One of the strongest marketing strategies is viral marketing. If you are not convinced, visit a popular mom blogging site and put it to the test. If you want to get the word out about your product or service, consider using a mommy blog.

Another name for viral marketing is “word-of-mouth.” Think of all the advice you have taken from your mom or grandmother over the years.

Multiply that exponentially and you will get the mom blogging network. Millions of moms meet in cyberspace on blogs and forums, exchanging knowledge and advice on products.

A Few Things You Need to Know

One thing that mom bloggers discuss is how disappointed they are with the advertising of some brand manufacturers. According to research done by Maria Bailey, founder of BSM Media, 55 percent of those surveyed said that advertisers are missing their mark. They are either sending the wrong message or offending their intended audience. The numbers are low when it comes to how well advertising in print and on television (20 and 25 percent respectively) are impressing moms.

Seventy-one percent of those who took part in the survey have used the Internet to research product purchases. Ninety-four percent of moms have bought products online. Who do you think that those women are looking to for product opinions online? You’re right – they are consulting mom bloggers.

Mothers are holding the purse strings in the household even when both parents work. Their collective buying power is over 3.7 trillion dollars. They are also managing another trillion dollars for businesses where they are in charge of purchasing. How they feel about a certain product is sure to get noticed when they post it on their blog.

Getting Moms in Your Corner

If you want a mom blogger to notice your product and give you the thumbs up, what do you have to do? For one, become familiar with moms – all types of moms. There is not a universal “mom” image to market to. Moms come from different walks of life and deal with a different series of dynamics in each home. What bring them together are their roles as provider and caregiver for their families.

Find out the most popular mom bloggers and see what they are saying. They are the moms who will influence other bloggers and the mom audience at large. Once they get a hold of your product and if they like it, they will virally promote it. When hundreds of thousands of readers visit those blogs, they will also tell their mom friends. The visibility of that product would hit the top level in a week’s time.

Mom bloggers can change the sales of a product with a few well-placed words on the more popular blogs. Owing to the moms they influence, the brand can rise or fall significantly through the word-of-mouth of their readership.

photo credit: morbuto

With the economy the way it is, many families are faced with difficult financial choices to make. Sometimes when you factor in the amount of money you spend on childcare while you work in an office, sometimes its just not worth it. Thankfully, now that we have the internet there are more choices available to working moms than ever before.

I’ve compiled a list of jobs that work best for people with children over eight years of age. Many of them entail phone work and quiet environments, so they might not be a good fit if you have a boisterous toddler or infant in the home. For information on gigs that work better for the under seven years of age, read the article Work at Home Jobs: Seven and Under.

The need for a quiet environment is the main reason why, although appointment setting was very lucrative for me, I had to give it up once my son was born. My two-year old son had no concept of speaking quietly, let alone coming into a room without the door first slamming into a wall. He’s a rough and tumble kind of guy and telephone work with him is impossible. But my loss is your gain.  The companies listed below are by no means the only places you can find work; it’s just a starting place.

And remember, you’re trying to add to your income, not to your stress level, so don’t pick a position that doesn’t fit your lifestyle.

Appointment Setting

Blue Zebra
Grindstone
Working SOL
CC Employment

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Customer Service

Occurrance
LiveOps
ECallogy
SCI Live

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Education

Corporate English Trainer
Curriculum Assistants
Education Consultants

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Marketing

PBP
NTI Central
Intrep
Volny Consulting

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Mixed Bag

Beauty Care
Advance Me
The Record Link
Script Changes

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Telemarketing (Virtual Call Centers)

Alliance Wireless
Answer Live
Answer Connect

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Transcriptionist

LinkWorth
Relyondrc
RPI USA
The Transcription Agency

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Translation

Pacific Interpreters
University Language
Globalink
Lingual Learn
101 Translations

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Travel Industry

Virtual Airline Reservations
Virtual Agent Marketing
Virtual Travel Agents
Virtual Vacation Planners

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Virtual Assistant

MSVAS
The Appointment Biz
Motion Temps
The Virtual Difference

Now that you have a few ideas, I encourage you to do thorough research to find the niche that is right for you. It can take a little time, but be fearless and try new things. I guarantee you’ll be surprised where you end up once you find your groove. I know I was!

photo credit: Jessica Higgins

The options for what to offer your consulting clients is practically unlimited. The decision should be based on your personal skill set, your likes and dislikes, your strengths and weaknesses, as well as available resources, the need for specific services and more.

