How to Work From Home With No Startup Costs

1. Brainstorm the skills you already have that may come in handy when working from home, such as knowing extensive information on specific subjects for blogging, graphic and web design, or business management skills for selling or auctioning items.

2. Create a list of various skills you have and also interests and new hobbies you are willing to work with or learn more about. Organize the list of skills to help get a clearer view of your available options when working from home.

3. Decide on the at-home career route you are going to take after reviewing your current skills set and options online as well as locally.

4. Review your options for working at home with your chosen job or career path. Some outlets for exposure might include opening an online store or auction shop, such as Etsy (etsy.com), or eBay (ebay.com). For blogging, view websites such as Blogger (blogger.com), or Wordpress (wordpress.org). If you are interested in creating your own website and earning money from advertisements, visit Webs (webs.com), and research Google Adsense (google.com/adsense) for advertising money-making tips.

5. Browse competitor company websites of various online blogging, eCommerce, and website building services and communities. Register and sign up on forums and online communities relevant to your hobby or business for more information and potential networking opportunities to help expand your business and work even more.

6. Create an online portfolio for storing photography work, graphic design work, and illustrations of your own if you plan on working as a freelance designer, programmer, or photographer. Upload and store your portfolio work online to keep all of your highlighted and featured works showcased when trying to find new clients or expand your market.

7. Register on the service websites that fit your current skills sets or business ideas and follow each on-screen guide or tutorial offered from the service to begin setting up your blog, website, or online store quickly to begin earning money without startup costs.

Places to Advertise Online

Google

Google offers two ways to advertise online: on the Google search results page through Google Adwords, and on personal websites through Google AdSense. A business using Google AdWords buys advertising space on pages when users submit a Google search using the keywords tied to the ad. Ads can appear either on the right side of the page under Sponsored Links or above the search results. The business creates text ads that link back to its website when clicked on. Then it buys keywords connected to the ads. Each keyword has a cost per click that the business pays once a user clicks on its ad. The higher the cost per click a business pays, the higher its ad appears in the Sponsored Links section. A business using Google AdSense buys ads that go on personal websites like blogs. When a visitor clicks on an ad and makes a purchase, the business pays the owner of the website through Google.

Social Media Sites

Social media are up-and-coming forms of online advertising. Facebook, the most popular, had more than 400,000,000 active users worldwide in 2010, giving a business the opportunity to reach millions of prospective customers through its message. A business advertising on Facebook begins by designing its ad, creating a title and copy for the ad and uploading an optional graphic. Ads can be directed to the business's website, its free Facebook page or even to many of Facebook's games and applications. After creating the ad, the business chooses its target audience. The default settings for Facebook target all users ages 18 and older, but Facebook recommends customizing the settings to fit the targeted audience. A business can target by the following criteria: location; age; sex; keywords; education; workplace; relationship status or interests. The business then determines its ad budget by choosing pay per click or pay per view. The minimum budget is $1 a day. The business can determine its budget by how many clicks or views it would like to receive and how much it would like to pay for each one.

Local Newspaper Websites

Business can still use newspaper ads to target local, potential customers. Instead of the traditional print ad, however, businesses can reach a broader potential customer base by advertising on a newspaper's online version. Newspapers affiliated with the Gannett Corporation receive more than 49 million page views a month, reaching millions of potential customers. A business can target one location, and larger businesses can target the entire Gannet network. Advertising options include island ads, skyscrapers, breakout ads, classified ads and sliding pencil ads, which appear as a strip ad at the top of the page and expand the first time a customer visits the page. Many Gannett markets offer mobile advertising options for reaching users accessing the Internet from cell phones. Large newspaper chains, like Gannett, often partner with specialized websites like Careerbuilder.com for jobs and recruiting, Homefinder.com for real estate, Cars.com for automotive ads and Apartments.com for rental property, that allow businesses to advertise nationally.

How to Get Paid Ad Revenue on YouTube

1. Navigate to the YouTube website (youtube.com) and sign up for an account.

2. Produce quality original content that will attract a large number of viewers. You can do this by filming content with a camera, or by creating animation with computer software. If any videos you submit contain copy-protected material that you don't have permission to use, they will not be accepted into the Partner Program and your content may be flagged for copyright infringement.

3. Upload your videos to YouTube.

4. Build your audience. If nobody watches your videos, it's unlikely you'll be accepted into the program. Audience size is one of the most important criteria the company uses to assess your suitability. Post links to your content on other websites and spread the word about your videos through your social media accounts.

5. Navigate to the YouTube Partner Program page and click on 'Apply now.' You'll need to fill out an application form and provide a supporting statement explaining why you think your content will appeal to a wide range of viewers. Once submitted, your application will be reviewed along with your YouTube content and your audience figures. You will be contacted by email once a decision has been made.

How to Put a Banner Ad in a Thesis Theme Header

1. Add the free 'Thesis OpenHook' plugin to your WordPress site, if you don't already have it, by clicking on 'Plugins' from the dashboard, then 'Add New' and type 'Thesis OpenHook' in the search box before clicking 'Search Plugins.' When the plugin appears on your screen, click the 'Install' link, which takes 10 to 20 seconds, and then 'Activate,' which happens immediately.

2. Go to the Thesis OpenHook editing screen by clicking on 'Thesis OpenHook' under the 'Appearance' panel on the sidebar of the dashboard. Once you do this, all of the page elements that you can edit appear on the screen. Scroll through the elements to find the elements you want to edit. To put the banner ad directly above the header, you will be looking for the 'After Title' element and to put the banner ad below the header, you will be looking for the 'After Header' element. If you want to replace the header completely, look for the 'WP Head' element.

