While starting a home business on a shoestring is possible, lack of funding is one of the top reasons businesses fail.  There are expenses that go into starting and running a business that you can’t skimp on if you’re serious about success. Yes you can get a free website, but they’re not as professional and often are difficult to market because of long complicated URLs and they promote other products or services.

You can market on social media for free, but building an email list is a better way to reach and stay connected with your market.  Depending on the business you run, you may need specialized equipment, software or materials to get your business off the ground. All of these things cost money.

Many would-be entrepreneurs tap into their savings, retirement or credit, or seek loans to fund their ventures. Many are successful using this method, but many are not. Instead they find themselves deeper in debt and struggling to make ends meet.

Fortunately, with a little self-discipline, elbow grease and ingenuity, you can get the money you need to launch your home business.

1. Save your pennies. Okay, so it will take a long time to save pennies, but you can save a few dollars here and there which can add up. Saving $25 a week, will give you $100 a month, $1,300 a year you can put towards your business.

If money is tight, look at expenses you can get rid of. Do you really need a $120 per month cable bill? Can you brew your coffee at home instead of spending $3 a day ($15 a week, $780 a year) at the java joint? Instead, take the money you spend on cable, coffee and other fun, non-essentials and invest it in your business.

Once you’re successful, you can get all those items you sacrificed for your startup.

2. Sell unused and unwanted items on eBay, Amazon or Craigslist. Whenever I was short on cash, I scoured my home for stuff I didn’t want or need and sold them on eBayand books on Amazon. You can maximize your income from selling used items by cleaning them up, taking a great picture, writing a compelling headline and description, and being completely honest about their condition and value.  If you choose to sell through Craigslist, make sure you meet potential buyers in a public place and ask for payment in cash or cashier’s check to avoid fraud.

3. Have a yard sale. Bikes, televisions and other large items are hard to sell online and a hassle to ship. Plus, selling online can take time. A yard sale allows you to sell your items all at once during one day. No packing or shipping required. It’s possible you’ll earn less for some items by selling them through a yard sale versus online, but you’ll have the money and the items out of your home faster.  Consider donating the items that don’t sell to your local charity. While this won’t make money, it does keep the items from cluttering your home again and you can take a tax deduction, which is money you get later.

4. Sell your service at a discount to the first 3-5 clients. One way to start generating money right away in a service-based business is to network to find clients. You probably already have a phone and Internet. Use them both to call potential clients and network with people who can connect you to prospects. Not only can this help you raise money quickly, but also it can jump start your business and garner referrals, as well.

Having a home business can save you money. Further, you can run a home business on budget. However, the most successful home businesses invest in products and services that allow them to reach their market, promote a professional image, and support growth.

Success in home business comes from offering a quality product or service to a target market. It sounds easy enough, but many new home business owners are often inconsistent and ineffective in their marketing because they don’t understand things like the marketing mix and how the 5 P’s of marketing work together to find your market and entice them to buy.

The 5 Ps of Marketing

For years marketers referred to the 4 P’s of marketing, but recently a 5th P, People, was added.

The 5 Ps of marketing are:

1. Product: What products ore services do you provide? Be specific. What are the physical attributes of the product or the details of the services you provide? Explain the features of your products and services and how they specifically benefit your market. Also include how you differ from what your competitors provide.Understanding how your product solves your market’s problem in a way that is different from your competition is crucial.

2. Price: What are you charging for your product or service? It needs to be enough to cover your expenses and make a profit, and yet fit with what the market is willing to pay for the quality of product and level of service your provide.

3. Place:  Where are your products and services sold? How are your products and services distributed? How will you get them to your customers and clients. For example, are they digital goods sold online and delivered through an autorepsonder system?

Or you do you use a third-party such as Amazon’s fulfillment program?

4. Promotion: What methods are you going to use to let potential customers and clients know about your products and services? To do this, you need to understand your market, including where it can be found and how you can create marketing messagesthat it will respond to.

Hint: pointing out how your product will solve the market’s problem (#!) is the starting point.

