Heavy Hitters Moving Into Mobile

Mobile phone usage is growing fast, especially smart phones, and some big names are moving into the field.

First, Google is buying AdMob for 750 million dollars.

AdMob is one of the top sellers of banner ads on iPhone applications and Web pages that can be retrieved from mobile phones. The acquisition could help establish Google as an early leader in the small but rapidly expanding mobile phone advertising business. [NY Times]

Advertising sales on mobile phones was a paltry 160 million dollars last year compared for $22 billion for online ads, and the “experts” projections for future ad spending differ radically, but everyone’s in agreement that it has no place to go but up and Google is positioning themselves to be in the lead. Read more.
————————
HOSB RSS Feed

From Small Business To Big Business – One Man’s Story

A lot of clients ask us “how do I get started with an online business?” Thomas Heath, a columnist for the Washington post, just wrote a column about one man’s rise from small sales on eBay to a 5 million dollar a year company.

Find your niche. The man in question is a U.S. Marine named Jeffrey Morin. He started in the niche of “challenge coins”, memorabilia coins that commemorate service in a military unit or exercise. He saw them on eBay selling for around $10 – $15 and knew he could buy them for around $5. A small business was born.

Grow your sales. After about six months he got an email asking if he could he find a coin dedicated to mothers with sons in the Marine Corps. No, but he could sure make one! Read more.
————————
HOSB RSS Feed

Recession Creates Uptick In New Businesses

A recent study by the Kauffman Foundation shows an uptick in business startups in 2008. It’s what the New York Times calls ‘accidental’ or ‘unintentional’ businesses.

Many unemployed people are turning to small business startups as an alternative to a corporate job, a job they got laid off from and are having little luck finding a new one.

The NYTimes article goes on about startup costs…

…the costs of owning a business add up quickly. There are state and local taxes and fees, insurance, salaries and contract pay, overhead, inventory and the like. And these days, lenders are none too generous when it comes to forking over money to new businesses.

For an online business that’s just nonsense. All that can come later. To start an online business all you need is a bank account and an Internet connection.

Read more.
————————
HOSB RSS Feed

Google Checkout’s New Shopping Cart

Google Checkout has come up with a new ‘gadget’ that lets you add a small shopping cart to your website or blog. It’s still in the Experimental stage…

First, you have to sign up for a Google Checkout merchant account. Next, list your products in a Google Apps spreadsheet. Third, get the HTML code and embed the online store into your web site.

The advantage – it’s a free and easy way to set up a small shopping cart – there are no monthly charges, just a percentage of the sale (depending on sales per month) and a small transaction fee..

The disadvantage – it only works with Google Checkout. Prospective customers have to sign up for a Google account if they don’t already have one prior to purchasing your product.

Read more.
————————
HOSB RSS Feed

Marketing vs. Advertising

I’m often asked “What’s the difference between marketing and advertising?”. To put it simply advertising is a piece of your marketing strategy.

Marketing starts with your prospective customer – who they are, where they are and what they want. What problems do they have that need a solution?

Marketing includes:

• Market research, including
  • Customer research
  • Competition research
• Sales strategy
  • Pricing
  • Sales copy – add audio? video?
  • Specials/discounts/coupons?
  • Bonuses?
  • Upsells
• Advertising
  • Branding – promote corporate name
  • Public/Media relations
  • General ads – TV, radio, banner ads
  • Targeted ads – search engine ads, mail list, other newsletters/ezines
  • Testing/tracking
• Product distribution – collecting the money and shipping the product
• Customer feedback/support

For example, you’ve started an online business, done the research, found keywords that relate to your prospective customers and set up a Google Adwords account. Now you write a 3 line ad that brings people to your sales page.

Advertising is just a small part of your overall marketing plan. The great thing about online advertising is that you can target your ads. When a car company pays $100,000 to run a single ad on TV, 97% of the viewers aren’t interested in buying a new car.

When someone types “new car prices” into a search engine the odds are MUCH greater that they are looking to actually buy a car and you can have an advertisement in front of them for under $1.

That’s why Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research says their latest forecast shows digital advertising almost doubling in the next 5 years (2009-2014).

Sign up as a Home Office Small Business Member and we’ll show you how to set up your marketing strategy..
————————
HOSB RSS Feed

How Technology Affects Your Home Business

Setting up, maintaining, and managing a home business has become vastly different with the introduction of today’s new technology, which includes the Internet and e-commerce. People are actually finding it easy to become managers of their own businesses, from the comforts of their home.

Small home based businesses and home offices have been created all over the country by people who would like extra income on the side and those who would like to break from the bondage of a traditional 9 to 5 day job.

But let’s take a closer look on what technology has done to home business. It has revolutionized both the mechanics and the scope in a very convincing way.

Read more.
————————
HOSB RSS Feed