business : Moomette's Magnificents

How To Start A Wordpress Blog Now: Be A WAHM

Blog Week Special

successful business woman on a laptop


BLOG TIPS

I’m in many forums hearing how those on Blogger would like to move to Wordpress, but are unsure of how to transfer over.

Perhaps you read many blogs and would like to start your own, and become a WAHM.

Here’s an opportunity that I’d like to pass along to you.  It’s a special,  for a limited time only.

You’ll be able to get the following:

  • A Domain Name ($12.00 Value)
  • Three Months of Mom Webs Hosting ($15.00 Value)
  • Wordpress Blog Installation ($10.00 Value)
  • Wordpress Theme Installation

Plus Much More!

I use Mom Webs, so I really can vouch for their absolutely fantastic, reliable service – and can tell you that they’ve been there for me 24/7 when I need help!

Find out more information about the offers only during Blog Week now! It only lasts until March 19, 2010

Visit: Blog Week!

Creative Commons License photo credit: Search Engine People Blog

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4 Wordpress Plugins to Make Your Blog a Fast Mean Machine

Blogging Tips For the Fastest Blog on the Racecourse

Red Race Car

Wordpress Plugins and FireFox Add-Ons


This blog is always a work-in-progress.  Since I switched to Wordpress, I’ve become plug-in happy – there are so many Wordpress plugins that can enhance a site’s performance.

If you’re thinking of starting a blog (or perhaps are already an established blogger) and may be wondering whether you should be using Blogger or Wordpress – Trisha and Kim from Top Mom Blogger offer a great explanation of the differences.

Should you make the decision to switch to Wordpress – be sure to sign up for the Wordpress Orientation Classes offered by Kelly McCausey.

I’d like to share a few plug-ins that I’ve recently added, that make my blog a smooth-running machine (usually.)

1) WordPress Gzip – This is a plugin that essentially compresses and zips the text on your pages.  If you’re familiar with Microsoft Word, I make use of the “shrink to fit” button quite often when I’m preparing documents.  It allows me to fit that last sentence or two onto one page.

Find at: GZIP

From the site:

I’ve found that letting WordPress gzip pages significantly improves performance, typically slashing the size of the text to a fourth. For my home page, that’s a 30% reduction of total page size—including images, ads, etc. A 30% reduction in bandwidth is nothing to sniff at.


2)  WP Super Cache saves your recently viewed pages, allowing them to be accessed more quickly by readers.  There’s also the ability for you to manually clear the cache, or to set functions as to when it should be cleared.

WP Super Cache is a static caching plugin for WordPress. It generates html files that are served directly by Apache without processing comparatively heavy PHP scripts. By using this plugin you will speed up your WordPress blog significantly.

Find at: WP Super Cache

3)  Link Cloaker – If you monetize your blog and have affiliate links of any type that aren’t cloaked, you may be losing out on affiliate commissions.  It’s happened to me in the past.   If you don’t cloak your links, they’ll show up in the URL whenever someone clicks over to your hop page.

This Wordpress plugin is an excellent add-on that not only cloaks your links, but tracks the click-throughs to see how each affiliate link is performing.

Find at: Link Cloaker

4) TTFTitles WordPress plugin enables me to have my own font listed on my post titles.  Right now, I’m using the Miama font, which matches the font on the header of Moomette’s Magnificents.

This plugin lets you use images to replace the titles of your posts, thus circumventing the problem of guessing what fonts your end-users might have installed.

Eve, from Designing With Eve clued me into this wp plug-in.  Eve, a fellow WAHM, has been designing websites since 1998 and has a degree in computer programming and design.   She recently opened up her new design services company and will be redesigning my recipe blog for me – Moomettesgram’s Favorite Recipes – so watch for my announcement when it’s up and running!  Be sure to check out Eve’s design porfolio!

Find at: TTFTitles

5)  WiseStamp – Lastly, this isn’t a Wordpress plugin tip – but be sure to check out the new Fire Fox browser addon that enables you to customize your email signature by adding your social networking buttons, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN and Friendfeed to it!

WiseStamp email Signature

Hat Tip to: Blogging Basics 101

If you found these tips helpful, please let me know!  Happy Blogging!