5. People: Who is helping you in your business? The people and services that you use in your business can impact your success. If your sales people or virtual assistant is rude, you’ll lose customers and clients. If your product or service delivery systems fall short (i.e. the digital product isn’t delivered), you’ll have complaints. Customers have a choice in who to do business with and they prefer companies that provide easy-to use systems, offer customer service when needed, and are attentive and responsive to their needs.Happy customers will become repeat customers and will refer new business.

How the 5 Ps Guide Marketing Effectiveness

By following the 5Ps you can insure you’re effectively reaching your market and providing the products and services they need. The better you understand and target your market, the less time and expense you expend in reaching them. Especially for small, single-person business, you don’t want to waste time or money on shotgun approaches to marketing. The 5Ps will help you focus on what you need to do in marketing, and also, give you clues when things aren’t working.

For example, if sales are sluggish, you can consider if your price to high or perhaps your order system unclear.

The 5Ps of the marketing mix are all part of your bigger business and marketing plans. These tasks might seem boring and tedious, but are necessary to help you focus your activities, and better understand and reach your market. And like other aspects of your business and marketing plan, the 5Ps aren’t static. They change and evolve with market needs. For example, technological advancements may require you change how you promote your business, which we have seen in the growth of social media as a new promotion method. Or maybe your market changes. For many years, my work-at-home website’s largest market was moms. Today, 18 years later, the market is older, with over 50% of them over the age of 45.

Because the 5Ps are dynamic, you’ll want to conduct activities that help you stay focused on what’s working and what’s not. Some resources that can help you include studying your website stats and analytics, surveying your customers for feedback, and testing the continued efficiently and effectiveness of your sales and delivery systems.

When baking a cake, you can gather all the ingredients and mix it up yourself, or you can buy one that’s already been baked. Starting a home business offers the same option. You can assemble your business from scratch, or buy one that is fully formed. You just need to decide which option is best for you. Here are the pros and cons, and some things to think about as you determine what business to start, and whether or not you should go it alone or buy an existing business.

Pros of Starting From Scratch

There are many benefits that come from taking your idea and forming it into a business including:

• Greater amount of control over your idea and how you manage your business.
• Ability to be more creative.
• Opportunity to use your unique knowledge, skills, and passion to create your vision.
• Low start-up, especially for service-based businesses.
• Easier time recouping loss or expenses.

Cons of Starting From Scratch

Like everything else in life, there are a few negatives to starting a business from scratch, including:

• You’re responsible for all aspects of the business including the product or service development, creating the marketing plan and promotional materials, distributing your products, etc.
• You need to create your own systems and plans for organizing and running your home business.
• It can take longer to achieve success because of a longer learning curve and starting at zero.

Pros of Buying

If you’re not sure you want to start from nothing, there are many different ways you can buy a business, including buying an existing business, joining a business opportunity or direct sales company, or buying a franchise. There are many benefits that come from buying a business, such as:

• Brand recognition, especially when buying a direct sales or franchise business.
• The products and services already exist, as does the marketing plan and promotional materials.
• Operating systems are already in place.
• Expert help and training available to teach what you need to know and do, as well as answer questions.
• Faster path to profits and reduced risk of failure because the business has a history of success.

Cons of Buying

There are a few drawbacks to consider when buying a home business, such as:

• Cost of purchase. While direct sales businesses are affordable, buying an existing business or franchise can cost thousands of dollars. Plus there’s the purchase of any special equipment, inventory and marketing materials.
• Less control over how the business is run. While having an existing plan you can follow is helpful, it can also limit how you run your business. Many direct sales companies and franchises have rules restrictions you’re required to adhere to.
• There may be hidden issues, especially buying an existing business that might be struggling financially.

Deciding Which Option Is Best for You

There is no one best option when it comes to home business. You can only determine what is best for you.

