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Networking Your Work at Home Opportunity: More Money, More Friends

Written by: Jeff Casmer

Article Overview: It's no secret that networking is integral to the success of every business. Connecting with people not only lets you create a customer base but you form meaningful relationships as well. Unfortunately quite a few people are still not taking advantage of online networking methods and those that do aren't utilizing them properly. Below are two popular networking methods an how to use them to the advantage of your work at home opportunity.

Networking Your Work at Home Opportunity: More Money, More Friends

It's no secret that networking is integral to the success of every business. Connecting with people not only lets you create a customer base but you form meaningful relationships as well. Unfortunately quite a few people are still not taking advantage of online networking methods and those that do aren't utilizing them properly. Below are two popular networking methods an how to use them to the advantage of your work at home opportunity.

Discussion forums

Discussion forums are basically electronic bulletin boards. But what makes them work so well as a networking method is the fact that there is a community aspect to them.

Members can quickly form bonds with each other and because the content created is open to non members, others can get a sense of who is a top contributor in each discussion forum. If they enjoy the topic they may then decided to join as well.

To make this networking method work for your work at home opportunity you have to be willing to spend a bit of time reading old posts and creating new relevant content in the forum. Members within the forum can be a tight nit group so if you don't feel welcome look for another forum that suits you, instead of forcing yourself to participate. This will only make networking seem like a chore and it shouldn't be.

It is recommended that you make at least 30 posts before you consider doing any joint ventures for your work at home opportunity or even promoting your site. However, if the forum lets you create a signature you can draw traffic to your site with just a few posts. In this case take a look at the signatures of the top members.

Discussion forums are not for blatant advertisements or shameless self promotion. You have to do it passively. The focus should be on creating content and forming bonds with the other members.

Social Networking sites

Contrary to popular belief social networking sites were not created for work at home opportunity owners to brazenly market their opportunity. Social networking is simply the grouping of individuals. It allows people of a common interest to come together. It can be done offline but it is more common online because it is faster and more entertaining.

Instead of just creating content like a discussion forum, social networking sites like facebook, and myspace let you create a personal space, and find and add friends that share your interest. You don't have to become buddies with everyone on the site just those you want. And your comments can be made private, instead of sharing them with virtually everyone.

If you are using social networking sites to promote your work at home opportunity you have to be choosy with your friends. Your goal is to meet people who have a common interest and network with them. You can create an impressive contact list with these sites as well as bookmark your website, so others can connect to your home business.

Social networking sites like Myspace or linkdin should not be confused with social booking sites like Digg or Stumbleupon. They aren't the same. Discussion isn't as important on bookmarking sites nor is it likely to build business relationships on these sites. They are useful for creating traffic; social networking sites are used to create and build relationships.

By using the methods above you can connect with different people who share an interest in your home business niche. Some may become customers or clients, and others may become business partners or referrers. But taking the time to make friends with them can help you make a lot of money for work at home opportunity.

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Article Tags: blatant advertisements, bonds, community aspect, contrary to popular belief, customer base, discussion forum, discussion forums, electronic bulletin boards, forum members, forums discussion, home opportunity, joint ventures, meaningful relationships, networking methods, relevant content, self promotion, signatures, social networking sites, suits, top contributor



Related Forum Posts
Re: Which would you start: a Blog or Online Community? - It is a difficult decision to make. Lets start it this way - What are you more interested in? Money? or Friends? or Both? If its purely Money, then Blog might be an appropriate answer. But consider this - It will be people (visitors) that will bring traffic to your blog and then Money will follow. This will be possible after a time and during this time it will be your friends who will be the starters. If you are looking for friends only, then its true that not many will be interested in knowing how you have beaten them in the game or the other way round. So it will be preferable to have a Forum where they can share ideas with you and others. But you can share your insider knowledge with them and invite comments from your Blog. You can also put up information on what others (including your friends) don't know about Tennis. The blog you create can provide News, Inside Information and also Techniques that can be used by the new entrants in the world of Tennis.
Try wikipedia.com for more information - That depends what type of business you are involved in. Maybe if you share that, we can help you a little better. I work mostly in the Work at Home industry so my advice would only be along those lines.
Re: How do you budget your life? - Here is my financial management categories for today: 15% Long Term Savings; 10% Home Expenses; 45% Business and Marketing charges; 10% Friends (Meeting); 20$ Scientific and Law Books. But this will change when it is August or September. Orxan
Re: Make Friends...Literally BUILD them! - I agree! Networking is definitely the key word here. What does everyone feel about the different Networking platforms out there? Twitter Facebook LinkedIn what are some others?
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women


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