Work at Home Moms Talk Radio

Work at Home Moms Talk Radio #275

kelly@kellymccausey.com — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:22:06 +0000

This week I’m talking about managing your affiliate links. We all sign up for affiliate programs with high hopes of making a couple of quick recommends and laughing all the way to the bank. That’s a pretty rare occurrence of course – it takes time, skill and persistence to make an income from affiliate programs.

I’ll be sharing a few tips on how I make a steady income from affiliate programs and giving you some ideas on how you can make more affiliate recommendations each and every week.

Just keeping track of your affiliate links can be a chore in itself. I made a quick seven minute video to show you how I organize my affiliate links and keep them handy for using.

Watch the video. (Be patient, it may take a minute to load up.)

10 Best Websites For Finding A Business To Start Next Fall

kelly@kellymccausey.com — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:35:33 +0000

Are you considering starting a business when your kids go back to school next fall? It is not to early to start brainstorming and planning! Yes, it is the height of summer vacation, but research and selecting the right opportunity for you and your family takes time.

The good news is that I have already saved you some time already! Look no further. Here are the 10 Best Websites For Finding A Business to Start Next Fall.

Hot Seminar Series – Kelly McCausey is THE industry leader for all things related to mamas working at home, and this summer she is introducing us to eight real people running profitable businesses 100% online. For just $10 you can access the entire call series and listen at your leisure.

Top 10 Internet Home Business Ideas You Can Start and Run in Your Underwear – Put together but the CEO of Sparkplugging.com, this list is jam-packed not only with online business ideas, but also valuable information about important skills needed, best learning resources, and recommended books. A must-see!

WAHCheck.com – This site goes beyond listing work at home opportunities. It also incorporates reviews and ratings given by contributors as well as the general public.

Kelly’s podcast with Linda Stacy of IRepNetwork – If you are considering a direct sales career then this podcast is a must-listen. Linda Stacy, a veteran in the direct sales industry, gives advice on how to see if direct sales is for you, key questions you need to ask before you join, and how to make an informed choice on a company.

WAHM Forums – Want to see what other moms are talking about before you make a decision? Check in at the WAHM Forums, which are categorized into specific business boards for every direct sales product or work at home business.

Blog Internship – Thinking of starting a blog? As a recent graduate, I highly recommend Kelly McCausey’s internship program. There’s a big difference between reading and DOING, and in 10 weeks you will transform yourself from newbie to expert. Start now and you will complete the program right after the kidlets start back to school!

Christian Work @ Home Moms – Under Founder Jill Hart’s direction, this site is an information clearinghouse and support network for moms with a unique Christian highlight. Browse this site for ideas, then watch out for her soon-to-be released book So You Want To Be a Work At Home Mom: A Christian’s Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business, with co-author Diana Ennen, for just $10.87 plus shipping.

WebMomz’s Best Home Business Ideas – This list is unique in that it is broken down first by your primary skill or interest (like “arts” or “caregiver”), then lists businesses that will complement or fit you.

Frugal WAHMs Talk Radio – At the same time you are figuring out how to make more money, Frugal WAHMs Talk Radio will support you in your efforts to SAVE more money in your family budget. I recently interviewed Melissa Smallwood, the new owner of the site, who brings new and creative ideas.

Moms Network’s Break-even Analysis – Before you make a final decision, read Ann Garner’s guidance on how to assess what EXACLTLY it is going to take for you to make money in your new career. It might surprise you!

photo credit: Photos8.com

What’s On Your Mind?

kelly@kellymccausey.com — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:17:37 +0000

Work-at-home moms, what is on your mind now that we’ve hit mid-summer? I am putting together my last (*sniff*) and BEST post, and want to address a super-important, current, relevant topic. Are you turning your thoughts to next fall already? Wondering what business you could start once you get the kids back in school? Or, have you used up all your “keep-the-kids-busy” activities and wondering what to do next? Have you looked at your business progress the first half of the year, and are wondering what could help you make the next half great? What else? My mother-of-all-mothers Top 10 List post will appear on Sunday, July 12th. Please leave your comment below!

photo credit: kevindooley

Should You Truncate Your Posts in Your RSS Feed?

kelly@kellymccausey.com — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:30:12 +0000

If you read a lot of blogs, chances are you read them in a feed reader. I use Google Reader as my reader of choice, I can read my feeds on any computer or on my iPhone.