Some things to consider include:

• Interest: Choosing a business idea should first come from finding an option that you have a knowledge of and/or interest in. Too many people search for what will pay the most, but you should always choose passion over profit. Running a business that doesn’t excite you, or that you don’t like, is a sure way to fail. Once you have an idea, you need to research how to start it, including whether or not you should start from scratch or invest in buying a business. The answer could be made for you if there is no business to buy.
• Cost: What do you have to invest in your business? Starting from scratch or direct sales is usually the most affordable while buying an existing business or franchise can get expensive.
• Control: Do you prefer to set your rules and do what you want? Then a scratch business, or possibly buying an existing business is best. If you’d prefer tap into an existing structure and system of business, buying a direct sales or franchise business might be a better option.
• Training: You can get books, take courses and/or get a mentor to start a scratch business, but generally, buying a business offers training included in the deal.
• Operation: Finally, you need to decide how and where you want to work. Do you want to run your business 100 percent online? Would you rather meet with clients in person? You can create from scratch or buy online businesses, but many direct sales and franchises require in-person work, even if they have online resources.
• Time: Are you hoping to run your business part-time or full-time? Do you need to operate around a schedule, such as homeschooling? Most home businesses, even those you buy, offer flexibility, but not all. You’ll want to consider start-up and management time as you research your business options.

This is the fourth part of a four-part series on starting a home business in a month. If you missed the first three weeks, which are about planning and putting your business foundation in place, and marketing, you can review them here:

Start Your Home Business in a Month: The First Week

Start Your Home Business in a Month: Week Two

Start Your Home Business in a Month: Week Three

At this point, you’ve done your research and put your business foundation in place, and began marketing.

During this last week, you’ll do more marketing, create programs to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your marketing effort, and assess to make sure you’re being effective and efficient.

Day 22: Answer Questions on Forums

Marketing is about offering a solution to your target market. One of the best ways to do this is to go to the places they’re talking about their “problem” and help them. Online groups and forums are the ideal spot to learn what your market needs, and to give free advice as a way to build rapport and trust that will have them checking out your business. You can find groups and forums through a search on your topic and through social media (i.e. Facebook and LinkedIn have many groups). The key to success in groups is to be helpful, not a sales person.

Day 23: Consider Paid Advertising Options

To be honest, I avoid paid advertising as much as possible; however, depending on your business, it might be a great way to get customers and clients quickly.

Today, many people are getting great results from Facebook Ads, which offers the ability to target your ad to specific market segments. Other advertising options include buying banner space on websites, sponsoring features on websites,  and ezine ads. When paying for advertising, make sure your ad is going in front of your target market and write an offer that speaks directly to them.

Day 24: Develop a Reward Program for Loyal Customers/Clients to Encourage Referrals

The most responsive and least expensive form of marketing comes through referrals. Word-of-mouth marketing is free and the people who are referred to you are more likely to buy because someone has said something nice about you. Encourage people to make referrals by offering great products and services. Go beyond that by offering rewards, such as a discount when they send a referral. In fact, consider having a loyalty program (for repeat business), regardless of referrals. People like to do business with companies that appreciate them.

Day 25: Create a Customer Service Policy

Many people don’t think about customer service until they have customers asking questions or complaining. How you respond to customers will affect not only if they continue to work with you, but also what they tell others about you. Start by having guarantees and refund policies clearly outlined on your website or contract. Make it easy for clients and customers to get support and respond to them quickly. Always be professional, even toward customers or clients who might not deserve it.

Day 26: Deliver Quality Products and Services

This is a no-brainer, but now that you’re a few weeks into your business, it’s a great time to review your products and services to make sure they’re delivering on your promise.

Is there something you can do to make them better?  Remember, the better your products and services, the more likely people will buy from you again and tell others about you.

Day 27: Creating a Marketing Schedule

Now that you’ve implemented many marketing techniques, review what’s working and what isn’t to develop a marketing calendar that includes something each day of the week. For example, I don’t write or update every day, but I post Home Business content to social media daily. Items to have on your schedule include social media posts, email marketing, blog updates, group/forum visits and whatever else you’re using to find and attract your customers and clients.