Begin by looking at what other offline consultants are offering, especially those in your local area. While some duplication of services is unavoidable, you’ll eliminate some of your competition–and grow your business faster–by offering services that your clients can’t get anywhere else.

The first service you should offer every client is a diagnostic assessment of their current Internet marketing strategies. This should include a relatively short evaluation of the client’s current website, if applicable, and their current Internet marketing methods as well as systematic, objective advice as to how you can help them.

Since many clients who consider hiring an offline consultant may prefer to take small steps before jumping into a huge, full-blown Internet marketing campaign, it’s good business practice to help your clients see what you can do for them, how you work and think, and how you can help their company. Offering a short assessment of the prospective client’s current situation creates a way for a client who’s interested in your services to invest a small amount of time and money in a relationship with you without long-term financial risk or commitment.

While many offline consultants feel that a free evaluation is a good way to attract business, keep in mind that the old adage that “you get what you pay for” contains a lot of truth. Instead, offer a reasonably priced initial assessment that will help your client understand what’s lacking in his Internet marketing arena, then if he chooses he can hire you to “fix” the problems or do it himself.

In addition, a short assessment can be a powerful marketing strategy for offline consultants. By providing a “test-run” of sorts for new clients to try your services, you can bring in additional income while working to prove your value and develop long-term relationships. A successfully managed assessment can identify problems clients are currently facing, open doors to new projects, and grow your consulting business more quickly.

As to other services, website design and development is a basic requirement for an offline Internet marketing consultant. Since a website is key to building a business presence online, offering design services, promotion and marketing, and tools needed for all the above is probably a good place to start when planning the services you’ll provide.

Social marketing assistance and counsel is also a pretty sure bet. While you may want to outsource this area of the business, with the rising popularity of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, even people who don’t have a website understand the basics of how these methods can help build a business. You’ll find many consulting clients expect you to be able to help them set up an account, find followers and start interacting through these popular channels.

Podcasts, videos and webinars are another area you might want to add to your repertoire. Again, if you’re unfamiliar with these marketing methods yourself, outsource the actual work, but give your clients the option of hiring you to assist them in promoting their business online with these increasingly useful techniques.

While the possibilities for consulting services are endless, deciding in advance on those you plan to offer will help you have systems in place that you can include on your website and in your marketing materials such as signs, flyers and brochures. It will enable you to easily jump into your role as offline consultant as soon as your client signs a check for your services.

photo credit: AdmissionsQuest

How To Get Free Backlinks

If you’ve been focused on the online world, there are ways to reach offline clients that you may not have considered. Here’s a list of suggestions to reach your target market:

• Business cards are a must when marketing offline.

While you may think these little goodies are old hat, think again. They provide a quick, simple way to leave your complete contact information with a prospect. Print on the back as well and offer a free consultation, coupon for 20% off for first-time clients or something else that will attract attention.

• Local classified ads are relatively inexpensive and can attract clients who might never see an online ad.

Check with community papers, weekly shoppers, and even neighborhood newsletters. While the exposure won’t be as great as with a large daily newspaper, subscribers are often more loyal and actually read the ads, which can be great for your business.

• Small yard signs are another means for reaching local clients for your consulting business.

A simple message such as “Need More Customers? Call for a Free Consultation!” can attract untold numbers of leads. Check local signage ordinances, though, as you don’t want to be fined for violating the law!

• Brochures can be handed out, placed in inexpensive plastic holders, left on a coffee house bulletin board, or easily mailed to prospects.