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Scentsy Candle Founding Consultant: Guest Post

Meet My Friend

Meet My Friend

Direct Selling Consultant

I’d like to introduce my readers to Meet My Friend, Jodi Albertini, whom I’ve met through blogging and  invited to Guest Post on Moomette’s Magnificents.

Jodi immediately wowed me as a work-at-home mom who is dedicated to helping other moms succeed in attaining their goals.  She has been a WAHM for the last 4 years; is a social worker by education; an interior decorator by business affiliation and a direct sales professional by choice.

Jodi has built a team of over 1,200 consultants in two years – which she is responsible for mentoring, and has achieved the highest title in this fabulous company.  Additionally, she has spoken at several Scentsy engagements and conventions, as well as participated in training and informational videos for Scentsy.  Jodi has also made several media appearances to speak to her success as a WAHM,  and has recently began writing as an author on www.buzzle.com

Safe Candle - Purchase Your Scentsy Candle Products Today!

With 2 years experience in Direct Sales and a current team of 1,200 consultants, I am frequently asked the “secrets” to my success.   Of course, I could go on with what is required to build a business, elaborating on all the basic motions of growing a successful Direct Sales franchise.  However, I truly believe that there are not too many true “secrets” to building a strong team and a GREAT business.  Rather, I believe that success involves a series of personal choices that differentiate those GOOD consultants from the GREAT ones:

  1. Catch a Vision – Develop a vision for your business.  Imagine what it will be like when you have achieved your goals, and then strive to make that vision a reality.  No business is built overnight and big business does not come easy.  However, having an internal perspective of where you want your business to land someday will drive your daily actions that will move you toward success.
  2. Share Your Enthusiasm – If you LOVE what you do (and you should), then express your passion for your business on a regular basis.  Passion creates enthusiasm and enthusiasm is contagious.  When engaged in your business, people should see the joy on your face.  Soon those who are watching will want what you have!
  3. Be Bold – We often pass up business opportunities due to our own fears or insecurities.  Achieving what we desire often requires taking a chance.  Being bold does not mean that you lack fear.  Rather, it means that you are making choices for the good of your business despite fear.

This list could go on and on.  My perspective is that GREATNESS is not developed completely by what you do, but rather how you do it.  What are some personal choices that you can make to move your business from GOOD to GREAT?

Follow on Twitter: @JJANT

Visit Jodi at: Safe Candle

Jodi Albertini - Scentsy DistributorJodi Albertini is a SuperStar Director with the Direct Sales Company Scentsy – a wickless, smokeless, flameless and safe candle product (www.safecandle.net).  Jodi has developed a team of 1200 Scentsy consultants in just over two years. She is a Stay-at-Home-Mom, turned Work-at-Home-Mom, with 2 fabulous children and one incredible husband of almost 15 years. Jodi’s formal education is in Social Work and Counseling.  She has learned to take a Psychological approach to sales, recruiting, and mentoring.

If you have a topic of interest that you’d like to share and be a Guest Blogger on Moomette’s Magnificents, please contact me (see Contact tab above).

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Surviving Selling Online Through Better Communication

Business Sense

art-add

My Internet presence began back in 2007 when I became an eBay store owner specializing in vintage collectibles.  Since then I’ve changed venues and now sell on Bonanzle.  At that time, I was a moderator on an eBay Forum and participated in conversations where many members were becoming fledgling online sellers.

That trend continues today as many companies are now doing the majority or even all their business online and foregoing the “Brick and Mortar” storefront. It’s easy to see why that trend has happened. For example, the cost of setting up such a business is relatively inexpensive and easy. There’s no need to pay for the overhead of a physical building, while the cost of maintaining a web site is minimal. Moreover, the Internet provides a convenient and efficient way of marketing products. As more and more people are spending time on the Internet, the market of online customers continues to grow.

My late mother-in-law was a woman business owner of a gourmet emporium.  Over the years I had helped run her store and gained a business acumen of growing your business through establishing relationships with customers.  It’s important to get to know their likes, quirks and dislikes.

Yet when businesses shift from face-to-face customers to anonymous online customers, there’s a loss of that personal connection and trust. When running an online business,  how are you gaining and maintaining customer trust? What are you doing as an online vendor to communicate to your customers?