Day 28: Follow up with prospects

Prospects are people in your target market, many of whom may have expressed interest in what you have, but haven’t actually bought from or hired you.

Too many entrepreneurs don’t follow up with their prospects, which is unfortunate, because many future sales can be made by staying in touch. Following up doesn’t mean you have pester people for a sale. Following up can include contacting prospects by phone or email to see if they have questions. They can be added to your updates list where you can periodically let them know about news, sales and other goings-ons in your business. When it comes to buying, timing is often a key. You can’t be there at the right time, if you’re not staying in touch.

Day 29: Follow up with current and past clients and customers

Are your clients and customers happy with your product or service? Are they struggling to get the results they wanted from what they bought from you? The best way to find out is to ask.  A great way to build repeat and referral clients and customers is by following up after the sale to ask them if they have questions or feedback. Once or twice a year, do a survey asking for feedback and ideas on your business. Successful business es deliver what customers/clients need. The best way to know if you’re doing a good job is to ask your current and past clients. Further, by staying in touch, you give them an opportunity to buy again, plus your attentiveness will encourage referrals.

Day 30: Fortify Yourself

You have started a business, you’re marketing it, and hopefully, you’re beginning to see results. However, you might also be experiencing setbacks, frustrations, and even failures. Success in a home requires stamina, persistence, tenacity and a never give-up attitude. You need commitment and tricks to keep you moving forward when you feel like quitting. Some of these tricks include:

• Reading or listening to success and motivational materials.
• Attending trainings or seminars in your industry to get new ideas and connect with others.
• Participate in a mastermind group or get a mentor for feedback and tips.
• Take care of yourself physically as well, with lots of sleep, a healthy diet, and regular exercise.

Day 31: Evaluate, Tweak, and Keep On Keepin’ On

Every month or so, assess what’s going on in your business. What marketing efforts brought the most results. Of those that fell short, study them and see if you can’t improve them. Or simply get rid of them and focus instead on what’s working. Are there common customer support issues that you can fix?  Efficiency, getting top results from the least amount of effort, is all about focusing on what’s working and eliminating the stuff that doesn’t. You can’t become efficient if you don’t evaluate what’s going on in your business.

You’ve done it. In 31 days you’ve started and begun building a business. Now it’s time to keep doing what you need to do to find and reach your market and provide the best quality product and service possible.

Start a Home Business in a Month Series

• Week One: Research, Decisions, Planning
• Week Two: Putting in the Foundation of Your Home Business
• Week Three: Creating Your Marketing Plan
• Week Four: Market, Assess, Success

Source: The Balance

I absolutely love blogging. It’s a great way to get free traffic to your website and it’s incredibly easy to do!

Thanks to the internet, you can share your thoughts and expertise with a global audience. If you have a hobby, a blog can serve as a diary for new developments and knowledge, allow you to gain feedback from like-minded contributors, and increase your social and business networking reach.

The best thing about it is that you don’t need any technical expertise to get started. There are many free options on the internet that will allow you to start, build, and host your own blog for free. Listed below are four popular options.

1. WordPress.com

Created in 2005 by San Francisco-based Automattic.com to expand upon its open source platform success, WordPress.com is the hosted version of its popular software.

Over sixty million people swear by their WordPress blog, and with good reason. It is a breeze to set up, offers many themes (a set of files that give your blog a specific graphical look), and its platform is known for its flexibility. Plus, like other free blogging services, WordPress takes care of hosting for you.

Getting started with WordPress.com is as simple as entering your desired new blog address on the home page, and pressing the blue ‘Create Website’ button.

Assuming that your preferred name is not already taken.

Sidenote: Though this article is looking at free blogging themes, if you are interested in making money online then I highly recommend self-hosting your own WordPress blog which offers you more control and flexibility over your blog.

2. Blogger.com

Google’s Blogger.com may be the most popular blogging platform on the World Wide Web.

If you already have a Google account, (e.g. Gmail, YouTube, Adsense), you can start a blogger blog right from your existing account. Just log in, enter a unique display name, and accept Blogger’s Terms of Service.