You can create them easily in Microsoft Word and print them at home on professional brochure paper from the office supply store, or get them mass-produced at the copy shop for a few cents each.

• Local radio station ads might surprise you with their affordable price tag.

In fact, you may be able to get “free” advertising by hosting your own radio program or becoming a guest on local talk shows. Check with your local station manager to see what options are available.

• Local resource fairs or trade shows are great networking opportunities.

If your Chamber of Commerce doesn’t host one, organize your own. Find complementary but non-competing companies to set up booths, distribute sales and marketing materials, etc. Invite the public free and charge exhibitors a small fee to cover costs.

Offer a door prize drawing at your booth where entrants must fill out a drawing slip with their name, address, phone number and email address to enter. Use these forms to begin compiling a prospect list. Then select one name at the end of the day to win the prize. Be sure to publicize the event extensively and let everyone know about your business while it’s going on.

There are a myriad of ways to promote your consulting business offline. Look for ideas that others are using to promote their businesses and put your unique spin on them. Try a variety of methods because you’re never sure just what will pay off. Whatever you do, work hard to get the word out about your business, and soon word-of-mouth marketing will take over and your business will seem to grow on its own.
photo credit: artsytartsyjewels

Internet Marketing Blog

While some beginning marketers have the mistaken impression that throwing a wide net will draw in more fish (i.e., consulting clients), that’s not often the case. Instead, by narrowing your niche and focusing on a specific type client, you’ll have greater results and build your business faster. In addition, you’ll develop a reputation as a specialist in a particular industry or field, and that in itself will attract more clients.

As an offline consultant offering Internet marketing advice and services, your clients will typically be small business owners. They will have a brick and mortar shop located within 50 miles or so of your location. They may have a website but it won’t be making them money–or at least not enough money. And they could potentially not even be online at all. Ideally, your target client will be someone who understands the value and the need for doing business online, but who doesn’t have the Internet marketing skill, knowledge or resources they need themselves.

While your clients may vary, these criteria will give you a fairly clear image of who you’ll be targeting with your ads and promotion. Then you can narrow in as needed for your own business. For instance, you may decide to focus on a more narrow niche such as day cares, or clothing stores.

Once you understand who your target audience is, you can determine where to find them. Some of your prospective clients may hang out online in various forums or discussion groups. If so, they’ll be looking for small business advice and information, website design ideas, and possibly even sales and Internet marketing strategies. The majority of your clients–and your promotion, however–will be offline. And you’ll do best by focusing your marketing efforts locally.

Networking groups such as Business Networking International (BNI), your local Chamber of Commerce, or even business classes such as those offered by the Small Business Administration are good places to meet prospective consulting clients. Don’t overlook the businesses you frequent, or those owned and managed by friends and family members.

Grab your local phonebook and see what kind of businesses are listed. Search online for the companies you find.

• Do they have a website?
• How well is it put together?
• Do they have a Facebook page, a Twitter profile, a LinkedIn account?

Make notes on ways you can help them improve and refer broadly to your findings when you call on them or send them your marketing materials.

You can also search for local businesses online. Enter the type of business (such as “day care”) along with the city. Or visit YellowPages.com and search by business category. You’ll get the name, phone number and address for any business that has a business telephone.

Knowing who your target client is will help you determine how best to locate clients for your offline consulting business. Once you understand who you’re after, it’s simply a matter of knowing where they hang out–online or offline–and doing some research to find their contact information so you can call them or mail them a brochure, sales letter, or both.

photo credit: zoetnet

If you’ve made the decision to begin offering your services to local businesses who want to develop a viable presence on the Internet, ensure that all the pieces of your consulting practice are in place before you begin.

Decide what services you’ll offer and what you’ll charge for each before you begin. When choosing your list of services, select marketing methods your prospective clients need, but won’t be able to easily set up for themselves.

