You want to work from home, but what about the online vs offline decision?

Your first instincts probably depend on how comfortable you are using a computer. Geeks, or even semi-geeks, tend to think in terms of working online from home. Someone who isn’t used to using computers would think in terms of working offline. And there are advantages to both.

Working online is attractive because it seems like it’s all automatic. That isn’t the case, but that’s usually how it seems at first. You can set up some of it to be automatic, but there’s still a lot of work involved in keeping an online business running.

But it doesn’t have to be an either/or decision.

The fusion between working online and offline is where the true profit potential sits. A typical “working online” scenario is that you have decided to earn commissions selling a product. This is affiliate marketing, and a lot of people do well with it. You put up a web site, put in some affiliate links, people find the web site and you make some sales. All your sales are to people who are online.

What about the people who aren’t comfortable using computers who may want your product? They won’t find your web site, because they’re not online much, and don’t use online searches to find products. They’re out in the offline world, shopping at physical stores.

You can capture some of that market, though. Here are some of the ways.

Adult Education

Most cities have continuing education classes for adults on any topic imaginable, from chess playing to basket weaving to using the Internet. Come up with a class that will allow you to recommend your product, and offer it through your local adult education center. Be sure to provide what you say you’re going to provide in the way of education, so that you get word of mouth advertising for the class.

Offline Advertising

Not everyone uses a search engine to find products. Advertising on park benches, billboards, newspaper classified ads, etc, can all find you customers that wouldn’t have found you otherwise.

Give Parties

The idea of a sales party, like those where you go and the host demonstrates some products and everyone buys something, is a tried and true method of selling offline. Depending on what you’re selling, it may be an appropriate way for you to go. Give your guests a good time, and they’ll be more likely to tell their friends about it.

So when you’re thinking about whether you want to work online vs offline, brainstorm some ways that you might be able to take an online business offline, or an offline business online. You might find that you open up a whole new market!