You can set up your blog to publish the full post in feed readers or just a partial post, a little teaser if you will. You must click on the title to be taken to the actual site to read the rest of the post. Most blogs I read use the full post method, but a few are partial posts, like the blog in the image below taken from my feed reader:

My question is, what is better for business, a partial, teaser post or the full one?

The obvious benefit to a partial post is more people will click over to your actual blog to read the rest of the post. You will get more traffic to your website, more eyes on your ads, perhaps clicking on your ads. That seems like a pretty big benefit, doesn’t it?

The problem is, as I have read, various bloggers have tested this theory out, and when they truncate the posts in the RSS feed, they actually get LESS traffic to their sites. So not only are people not reading your entire post that you worked so hard on, but they aren’t even thinking of visiting your site. They are ignoring your fabulous posts and blog.

So is it worth it to put up your entire post and have people read it in their feed reader and never visit your site? Well, it looks like yes, it is worth it. People will read your entire post and some will click through to comment. Others will click your affiliate links in your text.

You can post links to the site (not your feed) in your social media campaigns to drive more traffic to your site. You may have to have more call to actions (Click to get your Free report), but in the end, you should have better results. Should? Yes, you will want to test everything for your specific market, your results might be different.

Personally, as a new mom (and WAHM), I am busier than I ever thought possible (single mamas and mamas of multiples – I bow down to you!!), and I just don’t have time to click through to posts to see if it is worth my time reading. If it is a great post, I will want to comment, so I click through. If I am reading it on my phone, I will not want to click through unless I know the site well. I just don’t have time to add another step on, and I have been deleting blogs with partial feeds from my reader with great abandon.

When I set up my new blog, I checked to see what other bloggers did, and all of the big names publish the whole post, so I am blindly following their lead. I figure they must know something about successful blogging. I am not confident enough to test this theory out on my own yet!

Have you tested this theory? What works the best for your business blog?

Completion, Not Perfection

kelly@kellymccausey.com — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:30:11 +0000

How many projects do you have almost completed that need just that last little tweak or addition and it would be finished? The vast majority of entrepreneurs complete projects and products to around 97% completion, and then put them aside – never to be fully completed.

Why do we do this? What stops us putting in that last 3% of work and having another product or service to sell that brings in income? It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? We do 97% of the work and then put it aside with only 3% left to go – and we never make a cent off all that work because it’s never completed. It’s because we’re looking for perfection. We compare our work against everything else out there, and find it wanting. We wonder if it’s good enough, if our competitors have done it better, if it’s overpriced, underpriced, if there’s a market there for it – we get scared that it’s not perfect and so we never finish it.

And that’s for the products that actually make it to 97% completion – even more of them never get past the planning stage! Now that can be a good thing, if in the planning stages you realise there’s no market, or the market is saturated, or you can’t manufacture the product with a decent profit. However, what about those products that are shown to be feasible and marketable after your market research and planning – and still don’t move ahead?

It’s time to put the fear to one side and complete those projects.

No money is ever made in a business until you do something, finish it and market it. How much more could you be making if you completed those products that are so close to finished now? And what would happen if you sent them out even if they weren’t absolutely 100% perfect?

Completion – not perfection.

I’m not saying to produce sloppy work that shows you haven’t put effort into it. I’m talking about leaving off the endless tweaking, the proof-reading and minor changes that are never totally finished. The re-designing to add just one more feature. The striving for the perfect website with which to promote your business.

You can research endlessly, make alterations and changes, discuss wording and grammar ad infinitum. Or you can take a deep breath, step up to the plate and put it out there. If you’ve done your market research and can see there is a need and market for your product, then it needs to be out there and selling in that market. Not still on your workbench or computer.

It is more important to have something completed than to have it 100% perfect. Completion will sell. Perfection will sit uselessly and never bring in a cent. Get that product out there. The perfection can come later, and the great plus is that you’ll have feedback from users who have bought the product.

Remember, Completion not perfection.