In an online world, business just doesn’t stop after hours and on weekends. What are you doing to answer your customer’s questions?

Here are a few things that you can do to improve communication with your customers:

1. Make certain that your Internet host is reputable and offers a fast and efficient business ethernet connection, as well as reliable cart support.

2. Offer a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page and online product support information.

3. Add a support email link on your website for issues that can’t be resolved by you or your website support administrator

4. Provide a message board or forum for customers to voice their opinions, add comments, and interact with each other.

In today’s global economy, spending time and effort on better communication with your customers will pay off.  Whether you sell on Etsy or have your own company, in order to grow, your success will depend not on the customers you gain, but on the customers that you don’t lose.

Creative Commons License photo credit: hospi-table

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Backlinks: How to Build Solid Traffic

Blogging Tips

World Wide Web Links

Why You Need Backlinks On Your Website


Each day I spend a substantial portion of my time writing blog posts, reviews, and taking the time to do some social networking.  Recently I’ve been allocating an additional hour towards building backlinks to my blogs.

I found some invaluable information from an all-in-one backlinks package from Lynn Terry and Paul Short that contains tools, URLs and advice on how I can get 450 search engine dominating backlinks to my site.  There’s no membership fees or logins.

Many work-at-home moms, Direct Sales business owners, such as Tupperware, virtual assistants and graphic design businesses will put up web sites or blogs in anticipation of getting readers and clients from the Web. Usually what happens is they get few readers, or no traffic.

Here’s the reason why.

A web site or a blog isn’t an ad. No one “reads” web sites in some sort of “web site newspaper.” In fact, nobody will discover or visit your site unless you specifically invite them. A blog or web site actually needs advertising.

You need to build the traffic to your site in order to receive traffic.

Commenting on other blogs is one way to do this, and another terrific way is through backlinks.

What is a backlink?

Safety Pin LinksA backlink is a link FROM another site TO your site.

For example, if you’re a member of a social Ning site where your niche is food, and someone is looking for a food blog, then there’s a pretty good chance that this person will see your listing or personal page in the “Food” section and click a link to your web site.

This is a backlink from Food blogger’s ning to your blog.

Backlinks are also referred to as “in-bound links” and oftentimes can also be called “reciprocal links.”

Many of the links that bloggers have on their web sites are specifically designed to take visitors from the link on their web site to other web site. These are usually located in a link section called a Blogroll link exchange or a resources section, such as “Good Stuff.” These are also called “forward links” or “outbound links.”

The important thing to keep in mind is that backlinks bring visitors TO your site. Once visitors come to your blog or business web site, you can turn them into returning readers, affiliate product sales, newsletter subscribers, commissions and more.

1.  Why are backlinks totally necessary?
Foremost, an obvious reason is to direct traffic to your site. This traffic can be cashed in for sales, clients or advertising CPMs.

2.  If done right, “backlinking” can tremendously increase your search engine rankings and thus result in even more traffic.

How?

From the eyes of search engines, your “site’s worth” increases when the number of backlinks increases. Each backlink raises the popularity of your web site.

Liken it to being someone who works the crowd when they walk into a room. The more people who know who you are, the more popular you become.  Call it the “Law of Attraction.”

3.  What can this lead to?

When people put the phrase “Mom Blogger” or “Baby Boomer” into a search engine, for the most part, the sites with higher popularity will come up first.

4.  Backlinks can create consistent traffic

Most bloggers send out weekly newsletters which often lead to  immediate “bursts” of traffic.  I send out customized weekly Newsletters to my subscribers on Wednesdays, using the Feedblitz Newsletter service.

Bursts of traffic are great, but they require that you take those additional efforts in order to continue to get that traffic.

Backlinking builds a steady, consistent, and predictable stream of traffic that keeps coming without additional work. You can confidently expect the same number of visitors each month.


With the creative backlinking strategies that I’m using through this package,  I can create a situation where my web site is attracting backlinks without me doing any work at all.

As a New Englander, to me it’s like a snowball going down-hill that hopefully continues to grow!

Check out how many links you have here: Backlinks Checker – This shows you the backlinks you have coming into your site. It take a little bit of time to get all the links if you have quite a few.