After that you will have to pick an address (URL) and a blog title (be sure to pick a name that reflects your personal brand or is a benefit driven domain name). Next, choose your favorite blog template (similar to the WordPress theme). Finally, click the ‘Create a Blog’ link and get started!

Blogger allows you to get creative with your blog’s public look. The ‘Getting Started’ guide has several videos and help material to ease you into fun (and free) blogging!

3. Medium.com

Medium.com is the free blog publishing platform founded in August 2012 by Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone. It has been described as something in between Twitter and Blogger (note: Williams helped launch Blogger.com in 1999).

To start writing on Medium:

• Go to medium.com.
• Click the green “Start Writing” button in the middle of the page.
• Click “Sign in with Twitter” or “Sign in with Facebook.”
• On the Twitter or Facebook authorization page, enter your Twitter or Facebook username and password and click “Sign in.”
• Enter your email address and check the box to agree to the Terms of Service, and then click “Continue.”
• Check your inbox and click the link to verify your email address.
• Click “OK” on the confirmation dialog.

You’ll need to access your medium.com blog using a supported browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. Note that Medium does not support writing from mobile devices yet.

You are now cleared to write!

Though I recommend you self-host your own WordPress blog (as mentioned above) it can still be beneficial to establish another blog presence on a network like Medium that is already popular and already has a built in audience… just don’t make it your sole platform.

4. Tumblr.com

Tumblr is a relatively new but very popular free blogging platform.

It is considered a ‘short form’ blogging platform, sort of a mix between a blog and a social network. As of this writing, the home page proudly states: 305 million blogs, over 80 billion posts, but only thirty seconds to join.

Simply enter your best e-mail address, a username and a password on the home page. Then you are all set. You’ll then be asked how young you are, and invited to approve the site’s Terms of Service.

Pretty simple and straight forward.

It has a Twitter-like feel to it, and is mobile phone ready, actually prompting you to download its Android, Windows Phone or iOS (Apple) app.

Their claim of being able to sign-up in 30 seconds is fairly accurate.

Final Thoughts on Free Blogging Platforms

All of the above free blogging platforms are functional and easy to use. Each has strengths and weaknesses, but it’s mostly about your goals and what you need to accomplish through this new medium. WordPress and Blogger are more established and cater to people looking to express themselves in more detail. Tumblr and Medium are more social media-oriented, so if you favor the quick hit and building a community, they might be better choices.

If you can’t decide on one and have the time to experiment, why not try all four platforms? Use all four to initially get started, and measure the audience reaction, functionality, and special features that each platform possesses.

Starting a free blog to help fulfill your personal and social objectives has never been easier. If you’re more interested in using a blog for your business or to make money online, you may want to consider using a premium host for your blog.

Blogs continue to be an effective and inexpensive way to build an audience, reach your target market, and generate revenue online. In fact, more than 409 million people read blogs on a regular basis, and 52 percent of those readers also shop online.

But it’s not enough to just set up a URL and begin writing, particularly if your goal is to publish a blog that generates revenue or promotes your own product or service.

The key to success lies in reader retention. For that, you need the right focus, engaging content, and the right promotion to attract readers and keep them coming back for more.

Take the time to follow these 10 steps and you’ll be on the right path toward publishing a successful, potentially profitable, blog.

1. Research Your Market

Before jumping headfirst into the blogosphere, you need to educate yourself on what does and doesn’t work. Read popular blogs, including those with a general appeal and those related to topics that interest you. Look at visitor comments and take note of what they like or dislike about the content and design. Take note of which types of content get massive amounts of likes, shares, etc.

so you have an idea of what the market responds to. Mimic what works and find an innovative way to improve upon what doesn’t.

2. Find Your Niche

A successful blog must have mass appeal and a focus broad enough to ensure you have plenty to write about. But the subject can’t bore you to tears or you’re setting yourself up for failure.

For example, if you write exclusively about the daily life of your cat, Mr. Fluffykins, it’s pretty unlikely that many others will find it as fascinating as you.

