If you work from home in your boxers (as the title of this blog suggests), you probably realize that it’s becoming increasingly necessary to participate in online communities and social media to generate new business. Yet, that very same online presence that you need to attract and retain business clients can also pose a threat to both your identity and ultimately to your business.

The identity threat to your business comes primarily from the threat that someone else will start using your online identity and/or that it will become associated with unprofessional activity. To your clients, your online presence may be the only thing that they know about you. From a business perspective, it represents you.

Don’t think that online identity theft can’t happen to you, this post on the Instigator blog illustrates several cases where two bloggers (either intentionally, or unintentionally) started using very similar avatars in social media. At first glance, one blogger’s symbol could easily be mistaken for the other blogger’s symbol. (In a case like this, I would recommend contacting the other blogger to see which avatar is most branded. Ideally, the blogger with the least branded avatar would agree to change.)

At JasonKolb.com there are some excellent suggestions and reasons for protecting and promoting your online identity.

Here are some additional points about protecting your online identity:

1. Own the domain name that corresponds to your business name. Increasingly, customers are starting to expect that when they go to a search engine and type in “yourbusinessname.com,” your business site will come up. Owning your own domain insures that they will actually reach your business and not the site of some other enterprise.

2. Place helpful content on your site. It doesn’t need to be a blog, but it should be related to your business. Remember that this site may be the first impression that many clients have of your business, and everyone knows how important first impressions are.

3. Perform regular searches on your own name, the name of your business, and any pen or screen names that you have used. It’s important to find out how these names are being used and to make sure that they are not by used anyone else in a negative or professional fashion.

4. Never publish anything online that you wouldn’t say to a client’s face. Even “fun” places like FaceBook and MySpace could become part of your online identity to a potential client who searches on your name. The recent Facebook “scandal” faced by a university president just illustrates that nothing is really private.

With a little extra precaution and care, it is possible to protect your online business identity and present a unified professional image to your clients.

Laura Spencer is a work at home mom (WAHM) and freelance writer. Laura blogs about working from home at http://www.workfromhomemomma.com. Laura blogs about freelance writing at www.writingthoughts.com.

Post from: EveryJoe

How to Protect Your Identity in an Increasingly Public Online World

Even a business that you operate from the comfort of your own home can benefit from a well-defined brand strategy, and despite what you might think, branding does not have to be complicated. In fact, by following these three steps, you can easily develop and execute your own brand strategy.

1. Define the image you want to portray in the marketplace: What does your business stand for? Who are you? What image or perception do you want to have in your customers’ minds? A brand isn’t just a logo or iconic symbol, it’s a reflection of your business’s overall message. Do you want to be trendy and hip or classic and refined? Are you the P Diddy of your business or more like Calvin Klein? The first step to creating a brand is to determine where you want your business to be positioned in your marketplace and in the minds of your customers. Again, who are you?

2. Communicate your brand message: You can’t expect people to understand your brand’s image unless you tell them what it is. Maximize every opportunity you can to communicate your brand’s message. From business cards to invoices and memos to advertising, scream your brand message to the world and let everyone know who you are and what you stand for. Imagine if Lamborghini rolled out a new low-priced station wagon. How would that affect their brand? What if they started using a tagline that said, “Lamborghini, the family car” in their advertising. How would that affect their brand? Once you decide what your brand message will be, make sure everyone else understands it, too.

3. Be consistent and persistent: The easiest way to destroy a brand image is by inconsistently communicating it thereby confusing customers. In today’s world, consumers hear more messages than they can process each day. Your consistency and persistence will help break through that clutter and generate awareness, recognition and understanding of your brand. For example, pick a logo that reflects your brand image and stick with it. Once your brand message is defined in step two above, consistently communicate it and don’t give up. Breaking through advertising clutter is similar to breaking through to a toddler. It’s hard to capture the attention of consumers, once you’ve got their attention, make sure your message is loud and clear.

For more about branding, stop by Brandcurve. Here is a list of several Brandcurve posts that are particularly relevant to personal branding or branding a home-based business:

• Five Rules for Effective Branding
• 3 Steps to Develop Your Brand Position Organically
• Three Definitions of Brand
• Stay True to Your Core

Guest Blogger, Susan Gunelius, is the author of b5media’s branding blog at www.Brandcurve.com. She has over a decade of experience in corporate marketing, advertising and branding and currently works from home as a writer. Her first two business nonfiction books are scheduled for publication in 2008.

Post from: EveryJoe

Three Steps to Develop Your Brand

One of the realities of the Internet is that blogs can now be used as marketing tools, and many companies are realizing this. This is becoming especially true in the real estate field, where the demand for regular content in real estate-related fields meets a need for localized stories. But companies other industries and sectors, from entertainment to finance, also realize the importance of useful, regularly updated information.

They just don’t have the time and/or the blogging expertise to make a successful blog.