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Alexa Toolbar Benefits

Blogging Tips

Alexa Toolbar

Internet Tools


I’ve been doing some blog tweaking lately.  Recently I’ve installed the Alexa Toolbar.  Apparently it’s working out well as my Alexa rating has been steadily decreasing.  Also, I’m toying with the idea of switching to the Thesis theme, even though I’m not too good at coding.

There are numerous tools available on the Internet to assist in online business blogging.  A valuable tool that you should use is the Alexa Toolbar. Even better -  this tool is free.

If you have a blog, you might want to consider adding the Alexa toolbar to improve your stats. Theoretically, the Alexa toolbar isn’t spyware as it doesn’t retrieve any private or personal information.

Alexa LogoAlexa is owned by Amazon, and ranks sites from 1 to 5,000,000 and sometimes higher. Ranking  #1 has the most traffic while anything below 250,000 and you should be getting some decent traffic levels. Right now my current Alexa rating is 74,800.  This information can be used to determine how well your advertising campaigns are going and how your traffic levels are growing over a period of time. Since I write product reviews and have a PR Media Kit, I monitor these statistics and update my Media Kit periodically.

This information can also be used to determine how your fellow bloggers are doing and keep you one step ahead of them. The tool provides you with essential information regarding any site you’re looking at, including your own. If a company approaches you claiming they have lots of traffic, you can just pull up their site and review the Alexa statistics. This allows you to verify who’s receiving a significant amount of traffic and who’s feeding you a line.

So now you want to know how do you use this tool? First, you download the Alexa Toolbar as follows:

1. Go to Alexa.com
2. Click “Download Alexa Toolbar” at the top of the page.
3. Click “Install” on the next page.
Reload the page you are viewing and the toolbar will appear across the top of your browser.

If any of your readers have the Alexa toolbar installed, any time they visit you, it will help your rankings.  In turn, when you visit their sites, you’ll be building back links while helping your fellow blog buddies out.

Why not try an experiment for a month – download the toolbar and monitor one of your sites.  Once you see the data you receive and the way it can be interpreted and used, you won’t know how you survived without it!

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How You Can Choose a Good PLR Service

FAQ’s on Private Label Rights Articles

Woman Working At Home on Computer

I’ve written about using PLR articles versus free reprint articles recently. If you still have some questions on Private Label Rights articles, hopefully this information will help you decide how to choose a good service targeted to your particular blogging niche, and help you get over writer’s block.

Benefits of PLR Articles


By Nicole Dean

Private Label Rights (PLR) articles are hot right now. The only problem is that many people have tried them and been very disappointed. I can’t say I blame them. I’ve been disappointed, too.

Oftentimes, the PLR services you may have tried are lacking in several areas. So, what makes a good PLR service and how can you make sure that you don’t waste you money on a bad one?

Here are some questions to ask yourself before investing any money into a PLR package or membership.

1. What topics are you getting?
I mean, seriously, if you are promised 100 articles each month, but you end up receiving a selection on Laser Hair Removal and Divorce, when all your websites are about cooking… You just wasted money.

2. What quality are you getting?
Say you’re lucky enough to get a series of articles on your topic. Take a minute to look at them. Are they pure fluff? I’ve paid for articles that had no original ideas, or worse, were written so poorly that there’s no possible way I’d put them on my website. Make sure your PLR package contains quality articles. Otherwise, you just wasted money.

3. How many other people are getting the exact same articles?
If 1000 other people signed up to get the same articles, are you really receiving any value? Perhaps, if you don’t mind reworking the articles. However, if you’d like more unique articles, then you may consider a more limited PLR service.

4. Does the PLR service give you any extras?
Are they offering training on ways to use their PLR articles? Do they provide you with ways to monetize the articles you’ve purchased? Some PLR sites will include recommended affiliate programs and training on how to use their articles to get the most benefits from their service.

Really assess the value you’re receiving when investing in any PLR package or service so that you don’t end up wasting your money. I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did.

Article written by:

Nicole Dean is the owner of  www.EasyPLR.com – where you’ll find high-quality PLR articles sold in very limited quantities.  The PLR articles at EasyPLR are professionally written and professionally edited — top quality at an affordable price.

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Information For Bloggers: PLR vs. Free Reprint Articles: Which is Best?