Melinda is a Business Coach who specialises in working with at-home mums. Her areas of expertise include developing business plans that really work, finding clarity and direction amongst the chaos of working at home, streamlining systems and processes for greater efficiency and effectiveness and developing profits. You can find her at WAHM Biz Builder

Work at Home Moms Talk Radio #274

kelly@kellymccausey.com — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:02:24 +0000

Christie Ingram of WAHM Hacks joins me this week to chat about her experiences as a blog intern and the launch of my new Blog Internship program. We talk about the value of receiving constructive feedback of your writing and how important it is to find out own voice in blogging.

I believe you have to know who you want to talk to and what you want them to do before you start blogging. Then its all about covering topics that let you make great relevent recommendations.

I hope you’ll check out Blog Internship!

Create Your Own Sales Force: Start An Affiliate Program

kelly@kellymccausey.com — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:00:10 +0000

Do you have an information product or another product that you sell online? Imagine what it be like to have your own sales force that you don’t have to pay unless they produce results. What if your sales force brought you new customers every day? That is the benefit of having an affiliate program!

I am very interested in this model, but I have so many questions, like:

How much commission should I offer in my affiliate program?

What kind of affiliate tools should I provide to my affiliates?

Can I have an affiliate program with a service-based business?

How EXACTLY do I get started?

Alice Seba, the Internet Marketing Sweetie (and a long-time mentor of mine!), has answered all of these questions (and more) in her Affiliate Manager Sweetie course. She guides you step-by-step in starting and running your own profitable affiliate program that your affiliates will love. This downloadable course includes the Comprehensive Affiliate Management Training Guide, easy reference checklists, email templates, and three bonus interviews, all for only $47.95.

I am running over to get started today – are you? You can also find Alice Seba on Twitter.

Link Love: Take Your Social Media Up A Notch

kelly@kellymccausey.com — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:00:50 +0000

Cassie at Mamas On The Web points us in the direction of an awesome daily Social Media Checklist to follow.

Kristen Munson, a homeschooling WAHM, tells us her Thoughts on Attending the First Social Media Breakfast (Tech Valley). Ever wondered what it would be like to meet up with your tweeps? Kristen has great insight on how “online social media is only part of the story – the rest is meeting people in real life.”

Jessica Smith of Jessica Knows poses a very interesting blogging question about Measuring Reach and Influence: Beyond the Page Views. Does size matter??

Fellow intern Jendi at Profitable Mommy Blogging wonders Is Your Website Sticky? (When mama Jendi hears the word ‘sticky’ she reaches for the nearest washcloth!)

And because this last post is anti-social media, I think it is also an important thought. Ed Roach reminds us How to Make Face Time Work for You. When you are done with your tweeting and blogging, don’t forget the opportunities for you in the face-to-face world!

This Is Your Chance! Chat With Authors Of “So You Want To Be A Work-At-Home Mom”

kelly@kellymccausey.com — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:00:39 +0000

This week is an exciting week over at Christian Work-At-Home Moms! If you have ever considered a career as a Virtual Assistant then this is your week to get started! Jill Hart, founder of Christian Work-At-Home Moms, is highlighting the Virtual Assistant career, and industry pioneer Diana Ennen will check in every day to answer questions and provide new topics every day. I will tune in so I hope to see you there!

Jill Hart and Diana Ennen are co-authors of the soon-to-be-released “So You Want to be a Work-At-Home Mom: A Christian’s Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business.“ Make sure you get your copy as soon as it is released! You can pre-order their book on Amazon for just $10.87 plus shipping.

$5=Your One-Year Subscription To Family Fun Magazine!

kelly@kellymccausey.com — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:00:08 +0000

I am writing this post because I just about fell off my chair when I saw this deal! Family Fun magazine is THE must-have magazine for busy moms and you can order an entire year subscription for $5 on Amazon! My family doesn’t need to ask what to get me for Christmas – they just renew my subscription.

As a busy work-at-home mom, every month I find many creative (and cheap!) projects to keep the kids busy. I tear out and file away all the great ideas. The recipes are unique and kid-friendly. The articles address issues related to all ages of children. This really is the only magazine that I know will have something great on every page.

I don’t know how long they are offering this steal-of-a-deal, so grab your subscription now while you can!