This is where I come in. Every morning I get up, pull on my robe and stumble downstairs to my office. I turn on the Internet and look for the latest news of importance to the companies that I blog for. In many cases, I am a ghostwriter. But the story is the same. Companies pay me to write blog posts for them. Many of them are on contract, paying me to post a certain amount each month.

Many job boards now have listings with companies requesting blog writers. If you take a look around, you can find companies that will pay you outright, per post, to write on their blogs. Rather than relying on ad revenue, I can blog (which I enjoy) and earn a steady income. And it is done, in large part, before I get dressed in the morning.

Miranda Marquit is a work at home mom (WAHM) and prolific blogger. In addition to corporate blogging, she writes for http://www.workshak.com, a work from home blog. She also shares insight on personal finance issues at www.yieldingwealth.com.

Post from: EveryJoe

Making Money as a Blogger: Going Corporate

Being a mother and an entrepreneur is tough, especially when you have toddler twin girls in addition to a demanding business. As difficult as it can get, it’s also absolutely wonderful. The key to survival is simply to try not to go insane, and I want to share some of what I’ve learned so far about being a parent who works from home.

1. Make a plan BEFORE you have the baby. A lot of people think they’ll jump in after the baby is born. Wrong move! You need to plan ahead for it to work. That may mean getting extra help as you transition. I used a virtual assistant to keep me on track and got extra help with by using a college intern.

2. Develop a schedule for the baby right from the start. Babies need a schedule; it helps them and you to know what to expect and when to expect it. Once you have a set schedule for them, you can schedule your work around it.

3. Keep a list of what you need to do. Late night and pre-dawn feedings can take its toll, making you get the infamous ‘mommy brain’. Keep a notebook with you and whenever you remember something you need to get done, write it down and refer back to it when you get a chance.

4. Get the day started right after the 4 A.M. feeding. Getting work done before the house wakes is an efficient way to use those times when you can’t get back to sleep.

5. Go to bed early, TiVo your favorite show that you are missing and watch it during lunch when you can use the pick-me-up. It’s important to give parent some time too.

Shannon Cherry shares many of her ideas on working at home at http://www.mommy-inc.com , the only blog that focuses on the life of an entrepreneur mom raising twins. She talks about experiences, thoughts and interesting details she finds with others who may be interested in this type of journey. She also shares tips and techniques to start up a successful business at http://www.startupspark.com.

Post from: EveryJoe

You can stop the insanity when you are starting a business – and a family

• Level 1: Google Adsense
• Level 2: Affiliate Programs
• Level 3: Ad Networks
• Level 4: Automated Text Links
• Level 5: Fixed Text Links Ads
• Level 6: Graphical Banner Ads
• Level 7: Fixed Monthly Sponsors

I agree with Chad’s list as a whole although in my experience most blogs do not have a full 7 levels as some of them simply will not make sense for the type of niche you are in. Some blogs may find there are no affiliate programs on their topic, their ad slots do not fill, or adsense ads are poorly targeted.

For a complete description of the 7 levels visit Chad’s blog.

(via ProBlogger)

Post from: EveryJoe

The 7 Levels of Revenue

But alas, now it’s time to hand them over to someone else, and that being the cowboy himself. I was going to submit this site to sitepoint where I’m sure I would have gotten a slightly higher price for it, but by selling to David, I know this baby’s in good hands.

You may have noticed a “lack” of content over the past few months. The facts are in, I no longer manage to find time to post here on WorkBoxers, or anywhere for that matter. Instead of turning to blogging for a money fix/building a business .. I’ve turned to something bigger and better that will hopefully take off soon. I’ll be sure to let you all know :)

A big thanks to all the WorkBoxers readers for all your thoughts, idea’s and discussions that have taken part here on this wonderful blog.

A big GOOD LUCK to David with the WorkBoxers content. I still post the odd ramble at Jamsi.com, so subscribe if you still wish to hear my thoughts.

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.

Post from: EveryJoe

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen (Part 2)

Every year, more and more consumers turn to online shopping to make their purchasing decisions easier and easier. Credit card facilities are more secure than ever and the threat of cyber crime is diminishing. So what does this mean for your site? Christmas is an affiliates dream, with some earning insane margins on consumer goods.

If you’re blogging about a hobby such as poker, golf, chess or cooking – get onto Clickbank now. You can find an affiliate product on almost ANYTHING which you’ll be able to somehow squeeze onto your blog and earn yourself some tidy commissions.

Christmas Resources

If you haven’t already seen these articles and you’re wanting to take full advantage of the festive season, I recommend you check these out as soon as possible!