However, if you’re a cat lover, writing about cat health opens the door to a wider audience, a wealth of potential topics and great opportunities for readers to share their own tips and experiences – particularly if you use pictures and images, anecdotes, memes and other elements to illustrate your blog.

The key here is to find a market big enough to support your income goals but narrow enough that you can claim the attention of a niche audience.

3. Establish Credibility

Anyone with access to the internet can have a blog, but not everyone has the credibility to make a blog meaningful. You don’t have to be a master painter to blog about art, but it helps gain the trust of your readers if you take the time to explain your interest and spell out your credentials (just be careful not to take on a tone of superiority or you’ll risk alienating your readers).

Keep in mind that you don’t have to be a doctor to write a health blog, be a champion bodybuilder to have a fitness blog, or be a veterinarian to have a pet blog.

What’s more important is that you can create content that is useful, interesting, and engaging to your target audience.

4. Establish Measurable Goals

Set goals (i.e. building community, generating revenue, increasing your social media following, adding email subscribers, etc.) for your blog and establish a timeframe for achieving them so you can measure its success. Construct a one-year plan, including checkpoints where you evaluate whether you have met your goals and to measure the overall growth of your blog.

Some key metrics you’ll want to focus on is how much website traffic you are getting, how many email list subscribers you are getting, and of course, how much revenue your are generating.

5. Network

Identify other blogs that are similar to your own and start networking with their authors.

It’s an easy way to keep informed about what is happening in the blogosphere, even before you’ve launched your own blog. It is also a great way to subtly refer people to your blog once it’s published and to enhance your own credibility by contributing your thoughts and opinions.

Another great place to connect with decision makers and influencers in your market is LinkedIn.

6. Craft Engaging Content

Quality content is vital to the life of a blog. Read and research as much as possible to ensure you’re up-to-date on the latest in whatever subject your blog is focused on. What is equally important is conveying that knowledge in an entertaining way. Have fun with your writing and give it some personality. If your content is stiff and technical, your readers will be turned off and lose interest quickly.

Remember, it’s not just about written content or having to be a great writer. These days people love engaging with images, infographics, audio, and video-based content. Go with the medium that suits you the best.

7. Introduce Yourself

Your first post should introduce yourself (use a pseudonym if desired) and detail the purpose of your blog. Include your credentials as well as your interest in the subject matter. Offer fun notes about yourself and make it personable. If your readers feel that they know you, they will be more loyal and engaged in your blog.

You’ll also want to be sure to have an About page on your site, to further feature yourself and make a one-to-one connection with your visitors. People do business with those that they know, like, and trust — and the About page is the perfect place to make that introduction and develop that relationship.

8. Be Consistent

Consistent publishing of posts per day, the length of posts, content quality, and theme design builds trust, dependability, and readership. Decide how many posts you are going to publish per week and stick to that. Readers (and the search engines) appreciate consistency. At the end of the day, it truly is about quality over quantity so be sure to focus on that first… but after that rule; the more you can publish, the better.

9. Build Community

Once you begin publishing your blog, make it a point to seek out and participate in communities such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This lets you build a blog community, as well as generate traffic and promote your blog.

While most people only think of using social media as a free way to get traffic; there are many powerful paid social media marketing opportunities you can use to get massive amounts of traffic quickly.

Note: See all of our social media marketing articles, tips, and tricks here.

10. Maintenance

Regularly updating content (posts, forums, and comments) encourages readers to return to your blog (and keeps you current in the search engines). Always invite others to comment and, when they do, thank them for their thoughts. Assess the needs of your readers and add featured content such as a series to satisfy their interest. Maintaining content shows your commitment to your readers and subscribers.

Continue reading Part 2: How to Turn Your Blog into a Profitable Venture

As Quality Control Editor, Creative Writer and Blog Editor for livemercial, Mary Nolan specializes in creating compelling, keyword dense copy for blogging communities, websites, banners, graphics and print ads. She also reviews and edits websites and media in order to assure that all publications are of the highest quality.