Blogging Tips

Laptop and Coffee Cup

One of the ways for moms, virtual assistants or retirees to earn money working at home or blogging is by becoming a ghostwriter.  Ghostwriters often write PLR articles that can be purchased or turned into eBooks.

Here’s some information that can get you started working from home as a ghostwriter, or familiarize you with PLR and reprint articles for your blog.

PLR vs. Free Reprint Articles: Which is Best?

By Nicole Dean

Content is always in high demand. Right now the focus seems to be on Private Label Rights (or PLR) articles. PLR articles are pre-written and sold in packages to online businesses looking for content. The big selling points of PLR articles are that you may edit the articles and that there is no author bio required (so they don’t have any outbound links).

Compare PLR articles to free reprint articles. Free reprint articles from places like ezinearticles.com or freeaffiliatearticles.com are written by people who have something they’d like to share. (Or, they are sometimes written by people just publishing junk, in the hopes that they’ll get some incoming links. But, good article directories will delete those, so we’ll focus on the good ones here.)

So, which is better? Honestly, each has its place. Sometimes you’ll find an excellent free reprint article that you’ll want to share with your readers and you won’t mind a bit having an outbound link, especially if there is an affiliate program associated with it. The free reprint article added value to your readers, and you didn’t have to write the article. That’s what free reprint articles are all about.

Other times you’ll already have an idea in mind for a topic and you’ll just want a boost getting that section of your website done. If you run across a high quality PLR package on that niche, you’re set to go.

So, how do you know which PLR service or membership to choose? Here are some guidelines to follow:

1. Some PLR sites offer a monthly membership where you receive a grab-bag of articles – on any topic. If you already know what you need, this may be a waste of money. Other PLR sites will list topics and you can buy the articles in a shopping cart. That ensures you receive the articles you need when you need them.

2. Are the articles written by professional writers with experience? Or are they outsourced to the cheapest overseas help they can find – no matter the quality? If the articles are going to be a reflection of your business, you’ll want to ensure that the articles are well-written.

3. Who’s running this thing? Is the PLR site run by someone who knows about content or someone who thinks they can ride the content wave and make a quick buck? Make sure you’re hitching your wagon to someone who knows what they’re doing.

Those are just a few tips to keep you from wasting money on a PLR site that you can’t use. Continue to use free reprint articles, but look into PLR articles as well. They can both benefit your website and your business.

Article written by:

Nicole Dean is the owner of  www.EasyPLR.com – where you’ll find high-quality PLR articles sold in very limited quantities.  The PLR articles at EasyPLR are professionally written and professionally edited — top quality at an affordable price.

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Switching from Blogger to Wordpress: What You Need to Know

When You Want To Learn Wordpress

Wordpress Orientation

Many bloggers are finding that Wordpress is the preferred platform of choice for blogging.  I made the switch from blogger about 1-1/2 years ago, and don’t regret it for a minute.

Many of my friends are on the fence about switching, mostly because they think it’s so difficult – but it isnt!!  If this WAHM Baby Boomer can learn it, anyone can!

Here’s an orientation class program that can put your mind at ease:

Wordpress is the website building tool of choice for many business owners these days.  It’s a great option.  No software needed on your computer, great functionality and flexibility – and you can update your site content from any computer, netbook or smart phone.  It’s no wonder that it’s become so popular.

You’ve probably heard that Wordpress is incredibly user friendly – and it is!  Still, most first time users find it overwhelming at first.  If you ever tried to tackle Wordpress on your own and felt like giving up, you’re not at all alone.  There’s a lot to take in at first.

I was lucky though. I had several patient friends available to help me over the learning curve. Still, I wouldn’t say that I felt truly comfortable for months after. The more I got to know it, the more I realized that Wordpress is both simple and complex all at the same time.

If you only want to use Wordpress to publish content, it’s pretty darned simple.  The visual editor operates like any basic word processor.  You enter content, press publish and you’re finished.

Think of Wordpress as being three things at once.

1. It’s a Content Management Script that runs on your web server, letting you enter content as easily as writing an email.
2. Your content is stored in a Database on your web server.
3. Finally, it wears a Theme, a set of template files, that determines how the content is displayed online.

Entering content is easy.  The database takes care of itself.  Customization, want to alter your design and manipulate the database for special needs, you have to tap a whole other area of knowledge and that’s where many get stuck.