3. Put the coding for your banner ad in the box by either 'After Title,' 'WP Head' or 'After Header.' The coding will come from the advertising company you are using, such as Commission Junction.

4. Click in the box by 'Execute PHP on this hook' to put a check in it. If you do not do this, the ad will not display.

5. Save the banner ad settings by clicking on the 'Save' button. Your banner ad will now display in the header.

How to Add Advertisements to Your iPhone Apps

1. Choose your advertisement platform. Numerous options are available, all of which can be utilized free. Some of the more common platforms include PurpleTalk, Flurry, AdMob and iAd (see Resources).

2. Select the size of your banner. This banner serves as the space upon which your ads are displayed and can be either 320-by-50 pixels or 480-by-32 pixels in size, depending on whether you want your ad aligned horizontally or vertically on the iPhone screen.

3. Use either HTML or a graphical user interface builder program, such as Mac's Interface Builder or Window's Autolt, to move your banner to the ideal location. Although the placement of your advertisement is entirely your choice, Apple recommends that you place it on the bottom of the screen and avoid placing it on any moving elements, such as ScrollView or TableView.

4. Insert the HTML messages 'bannerViewDidLoadAd' and 'didFailToRecieveAdWithError' into the HTML encoding of your iPhone advertisement. This way, when connectivity issues prevent ads from being downloaded to your banner, the banner disappears, thus eliminating ugly and unnecessary blank space from your application's screen.

5. Insert the messages 'bannerViewActionShouldBegin' and 'bannerViewActionDidFinish' into your HTML encoding. This ensures that your application temporarily pauses when your banner is expanded to a full sized advertisement.

6. Launch your app and test the advertisement to make sure that it is operating properly and is desirably positioned.

How to Set Up a Google Website or Webstore

1. Type the Google sites web address into your URL bar: http://sites.google.com. You'll be asked for a username and password. If you already have a Google account, log in with your existing information. If you do not yet have your own Google account, click the 'Create an Account' option.

2. Click on the words 'Create New Site' to begin the process of designing your website.

3.

Choose a name for your website. The name of your website, along with the theme you choose will communicate to users what the purpose of your site is. If you're using your website as a store, be sure to choose a site name and design that will appeal to your customers and communicate professionalism. After you've made your choices, click on 'Create Site.'

4.

Edit your homepage by clicking on the 'Edit Page' button near the top of the screen. When editing your page, you can change the title of the page and the content simply by typing in the boxes. You will edit all of your other web pages within your site the same way.

5.

Customize your home page with photos. To include photos on your website, use the 'Insert' menu when you are in edit mode and choose to upload photos.

6.

Link to other websites or to pages within your own website by using the link feature. Simply highlight the text that you want to be the hyperlink and then click the 'Link' button and paste the URL that you'd like to link to.

How to Use HTML Code for Freewebs

1. Navigate to Freewebs.com and click on the 'Sign Up' button at the top of the screen. On the next page, choose a user name and fill in all your personal information. The user name will be included in the URL of your Freewebs website, so be sure to use one that reflects the intended use of the website.

2. Scroll down to the section of the Freewebs page labeled 'Select a Template for your Site.' To the right of that, there is a link reading 'Use Advanced (HTML) Mode'--click that link. Then, input the CAPTCHA words in the graphic box, read the terms of service and click the 'I Agree' button. Then, click 'Create My Site' to continue.

3. Select the Freewebs website hosting package you want on the next screen and click the 'Select' button beneath it. If you intend to pay for the ad-free or advanced hosting, make payment as directed. When done, you will be taken to your personal website account page. To begin creating your website with HTML code, click on the blue 'Edit My Site' button.

4. Create the home page of your Freewebs website by clicking on the 'Edit' button next to the file 'index.htm.' The edit button looks like a paper and pencil. Freewebs provides some basic HTML code to get you started. It is a good idea to open your website in another window or tab to look at while you are working.

5. Change the HTML title tag to the text you want displayed in the browser bar when your website is loaded. This should include the title and description of your website and keywords that people will search for. Within the



tags on the Freewebs edit page, you may input meta tags such as keywords, description and author information. If you are using a cascading style sheet (CSS) to design your website, include the HTML code for it (

is the correct HTML code to include a CSS file). The 'style.css' should be the name of the CSS file itself. If you are using a CSS file for your Freewebs website, you must upload the file to your account.

6. Copy and paste the HTML from a template found on another web design website if you found or bought one you like. If you are not using a template, you must change the HTML code on Freewebs by editing the page files. The web page editor gives you a basic WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get) editor at the top of the screen. You can change font size, style, color, make text bold or italics and insert hyperlinks and images with ease.

7. Input your own HTML code using the standard tags and attributes if you do not want to use the WYSIWYG editor. Use and tags for large headings and sub-headings of diminishing size. All basic text paragraphs should be bound by HTML tags. Images can be inserted with the HTML code. All image files must be uploaded to the Freewebs account before including them. Click on the green 'Images' button on the account page and upload the graphic files there.

8. Complete the HTML code for your Freewebs website index file, or home page, and click the 'Save' button at the top left side of the screen. It looks like a small, blue computer disk. The Freewebs account page will load again. If you want more than one page to your website, click the blue 'add a page' link and repeat the steps to create your own website with HTML code.