| Do you know what are the forgotten factors that will | | | | homepage. |
| ensure the long-term success of your home based | | | | With the exception of IT personnels, this is the one |
| legitimate business online? Read on to find out. | | | | thing most people do not do. As a home based |
| This article exposes practical day to day tips in | | | | legitimate business online owner, your database is your |
| maintaining and operating your home based legitimate | | | | goldmine. For example, I keep a database of my |
| business online to it's optimum. These are tips from my | | | | newsletter subscribers, affiliate programs (above) and |
| own personal experiences after being a full time | | | | hosting directories. You should too and always keep a |
| internet marketer for a few years now. Though logical | | | | back up copy of them in a secondary storage device |
| and simple, they are often overlooked by even the | | | | like an external hard drive. You can also burn them in a |
| more experienced home based business online | | | | DVD-ROM or CD-ROM. To make your job easier, |
| owners. | | | | store all your critical files in a common directory. I store |
| Let's start with your computer. How old is it? If it's | | | | all my home based business online stuff in a folder |
| more than 4 years old, up-grade it if you can or better | | | | called "IM" for internet marketing. When I do a backup, I |
| still change it. Look, you don't want to run an online | | | | just copy the whole file. Simple right. |
| business with an unreliable computer. Trust me you, | | | | Here's another one. Test the availability of your site at |
| this will be worth it. A little tip before on purchasing a | | | | least once a day. Make sure your site opens up when |
| new computer. If it runs on Windows Vista, make sure | | | | you enter your site url in the web browser. After it |
| the RAM size is 2GB or more. Lower than that and | | | | does, do a random check on the links you have on |
| your computer will be sluggish. If you are a notebook | | | | your site to ensure there are no broken links. If there |
| person like me, make sure to test the screen size you | | | | are then fix them. The links could have been changed |
| are most comfortable with. A 13.3inch is the smallest I | | | | without your knowledge. There are softwares |
| would go. Smaller than that and it will hurt your eyes. | | | | available in the market you can use to check this for |
| Are you promoting affiliate programs? I promote loads | | | | you, but a random manual check is recommended. |
| of them and that's why I keep a database of all the | | | | The plus point to this is, you tend to spend more time |
| programs I am affiliated to in a simple spreadsheet. I | | | | on your site hence, can easily identify discrepancies |
| include in it the affiliate manager's url, my affiliate links, | | | | and rectify them if any. |
| login ID, login password, their support email addresses, | | | | Above are some of the more important tips that I |
| email address I used to subscribe to them, payment | | | | have used and still am using to ensure the smooth |
| gateways, payment received, payment pending and | | | | running of my home based legitimate business online. |
| remarks. This will give you an easy reference and a | | | | Though not often being highlighted as part of a |
| good way to monitor your paychecks. OpenOffice | | | | marketing strategy, yet can mean the survival of your |
| offers a free spreadsheet software download at their | | | | home based business online venture. |