How can I tout myself? How can I let the world -- and people in my network -- know about my products? How can I be creative and make people want to pick up the phone or go online and order?



Here's some advice for home business that is so easy to implement, you may as well apply it right now!

EMAIL SIGNATURE

I'm always tinkering with mine, improving upon it, changing words, adding new emphasis, changing old. I've employed techniques such as adding a P.S. with a free download of one of my affiliate e-books, or sending people to some page I want them to see. Whatever you include in your signature, be sure to liven it up with some intriguing question or call to action. And revamp it regularly.

POSTCARDS

I do a bi-monthly postcard mailing to all my customers -- to keep in touch and make sure they're happy, to offer specials and promotions, and to remind them of our relationship.

Imagine if it were you getting a friendly postcard every two months from a company whose products you use. Pretty nice feeling, right?

E-NEWSLETTERS

I use Constant Contact as well as SBI's MailOut Manager to keep in touch when I'm not sending out postcards.

An e-newsletter allows me to run promotions, publish original articles and Q&As, generate buzz around my company and products -- and again reminds people of our relationship.

Better yet, it is an inexpensive, easy way to stay in front of people.

NETWORKING

I love to press the flesh. Networking gets me in front of more people more of the time. I come away from every event with new contacts and possible leads, as well as opportunities for me to make introductions or direct people to resources they're looking for.

Long and short, it's new relationships and my business depends on relationships. Preferably long-term ones. Networking is the environment in which I cultivate them. My best advice for home business is, do it well and do it often!

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

This is always a sticky subject because there's this fear that friends and family won't want what we have so we shouldn't "bother" them.

I won't go into all the possibilities and probabilities here, but I wager that asking friends and family for referrals -- that is, introductions to people who "might have a need for XYZ" or "are experiencing some kind of XYZ" that you can help resolve -- will go over reasonably well.

Make up a smart little promo card or letter that explains what you're looking for. Let your friends and family know that you value the relationship and the trust they're imparting, and that you know your product or service is not for everyone.

You should include some testimonials -- preferably from your own happy customers -- about your products or services.

Your goal is to have exploratory conversations with people to see if what they're looking for matches what you have.

You could also offer your prospective referrals a free something or other, perhaps a consultation, a demo, a gift, or a workshop -- something to give the person incentive to work with you yet taking the "sale" out of it.