• Darren tells us “How to Fine Tune Your Blog for Christmas“
• Rosalind tells us 10 Ways to Get Your Affiliate Site Ready for Christmas
• Performics Releases Holiday Marketing Best Practices for Affiliate Publishers

Looking to add some fun to your website? Checkout the below Javascript code snippets to add falling snowflakes to your website! You’re readers will go nuts! (Either because the love it or because it pisses them off)
Falling snowflakes

<script> // CREDITS: // Snowmaker Copyright (c) 2003 Peter Gehrig. All rights reserved. // Distributed by http://www.hypergurl.com // Permission given to use the script on webpages provided that this notice remains as is. // Set the number of snowflakes (more than 30 - 40 not recommended) var snowmax=35 // Set the colors for the snow. Add as many colors as you like var snowcolor=new Array("#aaaacc","#ddddFF","#ccccDD") // Set the fonts, that create the snowflakes. Add as many fonts as you like var snowtype=new Array("Arial Black","Arial Narrow","Times","Comic Sans MS") // Set the letter that creates your snowflake (recommended:*) var snowletter="*" // Set the speed of sinking (recommended values range from 0.3 to 2) var sinkspeed=0.6 // Set the maximal-size of your snowflaxes var snowmaxsize=22 // Set the minimal-size of your snowflaxes var snowminsize=8 // Set the snowing-zone // Set 1 for all-over-snowing, set 2 for left-side-snowing // Set 3 for center-snowing, set 4 for right-side-snowing var snowingzone=3 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // CONFIGURATION ENDS HERE /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Do not edit below this line var snow=new Array() var marginbottom var marginright var timer var i_snow=0 var x_mv=new Array(); var crds=new Array(); var lftrght=new Array(); var browserinfos=navigator.userAgent var ie5=document.all&&document.getElementById&&!browserinfos.match(/Opera/) var ns6=document.getElementById&&!document.all var opera=browserinfos.match(/Opera/) var browserok=ie5||ns6||opera function randommaker(range) { rand=Math.floor(range*Math.random()) return rand } function initsnow() { if (ie5 || opera) { marginbottom = document.body.clientHeight marginright = document.body.clientWidth } else if (ns6) { marginbottom = window.innerHeight marginright = window.innerWidth } var snowsizerange=snowmaxsize-snowminsize for (i=0;i< =snowmax;i++) { crds[i] = 0; lftrght[i] = Math.random()*15; x_mv[i] = 0.03 + Math.random()/10; snow[i]=document.getElementById("s"+i) snow[i].style.fontFamily=snowtype[randommaker(snowtype.length)] snow[i].size=randommaker(snowsizerange)+snowminsize snow[i].style.fontSize=snow[i].size snow[i].style.color=snowcolor[randommaker(snowcolor.length)] snow[i].sink=sinkspeed*snow[i].size/5 if (snowingzone==1) {snow[i].posx=randommaker(marginright-snow[i].size)} if (snowingzone==2) {snow[i].posx=randommaker(marginright/2-snow[i].size)} if (snowingzone==3) {snow[i].posx=randommaker(marginright/2-snow[i].size)+marginright/4} if (snowingzone==4) {snow[i].posx=randommaker(marginright/2-snow[i].size)+marginright/2} snow[i].posy=randommaker(2*marginbottom-marginbottom-2*snow[i].size) snow[i].style.left=snow[i].posx snow[i].style.top=snow[i].posy } movesnow() } function movesnow() { for (i=0;i<=snowmax;i++) { crds[i] += x_mv[i]; snow[i].posy+=snow[i].sink snow[i].style.left=snow[i].posx+lftrght[i]*Math.sin(crds[i]); snow[i].style.top=snow[i].posy if (snow[i].posy>=marginbottom-2*snow[i].size || parseInt(snow[i].style.left)>(marginright-3*lftrght[i])){ if (snowingzone==1) {snow[i].posx=randommaker(marginright-snow[i].size)} if (snowingzone==2) {snow[i].posx=randommaker(marginright/2-snow[i].size)} if (snowingzone==3) {snow[i].posx=randommaker(marginright/2-snow[i].size)+marginright/4} if (snowingzone==4) {snow[i].posx=randommaker(marginright/2-snow[i].size)+marginright/2} snow[i].posy=0 } } var timer=setTimeout("movesnow()",50) } for (i=0;i< =snowmax;i++) { document.write("<span id='s"+i+"' style='position:absolute;top:-"+snowmaxsize+"'>"+snowletter+"") } if (browserok) { window.onload=initsnow } </script>

Post from: EveryJoe

Workboxers Guide to Chrismas

1) It’s 100% possible to get a high page rank (PR7) with only one page, here’s proof. (Clicky)

2) Sometimes when competition is stiff, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to go crazy and do something out of the norm. If you’re advertising on adwords for whatever product or service you are promoting, sometimes the best method is the most riskiest method. Below is an advert I witnessed today. (On my own website too..)

Post from: EveryJoe

Two things you need to know

Nice Darren :)

Post from: EveryJoe

Ranking for unrelated keywords

Post from: EveryJoe

Interesting Adsense Advert