• For instance, setting up a Facebook page may be helpful, but will clients be willing to pay you for the service when they can easily do it themselves with little experience? Instead, offer to create a Facebook page that’s customized with the business’s logo and colors, and that includes tabs appropriate to their market. The more customized and seemingly complicated your services, the higher rates you can charge.

Set your rates based on the size company you’ll target, your experience and level of expertise, and the rates other, similar consultants in your area charge. You don’t want to overprice yourself, but you need to make a profit, too, so give careful consideration to what you plan to charge.

You may need a local and/or state business license, so contact the appropriate government agencies to figure out what’s required. Many online marketers forgo this step, but if you’re working locally, it’s imperative that you have the proper documentation.

Even if clients aren’t visiting your “office,” you need to maintain an aura of professionalism. That means in addition to your computer, printer, scanner and copier, you’ll want a fax machine, possibly a second phone line (try Skype or MagicJack), postage scale or meter, and paper shredder at a minimum.

Also consider getting a toll-free number from someone like Kall8 who offers the service for a couple bucks a month plus minutes used. While you’ll initially be marketing locally, you never know when you’ll want to expand your business to other geographic areas. Having a toll-free number already printed on your business cards makes you look like you’re ready to go.

Next, a well-designed website is a must! Choose a clean design, add professional copy, and include all the information potential clients may ask. In essence, your website must be the perfect example of what you can do for a local business, otherwise, it will be extremely difficult to convince clients to hire you to build a site for them.

You’ll also want to already have all the tools you plan to recommend to clients in place. For instance:

• If Twitter marketing consultation is one of your services, you need to have a solid Twitter account of your own with a good number of followers and a history of good tweets.
• If you plan to teach others how to use Google AdWords, you’ll need to be using AdWords yourself… successfully.
• If one of your services includes article marketing, you’ll need to be able to show your clients articles that you’ve written that have achieved good exposure online and brought traffic to your website.

Once you have your online presence established, it’s time to have business cards professionally designed and printed. Include your email address, URL, phone number, toll-free number and fax so clients can easily contact you via the method they prefer.

You might also create a simple tri-fold brochure that outlines your services. These are great to give to people you meet who want more information than a business card provides, and they can be created in Microsoft Word using a readily available template then printed on quality paper from the office supply store.

As soon as your website is online, your office is set up, and you have marketing materials in hand, it’s time to make your first call. Begin by:

• Contacting business owners and managers you know personally and outlining your services to them.
• Ask for referrals from friends and family members.
• Join a local networking group or the Chamber of Commerce, and begin to get the word out about your business.

It won’t be long before you have your first client, and then, if you’ve done your homework and can provide quality services for the rates you charge, you’ll be well on your way to creating a successful business of your own as an offline consultant for local businesses.

photo credit: Jon_Marshall

It’s natural to wonder if you have what it takes to build a successful business as an offline consultant. Set aside a few minutes to take a personal inventory and decide if offline consulting is right for you based on your abilities, knowledge and resources.

Consider the following questions:

• Do you fully understand Internet marketing yourself?
• Do you know all the different options for setting up websites and marketing them, and in what situation certain options are better than others?
• Are you familiar with successful SEO strategies, PPC concepts or Google AdWords?

Tip: If you don’t know what these acronyms mean, this probably isn’t the business for you.

• Have you successfully brought your own business online and used it to generate a profit?

Your clients will want to see that you’ve earned money with your own website before they entrust their business – and their money! – with you. While it’s not mandatory that you’ve become independently wealthy from your Internet marketing efforts, you must have a first-hand understanding of what works and what doesn’t before you begin advising others.

• Do you enjoy sharing your knowledge and experience?

Many people have a teacher’s heart and love the very act of helping a “student” learn something new. Since offline consultant often involves teaching business owners how to succeed online, it helps if you have a basic love for imparting knowledge to others.

• Are you comfortable meeting clients face-to-face?

Internet marketing is typically a solo operation. The majority of interaction is done via email, online forums, blogs or social networks such as Twitter or Facebook. Offline consulting, on the other hand, involves in-person encounters with real people. If you don’t like talking to people directly or on the phone, you may want to reconsider your options for business ideas.

