Tangible items are fun to review and if you can buy one once in awhile, they make great reviews for video. People love to see products in action, even if it’s just you taking something out of the box and discussing it. These are called unboxing videos, and all you do is wait for your product to be delivered and then turn on the camera and record your reactions to what you think as you bring the product out of the box and discuss its features. If possible, if the product allows for it, then do an instant review of yourself using the product at that time. Or, promise you’ll…

Everything you’ve done to this point has been based on the required technical and strategic steps you have to take to set up a thriving business online. Now it’s time to discover how you can monetize your efforts. One of the easiest ways to earn profits online using your blog and email system is to review other people’s products. This can be a mix of tangible and digital products, depending on your niche – or it might be one or the other. Pick Your Products Carefully It’s never a good idea to choose products based solely on what’s on the bestseller list. Although this does indicate a hefty interest and…

Which Email Autoresponder Should You Choose? There are many email autoresponder services online. Some are free, or have free starter options, and others are paid services. You want something you can grow with over time. If you absolutely don’t have the budget for an email autoresponder, then get started with a tool like Mail Chimp. But if you can spend under $20 a month, go with a professional service such as Aweber, GetResponse, or others. Normally, these services have you level up over time. So for instance, on Aweber, it might be $19 a month for up to 500 subscribers, but you get unlimited email sending abilities. As you grow…

There are some niche markets where it may not matter if you build a list of subscribers. For example, if someone is buying a tangible item such as a toy for their grandchild once every major holiday like Christmas and birthdays. But with most niche markets, there are multiple selling opportunities, so that means you want to have the visitor’s name and email address so you can follow up with more tips and advice – as well as promotions to offer. If you have a site on countertop blenders, for example, you can still promote things to this list that are relevant, if not specifically about the item they purchased.…

WordPress is the best blog platform for you to use for your site. It allows you to have pages where you sell products and blog posts where you give on-going tips and advice or make recommendations. When you log into your hosting account via cpanel, you’ll see the option for a QuickInstall of WordPress. Just follow the directions and it will deliver the login URL (usually yourdomain.com/wp-admin) and you can get started blogging! There are step-by-step videos online that you can watch if you need some hand holding, but the system walks you through it easily. When your blog is live, go through the settings and choose how you want…

Hosting is a bit more confusing for many people. At HomeFreeMedia, we have our own hosting business, HomeFreeHost.com. If you contact me, I can take care of all those crazy little details for you, so you can concentrate on building your business. You can also choose to go with a big name like Hostgator or another provider that has 24/7 help available. This decreases the amount of frustration you’ll have if something goes wrong or you feel stuck. You host will let you buy an account in monthly increments, to keep costs low. You can get basic hosting for around $10 a month and this is where all of your…

When you’re doing your initial planning, you might start out thinking in terms of a broad topic, like fishing or golf. But to some, it may seem overwhelming trying to teach all of that – or maybe you just have a specific or narrow interest in the topic. You can decide to narrow down and position yourself as the go to person for a smaller demographic, searching for information that suits their needs, rather than everyone, everywhere. So for instance, you could do a narrow site on: • Bass Fishing • Improving Your Short Game (for golfers) • Raising Chickens (for homesteaders) • Getting rid of (or minimizing) wrinkles •…

There are two types of niche markets that you can consider when deciding what type of product you want to offer. Trend based markets rise up quickly and can be very profitable in the short run, while evergreen markets will always be full of people looking for answers and so can provide a steady income for as long as you want to be of service in that area. Trend-Based Niche Markets There are some topics that are trendy, and you can make fast, easy money on those if you stay alert and responsive. For example, let’s say the Zika virus is big in the news right now. You could create…

Another cool way to pick a niche is to merge topics. For example, anti aging and weight loss can be combined – or golf for fitness. You could merge things like gardening and stress relief, and that opens the door to all sorts of stress management and gardening products you could promote. However, make sure there’s some sort of logical connection between the two. For example, don’t just stick cooking and anti aging on the same site. If you specifically want to share cooking for anti aging, with herbs and foods that turn back the clock, then that’s fine! Or, don’t even merge niches – just keep it broad like,…