- Mila's Note:  A few updates for you...

- Community & Networking: How to get extra free time...

- Featured Article:  Boring, Bland and Vanilla - How NOT To Run Your Business...

- Mom Recommends: The Easiest Website Builder Around...

- Moms Marketplace: Traffic, websites, content, and other people's stuff! Plus your opportunity to reach THOUSANDS...

A Note From Mila

Hi,

I'm feeling good this week. I got a ton of work done last week so this weekend we took a much needed mini-break and went to visit Ben's (that's my hubby) mother.  She lives in a beautiful 200ish year old house in the Country side... very nice and relaxing. I hope you had a great weekend too.

On the work front we have a few updates for you. I know Internet Based Moms is mainly geared towards building an online business but we also understand that many moms (and dads) are either freelancing or want to find work from home.

This is why we've just added a new Telecommuting/freelancing section. It includes a getting started tutorial and some articles. We'll be adding more content over the coming months and please feel free to make suggestions or let us know what else you'd like to see. You can do that through the forums or by hitting reply to this email and letting Mel know.

You can find that new section here:  http://internetbasedmoms.com/telecommuting-jobs/

and don't forget you can also look through our daily updated job listings on the forums at http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/bb/ - look for the folder called IBMoms Job Listings.

And since Monday's are always a great time for a little extra inspiration, we have this month's featured success story ready too. Heather Ledeboer made her dream of working from home come true by simply helping other moms.  Go here to meet Heather:

http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/business-success-stories/heather.html

Finally, for all of you who signed up to the beginner's guides notification list, I'll have an important announcement for you at the end of the week. If you haven't signed up yet, here's your last chance to grab your 30% discount. Go to: http://www.marketingandmotivation.com

Have a wonderful week and scroll down for all the latest news from our mom community. Our feature article, Boring, Bland and Vanilla - How NOT To Run Your Business,  is an answer to Eve's question... enjoy!

Wishing you much success,

Mila Sidman, editor Internet Based Moms

"Helping Moms Succeed in Online Business"

In partnership with Internet Based Family - The easiest website builder on the net!

Boring, Bland and Vanilla - How NOT To Run Your Business   
By Mila Sidman  

The other day I received an interesting email from Eve  (one of our valued subscribers). Eve said...

Mila, my site has been live for about 8 months now and I'm getting some traffic but nothing is really happening. I haven't made much AdSense income and I'm not having any luck with affiliate marketing. Any help you can give me would be really appreciated.  Thanks so much!

Thank YOU Eve for sending in that question. This scenario is much too common online and can be very discouraging. I'll try to help you as best as I can.  (Here's my answer Eve)

Firstly, after looking at your site the first thing I noticed is that there's really nothing different than most other sites in  your same market. You probably already know that the work at home/make money on the internet is pretty saturated and unfortunately there really isn't anything "new" about your site.

That's not to say you can't make money in this market, you definitely can but in any competitive market (or any market for that matter) you really need to develop and edge... something that will help you stand out from everyone else out there.

We live in a time, where everything you want is easily and widely available. If you want something you usually don't have a shortage of places where you can purchase that item. This is why you need to develop your USP.

Your USP is your unique selling proposition. It's what makes you different from everyone else out there. It's your "oomph" so to speak. Without it, you won't get very far.

But a USP is about a lot more than just market research or offering different products... this is a mistake many business owners make. It's not about trying to come up with a new or different product. If a certain product is selling well then you don't need to reinvent the wheel and come up with something totally different that may not work.

What you need to do is develop your unique personality and angle. With a little creativity you can sell ANYTHING, even common everyday products that are everywhere. Look at chocolate, you can get it anywhere right? Still some smart marketers have come up with ways to make chocolate different.

You can now buy a variety of gourmet chocolate, organic, fair trade, and join several chocolate of the month clubs. You can get extremely expensive artisan chocolate to -- which to be honest, doesn't taste a whole lot different than other chocolate. Now if so much can be done with such a simple product then there really are no limits.

Here's an interesting story I found in the DKBG newsletter - it's a business that really understands personality marketing. This business is actually doing quite well and if they can take a basic product like this (mustard) then think about all the possibilities open to you.

The bottom line is that to make it in business today you need to sell YOU more than your products. Think about different ways to make your website unique, and stir things up a little and entertain your visitors.

Vanilla is bland, boring and old. People will buy from you because they feel a connection with you. And it's okay that not everyone will always like you -- in fact that's what you want. Let me tell you a secret, I got a really nasty email the other day. I know very well I sometimes ruffle a few feathers the wrong way but you know what it doesn't matter because I'm not trying to please everyone -- neither should you.

Even if you work really hard to try and please everyone you will NEVER do it, because some people are just mean. Others just won't like you... no matter what you do!

Aim to please your target customer only. Be unique and interesting. Try something new and bold. If you create a little stir along the way, then you're doing well ;-)

Good luck with your business and I would love to hear back from you in a few months to see how you're doing!

To learn how to shake things up and get customers to respond to your market and buy your stuff visit http://www.marketingandmotivation.com and sign up to receive an exclusive 30% discount off our beginner's online marketing guides. IMPORTANT NOTE: This is your last opportunity to grab your discount. Discount page will be removed early this week without fail.

Mila Sidman is the owner and editor of the popular website Internet Based Moms. She's a copywriter, marketer and mom with a passion for helping women succeed in business. Get personal business advice and daily job leads over at the Internet Based Moms Forums - http://www.Internetbasedmoms.com/bb