• Do you have reliable transportation, a professional wardrobe, and dependable childcare?

When you work online, no one sees, or cares, what you wear. You don’t need a car. And you can cover sick kid emergencies yourself. As an offline consultant, however, you must have a dependable vehicle. You must dress in suitable attire (a suit is preferred for large companies, though business casual works for smaller companies). And you must have a plan in place to handle childcare.

While there are other traits that will help you become a successful offline consultant, such as drive, focus, determination, and the ability to work well on your own, these characteristics and resources are important considerations for anyone considering offline consulting as a realistic business opportunity.

photo credit: HikingArtist.com

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An offline consultant is basically someone who works with local businesses, offline, to teach, guide, counsel and assist them in bringing their businesses online. An offline consultant shares her knowledge of Internet marketing, website design, promotion, search engine optimization (SEO), online advertising strategies and other key concepts with local businesses who needs her help… for a price.

When your primary business is online, as it is for Internet marketers, you can get a skewed perspective of reality. It seems like every business in the world has a website, but that’s really not the case. There are still untold multitudes of businesses–especially local ones–who don’t have a viable Internet presence. And that means opportunities for you! You can take your online skills and help these business owners create a profitable online presence.

It’s not difficult to transform yourself into an offline consultant by offering your knowledge, skills and insight about marketing online to local brick and mortar companies. Many business owners already recognize the importance of being online, but they have no idea how to get there. They’re just waiting to find someone to lead the way.

Other business owners may not even realize they need an Internet presence. They may mistakenly believe that only large companies or companies who want to sell products online need a websites. As an offline consultant, you can help them understand how Internet visibility will help their bottom line.

Many local business owners are absolutely clueless about where to start. You, being their local marketing expert, can be their guide. You can help them understand concepts such as:

• Why Internet marketing is necessary for any business
• How to set up a website
• How to optimize the site for SEO
• How to market using articles, Google ads, and more
• How to turn visitors into cash

As an offline consultant, you may decide to be a generalist, offering help in any realm of Internet marketing, or you may specialize in certain aspects of doing business online such as website design or online promotion. You also might choose to specialize within a particular industry such as day cares, hair salons, doctors or dentists. Whatever part of offline consulting sounds most appealing to you can be turned into a profitable consulting business.

In sum, an offline consultant is someone who understands online marketing and who has a desire to share that understanding with others to help them begin marketing online themselves. Does that sound like you?

photo credit: o5com

Just the other day the question of using social networks as a way to build a business came up in a discussion with my brother.  Now usually, he’s a pretty smart guy but he just doesn’t understand “this social networking thing.” For him being on Twitter or creating Fan Pages on Facebook was an enormous waste of time that his sales team could be using speaking directly to merchants.

So, that got me to thinking — if this usually forward thinking brother of mine is missing the point, how many others are saying the same thing? It seems a lot. While on the VA Networking Forum, I read one experience posted describing a “discussion” with an editor of a local newspaper. It seems he thinks the idea of a person being able to work without being watched by a supervisor is ludicrous and basically a scam. Wow!

So it seems that while people understand the entertainment potential of social networks, the idea of actually getting paid by using them is still a bit new. So, I’m working on collecting all the things I know about social media and putting them down in blog posts on a regular basis. There so much that can be accomplished by using these networks, if you do it correctly. Social networks make it possible to work and play at the same time.

Now, back to my brother. While I finally got it through my brother’s head that using tools such as Twitter and hash tags to do market research and even find people in the area that are looking for what you are selling, it did take a long time. I wish that I had known about this great free ebook that explains in a plain English how to use social networking to get a job, and in the case of entrepreneurs, secure clients.

The author, Chris Brogan, has made the ebook available on his website. If you’ve ever wondered what all the buzz is about, this is a great introduction to the social networking scene.  And while you’re waiting to download that PDF, why not check out the video “Social Networking in Plain English.”