As business processes and technology advances, the number of work-from-home professionals are increasing each year and the trend isn’t slowing down any time soon. It’s clear why more people are choosing careers that allow them to work from the comfort of their home.
Working at home can be flexible, affordable and more time efficient for both the self-employed individual and the employer. While a good number of freelancers and employees choose to work from home part time, more are choosing to make the transition into a full time schedule.
While moving to a full time work-from-home schedule can be exciting, it comes with its own set of challenges. It’s vital to set up a home office that’s set up for maximum productivity. Freelancers must learn marketing and branding to get clients/customers and build a foundation for themselves.
Work-from-home professionals will also need to choose and learn to use the proper apps and online services to run their business. This article will cover these and other important points to help you establish a career that allows you to work from your home.
1. Build an Effective Landing Page
Everybody knows how important it is to have their own website. However, not enough professionals focus on building an effective landing page after they get their website set up. A landing page is basically the page that your web visitors land on after they’ve clicked on your ad or a link on the web.
The most important thing that your landing page should have is a purpose. For example, if the purpose is to generate email leads, then you must use a design and copy that convinces the visitor to subscribe.
Trying to build a landing page for your main page is probably the most challenging as you’ll have to figure out what kind of approach will resonate most with your audience. In this case, you’ll need to do a lot of research to design a landing page for your core audience and make your brand shine.
Use the right visual presentation and copy to engage your core audience while communicating your brand identity and message. Again, the most important thing is purpose and you’ll want a clear navigation path for whatever goal you’ve set for your site.
2. Pick the Right Apps and Online Services
Apps and online services can help you do everything from setting business tasks to run on autopilot, organizing your business processes, to accepting payments. While you have many choices available to you, you want to boil the apps down what will help you with marketing and running your business.
If you’re building a SEO campaign, look for web services that help you manage and build your campaigns. If you’re constantly on the go, look for an app that lets you work remotely on your home computer. As you get more serious, you’ll want to use apps that help you manage your time and manage projects.
3. Be Serious About Your Social Media Game
Having a social media presence is more important than ever. While there are many social media platforms, you want to focus on platforms that is suited for your business model. For example, LinkedIN is best for B2B while Facebook is more for B2C businesses.
To make social media work, you want to stay active on social media and engage your followers. You can do this by regularly pushing out content and promoting your social media pages on your websites. You also need to look at your social media pages regularly to see what your followers are saying and how they’re responding to your content.
4. Create a Productive Home Office
While working at home is convenient, it’s easy to get lost in distractions and regular interruptions. That’s why you have to take your home office seriously.
Start off by working in a space that has very little foot traffic and noise so that you can focus on your work. Then, set a strict work schedule and make sure the family knows that you’re not to be bothered during work hours unless it’s an emergency.
Finally, make sure your office space is equipped with everything you need and is clearly organized. Don't forget the basics – in order to keep your office functional, you need to take care of it regularly, and perform maintenance tasks, just like the rest of your home. You want to prevent yourself from getting sidetracked by not having the things you need or getting lost in a messy environment.
5. Put More of Yourself Out There
If you want to really establish yourself as a work-from-home professional, you have to put more of yourself out there. If you have a social media account, try
to engage your followers by setting up surveys, doing Q&As, running contests and replying to their posts. If you receive an emails from industry peers, take the time out to partake in a conversation or respond to their questions.
If there are industry events or stories that are happening, try to be a part of it to develop some presence. Small actions like these will help you generate leads, build your brand equity and help you develop important relationships.
Bonus Tip: Use Influencer Outreach
If you’re going to use social media, then it’s important that you reach out and develop a relationship with influencers.
Influencers are individuals in their respective fields that have a strong standing or following. By building relationships with influencers, it’ll be easier to get your content distributed, get your products/services reviewed or promoted, receive press coverage, secure business partnerships, and more.
You've got the info, now get to work.
To sum up, working from home has many benefits but it's not without its own challenges. You need to learn how to market and brand yourself, set up a productive work environment, learn how to use technology to your advantage, and constantly put yourself out there. All of this is far from an easy undertaking, but it will be more than worth it once you build a foundation for yourself.
About the author
Jeff E. Brown is a creative professional, a solotrepreneur balancing the career of a self-taught handyman and DIY expert with a knack for interior design and a writer. His two dogs keep him company when he's working on something or typing, while he spends his free time gardening or hosting barbeque parites in his backyard. You can reach Jeff via About.me/jeffebrownwriter.
It is definitely more comfortable to work at home because you can be your own boss and have your own working hours, i also do my e commerce business in my condo.