There’s good news and bad news for those who want to learn more about managing their Wordpress site.  The good news is that there’s a huge resource of documents and a large community of developers and users who are willing to answer your questions.  The bad news is that there’s a huge resource of documents and a large community of developers and users… ;)

The trouble for newcomers is usually that they don’t know how to ask the right questions to produce the answers they really need.  The documents and forums seem to be written in a foreign language and newbie questions are often answered with links to more foreign explanations that just add to their feelings of overwhelm.

My advice?  Don’t give up.  Keep asking questions.  To get the best answers, provide as much information about your problem as you can.  If you’re persistent, you’ll find that things come easier over time.

For More Information Visit: Wordpress Orientation

About the Author:

Kelly McCausey of Mom’s Talk Biz invites you to Wordpress Orientation, your all access pass to exclusive Wordpress learning.  We demonstrate answers to your questions during our live web conference sessions.  If you’re goal is to do it yourself.

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Scrapbook Entrepreneur: Ideas To Work From Home

Preserving Memories

Scrapbooking

Turn Your Hobby Into a WAHM Business

When my girls were babies, I started a scrapbook, or baby book for each of them.

Over the years I’ve compiled notes on many of their “firsts” – first tooth; first immunizations; first haircut and other milestones.

I’ve kept up their family histories all the way from when they were first born, through grade school, high school, college, weddings and in the case of my oldest daughter – her first baby.

Today, this art of maintaining memorabilia has morphed into the art called “Scrapbooking.”

My two nieces are very much into scrapbooking and have compiled some beautiful books. One of my nieces has 5 children.

What is Scrapbooking?  Wikipedia defines it as:

Scrapbooking is a method for preserving personal and family history in the form of photographs, printed media, and memorabilia contained in decorated albums, or scrapbooks. The idea of keeping printed materials of personal interest probably dates to shortly after the invention of printing.

If you’re crafty, then you might want to consider supplementing your income by starting a scrapbooking business.  It could be a great way to turn a hobby into a money making opportunity and enable you to work from home.  Of course, to really be a success with your scrapbooking business, you’re going to need to have a plan and know what you’re doing.  Let’s take a look at the best course of action if you’re thinking about becoming a scrapbooking entrepreneur.

First, you’re going to need to decide whether or not you want your hobby to be a business.

It might not be immediately obvious why it would be a bad idea.  However, when our hobbies turn into another kind of work, it can be hard to find ways to relax.  Make sure that you’re ready to add in another job, and that scrapbooking will still be your passion after money gets involved.

Next, think about whether there’s a demand for your services.

Do people comment on the quality of your memory pages and digital scrapbooks?  Do they ask you what they should do with their own, or where to get the best supplies?  If you’ve experienced this time after time, a home based business might be appropriate.  It’s no fun to leave your photos sitting in a drawer or on the computer, and people now are realizing that.  People are always looking to preserve memories of milestones such as births; graduations; weddings; vacations and retirements.  You can help them make their dreams of a beautiful scrapbook come true.
Prepare to market your talent.

Put together a portfolio of your best work, compiling the pages you’re proudest of.  That way your prospective clients will have something to look at that’ll tell them what kind of quality you have to offer.  Make sure you include only professional quality work.  Don’t fill out a scrapbook portfolio with pieces that aren’t up to snuff.  It won’t look good, even if they make the portfolio look a little thicker.

Now you’re ready to start looking for clients.

You’ll need to let others know you have this business. Start by telling your family and friends, and encourage them to tell other people they know.  Write an online press release, or have one written by a professional who knows the format.  You can also submit this press release to local papers and in other areas in the community.  Just a flyer at church, the grocery store, or in the craft store can do a lot too.  Start writing a blog. A quick way to start a blog is HERE. After you develop a good client list, think about offering discounts for referrals.

The business can expand if you’re willing to not just offer scrapbooking services, but to teach others how to put together scrapbooks too.  Set up a class and teach people in your community how to present their memories in an attractive way.

A scrapbooking business can be a lot of fun and you can turn it into a second career or may make some extra money for your family.  Just remember to research current going rates and charge fairly for your time and materials so you don’t undercut yourself.  If you approach things the right way, your scrapbooking business could really take off.


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