’s interest. Learn what it takes to be on Shark Tank at ABC.com. Remember, if you have a hot idea, you are putting it out there for anyone to pick up and go with it, so be sure to have your copyright or patent paperwork in order.
This is a great show to watch as a family, and discuss the options between yourselves. Ask your children what they think the entrepreneurs would do before you give your personal opinion. You might be surprised at what they say! Kids have a different perspective, and while their idea may still need developing, their ideas are coming from a much purer outlook and sometimes offer a fresh take on old ideas.
It seems like a no-brainer to remember to always encourage them in their ideas. It’s hard to resist the impulse to tell them the logical reasons their idea won’t work but if you shoot their ideas down, it could be the last one they share with you. Think of the positive points to their idea and run with that, and they will begin to exercise that entrepreneurial part of their young brain. It’s been painful for me when I’ve realized later after thinking through an idea one of my children had after impulsively shooting it down that it might actually have potential. Remember, it’s a new generation that is creating a market that may not be developed yet. After all, who would’ve thought Facebook or Twitter would be the success they have become?
>>Check out ABC’s Shark Tank, and even watch episodes online.
More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur
Oct
08
The Top 10 Affiliate Networks
I promised that I would continue giving you as much information as possible in a blog for starting your own affiliate marketing websites. While there is only so much that can be taught through blog posts, the affiliate networks you choose are important.
One point to remember when you apply to a network, they often base your acceptance upon the website you have at the time. While some are more picky than others, it’s good to have something that looks halfway decent finished before you apply to any of the major networks. If you are planning a variety of different websites representing different products or markets, I’d also like to suggest that you create a ‘Branding Site’, or “The Mother Ship” as my son calls it.
Our branding site is in need of updating, but we simply use the front page of a self-hosted WordPress blog and call it “Family Choice Marketing”. Many of the websites listed there have made it, others haven’t. You’ll find you change course as you learn what works . . . and what does NOT. We have several websites that we don’t list for copyright purposes, too. You’ll find that certain sites will mimick what you write – word for word -and create a competing campaign, which can really hurt – or completely harmless, just annoying. Who or why they do that, I’m not sure, but if you’ve put a great deal of research into a campaign, don’t list it on your branding site.
The Difference Between Affiliate Networks and Affiliate Programs
Once you have your identity established, and a decent website up, you’ll want to find products to sell. If you have a product in mind, you can find information about their affiliate program (usually) at the bottom of their web page. Often, you will see a small link that says something like “Affiliate Program” taking you to a detail page. Sometimes companies handle their own program, but bigger companies will go through a network, like Commission Junction. CJ is an excellent example of a network that handles many different company’s affiliate programs. A network will give you stats and tracking information on the different programs that helps immensely in choosing which program to invest your time in.
It’s very helpful to have all your affiliates in one place, although that is a rare luxury. A good network also protects you with a guarantee that you get paid what you are owed. Yes, it’s not uncommon to have individual affiliate programs be unreliable in their payments to you. That’s the advantage of working with a network. However, all networks are NOT the same, nor do they offer the same level of protection. When in doubt, it’s always helpful to do a Google search on that company’s affiliate program and see if there is much complaining. Not always the best indicator, but can be a red flag.
Keeping track of all your programs can be time consuming, so don’t sign up for too many programs. Find the products you want to represent and join those first. You’ll figure out as you go along which ones are worthwhile.
Here’s the top 10 to consider:
• Commission Junction – by far the best network online, and has some of the top companies represented. Hint: Don’t apply to every company when you first sign up, many will deny you and won’t reconsider. Wait until you are better established. Pays every two weeks.
• LinkShare – notched directly under CJ, Linkshare carries many of the big companies, yet does not enjoy the favor that CJ seems to. Good tracking and stats, pays monthly.
• ClickBank - with over 10,000 digital products (ebooks), Clickbank is one of the easiest to use and pays some of the highest commissions online. Hence, the competition is stiff.
• Affiliate Window – is a UK based network, which can be good because savvy affiliate marketers know that promoting in other countries can be easier than the saturated American market.
• Link Connector - is a relatively new network (2004) that offers Pay Per Click, Pay Per Sale and Pay Per Lead. I’m not familiar with it, but SelfSeo.com says it’s worth checking out for their different types of new affiliate technology such as Direct Linking which passes pagerank along to the merchant’s site.
• ShareASale – advertising real time tracking and on time payments, Share a Sale may not have as many to offer as the bigger networks, but they do have better customer service. (They try harder)
• Click Exchange – has many of the smaller companies with some good payouts. Excellent stats.
• ClixGalore- a smaller network with some great offers.
• Amazon – not really a network, or manager of programs, it deserves a place on this list because it’s a must sign up. Paying only 4% at first, once you sell more items, it can go up to 10% of the sale you send to Amazon. Incredibly easy to use, they are slow to respond to applications, so be patient.
• Google Affiliate Network – Google is well known for the money-making possibilities of Adsense, and now it’s created it’s own true-blue affiliate network and is growing rapidly (big surprise, right?). Yes, I do believe Google is taking over the world.
That’s plenty for today, if you have more questions, or want something covered in more detail, feel free to email me.
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