Marketing by networking isn't just for network marketers
Written by: Stephanie Foster
Web Site:   Home with the Kids

When you have a home business, it's not always easy to market yourself, particularly if your children are small. It is possible, however, to market your business during your everyday activities.

People in network marketing are often told to tell everyone they know about their business. You should do the same. Tell family, friends, cashiers, and so forth. Have business cards made up and hand them out freely. An inexpensive source is http://www.vistaprint.com/ , which offers 250 business cards for the cost of shipping and handling, about $6. These cards have their ad on the back, however, but they do also have reasonable prices for business cards in general. You can also print your business cards on your own printer. You can get business card paper at your local office supply store, and your card will look best on glossy paper and printed at high quality on a photo-quality printer.

Join online discussion groups and put your business name in your signature line. Don't just advertise your site, be a part of the community, ask and answer questions not related to your business, as well as those related to your business. Only post about your business as the rules of the board allows or if someone asks a question that specifically relates to your business. Make sure to put your signature line at the end of all your emails too. I strongly recommend that you join http://www.ryze.com , if you haven't already. It has all sorts of networking boards, so no matter your business or interests, you can find a group to join.

If you have a website, exchange links with related sites. This will improve your search engine rankings, but even more important, you may get traffic from these sites. A listing on a popular website can bring you large amounts of traffic.

Find a group that swaps filler packs for orders, and send them something from your business in exchange for putting things from their business in their orders. This can cost a bit for supplies and samples, but can be very effective.

All home businesses can benefit from networking. You just need to remind yourself that you don't know who will be interested in what you do until you ask.

Stephanie Foster is the owner of Home with the Kids, a resource that knows that there's more to staying home with your family than just business. From money saving tips to parenting and marriage tips, to work at home jobs and businesses, you can get information and support here. You can visit the site at http://www.homewiththekids.com .